An alien may possess himself of goods, money in the funds, and other personal effects, to any extent. The law has, from a very early period, recognised his right to reside without molestation within the realm for commercialpurposes. " All merchants shall have safe and secure con duct to go out and to come into England ; and to stay there, and to pass as well by land as by water, to buy and sell by the ancient and allowed customs, without any evil tolls, except in time of war, or when they are of any nation at war with us." (Magna Charta, art. 48.) An alien mer chant enjoys the right to occupy a house and premises, and may hold a lease for years for the convenience of merchandize, yet if he leaves the realm or dies, in the one case his assignees, and in the other ease his executors or administrators, can not have the lease, but it goes to the crown. It is usual in such cases for the crown to make a grant of the forfeited interest to some person who is the best entitled to it. By 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 54 and c. 55, aliens cannot hold British registered shipping nor shares therein. An alien who is settled in England as a merchant can only invest capital it. foreign ships, which, in compliance with the navigation laws of other states, are of necessity manned with foreign seamen ; and by a provision in our navigation laws a foreign ship can only import the pro ductions of the country where she is re gistered. A naturalized person cannot enjoy the advantages of a British subject under commercial treaties with foreign countries until seven years after he has been naturalized. An alien cannot be a member of parliament, nor can he vote in the election of a member of parliament. (2 & 3 Wm. IV. c. 45.) But it has been established that the occupation of a dwell ing-house by an alien gamed him a settle ment. (Rex v. Eastbourne, 4 East, 103.) The Municipal Corporations Act (5 & 6 Wm. IV. c. 76, s. 4) debars aliens from exercising the municipal privileges of a burgess.
The statute of 32 Hen. VIII. c. 16,
which makes void all leases of dwelling houses or shops to alien artificers or handicraftsmen, and imposes a penalty 1008. for granting such lease, is still un repealed. An alien can and could from a very early period bring an action or suit in the English courts in respect of personal property or contracts. An alien may dispose of his property by will. The droit d'aubaine, or right of succeeding to the effects of a deceased alien, formerly claimed by the crown of France, never prevailed in this country. Nor was it customary to enforce it even in France, except as against the natives of a state in which a similar right was exercised. For some time previous to its abolition by the first Constituent Assembly in 1791, it was generally stipulated by foreign countries, in their treaties with France, that their subjects should be exempt from the law. [AUBAINE.] This doctrine of reciprocity was adopted by the French Code (Code Civil, art. 726), but was abrogated in 1819, so far as the right of succession is concerned : so that aliens are now on the same footing in this respect with native Frenchmen throughout that kingdom. Aliens who are subject to any criminal proceeding in our courts of jus tice are in most cases entitled to trial by a ,jury de medielate linguae.
The disabilities of aliens may be par tially removed by the king's letters patent constituting the party a free deni zen. From the date of the grant he is entitled to hold land, and transmit it to his after-born children, and to enjoy many other privileges of a native subject. But the most effectual method of na turalizing an alien is by act of parliament, called a Naturalization Bill, by which he is admitted to every right of a natural born subject, except the capacity of sitting in parliament or theprivy council, or of holding grants and offices of trust under the crown ; an exclusion dictated by the jealous policy of the legislature on the accession of the House of Orange. [DENr