on the Federal Government. It is an inherent power that came into being before the adoption of the Constitution and now exists outside of the fundamental instrument. It is a power that automatically passed from Great Britain to the United States as *260 an entity, and not to the individual States, when the external sovereignty of Great Britain in respect to the colonies came to an end.
This doctrine was developed and approved by the Supreme Court in the epoch-making opinion of Mr. Justice Sutherland in United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp., 299 U.S. 304, 315-318, 57 S.Ct. 216, 219, 81 L.Ed. 255:
"It will contribute to the elucidation of the question if we first consider the differences between the powers of the federal government in respect of foreign orgovernment to the injury of the United States, or to influence any measure or action by the United States to its injury.[5] A conspiracy to destroy property belonging to a foreign government is punishable as a crime.[6] The export of munitions of war has been prohibited under various circumstances.[7] The United States has the inherent power to exclude and deport undesirable aliens.[8] Citizens of the United States are forbidden to carry on correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government with an intent to influence its measures or conduct in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States.[9]
The Act under scrutiny in this case represents the converse of the last mentioned statute. The former deals with citizens of the United States who attempt to conduct correspondence with