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Cause Of Hard Times

Cause Of Hard Times image
Parent Issue
Day
9
Month
February
Year
1842
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Among the hypotheses by which the universal and severe pressure in the monetary and commercial iuterests of the country is accounted for, is one which has attracted but little attention, though worthy ot the senous consideraron of every Americaa citizen; because ït is a cause which continúes to exist, and is likely to exist for year3 to come. We refer to slavery as that cause. Il is a voll known fact that labor is the producer of weahh; that all real property and prospenty dependa upon the product of labor. It is also we!! known that ubor in our Soulhor;) States is almost entirely perfomed by slaves. Whero slavery exisis, labor ia dis reputable in the freo man; of course then, no freo man wiil labor if lie can help it. The consequenco of this state uf aflkira iz that about threa müüon ofslavea have to labor for upwardsof four millions of free inhabitants. But this is cot all. It is well known that idiene3S encourage3 extravagance, and that persons that never learn tha value of money by the only teal of its worth, labor, will not be expect ed to be economical in the use of it. Therefore we find slave-holders proverbial for their extravagant and spendihrift habitf?, almo3t universaUy spending their year's iucome in advance, and adulging in every luxary wilhin their roach. Now, in order to understand how this causes hard times, we should firet inquire, do the slavea of the south produce sufficient weallh by their labor,to support themselves and their masters? Whether it cao be shown ihat they have the physical power to support themselves and iheir masters. provided the latter pursued a riged econoray, we do uot know, hough we think it doubtful ; but that they do not produce Bufficiont to support thuir masters, with' tbeir present extravagant habits, can be ehown, we think, lo ademonsfration. It is well known that the first blow received by the North, at the commence. mentof the commercial distres3 in 1836, came from the ouib. Fora number of yeara previous to these disasters, the opinión had prevailed that the South was a very el dorado; ihat síave labor yielded a hundred per cent. to the owner, und that the powar of ihe Sbutti to pay aay e. a that she might contract, was undoubted. - Acting on these erroneous impressions, a sonlhcrn merchant or planter had oaly to present himself in a Northean murket and receive good3, on credit to any amount be chose, until ihe debt of the South to the North had become so vast as to swallow up the onúre floating capital of the North. The northern manufaciurer and mechanic,in order lo enable hiiï to securethis desirable trade, by giving the necessary crediu had resorted to Bank loans, and the raerchant and shipper had contracted immensodebl6 inEngiand for the same pur pose. ThiB, then, was the condition of affair3 at the coinmencement of the great presBure. The North, alihough run wild wiih epeculations, had yet produced enough by her labor for her wants,but she was large ly indebted to Europe and the banks ïor goods which aho had sold to the South, and the South was overwhelmedin debt to the north for money and goods which had en- abled her to riot in uxury, extravagance, and idlenesB, whilo the detusion lasted. Butatlenglh the pay-day came. This, by one and another expedienta had been pi; .Funtj! il could be deiayed no longer.l The titne had come when the actual pro)duce oflabor must be forthcoming - whea no subterfuges or expodionts would mswer - and whut was ihe consequence? - Wus it found lliat the slave had produced, by his unremUüug tuil, a i-ufliciency fr himsulf and his extravagant masler? Lei the universal bankruutcy of Northern dealers in southem trade answer the ques tion? Let the thousaudd of uorthern nianufaciurers and mechanicts, whose uil was absorbed in ihis soutliern vortex, onswer, as ruin stares them iu the face, whether the slavc had produced a sufficienay for himself and his master? So far froui this being the case, it was i'ound that uearly tho hole of the immense debt due lu the norlh by southern planters and dealers, was lost! It is estimated that upwaids of ihree hundred rjaillions of dollars were tbus lost by the Norlh, which went to tn.ike ap tiie difiereuce between what ibe lavo produced and whut the master spent. Now ihis threehunilred mHlions of dolars is an actual tax upou the free labor of the Norlh. Our houorable merchanta, jy impovershing ihemselyes, have neariy jaid off their indebtedness tu Earope, so hat the great weight oí this fearful biirden has fallen on Nonhern labor. The Veo labor oí ihe norlh has had to cnuko up hat support, for idle freenienat the tiouih, wbich tbeëlave could nol dn. Now, is not this a suffioient reason for he unparaleled distrees which has pressed upon the country, like an incubus, par ilyzing her energies, and eating out her substance. The North moy, in time, by industry und ecooomy,and by the help oí a discriminating Tariff,get over this dread ful loss. Blessed with a bountiful soil, with rich mines of ron, lead and coa), and with inhabitaats of bardy frames,& indomitable perseverauce, no disaster eau long keep her down. But is there not danger of the sanie reöults following from the same causes. Unless tbe actual laboii of the Souih prodnees suöicient for the support of her population, (which wc thiuk cannot be done by elave labor alone) the labor of 60me olher portioo of the country must make up the deficiency, nnd while the North credits the south at al!, constant lossea will be ocurring. Butadmit lhat,vith prudence and economy, and by over-working the slavea, at present the south can supply her own wants, - will ehe bo able to do so when ihe Ënglish market for her great etaple, colton, ís lost? "Coming events cast their shadowb before," and .show plainlytoev, ery unprejudiced mind, that the peculiar producís of slave labor are in a iaii' way to bc in less demand, and consequently to bear a less price, in every coming year, iVoin i hegrea l compeütion offree lalKirw India and the Webtindiee, audsiuve labor in Texas. If eo, how is the slave ta j: , doce a tufficiency for hii3e!f and bis master? He caaaot do it. The m must either consent to labor with his elavo or he must give slavery up. Which wili ho do? Time will show. We have unexpectedly lengthened our remarles upon this subject j but as it íb one uf vast importauce to the welfare of the whoie country, ve hope to be parooncd. We mean no uuLiudnese to the Soulh, we only state what appeaie to us as facts, which must strike all with force, aad are vorthy of serious attention.