Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1861-04-08

ssoafyStiNdRssuccumbed and III the COURSE o'
Shmed its former price.
Bv means Of their vast accumalaeons OF
capital. Northern manufactures can oear hea'y
losses expecting in the end to regain them
with interest. And, sir, they arc Sagaclous
enouch and bold enough not TO lear losses
Will con,eudiag for such aprlze as the South
ern market. But we are weak as yet ana re-
o.,;r. succcss at the start, in order to accu;nu-
late the capital necessary for successful coupe
ti,ioa. =.
tec,ive system has dwarfed Southern enterprise
Will, il has developed So enoriuously tue uan'',
features Of the North. If the fact DO so, and
tbi.k that it is established beyond controversy
BIZ the tables have submitted to the ConVei'-
ton, il matters bat little whether can explain
it successfully or not am willing, however, to
attempt the explanation, admonishlng the Cen
yeaiion that should it prove nnsatls tAc:orY the
force of the TACT itself is in no wise impaired.
Tee protective system found the two Sec
tions very differently prepared To reap its ben
afi.s, The North hau already Started IN Co.
re.r or manufacturing and commercial inouS.
try and were impe!lcd onwsrds by protection
with an accelerated velocity, while the South
vss s.-;c, ,!.l, al only manufactured By
ha.u nd in simple wsy some OF the pro-
ducts OF agriculture. She, therefore, was
: ssS;y overwhelmed by tue capital, machine.
~ snd skill Of her ne;ghbor Ii you ask how
the North obtained the start, the answer would
probably diff.S as it might be given North or
South Of Mason and Dixon's line
North Of that line you would be informed
1hetit was owing to tine superior Intelligence
and energy Of the North, and to her exemp'
ton from the blight Of slavery. AS this an
swer may not be altogether satisfactory TO flr'
g;nians, shall attempt another.
The settlers Of the Northern States found U
rigorous climate and poor soil. which rcpell
Cd agricultural pursuit, while of their coas
we're fisheries, making the sea infinitely more
probable than the la,.d.-They were thus
driven to the ocean, and, Of necessity, became
commercial
The coniguration Of their country was such
that large cities necessarily grew up. FroH
the Chesapeake Bay to Maine, there were bu
three aav;sable rivers OF any magnitude, the
Susquehauna, the Delaware and the Hudson
Trade therefore was forced to converge on three
loi.is, and Baltimore, Philadelphia and New
York came into existence. There was another
position, with an excellent harbor, far to thu
eastward, on the highway to Europe, conrehl.l
TO the fisheries, and removed from the com
petition Of the other cities Here Boston
sprang up.
With commerce came accumulations Of CAPT
tai, md cities perfected tho mechanic arts thus
furnish rig tie necessary conditions for ths
development. Of manufactures, and that branch
Of industry followed Us matter Of course
Another fact should be mentioned, which r
the opinion OF high maritime authority exer
cissd 10 iaconsiderable Influence upon North
cru commerce. Just before the revolution DR.
Franklin ascsrtaned the existence ol the Gul
stream. but concealed it for political reasons
unIit the war was over 1t became generally
known about the time that the present Govern
ment went into operation, and the result VIZ:
that tine passage to the Northern ports from
Europe Was shortened from eight 10 four weeks
while 10 the Southern ports it remained Is be
fo-e About this time the commerce Of Chal les
ton, the Emporium Of the South, began to de-
Glue and thai OF the Northern ports to increase
rapidly. This caused the receipts and disbursc
Inenis of the Federal Revenue to be principally
a, the North and still farther stimulated North
ern Industry.
The carly settlers nt Virginia, on the other
hand, found rich suil capable of producing
valuable staples, mild climate, and country
SO eni up with navigaole rivers that it was i'm.
possible 10 converge trade on any single point
oalps went 10 each plantation to receive il
crop. and, although the House Of Burgesses
IGade many Towns on paper, none Of them eX
istcc IN !act Thus the State was necessarily
agricultural, and without cities. Capital, If i
accumulated at all, was invested in asrcultu
:al pursuits. and the mechanic arts did no
flourish. While we were tilling the soil, tht
->vrth was growing great in commerce and
manufactures Tins they got the start Of Us
Gnd it must be confessed that they have uau'
good use OF It
Ii would be an imperfect view, however, t
conine ourselves to a consideration of the mere
staples Of cur Industry without considering To,
relative effects Of ! union with the North or Q
'junc!ion with the South upon our system q
labor, the basis Of our industrial fsurlc.
Tuat system is mixed, partly slave and part.
IL free, and Is admirably adap!cd to our soil
our climate aud Ger pa.'sicai geography in
general We have pontine districts highly
productive, bat unhealthy for the white man,
where the negro is imperyious TO the local
diseases AMI cu.ira:cs the soil with i:apuni-
l.. Lave the uI1uipuiatlonS OF agri-
caituIe, sod some of the coarser processes Vi
II. n.ug, wn.re the small intelligence aud pow
&C 4 endurance Of th= negro, come INTO play,
TT where the white man would be misplaced,
aud would be- Withdrawn from occupations
more suited to his superior intellect. We have
II; higher plo,rSstS vi mining, manufactures,
na"'.','o- and Inc mechanic arts, lVr our white
ia,y,crS, in which tney may do themselves
and Their race justice, snd quicken their in
,eilect while they develop the wealth ard pow
tr 81 tIe State. This mixed system of labor.
if left to tine iaw Of supply und demand, VOL rs
not only without conflict, but in harmonious
conjunction. The slave produces tooa ior the
white laborcr and raw material for him to
manw'aI.u.r aha transport, While the white
laborer furnishes market for slave products
aud i'n!a:tS to them additional value.
Il Is not true that there is an irrepressible
cort:ct between white and slave labor. That
notion is the coinage Of men who deserve to be
degraded from the rank Of statesmen for their
sacrifice Of truth to the base purposes OF sec
tional strife. The real conflict is between the
white labor of the North and the white labor
of the South.
1t is not the negro laboring at his humble
VOCATION j. the cotton AMI tobacco feds :iIc
South, or deep under ground in the coal shaft,
or in mental employ mcnts, who makes himsel;
felt bg ,ne " ntic naa as his competitor. Inc
true competitors OF our laboring whites are the
gigantic manufacturing corporations OF the
North which flood Our market with every thing
that white labor can produce. When our manu-
lecturers are GiscnaTgiag ,heir operatives, or
working or half time, it is not because we have
negroes making wheat or tobacco, mining coal,
ard occasionally cobblng n shoe or doing a
rough Job OF work as carpenters or blacksmi,hs;
but because the Northern manufacturer, oy biz
capital, machinery, and skill, is enabled to cap
tire o9c market.
Where. Sir Chairman, will our system Of
lsbo. best preserve jig equilibrium, and be al
lowed IL Gevelopo itself under the Law Of sup
ply end rleinand Will it be in the South,
whore eccn Kind Of labor is not only left free
from legislative interference, but receives equal
n-otecion. mr. NJ the North which sysfoua1i-