in law, implies a person born in a strange country not within the king's allegiance; in contradistinction to a denizen, or natural subject. The word is formed from the Latin alius, "another"; q. d., one born in another country. An alien is incapable of inheriting lands in Britain till naturalized by an act of parliament. No alien is entitled to vote at the election of members of parliament; nor can he enjoy any office, or be returned on any jury, unless where an alien is party in a cause, when the inquest is composed of an equal number of denizens and aliens. The reasons for establishing these laws were, that every man is presumed to bear faith and love to that prince and country where he received protection during his infancy; and that one prince might not settle spies in another's country; but chiefly, that the rents and revenues of the country might not be drawn to the subjects of another. Some have thought that the laws against aliens were introduced in the time of Henry II. when a law was made at the parliament of Wallingford, for the expulsion of strangers, in order to drive away the Flemings and Picards introduced into the kingdom by the wars of King Stephen. Others have thought that the origin of this law was more ancient; and that it is an original branch of the feudal law: for by that law no man can purchase any lands but he must be obliged to do fealty to the lords of whom the lands are holden; so that an alien who owed a previous faith to another prince, could not take an oath of fidelity in another sovereign's dominions. Among the Romans, only the Cives Romani were esteemed freemen; but when their territories increased, all the Italians were made free, under the name of Latins, tho' they had not the privilege of wearing gold rings till the time of Justinian. Afterwards all born within the pale of the empire were considered as citizens.

ALIEN-Duty, an impost laid on all goods imported by aliens, over and above the customs paid for such goods imported by British, and on British bottoms.

ALIENS-Duty is otherwise called petty custom, and navigation-duty.—Fish dried or salted, and cod-fish or herring not caught in British vessels and cured by British, pay a double aliens-duty.—On what footing aliens are permitted to import foreign commodities into Great Britain, see Duty.

ALIEN-Priories, a kind of inferior monasteries, formerly very numerous in England, and so called from their belonging to foreign abbeys.