Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1864-11-08
-rrcH: TUESDAY, NOV. 8. 1864.

Ill.,
:. 7srats of this City, in an article de-
la' ''J Eor that this State can safely part with
:'ed " ~ tbonsand more of her fighting men, as
so ', ,bere will then be left behind, as laSOrers
:s1s 'p1, ns tro hundred thousand slaves, twenty
niHe '', sn5 free negroes, forty thousand "'0hite
@ i1'u, NE of LaBsr," and fifteen thousand "e1-
:s1'' '"l ,.;cnj,urists." The Confederate further
so7S s2 the above basis, that there is no just
@dn's lawn vet for want of labor" Let US see
''F 'n'' How much of the surplus made by these
fIs~ ,.ared thousand slaves, can be spared by
10 uu. n.rs after they shall have supported these
2'' Va S.d Daid their tithes to the government
'''' ",l, aT # any. Why? Even in ordinary times
a.! H., themselves consume large portion of
Z ,.,o rpaliz d from their labors; but at a
,s, s. tbis when the lands are decreasing in fer
..' , T.. .ba want Of manures, when they are not
d: .,,cbIv cultivated as they should be, for the
.t.,;.sbie agricultural implements, and, above
rbsD the owners and overseers are swept away,
,r,,es are lelt to the manag gementc cf the boys
..,,.r the women, and the old men, it cannot be
80. .,..l,r e,fectcd that they will produce sur
''-, -b;5 will materially add to our supplies.
r.rrg The twenty five thousand free negroes
-, 5s relied upon as laborers. in ordinary
-. nj. more than one in five of this class pro
.,s snongh for Lis own support Instead of
:r,, beID i'll the way of production, the free
,.r.es are really burden.
ria7la The forty thousand "a'Aite '00nas''
.,,ff Of labor" would barely be able, if they all
5r,d with the axe, the plov, and the hoe, to
-,,ort themselves and their little children. No
,,n,ls can be expected from this source.
FvtFu We know of no "exempts" at this
~. ass acriculturists" The "excmpts" or de-
iii msn have all been ordered to camp.
I,ddition to this there are not less than twenty
:. thousand refugees in this State, who will not
ri5l,e as much as they will consume; and our
ize is row feeding seine twelve thousand Yankee
.gneIs, with the prospect that the number will
-rsase again, those portions Of the State which
sllly produce the most cern and bacon, have
81, and are nov so Overrun o. threatened by the
.snv, and so much Of their labor has been lost
then, that they are barely able to support them
a7:s We think the statistics would show that
re Nbemarle region alone produced, before the
Wal, uaIe corn than was produced in the whole
Snn 5sides. Again, the Confederate assumes that
-. -, .--, b,,pjro5 tbousonJ. cIovaS coDohla of
E5. This cannot be. Before the war the whole
r.1lF vas about three hundred and thirty thou
vi One hundred thousand of these have been
&z By, or gone to, the enemy, at least onehalf of
TGa we've ableb bodied male slaves. This would
a7sls more than one hundred thousand efficient
i5AhDds, especially FIVE deduct the thousands of
ntSa7es employed On fortifcations, &C., by the
.Eglnent, and the thousands in the towns and
T.:!s and on the railroads, that perform no labor
{ The hrms
We think we have shown that there is "just
uEa Of alarm for the want of labor"
Bl! the Confederate makes the extraordinary
Slsaent that the very poor classes, the classes
lSy composing the soldiers families, are less de-
iEa.at on their own labor and are more bCuntlful-
!aPPied than they were before the war" This
laGent is certainly unfounded. Poor people, in
STATE never worked so hard and lived so hard
SlsT DO now. There are thousands of families
'2nVa not tasted meat at their own tables for
--as; and there are hundreds, to-day, who do
~iAoT where their bread for tomorrow is to
~'Hom. There are thousands who are without
-a7 With but scanty and uncertain supply of
-l without shoes, with thin and much worn
-lS and who can have no satisfactory assur-
lsaat they will have any means of subsistence
:" months hence The drain nov going on up
WI Industrial pursuits has turned out thousands
ANS to tie weeds and briars-has closed hun
Wy " mills and tanneries-has left thousands Of
F'oF' as well as many who once had means, to
T''e' lear Of closely approaching want, if not
- starvation. These are facts, "known and
-''a al men," The negro slaves OIL many of
AIMS are "faring sumptuously every day."
'@eu With thousands Of the every poor" white
~oar people; for I" old master" still has some
,s ID 'aa Corn, and beef, and as long as he has it
;, -'-Ssn and family in the great house" the ne
viii get their share in the kitchen. God
+. 'us very poor classes of our people during
,, r.u6 =. winter! There seems to be no pity in
o., :" alarming scarcity of labor--no suffering
o"' poor, when man of means who attends
+Ast cannot purchase what will furnish a
sars .'.s u'nner for his family for less than one
~ tOLars! Is this doubted? Then look at
D. - 'Or plain, respectable dinner. One ham,
p'unds at seven dollars per pound, SS4 /;
b. ,ss .a-s steak, two and half per pound. $40;
d, ',,SIS' wv, $40 couple of cabbages, SO; to say
2,,,n VI bread, and soup, and potatoes, and
b '' constituents which cannot be dispensed
s!,r, ~ reduce the dinner to bread, and meat,
s,s, | syrup, and see the cost of that for a
&9, .S~ Or seven. One thing is certain, either
e,,. s''y IS utterly worthless as medium of
hsi,s ~ O there is an alarming scarcity of the
/, necessary to sustain life.
d., n~ 'no policy of the government-we say it
'&s ~, s~Oeen such as to encourage production:
&b ~ Sary, it has discouraged it. 1t makes
vi a. rear and sends the men to the front to
$ad s.N .u'a The last able bodied man is called