Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1845-02-07
From the South Carolina.
TOTHECOTTON PLANTERS.

L
THE COTTON PLANTERS.
The Cotton Planters are perhaps The
most uncalculatipg portion of human fam
lily who can pretend to civilization. There
never was a moment when this fact was
more strikingly exernpli6ed than The pre-
sent it is melancholy TO rehec, how many
of then mus, be irretrievably y ruined, and
how mauy seriously injured, by their own
folly. independent OF the many other pow
erful causes at work TO produce The same
effects. The Planters cannot realize from
the sale of the present ropof Cotton more
than a cents not per h., The crop round.
It is admitted to be very doubtful whether
they will do better with the next, or any
future crop; and it is pretty certain that
cotton will never sell for any length oi
time hereafter, for more than 6 cents net.
Yet see The prices which Planters are still
giving for everything they buy, and at
what rates they suffer themselves to be al
lured into debt. AT public sales on twelve
months credit, prime negroes will COM
mand $500, for mulesthey will pay as high
as SlOO; aud for everything else in pro-
portion. And they do This without the
least reflection, simply because they have
given as much or more heretofore. The
question is how are these things 10 be paid
for or if paid for already, how is The pur-
chaser TO he Reimbursed by planning cot
ton, or any other crop We know Oft The
expense of every hand on cotton planta
ton may be estimated a, S25 per annum
even to those who purchase no provi-
sions. If any one doubts this, let him seI
down what he has paid oubfor OversDer's
wages. Doctors bills, baggiug, rope, iron.
salt, nails. clothes, blankets, hals, shoes,
mules. wagons, gears, hoes, axes. black.
smiths and carpenters bills: &c &C., and
divide the amount by his number of hands.
have never go of under $50 per hand
myself.
For every full hand, planters. on the
average, own at least $500 worth Of land.
If any one doubts this. be can easily make
the calculation. He must include of Course
all The lands he o7cns, whether under cul-
1ure, in old fields. or forests. The Interest,
on this capital invested in land, is SD per
hand per annum expenses S25-lnta'
S39. If he is good planter, and cultl-
Yates good aud, he may calculate per:
haps on carrying to market l.50O lb'. of
ginned cotton. for each hand. | am con.
sidered rather successful planter. think
my crops are over The average Of the
State, and for The last Twelve years have
made an average OF little over l 300 lbs.
per task hand. Even 1850 lbs. at a cents.
will give only 500 per hand. Dcduct S39,
and you have S2l clear. At The present
price of cotton, astonishing as it may
seem. S3l per hand is all the collon plan
ter can expect 10 realize; and he must
have good land, and manage we'll to do
thai. do not believe il can be done by
one planter in three, in South Carolina ;
and there is not one in hundred who can
do better. Lesevery planter lay aside his
boasling to Others. and calculate the mai
ter for himself, aud to himself if he ch0o.
ses.
This sum ofS3l, IS The interest on $500.
And affirm, Ina, every dollar paid for a
prime negro, over and above that amount.
is thrown away by The folly Of the planter.
He can't afford TO pay more. III he per-
sists in doing il, his ruin is inevitable
without Abolition, or increase Of The Tariff,
disunion or war--jus,in the nalural. course
of things. With cotton at a cents you
must sell $500 lbs of clean cotton 10 obtain
$500. With cotton al 6 cents-which was
what The lat crop was probably sold at
this amount would bring 5000. So that
negroes now al $500, are no cheaper TO
The planter than they were at this TIME
las, year al 5000 But he who purchased
last year on twelve months credit, for 5000.
will have 10 pay how l5,OOOIhs. ofcotton,
or as much as If he paid last year 81 200
in cash Al The very highest time of cot
,on-in 1867, when many planters crops
ne,ted Is cents prime field hands might he
purchased for 81 200, or 6,666 lbs. of cot
inn-uearly 1000 lbs. less than will now
pay for one eren at $500. This shows
that, at this apparently low estimate. they
would be really higher than in those times
which we now denounce !or their reckless
ness and extravaganza.