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CITIZEN SHIP AND SUFFRAGE IN MARYLAND.
11
obtained all Original -Grant from the Proprietary, and so holds nothing by
descent from ' leis father; but is, to all intents and purposes, one of tile
natural-born people of this Province and hath as much security for his lands
as any other person in this Province now hath, or the Rt. Honble, the Lord
Propry call grant."
This would seem to decide, definitely, that persons born in the territory
of Maryland with either parent of English race, were citizens from their
birth. The rule did not hold for those born in Alaryland, both of whose'
parents were foreigners, for in 1671, persons born in Marvland of foreign
par-
ents were thought proper subjects of naturalization and, in 1674, children
of a
denizen were naturalized, though born in Maryland since their father's deni-
zation. The most of tlfose naturalized were Hollanders ; there being
thirty-two
born in Holland and naturalized before 1654, in addition to eip-ht born in
America of Dutch parents.' A large part. of the fourteen whose parentage is
not stated were, apparently, Dutchmen. French candidates follow next in
number, there being tNventy-two of that race naturalized. Swedes come third,
as there were fourteen of them made citizens of Maryland. The most of tile
Dutch and Swedes probably came from Delaware after the English took pos-
session of it. Other. nationalities are found but seldom-there were three
Germans, one Portugese, one Spaniard, one Dane and one from the Spanish
Netherlands. The Lel;ishlture= was careful not to grant privileges of
citizen-
ship to any but genuine residents and rejected one candidate, because lie
`. was master of a ship, not inhabiting in the country, nor having any
lands or
estate here." There-was, evidently, no disposition to grant the privilege of
naturalization to any but bona fide settlers, though no particular
antecedent
period of residence seems to have been considered necessary. Naturalization
continued to be granted by special Act until the end of the Provincial
exist-
ence of Marvland. Bacon' enumerates one hundred and seventy Acts for the
naturalization of persons named therein. As many of these acts were for
the -benefit of more than one person, it is probable that from two hundred
and
fifty to three hundred persons were thus naturalized. After 17:30, we find
but
few special Acts of Naturalization: such as one in 1762, for the benefit. of
Col. Henry Bouquet, and Frederick Victor ; a second, in 1750. for the
benefit,
of tile solls of De Kalb,-" and a third in 1781, for the benefit of
Lafayette' and
his male heirs. All of these were to reward services to Maryland.-,
Tile Legislature of 1692, the first under the royal government of
lta.ryland,
passed a general Naturalization Act,7 reciting that "nothing call contribute
more to the speed- settling and peopling," of Maryland, `than that |
