The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-09-04

the persons to whom they submit their lives
are in any way responsible, or whether they
can kill them at will and 60 free. This d .
very important question just now. VIII the
Grand jury do its dutyf
The Mississfppi valley-Its TRADE 500
.Commerse-TAs Progress o. Rseonstxu&s-
item.
We give this morning an account q the
present condition Of industry and trade In tho
Mississippi valley. This account presents to
view the various interesting points in the ccn-
mercial history Of the immense region washed
BY the great river-the peculiarities and
troubles of its trade during the war-ths
vitality that kept that trade up through all
those troubles, and the elasticity that has
brought it to its former level with such wonder
full rapidity in the first months Of returning
peace; the condition Of crops in the Western
States-the welcome extended to every ono
who has anything to SEQ, and the present stats
of business in chat all important staple that the
confederaoy relied upon for the victory
cotton. All the points are examined In our 81
Louis letter at some length. and in way'eal-
culated to fully enlighten our readers as to the
condition of that important part Of the country.
The account Of the steamboat marine Of the
Western waters includes the names Of four hum
dred and twenty eight boats built during the
last ten years. They range In size from ninety
to nineteen hundred tons, and they cost from Eve
thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand dol
lars each to build. These boats represent in the
mere price Of construction capital Of nearly
twelve million dollars. Only about thirty were
destroyed during the war, and those persoos
who have supposed that the whole progress Of
river business out West had received On irro-
coverable blow in the war, that the energies
Of the 6outhwest were extingpished. and thae
the people. were PROSTATE in spirit Or nDodg
and discontented under political lnaueeoess
will be surprised to learn that the reunaindes
Of this immense Mississippi feet is in sctivs
operation. Not only does all the former busf-
ness that brought this 6eet into existence
return to its original channels with Q
rush, now that the war 10 over, bat
the dates Of construction Of the various
boats viii show that the growth Of tho river
business was hardly arrested by the wx.
Construction has moro than kept pace with the
losses; for, while thirty only have been burned
hundred and fifty have been built in the sane
time. Many Of the boats were used BY tAs
government for the transportation Of troop2
&c., 80 that they were an important element 81
our strength; but the government business ap-
pears to have been, taken altogether, . loss to
the bosts, owing to the frequent detsntions Tor
service where eventually no service was TO
quired, and therefore none paid for. Tho gov
eminent business was therefore avoided, and
was an embarrassment to the boat bsisinessg
and yet with this embarrassment tho business
paid 80 we'll that four millions Of dollars were
invested in this apparently preoarioSs kind Of
progress while the war was In progress. From
that we may guess at the profits Of the contra-
band trade in cotton, bacon, powder, caps and
80 on.
All this immense river business, a. we'll -
the accounts of the eagerness Of farmers In
Mississippi Tennessee, Arkansas and elsewhere
to Welcome the return Of Northern traders and
to barter their cotton for all the articles 81
Northern produotaoa or manufacture, toll .
good story for reconstruction So, also. does
the fact that in Arkansas TIE old plantations
are worked by the owner and his former slaves
ION shares" These are indications that tAs
people are once more looking at life In proc
teal spirit, and are disposed to accommodate
themselves to existing circumstances Southern
men have fully vented their spleen against the
Yankees when they are pleased to see even .
peddler, and they have gotten out Of the notion
of the divine establishment Of slavery when
they 20 halves with their former chattel. Al
the South now feels and stands social laws and
necessities will reconstruct the Union perma-
nently and perfectly; but to do this they musa
| be left alone to tho greatest possible extsnA
| rhe South must not be once again emblttersd
and pushed to extremes BY the old abolition
party, in new guise, urging its Jacoblnicsi
crusade tor niger suffrage.
| RECONSTRUCTION IN THE SoUru.-One' Of The
best evidences of reconstruction In the Soukh
| Is observable In the movements towards restof-
-