reased
production, will be noticed in the proper place.[21]

There was a time when American slave labor sustained no such relations
to the manufactures and commerce of the world as it now so firmly holds;
and when, by the adoption of proper measures, on the part of the free
colored people and their friends, the emancipation of the slaves, in all
the States, might, possibly, have been effected. But that period has
passed forever away, and causes, unforeseen, have come into operation,
which are too powerful to be overcome by any agencies that have since
been employed.[22] What Divine Providence may have in store for the
future, we know not; but, at present, the institution of slavery is
sustained by numberless pillars, too massive for human power and wisdom
to overthrow.

Take another view of this subject. To say nothing now of the tobacco,
rice, and sugar, which are the products of our slave labor, we exported
raw cotton to the value of $109,456,404 in 1853. Its destination was, to
Great Britain, 768,596,498 lbs.; to the Continent of Europe, 335,271,434
lbs.; to countries on our own Continent, 7,702,438 lbs.; making the
total exports, 1,111,570,370 lbs. The entire crop of that year being
1,305,152,800 lbs., gives, for home consumption, 268,403,600 lbs.[23] Of
this, there was manufactured into cotton fabrics to the value of
$61,869,274;[24] of which there was retained, for home markets, to the
value of $53,100,290. Our imports of cotton fabrics from Europe, in
1853, for consumption, amounted in value to $26,477,950:[25] thus
making our cottons, foreign and domestic, for that year, cost us
$79,578,240.

In bringing down the results to 1858, it will be seen that the imports
of foreign cotton goods has fluctuated at higher and lower amounts than
those of 1853; and that an actual decrease of our exports of cotton
manufactures has taken place since that date.[26] But in the exports of
raw cotton there has been an increase of nearly a hundred millions of
pounds over that of 1853--the total exports of 1859 being 1,208,561,200
lbs. The total crop of 1859, in the United States, was 1,606,800,000
lbs., and the amount taken for consumption 371,060,800 lbs.[27]

Thus, while our consumption of foreign cotton goods is not on the
increase, the foreign demand for our raw cotton is rapidly augmenting;
and thus the American planter is becoming more and more important to the
manufactures and commerce of the world.

This, now, is what