Litchfield enquirer., 1875-12-16

l by either line, from those formerly charg- ed by consolidated companies. There is
 reason to believe that large amounts of ] capital, both at home and abroad, are
 ready to seek profitable investment in
 the advancement of the useful and most 1 civilized means of intercourse and cor
 respondence. They await, however, the assuranee ofr fheo means and conditions
 on which they may safely be made
 trlbuatary to the general good, As
 these cable telegraph lines connect sepa.
 rate states there are questions as to their
 organization and control which probably
 can be best if not solely settled by con
 yentlons between respective states. In
 the absence, however. of international
 conventions on the subject, municipal leg
 lsiatlon may secure many points which | appear to me important if not indispensa-
 bic for the protection of the public against
 the extOrtions which may result from a
 monoply of the right of operating cable 1 telegraphs or from combination between
 several lines. First, no line should be
 allowed to land on the shores of the Uni
 ted States under the concession from
 another power which does not admit the
 right of any other line or lines formed in the United States to land and freely con-
 meet with and operate through land lines. l
 land on the shores of the United States
 which IS not by treaty stipulated with the government from whose shores 1t proceeds
 or by prohibition in it's charter or other
 wise to the satisfaction of this govern ment, prohibited from consolidating or
 amalgamating with any other telegraph
 line, or combining herewith, for purposes of regulating and maintaining the cost of | telegraphing. Third-All lines should be 1 bound to give precedence in the transmits
 sion of official messages of the govern 1 ments of the two countries between which
 1t may be laid. Fourth-A power should
 be reserved to the two governments, either
 conjointly or to each, as regards the mes- sages dispatched from their shores. to fix
 limit to the charges to be demanded for
 the transmission of messages I present 1 this subject to the earnest consideration 1 of congress. In the meantime, and unless l congress otherwise direct. I sE all consider
 1t my duty to prevent the landing of any
 which does not conform to the first and second points as stated and which will
 not stipulate to concede to this govern
 ment the precedence in the transmission
 of its official messages and will not enter
 into satisfactory arrangement with regard
 to its charges.
 FRAUDULENT NATURALIZATION.
 Among the pressing and important sub- i jects to which in my opinion the attention
 of congress should be directed are those
 relating to fraudulent naturalization and
 repatriation. The United States, with
 great liberality, offers citizenship to all
 who in good faith comply with the re- quirements of law. These requirements
 are as simple and upon as favorable terms to the emigrant as the high privilege to | which he IS admitted can or should per
 mit do not propose any additional re-
 quirements to those which the law now
 demands. But the very simplicity and
 want of unnecessary formality in our law,
 Have made fraudulent naturalization not
 infrequent to the discredit and injury of | all honest citizens whether native or natu- ralized. Cases of thIs character are con-
 tinnally being brought to the notice of
 the government by our representatives abroad and also those of persons resident
 of other countries, most frequently those who, if they have remained in this country long enough to ent1tle them to become naturalized, have generally much over-
 passed that period, and have returned to
 the country of their origin where they re- side, avoiding all duties to the United States by their absence, and claiming to
 be exempt from all duties to the country
 of their nativity, and of their residence by reason of their alleged naturalization. It
 IS due to the government and also to the great mass of the natural1zed citizens who
 have entirely both in name and fact, be. come citizens of the United States, that
 the high privilege of citizenship of the United States should not be held by fraud
 or by derog1tion of the laws snd of the
 good name of every honest citizen. On
 many occasions it has been brought to the knowledge of the government that certificates of naturalization are held, and protection or interference claimed by par. ties who admit that they bave never resid. cd in the United States in other cases
 the certificate and record of the court show on their face that the person claim ing to be naturalized had not resided the
 required time in the United States in other cases it is admitted upon examina. | ton that the requirements of law have not been complied with. In some cases even such certificates have been matters of purchase. These are not isolated cases
 arising at rare intervals, but of common
 occurrence. and which are reported from all quarters of the globe. Such occur
 rences cannot, and do not fail to reflect on
 the government, and injnre all honest cit l iZens. Such a fraud being discovered,
 there IS no practicable means within the l control of the government by which the
 record of naturalization can be vacated and should the certificate be taken up. as
 1t usually is by the diplomatic and consu. lar representatives of the government. to 1 whom 1t may have been presented is noth- l ing to prevent the persons claiming to
 have been naturalized from obtaining a
 new certificate in place of that which has been taken from him. The evil has be- l come so great and of such frequent occur renee that cannot too earnestly recom- 1 mend that some effective measures be adopted to provide proper remedy and
 means for the vacating of any record thus l fraudulently obtained, and of punishing
 the guilty parties to the transaction.
 In this connection refer also to the
 question of repatriation and the election
 of nationality. The United States was foremost iR uphOlding the right of expa- l trlatlon and was especially instrumental III overthrowing the doctrine of perpetual allegiance. Congress has declared the right of repatriation to be a natural and inherent right of all people, but while many other nations nave enacted laws pro- | viding what formalities shall be necessary
 to work change of allegiance the United States has enacted no provisions of law, and has ln no respect marked out how and where expatiation may be Accomplished by it's citizens. Instances arei brought to the attention of the government where citizens of the United States either natu. ralized or native-born have formally be- came citizens or subjects of foreign powers but who nevertheless Tn the absence of any provisions of legislation on this ques- l tion when involved in difficulties in which 1t seems to be.their interest to claim to be citizens of the United States have deman- ded the intervention of a government which they have long nnce abandoned. and to which for years they have rendered no service, nor held themselves in any way amenable. In other rcases.naturalized cit izens immediately after naturalization
 have returned to their native countrv. have became engaged in business, have accepted offices or pHfsuits inconsistent . i'll, Amer