Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1847-08-24

bosom; il is one of great dependency, il not Oh
despair. -
My learned and able predecessor this DAY IL
months ago entered so iuy and explained 80
clearly The philosophy, Or rather Inc chen,'s'J =.
Agriculture thai | find nothing unsaio with
oueh, 10 be said, and feel no disposition 10 siean
after so skiltu, reaper. II is not light tnat you
want. Not single member Of your fraternity
hazard The assertion, uses halfof The light wnich
he now has, and until you do This you are lille
unreasonable in asking for more. IL Is mol a
knowledge OF The processes oil Agriculture, nor
an AGO ainrance with The nature OF our SOILS, or
their component parts, that is needed-no new
theory of vegetation, nor unried application OF
manures nor undiscovered systems oil ameiiora-
tion that is wanled-nor is there any nenciency
OF agricultural Implements, or labor-saV'ng ma
chimes. verify believe that il all Inc agiicuNues
raj light which is scattered over the broad lace Oh
the Globe was impinged in the counties OF Meek
lenbuIp and Granville as one focus-il all The
AGRICULTURAL knowledge oil England, 81 Flanders
and OF China could be in The possession oil each
and every farmer among US, we Should not DC al
vanced by ii a solitary STEP II would not IN
crease our products single hogshead of ,obac-
20 nor one bushel of wheat. The cause OF the
depression or poverty OF Virginia and North Ca
roiina, lies lar deeper than ignorance. bespeak
your kind indulgence, gentlemen, while PROBE
the wounds Of our States. Will do II as gently
a, can, but if any Of sou are made 10 vince
LILLE, remember that The operation is as painful
TO me as il is 10 you.
You may we'll imagine, that il is my purpose
10 call YOUR attention 10 the kind OF labor which
we now use in our Two States. II is my inlen-
ton to speak plainly and, as far as can, 10
speak candidly and honestly. 1 Will conf
mence by saying, that have not one feeling IN
common with the aboi,ionisl, either at home or
elsewhere. Africa is infinitely more indebted 10
America than America is 10 Africa. The best led
laborers of,be world are our slaves, and heir con-
dition. compared with that ofher savage brethren
in Africa is happy. The Philanhropist should
pause, and pause long, before ne is induced 10 OF
Ter Them The very questionable boom OF freedom.
The physical and moral constitution OF The AlIl-
enjoyment Of liberty. Strange or unaccounlabe
as il may seem, yet the fact is, he is happier and
more respecable rs slave. Look al 81 Do
mpeo. For more than fifty years the blacks OF
iayli have been freed from the control OF the
white man. They have been an independent
peop,e for lime running back as far as The de-
claIation. of our independence. Are they less is-
norant oil less dehased in consequce OF IL Have
they for this long period become more moral,
more enlightened, or has industry gathered aroand
them more OF the comforts of life or added TO The
pleasures of rational eXistence2 One year be-
fore the enactment of The sangunary scenes
which ended in their independence they produced
6S.l51. $50 pounds Of coffee; in the year 1872, 81
fell 10 35,ll7,S34 pounds. In 1871 Hayli pro-
duced 1863 4O5 900 pounds of sugar, and in 1922
only 653. sd pounds. The coffee plant requires
scarcely any labor after il is set out, and that
used in gathering The berry and preparing II, for
market, is Of The highest kind. The sugar crop
REQUIRES a great deal of hard labor. Hence The
great difference in the ialing Oft OF The produc-
lion of the two staples. While The export OF cof-
fee has fallen off only abou, so per cent? that OF
sugar ha. decreased sc per cent
This view of the industry OF Hay,i is iull Of
instruction, when we reflect that the industry OF
a people is a iair exponent OF their moral and
physical condition. What would any one think
OF American freedom, if il were not loaded with
the fruits Of industry, of enterprise, and of moral
progress7 Look al Jamaica. In 1924 the ia.
uluas emancipation reson.iopo were introduced
into The British Parliament. In 1882 The Island
exported to England 1881 900 pounds of coffee.
while the whole production OF 1886 amount only
le l3.446053 pounds. Production continued 10
retroerade as emancipation progressed, Till, in he
year lS43 the exports Of coffee from all The West
India Islands amounted only 10 ten millions of
pounds. The truth is, SO far no moral incentive
has vet been found strong enough 10 stimulate
the negro 10 energy or industry, and we are al
most persuaded 10 believe that be is the genuine
son OF Canaan, who was doomed by Providence
10 serve perpelnally in The lanls of Japhet.
But The question, gentlemen, for our considera.
tion is not whether The negro shall be slave -
his condition is fixed, whatever the abolitionist
may say or lhiuk-bu where as slave ne shall
remain. | do not mean 10 say that Virginia
should have no slaves, but do say she has 100
many. Slave labor is admirably adapted 10 The
wants Of a new country-but Virginia is no lon
ger new country. Slave labor is well fitted for
cutting down the foFest-bui Virginia has no TO-
rest 10 fell. Slave labor can be useiuy and pro-
hrably employed in cultvaling virgin soil
but Virginia has no longer virgin soil 10 cul'l-
valc The truth is---and appeal 10 the expert
encc OF every planter within the sound OF my
voice in confirmation Of it-tor The last four years
The profits oil agricultural labor in this region oil
country has been literally nothing No matter
how industrious, how careful, how economical
you may have been, yethe melancholy TACT STAR
ed you in The face a, the end of each year. thai
your condition was not betlered. After your mef-
chant, your blacksmith your doctor, and The lax
saherer were done with you The root OF all evil
was pretty thoroughly eradicaIed from yonr peck.
cts. There was scarcely any left, not enough to
excite The apprehensions OF The most inveterate
hater of mammom.
One cause Tor This. and it may be temporary,
is the series of Dnfavorable years Tor cropping
which we have Just passed through. Al one lime
we were scoIched with drought, and al another
eu!led with rain. But the great cause OF The de-
preston OF our planters, Is the low price oil their
products, caused by the competition OF the West.
ern States; they have fresh soil, greater ca
paci,y for production, and cheaper natural facili-
lies and outlets to market. The labor necessary
10 grow one hogshead OF tobacco in Virginia or
North Carolina will produce Two hogsheads in
Missouri Steamboats, ascend the Western RI
yers almost 10 their sources,and will carry
hosshead of tobacco or a barrel Of flour FIVE hum
ii ed miles for what the Petersburg Railroad Com
pany charge for transporting ii sixty miles. These
advantages defy competition, and we are forced
10 succumb Slave labor in Virginia cannot
compete with the slave labor OF the West:
What is the remedy2 why, very simple one.
dictates of wise political economy; and lei la
Dor go where labor is best paid. We must al last
send large portion Of our negroes 10 The South,
and il is better To do il now than wait until we are
ruined.
Let US institute, for moment a comparison
between The value of slave labor in Virginia and
the Stale of Louisiana The hire OF negro
man in Louisiana, for year, is cheap al S2oO.
Does any man doubt that the hire OF the same ne
gro is dear in Virginia al $50? Let him who
doubts Try the experiment, and he will soon cease
TO doubt. The producl oil Louisiana, the average
product, for five years, from 1910 10 ls45 inclu-
sive, was
' head, 81, 5000
5,s5O000 gals. molasscs, at Zoe, 1,l70,000
$4,000 bales cotton, al $50 per bale, II. 100000
Making a sum total of Sls,6so, 900
This may seem exravasant; but il is The re-
port of The Chamber Of Commerce of New Or
leans, in reply 10 questions propounded by The Sc
crelary of the Treasury, and is doubtless correct.
At present, the sugar crop is greatly larger, and
the cotton crop smaller than they are here sci
down, though The proceeds OF the crops, in mo-
ney, is abou, The same. The annual expenditure
for machinery, engines kettles, mules, horses and
oxen, is estimated, by The Chamber Of Com.
merce, at ss7o,OoO but place it at million, aud
then Louisiana draws an annual income from
her slave labor Of Sl7690000. Surprising The