No. 364.
Mr. Foster
to Mr. Evarts.
Legation of
the United States,
Mexico, September 20, 1878.
(Received October 9.)
No. 786.]Sir: In February, 1877, I applied to the Mexican
Government for the matriculation as an American citizen of Mr. Gustavus
Sommer, resident in this city, and based the application upon the passport
No. 31194, issued to him by the Department of State, and signed by Secretary
Fish. In a call which I made at the Foreign Office some time thereafter on
other business, Mr. Vallarta, the Minister’ of Foreign Affairs, referred to
said application, and said that there was a person of the same name
registered in his department as a German subject, resident in Monterey,
State of Nuevo Leon. I replied that it could not, in my opinion, be the same
person, as Mr. Sommer’s passport from the Department of State was
undoubtedly genuine and I did not think he had ever lived in Monterey, but
that I would make inquiry on the latter point and endeavor to remove his
doubts in regard to it. A few days after I sent to him, without any note or
comment, the affidavit of which I inclose a copy, showing that the Gustavus
Sommer who was matriculated as a German, and resident in Monterey, was a
different person, and that he had since died.
On the 31st of March, 1877, Mr. Vallarta sent me a note saying that there
were reasons for believing that Mr. Sommer was by birth of German
nationality, and that the Mexican law required that naturalized citizens of
the United States should present to the Mexican Government their
naturalization papers in order to obtain matriculation as such, and that Mr.
Sommer would have to present such document.
I replied to this note on the 5th of April, 1877, that I could not, in view
of the instructions given by Mr. Fish in 1872, transmit any other document
to authenticate the American citizenship of Mr. Sommer than the passport
signed by the Secretary of State; called his attention to Mr. Fish’s
dispatch of February 13, 1872, in which the refusal to matriculate an
American citizen upon the authentication of the Secretary of State is styled
a discourtesy which cannot be acquiesced in by the Government of the United
States; and that the latter could not consent to allow a distinction in this
respect to be made between its native and foreign-born citizens, as Mr.
Vallarta’s note contemplated.
The subject remained in this suspended state for more than sixteen months,
the Mexican Government still retaining the passport which I I had sent it,
when, as Mr. Sommer expressed a desire to obtain his matriculation, I
addressed another note to the Department of Foreign Affairs on the 31st
ultimo, asking for a definite answer in regard to the application.
The Minister answered my note on the 10th instant, in which he referred to
the fact that the passport was dated in 1873, and that by the terms of my
circular of December 5, 1873, on the subject of matriculation, it would have
no effect beyond one year; and he entered at some
[Page 614]
length upon a review of a discussion had between the
legation and his department in 1873, and returned to me the passport.
As the Minister, in my opinion, was seeking to avoid the issue, in replying
on the 11th instant I sought to make clear that the case involved the
question whether the passport of the Department of State was a sufficient
evidence of American citizenship, and whether the Mexican Government could
make a distinction between native-born and naturalized citizens; and in
answer to his point as to the invalidity of the passport on account of date,
I said that I, being clothed with full authority to issue passports to
American citizens, had by the act of making the one in question the basis of
the application for matriculation revived or renewed it for that purpose,
but that if he considered it essential I would obtain a new passport from
the Department, and would renew the application for matriculation based upon
the latter. I also called attention to the fact that if the position assumed
by the Mexican Government should be insisted upon, it would be absolutely
impossible in a great many cases to comply with its requirements, even if
the question of discourtesy to the Department of State was put aside, as
there was a large class of American citizens born of foreign parentage who
possessed no certificates of naturalization.
The acting Minister replied to me on the 17th instant that his government
could not modify its position, and inclosed me copies of the laws and
department regulations regarding matriculation.
In acknowledging receipt of said note on yesterday, I informed the acting
Minister that until the subject was again referred to the Department of
State, and I received from you new and different instructions from those now
existing, I would be required to suspend all applications for matriculation.
I took the occasion also to correct and deny the statement in the minister’s
note of the 10th instant, that the position of my government had been
changed since the date of Mr. Fish’s dispatch of February 13, 1872.
The subject is therefore remitted to the Department of State for such
instructions as it may think proper to give.
By reference to Mr. Fish’s dispatch to me, No. 43, November 1, 1873, it will
be seen that he reiterates the position taken in that to Mr. Wilson of
February 13, 1872, stating that the “sufficiency or supremacy of a passport
cannot be questioned. Such a proceeding would clearly constitute an
international case.”
I refer you to my dispatches numbered 82, of December 10, 1873, and 106, of
February 11, 1874, as containing the past discussions of the subject
referred to in Mr. Mata’s note of the 10th instant.
I am, &c.,
[Inclosure 1 in No. 786.]
Mr. Foster to Mr.
Vallarta.
Legation of the United States,
Mexico, February 24,
1877.
Unofficial.]Sir: I inclose herewith the passport of Mr.
Gustavus Sommer, a citizen of the United States residing in this city,
who is desirous of obtaining a certificate of matriculation from Your
Excellency’s Government, and I have consequently to request that Your
Excellency will cause it to be issued.
I am, &c., with great respect, Your Excellency’s obedient
servant,
To His Excellency, I. L. Vallarta,
&c., &c., &c.
[Page 615]
[Inclosure 2 in No. 786.]
Affidavit of Mr. E. Sommer.
Consulate-General of the United States of
America,
Mexico
City, March 28,
1877.
Before me, Julius A. Skilton, consul-general of the United States of
America at Mexico City, personally appeared, this 28th day of March,
1877, Mr. Eugene Sommer, known to me, and known to me to be the same,
who, having been first duly sworn to state the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, deposed and said that he is the son of
Frederick Sommer, of Cannstadt, Wirtemberg; that he has had six
brothers, two of whom have been in Mexico, by name Henry and Gustave;
that the former is now in Cannstadt, and the latter, Gustave, resided in
Monterey, State of Tamaulipas, from the year 1872 to the year 1875, and
died June 1, 1875, in Brownsville, Texas; that he maintained the
nationality of his father, which was German; that Gustave Sommer, of the
house of Agu. Gutheil & Co., belongs to another family entirely, and
according to his information is from Hamburg.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 28th day of March,
1877.
(Firmado)
JULIUS A. SKILTON,
United
States Consul-General.
[Inclosure 3 in No.
786.—Translation.]
Mr. Vallarta to Mr.
Foster.
Department of Foreign Affairs,
Mexico, March 31,
1877.
Sir: I have the honor to reply to Your
Excellency’s note, dated 24th of last February, with which you were
pleased to transmit a passport of Mr. Gustave Sommer, in order that a
certificate of matriculation as an American citizen might be issued to
him by this department.
The law of the 13th of March, 1863, expressly specifies that in order to
issue that class of documents to persons having a certain nationality,
not by birth, but through naturalization, it is necessary that they
present unimpeachable proof of having complied with the condition in
regard to residence and such other conditions as the laws prescribe in
relation to foreigners naturalized in the country whose citizenship they
pretend to have; and the proof which the government requires in such
cases is the corresponding naturalization papers.
Concerning Mr. Gustavus Sommer, there are reasons for believing that he
was at first of German nationality, reasons corroborated by the
affidavit made before the consul-general of the United States by Mr.
Eugene Sommer, which document Your Excellency sent me on the 28th
instant.
In such case Mr. Gustavus Sommer should present his naturalization papers
as a citizen of the United States, or a copy of them duly legalized, as
has already been conceded to Your Excellency.
Such document will not be indispensable if Your Excellency will
substitute it with a certificate in which it may appear that Mr.
Gustavus Sommer is an American citizen by birth; this will be a
sufficient proof for the government.
I renew to Your Excellency the assurances of high consideration with
which I am,
Your obedient servant,
To His Excellency John W. Foster, &c., &c.
[Inclosure 4 in No. 786.]
Mr. Foster to Mr.
Vallarta.
Legation of the United States,
Mexico, April 5,
1877.
Unofficial.]Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of Your Excellency’s communication of the 31st ultimo, in which
you refer to the Mexican laws and regulations in regard to the
matriculation of foreigners, which require certain specific proofs as to
the methods and conditions of naturalization of citizens whose
matriculation is applied for, in which you state that you have reason
for believing that Mr. Gustavus Sommer, in whose behalf I applied for
matriculation as an American citizen on the 24th of February
[Page 616]
last, inclosing to you his
passport as such, signed by the Secretary of State of the United States,
was of German nationality, and in which you state that Mr. Sommer should
present his certificate of naturalization as an American citizen, or a
certified copy thereof. Your Excellency is kind enough to state that
such certificate may be dispensed with if I shall state that Mr. Sommer
is a native-horn American citizen.
I beg, in the first place, to state to Your Excellency that the only
motive I had for sending to you the affidavit of Mr. Eugene Sommer made
before the consul-general, referred to in your note, was to remove the
suspicion, which you verbally expressed to me, that the person in whose
behalf I had applied for matriculation had been previously matriculated
as a German subject at Monterey, establishing by the said affidavit that
the person you had referred to as having been matriculated as a German
subject at Monterey was another individual of the same name. That
affidavit, informally placed in your hands, was not intended to be made
a part of my application for matriculation, of in any degree to qualify
or effect the passport of the Secretary of State, upon which alone I
based the application for matriculation.
In answer to Your Excellency’s note, I have to state that I can make no
further statement nor transmit any other document to authenticate the
American citizenship of Mr. Gustavus Sommer than the passport signed by
the Secretary of State and authenticated by the official seal of that
Department. The position of my government on this subject has been very
explicitly stated by the late Secretary of State in his dispatch to my
predecessor, dated February 13, 1872, of which a copy was sent to Your
Excellency’s department on the 16th of June, 1873. On the 23d of March,
1874, in a note to Mr. Lafragua, I had occasion to express my views at
some length upon this point, and I will limit myself to referring Your
Excellency thereto.
The refusal to matriculate an American citizen, upon the authentication
of such citizenship by the Secretary of State, is styled by the
honorable gentleman who lately occupied that office as a discourtesy
which cannot be aquiesced in by the Government of the United States, nor
can it consent to allow a distinction in this respect to be made between
its native and foreign born citizens.
Notwithstanding official relations have not yet been established between
my government and that of General Diaz, I have been desirous that
American citizens should continue to show a due regard for all proper
requirements of the country in which they reside, and it will be a
source of regret to me if Your Excellency shall take such a course as
will prevent them from doing so in this particular.
With the renewed assurances of my distinguished consideration, I am, Your
Excellency’s obedient servant,
To His Excellency Ignacio L.
Vallarta,
&c., &c.,
&c.
[Inclosure 5 in No. 786.]
Mr. Foster to Mr.
Mata.
Legation of the United States,
Mexico, August 31,
1878.
Sir: On the 5th of April of last year I
addressed Your Excellency’s predecessor a note in regard to the
matriculation of Mr. Gustave Sommer, in which I replied to some
statements made in Mr. Vallarta’s note of March 31 of that year.
As no answer has as yet been made to my said note, I am at a loss to know
whether or not the question is considered as pending by Your
Excellency’s department. A number of applications for matriculation have
been made to this legation which I have delayed acting upon until I
should be informed of the final decision of the Mexican Government in
the case of Mr. Sommer.
I am, with marked consideration and respect, Your Excellences obedient
servant,
To His Excellency J. M. Mata,
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Mexico.
[Inclosure 6 in No.
786.—Translation.]
Mr. Mata to Mr.
Foster.
Department of Foreign Affairs,
Mexico, September 10,
1878.
Mr. Minister: I have had the honor to receive
Your Excellency’s note of the 31st of August last, relating to the
certificate of matriculation of Mr. Gustave Sommer.
[Page 617]
Your Excellency states in it that not having yet received a reply to
another note of your legation, of April 5, of last year, referring to
the same matter, you wish to know whether or not this department
considers the question pending, and you add that there are many
applications for matriculation in the legation of the United States,
with regard to which Your Excellency has postponed all action until the
final decision of my government in the case of Mr. Gustavus Sommer is
known to you.
I should, first of all, inform Your Excellency that this department
entertained the opinion that Your Excellency had yourself terminated the
matter, an opinion based on the contents of your said note of April 5,
of last year, and for this reason no reply was made; but, on being
revived by the note which the legation transmitted to this department
ten days ago, I considered it necessary? without desiring by this to
renew the discussions had concerning the Mexican laws of matriculation
between Your Excellency and your predecessor, Mr. Nelson, on the one
hand, and my predecessor, Mr. Lafragua, on the other, to reply to
certain of the points of the note of April 5th, to the end that the
silence of my government with respect to them may not be misconstrued at
any time, or understood as a weak conviction of its right, or as a tacit
acceptance of a responsibility which it declines in the most solemn
manner.
Your Excellency states in your said note of April 5, that in order to
prove the American citizenship of Mr. Gustave Sommer, you will make no
other declaration nor transmit any other document than the passport
signed by the Secretary of State, and authorized by the official seal of
that Department.
This department would appeal, if such appeal could be taken, to a just
means of overcoming the difficulty to which the certificate of
matriculation of Mr. Sommer has given rise; but Your Excellency will do
it the justice to acknowledge that until the legislation in force
respecting matriculation is duly amended by Congress, the Executive
cannot fail to comply with its requirements without assuming a grave
responsibility which would not be excused by the desire to manifest all
manner of considerations to the Government of the United States and its
Minister in Mexico. I may, nevertheless, be permitted to state to Your
Excellency that even in case our laws should not require, in instances
like the one giving rise to this note, other proof of nationality than a
passport, my government would still encounter a difficulty in issuing
the certificate of matriculation under consideration, in view of the
resolution of Your Excellency to present no other document and of the
special condition of the passport of Mr. Sommer.
It seems that the Government of the United States itself has recognized
the impropriety of giving for an indefinite time their original value to
passports, inasmuch as in the instructions of December 5, 1873, to the
consuls of that country residing in Mexico, transmitted through Your
Excellency; who communicated them on the same date to this department,
it is stated in an explicit manner that these
documents lose their validity one year after being issued and should
be renewed either at the Department of State or in the legation of
the United States. This is the proper time to call attention to
the fact that the certificate of matriculation of Mr. Sommer, being
asked in February, 1877, Your Excellency exhibits as proof of his
nationality a passport issued in May, 1873, that is to say, four years
before, and for the same reason null and void for three years.
Your Excellency closes your note by saying that it has been your desire
that American citizens should continue showing due respect to the just
requirements of the country in which they reside, and that you would
regret the adoption by this department of such a course as would prevent
their acting in this manner.
It is a fact, placed already beyond all doubt, that although the
Government of the United States (as Your Excellency says in referring to
the dispatch of February 13, 1872) previously formed an unfavorable
opinion of the Mexican laws of matriculation, Your Excellency stated, a
long time afterwards, to my predecessor, that is to say, on the 5th of
December, 1873, that it was gratifying to you to
assure him that the Government of the United States, desirous of
avoiding all causes of trouble or misunderstanding, recognizes the
duty of American citizens residing in Mexico to obey its laws and
conform to all the just requirements of the government; and in
the circular addressed by Your Excellency to the consuls of the United
States on the same date, of which document I have already made mention,
you declared, in a manner sufficiently explicit, that it is the duty of American citizens who come to Mexico to engage in
commercial or other pursuits, to obey the laws of the country and
conform to all the requirements of its government not in
contravention of treaty stipulations or international law. The
Government of the United States does not regard the provisions of
the law of matriculation as illegal nor unduly oppressive inform;
and it cannot properly be protested against unless unusual or
unreasonable proof of citizenship should be required in a special
case.
The proof of American citizenship which this department causes to consist
in the respective naturalization-papers or in their copies duly
authorized, as was made known to Your Excellency on December 2, 1873,
cannot with justice be called unusual, because it is prescribed by the
law of March 13, 1863, and because it is required generally of all
foreigners without distinction of nationality, and not in a special
manner of American
[Page 618]
citizens;
nor less can it be considered as exaggerated or unreasonable, because
nothing is easier than for a naturalized citizen to present his papers
of such naturalization, or an authorized copy, in order to avoid the
danger of losing the originals. So true is all this, that Your
Excellency accepted the concession of this department without objection,
inasmuch as you have transmitted to it various copies of papers of
American citizenship acquired by naturalization. Thus, then, the
requirements which this department deems necessary for issuing
certificates of matriculation are in harmony not only with the laws of
the country, but even with the desires and express declaration of the
United States, transmitted through Your Excellency in official
documents, and have been, as was said before, practically complied with
by Your Excellency.
In view of all the foregoing explanations, which I do not doubt will be
attentively considered by Your Excellency, the executive entertains the
belief that neither will Your Excellency hesitate in your good purpose
of causing American citizens to respect the laws of the country in which
they reside, nor will the latter forget the admonitions which have been
made to them by their government through so distinguished a medium as
that of Your Excellency.
I return to Your Excellency the passport of Mr. Gustave Sommer, and
repeat myself Your Excellency’s devoted servant,
His Excellency John W. Foster,
&c., &c., &c.
[Inclosure 7 in No. 786.]
Mr. Foster to Mr.
Mata.
Legation of the United States,
Mexico, September 11,
1878.
Sir: I am just in receipt of Your Excellency’s
note of yesterday relating to the application made by this legation for
the matriculation of Mr. Gustavus Sommer as an American citizen, and I
hasten to reply thereto, as Your Excellency appears to have misconceived
the question at issue in the case.
I desire first to state, in reply to Your Excellency’s remarks as to the
pendency of the case, that so long as the passport was retained in the
Foreign Office I was justified in considering the application as
undecided.
I regard the simple question raised by the note of Your Excellency’s
predecessor of March 31, 1877, to be whether the passport of the
Secretary of State of the United States, attested with the seal of his
Department, is a sufficient evidence of American citizenship on the part
of a person who applies for matriculation to the Mexican Foreign
Office.
On the 26th of February, 1877, I applied to Mr. Vallarta for the
matriculation of Mr. Gustavus Sommer, and to attest said citizenship I
inclosed his passport in due form, signed by the Secretary of State of
the United States. Mr. Vallarta answered, under date of March 31, 1877,
that there were reasons to believe that Mr. Sommer was by birth of
German nationality; that it was required that naturalized citizens
should present “unimpeachable proof of having complied with the
conditions” in force in the country where naturalized, “and the proof
which the government requires in such cases is the corresponding
naturalization-papers,” and closes by stating that “Mr. Gustavus Sommer
should present his naturalization-papers as a citizen of the United
States.”
The case is thus plainly stated by Mr. Vallarta: The passport of the
Secretary of State of the United States is not “unimpeachable proof” of
the citizenship of an American if there exists a suspicion that he had
previously another nationality by birth, but the naturalization-paper,
or certified copy thereof, is the “unimpeachable proof.”
I have heretofore stated in the discussion of this question that neither
the government nor the laws of the United States make any distinction
between native-born and naturalized citizens of the United States, nor
would it be proper to allow a foreign government to do so, especially
respecting persons who have never been citizens of the latter
government. The principle involved is one which my government too highly
esteems to allow it to be lightly violated, and I cannot, therefore,
acquiesce in the action taken by Your Excellency’s predecessor, and
which seems to be adhered to in your note of yesterday. The views of the
late Secretary of State, Mr. Fish, are clearly expressed upon the
subject in his dispatch to Mr. Nelson of February 13, 1872. He says: “It
seems that a distinction is made between native and naturalized citizens
of the country who may seek matriculation. The passport, say, of this
Department is respected when issued to those born here, but the Mexican
Government assumes the
[Page 619]
right
to inquire into the authenticity of certificates issued to naturalized
citizens of the United States, and therefore will not respect the
passports of this Department issued to such citizens. In this that
government, may he regarded as showing a want of comity, at least, which
was not to have been expected.” And he adds: “The passport on its face
does not make any distinction between native and naturalized citizens,
and it is conceived that no foreign government can, without discourtesy
at least to the head of this Department, attempt to make such a
distinction.” While I, in my note of December.5, 1873, and the circular,
attached, to which Your Excellency refers, manifested an earnest desire,
as I have always done, to secure a compliance with the Mexican laws by
American residents, I have always made it plain to the Mexican
Government that I could not yield the point in question, nor would I be
sustained by my Government in any act recognizing a distinction between
native and naturalized citizens.
Your Excellency will see, upon a moment’s reflection, that the course
required by your department implies an inconsistency which I cannot
believe was deliberately taken, which is, that the Mexican Foreign
Office is a more competent and experienced authority to pass upon the
authenticity of American judicial documents—viz, naturalization
papers—than the Secretary of State of the United States, for, as was
stated in Mr. Fish’s dispatch of February 13, 1872, before a passport is
issued to a naturalized citizen, the presentation of the certificate of
naturalization to the Department of State is required. The position
assumed by the Mexican Government leads to other embarrassing results,
aside from the discourtesy which it implies to the Secretary of State.
One of these is mentioned in the last paragraph of Mr. Fish’s dispatch
cited. In addition to those there referred to, there is a very large
number of persons in the United States who were born in other countries,
of foreign parentage, who have become citizens by virtue of the laws of
the United States, who are possessed of no naturalization-papers.
Conformity with the requirements of Your Excellency’s department in
these cases would be impossible.
Your Excellency refers to the fact that Mr. Sommer’s passport is more
than one year-old. That fact was not considered by Mr. Vallarta as a
reason for rejecting his matriculation, nor has it ever been alleged as
such by the Mexican Government, when such passports have been presented.
The regulation referred to is one for the guidance of consular officers
of the United States, and does not in any way affect the citizenship of
the holder of the passport. The laws of the United States confer upon
diplomatic representatives thereof the power to renew or reissue
passports, and by making the one in question the basis of my application
for Mr. Sommer’s matriculation, I recognized its efficacy, and, for the
uses of the Foreign Office, renewed or revived it. I hardly believe Your
Excellency will insist upon this point. I will, however, state, that
should you regard it as an insuperable objection to Mr. Sommer’s
matriculation, and will indicate your willingness to matriculate him
upon the presentation of a passport issued by the present Secretary of
State within twelve months from the date thereof, I will at once obtain
a new passport, and cheerfully conform to such requirement. I have,
therefore, to respectfully request Your Excellency to indicate to me
your pleasure in this regard at an early day, so that no time may be
lost in procuring Mr. Sommer’s matriculation and saving him from
embarrassment which might result from delay.
I trust Your Excellency has not construed my suspension of applications
for matriculation on behalf of other American residents into a
disposition to thwart the just requirements of the Foreign Office or of
the Mexican laws. I am only acting in conformity with the well-known
principles of my government, and in obedience to the instructions of the
Secretary of State. I still hope that Your Excellency will recognize the
passport of the Secretary of State, with my attestation of its
genuineness and validity, as the “unimpeachable proof” required by Mr.
Vallarta, and issue the certificate of matriculation thereon; for I have
none other, and would not in any case be able to present any proof more
“unimpeachable.”
I avail of this opportunity to renew the assurances of the high esteeem
with which I am Your Excellency’s obedient servant,
To His Excellency J. M. Mata, &c., &c., &c.
[Inclosure 8 in No.
786.—Translation.]
Mr. Avila to Mr.
Foster.
Department of Foreign Affairs,
Mexico, September 17,
1878.
Mr. Minister: Your Excellency’s note of the
11th instant, referring to the certificate of matriculation of Mr.
Gustave Sommer, was received in this department.
The President has directed that I reply to Your Excellency that the
Executive has no power to modify its resolution in the present case,
because it lacks the faculty to change the existing laws regarding
matriculation, a copy of which I inclose, marking
[Page 620]
with asterisks the articles applicable to
the said case. Your Excellency will find the conduct of the Executive in
this matter to be fully sustained by them.
I should also state in the most explicit manner, before concluding this
note, that the Executive has not characterized its impeachable the proof of citizenship which may be made to
consist of a passport issued by the Department of State, in
contradistinction to the unimpeachable proofs
spoken of in article 1 of the law of March 13, 1863; since if it has
been refused to accept documents of this nature it is because, however
respectable they may be, and however great the confidence they may
merit, they are not the documents which the Law requires.
Your Excellency will be pleased to accept my profound consideration.
ELEUTERIO AVILA,
Chief
Clerk.
To His Excellency John W. Foster,
&c., &c., &c.
[From the decree of March 16,
1861.]
Article 11. Foreigners, in order to obtain that
document, shall prove their nationality with the passport with which
they entered the republic, or with a certificate from the diplomatic or
consular agent of their nation, without having to make any written
application whatever to the Department of Foreign Affairs in order to
obtain the said certificate of matriculation.
[From the decree of March 13, 1863.]
- Article 1. Article 11 of the law issued
on the 16th of March, 1861, which provides that for the entering of
an individual upon the register for the names of foreigners, and for
the issuance of proof of such registry it is sufficient to present
to the Department of Foreign Affairs an evidence of nationality
certified to by the respective diplomatic or consular agent, is
declared to have been, and should be, understood in that light when
the interested party has the nationality by birth which the
certificate attributes to him, but not when he has acquired such
nationality by naturalization; since then, in order to be
recognized, he must present to the government an unimpeachable proof
of having complied with the condition of residence and such other
conditions as the laws relating to naturalized foreigners prescribe
in the country whose nationality he claims to have.
- Art. 2. As the Mexican Government had
had no power nor disposition to alter the legislation of other
countries in regard to the requirements for obtaining
naturalization, all the declarations and recognitions of determined
nationalities which emanate from naturalization without the proof of
having complied with those requirements remain without any value
whatever until said proof is presented.
[From regulations of Foreign Office, June 28, 1871.]
Third. The proof which shall be presented by persons naturalized in a
foreign country will be the naturalization-papers legalized in due form;
and only when their destruction or loss is sufficiently proven, or when
such documents are not necessary according to the laws of the country
where they might have been issued, may other proofs of equal value be
admitted, to the end that the interested party legally obtained the
naturalization which he claims.
[Inclosure 9 in No. 786.]
Mr. Foster to Mr.
Avila.
Legation of the United States,
Mexico, September 19,
1878.
Sir: I am in receipt of your honor’s note of
the 17th instant, in which you maintain the position heretofore assumed,
that Mr. Gustavus Sommer cannot be matriculated upon the passport of the
Secretary of State of the United States. In view of this decision and of
the dispatch of the Secretary of State of February 13, 1872, it becomes
my duty to inform your honor that until the subject is referred by me to
the Department of State, and I receive new and different instructions
thereon, I will be required to suspend all applications for the
matriculation of American citizens. In this connection it is proper to
state that the position of neither my government nor this legation has
been changed upon this subject since the date of Mr. Fish’s dispatch of
February 13, 1872. It was a matter of surprise to notice such an
assertion in the note of your honor’s department of the 10th instant,
when a similar assertion had been solemnly denied and corrected in my
note of December 16, 1873.
I renew with this opportunity the assurances of my high consideration and
esteem.
To His Honor Eleuterio Avila,
Chief Clerk in charge of the Department of Foreign
Affairs, Mexico.
