[Enclosure—Translation93]
The Mexican Minister for Foreign Affairs
(Sáenz)
to the American Ambassador (Sheffield)
Mexico, May 28,
1926.
No. 6416
Mr. Ambassador: I refer to Your
Excellency’s courteous note No. 1196 of April 23, last, in which,
with regard to the proposed cut-offs in the Rio Grande, of which my
notes Nos. 11089 and 14763 of August 18 and November 13, 1925,94 respectively,
treat, and in view of the recent letter from the Mexican Boundary
Commissioner to the American Commissioner to discuss banco cases
pending settlement, Your Excellency is good enough to request by
instruction of your Government confirmation of the statement of
Engineer Gustavo P. Serrano.
In reply, I beg leave to inform Your Excellency that the Mexican
Commissioner proceeded in this case interpreting the instructions of
this Department in the sense of submitting to the American
Commissioner the expediency of bringing to settlement, in accordance
with the convention of 1905 in force,95 the pending banco cases, believing thus to
remove one of the principal obstacles which have hitherto prevented
the commencement of the construction of the general works of
rectification and defense of the channel of the Rio Grande.
[Page 708]
Having thus attended to the request which Your Excellency was pleased
to make in the note I am now answering, I take the liberty of adding
to this subject, which affects such important interests, that the
Mexican Government, disregarding for the moment other questions
which are related thereto, or which it has been sought to relate
thereto, would look with favor upon the possibility of taking up as
a whole the works of rectification of the channel of the Rio Grande,
subordinating their execution only to the previous determination of
the sovereignty over the lands which will be segregated by the
cut-offs on the basis, in general terms, of superficial
compensation, in accordance with the spirit of the project proposed
by the Engineer Commissioners of both countries.
I renew [etc.]
