navigation and
commerce, and have caused wide and regrettable divergence of opinion in
relation to the imposition of the duties referred to. These questions
are important, and I shall make them the subject of a special and more
detailed communication at the present session.

With the rapid increase of immigration to our shores and the facilities
of modern travel, abuses of the generous privileges afforded by our
naturalization laws call for their careful revision.

The easy and unguarded manner in which certificates of American
citizenship can now be obtained has induced a class, unfortunately
large, to avail themselves of the opportunity to become absolved from
allegiance to their native land, and yet by a foreign residence to
escape any just duty and contribution of service to the country of their
proposed adoption. Thus, while evading the duties of citizenship to the
United States, they may make prompt claim for its national protection
and demand its intervention in their behalf. International complications
of a serious nature arise, and the correspondence of the State
Department discloses the great number and complexity of the questions
which have been raised.

Our laws regulating the issue of passports should be carefully revised,
and the institution of a central bureau of registration at the capital
is again strongly recommended. By this means full particulars of each
case of naturalization in the United States would be secured and
properly indexed and recorded, and thus many cases of spurious
citizenship would be detected and unjust responsibilities would be
avoided.

The reorganization of the consular service is a matter of serious
importance to our national interests. The number of existing principal
consular offices is believed to be greater than is at all necessary
for the conduct of the public business. It need not be our policy
to maintain more than a moderate number of principal offices, each
supported by a salary sufficient to enable the incumbent to live in
comfort, and so distributed as to secure the convenient supervision,
through subordinate agencies, of affairs over a considerable district.

I repeat the recommendations heretofore made by me that the
appropriations for the maintenance of our diplomatic and consular
service should be recast; that the so-called notarial or unofficial
fees, which our representatives abroad are now permitted to treat as
personal perquisites, should be forbidden; t