xpanded by treaty provisions and by liberal
legislation. In nearly all the states resident aliens were given the
right to take title to land, whether by deed or by inheritance, to
hold such real estate and to transfer it by law or by descent. In some
states they were given the right to vote and hold office. And at
common law they were entitled to purchase, own and sell personal
property, engage in business and to make contracts and wills. By the
fourteenth amendment to the federal constitution their rights and
privileges have been further secured.

Aliens owe to the country in which they reside a temporary and limited
allegiance, that is, an obligation to obey its laws and subject
themselves to the jurisdiction of the courts. A non-resident alien is
not within the terms of the fourteenth amendment, indeed it is
doubtful if he can ask any aid or relief under the state or federal
constitutions. A statute therefore imposing a higher inheritance tax
on property passing to a non-resident alien than on his property if he
resided here is valid. Non-resident aliens can acquire no rights
incident to residence here except as permitted by the federal
government. This power may be exercised, either through treaties made
by the president and senate, or through statutes enacted by congress.
So congress has excluded not only diseased, criminal, pauper and
anarchist immigrants, but also contract and Chinese laborers.

=Contracts.=--At the outset the various kinds of contracts should be
explained so that the principles which apply to them may be better
understood. One of the divisions is into simple contracts and
specialties. A simple contract may be verbal or it may be in writing,
but no seal is appended to the signatures of the parties. A specialty
is in writing and a seal is added to the signature. A written contract
may be a duplicate of another with a seal, yet the two belong to
different classes and different rules of law apply to them as we shall
learn.

Another classification is into executed and executory contracts. An
executed contract, as the name implies, is completed, an executory
contract is to be executed or completed. An unpaid promissory note is
an executory contract, when paid it becomes an executed one.

Another classification is into express or implied contracts. An
express contract is one actually made between two or more persons or
parties; an implied contract is one that the law makes for the
parties. Suppo