On the 4th of January, 1854, Mr. Douglas, of Illinois, as Chairman of the Committee on Territories, reported this bill back to the Senate with various amendments, accompanied by a special report. By this bill only a single Territory was constituted, under the name of Nebraska; the existing Prohibition of Slavery was not directly overthrown, but it was declared that the States formed out of this Territory should be admitted into the Union "with or without Slavery," as they should desire. On the 16th of January, Mr. Dixon, of Kentucky, in order to accomplish directly what the bill did only indirectly, gave notice of an amendment, to the effect that the existing Prohibition of Slavery "shall not be so construed as to apply to the Territory contemplated by this Act, or to any other Territory of the United States; but that the citizens of the several States or Territories shall be at liberty to take and hold their slaves within any of the Territories of the United States, or of the States to be formed therefrom." On the next day, January 17, Mr. Sumner, in order to preserve the existing Prohibition, gave notice of the following amendment. "_Provided_, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to abrogate or in any way contravene the Act of March 6, 1820, entitled 'An Act to authorize the people of Missouri Territory to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, and to prohibit Slavery in certain Territories'; wherein it is expressly enacted, 'that in that territory ceded by France to the United States, under the name of Louisiana, which lies north of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north latitude, not included within the limits of the State contemplated by this Act, slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the parties shall have been duly convicted, shall be, and is hereby, forever prohibited.'" It is worthy of remark, that at this stage the proposition of Mr. Dixon, and also that of Mr. Sumner, were equally condemned by the _Washington Union_, the official organ of the Administration. It had not then been determined to sustain the repeal.