

CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



175 



"Besides, sir, even in reference to schools 

 tliis aiiu-ndiiient only prohibits appropriating 

 tin- M-hool-fuud to denominational schools. It 

 does not by any means forbid appropriations 

 from tin- Treasury generally even to denomina- 

 tional schools. 



" I call the attention of the Senate thus briefly 

 to this subject. 



"The amendment should cover the whole 

 subject. I propose a substitute to be referred 

 to the committee with the ponding resolution." 



The President pro tempore: "The Senator's 

 substitute will be read." 



Mr. Sargent, of California, said : " I offer a 

 substitute." 



The President pro tempore : " The substitute 

 proposed by the Senator from New Jersey 

 (Mr. Frelinghuysen) will first be read." 



The Chief Clerk read as follows: 



ARTICLE XVI., Section 1. No State shall make any 

 law respecting the establishment of religion or pro- 

 hibiting tiie free exercise thereof; and no public prop- 

 erty and no money raised by taxation in any State, 

 Territory, or District, or derived from public lands, 

 or other public source, shall be appropriated to any 

 school, educational, or other institution that is under 

 the control of any religious sect or denomination ; 

 and no such appropriation shall be made to any re- 

 ligious sect or denomination or to promote its inter- 

 ests j nor shall any public money, land, or property 

 be divided between religious sects or denominations. 



Sec. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce 

 by appropriate legislation the provisions of this 

 article. 



The President pro tempore : " The substitute 

 proposed by the Senator from California will 

 now be read." 



The Chief Clerk read as follows : 



ARTICLE XVI., Section 1. There shall be main- 

 tained in each State and Territory a system of free 

 common schools; but neither the United States nor 

 any State, or Territory, county, or municipal corpo- 

 ration shall aid in the support of any school wherein 

 the peculiar tenets of (any religious denomination 

 shall be taught. 



Sec. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce 

 by appropriate legislation the provisions of this 

 article. 



Mr. Christiancy, of Michigan, said: "Mr. 

 President, I agree with the Senator from New 

 Jersey that the people are in earnest on this 

 question ; but whoever may be the father of 

 the provision contained in this joint resolution 

 and proposed to be made a part of the Con- 

 stitution, if he really meant to meet the evil, 

 I do not think he ought to be at all proud 

 of his offspring. The defects in the resolution 

 have not been fully pointed out, and I will 

 proceed to read the resolution as it passed the 

 House and is sent here, and it will be seen 

 that there is a defect in it to which the atten- 

 tion of the Senate has not yet been called : 

 _ No State shall make any law respecting the estab- 

 lishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise 

 thereof 



" Thus far it is simply imposing on the States 

 what the Constitution already imposes on the 

 United States, and that is all correct 

 and no money raised by taxation in any State 



" For what purpose, now ? I call attention 

 to the limitation 



no money raised by taxation in any State for the 

 support of public schools, or derived front any public 

 fund therefor 



" That is, a public fund for public schools 

 nor any public lands devoted thereto 

 " That is, devoted to public schools 



shall ever be under the control of any religious sect ; 

 nor shall any moneys so raised or lands so devoted 



" Limited all the way to the public schools 

 be divided among religious sects or denominations. 



" It simply prohibits, after a fund has been 

 raised for public schools or after lands have 

 been devoted to public-school purposes, the 

 diversion of that fund or those lands to secta- 

 rian schools or for the benefit of churches. 

 That is all it does. Theological schools, 

 schools where any particular system of relig- 

 ion is taught, are not the public schools ; and 

 there is no prohibition there upon the States 

 raising any amount of money or devoting any 

 amount of public lands to the support of pri- 

 vate schools for instruction in the religion of 

 any sect. 



" This resolution, then, prohibits the States 

 from committing the wrong when it is at- 

 tempted indirectly, but leaves the States full 

 power to commit the same wrong whenever 

 they choose to do it directly. There is the 

 defect of this resolution, and that is the main 

 defect. But there is another defect. It sim- 

 ply prohibits the States from doing these 

 things ; it does not prohibit the United States ; 

 and under the Constitution of the United 

 States, as it now stands, it is entirely compe- 

 tent to devote lands or impose taxes and ap- 

 propriate money for sectarian purposes. The 

 amendment, therefore, which should bo sub- 

 mitted to meet this entire evil ought to cover 

 the whole ground ; it ought to prohibit the 

 Federal Government, as well as the State gov- 

 ernments, from doing anything of this kind. 

 I prepared on Saturday last a substitute which 

 I propose to offer and have sent to the com- 

 mittee, which covers the entire ground. It is 

 true I have said nothing in it prohibiting a divis- 

 ion, because the language used prohibiting an 

 appropriation or donation for any such purpose 

 covers this ground and would prevent a divis- 

 ion if it were raised for public-school purposes; 

 it would prevent a diversion, and, as I may 

 wish to make a remark or two on this as I 

 proceed, I will read the substitute. The first 

 clause is the same as that which passed the 

 House : 



No State shall make any law respecting the estab 

 lishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise 

 thereof 



" Now follow the distinctive changes 



nor shall Congress nor any State raise by taxation, 

 donate, or appropriate any money or property for 

 the support of any church or religious society, nor 



