The Washington union., 1857-06-11
COTTON PANIC SUPPLY AND CONSUMPTION.

COTTON PANIC-SUPPLY AND CONSUMPTION.
AT meeting of the Society of Arts held in London
Wednesday, May 49, Mr.. J. b. Smith, M. p, read
paper on the subject, How increased supplies
of Cotton be obtained? The lecturer gave a very
interesting and an acknowledgement expose of the
cotton interests of Great Britain exhibiting in clear
and comprehensive view, of statistics in rela
ton to the increased consumption and future supply
of the raw material which, if worked up into tabular
statements, would make good-szed statistical vol
ume. He tells us, for example, in few brief SEN
tences that the cotton manufactures besides cloth
ing the whole population" of Great Britain, ex-
ported in 1856 yarns and textiles to the value Of
S19l ,423,5OO, and that this sum was equal in value
to fully onehird of the entire exports of the United
Kingdom. How much it would have strengthened
his theory had he added that exports of raw
ton during the same year were more than equal in
value to onehrd of the entire exports of the United
States, both of domestic and foreign merchandise !!
Such is the fact--the excess in favor of cotton
being nearly twenty millions of dollars.
Believing that any serious interruption to a man
ufacture in which millions of consumers are inter
ested would be little less hana worlds calamity the
lecturer regarded it as unfortunate that the raw ma
terial instead of being derived from variety of
sources should be chiefly supplied from one source
and that source, too, which its very nature
as well as recent events, showed was preca-
rious. Out of 900, 900 900 pounds imported into
Great Britain last year, no less than 100000 900
pounds were from the United States and the product
of slave labor, From these premises the lecturer
proceeded on an exploration through Western Afr-
ca British Guiana, Demerara, and the East Indies,
and concluded by submitting that slave labor at AS
cents day cannot compete with free labor in India
at 72 cents per day "Who can tell" says the en-
husiastic orator "but that Justice to down-trodden
India may be the instrument in the hands of Prov-
dence Of Fastening the emancipation of the down
trodden race of African
Lord Stanley who took part in the discussion of
the evening stated that rise of one penny in the
pound in the price of cotton involved national loss
of S2OOOOOOO to $50 OO0, 900; that their depend
ence on the United States for the supply had in
creased from 45 per cent of their consumption of
cotton in 1901 to so per cent. at the present time
and it was the opinion of Mr.. Crawford a speaker
who took practical, busness-like view of the ques-
ton, and who, it would seem, had not thoroughly
rehearsed his part in the performances of the eve
ming, that the capacity of America to produce cot
ton had been moderated. This latter gentleman de-
monstraed the difficulties in the way Of getting rid
of slave labor in the United States and adduced fig
ures prove that if America were forced to get rid
of slavery in the manner adopted by the English,
she would have to pay as much $1,000, 900 900,
or as much as onefourth of the national debt of
Great Britain.
From these and similar discussions that have of
late occupied the attention of the leading scientific,
agricultural and philanthropic associations of Great
Britain, and from the prominence given to the sub
iect during the past twelve months by the principal
political newspapers of London, Liverpool, Manches-