That whenever the President shall find that in any American country conditions of domestic violence exist which are promoted by the use of arms or munitions of war2 procured from the United States, and shall make proclamation thereof, it shall be unlawful to export, except under such limitations and exceptions as the President shall prescribe, any arms or munitions of war from any place in the United States to such country until otherwise ordered by the President or by Congress.

I have found that there exist in Mexico such conditions of domestic violence promoted by the use of arms or munitions of war procured from the United States as contemplated by the said Joint Resolution; and I do hereby admonish all citizens of the United States and every person to abstain from every violation of the Joint Resolution above set forth, hereby made applicable to Mexico, and I do hereby warn them that all violations of such provisions will be rigorously prosecuted. And I do hereby enjoin upon all officers of the United States, charged with the execution of the laws thereof, the utmost diligence in preventing violations of said Joint Resolution and this my Proclamation issued thereunder, and in bringing to trial and punishment any offenders against the same.

This Government has followed the invariable rule of not allowing foreigners residing in Mexico to be armed by their Governments; therefore I beg that when you think it proper to ask that any American citizen domiciled in this Republic should procure arms, you will make your request as if it concerned a transaction between individuals, so that the Mexican Government may have the satisfaction of granting it in all cases where it is possible.

that although the arms and ammunition are for convenience consigned to the consuls, they are intended for the protection of individual American citizens.

It is the well-known practice of merchants of neutral countries to furnish munitions of war to one or both of contending belligerents.

The situation is somewhat different, however, with reference to the so-called neutrality statutes which have been enacted by this Government, which, going beyond the provisions of international law, do make illegal certain acts specified in the statutes even when no state of belligerency exists, such acts being directed against the established government of a country with which this Government is at peace. But the duties of neutrality under the law of nations cannot be either expanded or contracted by national legislation. * * * Our own statutes bind only our own Government and citizens and those within our jurisdiction. If they impose on us a larger duty than is imposed on us by international law, they do not correspondingly enlarge our duties to foreign nations. Since therefore these statutes only qualify as offenses certain specified transactions which would not otherwise have that character * * * it is evidently necessary that the act complained of should clearly fall within the statutes in order that it should be regarded as illegal.

These so-called neutrality statutes do not, any more than the general laws of neutrality, prohibit the mere commercial exportation of arms and ammunition, and, that being true, the Executive is, under them, powerless, however much it might in any given case wish to do otherwise, legally to prevent this traffic so long as it remains purely commercial and is unconnected with any other act prohibited by the statutes.

It will therefore be quite clear that under the principles of international law as well as under the so-called neutrality statutes of this country, the mere commercial sale of supplies in El Paso to Mexicans, whether insurrectos or supporters of the Government, and their simple delivery across the border, cannot be looked upon as a violation of international law or of the so-called neutrality statutes.