In 1855, Governor Dutton said, in his annual message to the General Assembly: "There is scarcely an open grog-shop in the State, the jails are fast becoming tenantless, and a delightful air of security is everywhere enjoyed." In Meriden, the chaplain of the reform school testified that "crime had diminished seventy-five per cent." In New London, the jail was tenantless.

In Norwich, the jails and almshouses were reported "as almost empty." But in 1873, the liquor influence was strong enough in the legislature to substitute license for prohibition.

The consequence was an immediate increase of drunkenness and crime.

Two years afterwards, the Secretary of State declared that "there was a greater increase of crime in one year under license than in seven years under prohibition." Vineland, New Jersey, has a population of ten thousand.

Absolute prohibition is the law of that community.