Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1844-09-18
POLITICAL.
From The London Spectator
SIIGAR AND SLAYER Y.

"A survey VI 'iIe Ptesri' ot"'S '>s.,is'f W ~
ear question exhibits the several conflict
intereslssxor. paries2lo4ii:sias "a most,
SIs ITpssalisfactory light To begin with tie
largest, the British public has not gained
much by the many party aud sectarian
maneuvres which have been achieved un-
der a high sounding name. The public
~paid. .forsE Emancipation. and badly-!u'hI-
led bargains i, has paid long for slave
trade suppression," as the fruiiless and
costly eGortsIo suppress The slave trade
are called il pays high price for sugar.
..to.pro,ectlhe West Indies from ruin, which
Is not done it:pays all round. and pur
purchases-wha,? Nothing but NORTH
;s;di co,iion. And now fi1es only tangible gain
seven promsseii 10 tie public, as a conse
S.j so,jeince Of tie contempt change in the
ei31lies, IS iaf nc estimated fall of something
&iITnore diana balfpennY per pound in.the
~piice Of sugar. The public may partly
sblameey itself; for it has been passive. ifnnt
sactive,s Gin buying a, any.price The luxury
of sen,imen,-in shedding tears over Ahe.
sname ofiislavery. getting up projects 10
siuasfi il; and conserving to blink the fact,
sti,at, for all the outlay, there is as much
sslatery:as ever 9 81. 49,,
THE next interest smosi obviously con-
ecerned is that of. the West India proprie
;tors,-iucluding in the term, mortgages
and others dependent upon West India
proper,y for we cannO, understand the
morality, or the sense. of a distinction i'm.
piled in contenptuous illusions 10 mort.
eages,',. between different kinds of prop.
erty:aud vested capital. The position of
the West India colonists is mot enviable.
The day. of reckoning has come. and like
The slusgard. they are unprepared, except
With entreates for "more time" They
are exposed TO all the damaging effect of
the truths mixed up, with the faliacles OF
ihe s.free-raders :: protection" is a bad
and hollow system; it does conduce 10 in
erlness and helpless reliance on artifici;l
props : and thez West lndias have been
inert enough. Put out Of sight wha, we
have done 10 The West Indies, and they
have no claim to what they ask us to do
for them. s But it is not so easylo pu' ont
Of sight our long course ofemeddling. If
we had iiol,inteTfered in the details oflheir
industrial arrangements, the" monopoly"
with wbschwe reproachihem would have
been swept aw way at ibis day among other
mopopolies; and;&irhont detrimenr 10 the
WSst Indies, far itswas once only nominal.
With free resort 10 The labor of slaves,
they produced sugar in such abundance
that lhere-was surplus for other markets
than ours, and that abundance gave Eng
land the cheapest sugar in Europe. Their
protection was imperative, like that Of
the Lancashire cotton manufacturer atihis
day. And when. after the-wa Trinidad
and part Of Guiana, were added 10 our ter
rltorI, the acquisition OF those fertile fields
would have more than compensated for a.
ny increase OF our population for ages
Already able TO grow sugar enough, The
British colonies obtained an unlimited in
crease to their resources Of soil. Posses
sing British skill and capital as well as
fertile soil, they were more than equal to
cope with anv rivals in The world We
altered that state Of things; first by pro
hibiliug the slave trade, then by enactins
Negro apprenticeship, then by breaking
the apprenticeship: we deprived the West
Fndies Of their means Of production. The
amount oflabor was jus, enough for their
wants; hui the population thai had sutfi-
ced while all labor was compulsory bent
to one task, the growth Of tropical produce
for our market, becane insufficient as soOn
as that compulsion ceased; :he laborers
faIlin, off to other occupations, retiring 10
their own little plots Of land, going into
trade, or otherwise bringing about that
'sblessed change" which delighted Lord
John Russell four years ago, aud ruined
the Wes, Indies asa property. Trinidad
isoverrun with black squa,,ers; Jamaica
ispeopIed by nation Of half hoIyday-
makers, who have so much amusement
todo that they have little time TO work.
Labor being scarce-continuous labor. al
certain seasons in The process of sugar
making, being reremptorily needed-wa
pes have risen 10 sums which no longer
represent The intrinsic value Of the labor,
hutihe exisency the employer; and Mr..
Jamesdold the House Of Con mons the
other night, that sugar which i, cost him
fourpeuce the pound TO srow, and three
pence TO pass through our custom house,
sells for six pence-ha!fpenny-a loss of
halfpenny on every pound produced. The
House laughed at ;he name Of that low
coin :: but there would be illle laughing
il bread were sold1at a loss to The land o.cn-
er ofone halfpenny in. the pound weight.
Proprieiors have been sending sou, from
this. s.country money and implements, TO,
Keep their es,ates going, in hopes of bet
ter times: but that caGnot go on for aye
--the better times do moi come, and some
already stop tEeir supplies. lis now pro.
posed, by way favor. TO deprive them
even of hope. That IS the position in
which The West India .proprietors have
suffered lhemselvcs',o be put; but il is we
who have put them there. TO be honest,
we. shnnld have equalized the sugar duties
before we meddled with the labor market:
and then there wouldha9e been either a