The daily national Whig. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1847-1849, 1849-06-06
rhe Growth ana oonsumption Of cott.


! A clear and sound argument la the form Of an
address 10 the CottOn Planters and Capitalists the
South, bv Charles Il, James, Of Providence furnish
RS us with some statistics OF the product and con-
sumption of cotton In different parts of the world
from whch the growers Of the great Southern sta
| pie muy derive profitable instruction.
There is singular idiosyncraey in the producer
of cotton which Is not observable In any other bus!
ness or pursuit. The manufactures, the merchant
and The agriculuiis pursue their respective branch
es of business only 50 far as they find Them 10 be
profitable; when they 10 be So they urn their
attention 10 some other pursuit hey osell,er with
most other people strive 10 employ labor, skill, mate
rial md capital, on Objects most productive; and
this Is the grand secret Of prosperity In business,
But the Is different with the cotton planters
when the product Of their labor and capital becomes
Improbable In consequence Of is redundancy, In
stead of dyerting their Labor and capital 10 some
more profitable Object they produce more cotton,
that by increase of quantity they nuke up Tor loss in
price. The reduction In value serves as a stimulus
10 extra tSeflons 10 compensate ior The dinulion
OF price, by an increase Of quantity This is misel
able policy, and exhibits an inexcusibe blindness 10
The uniform operation Of The laws oi supply ana de-
nland upon value.
|, For divers reasons the United States con have no
serious competition in the production Of cotton
and as we learn from the STATISTICS contained in The
pamphlet alluded 10, the dspari,yOf the product Of
the United States, and other countries is annually
growing greater, The latest official rabies giving
the production 81 cotton in the whole world are for
in the world, rs appears from these tables, was
900 100000 pounds Of which 46OO0000U was The
product Of the United States. The balance Of 44O
millions was from the Wesi indies the East Indies,
Brazil, Mexico, Egypt and other parts OF Africa and
Asia. Since then, the culture Of cotton in the West
Indies has almost ceased In the East Indies the
production OF cotton increased rnpidy for 4 few
years, bur II has OF late become stationary nall
tile cotton countries, other than The United States,
it is estimated that The increase Of the foreign
product has not been over ten per cent; which
would give tor all the world, excep, the uned
States 464 QUO 900 pounds
Bnt LEI us see how vastly different tho case has
been in the United States. In 1884, we have stated
that The crop In this country ago millions pounds
While The foreign production has increased only ten
per cent. from that period 10 lsiS the home product
has increased from AGO millions 70 1000 100000,
which, in round numbers, was the crop of 1s4S -
ms Sasl Inequality shows conclnsiyely That no
country in the world can compete with The United
States, either in the quantity or price Of cotton.
On the other hand, we see that The consumption
has increased In comparatively small RATIO leaving
annually nm increased and increasing sarpus Of the
raw material, which has necessarily produced cor
responding dlminutiou OF value. In l54o the qnnn
tity Of cotton imported into, md consumed in, the
kintom Of Great Britain, was b3l 81 $685. of which
fully four-ihs were supplied by the cotton growers
Of this country. McCuloch estimates the Increase
al about f,tleen per cent, which would make the
Hritiah consumption Of cotton at present 6.0ai7 3O1
pounds Of which 4Sa FOL SIG pounds are furnished
by the United States, France, Germany and other
European nations, require about 300 100000 pounds
We thus have consumption OF 1887, 31l in En-
rope ngainst supply from all the world OF i94 600
We will confne ourselves TO the consumption Of
Great Britain, which as we have seen, II In round
numbers $4,000 600 OF pounds, of which The United
States supplies ass, 100000 The average value Of
this cotton in England al present, is about cents
per pound, which makes the cost TO the English
manufactured of the cotton received from the lini-
ted States about $1,000, lat. The amount returned
10 the American planter from this same quantity of
cotton, say at cents per pound, would be In round
numbersis30O 900,
The capital, including land negroes, gins, pfesssa
horses, mules etc, etc, required for the production
Of the above amount of cotton supplied 10 the Brit
ish manufacturer Is at least $3.50 100000 which,
as we have before stated returns &c the planter S30
100000. The capita vested in tbs British mana.
facture, OF the same amount Of cotton according to
estimates furnished by McCulloch in round numbers
is 900 600, and II is estimated tha The amount
OF value of products, per annum Is about the same
as the amount Of capital Invested
From these data The author Of The pamphel has
elaborated very stfnng argument, in which he
introduces variety OF statistics and atles ia prove
the policy, or rather The necessity, Of eoiion pro
4,ideg rapntry becoming cotton nufdciilring
country; or, III Use the authors words, that 1.-THE
United States ought 10 be empha,icully the cotton
manufacturers of the world aud the cotton gro,png
States should become the great cotton mani,tdchn'.
ing States OF the Union.-M 0. Bulictin, 2sh ut.