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CO FA'M BI A. Friday Morning, Sept. 22, 1865. Do Omnibus Rrbna, dec. The grievous featire in the case of Cassandra, "blasted by Phoebus with prophetic fire," lay not so much in the fact that she was compelled in anticipation to behold the scene of blood an<# terror, and violence and shame, but that her predictions, which, properly entertained, might have baf? fled the criminal, wera never believed until the event was realized; and her warnings were all in vain. What was regarded as the peculiar curse in the doom of Cassandra is perhaps^ more universal allotment than people have been wont to regard it. We know of very little prophecy that has ever been believed until the predicted event has been realized. The great body of mankind aro unwilling to ac? cord the gift of the prophetic to any? body but themselves. Th?y are jeal? ous of any divine claim to superiority, and nine-tenths of our politicians are continually m compelled to cry aloud, in the spirit of Cassandra, * 'Didn't I tell you so ?" Alas for the incredu? lously vain, who will not hear in sea? son the warning which counsels that they should put oh their over-shoes that day and take their umbrellas with them. We have no doubt that the spirit'of prophecy is just as active to-day as it was a thousand or six thousand years ago; but the great body of mankind are just as incredu? lous now as then. Even when the prophet exhibited his Divine commis? sion, he does not always seem to have inspired faith; and this may be owing to the fact that he insists on speaking himself, and does not allow a single chance to the ass on which he rides. The ass ought to enjoy his rights as well as the rider, and it is to be re? gretted that some angel does not fre? quently interpose to silence the mod? ern Balaam and make him listen to his beast. He should especially be heard in law making; and, where taxa? tion is the subject, we trust that hon? orable legislators will keep in memory the anecdote of Franklin, in the Le? gislature of Pennsylvania. It will be seen by this anecdote that Franklin had a due appreciation of the intel? lectual virtues of the ass, especially in legislation. The subject was the consideration upon which the right ol suffrage was to be accorded to the citizen. Members insisted that the voter should be possesseel of a fifty pound qualification * in property Franklin replied that the only artich of property in his posseesion was i jackass, valued at just fifty pound: currency. H?fifcas accordingly to b< allowed a voie,Tuid possibly might b. a legislator even, on the guaranty afforded by his ownership of the jack ass. But suppc se tho jackass dies; hi is deprived eq lally of his voto anc seat; anet he pertinently asked, if under these circumstances, it was no his jackass rather than himself wh< enjoyed the rights of citizenship. Tb anecdote may be found apropos ii respect to that portion of our legisla tion which relates to taxation. Ou' future taxation is likely to become th. pons asinorum in the legislation of tb Soutli; and if'the donkeys arc no well bridled, well bitted and proper! ridden by the Balaam of politics am government, the bridge they eros will prove to them cs diffieult as th famous Mussulman's causeway, sharj as a sword which is called al Sirat The blending of persons with pro porty, as the basis of taxation, is on of the most (bfficult of problems; and just now, tho property being prett. much )ion est, is utterly undefinable As for the persone themselves, i taxed, they are necessarily taxed ae cording to their heads. The capita? tion is a most capital tax. It is th (Hily proper kind of taxation. 1 is democratic. It fulfils Mr. Jeffie; son's ieleas of the laws of Cod in r< eanl to mer.. It places them all o a footing--we shonld say heading, pei haps-of equality. It speaks the language of compliment to the tax? payer. It says to him, "Yo*Hx head is as good, and'line, and handsome, as that of any other man. The State values your head as highly as that of a"ny other. It promotes it to the dis? tinction of being paid for." It honors Cuffee as a headman as well as a freed? man. It says to Cuffee, your wool is comely as the locks of tho damsel, who admitted t?iat she was brown, but insisted she was comely. For comely locks, for copious wool, Cuffee must pay. When we lift a person into a paying citizen we have started him fairly on the paths of civiliza? tion. If, in his progress, he reaches the gallows only, that is no fault of the State* and, besides, tho gallows itself is assumed in many great States to" be the last round, tho ne plus ultra, in the ladder of civilization. Tax heads, brethren, and no donkey in the land will escape you; no skidk, no vagrant; they will all grow too proud for vagrancy, and pari Possit with poll taxation, run up your peni? tentiaries in three sections of* the State, for the imprisonment of all those obstinate animals who do not sufficiently appreciate their own heads as to be able to pay for them. Do not tax property. This has always been the error of legislation. When you tax propsrty you tax industry, talent, genius, learning, knowledge, science/the fine arts, moral prudence and, briefly, all lue virtues. To learn to accumidate is one of the first neces? sities of the moral instinct. Mau is the only animal who accumulates and provides for thc future and his family. This is one of his first laws. ' To tax his accumulations is to punish his virtues* Tax him-tax tho man per se, and you then reach everybody, and you thus help to enforce the moral law, and you punish vagabond? ism and vagrancy, the thief, the skulk, thf- abnnk, the idler, the ?ramKU?' drinker, the d^rty dogs of society, and make them contribute to the support cf that country upon which they must necessarily prey. Five dollars per head on 600,000 people-about our num? bers-will give you three millions of dollars and give us relief, and make everybody so virtuous that their old fri?nds will no longer know them. The labors of the Convention are not likely to lessen in a hurry, when we consider the wide province of de? bate which they have opened for them? selves. We hinted to that body more than once the propriety of forl^earing any attempt, in the re,-formation of the State Constitution, to go beyond the simple necessity imposed by the requisitions of the conquering power. They had one certain thing to do, and, having resolved to obey the de? cree which required this to be done, they tthoi?d tteve forborne everything besides, if for no other reason than simply to show to the world the na? ture ami kind of necessity under which they bad mot. There would have bten time enough, at the close of the pi*esent decade, to decido upon other reforms, especially as.the pro? priety of these reforms will necessa? rily depend upon the necessity of a new census, and the better deter* mined condition of the people of the State for taxation. The external pres-' sure upon the State has been rather too eagerly seized upon by the reform? ers, whose zeal has beern?too great for the exercise of much magnanimity. But, regarding thc problenicbf the next five years of the future as likely to be soluble only in the confounding of a large class of legislators, we are J content with anything that may be j done. Wo shall be quite satisfied with the future commentary of pre? sent legislators oh present action, especially as we conceive it possible | that they may all be found ((hen on tho anxious behehos of poBticW-social repentance. We are not so sure that, even now, some of our legislation may ..._J%. .III,!, ..._Ji__ . not meet with rebuke just where yt is j hoped to make it most acceptable. We do not see that We shall commend ourselves to any party by failing to j recognize the negro as a full element in our population, without any cur? tailment or abridgement. But wo digress. The debate, yester? day, in respect to the apportionment of representation and other matters in the legislative department, was earnestly maintained by Messrs. Do? zier, Youmans, Aldrich, Orr, Thomp? son, Inglis, Boyce, Lesesne, Blair, Jones. Andrews, Tillman and others Aud no disposition was made of it. at the hour when we left the House, and none likely to bo made of the section for some timi- to come. After a recess of some hours, the Convention again assemUed, last evening, at 7 o'clock, when the debate on the subject of representation was resumeu, Messrs. Orr, Moses, Frost, Inglis, Youmans. Boyce. Aldrich, McGowan and others engaging in the , debate with their wonted tenacity and v'cor. The Convention adjourn; ed, without coming to a vote on the subject. It will no doubt be resumed t?^ay, with a large increase of eUPionoe and wisdom. -:-^? Major-Gener?l Meade, who is in many respects the Bayard of the Fede? ral army, has just concluded a tho? rough and searching examination of the Southern States. The tour was performed for the purpose of ascer? taining the true condition of affairs in Virginia and the Carolinas. His report is eminently creditable io the unimpeachable truthfulness' and intelligence of that distinguished officer. He represents the Southern people as ' everywhere cjuiet, and cheerfully acquiescing in the restora? tion of the authority of the laws and Constitution of the "United States, and earnestly desirous of performing their duty loyally in the Union. He found, as a matter of course, much suffering in and near the desolating track of war, but no instance of de? liberate and intentional maltreatment of the lately emancipated negroes. Seeing the Southern people as they are, and happening to be a Christian and truthful gentleman, he has, in* telling the simple, unadorned truth, i given a pleasant and agreeable ac- | count of us. At nearly all the prin- j cipal cities of the South which were ! visited by General Meade he found, however, highly improved, double ac- j tion, forty horse-power radical Mun chausens, called "Our Southern Cor respondents, " in full blast, inventing, j manufacturing and sending North by every mail and express carrier the most heart-rending accounts of the diabolism of the Southern people. The roads which General Meade traveled without discovering any unplea? sant odors or revolting spectacles, he found, upon reading the radical pa? pers, were strewn with the unburied remains of slaughtered "freedmen," and the dreary pine trees of North Carolina, he was assured, were break-1 ing down beneath the weight of stran? gulated free negroes; # He also ascer? tained from the same reliable sources that the "barbac?es" and "squirrel stews" of whick he heard some men? tion in^North Carolina, (where there is an active canvass for the State Con-1 vention going OD,) were fearful canni? bal entertainments, at which "re? turned Confederate soldiers" roasted the free negroes alive, and then ate them with a light dressing to "tur? pentine sauce." In spite of tho general scarcity of food in the Carolinas, tren. Meade was surprised w observe the fat, .sleek, greasy appearance of the "pica ninnies," or .'juvenile freedmeti," whose abdominal development indi? cated a sufficiency of nourishing diet. The "Correspondent of the Associat? ed Press," at Haleigh, assured the General that as the army of Sherman had destroyed the -swine of that sec? tion, the North Carolinians were fat? tening thc young "freedmen" for the knife, and that as soon as the weather became sufficiently cold, the whole country, about daybreak some frosty morning,* would resound with the yells and squeaks of the unfortunate "picaninies." The aforesaid "Cor? respondent of the Associated Press" has not yet communicated this terrible I plot to the leading New York p ipers, j because he wants the "young freed? men" "killed and salted down" in time for the New York elections. Hi is now, however, hanging and shoot? ing five hundred adult "freedmen" to hi! "heavy orders" from "Massachu? setts" and "Pennsylvania," where im portant State elections arc- soon to take place. The young free negroes of the South are said to be taking kindly to their spelling books, and muni fest (nearly all of our correspondents represent) an earnest desire to conquer the alpha? bet and Webster's spelling book. As evidence of the truth of what we hear upon this subject, .thpr? were three millions of Webster's spelling hooks ?dd at thc annual New York trade saies last. week. Indeed, from the negro's pro verblal fondness for ; do??g words," we can readily imagine the anxiety with which he looks to those fascinating columns of words in six anid seven syllables, which tempt him to hasten up the ladder of learning. From our own observation of the negro children in the free* Softools of Massachusetts, they appear to learn with as much quickness as the de? scendants of the Puritans, and to be fully as amiable und honest. The si ut us of the negro having been deter? mined, if he is to remain among us as a laborer, his usefulness ?md value will .ncrease,in the same ratio with his intelligence. Education may. in the course of time, eradicate or greatly subdue many of those vices which we have been induced to regard ?is inhe? rent in the race. The fact that the young negroes are pursuing their studies with so much assiduity is most encouraging. The Chronicle (Charlottesville) in? forms us that the whole negro popu? lation of .Albemarle has "broken out thick*" with au attack of "a-b-abs," which we attribute to the influence of the University of Virginia ?pon tho imaginations of the colored news-boys and boot-blacks of the county. We hear the same things from many other sections of tho Union, coupled with the announcement that near ry all the ''ct?tored students" are already aspiring to the pulpit and the other learned professions." The people of the Smith sn? very great ly misrepresented by those who allege that they are opposed to the education of the free negroes. We think that they should receive every encouragement to educate their .chil? dren. Tho want of educated labor has always been the bane of the South; and we have salle red as much as the former slave from the effects of those laws which prohibited the edu? cation of the negro. Even when all nations tolerated slavery, those na? t?o... wUouo oltwoo wene educated pro-.] fited by the institution greatly more than those whose slaves were brutal and uneducated. The helot of Sparta was never half so useful to his master as was the educated slave of thc Eamon and the j Athenian. As the future prosperity of Virginia must be achieved by manufactures, mining and commerce, as well as by agriculture, we shall stand greatly in need of all the edu? cated and intelligent labor which we can procure. The education of the rising generation of free negroes is, therefore, much to be desired. Whe? ther through the influence of great natural causes they are forced to leave the State, or whether they remain in our midst, we think they should he encouraged to improve . themselves, for no one has ever had in his em? ployment a negro who could read and write, who did not discover that he was infinitely more useful. than (hie who could not. The representations which we find in the radical papers to the effect that the Southern people are throwing obstacles in the way of the edncation of the blacks, are utterly destitute of truth.-Richmond Times. MEMPHIS AND CHARLESTON RAIL? ROAD.-We learn that thu Memphis and Charleston Railroad will be open from this city" to Corinth, Miss., in the cours?; of a week or ten days, and from thence to Stevenson, Ala., by the 1st of November. Speed the day when railroads' shall give us mail and travelling facilities as before the war. (Memphis jLrgits. The correspondent of tho Phila? delphia Ledger says that the time is not distant when there will be' an entire reconstruction of the Cabinet. The members whose time will have come are Messrs. Stanton, Hat "rn, Speed, and Judge-Advocate Holt. Hi-: THE PvErtTBLJc (** COLOMBIA.-Late advices from the Republic of Colom? bia state that the recent election re? sulted in the choice as President, to succeed Senor Murillo, the present incumbent, of General Masquera, for? merly President, and now Colombian Minister to England. A ''sorceress" is in custody at Limerick, Ireland, charged with hav? ing obtained money from a woman on pretence that she could restore to life tho dead sister cf her dope. Local ItezxL^p. Wo aro indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Samuel W. Wright for copies of the New York Herald, of the 16th, and the Charles? ton Ctourjery?f the 20th instant. We are a?so under obligations to Messrs. Townsend & North for a copy of thjo New York Albion, for which they will take sub? scriptions. EiyttATA.-In the publication of a daily paper, situated as we are in a close and crowded room, working by night, and by thc light of very doubtful ciedles, errors will naturally escape us. We have not thought it proper-taking for granted that our readers are all quite able to do so-to correct .these errors. We assume, as a matter or courue, that mistakes in gratn mar'and orthography, in names and dates, will bc ascribed to anything but thc igno? rance of the press, and we also assume the perfect adequacy of the public to supply all deficiencies. Public and editors mus I be esteemed as equally infallible. Nothing, in fact, is so perfect. Peoffle are peifcet - press is perfect. Old things are dying out -new things arc coming in; and with new? ness is perfecting always, in thc estimation of sanguine spirits. There will come a time wiffen we shall make ne error?-the millenium will come; there will bene, sin? ners in the land; there will be no absmrd distinctions about nunan ami tcum; mine shall bc thine, thine nunc; there will bc no difference between a thief aud an honest ma>i; virtue and vice will lose their respect? ive difference; and when a man steals* his neighbor's goods, he ^ill be esteamed as working only pru bono publico. Some tine Scarfaletti tobacco from Mr. Melvin M. Cohen. and a widgeon, well roasted, with some additaments, from thr cuisine of W. -T. Thomas, sufficed us yes? terday, enabling us to snap our fingers at butchers' meal, and to dispense sumo of our vapors in aromatic smoke. But for theso?timelv considerations, wo should, as 'local editor," rind the labor of seeing the suburbs and surveying the streets a some? what oppressive one. You ?ire to remem? ber that the local editor is one whonvShak speare describes as tho "snapper up of" unconsidered.trifles.v He is not to bc con? founded with that graver parsonage, who dignities the. editorial faitlcitil, and dis? courses solemnly on sacred and political topics to wise Senators-and patrician Rep? resentatives. We wag" no grey beard-we are not ambitious of seniority. We are nintuut t<> M]...rt ni.mp the flowery path* of life, to receive thc bouquet freon flie dam? sel, hearken to thc midnight song of the serenader, and drop in at thc evening re? past at the dwelling of the dilettante, who has been so lucky as to save his cellar and it? antique contents during the raid of Sherman. While our venerable senior scratches a solemn head in communion with thought and politics, we arc better ph ased to ramble through Sidney Park with fancy on one hand and beauty on they other. NBW ADVBBTISEMHNTS.-Attention is call? ed to the following advertisements, which are published for the first time this ruortf ing: . dov. Perry-Appointment of Aids. W. S. Sloan-51ulc Stolen. I. <). O. F.-Meeting Palmetto Lodge. P. 1>. Glass-Books, Stationery, ":c. Zealy, Scott &. Bruns -Flour. " -Cigars. " -bhoes. THE FERST NEW COTTON.-Mir. C. Guilleaume, merchant, qf our city, received on yesterday, from Darling? ton District, the first bale of new cotton which has reached this market. The fjuality was good middling. While on the sobject of cotton, we may as well say that we regret to see that, owing to the delay iu complet? ing our railroads, trade is passing from its on every side. In Charlotte, N. C., wagons with cotton from York, Lancaster and Chester Districts may be found. This goes to market via Moorehead City and Wilmington. From the Pedee section of this State, the products are being camed to Wilmington; aud on tao other side of the State,. Augusta is absorbing a large amount. These things call for a speedy and quick remedy. e I Charleston News. THE PvEiiKLLrioN IN HAYTI.-The re? bellion in Hayti is still unsubdued. A letter from Port au Prince, of the 29th of August, published in a Ja? maica newspaper,* states that Presi? dent Geffrard left Port au Prince, on the 25th ult., for tho seat of war, with sixteen hundred men. The insurgents had been repulsed in all their ^ad? vances, and the recapture from tl?eni of the town of Cape Hayticu was daily expected. It was rumored that Fort St. Michel had already been captured liy the National troops, with sixty prisoners. Several of the Haytien newspapers denounce .the excesses committed by the revolutionary lead? ers in breaking open stores and rob? bing; merchants to pay their soldiers.