Julia Griffiths to Frederick Douglass, November 17, 1858

I have perused your criticism on our excellent friend, Mr. Benjamin Coates' recent Cotton Publication; and I arrive at this conclusion, that while I believe the well being of Africa, and of the native Americans, will be greatly advanced by the cultivation of cotton there, and the consequent wide spread commercial enterprize; and while I also believe that when the day arrives in which African cotton comes into the Liverpool market, sufficient in quantity to vie with New Orleans cotton, and fine enough to compete with sea island cotton, a great blow will be aimed at one section of American slavery; I do not, and cannot take the narrow view that this cotton is the one sole foundation of slavery, and that, if this is withdrawn, slavery must fall. There are startling revelations made in the article in "the Edinburgh," and much food for painful thought. God grant that the day may not come when the American slaves of the Mississippi are found toiling beneath the lash, on the banks of the Niger or the Gambia! As for our free colored friends, most deeply do I deplore their folly in being led away by any African schemes whatsoever, from their native country, the United States. I have, more than once, heard him who is called by many "the noblest Roman of them all," say, that he will never quit America, and take up his permanent residence in another country, while his brothers and sisters remain in the Southern prison-house. Would that every free colored man in the United States could be made to feel how great are his responsibilities, and how much may depend on his individual exertion. He is, it is true, the victim of prejudice, where he is; but every McCune Smith, Reason, Gaines, Downing, Beman, Whipper, Langston, Garnet, and Douglass is doing his part towards surmount[ing] this cruel prejudice. Were each of these men

multiplied a thousand fold, and scattered up and down the States, I am inclined to think there would be small prejudice left I feel convinced that the destinies of the American slave, and of his free colored brother, are inextricably connected. They must stand or fall together. I wish, with all my heart, that the noble Livingstone had had time (before his return to the land of his adoption) to visit the States, and fully to study the subject of American slavery, possibly, then, he might have arrived at the conclusion that it would have been far better for the American slaves that cotton should be uncultivated in Africa, that the their free colored brethren should go forth to till the ground, and grow cotton in the far off land, resigning forever, without effort or struggle, the poor Southern prisoners to chains and slavery. No, dear colored friends! STAY WHERE YOU ARE! leave to others the great work of the civilization and evangelization of distant Africa, and work hard wherever your present post happens to be. Time is short.

——"be up and doing

With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait."

This is a long digression, but I return to Meltham Mills, and will take you rapidly with me through some of the rooms in this extremely interesting establishment. After looking at the Cotton Store, in which are many bales of cotton, brought together from many parts of the world, we come to the first cleaning-room, in which is a curious machine, which men and boys are feeding with the dirty cotton we have just seen. The cotton is opened up, partially freed from its encumbrances, rapidly carried forward to another roller, cleaned further, driven into a great basket, and hurried off to the next department of cleaning. The room (strange to say) is free from dust, in consequence of the successful working of a very ingenious contrivance which carries up the dirt from the machine into a cylinder placed in the roof. In olden times cotton dressing was a most unhealthy employment. Next come we to the second department of cleaning—then to the third, where the blowing machine is, around which are men busily employed. When next we see the cotton, it is freed from most of the dross, and is in the form of a web, wrapped round a roller. These rollers are carried off to another wonderful machine, and thence, even, smooth and white, they are taken to the carding room. What a wondrous sight bursts upon us as we enter the carding room! This room runs the whole length of the building, and is full of wondrous machinery. Perpetual sound! incessant motion! and yet perfect order! Hundreds of hands (most of them girls) are busily engaged here in watching and feeding the machinery, and joining the broken ends of cotton. The wonders of the carding room seem to run endless; and as I try to understand respectively the breaker, the lap machine, the finisher and the drawing frame, I am too much amazed and bewildered clearly to comprehend what I am told, that, in passing through all these, the cotton has been doubled 186,624 times, and yet it is of the same weight and thickness it was at the commencement of the (almost) miraculous process. A little time ago the cotton looked rough and coarse, now it assumes a silky hue, and lies smooth and straight on the cards. But it must

be drawn much finer, and means must be used to make it hold together, so, it is carried to the slubbing machine, and here another world of wonders opens up before me, as I look at "flyers" "rowing," and "bobbins," and am told that the roving of this bobbin has been doubled 746,496 times since it left the bag, and yet it is eight times smaller than when it left the cards! A little time since, there were one hundred yards to the pound; now there are 810 yards to one pound! The bobbins are next carried to another machine, finer and smaller in its parts, then to another and still another, until, by the time they have passed through the last machine in the carding room, every pound is made into thirty hanks, containing 25,200 yards of roving, which had been doubled 3,981,312 times! Next we come to the spinning room, and find ourselves surrounded by spinning-jennies. The self-acting spinning-jenny is one of the greatest wonders here; it is at full work, with no one to help it; it is never tired, and never makes a mistake! and no manual labor can compete with it for exactness. Here the yarn is spun, and twisted, and rolled on the spindle—then it is carried away to another part of the works and undergoes some process of steaming; next, by never ceasing machinery, the yarn is turned into thread, and we are looking at many hundreds of spindles, superintended by nice, healthy looking, well dressed girls. Then we are shown the reeling room, where the thread is made into hanks; and now we come to the bleaching works, whence, after passing through several processes, and being subjected to hydraulic pressure, it is carried to the stove, where you see it hanging upon poles to dry, looking literally "white as snow."—

But the cotton is not yet quite completed; it is again taken to the mills, and regularly ironed by machinery. In this department a great many girls are engaged, and hank after hank is drawn forth, straight and glossy; then it is separated into small parcels, neatly doubled up, tied and labelled. In the same large room a number of women and girls are winding the thread upon the spools, or reels, and a very pretty sight it is to watch their busy fingers, moving so rapidly, yet so steadily. Then a man is constantly patrolling this room with a measuring machine, to see that the proper number of yards is on each reel, and a "NOTICE" is conspicuous on the walls, threatening to fine winders who are careless as to the quantity of thread they put on the spools. Those who purchase "BROOK'S THREAD" may therefore be sure of full measure, and I am inclined to believe of an excellent sewing cotton. Time fails me to tell of the bobbin department, where one man and one machine make a thousand reels (or bobbins) in an hour. The general aspect of the people employed in Meltham Mills is most pleasing, and satisfactory. The men, women and girls look healthy, neat and clean. Everything possible is done to secure good ventilation to the rooms, and the comfort of those who are employed. Improvements are constantly going on; a fine new building is being erected, which will contain a spacious dining hall for the work people, and a lecture or concert room for their use. They possess a band of musicians of their own, and a fire company also. A pretty little church, founded and endowed by C. J. BROOK, Esq, (deceased,) one of the best of men, meets your view as you enter the village; near to it