Manchester, the other day, that the emancipation
of the slaves of America—come when
it might—would have the effect of destroying
the cotton crop for a few seasons, at least;
and thus "the very greatest act of justice
ever granted by any government in the world,
might be the cause of the greatest misery and
disasters to the vast population of this country
connected with the industry of the cotton-
trade." Such a contingency would be
accounted disgraceful as well as disastrous to
this country.

To obviate the coming pressure in the
cotton market, from this and other causes,
the attention of the Manchester manufacturers
has been chiefly directed to the vast
ox tent of country under the control of the
East India Company. From this great territory,
with its hundred millions of inhabitants,
we get only one-tenth of our cotton supply—
and the cotton we do get is of such an inferior
quality, that we never pay for it more than
one-twentieth the amount we pay for our
gross importation. The reasons assigned for
this disproportionate supply of Indian cotton
are four. The first is the oppressive tax or
rent; the second is the want of roads; the
third is the want of common buildings, barns,
and stores; and the fourth, the want of piers,
quays, and docks. Mr. Bayley has shown
that, in the present neglected state of the
interior, it costs fifty per cent, on the value of
the cotton, to convey it from, the field to the
place of shipment. Ineffectual appeals have
been made to the East India Company by
the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. The
Company have, from time to time, promised
to do all in their power to encourage the
growth of cotton within their territories.
Roads were to be made into the interior;
rivers were to be rendered navigable; and
docks and ports were to be constructed on a
magnificent scale; yet, up to this hour, roads
are nowhere to be found in India, and a
foreign vessel has not a harbour to ride in, in
safety, along the vast seaboard that we
possess in the East. The climate of India is
better adapted to yield a steady supply of
cotton than that of any other country. The
frosts which nip the plants in the Southern
States of America, do not visit India, and the
cotton plant is, here, perennial, whereas, in
America, it must be planted annually. The
extensive cultivation of cotton in India would
not only make us independent of those casualties,
under the effect of which the trade of
Manchester is now suffering, but would also
be an inestimable boon to the native
population. The inquiry which the Manchester
Chamber of Commerce have set on foot
is a timely measure; it may stir the
Company, now that their charter is on the eve
of expiration; at all events, we shall learn,
from Mr. Mackay's investigation, the
precise causes which have hitherto operated to
the prejudice of the cotton cultivators of
India.

With good roads and commodious docks, it
is conjectured that cotton would be imported
from India into this country, at a price that
would necessarily compete with the fluctuating
American market.

However, there is no reason why our
factories should depend for their food mostly
upon India. From the West Indies we may
look for growing supplies as well. An
interesting letter from a Jamaica cotton planter,
dated September of the current year, affirms,
that extensive experiments have proved that
Sea Island, as well as every other kind of
cotton, can be grown on that island. The
geniality of the climate, the absence of winter,
and the large tracts of land which are
uncultivated, and which are so peculiarly adapted
for the growth of cotton, seem to point out
Jamaica as a place where any kind, and large
quantities, of this material can be cheaply
cultivated. The only drawback at present
is the paucity of labour; and even this
drawback is likely to be soon removed.

Experimental cotton fields are progressing
in Australia, Port Natal, and Western
Africa. In all of these countries the plant
has been successfully reared. The distance
of Australia, however, forbids us to hope that
we may be able to rely upon the product of
her splendid climate for our cotton. But
from Natal we may reasonably expect a large
cotton growth. The climate is exquisite: the
fig, the peach, the orange, and the almond
flourish side by side in the open air; and
the fine light soil of the D'Urban district
so genially nourishes the cotton plant,
that it bears vigorously for five consecutive
years.

These facts have been for some time patent
to the authorities, both home and colonial;
yet, with the bole worm feeding at his leisure,
the frost nipping the pods, or the rude winds
sweeping away acres of undeveloped calico,
how tardily and reluctantly has the question
of cotton cultivation been taken up. It is
only when we are threatened with a dearth
of cotton, which would entail horrors upon
this country, as terrible and deplorable as the
potato blight inflicted upon Ireland, that the
matter is mooted. We have unproductive
soils in every quarter of the globe, where we
might grow food for our factories, without
regard to the tyrannies of a Fugitive Slave
Bill without—being parties to the
degradation of human creatures to the level of
beasts of burden; and the present aspect
of the cotton market—the swelling
murmurs of American slaves—the bole worms of
Georgia—the floods of New Orleans, and
other constantly recurring casualties of the
Southern States, all should combine to rouse
the energy of colonial speculators, and bid
prudent agriculturists to spread the frail fibres
of the cotton plant in the burning sun of
India, the more temperate heat of South
Africa, and in the steady climate of the West
India Islands. By these energetic measures