El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-05-22
First
National
Bank

eliminates SIS enumerated bancos fixe,
in 1884
although Mexico comes forward
now and says that these are unim
portanl matters, We. submit that tn,
San Elizario case and the Banco cas-,
of 1885 have by treaty expressly stated
that the treaty of 1884 was retroa ctive
Now Mexico says the parties did no
know what they were doing and seek.
to put aside the whole treaty, yet oul
friends say the treaty can have moth
ing to do with this river.
The Fact On which 1t Rests.
But the great fact on which the
Chamizal case rests. is that for two
years the governments tried it on thu
ground that they were acting on the
treaty Of 1884"
Here photogra phic copies of the
maps of 1858 made by the boundary
commissions at that time were intro
duced showing the meanderings Of the
river at that time.
Continuing, he said: 1.-THE treaty Of
1853 provides for a commission tC
make a survey where the line shall
not have been established by the
mixed commission Of Guadalupe Hidal-
go in 1S4S. We contend that this line
was surveyed and established under
the treaty Of 1S4s, and shall endeavoI
TO show 1t was the treaty under which
the line was established Mexico con-
of 1913 and established under the
treaty of 1853, but I contend that II
was both surveyed and esta blished un-
der the treaty of 1S4S."
Commissioner Laf1eur here asked
What difference can it maker"
at means they cannot eat their
cake and have IL" replied Dennis.
I'm order to designate the boundary
line the two governments appointed
surveyors to proceed, the result Of
their work to be respected as a part
of the treaty. The final payment under
this treaty was made in April. 1856
which indicated that it had been es-
tabkshed because the. money was not
to have been paid until it was com
pleted.
The Rio Grande the Boundary.
Both established the Rio Grande
as the only boundary. and the only
thing we have to consider what is
of 1S4s and 1853 We admit it is pos
sibIe to draw a fixed boundary line in
a river, but do not admit that It was
ever done in this river.
THE treaty between Great Britain
and Spain fixed the Mississippi as the
fixed boundary, and it has always
been considered a f1uvial boundary.
THE treaties between the United
States and Canada have fixed boun-
daries all along the line, but they
have been so marked on the maps
There is nothing to show that there
was any fixed boundary between the
United States and Mexico. other than
the f1uvial boundary of the Rio
Grande."
Is Merely Opening Argument.
This was just the opening argument
Mr. Dennis stating that he would max,
further argument Monday morning
Prior to beginning his argument he
paid a tribute to the court and &C
knowledged the gra cicus words spoken
by commissioner Lafleur when the
court was formally opened the first
day
Commissioner Lafleur then threw 8
few bouquets at Joaquin Casasus, OF
counsel for Mexico, and. after com
plimenting him on his able presenta-
ton of the case. which, he said, he and
his fellow commissioners had read witt
great pleasure. proceeded to put sew.
eral questions to him. stating thai
they might be answered either orally
at that time. or bv some other method
at another time, if Mr.. Casasus should
so desire The latter elected not t.
answer them Immediately.
Lafeur Asks Questions.
Commissioner Laf1eur. addressing MI
Casasus, asked these questions:
First, with respect to the treaty o
184S, is it not a fact that the boun
Diary provided by that treaty is partl,
artificial and partly a natural boun
dairy; that is part Of it is a boun
Diary on the land which would be arti
fetal and partly fluvial boundary?"
Mr.. Casasus said-rYes, there is
land boundary and a river boundary
but the whole line is not arcifenous
Mr. Laffeur-"The first paragraph o
that treaty says that the boundary lin
established by this article shall be re
igiously respected by each of the tw
republics and no change shall ever b
made therein, except by the expires
and formal consent of both nations
Now, when you use that language witt
reference to a river boundary, may /
not mean that the river shall foreve
be the boundary line between the tw
nations? Otherwise the river boun
Diary would disappear. If you have
fixed line and the river moves by ero
sion and alluvium, then in a few year
it can 10 longer be said that this rive
boundary exists ?''
Mr. Casasus-"That is to say tw
questions about the treaty of fS4S"
Mr. Lafleur-''Now. coming TO tn
treaty of 1853, you see that that pro
vided in the first article that the linn
its between the two republics shall b
as follows: Beginning in the gulf o
Mexico, three leagues from land, Oh
posite the mouth of the Rio Grand,
as provided in the fifth article in til
treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thence a
defined in the said article, up the mid
die of that river. etc So that in 1S5
the two nations still agreed that tn
river should be their boundary. 1t wa