surely there is large significance in the fact that
such decrees as these and others that might be
cited have been issued within recent years. Some
American laws are dead letters, and while a larger
proportion of Chinese Edicts have had little effect,
some of them, as in the case of the opium Edicts,
have been carried out with a zeal and efficiency
which Americans might well wish their Gov-
ernment would apply to the liquor traffic. If
Edicts of this kind had emanated from a govern-
ment in whose honesty and efficiency the people
had confidence, the Revolution might have as-
sumed a different character.

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