official post abroad, children of the monarch, and children born on a British sailing vessel — were considered by common law to be foreigners. Marriage did not affect the status of a subject of the realm, except that under common law, single women, including divorcées, were not allowed to be parents thus their children could not derive nationality maternally and were stateless unless legitimated by their father. Nationality acts passed in Britain did not extend beyond the bounds of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Other than common law, there was no standard statutory law which applied for subjects throughout the realm, meaning different jurisdictions created their own legislation for local conditions, which often conflicted with the laws in other jurisdictions in the empire. Thus, a person who was naturalised in Canada, for example, would be considered a foreigner, rather than a British national, in Australia or South Africa. In 1774, the Quebec Act restored French civil law in the territory of Quebec. The Constitution of 1791, divided Canada into two provinces and reaffirmed that Quebec, known as Lower Canada, was to retain French law as it existed up to 1763, while English law would be applicable in Upper Canada. In 1849, Upper Canada passed a statute to bring its law into line with the British Naturalisation Act of 1844, requiring foreign women to automatically derive their nationality from their spouse. In 1866, the Civil Code of Lower Canada was drafted to modernize and codify the legal system in place for Lower Canada, creating a coherent compilation of the various laws in effect in the territory in both English and French. Under the terms of the Code, foreign women automatically acquired the nationality of their spouse upon marriage. Married women were legally incapacitated and subject to their husband's authority. They were also required to share his domicile, which under French law is tied to the place from which one derives their civil rights. Imperial and federal legislation, 1868–1914 Upon passage of the British North America Act, 1867, the Parliament of Canada was given authority over "Naturalization and Aliens", by virtue of section 91(25). The Aliens and Naturalization Act, 1868 was the first federal Act to be passed, and it provided that persons who had been previously naturalized in any part of the Dominion possessed the same status as anyone naturalized under that Act. In addition: Aliens could apply