Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-10-18

tude IN which the advocates OF the llnpu- |
dent demand for gold payment upon the
bonds stand before the American people.
COTTON-TITE PRESENT AND THE
FUTURE.
The subjoined article discusses a-mat-
ter, and presents an array of authentic
facts in regard to it, which should arrest
the attention of the Southern people.
That cotton was the king Of commerce,
and that the Southern States were the
capital of its realm, was for years cause
of enviOus discomfort to the Northern |
section. The slave power" was chiefly |
Odious, because it was intimately con-
nected with the culture of the plant which
made the South commercially the Su-
perior. 1t was the just pride of the
Southern people that, though in arts and
manufactures they were dependent, yet
the great staple made the North and Eu-
rope dependent and tributary to them.
The assertion Of this superiority ranked
in the Northern breast. 1t may be pro-
tested that this unworthy and dog in>the
mangerish sentiment did not exist, but it
is true nevertheless. The discrowning OF
King Cotton in the South was an object
Of the war, and it was. accomplished. The
astute Northern leaders who used the
fanat cal pseudo-p philanthropy of that
section TO fomcnt the sectional hate which
led to the war, have deliberately and
willfully sacrificed the -eminence ofthe
South as the great cotton producing region
olthe world, on the altar Of Jealousy and
ma!evolence. In the no. e to clutch this
prize for themselves, they did not scruple
to run the plowsharc of war through its
fields. In doing SO, they have to great
degree blasted them, and stimulated the
necessities of the world to look for other
fields. This account Of the Egyptian
production shows what rival that re
gion has become in the last six years. The
English governments fostering by every
means the culture Of cotton in India, and
building railroads from the seaports t.
the fields. America, instead Of furnish
ing fve-SiXths Of the amount annually
consumed ten years ago, now yields less
than one fourth. And, even after this
fact became apparent, hepurblind hatcrs
Of the South sought still further to en-
barrass its production by an eXorbitant
export tax. II was only self-interest
that compelled its release from this bur
den, at the hands OF n Congress repre-
sentative of tn S paltry and groyelIing
sentiment
The ruin Of the cotton interests IS one
Of the darkest features of the systematic
persecution with which the South has
been so rclentlcssly pursued, and will
excite in the minds Of the men Of after
times who shall dispassionately read it,
wonder at the short-sightcdness, and
contempt for the despicabIo sclfshncss
which brought it about.
But the cotton of the South
ern States will spring again. I'm
der a disorganized labor system it
languishcs, and in the meanwhile rivals,
more or less formidable, have arisen. Let
the owners Of the cotton soil, however,
bide their time in courageous seli-reli-
ance, and they iilrecrown their king and
rule again lord Of the ascendant in Ameri-
can commerce. We commend the sugges-
tions OF this article to their careful read
ing and tell them to plant brcadstuiis
for home consumption, and cotton for cX-
port ald manufacture in their own mills.
The day Is coming when cotton will
guarantee them an independence surer
and more muniicent than they ever en-
ioycd in the most properous former
times.
The cable announcement of heavy
yield of cotton in Egypt Is Of great i'm
roTtancc to the people of the Southern
States and to our country generally.
Cotton has long been the most impOr-
tant item of commerce among nations.
This country held an uninterrupted
monopoly of the article up TO the com
menccmcnt Of the war. a large portion
Of England's commercial greatness grew
out of and depends upon ii. To give
employment to her 1000 mills, and 49,
| 100000 spindles, and 100000 opera
tives, she has looked TO our Sea Island
and Gulf State plantations. In a single
year she actually paid ont S1l2,OOO,OOO
for 4 supply. These facts sufficiently
indicate the Importance of our possessing
the monopoly OF supply, and doing all in
our power TO regain the ground we lost
by the war. That result is certainly not
to be reached by misleading our cotton
planters as to their real situation. To
tell them that there is nothing to fear
from Egypt is a iailacy. There is much
to fear; but it is certain thai, under a
stable political government, perseverance
and well-directed labor will eventually
place the South first again on the list Of
supplcrs and make cultivation Of the
, staple in Egypt too improbable to he con
2 tinued. There Is a point beyond which
: it becomes more profitable for that
country toserd English breadstuns than
] cotton Ii IS to that point our plant
crS must force this rival. Were ii not
s for the fact that she cannot devote be-
$ yond a gwen acreage to cotton without
s being compelled TO import the cereals for
o home consumption, her rivalry would be
t emincntly threatening. The commercial
t returns of the worlds. markets tell us
e how pTOSpcrously her cotton interest has
t thrivcn since 1861. There is no wisdom
= in affecting contempt for the staple she
n produces; nothing to be gained by asSur-
g ing our planters that our own staple is SO
70 greatly superior that no other growth can
. stand beside it in the markets. Let Us
e not disguise the fact that the Egyptian
staple Is a good one that it commands a
n good price that it is all bought and
3. that it has been thought worth while to
10 Introduce Egyptian seed on our own
- plantations for trial. 1t has been demon
Y strated that our Sea Island variety, the