Historical Documents - Office of the Historian

The minister of public works to the Mexican Congress.

[Inclosure A.—Translation.—Extract from the Diario Oficial, October 6, 1872.]

Department of Public Works, Colonization, Industry, and Commerce,
Section 3d, October 5, 1872.

I have the honor of inclosing to you herewith the memorial addressed to this department by Mr. Edward Lee Plumb, representative of the International Railroad Company, in which he asks that the project he presents relative to the construction of a railroad, as also the documents annexed thereto, be transmitted by the executive to congress, in order that the same may be submitted to its high deliberation.

The project of Mr. Plumb, considered as a whole, may be said to embrace one of the grandest works that has ever been presented in Mexico in the branch of material improvements. It is therefore an affair of great interest and of much importance under whatever aspect it is examined, and is well worthy the attention of Congress.

In fact, to continue the railroad as is proposed in the project referred to, from the City of Mexico toward the States of the interior, so that passing by Lagos it will terminate at a point on the coast of the Pacific, and to construct also a railway from Lagos to a point on the Rio Bravo, is to unseal the fountains from which the prosperity of the republic will spring forth, should the realization of such a work be effected; for the advantageous geographical position in which Mexico is placed, having the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west, will contribute to give a powerful impulse and to facilitate by means of the railroad the commerce of Europe on the side of the Gulf and that of Asia on the side of the Pacific, and this frequent and constant traffic established between both coasts, not only will carry from the one to the other foreign effects and national products, but will disseminate the benefits of this prodigious activity in all of the States through which the line of the railway will pass.

The inconveniences of the want of good highways being thus removed, distances extraordinarily diminished, the cost of transportation considerably reduced, and a vast market opened, agriculture, mining, industry, and commerce would have a new being, and in their development would reach a point that to-day can hardly be conceived.

With respect to the railroad from Lagos to the Rio Bravo, it must be at once considered as the closest bond of union between the frontier States and those of the center as the principal, and perhaps at present the only means by which our deserts of the north can be populated; and as the most expeditious means by which the frontier States can speedily participate in the wonderful progress procured by railroads, which will be the beginning of the regeneration of those regions, among whose rich productions may be counted cotton and the vine, products which there is no doubt will form [Page 675] very important branches of domestic and foreign commerce. But the railroad from Lagos to the Rio Bravo, forming a connection with the railroads of the United States, has a grand future, and from the fact that the topography of the region through which it has to pass is very favorable, it may be preferred as the line of communication between the States of the East and those of the West of the American Union.

Besides the preceding considerations which relate in general to the project of Mr. Plumb, there are others which from their importance merit that special mention should be made of them.

The first is the circumstance that the company which solicits the concession to which the project referred to relates is already organized and has a railroad in construction in the United States, which is a guarantee that the work it proposes will be carried out.

The second is that the sums remaining due in case the subvention is not covered by the product of the eight per cent. of import duties assigned for that purpose, will not bear interest, and by the suppression of such interest there will result in favor of the treasury an economy of several millions of dollars.

The third consideration is based upon the fact that there is fixed as the maximum of the subvention, the extent of 2,275 kilometers, including the main lines and the branches that may be constructed to place them in communication with various States of the republic. In this manner there is known beforehand in a well-defined and determined manner the total amount that the national treasury will have to pay as subvention to the company obtaining the concession.

There should be taken into account as the fourth consideration, the obligation undertaken by the company of commencing the work of construction from the city of Mexico toward the interior within nine months after the termination of the railroad from Vera Cruz, the company binding itself also to complete and place in operation 80 kilometers within fifteen months after the first term; in this manner, as the work of the Mexican Railroad has to be finished by the last day of December of the present year, the work upon the railroad in the direction of Queretaro would be commenced in the month of October, 1873.

In view of the reasons which I have expressed, the President believes that the project to which I have referred is worthy of being taken into consideration by Congress, which, with its well known enlightenment, will duly examine it in order to take such resolution with regard thereto as maybe most convenient to the national interests; hut as the term prescribed for the company to begin work from the city of Mexico is very short, the President recommends to Congress that it may be pleased to resolve in the present period of sessions what it may deem best with respect to the concession solicited by Mr. Plumb.

I repeat to you with this motive the assurances of my respect.

Independence and liberty! Mexico, October 5, 1872.

BALCARCEL.

To the Deputies,
Secretaries of the Congress of the Union, present.

Mr. Plumb to the department of public works of the Mexican Republic.

[Translation.]

Mexico, September 26, 1872.

memorial.

To the Minister of Public Works:

The undersigned, in representation of the International Railroad Company before your excellency, has the honor respectfully to state:

That the said company, composed chiefly of capitalists of New York, organized under an act of the legislature of the State of Texas passed August 5, 1870, is now actively engaged in constructing a railroad across the State of Texas from Fulton, on the border of the State of Arkansas, by way of the cities of Austin and San Antonio, to the Rio Bravo del Norte, on the frontier of Mexico, a distance of about 530 miles.

This railroad, from its geographical position, has to become the principal line of communication between the republic of Mexico and the United States.

At Fulton, according to the terms of the company’s charter, its road has to connect with the Cairo and Fulton Railroad, now being rapidly constructed, and which, connecting with the Saint Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad, under the same management, will extend direct communication on the one hand to Cairo, at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and on the other will unite Fulton by a direct line [Page 676] of 480 miles with the city of Saint Louis, one of the most important centers of commerce in the valley of the Mississippi.

By these means communication will he established from the border of Mexico for a distance in almost a direct line of over one thousand miles, reaching nearly to the center of the most populated portion of the United States.

From Cairo the Illinois Central Railroad, and from Saint Louis other lines, carry the connection to Chicago; and from Memphis, Cairo, and Saint Louis various lines of railroad complete communication to Cincinnati, Washington, Philadelphia, and New York.

The International Company within the first two years of its existence, viz, up to the 5th of August last, has completed and placed in operation one hundred and ten miles of its road, and has seventy miles more so far advanced that they will be placed in operation by the end of the present year.

Within the year 1873 its road will be completed and placed in operation from Fulton to Austin, a distance of about three hundred miles.

There has also been consolidated with the International Company the Houston and Great Northern Railroad Company, which has one hundred and sixty miles of road completed and in operation, and sixty-six miles more which will be finished by the 1st of December next.

The two joint companies will have on the 1st of January, 1873, a total of four hundred and six miles of road completed and in operation.

The Cairo and Fulton Company has announced that in the coming month of October trains will be running from Saint Louis to Little Rock, about midway of that line, and the remaining portion between Little Rock and Fulton will be completed and placed in operation in 1873.

In 1874 the International Railroad will reach San Antonio, a distance of about four hundred miles, and direct communication will thus be opened from that point to all parts of the United States.

The final location of that portion of the International Company’s road lying between San Antonio and the Rio Bravo del Norte cannot well be made until it shall be ascertained by what route, and to what point on that river, lines of railroad in Mexico, extending from the city of Mexico and from the Pacific coast, can most feasibly be brought down from the central table-land to the valley of the Rio Bravo, and at what point on that river connection between the railroads of the two republics can most advantageously be made.

By the terms of its charter from the State of Texas the company is authorized to unite with any other railroad company, within or without the State, and also to operate its road in connection or consolidation with any other company. It is further contemplated in its charter that the company may undertake the continuation of its railroad to the city of Mexico and to the Pacific coast in case the government of Mexico shall grant the necessary authorization therefor.

The International Railroad Company is very greatly interested in the opening of communication with the republic of Mexico on account of the increased business that would accrue to its road. This interest is also participated in by the railroad companies whose roads form the line of connection from Fulton to Cairo, Saint Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and New York.

These considerations have led the International Company to take an early interest in ascertaining what probabilities there may be of the construction of any road in Mexico with which its road in Texas can connect, and in default of the probable construction of such a line by others, to consider the subject of itself undertaking the work, providing suitable arrangements for that purpose can be made with the Mexican government.

With this view it was determined by the board of directors of the company, as early as August, 1871, to send an agent to Mexico, and, in pursuance of arrangements made with the undersigned to act in that capacity, he arrived in this city on the 1st of September of last year.

Since that date the Executive of the republic has been fully informed with regard to the company and the projects it has thus been led to entertain, and the bases of proposals for the construction of the work herein indicated have been under discussion as constantly as circumstances would permit, with a view to the submission of the same at a proper moment to the consideration and determination of the Federal Congress.

Before submitting such propositions in a formal manner, the undersigned has desired to have the opportunity of conferring fully with the Executive, in order to receive its advice and suggestions, and that the proposals might be made to conform to the practices of Mexican legislation, and, so far as practicable, to the views of the government with regard to the form and manner of the subvention that might be deemed most convenient in view of the actual circumstances of the country.

The first idea of the company was naturally to make arrangements simply for the extension of its road into Mexico from the frontier of the Rio Bravo on completing its road in Texas to that point.

[Page 677]

But as any enterprise of this character has to be based in Mexico, as everywhere else, upon government aid to the extent of a portion of a cost of the work, the position has been very reasonably taken by the Executive government, since the first conferences of the undersigned with it, that an indispensable condition of such aid must be the commencement of the work at this capital.

This condition having been communicated to the company, it has consented to assume the obligation of commencing the work at this city, and also to prosecute the same from the Pacific coast, on the determination of the point which has to serve as the termination of the railroad on that coast.

The early completion of the railroad from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico, one of the colossal works of this continent, and which reflects the highest credit upon the Mexican government and people, now renders practicable what before would have been impossible; that is to say, the undertaking, by responsible parties, of the construction of long lines of railroad from this city toward the interior of the republic.

To determine the question of the possibility of the construction of a line of railroad from this city to the Pacific coast byway of Guadalajara, and from some intermediate point, as Lagos, to the Rio Bravo del Norte, no surveys are necessary.

The topography of the country is too well known to admit of doubt upon this point.

The general location of the line appears also to be determined beforehand by the situation of the principal populations of the interior.

The general interests of the country, its local interests, and the interests of the enterprise all unite in requiring that the main trunk line of railroad from this city to the Pacific, and that from this city to the Rio Bravo del Norte, shall place in communication with the capital of the republic the greatest practicable number of capitals of States and principal populations of the interior.

The question of the direction of the line has evidently to be subordinated to this last-mentioned most important consideration.

Without the necessity, therefore, of previous surveys to determine the question, it appears to be evident that the main trunk line of railroad from this city should unite with the capital of the republic the cities of Querétaro, Celaya, Salamanca, Irapuato, Guanajuato, Silao, Leon, and Lagos. A branch to Morelia will be a necessary consequence of this line.

The main line should then proceed, by way of Guadalajara, to such port on the coast of the Pacific as may be found to be the most desirable.

From Lagos, or such other intermediate point as may be determined upon, the line to the north should proceed by Aguascalientes and Zacatecas, or San Luis, to Saltillo, and thence by Monterey or Monclova to the Rio Bravo del Norte.

With the construction of a main trunk line of this character the immediate necessities of the country would appear to be in a very great measure satisfied.

The railroad which the International Company is now constructing in Texas is a first-class road, of four feet eight and one half inches gauge, the same as all of the Pacific railroads, and as that of the railroad from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico, and is not surpassed in excellence of construction by any railroad in the United States.

To facilitate commercial movement between the two countries, and for opening of proper communication between the capitals of the two great republics of this continent, it would appear to be desirable that the road to be constructed from the City of Mexico, and from the Pacific coast of Mexico, to the Rio Bravo, should be of the same character; that is, a road of the first class.

It appears also to be equally desirable that the railroad to be extended from the City of Mexico to the Pacific coast, being the completion of the line from Vera Cruz to the Pacific, should be of the same character as that from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico, namely, a railroad of the first class.

In this manner the line from the capital of the republic to Lagos, or other central point, would serve the double purpose of forming at the same time part of the line from Vera Cruz to the Pacific, and part of the line to the United States; while the line from Lagos, or other central point, by way of Guadalajara to the Pacific, would complete the railroad from Vera Cruz to the Pacific, and would at the same time serve as part of a continental line from the Pacific to New York. The line from Lagos to the Rio Bravo would also form a part not only of a main line from the City of Mexico to the United States, but at the same time a part of a Pacific railroad that, starting from New York and passing by the capital and several of the principal cities of the United States, and a considerable number of the cities and important towns of Mexico, would terminate at a Mexican port on the Pacific, and would be the shortest of the great railroads from New York to the Pacific which it is possible to construct.

The lines thus indicated from the City of Mexico to the Pacific and to the Rio Bravo would have also the essential advantage of uniting with the capital of the republic the capitals of not less than nine important States of the federation, and at the same time of opening a vast section of the interior of the country to free access for the export of its valuable products by way of Vera Cruz to the markets of Europe, by way of the Pacific to those of California and China, and by way of the Rio Bravo to those of every part of the United States.

[Page 678]

The United States now annually consume of sugar over 500,000 tons, of the value of upward of $70,000,000, of which only one-tenth part is produced in that country.

Of coffee, the annual consumption in the United States has reached over 150,000 tons, of the value of $36,000,000, and of this not one pound is produced in the United States.

Both of these products, so important and necessary, and of daily consumption, are now procured mainly from Cuba and from Brazil, where they are obtained by means of the labor of slaves.

By this commerce, so vast in extent, the United States are forced to contribute indirectly to maintain slavery in those two countries. It is therefore to be desired that these products should be provided by free labor.

Mexico produces coffee of a quality that is not surpassed by any other in the world. Her coffee-growing regions, as well on the coast of the Pacific as on that of the Gulf, are capable of supplying all that the United States consume, and with direct means of communication her geographical position would secure to her almost the monopoly of production for that country. Coffee is now carried by steamer from Costa Rica to San Francisco, and thence by railroad to Chicago and Saint Louis. The distance, in a direct line on the map, from Chicago to San Francisco, is precisely the same as from Chicago to Manzanillo. From Saint Louis to San Bias the distance is considerably less. Yet, the freight on coffee by railroad from San Francisco to Chicago, a distance of 924 leagues, is but 2½ cents per pound, or $10 per cargo of 16 arrobas, (400 pounds.)

For the production of sugar Mexico has regions especially adapted and of great extent. In a marked degree is this the case in the States of Jalisco, Michoacan, and Colima.

The supply to the United States of only a portion of the immense quantity now required for consumption there, and which is annually increasing, would furnish to Mexico a most important and lucrative commerce.

A direct line of railroad from the Pacific coast of Mexico which will pass by the principal centers of population of the United States, and along the whole of which line consumers would be reached, would give to Mexico as a source of supply of these two articles of prime necessity advantages against which no other country could compete.

There is an almost unlimited list of other articles which would enter into this valuable commerce, among which the shipment by railroad of cattle from the States of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, and Durango, and of wool, skins, and mineral products, are especially to be mentioned.

The city of Mexico is destined to become the Paris of America. Its unrivalled climate and beautiful scenery; the history, so full of interest and romance of this favored land, as yet a tierra incognito to the tourist, and the era of peace and prosperity now dawning upon the republic, will attract hither thousands and tens of thousands of travelers from every country when once the most ancient and interesting capital of this continent can be reached by a land journey free from the perils of the coast, and attended by all the conveniences which modern travel now receives and demands.

To escape the heat of the summer and the cold of the winter, both in the United States and in Europe, thousands of persons of wealth and leisure will be led to seek the perpetual spring of Mexico, and few of the travelers who come from Europe to visit the United States will return without having first extended their journey to Mexico.

The advantages that, in this manner, will be obtained by the republic from the more just knowledge that will be formed of its people, the wealth that will thus be attracted to its capital, and the national prosperity that will certainly result from the immense exportation of the products of the country by means of their cheap and rapid transportation, not only to the markets of Europe, but also to those of the United States, are points that press strongly upon the attention, and that will, without doubt, merit the intelligent consideration of the national Congress in the discussion of this subject.

As the result of the conferences the undersigned has had the honor to have with the executive, and of the study he has been able to give to the subject during his residence here of now over a year, and of his correspondence with the company he represents, he has now the honor of submitting to your excellency the accompanying project, which contains the bases upon which the International Railroad Company is disposed to undertake the construction of the important work herein referred to.

The undersigned also incloses, with the greatest respect, the following documents relating to the organization of the company and its operations, and to the character in which it is represented by the undersigned.

These documents are as follows:

1.: A certified copy of the charter granted to the International Railroad Company by the legislature of the State of Texas.
2.: A certified copy of the reports presented to the governor of the State of Texas by the agents of the said State commissioned to examine the first fifty miles of railroad constructed by the company.
3.: Certificate of the secretary of the International Railroad Company of the payment of the first $2,000,000 of subscribed capital.
4.: Letters of instructions from the president of the International Railroad Company to the undersigned.
5.: Power of attorney from the International Railroad Company in favor of the undersigned.
6.: Letter from the president ad interim of the company, giving information with reference to the work concluded in the first two years of the existence of the company.
7.: Board of directors and officers of the International Railroad Company.
8.: Board of directors and officers of the Houston and Great Northern Railroad Company.
9.: Executive committee of the two associated companies.

In view of what has been stated, the undersigned respectfully solicits that your excellency will be pleased to place this memorial, and the documents which accompany it, before his excellency the President of the republic, in order that the chief magistrate, should he think proper to do so, may deign to submit the same, with such recommendation as he may deem proper, to the national Congress, for its wise determination.

E. L. PLUMB.

[Extract from the Diario Oficial, of December 18, 1872.—Translation.]

Law authorizing the Executive to adjust contracts for the construction of railroads.

Department of Public Works, Colonization, Industry, and Commerce of the Mexican Republic, (Section 3.)

The constitutional President of the republic has been pleased to address to me the following decree:

Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, constitutional President of the United Mexican States, to the inhabitants of the same, be it known:

That the Congress of the Union has thought proper to decree the following:

The congress of the union decrees:

Sole article. The executive shall receive all propositions that may be made to it with regard to the construction of railroads, and is hereby authorized to adjust with the parties interested the terms of contract relative thereto; which contracts shall be subject to the approbation of the legislative power.

Palace of the legislative power of the Union, Mexico, December 10, 1872.

N. LEMUS, President,

V. CASTANEDA y NÁJERA,
Secretary.

S. NIETO, Secretary.

Wherefore I order that this decree be printed, published, circulated, and that due compliance be given to it.

Dated in the palace of the national government of Mexico, December 10, 1872.

SEBASTIAN LERDO DE TEJADA.

To the citizen Blas Balcarcel,
Minister of Public Works, Colonization, Industry, and Commerce.

And I communicate the same to you for the consequent ends.

Independence and liberty.

BALCARCEL.

Mexico, December 10, 1872.

The minister of the public works to the Mexican Congress.

[Extract from the “Diario Oficial,” June 3, 1873.—Translation.]

Department of Public Works, Colonization, Industry, and Commerce,
May 30, 1873.

Section 3. I had the honor of stating to Congress, in a communication of the 19th inst., that the government would soon conclude with the representative of the International Railroad Company of Texas arrangements relative to the construction of the railroad which is to terminate on the coast of the Pacific. The government had [Page 680] already had occasion to examine the propositions of Mr. Plumb, when it transmitted them to Congress October 5, 1872, and having been subsequently authorized to receive proposals with reference to railroads it has again studied very closely the project referred to, in order to comply with the decree of December 10, 1872.

The contract which has just been concluded embraces two lines, the inter-oceanic and that which, beginning at some point on the former, will terminate at such place as may be most desirable on the frontier of the North. The first commencing at this capital, will pass by Querétaro, Guanajuato, Lagos, Guadalajara, Colima, and will terminate at the point which may be designated on the coast of the Pacific. A branch of this line will extend from Salamanca to Morelia, and another, commencing at Lagos, will pass by the cities of Aguas Calientes and Zacatecas, and be extended to Durango, which before was not included in the project, and finally the construction of a branch to Toluca has been stipulated in case the road that is how in process of construction shall not be completed.

The second line, which may be called the international, commencing at Lagos, will pass by San Luis Potosi, and the States of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, and will reach the point that may be determined on the frontier of the North.

In this manner it has been provided that the two great lines, with their branches, will reach the centers of greatest population and commerce of the republic, in order that the general movement of traffic may attain the development required by the progress of the country. In addition to the advantages to be afforded by the inter-oceanic line, which, commencing at the port of Vera Cruz, and terminating at another on the Pacific, will permit and facilitate the commerce of the western nations of Europe with San Francisco, and with points on the coast of the southern ocean, the international line will enable Mexico to obtain the benefits which belong to it from its geographical position. The important States of the South and of the East, of the neighboring republic, will find a natural outlet for their products, as the route to be traversed by their effects, when the line referred to shall be constructed, is shorter than any other, and also passes in our republic through regions not exposed to the rigors of climate which embarrass traffic in the zones of higher latitude, causing a paralyzation of business.

In order to facilitate mercantile transactions and relations of every kind between Mexico and the United States, it was necessary to look for the shortest road; and for this reason the line through the States of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon was adopted, which, compared with that which would have passed by Paso del Norte to connect afterward with American lines, affords an economy of three hundred leagues.

It was also necessary to bear in mind that, in order to assure the future of the Mexican line, the route adopted merits the preference, for the reason that it is to be united with the important railroads of Texas—the Cairo and Fulton and the Saint Louis and Iron Mountain Railroads, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas, and Houston and Great Northern.

The preceding considerations have decided the government to fix for the projected lines the same width as that of the railroad from Vera Cruz, and of those of the United States which have been mentioned, the great inconveniences resulting from a diversity of gauge being so well known that all countries are now seeking to unify their railroads in this respect; and with this system of construction the conditions required to meet the necessities of a great traffic are well assured.

The government has obtained for the country all the advantages possible in concluding the new arrangements; and although it did not obtain all that it desired, it secured important modifications, which Congress will be able to appreciate by comparing the new project with that which was transmitted to it on the 5th of October of last year, the most important being the following:

It was desirable to provide that the interoceanic line should be completed at least as rapidly as the work upon the international line should progress, and it has been so stipulated in the contract in an express and terminant manner.

The subvention has been reduced to nine thousand dollars per kilometer, in place of nine thousand five hundred dollars before assigned, it having also been stipulated in an explicit manner that the sums corresponding to the subvention are not to bear interest, a provision which the government deems very important.

It is not convenient that the natural desire of stimulating traffic should deprive the republic of the advantages of its position by conceding the transit of merchandise throughout the extent of its territory without deriving any advantage therefrom, and it has therefore been stipulated that the Mexican International Railway Company shall collect for account of the government a certain quota for each passenger and per ton of merchandise.

The executive devoted especial attention to the part relating to the tariff of freight aid passage, as its provisions practically determine whether a work of this character will produce for the republic all of the benefits which are to be expected in projecting it.

The tariff stipulated in the contract is as low as any that has been proposed to the [Page 681] government, and is in some points more favorable, with the advantage that the rates will be uniform for effects destined as well for interior commerce as for exportation.

It is easy to calculate, knowing approximately the distances that have to be traversed, that a charge of four cents per kilometer in first class and two and a half cents in second for passage, and seven cents in first class, five in second, and two and a half in the third per ton of merchandise are moderate and equitable rates.

It has also been stipulated, in order to afford due protection to Mexican agriculture, that cereals of all kinds shall be included in the third class, whatever may be the point of their destination.

And, finally, it has been provided that the rights and privileges stipulated in this concession cannot be transferred to any individual or company without the previous permission of the executive of the union.

The advantages which will result to the country from the realization of this work are so great, it will so develop its wealth, so increase the relations between all the States of the federation, and so assure the public peace and tranquillity, that the project merits the co-operation of the federal powers; for, although it is true that it imposes on the country sacrifices of importance, they will be compensated by the advantages that have been enumerated, which afford ground for the expectation of a prosperous future for the nation.

As these affairs are of the utmost gravity, on account of the amount of the subvention which has to be provided, since it is only by this means that the realization of such projects can be attained, the government trusts that Congress, with its well-known zeal and enlightenment, will examine all of the points embraced in the contract which has been concluded, and will take such determination as may be most advantageous for the republic.

In order that you may be pleased to submit the same to the approbation of Congress, I have the honor of inclosing to you the contract and the relative communications.

All of which I state to you by direction of the President, repeating to you the assurances of my respect.

Independence and liberty.

BALCARCEL.

To the Deputies, Secretaries of the Congress of the Union,

Mr. Plumb to the Mexican minister of public works.

[Translation.]

Mexico, January 16, 1873.

To the Minister of Public Works:

Referring to the communication I had the honor to address to you on the 26th of September last, in representation of the International Railroad Company of Texas, submitting proposals for the construction of a railroad from this capital to the Pacific Ocean and to the Rio Bravo del Norte, which proposals received the honor of being presented by the executive to the national Congress on the 5th of October last, permit me now to state:

That, in view of the general authorization that has been conceded to the executive by the law passed by the Congress of the union on the 10th of December last, with regard to the receiving of proposals and adjustment of contracts relating to the construction of railroads, I am prepared, and shall have pleasure to enter, whenever the attentions of the government may permit, upon conferences with reference to the proposals which I have already so submitted for the purpose of adjusting a contract, if it shall meet the views of the executive to do so, under the terms and for the object of the said law of the 10th of December last herein referred to.

I have, &c.,

E. L. PLUMB.

The minister of public works of Mexico to Mr. Plumb.

[Translation.]

Department of Public Works, Colonization, Industry, and Commerce of the Mexican Republic, (Section 3,)
Mexico, February 12, 1873.

In view of the petition which, under date of the 16th of last month, was addressed by you to this department asking to enter into arrangements with the government for the purpose of adjusting a contract for the construction of a railroad from the capital [Page 682] to the Pacific Ocean and to the Rio Bravo, there have been asked from the permanent deputation of the Congress of the union the “expedientes” (documents) formed with reference to this affair.

This has now been received, and the supreme magistrate has therefore directed that I should state to you that you can take before this department such steps as may be convenient in order to arrive at the arrangement of the contract before mentioned, which has to be submitted to the approbation of Congress, in conformity with the provisions of the law of the 10th of December of last year.

Independence and liberty.

BALCARCEL.

Mr. Plumb to Mr. Balcarcel.

[Translation.]

Mexico, May 17, 1873.

To the Minister of Public Works:

By the communications which were addressed in the month of February last to the representative of Mexico at Washington by the secretary of the International Railroad Company, the vice-president of the Cairo and Fulton and Saint Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad Companies, and the president of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad Company, the government was informed that the three last-mentioned companies, in addition to the Houston and Great Northern Railroad Company, have become associated with the International Company in joint interest in the proposals which, in the name and as the representative of the latter company, I had the honor, on the 26th of September last, to submit to the consideration of the Mexican government with regard to the construction of a line of railroad from this capital to the Pacific Ocean and to the Rio Bravo del Norte, there to connect with the International Railroad of Texas.

The time having arrived when it may be deemed necessary, in the judgment of the President, to conclude a definitive arrangement, under the authorization conceded to the executive by the law of the 10th of December last, for the purpose of submitting the same to the national Congress for its approval, it may be proper for me as the representative of the International Company, and I have now the honor formally to state, that the proposals herein referred to, and the contract which, in the name of the International Railroad Company may result therefrom, are in the associated and joint interest of that company and of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad Company, the Cairo and Fulton Railroad Company, the Saint Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad Company, and the Houston and Great Northern Railroad Company.

The five companies thus associated had in operation, on the 15th of March last, the following extent of first-class railroad, constructed and owned by them, which extent has since that date been further increased, viz:

	Miles.
The International and Houston and Great Northern Companies	433
The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Company	589
The Saint Louis and Iron Mountain Company	308
The Cairo and Fulton Company	160

(This latter company will have finished and placed in operation 140 miles more by the autumn of the present year.)

Total number of miles in operation on the 15th of March last belonging to the five companies, 1,490, or 2,398 kilometers.

It will be seen by a reference to the map that the lines of railroad belonging to these several companies form the most direct means of communication from the frontier of Mexico, near Laredo, to the principal centers of population and consumption in the United States, and each of the companies is, therefore, now, and will always be, interested in obtaining and stimulating a constant exchange of freight with Mexico.

For this reason they have a direct and legitimate interest in the speedy construction of the lines projected in Mexico, according to the propositions which have been submitted to the government in the name of the International Company, and it is to add to the certainty of the practical realization of the enterprise initiated by the said propositions that the present association of the companies herein named has been effected.

I have, &c.,

E. L. PLUMB

Contract concluded between the department of public works of Mexico and the representative of the International Railroad Company of Texas.

[Translation.]

Article. 1. The International Railroad Company of Texas is hereby authorized to construct and operate a line of railroad and its corresponding telegraph, from the City of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean and to the Rio Bravo del Norte.

The line from the city of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean shall follow the direction which, according to the surveys of the company approved by the department of public works, may appear to be the most desirable to place the capital of the republic in communication, either by means of the main line or of the necessary branches, as nearly as may be practicable, with the cities of Queretaro, Celaya, Salamanca, Morelia, Toluca; if the line now under construction should not be completed, Guanajato, Silao, Leon, Lagos, and Guadalajara, and, in connection with the Vera Cruz Railroad, to form an interoceanic line from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, which shall terminate at the port of San Blas, or at such other point on the coast of the Pacific, from the port of Manzanillo to that of Mazatlan, as, after the necessary surveys have been made, may be selected as the most desirable by the company, with the approval of the department of public works.

The line to the Rio Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande) shall commence on the line above mentioned, at the city of Lagos, or such other point as, according to the surveys of the company approved by the department of public works, may be found to be the most desirable, and shall follow the direction which, in conformity with the same requisites, may appear to be the most practicable to place the capital of the republic in communication, either by means of the main line or of the necessary branches, with the cities of Aguas Calientes, Zacatecas, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Saltillo, and Monterey, terminating on the Rio Bravo del Norte, at the point that may be the most convenient to form a connection with the International Railroad of Texas, which the said company is now constructing across the said State, and to establish a continuous line of connection from the city of Mexico, and from the Mexican coast of the Pacific, with the railroads of the United States.

Art. 2. The said company is hereby authorized to immediately commence the necessary surveys, which shall be at its own expense, in order to determine the location of the lines of railroad designated in the present law.

Before commencing the work of construction on the different sections of the line, there shall be remitted to the department of public works, for its approval, a copy of the maps of survey and of the plans of the location of the road.

The general survey of all of the line shall be concluded and the corresponding plan submitted to the department of public works for its approval, within the term of two years and a half, counted from the date of this law.

An engineer appointed by the executive and paid by the company may accompany each of the principal surveying parties of the said company; forty days’ previous notice being given by the latter to the government of the time when the surveys are to be commenced; but the said surveys shall not be delayed nor considered incomplete by reason of the absence of the engineers to be appointed by the executive.

Art. 3. The work of construction on the main line of railroad from the City of Mexico to the Pacific shall commence within nine months counted from the date of this law; and within fifteen months, counted from the termination of the period stipulated for the commencement of the work of construction, there shall be completed at least 100 kilometers (62.14 miles) of railroad of the said line.

In each of the subsequent years there shall be constructed at least 120 kilometers, or 240 every two years, until the completion of all of the line of railroad to which this law refers.

Immediately after the conclusion of the necessary surveys and the determination of the point which has to serve as the terminus of the road on the Pacific, the work of construction shall also commence at the said point.

The work on the line from the Rio Brazos del Norte shall commence on the Mexican side of the said river immediately after the completion of the International Railroad of Texas to the Rio Bravo del Norte.

The work from the different points mentioned in this article shall be prosecuted in such manner that on the line from the City of Mexico to the Pacific there shall be constructed at least, in each year, or every two years, a number of kilometers equal to that which may be constructed on the line from the Rio Bravo to the point of junction with the preceding line, and which shall assure the completion of all of the line of the railroad from the City of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, and from Lagos or other intermediate point to the Rio Bravo del Norte, within the term of ten years counted from the date of this law.

Art. 4. In case the company should complete the said railroad from the City of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, and to the Rio Bravo del Norte, in a period of one year [Page 684] less than the stipulated term of ten years, the government will pay to the company, in the character of donation and as a premium, the sum of one hundred thousand dollars; if the road should he completed in two years less than the stipulated term, the premium shall be two hundred thousand dollars for each one of the two years; if it should be completed in three years less than the stipulated term, the premium shall be three hundred thousand dollars for each of the said three years; and if the road should be finished in four years less than the prescribed term, the premium that the government will pay to the company shall be four hundred thousand dollars for each of the said four years.

The said premiums shall be paid to the company in certificates of the same character as those which are to be issued in conformity with the terms of the present laws.

Art. 5. For the purpose of the construction, possession, and operation of the lines of railroad and telegraph designated in this law and under the provisions which in it are established, the said International Railroad Company of Texas obligates itself to organize in Mexico, the United States of America, or in Europe, a company to be denominated “The Mexican International Railway Company.”

The possession and exercise of all the rights and concessions which are conferred by the present law, as also the compliance with all the obligations imposed by it, will pertain to the Mexican International Railway Company, from the time of its organization and before such organization to the International Railroad Company of Texas.

The Mexican International Railway Company, as also the said International Railroad Company of Texas, shall be considered as Mexican in all that relates to the present concession, and all the persons that may take part in the same, whether as shareholders, employés, or in whatever other character, shall be considered Mexicans in all that relates to the said enterprise within the territory of the republic; they cannot allege rights as foreigners with respect to interests or affairs relating to the enterprise, nor can they have, even when alleging denial of justice, other rights nor other means of making them valid in whatever may concern the said enterprise, than those which the laws of the republic concede to Mexicans, nor can they employ other proceedings than those established before the Mexican tribunals.

Art. 6. The Mexican International Railway Company shall not be considered as organized until there shall have been subscribed in good faith $2,000,000 of the capital stock, and paid in cash to the treasurer of the said company ten per cent. of the subscription, which facts, as also that of the formal organization of the company, shall be legally verified before the department of public works within the term of twelve months counted from the date of this law.

During one year, counted from the date of the said verification, the company shall place at the disposition of the public in Mexico, in order that it may subscribe thereto, one-half of its capital stock, upon the same terms in which the shares may be offered in the United States of America and in Europe.

After the expiration of said year the company shall be free to dispose of its shares in such place as it may deem convenient.

The statutes of the said company and the basis of its organization shall be submitted to the department of public works for its approbation, within the term of twelve months counted from the date of this law.

Art. 7. The company shall have a domicile in the City of Mexico, where a part of its board of directors, composed of five members, shall reside, of whom two shall be appointed by the executive and three shall be appointed by the company.

This part of the board, as also the part of the direction which maybe established in the United States, or in Europe, shall exercise the functions which may be conceded to them by the statutes, and shall have the powers which from time to time may be conferred upon them in general meeting of the shareholders.

The company shall appoint, in this capital, a representative fully authorized and empowered to treat with the federal government and other authorities of the republic with reference to all affairs relative to the obligations which are imposed upon it by this law, and whatever in the future may be executed or agreed upon with relation to the same.

Whenever any doubt or question shall arise with respect to the interpretation of, or compliance with, the stipulations of the present contract, it shall be decided by the competent tribunals of the republic.

Art. 8. Neither the company to which this concession is made, nor that which it may form, can at any time transfer, alienate, or hypothecate the concessions of the present law, the railroad, the telegraph, and the property annexed thereto, nor its shares, to any foreign government or state, nor admit the same in any case as partner in the enterprise, and any stipulation made in violation of this precept shall be null and of no effect.

Nor can the Mexican International Railway Company transfer or alienate the concessions of this law to any company or private individual without the previous permission of the federal executive, and any transfer or alienation made without this requisite shall be also null and without effect.

[Page 685]

The company, nevertheless, is hereby authorized freely to emit shares, bonds, and obligations, and to dispose of the same, and also to hypothecate the railroad and its appurtenances, with the right of operating the same, and the telegraph-line, in whole or in part, as the construction of the same may progress, to secure the payment of said bonds and obligations, and interest thereupon, with the condition that the mortgage shall be made in favor of individuals or of private associations.

The mortgages that may be made by said company shall be registered in the office of public records of the city of Mexico, and this registry shall be held as sufficient proof of their validity and legal execution in all that relates to all of the lines of the railroad of the company, and local registry in the States or places where it may pass shall not be necessary.

Art. 9. The capital stock of the company shall not exceed $50,000,000, divided into shares of $100 each.

The said shares shall be considered as personal property, and may be freely transferred or disposed of in conformity with the laws in force, and with the rights and privileges accorded in this law.

The lands and other property legally acquired by the company, by virtue of cession or purchase, the edifices, warehouses, stations, machinery, utensils, materials, and all other objects which constitute the railroad and telegraph-line, as also its branches and appurtenances, shall be considered as the property of the company, with the right of making use of the same upon the same terms and under the same conditions as whatever other property, but subject to the provisions of the laws actually in force or that in the future may be decreed with regard to railroads; without its being understood by this that the conditions of this contract can be altered.

Even in the case that, from the causes which hereinafter are specified, the present concession should become void, the company shall enjoy the full possession and use of all its property, and of the portions of railroad and telegraph-line that it may have constructed.

Art. 10. The railroad of the said company shall be of single or double track, of 1.45 meters in width, (four feet eight and one-half English inches;) it shall be of a solid and perfect construction, and shall be in every respect equal to railroads of the first class.

It shall be provided with a sufficient quantity of rolling-stock for the prompt and effective working of the road, and warehouses and stations shall be established at all the places that may be required by the public interest and the business of the company, in the judgment of its engineers.

The company shall have the right of connecting with any other railroad now existing, or that may hereafter be constructed in the republic, and it shall also have the right to operate and maintain its railroad in connection or consolidation with any other railroad company, by agreement with the same, under such terms as it may deem most advantageous.

Art. 11. In order to aid the construction of the lines of railroad and telegraph to which this concession refers, the government binds itself to give to the company a subvention of $9,000 for each kilometer of railroad that it constructs, and that shall be approved by the department of public works, according to the terms of this law; but this subvention shall only have effect when the company shall have constructed and placed in operation the first one hundred kilometers of railroad from the City of Mexico toward the Pacific, and successively for sections of twenty kilometers completed, approved by the department of public works and placed in operation; and the obligation contracted by the government in no case shall be extended to give subvention for a distance which shall exceed a total of 2,621 kilometers, with the exception of the line to Toluca, in case it shall be necessary.

Art. 12. In order to render effective the said subvention there shall be issued by the government in favor of the company, immediately that each section of railroad shall have been completed, approved, and opened to public use, obligations for the amount corresponding to the said subvention, without causing interest, under the title of Construction Certificates of the Mexican International Railway, which shall be redeemed with eight per cent. of all of the import duties that may be caused in the customhouses of Vera Cruz, Tampico, Matamoras, Manzanillo, San Bias, Mazatlan, and Guaymas, as also the custom-house which may be established at the point on the Rio Bravo where the railroad shall terminate, and that of the point of termination on the coast of the Pacific, if the same should not be one of those already mentioned.

These certificates shall be issued by the department of public works, and from the 1st of January, 1876, no importer shall pay in money, nor in any other manner but in the said paper, eight per cent. of the duties that may be caused in the said customhouses, under the penalty of being subject to second payment, which shall be of double the sum to which the quota would have amounted, and paying the same one-half in paper, in order that the provision of the law shall be in all cases complied with, and the other half in money applicable, according to the regulations of the law of forfeitures, to the informers.

[Page 686]

Art. 13. The company shall he obliged to maintain in all of the ports mentioned a sufficient quantity of the said certificates, in order that those paying duties may be able to obtain the same with due opportunity.

In no case can the company sell the certificates at a higher price than that of their representative value, under the penalty of returning to the purchaser the excess and of paying treble the amount as a fine in favor of the treasury.

Art. 14. For the construction and operation of the lines of railroad and telegraph authorized by this law, there is hereby conceded to the company the right of way for the width of sixty-five meters (213 feet) in all the extent of the line.

The lands belonging to the government which may be occupied by the line for the width established, and the land necessary for stations, warehouses, and other edifices, water tanks and other indispensable accessories of the road and its appurtenances, if the same should be national property, shall be delivered to the company without any compensation, and in perpetual property.

In the same manner the company can take from the public lands materials of all kinds that may be necessary for the construction, operation, and repair of the road and its appurtenances.

The company can take, in conformity with the laws of expropriation for purposes of public utility, the lands and materials of construction belonging to private individuals, and those that may not be national property, necessary for the establishment and repair of the railroad and its appurtenances, stations, and other accessories; and the amount paid by the property as real estate tax shall serve as the basis for the valuation of the same.

All mines of metals, as also those of coal and salt, marble and other workable mineral deposits which may be encountered in the works and excavations which may be made on the line of the road or its branches, shall be the property of the company, without prejudice to third parties, with the condition that the same shall be denounced and worked subject in all respects to the mining ordinances.

Art. 15. All materials of construction, whether of native or foreign production or derivation, effects, and whatever may be necessary for the construction and use of the lines of railroad and telegraph authorized by this law, as also the rails, sleepers, spikes, locomotives, carriages, trains and their accessories, tools and instruments of labor, machinery for the work-shops, iron, bridges, houses for stations, offices, and warehouses, coal, working animals, their harness and gearing, carts and wagons, wire and telegraphic apparatus, and other materials necessary for the construction, operation, and repair of the railroad and telegraph line, shall be free, for the term of fifteen years, counted from the date of this law, from all import or custom-house duties whatever, previous notice being given to the department of public works, and from excise duties, contributions, road taxes, or imposts decreed up to the present time, or that may hereafter be decreed by whatever authority of the republic, and whatever may be the class, denomination, or object of the said imposts.

In the use of these exemptions there shall be observed the regulations that may be issued by the departments of treasury and of public works.

The road itself and its natural and indispensable appurtenances, as also the capital employed in its construction and operation, and the shares of the company, shall be exempt during the term of fifty years, counted from the date of this law, from the payment of all contributions or imposts now established or that may be established in the future.

Art. 16. The directors, engineers, employés, and the subordinates of the offices and stations of the railroad, as also the laborers that may be employed upon it, shall be exempt from all kinds of military service and from municipal services during the time they may be employed upon the road, except in case of foreign war.

The company shall have the right to organize the interior service of its lines and its guard, which latter shall enjoy the same consideration as the guards of the national revenue.

The company will immediately discharge from its service any of its employés who may enter into or protect contraband traffic, or commit any crime, and shall aid the authorities in their apprehension.

It shall also place in execution the regulations which may be issued by the treasury department for the observance by passengers and merchants of the custom-house laws of the republic.

The federal government and the governments of the States shall extend to the company all the aid and protection that may depend upon their authority, without prejudice to third parties, and the same shall be extended by the local authorities without the necessity of superior order or requisition.

All persons stealing rails or damaging or interfering with the road in any manner, may be arrested by the company’s guard and delivered to the competent judge, in order that they may be punished according to the gravity of their offense.

The federal government will protect the execution, preservation, and operation of the works with all the force that may be necessary.

[Page 687]

The company shall be responsible for the payment of the wages of the laborers, the cost of materials, and all the expenses incurred in the construction of the road, even when the work may executed by contractors or sub-contracts, for the said work is executed by the latter in behalf of the company.

Art. 17. Upon the definitive location by the company, with the approval of the department of public works, of the direction of the lines from the city of Mexico to the Pacific and from the Pacific to the Rio Bravo del Norte, the said company is hereby authorized to make at the point or port selected as the terminus on the coast of the Pacific and at the point of termination on the Rio Bravo del Norte, the improvements which may be necessary or desirable for the security and facility of the traffic, and may establish warehouses, docks, and wharves, collecting for the use of the same a moderate charge, which shall be established with the approval of the department of public works.

The company shall have the right to acquire and possess the necessary land at each of the extremities of the line from the Pacific to the Rio Bravo del Norte, for the purpose of establishing warehouses, depots, work-shops, and other works necessary to facilitate the construction and operation of the railroad.

Upon commencement of the work of construction of the road at its terminus on the coast of the Pacific, or at its terminus on the Rio Bravo del Norte, the one and the other point shall be opened for national and foreign commerce, in case the same shall not have been already so opened.

The vessels of the first line of mail steamers that may be established from the said port on the coast of the Pacific to Australasia, and of another to Central and South America, shall be exempt from the payment of tonnage duties, and from light-house, anchorage, and other port charges, and shall pay only that of pilotage when pilotage is asked for.

The same privileges shall be extended to the vessels which may arrive at said port loaded only with coal, machinery, and provisions for the exclusive use of the steamers of said lines, and of coal, rails, materials of construction, and other effects destined for the construction, operation, and repair of the railroad and telegraph line.

If they bring other merchandise, these exemptions shall not be extended to the part which corresponds to the effects which are not of the description and for the puposes indicated.

These exemptions shall subsist during the construction of the railroad from the Pacific to the Rio Bravo del Norte, and for the period of five years after its completion.

Under the same conditions the same exemptions shall also be extended to the vessels which arrive at the port of Vera Cruz, bringing coal, rails, materials of construction, and other effects destined for the construction and operation of the railroad from the city of Mexico to the Pacific and to the Rio Bravo del Norte, during the period of the construction of said lines.

Art. 18. The Mexican government will not exact any duty for the simple transit of passengers, correspondence, and merchandise from one to the other extremity of the lines from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, and from the Pacific to the Rio Bravo del Norte, and vice versa, during the period of fifty years, counted from the date of the completion of each of these two lines respectively; and all effects and merchandise destined solely to traverse the road and not for consumption in the country, shall be free from all kinds of custom-house duties and port charges, as also from contributions and imposts of every description.

The treasury department will prescribe the formalities which shall be observed in the discharge and loading of effects and merchandise at the one and the other extremity of the said line, and in their transportation by the railroad, for the purpose of preventing any fraud or abuse which might be committed during their transit through the Mexican territory; but these formalities or precautions shall be such that they shall not tend to delay or embarrass the punctual and rapid dispatch and transit of the trains and of merchandise, baggage, and passengers.

Besides the tariff rates of freight and passage, the company shall collect an additional sum of fifty cents for each passenger and each ton of merchandise passing in simple transit across the country, and this additional sum shall be received by the company for account of the government, the corresponding liquidation of the same being made every six months.

In conformity with the constitution of the republic, neither passports nor letters of security shall be required from persons who may pass in transit by the said roads from one extremity to the other of the lines, and who do not remain in the country.

Art. 19. The sections of railroad, as the same may be completed by the company, shall be immediately examined at its expense by an engineer appointed by the government, and the latter, upon hearing the report of the engineer, will authorize, or not, the opening of the section for business.

In case of not authorizing the opening, the government shall publish the report of the engineer who may have intervened, and the causes of the dissent.

Immediately upon placing in public use the sections of the road, the company shall [Page 688] fix the tariff of prices that are to be charged for the transportation of passengers, merchandise, cattle and other freight, which shall not exceed the following rates:

For the freight of each ton of twenty quintals of 45.38 kilograms each of merchandise:

First class, 7 cents per kilometer.
Second class, 5 cents per kilometer.
Third class, 2½ cents per kilometer.

For the transportation of passengers:

First class, 4 cents per kilometer.
Second class, 2½ cents per kilometer.

The charge for merchandise and passengers in intermediate sections shall not exceed the sum proportional to the distance; but the company shall not be obliged to receive less than twenty-five cents for any quantity of freight, nor less than ten cents for passage for any distance.

Two years after the completion of the line, and its having been placed in operation, the company, in accord with the government, shall modify the tariff of freight and passage; but without preventing that the dividends to the shareholders shall be at least ten per cent. per annum.

The distribution of effects in the three classes of the freight tariff shall be made, in accord with the government, every two years, counted from the completion of the road, should not the law prescribe for this purpose in the future longer periods.

From the commencement of the operation of the road to Queretaro, and successively that of the sections to Guadalajara, Durango, and San Luis Potosi, cereals of national production shall be included always in the third class.

The charge for telegrams which may be transmitted by the lines of the company shall not exceed the following:

For each message not exceeding ten words besides the date, address and signature, that may be transmitted a distance not exceeding one hundred kilometers, twenty-five cents.

For each additional ten kilometers of distance, two cents.

For each word contained in the message above the first ten, there shall be paid not to exceed the twentieth part of the rate that according to the distance may be charged for the first ten words.

Art. 20. The government shall have the privilege in the transportation of troops, trains, munitions, equipages, provisions, horses and mules, proceeding from one point to another on the lines of the company, as also in the passage of officers of the army and federal employés traveling on public service, a reduction of 50 per cent. upon the prices charged according to the general tariff; but to avoid abuses which in this respect might be committed, it is hereby stipulated that in each instance of the dispatch of troops or the transportation of trains, munitions, or effects, and of passage, there shall be given by the government, or by the superior functionaries authorized for this purpose by the government, a special order for the directors of the line.

Immigrants arriving in the republic with the due authorization of the government, shall enjoy the advantages conceded to the armed force.

Until the expiration of fifteen years, counted from the date of this law, the company will perform gratis on its lines of railroad, as the same may be placed in operation, the transportation of correspondence, printed matter and employés, dispatched by the post-office department in the service of the same; but this service shall be in such manner that there shall not be caused on that account any variation in the regulations and orders of the company with regard to hours of departure and stoppages at the points which it may think proper to determine.

After the said fifteen years the mail service upon the lines of the company will be a matter of contract.

Art. 21. The obligations contracted by the company with regard to the periods of time stipulated in this law, shall be suspended in all fortuitous cases or of fuerza mayor, which may directly and absolutely impede the fulfillment of the said obligations; such suspension shall continue only for the time of the continuance of the impediment, it being the obligation of the company to present to the federal government within the term of three months after the commencement of the impediment, information and proof that such fortuitous case or of fuerza mayor, of the character mentioned, has occurred.

From the sole fact of not presenting the information and proof within the time stipulated, the company shall be debarred from at any time thereafter alleging the occurrence of such fortuitous case or of fuerza mayor.

The company shall also present to the federal government information and proof that the work has been resumed immediately that the impediment has ceased, or at least within two months thereafter, which said information and proof shall be presented within the two months following the two first mentioned.

There shall be allowed to the company only the time that the impediment may have continued, or at the most two months more.

[Page 689]

Art. 22. Besides the other obligations expressed in this law, the company shall have the following:

I.: It shall not transport any foreign armed force, without the express permission of the federal government.
II.: It shall not transport effects belonging to a belligerent power, or declared contraband of war by the laws of the Mexican Republic, without the express authorization of the federal government.
III.: Within eight months from the date of this law, the company shall give a bond, satisfactory to the executive, to the amount of four hundred thousand dollars, this requisite being indispensable for the existence and validity of the concessions made in this law; and the said sum shall be forfeited by the parties interested in case they do not comply with the obligations stipulated in article 3.

Art. 23. The concessions granted by this law shall be forfeited from either of the following causes:

I.: From failure to comply with the obligations specified in the clauses of the preceding article.
II.: For not constructing the first 100 kilometers, the sections of 240 kilometers, and completing all of the road within the time stipulated in article 3.
III.: For alienating or transferring this concession or the rights derived from it to any foreign government or state, or by admitting the same as partners in the enterprise.

In whichever of the cases so specified the company shall forfeit the concessions granted by this law, of which the government can then dispose at its pleasure; but the said company shall retain the ownership of the edifices which it may have constructed, of the part of the railroad and telegraph which it may have completed, and of the materials, machinery, and other objects employed in its operation.

The government of the republic, or the individual, or company, to whom it may concede the right, shall be authorized to acquire the whole upon previous payment therefor according to the valuation which, for such purpose, shall be made by two experts, appointed one on each part, who, before commencing to act, shall designate a third, who shall decide in case of disagreement.

Art. 24. The president and treasurer of the company shall present to the department of public works an annual report, setting forth the operations in each fiscal year, which shall terminate on the last day of June, of the lines of railroad constructed by the company.

This report shall be made under affirmation that it is true, and shall show the financial situation of the company; the amount of money received and expended; the amount and character of its debts, and the various kinds of the same, as also what may be due to the company; the total amount of shares issued; the names and residences of the directors and chief employés of the company; the number of kilometers of road constructed and in operation each year; a description of the sections of the road surveyed and in process of construction; the amount received from passengers and for freight respectively; the expenses of the road in operation and its accessories; the number of passengers carried, and the amount of freight transported.

In use of the authorization which was conceded to the executive by the law of the 10th of December, 1872, to receive proposals and to adjust contracts with reference to the construction of railroads, it has concluded the preceding contract with the representative of the International Railroad Company of Texas, in order to submit the same, in compliance with the provisions of the said law, to the approbation of the Congress of the union.

BLAS BALCARCEL.

In representation of the International Railroad Company.

E. L. PLUMB.

Mexico, May 29, 1873.

Extract from the address of the President of Mexico at the close of the sessions of Congress, May 31, 1873.

[From the “Diario Oficial,” May 31, 1873.—Translation.]

In accord with the desire of Congress, the executive entertains a lively anxiety to facilitate the prompt construction of a railway to the interior. Its immense utility in developing all the elements of our agricultural and mineral wealth is self-evident. With this profound conviction, the executive has desired that in a concession for a work of this great importance, its prompt commencement and the most favorable bases for its successful termination should be reconciled, at once combining the legitimate interest of the grantees with the public interests of the nation generally, as well as with those of the States in particular which the road may unite. The executive has already pointed out the inconveniences which, in its judgment, the bases of a certain [Page 690] project might possibly entail, and has also submitted to Congress another project, the bases of which are deemed acceptable. When the representatives of the people shall have resolved the construction of this great work, well worthy as it is of all preference, the executive on its part will tender its most effective co-operation.

Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 1, 1873

No. 295.
Mr. Foster to Mr. Fish.

The minister of public works to the Mexican Congress.

Mr. Plumb to the department of public works of the Mexican Republic.

Law authorizing the Executive to adjust contracts for the construction of railroads.

The minister of the public works to the Mexican Congress.

Mr. Plumb to the Mexican minister of public works.

The minister of public works of Mexico to Mr. Plumb.

Mr. Plumb to Mr. Balcarcel.

Contract concluded between the department of public works of Mexico and the representative of the International Railroad Company of Texas.

Extract from the address of the President of Mexico at the close of the sessions of Congress, May 31, 1873.

Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 1, 1873

No. 295.Mr. Foster to Mr. Fish.

The minister of public works to the Mexican Congress.

Mr. Plumb to the department of public works of the Mexican Republic.

Law authorizing the Executive to adjust contracts for the construction of railroads.

The minister of the public works to the Mexican Congress.

Mr. Plumb to the Mexican minister of public works.

The minister of public works of Mexico to Mr. Plumb.

Mr. Plumb to Mr. Balcarcel.

Contract concluded between the department of public works of Mexico and the representative of the International Railroad Company of Texas.

Extract from the address of the President of Mexico at the close of the sessions of Congress, May 31, 1873.

No. 295.
Mr. Foster to Mr. Fish.