Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1856-12-17
49, .
Fol. the Standard.

81 -
Editors Of the Standard y
A gentleman at the dinner table the other day
remarked, that North Carolina was an agricultural
State and that4he did not wish to see any other
calling promoted this was enough. The fact sta
ted is undoubtedly true--t is agricultural State,
well worthy Of the name but is the doctrine true,
that other calling should be encouraged? This
gentleman would raise his corn, cotton, wheat and
tobacco and send it by his wagon to Charleston,
Wilmington, Norfolk or Fayetteville, and exchange
them for such necessaries as his family required,
and perhaps sufficient cash to pay his taxes. With
out going into consideration of all of the Partcn-
lars which will certainly follow if the doctrine is
fully carried out, it is sufficient to observe that
villages and towns would grow up in the interior of
the State no market could be found except upon
or near the seaboard. 1t is small villages with
its court house, two or three public houses, few
stores, to which Inhabitants would congregate in
all the county towns of the State. These towns it
is true, markets to limited extent; but they
much that their influence is extremely
limited and scarcely felt over a wide community
The state of things prior to the improvements in
railroads was an exact representation of commu-
nifty devoted entirely to agriculture. Greensborough,
Salisbury, Charlotte and Raleigh had grown to the
full dimensions they could grow, under the in
Auence of the doctrine have alluded to. A mar
kct supplied is closed to farther profitable exchange
to those who have more to sell. If sold it is sold
at the price of the buyer. He can't carry his pro-
duce home but is obliged to sell. With such very
limited markets for the fruits of the SOIL there
encouragement to raise than will satisfy the
wants of nature; aid such has been the case with
North Carolina for the last fifty years. until the spr-
it of improvement began to be Unused into her
vitals.
But supposng enterprise should run in the direc-
ton which would promote her power and means for
manufacture and for mining, every cluster of
dwellings, will then TEEN with persons who must be
fed and clothed they are, so far these necessa.
ries concerned, non producing people. There
arc thousands of people now living who will see
80, 600 inhabitants distributed in villages between
Martin Dyes the coal field and Fooshc, s. in the
other direction upon Deep river The different points
for mining situated that villages or towns
must be planted all along upon the outcrop of the
coal and iron. Now what would be the influence of
$4,000 inhabitants i'll the centre of the State upon
agriculture, all Of whom to be fed l need not
stop to describe it. Let us watch in the market of
Salisbury for one hour in the morning the influence
Of markets upon agriculture. man is seen COM
ing from the country with load of hay. "Ila!lo
"Six dollars load, sr' "Wcl, cant give any
such price as that. l used to buy Just such loads
of hay for three dollars" every WELL" says the
country man, can send it to Charlotte or Column
bia and realise that on my hay" Suffice it to say,
the villagcr has to take the hay at the countrymans
price and it is Il he had formerly to sell his hay
at three dollars per load.
Again: A little cart is slowly pushing along
through the street at the same village. A merchant
walks out and intercepts the load, Mister, say,
Mister what have you got?" "White Irish Pota-
toes" " How do YOU scll?" "One dollar per BUSH
along. used to buy the very article for TWEEN
ty-five cents every well, says the countryman,
~ have just begun to take the papers, and find
can get dollar a bushel in Charlotte or Columbia"
Well the merchant sees he is i'll dilemma, and has
reluctantly to pay the price.
4 dean ita St rho
lives some twenty-five miles from Salisbury, near
the slopes of the Blue Ridge. He accosts him thus
Friend, have great notion of buying some of
your land up in the mountains. How will you sell
me two or three hundred acrcs?" why, regards
| that our land two years ago would not fetch more
than fifty cents per acre but we can't sell it for
lese than one dolhtr and a hait!!"
The foregoing actual facts, and is record of
the conversations of parties, all of which shows the
| influence of near markets upon agriculture. All the
railroad docs is to multiply and bring the markets
home to the farmer. Manufacturing and mining es.
| adjustments do the thing-make home mar
kets-and it will be found that the prosperity of the
| farmer is intimately linked with the prosperity of
other pursuits. But who are the persons who are
really benefited by improvements and markets? 1t
is the farmer, who is often represented complain
ing of taxes for these improvements, when in re-
atty he is tile man made rich by increase Of tar'1-
ton. For example, the farmer Salisbury who
brought his hay to market realizes than enough
on the increased price Of a single load to pay more
than half the increase of taxation and what lie gets
on the rest of his hay is real gain. Demagogues
will tell the farmer he will DC ruined by taxation
but the increase of taxation is i'm very small ratio
to the increased value Of products consequent up
a multiplication Of markets and the multiplication
of industrious men. though non producing inhabit-
ants Under this state of things the farmer buys
his coffee, sugar. tea and other groceries at much
less price and indeed will save enough reduced
prices to pay his additional taxation for improve
,lncnts and accessible markets The merchant does
not suffer by the change. lie can now transact his
business with a much smaller capital and less cost
in transportation; and hence. both buyer and seller
maintain their relative positions as to trade. The
former however, secures positive gain, while the
latter is subjected to loss. But there silent
influences of the most salutary kind operating
through the whole body polite 1t is rarely noted
1t may, however, be seen in the spread of ncwspa
pcrs-men find they must know the state of the
markets ;tlcy must know what wheat, cotton, corn
and tobacco are worth this week in New York, Will
mington, Fayetteville, Norfolk, Charleston or Col
umba. They read something more than prices cur
rent. A taste for reading is being promoted by the
internal improvement policy The moral effects o.
this agent will rcvoutonize public sentiment and
public morals, as well as the system of husbandry
1t will be found that general prosperity depends up
OH the prosperity of all the departments of bust
ness. 1t is true that prosperous state of agricnl
ture might make fat and sleek, and appear like
a wcll-tended flock of sheep. But what then?-
that all men live for? X