The New York herald., 1862-01-26


Another writer, and he an American abo-
litionst, admitted, on his visit 10 the island in
1850, that sSher magnificent plantations of sugar
and coffee are running to'weeds," "her inhabi-
tants are miserably poor, and daily sinking
deeper and deeper into the utter helplessness
of abject want" Why is this? Because Cutiee
will nos work, but lies on lis back in the sun.
eating the natural fruits.
The Tribune boasts that the island now i'm
ports considerably. We hadlsupposed that the
exports Of anation were the best proofs of its
prosperity and its usefulness to ths world.
Jamaica, indeed, now imports, for, though pro-
ductive to a fabulous extent, yet it imports
most of tho. .necessaries of life: What does it
export? The island now produces but
40, 900 hogsheads Of sugar annually, which is
falling off of more than fifty per cent since
emancipation, the number of hogsheads in
1884 being "a, ,756.. The same ruin has followed
cipation and the bloody massacre; that island
exported 163, ,405 22O lbs. of sugar; in. 1922 the
exports were only 652,54l lbs. In 1925 the
value of the whole exports of the island
had fallen off by million Of dollars from
those of 1922, and in 1850 they were only
about half what they were in 1922. Now they
are worth little opnothing, and the negroes are
returning to African barbarism, while Cuba,
which retains the system of slave labor, 10 in q
highly prosperous condition. Here are stub
born facts, which no fanatical cant can gainsay.
If Greeley wants to get true account. of the
condition of jamaica let him read work pub
lished in London two years ago, entitled "The
West Indies and the Spanish Main, by Anthony
Trollope," and endorsed by the London Times
as trustworthy book In an article comment
ing thereon, the Times arrives at the following
conclusions, after trial of twenty-seven years
of enancipation:-"The negro is a lazy ANIMAL
without any foresight, and therefore requiring
to be led and compelled. He is decidedly in
ferior, very little raised above mere animal"
''He is void of selfreliance, and is the creature
of circumstances, scarcely fitted to take care Of
himself; has no care fer tomorrow; hasno de-
sire for property strong enough to induce him
to labor; lives from hand to mouth. In,Jamai-
ca emancipation has thrown enormous tracts Of
land out of cultivation, and on these the'negro
squats, getting all that he wants with very little
trouble, and sinking in the most resolute fashion
back to the savage state" Can the South afford
that four millions Of negroes should do this!
Can the North afford it. Can the civilized
world afford 1t! ~'ri
Predictions and History Within q. Year.
The country is making history every day in
these troublous times. Since the summer Of
1860 our nation has travelled over fifty years of
experience. Every day since that time new
and unexpected developements have bswilder-
ed the people, and NO one could blame tho most
acute and wise Of journalists if he were some
times at fault in his predictions of coming
events. We have something to congratulate
ourselves upon in the fact that the HERALD
has been so generally and so uniformly
correct
For ourselves we never have claimed to be q
prophet or the son of prophet, and if We have
ever predicted future occurrences, it has been
from the auguries Of common sense and the
teachings of history and experience, and not
from any dealings with tripods or study of the
art magic. Several of the rebel journals have
given us credit for prophetic ken, how
ever, and then attempted to dis
prove our predictions and day
or two ago one of our city contempora-
ries essayed to follow this reasonable exam
pie. 1t published collection of extracts from
the HERALDs editorials during the months Of
November, 1860, and January, February and
March, 1861, and it then gravely assured its
readers that, prophet as we are, we were wrong
in our anticipations, and that none of the events
we predicted ever came to pass. So it con-
cludes, we are not Saul among tho tribe Of
soothsayers after all.
Well we certainly never claimed to be, and
do not desire that oracular reputation any moro
than we do the fame of the "Little Villain rs
a racer and rebel. But see for moment how
our contemporary disproves its own trumped-up
charges. What were the predictions we are ac-
cused of hazarding? Why, that zone hundred
thousand workmen would be thrown out of en-
ployment" by the outbreaking of civil war.
Were they not? And, if it had not been for the
sources of employment, in and out of the
army, which the war itself opened would
they not be out of employment now? We pre-
dicted "mobs" Were there not mobs in most
of our principal cities and throughout the
country? Did not mobs assail newspaper Offices
in New York, Offices and private dwellings
in Philadelphia, peace meetings in New Jersey,
public gatherings in Connecticut, and so on
throughout most of the Northern States? We
predicted revulsion in banks and business.
Did it not come? We predicted "strife, confu-
sion and bankruptcy" Were we right or
wrong?
Why, the facts are as evident as light. Every
form of commercial disaster came upon the
land during the trying times Of the first armed
assaults of rebellion. Half the business of
the country was paralyzed. Half the business
firms of this city were bankrupt. Until, in
August last, the banks leaned one hundred and
fifty millions of dollars to the government;
until Tho dacraaaa of imnorts sayn.l 10