1846-47.] MR. FINJQE's FOUR TEARS I1ST THSTNEYELLY. 107 



operations on the most economical plan, he had not 

 concurred in their views. Subsequently, he had found 

 greater difficulty than he had anticipated in working 

 the gins on the two Zemindaries by manual labour ; 

 and had consequently formed a poor opinion of the 

 physical ability of the people. At the same time, 

 whilst strongly opposed to the use of the gin, he felt 

 that it ought not to be rejected on insufficient data. 

 Accordingly, though he had represented that ginning 

 operations were impracticable as a mercantile trans- 

 action, yet he had recommended the purchase of the 

 driving machinery, in order that no efforts on his 

 part might be left untried for giving the experiment a 

 fair trial. His reasons for subsequently opposing the 

 purchase were as follows. 1st, Mr. Petrie had so far 

 altered the gins, as to remove some of the greatest 

 difficulties in the way of a successful application of 

 manual labour. 2nd, He found that the coolies who 

 worked for the Zemindars were either forced or only 

 half paid ; and that when Mr. Petrie' s improvements 

 had been effected, the people were both able and will- 

 ing to work, provided they were paid. 3rd, Hand gins 

 were new to him, as they were never used in Missis- 

 sippi ; but after giving further attention to the subject, 

 he had resolved on a plan which would give greater 

 efficiency to manual labour. 4th, He had calculated 

 the extraordinary expenses of driving machinery, such 

 as the cost of the machinery itself, the cost of trans- 

 portation across the Gulf, the cost of transit to the gin- 

 house up country, the cost of erection, and, last but 

 not least, the cost of keeping up an establishment of 

 bullocks all the year round merely to work during the 

 Cotton season. 5th, He considered that the driviug 

 machinery had been made to go at a certain speed when 

 drawn by horses walking about four miles an hour ; 

 and that the gins would consequently move too slowly 

 when drawn by bullocks whose speed would not exceed 

 two miles an hour. The general question however 

 appeared to be partly settled by the Manchester Asso- 

 ciation, who had expressed a decided preference for 

 the gins moved by cattle machinery over the gins 



