Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-12-30
Direct ImpOrtati0ns--Prepar 10 Bny and
Sell M Horue.

Direct Observation-Disclosures TO Bny and
Sell at TTsme.
1t is gratifying to observe on the part of the mer
chants Of our Southern seaboard cities active pre-
parations being made to engage extensively in i'm
porting goods from the foreign manufacturers,
while a growing disPoaihon is equally apparent
among the people CT the interior to encourage such
a trade The card on this subject published by the
merchants Of Charleston S. c. and which may be
found in our advertising columns calls attention 10
the fact that while they have no desire to under
rate the energy and enterprise of the merchants
Of Northern cities. they claim to be able to supply
goods in their respective lines on as favorable
terms both as to price and credit, the merchants
of any city in the Union They have facilities
for obtaining goods from Europe not surpassed by
any, and their impOrtations from abroad are very
large, notwithstanding the reports to the contrary
circulated by those who have no knowledge of what
they affirm. or whose interests prompt them to mis-
lead. American goods they obtain from the manu-
facturers on as favorable terms as any jobbirg
chants of the Northern cities. Why, then, they
ask should they not be able to sell favorable
terms as others? They therefore solicit the mer-
chants of the interior to encourage their own sea-
port for if the Charleston business men cannot do
what they profess here will very little incoHveni
ence be experienced for tie old plan be fallen
back upon ct a few hours notice.
The policy adopted by the merchants of Charles
ton should be initiated by those not only of all the
large seaport cities but Of many interior cities. 1t
needs but to be prosecuted TO succeed and its sue
cess must result in great advantages to the South.
The wealth ard resources of the South are ample
to sustain commerce of our own, and the present
is a most propitious time for commencing TIE work.
4 more propitious time for laying the foundation Of
the real independence Of the South could not be
well imagined Let us commence the direct impor-
tatioas OF such goods as we require from foreign
manufacturers and then build up establishments for
manufacturing our own raw materials into such
fabrics as our necessities require The adoption of
such policy as this viii not only enrich the South
but by relieving US of our present dependence upon
Cur Northern brethren for large proportion of the
products Of their manufactures cause them TO re-
spect our rights and cease to mcddle with institu-
tons which arc peculiarly our own. While man.
uiacturing and commercial enterprise is the out
growth of gradually accommodating wealth. and the
necessity OF a division of labor, says the New Or
leans Picayg,e they may be fosIered into an I'M
usually early prosperity by accidental causes The
embargo act and the of 1872 did much to lay
the foundation of New England manufactures. The
hostility to-day Of the North against the South may
and indeed must, hasten the development on an i'm
portant scale of Southern enterprises Of the same
character. The evidence that such is to be the
suit accumulates daily.
From many quarters of the Northern manufac-
featuring districts complaints already made of
a serious falling of of the Southern trade and not
a few of those who have been most prosperous are
now threatened with financial ruin by the ossOf our
orders. 1t cannot be doubted if the present antag
onism Of sections continues THAI the change in the
direction of Southern trade viii soon become much
mere marked.
' The natural result of this must be a new stimu-
lus to kind ed enterprise in the South. Already the
experiment Of manufacturing on a large scale has
been made in each Of the Southern States and it
no longer be said that dependent upon
foreign skill for every article of necessary use, from
the cradle that receives the infant the coffin that
covers the dead.
We have, indeed only to traverse the streets Of
our own city 10 observe rapid growth in almost
every description of manufactures, indicating a
change IN our industry resulting from ordinary
causes. Ii is scarcely necessary 10 say that il is a
duty we owe to our homes to encourage, by every
possible means, the development Of such enterprises
until we shall produce all we consume. 1t is no
more difficult to ablish tanneres and shoe manu-
factories cabinet work shops and looms for coarse
cotton fabrics. than to introduce the cultivation of
grass lands for hay and pastuIage for stock.
If any one really conceiyes that crisis impends,
he must be aware that such business establishments
must be organized to save us from embarrassment
and individual losses which would be seriously felt
The advantage Of adopting the principle that it is
the duty cf Southern men to patrOnize home labor
and skill is, that under any contingencies of lhc fu
ture, they viii prove equally beneficial The grow
ing feeling then, TO become independent create
amcng our population the ties Of producer and con-
suner-is most hopeful. Let those who would do
the South real service, spend their gains at home
invest their Accommodations Of capital in domestic
,'nterprses-labor to cultivate. improve and adorn
our cities, our ~ca-coass and our health-gush-
ing springs; let them freely purchase of those who
lead in exhibiting articles of Southern production
and provide for the alton of new sources of home
dependence for which our climate, our soil, our
products and our labor offer the most earnest en-
couragcmeuI"