File No. 812.63/42.
Vice Consul Guyant to the Secretary of State .
Ensenada , February 8, 1915 .
Sir: It has come to my notice that mining titles in this district (and, I presume, in all Mexico) granted during the period in which General Huerta governed Mexico have been nullified by the succeeding authorities.74 Most of the mining claims denounced in this district during that period were denounced by Americans and the decree means that the fee of 10 pesos per pertenencia (100 meters square) and the first year’s taxes must be lost by them and the claims abandoned or redenounced. In a particular case which has come to my notice one man denounced 120 pertenencias in April 1912 and received his title on March 28, 1913. His title was declared invalid January 22, 1915, and he was given till March 31, 1915, to redenounce the property at a cost of 1200 pesos, though his fee had been paid by him when he made the original denouncement.
The above is for the Department’s information and such representations as are deemed advisable.
I have [etc.]
Note.—On February 16, 1915, Carranza’s Department of the Treasury issued its Circular No. 8, relative to the nullity of payment of federal taxes made to pretended authorities. It is printed as inclosure with Mr. Davis’s No. 557 of May 8, 1915, under the heading Taxation of American Citizens.
- See For. Rel. 1914, p. 726, for the Brazilian Minister’s despatch No. 68 of October 30, 1914, giving the text of Carranza’s decree of August 29, 1914; and p. 723 for his telegram No. 165 of September 28 and despatch No. 43 of September 29 giving summary and text of Circular No. 1 issued September 3 in pursuance of that decree.↩