The appellant was convicted on each of ,, I e . . . n i -, three counts of an indictment, all based on ... . n x it j. i . representations by the appellant that he is .,. jul TT 'uofi -u • n a citizen ox the united otates, bom in Cam--i -vT t i »i . n i .i j. i den, Jn. J.; whereas, it is alleged that he was , • iL Tr- i o t» • born m the .Kingdom oi Rumania.
The first eount charges that the defendant made false statements in an application for a passport, with the intent to secure the issu-anee of a passport for his use, contrary to the law regulating the issuance of passports (22 USCA § 220) and the regulations of the State Department in reference thereto-, by falsely stating that he was a native citizen of the United States and that he was bom in Camden, N. J, on April 23, 1904, when in truth and in fact he was not a citizen of the United States, but a subject of the Kingdom of Rumania, and was not born in Camden, N. J., but was bom in Rumania on the 20th day of April, 19-04.
The second eount of the indictment eharges a violation of 18 USCA § 141, in that the , „ , „ „ , j , defendant unlawfully, willingly, and knowfcr frau(¿’lent ¿ pose of secnro£ ^ ^ falsely & f i . ... » represented himself to be a citizen, of the United States without having been duly admitted to citizenship; that he represented himself to be a citizen of the United States born in Camden, N. J, when as a matter of fact he was not born in Camden, N. J., but was bom in the Kingdom of Rumania and was never duly admitted to citizenship,
The third eount of the indictment charges the defendant with perjury in violation of 18 USCA § 231 in connection with his apPlicati™ a PassP«^. “ thf*° “ tbat be Y T f Sta, es ^ Camden, K. J. when as a matter at fact he was not a citizen oi the United States and was not born in Camden, jf. an¿ was not bom in the United States, jn testifying before the immigration officers January 15, 19*31, the appellant gave his name as Basil Duncan Couyanos Ronaldo and stated he had used the names Renault Duncan, Basil Couyanos, and Dimean Renaldo ((bis^f na“e) 5 be/as born APril f 1904’ f^°Quld be ***** °£ a£e on 23,1931; that he entered the United States in September, 1921, on the ship p^get Sound; that he shipped as a seaman thereon out of Dunkerque, Prance, as a Greek citizen under the name of Basil D. Couyanos. He stated that he was admitted to the United States at that time as an alien seaman at Baltimore, Md.; that during the World War ke had lived in Rumania, at Galatz, in the province of Covurlui; that he obtained a ^ . -r> . ... , , , passport as a Rumanian citizen when he went £ ^ , ,. . from Rumania to Prance; that he was living . ^ ... , , 5 m Rumania with some people by the name ox ~ tt t j. ../» -, , 0 ,, Couyanos. lie also testified before the Bu- « t a* a- * . , * xeau of Investigation of the Department of T on Labor, as follows:
„„ _ . . Q- 1 tese people whom you say you were bving with m Rumania you say they were yoIlr faLber 811(1 mother? A- Ycs’
<(Q- What were their names? A. Father, Demetri Couyanos, and mother Tedora Couyan°s, but sometimes instead of calling them mother and father I would call them by name, I have lived with them as far as I can reeollect.
“Q. Do you recollect living with anj rth- *138 ers? A. I have a tremendous amount of reí-atives there but I have always lived with my father and mother in one place.
“Q. Who are your relatives there? A. I have no direct relatives there.
“Q. Do you have any brothers or sisters? A. No, I haven’t any direct brothers or sisters. There were four or five in the Couyanos family and I used to call them brothers and sisters although I am not related to them, » » *
, ,, „ „ “Q. What are the names of some of the children of this Couyanos family m Ru-mama? A. One is Aggripina, another is Ionel and another is Efeochia; that is all. They have another girl named Sofia.
“Q- What is your mother’s maiden name in Rumania? A. His wife is Teodora Cou-yanos. I do not know her maiden name, That is all I know. •
“Q. * * * Have you ever lived in Camden, New Jersey? A. No, I have not.”
It appears that as long as appellant remembered he had lived in Rumania in the home of Demetri and Teodora Couyanos, whom he had called father and mother. He had no recollection of any other father and mother, but states that his earliest reeolleetion was crossing a large body of water and that the people he called father and mother with whom he lived had told him he was bom in Camden, N. J.; that they stated to him the name of his parents but that he had never seen either of them. Appellant took the witness stand in his own behalf and repeated most of the statements he had made before the immigration authorities above stated.
The records of the ship Puget Sound on which he shipped as a coal passer in 1917 were introduced in evidence and showed that Basil Couyanos was a member of the crew and his signature to the records was intro-dueed in evidence. When the Puget Sound arrived at Baltimore, Md., appellant first entered this country. He applied for admission to the United States as a citizen but withdrew his application and entered as an alien. He was allowed to enter to reship foreign, but he did not reship. He went to New York and remained there. On October 17,1924, he applied for a marriage license, giving the name Renault Demetri Duncan; place of birth, Rumania; place of father’s birth, Rumania; place of mother’s birth, Rumania; father’s name, Demetri J.; mother’s name, Theodore Marienne. On March 29,1926, he applied for life insurance giving his name as Renault ■ Duncan Couyanos; date of birth, April 23, 1904; and place of birth, Rumania. On De-eember 14,1927, he wrote a letter to the Commissioner of Immigration stating that he desired to become naturalized and giving the name of Basil D. Couyanos. On January 14, 1929> lust thr6e months before he made his aPP^tion for passport as an American citihe made a written applicatron for life in™cf ^ 23’190d' De¿®mber 18 1930, aM>eüant procured a false affidavit to be made for the purpose oi effecting an entry-in the record of vital statistics at C'am-d N> j purportÍ31g to show that he was bam there on April 33 1904. In that record thug obtained &e £athei,s lace o£ birth wag ^V0n M United stat t]le mother,s ^ Rnmania, name of father, Francis B. Dunearlj and name of mother, Marie Marienseo. Tbe witness who- made the affidavit on which the registration of birth was entered in the records of Camden, N. J., as of April 23, 1904, testified that the affidavit was made by him without knowledge of the facts at the request of the appellant, who knew the statements in the affidavit as to affiant’s aequaintanee with appellant, and of affiant’s knowledge of the facts sworn to, were untrue. In the register of births in the city of Camden, N. J., the entries were arranged alphabetieally and not chronologically. Under the head-big “DU” was the entry “Renault Duncan, April 23,1904,” giving place of birth as 217 Federal street, and showing entry by affidavit 12/18/30. There is no other record of birth °f Renault Duncan. There was no entry of birth under the name of Couyanos in the Camden, N. J., records that could apply to the appellant.
The most serious question presented by the record is the question of the admissibility 0f a photographic copy of the records of births for the year 1904 in the custody Qf the mayor of Oancea, district of Covurlui, Kingdom of Rumania, purporting to show that appellant was born there April 20,1904. This certificate is as follows:
“Mayor Com. Oancea District of Covurlui. Rumania.
“Extract from the register of Vital Statistics for births in the year 1904.
“No. 32 Vasile Dumitru V. C'ugheanos.
“In the year one thousand nine hundred and four, month of April, the twentieth day at five o’clock in the afternoon. Certificate of birth of the child Vasile, male sex, of orthodox religion born today at about one o’clock in the afternoon, in the house of his parents of the Commune of Oancea, legitimate son of Mr. Dumitru V. Cugheanos twen *139 ty eight years of age, by profession proprietor of a steam mill and of Mrs. Teodora D. V. Cugheanos twenty years of age by profession housewife, both of orthodox religion and domiciled in the Commune of Oancea. In ae■cordanee with the declaration of the father who presented the child to me; the witnesses wore; Mr. George Dimitriu thirty seven years of age and Constantin Dulghereseu thirty six years of ago both of orthodox religion, clerks by profession domiciled in the Commune of Oancea, who have signed this document together with the declarant and with their own signatures after I have first read it to them. Verified according to law by us Iordache T. Onu Mayor of the Commune of Oancea and officer of vital statetles-
, , . „ , “Declarant (ss) D. Cugheanos
“Witnesses 4 „ U nU 1 (ss) C. Dulghereseu
t„r y°r “NotÍv (sUs) P I Tepelus ” Notary (ss) P. 1. lepelus.
Attached to this birth certificate is a eer-tifieate of the mayor of Oancea attested by his offieial seal and by the signature and seal of a notary. This certificate reads as follows:
„ , .. „ „ „ “Rumania. Townhall of tlie Commune of Oancea, District of Covurlui. The present photograph is taken from the records of vital statistics for births in the year 1904 under Number 32, and is certified by us.
“Mayor: (ss) T. Canea
“(Seal) Notary: (ss) I. Víase
“No. 1463
“November 19, 1932.”
The signatures of the mayor and notary are in turn authenticated by the certificate of the prefecture of the district of Covurlui, whose signature, seal, and official position, in turn, were attested by the signature and seal of the Minister of the Interior of Rumania. The signature of the Minister of the Interior of Rumania was certified by the Consul of the United States at Bucharest, who, after certifying to Ms own official position as Consul of the United States in and for the Kingdom of Rumania, certifies that the person who signed the above-mentioned certificate “was a delegate of the Minister of the Interior of Rumania at the time of so doing and as such competent to certify such authentication,” that the signature is the signature of the official in question, and that the official seal attached is that of the Rumanian Minister of the Interior. To this certificate of the Consul is attached a certificate of Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of State of the United States, by his chief clerk, accompanied by the seal of his office, certifying that the Cónsul who subscribed the above-mentioned certificate was Consul of the United States at Bucharest, Rumania, duly commissioned at the time of the signing of such certificate, and that full faith and confidence are due to his acts as such. Attached to these documents was a translation thereof by a member of the bar of Ilfov, Bucharest, Rumania, sworn to he-fore the American Consul at Bucharest. In addition thereto, and authenticated in substantially the same manner, is a further cer-iificate of the prefecture of the district of Covurlui, as follows:
^ ^ ^ pursuant to the petition addressed to this and registered under No. 13434/932’ ^ ^ Rudolph Peltzer Vice Consul of United stateg of Am6rica; by which he requests a certificate to the effect that Mr. Traian Ganea functions in the eapacity of the Mayor of Oancea of this District as well as that Mr. 1. Víase is Notary of the Commune of Oancea,
,.,TTT, ^1T-T,rnTT_ , m . ^9 9®^ ^ traían 18 ^ PfT* °£ the ^ ^ alsf ^notions as Officer of 7lM ftatirtics and 4Cllst?dian of ^ tos of vital Statistics m accordance with Art. 359, Paragraph 8 and Article 536, of the law for the organization of local administration.
«Eumanifu picture of the District of Covurlui. Certificate No. 13434. November 21,1932.
Mr. I. Víase, Notary of the Commune o£ Oancea, is and functions at present in the capacity of Notary of the Commune of Oaneea “ this District.
“In view of which the present certificate is issued.
«PreCeet. (ss) Ilkgible. For the Director: ^ Grigoras (Seal)”
. ^ APPellant to the introduction of *bese doc”te °n the general ground that thero fas no ProPer *>™datum laid, that it w“ . bearsa7’ not Pr<^ 4den“> n<? mihm tbe 788,768 aIlefd 171 the “&etment “competent, “relevant, and immaterial, and that 7t was th? best ^ He ob' feted specially on the ground that the proper foundation was not laid because-
“There is no evidence here that the defendant was bom on the date [April 20, 1904] of this alleged birth certificate, [he claimed to have been born April 23, 1904] or that he is the party named therein; there is *140 absolutely no evidence — in fact the evidence is to the contrary, offered here by the government; they have offered the [Camden, New Jersey] birth certificate and statement of the defendant [before the immigration authorities] that these people were not relatives of his; they have offered proof that he was bom on April 20th [23d] 1904; * * * there is not the slightest showing that this defendant is the party named in this alleged birth cer-tifieate; * * * counsel say this is the defendant’s birth certificate; it is not at all; there is absolutely no evidence showing it, and there is evidence to the contrarythere is no such, name a-s. this charged m the indictment as this party in this certificate. * * * I believe your Honor will note that on that certificate some man there is mayor of that town, and something else to show that he has charge of those records; if so, I fail to find it. * * *
«I call the court’s attention, and I know Mr. Horowitz [Special Assistant to the Attorney General] will be glad to correct me; there is no ‘Cugheanos’ in here; the Cughea-nos is not mentioned in these insurance policies nor anywhere else; this is Cug[h]eneos; it is pronounced Créanos; it isn’t even spelled that way.”
We think the trial court was justified in the conclusion that Basil Couyanos and Yasile Cugheanos were idem sonas in the Rumanian language. In view of this, coupled with the similarity of the names of the father and mother shown in the birth certificate to the names of the persons with whom the appellant resided in Rumania and whom he called father and mother, respectively, we think the special objection that the birth cer-tifieate did not purport to be that of the appellant was properly overruled.
The only other special objection to the method of authentication of documents relates to the mayor of the town and is not sufficiently clear to raise any point.
It is a fundamental rule that objections to the admissibility of evidence must be made in the trial court and must be speeifie, and that general objections such as those advanced here that the evidence is “incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial and not the best evidence, and no proper foundation laid,” are insufficient. See Curtis v. No. American Indian (C. C. A. 9)
In the assignment of errors appellant is more specific as to his objections to the Rumanian birth certificate. Seven objections to the certification are stated, of which we need mention but three: ■'
First; L is no f aat the laws o£ Runiania require the keepi of reeords of *
, _ Be™a*’ 2‘ There is no proof that the Purported record was kept in accordance with t]le laws o£ Rumama-
Tllird> 7. There 1S 110 certificate under the great seal of the Kingdom of Rumania au^eating the signature or the official caPffles ^of tlle Persons who sl^ed of the eertlfieates- ’
We will diseuss now these specific assignments in part because the probative value 0f foreign or domestic records depends upon the question whether or not such records are required by law to be kept, and this question is involved in the question of their admissibility over the general objection of ineompeteney made by the appellant. Where such records are required by law to be kept, a presumption arises that they are an accurate reeord of the facts, and thus they become prima facie proof of the facts required by law to be so recorded. In Stanglein v. State of Ohio,
*141
The Supreme Court of Massachusetts, in Re Derinza,
In Guerra v. San Antonio Sewer P
i
pe Co. (Tex. Civ. App.)
it was held that the order of court exeludjng the record was correct. The portion of this excerpt which is germane to the point under discussion is the statement of the court that the instrument was not accompanied by proof of the existence of a Mexican law requiring the keeping of the records.
In 33 a j 854> § 1033 a is said: ie8 of £oroign registerS of baptism, mar-rtage and ¿eath, duly authenticated, have freqUently been held to he admissible either un- ¿or or apart from the statute, although it has a]so ^een considered that such transfers, however authenticated, are not prima facie evidence o£ the faets recited unless it is made appear tbat the laws of the £oreign COuntry reqUjre suoh registry to be made and kept, aiso under statutes that it must appear not onl by tbe eertifleate o£ the custodian, ^ alsQ b evidenee distinet therefrom, that ^ faot was registered in due form. In the absenee of some statutoiy provisions * * * a evidenoe not generally sufficient that tends to prove that the document offered ^ in faet ^iñeü by the offieial cus_ todian o£ ori bial o£ whieh it purports be a and that bo bas due authority to make sueb oertifloation.,,
State v. Dooris,
It is essential therefore in order that the record introduced in evidence shall have any probative value that it shall be kept in compliance with and conformity to the law of *142 the nation, state, or district in which it is kept. Conscquently, in order that such a record should be admitted in evidence it should be jroved that the record was kept in compliance with the local law. The order of proof is not important. Preferably the proof of the foreign law should accompany the an-theñticated copy of the record and be made by certificate. The law could undoubtedly be proved in other ways. In the case at bar the facts stated in the various certificates come close to, but still fall short of, evidence that the record of vital statistics kept at Oancea, Rumania, was kept in compliance with the local law. There are two statements and documents presented which tcnd strongly to that conclusion, but still fall short of the requisite proof. The first is the record itself to the effect that "it is verified in accordance with law." Taken literally this applies only to the method of authentication of the record slid not to the fact that the law requires a rec-oid to be kept. In addition thereto, we have the certificate of the prefecture to the effect that the mayor who signed the certified copies is custodian of the registers of vital statistics from which the photographic record is taken, and to the effect that he is the custodian thereof "in accordance with Art. 159, Paragraph 8, and Article 536, of the law for the organization of local administration." This clearly indicates that he is the proper officer to make the certificate, but it still falls short of the requirement that it should dppcar that the record was made at the time it purported to he made, in conformity with the law then in force. There are a multitude of books and documents in the custody of public officials, as such, which were not made in conformity with the law and which have no! probative value of the facts stated therein. Inasmuch as no special objection was made to ~he certificates on the ground that there was no certificate or other proof to the effect that the record in question was required by the law of Rumania to be kept at the time it purported to have been made, and that such an objection if made could have been overcome by proof of such a law, the general objections made were properly overruled, and the more specific assignment of this ruling as error cannot be sustained.
There is, however, another aspect of this question which we must now consider. The appellant, at the conclusion of the evidence, moved for a directed verdict and assigns as error the refusal to grant the motion. Appellant argues that: "Aside from the purported birth certificate * * * the record is wholly void of any evidence whatever to prove the most essential part of the corpus delicti, viz., the falsity of his alleged statements, except his extra-judicial statements and admissions."
Before directing our attention to this contention, we should state that the appel-~ lant's principal argument upon the alleged error in denying his motion for instructed verdict is based on the proposition that there is no competent evidence that the appellant made the affidavit or the representations alleged in the indictment. This is predicated on the testimony of the appellant that at the time he signed the affidavit which was filed with the Secretary of State for the purpose of securing a passport, the blanks in the printed affidavit were not filled in and the alleged false statements as to his age and birth place were subsequently inserted therein without his knowledge or consent. It is true that he contended then, as he does now, that he was born in Camden, N. J., and he contended then, as he does now, that he was a citizen of the United States and that he intended to apply as such for such passport, yet it is claimed by him that he did not make the aforementioned representations or affidavit. It is sufficient to say that the jurat of the clerk of the Distriet Court of the United States for the Southern District of California to the oath is sufficient prima fade proof that the affidavit was made in. the form in which it is now pm-seated in court.
We turn now to the contention that without the certificate the evidence was insufficient to justify a verdict of guilty, and that a motion ef the defendant for instructed verdict of not guilty should have been given. Appellant argues that all these proofs as to appellant's Rumanian birth and alien citizenship arc based on statements and admissions of the defendant, and, therefore, have no higher probative value thpn the statements and admissions by the appellant, and that such statements and admissions are insufficient to prove the corpus delicti. There can be no doubt of this fundamental rule relied on by appellant. In that view of the case, the fact that the appellant procured false affidavits for the purpose of substantiating his claim that lie -aras born in Camden, N. J., would amount to nothing more than proof of his belief that he was born in Rumania, and would have no higher probative value than a confession or an admission that he was born in Rumania; such admissions are abundant in the record. Appellee claims that the fact that the defendant entered the United States as an alien from a vessel on which he had *143 shipped in a foreign port as an alien is independent evidence of alienage and eonse-quently sufficient to support the verdict of the jury. In this connection it should be oh-served that shipping as ah alien on board an alien ship was necessarily predicated on belief of the defendant that he was such an alien and is in effect nothing more nor less than an admission on his part of alienage. The same is true of his application for naturalization, It is shown, however, that there was no record of the birth of Basel Couyanos or Vasilc Cou-yanos in the official records of births in Camden, N. J., and no record of birth of Renault Duncan other than the one entered in 1930 on the false affidavit procured by the appellant for that purpose.
Appellant represented m Ins sworn application for passport that he was born m Camden, N. J. This was a material fact, for if he was born m Camden, N. J., he was a citizen of the United States It was not neeessary to prove that he was born m a foreign country to prove that perjury had been com-matted. We flunk there was sufficient evidence of the corpus delicti on the charge of perjury to justify the introduction of the admissions and statements of flie appellant and that the evidence of P^jury is amply traiücient to support the verdict without reference to the Rumanian birth certificate.
With reference to the first count eharg-ing the defendant with making false statements in his application for passport, the allegation and proof that he stated that he was born in Camden, N. J., on April 23, 1904, coupled with tbe proof that the records of Camden, N. J., showed no birth of the appellant other than by the false record caused to he inserted therein by the appellant, was sufficient proof of the falsity of a material statement.
With reference to the second count, the charge is that the appellant falsely represented himself to be a citizen of the United States without having been duly admitted to citizenship, etc., in violation of 18 USCA § 141. In order to establish this charge it is not only necessary for the prosecution to show that the appellant was not bom in Camden, N. J., but also to show that he was not a eitizen of tho United States. There is no evidence to establish that fact other than, the admissions of the appellant as hereinbefore stated. These were insufficient to prove the corpus delicti.
What we have said disposes o£ all the points raised by the appellant other than £}je one y^t the verdict in the ease was in iCgai effect an acquittal of the appellant, There is nothing in this point. We merely mention it to show it has not been overlooked.
It follows that the judgment on the first and third counts must be affirmed, and that on the seeond count must be reversed. It should be here stated that the sentences on the first and third counts run concurrently, The ®rst count is for a violation of 22 USCA § 220, the third count is for a violation of 18 USCA g 231 and tlle second colmt is £or a o£ 18 ugcA § 14L In view of tho rovergal of ^ jlld t and sentrace on the geeond c it is to notíco the fact ^ ^ llant elaims that thig eount does ^ gtate an offense. The int ig made that ^ h fte indietment s that ap_ Uant ÍÍ(M £algely represent himself to he a eitizen of ^ Un-ted gtates without having bem dul admitted to citizenship/> it did ^ g iflcall aU t}iat he was not a citi. zen of the United stateg- It is speeifleaIly all d however that he £alsely represented himself be „a eitizen o£ the United States> horn in Camden, New Jersey, on April 23, 1904, when in truth and in fact, as the defendant well know, he was never duly adrnitted to citizenship of the United States and was not born in Camden, New Jersey, but was bom in tbe Kingdom of Rumania, on the 20th day of April, 1904.” It is claimed that this latter allegation is insufficient for the reason that although it is alleged that the appellant was born in the Kingdom of Rumania he might nevertheless be a citizen of the United States (8 USCA § 6), but the allegation in language °fi statute that the defendant <did falsely represent himself to be a citizen ^le United States without having been duly admitted to citizenship” is a sufficient allegation without^ an affirmative^ allegation that-he was not a citizen of the United States,
Judgment affirmed as to first and third counts, and remanded for a new trial as to the seeond count.