Daily national Democrat., 1859-07-19
Rights OF Protection of NaturaIized
Citizens.


and penalties as ,rere in eristence at the periOd
Of their emigration. This proposition he prac
tieally illustrates by citing the COnscription
laws of Europe, 10y which the subject is Oh
ligated to perform military service at any
period of his life under fifty years of age.
He SAYS that if a naturaized citizen returns
to his native country, he is subjected to the
full force of this obligation, and cannot plead
in bar his American citizenship. This illus
tration, which is merely incidental to the
general spirit of the letter. is taken mp by
some and considered the sole point upon
which Mr.. Cass insists. Even if this were
true, the assumption is anti Democratic and
anti American The claim of any European
Government to hold over mau 5 head, for
the term Of fifty years, the right to his mill
tary service, ought not to be recognized by
the United States, and no true Democratic
statesman will acknowledge the validity oi
any such claim. 70 recognize such a claim
would be to deny the right of selfexpatria-
ton, for it matters little whether it be a con
scription law which holds man as n thrall
to the soil upon which he is born, or whether
it be some other law which does the same
thing By the conscription laws OF Europe,
as we have said, a subject is liable to militia
ry duties until he is fifty years of age. 1t
might rs well be for life. And from these
duties no term Of citizenship in the United
States can release him. How, then, if these
laws beregarded by the United States, can
our Government assert the right of foreign
er to expatriate himself, renounce his allie
giance to the country Of his birth, and be-
come naturalzed citizen? The two posi-
tions are antagonstic, and therefore one is
wrong. Which is wrong? Why, that which
conflicts with the right OF man to change
his place of residence and to renounce for
mer allegiance But, as we have said, this
suliection to the claim for military service,
which Mr. Cass cites and acknowledges is
not the essence, as some suppose, of his let
ter; it is merely an illustration, by which he
exemplifies his meaning For, it most nat
urally follows that, if conscription law re-
mains in force over the foreign emigrant
other laws may, just as we'll No matter
under what kind of law these duties" and
penalties" exist, so that they do exist, and
SO that the natumlized foreigner is subject to
them.
Any thing which conflicts with the doctrine
of expatriation is hostile to the spirit of our
Government, and has ever, until the reign of
our present monarchical James, been so con-
sidered by American statesmen. True it is.
that the Federal Courts, at very early day,
forgetting that this was a question of purely
political character, and properly to be deter
mined by the political department of the
Government, which was yet to build up and
perfect the American doctrine on the subject
by reducing its theory to practice, and thus
establishing precedent and authority true
it is we say. that, in the absence of such pre-
cedent and authority, and looking solely to
the old doctrines of Europe which were in
conflict with the basis and theory Of our
Government, the Federal Courts rendered
decisions which squinted strongly towards
the upholdng Of the doctrine of perpetual
allegiance. But those decisions have never
had weight with our leading statesmen, and
especially our Democratic statesmen,- n,-and
the legislative and executive departments Of
our Government have gone straight on with
the policy which is founded upon the very
opposite of this principle. Wehave not such
access as we could wish to the authorities on
this subject, but we happen to have before us
some of the views of james Madison in re-
gard to it; and James Madison, we opine, is
about as good authority on questions of
American policy and the principles which lie
at the bottom oft as any man, living or dead,
whose maze can be cited. In Message to
Congress. in 1913, he said, speaking of En-
glish aggressions upon the rights of American
citizens:
"They THE English have refused to consider
as prisoners Of war, and threatened to punish as
traitors and deserters, persons emigrating without
restraint to the United States Incorporated by
naturalization into our political family, &c"
The reader will of course bear ia mind that
this is said in reference to the claim of Eng
land to the services of Engli.hmen natnrali-
zed in America, on the ground that they
could not renounce their allegiance to the
English Government.
In another place Mr.. Madison said, in refer.
ence to these same aggressions;
'In contiguous British province contiguous
to the United States regulations promulgated
since the commencement of the war compelcti-
zens Of the United States, being there under GER
tam circumstances, To bear arms, &c.
The British Commander In that province,
with the sanction as appears Of his Government,
thought proper to select from American prisoners
of war, and send TO Great Britain for trial,
number of individuals who had ehaigrated from
the BRITISH donliHioRs long prior TO the state Of
war between the two nations, &c" adding that
'the protection due to these citizens required an
Beetadt interposition i@ Hoir 5etdJ."
He concludes by recommending the mode
in which this protection should be secured.
All through the war of 1872 as we'll as at
its beginning and its conclusion, he contended
for the full and perfect right of the nnturali
zed citizen to the protection Of our Govern
ment, and in all cases recognized him as upon
an absolute equality with the native born
No where does he acknowledge the doctrine
ofperpetual allegiance, but on the contrary
wars against it in every shape and form. We
might quote Mr.. Madison further, but we
presume no one will dispute the fact of his
occupying the position above stated AS far