NATURALIZATION LAWS. DECLARATION OF INTENTION.-An alien seeking naturalization as a citizen of the United States must declare on oath before a Circuit or District Court of the United States, or a District or Supreme Court of the Territories, or a court of record of any of the States having common law jurisdiction and a seal and a clerk, at least two years before his admission, that it is, bona-fide, his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign State or ruler, and particularly to the one of which he may be at the time a citizen or subject.

OATH ON APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION.-At the time of his application for admission he must also declare on oath, before some one of the courts above specified, "that he will support the Constitution of the United States, and that he absolutely and entirely renounces and abjures all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince, potentate, State or sovereignty, and particularly, by name, to the prince, potentate, State or sovereignty of which he was before a citizen or subject."

CONDITIONS OF CITIZENSHIP. — It must appear to the satisfaction of the court to which the alien has applied for final admission that he has resided continuously within the United States for at least five years, ar in the State or Territory where the court is held at least one year, and that during that time "he has behaved as a man of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the same."

TITLES OF NOBILITY.-If the applicant bears any hereditary title or belongs to any order of nobility, he must make an express renunciation at the time of his application.

SOLDIERS AND NAVY SAILORS.-Any alien twenty-one years old and upward who has been honorably discharged, having served five consecutive years, from the Army, Navy or Marine Corps of the United States, may become a citizen on his petition, without any previous declaration of intention, provided the court admitting such alien shall, in addition to proof of good moral character, be satisfied of the proof of the service and honorable discharge of such alien.

MINORS.-Any alien under the age of who twenty-one, has resided in the United States three years next preceding his twenty-first birthday, and has continued to reside therein up to the time he makes application to be admitted a citizen, may, after he arrives at the age of twenty-one, and after he has resided five years within the United States, including the three years of his minority, be admitted a citizen; but he must make a declaration on oath and prove to the satisfaction of the court that for the two years next preceding it has been his bona-fide intention to become a citizen.

CHILDREN OF NATURALIZED CITIZENS. The children of persons who have been duly naturalized, being under twenty-one at the time of the naturalization of

Jersey; two years, District of Columbia, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan (when the cause for divorce occurred out of the State, otherwise one year), North Carolina, Tennessee; one year, Alabama (abandonment, three years), Arkansas and Vermont (if cause occurred out of the State), Colorado (unless cause for divorce occurred within the State, or while one or both of the parties resided in the State); Illinois (same as Colorado), Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky (if cause occurred out of the State, plaintiff must have been a resident of the State at time of occurrence), Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi (in case of desertion, two years); Missouri (same as Colorado), Montana, New-Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin; six months, Arizona, California, Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, New-Mexico, Texas, Wyoming; ninety days, the Dakotas.

The new divorce law of South Dakota reads:

"A divorce must not be granted unless the plaintiff is in good faith a resident of the State of South Dakota for at least six months preceding the granting of such divorce, and in no case shall a divorce be granted without personal service of the summons within the State, or personal service of the summons and complaint in case of non-residents without the State. If such personal service as aforesaid,

within or without the State, be not had, then in that event the plaintiff shall not be entitled to a decree of divorce until the plaintiff shall have been a resident of this State one year preceding the granting of such divorce."

The statutory grounds remain the same as before. In effect the law requires a residence in South Dakota of three months before an action can be begun, and three months more are required before a decree can be granted. The weak point in the old divorce law was that in case the defendant could not be found, a decree could be obtained by default, but in such cases the courts always held that the defence could come in and reopen the case, which often resulted in embarrassing complications. The present law does away with the difficult feature.

OKLAHOMA.-Divorces granted prior to 1895 by Probate Courts are made legal; hereafter divorces can be had only through the District Court.

SOUTH CAROLINA.-The Constitutional Convention adopted a clause forbidding the passing of any laws by the State Legislature recognizing divorce.

BALLOT REFORM.

The following States and Territories have adopted new ballot laws, based more or less on the Australian system: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New-Hampshire, NewJersey. New-Mexico, New-York. North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota,

Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia,

Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Under the New-Jersey laws each party ticket is printed on a separate ballot. Connecticut uses the envelope system. In New-York and all the other States having the ballot-reform laws the single or "blanket" ballot is used; that is, all the names in nomination are printed on one sheet, the voter's choice to be indicated by marking.

The only States in which ballot-reform does not yet exist are: Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina.

The Alabama Legislature, immediately after the conclusion of the campaign of 1892, enacted what is known as the Sayre Election law. This law in its general effect is a modification of the Australian ballot. But the Sayre law contains one provision which requires that election returns from no county shall record a number of votes greater than the registration list of that county warrants, and then it goes on with almost preternatural ingenuity to guard against fraudulent registration lists. As soon as the registration is completed the lists are required to be displayed in the courthouse, where, during June and July, they are subject to inspection and to whatever investigation interested parties may see fit to prosecute. A false registration makes the offenders subject to prosecution for perjury and forgery, and the mere presence on the list of the name of a voter who did not actually register is held to be prima-facie evidence of guilt.

Everybody has heard of the "eight boxes" used in South Carolina. The law says:

"At each precinct a space or inclosure, such as the managers of election shall deem fit and sufficient, shall be railed off or otherwise provided with an opening at one end or side for the entrance of the voter, and an opening at the other for his exit, as a polling-place in which to hold the election for the State, circuit and county offices." The statute then declares that "but one voter shall be allowed to enter any polling-place at a time, and no one except the managers shall be allowed to speak to the voter while in the polling-place casting his vote."

The new method of voting in Australia, adopted in 1892, is thus described by Chief Justice Griffith, of Queensland: It allows the voter to indicate his first and second choice candidates by placing the figure 1 opposite the name of his first choice and the figure 2 opposite his second choice. Then if the first choice candidate proves to be unpopular, the first choice is disregarded, and the vote is given, according to the second choice, to some other candidate. By this means a great economy of votes is effected. Where there are three candidates the least popular candidate would fail of election and the votes of his supporters would go to one of the two remaining candidates according to the wish of the voter. In this way two minorities may become a majority. This method was described in The Tribune of October 28, 1891.

NOTE.-See "Tribune Almanac," 1893, for dates when ballot-reform laws passed.