282 DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 



DODGE, WILLIAM E. 



ments. No proof of the fact is found or furnished, 

 and it is not confirmed by other members of the fam- 

 ily that the father eveV was naturalized. Ha'd he 

 been, Patrick O'Donnell need not have applied for 

 natunili/ation. As to the second point, O'Donnell 

 himself says that an injury to his arm prevented his 

 enlistment in the army, but that he was employed 

 as a teamster in 1SG4 on a United States Government 

 supply-train in Colorado. It has not been thought 

 necessary to verify this btatement, for if true the fact 

 would not give him the right to naturalization as one 

 who had served in the army ; and, moreover, the cer- 

 tificate is not granted on the ground of his having 

 been a soldier. In support of the third allegation he 

 produces a certificate of his naturalization on Nov. 6, 

 1876, by the Probate Court of Lawrence co., Ohio. 

 This certificate was issued in conformity with section 

 2167 of the Revised Statutes, which provides that " any 

 alien being under the age of twenty-one years, who has 

 resided in the United States three years next pre- 

 ceding his arriving at that age, and who had con- 

 tinued to reside therein to the time he may make ap- 

 plication to be admitted a citizen thereof," may be 

 admitted on making the prescribed declaration at 

 that time instead of two years before naturalization. 



It would appear that this certificate was irregu- 

 larly granted, for by O'Donnell's statement, made to 

 the United States charge d'affaires at London, he re- 

 turned to Ireland after attaining majority, and re- 

 mained there between 1868 and 1871, and conse- 

 quently had not continued to reside in the United 

 States from the time of his coining of age to the 

 time of making application to be a citizen, as he 

 must have done to conform to the requirements of 

 the statute. It is also uncertain whether he, in fact, 

 resided here for the three years next before attaining 

 majority. By his statement to Mr. Hoppin he is now 

 about forty-eight years old, which puts his birth about 

 1835. In the declaration of intention made at the 

 time of naturalization he declares that he was born 

 in 1838. He must therefore have attained majority 

 somewhere between 1856 and 1859. By his own 

 statements he came to this country with 'his mother 

 (his father being already here) when about four or 

 six years old (1 839-1 844"), returned to Ireland when 

 twelve years old (1847-1850), and came back to the 

 United States in 1861, when he must have been be- 

 tween twenty-three and twenty-six years old ; so that 

 between the extreme dates assigned \>y himself, the 

 three years next preceding his reaching majority 

 would appear to have been spent in Ireland. The 

 act of naturalization being, however, a judicial de- 

 cision, it can only be impeached according to the 

 rules established in the Spanish - American Com- 

 mission, by showing want or jurisdiction on the part 

 of the granting court, or fraud practiced by the ap- 

 plicant on the court, or that the naturalization was in 

 violation of treaty stipulations. 



Patrick O'Donnelf has a certificate of naturaliza- 

 tion. He may have obtained it by mistake of the 

 court, or by his own mistake, or there may be mis- 

 takes in the statements he now makes, and yet be an 

 absence of fraud, and as the certificate is prima facie 

 evidence of citizenship, and as I do not see the evi- 

 dence that O'Donnell practiced a fraud upon the 

 court, the United States legation at London was in- 

 structed to consider O'Donnell's citizenship estab- 

 lished. 



Under date of Dec. llth, Mr. Frelinghuysen tele- 

 graphed Mr. Lowell of the action of the House of 

 Kepresentatives, as contained in the resolution of 

 Dec. 10th, repeated his former instructions to consider 

 the citizenship of O'Donnell established, and conclud- 

 ed by saying: "There being in Great Britain no ju- 

 dicial examination or appeal of the proceedings at a 

 criminal trial possible, errors can only be corrected 

 through a new trial and by executive action upon 

 the sentence. Therefore this Government is anxious 

 that such careful examination be given to the proceed- 

 ings in this case as to discover an error should one 



have been committed. You are, therefore, directed 

 by the President to request a delay of the execution 

 of the sentence, and that a careful examination of the 

 case be made by her Majesty's Government, that the 

 prisoner be permitted to present any alleged points of 

 error. ' ' 



_ On Dec. 15th Mr. Lowell telegraphed to Mr. Fre- 

 linghuysen, acknowledging the receipt on Dec. 12th of 

 his telegram of Dec. llth. and stating that he imme- 

 diately sent its substance to Lord Granville, who on 

 Dec. 13th acknowledged its reception and stated that 

 it had been referred to the proper authorities ; that on 

 the date of his telegram (Dec. 15th) Mr. Lowell re- 

 ceived the final decision in the following words : 



" SIR : With reference to my letter of the 13th inst., 

 I have now the honor to state to you that the counsel 

 for O'Donnell, having submitted such representations 

 as he thought advisable on behalf of the prisoner, 

 these representations and all the other circumstances 

 of the case have been carefully examined and consid- 

 ered in the manner usual in the case of capital convic- 

 tions, and her Majesty's Government find no grounds 

 upon which they would be justified in advising the 

 Crown to interfere with the sentence of the law or its 

 execution. I have, etc., GKANVILLE." 



The resolution of Dec. 10th, referred to, 

 called on the Government to interpose, to pre- 

 vent, if possible, the carrying out. of the sen- 

 tence of death on O'Donnell, on the ground 

 that he had not had a fair trial. 



DODGE, William Earl, an American merchant, 

 born in Hartford, Conn., Sept. 4, 1805; died in 

 New York city, Feb. 9, 1883. 



The family from which he sprang was Eng- 

 lish, and the first of the name who emigrated 

 to America was William Dodge, of Dorsetshire. 

 He came to Salem in 1629, and was one of the 

 founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 

 The father of William Earl was David Low 

 Dodge, who had been a successful merchant in 

 Hartford, and removed to New York city in 

 the same year in which his son was born. He 

 retired from business in 1827, and devoted the 

 rest of his life to literary and benevolent work. 

 Several valuable books were published by him ; 

 he was a zealous and energetic member of the 

 Presbyterian Church, and was an elder of the 

 old Wall Street Church. His wife was the 

 daughter of Rev. Aaron Cleveland, a minister 

 of some note. 



William Earl Dodge entered upon active life 

 as helper to his father, when he was only a 

 boy. In early life he united with the Laight 

 Street Presbyterian Church. On reaching man- 

 hood he engaged in business for himself, with 

 a partner, the firm being Huntington & Dodge. 

 Three years later, he married a daughter of 

 Anson G. Phelps, and in 1838 entered into 

 partnership with his father-in-law, the firm 

 being Phelps, Dodge & Co., and he remained 

 one of the senior members until 1879. 



Mr. Dodge was one of the first directors of 

 the Erie Railway, and fully appreciated its im- 

 portance in the near future ; but in the case of 

 this as well as of other corporations, he wholly 

 disapproved of compelling Sunday work from 

 the employes, and refused to serve in any 

 board which caused trains to be run on Sun- 

 day, or derived profit from Sunday labors. He 

 was one of the founders and promoters of the 



