Mr. SHERMAN. I have shown you that this rule of population has not been an invari able rule; that all the States I have named when admitted had less population than Nebraska now has. But, sir, that is not all. Population is only one mode of ascertaining whether a State is prepared for admission. In every other respect Nebraska is far beyond the condition in which those States were when they were admitted. When Ohio was admitted with her 40,000 inhabitants her beautiful plains were covered with an unbroken forest; there was only a settlement here and there; cabins pretty far in the wilderness; no roads, nounodes of communication, no schools, no colleges, no opportunities of reaching there. And so when all these other States were admitted they had none of the resources, none of the elements of civilization that this rising Territory has. Nebraska, on the contrary, is open for the settlement of the whole country; railroads now touch its eastern border; the Missouri river passes along its whole eastern border; and a railroad, built partly by the Government of the U.S., has already penetrated into it 280 miles. They have schools; they have the foundation of colleges; they have all the educational facilities of this modern age. They can be reached from this very point in 2 or 3 days, and in a few days more the railroads across Iowa will be built, and then they can be reached in a comparatively few hours. There is a country all ready for the hand of labor, with 1000s of square miles almost ready for the plow, a soil rich in agriculture, rich in resources, easy of access, with a population hardy, industrious and patriotic to the last degree. Shall you deny these people admission here when you have invited them in, when they have complied with your condition, because they have not sufficient population, when you have never made that a test as to any other State? Mr. President, I do not think it is necessary for me to dwell further upon this question of population which has been made by many senators a ground of objection. If there is any force in the objection, it is one that will be rapidly overcome. Since the conclusion of the war immigration is flowing in rapidly. During the war all the Territories were suspended in growth. It was a remarkable fact that colorado, perhaps Nebraska, and Kansas, I think, as well as all the western Territories, were either made the scene of war, or the population, young and active and enterprising, that went there flowed back into the channels of war. Nebraska and Colorado were among the 1st to send their young men, their best and active men into our service. Colorado organized a regiment and sent it to NewMexico, and probably saved us millions of dollars in the reconquest of NewMexico. The men of Nebraska were nearly all young men. Old men do not o to these new Territories. Young men desiring to better their condition go there. The blast of the bugle brought 1000s of young men from Nebraska into Iowa and then into the seat of war. No wonder the growth of their population was checked, because the life of their population was in the service of their country. Will you make that a reason for keeping them out when you know that the current has changed, that population is now pouring in there instead of out, and the population they had there was mostly engaged in the service of their country? It seems to mo it is unrea sonable, and that we who profess to govern the patriotic and loyal people of this country do wrong in imposing upon these patriotic and loyal people harder conditions than have been impo. upon others in former times. know very well that a territorial government in a rapidly growing community like Nebraska is a great burden, irritating constantly. Their Governor is appointed by the President. He may not have any sympathy with them, although I believe as to the Governor of Nebraska, he is in hearty sympathy with the people there; but he may not be. He controls the patronage of the Territory. He is their Governor by no vote or voice of theirs. This state of affairs is always unpleasant to a people. They like to have the of their own Governor, even if the office is unimportant. Their judges are appointed by the President. All the machiner o their government is simply executive and provisional. The people of the Territory elect only the Legislative Assembly. Everything, therefore, is unpleasant about a territorial government. They have not their benefit of the share of the public lands. They have not any of the facilities for improvement. Laws of a doubtful character only can be passed to organize corporations and associations. There is all the uncertainty of terri torial legislation; there is the well known corruption of territorial legislation. s there any reason why we should continue these people under this kind of pupilage; why We okeep them under this kind of bur den, unpleasant, irritating, depending upon the POTUS for their executive authority, upon judges appointed by him for the administration of their laws, without any opportunity to improve their Territory? Is it right or just that for any slight reason we should keep them in that condition? It is always the case that these new communities rapidly seek to get out of the state of pupilage or territorial state into the government of their own affairs. It is natural that they should do so. It seems to me that this Territory has now within itself all the elements necessary to enable its people to assume their own government. They have a hardy population; they have every advantage that we }. Why not, therefore, let them enter into the race of progress? Until this Territory is admitted as a State they cannot progress rapidly; no encouragement can be held out to them. I therefore see no harm that can result from their prompt admission. Mr. President, is it not the interest of the U.S. to form as soon as possible all these infant Territories into States? What object can the U.S. have in holdin any portion of the territory of the States in a condition where it must be governed by executive laws or executive influence? None whatever. Who among us does not desire to see, upon reasonable and fair conditions, the admission of the southern States to their old relations to the Union? I hope we all do. What objection can we have against the gradual absorption into States of all the new Terri tories? We can have none whatever. When they organize their own governments they pay all their local expenses. Now a territorial government is a constant expense upon the Treasury. We appropriate this year many tens of 1000s of dollars for Nebraska. If we admit Nebraska all these appropriations cease and she assumes the burden of her own government. To say that she is not rich enough to maintain a government is to say that her people do not know what they want and that they are not the best persons to judge of that. If we do not admit Colorado we have tens of 1000s of dollars to appropriate for her. Why not allow them to assume their own government? It is sometimes said that these new States have too much preponderance in the legislative power of the Government; that if they have not sufficient population for one member it gives them an undue advantage in the HoRep; and that with a small population they ought not to be admitted into this Senate on an equal footing with the great States of NewYork, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, and other States. Perhaps that is so; but in the practice of our Government there never has been any difference of interest between the small and the large States. These western States will be governed by the same impulses and the same feelings that govern us. I never yet have seen the line of distinction drawn between the small and large States. There has been no question presented since I have been a member of this body which divided the large from the small States. There is no danger, therefore, of an undue representation. These small States are increasing rapidly in population. I have no doubt that in a very short time Nebraska will contain more population than several of the existing States. By the time the next census is taken this young State, admitted I hope by your action, will have passed in the race of population and progress many of the old States of the Union. It requires but very little time for the American Rol. to fill up one of these new Territories. We must not treat them as if they were any different from ourselves. We must not impose conditions upon them that we would not impose upon our own people. Why should we in Ohio sneer at Nebraska for inserting the word “white” in her constitution when in Ohio we have the same provision? Why should any of the States object to her admission here because she has the word “white” inserted in her constitution when that is contained in all but a few of them, when every State but one or 2 makes some discrimination against the colored population? Does not everybody see that the logic of events and the progress of time will cure all these evils? And if it is an objection to the constitution of Nebraska, we have ourselves introduced it into that constitution by our own enabling act. Mr. President, after a cursory examination of this subject, and after some knowledge of the people myself, from having passed through the whole Territory of Nebraska during the last summer, I am satisfied that it would be an act of wisdom on the part of Congress to admit them promptly as a State with their present constitution, leaving them in the future to make such reforms as may be demanded by the civilization of the age.