Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-02-14 00:00:00

COTTON IN INDIA

IF it be in any degree true—as we had Mr.
BUSHELL'S word that it is, in his speech in our
Chamber of Commerce, which we have already
re narked upon —" that the Cotton plant is to be
the civiliser of the world; that by its increased
growth, and by its cultivation, we shall have pro-
gress, we shall have civilisation, not in our depen-
dencies alone, but thioughout the length and
breadth of the world ; " and that, as respects our
Eastern dominions, in particular, "the Cotton fibre,
insignificant as it may seem to some, will bind
India to England by stronger bonds than all the
armies which England can pour into that country ;"
ole can scarcely overrate the interest of such a
subject, especially in a town like Liverpool.
Now our readers, or many of them, are probably
aware that there exists a society called the Cotton
Supply Association, the object of which is to en-
deavour to obtain Cotton from other countries on
equal or better terms than from America, and there
has just beengpublished a letter to the Chairman of
the Association, by Mr. J. B. SMITH, M.P., communi-
cating his opinion upon the capabilities of India to
compete with America in supplying us with this
important produce,—his opinion, formed, as a mem-
ber of the Indian Cotton Committee of Parliament,
from the evidence adduced before it. And the
substance of that opinion is this,—that whereas in
America 400 lb. per acre is the average produce
of Cotton, in India there are Cotton growing dis-
tricts which, by proper cultivation, will yield as
much as 600 lb. per acre. The experiment, it
seems, has been tried ; and such was the result.
But then tilis can only be accomplished by great
energy and enterprise. It is not only the cultiva-
tion of the plant ; but there have to be extensive
buildings provided, filled with machinery, to be
worked by steam, for cleaning and packing the
Cotton. If, therefore, we are to look to India for
supplies of a product that has become indispensa-
ble to the progress and prosperity of our manufactur-
ing and commercial interests, attention must be
directed to the subject here at home; for it is from
our own resources that the requisite means for the
purpose must be obtained. Mr. SMITH, it seems,
has arrived at the conclusion that India is capable
of furnishing abundance of this produce; " and I
doubt," he declares, "if there be any part
of our dominions which offers equal advan-
tages to English enterprise and capital, and none
where their presence would more benefit the
natives."

The importance of enterprise and capital,
in such a case, may be illustrated by reference
to the improvement which machinery has
been found capable of effecting in the
quality and condition of the Cotton in the South-
ern States of America, in some parts of which it
has been carried to such• a height of perfection,
as to have not only brought the material itself to
a superior state of preparation for the
manufacturer, but to have, by a slight eaten-

sion of the process, converted it into yarn
upon the spot. In Alabama a machine of the

kind has been invented, and is now, we believer
in successful operation, which saves 10 per cent.
of ordinary waste, as well as carries out the
process to the conversion of the material into
yarn. The Cotton once taken from the gin is
placed in the machine, and. gradually, yet expe-
ditiously, is converted into that article -itself
a kind of raw material to so many of our textile
fabrics. All the leaf and trash are thrown out in
the operation ; and the machinery is worked
by the ordinary field-hands,—furnishing, one
cannot but think, a valuable hint for India.

It is true that, at present, in India, there are
many obstacles in the way,--such as the existing
land tenure, the want of roads, defects in the
administration of justice, and the absence of due
security for life and property, which at present
discourage the settlement of Europeans in India.
But these evils are, most of them, now in process
of removal ; and were the country once restored to
tranquillity, there is every reason to hope for the
speedy redress of every real grievance, under
the new system of government which is being put
is operation there. As Mr: BUSHELL further
showed, " Lord STANLEY has told us that already
the Government has come under guarantee-s to the
amount of something like 37 millions, in relation
to the prosecution of railroads and other public
works. He has told us that there are 5,000 miles
of railway already projected, and that 3,000 miles of
,
railway are actually in course of iexecution. He
has told us that guarantees to some extent have
been given in relation to irrigation ; and he has
also told us that the attention of the Government
will be earnestly directed to the laWs which relate
to the tenure of land, without which all the other
means would be almost useless." Surely, then, one
may not unreasonably anticipate that every
encouragement will be found, at no distant day,
for the production of Cotton in that vast and
promising field of enterprise. And the question,
therefore, is presented under circumstances which
ought to secure for it the most lively interest in so
important a commercial emporium as Liverpool.
India itself will now demand such enterprise as
this, on its own account, if our Government there
is to be productive of future benefit. Nay, if our
policy is to maintain their rich possessions at all,
we must now set to work and earnestly endeavour
to improve the natives, making them happy and
contented, through habits of peaceful and suc-
cessful industry ; and by-such means, at the same
time, developing the resources of the country
resources which, if judiciously and fully developed,
might iu no long time become more profitable to
the commerce of England, than its trade with
all the world besides.