zen. The disabilities of aliens may be partially removed by the king's letterspatent constituting the party a free deniFrom the date of the grant he is entitled to hold land, and transmit it to his after-born children, and to enjoy many other privileges of a native subject. But the most effectual method of naturalizing an alien is by act of parliament, called a Naturalization Bill, by which he is admitted to every right of a naturalborn subject, except the capacity of sitting in parliament or the privy council, or of holding grants and offices of trust under the crown; an exclusion dictated by the jealous policy of the legislature on the accession of the House of Orange. [DENIZATION; NATURALIZATION.] The rights of aliens, enumerated above, must be understood to apply only to alien friends. Alien enemies, or subjects of a foreign state at war with this country, are in a very different condition, and may be said to possess very few rights here. As examples of the policy which has at different times been pursued in this country with reference to aliens, the following historical notices may be interesting: Magna Charta stipulates, in the article already cited, for the free access of foreign merchants for the purposes of trade, and its provisions were enforced and extended under the reigns of succeeding princes. In the eighteenth year of Edward I. the parliament rolls contain a petition from the citizens of London, "that foreign merchants should be expelled from the city, because they get rich, to the impoverishment of the citizens;" to which the king replies, that "they are beneficial and useful, and he has no intention to expel them." In the reign of Edward III. several beneficial privileges were conferred on aliens for the encouragement of foreign trade. Under Richard II. and his successor statutes were made imposing various restraints on aliens trading within the realm, and especially prohibiting internal traffic with one another. Similar restrictions were introduced in the reign of Richard III., chiefly with a view to exclude them from retail trade; and in that of Henry VIII. violent insurrections against aliens were followed by repeated statutes, reciting the mischievous consequences attributed to the influx of foreigners, and laying greater impediments in the way of their settlement within the realm. Several acts of this description are still in force, though they have fallen into practical disuse; but the courts of law have always put on them a construction the most favourable to foreign commerce, agreeably to the opinion of Lord Chief Justice Hale, that "the law of England hath always been very gentle in the construction of the disability, and rather contracting than extending it severely." (Ventris's Reports, vol. i. p. 427.) In the reign of James I. the king was strongly petitioned to adopt exclusive measures against the aliens, who had flocked into the kingdom from the Low Countries; but James, though he ac quiesced to a certain extent in the object of the petitioners, seems by no means to have participated in their feelings of enmity to aliens; for he professes his intention "to keep a due temperament between the interests of the petitioners and the foreigners;" and he especially commends "their industrious and sedulous courses, whereof he wished his own people would take example." In the reign of Charles II. aliens were invited to settle in this country, and t engage in certain trades, by an offer ef the privileges of native subjects. (1 Charles II. c. 15.) This statute was repealed by 12 & 13 Wm. III. c. 2; but there is an unrepealed act of 6 Anne. which naturalizes all foreigners who shal serve for two years on board any ship of her majesty's navy or a British merchantship. In the early part of the last century (1708) a bill was brought into parliames: for the general naturalization of all foreign Protestants upon their taking certain oaths and receiving the sacrament in any Protestant church, and it passed notwithstanding the strenuous opposition of the city of London, who represented tha they would sustain loss by being obliged to remit certain dues which aliens were obliged to pay. After remaining in opera tion for three years, it was repealed on a suggestion of its injurious effects upon the interests of natural-born subjects; but a previous bill for effecting this object was rejected by the Lords. The reasons for and against the measure will be found in the fourth volume of Chandler's Commons' Debates, p. 119-122. In 1748 and 1751 a measure similar to the act of 1708 was brought forward, and in 1751 it was read a second time, but was dropped in consequence of the death of the Prince of Wales, which disarranged the public business. Upon a review of the history of our policy, the inference seems to be, that although the maxims prevalent in our courts of law have been generally favourable to aliens, and although the government appear to have been at all times sensible of the advantages resulting from a liberal reception of foreign settlers engaged in trade, yet popular prejudices have been on the whole successfully exerted in impressing upon the legislature a more jealous and exclusive system. The Alien Acts (33 Geo. III. c. 4; 34 Geo. III. c. 43, 67, and others) were passed entirely from political motives, and were mainly enacted on account of the great number of foreigners who came to England in 1792 and 1793. There is reason to believe that the crown has always had the power of banishing aliens from the realm, which these acts, however, expressly gave to it: at all events the power has undoubtedly been often exerted; and it seems almost to be included in the ampler prerogative of declaring war against the whole, or any part, of a foreign state. However, either from want of recent authentic precedents, or from a desire to accompany the measure with provisions not within the ordinary exercise of the prerogative, this power has not been exercised of late years without the sanction of parliament. In 1827 a measure was introduced (7 Geo. IV. c. 54) for the general registration of all aliens visiting this country, and every foreigner was required to present himself at the Alien-office. This act was repealed by 6 Wm. IV. c. 11, but new provisions of a similar character were introduced. By one clause masters of vessels arriving | from foreign parts are to declare what aliens (mariners navigating the vessel excepted) are on board or have landed, under a penalty, for omission or for false declaration, of 20/., and 101. for each alien omitted. Every foreigner on landing is required immediately to exhibit any passport in his possession to the chief officer of customs at the port of debarkation, and to state to him, either verbally or in writing, his name, birth-place, and the country he has come from, under a penalty, for neglect or refusal, of 21. The officer of customs is to register this declaration, deliver a certificate to the alieu, and transmit a copy of the declaration to the secretary of state. On leaving the country the alien is required to transmit to the secretary of state the certificate granted him on landing. The act does not affect foreign ministers or their servants, nor aliens under fourteen years. The proof of non-alienage lies on the person alleged to be an alien. Under the former act aliens were required to present themselves at the Alien-office; but this is no longer necessary. The registration clause is generally disregarded by foreigners, and is never enforced, for there is no provision in the act for recovering the penalty. In 1842, out of 11,600 foreigners who were officially reported to have landed, 6084 only registered according to the act; but in the same year, out of 794 who landed at Hull, only one registered; at Southampton, out of 1174, not one; and of those who landed at London, not onehalf. At Liverpool no return was kept of the number of foreigners who landed, and there was no instance of one who registered. There are two alien clerks at the port of London, and one at Dover, but at other ports the business is done by the officers of customs. In the session of 1843 a bill was introduced for increasing the facilities afforded for the denization and naturalization of foreigners; but it met with opposition from the government, and was thrown out without a division. Under the Act 7 Geo. IV. c. 54, the number of foreigners who arrived and departed during the year was ascertained; but it is said that the papers have been destroyed. The returns under the census of 1841 do not distinguish foreigners from | British subjects born in foreign parts. The total number of foreigners and British subjects born abroad resident in Great Britain on the 6th of June, 1841, was 44,780, of whom 38,628 resided in England, and 19,931 of this number were returned in the counties of Middlesex and Surrey. The number of foreigners naturalized does not on an average exceed seven or eight a year, and the number who apply for letters of denization does not exceed twenty-five. The same classes of persons who are aliens, according to the law of England, are aliens according to that of Scotland, and the statute law on the subject extends to that part of the empire. When an alien resident in Scotland wishes to acquire the privileges of a British subject, the same forms which, as above described, are applicable to England, are gone through with the same effect. They are consistent with the constitutional doctrine of the separate kingdom of Scotland, in which, anterior to the Union, it appears that letters of denization could give a portion, but an act of parliament only could communicate the whole of the privileges of a born subject of the crown. The institutional writers maintain that an alien cannot hold any kind of heritable property in Scotland, but in the books there are only two cases on the subject, and in one the general question was evaded; in the other an alien was found not to have a sufficient title to pursue a reduction of a conveyance of an estate. (Leslie v. Forbes, 9th June, 1749, M. 4636.) If the rule that aliens cannot hold heritage were strictly interpreted, it would affect property which all classes of persons are in the practice of holding in Scotland without molestation, but in the general case it would be difficult to find a form in which an alien's title could be brought in question. It is questioned whether an alien in Scotland who holds the statutory qualification may vote for a member of the House of Commons. The sheriffs, who are judges in the registration courts, have given conflicting judgments on this point. The following are the laws as to aliens in France and the United States of North America, two countries with which Eng lishmen are more closely connected tha any other: A child born in France, of foreig parents, may, within one year after h has attained the age of twenty-one, clain to be a Frenchman; if he is not then resi dent in France, he must declare his in tention to reside there, and he must fix his residence there within one year after such declaration. An alien enjoys in France the same civil rights as those which Frenchmen enjoy in the country to which the alien belongs; but he enjoys the right of succession in France, although this right may not be granted to French citizens in his own country. An alien is allowed by the king's permission (ordonnance du roi) to establish his domicile in France; and so long as he continues to reside there, he enjoys all civil but not political rights; but this enjoyment ceases immediately the domicile is lost. After an uninterrupted residence during ten years, by permission of the king an alien may become naturalized. (Code Civil, liv. 1, tit. 1. s. 9.) A foreigner can buy and hold land in France without obtaining any permission from the crown or legislature. Upon the recognition of the independence of the United States of North America by the treaty of Paris, 1783, the natural-born subjects of the king of Eugland who adhered to the United States became aliens in England; and it was decided that they became incapable of inheriting lands in England. It had been previously decided in America that natives of Great Britain were aliens there, and incapable of inheriting lands in the United States. Kent defines an alien to be "a person born out of the jurisdiction of the United States;" but this definition is not sufficiently strict, for the son of an alien, which son is born in the United States, is also an alien. Congress has several times altered the law respecting naturalization, but chiefly as to the period of previous residence. In 1790 only two years' residence was required; in 1795 the term was prolonged to five years; and in 1798 to fourteen years. In 1802 the period of five years was again adopted, and no alteration this respect has taken place. The benefits of naturalization have always been con- quired that he should not at any time In 1804 Congress passed an act supplementary to the act of 1802, which contains a clause respecting the children of American citizens born abroad, but it applies only to the children of persons who then were or had been citizens; and Kent remarks (Commentaries, vol. ii. p. 53) that the rights of the children of American citizens born abroad are left in a precarious state; and in the lapse of time there will soon be no statute which will be available, in which case the Eng. lish common law will be the only principle applicable to the subject. Before the adoption of the present constitution of the United States, the several states had each the privilege of conferring naturalization. Each state can still grant local privileges. There is a considerable diversity in the laws of different states respecting aliens. By a permanent provision in the state of New York, an alien is enabled to take and hold lands in fee, and to sell, mortgage, and devise (but not to demise and lease the same), provided he has taken an oath that he is a resident of the state, and has taken the preliminary steps towards becoming a citizen of the United States. There are similar provisions in several of the other states. In New York resident aliens holding real property are liable to be enrolled in the militia, but they are not qualified to vote at any election, of being elected to any office, or of serving on a jury. In North Carolina and Vermont the constitution provides that every person of good character who comes into the state and settles, and takes an oath of allegiance, may hold land, and after one year's residence he becomes entitled to most of the privileges of a natural-born citizen. In Connecticut the superior sentative of the Chambers of the Kingdom, &c., depend upon the nature and value of the real property acquired, whether a manor, a house in a town, &c. In Bavaria aliens can possess landed property, without the condition of residence, but they are liable to the duties which attach to the property. Naturalization is obtained either by marriage of a foreign woman with a Bavarian, by domicile and renouncing foreign allegiance, or by royal decree; but a resi dence of six years is necessary before the full citizenship can be obtained. The court, on the petition of any alien who has resided in the state six months, has the power of conferring upon him the same privileges, in regard to holding land, as if he were a natural-born citizen. In Pennsylvania aliens may purchase lands not exceeding 5000 acres, and hold and dispose of the same as freely as citizens. In Georgia aliens can hold land, provided they register their names in the Superior Court. No alien can act as executor or administrator in this state. In Kentucky, after a residence of two years, an alien can hold land. In Indiana, Missouri, and Maryland the disqualifi-privileges of an alien in Bavaria depend cation of an alien holding land is done away with on his giving notice of an intention to become a citizen. Most, if not all, of the state legislatures are in the habit of granting to particular aliens, by name, the privilege of holding real property. (Law relating to Aliens in United States," in Boston Almanac, 1835.) In the States generally, perhaps in all, as in England, the alienage of a woman does not bar her right of dower. The following information is abstracted from evidence given by Harvey Gem, Esq., before the Select Committee on aliens, in 1843, and the information was stated to have been obtained from the ambassadors or ministers of the different Powers in London: In Prussia, from the moment when an alien becomes a resident and places himself under the protection of the laws, he enjoys the same rights as a natural-born subject, and not only has he a right to vote in the election of members to the Provincial States, but he is also eligible himself as a member. In Saxony, by a law passed in 1834, an alien may acquire the privileges of a natural-born subject by right of domicile, granted by the local authorities of each district, or by the purchase of real property, and in towns by obtaining the freedom of the corporation. In the two latter cases, the alien must have been in possession of his real property or of his freedom for five years, during which period he must have resided in the place where the property is, or in the town of which he has obtained the freedom. The right of voting, eligibility as a repre in some degree on the policy of the state of which he is a subject towards foreigners in general or Bavarians in particular. In Würtemberg an alien who wishes to be naturalized, first purchases landed property in or near the place where he intends to settle, by which he obtains the consent of the local authorities to reside among them (bürger-recht). These conditions having been fulfilled and the sanction of government obtained, the alien acquires the Staats-bürger recht, which gives him all the privileges of a natural-born subject, and with them its obligations, as liability to the military conscription, &c. The bürger-recht may give an alien all the municipal rights of a citizen in a town, while, as respects the Staats-bürger recht, which makes him s citizen of the state, he may still be an alien. In Hanover naturalization is acquired in one or other of the following ways: by marriage of a foreign woman with a Hanoverian subject; by the adoption by a Hanoverian of a foreigner as his child; by holding any office under the govern ment; by becoming a member of a com mune; by the purchase of a residence or freehold in any commune; by the autho rity of the State, independently of the will of the commune; and by a residence of five consecutive years in any commune with the express approbation of the bailiff or mayor-the conditions in the two last cases being the possession of sufficient means of subsistence and an irreproach able character. In Austria a residence of ten years is |