New Orleans daily crescent., 1857-05-11
KING COTTON - MANCHESTER MANU-
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES SOUTH.

felt across the water. Unmistakable indications O
uneasincss apparent in Manchester the principa
manufacturing town Of England. according to tele
graphic adyices Of tho Europa's news, a meeting o.
manufacturers has been held in Manchester, at which
resolution was adopted appealing to the makers Of
heavy cloths to work only forty hours in The ,reek
The passage Of such resolution at this time may
DO regarded as alike significant and suggestive. II
demonstrates the dependence of Great Britain upon
the snowy staple the South and proves conclusive
that cotton is to her industrial and commercial sys
TEN what the handspring is to awatch. It also sug
gests that she is reduced to terrible straits in meeting
the demands Of her operative labor owing to the scant
supply of raw material from the Southern United
States. When England shall fail in meeting the de-
mands Of chat labor her doom will be seaed-she will
be constrained to descend from her high position as
the first Of earth and the arbiter of the
destinies of nations-and be content to rank as a
second or third rate power. @
The Manchester operatives labor about twelve
hours per day. and after undergoing all this amount
of exhausting toll barely able to keep body and
soul together. They perform at the lowest calcula
ton, at least twice the work Southern slave field
hand performs. and are no better clothed and not
oneiifth as well fed and lodged. And yet what food
lodging and raiment they do obtain is obtained almost
exclusively from fabricating the staple product OF
slave labor! As it is difficult for them to get along
at all by working full time, how they will be able
to manage to avoid starvation when that time is re-
duced nearly one-half- reducing their meagre earn
ings in proportion, matter of course-is prob
lem that will bother John Bull to solve astute in all
business matters as he is universally acknowledged to
be- For the sake Of the poor operatives we trust the
solution may result satisfactorily.
But will working short time in all the factories of
Great Britain enable John Bull to get himself out of
the dilemma in which he is placed-that is, enable
him to obtain cheap instead of dear cotton in such
quantities as will answer his purposes? We are i'll
clned to think not The working of short time will
undoubtedly reduce his home factory demand, but
whether it will materially influence the price of the
staple is extremely questionable. The crop is too
short to admit of much reduction, and the time is too
long before the next crop reach the market to
allow of any considerable surplus to remain on hand
unworked
We opine the British manufacturers have learned
lesson from the events Of the past they will not
soon forget They no longer considered the sole
autoerats of the cotton world. King cotton has ex
tended his dominions far beyond the limits OF the
" fast anchored isle and many of his subjects have
him personally, instead of employing proxies in Liver
pool. Then again, the British manufacturers and
public have been continually sold by circular writers
from this side from the opening Of the cotton-season
up to the present moment. Time and again have we
published extracts from these delusive circulars and
frequently the entire circulars and pointed out their
lack of authenticity and the evident design of the
writers to prejudice the market here with but little
the ala,
biity. We inserted, on Saturday morning, of the
circulars Off A. Abbot, New York commercial writer
for the Picayune, and teegraphc agent for that jour
nal, forwarded by the Arabia which was solely
calculated to deceive in England and to inure in the
United States This description of dsreputable work
has been going on for months, and we may, on some
proper OCCASION expose the of the parties as
well as their performances. Neither the general COM
munity of England of this region gain
by the practice of deceit falsehood. Neither do
they desire to- A few adventurous operators may
wish to benefit themselves by resorting to any mode
but in their interests the public have no interest and
the sooner their system is exploded the better. We
have done, and shall continue to do our part towards
that end. 1
AL of these occurrences, taken in connection with |
the fact that the manufacturing States Of the North
as well as the manufacturing countries of the Old
World watch the progress of the cotton crop from the
moment the seed is put in the ground until it natures
and is gathered, with more sedulous attention than
they do anything else-serve to show the Southern
people that they possess power within themselves
which, If rightly welded, will enable them not only
70 protect themselves in future against aggression
Dut to dictate the mode and measure of protection.
The staple article of their production constitutes the
,ivot on which the worlds revolyes. 1t is
absolutely essential to the heathful prosecution Of
uture commercial transactions, as blood is to the
human body Viewing the subject in this light, and
uly considering the money -grasping nature of the
ge, the conclusion is irresistible that were the South
IS weak as she is strong-were she alike incapable of
damaging her enemies or Of defending herself in case
# hostile collisions-the world would not be foolish
nough to dam up most fruitful source of revenue,
n suicidal enough to kill the goose that laid the
'olden eggs" if we may be allowed the use of a
omely, though apt figure of speech,
The various ramfcations of the cotton traffic now
ermeate and enlven the leading branches of busi-
ess throughout the civilized earth Ithas been said
nd without great exaggeraton that cotton clothes
he world" Cotton is in almost as common use on
he continent of Europe as it is in the United States
md where it is not in use it is being intro
luced. II is necessity, vital and inevitable, which
he world cannot supply with any other article or get
i'd OF, in any mode or manner whatsoever. Without
lotion the shipping, mercantile and manufacturing
interests Of abolition Massachusetts, would wither to
he earth as if seathed by a thunderbolt. Without
otton, up to the first of next February even, every
importing merchant and every bank in New York
would be irretrievably bursted and the sheriff would
ave more than he could attend to in selling out gran
te, iron and marble-fronted palaces of bankrupts
Without cotton for solitary, single season, England
would suffer than if involved in five years war
With continental Europe. And continental Europe
would feel the bghting effects of an abolition of the
otton trade in every fibre of her commercial indus.
rial, and social system.
Enjoying these manifold and practical advantages,
low should the South use the power with which ma
ure has profusely endowed her, in order that the
angers of the present may be dissipated and the
iture rendered safe Assuming that it is practicable
Or her to accomplish both of these ends with profit
0 herself, We will proceed to name few of the
hings she should do with the least possible delay,
nd which must be done before she will be adequately
anoplied for all the contingencies her rabd enemies
lay seek to bring upon her. In the first place. her
ystem OF public improvements should be extended
her domains. Virginia should be brought
! striking distance, by railroads, with Louisiana