The daily national Whig. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1847-1849, 1849-05-10
From ,Ae.nIehmon.l tya., WING.



South Of u.s. hut especially Ia those Vi the great cot
ton growing States Of louisiana and Mississippi,
strenuous efforts have Of late been made TO Induce
planters and other capitalists TO direct portion Of
their means and energies 10 manufacturing pursuits
limo pnrl Of the United States might say OF the
world docs the necessity OF division Of labor and
The ruinons consequences Of directing tno entifc en
ergles Of people TO the production OF singh sta
Pile appear TO be more perfectly understood. Expe-
Renee has taught our Southern brethren wisdom.
When during the years a. 35, and '36, tho price OF
cotton, iroma combination OF circumstances which
II il not necessary 10 mention, was enormously iiigh
the attention Of The planters was directed almost en-
irely to the cultivation OF that ar icle to the ex
clsion OF the necessaries OF life which they found u
more profitable TO purchase from The upper country
where they were raised In enormous abundance. In
1897 camo the revulsion. Cotton fell and along
with It. the credit (in great measlre) Of the cotton
growing States. The planters then found that they
Ind committed great bunder, In trusting TO other
States fol supplies which they had every facility for
raising at home. s
Orr Southern friends are determined not 10 be
again taken In fagronte deiicfo Already the appeals
OF the press have begun TO have beneficial effect,
and number OF manufacturing embellishments have
sprung mp, IN various parts Of the nth. The gen.
ernl idea, as gathered from the Southern journals,
seems 10 be- that the Southern States shall manu-
fncure the coarse fabrics, snch as are used by the
farm hands Of their plantations, and that they shall
10 be dependent, In as great degree posi-
bic, on tho upper country for breadstnfIs and the
other necessares Of life. Their first efforts have been
attended with complete success; and II they perse-
vere--raising everything necessary TO subsistence
and clothing among themselves buying nothing
bur Injuries, which heycnn use or not, as they may
think fit-and possessing staple which all the
world il compelled TO buy, and of which the South
ern States enjoy something like monopoly--we see
mol what is 10 prevent them from becoming pros
porous II is possible for any State or country TO
become The prospect before Them already appears
so clear that il has excited no small degree Of enih-
slasm in many portions Of the cotongrowing States.
In particular, we notice letter OF ID. O. Williams,
OF Kinds county, Miss, which is going the rounds
Of tho newspapers, and In which he expresses the
belief that the question Of general Introduction Of
manufactures into Mississippi Is one of time only
That there arc persons who win see Mississippi Low
Ills and inseys drive all others out Of the market and
that before the time shall have arrived, bagging
made OF cotton shall as elecnnlly supplan the hemp
bagging Of Kentucky and Missouri, as he has him
self seen The latter drive out of the market that Of In
varness and Dundee, which enjoyed q monopoly
twenty-five or thirty years ago. He further says,
that slave labor is mol only cheaper Than white, bu,
that IL il In most respects better adapted TO manu-
featuring purposes, and that when capital and labor
shall have been properly divided, the South win be
the most prosperous portion of the Union.
These specnlalions, il they are not too solid 10 de-
serve such name, made by man who evidently
knows what he Is writing about deserve the serious
attention Of here In Virginia. There Is no State,
In all this Union so well adapted 10 manufacturing
purposes whose natural vocation Is so distinctly
written upon It's very front by the hand II nature
herself. Her mineral resources are incalculabc,
though the Virginia and Tennessee railroad pro-
misses in gr AT degree, 10 be the means OF letting
lis know what they are. That railroad will II is be-
ieved, when II shall have been taken up by Tennes-
see and extended to the Mississippi river furnish us
with The only great staple cotton, which we cannot
produce at home in sufficient quantities 10 answer
the purposes OF large manufacturing business.
Everywhere In every portion OF the Stale, we ind
water power sufficient 10 set in operation tho largest
and most complete manufacturing establishments.
nhp lypr nj aotifulturn n,ynVS OyerdOue In tir-
gnia, as her WORKOUT lands sufficiently testify and
as The uckets OF the farmers overrun and cleaned
out by the superabundance of negroes even more
feenely evncc spare lis scores of thousands for
manufacturing purposes 10 the great advantage OF
all concerned. Everywhere we find land in album
dance, well adapted 10 the rearing Of sheep, and III
for nothing else. The abstraction Of large portion
OF labor ii ON agriculture would enhance the prices
Of it, products BY reducing lie quantity Tho csab-
lishment Of home market In every neighborhood
would keep those prices finn and steady; while The
farmer, retaining only sufficient number Of slaves
10 work his CROP might always have an opportunity
TO hire oui the rest and relieved Of the necessity Of
cultiyaiing immense tracts of land TO support his
slayes would improve his farm and clear himself Of
debt the natural state Of the Virginia agricultnrst as
things are at present arranged.
We have already made this article longer than we
intended yet we far from having said all that we
intend to say upon subject OF such vital interest 10
TO all Virginia.
From The Richmond Wing
We published about two years since, in this
paper speech delivered by James @. Bruce, Esq Of
Halifax county, Virginia, before an Agricultural
meeting composed Of the farmers and planters OF that
and the adjoining countless which created consid-
cradle sensation at the time, and which our readers
doubtless very well recollect. In that speech, Mr.
Bruce boldly probed the which has long been
preyingl upon the body Of Virginia Agricultural
mcrs Of Virginia, in general, not only made no mo.
ney, but went every year into debt fle said that II
was from no lack OF intelligence--no Ignorance Of
the art of cultivatiOn-Do want OF ni the lights
which science could cast upon the various subjects
connected with the peculiar pursuits TO which they
were addicted. He could see but one cause; ant
that wns cause which many knew az well as he
but which they seemed unwilling TO acknowledge even
to themselves. The fact was, that Virginia con-
tanned too many slaves-almost every farmer ne
knew had loo many. This occasioned the cultiva-
ton Of too much land, and of course In few years
Its impoverishmcnt In the first place In the next
he conceived that the large number Of idle mouths
which were obliged TO be fed, consumed so large o
portion Of tho profits annually arising and accrung
from the abors Of the farm that the farmer was gen
orally left penness at the end OF tho year. The
remedy for this was very obvious; TO reduce the
number of slaves upon each plantation and TO have
no person about it who did not earn his bread--Mr
Bruce proposed TO accomplish this, by selling oil al
the surplus above the number requisite to stock the
farm to southern planters He contended that this
was perfectly consistent with humanity; for he said
The southern climate was better adopted to theni--
TINT the work was lghter--and the masters equally
humane. Besides, they would always in their south
homes, be supplied with the nccessaries Of liz
in The greatest abundance; an event which he con
sidcred very problematicn as long they remained
where IL was necessary to buy corn every year.
There can be no doubt that the general reasoning
of Mr.. b. is right SO far the economy Of the pro-
posed arrangement is involved. An immense sur.
plus of labor must have the effect of Destroying
Than It can create either in agriculture, In any
other pursuit of life. But we wonld propose TO draw
of large portion of the slave labor from the fields
to the manufactures. IL our citizens could once gel
their minds made mp upon this subject could once
take n fair stnrit il not possible that they should
no, be encouraged to proceed. Slave labor, in fac-
tories, we think Il can be abundantly proved, Is
cheaper and TO the full as efficient as free labor. All
idle young negroes on plantation, who donoth-
ing but ent their allowance daily, they are
large enough, can find employment in the factories
There are many things In factories which they can
do at least three four years before they per-
form the slightest labor farm.
We know Of no country in the world which pre-
senis so wide field TO the Capitalist who may de-
sire TO invest portion Of his money in manuactu-
ring pursuits aa vrginla. Coal and Iron, the great
staples of miner wealth, abound with us In all por-
tons Of the State. II has been computed that there