Mr. HENDRICKS. Before a vote is had on this amendment, it is due to myself to say that I am not in favor of annexing conditions to States upon their admission when those States come here properly; but now we have to select between what I esteem 2 evils, between this proposition and the proposition that comes from }. HoRep. There is truth in what the Senfrom missouri [Mr. HENDERson] has said in One respect, that is there are not many persons perhaps in Nebraska who would be enfranchised under this proposition; but practically it is a very important question when we consider that we are fixing a precedent that may be extended to other and very important matters when other States ask to be admitted. This precedent will establish that the Congress of the U.S. State and the territorial Legislature have the !.to change a constitution that the people have deliberately made. This same question is to come up on the Colorado bill. There it was submitted expressly to the people whether they would have negro suffrage, and upon a popular vote they voted it down by a much larger majority than was given in favor of the constitution. Now, we propose to override that popular vote of the people, the people who make States, who make State constitutions; we propose to over ride that by submitting it to a territorial Legislature that, in my judgment, is not competent, under the Constitution and the laws, to decide a question of this sort. think it is important to avoid a precedent so dangerous in the future. A constitution may come up from one of our future western States with a provision not agreeable to congress upon some other question not touching “e negro at all, touching their material inter.s, touching their mineral interests perhaps, oune great interest; and Congress may interose to change that constitution without allowing the people the opportunity to express their wish upon it. I wish to avoid that precedent; and although I am not in favor of a general proposition of annexing conditions of this sort to the admission of States, yet I think it is better to submit the question here proposed to the people than to submit it to the Legislature; and my amendment raises simply this point: shall we submit this proposition to the people who are sovereign upon the question of making a constitution and State government, or shall we submit it to the Legislature that has no juris diction over it? If the people of the Territory of Nebraska are not in favor of this proposition, what senator wants to force it upon them? Does not the Constitution of the U.S. leave to the people of each State the exclusive control of this question of suffrage; and do we want to take away from them that which the Constitution leaves with them? But my purpose is to avoid a precedent which I think will become dangerous in the future, and therefore I offer this amendment. The only effect of my amendment, I desire most distinctly to say, is that this question shall be submitted to the people, instead of the territorial legislature.