Year: 1870




to increased difficulties in the matter Of
naturalizing foreigners came up. Mr..
Charles \. Eldriige, of this State, got the
floor, and said:


This bill may not properly, perhaps, be
called a war measure, but it has its origin
and life In the spirit OF revolution evoked
by the war. 1t is in fact, in all its mean
features, certainly at war with the well>es-
tablished order and loDg-settled policy of
this Government on the subject Of natural
lZatlon and i'm nj grafton. 1t is one of the
waves of the revolution that has, during
the last years, been surging and beating
Constitution, against several co ordinate
departments of the Government, against
the Union and the States, and against all
the laws and the barriers set up by the
fathers of the Republic for the preserva
ton and protection of the rights and liber
ties Of the people. 1t is party measure,
and another Of system OF measures be-
coming very familiar to the country Of late,
invented by selfish, reckless, anu unprin>
cipled partisans for the preservation and
perpetuation Of party power. 1t has, it
can have, it seems to me, no higher or bet
ter motive.


1t may not be as monstrous, as outrage
Gus Of the rights and liberty of the citizen
as some of the measures resorted to the
same end. liz Is not, perhaps, as desper-
ately cruel and barbarously wicked as the
disiranchisement OF the cultivated and re-
fined men of our own race and the subju
CATION OF their own women aud children, at
the point Of the bayonet, to the rule and
government Of the ignorant and brutal ne
gro, but the spirit aud purpose is the same.
The object to be accomplished is the con-
tinuatlon Of the power, patronage, and
spoilS of office in the hands and control of
the ruling dynasty.


The bill is entitled "a bill to establish
Uniform system of naturalization, and to
regulate proceedings under the same. In
my judgment the title would be improved
and its character much more clearly indi-
Gated by styling it a bill to estaEli lisL most
intricate and difficult system Of naturallZa
ton, and to hinder, delay, embarrass, and,
as Tar as possible, prevent NATURALIZATION
under the same, aud TO discourag ge intelli-
gent foreigners from immigrating to the
United States.


Mr.. Speaker, in the remarks purpose
making on this bill | do not propose to dis
cuSS 1t or any OF the amendments offered
section by section in detail. Nor shall ]
c0ntine myself altogether to the provisions
of the bill as reported from the judiciary
Committee, for have no idea that that
report will meet the ntolerant and liberal
views Of The majority Of this House |
shall endeavor to present general views and
considerations as they appear in the several
propositions before the House, as they
suggest themselves to my mind. The
oil as 1t comes frum the UuuIuiutee is
very great Improvement on all the bills
introduced on the subject. prefer it to
any and all the others. We were enabled,
thanks to the liberality Of some of the gen
tlemen of the majority on the committee, to
reduce the time during which the appIi-
cant must be a continual resident Of the
United States before he could be natural>
ized, according to the bill as originally re-
ported, from over five years to between
three and half and four years.


But, sir, there is nothing in this measure
that commends it to my judgment. / am
opposed to it in every form and feature
The people have not demanded or called
for any such legislation. 1t is the work of
the scheming politician. And aside from
It's having its motive In the spirit of bigot-
ry and intolerance. in the old, exploded
partisan theory of Native AmeIicanism, its
pretense and title are an untruth 1t is
not intended or designed TO establish a
uniform system of naturalization. That
system was long ago established under ex-
isting laws. We have had "a uniform rule
of naturalization, in pursuance of the
power granted to Congress by the Consti-
tuition, almost ever since the Government
was founded; rule, too, devised by states
men in the interest of country, and not BY
politicians and demagogues in the interest
of party. The men who framed and es
tablshed the present rule comprehended
the vast interest with which they were
dealing, and they made the law brief, SIM
pie and easy to be understood. They made
1t to encourage and not to discourage those
who would become citizens of this country.


The present rule, substantially as it now
exists upon the statute book, was estab,
llshed In 1902. 1t was the result of tie
triumph of the liberal views of the Democ-
racy over the intolerance Of Federalism.
During the time Of the infamous 'alien
and tradition laws the time of residence in
the country before naturalization could be
obtained had been extended from
two to fourteen years. With the
repeal of these odeus laws, by act of
CuuStces VI tue 1ftn OF Ap!ll, lSDZ, the
time OF residence was again fixed at five
years. All the amendments heretofore
made since that time in spite of the hos
tile and malignant spirit of Native Amer.
canlsm, have been in the direction of toer-
alton and liberality. They have been to
simplify the forms and to make the law
easy of comprehension. They have been
to foster this great interest and to encour.
age immigration and settlement of our vast
unoccupied territory by just and generous
offers of citizenship. They have been in
to keeping with the progress of the age
and the advancing civilization of the
world.


But by this bill the law and practice of
the government almost since its formation
Is to be swept away. The entire policy and
spirit OF our system is to be reversed. The
injury, resulting from this sweeping and
radical change can scarce y be comprehend
Ell much less computed If the spirit and
temper manifested in and by this bill were
not hostile to the past policy and present
interest OF the country in relation to immi-
grafton and naturalization, the change it
self would still be most damaging and un>
wise. Next to good laws, the most imper>
tant thing to any country is to have them
hxed and stable. No people can be pros.