Daily chronicle & sentinel. (Augusta, Ga.) 1837-1876, December 21, 1860, Image 2

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Clpnick & Sentinel PUBLISHED DAILY AND WEEKLY, BY W. S. JONES. FBIOAY MOKN’Gj DEO. 21, 1860. Agricultural Resources of Georgia. ADDRESS Before the Cotton Planter*’ Convention of Georgia, at I*lacon, Dec. 13, 1860. BY JOSEPH JONES, M. D., Chemist of the. Association, and Professor of M li r-'l Chemistry in the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta. H ,. President, Officers and Members of the Cotton planters’ Convention of Georgia, Friends and Fellow-Citizens : The learned Pliny in his great work upon Na tural History, pleaded the cause ot the Earth, even with Romans ; and felt it to be his duty as well as his honor, to become the advocate of her upon whom alone of all parts of nature we have bestowed the uame which implies maternal vene ration, for she is the common parent of us all, receiving us at our birth, nourishing us when born,-and ever afterward supporting us, and final ly v/lien we are rejected by the rest ot nature she embraces us in her bosom, and covers us with especial fender ness. If this great man who comprehended all the sciences and learning of his time, thought in not unnecessary to arouse the interest of Roman agri culturists, and to defend their noble calling by showing that the earliest surnames were derived from agriculture, and that the various ranks and distinctions of state had no other origin than the pursuit of agriculture, and by reminding them that in the earlier aud more fertile and virtuous periods of Rome, the lands were tilled by the hands of generals, and the soil exulted beneath the plough-shear crowned with laurels, and guided by husbandmen graced with triumphs—if the Roman censor Cato, the violent opponent of luxu ry and dissipation, and the sternest of ancient moralists, thought it not beneath his dignity to to defend ths agricultural population as producing the bravest men, the most valiant soldiers, and a class of citizens the least given of all to evil de signs : surely the present attempt to advocate the claims of the earth, and to incite and encourage and defend her cultivators, imperfect, feeble and humble though it be, will net seem unnecessary. The citizens of Georgia need not the examples of the past, great and illustrious though they be, to incite them to the defence and cultivation of the noblest aud most virtuous of all employments —they have but to look to the benevolent founders of the colony of Georgia, who may well challenge the respect of the world, in their noble and gene ,rous designs und efforts to found a colony of active and enlightened and virtuous agriculturists, who should not only reclaim the dense forests and swamps from nature, but should also reclaim the still darker aud wilder savages. iJ # Yhe motto “Non sibi sed aiiis,” which graced the Colonial seal of Georgia, well expressed the disinterested and noble zeal of these noble men, who expended their time, labor, money and lives, for the good of others, reserving for themselves no other reward than that of approving con sciences, and the gratification of \irtuous ac tions. And here w r e caunot refrain from quoting the testimony of an eye witness to the efforts of these foundersof the Colony of Georgia, to establish an enlightened system of agriculture, for it will afford pleasant and profitable materials of reflection to Agriculturists of the present day. Francis Moore, in the year 1735, two years after the first settlement of Georgia, and one hundreds and twenty-five years ago, thus describes the gar den established near Savannah by the Trustees, for the use of the first settlers of Georgia, and the development and encouragement ot a scientific system of agriculture : •‘There is near the town, (Savannah) to the east, a garden, belonging to the Trustees, consist ing of ten acres; the situation is delightful—one half of it is upon the top of a hill, the foot of which the river Savannah washes, and from it you see the woody islands in the sea. The remain der of the garden is the side, and some plain low ground at the foot of the hill, where several fine springs A breuk out. In the garden is variety of * soils ; the top is sandy aud dry, the sides of the hiil are clay, and the bottom is a black rich gar deu mould, well watered. On the north part of the garden is left standing a grove ot a part of the old wood, as it was before the arrival of the Colo ny there. The trees in the garden are mostly Bay, Sassafras, Evergreen Oak, Pellitory, Hick orv, American Ash and Laurel Tulip. ‘‘ The garden is laid out with cross-walks plant ec with orange trees, but the last winter, a good deal of snow having fallen, had killed those upon the top of the hill, down to their roots, but they being cut down sprouted again, as I saw when I returned to Savannah. “In the squares between the walks were vast quantities of Mulberry trees, this being a Nursery for all the Province, and every planter that de sires it, has young trees given him gratis from Nursery. Thosejwhite Mulberry trees were plant ed in order to raise silk, for which purpose several Italians were brought, at the expense of the Trus tees, from Piedmont, by Mr. Amatis; they have fed worms, and wound silk to as great perfection as any that ever carao out of Italy. But the Ital ians falling out, one of them stole away the ma chines for winding, broke the coppers, and spoil ed all the eggs, which he could not steal, and fled to South Carolina. The others who continued faithful, had saved but a few eggs when when Mr. Oglethorpe arrived, therefore he forbade any silk should be wound, but that all the worms should be suffered to eat through their balls, in order to have more eggs against next year. The Italian women w r ere obliged to take English girls appren tices,*whom they teach to wind and feed; and the meD nave taught our English gardeners to tend the Mulberry trees, and our joyners have learned to make the machines for winding. i “Besides the Mulberry tree, there are in some quarters in the coldest part of the garden, all i kinds of fruit trees usual in England, such as ap ples, pears, Ac. “In auother quartef are olives, figs, vines, pomegrants and such fruits as are natural to the warmest parts of Europe. At the'bottom of the hill, .well sheltered from the north wind and in the warmest part of the gar d n, there was a collection of West Indian plants and trees, some coffee, some cocoa-nuts, cotton, Paluia-christi, and several West Indian physical plants, some sent up by Mr. Eveleigh, a public spirited merchant at Charlestown, and some by Dr. Houston, from the Spanish West Indies, where he was sent at the exponce of a collection raised by that curious Physician Sir Hans Sloan, for to collect and send them to Georgia, where the climate was capable of making a garden which might contain all kinds of plants ; to which design his Grace the Duke of Richmond, the Earl of Der by, the Lord Peters, and the Apothecary’s Com pany contributed very generously, as did Sir Hans himself. “Thtso quarrels amongst the Italians proved fatal to most of these plants, aud they were labor ing to repair that loss when I was there. Mr. Miller being employed in the room of Dr. Hous ton, who died in Jamaica. We heard he wrote an account of his having obtained Ihe plant from whence the the Balsamum Capivi is drawn ; and that he was ni hopes of getting that from whence the Jesuits Bark is taken, lie designing for that purpose to send to the Spanish West Indies. “1 here is u plant of Bamboo Cane brought from the East, Indies and sent over by Mr. Towers, **hich thrives well “There were also some Tea-seeds, which came from the same place ; but the latter, though great care was taken, did not grow.” A vovage to Georgia begun in the year 1835, Ac., by Francis Moore—London 17-14. From these statements of Francis Moore, we see that .the founders of the colony oi Georgia were equal too, yea far ahead of the Agriculturists of the present day, iu their enlightened efforts to introduce the most important products of all countries, and to establish an enlightened system of Agriculture in Georgia. The founders of the colony of Georgia endeavor ed to introduce the cultivation of the great staple of the South fifty years before its successful cultivation ; and within two years after the settlement of the colony, these enlightened Agriculturists had experimented wita Tea and Coffee and the Vine, which are only just now re ceiving attention at the haifds of Southern Agri culturists. s’ It has been announced as our duty as well as our privilege and honor,/ to consider upon the present occasion the Agricultural resources of Goo r</ia. In the brief space of time now at my command, lean no nothing more than present the most general views. Georgia has been divided by the hand of na ture into three zones, with very distinct geologi cal, zoological, climatic, botanical and Agncul tural features. First, the lowest and what may be called the tropical zone, commencing in a chain of islands ana rising by a very slow acclivity from the At lantic Ocean to an elevation of from 10 to 30 feet, io bounded at the distance of 30 miles from the Atlantic Ocean by another more elevated plain, differing in the structure of its soil and in the character of its vegetation In the first low plain, which may well be termed the tropical zone, there are numerous swamps, clothed with a most luxuriant and imposing vege tation —the tall cypress, tho splendid magnolia grandifloru, the majestic live oak with its mossy boughs, the luxuriant sweet gum and tupulo, anil the impenetrable canebrakes, indicate not only the fertility of the soil, but the warmth and mois ture of the cjimate. These swamps discharge their waters into short, deep, sluggish streams, and increasing in breadth from their juuctioii with the rivers and interlock ing with each other form a chain across Georgia and Carolina to the Neuse in North Caroliua, and southward again aiiong the Atlantic border into Florida. Ihe Boil of the river bottoms and swamps and marsfaes, consists of a rich deposit of vegetable matter, mixed with varying proportions of sand and clay, sometimes alternately with beds of marl and sand : this clay deposit varies in depth from 5 to 5$ feet, and contains buried deep beneath the surface supporting the present luxu riant growth, the stumps of pine, cedar, oak cy preas and other trees; and in some localities, as upou’Skiddawey Island and HyneFs Bridge,'near Savannah, and on the Brunswick Canal, between the Altamuha and Turtle Rivers, bones of the me gatherium, a gigantic sloth, and of extinct varie ties of the horse, and other extinct animals simi lar to those found in the Pampas of South Ameri ca, an analogous formation the borders of the Atlantic Ocean. The existence of these remains of ancient for ests, deeply buried beneath the present surface, together with the bones of these extinct auimals, associated with sea shells identical with those uow inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean, prove conclu sively that this portion of Georgia has not only been but recently reclaimed from the sea, but has been subjected to successive elevations and de pressions ; and there are facts to 6how that the sea coast of Georgia and South Carolina is now slowly settling, and if this continues many rich and valuable plantations will, in the process of time, be covered by the waters of the Atlantic. This rich soil, formed from the washings of Upper Georgia, brought down by numerous riv ers aud deposited in a shallow sea with a level bottom, is not only characterized by the tropical aspect of the palmetto, Spanish bayonet, tall feathery cypress, aud glorious magnolia, but to the agriculturist it is specially characterized as the peculiar region for the successful cultivation of rice and long staple cotton. Notwithstanding the great aud inexhaustible fertility of these in lands swamps, they are less cultivated now than formerly, and the population of this region has scarcely increased at all during the last sixty years. \\ e may, in these swamps, see every where the marks of formor cultivation—old em bankments covered with large trees, and the en closed lands which were once clothed with golden rice, now support dense forests of cypress, tupulo and gum ; and the once deep and broad canals, which were used by the ancients to drain these swamps, are now covered with trees and choked up with trunks and limbs of aead trees and ac cumulated sediment. The sagacious American traveller, William Bartram, thus describes the appearance of St. John’s Parish, now Liberty county, in the year 1773, tw r o years before the Revolutionary war. ‘jObedient to the admonitions of my attendant spirit curiosity, as well as to gratify the expecta tions of my worthy patron, I again set oil’ on my Southern excursion, and left Sunbury in company with several of its polite inhabitants who were going to Medway meeting, a very large and well constructed place of worship in St. John’s Parish, where I associated with them in religious exercise and heard a very excellent sermon delivered by their pious and truly venerable pastor, the Rev. Osgood. “This respectable congregation is independent, and consists chiefly of families and proselytes to a flock, which tl is pious man led, about forty years ago, from South Carolina, and settled in this fruitful district. It is about nine miles from Sunbury to Medway Meeting House, which stands on the high road, opposite the Sunbury road. As soon as the congregation broke up 1 resumed my journey, proceeding down the high road towards Fort Barrington on the Altamaha, passing through a level country, well watered by large streams, branches ot Medway and Newport Rivers, cours ing from extensive swamps and marshes, their sources ; these swamps are daily clearing and im proving into large, fruitful rice plantations, ag grandising the well inhabited and rich district of St. John’s Parish. “The road is strait and spacious and kept in excellent repair by the industrious inhabitants, and is generally bordered by tall and spreading trees as the magnolia, liquid amber, litiodendron, catalpa and live oak, and on the verges of the canals where the road was causewayed, stood the Cyprus, lacianthus and magnolia, all planted by nature and left standing by the virtuous inhabi tants, to shade the road and perfume the sultry air. “The extensive plantations of corn now in early verdure, decorated here and there with groves of floriferous and fragrant trees and shrubs, under the cover and protection of pyramidal laurels and plumed palms, which now and then break through upon the sight from both sides of the way as we pass along ; the eye at intervals stealing a view 1 at the humble but neat and elegant habitation of the happy proprietor,amidst arbours and groves all day, and moonlight nights tilled with the melody of the cheerful mock-bird, warbling nonpareil and plaintive turtle dove, altogether present a view of magnificence and joy inexpressibly charm ing and animating.” These statements of Bartram with reference to the extensive cultivation of rice in the early his tory of this section of Georgia are substantiated by facts which I have already alluded to and by the exports of Georgia at that period. The great value of these rice lands, appears to have been most thorough’ understood by Gov. James Wright, who, by the successful manage ment and cultivation of the low lands and swamps of Georgia, not only acquired a large fortune, but also by his successful example promoted at once emulation and industry amongst the planters. In 1763, the exports of Georgia consisted of 75,000 barrels of rice, 9,533 lbs., of indigo, 1,250 bushels of Indian corn, which together with deer and beaver skins, naval stores, provisions, timber Ac., amounted to £27,021 sterling. In 1772, the exports from Georgia in 217 ves sels, amounted to £121,677 sterling, and consisted t in large measure of rice. The introduction of cotton produced not only a marked effect upon the cultivation of rice, but upon the Agriculture and political position and commercial^elutions of the .State. Previous to the year 1783, cotton yvus not culti vated in Georgia as an article of commerce ; in this year, Richard Leake made an extensive and successful experiment with this new staple, and in 1789, John Milledge, Josiah Tatnall and a rice planter of Liberty county, Mr. Gignelliat made successful and extensive experiments with cotton. The cultivation of cotton increased greatly, in 1790, 20,000 pounds of ginned cotton were brought to the Savannah market, and in the year 1796, 1,700,000 pounds were produced. This increased culture ot cotton, excited by its greater certainty and greater profit, led the rice planters to aban don to a great extent, the less certain and less profitable cultivation of the inland swamps. The great difficulty in the cultivation of these ! inland swamps, is the uncertainty of the supplies of water —in dry weather, it is impossible to ob tain a suflicieut supply of water, and in wet weather, it is impossible to draw off the water ,rom the rice fields, and upon many places as large a proportion as one crop in four, is lost by I one or other of these causes, i Front nty own personal experience in planting one of these inland swamps, I am perswaded that the great measure to re tder them safe, is the con struction of large canals, which yvill allow a free exit of the waters during freshets. These canals cannot be dug without increased labor, and as the laboring force in this section of the State will not be increased until the tide of emigration to other newer and more easily culti vated portions of the State is arrested, many years must elapse before these immense bodies of lands with their iucxhuastible fertility will be brought under thorough cultivation. Notwithstanding that the population of the low country of Georgia has remained stationary for half a century, and notwithstanding that there are thousands of acres of most valuable land lying idle ; still, it is a pleasing thought to the Agricul turists of Georgia, that the jpereasiug population of Georgia alter all the new lands shall have been cleared up and settled, will, in this fertile region, with its tropical climate, so favorable to a dense vegetation find a wide field for action, and will moreover, find that this is the garden spot of Geor gia. The great enemy of the white man in these re gions is the climate —no white man can ever work with impunity in this climate—no race but the African can ever stand the burning heat and fatal miasms of the Rice fields, and ot the Cotton fields; and it is worthy of note that the first attempt to establish African slavery in Georgia, originated in this section of tlie State—and especially worthy of note that the reasons which led the citizens of Savannah and the surrounding country, to peti tion the Trustees of tho colony of Georgia, to in troduce negroes, still exists, in spite of Che rav ings of dishonest abolitionism. The freeholders in the county of Savannah, finding that it required an immense expenditure ot physical labor to clear the river swamp lands, covered with a dense forest—finding that the air of the swamps was lo ded with poisonous quali ties, which generated disease, which, if not fatal, ended in debility aud entire destruction of the constitution—finding that the cultivation of the pine lands was not productive, and finding that alter the severe labor, exposure, aud iil health of several years, they were unable to provide even a coarse common subsistance for themselves and families, addressed an earnest appeal to the Trus tees of the Colony of Georgia, in the year 1738. That I have not misrepresented the freeholders of Savannah, will be evident from the following quotation from their petition : “We have most of us settled in this colony, iu pursuance of a description and representation of it by you in Britain, and from the experience of residing here several years, do find that it is im possible the measures hitherto laid down for ma king it a colony can-sueeecd. “None of all those who have planted their lands, have been able to raise sufficient produce to main tain their families in bread kind only, even though as much application aud industry have been ex erted to bring it about, as could be done by men engaged in an affair, in which they believe the welfare of themselves and posterity so much de pend, and which they imagine must require more than ordinary pains to make it succeed ; so that by the accumulated expenses every year of provi sions, clothing, medicine, Ac., lor themselves, families, and servants, several of them have ex pended all their money, nay even run consider ably in debt, and so have been obliged to leave off planting, ami making further improvements; and those who continue are daily exhausting more and more* their money, and some daily increas ing their debts, without a possibility of being re imbursed, according to the present constitution. “This being now the general state of the Colo ny, it must be obvious that people taunot subsist by their land according to the present establish ment ; and this being u truth resulting from trial, patience and “experience, cannot be contradicted by any theoretical scheme of reasoning. # We do not in the least doubt but that in time silk and wine may be produced here, particularly the former ; but since the cultivation of rice lands with white servants only, cannot raise provisions for our families, as before mentioned, therefore it is likewise impossible to carry on these manufac tures according to the present constitution. * * * “ Your honors, we imagine, are not insensible of the numbers that have left this Province, net being able to support themselves auy longer, and those still remaining, who have money ol their own and credit with their friends, have laid out most of the former in improvements, and lost the latter, by doing it on such precarious titles; and upon account of the present establishment, not above two or three pfersons, except those brought on charity, and servants sent by you, have come here for the space of tyvo years past, either to settle land or encourage trade, neither do we hear of any such likely to come, until we are on better terms.** “ We do, from a sincere regard to its welfare, and iu_duty to both you and ourselves, beg leave to solicit your immediate consideration to tne fol lowing causes of our misfortunes and the deplora ble state of the country ; aud which we are cer tain, if granted, would be an infallible remedv to both : .“.The want and use of negroes, with proper limitations ; which, if granted, would both induce great numbers of white people to come here, and also render us capable of subsisting ourselves by raising provisions upon our lands, until we could make some produce from it for exportation, and in some measure to balance our importation. “ We are very sensible of the inconveniences and mischiefs that have already aud do daily arise from the unlimited use of negroes ; but vve are as sensible that these might be prevented by a proper limitation, such as so many to such a quantity of land, or in any other manner which your honors shall think.most proper. “ By granting us, gebtlemeu, these particulars, and such other privileges as his Majesty’s most dutiful subjects in America enjoy, you will not only prevent our impending ruin, but we are fully satisfied, also, will soon make this the most flour ishing colony possessed by his Majesty in Ameri ca, and your memories will be perpetuated to all future ages, our latest posterity sounding your praises us their first founders, patrons and guar dians ; but if, by denying us these privileges, we ourselves and families are not only ruined, but even our posterity likewise ; you will always be mentioned as the cause and authors of their mis fortunes and calamities, which we hope will never, never happen.” Notwithstanding that this petition of the free holders of .Savannah was refused by the trustees of the colonj’ of Georgia, and notwithstanding that it was followed by counter petitions against the establishment of slavery iu the colony from the Highlanders of Darienjand the Saltzburghers of Ebenezer, slaves were continually introduced into the colony of Georgia, and agriculture ad vanced, and wealth and commerce increased, in exact proportion to the increase of slaves. Without this race, which alone of all ruces is capable of bearing with impunity, and in t*ct thriving better in our hot and sickly climate than iu the most healthy climates to the white race, the great staples of the South could not be cultivated ; and not only would millions of now wealthy aud happyjinhabitants be brought to absolute poverty aud starvation, but the African would have himself remaiued in the deepest degradation of ignorance, vice and superstition, defended from alt inter course and shrouded in the deepest darkness, by <his own inhospitable climate. It is worthy of record by the side of these facts, that this section which was first to introduce slavery, was also the first to preach the truths of the gospel to the slave ; and there now lives in this region a devoted minister of the gospel, who has for one quarter of a century, devoted his time, talents to the religious instructionjof the negroes, with no other reward than that of an approving conscience, and who alone has accom plished more real good to the African race than ail the abolitionists in the world. The second zone of Georgia extends from the one just described, in aoiortberly direction up to the falls of the rivers, and is bounded upon the North by a line passing through the cities of Augusta, .Macon and Columbus. The Southern portion of this zone is elevated 70 feet above the tropical zone, ar.d after maintaining this elevation for thirty miles it rises again abruptly to a similar height, and then gradually rises to the commence ment of the primitive region which constitutes the third zone. The lir>t piain is composed of sandy soil, and is covered chiefly by the long leaf pine and scrub oak. This portion of Georgia will never support a dense population, and will be valuable chiefly for its timber. The northern, western and south western portions of this zone are more fertile, the soil contains more clay and in m%ny places rests upon the joint clay which belongs to the Burr stone formation,'which 1 have shown to be re markably rich iu Phosphate of Lime. This joint clay, and in fact the whole country is underlaid by the Eocene lime formation, which may always be reached at a depth varying from 10 to 60 feet beneath the surface, and which in many places is exposed where the Joint clay has been washed off by the denudations of former deluges. This Eocene lime formation contains inexhaus tible stores of lime and of Phosphate of lime and is capable of supplying the State with lime for Archi tecture and Carbonate and Phosphate of lime for agriculture in inexhanstilbe quantities for unnum bered ages. The value of these marls and shell liinestono lias been developed in my recent report to your honorable body, and I will merely stale that in an ordinary application of these calcareous manures, we apply more phosphate of lime than is contained in a most liberal application of the very best phosphatic manures; und further, that, the value of lime in agriculture has been established by the best and most reliable Agricul turists from the days of the learned Pliny to the present t.me—iu England the experience of Agri culturists has been that the majority of soils cau not be cultivated with advantage until they are dressed with lime, which forms the basis of all good husbandry: the predictions of Baron Liebig us to the value of the fossil lime formations of the chalk and ghault of England are now being veri fied ; the celebrated Chemist of tho Royal Agri cultural Society of England, Prof. Way, is now conducting an elaborate series of experiments upon the action of lime upon English soils, which demonstrates conclusively its great and absolute value in agriculture; Prof. Philip Tyson, oo.Mary land, in his report of tbe last year, affirms that the farmers of many portions of Maryland, who had abandonee Mail for Commercial Phosphatic manures, are now returning to the Marl and aban doning Guanos ; within the past week the dis tinguished Southern statesman and Agriculturist, Senator Hammond, of South Carolina, has re buked an attempt to decry the value of marls and shell limestone of Georgia, and affirms his expe rience “that in a good crop year, marl judiciously applied, would increase the crop 100 per cent., iu an ordinary year, 50 per cent.,” and in the num ber of the Southern Cultivator iust now being issued, its learned editor, C. W. Howard, has brought forward reliable tistimony to the great value ol'lirne upon Georgia’s soil —whoever, there fore, attempts to decry these inexhaustible sources of fertility, is an enemy to the planters of Geor gia, and must be either grossly ignorant or else actuated by improper motives. In addition to these inexhaustible deposits of shell limestone and marl in this section ot the sec ond zone, there are beds of the most superior of kaolin, capable of furnishing material of the finest quality for China ware ; aud in the future, when Georgia is independent of the North, and developes her manufactories as well as her agriculture and her commerce, her China wares will rival those of Europe and Asia. Here, are also found inexhaustible quurries of the finest burr-stone, which has upon trial prov ed equal and in some respects superior to the French burr mill stones. We turn uow to the third zone, which includes all (hat portion of the State which lies north of the line which connects the cities of Augusta, Milledgeville, Macon and Columbus. The justly celebrated argillaceous soils of this zone which have resulted from the decomposition of the granites and slates, are not only’ richly en dowed with all tho elements of fertility, and es pecially with that most valuable element, potash, which has such a controlling effect upon vegeta tion, and which, m these soils, has been derived from the decomposing feldspathic rocks; but un der a proper system of “culture, arc capable of being maintained in their primitive state of fer tility and of yielding abundant harvests which will correspond in luxuriance to tho magnificent forests of Black Walnut, Chesuut, Hickory, Elm, Red Cedar, short leafed Pine, Black Oak, Red Oak and Spanish Oak, which adorned this soil in its virgin fertility. With a rich and under a proper system of cul ture an inexhastible soil—with the purest water and the healthiest climate in the world—with an elevation of 35U feet, upon the Southern border, aud more than 2,<>00 feet in the Northern moun tainous regions, affording inexhaustible supplies of water, with the requisite falls and water power for thousands of manufactories—with the cool bracing and delightful and fertile vallies of the Etowah and Chattahoochee rivers, so rich in mine rals and so favorable to the culture of wheat and the grape—with inexhaustible mines, of gold, iron, copper, manganese and many other mine rals—with inexhaustible quarries of slate, granite, marble, limestone and sandstone for architectural purpose;;—with rich mines of coal the wealth of which has not yet even been conjectured—with extensive regions of country, yielding the diamond and other precious stones —with mineral springs of the greatest medicinal value—with scenery, which will compare either in its grandeur or its beauty, its softness or its sublimity, with any in the world, this zone is destined not merely to af ford a rich field to a teeming and busy popula tion, and to present a scene of the busiest and happiest and most successful industry ; but it is destined under anew and independent form of government, of supplying the entire South, with the most delightful watering pluces, equalling in climate and suppussing in scenery the most fashionable and frequented watering places of the North, and we may add even of Europe, and of supplying the entire South with manufactured articles, with cotton and woolen goods, with Rail road iron, with arms and ammunition, und with a thousand other articles for which she is uow de pendent.upon England and the North—it is des tined nuclei- anew and improved form of govern ment to support splendid seats of learning and science, which, in tfie course time, will rival those of Cambridge and Oxford —it is destined under a new add improved system of government to re alize what should be the golden dream of every true hearted Georgian, the independence of his State, in all that constitutes the true wealth, pow er, dignity and happiness of a people, and the mu tual depence and inalienable union and friendship of the different sections, by a mutual interchange of the products of labor. In view of the inexhaustible resources of this, our noble State, which in its Southern extremity, has a climate suitable to the cultivation of long staple cotton, sugar cane, rice, indigo, theorange, olive, pomegranate, date, lemon, and palm; whilst in the northern mountaious regios, the climate is fully eight degrees colder and is favorable to the cultivation of wheat, apples, and the grape, and thus affords a field lor the successful cultivation of every agricultural product cultivated upon the North American continent; we may well ask the question whether the agriculturists of Georgia have improved aright these great natural advan tages? If we attempt to decide this question by an examination of the increase of her population, we will find : Ist. The rate of the decennial increase of the entire population of Georgia, has progressively diminished from 1790 to 1860. 2d. The population of the first settled counties in the Southeastern portion of the State, has re mained stationary in most of the counties for the last fifteen years, in some there has been a slight increase, whilst in others there has been an actual decrease of population. 3d. The population of the earliest settled coun ties of middle Georgia, has in most cases pro gressively decreased for many years past. 4th. The population of the newly settled coun ties of middle and northern Georgia, notwith standing the rapid increase in the first years of the settlement of this section of the State, is now becoming stationary iu some counties, and in a few counties has already commenced to decrease. sth. The counties of the Northeastern portion of the State, the geological formations of which are more recent than middle Georgia, aud older than those of the cretaceous and tertiary forma tions of Georgia, have been but recently settled, and iu most cases are rapidly increasing, and it is, therefore, at the present time impossible to say what the limits of the population will be—es pecially as the soil contains more lime than twiy other portion of Georgia, apd appears to be inex haustible under culture. Bth. The counties of the South-western portion of the State, embracing the cretaceous and more recent Eocene lime formations, like the counties of North-western Georgia, have been but recently settled, and are rapidly increasing by emigration from the older counties of the State, and it is im possible to assign at the preseut time, the proba ble limits of the population with any degree of certainty. We may, however, from a careful re view of the rapid increase of population, and from a consideration of the resources of the soil of North-western and South-western Georgia, affirm that under the same exhausting and reckless sys tem of agriculture which has been pursued in the older counties, the population of these portions of tho State will, iu the course of fifty years, reach its culminating point, and the tide will then flow to the rich lands of newer States. If we examine these facts collectively, and en deavor to determine their causes, we will find that the main cause, which is of far greater im portance than emigration, changes of climate and seasons, the value of produce and many other causes is that system of agriculture which takes for granted that soils are inexhaustible, and which has regarded alone the interests of the acting generation. The lands of Middle Georgia, which at the time of their original settlement were clothed with dense and magnificent forests, and covered with the accumulated mould of thousands of years, aud which yielded most luxuriant and profitable crops of cotton and corn to the early cultivators, who imagined that the soils would last forever without either rest or manure, and without any attention to hill-side ditching and plowing, now preseut the monotonous and dreary spectacle of barren red clay hills, barely supporting stunted crops of cotton, struggling to lift its fruit a few inches above the hot and barren ground and avoid the pelting of the sand, hardly saving the reputation of the planter from the charge of sanded cotton. These bald red clay hills, marred by deep fur rows and yawning red gullies, and by deserted dilapidated houses, with their diseased, half-dead fruit trees, will long remain monuments of that system of agriculture, which has disregarded the value of the vegetable deposits of ages, and which has had for its great object the enrichment of the living generation, regardless of the interests 6f future generations. jj JThe same result has followed the same system ot culture in the Southern portion of Georgia, the ejects, however, are not so patent to the eye, because the country is level, and because the riv ers afford in- exhaustible supplies of organic and mineral matters to the rice plantations. It remains to be demonstrated, whether not the fruitful plains of Southwestern Georgia, and the fertile vallies of Northwestern Ga. will share the same fate. The great questions to be solved by the agriculturists of Georgia, are : How can the new lands of Northwestern and Southwestern Georgia be preserved in their original fertility ? Are the native resources of the State adequate to tho re generation of her exhausted lands and the per manent preservation of the fertility ot her new lands ? Upon the determination of these questions will depend the future agricultural, commercial and political progress and importance of Georgia. If they are ignored by the agriculturist, certain it is that the lands will steadily be exhausted ; their value will steadily diminish ; the population will us steadily emigrate to more lertile regions, and our State will not attain to that high po litical and commercial position assigned her in Providence, by her soil, her climate aud her pro ductions. if, on the other hand, the resources of Georgia be carefully developed and employed, aud the reckless exhaustion of the soil be checked, and an enlightened system of agriculture be in augurated, Georgia will be capable of containing as many inhabitants, black and white, as are now found in the territory of the fifteen Southern States, and will, with this teeming population, be not more thickly settled than Great Britain is at the present day. If we wish to convince ourselves of the mighty results which pay be achieved by an improved system of agriculture, we have only to compare the present conditions of France aud England. In this comparison we shall use the testimony of a French writer of the highest authority, as quoted and endorsed by the leading Agricultural journal of England, and shall use both his mea sures aud his calculations, that tho greatest accu racy may be maintained. No stronger testimony than this of M. Leouce de Lavergne could be adduced, not merely to prove the relative conditions of England and Prance, but more especially to demonstrate that the commercial, political and intellectual condition of a State depends upon the condition of the Ag riculture, for aside from the very high qualifica tions of this distinguished Agriculturist to draw such comparisons, he is a Frenchman—a native of that country, which in the natural gifts of soil and climate, is far superior to Englund. And first as to the system of Agriculture pur sued in France and England. France has devoted herself too exclusively to the production of corn crops, which are the im mediate food of man, without sufficiently consid ering the means necessary to uphold the fertility of the soil under this exhausting process. England, on the contrary, has been led, partly by the nature of the climate, partly by design, to take a sort of by-path, which reaches corn crops through the intervention of green crops; finding, in the rearing of cattle and the supply of manure the restorative process which is Deccssary. The experiment has entirely succeeded, and is extending itself day by day ; und the remarkable fact is, that in proportion as the head of cattle increases the quantity of corn increases also; the gan in intensity exceeds the loss in extent.— Thus, on a surface of 31,000,000 of hectares, re duced to 20,000,000 by the waste lands, the Bri tish Isles produce more food for animals than the entire surface of France, of double the extent. Hence the supply of manure is in proportion three or four times greater. The average profile per hectare in France is 6 hectolitres of wheat, about sos rye, nud 1 of maize, or buckwheat; collectively about 11 hecto litres. Iu England, 25 hectolitres of wheat (3% quarters per ucre,) more than double in quantity, and three times more in saleable value. Scotland and Ireland at e included in this estimate. If the comparisons are made with England alone, the results are far more striking. This little country, not larger than one-fourth of France, produces 88,000,1/00 of hectolitres of wheat, 16,000,000 of barley, 34,000,000 of oats. If France produced as much in proportion, she would product*, deducting seed, 150,000,000 hectolitres of wheat, 200,000,000 of oats and other grains ; that is at least double her actual production. Taking all products into account, animal and vegetable, it appears that the produce of England, per hectare, nearly doubles that of France. The great lesson which these figures teach l>e youd the disproportion of the result, is the rela tion of vegetable to animal products. In France the vegetable products form four sixths of the whole, and the animal products two sixths only; showing at first sight an exhausting cultivation, and ouo at least stationary. In the United Kingdom the animal products are equal to tlie vegetable. Thus the animal products alone ol an English farm, are equal to the entire pro ducts, animal and vegetable, of a French furm of the same extent. The most remarkable feature of British farm ing, in comparison with that of France, is the number and quantity of sheep. According to the statistical returns and estimates, the number of sheep iu France and iu England, is about equal —about 35,000,000 of sheep in France and 35,000,- 000 in England. But this apparent equality con ceals an inequality the most marked. 35,000,000 sheep in the United Kingdom live on 31,000,000 hectares of land ; 35,000,000 of sheep in France live on 53,000,000 hectares. France, in order to have as many sheep in proportion as the United Kingdoms, ought to have 60,000,000. If the comparison is made with England alone, the difference is far greater. England feeds 30,- 000,000 sheep on 15,000,000 hectares of land ; that is proportionally three times as many ns France. But the great difference is in the quality of the sheep, upon the breeding aud improving of which, with a view to early maturity, so much care and attention has been bestowed. The weight of an English sheep is twice that of a French sheep ; so that an English farm on an equal surface gives six timesas much mutton as a French farm. Iu the case of cattle, the same care iu breeding from selected animals in the United Kingdom, and continually improving the ruces, iu studying meat-producing qualities and early maturity, has effected results similar to the results produced in sheep. France possesses 10,000,000 head of cat tle, the United Kingdom 8,000,000. In France three products are demanded from cattle—lubor, milk, meat; iu England only two—milk and meat. The yield of these two valuable productions is materially interfered with, by requiring work also from cattle. It might appear at first sight, that the work of cattle could not in an important de gree, influence the supply of meat, and it is uot difficult for people to persuade themselves that labor in utilizing the life of an ox enables meat to be Bold at a lower price. But experimeent has proved, that if this is sometimes a truth iu detail, it is au erroi in the gross. The habit of labor forms hardy, rigorous races, which like men devo ted to hard worx, eat much, fatten slowly, deve lop their bony structures, make little flesh, and make slowly. The habit of inaction on the con trary, forms, races, gentle, tranquil, which fatten early, assume round fleshy forms, and give with equal food, a far longer yield to the butcher. If we look to labor, the ox is killed when be has finished bis task. If we look to meat, the ox is killed at the moment when lie yields the largest amount. Cattle in Frabce are killed too young or too old ; among the 4,000,000 head killed, figure 2,000,000 calves, giving each only 30 kilogrammes of meat. Those which survive are killed at an age when the growth has long ceased, i. e., when the animal has long bec-n consuming nourishment which has not. added to its weight. In England on the contrary, animals are killed neither so young, because in their youth they make the most meat, nor so old, because then they make noue. The moment is seized ulieu the animal has reached his maximem of increase. In France the number of animals killed annually, is about 4,000,000 head, producing4OO,OOO,oOO kilogrammes of meat, averaging therefore 100 kilogrammes per head. Iu the United Kingdom, the number killed is 2,000,000 producing 500,000,000 kilogrammes of meat, averaging 250 kilogrammes per head. Thus with 8,000,009 head of cattle aud 30,000,000 hec tares of land, britlsh agriculture produces 500,- 000,000 kilogrammes of meat; while France with 10,000,000 head of cattle and 53,000,000 hectares of land, produces only 400,000 kilogrammes. (Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, vol. 17, 1850, p. 35.) Such wonderful results as these achieved by an enlightened system of agriculture, should encou rage the members of this Cotton Planters’ Asso ciation to persevere iu their attempts to inaugu rate in Georgia a more perfect system of agncul tflfre, by employing the experience of the past in this State, and in every other State and nation in the world, by inaugurating an enlightened system of practical experiment, aud by developing 4|l the native resources of the State, which have been so bountifully bestowed by a beuificent Providence— feeling assured that their labors are all iu the right direction —feeling assured that their labors in the breadth of the field which they occupy, in the purity of the motives by which they are prompted, and in the value of the results which they seek to accomplish, are destined to obtain the highest of all rewards, the increased wealth, and happiness, and power of that class upon which depends the commercial, social, and political advancement of our noble State. If the ancient Romans, so justly celebrated for learning and courage, regarded the planting of colonies amongst their noblest works, more glo rious than wars aud victories ; surely such uu Association as this, which labors to increase the prosperity of Georgia, and of the entire South, by improving imperfect systems of agriculture, re claiming exhausted lands, preserving virgin lauds in a state of primitive fertility, by developing na tive resources, by advocating and sustaining home manufacturics, and thus setting* in motiou that circulation of wealth and prosperity which will continue forever upon our own soil, and for our own citizens ; and by the establishment ot direct trade with all parts of the world, and thus pro moting such an interchange of ideas with all na tions, as will excite intelligent and profitable ac tion—surely such an Association is entitled to the respect ami confidence of virtuous minds. The Planters of Georgia, and of the entire South, have at this time the highest incentives to deep thought aud decided action—the planters of Geor gia ami of the eutire South, have at this time the most stirring calls to vigorous and intelligent action. A sectional party hus triumphed which has sworn to subvert our institutions, and excite our slaves to rebellion andjmurder ; and which would not merely make us dream of fire, poison, and murder in our sleep, but would surround us with a wall of tire, and apply the torch of the incendiary to our cities, our farm-houses and our dwellings. Notwithstanding that the South pays more than fifty millioms of the seventy millions raised an nually by our government —notwithstanding that the South, in the distribution of these seventy millions of dollars looses each year, more than thirty millions of dollars of the money raised upon her own soil—notwithstanding that the South has generously submitted to those arrange ments by which the North commands the carry ing trade, and in fact, the entire commerce of the United States—notwithstanding that the South employs the North to carry one hundred and forty-three million dollars of the one hundred and eighty-eight million dollars of Southern exports, aud twenty-seven million dollars of the thirty three million dollars of the direct imports of the South—notwithstanding that the South purchases more than sixty million dollars worth of goods from New England alone—notwithstanding that the South expends millions upon millions of dollats upon Northern hotels, Northern watering places, Northern Railroads and Northern literary and scientific institution—notwithstanding that the South during her entire connection with the Gov ernment of the United States, hus never asked protection for a single branch of her industrial, Agricultural or Commercial pursuits—notwith standing that the South has generously granted protection to all the departments of Northern in dustry —notwithstanding all this, the North has grown brutal upon the generosity of the South, has become inflated, inflamed, drunk and mad dened by her success; and now, that she has doubled us in population and feels herself secure in numbers, with a combination ot cowardice and fiendishness and base ingratitude, unknown in the records of the past, threatens to destroy that in stitution by which her prosperity has been main ly achieved—threatens to degrade and desolate with fire aud swords and poison her generous and confiding twin sister. Ttvo courses are before the Planters of the South :—submission to a sectional, false and base party, who have not only violated all good faith and justice, by the nullification of the fugitive slave law and the passage of most odious liberty bills; but who have trampled the Constitution of the United States !n the dust and gloried in the basest treason—submission to a treacherous and blood thirsty party, who would not only deprive you pf your political position and rights in the National councils aud in the common Territories, acquired by common blood and common treasure, but would excite your slaves to rebellion, apply the torch of the incendiary to your peaceful dwellings, and poison the very food aud drink of your wives and children :—or a brave prompt and full assertion |of your rights peaceably if possible, but if needs be, at the point of the sword, and at the mouth of the cannon. The cry of Union at this time at the South, is the ci v of submission. Union with whom? Union with men who are the sworn enemies of your institutions and nf your liberties? —union with men who glory in the thought of debasing the South to a position far lower than that of Mexico or of St. Domingo ! union with men who have prostituted even the temples of the most high to the basest political purposes, to the brazen promulgation of the blackest treason, and to the preaching of rapine lire and poison ! —union with men who have ex cited, armed and deified the rufiians who murder ed your peaceful citizens ! Submission to what? Submission to the tyran nical rule of a purely sectional party who would de grade you to a level lower than that of the native African ! The moment that the spirit of fanaticism, injus tice and treason of the North culminated iu the triumph of the Republican party, by all laws of nations, by every principle of justice, the com pact of these free and independent States was broken; and he who cries Union, to the South, cries submission to tyranny and anarchy. With a territory of eight hundred and fifty thou sand square miles—with more than three thou sand miles of continental shore line —with four hundred and fifty thousand square miles suited to the cultivation of cotton—with the largest body of land a :d the best climate in the world, and with the best system of labor that has ever been devised for the cultivation of the great staple, which has almost as much for the civilization of the world as the printing press, and which controls not only the destinies of the North, but of England, and we might almost say of the civilized world—with a population live times as great as that of the United States at the period when we gained our National Independecoe—with a surplus production ot two hundred and fifty million dollars—with a surplus productiou more than three times as great as that of the entire North—with the ability of raising for the support of her government, fifty millions of dollars by a system of taxation not greater than that now pur sued —with command of the Mississippi, with its forty thousand miles of tributary streams —with possession of most of the great Mississippi valley, and with the ability of commanding the whole of this splendid region which by itself is capable ot forming t splendid empire of the first magni tude —with Mexico on the west aud southwest and Cuba on the south, for the reception of our surplus population and such an extended cul tivation of the great stapples, cotton, rice, sugar and tobacco, as shall meet the increasing demands of the world ; the South is not only in dependent of the North in all the elemeuts of nationality, but if relieved of the unjust oppres sion of her Northern robbers she will form the most splendid and powerful empire in the world. Is the South dependent upon the North V Is the South unable to secede ? Has the South any thing to lose by secession ? According to the last published official Report of the Secretary of the Treasury for 1859, the total value of the Exports of the United States, from the Ist July 1855 to the SOtfi June 1859, was $885,894,385, and of this amount a single article of Southern produce—Cotton—formed $161,434,- 923. The three great articles of Southern produce, Cotton, Rice and Tobacco, together form $184,- 717,101’- —nearly two-thirds of the .entire exports of the United .States. Os the $151,177,276 remaining, $67,502,805 were gold and silver bullion ; if we aubstract this <rom the remainder of the exports, after the subst.'ac tion of the Cotton, Rice and Tobacco, we have re maining $93,674,971. It is fair to assume that the other products ot the South, sugar, lumber, pitch, tar, turpentine, hemp and other articles, constitute at the lowest calculation, one-fourth of these remaining ninety three million dollars. This calculation, therefore, gives us only $72,- 756,225 as the value of the exports belonging ex clusively to the North. The exports of the South then are more than two hundred million dollars, and are nearly three times as great as those of the entire North. Is the South unable to support an independent existence? Is the South unable to go to war? Let us see what the South will lose by asserting her independence. The South will lose first and foremost a degrad ing association under a common gove’-nment, with those who have plundered and insulted her; the Sftuth will lose a multitude of trauaicnt school teachers, professors and preachers, who greet us with honied words to our faces and behind our backs distribute incendiary documents ; the South will lose a multitude of transient merchants and ped dlers, who come merely to make a fortune by sharp transactions and miserly accumulations, and then to retire to colder regions where they may impunity enjoy their gains, aud villify those who pnly too easily aud generously allowed them to make their fortunes ; and abore all, aud this will bo the great-* est loss, the South will lose the prayers and the curses of those most devout Ministers, who thank heaven they “are not as other men are, Slavehold ers, Mormons and Murderers;” who wax valiant and fight terrible but bloodless battles with the South, withiu the close safe walls of their most comfortable churches; who subscribe most libe rally for Sharpe’s rifleuand iron pikes to be used bv men in the destrqctjfbn of their fellow Southern brothers, hundreds of miles distant; who sym pathise intensely with the negroes of the South, wriie incendiary tracts pay liberally the midnight incendiary and assassin of the Planter, and who at the same time, disdain to preach the gospel to or feed the degraded starving negroes in their very midst. And what will the South gain by the assertion ! ot her independence V the South will gain her (commercial as well as her political independence—the thirty million of ! dollars of which the South is now yearly deprived : in the collection and distribution of the revenues ! ot the government, will be saved, and her revenue ! which uow to sustain Northern manufacto ries and Northern ships, will be distributed among our own citizens, and will be expended in build mg up Southern manufactories, Southern towns and Southern commerce. According to the last published report of the j Secretary ot the Treasury, the total imports of the Northern States for the vear ending June 30th, 1859, was *305,812,849, whilst the total im ports of the Southern States was only $32,955,281, whilst the exports of the Southern States during the same period were $200,000,000. If the indtv pendence of the Southern States was established, oui Northern factors would be displaced, and more than $200,000,000 of imports now received at Northern ports, would enter Southern ports, and all the duties aud advantages be received where they of right belong. During the year ending June 30th, 1859, $143,- 045,445 of the Southern exports were carried in Northern vessels, whilst only $44,586,212 were carried in foreign vessels ; during the sathe pe riod, $27,898,653 of the Southern imports were brought by Northern vessels, w hilst only $5,006,- 028 were brought by foreign vessels. When the independence of the South is established, the North will lose the protection of cuuninglv devised laws, and will have to enter into competition with the ships of the world for this cam ing trade. 1 lie Southern patriot should enquire with the deepest concern—what has become of all this im mense amount „ol money, annually received by the South for her great staple products ? lias her greater production rendered her cor respondingly greater and more powerful than the North ? Has the South built more railroads, erected more factories, aud supported more splen did seats of learning, thau the North ? W e are compelled to confess that in all perma nent, agricultural, industrial and educational im provements, the North has surpassed the South. f l he largest proportion of the money received by the South in exchange for cotton, ripe and to bacco, has net remained in the South, but has flowed out lor the protection of the North, and in the purchase of Northern and English manufac tured goods, and in the support of Northern cities, Northern watering places, Northern commerce and Northern literary and scientific institutions, Northern authors, Northern papers, journals and books : the money of the South, therefore, has not fulfilled its high destiny. It mutters not what the income of a nation or of a man may be, if it is all expended abroad, no permanent benefit will be obtained. Money to be really useful to the country where it is produced, must be expended in that country, and must change hands often amongst Us citizens, aud like the life-giving and force conveying red particles of the blood, be diverted into a thousand different channels, and accomplish a thousand beneficial results. It must build up aud sustain manufacto ries, it must circulate iu a never-ending stream between the agriculturist and the manufacturer — it must build ships and railroads—it must support those great institutions of science and learning, which will react upon the State and return Jiu the development of her resources and in the scientific improvement of her agriculture, arts, and mauu factures a thousand mill.on fold. It is time that Southern manufactories should be established and sustained by Southern money —it is time that this ruinous drain of money should be stopped—these great and vital results to the South can be accomplished in no other way than by establishing her independence. The fire and sword with which our Northern enemies threaten us, will prove our ultimate good and their final etwptry. Need we attempt to excite the Planters of the South to action, and to sustain them in their de termination to assert their independence, by show ing that England with alMier expression of sym pathy for our Northern enemies, with all her noly horror of slavery, imported during the year 1859, 2,086,341 bales of cotton from the South, whilst from all other sources she received less than 500,000 bales—by show ing that England has three hundred and fifty million dollars invested in the cotton manufactories, and four million inhabitants interested in the cotton trade, and that in 1859 exclusive of the cotton used by her own people and employed in her woolen manufactories, $540,408,600 out of $650,503,185, the value of all her exports for this year were for cotton goods and cotton yarns?—need we enter into a history of the manufactures of England, aud show the powerful and unrivalled influence which the great staple of the South has had upon the development of this great nution, and demoustate that England with all her wealth and power is dependent for her very existance upon the cotton crop of the Southern States ?—need we recount the fruitless expei iinents, and calculate the immense sums ex pended i y England in her attempts to supply her self with cotton front he* possessions in Asia, Africa, and South America, to demonstrate that she must forever remain the firm ally and defen der of the South, and the natural and uneompro miing rival of the North? need we recount the progressive increase of the consumption of cotton in France, Belginm, Holland, Germany and Spain —that in 1859 France exported $22,437,920 worth of Southern cotton, Belgium $1,155,328, Holland $1,859,895, Germany $7,321,416, and Spain $7, 222,942 ?—need we picture to you the filthy condi tion ol the inhabitants of Europe, during the mid dle ages, and prove that the twenty thousand hos pitals for.lepers, said by Mathew Paris to have ex isted in Europe during the middle ages, were tilled by inmates who were lepers because they had no changes of clothing, more than any other cause and were diseased because they were in an habitually filthy state?—peed we prove that in sufficient and filthy clothing, more thau any other cause, produced the terrible epidemics which committed snch fearful ravages in the middle ages?—need we point the planters of.the South to alt these well established facts to prove that their great staple will prove the greatest blessing to mankind, will ever prove their strongest defense against lawless oppression, aud will ever com mand the navies and armies of the world? I trust not my countrymen. I believe that the spirit which animated and fired the hearts of our noble revolutionary lathers, still inspires your bosoms, aud that you will need no such facts to sustain the firm resolve to achieve Southern inde pendence, peaceably if possibly —but if need be through fire, carnage aud blood, at any cost and at auy sacrifice, however dear, re gardless of every object aud result except the establishment of your liberties. 1 believe that the Planters of the South will never rest upon the navies and armies of any nation, but will appeal to the God of battles aud summon to the contlict their own strong arms and brave hearts. ) 1 have spoken of these suLjects which interest us as citizens of the South as they have impressed themselves upon myself a humble citizen of the South ; 1 have dwelt upon them because the effpi ts of this association are not bounded by the confines of Georgia—we aim to advance the Com mercial and Agricultural interests of every South ern State by the establishment of direct trade and the inauguration of that system of Agriculture which will preserve the hinds of the South in a state of permanent fertility. I have uow completed such u view of the Agri cultural resources of my native State as the brief space ot time allotted to this address permitted— if the picture falls far short of the reality, and if measures have been urged which are inexpedient, the errors have been those of the judgement and not of the feelings—as a descendant of those who fought and bled and died upon Georgian soil, in delence of the rights, honor and liberty of Geor gia and of the original States of the Union, I drank in with my mothers milk, love veneration and true loyalty to the Union ot these free aud independent States ; the first name which l was taught to revere above all other immortal names was that of Washington, and the relations which were inculcated as second only to those with my creator, were those to the Government pf the United States : it has been, therefore, with no ordinary feelings that 1 have for the first time in my life lifted my voice against this Union—but when the mother who bore me is dishonored and her liberties, and her existence as a free indepen dent and honorable State are threatened, every ties which binds me to her enemies, even those of the once proud and glorious Uniqn of the United States ot America, shall be sundered and fortune and life pledged to the defence of the sacred honor and liberties of Georgia. If upon the present occasion I have in the de sire to point out the defects, and tendencies of the present system of agriculture, appeared to dis parage the power of Georgia, it has been from a too anxious regard for her future course of pros perity, honor and glory. Far he it from me slightiugly of the resources of my native State at any time ; aud especially at this time, when resistance—resistance to insolent oppression and defiant treason, re sounds throughout her borders. With a population of more than one million, dis tributed over fifty-eight thousand square miles— wit.’ a territory three hundred and twenty-two milet in length from North to North, extending from the mild, almost tropical climate of the At lantic c'ast to the cool bracing climute of the Blue Ridge mountains ; two hundred and twenty-four miles in b'eadth from East to West ; watered by fifty streams which deserve and hold the name of rivers--with a territory embracing almost every geological for mation, from the oldest to the moat recent found i.oon the Western continent; the primitive and metamorphic non fossiliferous strata of Middle .nd Northern Georgia, with its inexhaustible mineral resources ; the older fossi liferous formations o''North-western Georgia, re sembling the celebrt.ed wheat district of New I ork, with its inexhautfible deposits of limestone, iron, coal, aud other mitarals useful in agricul ture and the arts ; the e. etaceous formation of Western Georgia, with itt inexhaustible beds of green sand and marl; the Eocene litne forma tion of Southern and Sout. -western Georgia, with its inexhaustible suppl as of lime and j phosphoric acid ; the rich alluvial and diluvial ! plains and river bottoms of Southern Georgia— j with a territory embracing erery variety of soil, : suitable to the growth and culture of every im i portant agricultural product, and yielding al -1 ro ost every mineral useful in tlfe arts and agricul : ture producing annually five hundred thousand bales of cotton, and with capabilities of producing under an improved system of agriculture, and with an increase of population, two million bales of cotton—with an annual surplus production of fifteen million of dollars—with 1160 miles of Rail roads, which have been built and equipped at an actual cost of twentv millions of dollars -with 25 bauks in a sound condition, returning during the last rear $9,025,078, as their taxable stock paid i in--with 33,345,289 acres of cultivated land, val ued according to the tax returns of 1860, at $161,764,955 collars; cultivated by 450,022 slaves, valued at $302,694,855—with city and town prop erty, money and solvent debts, merchandise ship ping, tonnage, stocks, and manufacturies to the value of $207,832,640— with an increased value of j land during the past year of $12,217,075, and in ! creased value of slaves during the same period of $31,074,450 with a balance in her Trea sury of $274,820, and with n tax upon slaves aud other property of only 6% cents on the $lO0 —with a taxable property of $609,589,876, which if distributed equally amongst the entire population, adults and children, black and white, would give to each inhabitant six hundred dol lars ; and if we were to estimate the absolute and not the tax value of the property, this sum would be even greater than one thousand dollars tc each individual, black and white, man, woman and child —with fourteen hundred churches, capable of accommodating half a million ol persons— with twelve handled primary and public schools with twelve hundred teachers; fifteen colleges for males with thirteen hundred students ; twenty seven colleges and higll schools for females, and twenty-five hundred female scholars—with fifty newspapers and pepiodicals —with resources and a territory capable of supporting with even greater ease than England supports her dense popula tion, fifteen millions of inhabitants Georgia has been and will ever continue tube, if she improves aright the blessings of Providence, the Empirk State of the South —Georgia is not only the Em pire State of the South, but she lias the resources and the power to maintain her independence with or without the South, and to form bv herself an EMPIRE. £ PEC lA L NO TICES. in?” .Masonic Notice.—A Oal.eii Meeting of Social Lodge, No. 1, will be held THIS (Friday) EVENING, 90th Inst., at 7 o’clock. r.y order of the W. M. DWELLS, Sec’y. dec2o JP*-South Carolina Railroad Compny.—Atocbta, Ga,.Dcc. 20, lfifiO—The Sunday Morning Passenger Trait), from Augusta to Charleston, Kingsville and Columbia, S. <N, will be discontinued on and alter SUNDAY MORNING, ‘the 23d hist., untH further notice. H. T. PEAKE, dec2 -St General Superintendent. BARRET TANARUS, CARTER & CO.. US’"’ Wholesale and Re!nil Druggists, always having on hand as LARGE AND WELL SELECTED A STOCK as any demands require, will sell as low as any one could desire to purchase. oct2C-dSin C3?“ Dutch Bulbous Roots !—Now in store, HYA CINTHS, fqrty choicest varieties; TULIPS, fifteen varieties GLADIOLUS, four varieties ; CROCUS, seven varieties ; IMPERIAL., five varieties; LILIES, four varieties; NAR CISSUS, seven varieties, etc., etc. Just received by PLUMB & LF.ITNER, octi-dtf 212 Broad street, Augusta, Ga. ONION S&TT3 We hate just received our stock of Fresh ONION SETTS. Dea ! ets supplied as usual. oct27-swtj|aiil PLUMB A LEITNER. VThefoUonlug complimentary notice is taken from the Missouri Democrat: Immensl Aaouxi of Suffering Relieved bt Takixg McLean’s Strexgtuenixg Cordial Since the 17th of Au gust, the following cases have been reported cured ; 105 persons have been cuied of General Debility ; 63 •* “ “ “ Nervous Debility: 23 “ “ “ “ Diseases of the Kidneys; ISO “ who have been afflicted with various complaints. Fever, Chronic Diarrhea, Dysentery, Liver Complaint, Night Sweats, Dyspepsia and Weakness of tLe Digestive Organs, have been cured, besides a large number from whom we have not yet heard. . McLEAN \3 STRENGTHENING CORDIAL AND BLOOD PURIFIER, is a remedy required by every cne in the Western and Southern country. It is very pleasant and agreeable to take, and it can be taken by man, woman or child. Asa diuretic, it will cure any diseese of the Kidneys or Bladder, and as an alterative, it ■will purlfv tbe blood, and re move ail pimples, sores or blotches from the skin. Try it—_ue drachm is sufficient to convince the most skepti cat or its wonderful strengthening and invigorating properties Seejt'.ie advertisement iu another column. decßd<few2-v nf Him Augusta & Savannah Railroad, Dec. 5, 1860- —Wanted to Hire, Fifty able-bodied NEGRO MEN, to work on track. Apply to M. O’CONNER, Supervisor, or to dccS W, C. .TONES, Agent. sar Notice. —All pertons indebted to me, eitheT by note or account, will please call and settle, ns, I wish to close up ruy old bocks, having formed a co-partnership with John C. Chew, on the IQIU of last month. [oct4-dtll M. J. JONES. Lunch l Lunch!— The usual popular and substantia LUNCHES will be served up at the WINTER GARDEN every day, at 11 A. M. ami 10 P. M. Gentlemen will find something to suit theirta.,te. nov6 ts * !• has been currently reported that in most of the Western cities the “ Town Bell ’ tolls every day at noon foi the inhabitants to gulp down quinine, as a preventive of diseases caused by malaria of the climate. Os course, taking quiaine is a courageous habit, and every new settler is supplied with the poisonous drug, and Instructed to take it in largo quantities, if’ lie would escape the Fever and Ague. Every house hop. its medicine chest filled with"this dangerous stuff, and as regular ns the hour comes around, so regular do they gulp it down, as though it was the richest delicacy of the sea fort. Dr. J. Ilostetter, a Good Samaiitan, knowing the dread ful effects of quinine upon the human system, when taken with so much indiscretion, has prepared a compound which ha >, In ail case-in which it lias been tried, proved a speedy cure for Fever and Ague, and all other diseases caused by indigestion. For sale by Druggists and dealers generally everywhere. declC ddtwlw B. L. Fahnestock’s Vermifuge.—This medicine has a ffu-st excellent reputation, not only with the hundreds ot thousands who have used it, but with the medical faculty generally, who use it as a prescription in their dally practice. It deserves its reputation, for where worms exist, it never fails to remove them lrom the system. declS-d&wtw CTf Among the many restoratives which nature Las supplied to relieve the afflictions of humanity, there is no more favorite one for a certain class of diseases than the “ medicinal gum” of the Wild Cherry Tree ; but howc-ver valuable it Is, its power to heal, to soMhe, to relieve, and to cure, is enhanced ten-fold by scientific and judicious combination with other i>- gredlents, in themselves of equal worth. This happy mining exists In that and a form indeed” c-f medicine known si DR. WISTAIt’B BALSAM OF WILD w hose value In curing Coughs, Colds, Bronchitis, Whooping Cough, Croup, A;thma, Pulmonary and Incipient Consumption, is inestimable. Georgia Testimony, Certificate of Mr. E. Maussenet, a well.known and highly re spectable citizen of Macon, Ga. - , c ... „ , . ~ Macon, Ga., March 19, 1860. Messrs. S. V.. Fowlc A Cos.: Gentlemen: Believing In the great virtue of your renowned Balsam of Wild Cherry, I cheerfully comply with tbe request of your travelling agent in adding my testimony to the many which you have already received. I have been acquainted with this medicine for many years, and hkve always heard it spoken of in the highest terms. A brother in-law, who at one time was much reduced with a severe and obstinate cough, was restored by it, after other remedies had failed. I have also used it for myself and children for obstinate coughs and coids, with an uniform and liuppy result, and therefore recommend It confidently ms the best lung medicine withiu irjy knowledge Yours, respectfully, e. Macssenet CAUTION TO PURCHASERS.—The only genuine Wis taria Balsam nai the written signature of “I. Butts,” and the printed one of the proprietors on the wrapper ; all other is vile and worthless. Prepared by Setb W. Fowl? * <jo„ Ecston, and for sale by lIA\ I LAND, CHICHESTER & CO., Wholesale Agents* also, BARRETT A CARTER, PLUMB & LEITNER, and by Druggists generally. . deels-d&w4w S£'“ Fever and Ague, aud all Fevers, are cured by perseverance with BRANDRETH’S TILLS, which takes all poisons, of whatever nature they may be, from the circulation. Mr. John Y. Haight, Supervisor of Newcastle, Westchester county, New York, says, Nov., 1853 : “I was two years ago attacked with Fever and Ague, which, notwithstanding the best medical advice, continued sorely to afflict me for six tedi ous months; 1 became as yellow as saffron, and reduced to skin and bone. Medicine tq4 physicians were abandoned In despair. As an experiment, I concluded to try a single dose of six of Brandeth’s Universal Vegetable Pills, on an empty stomach, early in thp morning. The first dose seemed to arouse all the latent energies of my exhausted frame. I feared the worst—their purgative effect was different from anything l bad ever used or beard of. At length this effect ceased, and Is t m ed lighter and breathed freer. That evening I was indeed sen sibly better ar.d slept soundly all night. The next day I fol lowed the same course, aud continued to take the Pills In this way about three weeks, when I found myself entirely etned. Mv health has been surprisingly good ever s nee.” Price 25 cents per box. Sold by ail respectable dealers In medicine. deol-dawiin .Mrs. Winslow, an experienced Nurse and Fern a Physician, haaa SOOTHING SYRUP for children Teethlnge which gn atly facilitates the process of teetnmgby softening the gums, reducing all Inflammation—will allay all pain, and Is sureto regulate the bowels. Depend upon it, mothers, it will give rest to yourselves, and relief and health to your infirats. Perfectly safe in ali cases. See advertisement in another olumn. mhl6-d&wly W Messrs. Clark, Gregory A Cos., A ask villa Tenn.—Gents : Some three months since 1 had the misfor tune to he bitten hy a large rat, while asleep in my room, f was bitten entirely through the nose, so tbutthe blood ran through my nostrils. Knowing a rat bite to be very danger ous, 1 felt much alarmed, ar.d having tried your AMBROSIAL OIL for many aliments, and finding relief, I applied It thor oughly during the balance of the night and next da>. It healed at once, and I have never experienced any 111 effects from the same. I felt that the world should know the magic power of your justly celebrated AMBROSIAL OIL. W. M. Collins. Nashville, October Ist, 1830. tebdSh&r J). F. TUTT, Augusta, Ot. ear Fresh Garden Heeds.-We expect to receive eur stock of GARDEN SEEDS this season, much earlier i _ usual. The assortment will be more extensive ana mo plete than formerly, having added several new and c o rieties to our already large catalogue. _ octll PLUMB & LBI’LNER. BUW***