But the measure sealed the fate of the coalition.
Some of its provisions, especially that for seizing and destroying stocks of liquor kept for sale in violation of law, were very severe, and were held unconstitutional by the Court.

The liquor sellers, almost all of them, were Democrats.

They would not readily submit to a law which made their calling criminal.
So the Whigs were restored to power by the fall election in 1852.

Their heads were turned by their success.

They did not quite dare to repeal the law providing for a Constitutional Convention, but they undertook to repeal so much of it as required that the choice of delegates should be by secret ballot.