-'ones, Thomas ?• 
 
 -A dress On The Pror^ress Of 1-^nuf actures And Intemel 
 Improvement In The United States..* 
 
DUKE 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
•4! 
 
 PROGRESS OF MANUFACTURES 
 
 AND 
 
 Kntetnal Kmiivoiiement, 
 
 IN THE UNITED STATES; 
 
 AND PARTICULABLT, 
 
 ON THE ADVANTAGES TO BE DERIVED • 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 EMPLOYMENT OF SLAVES 
 
 IN THE 
 
 MANUFACTURING OF COTTON AND OTHER GOODS. 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE HALL OF THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE, 
 
 November 6, 1827. 
 
 BY THOMAS P. JONES, M. D. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PURLISIIED BY .lUDAH DOBSON, AGENT, 108 CHESNUT STREET. 
 JKSPER HARDING, PHTNTER. 
 
 1 S9.r 
 
 ^'it>l>t>'\ 
 
^^' . 3 l^(^ . 
 
 NOTICE. 
 
 THE following Address is published in conformity with 
 the desire of several gentlemen who were present at its de- 
 livery. For the sentiments expressed, on the subject of the 
 employment of slaves in the southern states, the author is 
 alone responsible? although delivered before the Franklin 
 Institute, it is not to be viewed as emanating from that body, 
 as all interference in the question discussed, would be foreign 
 to the objects, for the promotion of which that society was 
 formed. An individual who knew and approved the views of 
 the writer, wished him to promulgate them, as he believed that 
 good would be thereby produced: the hope excited was suffi- 
 ciently powerful, and the occasion of opening the Institute for 
 the present session was embraced for the purpose. 
 
 The essay was written in haste; not for the press, but to 
 be once publicly read, and then placed upon the shelf; the 
 writer is sensible that it might be greatly improved by a 
 careful revision, and a remodelling of some of its parts; but 
 his other avocations forbid the devotion of any time to this 
 purpose, without delaying the publication, and thereby lessen- 
 ing the chance of its utility. Should the editors of papers, or 
 others who feel an interest upon the subject, deem the whole, 
 or any portion of it, worth promulgating, it is entirely at 
 their disposal. 
 
 In the few days which have elapsed since its delivery, the 
 author has heard of the recent adoption of measures in Rich- 
 mond, Fredericksburg, and other places to the south, for the 
 establishment of cotton factories, in some of which slaves are to 
 be employed; as his views are American^ and not sectional, and 
 as he is a warm friend to the manufacturing system, the intel- 
 ligence has afforded him unmixed pleasure. If the strength 
 of the body politic will be promoted, by the value which the 
 manufactured article will possess over the raw material, it will 
 be equally so, whether this value be impressed at Nate hiioches, 
 at Eastport, or at any intermediate point of the union. 
 
 Ph'dadd\)!da. Nov. I'i'/z. loi^r. 
 
 ^^ d(> b"] 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/Glethil^/addressonprogresOOjone 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 We live at a period the most eventful, and the most fruit- 
 ful of glorious anticipations, as respects the improvement of 
 the human mind, and the consequent exaltation of the spe- 
 cies. In almost every corner of Christendom, we see the 
 light of moral and political truth, dispersing that darkness, 
 which it has been the interest, and the endeavour, of most 
 of those who have had the direction of political and eccle- 
 siastical affairs, to perpetuate. The principles of freedom, 
 and the rights of conscience, are now asserted and claimed 
 in despite of autocracy and despotism. The ball is rolling 
 onward, increasing in volume as it rolls, and will eventually 
 break away those barriers which the occupants of tottering 
 thrones are raising to oppose its progress. Edicts for per- 
 petuating the institutions of the dark ages, aided by censorships 
 on the press, with their accompanying efforts, may, for a 
 while, retard, or rather divert its course; but the final issue 
 is as certain as the laws of moral and physical nature. 
 
 Although it would manifest an entire ignorance of history, 
 to claim for our country the first promulgation of the truth, 
 that ' the Creator has made all men equally free,' yet, to us is 
 justly due the honour of being the first people who have 
 given to these principles their full development, by the esta- 
 blishment of a government of which they are the very basis: 
 and, it will not be denied, that the example which we have 
 thus exhibited, has advanced the cause of freedom in Europe, 
 many ages in one. 
 
 The IJnited States exhibit a striking example of the in- 
 fluence of free institutions in aiding man in the pursuit of 
 happiness, by the promotion of all those arts which contri- 
 bute to his security and his comfort. Where the productions 
 of mental and physical efforts belong to the individuals with 
 whom they originate, the native energies of the human mind 
 are incomparably more effective in attaining the objects de- 
 sired, than any artificial encouragements derived from other 
 sources. It must be confessed, that we owe much to the 
 situation in which Providence has ])]accd us; as for example, 
 to the fertility of our soil, our exemjition from tithes, and 
 almost from rents, in consequence of the facility with which 
 
every industrious man may become a proprietor; and to the 
 advantages presented by noble rivers, and thcnr numerous tri- 
 butaries, by which intercourse is facilitated, commerce and 
 manufactures promoted, and the land irrigated. We need 
 not, however, travel far from the confines of our own coun- 
 try, to find others possessiing all these physical advantages; 
 yet as the same moral causes have not been in operation, gifts 
 even superior to our own have remained unimproved, and, 
 in many instances, unperceived. Under the blessing of that 
 guardian Providence, which directs the affairs of men, we 
 are mainly indebted for the freedom which we now enjoy, to 
 the correct ideas of the inherent rights of conscience, which 
 distinguished the first settlers of our country, who souo;ht in 
 it an asylum from that oppression to which the violation of 
 these principles subjected them in the land of their nativity: 
 and although their views were narrowed by the prejudices 
 of the age in which they lived, and they sometimes adopted 
 measures which were at variance with the rights they them- 
 selves claimed, the germ still remained, and the glorious har- 
 vest which their descendants reap, has sprung from the seeds 
 planted by them. 
 
 Time will not allow, nor would the occasion be a proper 
 one, for us to take a view of the rapid advancement which 
 this country has made under the fostering aid of a free go- 
 vernment, and the patriotic exertions of liberal and enlight- 
 ened individuals. That spirit of free inquiry, and that 
 exemption from oppressive restrictions, which are the very 
 essence of our political institutions, have manifested them- 
 selves in the readiness with which we have availed ourselves 
 of the peculiarities in the situation of our own and of other 
 countries, so as to extend our commerce, our agriculture, and 
 our manufactures. The wars consequent upon the French 
 revolution, throughout the greater part of which a wise neu- 
 trality was preserved, opened a wide field for mercantile 
 enterprise, secured to us a large portion of the carrying trade 
 of the civilized world, afforded an extensive foreign market 
 for the productions of the soil, raised our country to a high 
 degree of maritime importance, with a rapidity which the 
 n^ost sanguine could not have anticipated; secured full em- 
 ployment to our whole population, and rewarded industry, 
 not only with comfort, but with wealth. 
 
 VV^e will pass over those political occurrences which pro- 
 duced and accompanied the termination of this artificial state 
 of things. An almost universal repose from the strife of 
 
nations, h. is restored to eacli, an opportunity of employing its 
 own internal resourceSj and of transporting to other countries, 
 the articles resulting from its in(histry; this new born, or ex- 
 tended attention to manufactures, in the various kingdoms of 
 Europe, created a large demand for some of the unelaborated 
 productions of our soil; and the income thence resulting, con- 
 tinued to enable us still to import Irom foreign countries, many 
 things which are absolutely necessary to our comfort. We 
 cannot, however, possess that portion of independence which 
 ought to belong to us as a nation until we have secured the 
 means of producing these among ourselves; the truth of this 
 position was abundantly proved by the experience of the last 
 war. As had been foreseen, by a few thinking men, the re- 
 source just spoken of, was only temporary ; over production, 
 co-operating with other causes, has depreciated the value of 
 our staples, until the sum which can be obtained for them, will 
 not insure even a moderate compensation for the labour ne- 
 cessary for their growth and transportation. Whilst men are 
 prosperous, they generally act as thou2;h the sun of their 
 prosperity would never set; instead of providing for the 
 changes which attend all human institutions, they too fre- 
 quently enjoy the good things of the day, and think not of 
 commencing those pursuits, which wisdom might have taught 
 them, must come next in their turn^ until compelled so to do 
 by imperious necessity. It has long been felt by many, that 
 we possess the capacity, and that our dearest interests de- 
 mand that our energies should he directed to the establish- 
 ment of manufactories upon a large scale. Enough has long 
 since been effected to falsify the predictions of those British 
 economists who had foretold that we never could become a 
 manufacturing people, and that, in this particular, therefore, 
 our independence would be but nominal; and the advances 
 which have been made within a few years, have removed, or, 
 at least, have shaken the opinions of those among ourselves, 
 who were sceptical upon this subject. It is true, there still 
 exists much honest opposition to the change which is being 
 effected; but these honest oppositionists will, ere long, be- 
 come honest supporters of the American system; and the 
 few refugees, whose affections are wedded to other countries 
 where they believe their interest lies, and who have, even 
 now, almost become an extinct race, will scarcely be remem- 
 bered. 
 
 The perfection already attained in the manufacture of fine 
 flint glass, and the extent of these establishments, are such as 
 
8 
 
 would have appeared altogether visionary, had they been 
 foretold but a few years ago; for, although it was believed that 
 considerable progress might be made in those manufactures 
 where labour-saving machinery could be used, yet few were 
 prepared to expect, that in the nice operations of blowing and 
 cutting flint glass, which can be effected only by manual la- 
 bour, and individual skill, the American would not only expel 
 the foreign article from the market, but would be afforded at 
 a price much lower than that, even under the duty formerly 
 existing. A gentleman, perfectly conversant with this busi- 
 ness, one, in fact, who has been an importer, and is a dealer 
 in fine glass, has informed me, that he now sells at ten dollars 
 per dozen, tumblers which, if imported, could not be sold for 
 less than twenty-two dollars. We have, in this, a striking 
 example of the advantage derived by the consumer, from the 
 advanced duty imposed by the tariff'of 1824, which, not only 
 protected the home-made article, but has also greatly reduced 
 its cost. 
 
 The advances which have been made in the spinning, 
 weaving, and printing of cotton, are, to a considerable extent, 
 generally known. In these manufactures also, the benefit of 
 the protecting duty has been clearly manifested. In the re- 
 port drawn up by Mr. Niles, the chairman of the committee 
 appointed by the Harrisburg Convention, there are the fol- 
 lowing remarks: 
 
 " One pound of cotton makes nearly four yards of shirting. 
 Now look at the progress of the manufacture of cottons in the 
 United States. In 1815, when cotton was at 20 cents per 
 pound, a yard of shirting sold for 25 cents, and the cost of 
 the cotton (lib., worth 5 cents,) being deducted, the manu- 
 facturers had 20 cents for their labour and profit, and yet 
 very few of them made money, because of the want of ma- 
 chinery, or of management and skill: and when the price of 
 cotton in 1818, was 32 cents, and the stock of a yard of 
 cloth cost 8 cents, the price of it was only 21 cents; leaving 
 13 cents to the manufacturer; and, with this advance on the 
 raw material, the most of them were actually ruined. But, at 
 the present time, 1S27, when the price of cotton is 9^ cents, 
 the same sorts of shirting are sold at 9i cents, leaving only 
 seven cents for the manufacturer, (the cost of the cotton being 
 deducted,) the business of making such goods, though made 
 cheaper than they are made in England, is a good one!'' 
 
 Much interesting matter might he added upon this sub- 
 
ject, but as I have some other topics to embrace, the pie- 
 scribed limits of this address admonish me to be brief. 
 
 Connected, intimately, with the growth of manufactures, 
 is that system of internal improvement, which is now in such 
 successful progress. We can scarcely pay too high a tribute 
 to our enterprising neighbours, the citizens of New York, for 
 the great work which they have accomplished, and the glo- 
 rious example which they have placed before us. If they 
 boast, they have good reason so to do; and I apprehend that 
 when we have accomplished as much as they have, we shall 
 not deem a little boasting to be vainglorious. 
 
 The citizens of Pennsylvania are, happily, emulous of join- 
 ing in the contest, of which shall be foremost in improving 
 the gifts of Providence, by turning our rivers to the best 
 account, in making them become the feeders of navigable 
 canals; and in connecting, by rail roads, those parts of the 
 country where these may be found most eligible; and those 
 sections of our internal navigation, where the want of a suffi- 
 cient supply of water, or other serious obstacles, render this 
 adjunct means desirable. 
 
 That which may be properly denominated the first section 
 of the Pennsylvania Canal, will, before the end of the present 
 month, be so far completed, as to afford a passage from the 
 Delaware to the Susquehanna, through the Schuylkill navigation 
 and the Union Canal. Much also has been done both on the 
 eastern and western sections of the Grand Canal, which, with 
 the assistance of a rail-road on the summit of the Alleghany, 
 will unite the Susquehanna to the Ohio at Pittsburg, by the 
 aid of the Alleghany and Kiskiminitas rivers. Tiiose who 
 have traversed that mountain region, can in some degree 
 estimate the proud trophy of human skill and prrseverance, 
 which will be furnished by surmounting the barriers which 
 appear in all directions to obstruct the course. On the banks 
 of our own Delaware, also, the excavations have been com- 
 menced, which will give an easy conveyance from Bristol to 
 Easton, a distance of between seventy and eighty miles, pass- 
 ing the falls and the rapids which now interfeie with the 
 navigation. Many other similar works, either in contempla- 
 tion, or in progress, in our own, and other parts of the union, 
 might be made to add brilliancy to this sketch, but cannot 
 now be even named. The most satisfactory point of view in 
 which they can be contemplated, is, as connecting links in the 
 great federal chain, wiiich, strengthened by their means, will, 
 we believe, endure for ages, a pattern and a proof of the ex- 
 
10 
 
 cellence of republican institutions. The great progress which 
 has been made in the work of internal improvement, and more 
 especially in the establishment of manufactures, has hitherto 
 been principally confined to the eastern, the middle, and the 
 western states. There are, however, several works for the 
 spinnins; of cotton to the south of the Potomac, and others 
 are on the eve of being; established; and if I am not greatly in 
 error, another bond of union will; in the course of a very few 
 years, be added to the confederacy by a community of pur- 
 suit, in the extension of manufactures, over that important 
 section of our country. 
 
 I have, for some years, been convinced, that the slaves in 
 those states might be advantageously employed in the manufac- 
 turing of some staple articles, and more particularly in that 
 of cotton; this conviction I have long forborne to promulgate, 
 because I have thought that the only result would be to affix 
 on myself the imputation of singularity, at least, if not of 
 absurdity. I rejoice, hov/ever, to perceive that the question 
 of the practicability, and the eligibility of the measure has 
 lately become a subject of discussion in the public papers, and 
 that much has been said in its favour. While expressing my 
 own convictions and anticipations upon this point, I am aware 
 that they will appear sanguine, if not extravagant, even to 
 those who, to a certain extent, think favourably of the pro- 
 position: these opinions, however, have been the result of 
 much observation and reflection, under circumstances particu- 
 larly favourable to the formation of a correct judgment. 
 
 It has formed no small portion of my occupation through 
 life, to render myself familiar with the structure of machines, 
 and their application to manufactures; and to estimate the 
 portion of skill required in their management, in establish- 
 ments upon a large scale, where the division of labour is ne- 
 cessarily carried to the utmost extent. I have also resided 
 for a considerable number of years in the southern states, and 
 have, in consequence, acquired some share of knowledge, with 
 regard to the habits, inclinations, and capacities of the negroes; 
 the result of which is, that I am thoroughly convinced, not 
 only that they may be profitably employed as manufacturers, 
 but that they are peculiarly suited to this purpose. It would 
 be improper, here, to enter into a discussion of the question, 
 whether the negroes are absolutely inferior to the whites in 
 intellect; and indeed were we able to settle this question, it 
 would scarcely affect that upon which I am speaking, as only 
 
11 
 
 a small degree of intelligence is necessary to the acquisition of 
 the utmost skill in the performance of an individual operation, 
 however delicate it may be. In all extensive manufactories, 
 we meet the veriest dolts, who become, as it were, a part of 
 the operative machinery; performing, from habit, the busi- 
 ness allotted to them, with a degree of dexterity and preci- 
 sion which appears almost miraculous, and which those who 
 are adepts in other departments of the same business, might 
 essay in vain. 
 
 The object proposed to be accomplished, is to teach the 
 negroes to work machines which have already been invented, 
 and extensively used; their occupations would be those of 
 mere routine, and for this they are peculiarly fitted; their 
 deficiency in imagination and inventive genius may fairly be 
 thrown into the scale of advantages, rather than into that of 
 objections. With respect to the actual employment of slaves 
 in manufacturing hempen bagging in Kentuckj'-, I extract the 
 following remarks from one of the essays upon this subject, 
 which appeared first in the Ariel, published at Natchez, 
 Mississippi, and since in the American Farmer, and some 
 other papers: 
 
 " Strange as it may appear to those who have never ob- 
 served for themselves, nor reflected on this matter, it is demon- 
 strably true, that slaves are the most profitable of all operatives 
 in the business of manufacturing coarse fabrics, where inge- 
 nuity has furnished them with suitable machinery. In Ken- 
 tucky, for instance, by the assistance of trifling machines, 
 slaves manufacture vast quantities of hempen bagging. We, 
 indeed, scarcely see any other operatives in the great factories 
 of Lexington, Paris, Danville, Shelbyville, and other towns 
 in Kentucky. 
 
 *' If we except a manager or two, and a machinist, neither 
 Englishmen, Scotchmen, nor even New Englandmen, are to 
 be seen in these profitable establishments. Why are slaves 
 employed ? Simply because experience has proved that they 
 are more docile, more constant, and cheaper, than freemen, 
 who are often refractory and dissipated; who waste much 
 time by visiting public places, attending musters, elections, 
 &c. which the operative slave is not permitted to frequent.* 
 
 • The cheapness of slave labour may be seen from a statement made by 
 Mr. J. T. Kilby, of Virginia, which appeared in the American Farmer of 
 the 2d inst. The following are the rates at which he estimates it. 
 
12 
 
 The quantity of bagging and cordage used for the packing 
 of cotton, is immense, as will appear from the statements of 
 the demand for them in some of the cotton growing states. 
 In Louisiana and Mississippi, only, the last crop was esti- 
 mated to require 800,000 yards of bagging; consuming, if 
 made of cotton instead of hemp, 2500 bales of 400 lbs. each; 
 and should the cordage be made of the same material, the 
 amount used would be doubled, say 5000 bales, or two millions 
 of pounds. The facts appear to be sufficiently well ascertained, 
 that the bagging and rope can be made much cheaper from 
 cotton, than from hemp ; that it is equally suitable for the 
 purpose, and in some respects superior; it is averred, that 
 cotton bagging can be made at 16 cents per yard, which shall 
 equal in quality the hemp bagging, formerly imported in large 
 quantities from Scotland, and that it may be advantageously 
 substituted for the Kentucky bagging, which is about 40 per 
 cent, dearer. 
 
 " It is computed that North Alabama consumes 300,000 
 yards of cotton bagging annually, at an average expense of 
 ^100,000, which large amount is principally paid to the Ken- 
 tucky manufacturers in money. Of the coarse clothing which 
 is annually imported, it is impossible to take even a conjec- 
 tural estimate of the quantity. '^ Some progress has been 
 made in supplying coarse cottons from slave labour in Ten- 
 nessee, where a factory has actually been established, in 
 which the entire labour is performed by negroes; a large por- 
 
 An able man may be hired for a year for - - - - $35 
 
 Feeding from 18 to 25, say 20 
 
 Clothing 10 to 15 - - - 12 
 
 Taxes, about 2 
 
 69 
 
 Boys or girls, under 12 years of age, 8 
 
 Feeding 20 
 
 Clothing - . - 8 
 
 $36 
 
 Women — hire - - - - 17 
 
 Feeding 20 
 
 Clothing 8 
 
 Taxes - 2 
 
 It is easy for any one to contrast the foregoing with the prices usually 
 paid to white labourers, which will average about three times the above 
 amounts, whilst from the causes enumerated in the extract, the negroes, in 
 steadiness, will veiy far surpass the great mass of the whites: 
 
13 
 
 lion of Tennessee and North Alabama are supplied from it 
 with coarse cotton goods ; the works are said to be very pro- 
 fitable, being quadruple that of the cotton grower, with the 
 same number of hands. 
 
 A proposition to encourage the employment of slaves in the 
 manufacturing of cotton bagging, cotton cordage, cotton blank- 
 ets, and coarse clothing, was made at a public meeting con- 
 vened for the purpose, at Natchez, in July last, and such 
 preliminary measures adopted, as were thought to be neces- 
 sary for the attainment of the end. The resolutions passed 
 were conceived in a spirit of liberality, embracing the promo- 
 tion of manufactures in every part of the union. Their views 
 were, very properly, restricted to essaying, in the first instance, 
 the coarser fabrics; it will be seen, however, in the course of 
 this address, that I am of opinion much more than this, can, 
 and will, be accomplished, as I believe the slave population 
 to be peculiarly fitted to learn, and to perform most of the 
 operations required in the cotton mill. 
 
 Early impressions, and habit, are alone sufficient to account 
 for the expectations, and even the desires, of the slave being 
 circumscribed within very narrow limits; one of his most 
 ardent wishes, however, is to learn some mechanical business, 
 and he who has a trade is, by common consent, considered as 
 superior in situation to him who works upon the plantation, 
 and even to the house servant. Many, indeed the greater 
 part of them, are but indifferent workmen; this, it is evident, 
 does not arise from a want of capacity to become otherwise, 
 but from defective instruction, indifierent tools, afid that slo- 
 venly habit of doing almost every thing with make-shifts, as 
 they are called, which is perhaps unavoidable under existing 
 circumstances. Indeed it is rather matter of surprise, that so 
 much skill exists as is frequently manifested, where nearly 
 every plantation has its blacksmith and its carpenter, whose 
 operations are limited to the immediate wants of home; were 
 white men brought up under the like circumstances, it may 
 fairly be questioned whether they would exhibit any portion 
 of that superiority which is so generally ascribed to them. 
 
 In all the larger towns, and in many of the smaller, there 
 are negro workmen, particularly blacksmiths, who execute 
 with great cleverness, and, sometimes, with extraordinary 
 skill. I have seen several well made screw presses, for 
 baling cotton, which were entirely the work of negroes; the 
 gins, which are almost as numerous as the larger plantations 
 of cotton, are usually tended exclusively by them, although 
 
14 
 
 they exact as much care and skill as are generally required in 
 the processes of the manufacture of that article into yarn and 
 cloth. 
 
 The negro possesses, in general, a degree of emulation, 
 equal, at least, to that of the white labourer; I say at least 
 equal, but, in my estimation, it is superior; I have been re- 
 peatedly struck with the avidity with which they seek, and 
 the gratitude with which they receive instruction on any 
 point relating to their business; and surprised to hear how 
 anxiously the wish has been expressed that they could visit 
 the north, to see and to learn new methods of working; a 
 wish entirely unconnected, I am sure, with any other idea 
 than the simple one expressed. Although thus emulous, the 
 emulation of the negro is limited to his own particular busi- 
 ness, and if this be one simple operation, requiring to be 
 perpetually repeated, he is perfectly satisfied to pursue it, 
 and will be proud of any superior skill which he may acquire. 
 
 Assuming these positions as facts, and such I know them 
 to be, it will readily be admitted, that better materials for 
 making workmen, in any regular, and ordinary manufacture, 
 where labour-saving machinery is employed, do not exist any 
 where. It is not merely in cotton bagging, and other fabrics 
 of the coarser kind, that the negro may be employed; al- 
 though these will necessarily come first in order, he, I am 
 convinced, will be found equal to the production of some of 
 the finer articles furnished in the spinning factory, and by 
 the loom; what valid reason can be urged to the contrary, I 
 am utterly at a loss to divine. 
 
 So little aware of this fact, or so averse to its manifestation, 
 have been those persons who have conducted the establish- 
 ments for cotton spinning, to the south, that in mills which 
 have been in operation for three or four years, none but white 
 persons are, or were lately, employed, excepting in offices of 
 mere labour. Some enterprising individuals are now esta- 
 blishing cotton works in the vicinity of Petersburg in Virginia; 
 a gentleman who has taken great interest in this subject, ac- 
 cidentally met with the superintendent, and inquired whether 
 it was his intention to employ negroes in the manufactory; 
 he replied that it was a thing of which he had never thought; 
 and until very lately, all the owners of slaves appear to have 
 been in the same predicament: even now, there are but 
 few of them prepared to give credit to the doctrine which I 
 have so confidently advanced; this, however, need not excite 
 surprise, as most of them are acquainted with the manufac- 
 
15 
 
 tured goods in their finished state only, and cannot, therefore, 
 estimate the moderate portion of skill required by each indi- 
 vidual employed in their formation — this can be done only 
 by those acquainted with the details of the workshop. 
 
 Should the truth of the doctrine which I have advocated 
 be admitted, the philanthropist, and the political economist, 
 will hail with equal pleasure the change which will be effected 
 in the south, by the introduction of manufacturing establish- 
 ments; as it will, at the same time, add greatly to the com- 
 fort of the slave, and to the solid wealth of the community. 
 For a considerable period the planters in many places have 
 found it extremely difficult to pay their current expenses, and 
 to feed and clothe their negroes, from the annual produce of 
 their lands; and thousands have removed to the more fertile 
 regions in the western states, not with the expectation of ac- 
 cumulating wealth, but merely for the purpose of obtaining 
 a ready and abundant supply for their negro families; thou- 
 sands more of our southern fellow-citizens will be compelled 
 to adopt the same expedient, unless some new resource be 
 obtained. 
 
 Do not imagine that I am the friend of slavery, or that I 
 would willingly promote any measures which I believed to be 
 in the slightest degree calculated to extend, and perpetuate, 
 this great moral evil. At the present day slavery has but 
 few advocates; and they are as rare among the intelligent 
 slave-holders to the south, as they are with us. A long resi- 
 dence among them, and an intimate acquaintance with many 
 of them, enable me to make this declaration with the most 
 undoubting confidence; and I feel therefore that in making 
 it, I perform an act of simple justice only, and should be 
 much gratified if I were able to remove any portion of that 
 prejudice which tends to estrange one part of our country 
 from the other. When I first removed to the south, I carried 
 with me many of those prejudices which are common in the 
 non-slave-holding states; and although, from the very nature 
 of moral truth, it was impossible for me to see any thing 
 which could lessen my abhorrence of slavery, in the abstract, 
 I yet found that much more had been done than I had appre- 
 hended, and that much is still in progress, to lessen its attend- 
 ing evils; and was also thoroughly convinced, that its removal 
 is a problem of no easy solution. The work, however, is 
 making a sure, though slow, progress; the slaves are gradu- 
 ally acquiring information, and their owners generally both 
 confess, and feel the iniquity of the system. Examples of 
 
16 
 
 cruelty are very rare, and indelible disgrace affixes itself to 
 him who has the character of being a bad master. The 
 friends of emancipation must rejoice should one of the mo»t 
 serious obstacles to its accomplishment be removed, by train- 
 ing the slave to habits of industry, in a business which will 
 tend to prepare him for a state of freedom, and thus pave the 
 way for the gradual removal of an entailed evil, which can- 
 not be directly, or suddenly, touched, without committing 
 monstrous injustice in the case of both the parties concerned. 
 
 At present, the occupation of the plantation slave, is, in 
 many instances, an alternation between absolute idleness and 
 severe labour ; most of the crops raised, demanding at one 
 period, unremitted attention, and at others, allowing long in- 
 tervals of complete relaxation. The principal product of the 
 plantation which exacts regular attendance, and aflfords em- 
 ployment to the younger negroes, is the cotton crop; and 
 this circumstance has operated as a strong inducement to many 
 planters to cultivate it; as every intelligent man is aware that 
 moderate, and regularly continued labour, is the most favour- 
 able to the physical, and moral constitution of man. The 
 period, however, has arrived, when, as I have already re- 
 marked, the cotton crop will not, in many situations, pay for 
 its cwlture, preparation, and carriage to market; and it is ab- 
 solutely necessary that other employment should be found for 
 the hands, there being no probability, and scarcely a possi- 
 bility, of an advance in the price ; indeed, the very reverse 
 of this may be anticipated. I have attempted to indicate 
 that new employment, which is so much needed, and to prove 
 that it is not only necessary and desirable, but practicable. 
 
 In the introduction of every new system, difficulties are 
 to be encountered, and removed ; but those which at first 
 appear insuperable, yield readily, and rapidly, to the energy 
 of determined perseverance. In the present instance, as in 
 most others, prejudice and habit, both stand in the vvay. The 
 south will not supply persons able to establish, or to superin- 
 tend these new manufactories, and the proper management 
 of the slave, requires considerable knowledge and experience; 
 his usefulness, and even his happiness, demands that the kind 
 of familiarity which is admissible among white persons should 
 be avoided, and that the difference of situation should be 
 constantly, and distinctly marked ; and all this may be, and 
 is done, without violating the duties of kindness, or of hu* 
 manity. Persons brought up to the north, frequently err in 
 this point; for although there are some whose understandings 
 
17 
 
 will enable them at once to adopt the right course, the greater 
 number are inclined to be at first too famiiiur, and subsequently 
 loo severe, and there is constquently sonie \^ell gicundcd 
 prejudice agninst making lliem the managers of negroes. This 
 m;iy limit the number of suitable managers, yet il is not an 
 insuperable objection to the system 1 am a(!vocating; the 
 practice of a few years would enable the south to supply her 
 own superintendents, and in many respects with manifest ad- 
 vantiige to herself. 
 
 There is another class of persons existing in the southern 
 states, who are in fact, though free, less happily situated than 
 the slaves themselves, and which by t!^e extensive introduction 
 of the manufacturing system, would not only be redeemed 
 from wretchedness, but become a mine of wealth to the 
 country, instead of remaining a degraded cast, and a heavy 
 burden; 1 allude to the poorer portion of the white inhabit- 
 ants; among these there is a very large number of widow-s, 
 with families of children, who, with the utmost efforts of their 
 industry, earn a miserable and precarious subsistence; of these, 
 ail who are able, would soon be employed. That the number 
 of widows and orphans, in the situation represented, should 
 be comparatively much greater, in the southern, thau in the 
 northern stales, may, to some, appear paradoxical and incre- 
 dible; it is, however, a fact; and one for which it would not 
 be difficult to assign a reason, were it necessary, or suitable to 
 the occasion. 
 
 It is a subject of increasing difficulty in the part of our 
 country of which I am speaking, that the occupations are so 
 few, which are deemed reputable for the sons of those who are 
 in good circumstances; and, in the present state of things, this 
 difficulty is a real one. The encouragement to become plant- 
 ers is very small indeed, and the professions of medicine, and 
 of law, are overstocked; manufactories do not exist upon a 
 scale sufficiently extensive to afford acceptable stations; and 
 until they do, it would argue but little knowledge of the state 
 of affairs in the south, or of the principles of liuman nature, to 
 expect those who are considered as holding a station in the 
 higher walks of society, to devote their attention to the me- 
 chanic arts. A deficiency in the requisite talents will not be 
 expected, for although the opportur^ities of displaying it have 
 been le^^s numerous, the same aptitude at invention and adapta- 
 tion, exists in the south, which is so characteristic of the inha- 
 bitants of the northern states. The records of the patent 
 office, and numerous ingenious contrivances which have been 
 3 
 
dfvised, and are in use, might be adduced, were proofof this 
 thouglit necessary. 
 
 Of the awakening attention of the south, to the difTusion 
 of information on tiie important subject of the meclianic arts, 
 many evidences might be adduced; one only shall be men- 
 tioned; the board of visiters of the University of Viiginia, 
 have, by a recent regulation, made it the particular duty of 
 the professor of natural philosophy, to include in his course 
 of lectures, the application of this science to operative mecha- 
 nics. 
 
 It may be thought by some, and perhaps correctly, that a 
 subject might have been chosen better suited to the j)urpose 
 of an opening address, to the Franklin Institute, tlian that to 
 which I have given a prominent place. The uses and im- 
 portance of science to the artisan have been so frequently 
 treated on, that the subject has become trite, and they are now 
 so generally admitted, as scarcely to need being insisted 
 upon: that which I have preferred appeared to me to be one 
 of high interest to every citizen; and one also which will 
 inevitably, and quickly, force itself upon public attention. A 
 topic so immediately connected with the extension of manu- 
 factures in our common country, cannot be out of place when 
 brought before an institution, which, though nominally Penn- 
 sylvanian, is essentially national. 
 
 To the political economist I commit the discussion of the 
 question as it respects its connexion with his inquiries. I 
 have very slender claims to knowledge upon this subject; in 
 fact, I can scarcely say, that I have formed a theory for my- 
 self; although I, of necessity, entertain opinions which appear 
 to me to have their foundntion in practical truth, which is 
 my only guide. — In the field of political science I have been 
 only a gleaner ; my attention has been directed almost exclu- 
 sively to the physical sciences; and these admit of no Procrus- 
 tean bed, but consider every well established fact as standing 
 upon a basis which no theory can remove. 
 
CALL NUMBER 
 
 326.7 
 J79 
 
 VoL 
 
 Date (for periodical) 
 
 Copy No. 
 
 i^wr 
 
 2 IS84 
 
 Author: 
 
 Janes 
 
 Title: 
 
 An address 
 
 r Your Name: