that no one buy or receive out of any ship any wine or strong water, unless they pay one-sixth of it, if bought for wholesaling, and one-third, if for retailing, as revenue. In 1637, the court, upon "many sad "many sad complaints," ordered that nothing stronger than that which can be sold for one penny per quart should be sold. Two years later the strength was increased to two pence per quart. In 1638, one in each town was appointed by the respective towns, and no others, to sell wine and strong water. The early licensees under this law were Mr. Gott in Salem, Mr. Symonds in Ipswich, Edward Woodman in Newbury, William Fiske in Wenham, Sebastian Brigham in Rowley, Obadiah Bowen in Gloucester, etc. In 1639, the drinking of healths was prohibited because it caused "drunkenness, quarreling, bloodshed, uncleanness, misspent time," etc. The law was repealed in 1645.

The revenue was increased in 1644, vintners paying twenty shillings per butt of sack, and five shillings per hogshead of French and other wines.

All customs, profits and emoluments or wine selling to the government of the colony were sold to one man for £107 10s. for one year. In 1648 they were sold to two men for £120 per year for four years.

In 1645, the quarterly court was granted authority to issue licenses, and the fines for drunkenness were also fixed : first offence, a fine of ten shillings or ten stripes; second offence, twenty shillings or three hours in the stocks, and third offence, thirty shillings or imprisonment.

In 1646, the general court reached a foundation principle when they said that, "Forasmuch as drunkenness is a vice to be abhorred of all nations, especially of those who hold out and profess the gospel of Christ Jesus, and seeing any strict law against this sin will not prevail, unless ye cause be taken away,' etc., and it might be expected that the statute which followed this preamble would contain a prohibition of the traffic, but instead of that an annual fee for the licenses

was fixed, viz., Salem dealers to pay fifteen pounds, Lynn, Ipswich and Marblehead two pounds each, Newburyport one pound, and Salisbury, ten shillings. Also, informers of unlicensed dealers were to have one-half of the fines; and licenses were to be granted to "men of good report and ability to manage ye calling."

In 1649, the court, conceiving that wine cost so much that people could not afford to purchase it as a regular drink, ordered that the retailers keep good and wholesome beer.

In 1653, the marshal was to have the revenue from the retailing of liquor for his salary, for two years.

Notwithstanding the many laws that had been passed, in 1670 the general court received many complaints of " persons spending their time and estate by drinking and tippling in taverns and alehouses," and they sought another remedy to prevent it. They ordered that the selectmen should post up in each saloon the names of immoderate drinkers. This law remained in force until about 1820.

In 1681, the selectmen of towns must approve of the licenses before they could be granted; and in 1684 the licensed dealers were given one-half of the fines for complaining of unlicensed dealers.

But in spite of all these "good and wholesome laws, saloons increased in number and drunkenness in amount.

In the court records of the early times drunkenness appears as the most common crime, there being several degrees of it, as shown by the records. The church records are also replete with cases of discipline for this sin; and the ministers themselves were guilty of flagrant breaches of morality in this line, as in the case of the first minister of Topsfield.

Among the first attempts to restrain the increasing amount of drunkenness a pamphlet, entitled "The Famous Tryal of Sir Richard Rum," was published.

The records show the manner of conducting one of the saloons in 1690. An Andover retailer* had become obnoxious

William Chandler.

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to the people, and in their petition to the court not to grant him his petition for a license they say, that the "epidemical evil overspreads and is like to corrupt the greater part of our town if not speedily prevented; he had indeed the approbation of the selectmen that were picked out for that end in his first setting up; and at his first setting up he seemed to have some tenderness of conscience not to admit of excess nor disorder in his house; but custom in his way of dealing and the earnest desire of money hath proved an evil root to him actively, and effectively to others, for through his forwardness to promote his own gain, he hath been apt to animate and entice persons to spend their money and time to ye great wrong of themselves and family they belong to; and to that end will encourage all sorts of persons, both old and young, to spend upon trust, if they have not money, and to some he will proffer to lend money to spend rather than that they should be discouraged from such a notion; servants and children are allowed by him in his house at all times unseasonably by night and day, sometimes till midnight and past till break of day, till they know not their way to their habitations; and gaming is freely allowed in his house, by which means the loser must call for drink, which is one thing that will uphold his calling. Many such particulars might be instanced and easily proved, but we are willing for brevity's sake to omit much of what could be said of the like nature, but be sure if he be not restrained from the selling of drink our town will be for the greatest part of our young generation so corrupted thereby that we can expect little else but a course of drunkenness of them; and what comfort will that be to parents to see such a posterity coming upon the stage after them."

The licensee received no formal document; but he had to give a bond, the condition of which showed his rights and liabilities. One, in 1692, is conditioned as follows, viz: "To keep a common

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house of entertainment and to use common selling of ale, beer, cider, &c., in the now dwelling house of [the licensee] * * and no others. shall not permit, suffer or have any playing at dice, cards, table quoits, loggets, bowles, ninepins, billiards, or any other unlawful game or games in his house, yard, garden, or backside. * Nor shall sell any wine or liquors to any Indians or negroes, or suffer any servants or apprentices or any other person to remain in his house tippling or drinking after nine o'clock in the night-time; to keep the true assize and measure, * and in uttering ale, beer, cider, wine, rum, &c., to sell by sealed measure. And in his said house shall maintain good order and rule."

Concerning the intoxication of those times, the celebrated Cotton Mather, in his "Magnalia Christi Americana," says "There is much intemperance. 'Who hath woe? They who tarry long at the wine.' Is it no harm for a man to bring sickness on his body? We have seen drunkards often perishing in diseases contracted by their debauches. Is it no harm for a man to bring disgrace on his esteem? We have often seen drunkards become very abjects, though they once were folks of some fashion and figure in the world. Is it no harm for a man to bring poverty on his estate? We have often seen the judgments of God fulfilling that word, 'The drunkard shall come to poverty.'

Surely, 'tis no little harm for men to debase and confound their own souls, and lay themselves open unto the worst of all the temptations of the devil-the worst of all impieties. But, sirs, how often have we seen woful drunkards doing so? We have seen them turn beasts,-yea, turn devils! *

We have seen it so often, that I am amazed at you, O ye drunkards of New England-I am amazed that you can 'harden your hearts' in your sin. Yea, and we have seen the devil that has possessed the drunkard, throwing him into the fire as well as into the water, and then kept shrieking, 'fire!

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fire' till they have gone down to the fire that never shall be quenched. Yea, more than one or two drunken women, in this very town, have, while in their drink, fallen into the fire, and so they have tragically gone roaring out of one fire into another. Drinking houses have been a most undoing stumbling block of iniquity in the midst of us. The judgments of God brought us into a time. when unsufferable villianies were perpetrated everywhere, under the pretence of the excise. Trade on, ye merchants of souls, or, more truly, ye butcherers of souls. Trade on, till the judgments of God have caused you to trade yourselves into beggary at the last! But know, that the blood of souls' will be found on your skirts."

We have seen that the colonial legislation was aimed at two things-to keep the use of liquor within moderate bounds and to obtain revenue from the sale of it. The law as we left it at the close of the seventeenth century continued about the same, and indeed to the present time with slight changes and the exception of one or two short seasons of prohibition in this century.

Up to about fifty years ago all classes drank. At trainings, ordinations, huskings, funerals, weddings, indeed at all social and public gatherings liquor was freely indulged in. The people loved their drink-in their minds it added to hospitality, it lent wisdom and acuteness to debate, eloquence to the speaker, strength and endurance to the muscular effort.

It was the article most often purchased at the grocery.

Drunkenness was as common in the eighteenth as it had been in the seventeenth century. In Salem, in 1773, there were fifteen retailers. The selectmen then said to the general court, that "It is with the utmost concern that we see such multitudes grasping at gains, which are the price of the blood of the souls of their neighbors and fellow-citizens, who are precipitated to inevitable ruin and destruction by the intemperate use of

strong drink." They ask that only eight retailers be allowed.

After the Revolution the production of liquor had greatly increased, and intemperance was more prevalent than ever.

Thus

There have always been some people who felt the evils of strong drink and avoided it. Abstinence from distilled liquor as a daily drink was observed by a few about the time of the Revolution. Then some drank distilled liquors but rarely; others drank no liquors regularly, and one would sometimes be found who refrained from any use of them. germinated the temperance reformation. The first temperance society in the State, and probably the first permanent one in modern times was "The Massachusetts Society for the Suppression of Strong Drink," formed in 1812. Several Essex county people belonged to it. Two years later an organization called the "Moral Society " sprung up in many of the towns in the county-Boxford, Danvers, Topsfield, and others. Temperance was its principal object. Wenham, as far as has been learned, was the first town in the county to disapprove of liquor licenses, having voted that no licenses should be issued in 1825. Newbury followed in 1830, Danvers in 1833, and Amesbury in 1834. In 1826, the question came into politics, and about 1875 the prohibition party took the field.

NOTES.

John Warden, auctioneer, advertises to sell at auction in the new auction room, nearly opposite the naval-office in Salem, mahogany tables, looking-glasses, chairs, a two quart bell-metal skillet, brass kettles, pewter ware, a "very nice pair of polished Andirons," shovels, tongs, etc.Essex Gazette, Oct. 11-18, 1768.

In the warrant calling a 66 meeting of the freeholders and other inhabitants of the East Parish of Bradford, Dec. 11th, 1795," is the following: "Article 2. To see if the parish will make Rowell Foot some consideration for three years' service

in the last war, answering for a man for this parish, or act anything thereon."

The same article appeared at an earlier date (Sept. 20, 1786), " at the request of said Foot," and it was then voted to dismiss the same; but on Dec. 18, 1795, "It was voted to give Rowell Foot twenty dollars for his service during the last war." It would be interesting to know if every parish was required to furnish a man for the war, and why one only. This is the only item of the kind on the record. -Dr. Louis A. Woodbury, Groveland.

WILL OF MARGARET PEASE. The will of Mrs. Margaret Pease was made 1 7 mo: 1644, and proved in the Salem quarterly court II mo: 1644-5. The following transcript is from the original on file in the office of the clerk of courts, in Salem, book 1, leaf 35.

the first day 7: munth 1644. This is the laft will off margit peafe. That is that her grane childe John peafe the fonne off Robert pease fhall will the reft of her goods be put ouer to Thomas: wadffon off sallme to be as her true feffeye off truft to defpoes off her eftate as she derecteth at this tyme beinge in parfite memory fift yt as before Tht the fed John pease shall be give frely to the fed Thomas wadffon that he shall defpoffe off him as his one child and: seconly: yt the houffe fhe liff in & with the ground beloninge ther to fhall be give to the fed John pease all foe haffe an acker off Indon corne all foe he is to have my heffer all foe yt John fhell have my bede and all yt belonges to it all foe that her grane childern the childern off Robert peaffe her sonne she givth to the reft off them the tow gottes & kids to be equally defpoffed a monge the mand all her mouffeabell goods are to be at thomas wadsho defpoes for the good off John. all foe her grane childe Robert pease shell have her leffer chift and yt if yt the fed John pease die then his Brother Robert pease must have the reft off the eftatte and all yt doughter pease the wiffe off Robert peasse is to

Robert Abbot of Salem, cordwainer, 1741. Benjamin Abbot of Salem, rigger, 1760, 1783, 1790.

-Registry of deeds. Mary Abbot of Ipswich married John Hovey of Topsfield, March 8, 1737-8. He was born in 1666.

Tabitha Abbot died in Ipswich April 3, 1751.

Nathaniel Abbot of Beverly married Jemima [Jerusha-Beverly records] Whipple of Ipswich Dec. [Nov.-Beverly records] 18, 1768.

Richard Abbot published to widow Martha Pattershall of Ipswich Oct. 6, 1737. Richard Abbot published to Tabitha Hodgkins, both of Ipswich, Aug. 19, 1738. -Ipswich town records.

James Abbott was a servant of Mr. Edmond Batter 28:9: 1656. Thomas Abbot in Salem court 25:4: 1661.

-Salem quarterly court records. Abigail Abbot married John Tamin (Tarrin?), in Marblehead, July 1, 1686. Ben Naomy, illegitimate daughter of Benjamin Abbot and Naomy Lovejoy, born in Andover, 1784.

Nathan Abbot married Margaret Wilson, both of Danvers, in Danvers, May 22, 1785.

Elizabeth Abbot, widow, married Zebadiah Chandler, in Andover, March 29, 1756.

-Records in county clerk's office. Robert Abbot married Mary Masury, in Salem, April 29, 1703. Their daughter Mary was born there Sept. 28, 1706. -Salem town records.