NATURALIZATION (ante). The right of a citizen to throw off his natural alle giance to the state of his birth and take a similar obligation to a foreign sovereignty has long been contested, and by many nations is not yet fully admitted. In the colonial his tory of this country the English system of restricting the rights of citizenship seriously conflicted wilt the obvious policy of a new country to strengthen itself by immigration; and the declaration of independence charges George HI With endeavoring" to prevent the population of these states; obstructing the laws forthe naturalization of foreigners; and refusing to pass others to encomage their migration hither." 'Under the old confed eration the exercise of the power of naturalization was vested in the separate stales. As the articles provided that the citizens of each state should be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of the citizens of all the several states, much confusion of rights and disagreement as to the legal status of foreigners. a ruse. In the new constitution, there fore, it was provided that " congress shall have power to establish a uniform ride of naturalization" (art. I., sec. 8). In pursuance of this authority congress has piss: d many acts at various dates front 1802 onward, and treaties have been made with several foreign nations on the subject. The naturalization may be collective, as in the acquisition of new territory by purchase or conquest: or personal, where citizenship is conferred upon an individual upon his complying with the provisions of the law. When once liginral ized the applicant possesses all the immunities and privileges of native citizens, pith these exceptions: he is not eligible to election as president or vice-president of the United States, and cannot serve as senator until lie has been a citizen for nine years, m in the house of representatives until he has liven a citizen seven years. (Constitution, art. II., see. 1; art. I., sec. 2, 3.) In every other particular the naturalized stands en the same footing with the native citizen, and is entitled to the protection of the govern ment abroad as well as at home. Decisions of the U. S. supreme court (1817) di finitely settle the role that the states had no jurisdiction on the subject of naturalization. But they may pass laws admitting foreigners to any privileges which fall short of citizenship; they may confer the right of acquiring and transferring property, or may even make them voters. The policy of the government of this country has always been very liberal in regard to the conditions of acquiring citizenship, as a general increase of population has up to this time been considered most desirable; and though there was weighty authority for the doctrine that an American citizen could not renounce Ids allegiance without consent of the government and by process of law, yet the state department has always acted on the adverse theory. Without examining in detail the many acts which have been passed to regulate the process of naturalization, the present provisions of the law may he briefly classified as follows: Those persdns who have resided in the United States to .June 18, 1812, may lie admitted without any declaration of intention. Any alien, twenty-one years old or more, who has served in the military forces of the United States, may lie admitted without preliminary declaration, on proof of one residence, of good moral character, and of an honorable discharge from the service. Foreign seamen may obtain full protection as American citizens by filing a declaration of intention in a competent court; but to become citizens, in fact, they must afterwards serve three years on a merchant-vessel of the United States, and present at the end of that time a certificate of good conduct and a discharge. In case of an alien minor who has resided in the United States three years immediately preceding his twenty-first birthday and has five years of continuous residence before making application, including the three, declaration of intention is not required; but he must take oath at the time of application that for at least two years he has had the bona fide intention of becoming a citizen, and in all other ways must comply with the general rule. The language of the act regula ting the naturalization of minors is rather obscure, and formerly maintained by many that of his five years' residence, two must be passed after his coming of age, hut it is now• settled that if the residence extends from his fifteenth to twenty-first year it will suffice. The children of foreign parents who are naturalized become so also, if minors and living in this country at the time, and it has been held that the naturalization of the fattier only suffices. Any person not coining under the classes already mentioned must, at least two years before admission, make oath before a district or circuit coin t of the United Slates, or before any court of law having common law jurisdiction and possessing a seal and clerk, that it is his bona „fide iutentiou to become ,a citizen and to renounce forever all allegiance to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty; and, by name, that particular prince, state, or sovereignty, of which he is at that tune a salijcet or citizen. A certificate of the fact that such a declaration has been made is made out
by the clerk, signed and sealed and given to the applicant as evidence of the declaration of intention. Five yeas' residence in the country, and one year in the state where the application is made, are necessary; by residence is meant permanent abode, but it is not affected by temporary absence on business or pleasure. The court must also be satisfied that the person applying is of good character and well disposed to the public welfare and the principles of the constitution. If the alien have hitherto possessed any heredi tary- title or order of nobility, he must forever renounce it. As to evidence, that of resi dence m•st rest on oilier proof than the applicant's oath, but a single witness is taken on this point, and on others the alien's oath is generally deemed sufficient. The Uepositions, certificate of declaration of intention, and the final order of admission, compose the record of the case and are put on file. A certificate of naturalization is made out, sealed, and signed by the court clerk and is given to the alien as evidence of his citizen ship. The record is conclusive and cannot be contradicted or overthrown, except by proof of perjury or other fraud in its procured Severe punishment by tine and impris onment is provided for the taking of any false oath or affirmation in connection with the proceedings; for any false personation either by applicant or witness; for counterfeiting or imitating any instrument, paper, or proceeding used in the case or authorized by the naturalization laws; for selling or disposing any such oath, certificate or notice, as genuine, or for falsely representing one's self as a citizen of the United States with out having been duly admitted to citizenship. Aliens who are subject to a country at war with the United States at the time of application cannot be naturalized while the war continues. In the early days it was several times held that the wife of a naturalized alien had not herself acquired the status of a citizen, if originally alien; but it was long since decided by the suprenie court that the citizenship of the wife should follow the naturalization of the husband, and that it makes no difference whether the marriage is contracted before or after the citizenship of the husband is secured. The right of expatriation, as it is called, that is of freedom to throw off the natural allegiance and aegaire a new allegiance to another government, is now generally recognized by the nations of Europe and America, though not as a matter of inherent right but rather of permission from the authorities, and as a matter of public policy to prevent disagreeable international complication. The English act of 1870 provides both for the naturalization of aliens, after five years' residence and application to the secretary of state, and also that any British subject who shall voluntarily become naturalized in any foreign coun try shall from that time on be regarded as an alien and no longer a British subject. A treaty was catered into in the same year between Great Britain and our country, provid ing that aliens who have complied with the conditions of admission and have been fully' naturalized should be recognized as such by the country of their birth; but the original allegiance may be recovered by much the same process. Treaties were also made by the United States, in 1868, with Prussia, Bavaria, the grand duchy of Baden, Wfirtemburg. grand duchy- of Besse, Belgium, and Mexico; in 1839 with Sweden and Norway; in 1870 with the Austro Hungarian empire, and in 1879 with Ecuador and Denmark. These treaties have the same general stipulations, stating a period of residence, usually five years, after which naturalization is permissible and to he recognized, reserving to the country of the original allegiance the right to punish for crime committed, or to compel the-execution of obligations entered into, before the change of domicile, and entering into mutual obligations to recognize the rights of each other. The question ou which there is the greatest likelihood of disagreement under existing laws, arises where an alien comes to this colintor, becomes duly naturalized and then returns. Is lie then liable to undergo military service pr otherwise recognize the allegiance of the state of his birth? Some European nations hold that such a transaction is on its face evidence of an intention to escape the natural obligations, but the policy of our government has always been to pro tect its adopted citizens where the naturalization is not tainted by fraud.