TREATY OF PEACE,
FRIENDSHIP, LIMITS, AND SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE
UNITED MEXICAN STATES CONCLUDED AT GUADALUPE HIDALGO, FEBRUARY 2, 1848;
RATIFICATION ADVISED BY SENATE, WITH AMENDMENTS, MARCH 10, 1848; RATIFIED BY
PRESIDENT, MARCH 16, 1848; RATIFICATIONS EXCHANGED AT QUERETARO, MAY 30, 1848;
PROCLAIMED, JULY 4, 1848.
In the name of Almighty God:
The United States of America and the United Mexican States
animated by a sincere desire to put an end to the calamities of the war which
unhappily exists between the two Republics and to establish upon a solid basis
relations of peace and friendship, which shall confer reciprocal benefits upon
the citizens of both, and assure the concord, harmony, and mutual confidence
wherein the two people should live, as good neighbors have for that purpose
appointed their respective plenipotentiaries, that is to say: The President of
the United States has appointed Nicholas P. Trist, a citizen of the United
States, and the President of the Mexican Republic has appointed Don Luis
Gonzaga Cuevas, Don Bernardo Couto, and Don Miguel Atristain, citizens of the
said Republic; Who, after a reciprocal communication of their respective full
powers, have, under the protection of Almighty God, the author of peace,
arranged, agreed upon, and signed the following: Treaty of Peace, Friendship,
Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the Mexican
Republic.
ARTICLE
I
There shall be firm and universal peace between the United
States of America and the Mexican Republic, and between their respective
countries, territories, cities, towns, and people, without exception of places
or persons.
ARTICLE
II
Immediately upon the signature of this treaty, a convention
shall be entered into between a commissioner or commissioners appointed by the
General-in-chief of the forces of the United States, and such as may be
appointed by the Mexican Government, to the end that a provisional suspension
of hostilities shall take place, and that, in the places occupied by the said
forces, constitutional order may be reestablished, as regards the political,
administrative, and judicial branches, so far as this shall be permitted by the
circumstances of military occupation.
ARTICLE
III
Immediately upon the ratification of the present treaty by
the Government of the United States, orders shall be transmitted to the
commanders of their land and naval forces, requiring the latter (provided this
treaty shall then have been ratified by the Government of the Mexican Republic,
and the ratifications exchanged) immediately to desist from blockading any
Mexican ports and requiring the former (under the same condition) to commence,
at the earliest moment practicable, withdrawing all troops of the United States
then in the interior of the Mexican Republic, to points that shall be selected
by common agreement, at a distance from the seaports not exceeding thirty
leagues; and such evacuation of the interior of the Republic shall be completed
with the least possible delay; the Mexican Government hereby binding itself to
afford every facility in its power for rendering the same convenient to the
troops, on their march and in their new positions, and for promoting a good
understanding between them and the inhabitants. In like manner orders shall be
despatched to the persons in charge of the custom houses at all ports occupied
by the forces of the United States, requiring them (under the same condition)
immediately to deliver possession of the same to the persons authorized by the
Mexican Government to receive it, together with all bonds and evidences of debt
for duties on importations and on exportations, not yet fallen due. Moreover, a
faithful and exact account shall be made out, showing the entire amount of all
duties on imports and on exports, collected at such custom-houses, or elsewhere
in Mexico, by authority of the United States, from and after the day of
ratification of this treaty by the Government of the Mexican Republic; and also
an account of the cost of collection; and such entire amount, deducting only
the cost of collection, shall be delivered to the Mexican Government, at the
city of Mexico, within three months after the exchange of ratifications.
The evacuation of the capital of the Mexican Republic by the
troops of the United States, in virtue of the above stipulation, shall be
completed in one month after the orders there stipulated for shall have been
received by the commander of said troops, or sooner if possible.
ARTICLE
IV
Immediately after the exchange of ratifications of the
present treaty all castles, forts, territories, places, and possessions, which
have been taken or occupied by the forces of the United States during the
present war, within the limits of the Mexican Republic, as about to be
established by the following article, shall be definitely restored to the said
Republic, together with all the artillery, arms, apparatus of war, munitions,
and other public property, which were in the said castles and forts when
captured, and which shall remain there at the time when this treaty shall be
duly ratified by the Government of the Mexican Republic. To this end,
immediately upon the signature of this treaty, orders shall be despatched to
the American officers commanding such castles and forts, securing against the
removal or destruction of any such artillery, arms, apparatus of war,
munitions, or other public property. The city of Mexico, within the inner line
of intrenchments surrounding the said city, is comprehended in the above
stipulation, as regards the restoration of artillery, apparatus of war, &c.
The final evacuation of the territory of the Mexican
Republic, by the forces of the United States, shall be completed in three
months from the said exchange of ratifications, or sooner if possible; the
Mexican Government hereby engaging, as in the foregoing article to use all
means in its power for facilitating such evacuation, and rendering it
convenient to the troops, and for promoting a good understanding between them
and the inhabitants.
If, however, the ratification of this treaty by both parties
should not take place in time to allow the embarcation of the troops of the
United States to be completed before the commencement of the sickly season, at
the Mexican ports on the Gulf of Mexico, in such case a friendly arrangement
shall be entered into between the General-in-Chief of the said troops and the
Mexican Government, whereby healthy and otherwise suitable places, at a
distance from the ports not exceeding thirty leagues, shall be designated for
the residence of such troops as may not yet have embarked, until the return of
the healthy season. And the space of time here referred to as, comprehending
the sickly season shall be understood to extend from the first day of May to
the first day of November.
All prisoners of war taken on either side, on land or on
sea, shall be restored as soon as practicable after the exchange of
ratifications of this treaty. It is also agreed that if any Mexicans should now
be held as captives by any savage tribe within the limits of the United States,
as about to be established by the following article, the Government of the said
United States will exact the release of such captives and cause them to be
restored to their country.
ARTICLE
V
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
the 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 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 Mexicana; 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 land-marks 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
VI
The vessels and citizens of the United States shall, in all
time, have a free and uninterrupted passage by the Gulf of California, and by
the river Colorado below its confluence with the Gila, to and from their
possessions situated north of the boundary line defined in the preceding
article; it being understood that this passage is to be by navigating the Gulf
of California and the river Colorado, and not by land, without the express
consent of the Mexican Government.
If, by the examinations which may be made, it should be
ascertained to be practicable and advantageous to construct a road, canal, or
railway, which should in whole or in part run upon the river Gila, or upon its
right or its left bank, within the space of one marine league from either
margin of the river, the Governments of both republics will form an agreement
regarding its construction, in order that it may serve equally for the use and
advantage of both countries.
ARTICLE
VII
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 favoring 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
VIII
Mexicans now established in territories previously belonging
to Mexico, and which remain for the future within the limits of the United
States, as defined by the present treaty, shall be free to continue where they
now reside, or to remove at any time to the Mexican Republic, retaining the
property which they possess in the said territories, or disposing thereof, and
removing the proceeds wherever they please, without their being subjected, on
this account, to any contribution, tax, or charge whatever.
Those who shall prefer to remain in the said territories may
either retain the title and rights of Mexican citizens, or acquire those of
citizens of the United States. But they shall be under the obligation to make
their election within one year from the date of the exchange of ratifications
of this treaty; and those who shall remain in the said territories after the
expiration of that year, without having declared their intention to retain the
character of Mexicans, shall be considered to have elected to become citizens
of the United States.
In the said territories, property of every kind, now
belonging to Mexicans not established there, shall be inviolably respected. The
present owners, the heirs of these, and all Mexicans who may hereafter acquire
said property by contract, shall enjoy with respect to it guarantees equally ample
as if the same belonged to citizens of the United States.
ARTICLE
IX
The Mexicans who, in the territories aforesaid, shall not
preserve the character of citizens of the Mexican Republic, conformably with
what is stipulated in the preceding article, shall be incorporated into the
Union of the United States. and be admitted at the proper time (to be judged of
by the Congress of the United States) to the enjoyment of all the rights of
citizens of the United States, according to the principles of the Constitution;
and in the mean time, shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment
of their liberty and property, and secured in the free exercise of their
religion without; restriction.
ARTICLE
X
[Stricken out]
ARTICLE XI
Considering that a great part of the territories, which, by
the present treaty, are to be comprehended for the future within the limits of
the United States, is now occupied by savage tribes, who will hereafter be
under the exclusive control of the Government of the United States, and whose
incursions within the territory of Mexico would be prejudicial in the extreme,
it is solemnly agreed that all such incursions shall be forcibly restrained by
the Government of the United States whensoever this may be necessary; and that
when they cannot be prevented, they shall be punished by the said Government,
and satisfaction for the same shall be exacted – all in the same way, and with
equal diligence and energy, as if the same incursions were meditated or
committed within its own territory, against its own citizens.
It shall not be lawful, under any pretext whatever, for any
inhabitant of the United States to purchase or acquire any Mexican, or any
foreigner residing in Mexico, who may have been captured by Indians inhabiting
the territory of either of the two republics; nor to purchase or acquire
horses, mules, cattle, or property of any kind, stolen within Mexican territory
by such Indians.
And in the event of any person or persons, captured within
Mexican territory by Indians, being carried into the territory of the United
States, the Government of the latter engages and binds itself, in the most
solemn manner, so soon as it shall know of such captives being within its
territory, and shall be able so to do, through the faithful exercise of its
influence and power, to rescue them and return them to their country, or deliver
them to the agent or representative of the Mexican Government. The Mexican
authorities will, as far as practicable, give to the Government of the United
States notice of such captures; and its agents shall pay the expenses incurred
in the maintenance and transmission of the rescued captives; who, in the mean
time, shall be treated with the utmost hospitality by the American authorities
at the place where they may be. But if the Government of the United States,
before receiving such notice from Mexico, should obtain intelligence, through
any other channel, of the existence of Mexican captives within its territory,
it will proceed forthwith to effect their release and delivery to the Mexican
agent, as above stipulated.
For the purpose of giving to these stipulations the fullest
possible efficacy, thereby affording the security and redress demanded by their
true spirit and intent, the Government of the United States will now and
hereafter pass, without unnecessary delay, and always vigilantly enforce, such
laws as the nature of the subject may require. And, finally, the sacredness of
this obligation shall never be lost sight of by the said Government, when
providing for the removal of the Indians from any portion of the said
territories, or for its being settled by citizens of the United States; but, on
the contrary, special care shall then be taken not to place its Indian
occupants under the necessity of seeking new homes, by committing those
invasions which the United States have solemnly obliged themselves to restrain.
ARTICLE
XII
In consideration of the extension acquired by the boundaries
of the United States, as defined in the fifth article of the present treaty,
the Government of the United States engages to pay to that of the Mexican
Republic the sum of fifteen millions of dollars.
Immediately after the treaty shall have been duly ratified
by the Government of the Mexican Republic, the sum of three millions of dollars
shall be paid to the said Government by that of the United States, at the city
of Mexico, in the gold or silver coin of Mexico The remaining twelve millions
of dollars shall be paid at the same place, and in the same coin, in annual
installments of three millions of dollars each, together with interest on the
same at the rate of six per centum per annum. This interest shall begin to run
upon the whole sum of twelve millions from the day of the ratification of the
present treaty by the Mexican Government, and the first of the installments
shall be paid at the expiration of one year from the same day. Together with
each annual installment, as it falls due, the whole interest accruing on such
installment from the beginning shall also be paid.
ARTICLE
XIII
The United States engage, moreover, to assume and pay to the
claimants all the amounts now due them, and those hereafter to become due, by
reason of the claims already liquidated and decided against the Mexican
Republic, under the conventions between the two republics severally concluded
on the eleventh day of April, eighteen hundred and thirty-nine, and on the
thirtieth day of January, eighteen hundred and forty-three; so that the Mexican
Republic shall be absolutely exempt, for the future, from all expense whatever
on account of the said claims.
ARTICLE
XIV
The United States do furthermore discharge the Mexican
Republic from all claims of citizens of the United States, not heretofore
decided against the Mexican Government, which may have arisen previously to the
date of the signature of this treaty; which discharge shall be final and
perpetual, whether the said claims be rejected or be allowed by the board of
commissioners provided for in the following article, and whatever shall be the
total amount of those allowed.
ARTICLE
XV
The United States, exonerating Mexico from all demands on
account of the claims of their citizens mentioned in the preceding article, and
considering them entirely and forever canceled, whatever their amount may be,
undertake to make satisfaction for the same, to an amount not exceeding three
and one-quarter millions of dollars. To ascertain the validity and amount of
those claims, a board of commissioners shall be established by the Government
of the United States, whose awards shall be final and conclusive; provided
that, in deciding upon the validity of each claim, the board shall be guided
and governed by the principles and rules of decision prescribed by the first
and fifth articles of the unratified convention, concluded at the city of
Mexico on the twentieth day of November, one thousand eight hundred and
forty-three; and in no case shall an award be made in favour of any claim not
embraced by these principles and rules.
If, in the opinion of the said board of commissioners or of
the claimants, any books, records, or documents, in the possession or power of
the Government of the Mexican Republic, shall be deemed necessary to the just
decision of any claim, the commissioners, or the claimants through them, shall,
within such period as Congress may designate, make an application in writing
for the same, addressed to the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs, to be
transmitted by the Secretary of State of the United States; and the Mexican
Government engages, at the earliest possible moment after the receipt of such
demand, to cause any of the books, records, or documents so specified, which
shall be in their possession or power (or authenticated copies or extracts of
the same), to be transmitted to the said Secretary of State, who shall
immediately deliver them over to the said board of commissioners; provided that
no such application shall be made by or at the instance of any claimant, until
the facts which it is expected to prove by such books, records, or documents,
shall have been stated under oath or affirmation.
ARTICLE
XVI
Each of the contracting parties reserves to itself the
entire right to fortify whatever point within its territory it may judge proper
so to fortify for its security.
ARTICLE
XVII
The treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation, concluded at
the city of Mexico, on the fifth day of April, A. D. 1831, between the United
States of America and the United Mexican States, except the additional article,
and except so far as the stipulations of the said treaty may be incompatible
with any stipulation contained in the present treaty, is hereby revived for the
period of eight years from the day of the exchange of ratifications of this
treaty, with the same force and virtue as if incorporated therein; it being
understood that each of the contracting parties reserves to itself the right,
at any time after the said period of eight years shall have expired, to
terminate the same by giving one year's notice of such intention to the other
party.
ARTICLE
XVIII
All supplies whatever for troops of the United States in
Mexico, arriving at ports in the occupation of such troops previous to the
final evacuation thereof, although subsequently to the restoration of the
custom-houses at such ports, shall be entirely exempt from duties and charges
of any kind; the Government of the United States hereby engaging and pledging
its faith to establish and vigilantly to enforce, all possible guards for
securing the revenue of Mexico, by preventing the importation, under cover of
this stipulation, of any articles other than such, both in kind and in
quantity, as shall really be wanted for the use and consumption of the forces
of the United States during the time they may remain in Mexico. To this end it
shall be the duty of all officers and agents of the United States to denounce
to the Mexican authorities at the respective ports any attempts at a fraudulent
abuse of this stipulation, which they may know of, or may have reason to
suspect, and to give to such authorities all the aid in their power with regard
thereto; and every such attempt, when duly proved and established by sentence
of a competent tribunal, They shall be punished by the confiscation of the
property so attempted to be fraudulently introduced.
ARTICLE
XIX
With respect to all merchandise, effects, and property
whatsoever, imported into ports of Mexico, whilst in the occupation of the
forces of the United States, whether by citizens of either republic, or by
citizens or subjects of any neutral nation, the following rules shall be observed:
1. All such merchandise, effects, and property, if imported
previously to the restoration of the custom-houses to the Mexican authorities,
as stipulated for in the third article of this treaty, shall be exempt from
confiscation, although the importation of the same be prohibited by the Mexican
tariff.
2. The same perfect exemption shall be enjoyed by all such
merchandise, effects, and property, imported subsequently to the restoration of
the custom-houses, and previously to the sixty days fixed in the following
article for the coming into force of the Mexican tariff at such ports
respectively; the said merchandise, effects, and property being, however, at
the time of their importation, subject to the payment of duties, as provided
for in the said following article.
3. All merchandise, effects, and property described in the
two rules foregoing shall, during their continuance at the place of
importation, and upon their leaving such place for the interior, be exempt from
all duty, tax, or imposts of every kind, under whatsoever title or
denomination. Nor shall they be there subject to any charge whatsoever upon the
sale thereof.
4. All merchandise, effects, and property, described in the
first and second rules, which shall have been removed to any place in the
interior, whilst such place was in the occupation of the forces of the United
States, shall, during their continuance therein, be exempt from all tax upon
the sale or consumption thereof, and from every kind of impost or contribution,
under whatsoever title or denomination.
5. But if any merchandise, effects, or property, described
in the first and second rules, shall be removed to any place not occupied at
the time by the forces of the United States, they shall, upon their
introduction into such place, or upon their sale or consumption there, be
subject to the same duties which, under the Mexican laws, they would be
required to pay in such cases if they had been imported in time of peace,
through the maritime custom-houses, and had there paid the duties conformably
with the Mexican tariff.
6. The owners of all merchandise, effects, or property,
described in the first and second rules, and existing in any port of Mexico,
shall have the right to reship the same, exempt from all tax, impost, or contribution
whatever.
With respect to the metals, or other property, exported from
any Mexican port whilst in the occupation of the forces of the United States,
and previously to the restoration of the custom-house at such port, no person
shall be required by the Mexican authorities, whether general or state, to pay
any tax, duty, or contribution upon any such exportation, or in any manner to
account for the same to the said authorities.
ARTICLE
XX
Through consideration for the interests of commerce generally,
it is agreed, that if less than sixty days should elapse between the date of
the signature of this treaty and the restoration of the custom houses,
conformably with the stipulation in the third article, in such case all
merchandise, effects and property whatsoever, arriving at the Mexican ports
after the restoration of the said custom-houses, and previously to the
expiration of sixty days after the day of signature of this treaty, shall be
admitted to entry; and no other duties shall be levied thereon than the duties
established by the tariff found in force at such custom-houses at the time of
the restoration of the same. And to all such merchandise, effects, and
property, the rules established by the preceding article shall apply.
ARTICLE
XXI
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
differences 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.
ARTICLE
XXII
If (which is not to be expected, and which God forbid) war
should unhappily break out between the two republics, they do now, with a view
to such calamity, solemnly pledge themselves to each other and to the world to
observe the following rules; absolutely where the nature of the subject
permits, and as closely as possible in all cases where such absolute observance
shall be impossible:
1. The merchants of either republic then residing in the
other shall be allowed to remain twelve months (for those dwelling in the
interior), and six months (for those dwelling at the seaports) to collect their
debts and settle their affairs; during which periods they shall enjoy the same
protection, and be on the same footing, in all respects, as the citizens or
subjects of the most friendly nations; and, at the expiration thereof, or at
any time before, they shall have full liberty to depart, carrying off all their
effects without molestation or hindrance, conforming therein to the same laws
which the citizens or subjects of the most friendly nations are required to
conform to. Upon the entrance of the armies of either nation into the
territories of the other, women and children, ecclesiastics, scholars of every
faculty, cultivators of the earth, merchants, artisans, manufacturers, and
fishermen, unarmed and inhabiting unfortified towns, villages, or places, and
in general all persons whose occupations are for the common subsistence and
benefit of mankind, shall be allowed to continue their respective employments,
unmolested in their persons. Nor shall their houses or goods be burnt or
otherwise destroyed, nor their cattle taken, nor their fields wasted, by the
armed force into whose power, by the events of war, they may happen to fall;
but if the necessity arise to take anything from them for the use of such armed
force, the same shall be paid for at an equitable price. All churches,
hospitals, schools, colleges, libraries, and other establishments for
charitable and beneficent purposes, shall be respected, and all persons
connected with the same protected in the discharge of their duties, and the
pursuit of their vocations.
2. In order that the fate of prisoners of war may be
alleviated all such practices as those of sending them into distant, inclement
or unwholesome districts, or crowding them into close and noxious places, shall
be studiously avoided. They shall not be confined in dungeons, prison ships, or
prisons; nor be put in irons, or bound or otherwise restrained in the use of
their limbs. The officers shall enjoy liberty on their paroles, within
convenient districts, and have comfortable quarters; and the common soldiers
shall be disposed in cantonments, open and extensive enough for air and
exercise and lodged in barracks as roomy and good as are provided by the party
in whose power they are for its own troops. But if any officer shall break his
parole by leaving the district so assigned him, or any other prisoner shall
escape from the limits of his cantonment after they shall have been designated
to him, such individual, officer, or other prisoner, shall forfeit so much of
the benefit of this article as provides for his liberty on parole or in
cantonment. And if any officer so breaking his parole or any common soldier so
escaping from the limits assigned him, shall afterwards be found in arms
previously to his being regularly exchanged, the person so offending shall be
dealt with according to the established laws of war. The officers shall be
daily furnished, by the party in whose power they are, with as many rations,
and of the same articles, as are allowed either in kind or by commutation, to
officers of equal rank in its own army; and all others shall be daily furnished
with such ration as is allowed to a common soldier in its own service; the
value of all which supplies shall, at the close of the war, or at periods to be
agreed upon between the respective commanders, be paid by the other party, on a
mutual adjustment of accounts for the subsistence of prisoners; and such
accounts shall not be mingled with or set off against any others, nor the
balance due on them withheld, as a compensation or reprisal for any cause whatever,
real or pretended Each party shall be allowed to keep a commissary of
prisoners, appointed by itself, with every cantonment of prisoners, in
possession of the other; which commissary shall see the prisoners as often as
he pleases; shall be allowed to receive, exempt from all duties a taxes, and to
distribute, whatever comforts may be sent to them by their friends; and shall
be free to transmit his reports in open letters to the party by whom he is
employed. And it is declared that neither the pretense that war dissolves all
treaties, nor any other whatever, shall be considered as annulling or
suspending the solemn covenant contained in this article. On the contrary, the
state of war is precisely that for which it is provided; and, during which, its
stipulations are to be as sacredly observed as the most acknowledged
obligations under the law of nature or nations.
ARTICLE
XXIII
This treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United
States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof;
and by the President of the Mexican Republic, with the previous approbation of
its general Congress; and the ratifications shall be exchanged in the City of
Washington, or at the seat of Government of Mexico, in four months from the
date of the signature hereof, or sooner if practicable. In faith whereof we,
the respective Plenipotentiaries, have signed this treaty of peace, friendship,
limits, and settlement, and have hereunto affixed our seals respectively. Done
in quintuplicate, at the city of Guadalupe Hidalgo, on the second day of
February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
N. P. TRIST
LUIS P. CUEVAS
BERNARDO COUTO
MIGL. ATRISTAIN
SOURCE: J. C. Bancroft Davis, Treaties and Conventions
Concluded Between the United States of America and Other Powers, Since July 4,
1776, Revised Edition, p.
562-73
