Year: 1867

AAvA AAS AAiNS7t'a AipAh1 Acn9s


Letters from correspondents ia the in
terror abundantly oorroborate the position
we took Immediately after emancipation,
namely--that dependence on free negro
labor would prove ruinous. This year
there has been a failure in the cotton crop,
and planters are losing the advances they
have made to their hands, and also finding
il impossible TO get them to do any work
TO keep up the plantations. Everything is
running down at the heel, and gloom and
encouragement are prevalent


The only remedy is for the planters to
lessen the amount of land in cult vation,
and employ the means of making it pro-
duce in mnch larger proportion. A
small amount ofland well planted in cotton,
and well attended by few industrious
hands, who could even have kept off the
worm, would have made the planter a
richer return than he win get FROM. all his
broad acres. Free negre labor has been
tried under gradual emancipation, under
the most stringent labor laws, which
gave the planter all the advantages that
law could compass, and where the govern
ment even furnished capital to supply the
loss by the abolition so slavery, and even
under such circumstances the failure
was aggravating destructive and complete.


Every year that he tried it left him
worse off; every year tie negro himself be-
came more worthless; every year the will
dernes3 made some encroachment and
there was some deterioration Of former
Improvements; but although all these
things stared him in the face still every
year the planter would shut his ewes TO
realities and hire freedmen 10 eat out and
destroy what yet remained ofhis substance,
instead of making an effort in a different
direction. Nor, in other places, where
emancipation has done It's work, did the
planters ever wake up to the reality OF
their condition until they were absolutely
ruined and could no longer carry on their
places, but had to give them up to success
ors. Then, looking back they could see
what they might have done, but then il
was too late.


What we want ia, TO impress upon them
the necessity of shaking off old methods
altogether, and adopting such new ones as
their own better wisdom may suggest
Let them consult together upon the basi:
Of the conviction that free negro labor
WILL NOT Do-that they must absolutely
| quit relying entirely upon it before i
ruins them--that they must substitute ir
its stead the means of giving better cult
| vation 10 a smaller extent of land, sdding
such assistance in the way of stock-raising
| diversity Of cropping, better kinds Of crops
and such an employment Of the land they
are obliged to throw out of their own i'm
mediate control, as may be suggested b.
the necessities and possibilities of their sit
uation.


Even if freedmen had TO be hired, al
arrangement such as we are limiting at
the object being to supply the place c
manual labor by good implements as ia
az possible, and to diversity economicall
the few negroes kept well in hand woul
do great deal more in proportion than


larger number among which there woul
necessarily be more politics and other ir
citement 10 idleness and injury.


Anyhow, with all the emphasis We ca
command we urge our planters not to PEI
NIT the prevailing gloom and discourage
ment to induce them even to think
going any further south, whether
Mexico, Honduras or Brazil. If they cal
not succeed in Texas, the most of thel
would, in our opinion-and we have rea
in the papers a great deal more than "
have been able to publish on the subject
be sure to regret, once and always, an a
tempt to better their condition in any


the directions which are now most con


monty talked of in the South. Ii woul


be a great deal better to go to Californ


or some of our own territories, but, aft


all, there is probably no place better tha
Texas, il the right plans of living and


improvement were adopted.