Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1868-03-06
For the Journal.

For the Journal.
The Scuth-PaSt and Present Interests
| Review ea-DIversified Industry Our only
| Hope of. and Sure Raad to, Prosperity,
| EVANSVILLE, N O.. Feb. 24, 1868
NTEssrs ED1ToRs II have READ with
much satisfaction various letters and some
editorials within the last few months, about
farmer. farming, labor, crops, &C., Of the
South, which have appeared i'll your valu-
liable d" Journa,, and [ hope Lot without
profit. AS your columns seem to be open
for free discussion Of these all-important
subjects, propose to 90 SO in few short
communications IN the form Of letters. The
impression with the most Of our people,
that the abolition of slavery has Frustrated
and ruined the country, to some extent, is
true bat that it IS altogether so, is Ger
tainIy erroneous. It may be a blessing in
disguise, at least we ought to try to think
so. It has ruined the negro, there is moth
ing more certain than that, and is the be-
ginning of his gradual extinction from the
land. It has also limited the production
of cotton, tobacco and sugar here.
The malignity and hatred of the United
States (" so-called') Congress, as exhib-
tied in the onerous and uni ust tax on cot
ton, will soon find but little substance to
work on and it fruitless source of revenue
for T honestly believe that our people will
soon find it to be to their interest to aban
don the production Of it altogether, as an
article of expectation IN the crude state,
and the tax only hastens the time, and if
they would tax it two dollars and half
pound instead of two cents and a half, so
as to kill it out of the way at once, SO much
the better it would be for the people of the
South. But to my subject. If the aboli-
ton of slavery is not the sole cause of our
prostraton, what is it that is 70 answer
this question to my satisfaction, only re-
quires few words of the history of the
farmers and people OF the South, and a
| little contrasting of their policy with the
course pursued by the same class of men
! in other parts Of the country and world
generally. It may surprise your readers
| 70 tell you in tho early history of the South
men were opposed to free schools, and to
newspapers too, but if the historian has
given us correctly the facts, it is neyerthe-
less true. Sir VIM. Berkeley, one of the first
Governors of Virginia, in reply to enqui-
ries made of him by the British Lords
Commissioners, isrepOrted as saying, among
other things, But thank God there are
no free schools Or printing" and concluded
with these words: "God keep US from
both"
All lovers of learning and general diff
fusion of knowledge, rejoice to know, how
ever, ho7r little the future generations of
glorious "Old Virginia - partook of the
feelings and notions of her Sir William. -
Then came the detestatlOn and opposition
Of the people 10 internal improvements by |
the States or general government, which
too soon gave way tc AN appreciation of |
them, limited only by their Importance
and the means OF the State to build them
up. These preiudices and singular notions
of our people have thus passed away, and
for education, perhaps, nothing more could
have been done, than has been done, and
the same may bu said of internal improve
ments. But it is to be regretted that our
whole people, statesmen as well as others,
seemed to have forgotten that these things
alone, though all important, could not
make us a great, thriving and self-sustain-
ing community. There appeared to be one
grand leading. controlling erroneous idea,
which could !Iot be gotten ril Of, every
body, every generation from Tie earliest
settlers III the South down to TIE present
day, have pursued the very same beaten
tract, and 1t is So lndellbiy fixed IN Us, ii
this living, murlug generation, that there
is scarcely lingering hope Of d change
That idea Is ihi5, hat w must necessarily
p10H2s-S Jur e.rp0!intio~ and importing ere,y-
thing" Now we come by tIss notion hon
estly, for it was one OF the imported iueas
brought here by the lords. Proprietors
sent over here by England to colonize the
country more than two hundred Years ago,
for we are told 1.-THE brick, iron work and
much of the wood work " Of their houses
were d" impoyted"' And ships FROM Eng
land brought them their annual supplies of
merchandise IN exchange for their crops OF
tobacco, while smaller crafts came with the
products of the New England fisheries and
Of the West India plantations, to barter for
their tobacco, achet or corn" 1t was quite
natural to see how this thing came
about between England and these
States, everything must be tribu-
tary to her, and in cOlonizing this coun-
try, you may be sure she did not intend to
lose by it, and being all Of one family, the
interest of the mother country was fondly
cherished and promoted England could
do the manufacturing and have the carry
ing trade, and the colonies would grow
agricultural products for expectation and
import everything they needed, manufac-
tured articles and many things that were
not manufactured just like We are doing
now. In order shat this system might be
continually kept up as the population of
the colonies increased, large premiums
were offered by England, to induce and
stimulate all sorts of productions, first for
wine, then raw silk, and then know not
what, but almost anything of the earth's
production, but no premiums for manufac-
tured articles.
Up to the Revolutionary war OF l776,
and the final separation of the colonies
from their mother country, this state Of
things continued, and strange to say, has
been going on ever since, only we get no
premiums for our kindness or what we
raise.
In 1891 new impetus was given to the