Excerpt from Permanent Temperance Documents of the American Temperance Society, Vol. 1 Though no exact account had been taken in this country, it was known that it had destroyed the reason of a great portion of all the maniacs in the land and had lessened the reason, as well as weak ened the bodies. Blunted the moral susceptibilities, and hardened the hearts of all who had freely used it. Of seven hundred and eighty-one maniacs in two hospitals in Great Britain, three hundred and ninety-two were made such by intemperance.* And had the inquiry been as carefully made in this country, the result might have been substantially the same. The free use of this stimulant had, in many cases, caused a predis itiou to insanity, not only in those who used it, but in their c tildreu. And children's children. A tendency to this disease, and many others occasioned by strong drink, had become hereditary, and was transmitted from generation to generation. A diminution of size and stature, a decrease of bodily and mental strength, a feeble ness of vision, and a premature old age, told of a disease that had seized on the vitals, and was consuming the energies of life. The use of this liquid was causing a general deterioration of body and mind, and was threatening to roll its curses, in broader and deeper streams, over all future generations. Yet, notwithstanding this, such was the nature of this poison, and such its power to deceive those who used it, that the Opinion was almost universal, that the use of it was salutary, and to laboring men needful. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.