But it is not true that the inhabitants of the wine-producing regions of Europe are not addicted to intemperance. Certain pleasure travellers, flying over "the grand tour" of the continent, visiting only museums of art, classic ruins, and the splendid public squares of cities, come home to tell us of the morality of the peasants of Europe ! Little do they know about it. Other travellers, journeying more at leisure, and making special inquiries into the condition of the common people, both in the country and in the lanes of cities, come home with a different story. They speak of poverty, ignorance, idleness, and vice in all its forms; and as traceable mainly to this very habit of wine-drinking.

Louis Philippe, while king of France, stated to a distinguished American philanthropist, that " the drunkenness of France was on wine." His son added, that " it would be a blessing to France, could all the grape-vines be destroyed, except so far as their products could be used for food".

The Duke of Orleans observed to the same gentleman, that the frequent want of subordination in the French army could be traced to the daily use of wine, "and most of the crime and poverty in the country, especially in the wine-districts, to the same cause".

James Fennimore Cooper declares: "I came to Europe under the impression that there was more drunkenness among us than in any other country, England, perhaps, excepted. A residence of six months in Paris changed my views entirely. I have taken unbelievers with me into the streets, and have never failed to convince them of their mistake in the course of an hour. On one occasion, we passed thirteen drunken men in one hour. * * * In passing between Paris and London, I have been more struck by drunkenness in the streets of the former city, than in those of the latter".' The sculptor, Horatio Greenough, in writing from Florence, some twenty years ago, said: " Many of the more thinking and prudent Italians abstain from the use of wine; several of the most eminent physicians are opposed to its use. When I assure you that one fifth, and sometimes one fourth of the earnings of the laborers are expended in wine, you may form some idea as to its probable influence on their thrift and health/"

Lord Acton, once Supreme Judge of Rome, assured an American traveller that " all, or nearly all, the crime in Rome originated in the use of wine".

Mr. R. S. Fay, of Lynn, Mass., once declared at an agricultural meeting in Boston, that he " had never seen so much intemperance in New England, as he had within sight of the Pyrenees".

The argument drawn from the morality of wine-growing districts of Europe will hardly bear handling; it falls to pieces. But, supposing that pure wines would answer the end proposed, viz., as a preventive of intemperance, is it probable that they could be manufactured in this country at so low a cost as to bring them within reach of the common people? We greatly question it. And again, if they could, have we any assurance that native wines would be less liable to adulteration than the foreign confessedly are, or than native spirituous liquors are? No one can deny that adulteration of wine is common in all parts of Europe. Rev. Dr. Baird, an extensive traveller on the continent, and a close observer, says that "pure wine can seldom be found except at the vineyards, and that adulteration is all but universal."Greenough says that the wines of Italy are seldom found pure; "for, although the pure juice of the grape can sometimes be furnished at about one cent a bottle, yet all who have studied the matter know that the retailers choose to gain a profit by the addition of water and drugs, that will maintain the color, body, bouquet, and intoxicating qualities it originally possessed." And if wine, which can be made at so cheap a rate, is adulterated for a profit, will our own more costly article fare better? It is notorious that the wines of certain American merchants, extensively advertised as pure, and made from native grapes, will not bear the test of chemical analysis.

If adulterated wines will pay the manufacturer better than pure, we may rest assured that such wines will be made.

Such, in substance, are the arguments on both sides of this question. The writer of this article does not undertake now to pronounce judgment upon them. Meanwhile, he earnestly recommends the home manufacture of wine for medicinal and sacramental purposes, and the extensive culture of grapes for the table.

[A question, this, of grand importance, whether viewed in its commercial or moral aspect; one, too, that ought to be met early and fairly. We have considered the subject seriously in all its bearings, and our present conviction is, that the introduction of pure American wines will tend to lessen the evils of intemperance, and it is this conviction which has caused us to speak encouragingly of their manufacture. This is one of those questions which we are not willing to treat of in a commercial aspect alone, however much wealth it might put in our coffers; its moral bearings are too overwhelming to be lost sight of for a moment. We nevertheless believe, that to accomplish any practical good, we must, in our philanthropic enterprises, deal with mankind as we find them; and if we can not do all the good we would, let us do what we can. We thank Mr. Gridley for having started the subject; we can at least promise him to keep it open. - Ed].