The Washington union., 1858-03-03

anu IL VIII De accompanied Dy sufncIent force 10
protect it from all assaults
THE MUTUAL CONTRADICTIONS OF THE COALI-
TIONISTS.
The conflicting dogmas and arguments employed
against the immediate admission of Kansas by the
coalition of politicians who oppose that measure
make up jargon of contradictions and nconsisten-
cies that would confound Philadelphia lawyer and
which effectually make mince-mcat of each other.
Since the building Of the Tower of Babel, unright-
eous enterprises have always been distinguishable
from righteous by the confused babble of contra
dctions and crosspurposes that have paralyzed the
laborers in them. On that occasion the of men
undertook to scale the walls Of Heaven by means Of
a lofty fabric which they proposed to pile up with
their hands They had not reared the structure
to any great height however before, either from
nquitous undertakings, else by the act of Provi
dence, &C confusion of tongues came upon thcm 30
that not single workman in the vast throng could
understand give help to another in anything that
was doing. A diversity of tongues fell upon the
multitude at Babel; they all got together by the
ears and the whole scheme went to the dogs.
Since that day the inquity of bad enterprises has
never failed to manifest itself in the discordance Of
motive, language, and argument prevailing among
the actors in them.
The present effort of heterogeneous coalition of
black and red republican agitators and malcontent
democrats to defeat a great practical measure of
peace to the country furnishes illustration Of
this invarable truth, and will take rank in political
history with the affair of Babel
Not to detail the manifold Inconsistencies and con-
tradctions which the lesser mouthpieces of this mot
ley coalition have involved themselves in, it is s,f
cien to refer to the conflicting propositions which
Messrs Douglas, Wise, Walker, Tompkins, Giddings
and other leaders of the coalition, advance in the
controversy.
Mr.. Douglas rests his opposition to the imme-
diate admission of Kansas the necessity of an
enabling act from Congress to impart validity to
constitutions framed by new States preparing for
admission into the Union; and denies the validity of
the Lecompton instrument on account of the alleged
fact that no such authority to frame it had been
granted by Congress. Mr.. Wise, on the contrary
maintains that the act of 1854 was in express terms
enabling act and thus furnishes refutation of
Judge Douglass leading argument from his own
side of the house. One champion of the opposition
plants his whole line of argument upon corner
stone proposition another comes along, kicks the
cornerstone out of sight, and treats the whole argu
ment Of his compeer with superative derision, just
as Remus is supposed to have treated the works of
Romulus about Rome
While both of these gentlemen, however, agree in
maintaining the necessity of an enabling act from
Congress- to impart to the people of Territory the
power and right to frame constitution for their
government as State, Gov Walker insists, with red
republican latitude and emphasis, that this power is
inherent in the people, and is not in Congress, to
impart to them; an enabling act from Congress
amounting only to an Invitation" Mr.. Douglas de-
rivcs the vitality and validity of such an instrument
from Congress- without the action of Congress the
work of the people would be like the lifeess statue
sculptured from marble; from Congress must fash
the Promethean spark that imparts vitality to the
inanimate form. Gov. Walker, however, scouts the
thought of power in Congress to infse validity into
peoples constitution in right brave words, thus:
"Where are We and in what direction are drifting
Are upon the banks Of the Bosphorus Danube,
upon soil consected to popular sovereignty by the blood
of the revolution Let the people--let the
composing the true from their
sumbers Let them break the chains that would fetter
their free thought and free opinions and assert their
blood bought rights and especially the great ndceasibe
right of self-government
As much as to say, enabling act from Congress-
authorizing the people to institute selfgovernment
would be monstrous solecism in our republican
country
Governor Wise reinforces Judge Douglas in whis-
Ting Mr. Walkers red-republican dogma down the
wind, though he disagrees with Douglas in his de-
mand for new enabling act in the case of Kansas,
on the ground that such power has already been
conferred in the original act Of 1854 Thus the diff
erences of the three doctors on this very plain sub
ject are radical and mutually annihilating. They
tangle the subject into inextrcable knot and make
it perfectly clear that the best practical mode Of cut
ting the knot is the sensible one proposed by tho
President.
But the contradictions Of our theorists do not stop
here. Mr.. Douglas contends with the black repub-
icans that the whole series of steps taken by the
Legislature the convention, and the people of Kan
sas in and about the getting up Of the Lecompton
constitution, we're without legality, validity OF au
fhority aJ QUO al raala while Mr. Walker, Mr. Stan
ton, and Mr.. Wise endorse oil that was done down
to the adoption of the schedule Indeed, not only is
Mr.. Douglas in conflict with these three coadutors
Of his in this matter but he il at rnr with him