The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1867-11-07
From the Charleston Mercury.
FREE AND SLAVE LABOUR.

The relative advantages of free and
slave labour is the great economical
problem of the age. We can scarcely
open book or read an harangue IN
which tits not assumed as an axiom,
that free labour is more productive
than slave labour. Its the basis of
legislation whenever the labour ques-
ton has become the theme of debate
or controversy. Without regard to
the diversities of soil and climate, OF
the character of the product, it is ta-
ken for granted that the principle Of
competition will regulate wages and
adjust the relation between the de-
mand and supply oflabour. The only
two dissentients from this view that
have ever met our notice, have been
Jthn Stuart Mill and Professor Her
man Mcrivalc, at one time Professor
of Political Economy in the Universi-
ty of Oxford in England. The for
mer in his "Principlcs of Political
Economy, in chapter entitled,
"Causes which enable one country to
undersell another" says: eff wages
in any of the departments Of industry
which supply exports, are kept artifi-
cially, or by some accidental cause,
below the generalrate of wages in the
country, this is areal advantage in the
foreign market. 1t lessons the com-
paratiyc cost of production of those
articles in relation to others; and has
the same effect as if their production
required so much less labor. Take,
for instance, the case Of the United
States in respect to certain commodi-
ties. In that country, tobacco and
cotton, two great articles Of export,
are produced by slave labour, while
food and manufactures generally are
produced by free labourcrs, who clth-
or work on their own account or are
paid by wages. In spite Of their in
efficiency Of slave labour, there can
he no reasonable doubt thatin coun-
try where the wages of free labour
are so high, the work executed by
slaves is a better bargain to tie CAPT
talist. 10 whatever extent it is SO,
this smaller cost oflabour, being not
general, but limited to those employ
ments, is just asmuch a cause Of cheap
ness in the products, both in the
home market and in the foreign mar
kct, as if they had been made by a less
quantity Of labour. Il the s'ases az
the Southern States ecere emanclpa-
ted, and their vages rose to tic lcre1
Of the general earnings Of free tabom
IN America, that country might be
Obliged to erase some ofthe slare-groasn
articles from the catalogue gifts &C.
ports, and acould certainly be at7aobIe
to sell any Of them in the foreign mar
ket at the present price. Their cheap
ness is an artificial chcapncss, which
may be compared to that produced
by bounty on expectation or pro-
duction."
Every one must be struck with the
sagacity Of this passage, which by
anticipation foresaw the effect Of
emancipation. The very conscquen-
ces are about to be realized, which
Mr.. Mill predicted from this measure.
Mr.. Herman Merivale of historic
fame, having written history of
Rome, which has taken high rank in
historical literature, delivered before
the University of Oxford in 1889,
40 and Al, a series of lectures on
colonization and colonies. He stated
that "in nearly every case in which
colony has furnished large quanti-
ties of cxportable produce the export
demand has only been supplied By
means Of compulsory labor. Il free
population acould have been unequal
to establish or sustain tie export trade,
because 1t aoould haze been too much
dispersed; and moreover capital
aoouzd not haze been appliedto erten-
sive and continuous caltavatlon> for
the sufficient reason that no CORES
ponasng supply @tree labor could
be insured"
Now, here are two writer's of emf
nence at the distance of twenty years
before emancipation was inaugurated,
giving testimony to thesame principle,
to wit, that without compulsory labor
exportable products could not be rails
ed in competition with free labour in
foreign markets. We would qualify
the proposition as enunciated by Mr..
Mill. " It (slavery) lessons the
comparative cost Of production of
those articles (raised by slave labour)
in relation to others; and has the
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