COTTON 29 
Africa. Missionaries from various sections also 
believed that West Africa and the Niger countries 
would relieve the situation; and Lord Palmerston 
shared the enthusiastic faith that Great Britain 
would “find on the West Coast of Africa a most 
valuable supply of cotton . . . . . . cotton 
districts . . . . . . more extensive than 
those of India.” 
If Alexander Pope were alive to-day he could 
ask no stronger confirmation of his famous dictum 
that “hope springs eternal in the human breast” 
than the persistence with which English manu- 
facturers still hug the delusion that Africa and 
India will enable them—as their fathers and grand- 
fathers fifty years ago hoped it would enable them 
—to get a large part of their raw cotton from 
Old World districts. 
WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE CRUCIAL TEST CAME 
We all remember how on one occasion Uncle 
Remus was telling the Little Boy of one of Brer 
Rabbit’s hair-breadth escapes. The pursuer was 
almost upon Mr. Cottontail and in another moment 
might have had him in his furious grasp. “And 
right then Brer Rabbit he clumb a tree,” said 
Uncle Remus. 
“But rabbits can’t climb trees,” protested the 
Little Boy. 
“Never mind,” replied the old darkey, “Brer 
Rabbit this time was obleeged—jest obleeged—to 
climb the tree—en’ he clumb it.” 
Well, in 1862 the English spinner reached the 
same inexorable crisis that confronted Brer Rabbit 
—the time when he knew he was “jest obleeged 
to climb the tree.” 
