The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-23 00:00:00

complete of the kind, as regards position, and had heavy
field pieces in them.

" DAVID D. PORTER, Acting Rear-Admiral,
Commanding Mississippi Squadron.
" Hon. Gideon "Wells, Secretary of the Navy,"
The following important proclamation had been
issued by the President:—

" BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
"A PROCLAMATION.

" Whereas the Congress of the United States, at its last
session, enacted a law entitled An Act for enrolling and
calling out the national forces, and for other purposes,'
which was approved on the 3d day of March last; and
" Whereas it is recited in the said Act that there now
exists in the United States an insurrection and rebellion
against the authority thereof, and it is, under the constitu-
tion of the United States, the duty of the Government to
suppress insubordination and rebellion, to guarantee to each
State a republican form of government, and to preserve
the public tranquillity ; and

"Whereas for these high purposes a military force is
indispensable, to raise ani support which all persons ought
willingly to contribute; and
"Whereas no service can be more praiseworthy and
honourable than that which is rendered for the maintenance
of the constitution and the Union, and the consequent pre-
servation of free government ; and
"Whereas for the reason thus recited, it was enacted by
the said statute that all able-bodied male citizens of the
United States and parsons of foreign birth who shall have
declared on oath their intentions to become citizens under
and in persuance of the laws thereof, between the ages of
20 and 45 years, with certain exemptions not necessary to
be here mentioned, are declared to constitute the national
forces, and shall be liable to perform military duty in the
service of the United States when called out by the Presi-
dent for that purpose; and
"Whereas it is claimed for and on behalf of persons of
foreign birth within the ages specified in said Act who
have hitherto declared on oath their intentions to become
citizens under and in pursuance of the laws of the United
States, and who have not exercised the right of suffrage or
any other political franchise under the laws of the United
States, or of any of the States thereof, that they are
not absolutely precluded by their aforesaid declaration of
intention from renouncing their purpose to became citizens
—and that, on the contrary, such persons, under treaties or
the law of nations, retain a right to renounce that purpose,
and to forego the privilege of citizenship and residence
within the United States, under the obligations employed
in the aforesaid Act of Congress ;
" Now, therefore, to avoid all misapprehensions concern-
ing the liability of persons concerned to perform the service
required by such enactment, and to give it full effect, I do
hereby order and proclaim that no plea of alienage will be
received or allowed to exempt from the obligations imposed
by the aforesaid Act of Congress any person of foreign birth
who shall have declared on oath his intention to become a
citizen of the United States under the laws thereof, and
who shall be found within the United States at any time
during the continuance of the present insurrection and re-
bellion, at or after the expiration of 65 days from the date of
this proclamation ; nor shall any such plea of alienage be
allowed in favour ( f any such person who has so, as afore-
said, declared his intention of becoming a citizen of the
United States, and shall have exercised at any time the
right of suffrage, or any other political franchise within the
United States, under the laws thereof, or under the laws of
any of the several States.

" In witness whereof I have hereunto set my seal, and
caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at
the city of Washington, this Bth day of May, in the year
of our ILord, 1863, and of the Independence of the United
States the 87th. "ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
" By the President,
"'W. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State."

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.