Mr. GRIMES. It occurs to me that the adoptionof this amendment may involve us in t iis trouble: I do not know how extensive the foreign population may be in this District; but I suppose that the adoption of this amendment, if it shall be adopted, will have a considerable reflex influence upon the public sentiment of the States, and may lead to the adoption of similar amendments, or to the agitation of the question whether similar amendments should e adopted there. Take asan example one of the western States, the State in which I have the honor to reside. We have a ten, population made up from every one of the German principalities and Powers Swedes, Norwegians, Danes; some Russians, some French, some. anish, and some Portuguese. They have diffrent dialects of the different languages that are peculiar to their country. how, if such an amendment as this were adopted in that State as a part of its legislative law on the subject of elections, how would it be possible for it to be administered? The Constitution of the U.S. probably could not be found published in 1/3rd of the languages that are 5 oken in that State. It is sai that these people after having under gone a novitiate of 5 years on ht to be able to read the English language. that is the case with those who come to the country young. Those who come here under the age of eight een, or probably under the age of 2 'e, learn the English language in the course of 5 years so as to be able to speak it well, and generally to read it; but the man who comes ere in mature life never learns to read it, and hardly ever learns to talk it, unless he was before he came here a thoroughly educated man. A large majority of the population that come to this country from abroad belong to the peasantry of the country from which they came. They have a limited education, as a general thing; but they have passed that period of life when they are qualified to acquire with any sort of correctness another language, and to be able to speak especially so difficult a'language as the English language.