No. 3.
Convention between Her Majesty and the
United States of America, supplementary to the convention of
May 13, 1870, respecting
naturalization.—Signed at Washington, February 23, 1871.
Whereas by the second article of the convention between Her Majesty the
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United
States of America for regulating the citizenship of subjects and
citizens of the contracting parties who have emigrated or may emigrate
from the dominions of the one to those of the other party, signed at
London on the 13th May, 1870, it was stipulated that the manner in which
the renunciation by such subjects and citizens of their naturalization,
and the resumption of their native allegiance, may be made and publicly
declared, should be agreed upon by the governments of the respective
countries; Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland and the President of the United States of America for the
purpose of effecting such agreement, have resolved to conclude a
supplemental convention, and have named as their plenipotentiaries, that
is to say: Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, Sir Edward Thornton, knight commander of the most honorable
Order of the Bath, and her envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary to the United States of America, and the President of
the United States of America, Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State, who
have agreed as follows:
Article I.
Any person being originally a citizen of the United States who had,
previously to the 13th May, 1870, been naturalized as a British subject,
may at any time before the 10th August, 1872, and any British subject
who, at the date first aforesaid, had been naturalized as a citizen
within the United States, may, at any time before the 12th May, 1872,
publicly declare his renunciation of such naturalization by subscribing
an instrument in writing, substantially in the form hereunto appended
and designated as Annex (A).
Such renunciation by an original citizen of the United States of British
nationality shall, within the territories and jurisdiction of the United
States, be made in duplicate,
[Page 268]
in the presence of any court authorized by law for the time being to
admit aliens to naturalization, or before the clerk or prothonotary of
any such court; if the declarant be beyond the territories of the United
States, it shall be made in duplicate before any diplomatic or consular
officer of the United States. One of such duplicates shall remain of
record in the custody of the court or officer in whose presence it was
made; the other shall be, without delay, transmitted to the Department
of State.
Such renunciation, if declared by an original British subject, of his
acquired nationality as a citizen of the United States, shall, if the
declarant be in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, be made
in duplicate, in the presence of a justice of the peace; if elsewhere in
Her Britannic Majesty’s dominions, in triplicate, in the presence of any
judge of civil or criminal jurisdiction, of any justice of the peace, or
of any other officer for the time being authorized by law, in the place
in which the declarant is, to administer an oath for any judicial or
other legal purpose; if out of Her Majesty’s dominions, in triplicate,
in the presence of any officer in the diplomatic or consular service of
Her Majesty.
Article II.
The contracting parties hereby engage to communicate each to the other,
from time to time, lists of the persons who, within their respective
dominions and territories, or before their diplomatic and consular
officers, have declared their renunciation of naturalization, with the
dates and the places of making such declarations, and such information
as to the abode of the declarants, and the times and places of their
naturalization, as they may have furnished.
Article III.
The present convention shall be ratified by Her Britannic Majesty and by
the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent
of the Senate thereof, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at
Washington as soon as may be convenient.
In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the
same, and have affixed thereto their respective seals.
Done at Washington,
the twenty-third
day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and seventy-one.
[
l. s.]
EDWD.
THORNTON.
[
l. s.]
HAMILTON FISH.
Annex (A).
I, A. B., of (insert abode), being originally
a citizen of the United States of America (or a
British subject), and having become naturalized within the
dominions of Her Britannic Majesty as a British subject (or as a citizen within the United States of
America), do hereby renounce my naturalization as a British
subject, (or citizen of the United States),
and declare that it is my desire to resume my nationality as a
citizen of the United States (or British
subject).
Made and subscribed before me, —— ——, in (insert country or other subdivision, and State, province,
colony, legation, or consulate), this —— day of ——,
187—.
(Signed)
E. F.,
Justice of the Peace (or other title).
[
l. s.]
EDWD.
THORNTON.
[
l. s.]
HAMILTON FISH.
[Inclosure 2 in No.
351.]
Mr. Brophy to
Mr. Barrows.
Naas Prison, April 6, 1882.
Mr. Consul—Sir: I was arrested on the 4th
of March last, on the lord lieutenant’s warrant. I now demand the
protection of the American Government as an American citizen either
to have my release or a speedy trial. I inclose my papers of
citizenship.
(Inclose certificate of supreme court of New York of citizenship
of William Brophy, dated October 9, 1868.)
Above forwarded by Consul
Barrows April
12, 1882.
[Page 269]
[Inclosure 3 in No.
351.]
Mr. Lowell to
Mr. Barrows.
United States Legation,
London, April 14,
1882.
B. H. Barrows,
Esq.,
United States Consul, Dublin,
Ireland:
Sir: I have to acknowledge the reception of
your letter of the 12th, inclosing communications from William
Brophy, at present confined in Naas jail, with a copy of his
naturalization certificate, and from John L. Gannon, imprisoned in
Galway.
I shall give my attention to these cases. Meanwhile will you kindly
inform me the cases stated in the warrant for Brophy’s arrest.
I am, &c.,
[Inclosure 4 in No.
351.]
Mr. Gannon to
Mr. Barrows.
The
Jail, Galway, April 8, 1882.
The American
Consul,
Consulate, Dublin:
Sir: As I observe by the newspapers that
representations are being made by the American Government on behalf
of the American citizens who are imprisoned under “coercion act” in
Ireland, I beg to put the facts of my case in your hands, that you
may have attention drawn to it through Mr. Lowell, the American
minister. I am imprisoned in this jail, under the “coercion act,”
since May 7, 1881, on suspicion of being one of an unlawful
assembly. I have never been brought to trial, nor do I know anything
of the charge against me, nor of my accuser.
I am a native American citizen, having been born at Hampton Hill,
State of Conuecticut, on the 13th December, 1852. My birth was duly
recorded by Dr. Dyer Hughes. The governor of the State at the time
was, I think, Governor Cleveland. Will you kindly forward these
facts at once to the proper quarter, and have attention drawn to my
case, as I am now eleven months imprisoned here without trial.
A note in reply will confer a favor on
Yours, &c.,
(Forwarded by Consul Barrows, April 12, 1882.)
[Inclosure 5 in No.
351.]
Mr. Slattery to
Mr. Lowell.
J. R. Lowell, Esq.:
Honored Sir: I received your letter of the
4th of April, stating that you brought my case to the attention of
the British Government, and I am extremely obliged to you for doing
so. But I have not heard a word from the British Government since
about it. And I again ask you with the greatest confidence to call
their attention again to it, and to get me a speedy trial at once,
or else an unconditional release.
Hoping to hear from you again at your earliest convenience,
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure 6 in No.
351.]
Mr. O’Mahony to
Mr. Lowell.
Monaghan Prison, 20th April, 1882.
Honorable Sir: Herewith inclosed is my
naturalization papers for your consideration; kindly let me know if
I am entitled to the protection of an American citizen or not; if I
am, I would wish to be granted a right of trial, as I have over
eight months spent in prison as a reasonable suspect. If I am not
entitled to the protection of an
[Page 270]
American citizen kindly return me my papers
and state your objections. I am necessarily compelled to forward
this letter through my wife in order to forward the papers and get
it registered.
A reply at your earliest convenience will oblige,
Yours, respectfully,
To Minister Lowell,
United States Consul, London.
(Inclosure:) A certificate from the court of Erie County, New
York, of Henry O’Mahony’s citizenship, dated February 25,
1880.
[Inclosure 7 in No.
351.]
Mr. Lowell to
Mr. O’Mahony.
Legation of the United States,
London, April 26, 1882.
Mr. Henry
O’Mahony,
Monaghan Prison:
Sir: I have to acknowledge the reception
this day of your letter of the 20th instant, inclosing a certificate
from Erie County court, New York, of the naturalization of Henry
O’Mahony, and I beg to say that your case, with that of others, is
under consideration at the Department of State at Washington.
I am, your obedient servant,
[Inclosure 8 in No.
351.]
Mr. Lynam to
Mr. Lowell.
Naas Jail, April 22,
1882.
Sir: I beg to inform you I served the
United States flag in the Regular Army, and was honorably discharged
at Fort (illegible) August 5, 1870. I served in Capt. Charles A.
Wikoff’s company, E, Eleventh Infantry; the late General Gillam was
my colonel; I held the rank of first sergeant. I am now detained as
a suspect in a British jail. I trust you will demand my trial or
release. It is disgraceful the way Americans are treated. I am a
citizen of the United States, but I lost my papers. If you will
kindly communicate with the War Department at Washington, you will
find my statement correct. I have written to the chief secretary for
Ireland about the matter. I hope you will bring my case under his
notice.
Respectfully, yours,
[Inclosure 9 in No.
351.]
Mr. Lowell to
Mr. Lynam.
Legation of the United States,
London, April 25, 1882.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
reception of your letter of the 22d instant.
It will be necessary before I can make any application on your behalf
that I should have the proper proof that you are a citizen of the
United States.
It will not be sufficient for me to obtain from the War Department at
Washington a statement that you have served in the United States
Army, and were honorably discharged. This service does not make you
a citizen, although it facilitates your application to become
one.
It will be necessary for me to have the original or a certified copy
of the order for your naturalization.
Will you, therefore, kindly obtain from the court in the United
States in which this order was obtained a certified copy of it and
forward the same to me.
I am, your obedient servant,
[Page 271]
[Inclosure 10 in No.
351.]
The
Prison Monaghan,
May 1, 1882.
Dear Sir: I see by the Freeman Journal of
the 27th of April, where Mr. Orth stated, during the debate on
American citizens confined in British prisons, that. I held an
office in Great Britain when arrested.
Now, sir, I claim that whatever source Mr. Orth received such
information from misinformed him; and in justice to me I must
respectfully ask you to contradict it.
When Colonel Brooks (United States consulate at Queenstown) called on
me last June at Limerick prison, Mr. Eagan (who is governor of that
prison) tried to prejudice my case by saying that I held an office
in this country, and evidently whoever furnished Mr. Orth or the
Department of State at Washington with such information, was
prompted by the same motives.
The position I held then and does hold now
(and which I explained to Colonel Brooks) is that of a poor-law
guardian; it is a position that an American, German, Russian, or any
other man may hold, provided he resides in the township, occupies
premises rated to a certain amount, and elected by the people. His
duty is to administer to the wants of the poor for a period of not
over one year, except rellected: he receives
no remuneration for his services, and no oaths of office required;
therefore I cannot see how it could prejudice my cas as far as claiming protection as an American citizen;
on the contrary, it clearly proves that I don’t belong to the class
which coercion was intended, viz, village tyrants and dissolute
ruffians, as no man is elected to that position except a respectable
man and a man who possesses the confidence of the people.
And it seems that all the information that could possibly be
furnished from this side of the Atlantic to the Department of State
at Washington to prejudice the cases of American citizens confined
in British prisons has been furnished, and hence our long
confinement without trial.
I would respectfully draw your attention to a cumunication of mine last July, requesting you to grant me
a trial, which I believed then and now I ought to be entitled to.
Your reply was that I should show there was some exceptional
injustice done me before calling on you to intervene, and also that,
in your opinion, when a man violates the law of the country he
should be held amenable to the law he violated. In reply to the
first part of your letter, it was impossible for me to show the
injustice done me while I was locked in a convict’s cell, deprived
of all communication with the outer world, even to a member of the
United States House of Representatives or the British House of
Commons.
As to the second part of your letter, if, as you imagine, I was
guilty of violating the law, why not grant me a trial, convict, and
punish me. It is true I have been punished severely, but without
crime, trial, or conviction, and I challenge the British Government
to-day to grant me an impartial trial and prove that I have violated
the laws of any civilized country.
In your letter of the 25th instant you stated that my case was under
consideration at the Department of State at Washington. I claim,
sir, that it is impossible for my case to be favorably considered
while representations are made to them that I hold an office in
Great Britain, and consequently I am not entitled to the protection
of an American citizen, and probably they (the Department of State)
considers the source from which they receive their information from
reliable. Therefore, I must again ask you, in justice to me, and I
hope in the discharge of your own duty, immediately contradict such
misrepresentation.
I am, sir, yours, respectfully,
J. R. Lowell,
United States Ambassador, London.
