Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/180

 172 NATURALIZATION taming special permission from the king, or by a citizen establishing himself abroad in a manner which indicates an intent not to return, but no such intent is to be inferred simply from the fact that a citizen has established himself in another country for commercial purposes. In Turkey the population is divided into two great classes, the Turks or Mohammedans, the ruling race, and the Eayas (the flock), who with the exception of some few tribes are Christians or Jews. The Rayas are organized in distinct communities, having their own mu- nicipal regulations, as Armenians, Bulgarians, Bosnians, Serbs, Latin Christians, or Jews, under a recognized head, as a bishop, pa- triarch, or other ruler, who is responsible to the sultan for the good conduct of his com- munity. Resident foreigners might become members of one of these communities with the consent of the body, upon giving due no- tice to the Porte, and when admitted were en- titled to the privileges and bound to the ob- ligations of Turkish subjects. This however has probably been modified by a decree of the Ottoman empire of Jan. 19, 1869, which pro- vides that the character of a Turkish subject may be obtained on application to the minister for foreign affairs, if the applicant is of age and has resided five years consecutively within the Ottoman empire, and that this condition may be dispensed with by the government in exceptional cases. By this decree also the nationality of the parents, or of the father, alone determines that of the child, irrespec- tive of the place of birth ; and it further pro- vides that a person born of an alien on Turkish territory may within three years after arriving at age claim to become a Turkish subject. Foreigners, not members of one of the Raya communities, are aliens and under the protec- tion of their respective consuls. The Moham- medans enjoy greater privileges than the Rayas, and foreigners of whatever creed or nation may be received into this class upon embracing Mohammedanism. Their naturalization was formerly both a civil ceremony and a religious rite. It consisted in going first to the Porte or the executive authority representing it, in put- ting on the fez cap, and making a public decla- ration of faith in the words: "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his prophet;" and then repeating the same ceremony in the mosque. Circumcision was also required ; and when these conditions had been fulfilled, the proselyte was invested with all the rights of a native-born Mohammedan subject. Whether this continues, or has been superseded by the decree of 1869, is not known. In Egypt, Per- sia, and throughout all the Mohammedan coun- tries, naturalization is effected in the same way, either by embracing Mohammedanism or by being formally admitted a member of one of the other organized communities. In the European states, with but a few exceptions which have been mentioned, a naturalized foreigner enjoys every civil and political right, and may hold the highest office. In all of them naturalization is a thing of rather unusual oc- currence, the number of foreigners who be- come permanent residents in any one of them being very limited. Those who do are chiefly devoted to commercial pursuits ; and as natu- ralization, as a general rule, is not essential to enable them to carry on trade or commerce, it is not generally applied for. In the different West India islands belonging to European powers, the authority to naturalize is generally either vested in the sovereign or his representa- tive, or regulated by a local law. In the island of Cuba, by the Spanish ordinance of Oct. 21, 1817, the captain general may grant letters of license for domiciliation to all resident foreign- ers, upon their taking an oath of fidelity and submission to the law. These letters entitle them to hold real and personal property, and to the same protection in their persons and property as Spanish subjects ; but for the first five years of domiciliation they cannot engage in trade, open a shop, or become owners of ships or vessels, unless in partnership with Spanish subjects. After that time they can be- come naturalized. They must present their original letter of license to the captain general, and avow their intention to make the island their perpetual residence; and if it appear after due inquiry by the government that they have resided constantly on the island for five years, and are of good moral character, letters of naturalization are granted to them after they have sworn fidelity to the Roman Catholic re- ligion, to the crown, and to the laws, and re- nounced all foreign allegiance to and every privilege received from any other government When thus naturalized, they and their legiti- mate heirs and descendants acquire all the rights and privileges, and are placed upon the same footing as natural-born subjects. But the provision in respect to naturalization, though still in full force, has become practically a dead letter, as natives enjoy but few privileges which resident or domiciled foreigners do not possess. In Hayti, by a modification of the civil code adopted in 1860, any person who in virtue of the constitution wishes to become a citizen, must within a year after his arrival make an oath before a justice of the peace renouncing allegiance to every other government, upon presenting an official attestation of which at the office of the president of Hayti, he receives from that officer an act recognizing him as a citizen of the republic, In Mexico two years' residence is required, and one year's previous declaration of intention. This declaration is in the form of a petition to the ayuntamiento of the place where the applicant resides. Before he can be naturalized, the applicant must prove before the nearest circuit judge that he is of the Roman Catholic religion, and has a trade, profession, or income sufficient to support him. The documents containing this proof must then be laid before the governor or politi- cal chief of the district or territory, and, if