ports within the meaning of the act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat., 830), providing for ocean mail service between the United States and foreign ports. Vessels using the Government docks at Cristobal and Balboa, which are in close proximity to but outside the limits of the cities of Colon and Panama and within the Canal Zone, would be carrying mails between the United States and foreign ports within the spirit and letter of said act of March 3, 1891. In entering into contracts for carrying foreign mails under the act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat., 830), the Postmaster General, in the promotion of the commercial interests of the United States, has authority to reject any bid not, in his opinion, reasonable for attaining such purpose, and may notify prospective bidders in advance of his purpose not to entertain such bid, and may reserve the right to rescind the contract if a material condition thereof be disregarded by the contractors.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 205.)

To the Secretary of the Navy, July 17, 1911.

PORTO RICO-TRANSFER OF NAVAL STATIONS.

Any part of the naval stations in Porto Rico may be transferred to the government of Porto Rico under the act of June 14, 1910 (36 Stat., 467), provided it was reserved under the authority conferred by the act of July 1. 1902 (32 Stat., 731), is adjacent to the city of San Juan, and is no longer needed for purposes of the United States.

The portions of that tract of land on the Caguas Road in the city of San Juan which were not included in the President's proclamation of August 4, 1908 (35 Stat., 2197), may be now conveyed to Porto Rico. The land, however. which was ceded to the United States by the insular government of Porto Rico in return for the portions of said tract of land conveyed by the proc lamation of August 4, 1908, not having been reserved under the act of July 1, 1902, may not now be conveyed to the people of Porto Rico under the act of June 14, 1910.

While the transfer to the insular government may be made by the Secretary of the Navy, since in contemplation of law the acts of the heads of the executive departments are the acts of the President, yet it would be preferable to have the formal transfer effected by presidential proclamation. As to those part of the naval stations which are not adjacent to the city of San Juan, or are otherwise not within the provisions of the act of 1910, there is no warrant of law for their formal transfer or cession. Permission, however, may be given to the Porto Rican government through a letter or instrument in the nature of a revocable license for the use of these parts of the stations and the buildings thereon and for the construction of improvements temporary in nature. But it should not be attempted to transfer their permanent control to the insular government, nor would it be proper to permit the erection of improvements that would in fact be permanent.

Any part or parts of the naval stations in Porto Rico no longer needed for the purposes of the Navy Department may be transferred to the control of the War Department or of any other department, either by formal Executive order or by arrangement between the Secretary of the Navy and the head of the other department.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 209.)

To the Secretary of State, July 24, 1911.

COPYRIGHT LAW-DATE IN PRESIDENT'S PROCLAMATION.

Under section 8 of the copyright act of March 4, 1909 (35 Stat., 1077), the President is required to determine by proclamation the existence of the reciprocal conditions upon which alien authors and composers may acquire the general privileges under said act, and the date when the reciprocal condition was actually met by the laws of any foreign state or nation is the one which should be inserted in the proclamation.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 269.)

To the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, November 4, 1911.

SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE COLON WHARF OF THE PANAMA RAILROAD CO.

A vessel loading at the Colon Wharf of the Panama Railroad Co. and subsequently entering a port of the United States should be regarded as coming from a "foreign port or place" within the meaning of section 36 of the tariff act of August 5, 1909 (36 Stat., 111), and the Republic of Panama, for the purposes under consideration, should be treated as sovereign over such wharf.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 272.)

To the President, November 7, 1911.

TRANSFER OF TITLE TO SCHOOL BUILDING FROM GOVERNMENT TO THE TOWN OF PETERSBURG, ALASKA,

The title to a school building in the town of Petersburg, Alaska, which was constructed out of the “Alaska fund” under section 5 of the act of January 27, 1905 (33 Stat., 617), can not be transferred from the Government to the town of Petersburg except by an act of Congress.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 340.)

To the Secretary of the Treasury, March 7, 1912.

IMPORTATION OF VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS. The importation or admission into the United States of viruses, serums, toxins, and analogous products that are prepared by and sold or given away by a foreign unlicensed establishment to individuals or institutions in the United States for their use and not for sale, barter, or exchange by such individuals or institutions is not contrary to the provisions of the act of July 1, 1902 (32 Stat., 728), regulating the sale of viruses, serums, etc.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 380.)

To the Postmaster General, March 29, 1912.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS-POSTAL SERVICE.

The Postmaster General has no authority to arrange a special parcel-post service or to conclude arrangements for money-order exchanges with the Philippine Islands under the power conferred upon him by sections 398 and 4028 of the Revised Statutes.

The power to negotiate and conclude money-order and parcel-post conventions or agreements with foreign governments, which shall cover the mail and money-order service between the Philippine Islands and such foreign governments, resides not in the Postmaster General, but in the government of the Philippine Islands.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 387.)

To the Secretary of State, April 11, 1912.

EXPORTATION OF ARMS, AMMUNITION, AND MUNITIONS OF WAR TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC PROHIBITED.

The President's proclamation of October 14, 1905 (34 Stat., 3183), prohibiting the export of arms, ammunition, and munitions of war to the Dominican Republic, pursuant to a joint resolution of April 22, 1898 (30 Stat., 739), is still operative under the amended joint resolution of March 14, 1912.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 389.)

To the Postmaster General, April 12, 1912.

OCEAN MAIL SERVICE-ADVERTISEMENTS-CONTRACTS.

In contracting for the carriage of the mails between ports of the United States and ports on the Isthmus of Panama, pursuant to the act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat., 830), the Postmaster General is required to advertise for separate proposals and to make a separate contract for each separate and distinct line of service.

The word "route" as used in section 1 of the above-mentioned act means the course or way to be traveled in going from one place to another.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 435.)

To the Secretary of State, May 27, 1912.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS-STATUS OF FOREIGN CORPORATIONS.

Foreign corporations may freely engage in industrial pursuits in the Philippine Islands, provided they obtain a license from the Philippine government for that purpose.

Corporations, domestic and foreign alike, may purchase or lease such amounts of real estate as may be reasonably necessary to enable them to carry out those purposes for which they were created, but are prohibited from conducting the business of buying and selling real estate, and if they be corporations engaged in agriculture, from owning and controlling over 1,024 hectares of land.

Belgian corporations enjoy the same rights and advantages in the Philippine Islands as American corporations; the only distinction being that the exploration and occupation of mineral lands and the purchase of nonmineral agricultural public land is confined to citizens of the United States and of the Philippine Islands.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 442.)

To the Secretary of War, June 8, 1912.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS-IMPORTATION OF GOODS FOR THE USE OF THE ARMY.

Goods imported into the Philippine Islands for the use of the Army of the United States are not subject to the stamp tax imposed by section 284 of act No. 355 of the Philippine Commission as amended, as it is beyond the competency of the Philippine government to levy a tax on articles imported for the use of the United States Government.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 468.)

To the Secretary of War, June 26, 1912.

PORTO RICO-LEGALITY OF BOND ISSUE.

The municipality of Ponce, P. R., may lawfully issue bonds for the purpose of paying an indebtedness to the insular government and for the purchase of land and construction of a pier, as the power to issue bonds of this general character has been granted to that municipality by Congress and the Legislative Assembly of Porto Rico.

It is essential to the validity of said bonds that the provisions of the act of the legislative assembly of Porto Rico of January 31, 1901, authorizing and regulating the issuance of bonds by the cities of Porto Rico, be substantially complied with.

These bonds are made payable, principal and interest, in Porto Rico, and in case proper notice is given by the holder thereof the place of payment may be transferred to New York City. They are transferable in Porto Rico only. The form of the bond must be approved by the executive council of Porto Rico, as provided by section 9 of the act of January 31, 1901

(Vol. XXIX, p. 494.)

To the Secretaries of the Treasury, of Agriculture, and of Commerce and Labor, July 8, 1912.

FOOD AND DRUGS ACT-AUTHORITY TO MAKE BULES AND REGULATIONS AND REVIEW FINDINGS OF FACT.

The Secretaries of the Treasury, Agriculture, and Commerce and Labor are restricted to the making of rules and regulations for carrying out the provisions of the food and drugs act of June 30, 1906 (34 Stat., 768), and have no authority to review findings of fact and reports made to the Secretary of Agriculture.

The findings of the referee board of the Department of Agriculture are not conclusive on the courts or the Secretary of Agriculture, but are simply for the information of the latter.

The approval of the Secretary of Agriculture of a finding of the referee board is notice to the public that in subsequent examinations of food samples such finding will be followed.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 497.)

To the Secretary of War, July 11, 1912.

PORTO RICO-LEGALITY OF BOND ISSUE.

The issuance of bonds by the government of Porto Rico for port improvements at San Juan, as provided by an act of the Legislative Assembly of Porto Rico, approved March 7, 1912, not being in excess of 7 per cent of the aggregate tax valuation of its property and complying in every other respect with the terms of the organic act, is legal.

The form of the proposed bond appears to comply with the provisions of section 2 of said act of March 7, 1912, the relevant section upon this matter.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 521.)

To the Secretary of State, August 26, 1912.

NATURALIZATION OF ALIENS-DISTRICT COURT OF PORTO RICO-MIGUEL ROSES ARTAU AND ELIAS A. WOLFF.

A judgment of naturalization obtained in the Circuit Court of Porto Rico under section 2165 of the Revised Statutes, which has since been repealed by the act of June 29, 1906 (34 Stat., 596), can not properly at this time be questioned on the ground that the court did not have jurisdiction over the naturalization of aliens.

PORTO RICO-UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT-EXPENSES.

The expenses of the District Court of the United States for Porto Rico should be paid from the funds of the government of Porto Rico.

(Vol. XXIX, p. 577.)

To the Secretary of War, November 22, 1912.

PORTO RICO-LEGALITY OF BOND ISSUE.

The issuance of bonds by Porto Rico for an extension of the system of irrigation, as provided by an act of the Legislative Assembly of Porto Rico, approved March 9, 1911, not being in excess of 7 per cent of the aggregate tax valuation of its property, is legal.

The form of the proposed bond appears to comply with the requirements of sections 11, 12, and 14 of said act of March 9, 1911, the relevant sections upon this subject.