La correspondencia de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 1890-1943, 1903-04-28


national history perhaps there is
none of greater Importance than
the ratification by the Senate of
the United States of the treaty of
peace between the United States
and Her Majesty the Queen Regent
of Spain, on Monday, February s.,
1899, by which Spain relinquished
all claim of sovereignty over, and
title to, Cuba, and by which the
Philippine Islands, the island Of
Porto Rico and other islands, then
under Spanish sovereignty in the
West Indies, and the island of
Guam, in the Marianas or Ladrones,
were ceded to the United States as
a part of its territory. Concerning
the justice of the terms of settle
ment of the war between the two
nations therein specified, the writer
will express no opinion, but will
confne his observations to the ques-
tion whether or not the treaty in
any of it's provisions is repugnant
to the Constitution of the United
States.
The first provision of the Cons
tltutlon relating to treaties is the
following
He (he President) shall have power, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate,
to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the
Senators present concur. (Clause 2, Section
2, of Article Ii
A treaty is an agreement or a
compact between two or more So
vereig States. negotiated by auth
orized agents thereof and duly
ratified by the sovereign power of
each of the respective parties thereto.
By means of treaties only, foreign
territory always has been acquired
by our Government, except in the
cases of Oregon, the Guano Islands,
the Midway Islands, and few others
which were acquired by discovery,
exploration, and occupation, - a
right recognized by the law of
nations (Vattel, Book l., Chapter
XVIII, Section 2O7, p. 99), and in
that Hawaiian Islands, which we're
annexed by joint resolution Of
Congress, in violation of the Con-
stitution. as the writer contends;
for although the possession of such
territory has been and may be, one
Of the results of wars wich other
nations, it never has enlarged nor
can enlarge the imits'of the United
States by becoming a part thereof,
except by means of the treatyma-
king power. Fleming . Page, 9
Howard, 6l4) So that while it is
true that Congress is not prohibited
by the Constitution from declaring
or from waging wars of conquest
against other nations, such wars
have always been contrary to the
policy of our Government; and
whenever we have come into the
possession of territory as result
of war, such territory has never
been made a part of our domain
except by means of a treaty of
peace between the two countries.
Therefore it has become q we'll
established rule that treaty is
practically the only constitutional
method by which territory can be
acquired; although that can also
be done and has been done by dis
covery, exploration and occupation
as above stated.
Conceding, then, that territory
may be rightfully and constitutio-
nally acquired by the United States
in the manner above indicated, the
next stament to be made is that
all treaties Of whatever nature in
order to be valid must be in ac-
cordance with, and not repugnant
to, the Constitution. A treaty which
would violate any of the provisions
OF that instrument or would destroy
Our form Of government would be
absolutely null and void. Although,
according to Article vi. of the
Constitution, all treaties made under
the authority of the United States,
like the laws enacted by Congress
in pursuance thereof, are part of
<the supreme law of the lands no
treaty can supersede the Constitu-
ton either by increasing or by
diminishing the power possessed by
the different departments of the
Government; nor can it do so either
by adding to or by subtracting from
the rights, privileges, or immunities
enjoyed by the citizens of the
United States. And as the Supreme
Court has full power to declare an
act of Congress unconstitutional. so
it has the same power to make that
declaration concerning treaty; for
it would be absurd to hold that
the latter question is without the
jurisdiction of that tribunal while
the former is within it.
In the light of these general
principles concerning the validity
Of which there can be no reasona-
BILE doubt in the minds Of Intelligent