The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-02-19
A NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. LAW
A Radical Assault on Foreign born
Citizens.


The New York World iRvokes Pablo
attention to most infamous bill which
has lust issued from the judiciary Com
mittee of the House of Representatives.
The aim of the authors of this iniquity
ia TO embarrass and Cypress the foreign
er in his application for naturalization.
The Radicals know full well that nine.
tenths of the foreigners who land IN
America join the democratic party.
Hatred of the citizen CT foreign birth,
and the fear that they will be utterly
overwhelmed in future elections in spite
of their new negre allies, prompt the
Radical leaders to this outrage. The
following is a synopsis OF the Dlll which
we copy from the World:
Proceedings for naturalization must
be taken before the United States circuit
or district courts, or, where there are not
more than two terms annually OF these,
before the United States court OF high.
est Jurisdiction of the State. AS a first
step, the applicant must hle WIZ
the clerk of the court notice Of inten-
ton to become q citizen, which notice
shall state full particulars OF blrth' pa
rentage, residence, arrival in this coun
try, &c, and he must give the names OF
two citizens who know him personally.
The notice is to be fled, but open for
inspection or copying. After four years
subsequent continuous residence IN the
United States, he may apply to one OF
the courts named for admission to cltl-
zenship, at least twenty days before the
tenn or session thereof. He must have
lived in the State for the previous SIX
months. and in the district, county, or
parish in which the application is made
for thirty DAYS. And he must produce
one or more credible citizens, who can
testify to all the foregoing particulars,
"a also to his moral character anu Ut
ness generally for admission. Any cltl-
zen may produce Opposing evidence. IL
the court is satisfied in tho applicants
favor, it will give him cert iclte OF
naturalization, to take effect SIX months
thereafter, and so stating
In regard to the immediate effects OF
this measure on those applicants for
citizenship who have already filed their
declarations of intentions Ia the state
courts, the WOrId makes the following
comments:
II will be seen that, by this scheme, no
foreign born person can hereafter re-
ceiye a certificate of citizenship who has
not, at a period of four Yeas previous,
made an application in the form and
manner prescribed by the bill. The Ell
feet of its passage will be to annul asd
cancel every declaration OF intention
heretofore made, but not yet matured
and consummated by the actual natur.
alization of the person making it 1t
will be all the same whether nc mas re-
sided in the country one year or hVe;
WHETHER he has made the declaration
now required and taken the legal cath
or not. He cannot be naturalized alter
the passage of this bill without making
a new application to different court,
in a different manner, and then waiting
four years for naturalization papers
that will confer no rights until the
lapse of still. further period OF SIX
months. If this unrighteous bill passes,
the immigrants who arrived yesterday
and those who have been five years in
the country and made the preliminary
declaration, will stand on precisely the
same footing. By the proposed law,
residence counts for nothing, If it was
residence prior to the date OF his apph-
cation. No application is to be regarded
unless il was made to the clerk OF
United States court, whereas all previous
declarations of intention have been
made to State courts. By the new law
none of these declarations of intention
could be regarded; aud, consequently, II
it passes, there tciU be a total interruption
of naturalization for four years and sir
months. This is a villanous scheme for
weakening the Democratic party in the
next Presidential election; desperate
manoeuvre to save the Republican parry
from its approaching doom. If it sue
ceeds, there will be no fresh natursliza-
tions till the middle of the next Presi-
Dental term.
twas not possible for the malignant
Radical leaders at Washington to con-
ceive of more atrocious device to ex-
clude foreigners from citizenship.