No. 197.
Mr. Bingham to Mr. Evarts.
Tokei, Japan, May 21, 1877. (Received June 18.)
Sir: Some days ago, Mr. Sameshima, His Imperial Japanese Majesty’s vice-minister for foreign affairs, requested me to state verbally my opinion of the power of the Japanese Government to grant naturalization to the citizens or subjects of foreign countries. I answered the inquiry by [Page 355] saying that the leading powers of Europe asserted that power; that the people of the United States asserted it from the foundation of our government, by providing in their national Constitution for a uniform rule of naturalization, and that, inasmuch as independent sovereignties were supposed to possess equal powers and rights within their respective territories, I was of opinion that the sovereignty of Japan possessed the power to grant naturalization to foreigners. The vice-minister then inquired if the exterritoriality provision in the several Jpaanese treaties with the western powers took away the right of Japan to grant naturalization to foreigners To which I made a reply that, in my opinion, “that treaty provision did not in anywise affect the question, as the only intent thereof was to exempt the citizen or subject of the treaty-power from trial in civil or criminal cases in Japan, before Japanese tribunals, and to subject him to trial within this empire in all complaints before the judicial tribunals of the country to which he owed his present allegiance.” In this connection, I also said to Mr. Sameshima that my government had by express statute declared the right of expatriation to be inherent in all men, and that when asserted by naturalization in the United States, such person became equally entitled to the protection of our government with the native-born citizen (Revised Statutes, sections 1999 and 2000), and added that England, after long contention with us over the asserted right of expatriation and the voluntary transfer of native allegiance, had by act of Parliament finally secured the right to British subjects.
I hope the views herein expressed may meet your approval, as “it seems probable that this government may pass a naturalization law, in which event it may become a question among the foreign representatives whether such right pertains to this government, as it has heretofore been questioned by some of the representatives of the foreign powers accredited to this court, whether this government could pass any law obligatory upon the subjects of their respective states, resident within this empire.” On this latter question I always maintained the power and authority of this government to bind all persons within its domain to obedience to its general laws which were not in conflict with existing treaties, in which opinion, I am pleased to say, the Department hitherto has fully concurred.
I have, &c.,