ALIAS 



200 



ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS 



Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, in 

 the same year that they started Columbus on 

 his voyage of discovery- Though it has suffered 

 at the hands of spoilers and from the marks of 

 time, it is still a wonderful work of art, and 

 the beauties of the palace have been copied by 

 many artists and architects of later times. - An 

 interesting account of the Alhambra is given 

 in Washington Irving's The Alhambra. 



Consult Irving's The Alhambra; Calvert's 

 da and the Alhambra. 



ALIAS, a' lias, a legal term for the name 

 assumed by a person who wishes to hide his 

 identity. Thus Henry Morgan, alias Harry 

 Nicol, alias Paul West is the description in law 

 for a man whose true name is Henry Morgan, 

 but who has at times called himself by the 

 other names, to avoid attracting the attention 

 of the police, or for a similar questionable 

 reason. This description would be the one to 

 be used in an alias writ for his arrest (see 

 WRIT). A pen name or stage name is not con- 

 sidered an alias, but a nom de plume. 



ALI BAB A, ah' le bah' ba, the hero of the 

 Arabian Nights' tale of Ali Baba and the Forty 

 s who opened the door of the thieves' 

 cavern by using their magic password, "Open 

 sesame." The life of Ali Baba was saved by 

 the slave Morgiana, who poured boiling oil 

 in the jars where the robbers lay hidden. See 

 ARABIAN NIGHTS. 



ALIBI, al' iby, a Latin word meaning else- 

 where, is applied to a defense used in lawsuits, 

 whereby a person accused of a crime attempts 

 to show that he could not have committed the 

 deed because he was in a different place at the 

 time. If he succeeds in this proof he is said 

 to establish an alibi. An alibi supported by 

 true evidence is the best possible means of 

 proving the innocence of one accused, but this 

 mode of defense also offers the guilty an 

 alluring opportunity of escape by the introduc- 

 tion of false witnesses and perjury. 



ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDER- 

 LAND, a book for children which contains 

 some of the most delightful juvenile reading 

 ever put in print. It was written by Charles L. 

 Dodgson, under the pen name of LEWIS CAR- 

 ROLL, and purports to be a narrative of the 

 dream of little Alice, a most charming and 

 natural child. The author has kept throughout 

 the book the child's point of view, and the 

 White Rabbit, the Dodo, the Duchess, the 

 Mocking Turtle and the March Hare are char- 

 acters which are alive to every boy or girl 

 who reads the book. Alice in Wonderland and 



its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, have 

 been illustrated by several artists, but none of 

 the later pictures :tiv as entirely satisfactory 

 as the original ones by Tenniel. 



ALIEN, ay I' inn, a person residing in one 

 country, but owing allegiance to another. Thus, 

 an Englishman may live in the United States 

 for many years, but unless he transfers his 

 allegiance by naturalization (which see), li. 

 still, in the view of the United States. legally 

 an alien. The position of aliens differs in 

 various countries, but generally they owe a 

 local allegiance and are bound equally with 

 citizens to all rules for the preservation of 

 order. They have no political rights, but in 

 case of need they may be compelled to serve 

 in the militia or do police duty. As a rule they 

 may acquire, hold or dispose of property, both 

 real and personal, in any way open to citizens, 

 except that in some states foreigners can own 

 real estate no longer than six years. This is 

 true throughout the British Empire, but in the 

 United States a few states have not grant ed 

 such rights to aliens. 



Occasionally, as in the California law of 

 1913 prohibiting Japanese from owning land, 

 a state law violates a treaty made by the 

 United States government with a foreign na- 

 tion. The prevailing opinion seems to be 

 that in such a case the Federal government 

 has the power to force the state to change its 

 law, for the Constitution states that all rela- 

 tions with foreign powers are retained in the 

 hands of the general government. 



ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS, four stat- 

 utes enacted by the Congress of the United 

 States in 1798, during the Presidency of John 

 Adams. The Alien Act, which remained in 

 force for two years, gave the President power 

 to order out of the country any people not 

 citizens whom he considered dangerous to the 

 government; and if they failed to leave 

 promptly they were subject to imprisonment. 

 The Sedition Act was passed in July, 1798, and 

 remained in force until March 3, 1801; it im- 

 posed a fine not exceeding $5,000 and imprison- 

 ment for not more than five years as a penalty 

 for conspiring to resist government measures 

 or for publishing libelous or scandalous state- 

 ments concerning Congress or the President. 

 A third law included harsh provisions applying 

 to alien enemies, and a fourth made fourteen 

 years' residence the qualification for naturaliza- 

 tion (which see) . 



These laws were passed chiefly to suppress 

 violent opposition to the administration, and 



