CONSTITUTION

OF THE

MAINE TEMPERANCE SOCIETY.

ARTICLE I. This Society shall be called the MAINE TEMPERANCE SOCIETY.

ART. II. This Society shall meet annually at Augusta, on the fourth Wednesday of January, (altered to 1st Wednesday of February,) and shall be composed of the officers of such County Temperance Societies in this State as vote to become auxiliary to it, and of such other persons in the State as subscribe this Constitution, together with those who may be appointed delegates from other Temperance Societies. ART. III. This Society recognizes as a fundamental principle, total abstinence from all concern with ardent spirits, as an article of refreshment, entertainment, or traffic.

ART. IV. The sole object of this Society shall be to concentrate the efforts of the friends of Temperance throughout the State, to diffuse information, and by a moral influence, discourage the use of ardent spirits in the community.

ART. V. The officers of this Society shall be a President, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Auditor, and an Executive Committee of five; of which the Corresponding Secretary shall be one, ex-officio.

ART. VI. The Presidents of the County Societies, which shall become auxiliary, shall, ex-officiis, be Vice-Presidents of this Society.

ART. VII. The officers of this Society shall perform the duties usually considered as pertaining to their respective offices. It shall especially be the duty of the Corresponding Secretary to collect information from the several Temperance Societies in the State, and under the direction, and with the assistance of the Executive Committee, publish from time to time, in the journals of the day, such articles as the cause of Temperance may require.

ART. VIII. The Executive Committee may, from time to time, adopt such measures as they think calculated to promote the objects of this Society; raise funds, when necessary, by voluntary contribution or subscription, and call special meetings of the Society, when expedient.

ART. IX. At each annual meeting a report shall be presented, exhibiting the operations of the Society for the past year; and the state and progress, so far as it can be ascertained, of the Temperance Reformation; which report shall be published.

ART. X. This Constitution may be altered by a majority at any annual meeting, but not so as to affect the fundamental principles contained in the third article.

FIRST ANNUAL MEETING.

The first Annual Meeting of the Maine Temperance Society, was held in the Meeting-House of the South Parish, in Augusta, on Wednesday, January 23d, 1833.

The meeting was called to order by Hon. ETHER SHEPLEY, President of the Society, and the throne of Grace addressed in Prayer by Rev. L. PORTER, of Augusta. A respectable number of members were present, and several local Temperance Societies were represented, as follows:

Gorham Temperance Society, by Josiah Pierce.

Norridgewock Temperance Society, William Allen, jr. Esq. and John Loring.

Foxcroft and Dover Temperance Society, Joseph Crooker and Gideon
Robinson.

New Gloucester Temperance Society, Otis C. Gross, Esq.
Knox Temperance Society, John Haskell.

Freedom Temperance Society, John True, Esq.
Monson Temperance Society, B. R. Lake, Esq.
Orono Temperance Society, John Bennoch, Esq.
Litchfield Temperance Society, Isaac Smith, Esq.

J. L. Child, Esq. of Augusta, J. Pierce, Esq. of Gorham, and Col. J. A. Morrill of Limerick, were appointed a Committee to receive, sort and count the votes for the officers required by the Constitution. The following gentlemen were elected.

PRESIDENT.

His Excellency SAMUEL E. SMITH, Augusta.

Hon. SAMUEL M. POND, Bucksport, Corresponding Secretary.
Rev. WILLIAM A. DREW, Augusta, REcording Secretary.
ELIHU ROBINSON, Esq. Augusta. TREASURER.
CHARLES WILLIAMS, Esq. Augusta, AUDItor,

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

WILLIAMS EMMONS, Esq. Augusta.
THEO. S. BROWN, Esq. Vassalboro'.
S. K. GILMAN, Esq. Hallowell.

BART. NASON, Esq. Augusta. Hon. SAM'L M. POND, Bucksport, ex officio.

On motion, Voted to excuse Gov. Smith from performing the duties of the Chair, during the present meeting; and Mr. Shepley continued to preside.

A Committee, consisting of Messrs. Brown of Buckfield, Thurston of Winthrop, and Cogswell of Berwick, were appointed to ascertain what alterations, if any, are requisite in the Constitution. Subsequently the Committee reported that it is expedient to change the time of the annual meeting from the fourth Wednesday in January, to the first Wednesday in February in each year. The Report was accepted, and the Constitution so far altered accordingly.

The Corresponding Secretary, Mr. Pond, presented a Report of his doings during the past year, embracing extracts from his correspon

BOSTON

dence with gentlemen in most of the towns in the State, and exhibiting much statistical and other matter, calculated to encourage the friends of Temperance to proceed with vigor in the important work before them. After Mr. P. had read from his Report about an hour, he asked and obtained leave, to suspend further reading for the present; and the meeting adjourned till half past six o'clock.

At the time appointed, the Society met agreeably to adjournment. A large and respectable number of people attended. Mr. Pond resumed the reading of his Report, and concluded by several pertinent suggestions. After he had concluded,

Mr. SHEPLEY addressed the meeting in an able and elegant manner. He exhorted all the friends of human happiness to come up to this cause as a common cause,-laying aside all political, sectarian and personal differences, and to engage in the great and good spirit of 66 good will to man," in the laudable object of this Society. Ho pourtrayed, in vivid colors, the crimes, pauperism, degradation, misery, and infamy consequent upon an indulgence in too free an use of distilled liquors, and expressed it as his settled conclusion, that if public sentiment could be rendered so powerful as to prevent the use of ardent spirit, the greatest cause of human wretchedness would be removed from among men.

He was followed by S. REDINGTON, Esq. of Vassalborough, who bore witness to the salutary effects resulting from an entire disuse of ardent spirits. His remarks were characteristically pertinent and highly entertaining. A few years ago, he observed, he was engaged as Commissioner to construct the Canada Road.' After some time, by some means, a barrel of rum was procured and used among the laborers. Its effects were most pernicious. The men became riotous; some had to be dismissed, who before had been peaceable; and he had no doubt, but that single barrel of rum was more than $500 damage to the State.

Rev. D. THURSTON of Winthrop, moved, That the Society recommend to the friends of Temperance throughout the State, to hold Temperance Meetings in every school district throughout the State, where practicable, for the purpose of advancing the cause. He supported his motion by some remarks. Our hopes were upon the youth of our country; the youth would attend these meetings, and a good foundation might be seasonably laid against the evils of intemperance. He believed youth ought to be so educated, that they would no sooner think of using ardent spirits, than opium or arsenic.

The motion was also advocated by Mr. Pierce, very spiritedly and happily; by Mr. Pond of Bucksport; Mr. Adams of Vassalboro'; Dr. Phelps of Fairfield; Mr. Brown of Buckfield, and Doct. Wells of Freeport. The question being put from the Chair, the motion prevailed without division.

Voled, to accept the report of the Corresponding Secretary, and that a number of copies be printed equal to the number of School Districts in the State.

On motion of Mr. LORING, Voted, That this Society recommend to the clergymen of every denomination in the State, to take some suitable occasion in the course of the year, publicly to call the attention

of their congregation to the evils of Intemperance and invite them to engage in the Temperance Reform.

About fifty gentlemen, not before members, many of whom were members of the Legislature, applied for membership, and were received on subscribing the Constitution.

As the meeting was about to be dismissed, several members, among whom were Gov. Smith, Ex-Gov. King, and other highly respectable gentlemen, came forward and contributed between forty and fifty dollars towards defraying the expenses of the Society. And the meeting was dissolved. WILLIAM A DREW, RECORDING SECRETARY.

FIRST ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE MAINE TEMPERANCE SOCIETY, JANUARY 23, 1833. The 8th Article of our Constitution, provides that "The Executive Committee may, from time to time, adopt such measures as they think calculated to promote the objects of this Society; and raise funds, when necessary, by voluntary contribution or subscription;" and the 9th Article provides that "At each annual meeting, a report shall be presented, exhibiting the operations of the Society for the past year, and the state and progress, so far as it can be ascertained, of the Temperance Reformation."

The Executive Committee, in performance of the duty that seemed to be required of them by the 8th Article, were of opinion that they could not better "promote the objects of this Society," than by causing to be circulated extensively through the State, Dickinson's Appeal to American Youth, and Kittredge's, Cranch's, Sewall's and Wayland's Addresses; and to employ an Agent to travel through the State, for the purpose of organizing Societies in those towns where it had been omitted; and, generally, to aid in increasing the members of the Societies already formed; to excite if possible, a greater zeal, more industry, and an increased perseverance, in those engaged in the Temperance Reform; and to recommend such measures, as would tend to produce such a regular system of operations, by the town and county societies, in connection with this Society, as would enable us, annually, to spread before the community a thorough knowledge of those operations and their effects. But, before the Committee could undertake to execute their designs, it was necessary to" count the costs," and ascertain if it were immediately practicable, to "raise funds" sufficient to defray the expense that such measures would necessarily incur.

By an estimate made by the Committee, it was calculated that it would require about twenty two hundred dollars to meet all the objects then contemplated during the year. It was confidently believed that that sum might be raised by "voluntary contribution or subscription," without much delay; that three hundred dollars might be obtained in the County of York; four hundred dollars in the County of Cumberland; three hundred dollars in the County of Lincoln; four hundred dollars in the County of Kennebec ; one hundred dollars in the County

of Waldo; one hundred and fifty dollars in the County of Hancock; fifty dollars in the County of Washington; two hundred dollars in the County of Penobscot; one hundred dollars in the County of Somerset; and one hundred and fifty dollars in the County of Oxford. A correspondence upon this subject was immediately commenced, with such gentlemen, in the several Counties, as were understood to be the friends and advocates of the good work; and it was soon ascertained that this mode of raising that sum was hopeless; and the Committee were compelled to relinquish the measures contemplated, which required pecuniary aid to carry them into execution. Under these circumstances, the only remaining mode of operation, to effect the objects of the Society, devolved upon the Corresponding Secretary, under the injunction in the 7th Art. of the Constitution, which requires that "it shall especially be the duty of the Corresponding Secretary to collect information from the several Temperance Societies in the State, and under the direction, and with the assistance of the Executive Committee, publish, from time to time, in the journals of the day, such articles as the cause of Temperance may require."

At the time of the organization of the Society, on motion of the member from Wayne, it was resolved, "That every Temperance Society in this State be requested to furnish, as soon as may be, to the Corresponding Secretary of this Society, the actual number of the members of such Society, the number of cases of reformation which have occurred in such Society, and all other information which may be necessary to ascertain the success and actual strength of the friends of Temperance throughout the State."Soon after, the Corresponding Secretary addressed the Secretaries of the several local Societies in the State, through the medium. of the public papers, printed in the State, for the purpose of calling their attention to certain facts, which it was deemed important to ascertain. At the expiration of six months, having received only about twenty communications, in answer to the queries suggested, the Corresponding Secretary procured to be printed, a number of Circulars, containing thirty-six questions, sufficient to enable him to send one into each town in the State; and directed them to the Secretaries of the town Societies, or to the Town Clerks, in the several towns; and subsequently, wrote to more than three hundred persons residing in those towns, from which no answers had been received.

*

There are in this State about three hundred towns-from one hundred and sixty two only, have the facts solicited, been communicated, and from many of those, but partially and imperfectly. Nearly all this labor of the Corresponding Secretary, and the expense of his correspondence, would have been saved, had the local Societies been auxiliary to the County Societies, and required to make an annual report to them; and to complete a system, it would only be necessary that the County Societies should be auxiliary to this Society, and make an annual report to the Corresponding Secretary. The Corresponding Secretary here takes the liberty to recommend, that such a system be immediately adopted; and that the local Societies so alter their Constitutions, as to provide that their annual reports be made and

See Appendix A.