The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-25 00:00:00

No. of em- Salaries
ployds.

Emigration to the Southern States•

During a long period antecedent to the late disastrous
civil war which ravaged, and in a great degree desolated,
the southern portion of the United States, largo tracts of
country in these districts were esteemed in Europe, by the
most intelligent of the people, as infinitely the best field
towards which to direct the energies of emigrants of almost
every class. Large tracts of fertile territory, rich in all the
elements of natural wealth, courted and rewarded the in-
dustry of willing cultivators of the soil ; magnificent graz-
ing grounds allured the skill of cattle breeders, and im-
mense beds of metalliferous and other mineral deposits
offered their temptations to those whose knowledge and
industry were directed to extracting exhaustless wealth
from the bowels of the earth. For the purpose of utilising
these inestimably valuable natural resources, a continuous
though moderated stream of emigration poured into those
favoured districts, chiefly by way of the Northern States,
caused, no doubt, by the greater facilities of conveyance
which existed between Europe—and in an especial manner
through Liverpool—and New York. This fair tido of
beneficent traffic was unhappily checked and rolled back
by the ruthless hand of that war which has been already
referred to, but which has now happily been brought to
such a termination as secures the integrity of the great
Republic, while it has also removed the foul blot of slavery
from the otherwise pure and free political institutions of
the country. The removal of that bane of contention can-
not fail to instil new life and energy into the social rela-
tions of all portions of the American Union, while it must
confer an immense additional stimulus upon the national
industry. The restoration of peace will set all branches
of productive industry in motion to repair the losses, and
to overcome the retardation of development occasioned by
the war. This is peculiarly true as regards the present and
immediate future of the Southern States, which have suf-
fered so severely in the loss of men that the ordinary ope-
rations of an industrious people are crippled by the want
of hands to conduct them, but which the irrepressible
activity of the American character will constrain that
high-minded people to employ every means to overcome,
The readiest and most efficient process by which this object
' can be achieved is by promoting and encouraging a well-
conducted system of immigration ; such a system, indeed,
as will secure to them a large supply of industrious emi-
grants from the overstocked labour markets of Europe.
That this will meet with ready welcome and encourage-
ment cannot be doubted—indeed it is already a prominent
feature of the Southern policy; and in aid of that impor-
tant course of policy it is gratifying to find that a most
efficient line of first-class powerful steamers, to run be-
tween Liveipool and New Orleans, have been laid on by
the British and American Steam Navigation Company, the
freight department of which is under the management of
Messrs. Boult, English, and Brandon, and the passenger
arrangements under the experienced management of Messrs.
William Searle and Co. These steamers sail from Liver-
pool every alternate Tuesday, and the rates of passage
money are so moderate as to bring them within easy reach
of all classes of our industrious community. The steamers
are large, commodious, and in every respect admirably
found; and they are commanded by captains of experience
and high character. By means of this line direct commu-
nication is opened between Europe and the mouth of the
Mississippi, and by that magnificent river and its scarcely
less magnificent tributaries, with all the Southern States
of America, entirely by steamers without even once touch-
ing upon Northern territory.
Having made those preliminary observations, let us cast
a glance at the probabilities of success which attend the
advent of industrious emigrants upon this extensive and
teeming land of promise. Arrival at New Orleans places
the immigrant in possession of the immediate means of,
communication with every portion of that vast tract of
country which constitutes what in geographical language
is termed the basin of the Mississippi. Besides the Mis-
sissippi, which has a course 3,200 miles long, 2,200 of
which are navigable, this vast basin is intersected by the
Missouri, 3,300 miles in length, and navigable 2,200 above
its junction with the Mississippi ; the Arkansas, 2,500
miles long, navigable 420 miles above its junction with the
river first named; the Red River, 2,000 miles in length,
navigable for 1,200 miles; the Ohio, 1,250 miles long,
and navigable 600 miles above its confluence with
the Mississippi ; and in addition to all these numerous
rivers, which in Europe would be considered as of im-
mense size, steamboats of great power and capacity sail
regularly from and to New Orleans along the whole range
of these superb navigable streams, carrying an immense
and daily increasing trade to and fro with the interior,
constituting direct lines of intercourse throughout a

country, says Mrs. Somerville, in her " Physical Ueo-
graphy," twice as large as France and six times the size of
England.
Mere magnitude, however, as all the world knows, is
not the chief criterion as to the territorial value of a
country. That depends principally on its natural re-
sources for producing such commodities as the instinc-
tive or artificial requirements of man render indispensable
to his existence and comfort. Considered in this latter
point of view the region opened up by the water-courses
referred to is as rich and various as it is extensive. 11
contains the noble State of Mississippi, which contains
brine springs, from which salt is obtained in sufficient
quantity to suppt* the wants of the State, and afford a
considerable amount for the service of the adjoining
States. Lead, coal, lime, and iron are also found in
abundance. Immediately east of the river from mina'
the State derives its name there is a magnificent undu-
lating country, about 300 miles broad, and extending
1,000 miles from south to north, between that great river
and the Alleghany Mountains, which includes part of
the States of Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Obi° ;
the whole of which States, together with those of
Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri, are included in the
basin of the Mississippi. In this extensive region, an
might naturally be supposed from the great range of ite
latitude, whica extends from 30 degs. to 41 degs. of north
latitude, there is a very great variety of climate 001
temperature. The southern portions are suited to the
successful culture of sugar and cotton, bsides other
vegetable products requiring a temperature bordering on
tropical ; the middle districts yield maize, flax, ben*
and tobacco in profuse abundance ; while the more
northerly portions, such as the richly-wooded plains a
Ohio, afford abundant crops of wheat, oats, and rye ;
and
the charming undulating vales and uplands of Indiana,
afford exhaustless pasture and varied feeding for cattle,
sheep, horses, and pigs; all of which species of product
thrive and yield, in the respective districts, to an extra-
ordinary degree.
When it is remembered that even prior to the war there
was a scarcity of laborers to cultivate those fair and
fertile lands, and that that cruel scourge relentlessly
swept away a large portion of the most useful cultivator.o
of those natural resources, it is obvious that this splendid
region presents one of the most tempting fields of eou"
gration to be met with on the face of the globe. The
small farmer will here find abundant and profitable
employment for his capital, and a rich reward for his
industry. The agricultural laborer, the shepherd, and
the dairymaid, will here meet with such encouragement
and reward for the application of their valuable labor
as will secure their immediate comfort, and rapidli
progressive advancement in the social scale. T°
mechanics, artificers, miners, and skilled laborers ?f
every description, so extensive a country, so rich 111
every kind of animal, vegetable, and mineral produce ;
so felicitously supplied by cheap means of transit for
even the heaviest and most cumbrous kinds of merchandise,
by means of its magnificent navigable rivers,
source of profitable occupation immediately presents itse/f•
In short, all who are active and able, and willing to work,
will find delightful settlements, and ample as well as,
profitable employment, in the Southern States of liorti'
America. an audios.;