Newspaper Page Text
BY JANIES W. JONES.
The Southern Whig,
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY MORNING.
TERMS.
Threa dollars per annum, payable -within six
months after the receipt of the sh st number, or
four dollars if not paid within the year. Sub
scribers living out of the State, will be expect
ed in all cases, to pay in advance.
No subscription received for less than one year,
unless the money is paid in ad vance; and no
paper will be discontinued until all arrear
age* are paid, except at the option of the pub
lisher. Persons requesting a discontinuance,
of their Papers, are requested to bear in mind,
a setteinent of their accounts.
Abvkrtisbments will be inserted at the usual
rates; when the number of insertions is not
specified, they will be continued until ordered
oi?t.
AU Letters to the Editor or Proprietor, on
matters connected with the establishment,
must be post paid in order to secure attention
Notice of the sale of Land and Negroes, by
Administrators, Executors, or Guardians,
must be published sixty days previous to the
day of sale.
The sale of personal Property, in like manner,
must be published forty days previous to
the day of sale.
Notice to debtors and creditors of an estate must
be published forty days.
Notice that Application will be made to the Court
of Ordinary for Leave to sell Land or Ne
groes, must be published four months.
Notice that Application will be made for Letters
of administration, must be published thirty
bays and Letters of Dismission, six months.
For Advertising—Letters of Citation. $ 2 75
Notice to Debtors and Creditors, (40 days) 325
Four Months Notices, 4 00
Sales of Personal Property by Executors,
Administrators, or Guardians, 3 25
Sales ofLand or Negroes by do. 4 75
Application for Letters of Dismission, 4 58
Other Advertisements will be charged 75 cents
for every thirteen lines of sur Jl type, (or space
equivalent,) first insertion, and 50 cents for each
weekly continuance. If published every other
week, 02 1-2 c«©ts for each continuance. If
published once a month, it will be charged each
time as a new advertisement. For a single
insertion, $1 00 per square.
JW. JONES, is now receiving and open-
. ing at his Store, his supplies of
FALL WINTER GOODS,
which combind with his former Stock, render
his assortment very complete.
English Straw Bonnets.
A case ofhandsome English Straw and Florence
Bonnets, just received and for sale, by
J. W. JONES.
Oet. 14,-24—tf
nsgho shoisl
200 naira Superior Negro Shoes for sale by
1 J. W. JONES.
Oct. 14,—24—tf
LIV2RY STABLE.
THE Undersigned has just opened a LIVE
RY STABLE in the Town of Athens,
immediately in the rear of Mr. 11. A. Fraser’s
Store, where he will keep on hand
VEHICLES OF
JB I’ll? 1’ DE 8 CRIP TIOJV-,
ALSO
©•©©lD &2ID SET©
***&»•«£ **a©.o*tfd*
And well broke
HARMi S S HORSES
To Hire,
Persons wishing to travel, enn be accommo
dated with Carriages and Horses at all times
His Vehicles have not yet arrived, but are ex
pected by the first of the Spring. He will also
take on Livery the horses of any one wishing to
jilace their horses under his charge.
P. M. WELLS.
Jan. 27 39 ts.
GEORGIA, HALL COUNTY.
wMZHEREAS, Ambrose Kennedy, Adminis
’ • tratorofthe Estate ofEdward Harrison,
applies to me for Leiters of dismission.
This is therefore to cite and admonish all. and
singular the kindred and creditors of said de
ceased, to be and appear at my office within the
stime prescribed by law, to shew cause (if any
*hey have) why said letters should not be grant
ed.
Given under my hand, this 20lh day of Octo
ber, 1837.
E. M. JOHNSON, c. c. o.
Oct. 21,—25—6m
■jpOUR months afterdate, application will be
made to the Inferior Court of Clark county,
when silting for ordinary purposes, for leave
to sell the real Estate of John A. Strickland,
■deceased.
MILLINGTON SCOGGINS, Adm’r.
Feb. 10, —41—4 m
GEORGIA, MADISON CO UNT Y.
WHEREAS, Elisha Ware, applies for Let
ters of Administration on the Estate of
Edward Ware, jun., ol said County deceased.
This is therefore to cite and admonish all, and
singular the kindred and creditors of said de
ceased, to be and appear at my office; within the
time prescribed by law, to shew cause (if any
they have) why said letters should not be
granted.
Given under my hand, this Bth day of Janu
ary, 1838.
WILLIAM SANDEttS, c. c. o. ,
Feb. 10,—41- Im
Southern Whig.
From the Souther# Literary Journal.
THE CYPRESS TREE.—A BALLAD.
fiY MRS. ANNA MARIA WELLES.
*• This foolish, dreaming, superstitious girl makes all
these bodements."— Shakspeare.
It was a summer's night; the moon
Looked down with trembling ray,
And all along her fleckered path,
Light clouds up-folded lay.
The breeze was like a wayward child,
And scarcely could be won ;
And yet it might be strong and loud
Before the night was done.
Her couch Engenie had not pressed;
But in her lovely bower,
All lost in silent thought she sat,
Nor marked the passing hour.
By fits, with low and broken tone,
The mournful wind-harp breathed,
And, faintly sweet, the woodbine hung.
That round the lattice wreathed.
Eugenie at her window sat,
With clasped hands ;—her eye
Now closed as in a happy dream,
Now upturned to the sky.
A blush—a smile—a blissful tear—
A flutter at her breast, —
And down upon her soft, round atm
She laid her cheek to rest-
For ah! 'twas not an hour ago,
E’er yet the stars were dim,
She heard Lord William’s whispered vows,
And owned her love to him.
Where waves the lonely cypress tree
Their lingering steps had strayed:
The Cypress I —At the thought of that,
Quick terrors seized the maid.
“ Ah fatal tree ! —Why paused we there 1
—Yet, peace my heart—be still ;
And am I not Lord William’s love—
Then what can bode me ill?"
Again her dreamy lips half closed;
The warm cheek closer pressed
Upon the pillow of her arm,
And half she sank to rest.
But like a young affrayed dove,
That fluttcreth in the net,
With that ill-omened cypress tree
Her heart was troubled yet.
“ I would beneath the goodly oak’s
Kind shelter we had sat,
Or sought the hawthorn’s pleasant shade,
Or any tree —but that!”
As thus the mournful thought she breathed,
In soft complaining tone,
A sweat and silvery voice uprose,
XOW, mingling vrrtn ittT own.
At first it faintly echoed hers,
Then louder seemed to grow ;
Till, with a wild and wailing tone,
It poured the voice of wo.
And next, in measured sounds it came,
And then in accents clear,
Distinctly, these appalling words
Fell on her listening car.
••If thou dost sleep, Engenie,
Ah ! list to me:” it said—
•‘And let me in, for I am she
Lord William vowed to wed !
Eugenie’s heart was cold with fear—
She answered not a word ;
But still that moaning voice it cried
•• My story must be heard.”
•‘He swore to be my own true love,
Then linked his taith with thine ;
Quick, let me in, that I may tell
What sweet revenge is mine.”
Engenie shook as if that voice
A spirit’s voice had been ;
Nor could she lift the latch, tho’ 'twere
To let an angel in.
But, lo I —a change was in night:
The moon looked wildly through
The scattering clouds, and like a blast
The swelling breeze now blew.
It rocked the maiden’s bower, as ’twere
A bark upon the flood;
It burst the wicket wide, —and there—
A beauteous lady stood!
Her hairadown her shoulders fell
In many a raven fold;
Iler eye was like a glittering stone,
As fixed —as bright—as cold.
Iler arms were fairer than the snow,
Her flowing robes wefe white ;
Iler stately step, no sound it made—
So slow it fell—so light.
Eugenie shrank beneath her gaze :
That dark and soulless eye—
She feared the touch of that snowy hand;
—But the lady still drew nigh.
And in the moonlight pale she stood
The trembling maid beside ;
And touched her with that snowy hand,
And “ Come with me,' she cried.
“Why shrink ye back ? It was not so
When,’neath the Cypress Tree,
Were breathed in thy deluded eftr
Those vows, first pledged to me,
“Thou didst not shrink when lais false palm
So warmly clasped with thine,
And thy too ready lip received
The kiss—he took from mine.
“ Nor would’st thou thus have turned away,
If, al the alter'sside,
Thy destiny had been to stand
Lord William’s Wedded bride;
“ But ring ofhie, oh, never shall
This slender finger wear:
The cold earth is Lord William's bed,
Come, let me lead thee there 1”
Up, like a passing sea bird’s scream,
A wild, long laugh she sent;—
Eugenie conld no more resist; —
Her feeble strength was spent,
In vain, in vain rhe struggled new;
“where powers are assumed which have not Seen delegated, a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy. Jefjerson
The lady onward led ;
And through the wicket door they passed,
And through the garden sped.
Across the meadow have they gone,
And up the moonlight hill;
Eugenie fain would pause,—but no—
That cold hand clasped her still.
And through the cypress grove they passed,
And down the darksome glade;
Swifter and swifter on they went,
The lady and the maid-
And as they passed the Cypress Tree,
The wind its branches stirred,
And once again the lady's laugh—
The long, wild laugh was heard !
The night grew dark {—cloud rolled on cloud ;
The moonjwas lost between;
And save the white church steeple tall,
No object could be seen.
Yet onward, onward still they flew,
The maiden guessed not where;
They paused at last; —the moon broke through—
An open grave was there I
And lo ! all ghastly in the light
Lord William bleeding lay I
Then, wildly, from the lady's grasp
Eugenie sprang away—
And on his breast, in anguish, fell,
And to her bosom warm,
With passionate embrace, she sought
To clasp tho senseless form.
But ah ! again that fatal touch!
And with a grasp of power,
The maid was from the ground up-torn,
As by the storm the flower.
That chilly hand she must obey :
For palm to palm they grow ;
And round about the ghastly dead
With hurried footsteps go.
The lady waved her snowy arm,
And “ Dance with me she cried ;
“ For we two are the wedding guests,
And death Lord William’s bride !
“Each night we’ll dance about his grave,
All in the pale moonshine ;
And is not this a sweet revenge
For thy wrongs and tor mine ?”
Eugenie now made effort strong,
And raised her voice to pray
One struggling ery:—the spell is burst :
The drcam hath passed away.
Ths white armed lady vanished) i
The church-yard,—all is gone;
And in her own, her peaceful bower,
Eugenie sits alone.
The gray dawn peereth in the east,
’Tis morn upon the hill:
A thousand birds on busy wifiga,
TUe air with tri use- till-
And she must bathe her dream-flushed cheek,
And smoothe her tangled hair—
For ere the sun ride two hours high,
Lord William will be there.
Not long the clouds of doubt and fear
With youth and beauty bide:—
If Love awake the heart’s sweet chords,
No voice is heard beside;
And soon Lerd William claimed the maid
His wedded bride to be :
Nor rued she e’er those plighted vows
Beneath the Cypress Tree.
ADDRESS
Os the Convention. to the People of the South
ern and Southwestern States.
Fellow Citizens :—Of the nurnerons sub
jects deeply and intimately connected with
your permanent prosperity and happiness,
which have, during the last fifteen years, de
manded of you all the consideration which
vour intelligence could bestow, and all oxer
lions your patriotism could contribute, none
have come more directly “ home to your busi
ness and your bosoms,” than that upon which
we now propose to address you,
The struggle iu which you were so long en
gaged, in relieving your commerce from the
burdens imposed upon it by partial legislation,
has been terminated by a compromise, which,
if finally carried out in the liberal and magna
nimous spirit in which it was conceived, can
not fail to perpetuate the political harmony
which it was the means of restoring. But it
is not to be disguised, that the system of high
protecting duties, falling mainly upon the pro
ductions of the exporting States combined
with the system offedcral disbursement, which
expended the revenue rcsultingfrom those du
ties, almost exclusively in the Northern States,
has converted the slight superiority originally
possessed by the Northern cities, in the busi
ness of foreign importations, into an over
whelming preponderance, and diverted almost
the whole of the immense commerce of the
Southern and Southwestern States into artifi
cial, circuitous and unnatural channels. In
the commercial relation of extensive and
wealthy communities, it was to have been ex
pected that effects would for sometime survive
their causes. Arid accordingly that portion
of the commerce of the United States, which
is appropriately our own, consisting of an ex
change of our agricultural productions for the
manufactures of foreign countries, is still car
ried on principally through Northern cities,
by the agency of Northern merchants, who
levy a transit duty—voluntarily paid to Le sure
—but utterly incompatible with a just and en
lightened view of our own interests.
Now that the system of compulsory tribute
is greatly reduced, and rapidly corning to a
close, we are called Upon, bv every conside
ration of enlightened self-interest, to signalize
our complete commercial emancipation, by
throwing off this system of voluntary tribute,
which can continue only by our consent and
co-operation.
A candid and dispassionate survey of the
actual condition of our foreign commerce, as
compared with our great natural advantages,
will demonstrate that to bring about this con
summation, so “devoutly to be wisheo,” by
every patriotic citizen of the Southern and
South-western States, nothing more is UeCes
sary than a resolution on our part to at’Coin
plish it. To will is to do it.
A brief analysis of our foreign commerce
will be now presented. Taking the imports
and exports of the United States tor tho fiscal
year 1836, as a criterion, we have the follow
ing citritordinary statistical phenomena :
The imports of the whole ol tho United
ATHENS, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, ffIARCH iO, I»3S.
States, amounted, in round numbers, to $l9O,
000,000. Those of New York alone amount
ed to $118,000,000, while those of all the At
lantic States south of the Potamac, and the
States on the Gulf of Mexico, amounted to on
ly $20,000,000, and those of South Carolina
and Georgia to only $3,400,000. Duringthe
same year, the domestic exports of the United
States amounted to $107,000,000. of which
New York exported only $19,800,000, against
an import of 118 millions, whilst the States
South and South-west of the Potomac, export
ed $78,000,000 against nn import of only $20.-
000,000, and South Carolina and Georgia,
each having a commercial seaport, with a
safe harbor on the Atlantic, exported $34,-
000,000 against an imp >rt of only $3,400,000 1
The contrasts here exhibited are absolutely
astounding, aud it is confidently believed they
are without any parallel in the history of inde
pendent States, New York, it will be perceiv
ed, imported six times the amount of her ex
ports, while the Southern and South-western
States imported little more than one fourth of
the amount of theirs, and South Carolina and
Georgia imported less than one seventh part
of the value of theirs. The case of these t« o
States furnishes the fairest criterion for deter
mining the degree of that ruinous disparity,
which exists between the exports and imports
of the States which produce the great agricul
tural staples, which are almost the sole foun.
dation of the foreign commerce of the whole
Union.
New Orleans, from its geographical position,
imports West India productions for the Valley
of the Mississippi, and specie from Mexico
for the United States generally—articles which
are not obtained in exchange for the staples of
the South Western States, and form no part of
the commerce by which those staples are ex
changed for foreign productions. If onlv
that part of the imports of New Orleans, which
is obtained from abroad in exchange for cot
ton were taken into tho estimate, the aggregate
imports of all the staple growing States, like
those cf South Carolina and Georgia, would no
doubt sink down to less than one seventh part
of their exports.
Such being the rctual stats of our foreign
commerce, it deeply concerns our welfare to
inquire, in the first place, whether it is a sound
and natural condition of this great interest ? and
if it be not. what are our available means of
placing it in a natural and healthful condition?
That it is neither a natural nor a salutary
condition, will be apparent from a few obvious
considerations. Viewing the subject as one
strictly of political economy—and in that light
only are we now considering it—New York.
Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts are, for all
■such purposes, to be regarded by the staple
States as foreign communities . not less so
than Great Britain and France. The bonds
of our political Union, as confederated Slates,
however they may bear upon other aspects of
the subject, have uo bearing whatever upon the
question of national wealth, as it relates to
the severtd States. The federal constitution,
giving it the utmost amplitude of construction,
cannot aauiloLrox the intttrw«“ 1- 6 - r
a thousand nr.les; nor has it annihilated the
separate and independent political organiza
tion of the Slates. We cannot, therefore, re
gard the wealth of New Fork or Pennsylva
nia, as the wealth of South Carolina or Geor
gia, or ss contributing towards it upon any
other principle than that mutual dependance,
happily existing between commercial commu
nities, which makes the prosperity oflhe one
conducive to that of the other, in proportion
to the extent of tho exchanges of their respec
tive productions. Every cotton planter must
have perceived, that the price of bis staple de
pends more upon a prosperous condition of the
tiade of Manchester, than upon that of all the
cities of the United States, north of the Putorn
ac. And, however it may shock lhe nerves of
of that false aud mistaken philanthropy, which
sometimes assumes the guise of patriotism, wi
must be excused for “confessing” the homely
virtue of preferring the prosperity of our own
respective communities, though derived from
a direct trade with foreign countries, to that
of our Northern confederates, derived from the
same sources, but at our expense.
Apply ing these plain and obvious principles
to the existing state of our commercial rein
tions. itts apparent that the profit made by th
merchants of New York and other No: tlror
Cities, upon the exchange of our staples for
foreign merchandize, is as effectually abstrac
ted from the wealth of the staple growing
States, as if those cities belonged to a foreign
jurisdiction. We are very far from complain
ing of our fellow citizens of the North, for
reaping the golden harvest which circumstan
ces presented to their enterprize. They de
serve commendation rather than complaint.--
Our purpose is to stimulate the enter prize of
our own merchants; to recover, by n fair and
equal competition, the advantages 'hey have
lost; and to invoke the patronage of our fellow
citizens generally, to sustain them in such a
competition, and such a competition only.—
We should ourselves furnish an example of that
mock patriotism of which ws have spoken,
and which is too often used to disguise n sel
fish purpose, if we were to advise our fellow
citizens to purchase from our own importing
merchants, when better bargains could bo ob
tained from their Northern competitors. We
only ask a decided preference when the terms
are equal, and shall endeavor to show, in due
time, that such terms can be afforded, with a
liberal profit to our importers.
We propose now to exhibit a rough esti
mate of the annual loss of the exporting States,
by the indirect course of their foreign trade ;
or, more accurately speaking, of the annual
addition that would be made to their wealth,
by the establishment of a direct export and im
port trade with foreign countries.
The excess of the exports of the Southern
and South-western States beyond their imports
was, in 1830, sixty millions of dollars. As
the value of our imports always exceeds that
of our exports, even when our importations
are not excessive, by an amount equal to the
i increased value of our exports, in foreign mar
kets beyond our custom house assessment, and
the estimated cost of importing the merchan
dize obtained in exchange for them, it may be
safely assumed, that the Northern cities im.
ported in the year above stated; seven'y-two
millions of foreign merchandize, m hich was
purchased by the staples of Southern and
Soulb-western States, and fairly constituted a
pari of their foreign commerce. Estimating
at 15 per cent, the profits of the Northern met’,
chants, and all the expenses and risks incident
to the transhipments and transfers of an i : di
rect instead of a direct route to the seaportsol
the Southern and South-western States, it fol
lows that the people of these States sus nined
a loss of $10,800,000 in that year, by the in
direct course of their foreign commerce. By
the same process of reasoning, we reach tin
conclusion that Georgia and South Caroli ;a
sustained a loss, in the same y<-ar, of $3,000,
- 000. In coming to this result, howevi r, it
. assumed that foreign merchandize can be in
? ported as cheaply into onr Southern Atlantis
. etties, as into the cities of the North. Tht
i assumption, however contrary to preco ceiv< <
j opinions, is believed to rest upon the sobs
1 foundation of undeniable facts. A great d,
i is habiiuallv said about the natural adva Tag
t of New York, as rn importing city : and thi s
s! are taken for granted, without reflection, from
the mere fact of her great commercial pros
purity. But what are these natural adva>
, tages?
i She is, no doubt, from her position, the natu
ral emporium ofthe foreign commerce of moat
’ |of the New England and middle States, and
by her magnificent canal, she will continue to
command the trade ofthe North western States.
. until an equally or more magnificent channel
of internal commerce shall supply ths a hole
Valley of the Mississippi with foreign mi r
chandize, bv a shorter and cheaper route,
' j through the seaports of the South. But th?
question still recurs, where are her natural ad
vantages over the cities of the South, or the
Atlantic, or the Gulf of Mexico, tor carrying
on the foreign commerce of the staple grow,
ing States 1 Does the Atlantic present a
smoother surface or safer navigation between
Liverpool and New York, than it does between
Liverpool and Charleston or Savannah ? Do
merchant vessels enter the harbor of New ■
York under more propitious gales, or ride in it 1
with more safety, (han in the harbor of Charles 1
ton ? These questions are conclusive!}’ an- I
swered in the negative, by the fact, known to
every merchant who is practically acquainted
with the subject, that freights from Liverpool
to Charleston or Savannah, are actually lower
than from Liverpool to New’ York. This is
one ofthe natural incidents of a direct trade.
Vessels coining ftom Europe for cotton, would
!of course prefer bringing merchandize to a
groat cotton market, where a direct exchange
could be effected, than to a city a thousand
miles distant from the market, involving the
necessity of a coat wise voyage, in addition to
that across the Atlantic. If, then, merchan
dize can be transported from Liverpool to
Charleston or Savannah, cheaper than to New
York, what other element in the cost of im
portatioi?, turns the scale in favor of New
York? Are house rents and the general ex
penses of living, lower in New York than in
Charleston or Savannah ? House rent is no
toriously much higher in New York than in
any of our Southern seaports ; and if the con
current testimony of travellers is to be credited
the expenses of living there, and every species
of common labor, are greatly beyond what
they are in Charleston or Savannah. It is
thus that the alleged natural advantages of
New York, so far as relates to the trade of the
South, vanish, when exposed to the test of
scrutiny, and resolve themselves into the mere
beauties of a magnificent harbor.
But we not only deny the alleged natural
advantages of the Northern over our Southern
Atlantic cities, for carrying on the exporting
Slates, but we assert that the natural
ges arc incontestably on the side of o r own
seaports. What is the commerce in question,
divested of the factitious appendages of an ar
iificial system, but simply an annual exchange
of cotton and other staples, to the amount of
some eighty millions of dollars, for merchan
dize imported from England, France and other
foreigti countries 7 It is perfectly plain, there
fore, that the more simple and direct the ope
ration, the less complicated, involved and mys
tified, the cheaper will the foreign manufactu
rer obtain the cotton, and the American cot
to.: pl,inter the merchandize for which it is ex
changed.
The foreign manufacturers, and the Ameri
can planters, are equally interested in estab
lishing this system of direct exchange ; and it ,
can onlv be effected by bringing the for ign
manufacturers directly to the cities of the cot
ton growing Slates, aud making tlx se, instead
of Now York, the great marts for vending
foreign manufucti res on the one hand, and the
raw’ material on the other. Co. sidcrii g the
obvious economy of this direct system of ex
chmigi s, it s> ems strange that the foreign
manufacturers !i ve not est. blished their agon- 1
ci s, both for selling goods and purehnsi g
cotton, in those cities in preference to others.
Cotton can certainly be obtained cheaper i.>
New Orlea. s, Mobile, Savannah and Charles
ton, than in any Northern city ; and mauufac
lure can as certainly be sold on better terms,
for tlx consumption of the cotton growing
States, if they will bear the expenses charges ,
and risks of an indirect importation through |
New York. But no just estimate can be for
med ofthe benefits of this proposed system, I
which does not embrace its tendency to super- j
setle, not onlv the complex machinery ofinter- I
mediate transfers and agencies, required in an
indirect trade, but to a very great and salutary
extent, the use and agency of money. Money
is itself a very costly agent, and wherever a
direct exchange of commodities, or, in other
words, barter, can be substituted for succes
sive sales and purchases, the use of the sum of
money that would have been required to effect
these sabs aid purchases, is superseded by
the direct exchange, and is just so much saved
to the parties coticerned.
in the extensive operations of foreign com
merce, a very near approach can be made to
this system of barter. I udeed, our great agri
cultural staple, possesses a twofold attribute.
This is an invaluable article of consumption,
and at the same limo, w hile passing from the
producer to the consumer, m ithout any addi
tional cost to society, i, performs the function
of money, or bills of exchange. And in the
disordered state of our foreign and domestic
exchauo'cs, and of our money currency, w hich
| thnatei s a long continuance, this inapprecia-
I ble n reduction of out* favored soil and climate.
I promises to become a still more impoitai t
I agent in the. transucti rn of our commerce.—
) Doesnot this, we confidently ask. give to the
seaports of the cotton growing States, a most
I decided advantage over their competitors at the
North 1 'rhe cotton of the South and South
wester:! States, is the actual capital whi< h
sustains four filths of our foreign commerce.
To that extent the credits obtained in Europe,
■ are obtained upon the faith of that capital a
i lone. Shall the people of the So’ (hand South
j west, with these palpable facts stating them
• in the face, any lot ger remain obnoxious to
■ th ■ reproach of owning and furnishing theca
' pita! of our tor ign commerce, and yet per.
i milling the people of distant communities to
| enjoy its 'golden profits ? Every considera
d lion public and pi ivate, of patriotism and of
I interest, decidedly forbids it. A field of hono
. ruble competition and profitable industry is
| opened to our enterprize, wnet*e the public
I benefactor and the private trader,the patriot
• and the merchant, will be united in the same
perron. If the Mediei of iKctlsrn Italy* while
hey acquired ii calculable Wealth, ; deed a
ci cely lustre to their house, by ernbarki .g
n such a field of enterpriz , what citisen of
ur republican States should hesitate to bleirn,
.■ the emrigns armorial <>f his family, the titles
T patriot and merchant, when he is animated
•>v the noble . purpose of rescuing his country
rom a state of commercial dependence, aa
i-grading tv her character as it to injurious to
her prosperity ?
Every political community should endeavor
o unite Within itself, and have under its own
control, as far as circumstances will permit,
all the elements of natiunul wealth. The
wealth of the Stanle growing States, is derived
almost exclusively from agricultural produc
tions, which find their market principally in
foreign countries. It is the demand of that
market chiefly which gives them their value,
and from that market we obtain most of the
various commodities required for our con.
sumption.
Foreign commeice, therefore, is an element
of our wealth, scarcely less essential than ag
ricukure itself. Is ii, then, compatible with
that self-praised independence, whi ’h should
belong to every free State, to entrust the al
most exclusive agency of de ducting this great
national interest, to Ihe citizens of other aud
distant Stales, who do not reside among us,
aud who, so far from having any sympathies
for us, constrain us to believe that many of them
are deeply prejudiced against our civil institu
tious? We beg you, fellow citizens, to give
to this view of the subject that grave and de
liberate consideration which it so obviously de.
> mauds. We speak more irom the records of
I our own sad experience, than from the specu
-1 tions of theory, when we express the opinion,
• that the commercial independence we are now
i seeking to establishes indispensable to the
preservation of our political independence.—
i Can it be believed, that the enormous and op
. pressive impositions of the protective system
. would have been so long and patiently borne,
if our own proper commei ce had Deen carried
on thiough our own cities, and by our own
, merchants? 11 these tiad exported our agri-
J cultural staples, and imported the manufactures
i lor which they were exchanged, would a
doubt, ever have been entertan.ed that the high
duties imposed upon those manufactures, with
an explicit view to their prohibition, was a
burthen specifically laid upon the productions
of our industry, taking just so much from their
value, compared with the value ofthe similar
and rival productions of otner countries?—
Would the peopleofthe Southern and South
western Slates have submitted, m 1832. to the
levy of 24 millions of federal revenue from
■sixty millions of their imports, to be carried
off and disbursed iu distant communities, muk
mg “our b .rreness an inventory lo particular,
iize their abundance ?’’
Yet all this, aud more, did we patiently en.
dure for years ; many of us, owing to the con
fusion of ideas resulting from the disjointed
condition of our foreign commerce, doubtu g
w hether the burthen was not a benefit confer
red upon us by a parental government. Let
this fatal ecDHration oruur agi’Uuiliqre nori our
U-7T..TF.C. A..— ..BTH U I ; J .
has been productive ofstish pernicious fruits,
exist no longer. “It cannot Come to good.”
We ought never to forget, what we have
too many painful proof's that others will rot,
' that we are distinguished from our Northern
confederates, by peculiar domestic and civil
institutions, which are inseparably identified
with our great staple productions, and which
we hold to be absolutely exempt from all for
eign scrutiny or interference whatever. And
however we m y deprecate the event of a dis
memberment of our confederacy, we cannot
be blind to the existence ofcauses which make
it one ofthe possible contiogelicit s fol which
it is the pait of wisdom to provide. In such
an event, our foreig commerce, as now c«r
--' ried on, would be thrown i .to inter dert’ gc
line t This commerce, as well as our agri
■ u'ture, should be carried o by those who
have tin i terest iu ihe preservation of our in
stitutio; s, and w ho. iu case of a poliiicnlcou
vulsion. would seek no distant refuge or sepa
rate destiny.
Having now’ briefly shown the extent of our
loss by the indirect course of our foreign trade,
jour great natural advantages for reclaiming
i thut trade, and the stro. g motives by whit h
we are it voked to cuter upon the good work
without faltering aud without delay, we now
propose to consider the obstacles, real or sup
posed, that stand in our way, and lhe means
l of overcoming them. The principal of these
!is the alleged want of capital. We have al.
i ready shown that we have, in our great staples.
I the whole of the actual capital which sustains
our foreign commerce. But this capital be-
I longs to the planter, and the want of capital
) allud' d to, is the money capital necessaiy to
I purchase the cotton. Convert it into foreign
I goods, and distribute these to the retail men
chants.
We are strongly inclined to the opinion, that
it is principally by the agency of credit, in
stead of money capital, and that credit rest
ing Upon our staples, that this branch of corn
’ merce has been hi herto carried on bv North
! era merchants. So far as credit is to be ust d
I as an agent in conducting it—and we believe
it is ome of the most legitimate purposes of a
I well regulated system of credit—it cannot be
( doubted that our own merchants have decided
■ advantages over those at the North. They are
nearer to the great fund by which that credit
is to be ultimately redeemed, and can more ca-
, sily avail themselves of the use of it. But to
: prevent misapprehension, we deem this the
proper place to explain our views on the sub
ject of credit, and the extent to which it can
be safely and legitimately used as a cheap
■ substitute for money.
i Credit we regard as the legitimate offspring
of commerce and tree institutions, and a most
active and salutary agent in the production of
national and individual wealth. Far from be
ing demoralizing in its tendency, it is pre-t mi
neutlv the reverse, a , it essentially rnplits mu
tual and extended Confidence, founded upon
general, known and established habits of hon
esty m d punctuality It. can exist only in an
atmosphere composed of such elements. But i
though we oeem thus highly of credit, para
doxical aS it mny seem at the first view, We re
gard debt, in itself, ns being very far from a be-
< fit, and in the extent to which it is habitual
ly carried in our country, a very great, and
-one times a demoralizing etil. That credit
which is merely the correlative of i debted
ness, is not the credit of which we have spo
ken. To illustrate our meaning, we could not
select a case more strikingly appropriate, that!
I .hat of the foreign Commerce now under dis
eussion. We iinnUaliy export, for example,
• to Europe, agricultural staph s to the amount
• of eighty millions, and import tnerchandtio to
t the same or ft corresponding amount. If this
1 were a transaction between tw - b individuals,
; or evsa between two govoraaieats* it is obvi-
vol.
, I "US that .<>H>O eV would he F‘ quired to I'ffecl
the exchange l h<-wr ver t utnerous might b:tb«
separate sab-s and purchasea' into which it
might be subdivided. JJT'ihe European, for
example, would purchni? l cotto to the sOMMhA
of a million to-day. it would be ctrtoiu that
the American would have ©cession to pur.
ch>'se that amount of merchandiite to-tuor
r< w; and, instead of keeping a dead Capital
in money> to pay backwards bnd forwards
through the extended operations of the whole
year, they would m;le use of mutual credits,
either in the form of conventional tokens, of
entries upon their respective books. This
would be an example of credit in its most safe
a.id salutary form ;at the same time perfor*
ining the fuuctiona of money, and avoiding
the evils of debt- And even as this cofntuerctt
is actually carried nby the separate opehi<
tions of unconnected individuals, bills of ei«
change, under a well regulated systenri of mu»
tual credits, might be made to perform tiM
same function, to a much greater extent, than
it has been hitherto done. This branch
credit rests upon the solid foundation of pno*
pci ty, and it can scarcely be doubted that im.
porting merchants, residing in the etaplegrow.
tug States, could organize a much moreperfeci
system with the manufacturers of Europe,
than any that has heretofore txisted. They
have great advantages over the Northern
merchants in this respect. They are nearer
to the consumers, know better the extent anb
nature of their wants, mid can supply them dy
a more rapid operation, involving less delay,
and requiring shorter credits from abroad.
Short credits and quick returns, making a
small capital, by frequent operations, and mod.
erate profits, answer the purpose of a lnrg<
one moving more slowly, wifi be the true puli,
cy of our importing merchants. For such a
system, <>ur means of internal communication,
unobstructed at all seasons, and coi sistiug, to a
great rapidly increasing extent, of rail roads
will afford facilities ui known to any other pon
tio.i «f the United States. But to enable out 1
importing merchants to introduce this system
<>f short credits in their foreign transactions,
the co-operaUoti of our planters & conslimera
is indispensable. A iacliCal Change tnust bd
made iu th»-ir svs-tem of economy. Theif
habit of laying out their incomes before
they get them, and requiring a credit, in
all their deahnga f>r the year, till theclosa
of it, or until they sell thi-ir crops, even if
it be luger, is the root of the evil of our
whole system of credit. I' must be eradiea.
ted if we would produce a great and salutary
reform incur commerce and credit. If the
plan era r< quire a long credit, the merchants,
» holesale aud retail, through w hem they Weto
supplied, would at Last r< quire au equally
long credit. A large trio ey capital becomes
thus i.ecessury for the importi. g merchants,
that a long credit may be extended to the plan.
t< rs, who so far iron, ready nquinug Credit,
own the whole capital which pays for our en
tire annual importations! This is a complete
inversion of the natural order of things. The
planters, producing and possessing that whicji
constitutes almost the whole of our annual
others! HoW tfces this happen")" "''rhe an 4
swer is easy. There is no mystery about it.
It results from starting at the W rang
expending every year. -proceeds of ths
comi«g crop, Instead ofthe crop already mads.
1 f every planter Would adopt the system of ex*
pending, i.i the current year, lhe income ot thu
vear preceding, and of making all hts purcha
ses for cash, instead of on credit, he would
most palpably promote his own interest, and
i < ividualiy contribute his part to a general
r form of the most vital importii: ce to tha
w hole cou >lry. High!' as we estimate credit,
in the operations of commerce, we b- lieve it
may be ..flfirmed us a general truth, that debt
is a most co sutniug moth to the pianti g in.
terest. What practical planter can doubt, that
il>r the credits annually obtained by hims- If or
his neighbors, at the sales of the astii'L's of de*
ceased prisons, n d in venous other modi t, he
pays from 16 to 20 per cent, more than the
same property would cost* if purchased With
csh in hand. Li t the vuggc sled change iu
in our economy, thee, lie r.o longer delayed.
Every pla: ter who adopts it will at once per.
ceive its salutary effects upon his own com.
fort, indepei deuce and prosperity ; and hv will
h; ve the consolation of rofleitirg, that he to
a' the same time performing the duty of u pa
triot citizen. We confidently believe it would
dispense with one half of lhe etipitai that
would otherw iae bo necessary for carrying ort
™ur foreign commerce by a sysium of direct
importation,
But whatever may bs the agency of a Well
regulated credit, in bringing about ’he propct
sed reform in our foreig . commerce, a Very
considerable money capital will nevertheless
be indispensable to its complete accomplish,
meat. Nor Can it lie doubted that the staple
grow’ing States have lhe most abundant te,
sources for supplying this description of capl.
tai, if the planters, w h" arc our principal capi,
talists, can be induced to abandon the suicidal
course they have heretofore pursm d, of devo.
ting their whole income (generally by antici.
pation ) to the purchase of negroes to produce
more cottoi ; and appropriate, even a modeh
rate portion of it, to aid iu the accomplishment
of this great enterprise. If every planter
would take a dispassionate and comprehensive
view ofhtS oiVn individual interest, he would
perceive that tho blind instinct of accumulation,
which prompts him to make the crop of one
year the moans of increasing that of the next,
isthemost fatal policy he could pursde. It ia
a system which, in the very nature of things,
must inevitably defeat its own purposes, It
will hardly be stating the case too strongly, to
say, that at least one halfof the incomes thus
devoted to the i creas'. d production of cottori,
arc devoted to over production, aud that they
arc conscquetttly appropriated not for the bene,
fit of the cotton planters themselves, but for
that of the son ig i and domestic consumers of
their great staple. The principle of -political
economy laid down in the report of the Select
Committee, and from which this conclusion is
deduced, was known to piactical men long
before it was promulgated by a .y writer on the
theory of wealth. It is founded Upon the utiL
verbal experience of mankind. If the supply
of an article materially exceeds the effective
demand, a competition is created nmo. g the
sellers, winch depresses the price greatly bo.
yond a due proportioi tu the ekcess lo quart.
: tity. In like mariner a d fic|c:it supply creaks*
c-.mpi.tiiiort atrking the buy rs, which
! creases th • price in a eorfospo ding decree.
! So general is this principle, we may s fely, ia
, ! any probable state of the demand f<>F cotton, as.
j firm, that a small <• op, if rot extremely artfoit,
. will produce a larger aggregate income to th©
, cotton planting S'attX, than a large one. Be.
, twjeen the extreme points where high pnee©
.1 shook sensumption ffu das hitf’S bw