Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1861-10-02
From the Raleigh Register
CORRESPONDENCE. :.


whether am affected be it, or would be consider
ed citizen as if native.
was born in the State of New York inl7yo. and
in 1920 removed to North Carolina. where have
resided ever since. l married in North Carolina;
all my property is here; am an acting Justice Of the
Peace in Yadkin, and have been for many years and
have held offices of trust and profit under the State
and have repeatedly sworn allegiance to North Caro-
lima / settled here to remain permanently, and
have never altered my intention of remaining. Am
required to do any act under that Proclamation
An answer will oblige.
Yours truly, -
JAS. R. DODGE
Yadkin, N. c., Aug. "a, 1861.
.- RICHMOND HILL, Aug. 26, 1861.
JAMES R. DopeE, Eso-Dear SIR: Upon the facts
stated in your note of the Oath inst, my opinion is,
that the act of the Congress of the Confederate
States promulgated by the President does not apply
to your case for the reason that by the act OF re-
moving to this State in 1920, with an intention OF
remaining here permanently and becoming citizen
of the State of North Carolina, you became one OF
our citizens "by election" fully, to all ntents
and purposes, as if you had been born here After
that act you no longer owed allegiance to the State
of New York-the State ofNorth Carolina was then
entitled to your allegiance, as of right.
The facts stated by you-holding offices OF trust
and profit being acting Justice OF the feace,
&c.,-have an important bearing, and furnish UNI
eouvocal evidence of the intention to become citl-
zen of this State.
When foreigner, citizen of France, for inst
ance, removed to the United States, although with
an intention of remaining permanently and becom-
ing citizen, he did not become citizen, until
naturalized according to the forms required by law.
But when citizen of 0neo the States OF the Onate@
States removed to another of the States with like
intention his purpose was, ipso acto, accomplished
There being no law requiring any particular mode
of proceeding in order to his natm aizatlon his act
of election had the legal effect OF making HIM cit
zen of the State to which he had removed. This
difference results from the relation created among
the several States of the United States by force Of
their Union Such has been the universal under
standing and instances without number could be re-
ferred to- where citizens of other States have by
this mode Of election, become citizens Of North
Carolina, (Chef Justice Rufiin, the late Judge
Strange, Judge French Judge Heath. occur to me)
and where citizens of our State have ceased to be
such and become citizens of other States, simply by
the act Of removing and settling there.
1t follows that when the State of North. Carolina
Withdrew from the United States and became one of
the Confederate States you, like all of her other
citizens, became a citizen of the Confederate States
50, of course, you do not fall back under the des-
cription of an ien"-Indeed, being already cti-
zen of this State, and such citizen of the Con-
]
to make declaration Of an intention to become a
citizen of the Confederate States.
The act of Congress was intended to apply to that
description of persons who being citizens of States
adhering to the United States, happened to be in
some of the Confederate States for temporary pur-
pose without intention of becoming citizens and
with intention Of returning; in respect to whom,
it was deemed expedient to require them to leave
the Confederate States unless the condition Of things
induced them to change their purpose of returning
to the State o: which they continued to be citizens
and to become citizens Of the Confederate States
which intention they are required to declare I" in
due form, acknowledging the authority of this gov
eminent" Persons of this description having come
into what is now the Confederate States, were enti-
tied, under the Constitution of the United States,
art 4. 2 "To all privileges and mmunities of
citizens of the several States" without in fact be-
coming ctizenns of the State in which they hap
pened to be- not having elected to do so and it was
proper, under existing circumstances, to put them
to their election and require formal evidence of it.
il they staid among This policy has no more
application to you, who have already made your
election and become citizen of this State, than to
any other citizen of any State of the Confederate
States
Yours, &C.,
DCkRCON