guilt was not direct, but without the cotton, trade of Great Britain
slavery would have been abolished long ago, for the American
manufacturers consumed but one fifth of all the cotton grown in the
country. The conscience of the cotton growers was talked of; but had the
cotton consumer no conscience? [Cheers.] It seemed to him that the
British public had more direct access to the consumer than to the grower
of cotton." Professor Stowe then read an extract from a paper published
in Charleston, South Carolina, showing the influence of the American
cotton trade on the slavery question. "The price of cotton regulated the
price of slaves, who were now worth an average of two hundred pounds. A
cotton plantation required in some cases two hundred, and in others four
hundred slaves. This would give an idea of the capital needed. With free
labor there was none of this outlay--there was none of those losses by
the cholera, and the 'underground railroad,' to which the slave owners
were subjected. [Hear, hear!] The Chinese had come over in large
numbers, and could be hired for small wages, on which they managed to
live well in their way. If people would encourage free-grown cotton,
that would be the strongest appeal they could make to the slaveholder.
There were three ways of abolishing slavery. First, by a bloody
revolution, which few would approve. [Hear, hear!] Secondly, by
persuading slaveholders of the wrong they commit; but this would have
little effect so long as they bought their cotton. [Hear, hear!] And the
third and most feasible way was, by making slave labor unprofitable, as
compared with free labor. [Hear!] When the Chinese first began to
emigrate to California, it was predicted that slavery would be 'run out'
that way. He hoped it might be so. [Cheers.] The reverend gentleman then
reverted to his previous visit to this country, seventeen years ago, and
described the rapid strides which had been made in the work of
education--especially the education of the poor--in the interval. It was
most gratifying to him, and more easily seen by him than it would be by