The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-07-09
p.~ourccs of the South.


souNDKR CONDITION OF TRADE AND PRoDUC'
TION SINCE THE Wharf.-The BLACh MN A.
IABORsRs AND LANDOWNERS.
Mr.. James Card, the eminent English
agricultural authority, sends to the Lon
don Times the following letter. when he
says Is from can American friend wen
known 10 the late Mr. Golden ~: "1ou
are quite right in the published expression
of your views in regard 10 the incrediDle
resources of this country developed OF late
xTrst Of toe Missouri. In reality this coun-
fry is ri the moment in state OF
dangerous prosperity. It's vitality and
strength exceed all previous estimates, and
now we have spring opening most favora6'y
for planting and sowing the coming crops.
There is every indication Of another very
large harvest, which means very cheap aud
abundant food, quite beyond any pos>ibil-
" Of consumption in this country. In the
mean time. mineral resources are being de-
yeloped, new lines Of railway extended IN
every direction, and, with an abundance OF
money, speculation is rampant. There is
no bride strong enough TO hold the eXcita-
bic American people under such circum-
stances. and II the downfall OF the States
should occur il VIII be from Over-pr0s-
per,tv. Emigration is pouring in in vast
numbers. and wealth is increasing; but
the southern states are not helped by en-
iOratiop. They have TO learn TO make
the best of their black labor; which, by
the way, is exceedingly good ard chesp,
and more docle and traclable than the Irish
man. The negro is fast taking his place
much more rapidly than any sane person
conld have anticipated. was astOnished
while IN South Carolina TO learn the fact
that in one county there were over 1000
land-hOders negroes, whose places RAISE
from three to zen bales Of cotton. My wife
informed me that at one Of the public
schools which sue visited she saw nearly
800 black children being educated by black
teachers, and that right in the hOt'bed OF
beresy, South Carolina. / predict that there
will be exceptional times IN the South, and
that rich planters--ten times richer than
ever existed before the war-wil raise their
heads within a few years. Credit, the bane
OF the southern planter, has disappeared.
Now they buy and sell for cash. / met one
gentleman who had sold his crop OF cotton
scr S2f0,0O0, and ! saw another we'll
Known man in Mississippi who had raised
nearly 10000 bales of cotiOn-El00, 900.
The property of this gentleman is
estimated at s5,00O,000 There were no such
fortunes in the South in oiden times. When
we think Of the scattered territory east Of
the MissiSsippi-eght States, which have
white population OF about 1000, 0O0-and
compare their condition and resources with
The white population OF the best OF the
northern States, Illinois, which has nearly
$500, 900 souls, the evidence i conclusive
that the property OF the 4,OOO,00O In the
South far exceeds in value the property
held by any 100000 in the North. or
course we must shut out the centres, B0s-
ton, New York, and Philadelphia; they are
brokers for the rest OF the country, and the
accumulated wealth comes to those cities.
But when | speak Of 100000 / speak OF
people living in the interior, and | assert
that the 1000, 600 white people OF the South
are to-day richer than any 100000 in the
North, and their land would advance just as
rapidly il they permitted the black men to
become proprietOrS. The effect upon the
value of the farm-lands where the owners
have had the sense 10 sell of small lots TO
negroes on the edges OF their farms is mo>t
striking. The small black prOpretOrs buy
from five 10 ten acres, and close together.
The poor man can afford to pay more money
for land than the itch man IN the quantities
in which ne PURCHASES it, and it is CRAFTY
ing to see a great desire on the part OF the
owners Of large tracts Of land 10 sell pOr-
fions 10 their black friends. The South i
also becoming a large purchaser Of artificial
manure. One establishment in Chicago
sod 10000 tons Of this, chiefly to southern
markets, whereby the upland cotton in
Northern Georgia and Alabama is stimu.
lated 10 the early part Of the season by a
limited application, the plant being ad'
yanced ahead OF the frost, which in former
years was constant bugbear as the cotton
packing season approached. ! think we
shalt see a progressive increase in the cot
ton crop, and a greater prosperity than The
South has ever attained.