Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/389

 Ch. 10. alien-enemies have no rights, no privileges, unles by the king's pecial favour, during the time of war.

I ay, that an alien is one who is born out of the king's dominions, or allegiance, this alo mut be undertood with ome retrictions. The common law indeed tood abolutely o; with only a very few exceptions: o that a particular act of parliament became neceary after the retoration, "for the naturalization of children of his majety's Englih ubjects, born in foreign countries during the late troubles." And this maxim of the law proceeded upon a general principle, that every man owes natural allegiance where he is born, and cannot owe two uch allegiances, or erve two maters, at once. Yet the children of the king's embaadors born abroad were always held to be natural ubjects : for as the father, though in a foreign country, owes not even a local allegiance to the prince to whom he is ent; o, with regard to the on alo, he was held (by a kind of potliminium) to be born under the king of England's allegiance, repreented by his father, the embaador. To encourage alo foreign commerce, it was enacted by tatute 25 Edw. III. t. 2. that all children born abroad, provided both their parents were at the time of the birth in allegiance to the king, and the mother had paed the eas by her huband's conent, might inherit as if born in England: and accordingly it hath been o adjudged in behalf of merchants. But by everal more modern tatutes thee retrictions are till farther taken off: o that all children, born out of the king's ligeance, whoe fathers were natural-born ubjects, are now natural-born ubjects themelves, to all intents and purpoes, without any exception; unles their aid fathers were attainted, or banihed beyond ea, for high treaon; or were then in the ervice of a prince at enmity with Great Britain.

children of aliens, born here in England, are, generally peaking, natural-born ubjects, and entitled to all the privileges Rh