Texas National Register. (Washington, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 50, Ed. 1, Wednesday, December 24, 1845 Page: 1 of 4
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NATIONAL.
REGISTER.
VOL. I.
AUSTIN TEXAS WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 24 1845.
NO. 50
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TEXAS NATIONAL REGISTER
PUBLISHED ON WEDNESDAYS
BY FORD & CRONICAN.
I. S FORD. M. CRONICAN.
TERMS.
Sulteription. Five dollars per annum payable in
- mdsanee.
jaF fUdvertUing. For each square of ten tinea or un
der nrslinscrtion one dollar. or each subsequent
insertion fifty cents.
A deduction of fifty per cent will be made upon
yearly advertisements with the privilege of renewing
the same quarterly.
Announcement of candidates for office five dollars.
An allowance of ten per cent upon ail sums be-
tween twenty-five and fifty dollars and of twenty
per cent upon all sums over fifty dollars will be
made to agents.
All letters on business connected with the office
must be addressed to Ford & Cronican and be
Pott Paid.
From IkeJVew Orleans Price Current.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONS OF
LOUISIANA COTTON AND SUGAR
INTERESTS.
Under this head the Tropic of Monday
morning contains an elaborate article from
the pen of Edm. J. Forstall Esq. merchant
of this city in reply to a series of questions
contained in a circular of the Secretary of the
Treasury which circular appears to have
been distributed in all parts of the country
for the purpose of eliciting information on a
variety of subjects among which arc the cha
racter and amount of the production of each
State the average profit thereon the opera-
tion of the tariff laws &c &c. The ques-
tions are twenty-eight in number of which
Mr. Forstall has replied to eight the number
more directly connected with the State of
Louisiana and these questions and their an-
swers occupy five and a half columns of the
Tropic embracing much interesting informa-
tion in regard to the Cotton and Sugar inte-
rests of nur State. We have not space for
the article entire and we therefore select that
portion which furnishes an approximate state-
ment of the amount of capital employed in
the production of Sugar and Cotton and the
average and comparative profits.
Question 4. What has been the annual
average profit on capita! employed in their
production on well conducted farms or plan-
tations for the last three years since the pas
sage of the Tariff of 1842 including the crop
of that year and deducting all expenses inci-
dent to the production of the articles their
preparation for market the transportation to
the place of sale aud the sales themselves ?
ANswERvr-The same difficulty presents it-
self in this qtiestion as in the second the ab-
sence of fixed data to establish the real capital
invested precludes the possibility of ascertain-
ing the nett annual profits thereupon.
The following facts may however enable
the Treasury to approximate the information
it is seeking:
In 1828 the sugar estates of
Louisiana numbered 308
Of which were worked by horse
power 226
And by steam 82
The slaves of all agei attached
to the above estates numbered
about 21000
These estates at that epoch
were valued at $34000000
From 182cV30 there were estab-
lished 383 new sugar estates
making then 691
The slaves attached to the above
estates then numbered about
36000
These additional estates were
then supposed to have required
d additional outlay of $16000000
r
Making at this epoch the capital
invested in the sugar industry $50000000
InI841-'2 the sugar estates ac-
tually working or preparing to
do so numbered 668 s . ;
Steam power 361
Horse do 307
Slaves then attached to said in
dastry.as par census of the .
Federal Goverament 50670 . ..;':.
Being a decrease in tie number
of sugar estates compared to ..- v.'
1830 of 23 an increase in " ' "
steam power of 279 engines and
mills and of slaves 14670.
By the document hereto append-
ed (No. 1) it will be seen that
for the year 1844-M5 the num-
ber of sugar estates has reach-
ed 762
Steam power 408
Horse do 354
There not being any data as to
the increase of slaves during
the Inst three years let it be
supposed that the number (al-
though it is known to have
greatly augmented) is the same
as when ascertained in 1840
say 50670
This gives over the estimates of
1830: 71 new estates 321 en-
gines and mills and 14670
slaves.
Which at a low estimate repre
by approximation the capital invested in the lands the value of which for all practical
cultivation of cotton but knowing the number purposes may be considered the same whet h.
ui minus uiinuiicu miciciu aim uic yiciu per
hand in 1840 and being in possession of the
50670
93220
sent at least
$10000000
This would give for the whole
capital at present invested in
the sugar industry $60000000
Should this amount which is considered a
low approximation of the original investment
be considered as the capital then the nett pro-
fits of the susar planters?tnken collectively
may be arrived at as follows :
Crop of 1841-'42 as before shown 120000-
000 pound.- at 4 cents (the average price
in March) on plantations $4800000
6000.000 gallons molasses at 13 cts. 780000
same information regarding sugar the follow
ing comparative statement may be sufficient
for all practical purposes in view. The an-
swer to the second question shows :
1st. The number of slaves of all ages at-
tached to the sugar industry per census of
the Federal Government to have been in
1840
And the number attached to the
cotton industry to have been
2d. That the crop of sugar for
1840 amounted to 119947720
lbs. and about 6000000 gall?.
molasses being per hand of all
ages pounds of sugar
And about gallons of molasses
per each hand
And the crop of cotton for 1840
amounted to 152545.368 lbs.
of cotton per hand as above
Which lends to the following
result :
2367 pounds sugar at an average
of 4 cents
120 galls molasses at 15 cents
2367
120
1636
$94 68
18 00
Deduct expenses as before stated
$112 68
75 00
37 68
Deduct exppnses say $75 per
each slave attached to the said
estates' as before explained say
on 50670
$5580000
380025 )
Nett product per hand
1636 pounds of cotton supposing un average
of 6 cents $98 16
Deduct working expenses 30 00
Nett profit $1779750
Or about 2 95-100 per cent on a capital of
$60000000 to cover interest casualities by
death of slaves who form part of the capital
etc. etc.
Crop of 1842-M3 140316000 at 3 cents
(the nverase as above) $5437245
7015800 galls molasses at 12 cts. 841896
Deduct expenses as above which
are alvys running be the crop
what it may
$6279141
3800250
Nett profit $2178891
Or 4 13-100 per cent to cover as above etc. etc.
Crop of 1843-M4 .100346000 pounds sugar
at an average on plantation of 6 cents.
$6020760
5000000 galls molasses nt 20 cts. 1 000000
Nett product per hind $68 16
Which gives for the product per hand of
cotton at 6 cents nearly 80 per cent more
than sugar.
Crops of 1844-M5 yield 204000-
000 lbs. sugar being per hand
426 lbs at 4 cents. $161 04
Molasses 180 gallons at 12 cts. 21 60
Deduct expenses as before
Product per hand
1636 lbs. cotton at the average
now current say 8 cents
Deduct expenses
$182 64
75 00
$107 64
$130 88
30 00
$100 88
Deduct expenses as above
$7620760
3800250
Nett profit $3220510
Or a small fraction over 5 per cent to cover
as above etc. etc.
Crop of I844-M5 204913000 pounds sugar
nt 4 cents $8196520
9000000 galls molasses at 12 cts. 1 080000
Deduct expenses as above
$9276520
3800250
Nett profit $5476270
Or a small fraction over 9 per cent as above
to cover interest etc. etc.
Remarks. The working expenses of a
sugar estate being represented by $75 per
slave of all ages and this sum on the aggre-
gate representing n very large amount refe-
rence is requested to the annexed pro forma
estimate (No. 2.) giving the details of such
expenses. The Hon. the present Secretary
of the Treasury having been once a sugar
planter can appreciate their correctness.
The average prices of sugars are taken from
the New Orleans Price Current in March of
each year: The crop of 1844-'45 did not
average more than 4 cents for the planter al-
though after March prices advanced gradually
to 6 a 7 cents.
Speculators chiefly from New York on as-
certaining the enormous deficiency in the
Cuba crop had swept the. market of the
balance of the crop or very nearly so.
COTTON.
There ire no data whereby to establish even i
Product per hand
In all these calculations interest on capital
is not included. But the cotton crop of 1840
which is the basis of the foregoing calculation
was a full average one whilst that of sugar
for 1844-4o was unusually large; taking
therefore the average of the lust four years
say 1842-M5 the comparative result will be
found to be as follows :
Average crop of 1842-'45 145-
143000 lbs. sugar or per hand
2864 lbs. at 4 ets. the ave-
rage on plantation $128 86
143 gallons molasses at 15 cents 21 45
Deduct working expenses as
above
Product per slave as above
1636 lbs cotton supposing an
average of 6 J cents for the last
4 years
Deduct working expenses
$150 31
75 00
$75 31
$106 34
30 00
$76 34
From which it would appear that when
sugars average 4 cents and cotton 6 cents
and both crops ore equally good the result
per slave attached to each industry has been
nearly ttie same these last four years with this
very great difference however as to the capi-
tal invested that the buildings and gin re-
quired for a large cotton establishment seldom
exceed a cost of $5000 whilst the buildings
and machinery required for a large sugar
estate involve a cost of $20000 and upwards.
Remarks. To arrive at the effective hands
on a sugar estate a deduction of at least one
third should be made from the gang attached
to it for children under 10 or 12 years of age
and hands rendeed useless by old age the
slaves attached to the sugar industry as before
shown numbering 50670 represent 33780
efficient bands. No notica is taken of the
er cultivated in soear cane or eottnn.
It may be said that Cotton has arrived at
its climax for production and that ever sinca
1840 lands clearing and draining and work-
ing power have been made to harmonize; the
aggregate result perslave therefore represents
a sufficiently correct acconnt of indivrdavf
management for all practical deductions.
The reverse is the case with the Sugar interest
which can only he considered as issuing ont
of its torpor although its strides have been
gigantic these last three years.
isr. x here has been established these fast
three years 94 estates; the change from one-
culture to another is gradual it takes at least
three years before cane plants can be obtained
in sufficient quantity to work with advantage r
in the mean time the planter cultivates loth
cotton and the sugar cane
2d. More than one half of the sugar estaikss
still existing in 1842 had been gradually sing-
ing into insignificance from the want of means;
or credit on the part of their owners to worfe
mem ; tnese can hardly be safd fo have evei
now obtained any. thing like a full average-
yield. Hence although the production per
slave is strictly correct as applied to the sugar-
industry in the aggregate still it does not con-
vey any thing like a correct idea of the true
position of that industry when applied to an
estate working to its full power with a skillful
manager at its head.
Where the grinding and boiling power and
the cutting and transporting oftlie canes to
the mill nre made to harmonizpfso as to In-
sure rapidity and constant working during the
procesa of boiling and granulation no crop
in the United States is safer than that of Su-
garit can be secured against all injury by
n cigiu years out ot ten. Many estates
now average 15 hhds. per day commencing
on the 10th October which for 60 days give
900 hhds.; the grinding on such estates if re.
quired by the state of the weather can be com-
pleted by the 10th December; until which
time there is little or no danger of injury by
ice. Ten hhds. per day on smaller estates
conducted in the same manner is an ordinarv
day's work which gives within the same time
600 hhds. As however the cane in this cli-
mate continues maturing until it is killed by
the ice the experienced' planter is guided in
his operations by the appearance of the weather
and pusbes-or retards his grinding accordingly
as the season rs advancing; thereby com-
bining safety with as great a yield of saccha-
rine matter as possible. . On such estates
during the past year the vield ner slav h.
been 7 hhds. sugar and 350 gallons molasses.
In the Island of Cuba the largest vield of Mus
covado (the same kind as in Louisiana) per
slave in the best conducted estates is stated
at 5000 lbs. or 5 hhds.
A reference to the state papers of the House
of Commons for 1808 (page 261) will show
the yield per slave at that epoch to have been.
on the best and most favored plantations one
hnd. ot J 4 cwt. or about Io68 lbs. and thai
working expenses on such estate to have been
per slave of all ages $79 60 and the cost of
production of sugar to have been (nae 261.)
1 0s. lOd. per cwt. e '
Last year's yield however was an extraor
dinary one as before observed the cane having
uiuiuicu up in me iusi joiur wntcn aoea not
happen once in ten years. The average yield"
of estates working to their full power maybe
assumed to ne per slave 5 hhds. soger and
.w gauuiio iiiuioaacB WHICH WOUIO glVO I
following result:
5000 lbs. sugar at 4 cents $200
250 gallons molasses at 15 cts 37
Deduct expenses as before
237
75
$1
Product per slave
Which shows that on a well conducted i
estate with means on the part of its owner
work it to advantage 4 cent fer sagar it
m- m m m. arm
good a return per slave as ill cents for eei
and hence the assertion so often made.
sugar 13 the only branch of industry is
sown wincn can relieve cotton from tee
bid mfluenee of extra production. Thai
sumption of sugar in the United States ia
mated at about 350000000 lbs. d i
contiuually increasing with the
whilst Louisiana's largest esop has tsT
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Texas National Register. (Washington, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 50, Ed. 1, Wednesday, December 24, 1845, newspaper, December 24, 1845; Washington, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth80144/m1/1/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.