The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-02-24
DECLINE Of NEW DRLEANs.

| FOR TIE nlOSt, part the history OF IHe Onlteu
4 States has been marked by extra ordinary pro-
+ gress in dptiafda md wealth; 4 Thousands of
/ our native citizens were born subjects of a for
e5gn Government, and hot a feEf may remember
+ when, as feeble colonistA our forefathers waged
\ a doubtful war Of Independence. Within
lifetime, the poor and sparselyy-PeoPled confed-
feracy of colonies, have grown into a great and
powerful nation : claiming rank with the great
EN- bfes Of Europe or thirty three States, two
at feast have each more population and wealth
+ than tie Whole C6nfederacy contained in II
and What at that period we're small towns, with
Ia few thousand inhabitants, are now mag!nif
cent cities, whose merchants are princes IN
Ewealth, and whose sails 'whiten' every sea. -
I An parts Of the Union have more or less par
take" IN His wonderful development but the
I fact cannot Be disguised, that certain sections
fexhibit signs Of premature decay, The con
dtion Of paralysis in which the energies OF
F Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina,
f remained for some twenty years has been a
I frequent subject Of comment in these columns.
+ We have within the last few years been graft
fed t" note IN them a revival Of prosperity
and we have drawn attention TO the ciircum
7 stances which have caused and accompanied
the renewal Of their energies, viz the con
T strnction Of internal Improvements, the immi-
I grafton Of free population, and the relative, if
not absolute, decline of Slavery. '.''' T. a.
But the most remarkable instance instance of The, de-
pressing Effects Of Slavery upon the prosperity
|. of a community is presented in the case of New
Orleans. In natural advantages, no city il in the
i world exeels II. Il is near the mouth Of the
largest river. in the world, whose nay1igable
|. waters Of twenty thousand miles in extent
!, place i II Capitalization with the most pro
gressiye community Of which history gives gives : an
|, example, and which should make it the com
merciat heart and centre Of what De. Toccqnes-
1. vile styles "tfe. most magnificent dwelling
t place Of man on earth But, in spite Of these
| incalculable incentives to growth in wealth and
/ power, New Orleans, has for nearly twenty
| years suffered the same paralysis Of its eper
! gies TO which we have adverted in the case Of
| Virginia. The decline of the great city Of the
South is the more depTorable, from the fact that
il scarcely needs the artificial stimuIants which
have served to awaken new life in the old do
minion, The great river and its tributaries
leave little room for improving the facilities for
internal commerce, or at any rate, such arti-
/ fetal helps must forever remain uncomfortable
1 in comparison with the Father Of Waters.
4 We find the following results of recent cen,
gus taken in Louisiana, in our exchanges:
| Z The population of Louisiana. ascettained
BY a census taken last year is 629,876, being
an increase of 1911 over the total of the
/ year 1885, Of the present number, there are
Al u hitfNs 4iranreaSe Ia Is llQl free
32,lP5., The whites are in a minority of the
! whole population, as they were in The wear
1880" The population of che city of New Orr
I leans IS IL f224nr1 gap / +s5 H. ...al b. -...,
Fhe 'inorease of population in the State at
argethss been less than we should have been
led to teXpeet; while that of the city is remark
! ably smalt In the period between 1910 and
I io5es the same staenation was observable ::
! but the development OF the great West has
been so rapid since the latter period that we
/ had been induced to look for "a corresponding
| Improvement in New Orleans .. Isl
lndOnder to present the whole case to the
feaier, We quote from the Federal census the
t progressive population of the city from the wear
/ $780, when the first enumeration took place
} under our laws, down TO the last. In 1910, the
| population of New Orleans was Z, PAP in 1929.
| it amounted to 27 ,l76; in $780, to 4G.349; in
! lsiO,'to 02,l93: and in 1850, to 4 1875. Ae.
! eosdIHg to the above statement of the recent
State census, the increase of population in the
city from 1850 to 1855 was only $40 100. la
De Bow, in his compendium Of The seventh
cehsds,' says, on the authority of DR.. Barton
! that the population of New Orleans in | $40 was
bTefistated in the census returns to the extent
of ten '0r fifteen thousand. According to this
statement, whichis not improbable, the increase
between 1880 and 1850 went on at a healthy
ratio, of say, thirtythree or thirty five per cent
DO that the period of decline commences not in
n $40, as the above figures would indicate. but
In 1850, or perhaps year or two before. +.
\ The stagnation of New Orleans may be
Traced to two circumstances, both resulting
rom Slavery. TIE first is the almost exclusive
4eommercial character Of the city New Orleans
the natural bullet for the products Of the
Mississippi valley and it requires a very CON
hfdersBle population to effect the expectation Of
lcotton, sugar, tobacco, and grain. This inn
fneense export trade would, IN free community.
give rise to CORRESPONDING importation of for
| eign goods and, at the Same time become the
nucleus iof extensive mechanical and mahnfac
turing enterprises. But Slavery has the same
1efects upon Southern cities that are so paipabe
Iaif Over the Southern country 1t prevents a
diversity of occupations, which is so essential
Ito prosperity and concentrates all energies upon
one putstit.. The Southern country produces
iraw material which the Southern seaport cities
1exbott7: and even the exploration is for the
Imost part performed by ships owned m the free
Estates Of the North or of Europe The imports
fof New Orleans are inconsiderable, and bear no
fproporti6n' to the exports: The ordinary rule
hs,ithat the exports and imports should balance
leach other Bur such is the paralyzing infiu-
ence Of Slavery, that the section of the country
(which produces the exportable commodities is'
iaepehdent upon the section which has been less
favored BY mature, for its imported goods. New
lOrleans is evenmore destitute of manufacturing
THAN of commercial enterprise Manufactures.
and the mechanic arts are the life of cites
philadelphia, With no great amount of forelgn
lcomnrerce, has become, by means Of her man
nfacturing and mechanic arts, the second city
i in America. Nearly all our cities otthe North
and West. owe their chit Importance to this
4 source and even Ne~ York, great as is her
eommerce, has also an immense population en-
4 gagged in mecbanical employmepts.