_Because_ the bill vests in the said incorporated church an
authority to provide for the support of the poor and the education of
poor children of the same, an authority which, being altogether
superfluous if the provision is to be the result of pious charity, would
be a precedent for giving to religious societies as such a legal agency
in carrying into effect a public and civil duty.
JAMES MADISON.
FEBRUARY 28, 1811.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
Having examined and considered the bill entitled "An act for the relief
of Richard Tervin, William Coleman, Edwin Lewis, Samuel Mims, Joseph
Wilson, and the Baptist Church at Salem Meeting House, in the
Mississippi Territory," I now return the same to the House of
Representatives, in which it originated, with the following objection:
_Because_ the bill in reserving a certain parcel of land of the
United States for the use of said Baptist Church comprises a principle
and precedent for the appropriation of funds of the United States for
the use and support of religious societies, contrary to the article of
the Constitution which declares that "Congress shall make no law
respecting a religious establishment."
JAMES MADISON.
PROCLAMATION.
[From the National Intelligencer, July 25, 1811]
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
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