Mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado Co., Cal.) 1854-1860, 1859-08-27
Dispatch by General Gass to the American
Ministar at Berlin.

| De doubted or denied IN the United States
The idea has been rcpudiated ever since the
origin Of our Government, that man is bound
to remain forever in the country Of his birth,
and that he has no right to exercise his free
vii! and consult his own happiness by select
ing new home. The most eminent writers
on public law recognize the right of cxpat-
riatiOn. This can only be contested by those
who in the nineteenth century are still dcvo-
ted to the ftudal law with all its oppression.
The doctrine Of perpetual allegiance is a relic
Of barbariSm which has been gradually dsap-
pcaIing from ChristcndOm during the last
century.
The Constitution of the United States re-
cOgnizcs the natural right Of cxpatriaton, by
coHferring upon Congress the power to es-
tablisll uniform rue Of naturalization" In.
decd, this was one Of the grievances alleged
against the British King in the Declaration Of
Independence, that he had Cndcavorcd IL
prevent the population Of these Statcs-for
that purpose obstructng the laws of natural.
izatiOn Of foreigners, refusing TO pass Others
to encourage their migration hithcr," etc. etc
The Constitution thus clearly recognizes the
principle Of repatriation in the strongest man.
ncr. 1t would have been inconsistent in it>cl
and unworthy Of the character of the authors
10 foreigners TO abandon their native land, IL
rcnOuncc their allegiance to their native Gov
crumcnt and to become citizens Of the nitci
States. if they had not become convinced ol
the absolute and unconditional right of cxpat.
ration. Congress have uniformaly acted upon
this principle ever since the commencement
Of the Federal Government They established
"a uniform rule of naturalization" nearly
seventy years ago. There has since been nc
period in our history when laws for this pur'
pose did not exist though their provisions
have undergone successive changes. The alien
in order to become citizen, must declare on
oath or affirmation that he will support tn,
Constitution Of the United States aud, at the
same time, he is required TO absolutely and en-
tircly rcnOuncc aud ahurc all allegiance and
fidelity to every foreign prince, potcntatc. state
or sovereignty whatever, and particularly, by
name, the prince. potcntate. State or Sover.
eighty whereof he was before citizen.
The exercise Of the right Of naturalization,
and the consequent recognition Of the princi
| pie Of eXPatriatIon, are not confined to the
Government Of the United States There is
not a country in Europe, believe, at the pre-.
sent moment, where the Law does not author
izc the naturalization Of foreigners in one form
or other Indeed, in some of the countries
this law is more liberal than our own towards
| foreigners
The question, then, arises, what rights dc
our laws confer upon foreigner by granting
him naturalization? answer, al the rights
privileges and immuniticS which belong to O
native born citizen, in their full extent, with
the single qualification that, under the Con
Stitnti0n, mo person except a natural born
citizen is eligible to the office of President y
With this exception, the naturalZcd citizen,
from and after the date Of his naturalization,
both at home and abroad, is placed upon the
very same footing with the native citizen. lie
is neither in n better nor a worse condition.
IL native citizen chooses to take up his resi-
dcncc in foreign country for the purpose O
advancing his fortune or promoting his hap
pincsS, he is, whilst there bound to obey its
municipal laws equally with those who have
lived in it all their lives. lie goes abroad
with his eyes open; and if these laws be ar.
bitrary and unjust, he has chosen to abide by
the consequences. lf they are administered
in an equal spirit towards himsclfand toward.
native subjects, this Government have no right
to interfere authOritativcly in his behalf. To
| do this would he to violate the right Of an in.
dependent nation to lcgiSatc within its own
Territories. IL this Government were to nm.
tcrtakc such task, VIC might soon be involv.
cd in trouble with nearly the whole world.
To protect our citizens against the applica
ton Of this principle Of universal law, in its
full extent, we have treaties with several ma
tOns securing exemption to American citizens
when residing abroad from some Of the Oner
OnS duties required from their own subjects
Where no such treaty exists and an American
citizen has committed crime or incurred q
penalty for violating any municipal law what.
ever Of the country Ofhis temporary residence,
he is just as liable to be tried and punished
for this offence, MS though hC had resided in
it from the day of his birth. If this has NOT
been done before his departure, and he should
voluntarily return under the same jurisdic.
tiOn, he may be tried and punished for the Of
fence upon principles Of universal law. Under
such circumstances, no person would think
Of contcnding that an intermediate residence
in his own country for years would deprive
the Government whose laws he had violated
of the power to enforce their execution. The
very same principle, and no other is applica'
bic to the case Of a naturallZcd citizen, should
he choose to return to his native country. In
that case, il he had committed an offence
against the law before his departure, he is re-
SpOn>blc for it in the same manner AS the ma
tive American citizen to whom have refer.
rcd. III the language Of the late Mr. Marcy
in his letter of the 10th january, 1854, to Mr.
jackson, then our charge d'aiIairs to Vienna
when speaking of TouSig's case, 'cvcry nation
whenever its laws are violated by any one
owing obedience to them, whether hc be q
citizen or a stranger, has right to inhct the
penalties incurred upon the transgrcssOr, il
found within its jurisdiction" This prinCi
pie is too we'll established to admit of serious
controversy. If one Of our native or natural
lied citizens were to expose himself to pun.
ishmcnt by the commission Of an offensC
against any of our laws, state or national, and
afterwards become naturaliZcd subject Of a
foreign country, he would not have the hardi.
hood to contend, upon voluntarily returning
within our jurisdiction, that his naturalization
relieved him from the punishment due to his
crime; much less could he appeal to the Gov.
ernment of his adopted country to protect him
against his responsibility to the United States
or any ofthC States. This Government would
not for a moment listen to such an appeal
Whilst these principles cannot be contested
great care should be taken in their application,
especially to our naturalized citizens. The
moment foreigner becomes naturalized, his
allegiance to his native country is severed for
ever. lie experiences q new political birth
\ broad and impossible line separates him
from his native country. lie is no moro re-
sponSiblc for anything no may say or do, OIL
omit to say or do, after assuming his new
character, than if hO had been born in the
United States. Should he return to his native
country, he returns as an American citizen
aud in no other character In order to entitlC