The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1853-02-19

Conditions a. he bases of Tacubaya which required that
all the acts done by the provisional cbei theh IN PoW
should be subjected TO the action OF The rsI
Congress. -. -
Santa Anna-when the progress OF revolution was
such that he constitutional Congress was ABOUT ~
be assembled. by which the validity OF his grants
be inquired into and the grants confirmed or eJecteu
understanding perfectly the nature oil Inc grant, anu m
nature of the authority sci upon IT, took very
way TO gel il afouAd IL and he Issued hls own w
decree that the responsibility established by tbe oases "
Tacubaya requiring his acts TO be submitted 10 cohsi,
luona Congress, mere expression OF opihons anu
not bindings that the trainers OF the bases o.
baya had simply said they thought his acs oughl 10 pe
submitted. but did not mean to require mat hey shouu
be. ,-u
Bat Congress did assemble. and on the lst OF Apnl,
1915 they took up the subject OF these decrees ana one
OF the yery first acts which they did to declare that
all the dongs of the provisional government excep 80
far as they fell within The very letter OF the auinofy
emergency out OF which they had been created were an
nulled, and under that act these grants were ahnuied
Bu whether that decree OF the Congress was suHceht
or not, suppose that Santa Anna had me power ana
authority make tho grant suppose that CarniHo had
authority TO extend IT, and suppose thar the st cohsu
tonal Congress OF lS4j had not power to annu II what
then is the condition OF things Why. the Tune expired
in july lSi5. and not step had then been made To-
wards doing anything under The grant
What next do you find Garay then pet'lioned' mol
the President. not the chief OF the nation, but he pe
toned the government Tor an extension OF his grant ana
the council refused to act upon IT. and they submitted he
question to the Chamber OF Deputies The Chamber OF
Deputies granted the request, and It was sent to the
Senate. In the Senate the subject was referred 10 com
mtee the committee reported iavorably but no action
was had upon the matter by the Senate, and thus the
grant not extended by any act OF the government
But at that tme General Salas provisional CHIEF IN
Mexico Ii must be borne in mind that General Sala,
the 22d OF August, 1916, he then being IN supreme
power published decree restoring the constitution OF
1924; That constitution was then restored over the
whole oil Mexico the military governors went out and
constitutional governors elected in their places, and
the machinery OF the constitution OF 1924 was put in full
operation all over Mexico Under that constitution the
President of Mexico had no more right to make such
grant than had the President of The United States Yet
General Salas, the 5th OF November, 1916, nearly
three months after the restoration OF the federal consu
ton OF 1884, which has been in operation from that day
to the present-Genera Salas took the very law which
had passed the Chamber of Deputies, and had been sus
pended in the Senate, and made decree extending the
grant to Gaay Tor Two years Immediately upon on.
applied TO the government Tor continuation, or, as II is
styled in the papers ol that country credentials The
government took the matter into consideration and con-
rmed the grant with two essential modihcalions; one
that all contracts that were 10 be made relative 10
the matter should be submitted TO the government Tor
consideration and approval and the second was that all
the coonisis who went on TO work upon the proposed
railway, or other n,eroceanic communication, should re-
nounce their nationality, and give up Their alien plv-
leges Upon these terms and these conditions being
Incorporated into the decree, or into Garay
took the grant
The grant OF Garay was of a twofold charac,er-and
beg the Senate bear this in mind, because II they
they VIII AVOID some oil the very etTt rs INTO Which
the administration has fallen One OF these grants was
for colonxng the cosny and the other was Tor making
inleroceanc communications and both were separate
aud distinct On the 7lh OF January, is47, Garay as
sig ned 10 Manning IL Macintosh what! What the
Committee Foreign Relations suppose by their report
and what Mr. Webster says in his letter. was contract
Tor making a way over the isthmus OF Iehuanlepec
No such thing On the 7th oil January lSi7 Garay as
signed to Manning Macintosh that part OF the grant
which related 10 colonization, and he expressly said:
Tbat by this transfer the part OF the covenanter D.
Jose Gay 70 be undersood that he coniers upon
Messfs. Manning Macintosh, AMI Schneider and Com
pany, any right whatever 10 carry on Navigation from one
the oher but he declares that he transfers TO the
gentlemen aforesaid the right OF navigating said Coaza
coacos river for all such purposes may be suitable and
useful % the business connected with the transfer OF the
lands In question, without any dement accrung IN yr
Of uch act to the privileges vested In the Aforesaid
Garay"
That Garay reserved 10 himself in the most formal
manner possible He retained all the privileges relating
to the construction of railroad, or other transit, across
the isbmus of Tehuanepec. and he sold to Manning
Mack kiniosh the simple right OF coonzIng the country
Manning h Macintosh, as lney were perfectly aware
that they were bound do by the conditions that had
been inserted into the contract that drawn up upon
The decree OF Saas submitted this transfer 10 the gov
ernment Tor approval Dad the government approve OF
ul No, sir but they rejected II until something else
was inserted and TO read the note which in
serted in the deed
"The mos. excellent President has made himself
quainted with the OF the clause of this document
IN view OF the eneceden which have been borne in
mind he has been pleased TO OF said contract but
additions which have been deemed and
In order to m up the vscuums alluded TO 10 the deed itself
which might become the OF all sorts Of dis
cussons that be avoided II has been noticed that
mention has been made IN the contract OF the enuncia
on Of nationality, provided for by the thirteenth article Of
law OF November o, 1876 According The spirit Of
the Aforesaid law this remuneration must take place In the
most positive and conclusive the part Of the
settlers, that whatever circumstances may happen, and
whatever these may require, neither the settlers
the propueiors may NOT IN any case for
any plead alien privileges nor any other privileges
except those which have been granted, be ganed
TO them by the laws OF the country 70 which both their
and their property must be subjected, and without
th. requisite they will not be admited Nor il II stated
whether the uansierees have give the
peme government OF the they enter for
the Introduction Of families, IL there mention made
Of the record ordered to be kept In Of the four
,ecnth article OF the Aforesaid law OF November the 5h
All these obligations OF relative oharsctet, and they
have been contracted by they must be binding upon
the uansierees."
This note, containing this explicit direction 10 the pro-
pretors that settlers must renounce their nationality, and
submit themselves entirely 10 such justice as Mexico
would give them, TO be fully and explicitly understood
inserted in the contract ITSELF and signed by Man.
ming Macintosh. They took the assignment OF that
part of the Gaay grant with the full knowledge that
they dvested themselves Of all protection that the gov
eminent would be bound to extend 10 them under other
they had not thus dvesled themselves
Thus the matter remained until September, lSlS II
.aid that then-and the deed appears 10 be so-n Sep
ierber, lS4S there a transfer made 10 Manning
Macintosh OF the remaining part OF the contract and
that the part which related 70 making nteroceanc
between the two Early in January,
lSa9, Manning Macintosh notified the Mexican gov
that this contract had been assigned them in
September, is4s What did that government do The
very first moment that the Mexican government had any
notice that anybody else except a Mexican citizen
coming 10 TO take this contract they notified Manning
that they would not consent TO the transfer,
and they further notified them that the government re-
sumed 10 themselves all the concessions which bad been
made in the Garay grant, for the that the time
limited n The grant for the performance of the work bad