Tobacco, indeed, has not properly been produced as an instance; for I
never heard, that however it may be disapproved by particular men, of
whatever rank or abilities, it was prohibited by law; nor should I
think any such prohibition necessary or reasonable; for tobacco, my
lords, is not poison, like distilled spirits, nor is the use of it so
much injurious to health, as offensive to delicacy.
The poisonous and destructive quality of these liquors is confessed by
the noble lord, a confession with which I find it very difficult to
reconcile his solicitude for the distillery; for when it is once
granted, that spirits corrupt the mind, weaken the limbs, impair
virtue, and shorten life, any arguments in favour of those who
manufacture them come too late, since no advantage can be equivalent
to the loss of honesty and life. When the noble lord has urged that
the distillery employs great numbers of hands, and, therefore, ought
to be encouraged, may it not, upon his own concession, be replied,
that those numbers are employed in murder, and that their trade ought,
like that of other murderers, to be stopped? When he urges that much
of our grain is consumed in the still, may we not answer, and answer
irresistibly, that it is consumed by being turned into poison, instead
of bread? And can a stronger argument be imagined for the suppression
of this detestable business, than that it employs multitudes, and that
it is gainful and extensive?
Nor can I discover, my lords, how the care of preserving the
distillery is consistent with the ends which the preamble in this bill
declares to be proposed, or which the advocates for it appear to
desire.
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