Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1859-08-24


some n ear high unetlonsrlss think uran me cub
i,sl den. cass has alrs,iy rendered hi' or'u'on,
sh5h has broashi uroh him e aaol n counter efin-
Ions from leading statesmen ani i1urnslIsis through
cut the unhsl states Attorney General nlass, at
the rsius.t n the President has likewise given an
opnion upon the same subject, In the case Of the
IIaDo,erian, Christian Ernst Who emgraiel 10 this
country somewhere atout the year 1851, 90, at
,ery early sgs Ernst recently retained 10 his ma
tive country sni was preset into service, ani this
was male the basis Of communication from cur
government to our Minister Al Berlin, in,iructing
him to demand the release of Mr. Ernst We pre-
sumo il il already known TO our readers that Gen
Cas-, in = similar case, rendered opinion the very
opposite Of Attorney General Blacks. and very
much in accordance with English common law deeis'
ions up0n such eases The municipal regulations Of
Prussia and other continental powers requires militia
~ duty for a number Of years from all their male
citizens land to this, they seem to be liable even
afleT their naturalization in other countries, upon
their voluntary return to tho land u their birth,
England claims perpetual allegiance from her elt-
Iens;---Franee and other European powers recog-
niIe the right Of cxpatriation, Gen, Cass has rem
deTel opinion In compliance with these doctrines,
from which Mr., Black materially differs, rejecting
the common law doctrine Of perpetual allegiance Of
British subjects aud claiming for our naturaliEed
citizens the right Of cSPatratiOn, and all the priN-
leges resulting from such process Ills views are
clear aud decided, and we think deserve marked at
ten,o,, England could not or dared not enforce
such doctrines during the last war and when the
British Government declared its determination 10 put
to death a traitor, every English born citizen, Ia
ken in arms against the mother country, MIR. Madi-
son took decided grounds in the matter, and pro-
olaimOd that two English prisoners shouldbc put to
death for every Of naturallel citizens that
should be sacrificed upon this impracticable doetrlne
The consequence was that England did not enforce
her proclamation. Mr.. Black takes higher ground
and declares that no country has the right to make
her municipal laws to interfere with the well settled
principles Of human rights but he contends that
naurazcd citizens are liable to arrest for crimes
mtted, debt. dcseron for descrtion, is a crime
and as such liable TO be punished just any cti-
zen Of the United States, a fugitive from Justice,
would be subject to arrest, on his return were he to
become naturaliled In twenty different countries.
Mr. Black says
The natural right of every free person who
owes no debts and is not guilty Of any crime, to
leave the country OF his birth, and in good faith,
for m honest purpose--the privilege of throwing
off his natural allegiance, and substituting an
other allegiance, in its place-the general right,
in one word, of cXpatriation, is incontestibe i
know that the common law of England denies it
that the Judicial decisions of that country are
opposed to it, and that some of our own Courts,
mised by British authority, have expressed
(though not very decisively) the same opinion.
But all this is very far from settling the question.
J The municipal code of England is not one of the
so4ces from which we derive our knowledge of
international law We take it from natural rea-
son and justice, from writer's of known wisdom
and from the practice of civilized nations. All
these are opposed to the doctrine of perpetual
allegiance. 1t is too injurious to the general in
terests of mankind to be tolerated. Justice de-
MES that mon should either be confined to their |
native soil, or driven away from it against their
Twill. a man may be either exled or imprisoned |
Tor an actual ohense against the law of his coun-
try but being born in it i not crime for which |
either punishment can be Justly inflicted.
Here in the United States the thought of Civ
ing it up cannot be entertained for n moment
Upon that principle this country was populated.
We owe to it our existence as nation. Ever
since our independence we have upheld and
maintained it by every form of words and acts.
We have constantly promised full and complete
protection to all persons who should come here
and seek it by renOuncing their natural allegiance
and transferring their fcaty to u.s. We stand
pledged to it in the face of the whole world
Upon the faith of that pledge millions of persons
have saked their most important interests. IF
we repudiate it now, or spare atom OF the l
power which may be necessary to redeem it, we
shall be guilty of perflity 30 gross that no
a wifi with n Of in |
tJlcrable shame.
In regard to the protection of our citizens in !
their rights at home and abroad, we have no law
which divides them into classes, or makes any
difference whatever between them. A native and
a naturalizcd American may therefore 60 forth
with equal security every sea and through
every land under heaven, including the country
in which the latter was born. Either of them
may be taken up under debt contracted, or q
crime committed by himself but both are abso-
lutely free from all political obligations to every
country but their own. They are both of them
American citizens, and their exclusive allegiance
Is due to the Government of the United States
Ono of them never did owe fealty elsewhere, and
the other. at the time of his naturalization, sol
EMMY and rightfully, in pursuance of public law
and municipal regulation, threw off, renowned
and abured forever all allegiance to every foreign
prince, potentate, state and sovereignty whatev-
er, and especially to that sovereign whose subject
he had previously been. If this did not work
solution Of every political tie which bound him
to his native country, then our naturalization
laws bitter mockery, and the oath we ad-
minister to foreigners is delusion and a snare.
~ The Sherman Patriot comes to us this week |
on short allowance of paper, but not curtailed in
its proportions Of interesting matter The Patriot
looks at the turn things have taken rather philoso-
phically and truthfuly. We clip the following from
the issue Of the 18th Aug:
"We see that the Harrison Flag has claimed
the result in that county Know Nothing or
American triumph, having elected two Represen-
atiycs out of three of that nolitical strine