The Sun.
London, England, 1861-06-19 00:00:00

T H E

Mr. LEVY, undoubtedly the best performer of the day on
the Cornet-a-Piston—Grand Selections (ou the most complete
scale) from Dinorah, Martha, Straddle. &C., and other vocal
and instrumental music, by Miss Russell, the Misses Stuart,
and Miss Ernst, Messrs. Charles Greville, Fornari, Kimber-
ley, Bernard, Beaumont, Bervon, Huish, Signor Tivoli, and
lir. Henry Herbert, with full band and powerful and selected
chorus, conducted by Mr. F. Jonghmans.—The following
Comic talent, Messrs. W. Randall, J. Blanchard, W. H. Wie-
land, Hollingsworth, E. Marshall, Harvey, and French. and
the Brothers Conrad in their latest and best entertainment,
every evening. Admission, Hall, sixpeniae ; Balcony and
Stalls, one shilling. Private Boxes, 10s. ed.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
THIS DAY.—Morning, 10h. 28m.—Afternoon, 11h. 5m
T9-moanow.-Morning, 1111. 36m.—Afternoon, h. to.

THE WEATHER.-Strx OFFICE, JUNE 19, 1561,

THERHOISETER, IN THE SHADE.
72—highest since noon yesterday.
56—lowest this morning and during the night.
71—this day at noon.

BAROMETER-30.09.
WlND—Northerly—light ; with fine weather, but dull.

`,•?_,4 c' a
.7,4- Ir* 19 y,
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THE SUN.

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 1881.

What will the South do with its cotton ? It has
passed the most stringent enactments to prohibit
itself from profiting by all it may grow this season ;
for this seems to us here to be the necessary effect
of its recent decree. If no cotton may be exported
but through the Southern States, under the penalty
of confiscation of the goods and a fine of 5,000
dollars, how are the Southerners to get money at
all, while food itself will be also rather scarce.
They are, indeed, providing against absolute star-
vation by sowing more Indian corn than usual, but
they will be rather short of animal food—of pork
especially—which, as well as corn, came down to
them from the North-west. If, however, pruden-
tial fear may save them from starvation,
how are they to move their troops, how
even to enlist and maintain them without
money ? And if they prevent the sale of their own
cotton, where in the world is the money to come
from ? It is easy to see the drift of this prohibi-
tion. It is intended to deprive Massachusetts
manufactories of their raw material, and also to
prevent Northern merchants from making a profit
on the exportation of their produce to Europe. By
river and rail the cotton of next season might easily
get to the North, and if it did not thus evade the
export duty, it would yet " comfort, aid, and abet"
the Northerners, but keeping up their trade.
These legislators seem to have overlooked the fact
that they will be vastly the greater losers. The
North will lose but the profits on traffic and
manufacture, the South will lose the entire
value of its produce. The blockading squad-
rons will assuredly be on the watch
to capture every shipload of cotton which may
venture to quit any Southern port, and Massachu-
setts will perhaps be supplied by prize cargoes. It
seems to be forgotten that cotton is useless where
it is grown, except for sale. In the early days of
Virginia tobacco was used as money, but it was
because the article then was sure of easy conversion
into gold; 'cotton, if convertible, could of course be Another Tuesday's sitting lost by a count-out
used in the same way, but what will be the value As if there were nothing to do in Parliament. Or
of a whole season's crop stowed away in the ware- as if yesterday were the middle of March, rather
houses of New Orleans. For a time warehouse than the eve of Midsummer. Public business cer-
warrants perhaps might pass as money,—for large tainly begins to accumulate rather alarmingly
sums. But as the season went on, as India and upon the hands of our legislators. Those who love
other places supplied the wants of Manchester and a political battue at the end of a session have d
of Lowell too, the accummulated stocks, even when tolerably fair prospect before them of not being
peace returned, would be of much lessened value. disappointed. The Massacre of the Innocents
When the holders of the warrants came to present threatens in fact to require its accomplishment in
them, they would find them but a kind of assignats, 1861 wholesale. Otherwise that mere massacre must
and must be content to find themselves mulcted carry us on far beyond the grouse shooting. The
perhaps of half their money.
Committee appointed to sit early in this unfortunate
What, besides, is to become of their grand tax session must assuredly be allowed by this time to
which was to pay the interest of the loans they have have been recognised as signally and ignominiously
attempted to raise, and have, we suppose, partly
abortive—that Committee,out of whose deliberations
obtained ? The cotton export duty was pledged for was to have emerged some wonderfully efficacious
the payment of interest, and, eventually, of prin. d„
ice for expediting public business and economis-
cipal too. Had they provided for the payment of ing public time. Never was there a more flagrant or
a more ludicrous anti-climax than that which has—
this duty as it left each State by railroad or river
emolstB6l
will be recollected
since the presentation of the report of that
steamboat, they might have gained something by
Committee —raarked the much-talking, and
their tax; but if the Northern fleets will not per-
g, and the little-doing of the
mit them to ship it through Southern ports! and the often-dividin
The session of 1860 was
they themselves will allow it egress by no other Imperial Legislature.
remembered, as the session
part utterly fruitless
means, we do not see how the cotton export duty
orefmpraorktraabeltee,ditanwdilflorbeth
can bring them in a cent.
merit even
It is not from any cruel indifference to Lanca- discussions. The session of
shire that we express the hope that the South will as one unredeemed in its character even by that
succeed in its attempt to keep its cotton. Man- questionable peculiarity. It lacks the
cheater has an impression that the smuggler will appertaining to a session that has contrived to con-
obey her behests and supply her wants. When tribute a series of interesting debates to Hansard.
one party is beggared if he cannot sell, and the The time of the Legislature has been this year
other enriched if he can buy and get his goods rather friblcd and pottered away in idle talk than
away, it is supposed to be a law, that interest will wasted upon futile but eloquent argumentation.
laugh at custom houses. But cotton is a bulky Not one speech of note has been delivered in the
article. Jewellery, silk, tobacco, spirits, most Lords or in the Commons since the Houses met in
manufactured goods, represent great value in a small February. And as to the " doings " of the
space—and when very high duties were added, the Legislature, we know only too painfully how
facility, as well as the temptation, was very great. those dwindle upon examination to something only
The sight of loads of cotton at Liverpool and just barely short of nonentity. At the meeting
Manchester is enough to teach us that the of Parliament there was a tacit understanding
article was not !made for smuggling. If, upon all sides that but little would be done before
therefore, the prohibition to sell across the frontier the close of the session. But even the least san-
pblockaded, Manchester rove effective, and the
wine as to the character of the dawning session
will be ports are efficiently
driven to India, and Scarcely went so far in their lugubrious anticipa-
will be obliged to see to tions as to expect that scarcely anything at all
the growth and carriage of the cotton herself, and would be attempted, and that even that infinitesi-
to take such as she can get. It would take at least mal modicum of work when adventured upon with
two years to quite alter the source
, certainly from first to last without
of sunnlv th half a heart
first year would doubtless be a tryin ; e •
Tying makeshift ; what the sailors call " a will," would be frittered
but the second would be very different. The means away, and tossed aside, and forgotten in the
keeping clean the cotton in
of cleaning and
effort at its aceom-
would by that time have been provided, India, careless affectation of an
When it pHs' hment. Of all which the Coalition Government
divide the glorypretty
was seen how well it paid, and roads and railroads and the Tory Opposition may

would be most deplorable if they committed
themselves, and to which they would be
committed if they adopted the report—conclusions
which appeared to him false and very unfair to
form from the book. He thought it would be con-
sistent neither with propriety nor with the dignity
of the house if, after haying the report placed in
their hands this morning, they professed to be pre-
pared to enter at once upon its consideration." An-
other GAMALlEL—Archdeacon MooßE—gave them
wise advice ; he believed that the book was dying
away day by day out of public estimation, and he
thought that everything they did to keep it
under public notice was mischievous ; and he might
with propriety have quoted the words of the
great Jewish doctor, at whose feet an apostle him-
self had sat. Canon WORDSWORTH contended that,
on grounds of Christian charity, the authors should
have an opportunity of defending themselves.
Some of them no doubt had come to the knowledge
that their arguments were sophistical, and that
their new light, so to speak, was only ancient dark-
ness. All ended, however, with a resolution "that
the Upper House should be informed of the presen-
tation of the report, accompanied by a request that
the Lower House should proceed to its considera-
tion," which the Lower House is to do tc-morrow.