The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-09-26


India lsiandsl At all events, the action OF gov
ernment IL Invoked not To slacken ~ It's endeav-
ors to induce the governments VI France, ii6l-
GUM and Austria, to abandon their present to-
bacco monopolies, and TO open ther Por'S 70 tne
reception Of this, an well as other agricultural
staples Of our country. | am aware That these
endeavors up TO this moment, have mel WIN
but little success but this constitutes no valid
reason why they should be abandoned. Inc
age OF monopolies is passed, and the check
which every monopoly imposes on other branch
es of commerce, and through it, Indirectly, on
| the revenue, added TO own governmental
| circumstances. can ia the end hardly fail to
open the eyes of those nations, and to effect the
desired object.
| would now invite, your attention to the ex-
portation of bread stuifs. AT one time, in the
history Of our countrysa general Impression pre-
vailed that We should never be able 10 export
wheat and -four to Europe, The distance from
| European markets, the cost Of transportation,
interest on capital insurance, all were figured up
| against us to show that competition with the
wheat growers Of Europe, was entirely out of
the question, and that we must conine our ex
port of bread stufs to the British North Amer
lean colonies, the West Indies, and South
America This error, however, has been cor
rected by experience Without including our
|
were almost the only sellers in the markets of
Europe, our exports show respectable increase
in ordinary wears; our means of transportation
nave improved, production has become cheaper,
| distances have been shortened, by the saving Of
time, and in spite Of all the ugubrious prophe-
| cies of our croakers, we find our farmers com
peting with the principal wheat growers of Eu-
rope in their own markets! American bread
stutfs have gained permanent foot hold In the
| principal markets of the world, and our wheat
| -four is quite as great favorite in Mark Lane,
as any other species Of the same article imported
| intp England O casonal fluctuations in prices,
10 particular years of large crops-must OF
course be submitted to in the trade OF all agr-
cultural staples; and these will be met and their
influences guarded against, by frugal, indus
| trous people.
But while in the trade of wheat and -four we
meet with powerful rivals in tho North and South
of Europe--among the pc Pile of the Baltic and
those bordering on the Black Sea--the trade in
Indian corn and corn meal, and in provisions, is
to great extent left almost without competl-
ton, save that which proceeds from the offer OF
cheaper and inferior substitutes We can firm
ism good provisions, at lower rates, than any
other country on the globe; and Indian corn
has no longer any other real competitor in Bril-
fish markets than the now uncertain crops OF
potatoes. With this view of the subject, you
will pardon me if at once proceed to the con-
sidcration Of that important American staple
Indian corn is, no doubt, an Indigenous plant
of North and South America; having been cul-
tvated by the Indians many centuries before the
discovery of this continent. Antiquarian re
searches ard architectural ruins show that In
dian corn must have been grown and held in high
esteem as the chief article of food by the Aztecs,
| a. ha-
BILE, as the principal other grains now cultivated
in America have been since introduced from
Europe 1t constitutes now chief article Of
food for man and the animals subject to his do
mnon on this continent, and an important ar
| tice Of export to Europe, although many parts
Of Southern Europe have been found well adap
| ted to its growth 1t recommends Itself to the
1 great body of consumers by its nutritious quail
ties far exceeding those of other substitutes for
wheat and rye, now in use among the laboring
classes of Europe, and by the great variety of
forms in which it may be prepared for food
| French chemists assert that two cents worth of
Indian corn will go further in sustaining animal
| life than ten cents worth of wheat, rye or bar
ley. There is no doubt that its consumption is
increasing everywhere, and that its production
| in this country, on the largest scale, will abund-
antly reward the farmer. Indian corn will, in
| (which is now an uncertain crop in Europe,) but
also compete successfully with the more valua-
| bio grains and bread .stuifs
| Among the agricultural products entering into
| the general consumption of all civilized nations,
| sugar deservedly occupies very high rank. 1t
| is disputed question whether the sugar cane is
| indigenous to America. IL has been known
and cultivated from the earliest periods in Asia,
and especially in China, and is by some sup
| posed to have been introduced into America by
| the Spaniards and Portuguese. Others maintain
that the cane is plant indigenous to the new
world incline to the latter opinion, but leave
| the subjec. to those who have the time and the
| inclination TO investigate II.
| Sugar from cane is produced TO great extent
| in the United States but large portion is yet
| imported from foreign countries Whether the
| United States will ever be able to produce the
quantity required for their own consumption,
remains TO be seen, and will IN all likelihood de-
pend on the probable annexation Of more sugar
growing States TO the Union, Some portions
| of Louisiana, Texas and Florida produce cane
sugar TO the extent of rewarding the cultivators
while in many of the Northern States large
amounts Of sugar are manufactured from the
maple tree. The whole quantity, however, does
not meet the demand for home consumption,
and the question has often beSn asked whether
some other plant easily raised and cultivated,
may not In part at least, supply the deficiency
The cultivation Of the beet root, for the man.
ufacture of sugar, was introduced into France,
during the operation Of the continental System.
That prohbtory system, as long as II continued.
constituted in itself the ample protection against
all foreign competition but when, upon the fall
Of Napoleon, some OF the French colonies which
had been seized upon by Great Britain during
the war, were restored to France, and the con-
tinenta sytem Itself abandoned, protection, in
the shape Of high duties upon colonial sugar,
was deemed necessary TO sustain the cultivation
of the beet-root Under Louis Philippe the
growth Of beetroot and the manufacture Of
beet-root sugar, received the utmost attention
and fostering care Of the government. Both
were encouraged by series of Legislative en-
actments, and, fer while, fierce struggle was
maintained between the advocates Of the French
colonial system, and the friends Of the domestic
article The large and predominant inter { Of
the consumer which required, as an not Of just
ice to all, that both kinds Of sugar should be
\ able TO compete fairly for the home market