The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 5, May, 1864, by Various This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 5, May, 1864 Devoted To Literature And National Policy Author: Various Release Date: September 26, 2007 [EBook #22770] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CONTINENTAL MONTHLY *** Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, Janet Blenkinship and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by Cornell University Digital Collections) THE CONTINENTAL MONTHLY: DEVOTED TO Literature and National Policy. VOL. V.—MAY, 1864.—No. V. CONTENTS AMERICAN FINANCES AND RESOURCES. ÆNONE: 'OUR DOMESTIC RELATIONS; OR, HOW TO TREAT THE REBEL STATES.' THE MOUND BUILDER. A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE: A SUMMER'S NIGHT. CHAPTER I. CHAPTER II. CHAPTER III. THE ENGLISH PRESS. THE HOUSE IN THE LANE. MUSIC A SCIENCE. THOUGHT. THE WAR A CONTEST FOR IDEAS. HINTS TO THE AMERICAN FARMER. APHORISMS. NO. IV. THE WILD AZALEA. A PAIR OF STOCKINGS. LITERARY NOTICES. EDITOR'S TABLE. AMERICAN FINANCES AND RESOURCES. LETTER NO. V. OF HON. ROBERT J. WALKER. London, 10 Half Moon Street, Piccadilly, February 8th, 1864. In my third and fourth letters on American finances and resources, the following comparisons were instituted: Massachusetts and New Jersey, Free States, with Maryland and South Carolina, Slave States; New York and Pennsylvania, Free States, with Virginia, Slave State; Rhode Island, Free State, with Delaware, Slave State; Illinois, Free State, with Missouri, Slave State; the Free States of 1790, with the Slave States of that day; the Free States of 1860, with the Slave States of that date. These comparisons were based on the official returns of the Census of the United States, and exhibited in each case and in the aggregate the same invariable result, the vastly superior progress of the Free States in wealth, population, and education. I will now institute one other comparison, Kentucky, slaveholding, with Ohio, a Free State. Kentucky—population in 1790, 73,077; Ohio, none. 1800: Kentucky, 220,955; Ohio, 45,365. 1860: Kentucky, 1,155,684; Ohio, 2,339,502. We must institute the comparison from 1800, as Ohio was a wilderness in 1790, when Kentucky had a population of 73,077. In Kentucky, the ratio of increase of population from 1800 to 1860 was 527.98 per cent., and in the same period in Ohio 5,057.08. (Table 1, Census 1860.) Thus from 1800 to 1860 Ohio increased in nearly tenfold the ratio of Kentucky. Wealth.—By Tables 33 and 36, Census of 1860, the value of the product of 1859 was as follows: Ohio, $337,619,000 Kentucky, 115,408,000 Per Capita. Ohio, $144 31 Kentucky, 99 92 Thus is it, that, while in 1790 and 1800 Kentucky was so very far in advance of Ohio, yet, in 1860, so vast was the advance of Ohio as compared with Kentucky, that the value of the product of Ohio was nearly triple that of Kentucky, and, per capita, much more than one third greater. No reason can be assigned for these remarkable results, except that Kentucky was slaveholding, and Ohio a Free State. Their area is nearly the same, and they are adjacent States; the soil of Kentucky is quite equal to that of Ohio, the climate better for crops and stock, and the products more various. We have seen the actual results in 1860, but if Kentucky had increased in population from 1800 to 1860 in the same ratio as Ohio, Kentucky then would have numbered 11,175,970, or nearly ten times her present population; and if the product had been the same as in Ohio, per capita, the value would have been $1,612,804,230, or more than fourteen times greater than the result. Thus it is demonstrated by the official Tables of the Census of the United States, that if Kentucky had increased in wealth and population from 1800 to 1860 in the same ratio as Ohio, the results would have been as follows: Kentucky: population in 1860, 11,175,970; actual population in 1860, 1,155,684; value of products in 1860, $1,612,804,230; actual value in 1860, $115,408,000. Some attempt has been made to account for these marvellous results, by stating that Ohio has a border on one of the lakes, and Kentucky has not. But to this it may be replied, that Kentucky borders for twice the distance on the Ohio River, has a large front on the Mississippi River, and embraces within her limits those noble streams, the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, making, together with the Big Sandy, Licking, Kentucky, Green, and Barren Rivers, the natural advantages of Kentucky for navigation, superior to those of Ohio. But a conclusive answer to this argument is found in the fact that, omitting all the counties of Ohio within the lake region, the remainder, within the valley of the Ohio River, contain a population more than one half greater than that of the whole State of Kentucky. Lands.-The farm lands, improved and unimproved, of Ohio, in 1860, were worth $666,564,171. The number of acres 20,741,138, value per acre $32.13. (Census of 1860, p. 197, Table 36.) The farm lands of Kentucky, improved and unimproved, were worth $291,496,953, the number of acres 19,163,276, worth per acre, $15.21. (Ib.) Difference in [Pg 489] [Pg 490] favor of Ohio, $375,067,165. But if to this we add the difference between the value of the town and city lots and unoccupied lands of Ohio and Kentucky, the sum is $125,009,000, which added to the former sum ($375,067,165) makes the difference in favor of Ohio $500,076,165, when comparing the value of all her lands with those of Kentucky. We have seen that the value of the products in 1860 was, Ohio $337,619,000, Kentucky $115,408,000. But these products embrace only agriculture, manufactures, the mines, and fisheries. We have no complete tables for commerce in either State, but the canals and railroads are as follows (Census of 1860, No. 38, pp. 225, 226, 233): Ohio: Miles of railroad, 3,016.83; cost of construction, $113,299,514. Kentucky: Miles of railroad, 569.93; cost of construction, $19,068,477. Estimated value of freight transported on these railroads in 1860: Ohio, $502,105,000; Kentucky, $48,708,000. On the 1st of January, 1864, the number of miles of railroad in operation in Ohio was 3,356.74, costing $130,454,383, showing a large increase since 1860, while in Kentucky there was none. (Amer. R. R. Journal, p. 61, vol. 37.) Canals in 1860 (Census Table 39): Ohio, 906 miles; Kentucky, two and a half miles. These Tables all prove how vast has been the increase of the wealth of Ohio as compared with Kentucky. Let us now examine some of the educational statistics. By Census Table 37, giving the newspapers and periodicals in the United States in 1860, the whole number of that year was 4,051, of which only 879 were in the Slave States; total number of copies circulated that year in the United States, 927,951,548, of which number there were circulated in the Slave States only 167,917,188. This Table shows the total number of newspapers and periodicals published in Ohio in 1859 was 340, and the number of copies circulated that year in that State was 71,767,742. In Kentucky, the number of newspapers and periodicals published in 1859 was 77, and the number of copies circulated that year was 13,504,044, while South Carolina, professing to instruct and control the nation, had a circulation of 3,654,840, although South Carolina, in 1790, had a population of 249,073, when Ohio was a wilderness, and Kentucky numbered only 73,077. As regards education, we must take the Tables for the Census of 1850, those for 1860 not having been yet published. By Table 144, Census of 1850, the total number of pupils in public and private schools, colleges, and academies, was for that year as follows: Ohio, 502,826. Kentucky, 85,914. Percentage of native free population who cannot read or write (Table 155), Ohio 3.24; Kentucky, 9.12; Slave States, native white adults who cannot read or write, ratio 17.23; Free States, 4.12. (Table 157.) If we include slaves, more than one half the adults of the Slave States cannot read or write. Indeed, it is made by law in the Slave States a crime (severely punished) to teach any slave to read or write. These Tables also show that in South Carolina, the great leader of secession, (including slaves) more than three fourths of the people can neither read nor write. Such is the State, rejoicing in the barbarism of ignorance and slavery, exulting in the hope of reviving the African slave trade, whose chief city witnesses each week the auction of slaves as chattels, and whose newspapers, for more than a century, are filled with daily advertisements by their masters of runaway slaves, describing the brands and mutilations to which they have been subjected; that passed the first secession ordinance, and commenced the war upon the Union by firing upon the Federal flag and garrison of Sumter. Yet it is the pretended advocates of peace that justify this war upon the Union, and insist that it shall submit to dismemberment without a struggle, and permit slavery to be extended over nearly one half the national territory, purchased by the blood and treasure of the nation. Such a submission to disintegration and ruin—such a capitulation to slavery, would have been base and cowardly. It would have justly merited for us the scorn of the present, the contempt of the future, the denunciation of history, and the execration of mankind. Despots would have exultingly announced that 'man is incapable of self-government;' while the heroes and patriots in other countries, who, cheered and guided by the light of our example, had struggled in the cause of popular liberty, would have sunk despairingly from the conflict. This is our real offence to European oligarchy, that we will crush this foul rebellion, extinguish the slavery by which it was caused, make the Union stronger and more harmonious, and thus give a new impulse and an irresistible moral influence and power to free institutions. Let me recapitulate some of the facts referred to in these letters, and established by the Census of the United States. Area of the United States, 3,250,000 square miles, exceeding that of all Europe—all compact and contiguous, with richer lands, more mineral resources, a climate more salubrious, more numerous and better harbors, more various products, and increasing in wealth and population more rapidly than any other country. Miles. Our ocean shore line, including bays, sounds, and rivers, up to the head of tide water 33,663 Lake shore line 3,620 Shore line of Mississippi River and its tributaries above tide water above tide water is 35,644 Shore line of all our other rivers 49,857 Total 122,784 Our country, then, is better watered than any other, and has more navigable streams, and greater hydraulic power. We have completed since 1790, 5,782 miles of canal, costing $148,000,000; and 33,860 miles of railroad (more than [Pg 491] [Pg 492] all the rest of the world), costing $1,625,952,215. (Amer. R. R. Journal, 1864, No. 1,448, vol. 37, p. 61.) Our land lines of telegraph exceed those of all the rest of the world, the single line from New York to San Francisco being 3,500 miles. Our mines of coal, according to Sir William Armstrong, the highest British authority, are thirty-two times as great as those of the United Kingdom. Annual product of our mines of gold and silver, $100,000,000, estimated at $150,000,000 per annum by our Commissioner of the General Land Office, when the Pacific railroad shall be completed. Public lands unsold, belonging to the Federal Government, 1,055,911,288 acres, being 1,649,861 square miles, and more than thirty-two times the extent of England. Immigration to the United States from 1850 to 1860, 2,598,216, adding to our national wealth during that decade $1,430,000,000. Education—granted by Congress since 1790 for the purposes of public schools—two sections (1,280 acres) in every township (23,040 acres), in all 1,450,000,000 acres of public lands; one eighteenth part given, being 80,555,555 acres, worth at the minimum price of $1.25 per acre, $100,694,443—the real value, however, was much greater. Granted by Congress for colleges and universities, 12,080,000 acres, including 3,553,824 given by the Federal Government to the State of Tennessee, worth, at the minimum price of $1.25 per acre, $15,100,000, which is much below their true value. Total in public lands granted by Federal Government for education, 92,635,555 acres; minimum value, $115,794,443. In 1836, after full payment of the entire principal and interest of the public debt, there remained in the Federal Treasury a surplus of $38,000,000, of which about one half, $19,000,000, was devoted to educational purposes. Total Federal appropriations since 1790 for education, $134,794,443. This is exclusive of the many millions of dollars expended by the Federal Government for military and naval schools, etc., at West Point, Washington, Annapolis, and Newport. Besides these Federal donations, there has been granted by States, Territories, counties, towns, and cities of the Union for education, since 1790 (partly estimated) $148,000,000. Grand total by States and Federal Government appropriated in the United States since 1790, for education, $282,794,443. This is independent of numerous private donations for the same purpose, that by Mr. Girard exceeding $1,500,000, and that by Mr. Smithson exceeding $500,000. It is then a fact that the Governments of the United States, State and Federal, since 1790, have appropriated for education more money than all the other Governments of the world combined during the same period. This is a stupendous fact, and one of the main causes of our wonderful progress and prosperity. We believe that 'knowledge is power,' and have appropriated nearly $300,000,000, during the last seventy-four years, in aid of the grand experiment. We believe that 'man is capable of self-government,' but only when educated and enlightened. We believe that the power and wealth and progress of nations increase in proportion to the education and enlightenment of the masses. We believe in intellectual as well as machine and muscular power, and that when the millions are educated, and work with their heads as well as their hands, the progress of the nation will be most rapid. Our patent office is a wonderful illustration of this principle, showing on the part of our industrial classes more valuable inventions and discoveries, annually, than are produced by the workingmen of all the rest of the world. Population. In 1790, 3,922,827 In 1800, 5,305,937 In 1810, 7,239,814 In 1820, 9,638,191 In 1830, 12,866,020 In 1840 17,069,453 In 1850, 23,191,876 In 1860, 31,445,080 Ratio of Increase.—From 1790 to 1800, 35.02; from 1800 to 1810, 36.45; from 1810 to 1820, 33.13; from 1820 to 1830, 33.49; from 1830 to 1840, 32.67; from 1840 to 1850, 35.87; from 1850 to 1860, 35.59. Thus it appears (omitting territorial acquisitions) that our ratio of increase was much greater from 1850 to 1860 than during any preceding decade. This was the result of augmented immigration, which is still to go on with increased power for many years. Making allowance for all probable contingencies, and reducing the decennial increase from 35.59 to three per cent. per annum, our able and experienced Superintendent of the Census, in his last official report, of 20th May, 1862, gives his own estimate of the future population of the United States: 1870, 42,328,432 1880, 56,450,241 [Pg 493] 1890, 77,263,989 1900, 100,355,802 That, in view of our new Homestead law—our high wages—the extinction of slavery—increased confidence in our institutions—and augmented immigration, these results will be achieved, can scarcely be doubted. As population becomes more dense in Europe, there will be an increased immigration to our Union, and each new settler writes to his friends abroad, and often remits money to induce them to join him in his Western home. The electric ocean telegraph will soon unite Europe with America, and improved communications are constantly shortening the duration of the voyage and diminishing the expense. Besides, this war has made us much better known to the European masses, who, everywhere, with great unanimity and enthusiasm sustain our cause, and, with slavery extinguished, will still more prefer our institutions. From all these causes there will be an augmented exodus from Europe to America, when our rebellion is suppressed, and slavery overthrown. Besides, the President of the United States now proposes appropriations of money by Congress in aid of immigration, and such will become the policy of our Government. We have seen the official estimate made by our Superintendent of the Census, but if we take the ratio of increase of the last decade, the result would be as follows: 1870, 42,636,858 1880, 57,791,315 1890, 78,359,243 1900, 106,247,297 The estimate of the Superintendent is, therefore, six millions less than according to the ratio from 1850 to 1860, and much less than from 1790 to 1860. When we reflect that if, as densely settled as Massachusetts, our population would exceed 513,000,000, or if numbering as many to the square mile as England, our inhabitants would then be more than twelve hundred millions, the estimate of 100,000,000 for the year 1900 cannot be regarded as improbable. Our national wealth was in 1850, $7,135,780,228 In 1860, $16,159,616,068 Increase from 1850 to 1860, 126.45 per cent. At the same rate of increase for the four succeeding decades, the result would be: In 1870, $36,593,450,585 In 1880, 82,865,868,849 In 1890, 187,314,053,225 In 1900, 423,330,438,288 Tonnage. In 1841, 1,368,127 tons. In 1851, 3,772,439 " In 1861, 5,539,812 " At the same rate of increase as from 1851 to 1861, the result would be: In 1871, 8,134,578 tons. In 1881, 11,952,817 " In 1891, 17,541,514 " In 1901, 25,758,948 " Total number of copies of our newspapers and periodicals circulated in the United States in 1860, 927,951,548, exceeding that of all the rest of the world. Let us now recapitulate the results from our Census, founded on a comparison of the Slave and Free States. [Pg 494] Massachusetts.—Free State. Maryland.—Slave State. Area, 7,800 square miles 11,124 square miles. Population in 1790, 378,717 319,728. Population in 1860, 1,231,066 687,049. Products in 1859, $287,000,000 $66,000,000. Products per capita, $235 $96. Railroads, 1,340 miles 380 miles. Railroads cost, $61,857,203 $21,387,157. Freight of 1860, $500,524,201 $101,111,348. Tonnage built in 1860, 34,460 tons $101,111,348. Bank capital, $64,519,200 $12,568,962. Imports and exports, $58,190,816 $12,568,962. Value of property, $815,237,433 $376,919,944. Gross profit on capital, 35 per cent $376,919,944. Copies of press circulated in 1860, 102,000,760 20,723,472. Pupils at public schools in 1860, 176,475 33,254. Volumes in public libraries, 684,015 125,042. Value of churches, $10,206,000 $3,947,884. New York.—Free State. Virginia.—Slave State. Area, 47,000 square miles 61,392 square miles. Population in 1790, 340,120 748,308. Population in 1860, 3,880,735 748,308. Product of 1859, $606,000,000 $120,000,000. Per capita, $156 $75. Gross profit on capital, 34 per cent 15 per cent. Value per acre of farm lands, $38.26 $11.91. Railroads, 2,842 miles 1,771 miles. Railroads, cost of construction, $138,395,055 $64,958,807. Freight in 1860, $579,681,790 $110,000,000. Canals, 1,038 miles 178 miles. Canals, cost, $67,567,972 $7,817,000. Tonnage built in 1860, 31,936 4,372. Bank capital, $111,441,320 $16,005,156. Exports and imports, 1860, $394,045,326 $7,184,273. Copies of press circulated in 1860, 320,980,884 26,772,518. Pupils at public schools in 1860, 675,221 67,428. Volumes in public libraries, 1,760,820 88,462. Value of churches, $21,539,561 $2,002,220. Percentage of native free population who cannot read or write, 1.87 19.90. Compare the column as regards Virginia with the returns for Pennsylvania, and the result is nearly as remarkable as that of New York. Pennsylvania, area 46,000, population in 1790, 434,373; in 1860, 2,900,115. Products of 1859, $399,600,000, per capita, $138, profit on capital, 22 per cent. Value of farm lands per acre, $38.91. Railroads, 2,690 miles, costing $147,483,410. Canals, 1,259 miles, costing $42,015,000. Tonnage built in 1860, 21,615 tons. Bank capital, $25,565,582. Exports and imports, $20,262,608, Copies of press circulated in 1860,116,094,480. Pupils at public schools, 413,706. Volumes in public libraries, 363,400. Value of churches, $11,853,291. Illinois.—Free State. Missouri.—Slave State. Area, 55,405 square miles 67,380 square miles. Population, 1810, 12,282 20,845. Population, 1860, 1,711,951 1,182,012. [Pg 495] Ratio of increase from 1810 to 1860, 13,838 per ct. 5,570. Railroads in operation in 1860, 2,868 miles 817 miles. Ditto, 1st of January, 1864, 3,080 miles 914 miles. Value of farm lands, 1860, $432,531,072 $230,632,126. Canals, 102 miles none. Ratio of increased value of property from 1850 to 1860, 458 per cent. 265 per cent. At same ratio from 1860 to 1870, as from 1850 to 1860, total wealth in 1870 would be $3,993,000,000 $1,329,000,000. Rhode Island.—Free State. Delaware.—Slave State. Area, 1,306 square miles 2,120 square miles. Population in 1792, 69,110 59,096. Population in 1860, 174,520 112,216. Product in 1859, $52,400,000 $16,100,000. Value of property in 1860, $135,000,000 $46,242,181. Bank capital, $20,865,569 $1,640,675. Copies of press issued in 1860, 5,289,280 1,010,776. Pupils at public schools, 23,130 8,970. Volumes in public libraries, 104,342 17,950. Pupils at colleges and academies, 3,664 764. Percentage of native free adults who cannot read or write, 1.49 23.03. Value of churches, $1,293,700 $340,345. New Jersey.—Free State. South Carolina.—Slave State. Area, 8,320 square miles 24,500 square miles. Population in 1790, 184,139 249,073. Population in 1860, 672,035 703,708. Ratio of increase from 1790 to 1860, 265 per cent. 182 per cent. Population per square mile in 1860, 80.77 28.72. Increase of population per square mile from 1790 to 1860, 58.64 per cent. 18.55 per cent. Population in 1860, remaining the same per square mile, if area equal to that of South Carolina, 1,978,650. Population in 1860, remaining the same per square mile, area equal to that of New Jersey, 238,950. Product of 1859, $167,398,003 $46,445,782. Per capita, $249 $66. Farm lands, 1860, improved and unimproved acres, 2,983,531 15,595,860. [Pg 496] Value in 1860, $180,250,338 $139,652,508. Agricultural products of 1860, $86,398,000 $39,645,728. Agricultural products of 1860, $86,398,000 $39,645,728. Product per acre, $28.96 $2.54. Improved lands, 1,944,445 acres 4,572,060 acres. Product per acre, $44.43 $8.67. Value of farm lands per acre, $60.42 $8.95. Value of farm lands per acre, $60.42 $8.95. Value of farm lands, if worth as much per acre as those of New Jersey, $942,660,377. Copies of press issued in 1860, 12,801,412 3,654,840. Percentage of native free adults who cannot read or write, 5.10 12.73. Percentage of native white children at school, 80.56. 26.025. Pupils at colleges, academies, and public schools, 88,244 26.025. Value of churches, $3,712,863 $2,181,476. Michigan.—Free State. Florida.—Slave State. Area, 56,243 square miles 59,268 square miles. Population, 1810, 4,762 16,989, Spanish. Population, 1820, 8,765 23,801, Spanish. Population, 1830, 31,639 34,730, Spanish. Population, 1860, 749,113 140,425, Spanish. Population per square mile in 1810, 0.08 0.28. Population per square mile in 1820, 0.15 0.38. Population per square mile in 1830, 0.56 0.58. Population per square mile in 1860, 13.32 2.37 Absolute increase of population from 1830 to 1860, 717,474 105,695. Relative rank in 1830, 25 26. Relative rank in 1860, 16 31. Absolute increase of population from 1850 to 1860 per square mile, 6.25 0.89. Value of total product of 1859, $99,200,000 $12,300,000. Of agriculture alone, $64,000,000 $9,600,000. Total product per capita, $132.04 $87.59. Farm lands improved and unimproved in 1860, 6,931,442 acres 2,849,572 acres. Improved farm lands, 1860, 3,419,861 acres 676,464 acres. Value of lands improved and unimproved in 1860, $163,279,087 $16,371,684. Product per acre, $9.23 $3.01. Product of improved land, $18.71 $14.18. Value of farm lands, 1860, per acre, $23.55 $5.74. Value of farm lands of Florida, if worth as much per acre as those of Michigan, $67,105,222. Product of Florida lands, if equal per acre to those of Michigan, in 1859, $26,300,549. Copies of press issued in 1860, 11,606,596 1,081,601. Percentage of native free adults, who cannot read or write, 2.84 9.18. Public libraries, 107,943 volumes 2,660 volumes. Pupils in public schools, academies, and colleges, 112,382 3,129. Percentage of native white children at school, 99.53 35.77. Wisconsin.—Free State. Texas.—Slave State. Area, 53,924 square miles 274,356 square miles. Population in 1840, 30,749 80,983. (Republic.) Population in 1860, 775,881 604,215. Population per square mile in 1840, 0.57 0.29. Population per square mile in 1860, 8.99 2.20. Increase per square mile from 1840 to 1860, 8.42. 1.91. Absolute increase of population from 1850 to 1860 per square mile, 8.99 1.41. Value of total product of 1859, $101,375,000 $52,749,000. Of agriculture alone, $72,875,000 $46,499,000. Total product per capita, $130.39 $87.30. Farm lands improved and unimproved, 7,899,170 acres 23,245,433 acres. Improved farm lands, 1860, 3,746,036 acres 2,649,207 acres. Value of lands improved and unimproved in 1860, $131,117,082 $104,007,689. Product per acre of improved and unimproved lands in 1859, $9.22 $2.00. Product per acre of improved lands in 1859, $19.45 $17.56. Value of farm lands per acre, $16.59 $4.47. [Pg 497] Value of farm lands of Texas, if worth as much per acre as those of Wisconsin, $385,641,733. Product of Texas lands in 1859, if equal per acre to those of Wisconsin, $214,212,892. Copies of press issued in 1860, 10,798,670 7,855,808. Percentage of native free adults who cannot read or write, 1.04 11.84. Public libraries, 21,020 volumes 4,230 volumes. Pupils in colleges and public schools, 61,615 11,500. Percentage of native white children at school, 74.90 45.82. Indiana.—Free State. Tennessee.—Slave State. Area, 33,809 square miles 45,600 square miles. Population, 1790, none 35,791. Population, 1800, 4,875 105,602. Population, 1860, 1,350,428 1,109,801. Product of 1859, $175,690,628 $99,894,070. Agricultural, $132,440,682 $82,792,070. Total product, per capita, $130.10 $90.01. Product of agriculture, per capita, $90.68 $74.60. Population per square mile in 1800, 0.14 2.31. Population per square mile, 1860, 39.63 24.34. Absolute increase of population, from 1850 to 1860, per square mile, 10.72 2.35. Relative rank in 1800, 20 15. Relative rank in 1860, 6 10. Farm lands improved and unimproved, 16,315,776 acres 20,355,934 acres. Improved do., 8,161,717 acres 6,897,974 acres. Value of farm lands, $344,903,776 $272,555,054. Ditto, per acre, $21.13 $13.39. Value of product per acre of improved and unimproved farm lands, $8.17 $4.06. Ditto, of Improved farm lands, $16.26 $12. Volumes in public libraries, 68,403 22,896. Pupils at public schools and colleges, 168,754 115,750. Free States of 1790. Slave States of 1790. [Pg 498] Namely: Massachusetts (then including Maine), Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Namely: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Area, 169,668 square miles 300,580 square miles. Population in 1790, 1,968,459 1,961,372. Population in 1860, 10,594,168 7,414,684. Population per square mile in 1790, 11.60 6.50. Population per square mile in 1860, 62.44 24.66. Increase of population per square mile, from 1790 to 1860, 50.84 18.14. Free States of 1860. Slave States of 1860. Area, 835,631 square miles 888,591 square miles. Farm lands, 161,462,000 acres 248,721,062 acres. Value, $4,067,947,286 $2,570,466,935. Value per acre, $25.19 $10.46. Total product of 1859, namely: of agriculture, manufactures, mines, and fisheries, $4,150,000,000 $1,140,000,000. Per capita, $217 $93. Copies of press issued in 1860, 760,034,360 167,917,188. By Table 157 (Census of 1850), ratio of native white adults who cannot read or write, 4.12 per cent. 17.23 per cent. (more than 4 to 1). Same Tables for Census of 1860, partially estimated, 3.21 per cent 17.03 percent. (more than 5 to 1). Whole additional value of all the Slave States, whether farm lands or unoccupied, if worth as much per acre as those of the Free States, $5,859,246,616. Total value of products of the Slave States in 1859, if equal per capita to those of the Free States, $2,653,631,032. Deduct actual products of 1859, $1,140,000,000. Absolute increase of 1859, if Free States $1,513,631,032. That is, the additional value of the actual products of the Slave States, caused by emancipation, $1,513,631,032. Total value of all the property, real and personal, of the Free States in 1860, $10,852,081,081. Ditto, of all the Slave States, including slaves, $5,225,307,034. [Pg 499] Annual gross profit of capital, 39 per cent. 22 per cent. If we could add the annual earnings of commerce (not included in the Census Tables), the yearly product of the Free States per capita would be almost triple that of the Slave States, the commerce of New York alone being nearly equal to that of the entire South. Total agricultural product of Free States in 1859, $2,527,676,000 $862,324,000 (Slave States). Agricultural product of Free States per capita in 1859, $131.48 Ditto of Slave States per capita in 1859, $70.56 Ditto, per acre in 1859, improved and unimproved lands, $15.65 $3.58 Ditto, per acre, improved lands, $28.68 $11.55 It is thus demonstrated by the official statistics of the Census of the United States, from 1790 to 1860, that the total annual product of the Free States per capita exceeds that of the Slave States, largely more than two to one, and, including commerce, very nearly three to one. As regards education, also, we see that the ratio in favor of the Free States is more than four to one in 1850 (4.12 to 17.23), and, in 1860, more than five to one (3.21 to 17.03). And even as regards agricultural products, we have seen that those of the Free States were $2,527,676,000 per annum, and of the Slave States only $862,324,000. The value of the lands of the Free States was $25.19 per acre, of the Slave States only $10.46 per acre; the product of the improved lands of the Free States was $26.68 per acre and of the Slave States $11.55, while, per capita, the result was $131.48 to $70.56. These facts prove how much greater the crops of the Slave States would be, if their farms (including cotton) were cultivated by free labor. It is also thus demonstrated how completely the fertile lands of the South are exhausted and reduced in value by slave culture. Having thus proved, deductively, the ruinous effects of slavery, I will proceed, in my next letter, inductively, to exhibit the causes which have produced these remarkable results. R. J. Walker. ÆNONE: A TALE OF SLAVE LIFE IN ROME. CHAPTER V. The day wore quietly on, like any other day; for the confusion and turmoil of the ovation were already a half-forgotten thing of the past, and Rome had again subsided into its usual course: in the earlier hours, a city of well-filled streets, astir and vocal with active and vigorous trade and labor; then—as the noontide sun shed from the brazen sky a molten glow, that fell like fire upon the lava pavement, and glanced from polished walls until the whole atmosphere seemed like a furnace—a city seemingly deserted, except by a few slaves, engaged in removing the triumphal arches hung with faded and lifeless flowers, and by a soldier here and there in glistening armor, keeping a lonely watch; and again—as the sun sank toward the west, and, with the lengthening shadows, the intensity of the heat diminished—a city flooded with wealth and fashion, pouring in confused streams hither and thither, through its broadest avenues and forums—groups of idlers sauntering along to watch the inoccupation of others, and with the prospective bath as the pretence for the stroll —matrons and maidens of high degree, with attendants following them—a rattle of gayly caparisoned chariots, with footmen trotting beside the wheels—guards on horseback—detachments of prætorian soldiers passing up and down— here the car of a senator of the broad purple—there the mounted escort of a Syrian governor—all that could speak of magnificence, wealth, and authority, at that hour thronged the pavement. Leaving the Vanno palace, Ænone joined herself to this moving concourse. At her side walked one of her bondwomen, and, at a pace or two behind, properly attired, and armed only with a short sword, strode the armor bearer. Thus attended, she pressed forward along the Appian Way toward the outskirts of the city—past broad palaces and villas, with encircling gardens and open paved courts—past shrubberies, fish ponds, and statue-crowned terraces—past public baths, through whose broad doorways the people swarmed by hundreds, and whose steps were thronged with waiting slaves; now stopping until the armor bearer, running to the front, could make a passage for her through some crowd denser than ordinary—then gliding onward with more rapid pace, as the way became clearer—and again [Pg 500] arresting herself for a moment as the stream of people also tarried to watch the approach of the gorgeous chariot and richly uniformed guards of the emperor Titus Vespasian. At length, turning the corner of a pillar-porticoed temple, which stood back from the street, and up the gentle ascent of whose steps a concourse of priests and attendants were forcing a garland-decked bullock, unconscious of the sacrificial rites which awaited him within, she stood beyond the surging of the crowd and in a quiet little street. It was a narrow avenue, in whose humble architecture brick took the place of stone; but by no means mean or filthy, like so many of the streets of similar width in the central portion of the city. Stretching out toward the open country, and not given up to merchandise or slave quarters, its little houses had their gardens and clustering vines about them, supplying with the picturesque whatever was wanting in magnificence, and evidencing a pleasant medium between wealth and poverty. The paved roadway was clean and unbroken; and far down as the eye could reach no life could be seen, except a single slave with a fruit basket balanced upon his head, and near him a group of children at play. Passing down this street, Ænone came to a spot where one of the great aqueducts which supplied the city, crossed the roadway diagonally with a single span. At the right hand stood a small brick house, built into the nearest arch so snugly that it seemed as though its occupants could almost hear the gurgling of the water flowing overhead from the hills of Albanus. Like the other houses in its neighborhood, it had a small courtyard in front, planted with a shrub or two. This was the home of her father, the centurion Porthenus. Stopping here, she was about to enter without warning, according to her usual custom, but as she advanced, a dwarf, whom she recognized as the same which that morning had so eagerly presented himself for notice in the front of her husband's captives, sprang forward, grinned his recognition of the armor bearer, made another grimace expressive of mingled respect and admiration for herself, threw open the door, and ushered her in with an outburst of ceremonious pride befitting an imperial reception. At a back window of the house, from whence the line of aqueduct could be seen for some distance leaping houses and streets in its undeviating course to the centre of the city, sat the centurion. He was a man of medium height, short necked, and thick set, with blunted features and grizzled hair and beard. Two of the fingers of his left hand were wanting, and a broad scar, the trophy of a severe skirmish among the Alemanni, crossed his right cheek and one side of his nose, giving him an expression more curious than pleasing. His general appearance was after the common type of an old, war-worn soldier, rough and unscrupulous by nature, hardened by camp life and dissipation, grown cruel by excess of petty authority, overbearing with his inferiors, jovial and complaisant with his equals, cringing to his superiors, and with an air of discontent overlaying every other expression, as though he was continually tortured with the belief that his success in life had not equalled his merits. As Ænone entered, he was bending over a shield, and earnestly engaged in burnishing its brazen mouldings. At his side leaned a short sword, awaiting similar attention, and in a rack beside him were a number of weapons of different varieties and sizes, which had already submitted to his restorative skill, and now shone like glass. Hearing her light step, he looked up, arose, flung the shield into a corner, and, with a roar, as though ordering a battalion, called out to the grinning dwarf, who had followed her in: "Ho there, ape! A seat for my daughter, the wife of the imperator Sergius Vanno!" The dwarf sprang forward and dragged out a seat for her; having done which, he seemed about to yield to his curiosity and remain. But the centurion, disapproving of such freedom, made a lunge at him with the small sword, before which the dwarf retired with a precipitate leap, and joined the bondwoman and armor bearer outside. Then the father, being left alone with his daughter, embraced her, and uttered such words of welcome as his rough nature suggested. As regarded his intercourse with her, perhaps the most noticeable traits were the mingled reverence and familiarity with which he treated her. It seemed as though he was actuated by an ever-pervading consciousness that her exalted position demanded the observance of the deepest respect toward her; but that this feeling was connected in his mind with an unceasing struggle to remember that, after all, she was his own child, and as such was not entitled to any undue consideration from him. Upon the present occasion, he first timidly touched her cheek with his lips and uttered a gentle and almost courtly salutation; but immediately recollecting himself, and appearing to become impressed with the belief that his unwitting deference was unworthy of the character of a father, he proceeded to atone for the mistake by a rough and discomposing embrace, and such a familiar and frolicksome greeting as none but a camp follower would have felt flattered with. Then, seating himself before her, he commenced his conversation in a rude and uncouth tone, and with rather a forced affectation of military bluntness; from which, however, as his eye dwelt upon the richness of her apparel and his mind began to succumb to the charm of her native refinement, he gradually and unconsciously subsided, in turn, into his former soft and deferential manner. 'And so the imperator Sergius Vanno has returned,' he said, rolling upon his tongue, with evident satisfaction, that high- sounding title—once the acknowledged appellation of a conqueror, but now claimed as a right by the imperial line alone, and no longer elsewhere bestowed except as an informal and transitory compliment. 'It was a splendid ovation, and well earned by a glorious campaign. There is no one in all the Roman armies who could have managed it better.' Nevertheless, with unconscious inconsistency, he immediately began to show wherein the campaign could have been improved, and how many gross mistakes were visible in every portion of it—how the force of Mutius should have been diverged more in advancing inland—how, in the battle along the shore, the three-oared galleys of Agricola should have been drawn up to support the attack—the consequence of this omission, if the leading cohort had met with a repulse— and the like. All this he marked out upon the floor with a piece of coal, taking but little heed that Ænone could not [Pg 501] [Pg 502] follow him; and step by step, in the ardor of criticism, he advanced so far that he was soon ready to prove that the campaign had been most wofully misconducted, and was only indebted to accident for success. 'But it is of little use for me to talk, if I cannot act as well,' he at length concluded, rising from the floor. 'And how could I act any part, placed as I am? The father of the wife of the imperator Sergius Vanno should be the leader of a cohort rather than of a mere century; and be otherwise lodged than in this poor place. Then would they listen to him.' He spoke bitterly and enviously, exhibiting in his whole tone as well as in his words his besetting weakness. For a while Ænone did not answer. It was as far from her duty as from her taste and pleasure to remind him, even if she could have done so to his comprehension, that her husband had already advanced him as far as was possible or fitting, and had otherwise provided for him in various ways as well as could reasonably be expected. The views of the centurion were of a far different nature. In giving his daughter to the patrician he had meanly intended thereby to rise high in life—had anticipated ready promotion beyond what his ignorance would have justified—had supposed that he would be admitted upon an equal social footing among the friends of Sergius, not realizing that his own native roughness and brutishness must have forbidden such a connection—had dazzled his eyes too wilfully with pictures of the wealth and influence and glory that would fall to his lot. As long, therefore, as so many of those gilded imaginings had failed in their promise, it seemed as nothing to him that Sergius, in the first flush of admiration for the daughter, had removed the father from rough provincial to more pleasing and relaxing urban duties, had purchased him a house befitting his station, and had lightened his condition in various ways. 'But we are gradually doing better,' Ænone said at length, striving to cheer him by identifying her fortunes more nearly with his own, 'This is a finer place than we had to live in at Ostia. Think how narrow and crowded we were then. And now I see that we have a new slave to open for us, while at Ostia we had only old Mitus. Indeed, we are very comfortable.' 'Ay, ay,' growled the centurion; 'a new slave—a dwarf or idiot, or what not—just such a creature as would not bring five sestertia in the market; and, therefore, the imperator has cast him to me, like a bare bone to a dog. Tell him I thank him for the gift. And in this matter it has been with me as always heretofore—either no luck at all, or too much. How often have I not passed a campaign without taking a prisoner, while they fell in crowds to all around me? And when at last I gained my share, when was it ever of any value to me, being hundreds of miles from a market? And here it is the same again. For months, no slave at all; and then all at once there are two, and I shall be,eaten out of my house.' 'Two, father?' 'Listen to me. No sooner did your honored lord send me this dwarf, than arrives Tisiphon of the twelfth cohort. He had long owed me a slave; and now that a captive, poor and feeble, and likely to die, had fallen into his hands, he thought it a fair opportunity to acquit himself toward me. But for once Tisiphon has cheated himself. The slave he brought was weak and sick, but it was only from want of food and rest. The fellow will recover, and I will yet make much of him. Would you see him? Look out of the back window there. He will turn out a fine slave yet, and, if this dwarf had not come, would be right pleasing to me. But two of them! How shall I find bread for both?' Ænone walked to the window, and leaned out. The courtyard behind was but limited in size, containing a few squares of burnt brick arranged for pavement around a small plot of grass at the foot of a single plane tree. The slave of whom the centurion spoke was seated upon this plot, with his back against the tree, and his head bent over, while, with vacant mind, he watched the play of a small green lizard. As she appeared at the window, he raised his eyes toward her, then dropped them again upon the ground. It was hardly, in fact, as much as could be called a look—a mere glance, rather, a single tremor of the drooping lid, a mute appeal for sympathy, as though there had been an inner instinct which, at that instant, had directed him to her, as one who could feel pity for his trouble and desolation. But at that glance, joined to something strangely peculiar in the captive's figure and attitude, a nervous thrill shot through Ænone's heart, causing her to hold her breath in unreasoning apprehension; a fear of something which she could not explain, a dim consciousness of some forgotten association of the past arising to confront her, but which she could not for the moment identify. And still she looked out, resisting the impulse of dread which bade her move away, fixing a strained gaze upon the captive, in a vain struggle to allay, by one moment of calm scrutiny, that phantom of her memory which, act as she might, would not be repressed, but which each instant seemed to expand into clearer certainty before her. 'Do you see him? Does he appear to you a worthy slave?' cried the centurion. 'A worthy slave, indeed,' she answered, in a low tone, feeling compelled to make some response. At her voice, the captive again raised his head, and looked into her face; not now with a hasty, timid glance, but with the full gaze of one who believes he has been spoken to, and waits for a renewal of the question. And as she met the inquiring look, Ænone turned away and sank back in terror and dismay. She knew it all, now, nor could she longer deceive herself by vain pretences or assurances. The instinct which, at the first had filled her soul with that unexplained dread, had not been false to her. For that glance, as it now rested upon her with, longer duration and deeper intensity, too surely completed the suggestion which, at the first it had faintly whispered to her, flashing into her heart the long- stifled memories of the past, recalling the time when, a few years before, she had sat upon the rock at Ostia, and had gazed down upon eyes lifted to meet her own with just so beseeching an appeal, and telling her too truly that she stood again in the presence of him to whom she had then promised her girlish faith, and whom she had so long since looked upon as dead to her. [Pg 503] [Pg 504] 'I will call him in,' said the centurion, 'and you can see him closer.' 'Nay, nay, father; let him remain where he is,' she exclaimed, in uncontrollable dread of recognition. 'Ha! art not afraid, girl?' demanded the old man. 'He can do no hurt, even were he stronger; and now that he is weak, a child could lead him with a string. Come hither, sirrah!' The captive arose, smoothed down his tunic, and, obediently entering the house, awaited commands; while Ænone, with as quiet movement as possible, shrunk, into the most distant corner of the room. What if he should recognize her, and should call upon her by name, not knowing her changed position, or recollecting his own debasement into slavery? What explanation other than the true one could she give to account for his audacity, and save him from the chastisement which the offended centurion would prepare to bestow upon him? This was but a momentary fear, however, since she felt that the increasing glow of evening, added to her own alteration by dress, and the certainty that he would not expect to meet her thus, found a sure protection against recognition, as long as she took care not to risk betrayal by her voice or manner. And, perhaps, after all—and her heart lightened somewhat at the thought—it might be that her reason had too freely yielded to an insane fancy, and allowed her to be deceived by a chance resemblance. 'How is he called?' she inquired, disguising her voice as thoroughly as she could. The instant she had spoken she would have retracted her words, if possible, from the mere fear lest her father, in his response, might mention her name. But it luckily chanced that the centurion did not do so. 'How is he called? Nay, that thing I had not thought to ask as yet. Your name, slave?' 'Cleotos.' At the word, the blood again flew back to her heart. There could now no longer be a doubt. How often had she repeated that name endearingly, in those early days of her first romance in life! 'Cleotos,' said the centurion. 'It is a brave name. There was once a leader of a full phalanx with that name, and he did well to the empire. It is, therefore, scarcely a name for a slave to bear. But we will talk some other time about that. It is of thine appearance now, that we will speak. Is he not, after all, a pleasing youth? Did Tisiphon so surely deceive me as he intended, when he gave the man to me? See! there is but little brawn and muscle to him, I grant; and therefore he will not make a good gladiator or even spearman; but he has a comely shape, wh...