Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1859-04-13
For the Advertiser.
REVIVAL OF TIE SLAVE TRADE-No. x1


REVIVAL OF THE SLAVE TRADE-No. XII.
"TAe mur must be carried into tfricd.s
TIE year 1915 found the world Mt peace Iftcr n
bloody and exhausting wnr Of 25 years Duration,
in which all Europe had participated. ulso
found cotton selling in the Southern msrketut 81
cents u pound, from which figure it further ad-
vanccd to 81 cents, and never fell below 2gcents
per pound until 1920. The same year (lS15s like
wise found the slave trade closed. Well cotton
culture during the five years between lSl5au 90,
paid much better thun any other business n' the
United States. A heavy demand consequently
existed in nll that timo fur negro labor. Tbeprice
Of negroes accordingly rose to very high point.
Within 10 years after the Slave trnde had been
closed common f.ld bul,ds sold ut public ont
cry for 81. 900 and $I2OD cash, for the truth Of
which appeal to the recurls Of the tims,and to
the memory Of the oil now living. As no
urore negroes could be guttcu from Africa; they
had to be brought from the North, where slavery
then existed de,pite the crude notions Of universal
liberty aud equality, which had been spge1dcred
by our own and the French Revolution. iss
Northern slave holders, after making theshlcu-
lation, discovered that they could hire white Ia
burcr for much lees than the interest the pur-
chase money which they could got for a. slave in
tho Southern MARKET Negroc. were; -ehe.SsSfe,
shipped Southwurd, and white cmgrants from
Europe were employed in their stend. The wars
of Europe being over, cmigrants sought an asylum
| ~ ,b,ys Ruft thev
a. the parszing strife Of rs years had bankrupted
not only most of ths Government but ulso rnu.t Of
the individuals in every Stntc of Europe They
therefore had to work for "ayns and many Of them
being skilled ariznns, truine'l in the factories nnd
workshops of EIropc, naturally preferred TO work
ut the tradc which they understood. They could
rot little or no employment at tho South, ~ Euro
pcan artizans had previously dune, lecnusc the
attention Of Southern capitalists was then diverted
| from manufactures to cotton culture.
10 have complete idea Of the immense profit
Of cotton culture Mt that timo, it is necessary TO
remember that money WIS then worth much more
| than il il now. Since then the treasures of the
Cra, of California Of Australia and Of other places
|
of Issue have trebed the circulation of the specie
basis in this country, and the present increased
facilities Of communication have chcupUued money
by credit alone to rruhably dnuiic the amount uI
both the specie and bank bill basis Consequent.
ly, making all proper allowance for tho increase of
population, anil the new calls for the precious
metuls it is no gcration {" sny that dollar
| in lSlj-20 must have been worth two dollars now
in cxchangeablc value. So that cotton which then
sold for IS cents pound would now bring Sc
cents if all other things were equal; and besides
the direct profit Of cotton culture in those haryon
days, the natural increase Of slaves and the appre-
citation Of land must also bc taken isto the account
Moreover, ms the people of Europe then wanted
clothing Immediately, until they could revive their
flax, wool and silk culture, which had been sadly
neglected during tLc Nnpoloonic wars thuy be-
came competitors with each other, for the sale OF
all sorts Of manufactured articles in exchange for
our cotton, which depressed tho profits Of manu-
featuring ut the South while it exalted those of
cotton culture. Keeping these facts in mind, it is
easy to apprehend what an overpowering lenpta-
ton was then held out 10 capital for deserting
manufactures and every other kind Of business TO
dig tho wealth Of the euttnn field. Dgt II ths slave
.rnds had tbsn bson oPrn, the wants Of Europe for
cotton could have bssn surrlc5, and suutiIsrn
manufactures Hrrid have nl,u busp preserved ard
enlarged, Men nrs slow TO luit enc bu,inpss and
snsnSc Ia auotbcr, requiring IN entire change Of
habits, aud wholly different qualifications.
European artzans then could no longer get en-
ploymcut at the South, because capitalists here
would no lungcr unite their money with the skill
Of the artizan in manufacturing, which gave 90
much smaller return to capital than cotton culture.
1t consumed all surplus capital ut the South to get
1 more cotton laborers from the North. No money
wus left here for engaging in new manufactures or
fur preserving the old. AS the Nurth then had
monopoly Of tho slave trade, they dictated their
own prices. Although negro ut $500 or $500
might BIZ profitable, in New York or Pennsylvania,
yet, it would not pny TO keep him there when his
owner could scl him in tho South for twice or
thrice that sum, und then hire white emgrant
from Europe fur less than the interest on the pur-
chase money. Such emigrants as were not arti-
zans, but merely common laborers, could then no
more get cmploymentnt The South than tho artizans
themselves, because tho planters Of the South did
not want white cotton laborers. and such laborers
did not care to work in the cotton field as the
petitor Of the negro for wages.
The result of all which was that mighty wave
Of negro population swept Southwark, md Euro
pcan emigration fllOd the void thereby created in
the labor market Of the North. Trained artizans
came to the South no more, and those already
domciled here fled from Southern cities ns though
they were infected with the plague. Thus it was
that manufactures, shipping and commerce quit
the South, their natural home, and took up their
abode in bleak, rocky, sandy Now England.
"Thc grass is now growing in those cities of the
South which originally monopolizel our colonial
commerce and maintained their ascendency in tue
earlier years Of tho Union"