N*
CHERAW GAZETTE
A N I>
PEE DEE FARMER.
VOLUME IV. CUE iTW, SO U T H-CA RO UNA. FRIDAY "EVENING, APRIL 26. 1839. NUMBER XXIV. '
8?->
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
T E R M S:
If paid within three months, - . 3 00
II paid within three months after the close
of the year, - 3 50
If paid within twelve months after the
oloso of the year, 4 00
If not paid within that time, . 5 00
? A company often persons taking the paper at
the same Post Office, shall be entitled to it at .?25
provided the names be forwarded together, and
accompanied by the money,
r ^ No paper to be discontinued but at the option
of the editor till arrearages are paid.
Advertisements not exceeding sixteen lines,
inserted for one dollar tho first time, and
i u
Uiiy vcuiOf uawu auuawMjuuiik UUJI
Persons sending in advertisements are requesteu
4.0 specify the number of times they are to be
iuse'ted; otherwise they will be continued till
ordered out, and charged accordingly.
0*Tho Postage must be paid on all comthun:
cations.
the SILK question.
What is all this about silk, says one?
Skinner, what do jou Enow about silk, says
another?its all a wild speculation, says a
third?a mere humbug, says a fourth ! mid
so on to the end of the alphabet. Now in
all frankness we will answer the question,
as we understand it, and if one can't trust
the light of his own understanding, what
light can he trust ?
It seems then that a few, with more than
common forecast, perceiving that the morus
multicaulis tree, would supply the only desideratum
which had been wanting to make
the culture of silk a profitable branch of
dusiry in the Un?ted S ates ; set themselves
quietly to work, to meet the dcman 1 which
it was obvious must ensue for this extraordinary
tree, when its remarkable properties
should become to be made known; and
these gentlemen, more fars'gh ed than their
neighbours, when tne trees were ready for
market, did real ze almost incredible profi s
?larger than have ever been reaped irom
any iuvesment except in a lotery ticket
druwing a grand capita! prize, A few were
persuaded to plant an acre or two, at the
cost of as many hundred dollars, and in six
months thereafter, even before the growing
crop of corn or tobacco was in inark' t,
these timid adventurers were seen to pocket
three or four thousand dollars to the acre!
This looked to the uninitiated, so much like
ulchymy or witchcraft, that they were
stuck up,* as Jack Downing would say, and
very naturally vented their astonishment in
exclamations such as are repeated in the
beginning of these remarks; speculation !
sheep mania! humbug ! tulp mania! fob
lowed by the sage prediction of burnt fingers
and explosion sky high, to all who may
venture to plant another year !
There aro two cases in which it is not only
convenient but agiecable to jump at once
from premises to conclusion?the one when
we have not at hand the means cf comparieon,
argument an i regular deduction?the
other when laziness or self-conceit forbids
the trouble of inquiry.
So eager, in fact, is mankind, in the pursuit
of all-labour saving contrivances, that
we would fain avoid the trouble even of
thought and reflection?hence, by a 'machinery1
in a science that shall here be
nameless, a few men think for the mass of
society. As one great reservoir, with a few
subordinate hydrants, waters a whole city ;
by a similar arrangement one great thinker
with his intermediate pipes and hydrants,
often supplies a whole community with
thought and opinion?such is the readiness
with which, unfortunately, most of us indolently
surrender the practical exercise of
the very faculty that exalts us above all the
res' of creation, and founds our boast of being
God's own image ! To returu to our
aubject.
Merino sheep, under a most extraordinary
combination of circumstances, once sold
for several hundred dollars, and after the
peace, Itll to almost nothing, and therefore
we most sagely conclude that silk culture
k is but a sheep mania, and that all mu>t suf.
fer who have anything to do with it?so it
was thonght by thousands, thai the attempt
lo manufacture cotton m America, against
the K ist India manufacturer, who could hire
his labour for a few cents a day, would
prove a ruinous humbug to all who shoulJ
undertake it. The same was predicted as
to the extraction of sugar from the beet root
in France. But if some individuals lost by
their purchase of merino sheep, at high prices,
the nation has been a great gainer by
their introduction to the country?for it lias
enabled us to make at home the fine high
priced cloths, for which we were w holly dependent
on foreign supply, and so those,
if any there be, who will go on giving h'gh
prices for trees after the whole country has
been supplied beyond the demand that must
grow out of the production of more than
twenty millions of dollars worth of silk, annually,
wanted for home consumption ; it
iukcs no gnosi 10 s?e mat loss must overtake
the individuals who shall thus neglect or
fail in accurately measuring the supply by
the demand?nevertheless, the nation will
have greatly gained ; for the cheapness of
food for the silk bearing worm, and the little
labour required in gathering and administering
that food, (and these are two great
items in the calculation) will in the meantime
have insured such a highly remunerating
profit to the silk grower and manufacturer,
as to place the business of silk raising,
beyond all danger of being abandoned. iMost
ofthos who commenced growers of trees, t
for sal on speculation, will, when, and even
before six and twenty states have beer, supplied
with trees in abundance ; turn from
growers of trees to grower? si!kf ec easily -
and to all appearance more naturally than it
the silk worm is transformed into a butterfly si
?besides; the commoJity will become so fc
cheap, that the consumption will increase g
as it has done with cotton, beyond all cal-; fr
culation ; yielding certain profit like cotton, c<
to all concerned, even more to the manufacturer
than the planter. Illustrations abound n
until the question is winch 10 choose. In a ; ti
paper of the morning, which lies before us, h
we read: fr
The Merrimack Manufacturing Compa- 0
ny of Lowell, have made a dividend of 40 b
per cent, on their capital of a million and a 9
half, besides reserving $100,000 for the b
purchase of new machinery.' tl
Nothing can he more true than that, if tl
all were to continue growing trees, and p
none go to making silk, the mulberry tree g
speculation must soon blow up?and ought c
to blow up?but does it not occur to those v
who entertain doubts on this subject, if that o
may properly be called doubt, where there ir
has been no inquiry?where no thought has tl
be.-n bestowed?does it not, we say, occur, a
that out of the large investments already si
made in trees, and the benefit to the thou- g
sands who are interesed in keeping up their tc
value, there must spring up an adequate tc
motive, and an impulse strong enough to u
insure extensive establishments for feeding si
worms and producing silk ? and this brings s<
us to the main question after all, to wit : tl
what has b>*-en done, and what is about be. g
ing done towards making this famous, so A
much talked of, high-priced, polypus-like si
morus multicaulis irae available 1 Here lies d
the marrow of the whole question. On this v
depends the value of the tree and the claim e
winch this new branch of national industry i[
has to public attention and patronage?or b
?to be called a humbug. Now, we answer fi
at once to the point, that it has already, in i (]
numerous instances been demonstrated by a
as shrewd and clearheaded, and sober-sided 0
men as any in all Yankee land, that, after h
having the trees at present prices out of tl
view, the production of stlk, as a business
oj itself, constitutes tho most profitable use, b
by far, that can be made, of land, labour,
and capital combined. Yes, worthy reader, fa
unless all arithmetic be a delusion, no pro- a
position was ever more clearly demonstra- ti
blcjthun thai a given amount, invested in trees tl
to give the food and in eggs to give worms js
for converting that food into silk, will yield C(
u greater per centage, in a shorter time, and (j
give employment and support to a larger j;
proportion ofotherwise helpless people, and C(
therefore more benevolent in its effects, hi
than any other money making enterprise in
which land enters as an element of the bu- w
siness. All that at present obstructs the 0,
general admission of this truth, is that it is a
new thing. The knowlege of the facts, pro- C1
cesses, and facilities, some of them, and aj
the most important, of recant origin, connec- C{
ted with the subject, are as yet known, com. tli
parativelv speaking, to very few. This in- C(
dustry is in our country, and as connected
with these facilities, in its infancy. The p,
light is only beginning to dawn, and as a )a
well judging friend ii a letter before us,
justly remarks, 'those who now push the w
business, will make great fortunes in a short m
time,' while those who have investigated n(
the matter, and on whom this rising light jn
1 as not yet beamed, when told of its practi- er
cability and great profits will continue to lift si
up their hands in astonismont, asking what
wonder is this ? Is this ano her sheep or
or tulip mania? But what will be the state
of the case when by means of the Journal P1
of the American Silk Society, and others,
that knowledge which is now confined to a Di
few, but which is spreading as rapidly as do
any discoveries that give new direciions to uf
labour, and work revolutions in property ;? tei
what, we ask, will bo the state of the case tr<
when that knowledge of silk making and its Pr
profits, comes to be widely diffused ? Tiicn Pr
will be heard the same regre;s as now about dS
the trees?every one who lags behind, will s0
say?,?rc//, I wish I hud gone into it last "c
year!' rL
Have we not experienced grcatei difficul. t,r
ties at the commencement of the introduc- *
ilon tr> nnrrountrv of manv other arts and
mm - w""" ~~ J " " ^ I L. .
manufactures, far more complicated, and | <
demanding ten times the capital that this
does. Look at our great iron founderies 'j2
and glass manufactories. How much more .
forbidding and impracticable must have ap. l'r
peared, at first view, the project for the in- 'Jj
troduction of these vast establishments?re- 1
quiring immense outlay, and the importation
of foreign artists, with all their accumulated aj;
treasures of experience and of science !? ?*
These enterprises, too, were doubtless con.
si irred by the prudent and wary, as imprac.
ticable humbugs! But without going fur. 0
ther to prove that the making of silk is not a
mere speculation?a non-entity?we can es
shew that it is already a thing in esse. The ai
work is begun. The tree is not only plant. Pr
ed, but we are already gathering and en- jjl
joying its rich fruits.
It must be admitted that silk making has
heretofore been confined almost exclusively p
to a small portion of New England. In
Mansfield and the cotiguous towns, silk has or
h#?en nnnnf the stanles?making a'fair bu- ar
- ? - i ' ?-? ?
sines*' for fifty or sixty years, under all vi. r
cissitudes in the affairs and condition of our ,n
country, and with the old tree, which re- n
quires six 3'ears before it is ready to be used.
If then, under all these advantages, the New |[0
England cultivator could make a living,!
what may not be done with the new tree ?
?For experience as we are informed be. a
yond question lias shewn, that the labour of ""
gathering any given weight of leaves from
this old Italian or white mulberry tree, is j ^
six fold grea'er than is required to gather j C(
weight ofleavcs from the morns iki
lulticaulis?the Italian moreover requiring ft
x years growth before it is ready for de. tl
diation, whereas the morus multicaulis q
ives a merchantable article in less time a
'om the planting than does the Indian tl
om. is
Mr. Olmstead, of East Hartford, Con- ft
ecticu*, exhibited specimens at the conven- a
on in Baltimore, of sewing silk, raised on b
is land by Mr. Danforth the last season, h
om trees planted from the 15th to the 20ih d
f Mav. Some specimens manufactured a
y himself were from trees planted from the
:h to the 15th of May, tt.e cocoons havipg c
>nn fncmoft rn-i/tif ffiH r?i ? n I1TP btt S
"v" ?" ?? ?? 7^ ie
19.h of July following, being but a lit- ti
e more than two months from the time of n
lanring, and shewing the practicability of n
euing a crop of silk, nearly a* soon us a;?
nop^of cucumbers! The very great ad- n
antnge of this mulberry, says Mr. Danforth, tl
f Connecticut over standard trees, (mean- b
ig the Italian or white mulberry tree, till n
ten in use) was manifest; while such trees ti
re difficult of access, and from the small t
ize of their leaves requiring much labour to v
ather any quantity, it was easy for a child ti
> take from the morus multicaulis from fif- v
;en to twenty pounds in an hour.1 Shall f
re then, ingenuously search ng after truth, v
hut our eyes to the influence of new facts, s
:arcely less important to the matter iii hand f
lan was the invention of Whitney's cotton b
in or the application of steam to navigation? \
Ir. Danforth, whose communication we
hall publish, made under specified and un- s
eniable disadvantages, at the rate of sc- u
enty-two pounds of silk to the acre, and is n
onfldent that under circumstances within d
te control of the cultivator, it would have j|
een easy to make a hundred and twenty.
ve pounds to the acre ; which even at six p
ollars the pound would be seven hundred s
nd fifty dollars?now suppose we takehalf c
f that, and what other use of land will yield t
alf as much ? Mr Danforth says further, j
tat not a person employed in the culture of
ie trees or the care of the worms had ever t,
eforc s?'cn a tree or a silk worm ! ?]
But we have said, that the work is already t|
egun?that sdk culture is a thing in esse t|
nd rapidly progressing. With opportuni- ^
?'s of observation as yet but limited, since a
ie commencem- nt of our editorial duties, it t v
i already known to us that in the way of j
ncooneries for breeding silk worms, Mr. j ^
heney, of Burlington, in the autumn of. ^
ft.17. built, and has in full ODeration a co> I.
7 * I'
aonery, oue hundred feet long, two stories j
igh, thirty feet wide, and nine feet between
ilO'O With I?rv/^A m I h A t!?U ?M -j
liich he can feed a mi lion of worms at
ne time successfully. e
Mr. Physick, a worthy son of the Ameri. ^
in luminary in the sciences of medicine v
nd surgery, has built, near Germantown, a /
acoonery of two hundred and fifty feet long, *
lirty feet wide, and two stories high, with a rj
illar under the whole.
The Silk Company of Baltimore, have
urchascd a water power and building for a
rge silk manufactory.
A friend in the District of Columbia, who ?
as in great part educated in France?is a
an of much observation and travel, and n
>t likely to be humbugged?after minute v
quiry and the most mature reflection, has l'
itered largely into the business of rearing 'J
Ik?and he writes as follows :
February 2, 1639. j!
*1 have received your letter covering the j.
rospectus of the 'Journal of the American a
Ik Society and Rural Economist.' The ^
me is happily chosen, and I trust that vl
e paper will be highly useful aud be looked 5
) to as the best authority oa the very in- 0
1 J_.A! I
resting subject ot wnicn u is aesuneu iu ^
;at. Be assured that I will do all I can to j
omote the growth of mulberries and the 0
oduclion of silk, by other means as well cj
by planting and spinning. That silk is | ^
on to be one of our great staples, 1 have i w
i doubt, and that th >se who now push the 0|
isiness will make great fortunes in a short u
ne, is to me equally clear. I am building ^
small laboratory, or cocoonery, fifty feet ej
rig, by twenty-five wide, and two stories ai
gh, about large enough to feed a million aj
' worms?this for a beginning. I shall not a<
ive leaves for more worms next year, but ?
0 year after, deo volente, 1 will do ten ja
nes as much. As to silk worms' eggs? ^
e price here is too high. I have sent to _
ranee for my supply, and shall have I
ink some to spare, at rather less than $40 hi
1 ounce, the price charged by the venders to
this country.'* ?
At Fredricksburg, Mr. Smith has built a
icoonery, of one hundred and fifty feet
ng?two stories high.
' 1 ' -
ai me old Armory, in Virginia, a ;
lablishnient is being built bv Mr. Pleas* w
its and Mr. Randolph, and Mr. Pollock ^
oposes, as will be seen in this number, to c(
lild a manufactory that shall call for one ^
indred thousand dollars worth of silk in o n.
^cir If)
The New Castle county (Del.) Silk ^
ampany, is builuing a cocoonery to feed
le and a half millions of worms this y?ar? ^
id five millions the next, besides seveial ^
her less, but yet considerable cocooneries
the same state. tn
Mr. Randall, on the Chesapeake and a(
elaware Canal, in Maryland, is preparing jt
operate on a large scale, for the culture n,
r silk. ~ b,
Of those establishments and others not ^
luded to, our knowledge is as yet imper- n
*He ib mistaken?the prices charged by
ie venders in this country is $20 per ounce,
here were a few of a rare kind eold at the ?'
invention at $40 per ounce, but the right 1 w
;nd are forro** nt Center's. at $21 ' -
:ct, but it shall be our business to collect
iese, with other silk statisiics. for subscuent
numbers. Have we not, however,
[ready exhibited facts enough to shew, that
ie cuhuru of silk, as a business of itself
: already progressing with good head way ?
>r be it remembered that those extensive
rrangements for feeding tlie worms, are
ut the growth of the past year?whilst
undredson a smaller scale, and in a more
omestic way, will be started next summer
Hover the countrv.
T~ ?i ~ : ? ---J ?
*u me iiiuaiuiiuc, u is ?:i ascertained uy
orrespondencc with ihe manufactures and
ilk dealers in England and France, that
ley stand ready to take from fifty to sixty
li'lions of dollars worth of oar raw silk anually?and
it is on all handy ??rt\ed that
ur raw silk is,worth twenty.five
lore than the foreign article?may we not
hen ask is not the field for enterprise unounded
? Under these circumstances
lay we not repeat the emphatic obscrva.
ion of Mr. Omstead in the convention?
r.at the specimens of silk there exhibited
pere as good a guarantee for the sale of the
recs, until the whole country is supplied
pith the article, as the specie in their vaults
ar th? sale of our bank notes ? and the inestinent
much more safe even than bank
lock ? agreeing with him that were it not
ar this firm foundation of intrinsic value, the
lubhlc, it may be admitted would burst, like
he Dutchman's tulips.
With these glimmerings of light which a
hort time, and as yet but limited opportulities
of research and reflection have enbled
us to throw on the subject?what canlid
reader will now say that the silk business
n the United Sates is a mere humbug?
P. S. Hark ! here comes a voice, and a ;
lotent one too, from old Virginia, and when '
he speaks, as Governor Floyd once said |
in the floor of Congress, let all other na- j
ions give car.
^rom the Richmond Enquirer of February 12.
The Silk Culture.?The spirit is corainly
moving our fellow citizens, f On
Thursday, there was evidence submitted to
he public, which was calculated to shake
he scepticism of the most incredulous. Mr.
)lmstead,from East Hartfor .Connecticut,
.ppeared in the capitol with a table on
vhich were spread the most splendid spccinens
of silk we ever beheld; all from
American worms, fed on American leaves,
>y American hands. Then* was raw, twisud
and sewing silk, of various colours.?
^mong them were forfy?four largo hanks,
if silk, of the most glossy appearance.?
L'lie flyes wore &n??uiaiiy uelfcaie and rich,
isrticularly the Mac. These skeins are
qua', if not superior, to the finest French or
Chinese silks. The weight of the whole
fas probably between four and five pounds,
besides a specimen of woven and sprigged
atinfrom a loom in Beaver, Pennsylvania.)
The whole was raised on the one-sixteenth
art of an acre of land.
The specimens of silk which Mr. O. exlibited
were manufactured on his own farm,
uring the last year, by Mr. J. Danforlh.
io rapid is the production, that the morus
(lulticaulis, on whose leaves the woms
,'ere fed, were planted as late as between
tie fifteenth and twentieth of May last, and
ley commenced gathering the leaves and
ceding about the tenth of July, when the
ees were four or five feet high. 'Thequanty
of leaves gathered amounted to 1,164
is. The quantity of silk worms fed, 32,000;
nd the quantity of cocoons produced, nine I
uslieJs?yielding nino pounds of silk ;
mete silk and floss, one pound. About
,000 of the worms were fed on 180 pounds
f leaves, and the product of them was two
ushels of cocoons, or two pounds of silk.?
'his establishos the fact, that ninety pounds
fleavc3 of the morus muliicaulis are suffi.
ient to produce one pound of silk. Ue
links the products of the eigth of an acre
ould have been more than 1,200 pounds (
f leaves; but being short of worms he had
sefor no more than 1,164 lbs. If we take
ie estimate of 1,200 lbs. of leaves to the
gth of an acre, as a basis, the product of 1
a acre would be over 100 lbs. of silk ; but 1
lowing even 100 lbs. to the acre, the silk
i manufactured in sewing silk, b' ing worth 1
10 per pound, the produce of one acre of
nd would be $1,000 besides multiplying '
c trees for market.*
fNine states, not yet including Maryland, j1
ive already (12th February,) offered a bounty ' i
their citizens for the production of silk? <
eorgia going ahead of all that have preceded i
!r
JMBUGS. MULT1CAUUS SEED AND CHINESE '
CORN.
It would seem that the information which
e have aimed to furnish to our readers and
ie public is very little prized ; nor is avail1
of even when it would prevent the most
irefaced and shallow yet successful and
linful deceptions, which are continually
iposed upon the agricultural public. It
oeen about five years since we first
jblished the fact that the seeds of the mulcaulis
would not rc-producc their kind, and
>at( of course, they were worthless for pro?
agating the parent stock ; and from time to
me this warning has been often repeated, j
:companied with the most positive proof of I
s truth. Yet, notwithstanding, thousands j
f persons, and many even of our subscrL I
ers have bought at enormous prices what
as been cold for multicaulis or Chinese
mlhr>rrv seed. and have failed, of course,
J """ # * " ^ ~ ' ?" ' j
; obtain a single genuine plant. Seed so
mod and recommended is still frequently
dvcrtised for sale; and at this time there j
i offered for sale 20 lbs. of it, by a sales
5fin in Bi'timom. rverv gnin of^vif!
probably be bought, (provided the price is\ J
high enough,) and be allowed to perpetrate <
a fraud, unless the planter should be so lucky
as to find that it will not vegetate. Jt will i
add but little force to our charge, to say that i
not one pound or even ounce of seed truly <
produced from the morus multicauhs has
ever been offered for sale. All believe this <
who are well informed on the subject. But ?
even if all the parcels of seeds so advertised <
were in truth so produced, they would be I
no bettei, and their progeny no more like i
the muliicuulis than the seeds really sold, or ?
those of any other kind of mulberry.
Another among the greatest of humbugs
was the ''Chinese tree-corn," advertised by i
Grant Thorburn, and p ilFed by so many
papers who aid d his "benevo e.it and charu
table" design. We presented so ftill an exposure
of this very shallow, and yet very
successful imposition upon the pubic credulity
in a former number, (p. 490, vol. vi.)
that it ;vas considered useless to pay any
further respect o a matter so small and contemptible,
by republishing the more detailed
charges and exposures which af erwards appeared
in the \Jouruul ofCommerc Well!
the result has been that the "Chines corn," 1
which had been advertised by Thorburn at
25 cents a ear has since been sclli lg uuder
our nose here, as well as elsewhere, at 81
the car?and bought by hundred- who have
had an ample opportunity to profit by 'he
notice which we had taken of the humbug.
If our attempted exposures of humbug
seeds. &c. actually serve to advertise and
give them greater currency w ith pirchasers,
we wish at least that that fact coul J be understood
by the salesmen of such articles.
In that case, perhaps, they might be willing
to pay for our denunciations, such bribes
(direct or indirect) as we have refused to
receive as the price of puffs and recommendations.^?Farmer's
Register.
SOUTHERN COMMERCIAL CONVENTION.
This body met in Charleston on Monday
the 15ih und was numerously attended.?
There were delegates present from South
Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama,
Tennessee and Florida. Asbury
Hull of Georgia was chosen President, and
a Vice President was appointed from each
State represented in the convention. A
committee of 21 was appointed, and a comr
, a ?m. _ _l* .f .L. 1_..
miltce or 1U. i ue odjcci or me inner 10
ascertain and report if cooda hn<i l>p.p.n im^
ported into tiie Southern States and sold as
low as those imported into the Northern
StatesApril
16th.
Chancellor Harper, from the Committee
of Twenty-One, stated that the Committee
had agreed to report the Resolutions; of
General Huyne, with some amendments,
and that they had adopted reports on a direct
Trade with Europe, and on the Taxation
of Commercial Capital, and a proposition
for the revival of the Southern Review
which would be severally read or submitted
by other members of the Convention.
Gen. Hayne then rea j the report on a
D reel Trade with Europe, on able and eloquent
document, demonstrating the ability
of the South to resume the control of her i
own commerce, and reap her just share of
the profits and advantages of a trade, which I
her own snpinf n<ss rhiefly has so long suf- I
fered to enrich the coffers, of others, and i
pointing out limited partnerships, the em- |
barkation of the surplus capital of the <
planter in trade, and the establishment
of lines of packet ships and steamers, as ?
among the means of effoctiug this happy <
revolution. [This Report is too long for i
publication at present.] 1
The Resolutions, with which the Report
concludes, ore as follows : t
1st. Resolved, That in the opinion of this i
Convention, the present stale of our trade, <
by which the supplies of foreign goods, re. i
ceived in exchange for the projections of t
the Southern and Southwestern States, are <
chiefly ob'ained through the cities of the t
North, is highly injurious to the citizens of i
these States, and we are therefore called i
upon by every consideration of duty and i
patriotism to correct the evil. I
2J. Resolved, That as the producers of
the great staples which constitute the basis I
af the foreign commerce of the Union, it is
right and proper that we should enjoy a liar
share of the profits of that commerce, of t
wh ch however, wc have heretofore been ,
? -? 1 -? _r 4
Jeprivea uy tne uncqniTocai aciiwi oi me t
Federal Government, an J to the ex.. ?
elusive devotion of our own citizens in
other pursuits.
3d. Resolved, That in order to secure j
to these States, the estimable advantages of ?
a direct import and export trade, com- t
mensurate with their resources and their i
wants, it is, in the opinion of this Conven- a
tion, indispensably necessary, that the |
public mind should be enlightened on this i
subject by full and free discussions, and f
that a general sympathy should be s
enlisted, and horraony of feeling and con- j
cert of action secured, by earnest and I
refteraod appeals to the public spirit of our t
fellow citizens. f
4th. Resolved, That the progrers c
already made in this work, as manifested f
by the wise Legislation of several of the t
Stales?in the deep and growing interest l
every where felt upon the subject?the i
great increase of our foreign and domestic I
trade, ond the number of merchants from j
the intcriour who now obtain their supplies 1
from our own ports, affords g eat encour. ;
for th? confin?iap?e of o\ir efforts <
and should urge us on, with renewed zeal,
energy and perseverance.
5th. Resolved, That the following mea.
>ures are in the opinion of this C .nvention,
necessary to be adopted for the purpose of
ensuring our success, viz
1st. That the commercial capital and
credit of the Southern and South western
States should be so extended and enlarged*
is to enable our merchants to carry on
the business of direct importations onanexensive
scale, and on the most advantage.
3us terms.
2d. That for this purpose, h is highly important
that a portion of the capital aowab*
U J : .u? -L in *'
wuru iu uiucr jiursuna siiouia oe directed
to commerce, for which the strongest in*
duccments nte now offered by the-passage
of frws in several of the States, authorizing
the formation of limited co partnerships, and
from the reasonable assurance that such investments
will be as profitable as they must
be beneficial to the community.
3d. That our Banks should extend ull the
aid in their power to this trade, and afford
the necessary facilities for carrrying it on
succesfu'.ly, by enlarging the capital and cxt
nding the credit of those who may engag *
in it. to the utmost extent, consistent with
the s ifety of tbes t institutions and tlic public
wcl are.
4th. That the proper efforts should" also
be made to bring in foreign capital and credit,
in aid of the resources of our own couutry,
and that (or this purpose suitable agents
should be sent abroad to induce foreign capitalists
and Merchants, to establish agencies
and to form co partnerships in our cities, with
the assurance of their receiving a cordial
welcome, and zealous support.
5th. That similar efforts should be mado
to bring about a co-operation, between our
Merchant0 and Uapitatuts, and those of Burope,
for the purpose of immediately establishing
lines of Packet Ships and Steamers,
whereby regular communications, at stated
periods may be secured?and that all other
proper measures should be adopted to effect
as speedily as possible, this all important
object.
&h. That in the opinion of this Convcn.
tion, it is essential to the success of any
scheme of direct importation, that a demand
should be created in our own Ports for all
the goods so imported, which can only be
effected by opening free communications
wi;h the interior, by an extensive system of
Rail Roads, Canals, and Turnpikes, by
which the Merchants of the interior may be
enabledlbray in tTieir supplies on better
terms than they could procure them from
any other quart-ir.
7 b. That a Committee of five be appointed
in each of the States rcpresen ed, to
carry out and effect as far as practicable, the
measures recommended by the Convention.
6th. That we regard the trade between
the Ports of the South western States and
all other ports of the Union, as governed by
the same principles which are applicable to
our foreign trade, and while the same shaH
consist in the direct exchange ofour productions
for those of other States, as entitled to
our support. But in this, a in the foreign
trade, we regard u direct importation in
our own ships. through our own resident
Merchants, as essential to enable us to enjoy
all the benefits of this intercourse.
' 7Th. That among the measures auxiliary
[o the important objects we have in view,
[his Convention cannot but regard as of deep
merest and importance, the adoption of the
proper means for introduc ng commercial
education among the youth oi our country
?the training them up to habits of business,
ind thereb) es ablishing a body of Mer:hants,
whose every interest and feeling
thai! be identified with the country which
las reared and sustained them.
8th- That in the opinion of this ConveQ*
ion, the establishment of a Southern &e/iew,
under the direction of able and learned
men, to be faithfully devoted to the pronotion
of science and l.terature, and also
o the defence of the institutions, the vindL
ration of the rights and the development of
. < 01...... Ci.io. I.
(it? resources ui me uiat<;>uuiuing uiaico > >
in obj'-ct of (tie deepest interest, and one
-vhicli should enmm ind the cordial cooper*
>t:on and support of every citi%;u of these
States.
Mitchell King, Esq. read the following,
ieporton the taxation of commercial
capital.
Your Committee are deeply convinced
hat much of the Legislation of the South, in.
?tead of fostering and encouraging, has tenlv.*d
to discourage and oepress commerce.
The same principles which in England have
sustained t e corn laws of that country,
tave prevailed here. Tne Legislative
jower has been chiefly in the hands of the
igriculturists. They have been accustomed
o pay a tax on their property, according to
ts estimated value. Their capital is flied
ind cannot escape from the impost. They
lave naturally enough considered, that cap*
tal invested in trade ought to contribute its
air proportion to the revenue of the country,
ind w ithout sufficiently considering its float*
ng character, the facility with which it con
)G removed beyond the reach of their toxaion,
and its constant tendency to escape
rom it, they have generally imposed taxes
)n this Moating on the same principles us uu
ixed capital. It is believed that much hea,
>'icr taxes have generally been imposed on
he former than on the latter. In one of the
Southern Stales, thirty cents ad valorem is
evied on every hundred doliarsof the lands
'ranted by the State, and sixty cents per
toad on ail slaves; and for a number of
tears in that very State, a tax of sixty cants
jr tho hundred dollars of stock in trade ha*