The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-10-12

R
sut Fillmore and Webster, will turn ont to be
'le real trends OF the British farmer At the
| saA,e time the British shipping interest will be
| uhaef no such obligation TO the American
| statesmen, Tor the result Of their DIPLOMACY
Will be simply to transfer the whole suano
trade, and ali trade connected with if, from
| british 10 American bottoms
| we nave lew words to add about guano q 3
manure. As such II was FIRST made known TO
| Europe by Baron Humboldt, on his return from
ms celebrated travels about the commence
| lneht Of The present century but it took some
'or,y years before 1t found lis way to our agri-
| culture. Our consumption of ii in 1915. or
| within four years of its first introduction, had
already risen TO 2S3, 2S9 tons. But in conse-
| quence OF the exhaustion OF the temporary
ana partial supplies which we derived from
AREA and other quarters, the consumption
| ifotn that year fell off, and in 1S4S il was be-
| low bO,O0O tons for we then found ourselves.
anu have been, ever since, dependent on the
monopoiists OF Peru. Last year we consumed
2,o9o tons, and re-exported sc, ,4l9 tons.
Let US observe, then, what was the value of
| the suano which we consumed last year. A
| cwt. OF guano is, as a dressing for our main
root crop turalps, equal to ten tons of fold
manure: and two cwt. OF guano are sufficient
to manure an acre of land. Hence the gueno
which we consumed last year would produce
| 2,i2J,9JO acres OF turnips, each acre giving
| probably not less than thirty tons. Thus,
through the gnano, there would be produced
! b3,11S,500 ions of food for cattle. OF the
above number of acres, in the following year,
there would probably be raised not much less
| than six millions of quarters of wheat, to be
| followed by couple Of crops of clover.
The price at which Peruvian guano is
| sold, unde- the monopoly, is between nine and
| ten pounds a ton, al which cost our consump-
| ton OF last year was of the value of about
! two millions sterling! Competent Judges are
OF opinion that Peruvian guano, free and un-
taxed, might be had at about one-half the
price charged by the monopolists. Ii this be
| true, we are taxed through the rapacity Of
| Peru 10 the amount OF a million year, sum
| winch, 1t IaId out in guan0, would furnish our
| agriculture with double its present supply.
| Too much appears TO Us to have been yield
| ed 10y Lord PalmerstOD, and even by Mr.. W eb-
| ster, IN their respective negotiations, to the
! weakness Cf Peru; but the weakness of a
creature cannot be pleaded as an excuse for
It's mischief. The !ion although he has in
| finite contempt for the wolf, will not suffer
the volt to steal MS food before his very
| face.
From the same Sept. 49,
| CLAIM TO THE LOBOS ISLANDS.
Our powerful cotemporary the Times, has
| replied 10 our article on the Lobos Islands,
with its usual ingenuity, but with something
| less than its usual strength. The Times SAYS
| we were not correct in asserting that the Pc
Tuyans made no claim to the islands until il
was found that their guano was in demand,
for that such claim had been made by the
| Spaniurds, whose title the Peruvians inherited.
| The Peruvlans may assert that the Spaniards
| made claim OF sovereignty, but Peruvian ss-
| sertion is no evidence, nor do we find any bet
| ter support to the claim in the old anonymous
| maps and charts. The evidence of names
| is still more worthless; for by it the Dutch
| might as well lay claim TO New Holland or
Van Dieman's Land, rs the Peruyians to the
| Lobos rocks.
| 1t is hoped that the American government
| may think there is some difference between
| ca.chlng cod and gathering fruit. The illus
trntion is not happy, for it is not appropriate
| There are no cod fish near the shore of the Lo-
| bos Islands, or indeed througho the Whole
| Pacific ocean, and # there were, cod fish are
| taken in the water, and seals, which once
abounded on the Lobos Islands, in SO cases
out OF hundred, are taken, not in the wafer,
| but on dry land. The parallel which is at
| tempted TO be drawn between the production
| OF guano and fruit is, in like manner, inappro-
| PIRATE. As TAR as man is concerned, guano is a
| spontaneous product, but all fruits worth hav-
| ing nre the produce OF mans toll. We do not
object to the PeruyiaDs reaping where they
have sown, but we greatly object to their reap
| ing where they have neither sowed nor titled.
| We made no claim of sovereignty in the Lo-
| bos Islands for the Americans, nor do we see
| that they have made any for themselves
| w hat we did claim was q common righ TO the
| spontaneous product of the Lobos Islands for
| all nations, just as we should claim a common
night OF navigating the waters of the Pacific.
The duty laid on guano by the Peruvian 60
Vernment is rapacious and exOrbilant Had
it, instead of this, been moderate, ii seems not
unlikely that in consideration Of proximity
| like the Sound dues exacted by Denmark, it
would have been submitted 10, however hypo-
| thetcal the right; but while ii enhances the
| cost OF now necessary commodity by 100 per
cent, the Peruvian government may rely on it
that ii will not long be endured.
In what we have said on this subject we
have had no intention 10 advocate either the pc
| cu!iar "rights' or the peculiar wrongs" Of
America. The law of nations is not an affair
| especially of one side of the Atlantic mole
than OF another. We argued for the common
| rights OF all nations; and all that we saw IN
| the conduct Of the American government was
astruggle for them through the only channel
| open t. 1t, Its own special interests. Had the
| Americans made an exclusive claim 10 the Lo-
bos Islands, we should have been just as ready
| ~ oppose SO ltnpuQeDt q de!nanO, as we nave
been TO expose the impertinent rapacity OF
Peru.
AN OLD ONE, BUT GooD.-There is a capital
story told of Quaker farmer in Pennsylva-
MIA, who was driving his wagon in a narrow
| lane, and was there met by young specimen
of uppertendom in gig. The dandy insist
ed, and swore the Quaker should back out, as
the lane was not wide enough for two 10 pass.
I The (suakHr NfflflneH that The dandy ShnuIH
retire, and so the quarrel stood. AT length the