Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-10-15
NATURALIzED CITIZENS.
Recognition Of Their Rights.
WHAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS DONE
IN THAT BEHALF-THE DEMOCRATIC
PARTY IN OPPOSITION.

WASHINGTON, ID. c.,
September 10, 1884
CAPT. JOIN f. OGLEvEE, Columbus, o.
DEAR SRI have your letter o
the 18th asking for the facts as t.
the Conventions made with sundr,
European Powers touching natura
lization.
If you will turn to volume pub
lished in 1871, being the Treatise
and Conventions made by the United
States Government since July 4
1776, you will find arranged alpha
betically the various Conventions to
which you refer They are eight in
number and include, in the order in
which they were negotiated, the
North German Union, Bavaria. Ba-
den, Wurtemburg, Belgium, Sweden
and Norway, Great Britain, and
Austria These Conventions are sub
stantially alike. As being of chief
Interest, L quote the first article of
the Convention between the United
States and Great Britain, which was
proclaimed September 16, 1870:
Citizens of the United States of
America who have become, or shall
become, and are naturalized accord
ing to law with the British dominions
as British subjects, shall. subject to
the provisions of article 2, be held
by the United States to be in all re
spects and for all purposes British
subjects. and shall be treated as such
by the United States.
"Reciprocally, British subjects who
have become. or shall become, and
are naturalized according to law
within the United States of America
us citizens thereof, shall, subject to
the provisions of article 2, be held
by Great Britain to be in all respects
and for all purposes citizens of the
United States, AND SHALL BE TREATED
As SUCH BY GREAT BRITAIN"
The second article which is allud
ed to in the first relates to the meth
cd of either class resuming the citi-
zenship of their original country.
1t is interesting to note that this
admission by the European powers
of the validity of our naturalization
laws, and of the rights which there
by attach to the naturalized citizen.
was made after controversy of near
ly sixty years. The question which
was one of the issues of the war of
1872, was not mentioned in the treaty
of peace, Great Britain still main
the doctrine Of ''once Brit
ish subject always British subject
Both of the old parties in this coun-
try proved unable to settle the dis
pute.
it remained for the Republican
party, flushed with its victory first
over rebellion and next over slavery, |
its cause, and instinct with love of
liberty. to wrest from the Powers of
Europe this just concession to the
dignity of American Citizenship,
which had received in 1866 at their !
hands its crown in the Fourteenth |
to the Constitution
That Amendment, as you may re
member. in its first section declared |
that 'all persons born or naturalized |
within the United States and subject |
to the jurisdiction thereof are citi- |
zens of the United States and of the |
State wherein they reside" 1t was
Out natural that the Republican
party, having thus first defined Amer
can Citizenship and declared its pro-
lection duty of the Government of
the United States, should proceed to
make good that pledge by requiring
rom all the great Powers an ac-
znowledgment of those rights which
placed upon an equality everywhere,
n those Jurisdictions, our native
born and our naturalized citizens.
It is the misfortune of the Demo
ratio party that it resisted unani-
nously and to the end the adoption
IF that Amendment, and thereby
sought to defeat the great declara-
ion from which have logically pro
,eeded all these results.
Prior to this era no naturalized
,itlzen could have a sense of person
ii security in revisiting the land of
lis origin. Since that time his rights
nave been as clear as those of the
1ative-born American sojourning
within that jurisdiction. Explain
he fact as one may, it vet remains
rue that this great boon to the ma
,uralized citizen was the gilt of Re-
oublicanism, and that its mainten-
lnce will be a point of honor and
luty with it thenceforward.
Very respectfully yours,
EDw'D MCPHERSON, Sec'y.
When Democratic papers desire
d. Ill . l. L