The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-01-07
soPHIsTRY EXPOSED.
wA.nsaros, b. q, Jan. ). Isss


IL nc Editor Of 0s Jnion;
Permit me through the columns of your paper TO pre-
sent short review of points the speech de
vered In the United States Senate by Judge Douglas
the 9th December last t4 - u1
The and substance of his argument and the great
point made by him may be stated in short thus That
the Nebraska guaranteed TO the people OF Kan
the right to regulate their domestic affairs in their
own way and therefore, the convention OF delegates
elected by the people of Kansas having failed to submit
the constitution made by them to vote of the people
of the Territory had acted in contravcntion OF this
provision and thus denied to the people right guarsn
tied to them by the act
This is his premise and this his conclusion or rather
he aims to make the President by false construction
and colong of his instructions toov Walker and of his
message, both his premise and conclusion ind
upon this he builds his whole argument alleging that
both granted and his reasoning therefore conclusive
1t can make difference to the whence or
from what Mr. Douglas springs his argument, he
alone responsible for its logical fairness and integrity
He assumes therefore, that the Kansas Nebraska act
gave to the people of Kansas the right regulate their
domestic affairs in their way and afrIns that the
refusal of the convention to submit the constitution to
of the people Is denial of the rights guaranteed to
them by this clause of the act.
As illogical proposition his premise true, because it
y for his conclusion it is not seqence from his premise
He afrms nothing in his premise in regard to the con
yenon nor the submission of the constitution to popu
lar vote and yet from his conclusion one would sup
pose he had affirmed both. In other words, his con-
cusion broader than his PREMISE rather has nothing
TO do with IT, and what logicians would term
9utty
Had he assumed his premise that the bill by its pro-
visions required the convention to submit the constitution
to popular vote then his conclusion would have been
legitimate and proper, because legitimate sequence
from his premise But had he made such affirmation the
facts tho bill would have stared him in the face to
tradct his assumption The Kansas- Nlraska act contains
such prorision
To expose the falacy of this mode Of reasoning let
submit two propositions in every way parallel to
tho taken from the substance Of Mr.. Douglass
speech
The constitution of my State to personal
liberty and the exclusive right Of personal property
therefore he who imprsons by legal process for crime,
thus takes property deprves Of those constitu
tional rights
Again The constitution of every State guarantees
the citizen the right of sefgovcrnment therefore that
State legislature which fails refuses to submit its
actmens vote of the people denies to them the right
Of this constitutional provision
The faacy of such reasoning, its absurd sophstry Is
too apparent to need any further elucdaton and yet
out Of just such augmentation Judge Douglas has
struccd his whole speech and to be
smitten by his logic
Perfectly FREQ to regulate their domestic affairs in
their way" Might not the people of Kansas,
der this provision of the act have elected their delegates
form constitution and instructed them not to submit
the constitution to popular vote And had they pur
sued such course could Mr. Douglas charge that in such
refusal the convention had violated this any other pro-
vision of the act Surely not.
If this be granted, here is exception. The people
could asove their delegates from this duty and the
cepton but proves the absurty Of his position and the
lacy Ibis argument for il the act required the SUBJ
mission to be made, the people themselves could not alb
solve the delegates from the obligations enjoned upon
them
1t my purpose to have noticed the very novel and
singular rule of construction of the Kansas Nebraska
adopted by Mr. Douglas but it would extend my
muncation to unreasonable length. Hereafter may
furnish some random thoughts upon this point
UNION