The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1902-05-23
SOVEREIGNTY OVER SULU.
Germany Questions Right of United States.
Declares 1t Was Not Spain's
to Confer.

1
Washington, May 18.-Germany's
efforts to impugn the sovereignty Of
the United States in the Sulu archipel-
ago have at last been officially dis
| closed.
The disclosures are made in a vol
ume of comprehensive reports on "the
law of civil government under mill
tary occupation" made to the Secre-
| tary of War by Charles E. Magoon, law
officer of the division of insular af-
fairs, War Department. Secretary
Root says in PREDATORY note to Mr..
| Magoon that the latter's reports upon
the various questions of law arising
during the military occupation of the
islands ceded or yielded by Spain,
have been of such value to me in de-
Gliding the questions treated that
have determined to have them printed
for the use of the officers concerned in
the government Of the islands"
The question raised by Germany to
the sovereignty of the United States
over the Sulu Islands was presented
by the German Ambassador, and de-
CIol Gu I1dI IuS
in the Philippines is without authori-
ty to regulate, restrict or prohibit
trade with the inhabitants of the Phil
ippine Islands, and in support of this
contention the Ambassador advanced
these propositions:
Germany's Contention.
THAT the United States did not &C.
Quire sovereignty over the Sulu archi.
pelago by the conquest thereof, nor
was sovereignty thereover confirmed
unto the United States by the treaty
of Paris, for the reason that Spain had
never acquired sovereignty in said
archipelago, nor was Spanish sover-
eighty therein recognized and inter
nationally established. The provisions
of the protocols entered into by Ger
many, Great Britain and Spain in
1877 and 1885 constituted a grant Gre
ating a perpetual easement in favor of
Germany, Great Britain and the other
powers, which is a servitude upon the
Sulu archipelago, diminishes the fee
thereof and remains attached thereto.
If the rights secured to Germany and
by the protocols are not vested by a
grant, then they are rights derived
from contract between the respect
i've sovereignties Of Spain, Germany
and Great Britain, which contract was
in force at the time the United States
acquired sovereignty over the archi-
pelago and the obligations of the con-
tract, incumbent upon Spain, passed
to and became binding upon the
United States"
Proposition Combatted.
Mr. Magoon declares that "the
rights" recognized by the protocols en-
tered into by Spain, Germany and
Great Britain were those constituting
sovereignty, and he finds himself un-
able to agree with the Ambassador
that Spanish sovereignty was not rec
ognized and internationally estab-
lished Mr. Magoon says that the re-
strictions upon trade imposed by the
military government were due to the
opinion of the commander of the mil
itary forces engaged in the suppress
sion of the insurrection, and that there
is a military necessity therefor. The
sovereignty of the United States be-
ing established, recognized and sub
mitted to throughout the archipelago,
the nation will cease to exercise its
war powers thereover and peace pow
ers will be exercised whenever the
conditions of peace prevail.