An Act for the admission of New Mexico into the United States of America.

Whereas by the act of Congress approved on the ninth of Septem-ber, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty, it was provided that the people of New Mexico, when admitted as a State, shall be received into the Union with or without slavery, as their constitution may provide at the time of their admission; and whereas the population of said Territory is now suffi-cient to constitute a State government: Therefore—

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the inhabitants of the Territory of New Mexico, in-cluding therein the region called Arizona, be, and they are hereby, authorized to form for themselves a constitution of State government by the name of the State of New Mexico; and the said State, when formed, shall be admitted into the Union upon the same footing with the original States in all respects whatever. And said constitution shall be formed by a convention of the people of New Mexico, which shall consist of twice the number of members now by law con-stituting the house of representatives of the Territory; each representative district shall elect two members to said convention for every member now by law elected in such district to the territorial house of representatives; and in such election only those persons shall vote for such delegates as are, by the laws of said Territory now in force, entitled to vote for members of the territorial house of representatives. The election for the convention shall be held on the fifth day of August, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, by the same officers who would hold an election for members of the said house of representatives; and those officers shall conform to the law now in force in said Territory for election for members of said house of representatives in all respects, in holding the election, receiving and rejecting votes, and making the returns of the election for the convention. The convention shall assemble at the city of Santa Fe, on the second day of September, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and continue its sessions at that place until its deliberations shall be closed. The constitution agreed on by the convention shall be submitted to the people of the Territory for their approval or rejection as a whole; at such election on the constitution, all those and others shall be entitled to vote who are now entitled to vote for members of the house of representatives of said Territory; and such election shall be held by the same officers who conduct, by the present laws, the election for members of the house of representatives of the Territory, at the same place for voting, and in the same manner in all respects; and such election shall be held on the fourth day of November, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and the re-turns thereof made to the governor of the Territory, who shall forthwith sum up and declare the result, and shall send a cer-tificate thereof, together with a copy of the constitution, to the President of the United States. The said State shall be entitled to one member of the House of Representatives of the United States of America, held until the apportionment under the next census.

• H. R. 1008 (introduced on 1861-01-12 12:00:00 - CREATE - e842764) [This document] [view current proposal at this moment]
  • None (introduced on 1861-01-12 12:00:00 - REPORT_PROPOSAL - e842768) [view current proposal at this moment]