The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-12-26
The Case.

?, lily OVAASAA O~SN
>. WASHINGTON, DC, Dec. A.-The
President to-day transmit ted t
L the House the report of the Secretary
of the State with volumious CORE.
!; spondence between September 24th
and December Is, in response to the
resolution Of the 10Th, asking for pa
pers on file in the case OF Patrick
y O'Donnell, slayer of Carey. A mum
J, Der of letters passed between the Sec
retarv of State and the American le-
t CATION to Great Britain. The sub
= stance being that there was doubt
about O'Donneli's identity; that un-
e der ordinary circumstances there
9 was no need for special counsel Tor
u an American citizen on trial III
Great Britain, where the methods OF
securing justice are practically the
: same as in America; that to under
take such defense for American citi-
zens abroad woull involve the lega-
tioa in many matters outside Its or
dinarily accepted duties; that the
2 conclusion was rea ;hed that the mats
u%ralizatlon papers presented by
: ODonnell were either granted some
other person of the same name or
were fraudulently obtained; that
subsequently, the legation was inns
pressed with the apparent truth of
O'Donnell's claims, but the writer
gave no authority for a statement
on the subject. This is the substance
of the communication from the Le-
CATION, most of which was written
by Hoppin, First Secretary of the
Legation, in the absence of Minister
Lowell. The letters OF Secretary
Frelinghuysen direct Minister Low
ell to ascertain whether O'Donnell
was q citizen of the United States,
and if SO to do whatever was neces'
sary to secure a proper defense. The
remainder of the correspondence re-
Iates to counsel from this country and
resolutions passed at Chicago and
transmitted by Hon. John f. Fin
erty, calling on the Government to
see to O'Donnelle defense. The
question of g'Donnell's citizenship is
summed up IN the following com
munication from the Secretary of
State to the President:
In response to your direction l
have the honor to communicate here
with. The statements made of
O'Donnell's citizenship conflict.
It was asserted he was a citizen first
by the naturalization of his father
Michael, while his son Patrick was
yet a minor; the second reason was !
his service in the army of the United
States three years next prior to his
coming Of age and continuously
thereafter up to the time OF making !
application for citizenship. The
claim to citizenship through his faith
RS acts rests on his W statements.
No proof is found or furnished and
it is not confirmed by other members
of the family that the father ever
naturalized. Had be been, Patrick
O'Donnell need not have applied for
naturalization. As to the second
point, O'Donnell himself says the
injury to his arm prevented his en-
l~istnent in the army, but he was en-
plOyed as a teamster in 1864 with the
United Safes Government supply
train in Colorado. It has not been
thought necessary to verify this
statement, for if true the fact would
not give him the right of citizenship,
as one who served in the army, and
moreover the certificate was not
granted him on the ground of his
having been a soldier. In support of
the third allegation he produces a GER
~tiicate of naturalization dated Nov.
6, 1876, by the probate court of Law
renee county, Ohio. This certificate
was issued in conformity with the
section of the revised statutes which
provides that any alien being under
the age of Il who resided in the
United States three years next pre-
ceeding arriving at that age and had
continued his residence therein, he
may make application to be admitted
a citizen thereof and may be alluiLteu
making the prescribed declaration
at that time instead of two years be-
fore naturalization. 1t would
this certificate was
lrregularly granted, for by ,
O'Donnell's statement made to :
the U. S. Charge d'Afairs in Lon .
don. he returned to Ireland after at ,
his majority and remained =
there between 1867 and 1871, and con-
sequently did not continue to reside /!
in the United States from the time of
majority to making application to
become a citizen, as he must have +
done to conform with the required
1t is also uncertain whether
be in fact resided here three years r
next before attaining majority. BY
his statement to Hoppin he is now
about - years old, which puts his
birth about 1885; the declaration of :,
Intention made at the time of natural q
cation declares he was born in '38; he y
must therefore have attained his ma ,
GRITTY sometime between 1856 ard =
$50. By his own statements he
came to this country, and his mother q z
md father being already here, when II
lbcut 4 or 6 years old--!839 or 1914, u
'eturned to Ireland when IL years
'ld--1S47 or 1850, and came back to O
United St ttes in 1861, when he n
must have been between % and 26
ears old. So between the extreme n
lates assigned by himself three years Il
'ext preceding reaching bis majority o.
would appear to have been spent in n
reland. The act of naturalization f
eing, however, a judicial de-
islon, it can only be impeacl,ed :,
ccording to the rule established by -
he Spanish American Commission :,
showing a want of jurisdiction on -
he part of the granting Court. or "
raud practiced by the applicant or .
or that the naturalization was RI
violation of treaty stipulations. is
'atrick O'Donnell has a certificate
{ naturalization which he may have
btained by mistake of the Court or
his OWL mistake, or there may be f
mistake in the statement he now G;
and yet there be an absence r
t fraud, and as the certificate is ga
facie evidence of citizenship m
nd as [ do not see any evidence that dl
'Donnell practiced fraud upon the TO
'urt, the U. S. legation in London
as instructed to consider O'Don-
ell's citizenship as established.
The correspondence closes with a -:
from Frelingbuysen to ~
DWELL instructing him to ask a res =
te for O'Donnell and the reply of IS
refusing to interfere with 81
e sentence of the law or its execu-
IN. 49,
of the assisted British co,
migrants came to the United ste
&on --~