Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1813-03-03

He
.rc. for deaths and removals, ne thought
# probable, that NOT sixth part OF the
individuals thus registered, were now
in our service; and of these ne eia not
believe, that one in twenty had been du'
" naturalized, according to the spirit K
;nten,ion of our laws by FIVE years actu.
Al residence in our country: 1t Is cyl,
dent. indeed, that such residence could
have been had but very rarely by sea-
firing men frem the nature OF their en-
nlovmcnt; and in most perhaps al
most every instance where they nave
been naturalized, it must have oesn o"
constructive residences, calculating the
required FIVE years from their first emil
grafton to this country, and not deduct
ing their intermediate absences rom IL
on foreign voyages; or upon fa'se tesu'
mony as to the facts If residence we
know too, the loose manner in which the
business ofgran,ing projections mas oee.'
done in our custom.houses, and must
of course, admit the probability, that ma
nv. in the account transmitted, have
been registered as naturalized seamen'
on paroI evidence, certificates, or other
than the only certuin andproperevidence
the authenticated act Of the court, oy
which the individual was naturaiized'
This description of foreigners then' the
naturalized British seamen, now Ill our
| service. were too inconsiderable an %.
;ect n either nation to form an insur-
mountab!e, or even considerable oosta-
Gle, to the restoration Of peace.-Wlth
REGARD to the two remaining classes OF
British seamen, to which claim Is as
serted in the first and second sections
of the bill. that is, those not yet natural
lied there was still less reason IN con-
tinuing the war on their account, oe'
cause the tie, such as it was, that was 70
unite them with us in political connec-
ton, had not yet been formed, and not
wi,hstandins a notifcatioa OF their IN,
tention, never might be formed, and
therefore no obligations had been incur
red to thcm by our government.
Mr.. G. said, that with regard to the
!! effects or naturalization, and the extent
of the obligations incurred BY our So
vernment TO those acquired citizens, ne
could not concur in the doctrine adVahc-
ed bv some gentlemen, He could not
| consider those obligations to DC alto
gether as absolute ard unlimited, IN
| the case Of naturaiized, as III that OF
| native citizens but that with regard 10
| the former, they wero, fren the very
circumstances under which they were
incurred, necessarily to be understood
with some qualifications, He consider
! ed naturalization as confering of Anne.
rican rights upon persons not emitted
to them by birth, but not rs dissolution
by the American government of the ties
by which those, thus favored, were OIL
ginaliy connected with the government
under which they were born, and to
which they had probably taken the most
solemn oa,hs of perpetual fidelity. 10
dissolve these original ties is what the
American government certainly has no
| right TO do, and therefore cannot fairly
be considered as undertaking to per.
form 1t is an affair between the alien
and his natural sovereign or country,
| with which it is neither our right nor
| our policy to interfere, unless it be wis
dom to enter into hosti!ities with the
| great mass Of nation in order to secure
to ourselves few of the individuals be.
l.nging to it; to make ten thousand
enemies in order to obtain one profess
sed friend. If the two parties to the
original political compact or connection,
choose, by mutual consent, to annul the
bond Of union between them, be it So
if one Of these parties, viz the citizen
or subject, has power completely to
sever tie tie by isown act of abjuratioD,
let him Go SO; let him swear away, if
he Can, his former obligation, or his
former oa,hs we admit him into the
American family only in such quatly,
and such condition as he can come; and
naturalization cannot be nationally con-
ST. ued to mean any thing more. Mr..
q therefore considered naturslized citi-
zens as entitled, while they remained
within our land, TO all the immunities,
the privileges and protection of person
and property, afforded by our constl,u-
ton and laws to ONT native Citizens
But when they should choose to leave
the territorial limits of our country, and
migrate again to other countries, or 60
upon the great highway of natious, he
could not consider our government as
bound to protect them any further than
was consistent with the general policy
and real interest Of our country much
less could he admit, that there was any
real obligation to hazard the prosperity,
the welfare and the happiness Of our own
people by engaging in quixo,ic wars to
absolve and shield them from the allepi.