The Act of 1906, which repeals Section 2165 R. S. expressly provides:

"In addition to the oath of the applicant, the testimony of at least two witnesses, citizens of the United States, as to the facts of residence. shall be required, and the name, place of residence and occupation of each witness shall be set forth in the record." Sec. 4, par. 4.

i. Exceptions.

There are several exceptions by special provision of law to the requirement as to residence.

(A.) Army.

Soldiers in the Army of the United States who have enlisted and are honorably discharged, may be admitted as citizens of the United States after one year's residence within the United States previous to the application. The law reads:

Rev. St., Sec. 2166 (U. S. Comp. Stat., 1901, 1331): "Any alien of the age of 21 years and upward, who has enlisted, or may enlist, in the armies of the United States, either the regular or the volunteer forces, and has been, or may be hereafter, honorably discharged, shall be admitted to become a citizen of the United States, upon his petition, without any previous declaration of his intention to become such; and he shall not be required to prove more than one year's residence within appear to the satisfaction of the court by evidence other than the testimony of the applicant himself, and, to meet this requirement, a witness is usually produced, commonly called a "voucher." In the case of Re Lipshitz, 97 Fed. 584, where it appeared that the "voucher" presenting himself had been in the habit of appearing in the same capacity in such cases, and of making a charge for appearing and giving his testimony, the court held that an applicant for naturalization should produce a voucher other than one who habitually, and for compensation, appears as such. See, also, People v. Sweetman, 3 Park. C. R. 358.

the United States previous to his application to become such citizen; and the court admitting such alien shall, in addition to such proof of residence and good moral character, as now provided by law, be satisfied by competent proof of such person's having been honorably discharged from the service of the United States."

"Armies" does not cover enlistments in the Navy. In re Bailey, 2 Sawyer C. C. 200; In re Chamavas, 21 N. Y. S. 104.

(B.) Navy and Marine Corps.

Aliens enlisting in the Navy or Marine Corps of the United States, and serving five consecutive years in the Navy, or one enlistment in the Marine Corps, after honorable discharge, may be admitted as citizens without other proof of residence. The law, Act of July 26, 1894, 28 Stat. at L. 124, Chap. 165, reads: "Any alien of the age of 21 years and upward, who has enlisted or may enlist in the United States Navy or Marine Corps, and has served, or may hereafter serve, five consecutive years in the United States Navy, or one enlistment in the United States Marine Corps, and has been or may hereafter be honorably discharged, shall be admitted to become a citizen of the United States upon his petition without any previous declaration of his intention to become such."

Mere service as a soldier, or residence in the country. in that capacity, does not make one a citizen, however. People ex rel. Orman v. Riley, 15 Cal. 48.

The soldier, sailor or marine must personally petition the court and be formally admitted to citizenship. Van Dyne, Citizenship of the United States, 96.

(C.) Merchant Seamen.

While serving on board a merchant vessel of the United States, a seaman is deemed to be constructively within the United States.

As has been stated heretofore (supra), under Sec. 2174, Rev. Stat. (U. S. Comp. Stat. 1901, 1334), a seaman being a foreigner, after declaring his intention of becoming a citizen, and serving three years on board of a merchant vessel of the United States, may be admitted to citizenship. He is required to make application to a competent court, and to produce a certificate of his declaration of intention, and his certificate of discharge and good conduct during his service on such vessel.

For the purpose of manning and serving on board any merchant vessel of the United States, he is to be deemed a citizen of the United States after making his declaration of intention, and after he shall have served such three years; and for all purposes of protection as an American citizen, he shall be deemed such after filing his declaration of intention.

4. Qualifications as to Age, Education, and Moral Character. (a.) Age.

While there is no express declaration of the law to that effect, no person can become naturalized under the general statutes of the United States who has not attained the age of twenty-one years.

Until the Act of June 29, 1906, went into effect, an alien minor was not competent to declare his intention to become a citizen of the United States, but Section 4, paragraph 1, of that Act provides that an alien shall make his declaration of intention "after he has reached the age of eighteen years."

Section 2166 of the Revised Statutes, providing for the naturalization of soldiers of the Army of the United States, expressly limits the benefits of the law to aliens "of the age of twenty-one years and upward."

And the Act of July 26, 1894, relating to the naturalization of men of the Navy or Marine Corps of the United States, contains a like limitation.

(b.) Education.

(A.) Act of June 29, 1906.

Under the existing law, Act June 29, 1906, ability to speak English and to write is one of the qualifications of an applicant for naturalization. The language of the law is "that no alien shall hereafter be naturalized or admitted as a citizen of the United States who can not speak the English language." Sec. 8.

And the law, in providing for the making and filing of a petition for naturalization requires the applicant to make such petition in writing "signed by the applicant in his own handwriting." Sec. 4, par. 2.

This section contains a proviso, however, dispensing with the requirement that the petitioner shall sign the petition in his own handwriting in cases where the applicant has filed his declaration of intention before the passage of the Act of June 29, 1906, the provision reading: "Provided that if he has filed his declaration before the passage of this Act, he shall not be required to sign the petition in his own handwriting." Sec. 4, par. 2.

(B.) Exceptions.

There are also three exceptions to the provision of the law declaring that no alien who can not speak English shall be naturalized:

(i) Where the alien is physically unable to comply with the requirement.*

*If an alien is physically unable to speak, that fact should be stated in his petition for naturalization in lieu of the statement, "I am able to speak the English language." Nat. Reg., Oct. 2, 1906.

(ii) Where the alien has before the passage of the Act of June 29, 1906, declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States in conformity with the law in force at the date of making such declaration.*

(iii) In the case of aliens who shall hereafter declare their intention to become citizens and who shall make homestead entries upon the public lands of the United States and comply in all respects with the laws providing for homestead entries on such lands. Sec. 8.

The text of the proviso is: "Provided, That this requirement shall not apply to aliens who are physically unable to comply therewith, if they are otherwise qualified to become citizens of the United States: And provided further, That the requirements of this section shall not apply to any alien who has prior to the passage of this act declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States in conformity with the law in force at the date of making such declaration: Provided further, That the requirements of section eight shall not apply to aliens who shall hereafter declare their intention to become citizens and who shall make homestead entries upon the public lands of the United States and comply in all respects with the laws providing for homestead entries on such lands." Sec. 8, Act June 29, 1906.

(C.) Under Prior Law.

Under the provisions of Section 2165 of the Revised Statutes repealed by the Act of June 29, 1906, there was no requirement that the applicant should be able to read or write. The law provided, however, that it should appear to the satisfaction of the naturalizing court that the applicant was "attached to the principles of

*Aliens who have made declarations of intention prior to September 27, 1906, under the provisions of law in force at the time of making such declarations, can not be required, as a preliminary to filing their petitions for naturalization, to file new declarations of intention under the Act of June 29, 1906; nor are such aliens required, as a condition precedent to naturalization, to speak the English language. Id.