The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-07-21
Letter from Ex-Governor Pickans on the
Condition of the Country.

We have been favored with the following letter
from Ex-Governor PIoKENs on the general condi-
tion Of the country, and have much pleasure in
laying it before our readers. Tho letter was ad-
dressed some time ago to a gentleman of New
Orleans. As the Governor is representative
man OF our State, we are sure his letter will be
read with interest:
Letter from Ex-Governor PIckena.
EDaEwooD,
June IL, 1866.
Dear Sri received your letter of inquiry as to
the probable amount OF the growing crops, &C.
have been for months quite indsposed, too
much 30 to 60 about the country at all, and can
make no estimate from actual observation, ex-
oept to my own crops-I shall not mako half
common crop. In the frat place, / have only
about half my usual crops $50 a9res in cotton;
be extremely difficult for any man to cultivate
more than half of d usual crop in former times.
Inc system Is so neg to the negroes. and the
change 30 radical that it ia but natural for them
not to work with tho same energy and order that
formerly existed The larger the number Of ne
groes worked together now, the moro palpable
over eight or ten hands, and who go out regu-
larly, with them to work, " IL plant and mako
nearly as much if not moro than they ever did,
Among us, and in every Southern State, there
has ever been an industrious, lahoring white pop
ulation, owning few hands (from eight to ten)
and at the same time owning far moro land than
they cultivated. This class generally made abun-
dant provisions, and these men now will hire
more laborers than they formerly worked, and
the negroes will not be 80 changeable with them,
for most OF these will plant on shares, and it is
from this class that the bulk OF the growing crop
is to come. They have always brought to market
more than half the cotton crop of the country
and yet transient observers and factors know but
little Of them, and their crops are seldom esti-
mated: lt was from the branches and creeks
and hills OF the great interior of every State that
the recent amount OF cotton has been go vastly
swelled, beyond all ejaculation, and so it may be
again this year But one thing is certain, ,-the
haVo pressed forward nearly every bag into
market from the hid .en recesses Of the interior,
and the country will have to depend almost e..-
will make a greater deficiency n the crop man is
generally supposed. But the greatest deficiency
will be from the immense foods of sai,. and water
all level lands, together with poor stands from
unsound seed and the dying out OF the cotton,
caused by the uncommony cool nights up to this
time. thini no year has over passed the 4th of
June without single hot night as this has done.
Many OF that class OF small farmers alluded to
have perished in the war, and their mum bers have
will make failures, nd it is likely that most
Northern men, who are planting cotton on q large
scale will fail, for tbey have not tho minute
knowledge OF the details of cultyating cotton
which ID 80 essential to 1t requires judg
ment and experience to know how TO cultivate it
properly For instance, iniudicous plowing in
July will cause 1T to shed hundreds of pounds per
acre W. ok; and they have plenty OF capital and
horse po,os, and will thiik it essential to use
their horse power, whereas hoeing is what makes
productive Cotton crop generally; and negroes
IN the long hot days will be cUntented to run the
pows, but reluctant to use the hoe, Us it is
tedious, aud II, under the direction OF Northern
men, h.ey will not find it out til too late.
also think it Yet doublful whether the freed.
men wlii work much after the long hot days
Of June and July set in-particularly il there
is muon grass. They may pIow, but it will be
difficult to keep large gang in the field In the
long sultry days ,oiteH The hJe s so much needed
may be mistaken, but this is my impression
This will be especially the case ON large pants.
tons where there is every facility to change their
location and pass up aud down rivers. From all
these CAUSES hardl, think the growing crop eau
exceed one miAaon four hundred thousand bags
am sure this section OF South Carolina will not
In any event exceed onethird 10 OF ordinary
crop. Far the largest portion Of the cotton re-
gion OF this State WAS utterly desolated by the
Taysges Of~war, and men who own the lands will
find It>eysn difficult to raise supplies for the
neoedsaries Of lie. Horses, mules, cows aud
stock Of every kind was destroyed, and houses
burned Under these circumstances it will require
at leest . year 10 place the planter in position
to make any crops OF Importance. Another dis
turbing cause which reyented carly preparation
for q crop In this 81 ctOn, was that men who were
said TO DO c,nueo, cd with tie "Froedmen's Bu-
reau," announced to the negroes here that their
wages woru Insufficient, AMI they could get them
far higher wages in tho West, free transL
and carried many Wost, thus separating more
families than WAS over alleged to have been done
under the worst torn of slavery. We had ell
gagged in .hu cultivation OF cotton in 1860 about
100000 iabornrs, black and white-,-whioh at All
average OF three ba per hand would give $780,
600 bags. Take 400 QUO baes from 1863 and add
to this, and IL gives ns the 1000 900 made or sen
TO market. About three baes per laboring hand
iB good general oIop-for while the fertile POI :
tions OF He'd Kivor aud Arkansas will occa -ionally
make tweiye bsles prr hand, yet the largest pnr-
tion OF tho hilly lands Of the interior Of almost
any State will not average, for FIVE years in suo-