The Sumter watchman. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1855-1881, 1870-04-13

vow " uvo III 6YuajOI anu WI0tcn0Qne69,
their children die from lack of proper
food and care, and there is unqusstiona.
bly, diminution in their numbers from
natural causes, which in their present
situation cannot be controlled. This is
especially tho case among the negroes
on the coast but the remark does mot
apply to the intelligent colored man
anywhere. It is remarkable fact that
the slave increased twenty.three and
one.half per cent, and the colored tree
people only one per cent. during tho
ten years preceding the war. If I re-
member rightly, the city registrar of
Boston reported that during the
i've years preceding 1869 the
number OF colored births was one less
than the number of marriages, and the
deaths exceeded the births in the pro-
portion Of nearly two to one. In Rhode
Island and Connecticut, according to the
registries kept, tho yearly deaths of
blacks aud mulattoes have generally
exceeded the yearly births. There is
no method of reaching similar results
in the South, except through the re-
ports of the health officers of tho diff.
ferent cities, but these show startling
amount Of mortality in the race, aud
invite question as to its ultimate con.
dition. My own Impression is, that in
a quarter of q century from the present
time, al the colder regions of the South,
from Virginia to Georgia, will be main
ly populated by sturdy white emigrants,
before whose competing toll the negro
will be obliged to give way, and that he
will seek the lowlands as his final abb
ding place. These are but speculations,
yet the fate Of the red man is to very
considerable degree typical Of the law
of nature which has applied to the me-
gro in every State in which he has been
compelled to work for his subsistence,
side by side with the white. The
South, however, requires all her labor
ing population, and as a people, we do
plore any exigeuoy which threatens to
deprive US OF so essential an aid to our
prosperity. Hence it is that our liber.
al minded men, forseeing these results,
are prepared by wise aud human regu-
lations for their enlightenment and moral
and social improvement, to make the
colored people valuable in our agricul-
tural developments, and thus retain
them as an element ofpractical strength
and usefulness.
lMMIdRATION-ITs IMPORTANCE TO
THE SOUTH.
Q. The views you have expressed
lead naturally to the inquiry whether
the people Of the South fully appreciate
the Importance of an infusion Of more
energetic help, Of white emigration
from Europe and tho North, aud what
inducements are offered to citizens Of
other portions of the world to settle in
your midst?
A. The inquiry opens broad field
aud comprehends much. In general
terms, answer that, viewing the ques-
ton of Southern resusoitation in all its
bearings, emigration is an absolute South
ern necessity. Our losses during the
war amounted to the enormous sum OF
81 900, 900. We have left to us,
however, an imm snse area Of land, q
productive soil, and genial climate.
Our resources are inoalculable, but we
need population and capital to develop
them. We are satisfied with our pre-.
sent labor. 1t is insufficient and to some
extent untrustworthy. To illustrate {:
The population of South Carolina is in
round numbers soy 100000, nearly
equally divided between white and
black. This would give US but twenty
three persons to the square mile, yet tho
territory Of the State, under thrifty
cultivation, may be made to sustain
100000 of persons with ease. To
obtain this population we must tap the
reservoirs Of the world, and to all who
come we will extend cordial welcome.
immigration will induce competition,
aud in competition is our safety. There
is no other coercion that can be applied
to idle men. They must either work
or starve. Doubtless We have to en-
counter much opposition from the West
in our endeavor to divert the tide of
emigration, but we have more to offer
in the shape ofreward than any Wes-
tern State. Our products are nearer
the great markets of the world, our soil
is far more fertile, and the cmigraut
will come to State already settled aud
possessing the advantages of age if not of
progress. The same causes which have
developed Wisconsin, Minnesota and
Iowa may be applied with equal, if not
greater success in South Carolina. We
only require a multitude Of farmers to
raise product for which We have
heretofore paid the North and West,
and in my judgment the owners of large
tfacts Of valuable plantation lands will
be glad to dispose of their surplus pos.
sessions, rather than attempt the culti>
vation of crops on the gigantic scale
which belonged to our former system of
labor. Experiment has demonstrated,
both here and abroad, the value of small
farms aud diversified industry. We
have about 4 100000 acres Of land un.
der cultivation, only one fourth Of the
area of the State. This would throw
into market 45,500 farms Of 100 acres
each. To illustrate by comparison, Now
Jersey and South Carolina are very near
ly equal in population. The value Of
the products of the first named State in