Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1866-06-23
Our Future,

the extraordinary circumstances in which they
have been placed by the results of the late
war; wethink is unparalleled in the history;ot
any country. That war has dcsolated their
most fertile sections; it laid waste, their finest
plantations ;.it took from them theirmeans and
appliances for procuring stheir subsistence, and
toa superficial observer, has rendered this
garden spot of tho United States barren
wilderness. 4ssSf 80. ~ tr# ~
And yet, notwithstanding all this frightful
desolation, spolatioG and robbery, there are
abundant evidences around US, that if it were
not for the pernicous legislation at Washing.
ton--were these States represented, enjoying
equal rights, liberty and protection to their
property and not oferburdened with uncousti-
!utiqnal. and unjust taxes-tlicy would give
an example gof Ircguperation that, the; world
hna never witnessed y uR
Tho future of the Southcrn States is Just nor
involved in mystofy, and If we could get
"nilcnium' DR. Cpmmins to predict how the
problem of their destiny" is to be solved, We
would be undcreysslasting obligations. But,
| seriously, the instantaneous change IL, our In
Dor system presents difficulties that the wiscst
and most experienced cannot got rid Of. We
might plant CORN and other ce-cals amply
sufficient to sustain our population, and to ex
port; but we, cannot believe, nor dovcr will be-
licve, that the great cotton growing. belt on
the zones will be diverted from its natural
production, the effort has been made in India
Egypt, and elsewhere, to produce withyany
profit our great staple, and tho effort has
failed The kingtcm of the monarch cottpu
1--WE hold lie is still king) is in tho Southern
States of North America
AS we have before remarked in this paper
the South, in the future, must not only look
to the production of this great staple but
should apply herself to it's manufacture. In
| soil ana climate, she may be said to have the
monopoly of producing this univernlly.uscd
staple, and her resources for manufacturing
her peculiar product arr unsurpassed. She
has an unlimited supply Of water power or
even in tho absence of this, her mines of coal,
as yet undevclopcd, her vast forests Of TIM
bcr. and other means and facilities of manu-
facturing arc not surpassed by any country in
the world.
The abolition Of slavery changes the whole
direction of investment of capital and, on the
whole, we believe it to be one Of the greatest
benefits that has been conferred on the white
people Of the South-to the freedman him.
self, we believe it to be a material injury
Capital now is seeking other channels Of re-
muncration. Heretofore the planter invested
his surplus proGt in more land and more nc
groes Snow the whole thing is changed; he
has got more land than he can cultivate, and
there are no more negroes to buy.
Another feature of the radical change cf-
rcctcd in the labor and productive energies of
the South we fnd so well presented in the
"Louisvllc Courier we reproduce it:
Instead of being an importer, the South
can, and we have no doubt will, become an cx
portcr of every species of cotton fabric. Her
facilities for so doing being superior, and cx-
cmpt as she will be from the cost of transpor.
ting the raw material, she will be able to man
ufaGture cheaper and ere many years she will
control and monopolize the markets Of the
world When that day comes, the revenues
of the cotton lords Of New England who com
mcnccd the crusade upon Southern rights
will decline, their manufacturing system will
withor and perish, and they Will have ample
cause to repent of the fanaticlsm and injus-
ticc which prompted them to disregard the
rights Of sister States and trample their most
valued institution under foot New England
will then be famous for her political insignif-
cance and poverty as she is now for the vile
ness of her principles and the bigotry and in
tolerance of her people. Then her sons will
struggle in vain for a subsistence upon those
barren rocks aud the unthankful soil upon
which they were born and reared; and to cs-
cape starvation, they will be compelled to emf
CRATE to more favorable climcs. They will then
feel and, oh! ! how deeply, that righteous re-
tribution has ov"rtakcn them for their gigan-
tic and multiplied wrongs upon the unofrend-
ing South"
We like this sort of writing. bccause, be-
sides its truthfulncss, it is calculated to rouse
up the energies Of our people. If they arc
true to themselves, they have got a glorious
and prosperous future before them And we
arc inspired with faith and hope that the Sc
we're lesson recently taught, t,thom will contri-
buto to leading them in, the right direction
We think if they avail themselves of. their
present advantages, they will realize that the
war and its results we're g blessings in dis
guise. u Hnnfc. ~