The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1866-12-14

exaggerated reports of failures of
crops, which are so liable, in agricul-
tural regions, to gain undue credence.
The more nearly correct estimate,
from all could judge, is from one
and aquarter to one and half mil
lions of bales. The. best informed
factors and intelligent business men,
who have been over the whole field,
and who are not interested In g bull
ing the. Market, in commercial par
lance,e place it at aboutbthat figure.
Andlyet even this is a great falling
off from the estimates of the Z Aneri-
can crop made in Liverpool and New
York; Atithe best it is bad enough
for the planter, bad enough for the
South and the whole country; for,
primarily, we are all interested in the
prosperity of. the South as part of our
common country; andit is also mat
ter of individual concern to all to
be assured of the failure of a staple
which enters SO generally into the
textiles of common use. I 5f iliil n
The cause of the failure is attrib-
.uted to succession or combination
of causes; bad seed, too great fall
of early rains, severe drouth in the
summer, the worm, in some localities
early frost, but lastly inefi4
Gent and insufficient labor. NotWith-
standing the efforts of the planters to
raise the means by personal credit,
mortgages, and by partnerships, and
the considerable influx of Northern
capital, there were still very many of
the very best plantations uncultiyated.
The failure on the part of so many.
the past season, who have exhausted
their resources and their credit, will,
from all present indications, leave
many more uncnltivated the next
year, unless aid comes from some I'M
expected quarter. AThe commission
merchants of New Orleans, Memphis,
and other cities, and Northern capt
taIists furnished the funds freely last
season, because everything bid fair
for prosperous yield and remunera-
tive returns. But as the results have
in so many cases been disastrous, adj
vances upon the next crop will not be
SO readily obtained. So that taking
the result Of the present with, the
prospects for the nextseason together.
tits not strange that there is a wide
spread p feeling sa of .mdespondencya
thropghou out the Solith !, which is in no.
degree lessened blythe present state
of political matters, from theicompli- Z
cations of which their leaders seem
in no humor to deliver them. pa, sai
Besides these natural causes the
tax of three cents per pound; which
the, Government imposed upon cotton, /
is undoubtedly operating unfas9tablyI
for its production. 9iIt is, as an alb
straet question Of taxation, unjust and I,
oppressive. It. is contrary to- public
policy and the prosperity of, the la j
boring classes to leyysa tax upon any
thing which isf;a product of theosoil, i
one Of such general and
necessary use as cotton, "A tax upon
it is only justifable in extreme cases, 4
when the National Treasury is, need
ing all the, resources which the coun- 4
try can furnish. Such is not the case
now. The three per cent: tax ope-
rates rather as a premium to that ex-
tent upon the foreign production Of
the staple, as our American cotton
must compete with the product of.
other countries in the English market;
and is also so much addition to the
price of all cotton goods in our own
country. The tax is especially objec- |
tionable to the Southern people for /
the reason that it is the only burden
upon an agricultural product of prime
necessity of the country; cotton, they
say, is heavily taxed, while wheat,
corn, oats, hay, and all Northern pro-
ducts are free. It gives too much
color to their oft-repeated and readily /.
believed charge of oppression and in
justice. 1t is hoped that Congress
will show its appreciation of the cor
rect principles of political economy,
its determination to do Justice to the
planter, and cause sensible
of the masses from, the
burdens of taxation byan early repeal
of the Cotton Tax, Y I .al'oi424 q
A question which is much discussed
in all classes at che South, and
=, a ~, ~, ~ 4ba 11JankoYc iS tho