The national Republican., 1861-08-28
Wednesday, August q, 1861.
COTTON.

~~"--~~N--NN-f
cording TO the law of nations, and as we'll upon
The land as upon the sea. 1t is a popular er.
ror. that this right of confiscation by the con
queror is confined to property at sea. 1t is less
commonlyexercised upon the land, although with
sufficient frequency. and so entirely at the dis
erection of the conqueror, as to preserve the
right from being lost by disuse. Compulsory
levies OF supplies and (so.called) contributions
imposed upon towns, are examples familiar in
the most modern wars mitigated as they are
from that ancient rgor which not only stripped
the conquered Of everything they possessed,
but consigned them, with their wives and chill
lren TO slavery.
|, is not with any intention Of suggesting
such spverities towards the South, that we refer
to these extreme rights under the law of nations
although We should not be without the provo
cation and excuse OF very open threats from
that quarter. Of delivering up the shops and
warehouses Of New York and Philadelphia to
the pIundering of licensed soldiery. We re
fer 10 them. only because II is in the natural
order Of this discussion, to understand exactly
what may he done consistently with the code
Of nations.
As to what is practicable to be done, there
has never occurred in the history of mankind
case in which the appropriation Of an enc
my's property was 20 easy upon great scale
as this case Of the Gulf States. The peculiarly
OF their condition is, that they are producing
immense quantities of an article which they
cannot consume themselves TO any appreciable
extent. and therefore of no substantial value
to them. unless they can export It, This export
ii is easily in our power to prevent the article
being too bulky to escape by smuggling. Ar
ticles Of great value in small space, will ooze
through any Gordon Of restrictions but cotton
is thing which can be Theoretically sealed up
And thai Is precisely the condition of the crop
which i now being picked on the Gulf 1t has
no value except what it may derive from ,the
faculty of being exported, and that is faculty
which We can deny to it, for term to be lin
tied only by our own will and pleasure. These
cotton growers are rats in trap already sprung.
That is the predicament, and we repeat, that
there never was anything like it in the
history OF mankind And the question now to
be calmly discussed is, whether we shall let
these rats ont scot free, or cut their ears or tails
of, or skin them entirely.
10 our own use, it will not answer to 90 to ex-
fremeS. II the total crop is confscated. they
will destroy it themselves on their plantations
or will have no motive to bring 1t to their ports.
tn" true method is to leave them such portion
OF il. aS will cause them to take good care OF
and to deliver it where it is wanted. In
other words, the method is, not to levy on ex.
port duty which the Constitution prohibits. but
10 impose under the war power, o military
contribution Of so much per bale upon what
ever Is exported. This may be done in the
grant Of licenses TO trade with the rebellious
locality which the President under the legisa
ton Of the extra session OF Congress, may issue
~ his pleasure and upon whatever terms he
chooses TO prescribe.
This cotton crop is so manifestly in our pow
er, that it is quite unnecessary to elaborate the
point further How far the power ought to be
used il at all, is q question depending very
much upon the course of events, and involves
vast number OF very delicate considerations
We certainly have no wish to engage in the
premature discussion of it, beyond the sngges
non Of one or two ideas
Il is not only our undoubted right to make
'he rebel States pay the expenses of this war
N whole, or in part, but to do so. accords will
numerous modern precedents. France was
saddIed with war contributions in 1915. Aus
'ra imposed seventy-Gve millions of francs
upon Sardinia in l8iS. China has been twice
mu1ct"d in that way, once recently, by bott
tn"Iand and France. Spain did the same thing
At the close OF the late war with Morocco. The
pr"c"dents are abundant If we were inclined
10 ho1 hem up for imitation, as at present, W,
confess that we are not But to the extent O
The property stolen from us by certain States
We have no sort Of reserve or squeamishness
Texas which is now picking five hundred thou
and bales Of cotton, should be made to pa
ont OF II, every iarthing Of the three millions O
doars worth Of arms and munitions obtaine
l.. her through the connvance of Twgg
A hnndred thousand bales at six cents pc
pound would pay it, and contribution of th
"Re fifth part Of an annual crop is not q mea
IRE of severity which need shock any bod,
Loui'iana should be made to pay in the salr
way lor the arms which she seized at Bate
Rouge and for the hard money which sl
seized IN our mint at New Orleans And
Of all the States which have seized the nation
property.
There IL one branch OIL this question of co
hscation already passed upon by Congress
that is to say, the case of property, devoted
the uses of the rebellion by the voluntary a
Of the owners. Such property is already col
iscated by our legislation, and if it is real
true that planters are preparing to contribute
million of bales OF cotton to the JEFF. Dav
cabal, the law OF the extra session Of Congre
upon that subject will have wide applicatio
A NOBLE SEAMAN.-Flag officer Montgomer
Of the Pacific squadron, which hs has be-
commanding tor two years past, says, in {
official letter to the Secretary Of the Navy
For my own part neither expect nor desi