PERSONNEL OF THE COMMISSION UNITED STATES SECTION Offices, sixth floor, First National Bank Bldg., El Paso, Texas Commissioner: Lawrence M. Lawson, of California MEXICAN SECTION Offices, second floor, Sauer Bldg., Juarez, Mexico Commissioner: Gustavo P. Serrano, of Sonora Consulting engineer: Armando Santacruz, jr., of Mexico, D. F. Secretary: Jose Hernandez Ojeda, of Guanajuato of Mexico, D. F. Surveyor: R. Fernandez McGregor, of Mexico, D. F. Surveyor: J. D. Hernandez, of Jalisco Draftsman: Agustin P. Carranza, of Veracruz (2) TREATY OF PEACE, FRIENDSHIP, LIMITS, AND SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC Concluded at Guadalupe Hidalgo February 2, 1848; ratified by the President of the United States March 16, 1848; ratifications exchanged May 30, 1848; proclaimed by the President of the United States July 4, 1848. [Extracts] ARTICLE 5 The boundary line between the two republics shall commence in the Gulf of Mexico, three leagues from land, opposite the mouth of the Rio Grande, otherwise called Rio Bravo del Norte, or opposite the mouth of its deepest branch, if it should have more than one branch emptying directly into the sea; from thence, up the middle of that river, following the deepest channel, where it has more than one to the point where it strikes the southern boundary of New Mexico; thence, westwardly along the whole southern boundary of New Mexico (which runs north of the town called Paso) to its western termination; thence, northward, along the western line of New Mexico, until it intersects the first branch of the river Gila; (or if it should not intersect any branch of that river, then, to the point on the said line nearest to such branch, and thence in a direct line to the same;) thence down the middle of the said branch and of the said river, until it empties into the Rio Colorado; thence across the Rio Colorado, following the division line between Upper and Lower California, to the Pacific Ocean. The southern and western limits of New Mexico, mentioned in this article, are those laid down in the map, entitled "Map of the United Mexican States, as organized and defined by various acts of the Congress of said republic, and constructed according to the best authorities. Revised edition. Published at New York, in 1847, by J. Disturnell "; of which map a copy is added to this treaty, bearing the signatures and seals of the undersigned plenipotentiaries. And, in order to preclude all difficulty in tracing upon the ground the limit separating Upper from Lower California, it is agreed that the said limit shall consist of a straight line, drawn from the middle of the Rio Gila, where it unites with the Colorado, to a point on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, distant one marine league due south of the southernmost point of the port of San Diego, according to the plan (3) of said port, made in the year 1782, by Don Juan Pantoja, second sailing master of the Spanish fleet, and published at Madrid in the year 1802, in the atlas to the voyage of the schooners Sutil and Mexi cana; of which plan a copy is hereunto added, signed and sealed by the respective plenipotentiaries. In order to designate the boundary line with due precision, upon authoritative maps, and to establish upon the ground landmarks which shall show the limits of both republics, as described in the present article, the two Governments shall each appoint a commissioner and a surveyor, who, before the expiration of one year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty, shall meet at the port of San Diego, and proceed to run and mark the said boundary in its whole course to the mouth of the Rio Bravo del Norte. They shall keep journals and make out plans of their operations; and the result, agreed upon by them, shall be deemed a part of this treaty, and shall have the same force as if it were inserted therein. The two Governments will amicably agree regarding what may be necessary to these persons, and also as to their respective escorts, should such be necessary. The boundary line established by this article shall be religiously respected by each of the two republics, and no change shall ever be made therein, except by the express and free consent of both nations, lawfully given by the General Government of each, in conformity with its own constitution. ARTICLE 7 The river Gila, and the part of the Rio Bravo del Norte lying below the southern boundary of New Mexico, being, agreeably to the fifth article, divided in the middle between the. two Republics, the navigation of the Gila and of the Bravo below said boundary shall be free and common to the vessels and citizens of both countries; and neither shall, without the consent of the other, construct any work that may impede or interrupt, in whole or in part, the exercise of this right: not even for the purpose of favouring new methods of navigation. Nor shall any tax or contribution, under any denomination or title, be levied upon vessels or persons navigating the same, or upon merchandise or effects transported thereon, except in the case of landing upon one of their shores. If, for the purpose of making the said rivers navigable, or for maintaining them in such state, it should be necessary or advantageous to establish any tax or contribution, this shall not be done without the consent of both Governments. The stipulations contained in the present article shall not impair the territorial rights of either Republic, within its established limits. ARTICLE 21 If unhappily any disagreement should hereafter arise between the Governments of the two republics, whether with respect to the interpretation of any stipulation in this treaty, or with respect to any other particular concerning the political or commercial relations of the two nations, the said Governments, in the name of those nations, do promise to each other, that they will endeavour, in the most sincere and earnest manner, to settle the difference so arising, and to preserve the state of peace and friendship, in which the two countries are now placing themselves: using, for this end, mutual representations and pacific negotiations. And if, by these means, they should not be enabled to come to an agreement, a resort shall not, on this account, be had to reprisals, aggression or hostility of any kind, by the one republic against the other, until the Government of that which deems itself aggrieved, shall have maturely considered, in the spirit of peace and good neighbourship, whether it would not be better that such difference should be settled by the arbitration of commissioners appointed on each side, or by that of a friendly nation. And should such course be proposed by either party, it shall be acceded to by the other, unless deemed by it altogether incompatible with the nature of the difference, or the circumstances of the case. 47274-29 -2 TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC RELATIVE TO THE BOUNDARY LINE, THE TRANSIT OF PERSONS ACROSS THE ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC, ETC. Concluded at the City of Mexico December 30, 1853; ratified by the President of the United States June 29, 1854; ratifications exchanged at Washington June 30, 1854; proclaimed June 30, 1854. [Extracts] ARTICLE 1 The Mexican Republic agrees to designate the following as her true limits with the United States for the future, retaining the same dividing line between the two Californias, as already defined and established according to the 5th article of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the limits between the two republics shall be as follows: Beginning in the Gulf of Mexico, three leagues from land, opposite the mouth of the Rio Grande as provided in the fifth article of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thence as defined in the said article, up the middle of that river to the point where the parallel of 31° 47' north latitude crosses the same, thence due west one hundred miles, thence south to the parallel of 31° 20′ north latitude, thence along the said parallel of 31° 20' to the 111th meridian of longitude west of Greenwich, thence in a straight line to a point on the Colorado River twenty English miles below the junction of the Gila and Colorado Rivers, thence up the middle of the said river Colorado until it intersects the present line between the United States and Mexico. For the performance of this portion of the treaty, each of the two Governments shall nominate one commissioner, to the end that, by common consent, the two thus nominated having met in the city of Paso del Norte, three months after the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty may proceed to survey and mark out upon the land the dividing line stipulated by this article, where it shall not have already been surveyed and established by the mixed commission, according to the treaty of Guadalupe keeping a journal and making proper plans of their operations. For this purpose if they should judge it necessary the contracting parties shall be at liberty each to unite to its respective commissioner scientific or other assistants, such as astronomers and surveyors whose concurrence shall not be considered necessary for the settlement and ratification of a true (6) |