The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-03-14

| Interesting Views Aho sPecuiatlohs-
The Prospect of Production-Efect o.
Emmhcipation-Wil1 Prices Advance
What the English Spinncrs Think
About 1.-THE True Policy for the
Planters.
The New York Journal of Commerce pub.
| rsbes the following interesting and carefully
preuared COMMUNICATION, frefacing If, how.
ever, with distinct editorial Caution tosthe
public against pinning its faith teo closely to
the writer's theory, or any other theory in re-
| gard to future prices:
tn the Editor of tie Journal Of Commerce
May ask the privilege o. small! place in
vour columns to express some views upon q
Subject of importance. directly to alarge num-
her of people in this country, and Indirectly I'd
the civIltzei world? This request has not been
sooner nreferred, because the writer had-no
wish to be classed among those who avail
themselves of press privileges for purposes OF
private gain. But as the price or cotton mas
now nearly reached a minimum. neither of US
| can he reasonably accused Of violating duty
7 in expressing, nor you, In allowing your
innrnal TO become the vehicle Of MY opinions.
| The very gradual decline in cotton since the
| oneninr OF The present season Is due princi.
naSlv TO the readiness shown'by English ship
pers to take it freely at the prices current
| from day to day. II is also partially due to q
peculiar condition o, aa,ls srtsng
Early ir,the season, operators here arrayed
fheuIselyes into two parties. On one. side
| ware those who. through Interest or cenvic-
| tIon: or both, operated for rise In prices, or
for steady market at figures remunerative to
| the planters On the other, were the purely
speculative, those who. haylng no relations
with planters bought and sold on their own
| account. And as rue the iaiter nave pc
leyed In declining market, and operated ac-
cordingly. We all know now to whom the
victory belongs, but the ground has been
fonrht inch by inch, and planters certainly
hova no inst grounds Of complaint against
those TO whom their interests were intrusted.
| Tie decline has been by sixteenlhs and
eighths: now and again steady market, and
sometimes even rally; l.. And 1sa during shis time
opportunity m ofpushing off their crops at re-
mrneratlve prlces--as the receipts to date will
Vow that The result is no longer doubtful, it
well behooves us to take glance Of the situa-
tion, and endeavor to mark out wise course
for the future.
That cheap cotton is.a great desideratum to
the civilized world at large, perhaps no one
will deny; and that the workings of PrOyi-
dence aid Nature Is IN the direction Of in-
creasipr the comforts of mankind, has come
10 be 4 maxim among economists. Pilat
those who, In This country, are engaged In the
production OF cotton should endeavor TO i'm
pair the bounty OF Nature, by cramplng pro-
duclion, is, to say tue least OF lt,anomalous.
YET we ind many who advise such a course.
The late civil war so crippled production,
that prices had advanced out ef all reason;
and capital and labor, tempted by the prospec-
tive reward, were largely diverted to increas-
inr production. Now, that production has
reached, fnot exceeded, all previous limits,
and prices have gone back TO dnte-oeltum
ngures-it becomes us to inquire about the
future.
MANY say that production this year will be
contracted by several causes; by the action Of
the planters, who will devote more attention
tofood. raising; by the wantuf means to buy
guano. mules, implements, pork, &C., through
The unwilAngness Of capitalists to make ad-
vances;.by the weather, which they say cannot
be expected to continue favorable for four sue
cessive years, &C., &c. They therefore hatter
themselves that our crop this year will fall be-
low {, S,000, 900 bales, and SiickcolSeqHently we
may look for return to-mucll higher prices
than those now prevailing. There is much
force In all this; but have serious doubls
aboirthe correctness Of some Of the premises;
and know that the conclusion, even If arcor-
rect one, is m0t desirable. The history OF Cot
ton production for the few years previous 10
the war is full of valuable information on this
point. Cotton planters did then what they are
likely to do again, they proved that they pos
sessed a trait common to oil human NATURE
when the price per pound was reduced, they
increased the number Of the pounds
And In this connection, permit me to remark
that the real test of the character OF the ne
grces-slaves no longer-ls now about to De
applied. Before The war, the white owner Oh
both negroes and plantation was the Judge oil
the measure OF economy allowed oy the income e
from his crop. He regulated not only his own
expenses, but those OF bis negroes, and their
hours OF LABOR. Since the war, the negroes
have been able, by half work, to earn full sub
sistence. The high price Of cotton enabled
them to obtain better returns for the same
amount of labor than perhaps any other peas
antry In the world. AS consequence we
have found them very active In politics; "scle'
ties" Of all kinds were numeFous,h each us.
trlct; the halt grown boys and girls divided
their time between the horn spelling books
and the ideness 80 industrioHsly circulated
and inculeated by The ''Blreau;". q Lively tyade
has lourlshed in ginger cakes, cheap trum-
perry, ..'s'ciety" badges, cheap candy, mar
bles, and %hskeY; the political, religious
and moral outcasts of our Northern society
have reaped rich harvests from the tenn
porary prosperity Of the new-made freedmen;
our professional philanlhroplsts have cackled
and crowed us almost deaf with their sell
iaudutions and "we-told-y0u-s0's;;' while those
WHO looked below the surface have waited
and dreaded the condition OF affairs which is
now at our doors. Whether or not the freed
men will accept the situation In the right
spirit remains TO be seen. But it is certain
that IL will require more labor and economy 10
live under. present prices, than under those
which have prevailed since the war. And nlf
lher, The economical producer OF cotton is TOO
certain OF abundant reward to allow usto SLIP
pose for a moment that other labor will not
equal TO the occasion Let us hope that the
example of their former owners, In adapting
their conduct TO severe and sudden change
Uf circumstances, will not be without its ef-
feet; and that the oeachln9s Of the te% earnest
missionaries among them may induce their
minds TO n proper appreciation Of their duty.
TO return to the subject in hand. It is not
apparent 10 the writer, how, even with a
5000, 900 bale crop this year, we can look for
any marked ncrease in price. Stocks have
been, add are, accumulating In India. Crops
in Egypt and South America are reported US
promising well. the consumption OF our best
customers on continental Europe is seriously
crippled. European politicians openly admit
their Inability much longer to avoid Il war
over the Eastern question. And that some OF
these reason, or ull oil them, or others, are
operating in the same direction on the minds
OF others, is made apparent by the course pur-
sued by the spinners OF England. They pro-
hiGly look as closely alter their own interest aS
any other class Of people in the world. And, as
rule, they act in concert. No channel
of information is closed to them, no means
left unemployed to procure it, Among