The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1846-06-11
From the London Anti- Slavery Reporter.

Free Labor Cotton VS.. Slave Grown.
"1'he precarious nature OF our presen
relations with the United States ha
awakened the attention Of British polili
clans 10 the great importance of obtainln!
cotton wool from sources which wouit
render England wholly Independent! o
that country fol- its supplies. At tn
present time, it may be said, that thu
largest and most lucrative branch Of GU
home trade, as we'll as our foreign com
merce, would be exposed to serious haz.
ard, should hostilitles unhappily break
out between the two countries. AS tht
friends of %peace--of permanent and uni
versa peace, and in view of those higher
considerations which should influence
civilized ana Christian men, we not only
deprecate war, but would use our utmost
exer,ions 10 prevent it. War, as it is the
greatest evil that can afflict nations DUR
ing its continuance, is also the greatest
crime that they can perpetra'e. War,
under any pretence, between Great Brit.
ain and the United States would be espe-
ciaIiy criminal, owing. as they do, their
origin TO a common ancestry, speaking a
common language, protesting the same
religion, and linked together by a thou
sand ties. which ought never to be brok>
en-. We trust divine Providence will so
guide their counsels as that peace may be
maintained and the cause of difficulty
be amicably and honorabIy removed.
1t is not, however, Oh the ground Of
our present relations with the United
States, important as that may be in the
eyes of politicians, that we would seek
our supplies of cotton wool from other
countries, but because, in the cultivation
Of that article, the liberty Of nearly three
millions OF our fellow-crealures is trodden
under foot, and a despotism, at once the
most sordid and the most cruel, built up
and consolidated. Who can reflect for d
moment on the law and the practice of
slavery in the United States without the
utmost adherence, and without feeling it
TO be a sacred duty TO use every legiti-
mate means for its overthrow?
Our commercial intercourse with the
United States has hitherto strengthened
the institution of slavery. 1t has given
new edge 10 the weapons of oppression,
and force 10 the arm that welded them.
Let US henceforth adopt a wiser and more
humane policy, and determine TO cripple
and destroy that evil 10 which we have
hitherto u%nhappily given a giants power.
1t is satisfactory 10 know that cotton
wool can now be Obtained in large guam
titles, and of good quality, from various
parts of the world, The produce of free Ia
Dor. British India already sends a large
to this country and China, and
that can be extended TO an indefinite ex~
tent when the means of cheap and easy
transit from the interior 10 the coast shall
be secured by railroads and steam %naviga>
ton on the rivers. DR.. Wight, the super
intendent Of The Government Cotton
Farms, in The Madras Presidency, in a
late communication 10 the Morning
Chronicle, speaks in the most confident
terms of the successful results of the late
experiment with American cotton seed in
Southern India. This gentleman says:
Sin answe to the prevalent opinion
among Americans, that all attempts to
cultivate American cotton in lndla has
failed, | am able now 10 state, as the re.
suit actually obtained in the course OF our
experiment during two consecutive years,
and neither of these favorable ones, that
our lands, when sown at the proper sea.
son, are capable of yielding from 1000 TO
1900 pounds per acre. 10 reference 10
DR.. Wight observes 'As regards
the qualify of Indian grown American
cotton, | believe that the crop now pick
ing is not inferior 10 any New Orleans
grown on the banks of The Mississippi
And with respect 10 quantity, he adds -
India is we'll able 10 respond to the call
of the English manufacturers for sup
plies
Another writer in the Chronicle points
the immense good that would result to
the people of India if the growth Of cot.
ton wool were extensively promoted
'Iudia,' he says, wants railroads, those
grand arteries of civilization, which send
with I~ife>full energy the blood from the
centre 10 the circumference OF all classes,
kinds, and conditions of aggregated bods
les, to stimulate her industry, 10 fully de.
velope her resources. He further OBJ
serves: In the Report of the Bombay
Chamber of Commons, we find that the
traffic TO and from that city mounts to
l57, 343 tons annually consisting chiefly
of cotton and salt. Bombay Is unap.
proachable, except by a dangerous sea-
board, and she sadly wants a medium of
easy communication with the great cotton
growing districts of the interior. Cotton
has nov to be transported 500 miles TO
the coast 10 reach Bombay for shipment.
Here is necessity the frst-strong, pNIpa-
bic, and convincing OF The want of rail-
way communication. Some idea may be
formed of the destruction and delay occa-
stoned by these long journeys, when we
state that the cotlon is carried on the