The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-03-29
The ;l3 sastrial System OF the south-The
IS Cotton Crop Of 1866,


a No4tern man, who has been some time in the
South hfnrhishes the Cincinnati Commercial with
the folpwing as his impressions upon this impor-
tant aSB1set:
|. 8eySm all history, perhaps, was there wit
nesseu5eo; complete q revulsion Of public senti-
mentl1 given topic as was seen in the South
after ne Christmas holidays. Before that almost
| evsrybRdy Of white complexion had been des-
pondeM and gloomy, while the negroes were cor
respon@ingly elated and e1pectant; the former,
from belief that the latter never would work
again5&he latter. from belief that they never
woulaehaye to work again. Now everything is
chanEH. For Q few days first succeeding those
holidasH, the colored people felt bitterly disap-
pointea at the non,appearance OF Government
sgel& who were to parcel out to them the lands
and .1aftle Of their old masters, but soon, with
their shsual happy and contented dispositions,
theYatt off regrets that they found were useless,
and With uniyereality that was astonishing both
toNosth and South, gave their attention to facts,
ands shtered into contracts for the year. With
this tie hopes OF the whites began slowly TO re-
turnssnd, though they were 10th to admit it, and
are still, they began to see pleasing visions Of
prospbrity in the future.
Topegroes work had always been habit, and
they Nound NO difficulty in renewing it; it is q
habit4her white brethren generally have yet TO
learnE OF course, there are thousands of lazy and
worsHess negroes, who never have done anything
OF vasne, and never will, but the majority OF them
hayesgone nobly to work.
Renting, as many Of them do, and working un-
dert4eir own contract, their labor will not be so
skilfuliy directed as formerly there will be 100000
less sbf them at work than in 1860, and they will
workfewer hours per day than then; consequent
II, there will be less cotton raised than then by
one5shird, perhaps, but they will lay the founda-
ton for system of selE-directng, intelligent
lappr, that in two three years. will produce far
mote cotton than ever before. The cotton crop OF
1860 VIII be a better picked, better cleaned and
DetteI-packed crop, as whole, than any ever be-
fore 9sised, for the reason that there are thou
sa1d9 Of poor w.Gte men renting little fields, who
never did before, and these will bring it to market
in the best possible order. I estinlate e.
will se 10000 poor white men renting land this
year who never did before, and at least as mauy
negroes. Theso generally contract for one-third
OF the crop, and furnish their own teams; or one
fourth, and use the teams and implements of their
former masters.
The crop Of 1860 was 5,344, 166 bales OF ginned
cotton: In attempting an estimate OF the crop OF
1S6s, shall set it down as two thirds Of that OF
1866 in all the States except Texas, Alabama and
Aissisaippi In Texas and Alabama be ieve tha
ctop will be full one, for they were the two
great centres Of the Confederacy, into which
were crowded thousands Of negroes, many of
whfRn still remain, while they were very little dis.
tuISed by our armies. In Texas there are 100, ,O05
neGfoes more than In 1860 and in Alabama proba-
hys6o 900. Mississippi remained comparatively
quiet, also but Lost many negroes. Her crop
wilnot exceed three-fourths. In Virginia it will
be9about one-haK Here, then, is the guess, by
Stpteg: