The encroachment of usurpation without, and the prevalence of vice
within, is a conjunction of circumstances very dangerous; and to
remove both by the same means, is an undertaking that surely cannot
deserve either censure or contempt: if it succeeds, it may demand the
loudest acclamations; and if it fails, must be at least approved.
The use, my lords, of spirituous liquors, though in the excess now so
frequently to be observed, undoubtedly detrimental to multitudes, is
not, in a proper degree, either criminal or unwholesome; and,
therefore, ought not to be prohibited by a tax so heavy as has been
proposed by a noble lord, who, if he pursues his reasoning, must
propose to tax in the same proportion every other liquor that can
administer to vice.
It is, however, certain, that too much is wasted in riot and
debauchery; and that, therefore, some addition to the price of this
liquor ought to be made, that, though the use of it may be continued,
the excess may be restrained.
What will be the effects of this bill, and whether either of these
benefits are to be expected from it, can be known only by an impartial
examination; and therefore it ought to be discussed with that accuracy
which is peculiar to a committee.
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