Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-12-15

THIS JURISDICTION was sustained by the
courts Of Mexico III the Cutting case, and ap.
proved by tho eve utivo branch of that gov
eminent, uoon the authority Of n Mexican
statute The appellate court, in releasing Mr.
Cutting, decided that the abandonment OF
the complaint by thu Meyi'an citizen aS-
grieved by the alleged crime Ia lihellous pub.
licationl removed the basis of further prose-
cution, and al'o declared justice to have hcon
satisfied by the enforcement of a small part
Of the original sentence,
The admission Of such pretension would
b. attended, with serious results, invasive Of
the jurisdiction Of this government, and
highly dangerous to our citizens in foreign
lands; therefore | have denied it, and pro-
test3d against its attempted exercise, as UNI
warranted by the principles OF law and inter-
national uSages,
A sovereign has jurisdiction of offensas
which take effect within his territory, al
though cOncOCtol or commenced outside of
it; but the ri hit i denied OF any foreign SOW
crcgn to punish citizen OF the United
Stated for an offence contaminated on cur
soil in violation Of our laws even tn lugh the
Often @ be against sub 'est or citizen OF such
sovereign. The Mexican statute in question
makes the claim broadly. and the principle,
if conceded, would create Il dual responsible
ity in tho citizen, and lead to ineXtricable
the law which is an essential of liberty.
When citizens Of the United States volun-
tnrilyg 60 into foreign country they must
abide by thu laws there in force, and will
not be pro .ected hy their own government
from the cone uenceS Of an offence against
those laws committed in such foreign couu-
try; but va 'chiul caro- and int rest of this
government over its citizens are not relin.
quished be rauSe they have gone abroad: and
F.t, 4 4. 80 80. tl,nt
eign land n fair and open trial, conducted
with decent regard for Justice and humanity,
viii be demanded for them. With less than
that this government will not he content
when the life or liberty Of its citizens is at
stake.
Whatever the degree to which extraterri-
torial criminal jurisdiction may have been
formerly allowed by consent and reciprocal
agreement among certain of the European
States, no such doctrine or practice was
ever known to the laws of this country or of
that from which our institutions have mainly
been derive l.
In the ca e OF Movico there arc reasons
especially strong 70: perfect harmony in the
mut1a exercise Of jurisdiction. Nature has
made II irrcvo"ably re ghbors AMI wisdom
mud kind ic ling sh ud makes Us friends
The over low of capital and enterprise from
the Unitel States ila potent factor in assist
in the Development Of the resources of
Mexico, and in building up the prosperity Of
both countries
To assist this good wor!; all grounds Of APP
prehension fer the security of lcrson and
property should be removed: and trust that
in the interests of good neighborhood the
statute referred to will be 50 modified as to
eliminate the present possibilities of danger
to the peace of the two countriei
NATURRALIZATIOH AND EXTRACTION.
renew the recommendation of my last
annual message, that existing legislation con-
Germ ne citizenship aud naturalization be To-
viscd We have treaties with many States
providing for the remuneration of citizenship
by naturali,e aliens but no statute is found
to give effect to such cnga gements, nor any
which provides a nCele | central bureau for
the registration of natural.zed citizens.
Exuerien e Su ygc,ts that our stltutcS regll-
lating extra lition might be adyaatageOusly
amended by provision for the transit
across our territory, now convenient
thoroughfaro of travel from one foreign
country to another, OF fugitives surrenderel
by foreign government to a third state.
Such provisions are not unusual in lho Ii. lis
lation Of other countries, AMI tend to pre-
vent the miscarriage of jnS'i e. 1t is also
desirable, inordcr t. rem We present unrer-
ia mites, that authority should be conferred
on tho Secretary of State t. issue certiti-
cate in case Of an arrest for the purpose of
extralition, to the officer before whom the
pro eeding is pending, showing that re Jui-
siton for the surrender Of the person charged
ha been duly lnadr. Such certificate, if
re }ured to be received before the prisoners
examination, would prevent long and ex-
! enslve Judi ial inquiry into a charge which
the foreign government mitht not desire to
press. also recommend that express pro.
vision be made for the immediate dis barge
from custody of persons commit cd for ey-
tradition where the President is of opinion
that surrender should not be male.
THE CONSULAR SERVICE
Pursuant to provision of the diplomatic
and consular appropriation act, approved
July |, 1885, the estimates submitted by the
Secretary Of State for the maintenance OF
the consular service have been recaSt, on the
basis of salaries for all officers to whom such
allowance is deemed advisable. Advantage
has been taken of this to re distribute the sal
aries of the officers now appropriated for,
n &c cordance with the work performed,
ihe importance of the representative du-
ties of the incumbent and the cost Of
living at each post. The last consideration
has been too often lost sight Of in the allow
ances heretofore made. The compensation
which may suffice for the decent mainten-
ance of q worthy and capable ofli er in posi-
tiOn OF onerouS AMI representative trust at
post readily ,ces ,ible, and where the neressa-
ries of life are abundant and cheap,
may prove an inadequate pittance in dis:
tant lands, where the better part of
O years ray is Consumed in reaching
the post of duty, and where tine comforts
of ordinary civilized existence can only
be obtained with difficulty and at eXorhitant
cost. trust that, in considering the submit
ted schedules no mistaken theory OF economy
will perpetuate system viii h in the past
has virtually close to de ;erviny talent many
offices where capacity and attachments of q
high order are indispensable, and in not
few instances has brought dis"redit on our
nat 'onal character and entailed emharrasS-
ment and even suffering on those deIuted to
uphold our dignity and Interests abroad.
THE TREASURY REPORT.
The report Of the Sc rotary of the Treasury
exhibits in detail the condition of the public
finances and of the several branches Of the
government related to his DEPARTMENT. |
espe ,lally direct the attention of the Congress
to the recommendations contained in this
and the last preceding report of the Secre-
tary, touching the simplfcation and amend.
ment of the laws relating to the collection of
our revenues; and in the interest Of onomy
and Justice to the governm mt | hoHe they
may be aloptcl by appropriate legislation.
The ordinary receipts of the government
for the fiscal year ended June -, 1856, were
$3.50, 439, 721Oj or this amount Slg2,gOi,
023.4l was received fro II customs and SIG.
so, 1886. As from internal revenue. Tho total
re eipts, a here stated, were sl3, a., 02l IS
greater than for the previous year, but the
increase from customs was Sll, ;3t0Si 10 and
from internal revenue Si,4l1,2l9i, making a
gain in these items for the last year Of $l5-
S4l.2.G.0i--a falling or in other resources
re lu ing the total increase to the smaller
amount mentioned.
The ext en,e at the different custom houses
Of cole ting tn S iarrcas, Gu ,to rs revenue
was less than the expense attending thu col
lection of su h iejenuj for the piece ny
year by so 81, an tHe in re lse receipts
Of internal revenue we % cul'c't'd at q cost
10 the intornel revenue bureau If Slj5. 30
less than the expense Of such collection for
the previous year.
The total ordinary expenses of the govern
ment for the scaly year cn1ed June 20, 1856,
were S2i2, 4S3, ~. ~, being less by l7,iSN,9D
than such expenditures for the year preceding,
and leaving a surplus in the treasury at the
close of the last fiscal year of SH,9j6, 1SS.5b,
as against S63, 463, iIl.2I at the close or the
previous year, being an increase IN such sur
olus of $50, 492 sl7.@j
fOT Tile CuiTeuO 9edi W oi'' ouiV W. A'o,,i
the ascertained receipts up to October |,
1886, with such receipts estimated for the re-
mander Of the year, amount to $500, 100000.
The expenditures aScertaln d ana e'ti'
mated for the same period are 6j,O)0,0OJ
Indicating an anticipated surplus at the close
of tho year of SJ6,OOO,G0).
The total value of the exports from the
United States to foreign countries during the
fiscal year is stated all compared with tha
preceding year as follows:
For the year For the year