Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1853-05-07

Merico for the Sei.arc e the Vattey of the Ne
SiHd. |
The proclamation Of William Carr Lane, Gov
OF the Territory Of New Mexico, announ-
cling his intention to taxa possession of district
OF country on the Rio .a'Ie, north of Ell Paso,
called the "Mesilh VaIey,' abounds in so many
errors and misstatements which may lead the
Government and the peopls to form erroneous
views on the subject. that deem it my duty, on
account of my connexion with the Boundary Conn
misson to make the following statement of facts
beariug on the documens 10 question. In my
remarks | shall examine each clause ofthe proc
lamation sepai ately, and point out its errors.
The first clause audes TO the territofy in dis
pute:
-. From the year 1884, and ant.rier thereto until the
year 1851 this port Of territory was acknowledged to
be hin The limits Of New Mexico but in the year 1851
the of Chihuahua assumed jurisdiction ever the
without producing any authority Tor this act iom
the Republic OF Mexico, and without having obtained
the of the United s the Territory OF New
Mexico and in defiance of the Inconsistencies ola large
portion of the Inhabitants OF the disputed territory who
then numbered two thousand souls
For this assertion Governor Lane doubtless re-
lies upon decree of the Mexican government
passed in July, 1924, which says that "the prov
| ince of chihuahua shall include all that is CON-
| pretended between right lines drawn from east
| lowest, from the point. or town called Paso del
Norte on one side Nth the jurisdiction it has
al,cags possesse ed, and the hacienda of the Rio
! Florida, on the side of Durango. with its respec
| tive appurtenances.
On this old decree of Mexico four years be-
| fore Chihuahua had adopted her constitution, and
| ten years before she had made known her limits,
rests the strongest claim of Governor Lane to the
disputed territory. But this decree says the
line shall be drawn from FL Paso, with the iuris
| diction it has always possessed. What was,
| then, the jurisdiction of this town. and whore is
| the evidence that it extended eight miles. moro
or less, north of the town, as Governor Lane as
serts AS there was no town within fifty miles
to the north of it 10 1S41, it doubtless extended
that distance, to the very limits OF the State,
agreeaby to her constitution 1t 10 we'll known
that our country towns have an extension of ten
miles or more, but the jurisdiction of the Mexican
towns often extended fifty miles, So at the
South the territorial limits of Chihuahua extend
to the "hacienda of the Rio Florida. with its ap.
purtenances." Now, having been at this haci-
enda, cau assert that its 'appurtenances" or
| possessions extend some twenty miles to the
South, and that the farthest extremity of these
| constitute the boundary of chihuahua. These
limits, moreover, correspond with its boundaries
as laid down the official map, and as defined
in it's constitution.
At the time this decree was passed, all the
uorthe:n provinces of Mexico including Sonora,
chihuahua, New Mexico, Coahua. and Texas
were embraced unde, one government, without
any defined acknowledged territorial limits
Their boundaries, when laid down maps
were according to the ideas Of the map Makers
hence no two agree.
; In the year 1926 chihuahua organised itself
into State, and adopted its constitution. In
: 1883 it appointed corps of engi neers, the two
| principal OF which were Senior Pedro Garcia Con-
de and Mr.. Staples. an American, to make sur
} vey Of the State. This accordingly done
and large and beautiful map the result of this
survey, now hangs the wall of the Governors
hall in the capital. In 1886 Gen. Condo present.
ed his official report, which embraced statis-
tica account of the State. This was published
by order of the government in 1912, in folio
volume. In this report not only ave its territori-
al limits defined with great precision, bat every
town zhich it exercised jurisdiction is
named. as we'll as its mines, rivers, mountains
&c. This official map as well as the report,
claim for its northern limits line crossing the
Rio Grande at about 80 deg. 0min. and thence
extending north to 80 deg. 81 min. 40 north
latitude embracing the copper mines and ter
rtory nearly 40 miles north of the line agreed
upon by the commissioners, and which 40 miles
OF territory had always belonged to and been uu-
der the Jurisdiction of chihuahua. New Mexi-
co never claimed, much less exercised, any jurs-
diction ever this territory.
In l847 the constitution of chihuahua was re-
vised and its limits defined with great precision.
They are embraced in the I'd article of the lst
chapter, as follows:
CART O. The territory of chihuahua is that which it
has possessed and which is acknowledged to be be.
the parallels of25o SO aov md 32o 81 north
latitude and between the meridans of 10 3V 16" and 70
II So longitude west from the city of Mexico according
the map ofthe said State. made by Messs Staples and
Garcia Conde. in the year 1884"
The State of chihuahua did exercise jurisdiction
over the NIesla valley in 1885, at the very time
the commissioners of the two governments were
at Ell Paso for the purpose of fixing the bounda-
ry; and so far from that State '.assuming iuris-
diction over the same,' as Governor Lane asserts,
land without having obtained the consent Of the
United States the Territory of New Mexico"
the latter never pretended to claim it, and of
course, consent was necessary.
Governor Lane says this assumption was in de
iance of the remonstrances OF large portion of
the Inhabitants of the disputed territory, who
then numbered two thousand sous.''
When the boundary determined on, the
"MesiIla valley" which includes the whole
populated portion of the disputed territory,
| numbered but 700 instead of 5000 souls, among
| which there were not 20 Americans. And when
it was announced that this settlement would
| continue in the State of chihuahua according
| TO Disurnels map, to which state it had always
belonged, there firing of cannon and public
rejoicings the occasion at the town of Mesilla.
In the autumn of $751; when n Sonora, I was
| Informed that some Americans had settled at Me-
| silla and endeavored to create among its quiet
citizens feeling of hostility towards Mexico.
offering them great Inducements to remonstrate
| against the established boundary; but with what
success have never learned. But when it is
known that that of the populatiol which compo-
SOS this valley, not more than one in fifty read
and write it will he seen that an evil disposed
| person might induce them to afix their mark to
! what they could neither understand nor read.
will speak hereafter of the population of the
] Mesa valley.
| 49, During the discussion of the boundary question:
uader the treaty of peace the Commissioner of Mexico
proposed to aband part of this disputed territory
by dividing it between the two Republics And during