Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1875-10-29

we'll regulated and reliable labor sys-
tenn. Indeed the sceptre did not de-
part from its hand, even durirg the
four years of civil war, when the
. crops of the South were locked up,
IN the fields on which they
were then cultivated--blockad
from the markets of the world. The
demand for it was SO great that Egypt,
India, and whatever soil would pro
duce it, were brought iuto earnest
requisitior for it's production. 1t still
constituted the main source of thl
wealth of petions. Aud during the
four years ALLUDED to, the history Of
the rise and fall OF the priuc -ly fol-
tunes which Were mad and unmade
at its command in different parts of
the world, forcibly brin IS to our recol-
lection the history of the South SEA
Bubble.
To India, the English people thought
they could safely turn from America,
aud thence, confidently expect to draw
her Indispensable supply OF the staple;
contented, ard even hoping, no doubt,
that the civil war in America would
Continue on forever, or at least
until the whole of Iudia should
be converted into an immense cotton
field, sufficient to supply all their
wants. From a volume just publish
ed by Frenchman, NJ. Rousselet, it
seems that much Information may be
gathersd d concerning the Indian cult
vation of cotton. The book bears the
title of ''Iud.a aud It's Native Princes"
and We gather what Information We
possess of its cont Mt from a review
of the work coutaIued III the Novem-
Der number of "Scribuer's Monthly"
which has just been laId on our table.
The reviewer max rs the folio wing ex-
tract from M. Kousseiet which our
readers will perceive gives a lively
p ctnre of the series of events, in India
during these four years, and culmiua-
ted III the year lS64-65.
''Anerica, rent aslnder by the hor-
rors of civil war, had depr we'd Europe
of one of the elements N )st necessary
to It's industrial txIst-uce, viz, cotton;
aud India, which had cDmpreheuded
how important 1t Was til t she should
attemEt 10 step in:u .he place then,
Tor the time being, vacant, had thanks
To her intelligent ttfOrtS) bee Ime a',ic
to supply III IA great degree the void
that had been Produced IL the means
of feeding the N nufdcturts of the
world. Bombay had become the en-
porium of all the cotton OF India.
Availing b. rseif of the immense ad-
vantages OF her position, she had con
CrIved to attract herself the whole of
this branch of commerce, and had
become almost the sole arbltress of it,
Incredible fortunes were rapidly &C
cumulated, and then. impeiled by the
longing after speculation winch bad
begun 70 possess their souls, the In
dians dlsinterI ed the treasure that had
been buried for centuries, and money
| overho wed upon the ground. Cnnsid-
ering the reconstruction of the United
States an lmposslblllty, the Bombay
ans foresaw for their city most mag
niticent futAre. Instead of seeing in
| that reason merely an exceptional
piece Of good fortune, they thought
! that nothing could possibly reverse
their prosperity. Projects sprang into
| life on all sides; cotton, while re-
naming as the basis of their commerce
! beca ne merely the pretexJ for unllmi-
/ ted speculation. Intelligent but i'll
J conslderate men established gigantic
companies to develop resources which
had already attained the height of
their develop nent. A project was
organized to enlarge the island, and
| reclaim from the s-a the Back Bay.
A company was started and when
| some days after the issue of the shares
they attained premium of SIS, 600 the
speculation knew no bounds. Many
new banks were founded but all
this was on paper only. 1t was mere
| ly game at whicn everybody was
| playing. Merchants, officers, pnblic
functionaries, were only too glad to
exchange their silver for wretched
scraps of paper some humbied
themselves so far as to solicit the lead
ers of the movement. aud the leading
men were regarded as milliouaires and
demigods. In spite of the efforts of
some honorable men. who foresaw the
ruin III which this folly would certai n
v ED, and who epdeavortd to stop
the people on the brink of the abyss,
the cont4gion spread throughout the
| whole island. Even the ladies, teated
III their chariots by the sea side, con-
versed together eagerly on the huctua-
tons of Exchange; servants risked
their wages. and work men their pay, in
this in satiable speculation. But when
the news of General Lees defeat reach
ed Bombay, when the banks were
c'osed, when well established com
merclal houses collapsed, and all these
shares became waste paper, then
there was a universal ruin-from
the greatest to the least, all were
, struck down. The crash wes so severe
that even the Bank of Bombay was
obliged to suspend payment, aud the
most prudent were in their turn drag
ged into the abyss IS created by the spec
! ulators. Bombay has raised hersei
slowly and painfully from this fearful
crisis, and now asplres anew, but witt
more p, udence, to become once more
the commercial metropolis of India.
GRANT AND CUBA.
There can be no question that th'
President still clings to the foud hop