The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-04 00:00:00

NATURALIZATION FRAUDS.—No. 11.

(From the Anglo-American Times.)
The naturalization frauds in New York and
Pennsylvania have furnished matter for much com-
ment to the American press, and it is perhaps for-
tunate that they occurred prior to the treaty with
England on naturalization. Congress must legis-
late on the subject, or New York at least will cease
to be a genuine American State. It will not be
ruled by the voice of native-born citizens, or indeed
of those who hold a stake in the State or a charac-
ter in its society, but by the floating scum--the
liars and bullies, the men unhampered with prin-
ciple, and ready to knock down, but not to reason.
It is said that out of 50,000 persons naturalized in
New York before the elections but 15,000 at the
most were sworn and entitled to their papers.
Twenty thousand are asserted to be fictitious names,
and a large number never went near the courts.
The sheriffs swore in 7,000 roughs to aid in passing
fraudulent voters and to drive off challengers. The
difficulty is to put a stop to this system, as charges
of fraud can only be brought before the local judges
who themselves, as politicians, have helped to issue
the papers, and the only chance of punishing an
offender is when by some clumsy mistake he has
violated a statute of the United States cognizable in
a Federal Court. In a great city like New York
the difficulty of checking fraud is immense, even
when the law is honestly administered, and the
question how it may be effected has been much
discussed. Congress might transfer jurisdiction
over naturalization to the Federal Courts, making
this national question Federal, instead of State. Two
plans have been proposed, either to work out the
present system by keeping a record at Washington
of all naturalizations, and countersigning there
every certificate, or by declaring every male adult
a citizen on his arrival in the United States. It is
clear that the latter would not answer, as it would
involve the country in ceaseless trouble, making it
the refuge of every conspirator, and the base of
hostile operations for all organizations directed
against established Governments. George Wilkes
proposes to shorten the period, allowing foreigners
to vote after one year's residence in the States, and
this has been supported. But here he comes face
to face with such races as the Chinese, theJap ane
Negroes, perhaps Ilhadoos, for when legislating
who can tell what a turn of time's wheel may do
We do not hesitate to express our opinion that it
would be wiser in the United States to restrict the

facilities foreigners already have of voting there.
The subject is one of more than ordinary difficulty,
and will require a careful debate in Congress and a
full discussion in the press before the complete con-
siderations involved can be elucidated. It is easy
enough in small States, where every one knows his
neighbours, to bring into operation such naturali-
zation laws as are now in force, and to prevent their
abuse. But the matter assumes another aspect in
such populous cities as New York and Phila-
delphia. As the question is of vital interest to
New Yorkers, it is likely to receive there, close
attention. To show that we have not been ex-
aggerating this subject, we give the following ex-

tract from a leader in the Nation of November 12—
" The Tammany Ring have now achieved the
principal object for which they have carried on the
Presidential election. They have the Governor of
the State, and they hope to buy up enough mem-
bers of the Legislature to carry through all their
merely financial schemes. Next year they believe
that they will be able to secure the Legislature, so
as to break down the laws which now keep the
police out of their hands ; and this being done, New
York City will be wholly at the mercy of Tammany.
Law will be administered by perjurers, property
will be guarded by thieves, and life will be pro-
tected by assassins. These may seem extravagant
expressions, in the judgment of persons who are
not familiar with this city ; but they are not a whit
too strong to depict the probable future of New
York. We had, under the rule of Fernando Wood,
a police notoriously in league with the principal
burglars of the city. We have a district-attorney
who, in a case where all the evidence that was pub-
lished showed a deliberate murder, accepted a
plea of manslaughter, and a judge who fined
the murderer six cents. We see a tremendous

scheme of fraudulent voting carried on without
disguise, and a respected citizen stricken down
in broad day for daring to interfere with it. We
know active politicians who have done their best
to murder scores of men, and we know that
they are never panished unless they happen to at-
tack a man of greater political influence than them-
selves. The police are the only protection remain-
ing to the honest citizens of New York ; and now
the loss of the Legislature for a single year would
throw the police into the hands of Tammany Hall.
When that is once done it can never be undone, for
New York city will ever after give 150,000 majority as
easily as it now gives 50,000, and the Governor be-
ing thus secured his veto will prevent any change."
The marvel to the English is how the citizens of
New York endure such a rule, and some day, we
suppose, they will arise in wrath and crush the
Tammany Ring. They have grown so used to it
as to regard it almost as the natural order of things.
They have one grand chance, which is, that Irish
emigration is rapidly decreasing, while that from
Germany is as rapidly on the rise, and there is every
prospect of a large influx of English. The New
York Herald prints a long statistical report,
showing the number and character of the Ger-
man emigration by way of Bremen and Ham-
burg since 1816. In that year 32,372 emigrated
from Bremen, and only 4,857 from Hamburg ; a
total r.of 37,229. In 1867 these numbers were
73,971 from Bremen, and 42,547 from Hamburg—
a total of 116,418, or more than three times as
many as twenty-one years before. The aggregate
of the emigration via Hamburg from
,1855 to 1867
was 336,557. Of these were Prussians 132,235,
North Germans 78,813, South Germans 53,175.
The rest "is made up from other countries, as the
Scandinavian States, Greece, Great Britain, Hol-
land, United States, Italy, Moldavia, Spain, Por-
tugal, Russia, Sardinia, Switzerland, Turkey, &c.
—72,384. From 1855 to 1967 there were for-
warned from Bremen 367,144 passengers. From
both ports the bulk of the emigration consists of
North Germans, and a great many of these from
the eastern provinces of Prussia, where the famine
lately prevailed. The whole number of Germans
arriving annually is now larger than the Irish im-
migration, and will soon be twice as large.
That the Union League Club is in earnest in
investigating the recent New York naturalization
frauds is certain, though the correspondents of the
London papers sneer at the idea. A committee has
been appointed, and an address to the people pub-
lished calling for evidence, and asking for money
contributions to aid in the object. The committee
believe evidence can be supplied of extensive frauds
and illegal practices in the voting for Governor, so
that the majorities reported for Hoffman will be
overcome, and the election awarded by judicial de-
cision to Griswold. Finally they will seek from
Congress and the Legislature protection against a
repetition of a wickedness which virtually disfran-
chises honest voters. The Union League was a
useful organization throughout the war, and did
better service than any other private society ; but
we believe that even such a record would be sur-
passed if it succeeded in striking a fatal blow
against these frauds.

The act for the establishment of the new Lon.
don meat market gives the proprietors power to charge a
toll of a farthing on every 211 b. of meat, &c., brought into
the markets, with powers, under certain conditions, to
raise the toll to a farthing on every I.llb. So large is the
quantity of meat brought to London—about 100,000 tons
—that this toll, practically inappreciable by the salesmen,
is estimated to yield an income of £lO,OOO a year.
Gen. Rawlings, chief of Staff to Gen. Grant, is
said to be in a decline, and fears are felt that he cannot
survive for many months.
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MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

IMO REPEALED THE CORN LAWS !"

The Rev. A. Solari having written a letter to the
effect that many of the clergy were the chief pro.'
moters of the repeal of the corn laws, and that they
would have carried that repeal without the aid of Mr.
Bright, the member for Birmingham is asked for his
opinion upon the question. He thinks Mr. Solari
must be either very young or very ignorant, or he
would know that all the clergy who were on his side
might have been put in a very small drawing-room
without any danger of crowding. When a meeting of
Christian ministers was called at Manchester in 1841 to
consider the effect of the corn lawsupon the comforts of
the people, Mr. Bright believes there was only one
of them connected with the Church of England. It
may be a matter of doubt as to who was the architect
of the Houses of Parliament, but one would think it
almost impossible for anyone to get into a fog upon
such palpable facts as these. Some future historian
will perhaps have the audacity to assert that the
country clergy abolished the Irish Church; and if
none of our contemporary politicians are alive to con-
tradict him, the lie may live.