No. 821.
Mr. Rives
to Mr. Whitehouse.
Washington, November 15, 1888.
Sir: I herewith confirm my telegram to you of the 14th instant, as follows:
Mayor of El Paso telegraphs that the Mexican Government is constructing a dam entirely across the Rio Grande opposite to and partly within El Paso City, part of dam being on dry land in Texas.
Such work would be evidently violative of Article III, convention 1884, and invasive of territorial sovereignty. We learn work has been suspended to permit investigation. We propose to send competent Federal engineer officers to make impartial examination. Suggest that Mexico do the same, and that there may be friendly cooperation.
In this connection I add a copy of my letter to the Secretary of War, of the 14fh instant,* asking, in view of all the circumstances, the detail of a competent officer of the Engineer Corps to examine the projected dam and make full report thereon; also a copy of a note from the Mexican minister here, of the 12th instant, accompanied by extracts from an unofficial letter from Señor Ignacio Garfias, engineer in charge of the construction of the work in question.
Governor Ross’s letter of November 10, instant, upon which my telegram to you of the 14th instant was founded, as well as my letter to the Secretary of War of that date, gave the entire text of Mayor Light-body’s telegram, and simply requested that the General Government take such action as may be necessary in the premises.”
[Page 1242]I send this correspondence merely for your information, not doubting that upon the receipt of my telegram of yesterday you immediately brought the complaint in question to the attention of Mr. Mariscal and urged upon him the necessity of having a full and impartial investigation and report made of the work of Señor Garfias by a competent Mexican federal officer, in the same manner as this Government proposed to do, by employing a United States officer to visit El Paso for that purpose, as the surest and best means of determining whether the building of the projected dam or dams conflicts with the international rights of this Government at that point.
I have just received with satisfaction your telegram of this morning, as follows:
Mexican Government wining co-operate Rio Grande. Romero telegraphed yesterday to confer with you on subject.
You will be advised by telegraph of the name of the officer appointed to conduct the examination on our part, and the probable date of his arrival at El Paso, with a view to obtaining for him all proper facilities for the execution of his task.
I am, etc.,
Acting Secretary.
- Not published herewith.↩