CONFEDERATE STATES?. 



193 



.633 complaint of all. There is not one single mer- 

 chant in the Northwest but knows that the facilities 

 to transport the products of this region to the sea- 

 board, through American territory, is utterly inade- 

 quate to the" task that, in the busy season of the 

 year, freights are so crowded on the American lines, 

 that the cost of transportation is largely increased, 

 and delays so numerous that the mercantile and 

 farming interests suffer great damage from these two 

 causes. VTe do not use more severe language than 

 is called for, when we state that members of Con- 

 gress and others who make this complaint, show an 

 amount of ignorance on the subject that can 

 hardly be explained or excused. The only real 

 ground of complaint your committee can make 

 clear, is, that the Grand Trunk Railway (one 

 of the rival lines) has not increased its rolling 

 stock to a point where it could carry off an 

 average of at least 10,000 barrels of flour per day 

 from Detroit, instead of the present small and insig- 

 nificant amount it can transport. If it could do this, 

 it would add five cents per bushel to the value of all 

 the wheat grown in Michigan, for the reason that its 

 increased facilities would reduce the cost of convey- 

 ing a barrel of flour from this point to the seaboard 

 at least 25 cents per barrel. In other words, the 

 saving yearly, for all time to come, would be almost 

 equal to the" original cost of the land on which the 

 wheat was produced. 



CONFEDERATE STATES. The history of 

 these States during 1864 presents them as ab- 

 sorbed in one great effort to maintain a suc- 

 cessful war, the effects of which had reached 

 every man and every family. The ardor of the 

 early campaigns had passed away, and with it 

 went the sanguine hopes of a speedy and certain 

 triumph. Doubt, uncertainty of the result, 

 and apprehension of the future, heretofore 

 strangers, now found a place in every mind ; 

 yet. with the heroic resolution of once American 

 citizens no words of fear or faintness are allowed 

 to appear in their public or official proceedings. 

 The tone of these documents is, however, more 

 subdued, their extreme demands less often ap- 

 pear, and the disappearance of passion has 

 softened all the intercourse with their op- 

 ponents. These changes have increased with 

 the progress of the year, until at its close it 

 might safely be said, that the Confederate 

 States were no longer fighting for independence 

 and a separate nationality, but for favorable 

 terms of settlement. 



Many of the elements which enter into such 

 a struggle were abundant. The crops of 1864 

 were larger than those of 1863. At no time 

 during the year has there been any lack of 

 quantity. The difficulty was in the distribu- 

 tion. Wherever the Federal soldier has pene 

 trated, he has found granaries filled with corn 

 until they overflow ; gardens in which grow 

 all the luxuries of the season ; pastures and 

 hills not deserted by flocks and herds ; yards 

 frequented by fowls, and dove-cotes not aban- 

 doned by the innocent inmates. The cavalry 

 horses, in the season, waded through clover 

 knee-deep, and the growing wheat brushed 

 their sides as they passed. As one writer 

 says : " Even the maidens stand in the door- 

 ways and smile on us as we pass in spite of 

 their hatred of the Yankees in the abstract.'' 

 VOL. rv. 13 A 



Manufactures of necessary articles have be- 

 come prosperous. Paper-mills, in Georgia and 

 other States, turn out large quantities. Cloth 

 mills at Lynchburg, Mobile, Raleigh, Charles- 

 ton, in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi are in 

 successful operation ; their most important 

 machinery having been imported from Europe. 

 Establishments for the manufacture of cannon, 

 small arms, powder, shot, shell, percussion- 

 caps, harnesses, wagons, ambulances, and all 

 the materials of war, more than supply the great 

 demand. The physical welfare of the people 

 distant from the scenes of conflict has steadily 

 improved since the first year of the war. 



The commerce of these States was carried on 

 entirely by swift vessels running the blockade. 

 In February Congress passed an act " forbidding 

 the export'of cotton," except under such regu- 

 lations as should be made by the President of 

 the Confederate States. He ordered that half 

 the cotton thus taken should be on government 

 account. Another order in regard to cotton 

 carried out of Texas, provided that the owner 

 of transportation to be used in exporting cotton 

 into Mexico should present to the commander 

 of the department a list of wagons and persons 

 employed ; and if the commander should " be 

 satisfied of the loyalty and fidelity of the ap- 

 plicant, and that the application might be safely 

 granted," he might grant a license. The 

 owners of the cotton must get a permit, under 

 the same restrictions, with the additional pro- 

 vision that the owner shall file his permit 

 before selling off his cotton, and also a bond in 

 double the value of the cotton in Confederate 

 money, conditioned that at least one-half the 

 value be invested in " goods and merchandise," 

 and brought into the Confederacy within sixty 

 days. The prohibition relative to the export 

 of cotton was extended to tobacco, naval and 

 military stores, molasses, sugar, and rice. It 

 was likewise forbidden to send these articles to 

 any point occupied by a Federal force. At the 

 beginning of the year it was estimated that the 

 Government had sent twenty thousand bales to 

 Europe, lost fifty thousand by the Federal 

 troops, and had on hand 329,551 bales at an 

 average cost of $16.85. The limited commerce 

 thus carried on was of great advantage to the 

 Government and people. The latter, how- 

 ever, must have reached extreme destitution of 

 some articles, but for the aid derived from the 

 trade within the Federal lines. 



The foreign relations of the States continued 

 without change through the year. It appears 

 to be a stretch of presumption to expect France 

 and England to recognize their independence. 

 On the one hand, they had no commerce with 

 the Confederate States, but a lucrative trade 

 with the Northern States. Recognition was 

 of no practical value unless followed by armed 

 assistance, and these countries were not in a 

 condition to go to war with a friendly power 

 to relieve one unknown, and of no strength on 

 the ocean. The recognition of the Confederate 

 States as a belligerent, while it deceived the 



