The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-24 00:00:00

Free Labour in America.

A correspondent of a contemporary, writing from
Vicksburg, Mississippi, Aprill2, discusses the ques-
tion of free labour, and the probable cotton crop of
this year :

," The great question as to the capacity of the
negro for work, except under- compulsion, is being
solved in the most satisfactory manner. After tra-
velling some weeks in the South,- and making dili-
gent inquiries on the subject, I find that the almost
universal testimony of the planters has been that
the negroes are working better than they had even
hoped. Some go as far as to assert that the negroes
were never so profitable to them as slaves as they
expect them to be as hired hands. Those who have
persistently dogmatised upon the innate slothfulness
of the negro now say that.this fit of industry is but
transient, and that as soon as the hot weather, sets
in no more work will be done. Ido not entertain
these fears myself, but at the same time I do expect
to hear contradictory reports as the season advances.
In some localities the necessities of the freedmen
have enabled the planters to exact hard terms ; in
others the greater demand for labour, or more gene-
rous principles, have caused a more liberal policy to
be pursued. In out-of-the-way districts the amount
of the whole wages is often from $5 to $lO per
month ; while in the neighbourhood of large towns,
and along the Mississippi, $l5 per month, with
food and lodging, is the average hire. Some planters
again give one-sixth, or even one-eighth of the crop
as wages, while others allow one-third or one-
fourth, and give rations in. When those who
hare been engaged at the low figures find ou t
what their more fortunate brethren are getting,
they will certainly become discontented, and
there will be some difficulty in getting them to
perform their contracts. At the present moment,
when but a small portion of the land is sown, it is
impossible to form an accurate estimate of the
coming crop. It must not be supposed, however,
that the willingness of the freedmen to work will
cause a crop equal to the average before the war to
be raised. In the first place there is far less labour
available than formerly. The war, small-pox, and
want have certainly diminished the coloured popu-
lation not less than two-fifths of a million. The
negroes, moreover, much prefer employment in
cities and upon the rivers to the monotonous life of
a plantation. Many thousands are now engaged as
porters in New Orleans and other Southern cities ;
the Irishmen, indeed, who formerly performed this
kind of work, have been entirely supplanted by the
freedmen. Considerable disinclination, moreover,
is being shown by the women to perform heavy
field work—a by no means blameable feeling on
their part—but it may have a considerable effect
upon the amount of cotton raised. It is generally
expected that not more than two-thirds of the for-
mer amount of work will be got out of the freed-
men at the critical time of picking the cotton. This
roperation begins in the early part of August, and
lasts till frost kills the plant. Under the old sys-
tem the slaves were driven to their work at sunrise,
and kept at it till sunset. Deducting meal hours,
and about two hours allowed for rest at noon, the
working hours were 14 on an average. Under the
system of contracts, the hours for labour are gene-
rally ten. This change will, of course, be set down
to the innate laziness of the African race, but it
seems rather inconsistent to accuse the labourer in
Mississipi and Alabama of idleness, when he works
but ten hours in the broiling sun of August and
September, while his compeer in Ohio and Illinois is
thought industrious when, in a far less oppressive
climate, he performs the same amount of labour.
In addition to the scarcity of labour, there is
also great difficulty in procuring good cotton
seed. Much of that which is being sown is
three or four years old, and it is feared will pro-
duce a sickly plant. All things considered, I cannot
estimate the coming crop at more than 2,000,000
bales, and unless the season is very favourable I do
not anticipate even that quantity. The high price
of cotton has, of course, given an immense stimulus
to its production, and a considerable amount will be
raised this year by white labour in Tennessee, Upper
Alabama, and Georgia. The cotton, however, grown
in these districts is known as " Uplands," and is but
a poor substitute for the superior staple produced
on the alluvial lands of the Mississippi. FrotnTexas
was
accounts are exceedingly favourable. This State
comparatively untouched by the ravageseinn of the
t of war.
e
Many planters, also, at the commencement
struggle, transferred their slaves
to
hope of keeping them beyond
Yankee armies. Capital an the reach Texas,r
each oi fn theth
d labour are, therefore, e
other Southern
prosperity, Arkansas
half aa nnetdhornawneiaverage toltnextany
hwillaafter
ra oTi
sbeeaxbsalosymbiene_
State,mor e abundant daa nftullheerrooptboafn
r :'tl:,stseirelft
pro
y crop.
o t h e
order du
produced.
nenterribly devastated. The levees
portion ofy
ear, the.
Therich
theww hh iacwthamr producedrbeasthbae more
along the river have been repeatedly cut, and, from
fear of an overflow, the greater
bottom lands will beleft uncultivated this
river, in fact, has, within the last fortnight, burst
through the levees in several places. I have not been
through Alabama and Georgia yet, but believe they
are not in a better condition than Mississippi. In-
deed, the less productive soil of the two former
States will prevent them recovering so rapidly as