Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1852-1852, 1852-08-06
oxerProduction of Cotton.

! A friend of ours in q letter we recently pup
lshed, asks ourreason for the opinion we express
ed some time ago, that there was no danger
whatever Of the over-production Of cotton. Our
reason is the general one, that applies to all pro-
ducts. Whenever the production OF any com
modify becomes unprofitable it will be promptly
reduced by resort to some other that pays bet
ter Hence the least and the rarcst Of evils is
over-production of any thing useful
But there is no probability that the consump-
ton or price of cotton will for ages be such as
to indicate reduction Of the supply. Thus far
it seems the United States contain the only soil
and climate we'll adapted to the culture of cot
ton. The attempts to raise it csewhere-in In
dia, Turkey, Egypt and the West Indies have
thus far 81 ignally tailed-although they had all
the cooperation of ample means. In those
countries it seems the climate is not favorable.
1t is warm enough, but is too uniform. 1t does
not afford enough frost to kill the boil worm,
and hence, after the first two or three crops, the
worm becomes so abundant as to be rulnous.
There may be other regions hitherto uneXplored
or untried in which this difficulty would not Ioc-
cur, but if there are, it is probable that they
in countries whose institutions are untavoraOle.
Indeed. no country but one in which political
despotism or domestic slavery exists, would an
swer for the cultivation of cotton. Without one
or the other people will not work in so warm
climate. Hence whilst abolition abroad and at
home has abolished slavery in some places and
excluded it from others, one result has been to
render the regions that remained slaveholdlng
more valuable and prosperous financially than
before. The evil is that they have thus been
weakened politically and martially, so as to be
growing insecure.
Thc present consumption Of cotton extends all
over the civilized world and into much Of the
barbarous. The civilized races are all increasing
in population, in various ratios, and already num-
Der about three hundred millions. The slaves of
the South are only three millions. They multi
ply more rapidly than the rest of mankind, ex-
cept their masters. But the per centage OF slave
labor realized every year from the increase of
slave population will not supply the augmented
demand for cotton, resulting from the annual i'll
crease of the civilized world.
Nor are the cotton lands yet to be cultivated
of an extent or quality to augment the ratio of
cotton production, whilst those NOW under cu-
ture are undergoing some impoverishment
Nor is there any probability that a substitute
for cotton will be found. We have seen great
deal in the papers about fax-cotton. But we
don't apprehend the least rivalry from that. Ao-
cording to NJ. Claussen's method, the process of
preparing the flax is so tedious and laborious as
to render its competition with cotton hopeless
On the other hand the only real formidable COM
petitor with cotton will rise from recent events
and has risen in price A large portion Of wool
hitherto manufactured has been obtained from
Australia. But the discovery of gold in that re-
gion has raised the price of labor 50 much, and
diverted it from raising wool, that there is dan
ger of the actual loss of the locks iii that coun
try
The discovery Of gold in California and Aus
tralia las advanced the money value of labor all
over the world. For the enormous demand or
inducement for labor in digging gold, has acted
and must continue to act, Tor some time to come,
on its value The price of cotton and OF. all
other commodities must rise. The value of cap
ital generally cannot rise in the same ratio, be-
cause the supply is increased by the production
Of cold. But the value Of Southern capital, Of
which so large portion is labor, must advance
largely We think that the gold Of California
and Australia will add more to the wealth OF the
South than to that Of any other country. And
it is remarkable that as slavery, which oncoun-
tered a severe assault in 1921 in the Missouri
controversy, and WAS sustained afterwards by the
wonderful extension Of the cotton culture, should
again be fortified financially by the discovery Of
gold Southern Press.