The right of expatriation is fully and positively established in the United States, by an act of Congress, in these words: “Whereas, the right of expatriation is a natural and inherent right of the people, indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and, whereas, in the recognition of this principle, this government has frequently received emigrants from all nations, and invested them with the right of citizenship; and, whereas, it is claimed that such American citizens, with their descendants, are subjects of foreign states, owing allegiance to the governments thereof; and, whereas, it is necessary to the maintenance of public peace that this claim of foreign allegiance should be promptly and finally disavowed; therefore any declaration, instruction, opinion, order, or decision of any officer of the United States, which denies, restricts, impairs, or questions the right of expatriation is declared inconsistent with the fundamental principles of the republic.” Naturalization in the United States is a valuable privilege, which is considerately granted to those who desire its advantages and are willing to undertake its duties. The process is a decree of a court of record, upon the satisfactory establishment by the applicant of his lawful eligibility to the privilege of their nationality. The United States cannot admit of qualified naturalization, subject to the consent of the country of origin; nor can the United States Courts, in which the judicial power of naturalization is vested, take cognizance of the consent of a foreign state as a precedent condition to naturalization. The admissibility of a change of allegiance in the United States, without any co-operation or consent of the country of origin, is plainly implied from the very statute itself; which requires conditions of residence, of personal character, of publicity, and of abjuration under oath of allegiance to every other government, and especially to that of the country of birth, with sworn allegiance to the United States. These are all indispensable for the completion of an act of expatriation, and no more; and he who is in this manner endowed with the nationality of the United States, thereby dissolves all ties of native allegiance, and is clothed with all the rights and privileges that pertain to a native citizen, and entitled to the same degree of protection whether at home or abroad. Citizenship is an attribute of national sovereignty, and not merely of individual or local bearing. It is a sacred right, full of grave consequences, granted with solemn formalities, and its existence should always be well defined and indisputable. Between friendly States, naturalization and expatriation should be reciprocal; and with an equal measure of obligation. Conventional adjustment is alone adequate to the removal of the most prolific source of constantly-recurring friction and tension, inevitable, in the absence of treaty stipulation.