The Cotton Supply Association held its annual meeting at, Man-
chester on Tuesday. Now, if ever, the members must make an effort to release the country from dependence on America. Mr. Cheetlimn, who presided, after describing the immense advantages enjoyed by the slaveowners of the Southern States of North America, and the disadvantages of every other country, spoke of India.
action. I by no means say that in every such case an injunction may be demanded as of right, but if the party applying is free from blame, and hitherto been the secretary of this association; and Sir Charles Wood had placed promptly applies for relief, and shows that by the threatened wrong his property at thatgentleman's disposal the services of Dr. Forbes, who would accompany would be so injured thet an action for damages would be no adequate redress, the him. (Applause.) Mr. Cheetham referred again to the danger of relying exclu- injunction will be grahted. Although an action arising purely ex delicto for an ravels- on America, and pointed to the fact that while the annual supply from the tiling to property may not have been brought by a foreign sovereigrr against an whole world in the last ten years had averaged only 3,984,000 bales, the annual English subject in an English court, on principle I cannot doubt that such action consumption of Great Britain, Europe, and America had been 3,960,000. The would be maintainable. If the Bank of Austria were actually damaged by the present price of cotton arose not so much from the actual crisis in America as unlawful importation from England into HUngary of spurious notes Intended to from the practical knowledge that a million bales had been lost to us by the discredit the notes of the Bank of Austria, I apprehend that the Batik of Austria
failure of the harvest. might maintain an action in England against the wrong-doers.
He said we were at present restricted to that great continent of India, Which was now actually growing more cotton than any other portion of the globe. It was calculated that the annual produce of cotton in India was not less than six million bales. We also possessed the advantage of having that country under our own Government. There, also, we had abundance of free labour; there was no question of slavery to grapple with. And yet there were formidable obstacles as compared with the position of the Americans. In the cotton districts of India, there was no such man known as the Anglo-Saxon. The cultivation was in the hands of the ryot, a small farmer holding a few acres of ground, and so poor him- self as to depend on bankers for his capital. When his crop reached maturity the produce was taken by the money-lender, who, of course, had great control over the price, and it very little exceeded lid. or 10. per lb. The cotton was imperfectly cleaned, and underwent various adulterations for the advantage of the succession of dealers through whose hands it passed before reaching those of the English merchant at the place of export. It was worthy of remembrance that scarcely any article exported from India had ever been brought to a satisfactory state of production, unless under European superintendence. But in India we were also without roads to the seaboard, without water communications also, and railways were only now on the point of becoming available. Another difficulty was the understood principle of the Indian Government that no land should ever be sold in fee simple to Europeans, and then there was the jealousy of the civil service against enterprising Englishmen in the interior of India, who were to this day regarded as interlopers, though an altered tone was beginning to be manifest on the part of the Government. Under these circumstances it was not surprising that Indian cotton was the worst grown in the whole world and fetched the lowest price, so that consumers were accustomed to smile at all proposals for relying on India as a main source of supply. The movers in this association believed, never- theless, that there was a prospect not only of increasing the Indian supply to this country, but also of elevating the quality to a level with that grown in America. The quantity received from India in the last six years was 2,974,000 bales, of which we had ourselves consumed only 266,000 bales per annum on the average, the annual excess of 230,000 being taken away to various countries on the Conti- nent. India was capable of giving us a much larger quantity than 600,000 bales, which was the amount last year. Probably we could reckon on 1,200,000 bales a year from Bombay. This association had lately been enabled to hand over the development of the cultivation of a superior quality of cotton in India to the efforts of a joint stock company, whose chairman was his friend Mr. John Platt, of Oldham. (Applause.) As soon as the season permitted, the company pro- posed to send out to India as its commissioner Mr. G. R. Ha wood, who had the tried friends of sound education. Lord Brougham spoke from ' There was a large attendance, and Manchester, waking up from its delusions touching the once United States, seemed to be really in- clined to do something for itself on this vital question.
The Agricultural Benevolent Institution celebrated its second an- niversary on Wednesday. Mr. Disraeli was in the chair, and from that station he reviewed the past and looked forward to the future of the farmer ; showing his advantages, sympathizing with his sufferings, and avowing the greatest confidence in his future. Thirty millions of human beings, free and experienced in freedom; a community which combined the vigour of liberty with the sobriety of tradition; possessing the greatest amount of capital known in the history of man ; and a geographical position which connected them with the New as much as the Old World, might defy all political revolution and all commercial change. These might disturb it, but would never eventually remove it from its pride of place. Well, this was the country which they had to feed. Whatever might be the resources or the sup- plies of commerce, the people of the United Kingdom would always mainly look for their susten nce to the soil of the United Kingdom. Without attempting too curiously to calculat what might be the effect on that soil of our accumulated capital, increased skill, and inspiring science, he would still express his opinion that the British farmer and the British soil would be found equal to the great occasion which awaited them. (Cheers.) If so, was it not, then, clear that in exact proportion as their transactions became more extensive and more compli- cated so also would be the risk and hazard ? And in exact proportion as they were elevated in the social scale so also would be increased the anguish of poverty when any of those sad vicissitudes occurred the possibility of which they were there that day to recognize and to provide against. These were the feelings which had led to the formation of that society. Hepaid a merited compliment to Mr. Alderman Mechi, who had first conceived the idea of the institution and called the attention of the late Duke of Richmond to it. This was really its first year; yet it had conferred twenty pensions varying from 401. to 201. each, and had invested 40001. This was no inconsiderable beginning, but it was only by united efforts that they could accomplish their greater objects.
The sum collected during the evening amounted to 15001.
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