Mr. Denby to Air. Gresham.
Peking, January 30, 1894. (Received March 15, 1894.)
Sir: I have the honor to report a question of citizenship that has arisen in China and has been sent to me by the consul at Canton for advice.
Mrs. Lester Lawrence lately went to Swatow and opened a hotel and barroom. Under British regulations she is subject to a fine of $250 for opening the hotel and $50 per day unless she takes out a license. There is no such American regulation. Mrs. Lawrence claims to be a [Page 139] citizen of the United States, on the ground that she was originally a British subject, that she might have been naturalized and that she married a citizen of the United States, under paragraph 1994, Revised Statutes United States, 1878, which reads as follows:
Any woman who is now or may hereafter be married to a citizen of the United States, and who might herself be lawfully naturalized, shall be deemed a citizen.
As construed by the Supreme Court in Kelley v. Owen (7 Wall, 496), her marriage made her a citizen. Recently she was divorced by the judgment of the court of the U. S. consulate at Niuchwang from her American husband.
The consul seems inclined to the opinion that Mrs. Lawrence, by the divorce, lost her citizenship. I have advised him that the decree of divorce simply dissolved the marital relation, did not affect citizenship, and, in my opinion, based on the facts stated, Mrs. Lawrence remains a citizen.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
I have, etc.