264f COTTON IN THE HABEAS PRESIDENCY. [185362. 



CHAP, for Cotton, not to supply her looms, but to keep down the 

 price of the New Orleans staple. 



375 Political and commercial prospects of Indian 

 Cotton. Upon this point, as on the others, the compiler 

 merely expresses those convictions which have arisen in 

 his mind during the prosecution of his present task. It is 

 said that the moment the blockade of the Southern States is 

 broken, the Indian Cotton will cease to be in demand. This 

 may occur for a brief period, but is scarcely likely to be 

 lasting. A panic may bring down the price of Indian Cotton 

 to a minimum, but it is not so certain that the price of New 

 Orleans will fall so low as to render the Indian quite a drug 

 in the market. The Southern States have been so disorga- 

 nised, and slavery has received such a blow, that we can 

 scarcely expect that the American supply will be fully 

 equal to the demand for a long time to come ; and the 

 weight of a national debt will probably be so heavy, that, 

 without any direct duty on the transit of Cotton, prices 

 must be higher than they have been hitherto. It is per- 

 haps as well to bear these conditions in mind, inasmuch as 

 it is greatly to be feared that the panic which may follow 

 the opening of the Southern ports, will prove so disastrous 

 to the Cotton cultivation in this country, as to undo all the 

 good that has been effected by the recent stimulus to the 

 Indian supply. With the expression of these convictions, 

 the task of the compiler is brought to a close. 



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