Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-12-01

of this city; as did also our immense
Southern trade, resulting from the heavy
cotton crops of the South. Between
1850 and 1870, for four on five years, THE
war not only greatly arrested the growth
of our population, but in suspending for
several years, On account of the high
prices of materials and labor, the cree
ton OF new buildings, 50 far contributed
to ''raise The rents" as to drive thousands
of our citizens over to Brooklyn and 9TH
or paris of Long Island, to Connecticut,
to Westchester, to Staten Island and to
New Jersey. This exodus, ON all sides,
hes been going on ever since. In fact,
Brooklyn, Jersey City and its appendices,
Staten Island, and Westchester to great
extent, are but suburbs of this city,, and
we must count in their population accord
lngly in order to reach the expansion of
the business of this great commercial and
financial centre and settling house of the
continent " -
Five of the remaining cities embraced
in the table show falling off of the per
centage Of increase in the last decade as
compared with that from 1850 to 1860,
and the Herald claims that the causes
and consequences of our late war will
account for the general loss, though as
they are generally Northern. cities, it
seems rather singular that they should
suffer from the cause indicated. The in
crease of the per centage of gain of some
of the cities is thus accounted for by the
Herald: ssBoston in this last decade
shows large increase in her per centage
of gain, but this is due TO the late annex
alton to the city of the surrounding towns.
Washington also shows large increase in
her per centagc Of gain, but this is due TO
the thirty thousand blacks drawn into the
city from Virginia and Maryland during
the war 10 escape from slavery and TO be-
come free. Baltimore shows gain of
five per cent in her population of 1870
compared with 1860, which is due partly
to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and
partly TO the emancipated blacks of Mary
land attracted to The city. All the cities
and of the South since the abolition
of slavery have made large gains 10 their
fixed population from the blacks Of the
surrounding country. The amusements
and cxcitements of cities and towns, and
the chances they offer of a comparatively
easy and jolly vagrant sort of existence,
have been irresistible TO the ignorant,
indolcnt and fun-loving emancipated
blacks
The Herald makes the following de-
auctions touching the distribution of po-
litical power: ''The general increase of
the population of all the Northern States,
however, east Of Indiana is in their cities
and towns; and this is due to the railroads,
which have operated and are operating to
arrest the growth of population in the
rural districts, and to increase it in the
large cities and towns. From Illinois
westward to the Pacific, however, the in
erase of population spreads over town
and country; and IN the superintendent of
members Of the lower House of Congress
upon the new census the States of the
Northwest will secure an important
balance of power. The Southern States,
notwithstanding their fearful losses dur
ing the war, show an unexpected increase
in their white population, and also in the
blacks, Notwithstanding the oft-repeated
sta istics of their rapid decay since the
abolition of slavery. Texas, however, is
the only Southern State which
viii show an increase III her popu-
latiOn comparable with that of Missouri
or Iowa, and nearly approaching Mime
sofa, during the last ten years. During
the war thousands of planters in the
Southwestern slave States first threatened
with abolition moved with their slaves in
to Texas, and since the war the cheap and
fertile lands and fine climate of that
State have sustained the Southern emil
grafton in that direction. In the decade
b fore US all the Southern States, more or
less, will gain prodigiously in population
and wealth, because of their cheap lands
and mineral resources and fine soil and
genial climate. Meantime, excepting our
great cities, the general drift of popula-
lation has heen to the Northwest and the
new States and Territories and thence to
The Pacific; and under the next Presi- |
dency, if not before, that section of the
Union will take from New England and |
Pennsylvania the balance of power, and
viii holdit in both Houses of Congress, on
the tariff and all the financial questions
the general interests of the
Union