Citizenship in Ceded Territory. the college society of which he was a mem ber years ago as he was the day he gradu ated. And these are by no means excep tional cases. The college literary society should be fostered in every possible way. I have sometimes thought that the secret fraternities, which are so much in vogue in these latter days, tend to impair the useful ness and value of the college literary society. The student body of every educational in
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stitution should be encouraged in their effort to build up their college society. Where it is possible, they should have a hall and library of their own. These will not only contribute to their comfort, pleasure, and improvement, but in addition they will awaken in them a spirit of pride and selfrespect, which will benefit them not only while they are in college but ever after wards.
CITIZENSHIP IN CEDED TERRITORY. By James W. St1llman. AMONG recent events in our national his tory perhaps there is none of greater importance than the ratification by the Sen ate of the United States of the treaty of peace between the United States and Her Majesty the Queen Regent of Spain, on Monday, February 6, 1899, by which Spain relin quished all claim of sovereignty over, and title to, Cuba, and by which the Philippine Islands, the island of Porto Rico and other islands, then under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the island of Guam, in the Marianas or Ladrones, were ceded to the United States as a part of its territory. Con cerning the justice of the terms of settlement of the war between the two nations therein specified, the writer will express no opinion, but will confine his observations to the ques tion whether or not the treaty in any of its provisions is repugnant to the Constitution of the United States. The first provision of the Constitution re lating to treaties is the following: — He (the President) shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators pres ent concur. (Clause 2, Section 2, of Article II.) A treaty is an agreement or a compact be tween two or more sovereign States, negoti
ated by authorized agents thereof and duly ratified by the sovereign power of each of the respective parties thereto. By means of treaties only, foreign territory always has been acquired by our Government, except in the cases of Oregon, the Guano Islands, the Midway Islands, and a few others which were acquired by discovery, exploration, and oc cupation, — a right recognized by the law of nations (Vattel, Book I., Chapter XVIII, Section 207, p. 99.), and in that of the Ha waiian Islands, which were annexed by a joint resolution of Congress, in violation of the Con stitution, as the writer contends; for although the possession of such territory has been and may be, one of the results of wars with other nations, it never has enlarged nor can enlarge the limits of the United States by becoming a part thereof, except by means of the treatymaking power. (Fleming v. Page, 9 How ard, 614.) So that while it is true that Con gress is not prohibited by the Constitution from declaring or from waging wars of con quest against other nations, such wars have always been contrary to the policy of our Government; and whenever we have come in to the possession of territory as a result of a war, such territory has never been made a part of our domain except by means of a trea
