Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-04-08

Practical Experience Of n soufh srn
Planier-IhcaRaoity Of the south 10 Com
pete with the Manufacturers Of the
North, ..-.-.-..- ..-s z. NJ. n. T.
In the Virginia State Convention, on the
9th ultimo, Mr. Bruce, Of Halifax County,
gave spirited narrative of the troubles of a
Southern planter. Those Southern journals
which seek to magnify the manufacturing
capabilities Of the seeding States may de-
rive a valuable lesson from this story Of
practical experience. He said; - b.
L was once, sir, Southern planter. In
the year 1874 | went TO New Orleans. My
imagination was kindled by the quantity of
sugar and molasses and cotton that planters
raised in that sunny region. l came home.
and was invited to address an agricultural
society in neighborine county. l advised
my friends who were large planters to carry
a portion Of their negroes South, where
their profits were great, and not keep them
here, where our profits were small To
show my sincerity in this belief, went to
Louisiana, and became q cotton and sugar
planter. The first year | made nothing, as
might be expected, because bad heavy ex-
peDses but the next year afterward, there
was genial climate, there was a fine season,
there were fine showers, and thought that
our crop was very great. 4 -H
Well, sir, Il was sent TO a commission mer-
chant in New Orleans, and / went there in
the Spring and told him that wanted nv
money. All, said he, am sorry to tell you
that your expenses have been very great,
and | have no money of yours in my hands.
What, sirl Where are all the hundreds of
hOgsheads Of sugar and bales of cotton2 Is
there no money coming in from them He
opened his portfolio, and drew out paper,
which he presented to mel think he called
it an account current. The thousands of
dollars for the proceeds of my crop was on
one side, and then on the other side found
the account more than balanced. How
is it2 -lH.-.
took the account, carried il to The plan
tation and examined it carefully. i found it
all right. l had no money. | found my
pockets empty-not dime In them-my
purse turned wrong side outward did not
reveal picayune. | began to reflect upon
the matter. l found that though l had no
money | had been amunifcent patron of all
the arts, which gave me some comfort. |
had bought scientific instruments in Phila-
delphia-c barometers, sachar-
ometers and spy-glasses. bought from
Lynn all my shoes; bought from the North
west all my stock |; | had bought my pork
from Indiana; I bought my corn from the
Wabash hoes, plows, cane knives, wagons
and carts from Cincinnati; cotton goods
from Lowell, and hats, blankets and other
woolens from New Orleans. 'sGI .ar b.
l found that all went into the pockets not
of Shareholders, but of the non n.slaveholder.
/ say now, sir, that if had given these
plantations to the North and let them man
age them-I held them seven years ago, but
do not now-I believe | would have been the
gamer. No doubt about il. If we had had
free trade instead of a protective tariff, the
profits derived from the plantations would
have been handsome. All the profits went
North, and all got was the support of my
negroes and money enough to pay the over
seer. .r. IT d.. 80 c.i rUr
Why is this2 Why do you encourage the
manufacturers of the North2 They had de-
rived all the profit, and had received
nothing. Well, sir, don't mean to say-I
would not be understood as saying-that all
the planters in the South were as bad
planters as ga but this know, that they
raise nothing but their main staples, and
buy everything else in the North Well,
we are asked, why, under this high tariff,
has not the South the benefit as well as the
North2i III e-.. - r....-1 .
have just shown you, K-hope, that the
reasons were obvious-that the situation of
the North was such as to enable them to get
the benefits of the tariff and that the South
did not apply herself to the pursuits which
might have given her those benefits. We
are to blame, aud not the North. With the
advantages which they possess over us, it
would be impossible for US to compete with
them. 1t would be just as difficult for US to
compete with the North in manufactures as
1t is for the North to compete with Louisi-
ana in the production of sugar.