Now give us the means. in at least certain ordinarily occurring cases. to know who are and who are not entitled to demand our protection. It is not every person who claims to be an American citizen. in this day. that is entitled to that character. The manufacture and sale of naturalization papers have become a regular business. The traffic has been on so large a scale as to attact the notice both of the courts and of the Executive. Cases are frequently brought to the attention of our ministers of persons in possession of naturalization papers. regularly autherticated. who have never been within the limits of the United States. and whose claims to American citizenship. by virtue of such fraudulent papers. would never have been disclosed but for some difficulty in which they had become involved. anti from which they sought to extricate themselves by an appeal to the protecting power of this Government. These frauds upon the right of naturalization. when the cases occur within our own j risdiction. are probably beyond remedy. Tteireertificates are judicial acts. Asjudgments of a court of competent jurisdiction they are held conclusive. and no mode has been yet provided by law by which they can be canceled and set aside even for fraud.
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naturalization