Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1858-05-21

y this section Of the country. We refer to ID
II manufacture Of tobacco. AS Virginia Is ID
leading State in it's production, 30 it is also i
, its manufacture. In the city OF Riehmon
d alone there are now hfty-six manufacturers Q
+ the staple, whose united capital amounts {
. four or five millions Of dollars. More tobacco
is opened, inspected and sold in that city, prob
ably, than in snE other single place in thl
: United States. It is there that the choices
4 specimess Of the weed assumed the shap'
which commends il 10 the regard Of devOtsS
cheWers everywhere. Tobacco is put up In al
/. many different ways almost a. there are chew
, ers. There ie as much difference between the
ideas Of the Yankee and SoutherneT on tie
question Of taste ss there is on any other mat
ter. The former likes his pig TAIL" plenti-
I fully sweetened and lquorieed to degree; the
latter, the less sweetenng you put 10 the better
the tobacco. Buyers eongTegate in Richmond
from all parts of the country, who purchase
for all portions Of the globe. Foreign govern
ments are supplied by agents who reside there
for that purpose. With many citizens the road
to wealth has been paved with tobacco.
Our readers who have followed US thus far
} are undoubtedly surprised that there is 80 much
manufacturing in the South. 1t is eonsideTa-
bic, and is increasing 20 be very considerable,
though the common Impression has been, that
there was next to none south Of Mason and
Dixon's line. And if we consider the annual
value Of hos manufactures, which is S2l,-
493 GA, SIS, ,634.129 Of which is the product Of
the South, and only IS $50 5l5 Of the North,
the section Of country that We are considering
is presented to us in still more favorable as
peet.
In considering the subject under contempla-
tion, and the prospective wants Of the people
Of this country, we are deeply impressed that
| this is to become great manufacturing nation.
At present it is more celebrated for its agricul-
tural than for either OF the other leading inter-
ests Of mankind, and then it ranks ss the second
commercial power on the globe. As a nation,
ol the contrary, it bss nat been celebrated for
its manufactures; though within quarter OF
a century this section OF the land Is beginning
to take rank wi-h the most advanced nations
| In this department Of industry. Aud when we
consider the almost countless rivers Of all
sizes and descriptions coursing through our
country from ocean to ocean, and from the
lakes to that gulf that has been called the
great head of the ocean," and contemplate the
countless waterfalls afforded BY them, all ready
to propel machinery enough to DO the nanufae-
turing Of the globe; and when we think Of the
cheap labor, free and slave, that can be CON-
manded 10 all portions of the land, and the
abundant commercial advantages for conveying
American manufactures by and land to
every nation and to every isle, through our swift
ships, and swifter rail cars, it appears to be no
stretch Of Imagination to conceive Of this ns-
tion as being the greatest manufacturing land
Of the globe, century, or even half cen
tury hence.
As for the South, we see 40 reason why she
may not embark very largely in manufacturing
within the next quarter Of century. She has
the spital; she has the water power In great
abundance she has 100000 Of slaves, the
es,im sted number Of whom will be 5000 900
in 1865, and in 1890, 10000 900, unless some
unexpected event shall prevent their wontsd
increase; and she has besides great multitude
Of poor white lsborers who are much in want
Of the employment that manufactures would
aflrd. Besides, cotton and wool are great
staples Of the South, and she can use them to
a much greater advantage than to export them |
abroad, since the cost Of expectation is so
great, aud since she needs a large portion Of
the manufactured goods for her own eOnsump-
tiOn. Great Britain is row the great consumer
Of American cotton. Our foreign exports Cf
the article in 1910 amounted to 743 9il 06l /
pounds while the home consumption for the /
same year reached l1S 9l5 200. In 1850 we /
exported 635 33l .604 pounds, and consumed at !
home 1875 ,l01 600. Our cotton factories, IN /
1850, consumed a. much cotton as did those OF /
Great Britain 10 1881; thus afording encour- 1
sgement that they may, BY proper manage
ment, be so multiplied al to consume the whole /
crop Of the country at no very distant day.
IN the year 1916 the late and Hon. Abbott 4
Lawrence, OF this city, addressed several let
ters to the Hon. William c. Rivss, Of Virginia,
on the policy Of Virginia and the South in ref
erence to the introduction Of manufactures and
improvements. 10 one Of those letters
Mr.. Lawrence said:
{" You canno. do any'b hing in Virginia that
will SO completely promote tue Introduction OF
as the placing OF manufacturing estsb
lishmeHts on your beautiful waterfalls. The
water power on the James river, at Richmond,
is unrivalled. aud it seems a great waste Of
a -. inf
having hardly touched water-whsel. 10 tn
prominent men Of Virginia, Of both political
parties, will give up their party warfare, and
resolve themselves into committee Of the
whole on the commonwealth, to improve the
state Of agriculture by making two b AIDES Of
grass grow where there Is now but one If they
will establish manufactures, and carry on
well adjusted system of internal improvements,
they will then have done something that will
be substantial, abiding-which will stand ss
substantial memorials of their patriotic dsvo-
ton TO the interests OF the people, through all
time"
Undoubtedly the worn-out condition OF much
Of the land Ia the older States Of New England
was one principal reason for the introduction
of manufactures with Us. The same reason
urges Virginia, the Csrolinas, Georgia and
1ther Southern States, to make up what they
have lost BY the depreciation Of their lands, By
Lp-uFllE AllrA hEArAAnll1S GAlA v Al1AAA-nN-
turing their cotton at home, instead Of sending
L abroad. The SOuth can produce cotton
10th, and a better article, cheaper than either
Old or New England, because she has the CO..
ton on the ground, and in better condition
than it can possibly be after a removal Of hnn
ireds OF thousands Of miles, thus beirg exposed
10 drenching rains, to be rolled in the mud Of
.shorves, or to be bleseasd OF rotted BY expo
sure, in iis long travels BY sea and land. II
cotton has done so much to make England
great during the last sixty or seventy years, or
since she received the first bale from our shores;
if it has added so much to the industry and
of New England, what will it not
do for the South when she learns to manufsc-
ture it at home, thus producing many valuable
home markets for the sgriculturist, aud ma
king cotton king in a double sense.