Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1845-12-02
CHANGES OF WAR.

The very able and long sighted London Cor
responder, If the Union, reviews the present con-
dilion q, Great Britain, in long and powerful
letter. lie zoe: fully iu,u The failure OF grain IN
England and The Continent, and Of he potatoe
crop in Ireland and shows, thai while the U. ;,
have nov become The granary torihe Old World,
England will have 100 much sense TO 60 TO war
with us and cut of the supplies OF food for her
hungry operatives There is another considera-
ton, moreover, which will check the rampant
ambition OF England. Il is clear, that there is no
very good feeling between England and her opPo-
site neighbour France--thatt The entente t0rdtac docs
not bind them quite 50 tightly. They arc watch
ing each other in sullen discomfort and jealousy
The mercurial Frenchman has recently shown
Too much fondness Tor foreign possessions and ex-
tension OF Gallo power and glory. His designs
upon the islands Of Tahiti and Madagascar ms
threatened contest with the Emperor OF Morocco,
his suspected desire to appropriate The island OF
Chusan, and thereby TO interfere with the British
commercial advantages in China, his coquet'ing
with Mexico 10 place Catholic prince up
on The throne Of the Montezumas, and win
Spain. 10 form a royal alliance between a
son Of the French King and sister OF The
young queen, as sure s'eprnss'one 10 Inc
Spanish hrone-all these signs have aroused tae
anxious curiosity OF Great Britain, and she seems
determined 10 resist The further progress OF
French arrogance and ambition, graspins al
Ter new territory and power. Hence, The ex-
planalion, that all The military and naval prepa-
ra,ions in England are designed 10 check-ma'e
me newborn energies Of France-and have no.
thing 10 DO witt the "vexcd question" OF Oregon,
as imagined by some o. our Wing Editors, in
their commissions OF fear. With England thus
pre-occupied she cannot think seriously OF car
| rving on hostile measures across The water, when
her near neighbor requires all her attention, and
,rh.n according 10 Toronto Canada paper, she
strongly suspects that upon The first signal OF war
with the United States France will, as she cid be
fore, side with US.
Fo! these reasons, We apprehend no Collision
with Great Britain. But there is another power
ful consideration, which oush TO remove all doub
IN The onestion. We have The exclusive control o
an article which was once our impregnable bar
rier against British guns II will, now, come in
10 play 10 ward nff the aims OF British hostility
and keep down the mnt!erng discomfort Of iht
British Lion. Cotton is the great negolia;or 0
nalions-the efficient peace-maker OF The world
Is il denied that we have The entire control OF th
noweriul engine The correspondent TO whom
we have referred examines this queston-show
5 that the East Indies never can supply The de
mands of England-and that the latter mus, b
thoroughly dependant upon our cotton fields, 10
, the existence OF her operatives. We extract ;
massage full of valuable facts and sound deduc
tons. Ii is worthy Of examination, as referrin,
: 10 the most interesting subject in connection will
, our future destiny
"Figures Tell no tales; and will merely eIlrac
few OF them from the official reports OF tht
Board of Trade. NV story is told in four or hv,
lines. THE consumption of East India cotton ha
: fallen of very much in le45; the deliveries 10
lha, purpose amount only 10 1897 bags agains
96,3lS bags in 1874, decrease almost 100 pc
cent? and the stock in all the ports is now Gan
Octoherl 2i6,s00 bags, against 209, 400 bags las
7 wear. Notwithstanding a much smaller mpona
ticn viz l03,5l7 bags, against l6l $50 bags las
year The whole British cotton trade may bt
described in few words
nIn The wear 1895, England imported from the
Cni,ed States $50 6lS bags. CHE American
and English statistical tables may, vary lillls
from each other, bul not sufficiently 10 affect The
correctness of my reasonine0 This number had
, in 1874 increased 10 ll5s,32S bales. II mas
therefore, trebled in something like twenty years
The whole consumption OF raw cotton OF Grea
Brita in and Ireland may be averaged al 800,
600 bales. The number Of persons employed ia
tie cotton manufactures may amount 10 mil
lion and half, and their wages cannot fall shor
of twenty-five millions sterling. Toward he
earning of their wages, and the support O
these 100000 human beings, The unitec
States furnish three-four,hs OF The raw maferia
some saw four.fiiths-and the rest OF the globe
the remaining quarter or fifth. Now suppose
war were 10 break out, how would our three
fourlhs or tour-dilhs be supplied by other cotton
growing counlries7 In the FIVE years from 1886
81 to le4l-42, India did not e1poor, more thar
500 millions Of pounds, which does not make