The daily phoenix. (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, September 22, 1865, Image 2
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.