Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1859-01-19
to glut the market with even our single product

ruleu during Tue Iast ScFeH col % !" So""e.'
with the previous uninterrupted and rapid III
crease of production, while low prices prevailed,
we may assume that our greatest capacity for pro-
duction has been attained and not for the want
of more land, but for the want of more lal or.
Yet the world cries more--more cotton-and
the present high prices of it is stimulating Egypt,
Algeria and India to increase their production.
That England, the chief manufacturer OF cotton
wants more Of it, witness the Herculean, yet
O ten ridiculous efforts Of her Manchester cotton
supply Association to find new sources OF pro-
duction-witness the fact that Doctor Living.
;npston's recent Book of travelsin Africa because
it gives O plausible account of a region whence
Manchester can probably be supplied with more
cottor has ltsold any publication of the present
century-witness the fact that the British Gov.
ernment as we'll as British capital nre enthusias.
tically backing Livingston in his endeavors to
establish cotton producing colony on the lam
bize-witness the fact that England is appropri.
atins the finest provinces of Africa and is making
apprenticed labyrers for her colonies OF all the
Coolies and Africans, which she can lay her hands
upon-tLat she is ransacking the whole earth to
find new spot and new labor with which to
produce more cotton--Above ALL witness the
upheavng revolt of India, which but tho other
day, startled the gazing world-yes that revolt
of q hundred millions-it was caused in the main
BY English oppression, seeking to obtain more
cation 1t would surely seem as it divine proVl-
dence always interpo>es to turn the mlstortunea
OF England to our account.
As long as the price of cotton remained low
she could never cope with the Southern States
in its production, although her labor cost moth.
ing, while ours was comparatively high. This
was owing somewhat TO the ineffciency OF the
Mongoleau as laborer and to the Eng!ishmans
lack of skill in the cotton field, but mostly to the
absence of cheap Transportation from the interior,
to the sea board. But the moment the increased
demand for cotton appreciated prices SO that
abundant and cheap Maugolian labor in the
interior of India, could compete with scarce aud
costly African labor in the South, then it WAS,
that England redoubled her oxertions, to prevent
any accessions to our Slave labor, while she
appropriated Coolies and Africans on every side
and drove her Ryots with the lash to rebellion, III
the hope of developing and consolidating cotton
producing interest in India, which should rival
ours. Let us then be thankful and convert that re-
volt which has been curse to England ntoa bles.
sing to ourselves by importing more labor, before
India can become composed. But We must not
slumber-The Africans must come quickly-Te
may fold our arms but our enemies are using
theirs.
1t would indeed be delightful state of affairs
for the South If cott1a could always stand at
present prices, or reach yet o higher figure,
But that cannot be. Ours is not the only coun.
try which can produce cotton. Aay we'll read
or travelled man will say, that delo,c certain
latitude, tho growing of cotton, depends more
upon the kind and system of labor used than
upon the soil. or climate. Cotton grows wild every
where in the tropics. There are sections of
Brazil for example, which produce cotton admi.
rably and as Brazil also has the same system of
labor as the South it may be safely conjectured
that existing and prospective prices will ere long
begin to tell upon the exports of cotton from that
land of promise. Brazil once raised large
quantity of cotton, but she abandoned it gradual.
ly, for the more lucrative culture Of coffee, which
being comparatively low in price now, while cot
ton is correspondingly high we may expect her
to return to cotton planting. Indeed the pro.
duction of cotton in Brazil since 1872 has in.
creased .fftyjonr per cent.
Nothing is lackiug buta half organized system
of labor 70 make Central America perhaps the
very best cotton producing region, on the globe.
That country is virtually on island not unlike
Florida in climate. At moderate estimate,
one dozen different varieties of cotton in respect
to either length, strength, color or fineness Of
fiber flourish there, and upon plants of all sorts
and sizes from the common stalk to q tree as
big as the tsllest oak. Some of these cotton
trees survive for ages aud all Of them, even the
small stalks, yield for years heavy mixed crop
of forms, bowls and lint all the while. England
is aware of this and hence in part her sleepleSs
vigilance to preventour colonizing any portion of
Central Amurica, while she holds on to every
foot she can get and has agents zealousy at
work attempting to organize o better labor sys.
tenn there, especially in St. Salvador.
A considerable amount Of cotton was formerly
grown in Hayti and other West India Islands
but the raising of it was discontinued for crops
that were more profitable, before the demand for
cotton had become so great and before cotton
machinery had been invented 80 as to make the
raw staple so valuable. Now that the price of
cotton is SO high its production can and probably
will be resumed in those genial 1sles-certainly
in Cuba and Poto Rica. Already it is announ-
ced in the papers that Manchester is casting her
eyes towards Cuba for more cotton-:s distribu.
ting seed implements, etc., for that purpose and
that the planters of the ever faithful Isle" are
lending willing ear that, as theirtobacco land
becomes exhausted of its aliment for that luxuri.
ami. plant it is turned into cotton fields. Cuba,
Ue IL TeluCluucTcuJu udS tlC SteHl VI AHlCdu
Slavery as ourselves-has cheaper slaves too and
will always have, as long as the slave trade is
closed, because being all island, she can SNUG
gle them better than we can, couceding that we
will smuggle ALSO Nor will cheaper slaves be
her only advantage in the competition which
inevitably awaits the South. She likewise pos.
sesses richer soil and more friendly climate
Besides most of her tobacco land is even now
exhaustcd-much of her sugar land is also worn
but will yet yield cotton and she has millions
acres of fertile wild land still to be opened to
culture. With all these facilities can any one
smile with incredulity, when it is asserted that
the present price of cotton will soon begin to
turn Cuba into cotton patch. Or, since China
aud Japan have been opened to the commence
of the world, who is SO bold as to guarantee that
the price of cotton will not go even yet higher
And if it does rise higher who can make assur
ance that Europe will continue to acquisce in our
monopolizing the production of cotton as we
have hitherto done. SCIPIO.
For the Advertiser.
CHESS CLUB.
Mr.. EpToR ALLOW me through your columns to
suggest to the young men of our village the forma-
ton Of Chess Club. Besides being improving and
Strengthening to tho intellect it will serve as the
nucleus of many "Lc Reunion Sociale" around