CONTENTS. Testimony of old Men... Lord Chancellor's Declaration. .... Formation of the British and Foreign Temperance Society. Demoralizing Effect of the Traffic in Ardent Spirit Influence of Church Members who traffic in Ardent Spirit. Testimony of the British and Foreign Temperance Society. 45 Facts in the State of New York Temperance Taverus, and Groceries.. Progress of the Cause and its Results.. The Sabbath the proper Time to speak upon it. 56 CONSTITUTION OF THE SOCIETY. PREAMBLE. Whereas the improper use of intoxicating liquors has been found by experience to be the source of evils of incalculable magnitude, both as to the temporal and eternal interests of individuals, families and communities; and whereas the prevalence of this vice has such a fatal efficacy in hindering the success of all the common means which God has appointed for the moral and religious improvement of men; and whereas the various measures which the friends of Christian morality have adopted, though not altogether unsuccessful, have been found quite insufficient to give any effectual and permanent check to this desolating evil; and whereas some more vigorous means are evidently required, some system of instruction and action, which will make a steady and powerful impression on the present and following generations, and will, in this way, ultimately effect a change of public sentiment and practice in regard to the use of intoxicating liquors, and thus put an end to that wide-spreading intemperance, which has already caused such desolations in every part of our country, and which threatens destruction to the best interests of this growing and mighty Republic; therefore the friends of domestic and social happiness now present, wishing to do all in their power to promote the welfare of their fellow men, resolve to form a Society, with the follow ing Constitution, namely : : ARTICLE I. The Society shall be called THE American TemPERANCE SOCIETY. ART. II. The Society shall, from time to time, elect additional members, as they shall judge expedient; always keeping in mind that elections are so to be made, as shall best accord with the design of rendering this a national institution, and giving it the most extensive influence possible. ART. III. Any person who pays to the Treasurer of the Society five dollars annually, or who has paid or shall pay thirty dollars, at one time, shall be a member of the Society; provided the donor shall also subscribe to the following:-"I pledge myself to an entire abstinence from the use of ardent spirits, except when prescribed by a temperate physician, in case of sickness." ART. IV. Any person who has paid, or who shall pay, not less than thirty dollars to the funds of the Society, shall become an honorary member thereof; and every person who has paid, or shall hereafter pay, not less than two hundred and fifty dollars, shall be an honorary Vice Presi dent of the Society. ART. V. The Society shall meet annually, at such time and place as they shall appoint, and shall choose by ballot a President, Vice President, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Auditor, an Executive Committee of five members, and such other officers as shall in their opinion be necessary. ART. VI. It shall be the duty of the Society to have a general superintendence of all the concerns of the institution, and of the measures to be pursued for promoting its object. ART. VII. It shall be the duty of the President, or, in his absence, of the Vice President, to preside at all meetings of the Society, and to call special meetings, at the request of the Executive Committee. ART. VIII. It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee, to carry into effect all votes and orders of the Society, and to take proper measures for obtaining the funds necessary for accomplishing its benevolent designs; to appoint agents in different parts of the country, as shall be judged most conducive to the great object of the Society; to draw orders on the Treasurer for the payment of all moneys, which shall be expended in this work of love; to inspect annually the state of the treasury; and, in general, to perform all other duties, not inconsistent with this Constitution, which they shall deem necessary for promoting habits of temperance to the greatest extent. Of their proceedings they shall make an annual re port to the Society. ART. IX. The Corresponding Secretary shall be required to devote himself with diligence and fidelity to the business of the Society. And in execution of his office, it shall be his duty, under the direction of the Executive Committee, to make appropriate communications, by pamphlets, correspondence, and personal interviews, to ministers of the gospel, to physicians, and others, and to consult and co-operate with them for the purpose of guarding those under their influence against the evils of intemperance; to take pains, in all proper methods, to make a seasonable and salutary impression, in relation to this subject, on those who are favored with a public and refined education, and are destined in various ways to have a leading influence in society; to make it a serious object to introduce into the publications of the day, essays and addresses on the subject of intoxicating liquors, and to induce teachers, and those concerned in the support of schools, to labor diligently to impress the minds of the young with the alarming and dreadful evils to which all are exposed who indulge themselves in the use of strong drink; to make affectionate and earnest addresses to Christian churches, to parents and guardians, to children, apprentices, and servants, and all other descriptions of persons, and to set clearly before them the effect of spirituous liquors on health, on reputation, and on all the temporal and eternal interests of men, and to urge them, by the most weighty arguments, drawn from the present and the future world, to keep themselves at a distance from this insidious and destructive oe; to do whatever is practicable and expedient towards the forming of voluntary associations for the purpose of promoting the ends of this Society; and, in general, to labor, by all suitable means, and in reliance upon the divine blessing, to fix the eyes of persons of both sexes, and of all ages and conditions, on the magnitude of the evil which this Society aims to prevent, and on the immeasurable good which it aims to secure ; and to produce such a change of public sentiment, and such a renovation of the habits of individuals, and the customs of the community, that, in the end, temperance, with all its attendant blessings, may universally prevail. And it is always to be kept in remembrance by the Secretary and by the Executive Committee, and to be adopted as a principle to regulate their measures, that, while they are to make use perseveringly of all fit and promising means for the reformation of those who have already, in different degrees, contracted habits of intemperance, the utility of the institution must chiefly consist in guarding against danger those who are yet uncontaminated by this loathsome and fatal vice. ANNUAL MEETING. THE Society held its Fifth Annual Meeting at Park Street Church, May 30, 1832. The meeting was opened at half past 11 o'clock, A. M., the President in the chair. A prayer was offered by the Rev. HEMAN HUMPHREY, President of Amherst College. Parts of the Report were then read by the Corresponding Secretary. On motion of the Rev. HOWARD MALCOM, Pastor of the Baptist Church, in Federal Street, Boston, seconded by Rev. Ö. EASTMAN, one of the Secretaries of the American Tract Society, Resolved, That the Report, extracts of which have now been read, be accepted and printed, under the direction of the Executive Committee. On motion of the Rev. JOHN W. CHICKERING, Pastor of the Congregational Church in Bolton, seconded by the Rev. G. W BLAGDEN, Pastor of Salem Church, Boston, Resolved, That should the young men of the United States adopt the principle of abstinence from the use of ardent spirit, and from the traffic in it, and unite in Temperance Societies, they would become the benefactors of our country and the world. On motion of the Rev. NATHANIEL HEWIT, Pastor of a church in Bridgeport, Conn. seconded by the Rev. JOHN H. CHURCH, Pastor of a church in Pelham, N. H., Resolved, That the traffic in ardent spirit is an immorality, and ought to be viewed and treated as such throughout the earth. Immediately after the public services, the annual business of the Society was transacted. The Reports of the Treasurer and Auditor were read, and accepted; and the following officers were chosen, viz. Hon. SAMUEL HUBBARD, President. S. V. S. WILDER, Esq. Vice President. Rev. JUSTIN EDWARDS, Corresponding Secretary. Hon. GEORGE ODIORNE, Treasurer. HENRY HILL, Esq. Auditor. JOHN TAPPAN, Esq. Hon. GEORGE ODIORNE, Hon. HEMAN LINCOLN, Rev. JUSTIN EDWARDS, Executive Committee. |