New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-10-03
THE DOMESTIC Consumption OF COTTON.

The recent publication Of the cotton circulars
puts us in possession of accurate information in
relation TO the disposal of the last years crop,
and enables us to compare the protective tariff
OF 1912 sid the present British Free trade tariff
in their ope rati upon the producers Of cotton
wool on the one hand and the consumers Of cot.
til cloth on the other.
In 1912 the domestic consumption WIS
267, $50 bsle, Thencsforward it increased as
follows:
1s4e-3..... 325, l29 lsii-5........... $50, OOo
lsi3-4. 346,744 ls45-6.....'.... f'-'o''
In the follow ing year 1S46-D the crop was
short nearly balf million ofbale', attended with
dimirisiea ccn,umptioh In 81 distant markets,
aud yet the consumption at homo was lot only
maintained, bit rose to d27,967. In lSi7-S it
became 53l,772.
Here, as our readers will sac, is steady and
regular growth, indicating constant and rapid
improvement in the condition Of our people,
manifested by greatly increased ability to pur-
chase clothing
Thenceforward, the tariff of 1916 was seen to
become operative, and its effect in diminishing
the power of our people TO be customers TO the
producers of cotton is shown in a steady diminu.
tion of consumption, as follows;
1889 .,.............-....--5 SIS 039
1890. ......--...-.-..-''.-fot.o 10Y
leJO-Sl fVflVo
With an increase of ten per cent in the populs-
ton, we have thus q dimnution Of more than
twenty per cent in the consumption. California
gold, however, now came in to take for time the
place of Protection, and as for year or two we
were enabled to profit by the discovery, and re-
tain little of the gold, the cotton manufacture
commenced again to grow, as follows:
le5l-2........-............. 1903 029
1888. ...67l cog
With the following year however, disappeared
all our power over the products of California, for.
eign cloths and foreign iron requiring all we could
obtain, and all the bonds We could sell-and now
the domestic consumption of
And that of 1885 has fallen as is
shown by the recent tables to. $685. SEA
We see thus that whereas in the period gov.
erned by the tariff of 1852, one Of six years, TIE
consumption increased from 267, 900 to 53l, 900
bales or nearly one hundred per cent, and 90
steadily as to give promise Of requiring before
this time more than . million Of balss-that gov.
erred by its successor, period of se'en years,
gives an increase Of less than o., coo bales or
less fhan twelve per cent, with present steady
minut;on from year to year That this dimi-
nutien must continue from year to year will be
evident to all who remark the fact that scarcely
month passes in which We are not called upon
TO record the distraction Of cotton mills, while
the time has long since passed for recording the
building Of new ones, or even the rebuilding Of
those that have been destroyed.
These, however are not all the facts Of the
esse In 1912 the cotton manufacture had
scarcely an eI,tence south Of the Potomac, bu.
under the Tariff Of 1872 ii grew to such an ex.
tent that the consumption there Of lSi7-o WAS
estimated at IS, 900 bales, and il this be added
to tie northern quantity we have total con.
sumption Of more than 6oO, 900 bales, and An in
crease Of 24O oO0-Seisg no lsss thas one hundred