Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1862-03-10
Tuk OBJECT OF The WAN'
LETTER III.

M fLe Et5eiitot - ico Z ASSES u oid"'""'o
e,,-Oae lor III Un,on- hs"g Co'.o" "''
E..nl 10 Cysa Br.iasn AID france a"",
Oon.p;rsey aqsis,she q "".rc'af "srh'
To Aas,uAa Lisools, Psesident Of The nited
States
Resrycrrp SIR-In my last | pro-
nos-J 10 consider in this letter the causes
Which have led t, tie pending rebel
non and TO show The advocates Of eDan-
ccali.n that they have every reason 70
be satisfied with The progress that ope-
ration is making.
The cause or causes Of the rebellion
nav be summed up In the single phrase,
Prize Of WeaM ard tust TOR Poaoer.
These arc no, peculiar to the South,
but have their Influence in the Moth a,
wei. North and South they pefvadc
With honorable exceptions, those classes
# society which fad means to live and
enrich themselves without manual labor.
North as well as South the feelings oi
these classes revolt against 3 government
controlled by the toiliog millions, and
would overthrow it if they could. 10
the North the attempt would be nope
less, and the aristocrat c classes quiet'y
acauesce in things as they are. In the
cotton region Of the South me iaDorers
have no political rights, AID the aristo-
cratic classes govern in all that relates
10 a alta rs. But tley arc not 'oateIt
with that. Their pride revolts at asso"
cation in any government, however
mil and be, eticent, in which laboIlng
men participate directly or indirectly.
To gel rid of such Government, though
Il ha, been the chief source OF all Their
prosperity, is the object OF the present
rebellion. The avowed design OF the
South Carolina leaders is The orgsniza-
ton OF a community composed OF gentle
men ard laborers, in which the gentle
men shall be masters and tho laboreIs
heir slaves. To this end they were,
before the rebellion broke out, avowedly
n favor of re. opening the African slave
lrade. and have since submitted with a
nad grace to a restriction in their Con-
tolerate Constitution, dictated By an
lppfehension that 1t would not be safe
It present SO tar to outrage the feelings
u tie civil z d world.
But there is q considerable class OF
laycholdcrs, especially in tie border
,lavehodlng States, who 90 not enter
tap ms an,,pathy to LABOR. 1t Is com"
posed Of men OF moderate means, own
,og bat few slaves They are the self
made men, whose industry and economy
have enabled them to purchase one or
more slaves, and they may often De seen
1t work in the same field with their own
cccroea They do not 81 rnpa,h;ze with
the cotton, rice and sugar planters, who
.clo,; their slaves BY hundreds, and
who never pu. their own hands to the
i ~ rho hoe, or the axe. These small
laycbolders, numerically probably more
numerous than the richer class, have no
r-pngpancc to being associated in gov
.rnment controlled IN part by the laboI>
no men Of the Moth, ard they are
generally faithful 10 the Constitution and
the Union. Slavery does not make
tAem rebels.
Cosfo14 is q more prolific element than
iayery IN generating The pride OF
Wealth aud last Tor POWER which lave
reduced the rebellion, though both
ave co operated. Had cotton, Ike
wheat and corn, been a product of the
North as vel a The South, It's cutira-
lon would not have been source Of in
.dinatc wealth to Southern planters
or the free labor Of the North would
hen have been brought into direct com;
ettlon with the slave labor of the South,
aud the price of the Article wonld have
been reduced - moderate profit. But
climate has given t. the South mo-
aopoly Of this culture, and it IS a mo-
,opoiy not at all dependent on the exist
ence Of slavery. II would still exist as
effectually as it does now If slavery were
swept out of existence, and the COM
mercial effect would probably in that
even. be an enhancement of the price.
The invention of the cotton gin and
improvements in manufacturing machin-
cry so cheapened the preparation and
manufacture of cotton as to bring it into
competition, under most favorable con
!rions, with every other article used in
.lothug the human family, and the de-
in4nd tor 1t so rapidly increased tina,
production coold not keep up with It
The consequence was al increase in the
price # the raw material until it has
reached point far above that Of any ar
t!cIe which can be brought in compe-
ton with it in the markets Of the world.
This is not the effect of slavery, but i'll
its causes, though not in its effects, it is
entirely independent Of that institution.
But, by this Intervention Of the demand
for cotton, the Shareholders in South
Carolina and few other States We're
enabled to EMPLOY their negroes in a
species of culture peculiar to their eli
mate, the profits OF which could not be
lessened by general competition. Though
there has been prodigions increase OF
production, the consumption has fully
kept pace with it, and up to the break
ing out Of the rebellion, in no part of
the earth for the last thirty years, and
in no period of history, have The profits
OF agricultural labor been SO great as 10
the co,ton-g growing regions Of the Uui-
ted States. Blu, these profits would have
been as great, # not greater, had the
Southern production, as is the Northern
manufactures, been the proceeds Of
hi,ed free instead Of slave labor.
With the immense profits of mouopo-
ly the cotton planters became intoxica
ted, and thought that, BY means Of thei,
cotton, they could lule the world