Sir, to put the matter briefly and succinctly citizenship of a State is had or acquired in a variety of ways. Therefore the first proposition that may be laid down is that anyone born in a country is automatically a citizen of that country, unless by his own act, when he attains maturity, he or she renounces that privilege. This is a simple proposition to which there ought to be no exception. It goes further and makes citizenship not only a birthright, but also an inheritance. That is to say any one whose father or mother according to my amendment and according to this Draft whose grand-parents, or whose grandfathers on the paternal side according to my amendment were born in this country, would also acquire automatically the privilege of being a citizen of this country, unless it is specifically renounced by any act of the person concerned.
