The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1874-04-01
The Cause Of the Collapse.

crations," in which he attributes
the failure of the Southern Confcd-
eracy to the fact that the Govern
ment did not at first possess itself
of the cotton crop then in the hands
of the planters. This has called
forth a reply in the Charleston Nc'cs
and Courier, from the Hon. c. G.
Memmingcr, formerly of the Treas
ury Department, as we'll as from
another correspondent in the same
paper. According to A[r. Mem
mingcr, "thc Confederate Govern
ment was organized in February,
the blockade was instituted in May,
thus leaving period Of three
months in which the whole cotton
crop on hand, say four millions Of
bales, ought, according to the mill
tary tinaucier, to have been got
the hands of the Confederate Gov
ernment, and to have been shipped
abroad. This would have required
fleet of four thousand ships, al
lowing one thousand bales to the
ship. Where would these vessels
have been procured, in the face of
the notification Of the blockade ?
and was not as much Of the cotton
shipped by private enterprise as
could have been shipped by the
government? When so shipped,
the proceeds of the sale were in
most cases sold to the government
in the shape of bills Of exchange.
The superior advantage of this plan
is cvinccd by the fact that, through
out the year, the government en-
changed its own notes for bills on
England at par, with which it paid
for all it's arms and munitions of
war"
The correspondent further states
that the cotton, at the organization
of the Confederate Government,
was not in the country, but had been
already exported, and that the cx-
portation Of the next crop in any
quantity was an impossibility, as
there were no vessels in the Con-
federatc ports, and the only cotton
exported was carried out by foreign
vessels which ran the blockade.
Mr.. Mcmminger argues that in
any event it was impossible for the
Government to have obtained in
any just and practicable way the
control of the cstton. This could
only have been brought about by
seizure, purchase, or BY donation.
The first would have been an up-
just and igh-banded measure, not
to be entertained for q moment
the second vas impossible, as the
Confcderacy had no money to buy
with-and the third was visionary,
as the planter was in condition
to solicit, not to extend, aid. Mr..
Memminger says:
"Evcry one convcrsant with the
politics of the day knows that it was
the current expectation that the
blockade could not be continued but
4 year. The Confederate Congress
were so informed when they adopted
the international agreement as to pri-
vateers. The Government of the
United States equally supposed that
the war would be Of short duration,
as is apparent from President Lin
coins proclamation calling for troops
for ninety days. There could, there
fore, be no motive 10 induce the Con-
tolerate Government to store up cot
ton is basis of credit When it be-
came apparent that the blockade and
the war would continue, the govern.
mcnt then made arrangements for
using cotton as the basis Of 4 loan !;
and the large foreign cotton loan ne
gotiated in Europe by Messrs. Erlan-
ger furnished abundant resources to
the government for its supplies from
abroad. But even to the last its pow
cr over the crop was restricted by the
large quantities held in private hands
which could not be purchased at all.
At no time that | am aware of was it
in tho power Of the governmcnt''to
get possession Of the cotton crop, un-
less it had seized the same by force:
and by the same force compelled pay.
mcnt in a deprecated currency; a
; high.handcd course which could ncv-
er receive the sanction Of the statos-
men who administered Our govern.
ment. The only approximation to it
was in the shape Of q tax in kind
!. when the currency failed to command
. supplies, and which was made as just
ard cqual as any other tax"
According to Mr.. Memminger,
no war of, the same magnitude had
ever been sustained for four years
without a war tax; yet in the
: whole Confederate war, but one
war tax was levied, and the greater