Year: 1861

A


From the New York World


We yesterday stated some reasons
which seem to Gs conclusive why war,
though IT might check, would not arrest
the Industrial and commercial growth Of
the North. We now propose 10 show that
the Confederate States are in. no position
to sustain the burdens of a protraeted war,
and that the prosecution of such war
would weigh on those States with crush
ing force. We went into some Showing of
the steady growth of British industry and
wealth during the, great European con-
fict which followed the French reyolu-
tion, and terminated with the fall of the
first Napoleon. We used that growth as
an argument to show that war does not
necessarily paralyze industry and prevent
accumulation. But there is another fact
that forms part Of the history of that pe-
Rod, which has significant bearing on
the ability of the rebel confederacy to sus-
tain the burden of long war. The fact
to which we allude is the important one
that Great Britain. in the mighty struggle
againt France, more than doubled her ma
iional debt. The great significance of
this fact lice in the illustration it affords
OF the inability even of a great, powerful
and prosperous natiou to conduct long
war without depending largely on lis
credit for the means of carrying it on.


Contrast the wealth, prosperity, re-
sources. stability, and prestige of the
British nation with those of the Confedcr-
ate States. There is no people SO aceus-
toned to taxation, or who have so habit
ually borne the exactions of the tax gatl.-
erer, with so few manifestations of res.
tiveness, as the people OF Great Britain.
The first of modern nations in commerce,
the largest producer of manufactured
goods, the most improved in agriculturr.
abounding in wealth, and the great NOR
ey center of Europe and of the world, t


was still unable to defray the annual ex-


penses of war out of the annual proceeds


Of the public taxes. Butif Great Britain,


with her wealth and resources, could not


support such burdens without making II
large use of her credit, how can the Con-


federate States hope to do it? Those


States, like all purely agricultural COM


munities, have comparatively little accu'
muiated wealth.


They have little capital invested in
/ shipping few manufactures, not many rail-
roads, and they are not dotted all over,
like the North. with fourishing cities and
villages. Lacking these evidences Of &C.
cumulated wealth, and having a large
proportion of non producers among their
hite populations, they have no taxable
resources which will enable them to
maintain war, and they must depend
mainly on their credit for the means of
prosecuting one, Their commerce will
be cut off by blockade of their leading
ports. Their people. who have never felt
the burden of direct taxes for federal pur-
poses, will soon learn to curse the tax
gatherer, with more fervor than they now
do the people of the North. And yet all
that he can extolt from them will bear a
small proportion to what they will need
in a war with the United States. s =5s


But of whom will the Confederate
States borrow? Not to any great extent
of their own banks and citizens, for the
plain reason that these have no resources
which would not be speedily exhausted
by war with so formidable power as
tie United States. In the great mon
ey centers of Europe not dollar Of
Southern loan could be negotiated. For
eign capitalists would inquire how they
will get their money back, if the attempt
TO found new republic should miscarry.
To what purpose is it that the new Con.
federacy offers to guarantee Its loans by
an export duty on cotton. when the odds
are so greatly against its success? If il
fails, what becomes of the export duty?
Who then will pay the debt? Not the
United States, certainly, against whom
this rebellion is directed ; not the Con.
federate States, for if they fail there will
be no such Government. If the debt
should be distributed among the several
States that had participated in the rebellion
the capitalist would hardly expect such
States as Florida and Mississippi to be in
a better condition TO pay than they were
to meet the debts they had incurred and
repudiated before the war. The Confed-
crate States, then, necessarily depending
on credit for the sinews of war, unable to
borrow dollar abroad, and but limited
sums by forced loans of their banks at
home, would speedily reach the end OF