Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1860-11-21
will probably largely reduce Mr. Moore's estimate
IF fwantv fivo p,illinnc

! will probably largely reduce Mr.. Moore's estimate
of twenty-five millions.
! But if Mr.. Moore, in his natural anxiety to pre-
serve the present Union has been led into the
| of exaggerating the cost of dssolvng it. (though if
our rights and liberties are in question: that should
have no influence with brave people-did our faith
ers of the Revolution make these calcutions y what
must We think of the value of his statements and
arguments when he says Immediately following his
estimate of twenty-five millions 1.-The portion of
North Carolina in this burthen, could not be less
than two millions of dollars and would be raised
almost exclusively by direct taxation" Why raise
! this amount by direct taxation? Why, by South
ern Confederacy more than by the present govern
ment. Can it be possible that Mr.. Moore thinks
as know some totally ignorant of the trade and
resources of the South do think-the South unable
| to pay for it's own support! Let us examine this
matter, and it is one which every citizen of the
South should at this critical period of her destiny,
examine for HIMSELF it must exercise an important
influence in directing the destines OF his country.
The ability of the fifteen Southern States to main
| tain themselves in Confederacy 10y government
worthy of the dignity of great country! Let that
he the theme on which the best citizens of State
now exercise themselves! Let them find out whence
comes this great prosperity and wealth that so as
tonishcs the old world, and on what is it founded?
| Let them follow the course Of trade and commerce,
and trace the great staples of the South they
| gathered from the broad fields of the Southern
planter to the great marts of the world, where they
are Sold giving wealth to the merchant employ
ment to the laborer population to cities, capital to
banks, exchange to the nation ard peace to the
country! Follow them to the deck of the "tall
admiral" that bears them to foreign nations, eager
y waiting their arrival that by their traffic in them,
| like benign results, will again follow. And what
now is the part that these great staples play in the
economy of mankind? The great ship that bears
them in her bosom is maintained in her statelnenes;
| the captain, owner and crew are fed by them; the
nation that receives them adds to its revenue; the
merchant to his wealth; the laborer who moves them,
to his necessity and the manufactures call in, for
| their working, the starving thousands of the I'M
happy wretches of the old world whose very exis-
| tence and all that have stated depend upon the
production of your fields. My fellowcitlzens of the
South! it is you and your country which now CON
| troll the great material interests Of the civilized
world! To tell you that you cannot, with all this
wealth of producton-with all the influence of ma
terial interest, support government for your own
seves-is to count largely upon the depresslre e.
| Iects on your minds of disuniOa Increment!
The revenue derived by England from the
impost on tobacco alone is estimated at not less
than forty millions of dollars; the rate Of duty is
enormously high. The revenue of France being de-
rived by Reggie, cannot be accurately arrived at,
but it is now supposed to be quite as large that
of England. The number of English subjects DEEPEN
| dant more or less on the manufacture &c, &c. OF
cotton, is estimated at about five millions of human
| beings!
But let view this subject under the light of sta
tistcs and of trade and commerce, and we shall be
better able to arrive at correct opinion as to
whether Southern Confederacy is able to maintain
suitable government from its own resources, and
! to form accurate idea of the real wealth and
power of the South, than seems to be possessed by
| some of our citizens.
! IL satisfied on these points, and of the enormous
! amount of money drawn from the South to the
North (by means of tariff navigation laws, we pay
freigh and commission on cotton alone to amount
| of over twenty millions of dollars custom House
disbursements, fishing bountics etc, etc by dis
abusing minds of the error that We are any way
dependant upon the North, shall be able more
clearly to judge of those questions which We are
likely soon to be called on to decide.
/ The statistics of the country q quote from page
81 of the last report of the Secretary of the Treas
ury commerce and navigation) show that the fol-
lowing the values Of Southern produce export
cd, Saying nothing of that used at the North: y
! Cotton slGl .434, 900; Tobacco s2l,o74,oOO; Rice
$2.207 000 Naval Stores 81 1885, 900; making $751;
100000 for these four articles alone. But to these
are to be added the proportion of Breadstufs S2l,
100000; Slaves, Shingles, Lumber &C., 81 63s, 900,
which were shipped by the South. And also esti-
mating the value of Southern produce-the cotton
consumed at the North, SSs, 900, 900; the whole
crop being 675 400 bales at SIS per BALE is $685.
! 100000 alone; the sugar 100000 the hemp,
ETC., ETC., making a surplus production Of the
South land not one of the Sapient Gov. Banks hay
crop estimatcs) which she draws specie or its
equivalent from the rest of the world of not less
than o4o to $3.50, 0Oo per annum land this out
side of her gold mines)
| Now, it is a well defined principle of political
economy, one which Mr.. Moore would be. the last to
deny, that nation always afford to import in
close approximation to her exports, this country
has almost always exceeded this rule) Our
ports, then, of two hundred and forty to two hum
dred and fifty millions, would enable us to import
full two hundred and twenty millions per annum.-
The present tariff being about equivalent to hori
zonal duty of about twenty-five per cent, this i'm
port would yield revenue to the South of not less
than fifty-fvc millions of dollars per annum But
suppose as would most probably be the case, that
the South would desire tariff for revenue only this
duty could be reduced to average of ten per cent
which would not he felt and yet yield the twenty
five millions so despairngly spoken Of by Mr. Moore
and that too, without dollar of direct taxation;
but, the contrary with great relief to the South,
from the heavy indirect but not less felt taxation
by the present tariff
In calculating therefore. the evils resulting to the
South by secession from the present Union, the
difficulty of supporting suitable government need
not be included We can least that shadow from
our brow"
The habit has been so long INDUCED in by super
fetal writer's of decryng the character and resources
ofthe South, aided, they have been, by the false
hoods of malicious maligners of England and Of the
North, and spread over the world by newspapers,
books, and public speakers, that even many of US
have been misled, and some really to believe it is
Whereas the truth is, that the history of the world
does not show more prosperous and happy people,
since the Moorish Empire in Spain, than those of
the South, both bond and free, white and black
nor more complete change from the dismal swamps
and cancbrakes of our country, to the existing rich
rice and cotton fields and from their former savage
rovers to the present heightened, intelligent and
welbred people, enjoying all the comforts and most
of the luxuries Of life. The results of the intelligent
energy and enterprise of the Southern people have
however, in the last ten or fifteen years, been so
wonderful as to have forced different conviction on
the minds Of the statesman and observer; and even
our enemies in England and at the North have been