Partly-printed DS, signed "Ira N. Malin," one page, 7.75 x 6.5, July 20, 1852. Writ issued in Switzerland County, Indiana, in a case brought by the state against James Williams, ordering that he be brought to court to "answer unto the State of Indiana, on an Indictment for Retailing Spiritous Liquors." In fine condition.
In early 1852 Indianapolis hosted a temperance revival during which nearly 900 people formed the Social Order of Temperance and 'signed the pledge.' Between 1830 and 1850, groups such as these helped secure the passage of more than 125 local laws throughout Indiana that encouraged temperance by regulating prices and quantities of alcohol sold, not by enforcing abstinence. In this case, Williams was evidently selling spirituous liquors without proper license. In 1855 Indiana's General Assembly enacted a law prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol, except for medicinal purposes, but it was overturned by the Indiana Supreme Court later that year.
