The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1860-02-08
For the Mississippian.
African Labor Supply-.-Wealth Argu
ment, No. 8.
MANUFACTURES.

ment, No. 8.
III MANUFACTURES
re- For a general system Of manufactures, Il
VS. supply of labor must be general and syst
-, matte. Our labor supply now is not gener
and systematic, but special and rregula
While in the United States South, but a fe
rs. persons can procure mental servants, our agr
nix culture demands all other negro laborer
n Such are the facts. But all social facts al
also factors; all social effects are also effective
oi they tend either to or from better stat,
h they are either progressive or regressiv
m What then. is the African labor supply's rels
~ ton to manufactures Why do we not spi
and weave our cotton and wool? Why ar
u we so exclusively agricultural ? Why hay
Id We not general system of factories? w
IN know. and who does not know, that the "a,
nj materials value is counted in but paltry dime
where the manufactured material is counte,
y in almost countless dollars Why then d
D. we not make the dollars as well as the dimes
re Why are we not cotton weavers as we'll g
= cotton pickers? Why are not our treasue
- mules, spinning jennies as well as blow
horses? Why do we not dare to be ricl
e, and imperial? Why is not the sceptre O
l. our sovereignty an iron trident shod witt
e sledge-hammer, and forked with blue stee
: sword, silver coulter and golden shuttle
: Why have we no State ambition? If on thu
u marty top of our perpetual hills, or in thu
: green gloom of our river dells, there are nc
oracles to dictate our destiny, let the hills and
: dells, the mari and mud, the land and skv
themselves, prompt the hopes and courses O
our future fortunes let the magic Nav gales
:. which from sunny sea-breasts, the full, warm
( rounded pillows, Gull the pearly froth, the
: opal bubbles and the amber foam, and out OF
them brew liquid buds, leaves and blossoms,
, to sail in cloud and be shipwrecked in a
shower; let the whisper of the generous gale.
the forked tongue flashing from the freighted
cloud, and the patter of the rains beating on
the ground for the fogrs to come forth, be a
voice from the heaven, coy from the ground
to cheer on our State ambition, and guide our
State career. Our counties here are scarce
the size of old and grand Republics. Such is
our aff1uence that even now some single
swamp counties, not half cleared, have easy
revenues, SURPRISING those of COLI, staryelng
States, whose very mountains seem green
from jealousy, or white from hate. Is this all :?
The God of nations, the Empire-Smith seems
here to have improved upon himself and plot
ted the ground work of the Prime Republic
The richness of our blood suits the richness
try is the wealthiest and the healthiest
upon the atlas. and our people are the first
Of the first race. The Caucassians are the
worlds governing class, and we are the
quintessence of Caucassianism. Our lineage
is peerless. For true genealogy is not heral-
die, but hygienic, and such is ours. Our peo-
pie are not heterogeneous RACES incestuously
arm mated, for heterogeneous amalgamation
: neration, and our people are the rare,
~, refined, unconquerable and magnif-
mlngle of homogeneous breeds. We
are French blood, boasting to be the sons of
Caesars soldiers, and too fierce to cringe, crave
and crouch among the vines of Normandy
and Burgundy-has the scent of rice blooms
| and orange blossoms been Upas, breath to
such free fierceness? we are the sceptre- blood
of Normans, who had rather sway on panta-
| tons than submit in palaces-is it now less
submissive the grandee blood of Spaniards,
whose necks were the Simplest to friends and
the stiffest to foes-are their Decks now less
stiff. and their blades less quick? the blood of
genius, the heart-bursting blood which. tore
and raved up and down the veins of Welsh
warriors and minstrels-s it against the in
suits and ingruities here, as weak and cold as
the juice Of leeks the blood of st. Patrick, |
ruddy as the ruby, but clear, bright, pure and
hot as the melted emerald the blood which |
may yet make England yield to the true
Ireland, the Ireland in America-will such |
blood doubly submit first, to Old England, |
the Magnanimous, and then to New England, |
the Pusillanimous Such, with enough |
Teuton stamina to make US patient and indus |
trious, enough Scotch seed to make us leal |
and prayerful, and enough felon and buccaneer |
blood to make us freedoms filibusters, Island |
thieves and State-stealers; such is the peerless |
gore of the United States South; such the
showing Of our peoples stud-book. Who
can deny it? The blood of Rome was dish
water to our peoples. Why then do we not |
renew, upon a continental scale, the antique
splendors? Why not make our counties
grander in wisdom, wealth and population
than our States now are? Why not yield to
the genius of our place, the spirit of our hem
isphere? Why not make our Counties nation
alities; our States nations, and our Feder2-
tion-but enough-why should we dare to
dream our destiny! 1t is but vain our peo-
pie have scarce the pluck to hold what pow
crs they own, much less To lust for others. Is
it so? Let us hope that it is not; let US hope
for hope is health, and despair disease. Let
us hope and vow, let even few, a fine few,
the daring the devout, hold up patriot palms,
open and soft to friends, but shut and hard to
|
not quixotic, but sage, staid and felt, VOW that
the mountains, slopes, and levels of this mag
nifcently mounted land, melted moulded and
fooled by Jehovah to be the frame of the most
effulgent empire, shall arrange its machinery
and start the works at which its power is
wrought or cast. If our purpose holds, if our
hands are hearty and heads are handy, if our
tempers are not too feeble, we may get the
start of this majestic world and bear the palm
alone;" we may rival upon a scale, not of feet,
but furlongs, the fame, but not the streaking
shame of pale, still Republics, whose epitaph
is history cut on notified marbles, the white
streak for grace, the black splotch for quiet;
if we but dare, if we have but pluck, and
noble craft and an almost Emmanuel patience,
we may build Respondent States whose mere
County-seats shall be Corinthian. We have
the States, but have we the statesmen; we
have, too, the blood and bone; we have the
citizens, the private men, but have we the
public men. Still let us hope, for States with
weak heads are Idiot States L
STATE AMBITIoN.
Not the summit but the mere bottom of
our citizens ambition should be to weave as
well as plant cotton, for thirteen hundred
million people growing in wants and numbers.
Hemp, flax wool, cotton, silk; such should be
strands of the tow-line, with which we ''tie
to" wealth, peace and fame, and tug them to
our shores. Hemp, fax, wool, silk, cotton;
such are the elements of our power! There
should be scarce q mete OF bound, scarce a
hedge or wall to our imperial influence. Is
our cotton King? Our silk should be queen,
our wool prime minister flax a baronial
force, and hemp itself to be ranked of high
degree. Such ought to be the nobility, ofou
economy. And yet, so humble are we, so
provincial, so content, so happy, so bowed and
cowed, that we scarce dare to idealHe, much
less to realize, career demanded by our
matchless advantages a career worthy of the
best breed Of Caucassans on the silk and cot
ton segment of the South temperate zone.
Craftsmanship, if not practical is not at all:
that is true: but it often happens that the
highest practical is the highest poetical. Such
extremes, like earth and heaven at sunset,
may sometimes meet in splendor, and thus
the grandest statesman is at once prophet,
priest and king-king, for he is mans master;
priest, for he is Gods slave, ard prophet for,
his science, and all science is prescience. Thus,
his high and hallowed harmony is that not
OF ideas in words, but of ideas naction, incor-
porated accords, great works most musically
tuned, pitched and timed; the melody Of the
morning stars, the poetry of institution. But
not the student-statesman the poet-king, the
dreaming emperor; no, not an idealizing auto
crat, could imagine mission so potent and
dazzling, as might, if so they shall purpose,
be the future of our States. Let us, then, Or
game our State ambition; let US determine
our destiny, and at the east of our rolling and
splashing welter of policies and principles, our
sea OF troubles, let the rounded, radiant and
majestic purpose break and rise
Starts the completed moon"
DEFICIENCY, sUFFIcTENcY AND suPERFIcrENcY.
For agriculture and manufactures, States
Of the labor supply are these:
l. For agriculture the supply may be suf-
ficient and for manufactures be deficient,
q For agriculture, the supply may be suf.
ic;opf ond for mn facturo. t.