_Boston, May 1._ You will see by the papers all about the fall in
prices. The Liverpool cotton men had lost twelve millions sterling
upon the depreciation of their cotton in store before they heard of
the fall of Richmond and Lee's surrender. There is a terrible panic
there, and some of the best firms are failing. After things have come
to an equilibrium, and the manufacturers begin to buy cotton for
spinning, there will be a demand for ours, but it may take several
months, for they haven't got to the bottom of the trouble yet.
The affairs at St. Helena seem to be progressing quietly. The chances
are that all the cotton we raise this year will cost nearly if not
quite as much as we shall get for it. I advanced a dollar a pound on
the negroes' cotton, you know, and it has cost me about twenty-five
cents a pound more to gin it, etc., etc., while I am offered less than
a dollar. Query: how much commission shall I get for doing the
business?