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“Jura”
by the [steamer] Bohemian [underscored] [struck-through ]) 11 Welfield Place [Liverpool, England] 19 March [18]’62
Dear Ann
After Elizabeth had retired, I read your [struck-through] to Mary the two letters I have received from you today; & now she has gone to bed too.
It seems to me that Matthew on the 4th inst[ant] [4 March] was ta- =king to bright a view of Re-union prospects, & conse- =quently too gloomy a view of the prospects for Cotton. He was fearing the middling Uplands might be down to 15¢ before the arrival of 500 bales which Littledale & Co[mpany] had consigned to Maury Bro[ther]s, the existing price being then about 23 or 24¢, & by telegraph of 6th [‘5’ overwritten] 25¢; but on the 8th, as we learn this afternoon, via [steamer] Portland, & L[ondon]derry, the price had risen to 27 1/2 or 28¢ & was still tending upwards. –
Matthew was expecting a speedy capture of Savannah [Georgia]. I am not. Too much time has been lost by [Union General William T.] Sherman. It is now too well defended against his present force.
Mrs Cropper will be shocked by the sentiments of the [“Cancasian.”?] It is a week, I think, since I have seen her. –
I was sorry to hear of the death of our kinsman, Dr. Alexander. – But that of young Coles at Roanoke Island [North Carolina] is far sadder, especially when we consider his parents ideas & most praiseworthy acts in manumitting their own Slaves; wherein Gov[erno]r Coles did so much more than I ever heard of any other emancipator doing.
We hear to-day that the Pres[iden]t [Lincoln] has sent a Message to Congress recommending that pecuniary aid of the Gov[ernmen]t to any Slave State that may be willing to emancipate its Slaves. Such a proposition strikes me as Quixot =ic & out of place at the present time. – I think Mr. Lincoln is very deficient in practical business talent.
If we value the 4 millions of Slaves in the U[nited] S[tates] $500 each – which was pretty near their value ‘ere succession began. – they would represent £400,000,000 sterling! or half the
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National Debt of G[reat] Britain! –
This proposition will not conciliate any of the seceded States, but quite the reverse, I think. –
Mr. Lincoln was busy, day & night, bestowing the spoils of party victory upon Republican aspirants for office by turning out Democratic office-holders, at the very time when it was so needful to unite both parties in resisting suc[c]ession! – He may be very honest’ but in my opinion, he is decidedly deficient in Common Sense. – What better proof could we have of this than his proposing in his Annual Message that there should be a codification of the Laws of the U[nitied] S[tates]!
There is a sad want of either talent or principle in the present Congress at Wash[ingto]n. There is difficulty in imposing an efficient Property or Income Tax, because the Constitution says it must levied upon each State in the ratio of representation; [underscored] & this compels a resort to Excise. But if an excise duty be levied on spirits & Flour, why should not Domestic Wollens, Cottons & [H...d...?] etc,? – which are mainly Eastern [underscored] products -be taxed as well as the Western?
The Constitution did not anticipate Civil War.
Suppose Congress had levied a wholesale property tax, regardless of the ratio of representation, I do not think it would have found resistance in any of the loyal States. Its [strict?] justice [underscored] would have commended it to general acceptation. It would also have had the unanswerable plea of necessity [underscored] just like the purchase of Louisiana.
In this sad rebellion I recognise that want of the aristocratic [underscored] element in Congress, that was furnished by the South: - & I am equally sure that in the south they must miss the practical, com= =mon sense element derived from the North.
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The union of North & South, East & West: was like that of Man & Wife: - According to the “homogeneous” principle pleaded by secessionists, I say the Men ought to be married to Men & the Women to Women! Such a thing as Union among mere Cotton States was too ab= =surd a notion for any man to contemplate who was in possession of his sober senses. There was ample sense, however, in the idea of incorporating the Border States into that Union, & still more when the contemplated absorbing all North of those Bor- =der States except New England & the Abolition regime facing Canada; - for the wider the range of climate the stronger must be the bond of Union.
So far as I can judge there has not yet been any perceptible progress at the South during the past 12 mo[nth]s in making for itself the articles heretofore bought at the North or in Europe. The manufacture of Arms [underscored] & Powder ^ seems to have been their only step towards Independ= =ence, in the matter of industrial pursuits. – I have not heard of any new factories they are building for textile fabrics. – Of course all their old ones are fully employed. –
The ideas now put forth on this side are that the Cotton States will be found invincible after the Border States shall have been over-run & conquered by the North: - But I consider that the more the area of suc[c]ession be contracted & narrowed the sooner will it become extinct. – It would be a greater moral [underscored] triumph to see the stars & stripes waving over Rich= =mond than over N[ew] Orleans; but the latter would be infinitely the greater material advantage; & the
far
latter would also be a ^ surer means of producing Re- union – Where rebellion is extinct in Tennessee I see nothing to hinder the movement upon N[ew] Orleans.
If N[ew] O[rleans] were taken, Mobile would cave in, I think,
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within 48 hours. – The strength of suc[c]ession is in the East, & its weakness is in the West. – It would be very difficult to take N[ew] O[rleans] from below; but comparatively easy from above. – The State of Mississippi presents the only obstacle .
The news this even[in]g from N[ew] York, to the 8th instant [8 March] is that the C[onfederate] S[tates of] A[merica] Legislature at Richmond [Virginia] by an almost unanimous vote have passed a resolution
& Tob[acc]o
for burning all the Cotton ^ liable to capture by the Federal forces. – According to this we ought to find all the Cotton in a blaze in the [?] of the Miss =issippi, during the descent of the Federal movement towards N[ew] O[rleans] – But I anticipate nothing of the kind.
or feeling
If the same spirit ^ were universal as that shown by the Sea Island cotton-planters of So[uth] Ca[rolina], we know full well that the South could never be overcome.
The Federal successes in Tennessee must be very galling to our cousin M[atthew] F[ontaine].
If Sec[c]ession be crushed out, I think, as you do, that the former U[nited] S[tates] Army & Navy officers now in arms against their former flag, will in many o r most cases seek service in foreign lands; but I doubt if they could readily find it, tho’ some few might. –
20th March (Office) 3 p.m. – I rec[eive]d 1/2 an hour ago yours of 6th inst[ant] [6 March] by the [steamer] Hibernian , enclosing Walker’s note to Mrs. Ja[me]s Bold, & a copy of Nans letter to you of
[4th ult[im]o?] [4 February]
6th inst. [struck-through] ^ from the Old Mansion. – I am very glad you have so late a letter from Nan & of so cheerful a tone. I am glad that Lewis is to be near her.
The details in your letter & in hers are all very inter= =esting. –
If Tobin must go to China, he has my best wishes, & I am glad that Mr. Olyphant has promised him letters. – I appreciate his good intentions & his kind feelings towards you & me: but I think he is taking a leap out of the frying-pan into the fire.!
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(5) China may be a good filed for rich capitalists, or for those enjoying the patronage of such men; but it is not a likely one for a poor adventurer, going out for the mere chance [‘mere chance’ underscored] of finding employment, instead of having that employment & a fair compensation guar= =anteed [‘guaranteed’ underscored] to him beforehand. –
William & Fontaine talk of going today to Rock Ferry to pay their respects to Mr. & Mrs. Steel. –
I had a talk today with Fontaine as to himself. It began with my telling him that I should pay 40/ - every Saturday to W[illia]m & the same to himself; but I hoped he might find some employment in the old world instead of spending his time in idleness. I said I did not begrudge him the money, & that it for his own [‘his own’ underscored] sake that I desired him to be doing some -thing, if possible, towards his own support. – I spoke of the Russian scheme, but said it was necessary that his own consent to it should be obtained before any steps were taken towards it by me or others. He spoke of wishing to return to N[ew] Orleans (not now, as I understood him, but after Peace) in order to help James. – I said that James, I was sure, did not & would not need his help; that he was amply able to take care of himself. He said he thought it was important that Ja[me]s should have an honest [underscored] cotton-bro- =ker to depend upon, for classing his cotton. I said I had lived in N[ew] O[rleans] far longer than James, & had never felt any difficulty of that kind; and that I thought that he [F[ontaine]) had only to consider what was best for himself. – I asked him whether he had talked over his plans with his uncle Horatio. He said – not, or not fully, & intimated that uncle H[oratio] seemed disinclined to aid him pecuniarily or otherwise. I told him of your idea that uncle H[oratio] might be able to get him work of an engineering notion at Coal-mines etc. He said that when he was last here, uncle H[oratio] urged him
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(6) to go to India to find engineering employment on the Railways in course of construction there. – I said that I should be opposed to that, upon the score of exposure of that nature in such a climate – that N[ew] O[rleans] was bad in that respect, but India infinite =ly worse: - and F[ontaine] agreed with me thereon. –
He talked of trying to find work here as draughts- =man in designing & that reminded me of his Mother’s friend Mr. Watts – who, as I see by the latest L[iver]pool directory, is still (as I shewed F[ontaine]) a partner with Geo[rge] Smith & Co[mpany] the lithographers etc. – and I said he might as well call on Mr. Watts; but that he had best have another talk with uncle H[oratio] first. – I said that if, in any honest way, he could 5/- or even 2/6 a day, it was far better than being idle. – I was glad to see that he took all my remarks & suggest= =ions with perfect good temper. [‘perfect...temper’ underscored] But whether it will end in anything being found for him to do, is quite beyond my ken. –
It is since I parted with him, that I have rec[eive]d your letter today of the 6th.
I am glad the Rutson, with the two exceptions you have named, has been behaving well since his release. – \ I should not object to his going to Bogota. \
I hope Sarah has got rid of her cold. –
So many accidents occur from the explosion of Kerosene oil lamps, I hope Mytton takes care that the oil he uses is not of the too volatile [‘too volatile’ underscored] & danger =ous kind. –
I have no letters by the [steamer] Hibernia except yours (which is postmarked N[ew] Y[ork] 7th & Boston 8th) neither has Cropper Hodgson & Co[mpany] any by her from Maury Bro[ther]s.
N[ew] Y[ork]
A Mr. Inman (brother of the ^ Steam packet line owner) is appointed in place of Mr. Adam Hodgson as Mana- =ging Director in the B[an]k of L[iver]pool. Yours affectionately R[utson] Maury
