The Feliciana Democrat., 1858-06-19
THE SOUTH CRIES, MORE LABOR.


The wealth aud strength of the south lie in it, agri
cultural resources So far as these remain in state
of nature, or are developed in u way seriously TO
impair the produevcncss of the land cultivated the
public either gains nothiug thcrciom, reaps bcnc-
fits of the most ephcmcral character. \ plain state
mcnt of facts will set this matter in clear light be-
fore the reader.
lst The southern states contain over six hundred
million acres of land, which, for agricultural purpo
ses is not surpassed and probably not equalled all
things considered. by any other equal area on the
habtabc globe.
I'd. All the enclosed land in the south according
to the census Of 1850. is Hfty-vc million three hun
drcd and cighty-four thousand seven hundred and
six acres, or less than one acre in ten.
81. Experience has abuudantly proved that negro
labor employed in the planting states, is best
adapted TO the production of those tropical and semi
tropical plants which are the crops Of the south.
lth Experience has also shown that we cannot re
ly emigrants from Europe to supply labor for the
cultivation Of cotton rice, and sugar in this country.
9th. In consequence Of the supply Of laborers
from Africa having been wholly cut of since lSOS,
and the great demand for negro labor in all cotton.
sugar and ricegrowing districts, with The unayoida-
bic high price Of slaves, planters have been placed
in that unnatural aud unwi.n position which renders
ii more profitable 10 out thcvcry cheap lands VI
the sunny south than to maintain their virgin ertili
ty. Had labor, during the last fifty years, been ap
prOXimalcly cheap ~ farming lands. were slaves
now as cheap plantations. they could lie bought at
prices that would enable every cntrrpri,ng man 10
improve his soil, and thus soon double tue wealth
and every Kind Of business connected Herewith, III
the nKpholliuw gtutps 1 thp N pprfpriV ul
normal. not 70 say cXtrayagont price Of good field
hands, no one afford to use slave labor for the
production Of manure, unless it be purely exception
al cases. As system OF planting applicable to all
cotton and corn fields ours is cmphatcay IN false
position.
No thoughtful, intelligent man can survey the old
fields from the Chesapeake to the Mississippi, and
not bear witness the fact that there is something
fundamentally wrong in southern agriculture. To
right thit wrong i what the south most needs and il
never enjoy lasting prosperity until its citizen.
have the good sense to find ont wherein the wrong
os. and remove it.
The wise and good men who framed the Federal
Constitution did not, could not iorcsce the impor
tancc that was soon to attach 10 cotton culture in
part of the United states nor bow Indispensable
more laborcrs from Africa would become in the
course Of time, to meet the growing wants of the
civilized world in reference TO present great og
riculturu and commercial staple. Could they have
looked into the unknown future, aud in place Of pro-
hbitng the importation Of slaves after the lapse Of
twenty years from the adoption Of tho Constitution,
provided for the suppression Of all the creltics Of
" the middle passage and given to this cla-s of i'm.
mi grants into the New World, every nccdfu procc-
ton that good laws rigdy enforced can afford, the
south would to-day we worth three times more than
/ il is. Land end labor would then have borne rcr-
tive prices based on equal availability and sound
agricultural economy so that the soil, rapidly ap-
precatng in value, because Of the abundance of Ii.
Dor to improve it. would have been too useful to So
cety 10 permit its destruction, Now, the great mis-.
fortune Lies in the fact that southern public sentiment
fails 10 sec, as the people fail TO feel the popular
ror Of consuming the natural lrutlulness of the
fields which both feed and clohe them.
without laborere to cultivate and improve thc In
definite millions of acres Of impoverished lands oGr
present practice Of skinning and bleeding the soil
will not BE- abandoned for many years. The public
interest demands more laborcr. in the planting states
and this interest should be respected by all parties
The highest statistical authorities at the north csti.
mate each abc-bodcd adult immigrant from Europe
/ the public there AT this rate, two hundred thou
sand immigrants year. give the north, every twelve
month, two hundred million dollars worth OF import
ed aborers VIII tie planters and business men OF
the south fold their arms in dlcncss and say that the
large area Of farming land in this quarter of q com.
mon confcdeacy, shall haze no benefit whatever from
the introduction of human muscles from abroad
------------------
u mi lnu
/ Pennsylvania, which left New Orleans on the 9tI
inst for st. Lonis exploded her boilers on the morn
ing Of the 18TH at Ship Island below Memphis
Fire breaking out on her, she was burned to the wa
ters edge. Nearly an hundred persons are among
/ the list Of lost and missing. Among those lost /
Dennis Corcoran, the well known editor
Later accounts state, that in the explosion, the ca
bin, as far back as the pantry, was at once blow
away, The register, and boats books and papers
were all lost.
i II is stated that the number of cabin passenger
saved is eighy-ive and deck passengers onehundret
and twenty. Most Of them were taken from q fiat
boat, fastened at the lower end ofShp Island by thu
Imperial ; and about thirty were taken from it by
skifs and conveyed to points above the water on h
Wl,,U a., IL, i,1,;