The tri-weekly news. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1865-1876, 1866-03-31
The Industrial! System OF The South - The
Cotton Crop of 1866.

"A NoItheTu mall, VINO neS been som
time in the South, furnishes the Cincin
natl Commercial with the following a,
his impressions upon this importunt sub
jcct::
NeTer, in all history, perhaps, wa:
there witnessed so complete rcvulSior
OF pnbllc sentimen. on a given topic ms
was seen in the South after the Christ
mas holidays. Before that almost every.
body OF white complexion had been de.
pondent and gloomy, while the negroes
were correspondingly elated and expect:
ant: the former, from belief that the
latter never would work gam: the lat
ter from belief that they never would
have to work again. Now everything
fs changed. For few days first sue
ceeding those holidays, the colored peo
pie felt bitterly disappointed at the non.
appearance Of Government agents who
We're to parcel out TO them the lands
and cattle of their old masters, but soon.
with their usual happy and con:entcd
dispositions they left off regrets that
they found were useless, and with n
nniversality that was astonishing both
to North and South, gave their atten.
iIon to facts, and entered into contracts
Tor the year. With this the hopes of
the Writes began slowly to return, and
though they were 10th to admit it. and
are still, they began to see pleasing Wis
IONS of prosperity in the future.
TO negroes work had always been n
habit, and they found no difficulty in re.
newlng it; 1t is habit their white
brethren generally have yet to learn.
Ot course, there are thousands oflazv
and worthless negroes, who never have
done anything ofvahe, and never will
nut the majority OF them have gone no.
bly, 20 work.
Renting, as any Of them do, and
working under their own contract, their
labor will not be so skifully directed as
formerly; there will be 100000 less of
them at work than in 1860, and they
VIII work fewer hours per dav than then:
consequently, there will be less cotton
raised than then by one.third, perhaps,
but they will lay the Foundation for n
system OF self.directing, intelligen. labor,
that, in two or three years. will prodpcr [
TAR more cotton than ever before. The :
cotton crop of 1866 will be better pick
ed, ,'betttrcl 'ed and better packed cror.
as a whole, than any ever before raised,
of poor white men renting little fields,
who never did before, and these will
bring it to market in the best possible {
order. | estimate that there will be
10000 poor white men renting land
this wear who never did before, and at
lust as many negroes. These generally
contract for onethird Of the cror, 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, l66 I
Bales of ginned cotton. In attempting
AN estimate Of the crop of 1866, | shall
set it down as two.thirds Of that of ] $50,
in all the States except Texas, Alabama
and Mississippi. In Texas and Ala.
bama I believe the crop will be full
one, for they were the two great centres
OF the Conlcdercy, into which were
crowded thousands OF negroes, many Of
whom still remain, while they were very
little disturbed by our armies. In Tex.
as there ale 10000 negroes more than
in 1860, and in Alabama probably So.
900. Mississippi remained comparative,
ly quiet, also, but lost many negroes.
Her crop will not exceed threefonrths.
In Virginia it will be about one.half
Here, then, is the guess, by States:
1860. 1866.
Alabama, 989, ,955 900, 900
Arkansas 367,8o3 100000
Florida 65,l53 1000