La correspondencia de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 1890-1943, 1903-04-28

y
reign power of each Of tie respec-
tive parties tnereto, tie Inhabitants
of ceded territory now owe alle-
&iance to tbs country. and are
completely subject to it's jurisdic-
tion. Their allegiance having thus
been transferred from Spain to the
United States, they have become
citizens thereof according to the
general principle just anunciated;
for although Trey were not born in
this country they lave been as
effectually naturalized therein by
toe annexation of tneir territory
to.it as tnougn that had been done
according to the existing statute
on the subject of naturalization.
In support Of this contention the
writer cites tho following sentence
from the opinion of tie Supreme
Cuort which was delivered by Chief
Justice Fuller in the case of Boyd
o. Tbayer, l43 U. S., 1872
''Mauifestly the nationality of the
inhabitants of territory acquired by
conquest or cessions becomes that
of the government under whose
dominion they pass, subject to the
right of election on their part to
retain their former nationality by
removal or otherwise, as may be
provided.
This being the law, the clause
in the treaty assuming to vest in
Congress the power to determine
the civil rights and the political
status of these people can have no
force, they having already become
American citizens by virtue OF the
aforementioned provision OF the
Federal Constitution.
All of the previous treaties an
nexing territory to the United St
ates were made and ratified before
the adoption of Article XIV of the
Amendments of the Constitution;
and as at that time there was no
constitutional provision defining
citizenship, there was less reason
to deny to the treaty-making pow
er the right tie determine the civil
rights and the political status of
the inhabitants of the Territories
then acquired, than there is to
deny to that power the same right
in the present instance; but in none
of those treaties was there any
provision relegatlng that subject to
the control of Congress-; which fact
clearly shows that the present
treaty is in this respect entirely
without precedent in the history of
the United States.
These people being now citizens
of the United States are justly ent-
tiled to the same rights, privileges
and immunities wuic / are enjoyed
by tie citizens residing in OF
her Territories wbic are under t e
jurisdiction of tie Federal Govern
ment; and as Article XIV Of t e
Amendments of tie Constitution
provides t, at "TEe right of citizens
of t e United States to vote S all
not be denied or abridged by t Q
United States or by any State on
account of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude," there can
be no denial of t. e right of suffr-
age to any of these newly-made
citizens on eitter of e grounds
above stated; although it may be
denied to them for the same reas-
ons for which tat is now done to
otter citizens. In OF er words, the
women and the minors among
t ese people may suffer Q same
political disabilities wn1ch are now
suffered by our native women and
minors. But any law Which Con-
gress may enact which 81 all discri-
inmate in favor Of our native cit
liens and against ttose who are
made citizens by this treaty, so far
as right to vote is concerned
will be in contravention of tuis
provision of t Constitution. TIE
writer is of t opinion, therefore,
t at in so far as the treaty at
tempts to aut2 orize Congress to det-
ermlne t e civil rights and tie pol
itical status of tie Inhabitants Of
our newly-acquired Territories, it
is manifestly unconstitutional and
consequently null and void.
Az the vlsw1 above ex pres sed by
the writer may appear to be incon
hiHtent with those stated by him in
his article entitled <Therritorial So
bereignty., which WAS publis he'd In
the issue of The Green Bag fer JAN
nary, 1899, he will say that he has
treated this sucject according to
what he understand to be the law
bearirg g upon 1t, as xpcunded by
the Supreme Court. although he
dissents from the decisions of that
tribunal affirming the complete
power Of Congress over the 7 erri
tories; and he has endeavoured to
indicate some Cf the consequences
Cf that construction # the pr perty
clause of the constitution. In his
opinion, the Territories are not a
part of the U nited States; and As
the Constitution was made by and
for the States only, 1t does not ex'
tend and cannot be made to extend
to the Territories, except by the
consent of the people residing there
in; ana as Congress has not pow ier
for ANU athoW r0orsnna