The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1867-11-08

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dustrial resources of the South are in
no condition to contribute to the
prosperity of the country. It is the
part of wisdom to look our misfor-
tunes III the lace. We should not
deceive ourselves, either at the North
or at the South. Three years of ex-
perience, by both Northern and
Southern men, attest the fact that the
cultivation of both rich and cotton
the great staples of the South-is,
under the present system of free
negro labor, the most uncertain, the
least remunerative, and the most har-
RAISING employment in the world.
Had gradual system of emancipa-
ton been adopted, men would, by de-
grees, have accommodated themselves
to the gradual change, and the indus
try of the country would have re-
ceived no such shock as now pros
trates the South and overwhelms her
in despair. Upon the agriculture of
the country mainly depends the
wealth and prosperity of the coun-
try.
But few years ago, the cotton ex-
ported from the United States con-
trolled foreign exchange, and held
the monopoly in foreign markets.
How is it to-day, and how will it be
in the future ? Instead of 5000, 900
of bales, sent forward to exercise the
former influence upon trade, we have
not more than one-third of the crop
of 1860, coming into market, and
that at price per pound, in cu,ren-
Cy-the revenue tax considered-very
little, if anything, in advance of what
was realized per pound for the large
crops of former years, paid in gold.
Why is this it may be asked. The
lands are the same-the seasons are
the same-the climate is the same
why, then, the difference I? We an
s,Uer, The labor as notthe same. Instead
of industry, we have idleness; instead
of system, we have disorder; and in
stead of profits, We have losses. Shall
we be able to drive out competition
in the future, as we have in the past?
Surely not. But few years before
the war, one of our most intelligent
planters represented this State at the
Worlds Exhibition, in Paris; and,
upon his return, reported that he saw
upon exhibition there, the cottons
from Algiers and from the East, which
were in every way equal to the finest
productions of the United States. He
asked. why cannot these cottons COM
pete with the American cottons? The
answer was, because we cannot pro-
duce the article for the same price;
we are compelled to hire the labor
which you o,on-onrs is unreliable,
idle and costly, while yours is under
control, steady and cheap. For these
reasons, you will always be able to
drive us out of the market. But what
now is the condition of the Southern
planter His labor is much more
costly than that of Algiers or the
East, equally unsteady, and, proba-
bly,, less under his control; and he
finds himself now, after an exhaust
ing war, driven from the market by
prices which his former competitors
can afford to take. The present low
price of cotton is but the evidence of
the causes already stated. And it
may be that, in few years, we shall
be importing cotton and rice into the
United States, instead of exporting
these great commodities. We are
now eating, in, the interior Of South
Carolina, rice imported from China,
and we have been credibly informed
that East Indian cotton has been i'm
ported into New York How soon
the State of Great Britain may
find it expedient to impose an import
duty upon American cottons, who
can tell ?
But it may be asked, is there no
remedy for these calamities to the
Southern people? We answer, most
probably no immediate remedy.
Time is the great master of the situa-
ton. If our people will give up the
delusive hope of growing rich by the
cultivation of cotton-thereby proba-
bly, working their utter ruin-if they
will cultivate less cotton and more
breadstuffs; raise for their own use
and for sale horses, mules and stock
of all kinds; cure their own hay,
make their own butter, and sell NE
surplus; if they will labor to fill j
land with plenty, they will, in a
short time, realize Is change Tor the
better in their own condition and the
condition of the South-at least,
they shall not have debts and disap-