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BY JAMES VAN NESS. PUBLISHED EVERY THUIt SD A Y MOItN IN G, IN THE “GRANITE BUILDING,” ON THE CORN El. OF OGLETHORPE AND RANDOLPH STREETS TERMS Subscription, three dollars per an il. im. -lavabte in advance, three dollars and a uj,lf at the end us six moiitlis,or rot'a dollars (tn all c .ses) where payment is no’ made before th expiration of the year. No subscription received jor less than twelve months, without payment and no paper discontinued, except at the the Editors, until all arrearages are paid. ADVERTISEMENTS -onqncuously inserted at ONE noli Ait per one hundred words, or less, for the first insertion, and fifty cents for every subse quent continuance. Those sent without a specifica tion of tho number of insertions, will be published until ord :red out, and charged according.y. 2d. Yearlv advertisements.— For over 24. and not exceeding 36 lines, fifty doll,tTt ,P rr n " n "7 : „ for ovr U, and m.t exceeding ii lines, thirty-five doliars per annum -, for less than 12 lines, twenty dollars per annum. ... , U. Ail rule and figure work double the above p:ices. Leoal ADVERr.sFMF.NTS published at the usua rates, and with strict attention to the requisitions ol All sTl'es regulated by law, must be the Court House door, between the hours oflO m the morning and 4 in the evenmg-those of Land in the county where it is situate : those of Personal Property, where the ietters testamentary, of a lmin istration or of guardianship were obtained-and are required to be previously advertised in some public Gaaette, as follows: . Sheriffs’ Sales under regular executions for thir ty days, under mortgage fi fas sixty um, before the day of sale. ■ Sales of I.and and Nf.orof*, by Executors Ad ininistralors or Guardians, for sixty days before the dav of sale. . 3 Ai.es of Personal Property (except * c g ro< s ) rnRT ’ Citations by Clerks of the Courts of Ordinary, upon application FOR l ette RS of administration, must be published for thirty day’s. , Citations upon application ior hismi • - Executors, Administrators or Guardians, monthly for six months. • , • „ Orders of Courts of Ordinary, accompaniedl w. hi * copyol the bond or agreement) to make titles to land, must be published three months Notices by Executors, Administrators or Guardians of application to .he Court of Ordinary for ~r to sell the Land or Negroes of an Estate, iolii Notice “by Executors or Administrators, to the Debt ors and Creditors ol ar Estate, for six rrFK "; , Sheriffs. Clerks of Court, &c., will be allowed the usual deduction. |> I.ettf.ks on business, must be post paid, to entitle them to attention. ANNIVERSARY ORATION OF THE STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETVOF S.C. BY GEN. GEORGE M’DUFFIE: Read before the Society, on the *26 h November. 1840, a’ its annual meeting, in the Lddil of the House oi Rcpre-cntftlivcs. Gentlemen us the Smle Agricultural Society of Smitli Carolina: —[enter upon the perfor mance of the task you have been pleased to assign me, with u due sense ol its importance, and a corresponding regret that I shall not be aide to fulfil either my own wishes or your reasonable xpectationo 1 may confidently trust, however, that this unpretending contri bution to ihe cause of agt icaltnrnl impr ive ment, will be received in the spiri in which it is o fibred; aml that the partiality to which I am indebted for the honor of now addres'-ing von, on the greatest and most noglec'ed <•/ all the sources of public prosperity, will in sure, for unavoidable imperfections of such a performance, your liberal and indulgent con sitleralion. The art of c dlivating the eartli. and of in creasing and perpetuating its p oductive pow ers, while it h is been the fi si to indicate the dawn of civifz ition among m mi, isprubiblv destined to be the list tom irk, its own ad vancement, the fi vilslngesol human improve ment. For o! ail lhe*arts tint contribute ei ther to supply the physical wants or promote ilie intellectual developement and moral re finement of the human lamtfy. none are more deeply and essentially founded in ti e priuej. pies of inductive philosophy, or me cap.;hie of extending their achievements over a wider field ol usefulness and true beneficence. I is scarcely possible, in leed, to assign any limits, either to the airtr•eoateammmt. or to the num ber or variety of useful productions, with which the fostering bosom of m I'lter earth is ever ready to reward the researches and the labors of her children. And yet, so strange a paradox is man, that philosophy has stood eitliing at the wonders of the iteavetis, entan gled in the mazes of vain conjecture. En terpri/.e has traversed and vexed the earth nnd the seas, in the vain pursuit of golden vi sinns—and even avariep, has wasted i's ef forts in wild and gamh'ing speculations, con tributing nothing to the common stock of nn tional wealth and human comfort, while mil lions of our rare a T e been literally perishing for jhe want of nourishment, and the whole surface of the earth has presented one hound less and inexhaustible mine of weal'll ril a bundance, which haughty science has scarcely deigned to explore, leaving sober industry m group its toilsome way amidst darkness and discouragement. As cultivators of the soil, and as members of a community whose prosperty depends al most exclusively, and I may add. unalterably, upon its productions, it is high time that *’e should free ourselves from our share of this common reproach, and make one united and vigorous effort to redeem our agriculture from the shackles which ignorance, preju dice, evil habits, and the blind and fatal thirst lor the sudden accumulation of large fortunes. have but too firmly fix ‘<l upon it. To aid in the accomplishment of this great reform, and'achievement, in all respects wor thy of the highest aspirations of patriotic am bition, I shall proceed to point out some of the prominent and practical errors most preva lent in our agricultural system —it system it may he called—and to lay down some of the fundamental principles and cardinal rules, wh.ch must form the basis ol all substantial improvements in our agricultural economy. The greatest, most prevailing, and most pernicious of all the practices which distin guish and deform the agriculture of tins and the other planting States, is the almost exe.ti sive direction of the whole available labor of the plantation, to the production of our great est market staple, and the consequent neglect of all the other commodities which the soil is capable of producing or sustaining, and which are essential to supply the wants ol the es tablishment. No scheme of relorm or im provement can produce any great and salu tary results, which does not lay the axe to the root of this radical vice iu our husbandry. It should be, therefore, an inviolahle m e in the economy of every plantation, to produce an abundant supply of every species ot grain, and of every species ol live stock, required for its own consumption. 1 am aware, that in peculiar localities, when the price of cotton has been high, examples may he found ol suc cessful planting where this rule has been dis regarded. But this serves only to prove, that even a bad svstem prosecuted with great energy, and under favorable circumstanc-s, may be crow li ed with a considerable share ol the success which would more certain'y have rewarded a good one. Such examples, if they constitute an exception to the rule I have laid down, by no means impair its force or disprove ns gen eral expediency. The economy ol a planta tion should be founded, not upon the tempo rary and mutable expedients, but uponi gen eral and permanent rules, adapted to a., t .e THE COLUMBUS TIMES. probable Vicissitudes of trade and ot ttie sea sons, and all the probable fluctuations of pri ces and of the currency. We have surely seen enough of these fluctuations, and sutfi ciently witnessed, if not exjierienced, their disastrous influence, to warn us against the fa tal policy ol yielding up the lessons of e>j>e rience to the temptations of high prices and prosperous seasons. It is, indeed, one of the greatest evils which these fluctuations habitu folly produce amongst ns, that we are but too successfully tempted, by the temporary al lurement of high prices, to abandon a:l the maxims of wisdom and all the rules of sound economy, which have been imposed upon us by painful experience, in periods of depression and adversity. Let us, then, each one for the sake ol fils.own interest, and all for the com mon welfare of South Carolina, solemnly and deliberately restive, that we will neveragain, under anv temptation incur the just reproach which r.inst attaclt to our character as plan ters. if we should be induced to rely upon distant communities for those essential sup plies, which nur own plantations are so capa ble of producing. And to the end, that this high resolve may be more firmly a'dopted and perseveringlv maintained, I shall endeavor to show that it is the dictate, not less of an en lightened self-interest, than of au enlarged pubi c spirit. \Ve are, then, to conclude and decide upon the comparative cheapness and economy of producing ourselves on the one hand, and of purchasing from abroad on theother, the hogs, horses, mules and other livestock required for the use and consumption of our p! titers, du- ring an average se'ies of years. A stranger to our wr tched habits of economy, would be startled at the mere propounding of such an inq :iry. He could not comprehend the econ omy of importing from Kentucky what our own soil and climate are so eminently adapted to produce. However plausible it is most assuredly a false economy, founded upon false reasoning. A man who will assume that our hogs and horses must he raised exclusively upon corn, and will gravely sit down to calcu late the cost of so many bushels at seventv five or even fifty cents a bushel, will certainly come to au erroneous conclusion. But those of us who systematically pursue the business. o!‘ taising live stock, can testily that the quan tity of corn necessary to raise hogs, horses or mules, is extremely incmtSulerahle. Oats, whether harvesting for the workhorse, and mules, is an invaluable ctopfor a cotton plan ter. That which is used as pasturage, while it will cost only the labor o’ preparing the ground and seeding it, will keep all the stock in fine order, from the middle of summer tin til the opening of the pea fields, and those, which cost scarcely any labor, will keep them n like order, with very little aid from the corn crib, until December. From this time regular feeding will he required for about lour months, and after that, very little will suf fice till 1 1 le oat past tires are again ready. In tins view of the subject, I have omitted many useful auxilaries, such as potatoes, pinders, p aches and apples, the two latter of which are often permitted to rot on the ground, though excellent food lor boos, and perhaps the least expensive of all. Nor have I em braced in it the at tificial grasses, thouo’h I am quite sanguine from anexperimeni inow have m progress, that in most of the st'ong soils of the upper country, biue grass and herd grass will sot (teed very nearly as well as they do in Kentucky. Upon the whole, then, it is mv deliberate opinion, liiumled upon my own ex perience and observation, as a planter, that in South Carolina, and part culnrly the upper country disti ids, it would Lie true economy lor the planters to raise their own stock, even if they could always buy Kentucky pork at llnee dolin's a hundred, and Kentucky mules at fifty dollars a head. But let it be remem bered that to accomplish tins, they must tie vote themselves to it as an essential branch of their business. A regular system must be adopted, and a competent person he charged with ils execution; and overseers must be made to know, that it is as much their duty to superintend n, as the cultivation of the cot ton crop; lor hogs and horses can no more thrive without proper at tuition, than corn and cotton can grow without attention. And u is worthy of remark, that when hags are lat or in a good growing order, it a quires not half so much find to keep them m tliat condi tion. as i: would rt quite to sustain po r hogs and prevent them from growing poorer. Ii is, therefore, a niosi obvious rule of economy, never to permit stock hogs to sink below what we denominate a growing condition. The corn 1 Lat will t>e required to keep them in tliat condition during lour or five months in the year, will be less than that which would he required in extra feeding to prepare poor hogs tor lhe slaughter pen; aml at the same age their we gist will b fifty per cent greater, and tbe r flesh will he much more finn, than those of hogs brought up in pi.vetty and suddenly ('•tiened. lam now speaking the actual result of my own experience, and I have been astonished to perceive how little corn it requited to prevent lat hogs from get ting poorer, A- an important part of the branch of e conomv we are now considering, every plan ter should keep as large a stock ol neat e ittle, and of sheep, as Ins pasturage and the off'll of the plantation will support. I o tuis extent, there is no description ol slock so valuable in proportion to the expense ol maintaining them. Their flesh is much cheaper than that of hogs, anil hesidrs supplying the table of (lie planter with an abundance of good beef, bui ter and tpultou, the former will advantageous ly supply one half of tlie plantation ration ot meat during the-autumnal months; and the laiier, all the wool required for clothing the negroes in winter. In addition to all this, it is the opinion of the most experienced plan ters, in which I fully concur, that where cat ile are penned every night on grounds prop perlv covered with litter, the manure they will make in die course of tne year, will very nearly defray the expense of maintaining them- I have tints attempted to s’ ow that it is the true interest <>f every planter to raise all the live stock required for ins own use, and lor the use and consumption of his own planta tion, though no one eise should pursue the same policy. I no v propose to consider the subject in a still more interesting point of vie \ 1 propose to enquire what would be the effect of this system upon the general prosperity of the cot ton planting States, assuming that it should be universally adopted. It is not extravagant to estimate the annual expense which a plan ter would iqcur in purchasing his supplies of stock, at one tenth of the nett proceeds of his cotton crop, as exhibited on the books of hie factor. Assuming, then, that the labor diver ted from the production of cotton, in order >o raise these supplies, would diminish the cot ton crop in the same proportion, it would fol low that each individual planter would derive as large a nett inco ue from, his cotton crop, as he would have derived from one a tenth larg er, if he purchased his stock, even supposing that the diminished cotton crop brought no higher price than could have been obtained for the larger one. But here we realize the grand result of the proposed reform in our ag ricultural economy. It is a well established principle of political COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, THURSDAY MORNING, MARCH 11, 1841. economy, confirmed by the uniform experience of the cotton planting States, that Yvlien the supply of a commodity exceeds the effective demand, the price is diminished, not only in proportion. 11, then, we assume that the pro posed reform would reduce the annua! cotton crop from two millions of bales, to one million eight hundred thousand, and that the effective demand ol the world would not exceed the latter number, it would clearly follow from the above stated principle, that the smaller crop of one million eight hundred thousand bales, would yield a greater aggregate income than the largest crop of two millions of hales. In the habitual state of our cotton trade, with a constant tendency in the production to exceed the demand, such would always be the result of diminished production, xvhere no extraordi nary cases existed to check consumption. If results from the reasoning, that the planting States would realize from the universal adop tion of the proposed reform, a clear aggregate saving of the sum now annually expended in purchasing live stock ; and that each individ ual planter, besides greatly increasing the comforts of his establishment, would add ten per cent, to his clear annual income. Entire ly satisfied, as 1 ain, of the soundness of this reasoning, and the justness of‘the conclusion to which it leads, I am aware that it is expos ed to an apparent objection. It may be very naturally asked, how it happens that the plan ters, a class of men sufficiently intelligent to understand their own interests, should, gener ally, pursue a course so little calculated to promote it. A sufficient answer will be found to this question, in the force of established habits, the mistaken ambition which makes the point of honorable distinction consist in ,U* e number of cotton bales, and above all, the unfortunate habit sogenerally prevalent among planters, of neglecting their own business, and confiding it to the exclusive management of overseers. It is a duty which every planter owes, not only to himself, but to his country as a matter of example, to give his personal su perintendance to his business, and make him self master of all its details. He can scarcely deserve to own an estate, who from false pride or indolent self-indulgence, remains in volun tary ignorance of the various operations upon which its productiveness depends, and relies exclusively upon agents who are practically ir responsible, and in general grossly incompe tent. Certain is ii, that no general reform or improvement, and who are generally actuated by the motives of a tenant at will, which prompt them to aim at a large cotton crop the present year, without any regard to the future, as to the subsidiary branches of a sound sys tem of econemy. Every planter who lias at tempted such reforms or improvements as I have suggested, can testify how utterly impos sible it is to make overseers, generally, realize iheir importance or bestow upon them suffi cient attention to insure their successful exe cution. Let it, then, be regarded as the point of honor with every planter, to attend person lly to his own plantation, and make himself mas ter ofevery branch of its operation and economy. This is an indispensable preliminary step to ail useful improvements in our agriculture, and is equally demanded by every eonsidera tion of private,interest and public duty. Another mischievous error in our p'anting economy, proceeding partly from the mista !• >n ambition of making a large count of cot ton bales, and partly from the ui calcula ting habits acquired during high prices, is ex hibited in the general carelessness with wh cl) cotton is picked out of the fields, and prepared for market. It has been fully demons rated by experience thot those planters who have their cotton properly handled, and sent to mar ket free from contamination of trash and stain, can habitually obtain in our own markets, one cent a pound more than can be obtained lor cotton prepared in the usual \vay; and I can personally testify, as the result of my own ex perience that the difference made in foreign markets is much greater. Now I .invite your serious attention to a few plain and obvious re flections on this subject A diminution in price of one cent a pound, at the present market rates of cotton, is equal to ten per cent, discount on the gross amount of the annual income of tit© planter, and a still larger per centage up on the amount of his nett income. It follows, that by the careless operations of four months in gathering the crop, one-tenth of its value is destroyed, and one-tenth part of the labor of the whole year is absolutely nullified. The labor of one hundred hands is reduced in value to that of ninety, and five hundred hales of cot ton are reduced to four hundred and fifty.— Now I confidently put. it to every practical planter, as a plain question of economy, what possible advantage there can be in carelessly picking out a cotton crop, that wi 1 compen sate the planter for this sacrifice of fifty bales of cotton, the product of the whole annual la bor often hands? Let it be admitted, and it is extreme supposition, that hands will pick out one-tenth more in the one mode than they will do in the other. Even on this hypothesis,one teeth of the labor for four months, and to this sacrifice we must add that of the additional ex pense of the horse power required to make the additional fifty hales of cotton. Does not. the conclusion, then irresistibly follow from these premises, that every cotton planter should lay it down as a candid rule, in pitching his crop, to plant no more than he can pick out with proper care, giving due attention to the other interests of Ins plantation. This rule, like that relative to live stock, comes recommended bv the two-fold consideration, that it not only pro motes the individual interests of each planter, but still more extensively, the general interest, of the entire class. If if will cause a diminish ed quantity ol cotton to be produced, it will in crease the price of that diminished quantity still further by the very circumstance of its di minished quantity. It is not to be doubted, therefore, that the general adoption of the two plain and practical rules so perfectly in the power of every plan ter, of raising his own supplies instead of buy ing them, and picking out and preparing his cotton with proper care and attention, would do more to promote the prosperity of the cot ton planting States, than all the Monts Multi caulis speculations and political paper nos trums that ever deluded a people with vision ary hopes, while they afflicted them with real diseases. And here, gentlemen, it may not be unprofi table to indulge in a few cautionary reflections on that wild and extravagant spirit of specula tive adventure, with which almost all classes of our countrymen have been smitten and in fatuated for several years past, and which has exerted a most pernicious influence, even up on our agricultural economy. It has unfortu nately inspired our planters, in too many in stances, with a sort of contempt for the dull pursuits of sober industry, and taught them to look upon every sort of ephemeral humbug as an El Dorado of sudden and unbounded wealth. Now, if any one anticipates, from the delibera tions of this society the discovery of some new process bv which wealth is to be accomplish ed without labor, the sooner he d.spels such a delusion the better. There is no r yal highway to wealth, any more than to learning. As labor is the only true and ulti mate measure of value, wealth is neither more nor less than the accumulated results of labor, it follows as a necessary consequence, that by some speculative juggle, he has managed to engross the labors of other people. Though individuals, therefore, may become rich by urt- TIIE UNION OF THE STATES, AND THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE STATES. productive processes, it is impossible, in the very’ nature of tilings, that ccmmuuities ever can. Let us, then, realizing these great prin ciples of industry and sound economy, and discarding all visionary schemes, steadily pur sue the beaten tra< k of honest industry, con soled by the patriotic reflection, that every dol lar we thus add to our own fortunes, is so much added to the State, and the losses of oth ers constitute no one of the elements of our prosperity. As intimately connected with this view of the subject, I may venture to offer a few sug gestions calculated to show that in a plantin'* community habitual indebtedness is the almost certain cause of pecuniaty embarrassment, and is palpably opposed to every maxim of genuine economy. Os all classes of the community, the planters can best plead the excuse of ne cessity for going in debt and fatal experience Ins but too clearly demonstrated the disas trous result of such a policy. As this is the besetting frailty of the times, which so many lessons of experience have entirely failed to cure, I consider it worthy of the grave and so lemn consideration of this association. For if there be anv question in the circle of our gen eral economy, in relation to which a sound public opinion should be brought to bear upon individual imprudence, this, in my opinion, is that very* question. If we consult the experience of other States, we shall find that all the advantages of fertile soils and genial climate have been blasted bv the mistaken policy of which I am speaking: and that whole communities, which industry and prudence would have caused to flourish almost beyond example, exhibit one general scene of pecuniary embarrassment, bankruptcy and ru in. The experience and observation of every planter will sustain me in the assertion, that we pay for credit, in the mode in which it is usually obtained in the purchase of property, from 10 to 50 per cent, interest. Every one who is accustomed to attend administrator’s and other public sales, must have been struck by the extravagant prices me.i are tempted to give by a year’s credit; and not less by the fact that such men are perpe'ually involved in pecuniary embnrr&sments, and that, the very efforts they thus imprudently- make to get for ward in the world faster than their neighbors, keep them always in the rear. Lv fact it may be truly affirmed as a general truth, that plan ters who are largely’ in debt, are to that extent, the mere stewards of their creditors. Life is with them an anxious and slavish struggle in pursuit of an object which always eludes their grasp. But there is another form of credit, fortunately not so prevalent in South Carolina j as in other States, of which planters are but j too ready to avail themselves, which is equally j at war with sound economy and sound curren cy. I allude, of course, to bank discount. It. has been so fashionable of late, to pronounce extravagant eulogies on what is miscalled the credit system, that it will probably be deemed quite heretical to say that credit, in any form, is a public and private evil. It is, neverlhe- ■ less, my deliberate and well considered opin- i ion, that one of the greatest nuisances that | could afflict an agricultural community’, would j be the establishment of agricultural banks, so located as to enable every planter to obtain credit to the amount of one third part of the value of his estate. The fatal experience of other States has conclusively proved that such establishments have been the invariable causes of embarrassments and ruin. Owing to the periodical fluctuations inseparable from such a system, it has generally happened that a credit obtained by a planter, to the amount I of one third of his estate, in a period of expan- 1 sion, has required the whole estate to redeem it in a period of contraction. And we have been but too impressively admonished that it is the very’ genius and instinct of those institu tions, to grant credits in periods ol expansion, and exact payment in periods of contraction. One motive for calling your attention to this subject, will be found in the public manifesta tion of a desire in some parts of the State, to convert the Bank of the State of South Caro lina into an agricultural Bank, and with that i view, to give it a central location. Such a purpose, 1 should regard as a great public calamity. Every one practically acquainted both with planting and banking, must be a ware that a mere planter’s bank can be not hing more nor less than a loan office. The plan ter realizes his in come annually and periodi cally’,and it follows, that a discount granted to him except in rare cases, must be virtually a credit for a year. In practice it would be more generally for a longer than for a shorter period. It is. self-evident then, tliat such a bank could not maintain the character of a specie paying bank for a single month. Now if there is any one measure which the public opinion and the true policy of the Slate concur iu demanding, it is the rigid enforcement of specie payments by all the banks Let me warn my brother planters, there f >re, against involving themselves in a state of thing? by which they would either be the means of de feating this measure of salutary State policy, or become themselves the victims of it. I cannot, therefore, recommend a more im portant reform to our -planting community, than Ipr those to get out ofdebtwith all practical despatch, who are already involved in it, an i re solvefortlie future never tobeinvolvedinit again Such a resolve, generally adopted and firmly maintained, would do more to promote the in dependence and substantial prosperity of an agricultural State, than all the quackeries of legislation united. Imagine for one moment the great moral and political change which would be produced, if it could be truly announc ed at this moment, that every cultivator of the soil, within the wide limits of South Carolina, was entirely free from the shackles of debt. It would be a glorious day of jubilee. The fa tai spell of pecuniary influence would bn dis solved at once, the indebted, and every citizen would walk abroad in the majesty of genuine independence and freedom. But let us consider the ellect which this general and habitual freedom from debt, would produce upon the progress of individuals in the accumulation of wealth, and upon the ag gregate prosperity of the whole class of planters Taking experience for our guide, it can scarce ly be doubted, that those who have uniform ly kept out of debt, and have never purchased property till they had the money in hand, to pay for it, have generally accumulated for tunes more rapidly and much more certainly than those who have pursued the opposite poli cy. Every slep they take is so much per manently gained. They are exposed to no backsets ; they are affected by no vicissitudes in trade, and stand firm and unmoved amidst those great, and now frequent and periodical convulsions, by which those who are in debt are always shaken and often overwhelmed. Instances will no doubt occur to every one who hears me, of men who have habitually made smaller crops than their neighbors, and who have ye% in a series of years grown weal thy much faster, tiy this very simple rule, which I once laid down to a friend. He ne ver made large cotton crops, and was regar ded as a bad planter. Anil when asked how ; he got rich so much faster than his more en ergetic neighbors, he replied. ‘My neighbors b gii. at the wrong end of the year. They make their purchases at the beginningof it, on a credit; l make mine at the end of it. and pay down the cash.” And here lam remind ed of a saying of the late John Randolph, cf irginia; a man not more remarkable for his genius and eccentricity, than for the profound • philosophical truths which some times escape him, like the responses of an inspired oracle. In the midst of one of his splendid rhapsodies in the Senate of the United States, he sudden ly paused, and fixing his eye upon the presiding officer, exclaimed, “Mr. President, l have discovered tho philosopher’s stone. It con sists in these four plain English monasylla bles. “pay as you go Now I will venture to say, that this is a much nearer approach than alchemy will ever make* to the great ob ject of its visionary researches. And in re commending this maxim to the cotton plan ters of the State, I have still kept in view, not only the individual interest of each planter, separately considered, but the common inter est of the whole community of planters. For this reform, like the others have suggested in dependent')’ of the direct benefit it will con ter on each individual planter, will benefit the whole as a class by checking over pro duction. One great cause of the incessant struggle to make large cotton crops, to the neglect of every other interest, is the reckless habit of contracting deb's, which I am depre cating. Negroes are purchased upon credits, and the planter is thus furnished both with the means and motives for unduly and dispropor tion atcly enlarging his cotton crop. As cot ton is the only crop that will command money, and as money is the most pressing want of a man in debt, every thing is directed to that ob ject; so much so, that it is the standing apolo gy for neglecting to pursue any o her system of economy. The saying has, indeed, be come proverbial among planters “If I were not in debt, I would not strive to make such large cotton crops, but would devote myself to raising my supplies, and making permanent improvements. Let me, therefore, advise, admonish and be seech all our planters, as they regard their own peace of mind, ther own true interest, the dignity and honor of their own vocation, and the substantial welfare of the State, to avoid the entangling embarrassments of debt. Let them regard those who may offer them credit with no friendly eye, blit as enemies in disguise, who seek to lead them into tempta tion. If they have contracted the habit of an ticipating their income, even for a single year, let them reform even that. Yes, ‘reform’ it al toget her. Then will their prosperity be played on immoveable foundations. Then will they stand unshaken and umerrified by those peri odical storms and convulsions which are the inseperable concomitants of a false and arti ficial system of fluctuating credit and curren cy. Then will South Carolina find it an easy task to perform the high and solemn duty ot preventing those convulsions, by reforming tlsat currency. There is another reform in our agricultural economy, to which every planter in South Carolina is invited to the most persuasive con sideration, public and private. It is to adopt and steadily pursue a system of permanent improvement, not onlv in the soil, but in the buildings and fixtures of his plantation, and to abandon the improvident policy hitherto gen erally pursued, of exhausting the soil in the too eager desire to realize a large present in come, without any regard to the fixture. It is absolutely and stressing to contemplate the me morials of this wretched policy exhibited in every part of the Stale—a policy which, while it. denies to the present generation almost all the rational ’comforts which alone makes wealth desirable, leaves to posterity an ex hausted soil, ruinous mansions, and a barren inheritance. Now, it would not be too strong an expres sion to say tliat every dollar judiciously invest ed in the permanent improvement of ins estate by a planter, would be worth more to his chil dren than two dollars invested, as is usual, in the purchase of more negroes to eul down the forest and destroy the soil. We have reached a point in our agriculture, which imperiously demands a fundamental change in this respect. However the virgin soils of the Southwest may palliate he folly of such a course, the al ternative is distinctly presented to us, of per manently improving our estates; or of desert, ing them. We cannot contend with tho plan ters of Alabama and Mississippi, in a wild and destructive system, by which even they have sunk under embarrassment and ruin, with all their advantages of soil and climate. We can make up for our comparative inferior soil and climate on y by a superior system of husband ry. While they are exhausting their soils and preventing a natural increase of their slaves by a reckless system of pushing and driving,* let us improve the fertility of the one, by resting and manuring it, and increase the number of the other, by moderate working, and by providing every thing necessary lor their health and comfort. And I have no doubt that a Mouth Carolina planter who shall limit his crop of cotton to five bides to the hand, and rely mainly upon the natural increase of his negroes, will leave a larger estate to his chil dren, at the end of ten or twenty year?, than a Southwestern planter who follows the sys tem generally pursued in that quarter, though he should make eight bales to the hand, and j annually apply his surplus Income to the j purchase of land and negroes. Though they | are really struggling for the benefit of their children, there is no class of men who do so little lor posterity, and will leave so few monu ments behind them, as the cotton planters of the South. What sort of an estimate can be placed upon wealth, and to what rational end j can he desire it, who with an income of ten or i twenty thousand dollars a year, brings up a j family of children imperfectly educated, in a ! log cabin, with scarcely the ordinary comforts of such a dwelling? A stranger travelling through our country could not oe persuaded that it was inhabited by a race of wealthy, hospitable and enlightened planters, so few of the monuments and improvements that indi cate a wealthy and prosperous community would meet his eye. And if, by one of those great political convulsions which overwhelmed the ancient Greeks and Romans, our race should be merged in a race of conquerors, and our name only tiescend to posterity, what clas sic memorial, what substantial monument, would b -ar testimony that this “delightful re gion of the sun” had'been once inhabited by a civilized and enlightened people, eminently distinguished by their industry, their wealth, and the freedom ot their institutions? In thus urging a more provident regard to; the future in our general economy, it will be! perceived that I have still kept in view the im- j portant object of diminishing the aggregate cotton crop of the country by giving a more useful direction to a portion of the capital and labor devoted too exclusively to its production. It will be aiso perceived that I have made no disclosure or recommendation of any improve ment by which, large cotton crops may be made. I have intentionally abstained from “any suggestion of this kind, believing that ev ery one may be safely left to ins own impulse and his own resources on this pouU, and re garding over-production as one of the greatest evils to which the cotton planting interest is exposed. Indeed, if I could now reveal a pro cess by which our common soils could be made to produce two bales of cotton to the acre, I should have great doubt whether the revolution would be a blessing or a cur*e to that great interest lam aware that as 1 have obtained game reputation for making large cotton crops, it may be supposed that I preach one doctrine and practice another. But such a supposition would do me injustice With the largest crop of cotton 1 ever made—that of 1539—1 combined all the other branches of economy I have here recommended. I have now a surplus of 2500 bushels of corn, made that year, hogs sufficient to supply my wants, that have been fat enough to slaughter since July, and very large stocks of cattle and of sheep, the latter of which supply all the wool required for the winter clothing of my negroes; and a stock of young horses and colts fully adequate to meet the exigencies of my planta tion. After making the provision for all these objects, it is of course the true interest of eve ry planter to make as large a cotton crop as he can, without over-working his operatives In doing this, however, he should never lose sight of the great object of improving the pro ductive power of his estate, instead of exhaust ing it. To this end, it should be his constant effort, by manuring and resting the soil, and by su perior cultivation, to produce a given result from the smallest possible number of acres.— It is scarcely possible o over estimate the value of this rule in the actual condition of the old planting States. Every resource for making manure should, therefore, be improved to the uttermost, without begrudging the ne cessary labor and attention. No labor exerted on the plantation is half so well rewarded.— Every description of stock should be regularly penned every night in yards constantly cov ered with straw, leaves or other litter. The quantity of manure that can be thus made in a year is quite inconceivable to those who have not made the experiment. Corn should be habitually plan'ed in old land, of a quality least adapted to cotton, and every hill should be thoroughly manured, scrupulously avoiding the miserable economy too often witnessed, of losing one half its utility to save the inconsid erable labor required to apply it properly. I can bear personal testimony that by these means the crop per acre can be invariably doubled on soils originally strong. My corn is principally produced on level lands that were considered to be exhausted when they came into my possession, and yet by thorough and careful manuring, I have reduced the number of acres cultivated in corn fully one half, making more certain and abundant crops than I did before with double the labor of cul tivation. All the manure not required for the corn crop, should be applied to the most ex hausted of the cotton lands, and it should be made an invariable rule, both in regard to corn and cotton, to list in and bury all the stalks and vegetable matter found upon the soil. My . experience justifies the belief that this process alone, if commenced before the soil is too far exhausted, will perpetuate if not improve the j fertility of originally strong and level-lands, though constantly cultivatad in cotton. In fact, vegetable matter, as it was the principal . element in the original formation of soils, so it must be in their restoration and preservation. ‘ Nature beneficently provides it to our hands; ‘ but we too often destroy it as if it were a nu- 1 isance, while we vainly employ our specula tions and direct our researches so as to find out some more scientific means of improve ment. In proportion as the quantity of land required for cotton and corn is diminished by the means proposed, will that be increased which is left fallow and for grain. These, after one year’s rest in good soils and always before they become covered with broom sedge, should be fallowed in the autumn, carefully turning in the stubbles and weeds, with t\yo horse ploughs adapted to the purposo. On the process of Cultivation, one or two remarks may not be inappropriately made in this connection. One of the most prominent obstacles both to a system of good cultivation, an to a system of permanent improvements, is the common practice of over planting. It may not unaptly be denominated a system of wear and tear, in regard to land, negroes, hors es and mules. As one of its inevitable con sequences, a planter almost certainly finds himself when the seasons are in any degree unfavorable, in that uncomfortable condition usually expressed by saying “he is desperate ly in the grass.” ■ No man deserves the name of planter who gets into this predicament, ex cept in very extraordinary seasons, any more than he deserves the name of General who carelessly permits himself to be surprised and surrounded by an enemy. For though the one may work his way out of the toils of his adversary, yet. it is the hard knocks and the sweat of the laborers in the one case, and the va or and blood of the soldiers in the other, that imperfectly atone for the incompetency of the manager and of the commander. It is my confident belief that when even one half the crop is permitted to become grassy, the future cultivation of the whole will require double the labor that would have been other wise necessary, apd with all that, it will be impossible to make a full cr p, especially of cotton. In our climate and soil in the upper country, the only means of avoiding an im mense destruction of immature boll, by the autumnal frosts, is to push the growth qf the cotton from the beginning, by tinning and pre paring it to mature as early a's it can safely be done, and never permitting its growth to be delayed for a single day by want of working, j For what is lost in this way can never be re- 1 covered ; and I have no hesitation in saying j that six acres of cotton to the hand properly i cultivated, will produce a greater result with j one half the labor, than ten acres to the hand,, cultivated in the rough and imperfect manner ! but too common in this Stale and generally | prevalent in some others. In adopting it as a i rule, therefore, to plant no larger crop than he j can cultivate in the most perfect manner, a I planter will best consult every view of sound j economy, and even the predominant desire to ! make a large cotton crop. In the cultivation of a crop I know no rule more important, and which is more generally i violated, than that of doing your work thor oughly well, coat what labor it may. More la- , bor is unprofitably wasted and more crops in jured by bad cultivation irom neglecting this i rule, than from any other cause. The last j I strokes required to complete any operation I ! are doubly—often ten times—as valuable as ! those in the previous stages of it; and yet these are the very strokes annually omitted, in an improvident haste to “get over the crop,” jasit is expressed. The very eause.s which ; generally tempt managers to slight the work j —wet weather and grass, for example—are | those which most irnpei iously demand the ! strict observance of the rule I have laid ) down. One of the consequences of oyer-cropping and bad working which is most to be depre cated, is the necessity they create, and the apology they offer, for permanently injuring the soil by excessively ploughing, and what is still worse ploughing in improper seasons. 1 believe that it rnay be truly said that in the upper country at ieast, double the quantity of ploughing is done in cultivating cotton, that can be justified by any sound theory. Evpry ploughing which turns up fresh soil to the burning rays of a summer sun must tend to exhaust its fertility. But it is more important to remark, that nothing which folly can mffict on the soil, will so certainly reduce it to a mere capui mortuum, as the murderous prac tice of ploughing it in wet weather. There is but one way for a planter to avoid these evil?, and that is by so planting and go con- VOL. I. NO. 5. ducting his operations, as to be habitually ahead with his work. 1 have thus, gentlemen, drawn up a hasty and imperfect sketch, presenting for your con .sideration the most prominent of those meas ures and maxims which I deem to be essential for accomplishing that reform in the agricuL i ural economy of South Carolina, so imperi ously demanded by the circumstances in which she is now placed. Our cultivated lands are in a course of exhaustion, and we have scarcely any forest lands to clear.— Though these seem to be public misfortunes, they may be converted into blessings, if we. wi:i but realize our true condition, and pvp erlv improve the occasion. By a law of our nature—expressed by a proverb of immemori al antiquity— necessity is tire stern parent of almost every great and useful improvement. No authority hvs imperious could have drawn mankind from the comfortless caverns of sav age brutality to the happy mansions of social and civilized life. W iiiie Providence seems to have ordained it as a law of human improvement, that com munities should not go forward much in ad vance of their necessities, he has benevolently endowed them with moral and intellectual faculties always equal to tire emergencies in which they may be’ placed. May we not confidently hope, therefore, that the planters of South Carolina, under the awaking influ ence of the great law to which I have will summon up all their energies to carry our agriculture to a point of high that will fulfil all the requirements of our ac tual condition! Gentlemen, I sincerely hope and devoutly pray that some of us, at teas*, may live to see the day when this ardent hope of every patri otic citizen will be fully realized; and when South Carolina will be as proudly distinguish ed by all the enduring monuments of a pros porous agriculture, as she ever has been by an enlightened population sincerely devoted to the principles of constitutional liberty, and unconquerably resolved to defend them. From the Mobile Advertiser, Feb. 22. LATH VIIOM TEXAS. The steam packet Neptune, Capt. Rollins, arrived at New Orleans on Friday, in 40 hours from Galveston, bringing papers from that place of the 17th inst. We give the following summary of news from the new Republic, which will be found of more than ordinary interest and importance, from the N. O. Ad vertiser : Congress adjourned at Austin on the 10th instant, late at night. The retrenchment par ty have carried the day. The appropriations for ti.e civil list, lor 1841, are cut down to half a million of Texas money. The army was disbanded by a unanimous vote, excepting Col, Wm. G. Cooke’s command of lour hundred men, which was permitted to remain in ser vice to complete the survey of the National road from Red River to the Rio Grande. Not a cent however was appropriated to pay the gallant Colonel or his men, for either past or future services—an oversight, perhaps, of Congress. When the road is finished, not a man will be under arms in the Republic. Af ter the Ist of March next, no more treasury notes are to be issued, except such as may bo received in payment of revenue duties and taxes. The whole amount in circulation now, is about three millions. Congress has passed a law laying an impost duty of forty-five per cent, ad valorem, Texas money, upon all arti e’es imported, except such as are subject to specific duties, and the following :—Coffee, salt, steel, and sugar. In order to protect emigrants, a law has been made, exempting for five years from seizure, all negroes and property arrivinr in the Republic, The San Bernard schooner of war has gone to Vera Cruz, with the despa ches from Eng land to Mexico, and will wait for an answer. The requirement is, that Mexico shall recog-, i ize the independence of Texas, in thirty days after the despatches shall reach the city of Montezuma; and, so soon as this is done, (as we stated a few days ago,) Texas will assume five millions of dollars of the debt due by the Mexican states to Great Britain; —new bonds to be issued for the same by Texas, having fifty years to run. We do not learn what rale of interest they are to bear. The Re public of Texas will, in that event, be bound ed on the west by the west bank of the Rio Grande, running up to tho United States’ southern line. Congress has cut down the Navy to one ship, the Austin, Commodore Moore, for harbor purposes ; and one schooner, for revenue and surveying services. A load of coal has been sent down to the Zavala, together with a draft on the Yucatan government for $ 10,"000, when the steamer will return and be laid up. The revenue of Texas is estimated to be three millions for the present year. All the foreign consuls of the Republic are obliged by law to receive Texas money in payment of fees. One thousand dollars per annum, in par funds, are to be paid to the fjreign ministers, and the balance in Texas money. M. Saligny’s great franco-specie corporation* bill was rejected in the Senate, much to his discomfiture. General Lamar is very ill at Dr. Iloxie’s house, twelve miles from Washington, on the Brassos. He is not expected to live. Mr Flood, our Charge, intends to take up his residence at Galveston, and has given notice that, he will return home in May.— General llarrison will be apt to hasten his return. All was quiet at last dates from the west, Air. Ikin, who was so infamously cheated by consul Woodward, has had a bill passed lor his relief. The barque Sarah has arrived at Galveston from Liverpool in ballast. This is the small beginning of a great trade. General I louston, D. G. Burnett, and Mr. Rusk, are the candidates for the next Presi dency, aqd it is believed'’ at Houston will be elected. Col. Cook is a . isidered certain of the Vice Presidency. The receivers of taxes are in default to the government about one million of dollars.— They are allowed till June to settle up. O” The amount of water in rain, which fell at Mobile during the month of January, as ascertained by S. B. North, Esq. who kept a Meteorological Journal, during that time, is 14-90 inches. —Savannah liep. O’ The New Orleans Bee of the 17th in s'a.it, says that Cotton was selling in that city for seventeen dollars per bale more than it sold for that day twelve months. —Savannah Rep. State Debts. —Tim debts owed by the sev en! f>ates are said to amount to the sum of •3200,000,000! The annual iiterest at the rate of 0 per cent, amounts to $10,000,000 ! To Speculators. —The Legislature of Ken tucky have passed a resolution offering a re ward of $3,000 lor the discovery of the cause of the milk sickness in cows, at any time with in five years. The United States Hotel at Boston, cost 8197,000, has been in operation nine months, and has realized 11 per cent, on the invest % ment.