The Department of State was made the depository, by stipulation, of the records and papers referred to in article 11 of the treaty with Spain of 1819, and they must not be delivered up to the claimants; and any law of Congress that shall authorize or require their delivery will be a violation of that treaty. Taney, At. Gen., 1832, 2 Op. 515. Under the treaty of 1819 the commissioner had power to decide conclusively upon the amount and validity of claims, but not upon the conflicting rights of parties to the sums awarded by them. Comegys v. Vasse, 1 Pet. 193. The claims of American citizens against Spain, for which by the treaty of 1819 the United States undertook to make satisfaction to an amount not exceeding $5,000,000, were such claims as, at the date of the convention, were unliquidated, and statements of which had been presented to the Department of State or to the minister of the United States. The convention, as signed 22d February, 1819, subject to ratification within six months, though it was not ratified within the time stipulated, was never abandoned, though some expressions in the notification of August 21, 1819, by the United States to Spain (notifying to that government that after the next day, "as the ratifications of the convention will not have been exchanged, all the claims and pretensions of the United States will stand in the same situation as if that convention had never been made "), indicated that the United States might be induced to carry it into effect. The notification did not, by the nonratification within the six months, make revocable the power which citizens of the United States, by filing their claims with it, had given their government to make reclamations against Spain in their behalf. Meade v. United States, 9 Wall. 691. 3. CONVENTION OF FEBRUARY 17, 1834. § 885. A convention was concluded between the United States and Spain February 17, 1834, for the settlement of claims of citizens of the United States against the Spanish government, arising between February 22, 1819, and the date of the conclusion of the convention. Davis' Notes, Treaty Vol. (1776-1887), 1387; Moore, Int. Arbitrations, V. As to the claims convention of February 11-12, 1871, see Moore, Int. As to the protocol of Jan. 12, 1877, concerning judicial procedure, see supra, § 187. Concerning the suspension of discriminating duties, as to the Antilles, For a modus vivendi as to the commerce of Cuba and Porto Rico, see For. 4. RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT, 1891. § 886. In 1891 a reciprocity agreement with reference to Cuba was concluded between the United States and Spain, under section 3 of the McKinley Act. An error was made in the publication by Spain of the definite repertory in Cuba. This error was afterwards rectified. For. Rel. 1894, 598, 611. As to the part taken by Spain in the World's Columbian Exposition at 5. TREATY OF DECEMBER 10, 1898. § 887. A treaty of peace between the United States and Spain was concluded at Paris, December 10, 1898. As to the negotiations, see supra, § 109. See Lebraud (Élie), La Guerre Hispano-Américaine et le Droit des Gens: Articles V., VI. By Article V. of the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain of December 10, 1898, the United States engaged to send back to Spain, at its own cost, the Spanish soldiers taken as prisoners of war on the capture of Manila by the American forces. By Article VI. the United States agreed to release all persons made prisoners of war by the American forces, and to undertake to obtain the release of all Spanish prisoners in the hands of the insurgents in Cuba and the Philippines; and it was further stipu lated that the United States should, at its own cost, return to Spain, and that Spain should, at its own cost, return to the United States, Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines, according to the situation of their respective homes, prisoners released or caused to be released by them, respectively, under the article. The stipulation that the United States "will undertake to obtain the release of all Spanish prisoners in the hands of the insurgents in Cuba and the Philippines" was "not an absolute engagement to obtain the release of Spanish prisoners in the hands of the insurgents," but a "pledge" that the United States would "exercise its ⚫ best endeavors in this direction." "This government will fulfill its engagement, and is preparing the way to do so by suppressing the insurrection in the Philippines." Mr. Hay, Sec. of State, to Mr. Storer, min. to Spain, July 17, 1899, For. To facilitate the release of the prisoners, communications were permitted By a royal order of August 4, 1899, instructions were directed to be given for the immediate release of all Cubans and Filipinos who might remain in Spanish prisons on account of the insurrection in Cuba and the Philippines. For. Rel. 1899, 702, 705, 708. As to the release of Cuban prisoners, see Magoon's Reports, 562, 597. Articles V. and VI. of the treaty of peace with Spain required the United States to convey from the Philippines to Spain only such Spanish soldiers as were actually made prisoners of war either by the United States or by the insurgents. Troops remaining under arms under the control and direction of Spanish officers were to be removed at the expense of Spain. Griggs, At. Gen., March 15, 1899, 22 Op. 383. The treaty required the United States to repatriate all Spanish prisoners captured and held by the American forces, or held and released by the insurgents in Cuba and the Philippines-soldiers and civilians men, women, and children, whether their detention was originally voluntary or otherwise. Griggs, At. Gen., Jan. 6, 1900, 23 Op. 9. Article VII. Article VII. of the treaty of peace with Spain of December 10,1898, by which the United States agreed to adjust and settle the claims of its citizens against Spain that had "arisen since the beginning of the late insurrection in Cuba and prior to the exchange of ratifications of the present treaty," "evidently does not contemplate the settlement of all claims, anterior to that date [the date of the exchange of ratifications], belonging to all the inhabitants of the ceded territories, who might become citizens of the United States in virtue of the treaty." Mr. Hay, Sec. of State, to the Sec. of War, March 27, 1900, 244 MS. Dom. This letter related to a claim of the Board of Harbor Works of Ponce, The proceedings of the peace commissioners contain nothing to fix the date of the beginning of the insurrection in Cuba, and if legislation shall not fix the date, it will be the province of the tribunal to do so, upon the evidence before it. Mr. Hill, Assist. Sec. of State, to Mr. Sharp, Jan. 18, 1901, 250 MS. Dom. For correspondence with Spain as to securing assistance in obtaining de- As to the claims under art. 7, see S. Doc. 79, 54 Cong. 2 sess.; S. Doc. 189, 55 Cong. 1 sess.; S. Doc. 168, 55 Cong. sess.; S. Rep. 13, 56 Cong. 1 sess.; S. Doc. 94, 57 Cong. 1 sess. As to the preservation by municipalities in Cuba and Porto Rico, under Article VIII. of the treaty of peace, of their rights, see Magoon's Reports, 374, 463. Article VIII. As to lands held for ecclesiastical or religious uses in the Philippine Islands, see message of President McKinley, February 25, 1901, S. Doc. 190, 56 Cong. 2 sess. By Article IX. of the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain concluded December 10, 1898, it was provided Article IX. that Spaniards residing in territories over which Spain ceded or relinquished her sovereignty should be subject, in matters civil as well as criminal, to the jurisdiction of the courts of the country wherein they resided, "pursuant to the ordinary laws governing the same." It was advised that under this stipulation Spaniards residing in Cuba were as aliens entitled to the benefit of article. 44 of the alien law of that country, under which the consul of an intestate alien was entitled to intervene and administer the estate. Griggs, At. Gen., April 26, 1900, 23 Op. 93. Article IX. of the treaty with Spain of December 10, 1898, was intended to secure to Congress, so far as it could constitutionally be done, a free hand in dealing with the territory ceded by the treaty. Dorr v. United States (1904), 195 U. S. 138. Article XI. By Article XI. of the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain, signed at Paris December 10, 1898, it was provided that Spaniards residing in the territories over which Spain ceded or relinquished her sovereignty should be subject in matters civil as well as criminal to the jurisdiction of the courts" pursuant to the ordinary laws governing the same," and that they should have the right "to appear before such courts and to pursue the same course as citizens of the country." Held, that these stipulations, while they secured to Spaniards the right to appear and proceed like citizens, did not make it unlawful to give them additional privileges, and that they were entitled, in respect of the settlement of their estates, to the benefits of the alien law of 1870, this being among the ordinary laws governing the courts. Griggs, At. Gen., April 26, 1900, 23 Op. 93; For. Rel. 1901, 226. See, also, Magoon's Reports, 473, 478; Mr. Hay, Sec. of State, to Duke of Article XII. of the treaty provided for the finality of judicial judgments in the territories ceded or relinquished where no right of review existed under Spanish law. Magoon's Reports 486, 487, 507, 514. Article XII. As to appeals pending in Madrid, see id. 646. See Mr. Hay, Sec. of State, to Duke of Arcos, No. 55, Nov. 29, 1899, MS. Article XIII. By Article XIII. of the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain of December 10, 1898, it was provided that Spanish scientific, literary, and artistic works, not subversive of public order in the territories ceded to the United States, should continue to be admitted free of duty into such territories for ten years from the date of the exchange of ratifications. It was ad |