Southern planter : devoted to agriculture, horticulture, and the ...

invasion of the rights of the planter—by attempting
to remove the sale of the great staple
of the country, from the places appointed by
law for its inspection and sale, to a self-constituted
Board of Merchants.
4th. That we invite the attention of the planting
community generally to this subject of
common interest, and solicit of " The Virginia
State Agricultural Society" such co-operation
as will tend to the maintenance of the present
system, which has existed and operated well
from the foundation of the Government; by
which every planter may be his own merchant;
sell his own produce at the Warehouses established
by law for inspection, with no other
agency and at no other costs than such as'the
laws of the State have provided for his convenience
and protection.
5th. That wa respectfully request of the
Editors of the Southern Planter, the Richmond,
Petersburg, Lynchburg, Earmville, Danville,
Fredericksburg and Charlottesville papers,
generally, to publish these resolutions.
The following Committee was appointed
under the second resolution, viz: A. D. Dickinson,
F. P. Wood, John A. Scott, P. 11. Jackson
and Branch J. Worsham.
A Copy. ^
A. D. DICKINSONl*
Secretary of the B, & B. Cliih.
Recently the merchants and manufacturers
in Richmond, who deal in tobacco, complaining
This reform, operating certain changes in
the mode of business heretofore pursued in re-
gard to the sale of tobacco, has been made the
subject of complaint by some parties, chief
amon^ whom are most of the Inspectors and
some highly intelligent and liberal-minded
Planters. Among these latter are certain
friends of ours who, constituting an agricultu-
ral club, have brought its quasi official char-
acter to bear on this question by the adoption
of a series of remonstrant resolutions. We
publish those resolutions at the head of this
article, not less from a desire to show all possi-
ble consideration to such worthy gentlemen,
than because we mean to answer them, and
think it but fair to let them speak for them-
selves in advance of our reply.
Taking advantage of the opportunity afforded
us by the request to publish these proceedings,
we propose to examine this subject, and to
THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.
prove that the merchants are altogether right
in this movement, exercising nothing more
than their own undoubted privileges, without
the slightest "invasion of the rights of the
Planter,^' and pursuing, from whatever motive,
the course of an enlightened and intelligent
commercial spirit, whereby they confer a bene-
fit on the very persons whose*uterests they are
assumed to be assailing.
To understand the question we mustgo behind
the present controversy, and glance at the
course of the trade in tobacco ;
and in doing so
we shall notice incidentally some objections
brought by the Inspectors, or a portion of them,
to this reform.
By the present law of Virginia, all tobacco
previous to sale must be stored in one of cer-
tain warehouses which are provided at State
cost for its reception. Over these warehouses
the State has control, and there subject the to-
bacco to certain examinations and charges.
In each warehouse are one or more In-
spectors, with certain definite duties enjoined
on them. These duties are two-fold: 1st. To
inspect the condition and quality of the to-
bacco, and to mark it on a sample taken from
the hogshead, and in part on the hogshead it-
of certain grievances and certain inconveniself. 2nd. To attend to the weighing of the
ences resulting from the customary mode of tobacco, so as to give the precise quantity to
selling and buying this important staple, estab- the seller. Of these duties the last, as being
lished an Exchange, or place of meeting, sepa- merely mechanical and a public convenience,
rate and apart from any of the warehouses, for may be tolerated, if the charges therefor be not
the purchase and sale of this commodity. too high. The first, or the inspection of quality
and condition, is ridiculous folly. Whether an
Inspector mark refused, i. e. bad, or not, on a
hogshead of tobacco, makes not' one cent's dif-
ference in the price. The purchaser judges of
its quality for himself, and his opinion and that
of competitors, influenced by the specific demand,
fixes the price. Every planter knows
this, and therefore knows that his payment of
the Inspectors fees, for inspection of quality,
is a mere gratuity to political patronage, a tax
on him for the support of a pernicious princi-
ple. This inspection of quality is indeed a
barbarous remnant of a barbarous polic}', that j
which attempted to secure a monopoly of the
tobacco trade by burning all except the good
tobacco, for which purpose every crop was re-
quired to be brought to a public Avarehouse
AVhere its quality might be ascertaineil. It
ought at once to be abolished, as being alike a
nuisance and a nonsense.