The day book. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1857-1867, 1866-04-24
THE TRUE INTERESTS OF THE
SOUTH


never have had occasion for any war We
should have had, in the Union, all we needed
to make US independent of the fanatics of
the North. By our wealth, We should have
secured numbers sufficient to have command
ed the respect of the world.
The South conquered herself long before
the war broke out. We surrendered our ma
terial wealth to the North and East-our
manufacturing and commercial interests
long before the war broke out Agriculture,
Commerce, and Manufactures are the three
fold sources of the wealth and prosperity of
nation. They are mutually dependent up
on each other; each Sustains and prospers the
other; and when they progress hand in hand,
there the excelsior of human society is reach
ed, and the wealth and greatness of a nation
attained. Great Britain, perhaps, at this
day exhibits the grandest spectacle of great
ness, prosperity, and wealth, because these
three great interests, under the enlarged poll
-cy of her statesmen and economists, have
been carefully and consistently fostered and
built up, through long course of enlighten-
ed legislation, making each the handmade Of
the other.
Real independence consists in the ability
of any people to sustain themselves by the
natural resources with which they are bless
ed by nature, and the wise employment Of
the arts by which those resources can be de-
veloped and employed to the greatest allvan-
tage in the creation and diffusion of material
wealth. Then comes prosperity comes
improvement-then comes the elevation OF
the human race to the highest pitch of civil
ization and refinement
But the short-sighted people of the South
yielded up manufactures and commerce, and
relied upon agriculture alone, with the falla-
cious, and now exploded, hope of ruling the
world by the extent and excellence of one
great staple a1v.sv. Cotton was greap Pu-r
er-it will be one of our greatest aids in the
future-but alone it was not and it never
will be, king.
The signs of the times, we think, plainly
indicate that the South must also be manu-
featuring people. And let Us look, for a
moment, at her advantages in this respect
All through the length and breadth Of the
land, diversified with mountains, hills and
wales, water power, of unlimited extent, may
everywhere be obtained-the cheapest mo-
tive power in the world But if in the tidal
country this should not be obtainable science
and invention have SO simplifed, improved,
and cheapened the power of steam, that eve
ry facility from this source is within our
reach.
We lay it down as indisputable that the
producers of the staple can become the cheap
est manufacturers of TIE fabric, for the home
market gives them an immense advantage
over factories located thousand or three
thousand miles away-in New England OF
Old England. This applies to cotton-butit
is true also as to wool. The mountain ran
ges of the South, rs we'll as the plains, afford
the finest sheep-walks in the world; and al
though sheep raising was very much ne
elected at the South-as many other sources
Of independence were-yet when it was at
tended to, the production was satisfactory,
and remunerative The capacity of the South
in wool-raising was uulmitei-the manufac-
ture of wool insignificant, being almost ell
tirely neglected, except such household man
ufactures as never reached market
So Of the manufacture Of iron, and other
minerals. The bowels Of the earbh all over
the Southern country, are full of them The
enterprising and industrious baud Of man
alone is wanted to bring them to the light.
Fuel, for smelling purposes is abundant, and
in close proximity to the ores. Every alvan-
tage we can think Of, in this connection, in
vites the attention Of enterprise, of capital
and labor to the establishment Of factories
And this is what the South needs. We must
become manufacturing people. One single
interest," we now know, by long experience,
can never make us great and wealthy. We
cannot make the world dependent OIL US for
our great staple but we can make ourselves
independent Of the world, by a more careful
attention to our real interests, by building up
commerce and manufactures also upon the
basis Of our unsurpassed natural resources.
These views, and others belonging to this
great and vital subject, we shall endeavor to
enforce with our best ability The true in
terest Of Virginia and Of the South should
now engage the attention of all, who, awak-
ing from dreams of folly and delusion, which
have cost us already SO dear, are casting
about for the means of real prosperity and
independence. To the serious and rejecting
mind, our condition appears to be one which