Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-02-11

ing great tracts of land; he goes into
Pennsylvania purchasing farm. He
serves as soldier in the American Rev.
olution, deToting to the cause Of the col
onists his fortune as well ss his personal
military service. He sits in the grand
| convention that ordained and amended
the constitution Of Pennsylvania. Three
times he was elected to the Legislature
Thirteen years be had spent in this coun-
try, his residence here antedating the
adoption Of the constitution; but under e
memorial presented to the Senate OF the
United States, those Senators, standing
at the very birth of the government it's
sponsors, ssid to Mr.. Gsllatin: "You
have not been q citizen Of this republic
for nine years"
That is about as strong 3 case Ito claim
no more for it) IS Mr.. Whites. 1 al
Jude to it for TINS purpose-that We may
begin at the right point. Ours is the
only government that ever naturafzed
foreigners save by some supreme act OF
parliament. We proposed to make the
requirement of citizenship easy. Until
recently the law provided that the alien
seeking citizenship should go into court
OF record and file his declaration. That
had always been the law up TO two years
ago, when Congress amended 1t so that
parties are now allowed to go before q
clerk of the proper court and file their
declaration. But Congress has never
modified the other provision, requir-
ing that there shall be court of
record with a clerk and 6 seal. There is
your 'funiiorm rule" Congress thought
it best and most economical to the citi-
zen to intrust the state courts as well as
the federal tribunals with jurisdiction OF
this matter.
When we look to the act Of Congress
we fad they did enact uniform rule OF
naturalization, and declared thst no alien
should be nRturalized in any other mode.
This mode is prescribed with great care.
It expressly provides the admission shall
be made before court Of record of COM
mon law jurisdiction, with clerk and
seal. Yet we fad there is no record, nor
paper, nor decree, in the court OF Allen
county, Indiana, naturalizing Mr.. White,
where be claims he was naturalized. Yet
the same record fails to show, as before
demonstrated, that the omission applied
to any other naturalization in that court.
No case has yet been cited where parol
evidence WAS admitted to supply record
or decree. The case In re Coleman, 10
Blatchiord's Circuit Reports, 406, is cited
IS sustaining the position of contestee.
This decision was rendered by an emf
nent jurist, and investigates very thor
oughly the entire law and decisions upon
that question. In Colemsn's case ttere
were the original osth Of remuneration
and the oaths Of the witnesses, IS re-
quired by law, aud in the book of natu-
ralizstion the decree of naturalization,
and the eminent chief Judge decided these
proceedings were substantial conpli-
ence of law.
In Spratt vs.. Spratt, 4 Peters, 39S, the
court decided there was sufficient judg-
ment of record. In The Acorn, 2 Alb
bolts United States Reports, 434, the
court again decided that there was SUI
ficient record of naturalization. In these
cases, nor in any that can find, no psrol
evidence was offered or introduced; the
sole question being, was there sufficient
record?
| For one, Mr.. Speaker, can never,
| in view OF the constitution rsquir-
ing that 8 member Of this House shall
have been citizen Of the United States
for term of seven years, give my con-
cent to the proposition that Mr.. White,
the sitting member, who has no record OF
| his naturalization except which he OBJ
tanned the day before his election, has
the qualifications prescribed by the con-
stitution.
Can any msn on this floor account for