The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1842-08-02
CONGRESS-.

made report thereon, recommending that the
Senate insist all of It's amendments, and concur
| in that of the House, (viz specifying that no
more than $l46 1876 70 shall be applied for arrearages
out of the appropriation of 100000 for preventing
and suppressing hostilities in Florida; and that
Committee of Conference be appointed to meet that
which may be appointed by the House to confer on
the disagreeing points.
The report of the committee concurred IN
with the exception of the part in relation to the Com
m tlee Of Conference; the further consideration o.
which was postponed until tomorrow.
Mr. WALKER, in pursuance of notice, asked
leave to introduce bill to reduce from five to two
years. the of residence required by law for the
naturalization of foreigners.
Mr. ARCHER observed that the request an
extraordinary one, and he hoped that the Senator
would not pressit Every must be aware that
our naturalization law was sufficient and he was sur
prsed that the Senator from Mississippi had asked
leave TO introduce such modification of it had
been suggested The subject was likely to lead 10
debate, and he would give Counenance to the pro-
position whatever in this its incpient stage.
Mr.. WALKER inquired why the request had been
called extraordinary one He had merely asked
leave to introduce bill to revive original act pass
Congress assembled under the Constitution, and which
received the sanction Of the Father of his Country
Was it extraordinary that he should ask to revive an
act passed under these circumstances and was 1t one
80 extraordinary that the Senator from Virginia
should object to granting leave to introduce the bill
This act was repealed on the Goth OF March, 1898;
and by the Alien law the time required for natural
ization was extended to fourteen years. But after
its repeal the term gradually reduced to what 1t
now was-that is, five years. In 1880, according to
the census of that year, the number OF persons IN the
United States not naturaliZed, 107, 1892. Most
unfortunately, by strange inadvertency there was
no returns made by the of lS4O upon this sub
iect But if the number Of aliens had increased in
proportion to the population Of the country the num-
Der now l44 404; and, if it had increased In pro-
portion to emigration, 283,543 He objected to an
exhibition of so large number of persons among us
who did not desire to be Aliens but who, from the
first moment they came here had the bona de lnten-
tlon Of becoming American citzens-of making this
their adopted country-and of defending 1t in
war and supporting it in peace, in common
with the natives of the soil. His attention
was first brought to this matter by the attention
which he had paid to the debate growing out OF the
Mcleod question: In proportion as they increased
the number of aliens, they extended the jurisdiction
| OF the Federal courts. These courts for civil
causes yet there an undoubted jurisdiction, in
which aliens appeared plaintiffs defendants. In
consequence of our vast pulation the business OF
| these courts and the Supreme Court of the United
States had prOdglOuSy nCIeaSeu the business Oh tne
latter particularly much SO, that it had not been
able to reach one-half of The the docket DUR
| ing its last session. When he looked at what had
been done this session. in the passage of the bill "to
provide further remedial justice in the courts of the
United States" and the principles which it passed,
to wit: to transfer criminal ses from the highest
to the lowest in which aliens were concerned, from
the State to the Federal courts, he was still more
| alarmed at this stretch of Federal power and with
regard to whom this reich Of jurisdiction he
| nj her rpaR w
be stated for asking leave to introduce his BILL The
number of aliens arriving here and proceeding to the
Yves, was create r than it in any former time
| Every steamboat crowded with emigrants who
| were now going there for the pur OF becoming
farmers Whole townships in Illinois were filed
with Aliens who had purchased lands and placed their
families upon them, and were DESTROYS of becoming c-
items Two of the States of the Northwest gave to
aie MS the wight of coming forward and vo ing at the
polls and this had been sanctioned by the highest
judicial tribunals Of those States. And why were not
these aliens Just well entitled to citizenship at the
end of two as Eve years2 The founders and trainers
| of the Constitution thought that term of residence to
be sufficiently long but it was changed by the alien
law of '9S He had another reason for asking leave
to introduce this bill In of war; but yesterday
! threatened there were three hundred thousand
aliens in the United Sates-he most Of them residing
on the frontiers of the oItheast, and whose aleg-
| ancc if they should not be naturaized, might DO
clail,d hy foreign power and treated they were
prior TO their emigration. In of war, 1t would be
peculiarly proper that this class of people should be
| diminished, and this could be done in The manner
now proposed He rejoiced to see such large mum
bers of foreigners landing our happy soil lie
held out to them the hand of welcome. Did we not
| perceive, in England, effort made to divert the
| tide Of emigration to Canada and Australia, in
| stead of to the United States They were told that
nv colonzinc thecitizenship would merely be trans
| erred from place to another; whereas, If they
came to this country, they would be compelled to wait
five years before they could become naturalized tie
desired he repeated, the wave OF emigration to roll IN
this direction, and was anxious to extend our Popua-
ton to the Pacific For all these reasons, he in
avor of bringing back the naturalization law to what
| it was during the Administration of General Wash
| ington.
| Mr. ARCHER remarked that he had asked the
Senator from Mississippi not TO persist In his motion
and he desired to say, without any personal dis
respect that he would far he could prevent up
| on this subject general discussion. He thought
that the reasons which existed at the organization of
the Government for combining the terms of nauralza-
| ton to two years, very just but the reasons
which then existed do not apply to the present state
of things. The arguments of the Sena In relation
to the law of that period was dsproven by himself tor
| our ancestors themselves departed from it. They
went SO far extend the term of natura ization to
| fourteen years; however, they canae to an intermed
ate ter n, and in his opinion the proper one The
| Senator seemed think hat the denial to naturalze
foreigners before they shall have res ded IN he coun
try five years, denial of the hosptalities OF our
soil. But had they not come mere ana nau the lul
benefits of our laws And might they not 20 on In
their respective pursuits, and acquire properly, that
| they might have it when they became naturazed
He desired that foreigners should come to this coun
try, but Immediately enjoy political rights as well
| as civil 1t not reasonable that they should
do so. He doubted whether good man could dis
gorge from his bosom his superior attachment to the
soil on which he born; and he was sorry to hear
this disavowed. For one he repudiated the doctrine
of the bill altogether. AID now, without any disre-
spect to the Senator he would, for the purpose of
stgmatizing as well rejecting the proposition and
precluding discussion, to lay the question OF
leave upon the table.
MIR. WALKER asked for the yeas and nays, which
were ordered.