but by the
hostility of Jupiter and the gods. The operation of the laws of
trade, as touching this monopoly, is beautifully simple. Already the
indications are sufficient to tell us, that, under the sure, but
silent working of those laws, the very profits of the Southern planter
foreshadow the destruction of his monopoly. His dynasty rests upon the
theory, that his negro is the only practical agency for the production
of his staple. But the supply of African labor is limited, and the
increased profit on cotton renders the cost of that labor heavier in
its turn,--the value of the negro rising one hundred dollars for every
additional cent of profit on a pound of cotton. The increased cost of
the labor increases the cost of producing the cotton. The result is
clear; and the history of the cotton-trade has twice verified it. The
increased profits on the staple tempt competition, and, in the increased
cost of production, render it possible. Two courses only are open to the
South: either to submit to the destruction of their monopoly, or to try
to retain it by a cheaper supply of labor. They now feel the pressure of
the dilemma; and hence the cry to reopen the slave-trade. According to
the iron policy of their dynasty, they must inundate their country with
freshly imported barbarism, or compete with the world. They cry out for
more Africans; and to their cry the voice of the civilized world returns
its veto. The policy of King Cotton forces them to turn from the
daylight of free labor now breaking in Texas. On the other hand, it is
not credible that all the land adapted to the growth of the cotton-plant
is confined to America; and, at the present value of the commodity, the
land adapted to its growth would be sought out and used, though buried
now in the jungles of India, the wellnigh impenetrable wildernesses of
Africa, the table-lands of South America, or the islands of the Pacific.
Already the organized energy of England has pushed its explorations,
under Livingstone, Barth, and Clegg, into regions hitherto unknown.
Already, under the increased consumption, one-third of the cotton
consumed at Liverpool is the product of climes other than our own.
Hundreds of miles of railroad in India are opening to the market vast
regions to share in our profits and break down our monopoly. To-day,
India, for home-consumption and exportation, produces twice the amount
of cotton produced in America; and, under the increased profit of late