The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1859-08-12
THE GROWTH OF THE SOUTH.

The progress of tile West has been made
the index Of our nalionaI prosperity. 1t
"a,,nct be denied that it has been almost
marvellous; but much OF the bu>,e and
business has been more apparent than real.
y wild and reckless spirit Of speculation
has possessed the people who have bnii, its
cities, and q thirst for change driven popu
laliun Yves; ward like the sands of the desert
before the wind.
CIicayn, which has been the theatre of
the most astonishing" changes in the value
Of real c>la!e-loi.. under the influence of Il
species of mania, g"in" up to fabulous pri.
ccs-is Il broken city, and SO Of the whole
West.
Far different is it with the progress OF
the South. Avoiding, with almost a soI-
tary exception, the insanity Of speculation
which has visited other portions Of the
Union, her progress has been real. I'm
provcmcnts have been based on capi.al
Increased value of property has followed
enlarged power OF production. We have
hal occasion particularly to note the pro-
gress OF the Moth. western parishes Of Lon
isiana, and have been able to present an
increase in prodnc'i"n, population, wealth
aud improvement that is scarcely surpassed
i'll other portions of the Union.
The statistics of Arkansas will furnish
another bright example of Southern pro.
grrss. Within the past year 100000
acres Of her lands have been sold bv tic
General Government. The tide of emigra,
ton from the adj lining States has been un
prccrdcn'csl. The increase in the value OF
!or products has been markell. Through,
the whole State the evidence Of thrift, en-.
terprise and growing prosperity is evident
If we descend from gencralities and con.
fine our illustrations to single points, to one
little nucleus Of population. the same fact is
perhaps more signaIly prominent. Twelve
years ago Fort Smith, Il scllenrn. on the
! very outskirts Of civilization, contained four
hundred inhabitants. 1t now has 5000
having increased more than seven fold in n
| little more than one decade. The business
Of the place then amounted to but few
! thousand dollars. Now it is estimated at
nearly million. The present most popu.
lous portion Of town WAS then thicket oI
oak. Manufactures have sprung up in this
l,,t o. I I
and in the private buildings and all public
Improvements the evidence Of prosperity
refinement and wealth is found.
This progress has been accomplished
without the stimulus OF railroads or any OF
the great enterprises of the day which so
rapidly change the character and condition
of country. 1t is spontaneous growtI,
resulting only from the natural diffusion o
our Southern population, and the profit oi
industry under our system Of social organi
cation. 1t will require no vivid imagina
ton to conceive what will he the result
when railroads shall bind our western wild,
to the central markets Of the South west
and open to the entcrprising the vast re-
sources Of country yet really UNKNOWN
". o. Picoyune.
| MARRYING CoUsINs.-It has been AS.
certained, by careful investigation into The
influence Of marriages Of consanguinity o
offspring, that over 10 per cent. Of the blind
and yearly 5 per cent of the idiotic, in the
various State institutions for the subjects o.
their defects, are offspring Of kindred pa
rents. And making an estimate based up
on the best ascertained data, there would