The southern press., 1852-01-14

their coassa clothes. DID TIA 960oo0oo AZ H.
French and the 10000, 900 Of Gesm.ay consums
cotton in the ratio that the United States, Great
Britain or India do, the crop Of the United
States, If doubled, would not supply their
demand Cotton. however, i spreading 1pidly
in favor and popularity in those countries. Be.
sides its superiority in both comfort and beauty
Its transcendent advantage over OAK and
hemp, Is, that it's manufactured entirely by nla-
chinery; whereas, flax and hemp, we must re-
member, have to be woven by hand The land
that produces them too must be highly manured,
and the labor Of preparing for spinning il very
severe, and potatoes or wheat il found more
profitable crop. Cotton is fast aupersediaa
other fabrics.
The consumption at the North has fallen o6,
and the mystery is thus to be solved The op.
orators in cotton letting the price 20 down 40,
compelled the'export Of large amounts of specie
to MI the vacuum produced by the unnatural
decline This expectation caused the Northern
banks to suspend their accustomed accommo-
dations, and the manufacturers were unable TO
dictate prices for their manufactures. Il
is not reasonable to suppose that those who are
usually so sHgaclous will permit this unnatural
state OF things to be continued They now
must support the price of cotton II is NOT a
mere matter of speculation, but compulsion, as
it they do not, the vaults Of their banks must he
effectually drained Cotton and specie are the
only things we have to pay the foreign debt
with--that is, il with the little tobacco and rise
we export, cotton does not make up the balance.
specie must. Will Northern capitalists close
their eyes to this position? The imports are
enormous, and the amount the crop must COM
mand must correspond in great degree with
the amount of the imports
We now arrive at the question of prices of
cotton
sThere are two branches to this subject. One
49, what can an article be furnished at, paving its
prime cost, and a reasonable profit for the u.e
OF the capital employed This is its worth or
value and commonly its price; and the other is
what can be given for a material, having as-
certaned what it will command in its mannfae-
tured state, deduct the cost to manufacture, and
the usual profit for the use Of the money from
that, and the remainder is the worth or value,
and ought to be the price of the material. This
is merely the philosophy Of prices for each
party is apt to use its skill and power to disturb
this principle But let us see for moment the
relative positions the cotton producers and th,
cotton manufacturers occupy in relation to th.
value. A few years since for INSTANCE the cot
ton planter bought lands at 81 Is, and about
that, per acre; now SIS to $40 are low prices.
Negroes he bought at $3.50 to $3.50 piece:
now he pays $500 to $1,000, not to say any,
thing. OF increased value Of provisions Then
the cost OF production has been largely en-
HANGED evidently. A few years since the manu-
facturer had to keep heavy stocks of. goods on
hand, and worked with machinery which was,
compared to the modern, quite imperfect. He
PAID a duty on cotton, on his provisions and
money was scarce and interest high. freiohts
high. Now relieved of duties, with interest low,
freights low, demand active for his goods, his
machinery wonderfully improved, it is evident
that he can afford to pay the producer more for
his cotton than formerly. and yet retain equally
as fine profit. This is the relative position Of
the parties, but the cotton planter can hold to
his cotton longer than the manufacturer can do
without il. Were we to hold on to our cotton
for ninety days. they would not have bale to
go on, and being at our mercy, we could make
t em give fifteen cents.
may sum up with regard to prices pros
poets of consumption, and the crop-ihat every
element that could be desired is favorable to the
planter. The crop is an average one nearly, and
is obliged, from the position and concurrence of
things, to command full, nay, high price. 1t
cannot be avoided. The stock on hand in Eu-
rope is fast melting away. France has no cotton
ut all, we may say, and is actually shvering from
fear. Cargoes at sea are bid for. The stocks
in England are lower now than ut this time last
year; their receipts in this monthsand December
were unusually heavy; but this year must from
the smallness of the stock of cotton in our
ports, be unusually small; while the ratio of their
consumption and export is, this year. very much
larger than last Hence the stock in Liverpool
on the lst OF January will be so light, that look
for panic there by or before then, and if so,
where will prices go? Money everywhere i.
abundant. The Bank of England and the Bank
of France are encumbered with larger amounts
of bullion than they ever had before The har-
vests have been fine food must be cheap, inter
est is low now and falling trade is extravagant-
ly good, no wars or rumors Of wars. The
French republic seems to be working to suit the
people of France admirably, though some per-
sons have been in constant perspiration from
the fear that France might do something they
would not like.
Should any planter doubt the .obability OF
my correctness, let him remember my circular
OF Oh January, l849, issued when middlings
here were 81. toretold prices would 90 up,
Notwithstanding tine crop was large, and that
they would be higher the next year than they
might reach that. Remember that notwthstand-
ing the country was swept clear, and some 3OO,-
900 bales of old cotton was sent to market with
that crop, altogether swelling our receipts to
2 1890 ba.es-that midding cottons sold be-
fore the season was out in the face Of all these
tremendous receipts, at l0E cents, and, with all
tho stock on hand at the end of the year, was
about the same as the year before, and that our,
average for the next season was III cents.
Don't forget these things, and that the next
year, with crop of 2,353,OOO bales, we got an
average of III cents. You are sustained in
demand for a full price, by the fact staring you
in the face, that you must plant next spring
more corn, oats, and wheat, and do something
about raising hogs, as bacon at 10 to Is cents
is higher than cotton would be at 20 cents
The chances are, you cannot make large crop
the next year. You cannot plant the land to do
it, aud make your corn, &c.
I'll have refraincd from making much allusion
to California gold, but as the wealth of the
country has been enormously added to already
by it, and all the accounts concur that gold is
still abundant there, we are certainly entitled to
our share Of the advantage it is comforting on
the country. To that we may ascribe the swell
ling prices of property, and if this advances.
our productions must feel its effects also"