alien-enemies have no rights, no privileges, unleſs by the king's ſpecial favour, during the time of war.
When I ſay, that an alien is one who is born out of the king's dominions, or allegiance, this alſo muſt be underſtood with ſome reſtrictions. The common law indeed ſtood abſolutely ſo; with only a very few exceptions: ſo that a particular act of parliament became neceſſary after the reſtoration[1], "for the naturalization of children of his majeſty's Engliſh ſubjects, born in foreign countries during the late troubles." And this maxim of the law proceeded upon a general principle, that every man owes natural allegiance where he is born, and cannot owe two ſuch allegiances, or ſerve two maſters, at once. Yet the children of the king's embaſſadors born abroad were always held to be natural ſubjects[2]: for as the father, though in a foreign country, owes not even a local allegiance to the prince to whom he is ſent; ſo, with regard to the ſon alſo, he was held (by a kind of poſtliminium) to be born under the king of England's allegiance, repreſented by his father, the embaſſador. To encourage alſo foreign commerce, it was enacted by ſtatute 25 Edw. III. ſt. 2. that all children born abroad, provided both their parents were at the time of the birth in allegiance to the king, and the mother had paſſed the ſeas by her huſband's conſent, might inherit as if born in England: and accordingly it hath been ſo adjudged in behalf of merchants[3]. But by ſeveral more modern ſtatutes[4] theſe reſtrictions are ſtill farther taken off: ſo that all children, born out of the king's ligeance, whoſe fathers were natural-born ſubjects, are now natural-born ſubjects themſelves, to all intents and purpoſes, without any exception; unleſs their ſaid fathers were attainted, or baniſhed beyond ſea, for high treaſon; or were then in the ſervice of a prince at enmity with Great Britain.
The children of aliens, born here in England, are, generally ſpeaking, natural-born ſubjects, and entitled to all the privileges
