NOT AN ALIEN.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17877, 24 August 1918, Page 7

NOT AN ALIEN.

A SAILOR'S NATIONALITY. An interesting case concerning the employment on a ship of a man alleged to be an unlicensed alien was heard before Mr S. E. M'Carthy at the Magistrate's Court yesterday, when Robert Weir Richards (Mr Booker) was charged that, being an unlicensed alien, ho was employed in work on a,ship. The police contended that, defendant was an American and that the onus was on defendant to prove that he was not. Mr Booker said that defendant's, father had been born in Wales and his mother in Scotland. Defendant was born in Brooklyn, United States, m September, 1884. All his older brothers and sisters had been born in the United Kingdom, and a brother, just older than defendant, was thirty-nine years of ago, or not more than five years older than defendant. Mr Booker said that by American law a man could not become an American citizen unless he lived for five years in America. It was clear, therefore, that as the brother just older than defendant, had been born in Britain, defendant's father could not have been an American citizen when defendant was born, because he could not have been in the country long enough to give him the right to apply for naturalisation as an American subject Mr Booker also_ quoted a case which had been heard in England, in which a man who left America at the age of seven had resided in England and had not returned to America sine*, wo* held to be a British subject. The ground of this decision was that the man had never permanently resided in America. Mr Booker said that defendant had left America when he was twelve years of age, and had not returned since, except once, when he went back on a boat.

Tho defendant gave evidence on line» similar to Mr Booker's opening. Ho said that he ran away from home when twelve years of age. going to London as a cabin boy. He had resided in British territory ever since and had only been in America once, that being when the boat he was on called at an American port. He had always regarded himself as a British subject, because his father and mother were both British by birth. He had registered _ in the National Register here as a British subject, and he had never before been questioned as to his nationality.

The Magistrate held that the defendant's father could not have been naturalised when the defendant was born, as ho had nob resided in the United States for the required five years. Further, there was no proof that ' tho father hart ever been naturalised. .Also. whil.it still a minor, the defendant had to reside in and had ever, since b«en domiciled' in British territory. The information' would therefore be dismissed. On ncootmt of this derision n. case against Matthew Sillnrs of having'permitted an unlicensed alien to be employed was withdrawn.