The Russellville Democrat., 1886-12-15
THE CUTTING CASE.

THE CUTTING CASE
 In raoard to the imprisonment of A K Cut ting citizen of the United States, by Mexican authorities and his punishment in Mexico for an alleged oflcnse against Mexican citlzen sald to have been committed III the omteo otates, the president says:
 attended with serious results and invasiye of the jurisdiction of this government and highly dangerous to our citizens in foreign lands, there
 fore have denied it and protested against its at tempted exercise as unwarranted by the princi- pies of law and international usages. A soy ereign has jurisdiakion or onenses wmcn take
 effect in his territory although concocted or com
 menced out of it. but the rgns IS it aened Of Of any any United States for an ohense consummated on our soil in violation of our laws, even though the oflense be against subject or citizen of sneb sovereign The Mexican statute in ques- tion makes the claim broadly and the principle, if conceded would create dual responsibility in the citizen and lead to inextrcaple coniusion destructive of that certainty in the law which is
 an essential of liberty. When citizens or the
 United States voluntarily go into foreign coun- try they must abide by the laws there In force, and will not be protected by their own govern ment from the consequence of an onense aganst those laws committed in such foreign country, but the watchful care and interests of this gov
 ernment over it's citizens are not reinquished because they have gone abroad and II charged
 with crime committed in foreign lana, 1alr and open trial conducted with decent regard for iustice and humanity, will be demanded for them With less than that this government VIII not be contented when the life and liberty of its citizens is at stake. Whatever the degree to
 which extra territorial jurisdiction may have been formerly allowed by consent and reciprocal agreement among certain European states no anch doctrine or practice was ever known 70 the laws of the country or of that from which our institutions have been mainly derived. Tn the case of Mexico there are relations especially strong for perfect harmony in the mutual eAer- cise of jurisdiction Nature has made us ire vocably neighbors, and wisdom and kind ieeilng
 should make us friends The oyernow Ss 70. ol cap | ~f. hp
 potent factor in assisting the development of the
 resources of Mexico, in building up the prosper, ,
 ity of both countries. To assist this 5oou Wolh all grounds of apprehension for the security oI personal property should be removed, and l
 trust that In the interests of good neighborhood the statute referred to Will pc so moaiIeu as .o eliminate the present possibilities oI oahBer 'o the peace of the two countries.
 It appearing that the government of Spain did
 not extend to the flag of the United states Tn the
 Antilles the full measure of reciprocity requisite
 under our statute for the continuance or the sas-
 pension of discriminatons against the spanish lag in our ports, was constrained, in October last, to rescind my predecessors proclamation
 of February l4 1881, permitting such suspen-
 son An arrangement was n9weVef, owe, t speeury "var ment of Spain that all dilerentiai treatment oi our vessels and their cal goes from the united States or any foreign country had been com pleted and absolutely relinquished, l availed myself of the discretion conferred by law ana issued on the 27th of october, my proclamation declaring reciprocity suspended in the United States It is most gratifying to bear testimony to the earnest spirit in which the government or the queen regent has ct our enofts tp aVoiu the initiation of commercial discriminations ana
 reprisals, which are ever disastrous to the
 material interests and the political good VIII oi the countries they may affect
 NEEDED LEGISLATION.
 renew the recommendation of my last annual
 message that existing legislation concerning citizenship and naturalization be revised, we have treaties with many states providing for the
 renunciation of citizenship by naturalized aliens,
 but no statute is found to give effect to such en agreements, nor any which provides needed
 central bureau for the registration of naturaized citizens.
 The report of the secretary of the treasury ex-
 hibits in detail the condition of the public finance
 and of the several branches Of the government
 related to his department. especially direct the attention of congress to the recommenda- tions contained in this and the last preceuins | report of the secretary touching the sinphhea- | ton and amendment of laws relating 10 the coi- | lection of our revenues, and in the interest Of l economy and justice to the government nope
 they may be adopted by appropriate legisiatloh, ! The ordinary receipts of the government Tor the | fiscal year ended June 80, lss6, were sSs5 fSy,- | 727 O6 Of this amount si92 ,955, Jss tl was
 received from customs and SIG, Soa, ,.'o. as rom
 stnted were Sl3 749, ,020 .6s greater than Tor the | previous year, but the increase from customs
 was sll ,43i ,0s4 10, and from internal revenue | St a07 2lO. %, making gain in these items TOT
 last year of Sl5, ,s4i ,293 W, falnng on oi otner
 resources reducing the total increase to thc | smaller amount mentioned. The expense at ,he
 different custom houses of collecting thls iu-
 creased customs revenue was less than the eN-
 pense of attending the collection of such revenue
 for the preceding year by s49J COS and increaseu
 receipts of internal revenue were COT lected at cost to the internal revenue
 of SI55 gli % less than the expense of such
 collection for the previous year The total 1 orlinary exnensee of the government for the | ascal year ended June S0 lSs6 were $2f2 ,4s5,-
 iss bo, being less by sl7 7ss "a than such expen-
 dItures for the year preceding, and leaving | surulus in the treasury at the close Of the last
 ascaI wear of s9i a56 5sS &C., as against sts, Sa,
 I'll 27 at the close Of the previous year, being an increase of such surplus of $50, {2 eiI .z9 The