Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-12-09

all alike entitled to the projection of tn
Government; and suicidal indeed would
b for us not to assert and maintain th
doctrine. ~. t -
The Judge then proceeded to deta
many Interesting facts that showed tn
immediate importance of the subject an
tie present necessity for determine
a.tion by our Government He spok
of the late conviction in British Court
of naturaliz d American citizens O.
indictments for treason : Indictment
that could only be sustained on III
ground that the accused still owed allie
glance TO the British Crown. In particu
lar. he spoke with great emphasis of th
conviction of Col. Meany, citizen O
| Ohio. for words spoken in New York City
Is that, said he, t. be endured Is fre
| eech in America, by an American citizer
10 he punished as treason in Great Britain
Ii that be SO what is to prevent ml
friend DrLanv here from being convicted
of treason, should he ever revisit his ma
tive land? He has spoken h-re in Colum
hus A. bold words as Meany ever spoke ia
New York. and according to the ruling in
Mrany's case. he is therefore liable to be
indicted in Dublin as a British traitor
The proposition is simply monstrous and
our Government will be forever dishonored
and disgraced, if it fail to require the prop
er redress. rs......
The impressment of naturalizad citizens
into the military service of the German
States, and especially of Prussia was next
spoken of-and it was shown that the in
stanres were far more numerous than our
people are generally aware of. OF these
there was one case that was particularly
sinking. 1t was that of youth of about
twenty. son of an American Consul, who
had been taken from the Consulate of the
U tied Stats. over which f,ated the
American flag. and from his father who
was .natnraliz.d American citizan and
held an American commission, and re-
qnired to serve in the army of Prussia
upon the ground that having been born
Pru'sian he owed to its King perpetual
allegiance. .,J -s....s s..t-t
The Judge then gave very interesting
history OF the maxim. Memo potest e1uere
patrians" h shovel that it was not the
eXpatration existed in Greece, and had
been asserted and maintained by R ,m-, for
centuries: that the sub sequpns denial of it
grew out of the prevalence of F,u,lal insti-
tutions,and especially the the system OF mill
tary tenures, by which the laniholders being
bound to prrf,rm military service as con
sideration for their lands, were reua rded
nj
one of them to leave his country
without the permission of his SOW
er ign was looked upon pretty much as
the Gesertion OF a s, dier would now be.
considered. Ii then turned to our own
history and sh pWed conclu sively that our
people and government have ALWAYS as
8 -rted the right of expatriation. One of
the offen,es with which the Declaration of
Independence charged George the Third,
was That. He has enleavored to prevent
the popnlatiou OF these States for that
purp 'se Obstructing the laws for the natu-
ralizition of foreigners; refusing t. pass
Others to en- Ourage their emigration h,th
er. and raising thu conditions of new appro-
priations of lands.''
prominent Que. of our war of Independence.
He was aware that the natural;z .tion spo-
ken of in the d .claration, did It, accorl-
Ing to the British theory, FREE the natural
lied subj-ct from his allegiance to he lard
OF his birth; bat he did not b-lieve that
our -forefathers sanctioned any such doc
trine. He did not believe that they regard
a nofu
Swedes. &c, among them as still owing al.
legiance TO those countries. ir'-i- 'a
The provision in the Federal C,nstitu-
tuition authorizing C,hgrrss to establish
uniform rule of naturaliz stion; the natural
ization laws passed by Congress. every one
of which from the at of 1795 inclusive,
d ,wn to the last act, required renuncia-
Ton uader oath of all allegiance to every
for-ign power; the war of 1872. one of the
chief causes of which was the impressm pnt
by Great Britain of our. naturalized citi-
ms; and the case of Kostzi, who was de-
livered up by the captain of an Austrian
ship up'n the menace of the commander
OF an American war vessel, that he would
sink the Austrian snip if he were not de-
livered up and the approval by our gov
ernment of the act of al officer, were next
commented on, as bearing out the asser-
ton that our g 'vernment is fully com
mittrd to the maintenance of the right OF
expatriation. 1s
Our own Federal system was then re-
ferred to. 1t is admitted. sail the speaker,
that treason may be committed against
State. DORIS case, growing out of the
difficulties in Rhode Islin.l, settled that
There is then allegiance due to State;
tor as before said, where there il no allie
glance there can be no treason. We, OF
D ,io, for instance, owe our allegiance to
Ohio. Now, il the doctrine that allegiance
is perpetualv due to the State of ones birth
were true. in what condition would the
people of the Ulitrd States be placed {? Ii
tn, millions who have removed from one
State to another yet owe allegiance re-
spectively, to the States where they were
born, how absurd and perplpxing would
be their con1ition? Sum an, idea cannot
for a moment b., aImI ted-snd hence our
very federal system may be said to be
protest against the d,ctrine Of "Onee, a
subject. always subj -ct." The Judge
then spoke. will much earnestnes.. of the.
degrading character OF the doctrine just
menti,ned-a doctrine that made the mere
accidentof a mans birth. place bind him
to perpetual srrvitude; doctrine thai
was opposed to his natural freedom, to the
civilization of the age aud to the welfare
aud happiness of mankind. ~
After speaking briefly of the oppres-
sions of Irelsnd, he conclude by saying