Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1859-07-20


manner as the native-American citizen to whom
| have referred.
In the Language of the late Mr. Marcy, in his
letter of the 10th January, 1854, to Mr. jackson
then our charge d'aflaiTs to Vienna, when speak
ing of Tousig's case, "eyery nation, wherever its
laws are violated by any one owing obedience TO |
them, whether he be a citizen or a stranger, has |
a right to infict the penalties incurred upon the
transgressor, if found within his jurisdiction =
This principle is too well established TO admit OF
serious controversy, If one OF our native or
natIIraiizel citizens to expose himself to |
punishment BY the commission of an offence |
against any of our laws, State or national, AID
afterwards become a naturaZed subject of a
foreign country, he would not have the hardihood
to contend upon voluntarily returning within our
own Jurisdiction, that his naturalization relieved
him from the punishment due to his crime
much less could he appeal to the government Of
his adopted country to protect him against his
responsibility to the United States or any OF the
States. This government would not Tor a mo-
| ment listen to any such an appeal.
Whilst these principles cannot be Con vested,
great care should be taken IN their application,
especially to naturalized citizens. The mo
ment foreigner becomes naturalized his allie
| glance to his native country is served forever.
| He experiences new political birth. A broad
and impossible line separates him from his native
country. He is no more responsible for any
after assuming his new character, than if he had
been born in the United States. Should he re
| turn to his native country, he returns rs an
American citizen, and in no other character
In order to entitlc his original government to
| punish him for an offence, this must have been
| committed whilst he subject and owed al
| legiance to that government. The offence must
| have been complete before his eXpatriation. 1t
| must have been of such a character that he
might have been tried and punished for it at the
| moment of his departure. y future liability to
| serve in the army will not be sufficient; because
before the time can arrive for such service he has
| changed his allegiance, and has become a citizen
| of the United States. 1t would be quite absurd
to contend that a boy, brought to this country
from a foreign country with his fathers family
when but twelve years Of age and naturalizcd
| here, who should afterwards visit the country Of
| his birtn when he had become a man, might then
, be seized and compeep to perform military
service, becuse, If he had remained there through
| out the inter vening years and his life had been
spared, he would have been bound to perform
! military service.
We think the most ardent friends of the rights
of naturalized citizens can find nothing in the
principles laid down by General Cass in this ex-
tract to which they can object He holds that
expatriation is natural right, that it is recoS
nized such by the Constitution of the United
States, and that naturazed citizen is in every
respect the equal of. and entitled to all the rights
which are enjoyed by native born citizen, will
the exception that he is not eligible to the Office
of President. He goes abroad in every respec
the equal of a native born citizen, and entitled tC
the same protection from the government. IL
is of course subject to the municipal laws Of tht
country through which he travels or in which h
resides, and is liable to be punished for viola
ton Of them so, also, is native born citizen
y If he has committed an offence against the law
of his native country before his expatriation, h
. Is liable to be punished for it on returning thith
4 er. Thus, if native of France had commtte
g murder in his native country before emigratin
" to this, and after having been naturaiized in th
+ country, he should afterwards voluntarily retur
n to France, the French authorities would hav
. | the right to arrest, try and punish him for til
:, crime against the municipal laws of his nativ
- country which he had committed previous
v his expatriation. But says Mr.. Cass, ''The o
= fence must have been complete before his exps
70 triation. 1t must have been of such a charact,
- that he could have been punished for it at Il
- moment of his departure. A future liability
= serve in the army will not be sufficient Il
must have been in the army, or been actuali
called into It, in order to render him liable to ii
a legal penalty of dcscrtion on his voluntarily I,
Il turning to his native land.
70 Those who will take the trouble of comparin
y, the lie Clerc and Hoffer letters with the dispatC
Of from which we take the above extract, viii fir
~ that General Cass has been consistent througl
ts out, and that the doctrine laid down in tho
q letters differs in nothing from that contained
the dispatch.