Mr. JOHNSON. If the Senfrom Massachusetts wiizl indulge me for a few minutes, what I have to say will be said before his diuner time, and he might, therefore, be a little patient. The constitution of the U.S., as I think, as it has always been interpreted, contains no power to buy lands except for certain specific purposes, for purposes connected with the administration of the Government and the exercise of the powers conferred upon the Government. You can buy land, therefore, for your arsenals. your navyyards, your mint, and your banks; but I am not aware that it ever has been before held that it was in the power of the U.S. to buy land for any other purposes than those which are specifically made the subjects of the delegations of power to Congress. It may be true that that objection does not apply to the section which is now before the body, because, as I understand it, it merely apprtr riates or sets aside certain lands already be onging to the U.S. for the purposes stated in that section; but the ditheu ty that I have as regards that is, that I do not know where the power exists which enables us to educate or to provide for any citizen of the U.S., white or black., As slavery has been abolishedI suppose we all admit that; whether the States are in or not, there has been a suiiicientnumber of States acquiescing in the amendment to bring about that resultas slavery has been abolished in the several States, those who were before slaves are new citizens of the U.S., standing upon the same condition with all who were citizens before; upon the same condition, therefore, with the white citizens. If there is an authority in the constitution to provide for the black citizen, it cannot be because he is black; it must be because he is a citizen; and that reason being cqnally applicable to the white man as to the black man, it would follow that. we have the authority to clothe and educate and provide for all citizens of the U.S. who may need education and providin for. In the beginning of the Government, as am sure will be in the recollection of the Senate. it was supposed by General Washington und by several of those who succeeded him, that there was an authority to establish a university provided it was located here, and the authority to establish a university here was put a on the ground that here the jurisdiction of the congress of the U.S. was just as absolute and unlim ited as is the jurisdiction of theStates over their own territory; but even that was denied at that time, and it never was exercised, and it was denied notmercly upon grounds of expediency, but as a question at. power. But I never heard from that time until now that it was supposed that the Congress of the U.S. could 1866. 373 establish schools anywhere in the U.S. i except in the Territories, which, like the territory of the DistCol, are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Now you are about to set aside 3 million acres of public land within these States of the UnionI assume now that they are in the Union; if they are not, they will bdfor the purpose of educatinglthe blacks and providing or them; to establish schools; ifnecessary, to endow colleges; to do anything and everything that the Legislature of a State could do. As far, therefore, as that objection is concernedwhich, I am sorry to say, upon my mind, is insuperable; for, I repeat, I am very anxious to make provision for these peopleit seems to me that we are without the power to do what this bill proposes. But the objection to the 6th section is still eater. Not only is the object to be attained y the provisions of the 6th section the same, and therefore the 6th section is obnoxious to the same objection, whatever validity there may be in that) but it is liable to the other objection that there is, according to in view, no power conferred upon congress to buy lands anywhere. If you can buy Iands to the extent of 3 million acres in these States, what is to preventyourgoinginto any State in the Union and buying lands for any purpose that you may think proper? Philanthropyis the motive now; it is a legitimate motive; it is one the force of which I feel as strongly as any member of this body. What is due to these people who have been kept in bonda e ever since the Government was establishe and before, is, that they should be taken care of; and to the whole extent, therefore, of what I suppose to be the powers conferred upon the Government by the constitution looking to that end, I am willing to go. But as they are new citizens like the white men, if you can buy lands to educate them, you can buy hnds to educate the white men to the same extent, and on can buy all the lands, or nearly all the lands in the State of Maine or the State of Ohio for that purpose. If you have the authority to pass this bill, your becoming the owner of the land for the purpose stated in this bill is not made to depend in on the assent of Maine or Ohio; they may o ject as much as they please, but the objection will be of no avail, provided we have the authority to pass this bill. I must say, with all the deference which I most sincerel entertain for the judgment of the members of the committee who have had charge of this bill, and to whose fairness of judgment I have had occasion more than once, and upon every occasion where there was an opportunity of showing it, to bear witness, and with like def erence to the opinions of those Senators who are not members of the committse but are members of the profession and perfectly familiar with the constitution of the country, and more familiar than I am, I am unable to bring my self to the conclusion that there is any such power as that proposed to be exercised by this and I do not think the States will approve o it. I speak it not in any party sense; I have no party object now, nor have I had at any time urinfl the rebellion. I have desired only that the rebellion should be suppressed, and that, thank God is now accomplis red. I desire now only that the country should be restored to a state of absolute peace; and that, I trust, is soon to be accomplished. But, sir, I wish to keep within the limits of the constitution, as I understand it, and I am unable to go to the extent that this bill goes, because, according to my judgment, it is beyond the authority of Congress. Nor do I believe that the States will approve of such a measure as this. Go to Illinois, the State of my friend the chairman of the committee that reported this bill. Take your million dollars into Illinoisfor the appropriation is just what Congress may think proper to make it; you may makeit $100,000 or $100,000,000 take your money into Illinois and propose to buy the land of Illinois for this purpose, and do you believe the people of Illinois would be satisfied? In such a contingency the result would be that a large portion of that State would be settled by blue s. Heaven knows I have no prejudices against the race. Brought up among them; associatin with them in boyhood an since; living to 51cm and receiving from them acts of kindness, I have no possible prejudice against them; but still I know that nature has made them so distinct from our race that with the mass of mankind there will be, and perha)5 must be, more or less of prejudice, more or css of an unwillingness on the part of the whites to be associated with the lacks. It seems to me that, in the case I have supposed, if 1/2 or 1/3rd of the State ofl line is was bought up for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this bill, and was settled with blacks, it would reduce a political revolution, and Illinois could not prevent it. To the extent of the powers of this Government, whatever Congress may legislate is copelusive upon the States. If Congress, therefore, legislates to purchase land, the States have no right to prevent the sale of their lands. Go to my own State at the time the war broke out there were some 70 or 80,000 slaves, and some 80,000 free men who had been slaves, or whose ancestors had been slaves, making altogether about 150,000 blacks in the State of Maryland. y colleague said, and no doubt he has the information, that they are now oppressed in certainportions of the State. e said yesterday, as see, that the course of justice in Maryland is so obstructed that perhaps they cannot meet with the redress that the should receive. Now, suppose you take a milion or 2 million dollars into Maryland and buy up our lands and settle a 150,000 of these blacks there, what would be the result? The whole population of the State is only 6 or 700,000. Of that number nearly 1/2 are in the city of Baltimore, and the rest are distributed throughout the other portions of our domain. Suppose this million or 2 million dollars are taken upon the Eastern Shore of Maryland, from which my colleague comes, they might be able to buy up the whole of that Shore. Do you think that there wouldbe any eace there if that should be the result of a bi l of this descrition? Looking to the fact that Marylan has been a slave State, and that the feeling on the subject in a great portion of the State has been very strong, do you belieye that she would be satisfied to have that portion of our State, one of the fairest portions upon the face of the globe, capableof producing almost an unlimited amount, not only of the necessaries but of the luxuries of life, put into the hands of the blacks exclusively? Do you suppose that we should not have trouble in thaState? Just as sure as the sun of heaven rises, that would be the result. Then comes force, and force for what? Forceand you will be obliged to say itto see that this law is carried out or not impeded. Then comes civilWar, with all the countless ills under which we have suffered for the last 4 years. Now, I believeI speak it under the correction ofwhat may be the better information of my colleaguethe negro is as safe in Maryland as heisin Massachusetts. There may be occasions ally horrible outrages pe etrate upon him as there are occasionally in Massachusetts outrages verpetrated upon white men and white women; Eult I think they are exceptions to the general ru e. Not only do I not see any authority for legislation of this description, but I think it would be mischievous in the extreme, looking to the welfare of the black man himself. I have not shared in the estimate of the black race which many of those with whom I have been in the habit of associating held. I believe that they are capable of as much and as high civilization as the white race. I have seen as much native talent exhibited in the black race as I have seen exhibited in the white race; and I believe, therefore, if Srotected by the laws which every State is bean to pass, or, they Failing to pass them, protected by the paramount authority of the constitution of the U.S., they will ere long become valuable citizens of the country, and the products of the country, the wealth which has flowed into our lap from the products, of the slave States, instead ofbeing diminished, will be greatly increased. The opinion that I now entertain I have entertained fbr years, that slave labor cannot, as long as man is what God created him to be, comete with free labor. To conclude, althon I am as solicitous as my honorable friendfrom Illinois, or as any member of this body, to protect these people from any outrages which may be committed upon them, to the whole extent of the power conferred upon us, I am unable, much as I desire to do anythingthatitmay be supposed will tend to the benefit and protection of this race, to bring myself to vote for this bill, because, in my judgment, the constitution gives no authority to pass it as far as the 2 provisions of which I have spoken, the one immediately before the Senate, and the one which is to come before the Senate, on the amendment to the 6th section are concerned.