Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1852-08-25
WHAT SHOULD BE A TITLE TO
CITIZENSHIP?

military services, but oil the TWO most eminent
commandments who have been placed by the pub
lie suffrage at the head of this nation, Washing
ton and Jackson, neither we believe, took an ex-
agperated view Of the merit of having carried a
musket for year or two. They were men of
sense and understood that industry, in any of
the occupations of civil life, is quality quite as
much to be priced as obedience to discipline in
the ranks OF the army, or on board ship OF
war.
We have now before the country candidate
who seems to think that there is peculiar de-
sert in bearing arms. He thinks those who
have served in the army and navy ought to be
better treated than those who have been, in the
mean time, engaged in useful and laborious
works of peace The Albany Evening Journal
of Yesterday states, in this manner, for the for
teth time, one of the grounds of Gen. SCOTS
pretensions to liberality of opinion in regard to
the naturalization of foreigners.
Gin 1862 he wrote to the President of the
Whig National Convention, advocating-"A sim
ole alteration in the Naturalization Laws, sug-
gested by my military experience, giving to all
foreigners the right of citizenship, who shall
faithfully serve in time of war one year, on
board our public ships or in our land forces
regular or volunteer-on their receiving an hon.
orable discharge from service"
There are many persons who take their opin-
ions on trust, more, probably in the wing party
than in ours; whatever is dropped by a great
man of their side, they swallow without exam
imation. If there is any wing with whom this
habit is not inveterate, we would ask him to give
this proposal of Gen. Scott moments consid-
Grafton.
A foreigner comes into this country He is
unfit for any other employment, and enlists in
the army, or as sailor on board vessel of war.
Perhaps he gets drunk, and enlists before he is
fairly sober. The best of those who emigrate
to this country, it is we'll known, do not enlist
in the army or the navy; as a general rule, the
more active, intelligent and wel-behaved find
some other occupation. At the end Of two years
our soldier or sailor gets discharge.
According to Gen. SCOTS theory he is now
qualified to exercise all the functions Of an
American citizen Two years of camp life, in
association with that class of companions who
form the majority of our soldiery, two years
passed as machine in being drilled and exerci-
sed, marched and countermarched, with no other
rule of conduct but that of absolute unrefecting
obedience to the orders of his officer, must have
put him forward very rapidly in acquiring a
knowledge of the duties and privileges of an
American citizen.
When he first lands, he is, of course, quite I'M
fit to be naturalized Gen. Scott would never
think of that; but as soon as he has learned to
handle musket and acquired the vices of the
camp, his titles to citizenship are complete. 1t
is worthy of remark, that when the letter quo
ted by the Evening Journal was written, the
practice of hogging in the navy had not been
abolished. Gen. Scott, no doubt, perceived that
frequent taste of the cat could not but qualify
81 L. o,,l nff ,,o 10 tbo
of a freeman. 1t occurred to him, in all proba-
bty, that in forming the future citizen, fog
ging would act like the forcing process in veget-
alton, and insure much earlier maturity.
In the mean time what were General SCOTS
plans for that much larger class Of foreigners
who had no claims to plead but regular and USE
full occupation in the country they had chosen
for their future abode? These must wait five
years for their naturalization papers. A foreign.
err comes out and devotes himself to the cutiva-
ton of the soil. He mingles with the citizens
of our country, sees the working of our polit-
cal machinery constantly going on about him, be-
comes acquainted with its principles, by hearing
them constantly discussed, is taught the dign-
ty of his position as freeman, supports his fam
lily, provides for the education of his children,
and adds to the wealth of the country by his in
dustry. Such a man, according to General
SCOTS plan, cannot be qualified for citizenship
in half the time that sailor or soldier can. He
is only thinking, moral being; he is neither
drilled nor logged into citizenship; he takes a
voluntary part in the duties and abors of our
social organization, and must therefore wait five
years.
AS this scheme of making distinctions unfa-
vorabe to those foreigners who till the soil, who
dig our canals, who construct our railways, or
pave our streets, is likely to be brought before
Congress in case of Gen. SCOTS success in cleo
ton, we have thought it wise to give this short
analysis of it's beauties That large class of for
eign birth who are not desperate enough to be-
take themselves to the army as last resort, but
who are helping to make the country fruitful,
prosperous and great by their honest labor, must
be quite in love with it. N. Y. Eve. Post.
REPUBLICAN INsTITUTIoNs.--Fas ho-
tells are the most democratic institutions we
know of. Here people meet, sleep, and eat to-
gether upon scale of dead level, quite curious
to consider. We took dinner not long ago at
the--House, and observed noted gambler
uis us with famous poet of an adjacent town.
Alongside of distinguished divine sat noted
pickpocket, while two ladies Of a no-better-
than-they-should-b notoriety, were elbowing
the lovely wife and daughter of New Hamp-
shire Judge" In our hotels are mingled thief
and honest man orator and convict virfup and