one is drafted, or when there are two sons of a widow, when only one is taken. "Naturalization of an Italian subject in a foreign country without consent of the Italian Government is no bar to liability to military service. "A former Italian subject may visit Italy without fear of molestation when he is under the age of 20 years; but between the ages of 20 and 39 he is liable to arrest and forced military service, if he has not previously reported for such service. After the age of 39 he may be arrested and imprisoned (but will not be compelled to do military duty) unless he has been pardoned. He may petition the Italian Government for pardon, but this Department will not act as the intermediary in presenting his petition." Notice to citizens formerly subjects of Italy who contemplate returning to that country, March 18, 1901, For. Rel. 1901, 282. (7) MOROCCO. § 447. "In regard to your obligations in respect to Moorish subjects naturalized here who may return to Morocco, I have to remark that you will, under the treaty of 1836, claim for them the same privileges and immunities as may be enjoyed by the citizens or subjects of any other power who also may have been natives of Morocco, unless the Government to which citizens or subjects may owe allegiance shall have a treaty of naturalization with the Emperor. The United States has no such treaty." Mr. Evarts, Sec. of State, to Mr. Mathews, consul at Tangier, Dec. 7, 1877, MS. Inst. Barb. Powers, XV. 348. "Any subject of Morocco who has been naturalized in a foreign country, and who shall return to Morocco, shall, after having remained for a length of time equal to that which shall have been regularly necessary for him to obtain such naturalization, choose between entire submission to the laws of the Empire and the obligation to quit Morocco, unless it shall be proved that his naturalization in a foreign country was obtained with the consent of the Government of Morocco. "Foreign naturalization heretofore acquired by subjects of Morocco, according to the rules established by the laws of each country, shall be continued to them as regards all its effects, without any restrictions." Art. 15, Madrid Convention, July 3, 1880, to which the United States is It was stated, in 1900, that this article, so far as it required a native of Government, and who had afterwards returned to Morocco and resided there during a term equal to that which was required for his admission to citizenship in the country in which he was naturalized, to elect between entire submission to the laws and the obligation to leave Morocco, had remained a dead letter. "The Department's judgment is that not only is such residence [in Morocco] a prerequisite [to the election in question], but when not coupled with a declaration of the citizen of his renunciation of his new and resumption of his old, he must be presumed to have retained his acquired allegiance, and that the Government of Morocco, by reason of its non-action to enforce an expression of the treaty provision by the foreigner, is compelled by a fair and impartial construction of that instrument to assent to that contention." (Mr. Cridler, Third Assist. Sec. of State, to Mr. Gummere, consul-general at Tangier, No. 227, Nov. 27, 1900, 175 MS. Inst. Consuls, 271.) (8) THE NETHERLANDS. § 448. In 1873 a native of the Netherlands, being then seventeen years old, went to the United States, intending to remain there. His parents continued to live in the Netherlands, and when the proper time came he was drafted for military service; and, as he did not appear, it was reported that he was declared a deserter. Subsequently, when he desired to revisit his original home, he found that he would be liable to arrest. Meanwhile, he had become a citizen of the United States, and was a minister of the Reformed Dutch Church. In 1887 he requested the American legation at The Hague to consider his case. The legation submitted it to the Dutch Government, which replied that the person in question was not a deserter, but a conscript who neglected to present himself for enrollment in 1876 in his proper commune, and who was in consequence advertised in the Police Gazette in 1877; that, in case he should return to the Netherlands, he would be liable to the application of article 172 and succeeding articles of the law of August 19, 1861, by which it was enacted that the conscript who failed to respond to the summons for his incorporation should be brought before the proper provincial authorities, in order that they might inquire into the case and pronounce sentence upon it. If the conscript should be found fit for service he was incorporated for five years, no matter what his age might be, and he was kept to his colors during this whole time, unless the provincial authorities had decided that he was prevented by circumstances beyond his control from complying with the summons. Such a person might, however, provide a substitute in the usual way, but such substitute must remain with the colors during the period prescribed for his principal. Mr. Bell, min. to the Netherlands, to Mr. Bayard, Sec. of State, March 15, 1887, For. Rel. 1887, 894. Cited in Mr. Foster, Sec. of State, to Mr. Weyle, Oct. 14, 1892, 188 MS. Dom. Let. 508. See Mr. Evarts, Sec. of State, to Mr. Goodheart, March 20, 1879, 127 MS. Dom. Let. 239; Mr. Blaine, Sec. of State, to Mr. Kommers, Feb. 19, 1890, 176 id. 450. The Dutch law of citizenship, which took effect July 1, 1893, contains the following provision: "ART. 7. Netherlands citizenship shall be forfeited "(a) When a Dutch subject becomes naturalized in a foreign country, or in case of minors by participation in the naturalization of either father or mother. "(b) By marriage in the case of a woman. "(c) By voluntary naturalization in a foreign country. "(d) By entering the service or army of a foreign power without special royal permission. "(e) By residence outside Dutch territory, provided such residence be not in an official capacity, for a period exceeding ten consecutive years, in cases where the person in question fails to notify the burgomaster or proper authority of the place where he last resided in the Kingdom, its colonies, or possessions in other parts of the world, or in lieu thereof the Dutch minister or consular official in the foreign country, that it is not his intention to abandon citizenship. "Such notification dates the commencement of a new period of ten years. "The ten-years period shall commence for minors from the day on which they attain majority according to the Dutch law." For. Rel., 1893, 474. Mr. Dewes Valk, a native of the Netherlands, served in the Dutch army from May, 1866, till July, 1867, when he went to his home, in the province of Groningen, on leave of absence. He afterwards accompanied his parents to the United States, where in due time he was naturalized. He was informed that on February 1, 1870, he was declared by the war department of the Netherlands to be a deserter, but he had understood that by a law passed in 1897 an absence of twelve years from the Netherlands exempted a deserter from prosecution. Being desirous of revisiting his native country, he drew up a petition to the Dutch minister of war, praying that such action might be taken as would enable him to make the visit without molestation. The minister of the United States at The Hague was instructed to bring the matter informally to the attention of the minister of war, with a view to having such action taken as might be found proper under all the circumstances. Mr. Day, Sec. of State, to Mr. Newel, No. 131, July 1, 1898, MS. Inst. "The information given below is believed to be correct, yet is not to be considered as official, as it relates to the laws and regulations of a foreign country. "A subject of the Netherlands is liable to military service from his nineteenth to his fortieth year. He must register to take part in the drawing of lots for military service between January 1 and August 31 of the calendar year in which he reaches the age of 19. He is exempt, however, from service if he is an only son or is physically disabled; and in the case of a family half of the brothers are exempt, or the majority if the number is uneven. "No military service is required of one who became a citizen of the United States before the calendar year in which he became 19 years of age, and a Netherlands subject who becomes a citizen of the United States when he is 19 and between January 1 and August 31 may have his name removed from the register by applying to the Queen's commissioner of the province in which he was registered. If he does not have his name removed from the register, or if he becomes a citizen of the United States after the register is closed (August 31) and his name is drawn for enlistment, his naturalization does not affect his military obligations to the Netherlands, and if he returns he is liable (1) to be treated as a deserter if he did not respond to the summons for service or (2) to be enlisted if he is under 40. "Former Netherlands subjects are advised to ascertain, by inquiry from the Netherlands authorities, what status they may expect to enjoy if they return to the Netherlands. This Department, however, uniformly declines to act as the intermediary in the inquiry." Circular notice of the Department of State, Aug. 30, 1901, For. Rel. 1901, 418. (9) NICARAGUA. $449. Mr. Donaldson, United States consul at Managua, Nicaragua, in his No. 12, June 15, 1898, reported that President Zelaya had granted Dr. Victor Roman, a naturalized citizen of the United States of Nicaraguan origin, a year in which to arrange his business and return to the United States, on pain, if he remained in Nicaragua after that time, of being considered a citizen of that country. Mr. Donaldson enclosed an extract from the Revised Laws of Nicaragua, under the head of Aliens, chapter 3, as follows: "Article 32. Nicaraguans naturalized in a foreign country remain subject to the nationality of Nicaragua always when residing in the territory of Nicaragua." The Department of State said: "In the absence of a treaty of naturalization, the only recourse in favor of Dr. Roman is one of friendly concession by the Nicaraguan Government." Mr. Day, Sec. of State, to Mr. Merry, min. to Nicaragua, No. 89, May 9, See, also, Mr. Day, Sec. of State, to Mr. Quay, U. S. S., July 6, 1898, 230 (10) PERSIA. $ 450. The position of Persia, as an adherent of the doctrine of indelible allegiance, was defined in the case of Hajie Seyyah, a native subject, who had been naturalized in the United States. In a note to the minister of the United States at Teheran, Nov. 19, 1893, the Persian prime minister declared: "Hajie Seyyah, of Mahallât, is a veritable subject of Persia whether he be resident in Persia or he depart for a foreign land. Under no circumstances can there be any change in his nationality, and wherever he may be he will be a citizen of Persia. I send this reply so that there may be no objections raised in the future." a The Department of State answered: "You may say to the minister of foreign affairs that so far as the case of Hajie Seyyah is concerned the incident was terminated by the announcement that this Government was indisposed to regard him as entitled, under all the circumstances of the case, to protection as a person bona fide conserving his acquired rights as a citizen of the United States. "This being so, it does not appear to be necessary or expedient to discuss the abstract question of the right and duty of the Government of the United States toward its lawful citizens." Mr. Uhl, Acting Sec. of State, to Mr. McDonald, min. to Persia, Jan. 5, 1894, For. Rel. 1893, 508. "The information given below is believed to be correct, yet is not to be considered as official, as it relates to the laws and regulations of a foreign country. "Permission to be naturalized in a foreign country is not granted by the Persian Government to a Persian subject if he is under charge for a crime committed in Persia, or is a fugitive from justice, or a deserter from the Persian army, or is in debt in Persia, or fled to avoid pecuniary obligations. "If a Persian subject becomes a citizen of another country without the permission of the Persian Government he is forbidden to a For. Rel. 1893, 507. |