Henry Billings Brown

“ To construe the provision as applicable to all suits between a citizen and an alien would leave the courts of the United States open to aliens against citizens, and close them to citizens against aliens. Such a construction is not required by the language of the provision, and would be inconsistent with the general intent of the section as a whole.' And hence that an alien or foreign corporation might be sued by a citizen of a state in any district in which valid service could be made upon the defendant. ”

“ In the opinion of the court it was said that the word 'inhabitant,' in the act of 1789, was apparently used, not in any larger meaning than 'citizen,' but to avoid the incongruity of speaking of a citizen of anything less than a state, when the intention was to cover, not only a district which included a whole state, but also two districts in one state. ”

“ Swan, alienage or citizenship is one thing, and inhabitancy quite another. In the constitution and laws of the United States, citizenship is affirmed of a state, or of the United States. Inhabitancy may be affirmed either of the United States, a state, or a subordinate locality. Nor, in our view, does it make any difference that the plaintiff is an alien instead of a citizen. ”

“ Ct. 44, it was further held that a citizen of Texas and a resident of the eastern district of Texas could not maintain a suit in the western district of Texas against a railroad incorporated under the laws of the state of Kentucky. It was said to have been long settled that an allegation that a party is a 'resident' does not show that he is a 'citizen,' within the meaning of the judiciary acts, and to hold otherwise in this case would be to construe the petition as alleging that the defendant was a citizen of the same state as the plaintiff, and thus utterly defeat the jurisdiction. ”

“ In the case of a corporation, the question of inhabitancy must be determined, not by the residence of any particular officer, but by the principal offices of the corporation, where its books are kept and its corporate business is transacted, even though it may transact its most important business in another place. ”

“ Every railroad corporation may change at its pleasure its public office by publishing a notice of such change in some newspaper published on the line of its road, if any there be, and if not, then in some newspaper in the state, and having a general circulation in the state, for four successive weeks prior to such change. ”

“ In that case the corporation ran its railway and exercised its franchises both in Essex county and Somerset county, but its principal office was in the former, while the suit was brought in the latter; and upon a motion to change the venue the court held that the corporation must be deemed to be a resident of Essex county, and the venue should be changed to that county. ”