Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-05-12


me, referring to the official publica
| tion in the edition of the Diario Of
Ifical of December 81, 1925, contanin9
the text of petroleum law, to remind
you that December 16, last, l con-
I-veyed to you in confirmation of the
statement made by the secretary OF
state of the United States to Ambassa-
dor Tellez on December u, last, Ger
tain general observations relating t.
the retroactive and confiscatory char
acter of the petroleum bill then pend
I ing. My government regrets to OBJ
serve that the last mentioned law
published in the Diario official ap-
pears to be subject to the same OBJ
ijections which were advanced against
THE pending bill. Specifically but
following objections are not compre-
hensive my government desires me 30
point out that in it's view:
1. This law fails by far to give
full recognition to rights lawfully ac-
quired prior to the adoption of the
present Mexican constitution when
Ilaw expressly provided that the own-
er of the surface lands owned also
the subsoil deposits of petroleum.
2. The law fails not only in the
tCespect indicated but it also fails tc
respect decisions of the supreme count
lof Mexico in the Interpretation of
the very constitutional provisions
which the law is apparently designed
to regulate in that those decisions
hold in effect that such constitutional
provisions are not retroactive and in
applicable to those whether corpora
itions or individuals who performed
tany one of number of what are de-
Nominated as positive acts, ;" where
las,
I (a). This law (article ~ seems .
,provde that foreign corporations re-
Egardless of the time when they law
fully acquired rights and irrespective
Eof whether positive acts" they per-
formed will not be able to obtain re
t cognition of those rights, and
(b) That foreign individuals with
out regard to the time when they law
fully acquired acquired rights and ir-
respective of whatever positive acts"
they performed, will be deprived of
citizenship to such rights (article A.
a (c) That the number of positive
acts" recognized shall be muhc less
than these enumerated in the decis-
ions mentioned (article 14), and
(d) That even as to foreign in
dividuals who performed positive
acts" recognized in the law and made
the remuneration mentioned, confir-
nation of their rights must be ap-
piled for within year or such rights
will be forfeited (article 15).
8. In apparent contradiction to
the statements made by the Mclean
commissioners in the conferences held
in Mexico City in 1928 as to the past
present and future policy of the
Mexican government to grant prefer
entail rights to the owners of the
surface or persons entitled to eXer-
else their preferential rights to the
oil in the subsoil who have not per
formed positive act" the law in
question seems to give no preferential
rights to such owners or persons.
My government also directs me to
invite your excellency's attention to
the provisions in the laws under dis
cussion requiring foreigners to waive
.ther nationality and to agree not to
invoke the protection of their respec-
tive governments as far as their pro-
perty rights are concerned under pen
atty of forfeiture and to inform your
excellency that my government has
such waiver can annul the relation
1Do+ hi
government or that it can operate to
e,ltinguish the obligation of his gov
ernment to protect him in the event
CT denial of justice.
In connection with the foregoing
considerations my government fur
ther calls attention to tn estate
ment made by the Mexican commits
Isioners at the conferences mentioned
regarding the duty of the federal ex-
ecutive power under the constitution
to respect and enforce the decisions
of the judicial power wherein, speak
ing as they stated for the Mexican
government, Mexican commissioners
said: Gin accordance with such a
duty the executive has respected and
enforced and will continue to do 50
supreme court of justice in the TEX
as Oil company" case and the four
other similar amparo cases, declaring
that paragraph of article 27 of the
constitution of 1917 is not retroac-
tive in respect to all persons who have
performed prior to the PRONUNCIATION
of said constitution some positive act
which would manifest the intention OF
the owner of the surface or of the
persons entitled - to exercise their
rights to- the oil under the surface 20
make use of or obtian the oil under
the surface
Then enumerating a large number
of positive acts the Mexican commits
sioner added: "The above statement
has constituted and will constitute
in >the future the policy of the MeXi-
can government in respect to lands
and the subsoil upon which or in re-
lation to which any of the above sp9-
Gifted acts have been performed or in
to which any of the above specified
have been manifested"
My government is therefore unable
to escape the conclusion that the Pc
.roleun1 law as published in the Diario