March 30th, the Senate having under consideration a bill, that had already passed the House of Representatives, to provide a temporary government for the Territory of Montana, Mr. Wilkinson, of Minnesota, moved to amend the clause relating to persons entitled to vote and eligible to office, so that, instead of “every _white male inhabitant_,” it should read “every _free male citizen_ of the United States, and those who have declared their intention to become such.” Mr. Reverdy Johnson at once declared that “the effect of the amendment was to admit to the elective franchise in the proposed Territory black men as well as white,” and, after mentioning the number of Africans now in the United States, he proceeded to say that “it can hardly be seriously contended, that, of that four millions, such portion of them as have been in a state of slavery from infancy to the present time are intelligent enough, or likely to become intelligent enough, at once to exercise the right of suffrage”; and he anticipated another question, “just as likely to excite the public as the question of the existence of Slavery in itself.” March 31st, the amendment was adopted,--Yeas 22, Nays 17. The debate continuing, Mr. Johnson said that the term “citizen” was not applicable to “black men,” “because the Supreme Court of the United States has decided, and that question was directly before the Court in the Dred Scott case, that a person of African descent is not a citizen of the United States.” Mr. Wilkinson was willing it should stand according to his amendment, and let the decision of the Supreme Court be whatever it might. He wanted neither “white” nor “black” put into the bill. Mr. Sumner then remarked:-- “I take it that each branch of the Government can interpret the Constitution for itself. I think that Congress is as good an authority in its interpretation as the Supreme Court, and I hope that in legislation it will proceed absolutely without respect to a decision which has disgraced the country, and ought to be expelled from its jurisprudence.”