The Van Buren press., 1866-09-28

ception of the Southern States, that it
has been been beyond comparison the
most densely populated!
Southern wealth must not halt, nor can
it depend on agriculture alone, it must
have manufactures and commerce.
We have a few suggestions TO make to
the Southern people, with view of get
ting them out of bad habits which keep
a people poor. To the North we have
been hewers of wood and drawers Of wa
ter. Our policy has been to purchase ey-
erything we consume from the North.
The cotton crop will soon be on hand
insteadof spending at the North every
cent realized from it, would it not be
much better to make many articles OF
consumption at home, and enrich our
own people? A Southern tailor or shoe
maker can do as good work as . North
ern one, why not employ him? Yet We
know towns where tailor or shoemaker
would starve. Will we be forever obliy.
ious to home industry?
A most injurious system of trade with
the North was kept up before the war,
and is now being revived. We sell our
cotton to the New Yorker, we payt to him
freight, insurance and generally commits
sions, and storage, their expenses are
charged to u.s. He takes the cotton and
sends it to Europe; he purchases and
pays for European goods with it; he
brings the goods to New York in North
crn vessels; he insures in Northern hou
ses /; he stores them away and waits for
the Southern merchants to purchase their
goods, pay him his profit and expenses !;
and the Southern merchant pays to the
North insurance and freight, and makes
ell of these accumulated expenses out of
the cotton planter. Do you wonder that
he is poor indeed
Is it not apparent, if the Southern
planter, and the Southern merchant
would encourage direct trade with Eu-
rope thet the enormous items ofexpense
which We have enumerated, would, in a
great measure be saved, and those items
not saved would go into the Golfers of
Southern tradesmen
What would be the consequence of this !?
Would We not see commerce enriching
our seaport towns; vessels made in
Southern dock-yards, freighted with
Southern produce? Why not enrich Nor
folk and Charleston and Savannah and
Ne, Orleans? The enriching our towns
not only enr1cnes tire vntiro counting. Int
it is the only sure way OF bcneftting the
poor people of all classes. They are de-
pendent upon the rich, and if we enlarge
the trade of our towns, we give addition
al employment to every kind Of mechan-
ic, we increase every department of trade,
we multiply the facilities for education,
draw around us comforts and privileges
which belong to powerful and enlighten-
ed nations, and work out for ourselves a
high and enduring position among the
people Of the earth
These are plain truths and designed to
be plainly put; truth delights in simple
and unadomed apparel, that its power and
beauty may be felt and seen.
Let it not be said that New York has
the advantage in the present monopoly
of trade. 1t is very easy to divert the
channels. There is an abundance of mo-
ney waiting to plow into the very track
we have been marking out Money from
Europe, money from New York, money
from the South, that has been seeking
other channels, will all flow in the direc-
ton Of Southern trade. Let us have no
more idle talk Of the necessity of a cen.
trail depot Of money and trade, and that
New York is that place. SO far from the
exigencics Of commerce demanding this
great central head, every interest of soci-
ETY. demands multiplicity Of central
heads, that the monetary influence Of the
country may be spread far and wide, and
not be concentrated at point in great
banks, and under the influence Of great
capitalists. 1t is better to increase poiit-
ical centers, as an antidotc to despotism.
It's better to multiply monetary centers
as an antidole to a concentrated money
despotism.
The division Of these mony centers at
points capable Of sustaining large corr
mercial cities, will ditruse population, will
draw out the resources of the respective
countries, and develop those resources
which are naturally dependent upon the
fostering care of the city, as the city is
upon the support to be drawn from the
country.
Happily we have Norfolk so situated
as to be great commercial depot for
Virginia and North Carolina, while the ci.
ty has an access from the back country
that can readily and easily support it.
The same is true Of Savannah; in refer
ence to Georgia and Florida, unless Flor
ida will assert her right to q true indie
pendent position, and establish one Of
her sea port towns rs her own CONNER
cial center. The same Is true Of New
Orleans, fed by the Mississippi, and the
the waters that drain its immense valley
and the same is true Of Galveston with
its gulf coast, and exhaustless back coun-
try.
An inspection of the map will show
that the parts Of country these towns
supply, require commercial centers, and