File No. 832.032/6.
Message of the President.
[Translation of passages containing references to the
Government of the United States.]
In regard to the internal life of the peoples of our continent, I
deeply regret to be unable to declare that complete peace reigns in
them all, guaranteeing the normal development and prosperity of the
nations; because, unhappily, civil war still persists in the United
Mexican States, with consequent friction with their neighbor the
United States of America. The relations between the two Governments,
since the beginning of the revolutionary movements, have lost the
cordial character which we all so greatly desire to maintain among
the countries of this continent. This state of things was recently
aggravated by the Tampico incident, which resulted in armed conflict
between the two nations. It was on this occasion that, from a common
impulse of friendship for the two countries and of zeal for
continental peace and fraternity, Brazil, Argentina and Chile
tendered their good offices; with pleasure to ourselves and with
applause from other American nations and certainly from all the
Powers, we saw those good offices cordially accepted by the two
Republics. In this labor of friendship we engaged in the endeavor to
avert a conflict which, in addition to its inherent evils,
threatened to impair the policy of rapprochement now more and more
accentuated among American countries without distinction of race or
origin: a policy difficult, indeed, to execute but not
impossible.
In the course of the past year and of the current one our country and
this capital have been visited by several foreigners of eminent
social position in their countries, illustrious and distinguished
for various reasons.
Among these visits, we received that of Colonel Theodore Roosevelt,
ex-President of the United States of America, who, coming to Brazil
at the invitation of the Historical and Geographical Institute, in
which invitation the Government and people of Brazil were with
pleasure associated, distinguished with his presence this capital
and the cities of Petropoiis, S. Paulo, Santos and Porto Alegre,
and, after visiting the Republics of the Plata, returned to Brazil
and made a long and profitable excursion from the south to the north
through the territory of our States of Matto Grosso and
Amazonas.
The Brazilian Government is deeply gratified with, and takes this
opportunity officially and publicly to indicate to the people and
Government of the United States of America its lively recognition of
the brilliant and cordial manner in [Page 31] which Doctor Lauro Müller, our Minister for
Foreign Affairs, was received, and of the expressions of
appreciation and friendship that were shown him on his visit1 to that great
country as an official representative of our Government and in
return for the visit which Mr. Elihu Root, the then Secretary of
State, made to Brazil in 1906.2
That nation and its Government having received the sincerest proofs
of our consideration and friendship, has given us in turn the most
positive and undoubted proofs of the reciprocity of those
sentiments. This official visit has certainly contributed toward
strengthening the bonds which unite the two nations, which the
previous visit of the distinguished statesman, Mr. Elihu Root, had
done so much to form.
All treaties and conventions of extradition participated in by Brazil
were terminated upon the promulgation of Law 2416 of June 28, 1911,
regulating the extradition of nationals and foreigners and the
prosecution and judgment thereof when, being outside of this
country, they perpetrate crimes contemplated by that law.3
During the period covered by the preceding Annual Message they were
all denounced, as I then had occasion to state.4 Three of them were
terminated in the said period, and all the others will have
terminated during the present period.
Up to May 3, 1913, the following treaties of this nature had been
terminated in pursuance of the denouncements of the Brazilian
Government: [references to those with Chile, Paraguay, and
Portugal].
In the period covered by the present Message the following treaties
will have terminated in pursuance of the denouncements made by the
Brazilian Government:
1. With the United States of America: Treaty of May 14, 1897, and
annexed Protocols of May 28, 1898, and May 29, 1901.
Denounced on January 23, 1913, by a note from our Embassy at
Washington,5 it ceased to
operate six months thereafter, on July 23, 1913. The decree of
denouncement, No. 10,355, was published on the same date.
2–9 [Particulars relating to treaties with other countries.]
Upon the denouncement of these extradition treaties, and in
accordance with Article 12 of the recent law upon the subject, the
text thereof was communicated to all the Governments with which
Brazil maintains relations.
Several of those Governments having thereupon signified their desire
immediately to conclude with our Government new treaties on the
subject based on the provisions of the said law, the Brazilian
Government acceded to those desires; because, although such new
treaties were not indispensable to us, in view of the said law, they
might be necessary to other countries in view of their own
legislation. Brazil, therefore, caused a draft extradition
treaty,6 drawn in accordance
with the terms of the said law, to be distributed to all the said
Governments, to serve as a model for those which Brazil could sign
with each of them uniformly, with the intention of preventing
criminal fugitives from crossing or finding asylum in the territory
of any one of the contracting parties.
Entirely in accord with this draft, a treaty was signed in this city
on August 12, 1913, with the Republic of Bolivia. [Particulars of
this act.]
The law before mentioned will likewise control the matter of
extradition in this country and in those that conclude treaties with
us as well as in those with whom we have not negotiated such
treaties, since in our case, as I have already said, the existence
of these treaties is not indispensable, by virtue of Sec. 1 of Art.
1 of the law, which concedes the extradition of nationals when, by
law or treaty, the demanding country assures to Brazil reciprocity
of treatment.
