COMMERCIAL CITIES--SOUTHERN COMMERCE.
Our theme is a city--a great Southern importing, exporting, and
manufacturing city, to be located at some point or port on the coast of
the Carolinas, Georgia or Virginia, where we can carry on active commerce,
buy, sell, fabricate, receive the profits which accrue from the exchange
of our own commodities, open facilities for direct communication with
foreign countries, and establish all those collateral sources of wealth,
utility, and adornment, which are the usual concomitants of a metropolis,
and which add so very materially to the interest and importance of a
nation. Without a city of this kind, the South can never develop her
commercial resources nor attain to that eminent position to which those
vast resources would otherwise exalt her. According to calculations based
upon reasonable estimates, it is owing to the lack of a great commercial
city in the South, that we are now _annually_ drained of more than One
Hundred and Twenty Millions of Dollars! We should, however, take into
consideration the negative loss as well as the positive. Especially should
we think of the influx of emigrants, of the visits of strangers and
cosmopolites, of the patronage to hotels and public halls, of the profits
of travel and transportation, of the emoluments of foreign and domestic
trade, and of numerous other advantages which have their origin
exclusively in wealthy, enterprising, and densely populated cities.
Nothing is more evident than the fact, that our people have never
entertained a proper opinion of the importance of home cities. Blindly,
and greatly to our own injury, we have contributed hundreds of millions of
dollars towards the erection of mammoth cities at the North, while our own
magnificent bays and harbors have been most shamefully disregarded and
neglected. Now, instead of carrying all our money to New-York,
Philadelphia, Boston, and Cincinnati, suppose we had kept it on the south
side of Mason and Dixon's line--as we would have done, had it not been for
slavery--and had disbursed it in the upbuilding of Norfolk, Beaufort,
Charleston, or Savannah, how much richer, better, greater, would the South
have been to-day! How much larger and more intelligent would have been our
population. How many hundred thousand natives of the South would now be
thriving at home, instead of adding to the wealth and political power of
other parts of the Union. How much greater would be the number and length
of our railroads, canals, turnpikes, and telegraphs. How much greater
would be the extent and diversity of our manufactures. How much greater
would be the grandeur, and how much larger would be the number of our
churches, theatres, schools, colleges, lyceums, banks, hotels, stores, and
private dwellings. How many more clippers and steamships would we have
sailing on the ocean, how vastly more reputable would we be abroad, how
infinitely more respectable, progressive, and happy, would we be at home.
That we may learn something of the importance of cities in general, let us
look for a moment at the great capitals of the world. What would England
be without London? What would France be without Paris? What would Turkey
be without Constantinople? Or, to come nearer home, what would Maryland be
without Baltimore? What would Louisiana be without New Orleans? What would
South Carolina be without Charleston? Do we ever think of these countries
or States without thinking of their cities also? If we want to learn the
news of the country, do we not go to the city, or to the city papers?
Every metropolis may be regarded as the nucleus or epitome of the country
in which it is situated; and the more prominent features and
characteristics of a country, particularly of the people of a country, are
almost always to be seen within the limits of its capital city. Almost
invariably do we find the bulk of the floating funds, the best talent, and
the most vigorous energies of a nation concentrated in its chief cities;
and does not this concentration of wealth, energy, and talent, conduce, in
an extraordinary degree, to the growth and prosperity of the nation?
Unquestionably. Wealth develops wealth, energy develops energy, talent
develops talent. What, then, must be the condition of those countries
which do not possess the means or facilities of centralizing their
material forces, their energies, and their talents? Are they not destined
to occupy an inferior rank among the nations of the earth? Let the South
answer.
And now let us ask, and we would put the question particularly to Southern
merchants, what do we so much need as a great Southern metropolis?
Merchants of the South, slaveholders! you are the avaricious assassinators
of your country! You are the channels through which more than one hundred
and twenty millions of dollars--$120,000,000--are annually drained from
the South and conveyed to the North. You are daily engaged in the unmanly
and unpatriotic work of impoverishing the land of your birth. You are
constantly enfeebling our resources and rendering us more and more
tributary to distant parts of the nation. Your conduct is reprehensible,
base, criminal.
Whether Southern merchants ever think of the numerous ways in which they
contribute to the aggrandizement of the North, while, at the same time,
they enervate and dishonor the South, has, for many years, with us, been a
matter of more than ordinary conjecture. If, as it would seem, they have
never yet thought of the subject, it is certainly desirable that they
should exercise their minds upon it at once. Let them scrutinize the
workings of Southern money after it passes north of Mason and Dixon's
line. Let them consider how much they pay to Northern railroads and
hotels, how much to Northern merchants and shop-keepers, how much to
Northern shippers and insurers, how much to Northern theatres, newspapers,
and periodicals. Let them also consider what disposition is made of it
after it is lodged in the hands of the North. Is not the greater part of
it paid out to Northern manufacturers, mechanics, and laborers, for the
very articles which are purchased at the North--and to the extent that
this is done, are not Northern manufacturers, mechanics, and laborers
directly countenanced and encouraged, while at the same time, Southern
manufacturers, mechanics, and laborers, are indirectly abased, depressed,
and disabled? It is, however, a matter of impossibility, on these small
pages, to notice or enumerate all the methods in which the money we
deposit in the North is made to operate against us; suffice it to say that
it is circulated and expended there, among all classes of the people, to
the injury and impoverishment of almost every individual in the South. And
yet, our cousins of the North are not, by any means, blameworthy for
availing themselves of the advantages which we have voluntarily yielded to
them. They have shown their wisdom in growing great at our expense, and we
have shown our folly in allowing them to do so. Southern merchants,
slaveholders, and slave-breeders, should be the objects of our censure;
they have desolated and impoverished the South; they are now making
merchandize of the vitals of their country; patriotism is a word nowhere
recorded in their vocabulary; town, city, country--they care for neither;
with them, self is always paramount to every other consideration.
Having already compared slavery with freedom in the States, we will now
compare it with freedom in the cities. From every person as yet
unconvinced of the despicableness of slavery, we respectfully ask
attention to the following letters, which fully explain themselves:--
FINANCE DEPARTMENT COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE,}
New-York, February 17th, 1857. }
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
_Dear Sir_:--
Your letter to Mayor Wood has been handed to me for an answer, which
I take pleasure in giving as follows:
The last assessment of property in this city was made in August,
1856.
The value of all the real and personal property in the city,
according to that assessment, is $511,740,492.
A census of the city was taken in 1855, and the number of inhabitants
at that time can be obtained only from the Secretary of State.
Very truly yours,
A. S. CADY.
STATE OF NEW-YORK, SECRETARY'S OFFICE,}
Albany, February 24, 1857. }
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
_Dear Sir_:--
Yours of the 17th February, in regard to the population of the city
of New York, is before me. According to the census of
1855 the population was 629,810
1850 " " " 515,547
1845 " " " 371,223
1840 " " " 312,710
1835 " " " 268,089
1830 " " " 197,112
As to the population now, you have the same facilities of judging
that we have from the above table.
Very truly yours,
A. N. WAKEFIELD, _Chief Clerk_.
MAYOR'S OFFICE, CITY HALL, }
Baltimore, December 26, 1856.}
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
_Dear Sir_--
His Honor the Mayor of this City has requested me to reply to your
communication of the 24th inst., addressed to him, requesting answers
to certain questions.
In answer to your first interrogatory, I would state that the amount
of direct taxation assessed January 1st, 1856, was $102,053,839; the
amount of exempt taxation (i. e. property out of the limits of direct
tax) assessed at that date was $6,054,733.
In reply to your second inquiry, I would state that no census of the
city has been taken since 1850. The estimated population at this time
is about 250,000. Respectfully Yours. &c., &c.,
D. H. BLANCHARD, _Secretary_.
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,}
December 30, 1856. }
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
_Dear Sir_:
In reply to your note of the 25th inst., received to-day, I hasten to
give you the estimates you ask.
Real Estate, 150 millions; it is about one-half the real value. Its
market price is at least 300 million dollars.
The Personal Estate is returned at 20 millions; it is over 110
millions. There has been no census since 1850. The population now is
500,000.
Yours truly,
G. VAUX.
STATE OF LOUISIANA. MAYORALTY OF NEW ORLEANS,}
City Hall, 3d day of Jan'y, 1857. }
MR. H. R. HELPER,
New-York:
_Dear Sir_:--
In answer to your note of the 24th December, I beg to refer you to
the enclosed abstract for the value of real estate and slaves
according to the last assessment.
There has heretofore been no assessment of personal property--there
having been no tax authorized until this year. The assessment is now
being made and will probably add about $5,000,000 to the assessment
as stated in the abstract.
There has been no census since the U. S. census of 1850, except an
informal census, made in 1852, for the purpose of dividing the city
into wards anew.
The estimated population now is about 150 to 175,000
inhabitants--permanent population--including the floating population
at this season, it would probably reach not less than 210,000
inhabitants. The U. S. census was taken in the summer months, and is
very incorrect as to the absolute population of New Orleans.
Very respectfully,
Your obed't serv't,
J. B. WALTON,
_Secretary_.
By reference to the abstract of which Mr. Walton speaks, we find that the
value of real and personal property is summed up as follows:--
Real Estate, $67,460,115
Slaves, 5,183,580
Capital, 18,544,300
-----------
Total, $91,188,195
CITY HALL, BOSTON,}
Dec. 31, 1856. }
_Dear Sir_:--Yours of the 25th inst., addressed to the Mayor, has
been handed to me for a reply--and I would accordingly state that the
value of real and personal estate in this city, on the first day of
May, A.D. 1856, was $249,162,500.
The census of the city of Boston, on the first day of May, A.D. 1855,
was 162,748 persons.
The estimated population of the city of Boston at this date--say
January 1st, 1857--is 165,000.
Yours, very respectfully,
SAML. T. MCCLEARY,
_City Clerk_.
ST. LOUIS, }
Feb. 27, 1857.}
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
New-York:
_Dear Sir_:--
In reply to yours of the 9th inst., I beg leave to state, that a
census of our population was taken in the spring of 1856 by the
Sheriff, and although it was inaccurate, yet the population as
returned by him was then 125,500. That his census is too low there is
no doubt. Our population at this time is at least 140,000.
Our last assessment was made in February, 1856. Value of real and
personal estate, is, in round numbers, $63,000,000.
Trusting this information will be sufficient for your purpose, I
remain,
Yours, &c.,
JOHN HOW,
_Mayor_.
MAYOR'S OFFICE. CITY HALL, BROOKLYN,}
January 24th, 1857. }
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
_Sir_:--
The answers to your inquiries are as follows:
The last assessment of property in this city was made in August,
1856.
The value of all the real and personal property in the city,
according to that assessment, is $95,800,440.
A census of the city was taken in 1855, and the number of
inhabitants, according to it, was 205,250.
The estimated population now is 225,000.
The last annual report of the Comptroller, together with a
communication of the Mayor to the Common Council, made on the 5th of
Jan., 1857, have been transmitted by mail to your address, and from
them you may be able to obtain any further information you may
desire. Yours, respectfully.
S. S. POWELL,
_Mayor_.
By C. S. BRAINERD.
MAYOR'S OFFICE, }
Charleston, Feb. 16, 1857.}
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
(New York,)
_Dear Sir_:--
Yours of the 9th has just been received, I sent you, through the
Clerk of Council, some time ago, the Annual Fiscal Statement of the
Committee on Accounts made to the City Council, which would give some
of the information which you desire. I will have another copy sent
you.
No census has been taken since 1848. The population at present must
be between fifty and sixty thousand.
Any information which it may be in my power to furnish you with, will
always give me pleasure to supply.
Very respectfully,
WM. PORCHER MILES,
_Mayor_.
From a report of the "Annual accounts of the city of Charleston, for the
fiscal year ending the 31st of August, 1856," it appears that the total
value of real and personal property, including slaves--nearly half the
population--was $36,127,751.
MAYOR'S OFFICE, }
Cincinnati, Jan'y 2, 1857.}
_Dear Sir_:--In reply to your note of the 25th ult., I beg leave to
say that the value of all the real and personal property in this
city, as assessed for taxation, amounts to $88,810,734. The realty
being $60,701,267; the personalty $20,795,203, and the bank and
brokers' capital $7,314,264. The assessment of the realty was made in
1853; that of the personalty is made in March of each year.
Our present population is estimated at 210,000. No complete census
has been taken since 1850.
The total of taxes levied on the above assessment of $88,810,734, for
city purposes, was $529,727,05.
Very respectfully,
Your ob'dt. serv't,
JAS. J. FARAN,
_Mayor_.
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
New-York.
MAYOR'S OFFICE, }
Louisville, Ky., January 1st, 1857.}
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
New-York City,
_Dear Sir_:--
Your favor 24th ult. is received--contents noted. I will remark in
reply, that the taxes of this city are levied only on real estate,
slaves, and merchandise, (exclusive of home manufactures,) which are
taken at what is supposed to be their cash value, but is much less
than the real value. Our last assessment was made the 10th January,
1856, and amounted to $31,500,000.
There has been no census of this city taken since 1850, our charter
requiring that it shall be taken this year. I am now preparing to
have it done. It is supposed Louisville at this time has a population
of 65 or 70 thousand.
I send with this my last annual message to the Gen. Council and
accompanying documents.
Respectfully yours,
JOHN BARBEE _Mayor_.
DAILY TRIBUNE OFFICE, }
Chicago, May 21, 1857.}
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.
_Sir_:--
In the May No. of Hunt's Merchants' Magazine you will find some of
your questions answered. The actual cash value of property is not
taken by the assessors. Citizens are not sworn as to the value of
their personal effects, nor is real estate given in at twenty per
cent. of its selling cash price. An elaborate estimate of the real
value, in cash, of Chicago, which we have seen,
puts the real estate at $125,000,000
Improvements on the same, $24,000,000
Personal property, $22,000,000
------------
In 1857 total value, $171,000,000
On half a dozen streets in this city lots sell readily at $1,000 to
$1,200 per foot front, exclusive of improvements.
A census of the population of Chicago was taken in October, 1853, and
in June, 1855, the latter by State authority. That of October '53
found 60,652; that of June '55 found 80,509. The best estimate at
present makes the number, on May 1st, 1857, to be 112,000, which is
rather under than over the truth. The amount of building, in the
city, is immense, but as quickly as a tenement can be spiked
together, it is taken at a high rent; and at no former period has
there seemed so rapid an augmentation of population.
Very truly yours,
RAY & MEDILL,
_Eds. Ch. Trib._
RICHMOND, VA. }
April 25th, '57.}
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
_Dear Sir_:--
Yours of the 14th inst. has been received, and should have been
answered sooner, but it was impossible to get the information you
desired earlier. The value of the real estate in the city of Richmond
is $18,000,000. The value of the personal is $191,920. Total value
$18,201,920. This does not include slaves, of whom there are 6,472 in
the city. The State values each slave at $300 each--making
$1,941,600, which, added to the total above, makes $20,143,520. The
number of inhabitants--white and black, is 34,612 within the
corporation limits. The assessment was made in 1855 throughout the
whole State.
Yours, very respectfully,
B. W. STARKE.
MAYOR'S OFFICE, }
Providence, Dec. 31st, 1856.}
H. R. HELPER. ESQ.,
New York,
_Dear Sir_:--
Yours of 25th is this moment received. You will receive with this a
communication from the Chairman of the Board of Assessors, giving the
requisite information from that department. I send you this day a
census report, taken 1855, which will give you the information asked.
Our population at this time is between 50 and 60,000.
Respectfully,
JAMES Y. SMITH,
_Mayor_.
ASSESSOR'S OFFICE, }
Providence, Dec. 31st, 1856.}
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
_Dear Sir_:--
His Honor, the Mayor of this City, has requested me to answer your
communication of the 25th inst., addressed to him, so far as relates
to the valuation of this city, &c., which is herewith presented.
The valuation of this City in 1856 is as follows:
Real Estate, $36,487,116
Personal Estate, 21,577,400
-----------
Total, $58,064,516
Our last assessment was ordered in June last, and completed on the
1st day of September last.
Rates of taxation $7 75 per $1000.
Amount of tax raised $450,000.
Respectfully yours,
JOSEPH MARTIN,
_Chairman of the Board of Assessors_.
HERALD OFFICE, }
Norfolk. Va., 28th April, 1857.}
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
New-York,
_Dear Sir_:--
The value of all the real estate, as re-assessed about two months
ago, is set down, say, in round numbers, at five and a half millions.
The actual value would bring it somewhat above that mark. The
assessment of the personal property will be completed in three or
four weeks hence; but its _exact_ value cannot be arrived at from the
fact that a large portion of this description of property--including
slaves--is taxed specifically without regard to its value. It is
estimated by the assessors, however, that the _personal_ exceeds the
_real estate_, and may be safely set down at six and a half millions.
There has been no census taken since 1850. The State authorities
assume the population to be 16,000, but I am informed by the
assessors that 17,000 is a fairer estimate.
Hoping that the information given may answer the purpose for which
you require it, I am,
Respectfully yours,
R. G. BROUGHTON.
MAYOR'S OFFICE, }
Buffalo, March 10, 1857.}
_Dear Sir_:--Yours, of the 9th inst., was received this morning. The
answers to your questions are as follows:
The last valuation of the property of our city was made in April,
1856.
Valuation of real estate, $38,114,040
" personal estate, 7,360,436
-----------
Total real and personal, $45,474,476
The last census was the State census, taken in the summer of 1855.
That showed a population of 74,214; a fair estimate now is 90,000.
Respectfully,
Your ob't serv't,
F. P. STEVENS.
MAYOR'S OFFICE, }
Savannah, 9th January, 1856.}
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
New-York,
_Dear Sir_:--
In reply to your first interrogatory, I send you the last Mayor's
report, in which you will find the information you seek.
No census has been taken of the city since 1850.
The estimated population is 25,000.
Very respectfully yours,
J. P. SCREVEN,
_Mayor_.
From the Mayor's annual report, we learn that the "assessments or value of
lands and improvements," for the year ending October 31st, 1856, amounted
to $8,999,015. The value of the personal property is, perhaps, about
$3,000,000--total value of real and personal estate $11,999,015.
CITY OF NEW-BEDFORD, }
Mayor's Room, 1 mo., 6th, 1857.}
H. R. HELPER:--
Yours of the 4th inst. came to hand this morning.
In reply to your inquiries, I will say that the amount assessed on
the 1st day of May, 1856, was as follows:--
Real Estate, $9,311,500
Personal, 17,735,500
-----------
Total, $27,047,000
The returns of a census taken the previous autumn gave 20,391
persons, from which there is not probably much change.
Respectfully,
GEO. ROWLAND, JR.
_Mayor_.
MAYOR'S OFFICE, }
Wilmington, N. C., May 23d, 1857.}
H. R. HELPER, ESQ.,
New-York,
_Dear Sir_:--
I am in receipt of yours of 19th inst. The value of real estate as
per last assessment, 1st April, 1856, was $3,350,000
We have no system by which to arrive at the value of personal
property: I estimate the amount, however, exclusive of merchandize,
at $4,509,000
There has been no census taken since 1850--the present number of
inhabitants is estimated at 10,000.
I regret my inability to afford you more definite information.
Very respectfully, &c.,
O. G. PARSLEY,
_Mayor_.
From the foregoing communications, we make up the following summary of the
more important particulars:--
NINE FREE CITIES.
--------------------------------------------------------
Name. |Population.| Wealth. | Wealth
| | |_per capita_.
-------------|-----------|----------------|-------------
New York | 700,000 | $511,740,492 | $731
Philadelphia | 500,000 | 325,000,000 | 650
Boston | 165,000 | 249,162,500 | 1,510
Brooklyn | 225,000 | 95,800,440 | 425
Cincinnati | 210,000 | 88,810,734 | 422
Chicago | 112,000 | 171,000,000 | 1,527
Providence | 60,000 | 58,064,516 | 967
Buffalo | 90,000 | 45,474,476 | 505
New Bedford | 21,000 | 27,047,000 | 1,288
|-----------|----------------|-------------
| 2,083,000 | $1,572,100,158 | $754
--------------------------------------------------------
NINE SLAVE CITIES.
-----------------------------------------------------
Name. |Population.| Wealth. | Wealth
| | |_per capita_.
------------|-----------|--------------|-------------
Baltimore | 250,000 | $102,053,839 | $408
New Orleans | 175,000 | 91,188,195 | 521
St. Louis | 140,000 | 63,000,000 | 450
Charleston | 60,000 | 36,127,751 | 602
Louisville | 70,000 | 31,500,000 | 450
Richmond | 40,000 | 20,143,520 | 503
Norfolk | 17,000 | 12,000,000 | 705
Savannah | 25,000 | 11,999,015 | 480
Wilmington | 10,000 | 7,850,000 | 785
|---------- |--------------|-------------
| 787,000 | $375,862,320 | $477
-----------------------------------------------------
Let it not be forgotten that the slaves themselves are valued at so much
per head, and counted as part of the wealth of slave cities; and yet,
though we assent, as we have done, to the inclusion of all this fictitious
wealth, it will be observed that the residents of free cities are far
wealthier, _per capita_, than the residents of slave cities. We trust the
reader will not fail to examine the figures with great care.
In this age of the world, commerce is an indispensable element of national
greatness. Without commerce we can have no great cities, and without great
cities we can have no reliable tenure of distinct nationality. Commerce is
the forerunner of wealth and population; and it is mainly these that make
invincible the power of undying States.
Speaking in general terms of the commerce of this country, and of the
great cities through which that commerce is chiefly carried on, the Boston
_Traveler_ says:--
"The wealth concentrated at the great commercial points of the United
States is truly astonishing. For instance, one-eighth part of the
entire property of this country is owned by the cities of New-York
and Boston. Boston alone, in its corporate limits, owns one-twentieth
of the property of this entire Union, being an amount equal to the
wealth of any three of the New-England States, except Massachusetts.
In this city is found the richest community, _per capita_, of any in
the United States. The next city in point of wealth, according to its
population, is Providence, (R. I.,) which city is one of the richest
in the Union, having a valuation of fifty-six millions, with a
population of fifty thousand."
The same paper, in the course of an editorial article on the "Wealth of
Boston and its Business," says:--
"The assessors' return of the wealth of Boston will probably show
this year an aggregate property of nearly three hundred millions.
This sum, divided among 160,000 people, would give nearly $2,000 to
each inhabitant, and will show Boston to be much the wealthiest
community in the United States, save New York alone, with four times
its population. The value of the real estate in this city is
increasing now with great rapidity, as at least four millions of
dollars' worth of new houses and stores will be built this year. The
personal estate in ships, cargoes, stocks, &c., is greatly
increasing with each succeeding year, not withstanding the many
disasters and losses constantly occurring in such kinds of property.
"It is impossible to get the exact earnings of the nearly six hundred
thousand tons of shipping owned in this city. But perhaps it would
not be much out of the way to set the total amount for 1855 at from
fifteen to twenty millions of dollars. This sum has probably been
earned by our fleet engaged in the domestic trade, and in commercial
transactions with the East and West Indies, South America, the
Pacific, Europe and Africa. The three sources from which the
population of Boston is maintained, and its prosperity continued, are
these: Commerce, trade, and manufactures. Its annual trade and sales
of merchandise are said now, by competent judges, to amount to three
hundred millions of goods per annum, and will soon greatly exceed
that vast sum. The annual manufactures of this city are much more in
amount than in many entire States in this Union. They amount,
according to recent statistics, to nearly seventy-five millions of
dollars."
Freeman Hunt, the accomplished editor of _Hunt's Merchants' Magazine_,
writing on the "Progressive Growth of Cities," says:--
"London is now the greatest concentration of human power the world
has ever known. Will its supremacy be permanent? or will it, like its
predecessors, be eclipsed by western rivals? New-Yorkers do not
doubt, and indeed have no reason to doubt, that their city, now
numbering little more than one-third of the population of London,
will, within the next fifty years, be greater than the metropolis of
the British empire.
"New York, with her immediate dependencies, numbers about 900,000.
Since 1790 she has established a law of growth which doubles her
population once in fifteen years. If this law continues to operate,
she may be expected to possess 1,800,000 in 1871, 3,600,000 in 1880,
and 7,200,000 in 1901. If twenty years be allowed New York as her
future period of duplication, she would overtake London by the end of
fifty years; London _may_ then have five millions; New-York will
almost certainly have more than that number.
"Will the star of empire become stationary at New-York? The interior
plain of North America has within itself more means to sustain a
dense population in civilized comfort than any other region of the
world. The star of empire cannot be arrested in its western course
before it reaches this plain. Its most promising city at present is
Chicago. The law of its growth since 1840 seems to be a duplication
within four years. In 1840 it numbered 4,379. In June of this year it
will contain 88,000. At the same rate of increase carried forward, it
would overtake New-York within twenty years. If six years be allowed
for each future duplication, Chicago would overtake New-York in
thirty-three years. If the growth of Chicago should in future be
measured by a duplication of every seven years, it would contain
5,622,000 in forty-two years.
"In 1901, forty-five years from this time, the central plain,
including the Canadas, will contain about eighty millions of people.
Its chief city may be reasonably expected to contain about one-tenth
of this population. Before the end of this century the towns and
cities of the central plain will contain, with their suburbs, not
less than half the entire population; that is to say, forty millions.
How these millions shall be apportioned among the cities of that day,
is a subject for curious speculation."
A FLEET OF MERCHANTMEN.
The Boston _Journal_, of a late date, says:--
"About one hundred sail of vessels, of various descriptions, entered
this port yesterday, consisting of traders from Europe, South
America, the West Indies, and from coastwise ports. The waters of the
bay and harbor presented a beautiful appearance from the surrounding
shores, as this fleet of white-winged messengers made their way
towards the city, and crowds of people must have witnessed their
advent with great delight. A more magnificent sight is seldom seen in
our harbor."
Would to God that such sights could sometimes be seen in Southern
harbors! When slavery shall cease to paralyse the energies of our people,
then ships, coming to us from the four quarters of the globe, will, with
majestic grandeur, begin to loom in the distance; our bays will rejoice in
the presence of "the white-winged messengers," and our levees resound as
never before with the varied din of commerce.
COMMERCE OF NORFOLK.
The _Southern Argus_ thus speaks of the ruined commerce of a most
despicable niggerville:--
"We question if any other community, certainly no other in the United
States of America, have made greater exertions to resuscitate the
trade of Norfolk than the mercantile portion of the inhabitants; in
proof of which nineteen-twentieths of those engaged in foreign
commerce have terminated in their insolvency, the principal cause of
which has been in the unrelenting hostility, to this day, from the
commencement of the present century, of the Virginia Legislature,
with the co-operation of at least the commercial portions of the
citizens of Richmond, Petersburg and Portsmouth."
How it is, in this enlightened age, that men of ordinary intelligence can
be so far led into error as to suppose that commerce, or any other noble
enterprise, can be established and successfully prosecuted under the
dominion of slavery, is, to us, one of the most inexplicable of mysteries.
"Commercial" Conventions, composed of the self-titled lordlings of
slavery--Generals, Colonels, Majors, Captains, etcaetera--may act out their
annual programmes of farcical nonsense from now until doomsday; but they
will never add one iota to the material, moral, or mental interests of
the South,--never can, until their ebony idol shall have been utterly
demolished.
BALTIMORE--PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.
We are indebted to the Baltimore _Patriot_ for the following interesting
sketch of the Monumental City as it was, and as it is, and as it may be:--
"The population of Baltimore in 1790 was 13,503; in 1800, 15,514; in
1810, 35,583; in 1820, 62,738; in 1830, 80,625; in 1840, 110,313; in
1850, 169,054. The increase of inhabitants within two particular
decades, will be found, by reference to the above table, to be
remarkable. Between 1800 and 1810, the population nearly doubled
itself; between 1840 and 1850, the increase was two-thirds; and for
the past five years, the numerical extension of our population has
been even more rapid than during the previous decade. We may safely
assume that Baltimore contains at the present time not less than
250,000 inhabitants. But the increase in the manufactured products of
the State, as shown by the report of the Secretary of the Treasury,
is a matter of even greater astonishment. The statistical tables of
1840 estimate the aggregate value of the manufactures of Maryland at
$13,509,636--_thirteen million five hundred and nine thousand six
hundred and thirty-six dollars_. In 1850, the value of the articles
manufactured within the limits of the State amounted to
$32,593,635--_thirty-two million five hundred and ninety-three
thousand six hundred and thirty-five dollars_! A signal proof that
the wealth of the State has increased with even far greater rapidity
than its population. A quarter of a century ago, the sum of our
manufactures did not much exceed five millions of dollars per annum.
At this day it may be set down as falling but little short of fifty
millions. These are facts taken from official sources, and therefore
understated rather than exceeded. They are easily verified by any one
who will take the necessary trouble to examine the reports for
himself; and they justify us in the assertion that we are but fifteen
years behind Philadelphia in population, and are only at the same
relative distance from her in point of wealth.
A change has been going on for some time past in our commercial and
industrial affairs which all may have noticed, but the extent of
which is known to but few, and we hazard nothing in saying that this
enormous progression must continue, because it is based upon a solid
foundation, and therefore subject to no ordinary contingencies.
Occupying geographically the most central position on this Continent,
with vast mines of coal lying within easy distance to the North and
West of us, with a harbor easy of access, and with railroads
penetrating by the shortest routes the most fertile sections of the
Union, we need nothing but the judicious fostering of a proper spirit
among our citizens to make Baltimore not only the commercial emporium
of the South and West, but also the great coal mart of the Union. Our
flour market is already the most extensive in the known world--we
speak without exaggeration, for this also is proven by unquestionable
facts. There is more guano annually brought into our port than into
all the other ports of the United States put together, and the demand
for this important article of commerce is steadily increasing. Our
shipments of tobacco are immense, and as the improvement in the depth
of the channel of the Patapsco increases, must inevitably become much
greater.
Such, then, is our present condition as a commercial community, and
when we add that our prosperity is as much owing to our admirable
geographical position as to the energy of our merchants and
manufacturers, we design to cast no imputation on these excellent
citizens, but rather to stimulate them to renewed efforts in a field
where enterprise cannot fail of reaping its due reward.
Take any common map of the United States and rule an air line across
it from Baltimore to St. Louis, and midway between the two it will
strike Cincinnati--the great inland centre of trade--traversing at
the same time those wonderfully fertile valleys which lie between the
latter point and the Mississippi river. Now let it be remembered that
since the introduction of railways fluvial navigation has been, to a
considerable extent, superseded by inland transport, because of the
greater speed and certainty of the latter. Let it be remembered also
that the migration westward is incessantly going on, and that with
every farm opened within striking distance of a great arterial
railway, or its anastomosing branches, a certain amount of freight
must find its way to the seaboard markets, while the demand for
manufactured products, and for domestic or foreign commodities, in
exchange for breadstuffs or raw material, must necessarily increase;
thereby adding greatly to the prosperity of the commercial centre
towards which articles of export tend, and from which imports in
return are drawn. It would be difficult to estimate the value of what
this trade will be fifty years hence, or what the population of
Baltimore, situated as she is, will by that time have become.
Reasoning from causes to effects, and presuming that ordinary
perseverance will be used in promoting the interests of our city,
industrially and commercially, we are justified in believing that its
progress must be in an accelerated ratio, and that there are those
now living who will look back with surprise and wonder at its growth
and magnitude, as we have done while comparing its present aspect
with that which it exhibited within our own memory."
It is a remarkable fact, but one not at all surprising to those whose
philosophy leads them to think aright, that Baltimore and St. Louis, the
two most prosperous cities in the slave States, have fewer slaves in
proportion to the aggregate population than any other city or cities in
the South. While the entire population of the former is now estimated at
250,000, and that of the latter at 140,000--making a grand total of
390,000 in the two cities, less than 6,000 of this latter number are
slaves; indeed, neither city is cursed with half the number of 6,000.
In 1850, there were only 2,946 slaves in Baltimore, and 2,656 in St.
Louis--total in the two cities 5,602; and in both places, thank Heaven,
this heathenish class of the population was rapidly decreasing. The census
of 1860 will, in all probability, show that the two cities are entirely
exempt from slaves and slavery; and that of 1870 will, we prayerfully
hope, show that the United States at large, at that time, will have been
wholly redeemed from the unspeakable curse of human bondage.
What about Southern Commerce? Is it not almost entirely tributary to the
commerce of the North? Are we not dependent on New-York, Philadelphia,
Boston, and Cincinnati, for nearly every article of merchandise, whether
foreign or domestic? Where are our ships, our mariners, our naval
architects? Alas! echo answers, where?
Reader! would you understand how abjectly slaveholders themselves are
enslaved to the products of Northern industry? If you would, fix your mind
on a Southern "gentleman"--a slave-breeder and human-flesh monger, who
professes to be a Christian! Observe the routine of his daily life. See
him rise in the morning from a Northern bed, and clothe himself in
Northern apparel; see him walk across the floor on a Northern carpet, and
perform his ablutions out of a Northern ewer and basin. See him uncover a
box of Northern powders, and cleanse his teeth with a Northern brush; see
him reflecting his physiognomy in a Northern mirror, and arranging his
hair with a Northern comb. See him dosing himself with the mendicaments of
Northern quacks, and perfuming his handkerchief with Northern cologne. See
him referring to the time in a Northern watch, and glancing at the news in
a Northern gazette. See him and his family sitting in Northern chairs,
and singing and praying out of Northern books. See him at the breakfast
table, saying grace over a Northern plate, eating with Northern cutlery,
and drinking from Northern utensils. See him charmed with the melody of a
Northern piano, or musing over the pages of a Northern novel. See him
riding to his neighbor's in a Northern carriage, or furrowing his lands
with a Northern plow. See him lighting his segar with a Northern match,
and flogging his negroes with a Northern lash. See him with Northern pen
and ink, writing letters on Northern paper, and sending them away in
Northern envelopes, sealed with Northern wax, and impressed with a
Northern stamp. Perhaps our Southern "gentleman" is a merchant; if so, see
him at his store, making an unpatriotic use of his time in the miserable
traffic of Northern gimcracks and haberdashery; see him when you will,
where you will, he is ever surrounded with the industrial products of
those whom, in the criminal inconsistency of his heart, he execrates as
enemies, yet treats as friends. His labors, his talents, his influence,
are all for the North, and not for the South; for the stability of
slavery, and for the sake of his own personal aggrandizement, he is
willing to sacrifice the dearest interests of his country.
As we see our ruinous system of commerce exemplified in the family of our
Southern "gentleman," so we may see it exemplified, to a greater or less
degree, in almost every other family throughout the length and breadth of
the slaveholding States. We are all constantly buying, and selling, and
wearing, and using Northern merchandise, at a double expense to both
ourselves and our neighbors. If we but look at ourselves attentively, we
shall find that we are all clothed _cap a pie_ in Northern habilaments.
Our hats, our caps, our cravats, our coats, our vests, our pants, our
gloves, our boots, our shoes, our under-garments--all come from the North;
whence, too, Southern ladies procure all their bonnets, plumes, and
flowers; dresses, shawls, and scarfs; frills, ribbons, and ruffles; cuffs,
capes, and collars.
True it is that the South has wonderful powers of endurance and
recuperation; but she cannot forever support the reckless prodigality of
her sons. We are all spendthrifts; some of us should become financiers. We
must learn to take care of our money; we should withhold it from the
North, and open avenues for its circulation at home. We should not run to
New-York, to Philadelphia, to Boston, to Cincinnati, or to any other
Northern city, every time we want a shoe-string or a bedstead, a fish-hook
or a hand-saw, a tooth-pick or a cotton-gin. In ease and luxury we have
been lolling long enough; we should now bestir ourselves, and keep pace
with the progress of the age. We must expand our energies, and acquire
habits of enterprise and industry; we should arouse ourselves from the
couch of lassitude, and inure our minds to thought and our bodies to
action. We must begin to feed on a more substantial diet than that of
pro-slavery politics; we should leave off our siestas and post-meridian
naps, and employ our time in profitable vocations. Before us there is a
vast work to be accomplished--a work which has been accumulating on our
hands for many years. It is no less a work than that of infusing the
spirit of liberty into all our systems of commerce, agriculture,
manufactures, government, literature, and religion. Oligarchal despotism
must be overthrown; slavery must be abolished.
For the purpose of showing how absolutely Southern "gentlemen,"
particularly slaveholding merchants, are lost to all sense of true honor
and patriotism, we will here introduce an extract from an article which
appeared more than three years ago in one of the editorial columns of the
leading daily newspaper of the city of New-York. It is in these words:--
"Southern merchants do indeed keep away from New-York for the reason
that they can't pay their debts; there is no doubt that if the
jobbers of this city had not trusted Southern traders for the past
three years, they would be a great deal better off than they are. * *
* Already our trade with Canada is becoming as promising, sure, and
profitable, as our trade with the South is uncertain, riskful, and
annoying."
Now, by any body of men not utterly debased by the influences of slavery,
this language would have been construed into an invitation to stay at
home. But do Southern merchants stay at home? Do they build up Southern
commerce? No! off they post to the North as regularly as the seasons,
spring and fall, come round, and there, like cringing sycophants, flatter,
beg, and scheme, for favors which they have no money to command.
The better classes of merchants, and indeed of all other people, at the
North, as elsewhere, have too much genuine respect for themselves to wish
to have any dealings whatever with those who make merchandise of human
beings. Limited as is our acquaintance in the city of New-York, we know
one firm there, a large wholesale house, that makes it an invariable rule
never to sell goods to a merchant from the slave States except for cash.
Being well acquainted with the partners, we asked one of them, on one
occasion, why he refused to trust slave-driving merchants. "Because," said
he, "they are too long-winded and uncertain; when we credit them, they
occasion us more loss and bother than their trade is worth."
Non-slaveholders of the South! recollect that slavery is the only
impediment to your progress and prosperity, that it stands diametrically
opposed to all needful reforms, that it seeks to sacrifice you entirely
for the benefit of others, and that it is the one great and only cause of
dishonor to your country. Will you not abolish it? May Heaven help you to
do your duty!