Daily national Democrat., 1859-07-22
IpOn an EqualitY.

A Naturalizcd Citizen corresponding
with the Express, seems to be very acquies-
cent in the inferior and degrading status, rs
an American citizen, in which he is placed
by the present Administration. If he is salts
fed, we ought to be certainly. If the man
who is insultcd is willing to put up" with
the insult, it is surely his own business
But we have our opinions on this subject
and we are perfectly well satisfied that nat
uralized citizens, whether they, themselves,
are disposed to claim it or not, are upon
perfect equality in every respect, nothing ex
cepted, with the native born.
We said, the other day, that the decisions
of our Federal Courts, at a very early day,
squinted towards the old European doctrine
of perpetual allegiance simply because the
theory of our government had not yet been
reduced to practice and no authority or pre-
cedent was established to which our Courts
could refer They were, therefore, thrown
back upon the common law of the Old World,
and relied on authority which has never been
recognized by leading American statesmen.
"NaturalizeJ Citizen" anxious to establish
the inferiority of his condition, cites the fel-
lowing decision. He says
From our Federal Court decision (KenD we
clip the following "That citizen can not re-
nounce his allegiance to the United States with
out the permission of Government to be declar-
ed by law; and that, ,as there are existing legis-
| atve regulations on the case, the rule otHe En-
| gLss common tat0 remains aadItered.'
1t appears, then, from the above, that if
there had been any existing legislative rcgu-
lations on the subject, the decision would not
have been based on English Common law
but upon those regulations. Very well, this
proves the correctness Of our position. The
decisions of the Federal Courts being based
upon the old common law of the other CONT
nent, have never been regarded as of any au-
thority. whatever, by our American statesmen,
in matters of legislation or in the general
policy of our government The political de-
partment of our government has ever acted
upon the principle that there was no such
thing as perpetual allegiance, and has ignor
ed the precedents and authority of English
or European decisions The American Gov
ernment has a rule and policy of its own,
and the original principles upon which it is
founded are in conflict with the entire theory
and practice of the governments of the Old
World on this question of perpetual allegi-
ance.
Our position is in brief this, that the polit-
acl department of the Republic of she United
States has more than once declared that it
does not recognize the doctrine of perpetual
allegiance. The Judicial Department did, at
an early day, seem to recognize it, but did SO
cautiously. and upon the ground that it had
no authority by which to be governed at that
time, except the Common law of the other
Continent.
The question is therefore settled. Our
Government has established the precedent
and authority which the Federal Courts de-
sired, and hereafter their decisions must be in
accordance herewith, utterly repudiatng
the doctrine of perpetual allegiance. Indeed,
the State Courts have already set the exam
pie of a change upon the subject. At any
rate, one of them has, if no more, to wit the
Supreme Court of the State of Kentucky,
which not very long ago, if our recollection
serves US Alright, decided that there was no
such thing as perpetual allegiance, in the
cognizance of American law.