Mr. JOHNSON. I do not see how there can be any war of sects if the amendment should be adopted and carried out in its true spirit according to its true meaning. We are about to incorporate now certain persons: I do not know to what religious sect they belong, either in whole or in part; but the practical operation, I understand, of a measure of this description, in the absence of some such amendment as I have suggested, is that all children who are taken up are sent to the particular religious society and brought up in the particular religion to i. which the corporators and the result has been, as I am told, that 100s and 100s of children never find out who their parents are and the parents are never able to find out where their children are. The effect of an amendment of this description would be to enable the parent to find out, because he would go to the church to which he belonged, and if there was an association attached to that church competent to carry out the object of the bill he would find in all probability that his child was there. So far from its attempting to interfere with the religious notions people may entertain it would seem to me to be clearly right that a Methodist parent, who would naturally desire to have his child educated by some Methodist association, should be secured in bringing that result about, and so in relation to the other SectS. There is, for example, in Baltimore an institution established by the Catholic church which takes charge of the children belonging to that church who are not able to take care of themselves or whose parents are not able to take care of them, and who have no means left to them by others with which to educate themselves; and it has operated, as I am told by those in whom I place every reliance, most beneficially. There is also in the State of NewYork an institution like the one established now in Baltimore, and the operation of that institution has been very beneficial. Now, although it is wrong for us to interfere in any religious controversy, yet I suppose it is perfectly right that we should not by legislation interfere antagonistically to what each religious persuasion may suppose to be the true interest of its flock. There is no difficulty in ascertaining to what religious society a parent belongs; and unless that is ascertained the child is to be taken entirely under the control of the corporation to whom we are about now to give this franchise. I say to my friendfrom Maine that I am perfectly satisfied that if the bill passes in its Present shape it will cause very great dissatisfaction and will serve to annoy the ladies who are to manage this institution. They will be involved in all sorts of disputes if they take for example a Catholic child and insist upon educating that child against the wishes of the parents. All that this amendment provides is that when they find that a child is, for example, the child of Catholic parents, and that there is a Catholic institution capable of taking care of that child, he shall be sent to that institution, nothing more.