Year: 1861




MONDAY MORNING, MARCH II, 1861.


COTTON.


The New York Herald Of the 23d of February
contains an able and interesting article the sub
ject of cotton. The question Of supply and de-
mand the efforts; that have been made to produce
it in other countries, and the general statistics
which show what an element of wealth it has
been in the past, and will be in the future, to the
Southern states all discussed with ability and
fairness. We are glad to see some sense shown
on the subject in the midst of the systematic mis-
representations and falsehoods of the Abolition
press Of the North and the Submission press OF the
Border States Of the South


The Herald shows, in the first place, that Eng
land wants one hundred millions OF dollars worth
ofcotton per annum that France and the North
Of Europe want forty millions of dollars WORTH
and that the Northern States of this continent also
want about forty millions of dollars worth. And
yet many of these people are iaboring with all
their power to destroy and break up the system of
African slavery in the South, notwithstanding it
is the only system by which cotton can be profit
ably cultivated, and the South is the only region
where it can be cheaply and advantageousy
grown. They would not only destroy the South
but entail suffering and distress upon the millions
Of their own people who live by their labor in
cotton factories, all for the sake of sckly, dis
eased sentimentality about African slavery.


The steady increase in the consumption Of cot
ton from 1910 up to the present time shows how
great necessity it has become to every civilized
nation This consumptionis is bound go on increas-
ing in the same ratio; but fortunately, the South
is able to meet the demand. The capacities of the
South for the production of cotton are, indeed,
almost unlimited. In Texas especially, as well as
in other Southern States, there are vast areas Of
country which have yet to be reduced to cultiva-
ton, which can yield almost any supply that the
necessities Of the world may require The South
is able to keep pace with the increasing consutnp-
ton Of the staple if she be only let alone with her
institutions, and be allowed to enjoy the blessings
of domestic peace and tranquility.


It is remarkable that while the greatest efforts
have been made, in almost every quarter Of the
globe to raise cotton, all attempts have been.
more or less, failures, except with u.s. The writer
in3the Herald gives an account of an enterprise
undertaken by the British Government in lS40 to
cultivate cotton in India An agent Of the East
India Company came to this country with carte
Blanche as to expenses, and procured ten expe-
renced cotton growers from Mississippi, Louisiana
and Alabama, paying them good salaries, who
bound themselves to remain in India for five years,
and make thorough experiment. This agent
also procured American cotton seed presses, cot
ton gins and everything else used in the cultiva-
ton, ana preparation for market, Of cotton in
this country In India they procured labor at
thee cents day; and selected the best cotton.
growing regions for the test. The result showed
that a negro in Mississippi could do more work i'll
one iay than an Asatic could in three. At one
uoint one thousand acres were planted in cotton.
1t came up. bloomed well, and looked fayorably,
until the dry season set in, when there was not a
drop Of rain for ninety days, and the air was in
tensey hot The result was that the plants with
cred, the leaves dried up, and there was gathered
only ffg pounds of cotton to the acre! After q
trial of five years, and an expenditure OF four CT
i've millions Of dollars, the experiment was aband
oned, it being found impossible to produce cotton
in India, except in small quantities and at heavy
expense.


At another point in India, two hundred acres
were nlanted in cotton, and two hundred pounds
Of clean cotton were all that was gathered
pound to the acre.


The Southern belt Of the North American CONT
nent is the only region in the world where cottol
can be proiitably grown, because it is the onl,
raeion where the alternate rain and sunshine l
such as to promote its growth and maturity. II
India. and in most other countries where expert
ments have been made, they have rainy seaso
and n dry season. Neither will do for cotton. /
must have rain and SUM- alternately, at short intel
walls. to come to maturity and turn out q full crop


The crop of cotton in 1882 in this country wa
nine hundred thousand bales, and in 1850 it wa
over four million bales The total consumption c
The world in 1860 was a little over five millions {
bales, Less than million bales were produce
elsewhere than in this country. While the suppl
from this country has qnintupled in the last thrt
wears, the supply from other regions has RENAME
very nearly stationary. Besides this, India bale
only average about three hundred pounds, Will
ours average from four hundred and fifty to nv
hundred.


The Abolition papers have been laborng har
of late, to create the impression that cotton sui
cient to meet the wants of the world can be grow
in India, Africa, Central America, and aimo
everywhere else. No doubt they would be vast
pleased if this were the case. No doubt it wou
crafty them immensely if the Southern Stat
could be ruined by the discovery of some 9th
country where cotton could be raised more cheapl
The constant efforts that have been made by the
to create this impresson-alded, we are sorry
see, by some of the press of the border sla
States-only show how much they hate the Sout
and how eagerly they would produce ruin and d
ISOLATION among us if they only had chance. Ha
PLY, power superior to all human power BAIL
their magnity by setting apart the Southern pc
tion of the North American continent as the gret
and only reliable cotton growing region of Il
world.