The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1860-08-15
The Planters Movement,

The following, rom the Knoxville Register,
we cieersally transfer to our columns; and
really we are glad to see that the objects and |
purposes OF our Bureau are so highly appre- |
GATED by the intelligent and thinking classes
of other States. If our planters and ia:mers
aud mecilan;cs from all parts OF the State, |
would but second the efforts of the Bureau IN |
that spirit of earnestness and activity which
the members thereof, and especially its Pres-
itlent. Mr.. Hudson display. how much might |
our noble State take the lead in all the in
uroyements and notifications Of reform and
progress in agriculture, manufactures and the
mechanic arts now contemplated throughout
the South.
If the day ever comes when we Will be
really an independent people-that IS, max
ing all of our prime necessities within our
selves, and importing such things only as
wealth and extravaganza may demand-it
must be at the bidding of our agricultural
population. Concert of action, unity OF pur-
pose, and cooperation Of members among the |
farmers of the South, win soon render 1t the
happiest, the freest and most independent
people upon the face of the whole earth. But
if this great labor this vast interest, IS lett to
the energy and forethought OF afew discrim-
mating public spirits, how long will 1t De
before ends so devoutly to be wished for, will
be consummated? Years will find us and
leave us, still struggling upon the threshold
of action. If however, our people, not only
in Mississippi, but all the slave States, and
especially the cotton States, will concentrate
their counsels and unite their means, decade
will not pass before we shall present to the
world spectacle the most glorious and
grand in all its elements of success ever wit
messed by free people. We have reached
that period in our history when something
must be done for progress, or our declension
| in resources of strength will be rapid and
evident. We need not ask what will be the
fate of those vast tracts Of worn-out lands,
now lying everywhere as useless as the bills
of spurious and broken banks; but what will
become of those on which we rely now, not
| merely for the articles of our export-cotton,
&c. but for bread, the staff of life They
are rapidly falling into the condition of the
former; and unless we take counsel together
and adopt systems of experiment, establish
schools of inquiry, gather statistical records,
examine into the past and provide for the
future, it will take no prophctical endowment
10 see and tell the day when want and desola-
ton will stalk abroad in the land, when grass
will grow in the streets of our towns and vii
lagos, and universal decay spread all over the
land This is no phantom Of speculative
imagination, but the inevitable results which
must follow specific causes. An irnprovident
agriculture has already ruined millions Of the
best acres of our soil, and if persisted in, will
ultimately turn the whole country into a
wide, measureless waste. The same cause
will produce the same effects, and without a
change in our modes of farming, the whole
country will soon be like part now is. Let
us then not forget the efforts of our State
Bureau to arouse the public mind Of Missis-
sippi upon those vital matters. Every farmer
should feel ready to lend helping hand to a
cause so intimately blended with our happi-
ness and prosperity, and wherever convenient
attend the State Fair; and thus give the
sanction of his presence and the weight Of
his counsel to so true and noble cause.
Let it be remembered, too, that the Con-
- Co,,fbarv, planfarS rnanfS at the
same time. We have already published the
list of delegates, and we earnestly call on
such, where at all convenient, to attend. The
prospect is that all the Southern States will
/ be represented, and matters discussed of vita
( interest t., the whole South, and that by mer
of emInence and rank. We would like tt
see our farmers going there by scores and
: hundreds, and thus testify their regard for
e movement which originated in Mississippi, anc
4 looks to nothing less than the emancipation
of the South from thraldom which threat
ems our destruction. 1t will be a meeting
planters, manufacturers and mechanics, thu
solid men Of the country, who come togethei
to compare results, exchange opinions, sug
0 gest ways and discuss principles, whichshaV
If for their end the common good Of our commol
:. country. Then, we say, attend in force upol
i the Fair and the Convention, and show tha
IT you are ready to aid each in whatever prom
y Uses good to the people. The President
Ie the Bureau deserves well Of the people ft
y the interest he has created abroad in tn
a movement, and il he is aided and sustaine
g. by his confederates in office, and the societit
7, Of the State acting in subordination 70 the ID
- reau. success must crown their efforts Z