a contract between the American government, on the one hand, and
the new-made citizen on the other, whereby the latter formally and
solemnly transfers his allegiance to that government, and withdraws
it from any other which might previously have had a claim on it; and
whereby the government, on its part, in exchange for that allegiance,
engages to extend to him all the liberties and rights possessed by its
native-born subjects--the benefit of its laws, the full scope of its
franchises, the protection of its flag. In this way many hundreds
of thousands of men, hunted by British law and British policy out of
Ireland, have, during recent years, been added to the number of brave
and devoted citzens possessed by the United States. But yet, it
seems, the law of England affords no recognition to this transfer of
allegiance, expressly denies the legality of any such act, and claims
as subjects of the British crown, not only all persons born within
British jurisdiction, but also their sons and grandsons, wherever
their domicile and their place of birth may be. Between the
British law on the subject of allegiance and the American system of
naturalization, there is, therefore, an irreconcilable discrepancy;
and the course taken by Colonel Warren, on his trial, was to bring
this question of law between the two governments to a direct issue.
He took his stand on his American citizenship; he claimed to be tried
as an alien, and, on the bench refusing to accede to his demand, he
abandoned all legal defence, directed his counsel to withdraw from
the case, and put it upon his government to maintain the honour and
vindicate the laws of America, by affording him the protection to
which he was entitled.

Other Irishmen, naturalized citizens of America, had previously been
tried and sentenced for Fenian practices, including acts done and
words spoken by them in America, which would not have come within the