New Orleans daily crescent., 1857-05-27
ENGLIsH SPECULATIONS UPON COTTON
AND STATISTICS


ation about cotton. They talk Of cotton speculate
about cotton and dream cotton, for aught that is
known to the contrary. Their commercial and manu-
featuring world is concentrating al its ideas and en-
ergies to stimulate the production of cotton throughout
the earth. The regions Of the tropics, the smiling
isles Of the southern seas, and even the malaria
engendering coasts Of Western Africa carefully
scanned to see If cotton may not be reared with sue
cess and profit. The nightmare of a prospective
failure of an adequate supply of cotton evidently
weighs heavily upon the brawny breast of John Bull,
and disorders every function and fibre Of his gigantic
frame.
short time since we referred at length to a reso-
luton adopted at meeting of manufacturers held in
Manchester appealing to the makers of heavy cloths
to work their operatives (white slaves) only forty
hours per week. and afterwards to the formation of
associations to promote the culture Of the leading
staple Of the south wherever practicable throughout
the world. These facts were mentioned as items of
interesting news well to illustrate the complete
dependence of Europe upon the much-wronged South
for supply Of indispensable article, and not with
any view to detract from their worth and utility.
Since then the subjoined paragraphs from English
papers have come under our observation The fol.
lowing, from letter of member of Parliament, will
be read with peculiar kind of interest this side the
water:
| General Thompson, NJ. p, writes to friend at
Bradford :" The conviction has always been, that,
with proper provision, black counties might be
formed out Of the soil Of Africa for cotton growing
with much certainty icite counties the other
side Of the sea for spinning it. am not in condi
ton to state many details and if tried the lapse of
| time must have rendered them uncertain. Sierra
Leone is not, far have examined, very favor
able soil but it would, or might be made great
depot Of black Engishmen, prepared TO assist else
where. The policy which would reject their services
resembles that which would propose blacksmith to
handle his iron with his fingers instead of taking
| pair Of tongs. The Africanborn Englishman is the
tongs by the intervention of which the white English
man should work Why should there be difficulties III
in tropical climate, when there is a breed of God
Almightys men made expressly for the place."
General Thompson does not properly comprehend
his subject or else he does not to express his
views fully. He evidently wishes to put g black
Englishmen to good use and is not particularly
scrupuous in regard to the mode by which his object
is accomplished. He is willing to make the stAfrican
born Englishman " the tongs, by the Intervention
of which the white Englishman should work" and
thinks there ought to be no difficulties in tropical
/ climate, when there is breed of God Almighty's
men made expressly for the purpose"
! But, General there is no basis for your argument,
which renders it valueess watch destitute of
handspring. The English Government, years ago,
under the advice of Wberforce and Others broke the
/ tongs' Of which you speak, and made thousand
/ fold worse than worthless the breed of God Al
mghty's men 7 brought into being, il we are to
reason from the facts presented by nature, expressly
to surmount :" difficulties in tropical climate
Your Emancipation Act disocated the ''tongs,"
l utterly demoraized the "breed " " of men y alone
capable of producing cotton, cost you millions of
pounds sterling rendered unfruitfu and expensive
of your airest and most fertile colonial possessions,
barbarized the slaves emancipated and without pro-
ducing solitary good result, has left you helpless
and dependent at the feet of the only real rival that
confronts you on the surface of the globe!
The only way, General, whereby the aforesaid
tongs" can be mended, or the aforesaid " breed "
applied to any useful or Christian end, is to repeal
your Emancipation Act, and re-enslare and render
| valuable and civilized the Africans of Jamaica and
other islands, whom emancipation has caused to re-
lapse into their primitive barbarism. By doing you
make fruitful and fourishing what your mistaken
philanthropy has blghted and laid waste-agricultu-
rally, physically and morally. You may plan and
scheme much you please, but all your plans and
schemes will prove of no avail as long as you reject
the practical suggestions laid down above You have
already lost immensely by warning against nature-by
trying to elevate debased race above the standard
nXeu IOr tuem ny tne Creator-anu the longer you
protract the unnatural contest the worse you will be
of. 4#& tT a@
With these remarks we will dismiss the ingenious
yet mpracticable speculations of General Thompson
and present our readers with paragraph taken from
another English paper 1t is headed the Cultivation
Of Cotton:"
At the monthly meeting the Councilo of the Brad
ford Chamber of Commerce, on Monday this momen
tous question formed the principal subject of discus
sion. Some papers put into the hands of Mr..
Rumboll, stuff merchant, by gentleman at present
residing in the West Indies, who is well acquainted
with the subject, were read at length and he ex.
pressed his wonder that English merchants and manu-
facturers should cry out for the abolition of slavery in
America, SO long as we are much dependent upon
them for the great bulk OF the cotton used in this
country. The cultivation of cotton in India, he said
had certainly been extending, but only slowly, and
that produced was inferior in quality. In tropical
climates the cotton plant was indigenous, and two
crops could be annually produced whereas in the
United States only one crop could be grown, and that
by slave labor. But in these islands population was
: scarce, and the expense, of promoting emigration
t thence to China would be so great to retard or
wholly check the scheme but failing in this, he
would suggest the practicablity of establishing a
great ottongrowng colony in the island of New Gu-
nea to the east OF the Moluccas and north of Austria
lia. On that island the inhabitants were among the
least civilized and among the lowest types of human
], ity but the climate was ue,an the soil rich and
fruitful and as 1t appeared clear that cotton coulG
i II
= abundance on islands, and near the sea- than upor
n continents, New Guinea was peculiarly adapted fol
its growth The people could easily be broug into
contact with civilization and laborers could easily bt
induced to emigrate from China at tring expense
The members present paid great attention to the sug
gesons made, and 1t was considered if agreeable tC
Mr.. Rumbo that the name of the writer should be
given, and the papers sent to the Manchester Cham
Der of Commerce.
: We have no remarks to make upon the above fur
J then than that when T" the island of New Guinea tc
the east Of the Mouccas and north of Australia pro
duces cotton enough to supply England, we of The
# South will not utter syllable of complaint.
! The annexed cotton statistics are interesting anf
valuable They are taken from the London CORES
pondence of the National Inteligencer, and appeared
in that paper the llth inst. With them, we vii
d bring this article to close
The cotton question still engrosses much attention
, Recent returns show that England imported in 1876
from America 5000 74 lbs. of raw cotton and from
India % l25 ,s25 lbs of the article In 1855 the
importation from America was 6Sl 629 424 lbs anl
from India A5, 1866 lbs In 1920 England exported
to America manufactured cotton valued at 81 l94 SO
t and to India fS50,906 while in 1855 the exports o
n the same article from England to America was 60
455 ,33l and to India IS 6sl 54S These figures show
that in the thirtyfive years which elapsed betweet
1920 and 1855 the importation of raw cotton from