Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-04-26
Labor,


The great cues. ion of an adequate sup
DIV Of labor for the South IS at last receiv-
ing in some States a portion Of that atten-
ton which the subject demands. The sud-
den change in the character Of Southern
domestic institutions ut the close of the
war, has involved our people /" multiplied
pecuniary CmharTassmentS, and the dill
Guilty OF procuring reliable Labor iii the
farming districts has had a stunning effect
upon the agricultural resources Of the
South The advantage which the freed
men have taken of their new unrestrained
liberty, has resulted i'll 3 material depOp-
ulation Of many Of the richest portions OF
the country, and the strolEng habits which
they have lately formed, has rendered that
which is left exceedingly uncertain and pre-
carious, and the fields of the land now pre-
sent a novel appearance to the world. With
q soil Of great fertility and peculiarly calcu-
lated to the production of many OF the
choicest articles of foreign exports, the
farmer is yet forced to fold his hands and
forego his crops. It is strange that with
the vast extent of arabic territory now ly-
ing useless in the South, that the tide of
foreign immi grafton isso slow in seeking our
shores. Europe is crowded with its sur
plus inhabitants, while the South is to the
same extent depOpulated. There they have
laborers without lands, here the lands are
ours without the laborers. Independently
OF the nature of the American political in
situations, this fact should alone be sufi-
cient to attract foreigners here. The wages
with us are III some instances more than
double those paid in Europe the means of
subsistence are more plentiful, and the
land itself IS vastly more productive.
1t would be well, we think, if the farm
ing communities of North Carolina would
realize fully this fact, and endeayor,
full tide of emigration to seek this portion
OF the Western world The labor which
would be thus secured, would be cheap and
reliable, and the lahOrers themselves would,
in time, make good and valuable citizens.
Other States than our own have begun to
realize this fact in its full force, and organ
izations have been formed looking to this
end Yet movement Of this kind would
hardly prove Of q lasting benefit to the
country, if not pushed vigorously on to a con-
summation. For this purpose Board OF
Commissioners of Immi grafton should be
established, and agencies issued by that
Board in the different countries of Europe,
for the purpose of offering inducements to
emigrants. China, it is said is Astounding
with Coolies, whose habits would eminently
fit them for labor in the South They have
been already introduced into California,
and their labor has been found SO cheap
and 50 we'll adapted to the wants of the
country, that the workingmen have become
dissatisfied, and large anti-Coolie mass
meetings have been held, favoring an eX-
pulsion Of them from the country. This
subject should be taken into Immediate
consideration by orr people, and by all
| classes of those people at that, for III the
end they will all be benefited by foreign
immigration. The wants Of the country
point most emphatically to the Coolies al
the best substitute for the lost labor of the
negro, and it would, perhaps, be well tC
| try the experiment of an introduction here
of number of those people.