Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-03-02

We copy the following sensible and timely passage
from an editorial in the recent issue Of the London
Star and Dial On the folly Of expecting to meet the
demands for cotton from any other fields than those
which have been so many years supplying them:
| Nearly four millions Of people in Great Britain
derive their means of subsistence from the eetson
manufacture. Gotten goods made up above one
third Of the whole exports of this country IN 1859
FOR the material of this expectation, we have been
relying these some years back upon the Southern
States Of the American Union 20 great on extent
that the supply of cotton rum thence Is n per cent
OF our entire consumption. The Economist under
takes to show that even in the event of q sudden
cessation of this supply there Is no need for very
great alarm 1t approaches this object by SERIES
OF figures and arguments, which remind one strong
ly Of certain old arithmetcsl puzzles by which IN
genious persons endeavor to impress on bewiIderea
listeners the possibility Of deaueting very large
sums frem very small amounts and yet leaving
go0dly quantities behind.
The utmost consolation we can extract from the
article in question is that if circumstances should
be favorable to peculiarly high degree, we may
have from sources not American supply equal to
onehslf our requirements India, with al its i'm
mense difficulties of distance, defective irrigation,
defective land carriage, and hundred other obsta
cles. is looked upon the main resource The ca
pa5ilities of Africa and Australia for bringing up
the supplies hereafter indieated-capabilitis
between which and their development to any vslua-
bic extent, infinite variety Of difficulties inter-
venes. Looking at what may be done hereafter
with the most hopeful eyes, il appears certain that
for the present. and FOR some time 10 come, we have
nothing TO rely upon worth taking into csnaidera-
ton but such supply as India can send Taxing
the estimate of the Ec0n0mis. at its most fxvorabs
point, more than half our supply would vanish in
such American difficulty may possibly arise.
Far worse than useless 1t seems to Us 70 under
rate the extent Of the national calamity which must
ensue from such IN event. It may still be hoped
that such viii arise; but IL is idle to endsa
vor to hatter ourselves into easy frame Of mind
as to the consequences its occurrence must bring
about. The people Of Manchester are already
moving in the affair; and the letter of Lord John
Russell promising the aid of British Consular sgsn-
cies in obtaining an estimate Of the supply which
might be at once produced from other countries, is
most timely and most important But no one can
hope that the supply to be obtained from other re-
goas than those of America could, within any rea-
sonable time, meet the requirements OF our manu-
facturers. While the grass grows the horse dies
While India is being irrigated-whiie Africa IS be-
ing made field for the investment Of capital
while the Australian capacity for cottOngrowing Is
beng induced to development-what becomes Of
the enormous mass of the population which depends
upon the present supply.
The Tunes points with great force and truth to
the results which followed from slight slackening
of trade in the manufactures of Coventry. Imagine
a cessation all but universal in the supply Of that
article which has been well called the bread of Lam
cashire Imagine Manchester, with its vast populs-
ton; imagine the great towns which swarm around
it, and the smoke Of whose busy ehimneys now
darkens the atmosphere for mies-imagiae Liver
pool. with its huge expectations Of cotton manufae-
tures-imagIne the one industry which makes the
very life OF all these places, suddenly paraly zed and
motionless. And imagine the consolation to be de-
rived from the knowledge that in q few years cot
ton viii be hourishing crop at Abhsokuta, and
vessels laden at Melbourne VIII ELI the place of the
cotton cargoes from America