German Spies in England: An Exposure

by William Le Queux

(1) A person to whom a certificate of naturalisation is granted by a Secretary of State shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be entitled to all political and other rights, powers and privileges, and be subject to all obligations, duties and liabilities to which a natural-born British subject is entitled or subject, and, as from the date of his naturalisation, have to all intents and purposes the status of a natural-born British subject.

The 3rd Section of the Act of Settlement, which disqualifies naturalised aliens from holding certain offices, is to have effect as though the word "naturalised" were omitted. This section applies, among other things, to membership of the Privy Council or either House of Parliament, or to "any office or place of trust either civil or military."

The power given to the Secretary of State to revoke any naturalisation certificate obtained by false representation or fraud is contained in Section 7, which says:—

(1) Where it appears to the Secretary of State that a certificate of naturalisation granted by him has been obtained by false representations or fraud, the Secretary of State may by order revoke the certificate, and the order of revocation shall have effect from such date as the Secretary of State may direct.

(2) Where the Secretary of State revokes a certificate of naturalisation, he may order the certificate to be given up and cancelled, and any person refusing or neglecting to give up the certificate shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

This is a very valuable provision, and it is one that, whenever fraud or false representation is detected, should be summarily and rigorously enforced. In the past our practice in the matter of naturalisation has been decidedly too lax; I fear the granting of certificates had become rather too much a matter of form, and possibly statements as to residence, etc., had not been too closely scrutinised. There is thus reason for believing that a good many individuals who are to-day masquerading as "British citizens" would have extreme difficulty in making good their claims to that honour if they were closely pressed for evidence.

It is important to remember that under the naturalisation law a naturalised "undesirable alien" cannot be deported in the event of his being convicted of a certain class of offence to which the alien of the lower type is especially prone. These are just the men who most dread deportation, since they are usually well known to the police of their own country, and they are therefore most likely to resort to fraudulent means to secure the protection afforded by naturalisation here. When such individuals fall into the hands of the police in future, we may be sure that their papers will be scrutinised with special care, and should any evidence of fraud be detected we shall be able to strip them of their too easily obtained British nationality, and relieve ourselves of their presence.

The taking out of naturalisation papers is one of the natural weapons of the spy, and by the circumstances of his case he is very frequently compelled to resort to devious means to secure his papers. Under the new law it will be easier when he is detected to treat him as an enemy subject, since inquiry of a close character will be likely, if not practically certain, to reveal the deception of which he has been guilty.

It is to be hoped on every ground that the new law will be rigorously enforced. I hold very strongly—and recent cases have justified my belief—that the naturalised alien is among our most dangerous enemies. For this reason, if for no other, the acquisition of British nationality should be made as difficult as possible in order to protect our country against hordes of subjects whom we do not want and who, if the truth were told, would be found to have but the most shadowy claim to the honour they seek.

But, as the Globe has well described it, the Act is, at best, only a piece of belated legislation. It is to be regretted that the Government could not have seen their way to issue a proclamation postponing its operation, so that Parliament could have some further opportunity of discussing it before it is treated as settling the extremely difficult and complicated questions which are inherent in the subject, questions which have gained a new meaning in the last few months. It would be satisfactory, for instance, to investigate the very curious problems raised by the Third Section. Under this, certain disqualifications which the Act of Settlement imposed upon naturalised aliens are again made inoperative except as against aliens. Under the Act of Settlement naturalised aliens were prohibited from becoming members of the Privy Council, or of either House of Parliament, and from holding any office or place of trust, "either civil or military." It is notorious that naturalised aliens have sat on both sides of the House of Commons, are actually members of the Privy Council, and have occupied places of the most intimate trust in civil and military affairs. It is surely time we reverted to the older methods. No naturalised alien should be appointed a Privy Councillor.