Arizona silver belt., 1888-09-29
A Chinan,an sefuscd Naturalization.
[st. Louis. Globe. Democrat. 1


 [St. Louis, Globe Democrat.
 Judge Barclay passed upon the ap- plication of Arge Konnehame, a Chi naman, to be naturalizsd, and denied the application. The applicant had resided in the United States for ten years, and the question presented was whether a Chinese may acquire the right of naturalization in the United States. The Judge, in passing upon the question, stated that tue power with which State courts were invest cd by the laws of the United States respecting the admission of persons to citizenship was limited by the terms of the acts of Congress comforting such powers. The first American statutes upen the subject, act of April II, 1902, provided for tue admission to citizenship of any ahsn being free white person complying with its terms. 50 the law remained until the act eff July IA, 1870, when, by an amendment, the privilege of natural i2ation was extended to aliens of Al rican nativity CT descent. Upen the revision of the Federal Statutes in 1875 the last mentioned amendment was retained but the requirement that the applicant should be free white person was dropped. R. s, Secs. 2l- 65, 2l69,l Shortly afterwards by the act to "cure errors and omissions in tue k. $. Fsbruary Is, 1875) it was again provided that applicants for cit iaeuship should be free white person except those of African nativity or de- scent. The Chinese were branch of tho MengoliaE race and a separate and distinct part of the human family from the Caucasian and AFlcan 10. css to winch tho nght ef citizenship was intended to be limited. It was toe clear te require argument that the Chinese were not white persons within tha m saning Of tue law l. has been neld that the statutes of naturalization cid not permit the ad- mission Of Indians CT Eali-brea4s to citizenship, A similar view of the law under consideration has been ta- kan by tue United States Court of the NlHta Circuit 6 Sawyer, 155). But if asy doubt ceuld fairly be said to ex- ist on tbis point It has been removed 6y the nest recent Legislative dacle- ratieus of tue nsaning of tas natural. ization laws ir the act of May 6, 1882 [22 U. 8. Stat. at large, chap. 126, sse l3. p. 6l to the effect that here after no State Court or Court of the United States shail admit Chinese te citizenship. The question of the af- feet el any treaties between this coun- try and China was not q matter for consideration in ;ho present ease. Tue instances in which the Unitad States. would admit citizens of etter coun- tnss to the rights of citizenship were to be determined solely by the laws oC 1 tho country.
 Ar. Gonnehama was present in the court room when the Judges opinion gas delivered. aud appeard to te dis. ] outraged by tie fact tbat the decision was adverse to him, He came to America when but { years old with Richard Johnson, the iAen United States Cansul at Hankau, China, and 1 is new about 26 years old. He is thor oughly American in his dress and ap. rearaucs, and stated that his reason far asking to be naturalizod was that there was such a prejudice against his raes in America that 1t made it difficult for him 10 earn fvliboed, Gs he did not affiliate with Chinamen, only having an imperfect knowledge Of their language.