The Daily Dispatch: December 20, 1865., [Electronic resource]

From a lecture recently delivered on "Cotton," before the Geographical and Statistical Society of New York, by Mr. Edward A. Atkinson, it appears that the cotton crop of this country in 1860 was a little over five millions of bales, while that reported as produced in other countries was only seven hundred and fifty thousand bales. These five million bales furnished the material to employ, in England, thirty-three million spindles; on the continent, twelve millions; and in the United States, five millions. Estimating the capital employed in spinning, weaving and printing this crop as equal to ten dollars per spindle, we have a result of $500,000,000 employed in the manufacture of this cotton. To attend to this manufacture required about one million of workmen, whose labors resulted in increasing the value of these five million bales from $200,000,000 to about $500,000,000. Estimating the average product per hand on the plantation at a little over six bales, we have eight hundred thousand slaves employed in the production of this crop of 1860, which, at the average value of $1,250--not a large price for field hands at that time — represents a capital of $1,000,000,000 double the amount employed in its manufacture! Under the new system of labor which must now be adopted, it is hoped that in a few years the cost of production of the raw material will be reduced to a moiety of its former cost. The fact is shown by statistics that only about one and ttwo-thirds per cent. of the area of the Southern States is devoted to cotton-growing. In other words, said the lecturer, imagine the Cotton States to be represented by a cheque-board of the usual sixty-four squares, and the amount of land actually employed would be represented by one square. The entire cotton-producing region of America is not larger than the States of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. There are still vast tracts of the Southern, and especially the Southwestern States, not now devoted to cotton culture, which can be profitably employed for that purpose. The table lands of Texas, now solely devoted to grazing, are well adapted to the cultivation of cotton. In 1860, Texas, on one-fourth of one per cent. of her territory, raised four hundred and five thousand bales. The large German population of Texas bids fair to make it one of the first cotton-producing States in the Union. The great necessity now is to get the labor system of the cotton States organized and regulated, in order to obtain the means of re-establishing our credit abroad and relieving the nation from the pecuniary burdens which now press upon it.