Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-10-19
THE FIRST DUTY OF THE LEGIs.


To the Editors of the Union and American:
1t is in vain that our agricultural writers
urge upon the planters to diversity their
crops and plant less cotton. 1t is in vain
that the advantages of labor-saving ma
chinery are set forth, day by day, by the
press and amateur farmers. Our people
are willing to give up cotton, willing to
adopt a.Iy Of the improved agricultural i'm
plements of the day, whenever they can do
so with safety. The difficulty lies at the
very threshoId-in our
SYSTEM OF LABOR.
1t is not skilled.
1t is not intelligent.
1t is not reliable.
Innovations upon the old system are made
with greater cautiousness by the planter than
any other class in our community. He has
been trained under a system of slavery,
while the staple product was cotton and
tobacco, and his industry and management
was rewarded as adequately as he expected.
Slavery has been abolished, and with it fol-
lowed much of the profits upon the staple.
The negro, like his former master, knows
nothing of the 'fslnall farm" system, and is
10th to engage in untried fields. As his
wants and necessities are much fewer than
his former masters, and his condition pecu-
niarily is much bettered as compared with
the old plan, he is satisfied with far less
than his employer, and is therefore the more
disposed to let well enough alone, especially
as the balance sheet of the ledger
is in his favor. IL is impossible
TO hire Gny considerable number by the
month and if it were not so, 1t mould be I'M
lciSe TO employ that ,Cdy IN cuItiUdting the
usual crops Of the North, as they UOuld be
a dangerous element in society, II thrO1cn
out of employment fire months IN the year
as they are at the North, OtciRg TO their iTa-
provideRce and IGr notions of honesty.
Planters must &c neceSsitdte employ them
by the year, and must plant crops that will
give them employment during the time.
Were it practicable to employ them by
the month, it is extremely doubtful whether
they have the necessary intelligence, me-
chanical skill and ingenuity to use advanta-
geously mowers, reapers, cultivatOrs, etc,
etc.
"a negro, a mule, shuck collar and wood
en- Inold-board plow" is an adage familiar
to all, and aptly illustrating the negro in
! telligence.
Three-fourths of the farm lands in Ten
nessee are either idle or poorly cultivated.
] There is room for three times the agricultu-
| raj population that we have. Double,
treble our field products, and in few years
our debts would be paid, our taxes de-
creased, our revenue ample for all purposes.
| Railroads would start out from every point
of the compass, and an era of
prosperity be inaugurated that
would appear fabulous. This glorious re-
suit can be accomplished if our Legislature
will lust aciu it. Set the ball but in motion
and like the avalanche, it viii gain accre-
tions as it rolls onward, in compound pro-
portions.
We want half million copies of the
''REsouRCEs OF TENNESSEE
Published in the English, German,
French, and Danish languages and scat
tered over England, Scotland, Wales, Ger
many, Austria, Prussia, Denmark, Sweden
and Norway. The miners of Wales must
know of our rich coal ands iron fields.
The others of our agricultural resources.
Climate, soil, crops, markets, transportation
and prices must be fully set forth. Loca-
tons and prices of land for sale, with terms
must be given. They must know what it
costs to live, and how to reach different
points.
To sum the whole matter up, the men
that represent us in our Legislature must in
this great business do as we do in our pri-