PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



661 



3. All lines should be bound to give precedence 

 in the transmission of the official messages of the 

 governments of the two countries between which it 

 may be laid. 



4. A power should be reserved to the two gov- 

 ernments, either conjointly or to each, as regards 

 the messages dispatched from its shores, to fix a 

 limit to the charges to be demanded for the trans- 

 mission of messages. 



I present this subject to the earnest consideration 

 of Congress. 



In the mean time, and unless Congress otherwise 

 direct. I shall not oppose the landing of any tele- 

 graphic cable which complies with and assents to 

 the points above enumerated, but will feel it my 

 duty to prevent the landing of any which does not 

 conform to the first and second points as stated, and 

 which will not stipulate to concede to this Govern- 

 ment the precedence in the transmission of its official 

 messages, and will not enter into a satisfactory ar- 

 rangement with regard to its charges. 



Among the pressing and important subjects to 

 which, in my opinion, the attention of Congress 

 should be directed, are those relating to fraudulent 

 naturalization and expatriation. 



The United States, with great liberality, offers its 

 citizenship to all who in good faith comply with the 

 requirements of law. These requirements are as 

 simple and upon as favorable terms to the immigrant 

 as the high privilege to which he is admitted can or 

 should permit. I do not propose any additional re- 

 quirements to those which the law now demands. 

 But the very simplicity and the want of unnecessary 

 formality in our law have made fraudulent naturali- 

 zation not infrequent, to the discredit and injury of 

 all honest citizens, whether native or naturalized. 

 Cases of this character are continually being brought 

 to the notice of the Government by our representa- 

 tives abroad, and also those of persons resident 

 in other countries, most frequently those who, if 

 they have remained in this .country long enough to 

 entitle them to become naturalized, have generally 

 not much overpassed that period, and have returned 

 to the country of their origin, where they reside, 

 avoiding all duties to the United States by their ab- 

 sence, and claiming to be exempt from all duties to 

 the country of their nativity and of their residence 

 by reason of their alleged naturalization. It is due 

 to this Government itself and to the great mass of 

 the naturalized citizens who entirely, both in name 

 and in fact, become citizens ^of the United States,, 

 that the high privilege of citizenship of the United 

 States should not be held by fraud or in derogation 

 of the laws and of the good name of every honest 

 citizen. On many occasions it has been Brought to 

 the knowledge of the Government that certificates 

 of naturalization are held, and protection or inter- 

 ference claimed, by parties who admit that not only 

 they were not within the United States at the time 

 of the pretended naturalization, but that they have 

 never resided in the United States'; in others, the 

 certificate and record of the court show on their face 

 that the person claiming to be naturalized had not 

 resided the required time in the United States ; in 

 others, it is admitted upon examination that the re- 

 quirements of law have not been complied with ; in 

 some cases even, such certificates have been matter 

 of purchase. These are not isolated cases, arising 

 at rare intervals, but of common occurrence, and 

 which are reported from all quarters of the globe. 

 Such occurrences cannot, and do not, fail to reflect 

 upon the Government and injure all honest citizens. 

 Such a fraud being discovered, however, there is no 

 practicable means within the control of the Govern- 

 ment by which the record of naturalization can be 

 vacated ; and should the certificate be taken up, as 

 it usually is, by the diplomatic and consular repre- 

 sentatives of the government to whom it may have 

 been presented, there is nothing to prevent the per- 

 Bon claiming to have been naturalized from obtain- 



ing a new certificate from the court in place of that 

 which has been taken from him. 



The evil has become so great and of such frequent 

 occurrence that I cannot too earnestly recommend 

 that some effective measures be adopted to provide 

 a proper remedy and means for the vacating of any 

 record thus fraudulently made, and of punishing the 

 guilty parties to the transaction. 



In this connection I refer also to the question of 

 expatriation and the election of nationality. 



The United States was foremost in upholding the 

 right of expatriation ? and was principally instru- 

 mental in overthrowing the doctrine of perpetual 

 allegiance. Congress has declared the right of ex- 

 patriation to be a natural and inherent right of all 

 people ; but, while many other nations have enacted 

 laws providing what formalities shall be necessary 

 to work a change of allegiance, the United States 

 has enacted no provisions of law, and has in no re- 

 spect marked out how and when expatriation may be 

 accomplished by its citizens. Instances are brought 

 to the attention of the Government where citizens of 

 the United States, either naturalized or native-born, 

 have formally become citizens or subjects of foreign 

 powers, but who, nevertheless, in the absence of any 

 provisions of legislation on this question, when in- 

 volved in difficulties, or when it seems to be their 

 interest, claim to be citizens of the United States, 

 and demand the intervention of a government which 

 they have long since abandoned, and to which for 

 years they have rendered no service, nor held them- 

 selves in any way amenable. 



In other cases naturalized citizens, immediately 

 after naturalization, have returned to their native 

 country ; have become engaged in business ; have 

 accepted offices or pursuits inconsistent with Ameri- 

 can citizenship, and evidence no intent to return to 

 the United States until called upon to discharge 

 some duty to the country where they are residing, 

 when at once they assert their citizenship, and call 

 upon the representatives of the Government to aid 

 them in their unjust pretensions. It is but justice 

 to all lona-fide citizens that no doubt should exist on 

 such questions, and that Congress should determine 

 by enactment of law how expatriation may be ac- 

 complished, and change of citizenship be estab- 

 lished. 



I also invite your attention to the necessity of reg- 

 ulating by law the status of American women who 

 may marry foreigners, and of defining more fully 

 that of children born in a foreign country of Ameri- 

 can parents who may reside abroad ; and also of 

 some further provision regulating or giving legal 

 effect to marriages of American citizens contracted 

 in foreign countries. The correspondence submitted 

 herewith shows a few of the constantly-occurring 

 questions on these points presented to the considera- 

 tion of the Government. There are few subjects to 

 engage the attention of Congress on which more 

 delicate relations or more important interests are 

 dependent. 



In the month of July last the building erected for 

 the Department of State was taken possession of 

 and occupied by that Department. I am happy to 

 announce that the archives and valuable papers of 

 the Government in the custody of that Department 

 are now safely deposited and properly cared for. 



The report of the Secretary of the Treasury shows 

 the receipts from customs for the fiscal year ending 

 June 30, 1874, to have been $163,103,833.69, and for 

 the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875, to have been 

 $157,167,722.35, a decrease for the last fiscal year of 

 $5,936,111.34. Receipts from internal revenue for 

 the year ending the 30th of June. 1874, were $102,- 

 409,784.90, and for the year ending June 30, 1875, 

 $110,007,493.58 : increase, $7,597,708.68^ 



The report also shows a complete history of the 

 workings of the Department for the last year, and 

 contains recommendations for reforms and for legis- 

 lation which I concur in, but cannot comment on so 



