The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1857-07-29
From the London Times, July I.
THE AFRICAN LABOR QUESTION.

mons on Friday evening respecting The in-
PRODUCTION of labor into British Guiana. AT
lhe very moment that the high price of su.
gar is making itself felt most keenly, and a
failure is apprehended in the supply Of that
material which furnishes The very life blood
Of British trade, Mr.. Thomas Barring re.
minds the Legislature that our Colony of
Guiana contains 50,0OO,o0o acres of the
most fertile land in the world, that il has ev-
cry advantage of internal communication,
with an extensive seaboard for the resort of
shipping;sis within a month Sx six weeks
sail of our shores, and could produce cotton
aud sugar in all the abundance, that consu.
mers or manufacturers could desire.
One element only is wanting 10 the reali.
zation of these natural bountes, and that is
the labor of man. The soil, the climate, the
capacities of all kinds are favorable in the
extreme; The territory is our own, and il lies
within easy reach; bnt there are no laborers
forthcoming 10 turn these advantages 10 ac-
count. Even those peculiar elements which
are said to be wanting 10 the agriculture of
India-energy and capilal-are not lacking
in Guiana, for British planters are establish.
ed in the Colony, ard are prepared with all
other requisites, If they could obtain the
hands to do the work at good wages. Moth.
ing beyond this is needed TO bring plenty in
10 our markets, and relieve the anxielies
which, as our readers saw, have been again
expressed on behalf OF our staple manufac-
ture.
Ia this world il is usually found that en-
bsrrassmenls of this description admit of re-
moval by proceedings frausbs with.a dou BILE
benefit. The sbundanee' Of one district is
made 10 care the necessities Of another, and
both gain alike by the establishment Of an
equilibrium. Our colonies want labor other
countries are overslocked with il. In China,
for instance, the population has SO far out.
grown the territory that the Chinese go off
in swarms, like bees, TO any quarter of the
world which will receive them. In India,
again, though the rodundance is not quite so
striking, the country teens with life, and la
Dor is so cheap that it barely admits of be-
ing bsr,ered for subsistence. From India,
there fore, and from China, labor has found
Its way 10 the colonies in question, but SO
great is The distance and so serious the i'm
pedimen,s interposet That, except In The
case of the Mauri,ius, the supply has Been
very insufficient. That island, however, fur
nishes an excellent illustration OF the state
of things which might be brought about
Within the last ter years, as MIR. Labouchere
informed ihe-,Horse, il has received from
India no fewer than 100000 Coolies. This
reinforcement of workmen has enabled the
planters 10 cultivate sugar not only al profit
but "at a greater profit than by slave labor"
while The high prosperity Of the colony thus
induced, $50 far from being purchased at
the expense Of inEumau,y towards these
laborers, enabled them to accumulate prop.
er,y and settle on the island, or, if they re.
turned to their native country, they carried
the fruits of their industry with them. All
this while, ii must be remembered, that the
slave trade itself undergoes heavy discour.
agement from such successful competition,
aud that our own markets experience the
benefit of most seasonable imporalions; so
that all parties togeiher-lhe colonial propri-
etor, the British consumer, and the actual
la5orer--derive advantage from the system,
winch iDju.es nobody excep, the slavehold-
or. We do not see how stronger case
could possibly be made out. BY the simple
agency Of labor, one Of our colonies is able
TO amass wealth, 10 stock our markets with
its exports, to benefit the population of an.
other land, and 10 act like a ihofn in the side
Of the STAKEHOLDER. For the want Of this
same agency, others of our colonies are run.
ming 10 ruin, are exporting but little produce,
are doing no good 10 anybody, and are per-
millng The slave merchants to thrive in The
absence of the competition they might es-
tablish. IL these facts do not make a case for
supplying not only Guiana but our other
settlements too with free labor in proper
abundance, we are at loss to see how any
proposition can be proved al oil.
What is the obstacle il the way! Tue
distance. II the West IuGies, said Mr. La.
bouchere, had not enjoyed the same advan.
tages as the Mauritius, il was Sowing to
their geographical position in relation to the
source Of the supply of labor not being so
favorable.n But is there only one such
source? Is not Africa as populous in many
paris as India7 Is ii not as conveniently
situated in regard TO the Yves, Indies, as
India is with regard TO the Mauritiusl Aud
above all, are not the Africans pre-eminentIy
fitted by nature for tropical labora Every
one of these questions must be answered in
the affirmative. Its easier to bring negroes
from Afnca than Coolies from India or Chi
namen from Hong Kong, and when brought
they would make the best of laborers. We
are driven, therefore, TO seek elsewhere for
reasons against the proceeding, and such
arguments were produced by Mr.. Labou.
chere in The debate, and will be found en-.
bodied ina letter from Mr.. Nj. Forster,
which We publish 10 day. According 10
these views the condition of the native Af
ricans is snch tina, 10 60 10 the coas, with a
demsnd for their services would infaIlibly
generate system of kidnapping in tina inte-
rior of the country, and, iu fact as far as Af-
rica is concerned, would revive the slave