State v. Biddle
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
Indictment against Baruch Biddle, for keeping two gallons of intoxicating liquors for sale, at Concord, on August 10, 1873. The defendant admitted that he, at the time and place specified, kept for. sale ale and cider, but nothing stronger. The court ruled that ale and cider, after fermentation is completed, are intoxicating liquors, without proof of the amount of alcohol which they may contain ; and the defendant excepted.
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Indictment against Baruch Biddle, for keeping two gallons of intoxicating liquors for sale, at Concord, on August 10, 1873. The defendant admitted that he, at the time and place specified, kept for. sale ale and cider, but nothing stronger. The court ruled that ale and cider, after fermentation is completed, are intoxicating liquors, without proof of the amount of alcohol which they may contain ; and the defendant excepted. Verdict, guilty; and the questions of law were reserved.
1Opinion of the CourtLadd, J.
Whether ale and cider are intoxicating liquors depends upon whether or not those beverages, being drank, produce intoxication. That is, the question is as to the effect those liquors produce upon the human system when taken into the stomach. In chemistry, two inorganic substances are brought together, and the result noted. This is called an experiment. The result, which is nothing more than a manifestation of a law of nature, under certain conditions, is a fact. By the careful and patient observation of a great number of experiments of this sort, a great number of facts are obtained. The…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Nevin v. LadueCourt for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors · 1846
3Cited by1 opinion
- Upton v. HainesSupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1875