The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-19 00:00:00

rprrr STLTN.

LONDON, THURSDAY, SEPT. 19, 1881.

England has one great interest in the American
war, to show the falsehood of the American cry,
that "COTTON-IS KING." The South relied on their
King to compel European States, France and Eng-
land at least, to break the blockade, and by pur-
chasing their cotton, loaded with an export duty,
at once to £ll the pockets of individuals and their
National Exchequer. The North relied on the
power of cotton to procure moral support for the
Washington Government, that a speedy termina-
tion of the quarrel might open the cotton supply
to Manchester this autumn. Both parties are,
as they ought to be, disappointed. The
angry North turns round and upbraids us
with want of sympathy in their determination to
be one monster nation, instead of two large ones.
The South alternately half threatens, and half
cajoles• No cotton for you, it says, unless you
break blockade for us, for we prohibit its shipment
except at Southern ports ; but cotton and a free
trade tariff too, if you only load your cotton at our
wharfs protected by the guns of your navy.
France and England are, however, provokingly
indifferent to both. They adhere to the obvious
duty of neutrality, and fulfil it honourably. Nei-
ther, however, England especially, can afford to be
indifferent to cotton itself. The bread of mil-
lions of its people can never be an object
of unconcern to a nation and its rulers, and Eng-
land is bracing herself to meet the difficulty. Al-
ready she has begun with the first palliative—to
spin and weave a little less. Both masters and men
understand, when the supply is obviously dimi-
nished, that they better betake themselves in time
to half rations. Very conveniently for them, they
have been rather overworking themselves of late.
The great foreign markets are overstocked, and im-
proved ptices for what is already made will par-
tially compensate, in many cases, for doing less
business for a time. The operatives will, of course,
feel the slackening of business most, but they
very wisely for themselves aim rather to keep up
the rate of wages than to work longer at lower
wages. The latter would only hasten the day, when
at the present rate of supply they would have no-
thing to work upon at all.
The best operation of the war and its conse-
quences on England is, however, that it compels
attention to India. There are several sources of
supply, indeed, such as Queensland, Jamaica, Cen-
tral America, and others, from which supplies
might be obtained ; but none can be mentioned with
India, as the land of prompt resource under the
pressure of the occasion. There we have at
once, an actual growth of cotton which would,
without feeling it much, meet all our wants,
and which a little additional inducement
would increase till we and all Europe could be
amply supplied. Mr. LAING, who stated at Cal-
cutta that he regarded America's afficalty as India's
opportunity, meets the Cotton Lords at Manchester
to-day, prior to his return, with renovated health
we trust, to India. And the Cotton Supply Asso.
ciation is busily at work, sending out its agents and
implements, and corresponding with the Indian
Government.

Some of its correspondence has just been' pub-
lished, and it is on the whole creditable to both
parties. The association points out to the Govern-
ment such hindrances as it thinks the Government
might remove, and the Government, even when it does
not fully concede the correctness of the statements
placed before it, meets then all in a candid spirit.
There is in the Indian official's communication, none
of the old hauteur.with which that class of gentle-
men, used to treat all "oitsiders"and "interlopers'
'wive ventured to suggest any course of conduct to
the Civil Service and the Government. The asso-
u points first to the necessity of improving the
quality, cian.
indisp'ensa,6l lag, and packing, of the cotton, as the
increase at qut• condition, in the absence of which no
however, I.,he
olotY would be of any avail. This,
is the province ojaegeu, ut observes with truth, is
agents wad
Capitalists alone. The