ALIBI, in law, a plea that the person accused of having committed a crime was elsewhere at the time when the breach of the law occurred. If he substantiate this, he is said to prove an alibi.
ALICANTE, a seaport of Spain; capital of the province of Alicante; the ancient Lucentum. It is situated at the foot of a cliff 850 feet high, which is crowned by the Fort of Santa Barbara. It has one of the best harbors on the Mediterranean, and carries on a considerable trade, exporting wine, fruit, esparto grass, etc. It was bombarded in 1873 by two vessels sent out by Cartagena insurgents. Pop. (1917), province, 502,607; city, 53,088.
ALIEN, any person not legally within the jurisdiction of a country as one of its citizens. By the laws of the United States, the children of male citizens, whether born within the country or abroad, are held to be citizens; but all other foreign born individuals are aliens until made citizens by naturalization. In the United States aliens are nominally prohibited from acquiring title to real estate, but in practice they may own lands subject to proceedings by the State to determine the fact of alienage; and, moreover, in nearly all the States there are special provisions removing such restrictions from resident aliens who are in the course of naturalization. The rights of aliens to hold personal property and carry on trade are the same as those of citizens. Naturalized aliens are permanently disqualified for election as President or Vice-President, and they cannot become members of the National Senate or House of Representatives until they have been citizens for nine or seven years respectively. In Great Britain there is no discrimination whatever between aliens and subjects as far as property rights are concerned. It is held by British law that the children of aliens born in Britain are natural born subjects. The U. S. Supreme Court in 1915 decided that a State had the right to prohibit alien labor in public and private works. In the European War of 1914-1918 the U. S. Government interned dangerous enemy aliens, and forbade trading with the enemy.
ALIEN PROPERTY CUSTODIAN. See UNITED STATES, Section UNITED STATES IN THE WORLD WAR.
ALIGHIERI. See DANTE.
ALIMENTARY CANAL, the alimentary tube; the great tube or duct by which food is conveyed into the stomach, and from which the waste and undigested food is excreted. It consists of the mouth, the pharynx (throat), the œsophagus (gullet), the stomach, the small intestine, the large intestine, and the rectum, and is about 25 feet long.
ALIMONY, in law, the allowance, awarded out of her husband's estate, to which a wife is entitled on separation or divorce. Jurisdiction in this matter in England is conferred upon a court of divorce. In the United States it is vested in the courts of equity. Alimony may be granted by the court during litigation, or at the conclusion of the suit, when it is called permanent. The former enables the wife to pursue the litigation, whether proceedings have been brought by or against her. The amount granted lies within the discretion of the court. Permanent alimony is a periodical allowance, awarded to the wife if the termination of the suit is favorable to her. By a writ of ne exeat (let him not depart), the court can prevent the husband from leaving the State without leaving sufficient security for payment. If the husband should remove to another State the wife can enforce her claim in the Federal courts.
ALIN, OSCAR JOSEF, a Swedish historian, born in 1846; professor in the University of Upsala. He instructed the Princess Victoria of Baden, afterward Crown Princess of Sweden, in Swedish history and literature. In 1888 he became a member of the Upper Chamber of the Parliament. He has written many monographs on the history of Sweden. Died Dec. 31, 1900, in Stockholm.
ALISON, SIR ARCHIBALD, a Scottish historian, born at Kenley, Shropshire, Dec. 29, 1792. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, and was admitted to the bar in 1814. His principal work, a "History of Europe," covering the period from 1789 to 1815, was translated into the leading languages of Europe. He died at Glasgow, May 23, 1867.
ALIZARIN, the coloring matter used in the dyeing of Turkey red, exists in the madder root as a glucoside, which, when boiled with acids or alkalies, gives glucose and alizarin. But in 1869 Græbe and Liebermann discovered a method of manufacturing it from the coal-tar product anthracene. The manufacture of alizarin is now one of the most important branches of the coal-tar coloring industry.
ALKAHEST, or ALCAHEST, the universal solvent of the alchemists. See ALCHEMY.
