naturalisation is recognised, it may be argued that naturalisation in the United Kingdom is not intended to have effect in a colony. The validity of such naturalisation in a colony is, however, not inconsistent with the right of the colony to grant naturalisation within its limits.

It has been suggested that if an alien, having become naturalised elsewhere, afterwards becomes naturalised in the United Kingdom, this proviso does not apply to the State in which he was born, that not being "the foreign State of which he was a subject previously to obtaining a certificate of naturalisation." It is by no means clear that this is the proper construction of the Act: "previously to may mean more than "at the time of" naturalisation; but if the Act had said "a foreign State" instead of "the foreign State," no doubt could have arisen as to its meaning.

In order to obtain naturalisation under the Act of 1870 an alien must (1) within a prescribed period (under the present regulations, eight years) have resided in the United Kingdom or been in the service of the Crown for five years; (2) intend, when naturalised, either to reside in the United Kingdom or to serve under the Crown (s. 7). Therefore an alien who is qualified by residence, but who intends to remove to any colony or other possession of the Crown, cannot be naturalised under this Act unless he is in, or is about to enter, the service of the Crown. It is probable that neither the Isle of Man nor the Channel Islands are part of the United Kingdom within the meaning of the Act, and that residence in one. of them does therefore not count as part of the qualifying period of five years.

Naturalisation under the Act is conferred by the certificate of a Secretary of State, which does not take effect until the oath of allegiance has been taken. The Secretary of State has absolute discretion to grant or refuse a certificate, and is not bound to give any reason for his decision.

By s. 10 (5), when the father or the mother being a widow has become naturalised in the United Kingdom, every child who has during infancy become resident with the parent in any part of the United Kingdom is deemed to be a naturalised British subject. The rule is, therefore, not the same as that which the Act has created in the converse case of a British parent becoming naturalised abroad. In that case, by s. 10 (3), the naturalisation of the parent deprives the child of his British nationality when the latter has during infancy become resident in the foreign country -i.e. not necessarily resident with the parent. But he only loses his British nationality when by reason of his residence in the foreign country he becomes naturalised there.

The language of s. 10 (5) is perfectly general, and therefore it seems that every child of a naturalised British subject becomes a naturalised subject by residing at any time during infancy with the parent in the kingdom. Thus, when a naturalised subject has a child born to him in a foreign country, the child is no doubt an alien, but by becoming resident

with the parent in the kingdom, on this construction of s. 10 (5) he becomes naturalised. If this be not the proper construction, the Act is obviously defective in this respect.

The Naturalisation Act, 1895, has amended s. 10 (5) by providing that the residence of a child of a naturalised British subject with his father, while in the service of the Crown abroad, has the same effect to naturalise the child as residence with him in the United Kingdom. As the mother is not mentioned, residence with a widowed mother in the service of the Crown out of the United Kingdom does not naturalise the child.

The general enactment as to the status of a married woman (s. 10 [1]) shows that the naturalisation of the husband affects that of the wife, whether she resides with him or not.

As s. 6 provides that any British subject who, when in a foreign State and not under any disability, voluntarily becomes naturalised there ceases to be a British subject, this provision applies to a naturalised British subject who becomes naturalised elsewhere. There is in s. 3 another provision by which a naturalised British subject can divest himself in certain cases of his British character without becoming naturalised abroad. For this purpose (1) a convention must have been made between the Crown and the State of which he was previously a subject allowing him to renounce British nationality, and (2) he must make declaration of alienage.

The Naturalisation Act is silent as to the status of an alien woman who has married a British subject after his death or the dissolution of the marriage by divorce. It merely states, as we have seen (s. 10 [1]) that a married woman shall be deemed to be a subject of the State of which her husband is a subject. The Act declares that a natural-born British subject, who has become an alien in consequence of her marriage, remains an alien after her husband's death (s. 10 [2]). It may be argued that this express declaration shows that s. 10 (1) by itself was not considered to change the wife's national status permanently. On the whole, however, it seems that as the Act contains no clause which expressly deprives a widow of the status of a naturalised British subject, she does not lose that status; but the point is not free from doubt. The result, if this be not the correct view, would be that if the foreign widow be resident in the United Kingdom after her British husband's death, she would usually have no nationality whatever; for the laws of most foreign States do not allow a female subject who has lost her national status by marriage to resume it unless she be resident in their dominions.

The Italian Civil Code says specifically (Art. 9) that the foreign wife of an Italian subject retains Italian nationality during her widowhood. Colonial Naturalisation.-The right of the Colonies and other British possessions to legislate with respect to naturalisation is recognised by the Naturalisation Act. S. 16 declares that

All Laws, Statutes, and Ordinances which may be duly made by the legislature

of any British possession for imparting to any person the privileges, or any of the privileges, of naturalisation, to be enjoyed by such person within the limits of such possession, shall within such limits have the authority of law.

The Act does not recognise that naturalisation in any colony gives the status of a British subject out of the territory of the colony; and therefore if a person naturalised in a colony takes up his residence in the United Kingdom, he must remain an alien in the eye of the law for five years, even if he have enjoyed the rights of a British subject in the colony for fifty.

In the various colonies different views have naturally prevailed as to the facilities which ought to be given to aliens to obtain naturalisation. The desire to attract immigrants is of course not equally strong in all, the quality of the alien population may differ greatly. Consequently the Colonial laws show a great diversity as to the conditions under which naturalisation is granted. In some colonies no definite period of residence is required—e.g. in New Zealand and Cape Colony. In South Australia a residence of only six months is exacted. Further, although the absence of a probationary period really makes the provision unnecessary, the laws of these three colonies enact that previous naturalisation (" elsewhere," Cape of Good Hope, Act No. 2 of 1883, ss. 4, 5; "in another colony," South Australia, Act No. 5 of 1864, s. 11; "in the United Kingdom or another colony," New Zealand, Act No. 10 of 1880, s. 7) may be recognised as effective in the colony. A fact worth noticing is that in 1896 the Legislature of New Zealand passed a law prohibiting the naturalisation of Chinese settlers.

Although naturalisation in a colony has according to law no effect or status out of the colony, the person naturalised is not refused the protection of the Crown in foreign countries. The passport which is given to him differs, however, in form from the ordinary Foreign Office passport, in that it only describes him as naturalised in a certain colony.

One result of the limited effect given to Colonial naturalisation, pointed out by Mr. Hall, is that in Oriental countries the naturalised person has no right as a British subject to the protection of the consular jurisdiction. The grievance is, however, more apparent than real; for he may be given the same advantage by being made a protected person.

Naturalisation is in this country regarded as a privilege, to be neither churlishly withheld nor indiscriminately granted. In the present state of Colonial legislation it may not be advisable to allow naturalisation in any colony to give the status of a British subject in the United Kingdom; but it seems to me that the law would be greatly improved if the Secretary of State had a discretionary power to give a certificate of naturalisation at once to an alien who has been naturalised in a colony and has taken up his abode in the United Kingdom. Residence in a colony might also be allowed to count as part of the qualifying period of five years; but such a concession would not be without its dangers. Enquiries as to the antecedents of the applicant

could not be made so easily as when he had resided in the United Kingdom.

A more satisfactory alteration of the law could be effected by a scheme which has been suggested under the title of Imperial Naturalisation. This scheme would allow the Colonies as heretofore to grant naturalisation within their limits on such terms as they think fit. At the same time it would create a new kind of naturalisation, to be obtained in every part of the Empire on compliance with certain uniform conditions, the same in substance as are required in the United Kingdom. The naturalisation obtained under this scheme, truly called Imperial Naturalisation, would confer the status of a British subject in every part of the Empire.

MOHAMMEDAN LAW IN INDIA: ITS

ORIGIN AND GROWTH.

[Contributed by SIR RAYMOND WEST, K.C.I.E.]

Historical Basis of the Administration of Mohammedan Law in British India.-By Warren Hastings' famous "Plan" of 1772 a Court of Diwáni Adálat, or Civil Judicature, was set up in each Collectorate, presided over by the Collector as Diván of the Emperor. Criminal Courts were established at the same time, in which the decision of the Kázi or Mufti was made subject to the supervision of the Collector. The chief Courts were the Diwáni Sadr Adálat, composed of the Governor-General and Council for civil causes, and the Nizámat Sadr Adálat for criminal cases. The latter was presided over by a Darogah Adálat, appointed by the Názim of Bengal, but superintended by the Governor-General and Council, in order to check any violations of natural justice through the advice of the Mohammedan law officers, based on the provisions of their law as to evidence and retaliation. Capital sentences at this stage were sent to the Názim for his fiat.

Under this "Plan" Mohammedans and Hindus were given the benefit of their own laws in suits regarding inheritance, marriage, caste, and other religious usages and institutions. By the Regulating Act, 13 Geo. III., c. 63, the Governor-General and Council were empowered to legislate for Fort William and its dependencies in Bengal, and under this authority, after several intermediate regulations, Impey's Code was promulgated in 1781. By this the functions of the civil Judge were wholly severed from those of the Collector. The law to be administered remained as before; and by the Statute 21 Geo. III., c. 70, s. 21, the superintending Court, the Sadr Diwána Adálat, was made a Court of Record. In 1782 the Governor-General and Council, who had handed over the superintendence of this Court to a single judge,1 had to resume it under orders from the Court of Directors. In the meantime, by Regulations of 1780 and 1781, it had been enacted that the "Law of the Korán " should be administered to Mohammedans in suits relating to "inheritance and succession, marriage and caste, and other religious usages or institutions." This was repealed by s. 15 of Reg. IV. of the Cornwallis Code of 1793.

In 1784 the Statute 24 Geo. III., c. 25, directed that permanent I.e. to Sir Elijah Impey.