Weekly national intelligencer., 1857-10-10
ron THE NATIONAL rssrrrI1azscnn.
coTToN CROP AND ITs pRnnuCTIoN. !,


1.-THE COTTON CROP AND ITS PRODUCTION
The notice which you pleased to bestow upon thu
article with the above heading in your paper of the 81
instant induced to read it with more than my usua
care The writer heads his article sSouthern SaUes
and the Cotton Trade and the arguments used such
as must necessarily be employed by all who advocate the
reopening of the slave trade; do suppose Judging
solely from this article) that the author Gen. MORSE
had any other design in its preparation than exhibit
the necessity of increase of slave labor the cotton
producing States their natural production from the
stock on hand and their introduction from the more
northerly slave States.
In truth the aims of the writer seem to me quite clear
when he admits the correctness of the popular opinion
that we have sufficient area and fertility of cotton
growing soil to furnish that article to an unlimited ex-
tent but contends that another element enters into and
overrides the whole subject that other element being
declared the future demand and supply of slave
bor"language not at all ambiguous when followed by
line of argument to prove that the natural increase
the slaves in the nine cotton growing States added to
the imporations from the Others will not produce the
four million and twenty-five thousand bales of cotton re-
qured for the year 1S60 and that to the
of cotton necessary they purchase additional slaves
to the amount of STAG, 900, OOO
In my opinion the theory of Gen. Morse is altogether
erroneous, and is formed very superficial view of
the real facts involved
contend that the increase in the production of cot
ton is not altogether dependant the increase of slaves
In the cotton region is its increase or dimnution
as much affected by this by other considerations
well understood by political economists If the theory
of Gen. Morse be correct how shall we for the
fact that while in Alabama the cotton crop by the CEN
sus OF 1910 amounted to only 847 bales it attained
in 1850 to 564 429 bales nearly doubling its production
while in the period her slaves increased only thirty
i've and half per cent AT the rate per hand icon
sldering as Gen. NJ does those only hands who age
from ten to sixty which Alabama produces cotton there
would be no difficulty in realizing all of production
which the most sanguine anticipate in 1860
Another evidence of the faacy of this theory of pro-
ductlon IN any one great staple increasing in ratio
with the multiplication of the producing classes is pre-
sented by the very State in which the article alluded to
was Written-Louisiana. According to the census of
o40 the State of Louisiana produced nearly double the
quantity of cotton to that of 1885, in the former year
raising over 38 900 bales to less than 49, 000 bales in
1850 while her slaves increased in number from e8 42
in 184O to 24 800 in 1850 or at the ratio of
per cent By reference to the census compendium re-
ferred to by Gen. NJ it will be that Alabama in 1850
did not sacrifice her other interests for cotton for with
the addition of only thirty per cent to her slave
population her productions of wool increased three hun
dred per cent rice thousand per cent and sugar
eight hundred &c. The slaves of Mississippi increased
nearly hundred and fifteen thousand from 1910 to
1850, or fftyeght and three-quarters per cent? while
her cotton product increased one thousand balesa
near ratio of increase being one bale of cotton to one
hundred and forty five slaves
The writer of the article introduced to your readers
to overlook the fact that the prospect of proper
held out for any considerable time is the
most powerful and incentive to increased produc
ton and he also overlooks the facts that the cotton
regions have other great interests in hand beside that
article and they their energies or divide
them certainty doubt predomnates erroneous
to suppose, if any stated number of slaves in State
produce certain number of bales of cotton that the
production of cotton will increase in the same proper
ton you add to the number of slaves and for this
reason the resources varythe cotton is one only of
many products The increased laborng population may
have their energies directed to the production of
alone, in which it is clear that the increase in
the production of this staple would prove greater than
the ratio of increase of producers So with sugar. rice
tobacco and any other crops and it for these reasons
to which might add many Others, that we hold the
arguments of Gen. Morse to be unsound, convinced as
are that the statistics of 1860 will prove that our
slaves numerous enough for the interests of the slave
holding community and sufficient produce all the cot
ton at remunerating prices that will be required.
| noticed few days since in New England manu-
factory for making oil from cotton seed mention this
BY way of illustrating the Indifference of cotton
growers to the fat of the land which if persisted in will
ind them without oil in their own lamps sooner than
hey imagine Improve Southern agriculture to its
highest state of susceptibility and slaves will pro-
luce all that necessities and the demands of trade
require, and we will find that the ratio of increased
supply is mot dependent upon and exactly limited by
he future accession of slave labor the cotton growing
States' x