Mr. JOHNSON. Not many of us. I suppose you have reference to gentlemen on the other side; and it is barely possible you might have had in your mind's eye the coming presidential election. Now, Mr. President, is it right let us apply it to ourselves to force this measure upon the people of this District, who almost exclusively own the property here. Their local government is a municipal corporation, having no authority whatever to interfere with the rights of person, or if they have through the instrumentality of any penal legislation, have only that right subject at all times to be corrected by Congress? As I understand, there were at the time we abolished slavery some 15,000 negroes in the District; now I am told there are about 30,000. I wonder if my friendfrom Maine, in going around the city a year or 2 ago, since slavery was abol: ished, in order to discharge intelligently and humanely his duty as chairman of the ComDistCol, saw anything in the condition of this race which satisfied him that they were capable of exercising the right of suffrage? Their squalid misery the disease which at that time was making sad have c in almost all of the wretched shanties where they were placed touched his heart, touched the hearts to whom that condition became known, and they became the objects, and the just objects, of individual charity. They were, in one sense, paupers; and in every State in the Union paupers are excluded from the franchise. Suppose that instead of the city government here being a municipal corporation of the character that it is, it. been invested with banking privileges, as you might have done, and you had made each citizen a stockholder to the amount that he would subscribe, would you let in these negroes by force to be stockholders without paying anything toward the general fund, toward the capital? Certainly not. And yet here is a capital consisting of personal and real property belonging to the population of the District who are white, over which, and over which alone, the corporation have legislative powers, and you propose to give to these poor creatures the same right to levy taxes, to appropriate money, that belongs, and belongs now exclusively, to those who own the property to be taxed. And what makes it still more remarkable: not only did those who are in favor of this measure fail to provide that suffrage should be granted in the States of the Union by the constitutional amendment, but I am not aware that any effort has been made in any State of the Union to do it by legislation, or by constitutional change, where it can only be done by constitutional change. My friend who sits near me [Mr. so has told us that he thinks each State must judge of that for herself; that at the proper time, or, to use his own language, in her own good time, Ohio may give to them a right to vote, because there are so few of them. That is what he said, and I have no doubt it is true. If she gives it at all, it will be because there are so few of the m." Heroin the neighboring State of Maryland slavery has been abolished, and, as I said a day or 2 ago, abolished with no possible desire to have it reinstated. I do not believe a proposition of that sort would receive the vote of one man in 100. There may be some men I do not know as to that who are suggesting the propriety of converting Maryland into a territory. who might be in favor of it; but no sane man, as I think, who is unprejudiced, and who has no party ends to attain, would think of proposing to Maryland the proposition of giving to the negroes of Maryland the right of suffrage. Why? It is useless to close our eyes to the fact; you may, by constitutional provision and by legislation, declare, over and over again, that there shall be no distinction on account of color, but there will be that distinction until the colors are blended so as to become one, if that shall ever happen. We find it in relation to the Indians, independent of their savage condition; we find it in relation to the Chinese. My friendfrom Oregon who spoke just now [Mr. Yo.] is very much in favor of giving the right of suffrage to the negroes in this District, and yet the other day he proposed a resolution to inquire whether it was not in the power of Congress and expedient to prevent the Chinese from coming into Oregon. Why? Because they are not white; because nature has made a distinction; because it is impossible to act harmoniously upon a subject with those several classes. Sir. let the time come when it may, if you give to the negroes the right to vote in the States they will either vote as the whites vote or there will be trouble in every community, if Congress should be called upon to enforce such a provision, as they ought to be called upon to enforce it if such a constitutional change should be adopted. I have but a word or 2 more to say. I listened and read as The Secretary read the message of the President. His points are very well put, and, as the honorable member from Ohio says, the whole message is in good taste; but, in my judgment, it would have been much better if he had omitted all that part of it which relates to the comparative danger of usurpation between the 2 depts of the government; not because he is not right as proved historically, not because he is not right from the very nature of 2 such depts, but because no such question arises upon this bill. Congress will be guilty and has been guilty of no usurpation in passing this bill, as I think. Under the authority to legislate in all cases for the DistCol, they may legislate as this bill proposes to legislate. For the same reason the subject to which the bill adverts is a subject fit for legislation, and one which could in that way be disposed of by the States. If, therefore, I had been called upon to prepare a message of this sort, certainly all that part of the message would have been omitted : me; but not because I doubt at all the political wisdom of the theory which he maintains. I have said that all history proves that it is correct, and our own history proves it. Individual responsibility is lost in the responsibility of numbers. I do not speak of. that has been done or may be done in the future. I am speaking of it now as a general principle. A member of the Senate one of 60 odd members or a member of the House of some 2 or 300, is, or may often be, found to do what he would not think of doing if he stood alone, open to the eye of the public and responsible alone for the consequences of his conduct. It was for that reason, among others, that the pardoning power was vested exclusively in the President. It was a great power, and it was supposed to be much more wise, judging from the nature of the power and the nature of our frail humanity, that a power of that description should be given alone to one o I do not believe, however, that the time has come, and I trustin Heaven it is never to come, when executive usurpations or legislative usurpations, if there shall be any, will shake the firm foundations upon which the Republic stands. It has proved quite able to resist the assault of numbers on the battle field, and stands now just as firmly fixed in the affections of the American people as it ever was; and if the time should come hereafter when Congress, in either branch or in both branches, or when a President shall forget the duty which the constitution imposes upon each, and shall act so as to violate the rights of the people or endanger the safety of our institutions, the remedy will be found then, as it has recently been found in the patriotism and the power of the American people.