Cite: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3708791

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COLONIAL EXT Pv A CTS.

'.COTTON CULTIVATION! IN NEW SOUTH'

' ,,,.,, WALES., , ,

(From the Sydney Morning Herald. J

THE following interesting letter (says' the Man ?cfiester .ExaminerJ \\&%, been .received, by the Chamber of Commerce and Manufactures in this town. The sample of cotton referred to in it may be seeu;at the offices of the Chamber ia the Town, Hall Buildings, and will be found to be of a most .-desirable quality :

Brisbane, Moreton Bay,

2dth January, 1843. Sir,-I have lately read a report of the pro- ceedings at a meeting held at the Chamber of Commerce, Manchester, a few months since, and -convened at the instance of a Dr. Udney, for the purpose of hearing a statement of his views as to the capability of this part of New South Wales for the growth of cotton ; and as the subject has been thus pnblicly entertained, 1 may be permitted to be á contributor of such information as I am enabled to furnish, and I hope in doing so to avoid ?the extravagant relations which the Doctor lias .put forth. (

, 'Th'è meeting alluded to sufficiently manifests Hhé great jnterest the* cotton manufacturers take in the production of the raw material, in which -their trade is so deeply interested, and the Doctor toas jrtsfly pointed out. that portion of the world where its culture could be carried on to a vast ¿ktent. JI am informed Dr. Lang has also been stating his views for the same purpose, but which ?statement has not yet fallen under my notice.

r. The cotton manufacture of the United Kingdom is of such importance, that if the supply from America should, from any cause, fail, there is no rule by which the consequences could be mea- sured, nor the amount of disaster estimated. I wa not going to write upon the subject of slavery nor its consequences ; but as the great bulk of cotton consumed in England is the produce of the 'American states, I think the English nation should lay the foundation of its growth in another clime, where, from circumstances, it uill be the ¡produce alone of free labour. There must come a -time wj«n slavery shall ceasp. We have had divine and other examples of deliverance from bondage-a very remote one, the children of 'Israel^ and, in our own days, the revolt in St. 'Domingo, their freedom in Columbia, and in that "Stupendousmonumentof moral power which forced

our own nation to redeem all the slaves in her dominions at the vast cost of twenty millions of pounds sterling. These are examples to warn U3 that sooner or later the Divine Cieator of the universe will, by some miraculous interposition of

his will, free the slaves now in durance in other j countries, and to meet such a consequence Great

Britain should be prepared.

It is impossible to grow a large quantity of cotton without a great surface of land, and the northern part of this colony offers it of a suitable kind, and almost unlimited in extent ; the country is generally wooded, but not thickly, and this will have to be cleared away before the operation of planting can commence, the cost of doing which may be estimated at about £4 per acre. This is the heaviest expense to be incurred. Our agri- culture is carried on by the same implements as in the United Kingdom ; the heavy part of Ploughing is done by oxen, the lighter work by

orees, though in many cases altogether by the former,and which are commonly to be purchased, broken in for work, at about £10 per pair. All agricultural implements in use are made here nearly as cheap as in England, or otherwise pur- chased at about English cost and charges, and emigrants need not burthen themselves with any tiling of the kind. A residence may be erected at any price, according to taste, from £5 upwards ; a comfortable cottage for a small family at from £200 to £300 ; and useful furniture will be found reasonable. Rough buildings, of durable wood, shingled, are put up at about los. per foot, mea- suring the length and breadth ; that is, a building 100 feet long and 25 feet wide, with proper height, will be, 125 feet, at 15s. per foot, £93 15s. Split three-rail fence, 3s. öd. per rod of 16^ feet; bricks, 25s. per thousand ; lime, öd. per bushel ; sawn timber-pine, horn 8s. to 9s. per 100 feet; hardwood, 10s. to 12s. .per 100 feet. Thus build- ings suitable for all purposes are not expensive. Provisions are cheap .-good beef and mutton, l£d. to 2d. per lb. ; fine flour, generally from £14 to £16 per ton of 2000 lbs. ; sugar, 3d. per lb. ; and tea, of the qualities consumed here, about Is. 6d. per lb. ; Indian corn, generally Is. to Is. 6d. per bushel ; and clothing, in so genial a climate, will be n veiy inconsideiable item of ex-

pense.

Hitherto our agriculture has been confined to the growth of such grain as is generally produced in Europe ; but as the settlements along the coasts ;reach the tropics, it will necessarily, as most suit- able, extend itself to the productions of those ^regions. It is contended by many that, without slave labour, or other cheap kind of black labour, tropical productions cannot be produced at prices to compete with the countries provided with such. The growth of these articles is but a branch of .agriculture ; and when I look at the great skill, -labour, and care, bestowed in preparing land for these grains, and carry the objection to the utmost extent, it only requires the same exertions to pre ,pare land for tropical culture, and in the end not 5 «o much. The three 'great staples-coflee, sugar, and cotton -arc not planted annually ; once planted, they are planted for a time, and require but the ordinary care of being kept clean ; the gathering, and preparing these for market may, in proportion, be more expensive, but not suffi- ciently so to make tho difference of serious conse- quence ; and as soon as prepared they become a marketable commodity, affording the planter a r,quick return for his outlay and expenses. Black

labour for such a purpose is dear, and I am sure lam,correct in saying that twelve Englishmen, ".with their skill and necessary agricultural imple-

ments« will do more labour, and better work, than 100 of the coloured race, with their mode of hoe culture ; besides, there is no capital sunk in the* ..purchaso or import of such labour; we.simply 1' pay for the labour performed, and if that is dear, . it is a diminution of profits.

""" In turning my attention to tropical subjects, I have been' induced to read some authors on these "matters. One of the most instructive is"Ed . * wards's History of the West Indies," an old work

of sixty years' standing, and I am told the mode of culture there has not materially improved from .that time to the present. Mr. Edwards gives a 'detailed account of the culture of sugar, coffee,

cotton» indigo, fee, &c, and the expenses of a considerable sized plantation of either kind ; the r contrast between which, and what the same extent

of plantation would cost in this country, is very "'striking. The cost of a sugar plantation in Ja-

maica, to have 300 acres under culture of that ' plant, with all its necessary appliances, is stated,

at that time, at the round sum of £30,000 ster- ling ; whereas such an estate on this coast, with

equally fertile lands, would not CGÜI one-Tourth of.' 'that sum ; and to show that I am not quoting at

random, Lwill place the value here of the principal

items detailed in his account :

Pay for 600 acres of land to government £ 600 Clearing, ploughing, and preparing, at

£0 per acre. 3,000' Sisty working oxen, at £5 each..,..,.... 300. Twelve working horses, at flo'each1.... 180 The necessary, buildings, all of durable

" wood, and shingled. 300 Wains, utensils', sundries. 200

-* ' ' £5,180

A steam-engine for crushing canes', with boil« ing pans, vats, distillery, and other things re- quired in preparing the crop for market, 1 am not able to eâtimate ; but it ,will be on a scale much less expensive than is pursued in the West Indies. It must be borne in mind that I have provided for clearing the whole land, hardly fifty acres of which will be required for food crop for the C3tate ; th¡3 may be called a maximum estate ; but a person commencing can regulate the size of his estate to the means he possesses, and the same rule of cost w ill apply to cotton, coffee, and other plantations.

In this part of the colony, and north of it, may be grown, besides cotton, sugar, coffee, indigo, and other commercial crops, all the tropical fruits and food, and varieties of European fruiu and vegetables.

I think I may, with propriety, speak of the climate of this portion of the eastern coast as not to be surpassed by that of any pai t of the world for its general salubrity. Europeans can work at field or other labour, day by day, without in- convenience ; and by their energy and skill, we shall eventually be enabled to 'set slavery at nought, and, at the same time, produce our wares I cheaper than any other people on earth ; but, I with our present dearth of Jabour, the thing is

hazardous. I am assuming that a continuous supply of people from the over-populated state of the United Kingdom will take phec1, so a3 to reduce the price of labour to a wholeson.e state tdking care, at the same time, that this shall be equitably balanced between the employer and the employed. This element properly adjusted, and we have nothing to fear. How much better em- ployed would have been the £8,000,000 that was spent in the Irish famine, had it been spent in sending your excess of numbers hero and else- where-where, in lime, they would acquire happy homes, and be surrounded with comfoit; but the English Government, by its absilrd economy, will give no assistance to emigration-thus retaining the starving people at home, waiting for another visitation of the kind, and an opportunity of further adding to the national debt, and to the incomes of that class of people known as the moneyed interest. How much better to pay a pauper's passage to another country, than to pay the amount of that passage for twelve months feeding bim, and after that to leave him or her unaltered in position.

The humanising influence that gave the slave his liberty, has now higher calls upon its charity, to relieve a vast mass of no better than white slaves in the United Kingdom, and deport them to other countries, where thpy would soon become

citizens of a better kind.

This colony may be said to be iron-bound by the Home Government. It .matters not whether Whig or Tory rule, we are treated alike harshly, by both parties ; our representations are unheed- ed ; our land is held at the ruinous price of £1 per acre, at which none will purchase; conse- quently, we have no land fund, and, as a further consequence, no immigration ; and thus the finest portion of the globe remains comparatively a wil- derness. Thus, you will perceive, there are diffi- culties to be overcome ere this land of promise shall send forth its ships laden with cotton and other tropical produce, which a wise and consi- derate Government could easily remove ; but, alas ! we are not so fortunate as lo have a sym- pathising friend residing in Downing-strcct.

I am not assuming that cotton will grow here ; there is no doubt it will, as luxuriantly and pro- lific as elsewhere ; but hitherto it has been grown more as a curiousity than 'anything else, and I now send for your inspection a small quantity of it, grown in a garden in this place, and said to be from Sea Island seed. The trees grow very spreading, several feet high, and produce well. The cotton ripens towards our winter season, which is the dry time of the year ; and, like In- dian corn, can be gathered at convenience; thus avoiding the heavy expense attending harvesting grain, which must be taken as soon as ripe. The sample I now send was gathered last August. It had been exposed to all our winter, and is therefore not a fair specimen of what it would have been, had more care been bestowed upon it. Still, you will be able to form a judgment of its worth ; and if this be not the most profitable kind, it will be easy to procure a better sort, which can be grown as cheaply as inferior. We shall need instruction as to the qualities most profitable for both cultivation and manufactures, and your ad- vice in anything that concerns it will be accept- able. Let it once be found profitable to grow cotton, and we shall soon go ahead. We shall not be entirely dependant on immigration for its growth, as no doubt a vast deal of labour now expended unprofilably in other agriculture, will be turned to this source, and these men will lead the van of cotton planters. Thus, before another quarter of a century passes away, if otir difficul- ties are removed, this branch of commerce will become more important than our present large export of wool, the produce of which can only be to a limited extent, as, judging from the quantity produced from the lands already occupied, and those still to occupy, the maximum will not be more than one-fourth in addition to our present export, or perhaps about 22,000,000 lbs. ; not but there are abundant lands still unoccupied ; but

these are too distant from the coast to afford re-

muneration in our present position of land car- riage ; whereas, on the contrary, if labour can be found, it is hardly possible to form an idea of tile quantity of cotton that can be grown.

Our cotton-growing sea-board, if I may be allowed to use the expression, is in length about 1200 miles, and in breadth as far as people will

venture into the wilderness. We labour under

great disadvantage in not having navigable rivers to transport our inland produce to the coast ; on the other hand, the country seems formed by nature for railroads, but I fear it is hardly worth while speculating upon the thought of them just now ; yet whenever the lime shall arrive, their construction may be both simple and compara- tively inexpensive.

Tiie boast of England is her colonial empire. It is true she possesses numerous specks in the ocean,-and corners in the desert', called colonies ; yet she has not possessed but two countries wor- thy of the name, viz., \\er late North American States, and her settlements on the coast of New Holland. It is fresh in the recollection of most

now living that, by the misrule of the English Government, the present United States of America

withdrew their allegiance", from the parent state , and it doui not rcg¿ptó|the!|pirít of prophecy, to foretri, th?,t',t from joe course she is pursuing towards, t|i ^country, similari reiults will follow j but I hope unattended with the'dircful consequences

of the, Ajnecicatrjevblution.

1 can safely wy» the great, mass of the people here are conservative, dnd' devotedly' attached to the mother-coupùy, bat feel highly indignant at the proposed change in the constitution and go-

vernment of the colonies, whicH"is neither more nor less than laying, the fodhdatioh'of a republic, and hastening the day of separation.

If I hare travelled somewhat out of the way of cotton growing. I1 hope"to be excused. I trust, otherwise, the brief statement I have made will be useful to those who may wish to venture their fortunes in this part of the world ; and if my contribution should be the means of aiding them, I shall'feel amply rewarded for the little labour I have bestowed On the subject.

I have the honour to be, Sir,

Your most obedient servant,

RICHARD JONES.

IMPORTANT FEOM INDIA.-News from India to the end of October bad been received at Hobart Town via the Mauritius, and we regret to state that it is of A very lamentable kind. There is now no doubt that we are engaged in a Punjaub war. General Whish had been compelled to raise the siege ofnAiooltan, and had " taken a position

to the westwai d of the low n on the banks of the Chenab, and wtfs waiting the development of the go- vernment plans with icference to the country at large." It appears that the siege had commenced, and there had been some very sharp work, as four officers and two hundred men were killed in car- rying a position for the second parallel, but still it was clear that a few days must Ce sufficient to batter down the fort, when suddenly the Rajah Shere Singh, with a large body of men and nine guns, deserted to the enemy ; not knowing how far disaffection, might have spread among the native allies, the General thought it wise to secure himself in a strong position, until reinforcements arrived.-S. M. Herald, Feb. 5.

THE SUPERINTENDENT. - Serious fears have been entertained for some days for the safety of his Honor the Superintendent, who is on a journey to Portland, via Cape Otway and it was expected would have reached his destination upwards of a week ago. Happily these fears have been dis- pelled by intelligence from Portland, announcing his Honor's safe arrival there, his detention being accounted for by his having got lost in the bush, and undergone considerable hardships before he succeeded in extricating himself. A private letter reccived from Portland yesterday mentions that     among the disasters which befel his Honor, was his being overtaken by a bush-fire, which raged so fiercely that it was only by taking refuge up to his neck in the sea that his Honor was enabled to escape the ravages of the devouring element. His Honor is expected to arrive in Melbourne to- morrow evening, his return being anxiously looked for in consequence of the recent golden discovery.-Melbourne Argus, Feb. 6.

ABDUCTION.-^.Janies Kinchela, charged with the abduction of ]yiuisa Aaion, aged fourteen years and nine months, from the house of her father, without his consent and against his will, W.13 yesterday, pursuant to remand, again brought before the police court. Mr. A. Little attendid for the defendant.. Joseph Aaron, the father, was re-sworn to his information, on which a warrant had been granted for the defendant's apprehension. The information set forth that Louisa Aaron liad been taken, or caused to be taken, away from de- ponent's house in York-street, on the 1st January last, by James Kinchela, of the Adelphi Hotel, &c, &c. Accoiding to the usual form of such documents, Aaron deposed the contents to be true from what had reached him, but knew nothing of

the facts from his own knowledge. He then pro- ' ceeded to state that Kinchela, whom he had never seen before, carne to his bouse on New Year's Day', asked him how he did, and if he wanted to go to the races. He replied in the negative, and the girl came out into the shop, shook hands with Kinchela, and inquired of the latter if he was going. Afterwards she went away, and he (Aaron)

never saw her'until he heard from a person- | Aaron was not allowed to depoie what he had heard, and it was found on inquiry that he had no witnesses in attendance, Aaron stating that they had all turned against bim. Captain Innes then said that die case must be dismissed, but ac- quainted Aaron that it was in his power to open the case again at any time.-S. M. Herald, Feb. 3.

NEWSPAPERS.-The pleasurable life the Editor of a colonial or provincial paper leads, may be understood by what we weekly, if not daily, ex- perience :-Subscriber No. I : I like the article on the Judge's case very much, but you should have given us'much more of the despatches. The public look for such things just now with much anxiety.-No. 2 : Why, your paper is filled with the despatches ; you have said scarcely anything about the earthquake in New Zealand, and you have omitted the police report altogether. Every- body looks for that.-No. 3 : Don't you think all that trash about the police-office is filling up the paper to no good purpose P Some good English extracts would be far better.-No. 4 ; Why, half the paper is filled with what doesn't concern the colony ! What do we care for speeches in par- liament P You should give us something colo- nial-something about Sydney and Port Phillip. No. 5 : It would pay you far better lo fill in with more advertisements ; it's advertisements the pub- lic look ijjr -here-; they don't care one straw about politics.-No, ,6 . I'll tell you what I think. If you would, in'^your back page, every week, give us a good long extract from one of the new works, it would be far better than filling it up with so many on all sorts of subjects ; depend upon it your subscribers would like the paper much better. -No. 7 : All we care for is the markets ; what we want to know about is the markets. I never look at anything else. And so on, every body consulting his own wish, forgetting that an Editor would be no common idiot, should he attempt to please all his subscribers ; that to look for praise and thankfulness from all, in return for his labour and anxiety, would be the very worst description of folly. No public man, unless he is rich (which is a passport for public honour), can expect from the multitude more than that reward which lies half-way between approval and reproval ; the only remuneration he receives being the consciousness of having performed his duty.-H. T. Britannia.

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