RK F»LY 
 
 TO THE 
 
 ARGUMENT OF NICARAGUA 
 
 QUESTION OF THE VALIDITY OR NULLITY OF T 
 TREATY OF LIMITS OF APRIL 15, 1858. ^^ 
 
 TO BE DECIDED BY 
 
 The President of the United States of Americ 
 
 AS ARBITRATOR. 
 
 FILED ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMEXT OF COSTA RICA 
 
 BY 
 
 F>EDRO PKREZ ZELEIDON, 
 
 ITS ENVOY i;XTR.\ORniN.\RV AND MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY 
 IX THE LMTICD STATES. 
 
 (TnASi-LATED INTO English by J. I. Rodriguez.) 
 
 WASHINGTON' : 
 
 Gibson Bbos., Primters and Bookbinders. 
 1887.
 
 ^
 
 liJs^L/^^ 
 
 R E FV 
 
 ARGUMENT OF NICARAGUA 
 
 QUESTION OF THE VALIDITY OR NULLITY OF THE 
 TREATY OF LIMITS OF APRIL 15, 18^8, 
 
 TO BE DECIDED BY 
 
 The President of the United States of America. 
 
 AS ARBITWATOR, 
 
 FILED ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT OF COSTA RIGA 
 
 r 
 
 PEIDRO F»EREZ ZELEOON, 
 
 ITS ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY AND MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY 
 IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ( Tkanslatei) into English by J. I. Kodriguez.) 
 
 WASHINGTON : 
 
 GiHSON Bkos.. Printei s and Bookbinders 
 
 1887.
 
 67 Pf 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 XJNTVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 SANTA BARBARA 
 
 v1 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 INTKODUCTION, :i 
 
 PART FIRST. — Historical Antecedents. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 Limits of the ancient Province of Nicaragua, .... 9 
 Chapter II. 
 
 Limits of Costa Rica, ......... 30 
 
 PART SECOND. — Elucidation of the Principal Point. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 Arguments of Nicaragua against the validity of the treaty of April 
 15, 1858, 39 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 The Treaty of Limits was made in strict jjursuance of the funda- 
 mental law in force in Nicaragua at the time of its conclusion, 41 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 Demarcation of the territory' of Nicaragua according to her first 
 Constitution, promulgated April 8, 1826. — Nicoya, . . .48 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 Demarcation of the territory of Nicaragua according to her first 
 Constitution. — Southern bank of the San Juan river, . . 5fi 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 The Convention of Limits of 1858 is an international treaty like 
 any other, and not an unfinished amendment to the Nicaraguan 
 Constitution, .......... 59 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 Even granting that the treaty of 18.")8 involved a cession of terri- 
 tory, this cession could be made by only one Legislature, ac- 
 cording to the Constitution of 1838, . . . . .62 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 Whether the treaty of 1858 was exchanged before it was ratified, 64 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 Whether the treaty of 1858 was rather imposed upon Nicaragua 
 than accepted by her. ........ 68 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 Whether the Treaty of Limits is null for want of ratification by 
 the Government of Salvador, . . . . . .71
 
 76 
 
 IV 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 NVhether Nicaragua can repudiate the Treatj- of Limits for being 
 pernicious, ......... 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 
 Constant recognition by Nicaragua, until 1872, of the validity of 
 the Treaty of Limits. 79 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 Importance of the documents referred to in this chapter for de- 
 stroying the effect of the persistence with which Nicarngua has 
 maintained, ever since 1872, the non-validity of the Treaty of 
 Limits, ......... .83 
 
 CONCLUSION, 89 
 
 DOCU:HENTS. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Royal Ordinance of February 10, 1576, for the reduction of the 
 Province of Tausgalpa, situated to the north of the San Juan 
 river, ............ 101 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 The President of the Koyal Audieucia of Guatemala transmits to 
 the Governor and to the Most Noble Corporation of the City of 
 Cartago a resolution bj' which the election of members of the 
 Spanish Cortes for Costa Rica and Nicoya was ordered to be 
 made at that city. — It appears, from this Document, that the 
 District of Nicoya had actually been annexed to Costa Rica 
 ever since May, 1813. about eight years before the independence 
 from the mother country, 103 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 Tkfc first Constituent Congress of Costa Rica directs that the Dis- 
 tricts of Nicoya and Santa Cruz should be considered as tempo- 
 rarily annexed to the State, and protected as such, . . 105 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 Measures taken by the Constitutional Assembly of Costa Rica to 
 carry into e^ecution the Federal Decree which annexed the Dis- 
 trict of Nicoya to her own territory, ..... 106 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Extracts from tlie Constitution of the State of Nicaragua of April 
 8, 1H26, showing that at that time the District of Guanacaste or 
 Nicoya was not an integral part of the State, but had been, by 
 its own will, and with the sanction of the Federal Power, an- 
 nexed to th(^ biirdcriiig State of Costa llica, .... 107 
 No. C. 
 
 Scbi-dulf sliowing tin- way in which the districts of the State of 
 Costtt Rica should elect their deputies, ..... 110
 
 No. 7. 
 
 The District of Nicoya culled to take part in the election of the 
 Supreme Federal authorities, by order of the Congress of Costa 
 Rica, and as an integral part of the latter State, . . .111 
 
 No. 8. 
 
 Nicoya is granted the right to take part in the election of the Su- 
 preme authorities of the State of Costa Rica according to the 
 Constitution thereof, 113 
 
 No. 9. 
 
 The Nicaraguau territory ends at the La Flor river, . . . 115 
 No. 10. 
 
 The Constitutional Assembly of Costa Rica enacts several meas- 
 ures for the cultivation of certain lands belonging to the State, 
 situated on the right bank of the San Juan del Norte river, . 116 
 
 No. 11. 
 
 The village of Guaiiacaste is raised by the Government of Costa 
 Rica to the category of a town, ...... 119 
 
 No. 12. 
 
 The town of Santa Cruz (iu the District of Nicoya) has a Repre- 
 sentative in the Assembly of the State of Costa Rica, . . 120 
 No. 13. 
 
 Instructions given to the Special Commissioner of the Govern- 
 ment of Costa Rica to visit the Districts of Nicoya and Bagaces, 121 
 No. 14. 
 
 Classification of the towns of Costa Rica in reference to home 
 government and Treasury matters, ...... 124 
 
 No. 15. 
 
 Guanacaste is declared to be one of the five judicial districts of 
 
 Costa Rica, 126 
 
 No. 10. 
 
 The faithfulness of the District of Nicoya, and its services subse- 
 quent to its incorporation to Costa Rica, are recognized and 
 rewarded, ........... 127 
 
 No. 17. 
 
 The rank and title of City is given to the town of Guanacaste in 
 recognition of the servi('es rendered by it to the State by resist- 
 ing the invasion of Manuel Quijano, 129 
 
 No. 18. 
 
 Schedule for the election of deputies to the Constituent Assembly 
 of the State, at the rate of one deputy for each 5.000 souls, and 
 fractious of that unit to the number of 3.000. — The letter A. 
 means the jjlace where the parochial electors must meet, and 
 the letter B. shows the place where the district electors must 
 meet 131
 
 Tl 
 
 No. 19. 
 
 The Constituent Assembly of Nicaragua of 1838 gives power to 
 the Executive to enter into a treaty with the Envoy of Costa 
 
 Kica, .... - 132 
 
 No. 20. 
 
 Law enacted by the Constituent Assembly of Nicaragua on De- 
 cember 21. 1838. to carry into efifect Article II of the Constitu- 
 tion of the same year, ........ 133 
 
 No. 21. 
 
 Provisions of the Decree of Bases and Guarantees of March 8, 
 1841. in regard to Costa Rican Territory 135 
 
 No. 22. 
 
 The Constituent Assembly of Costa Rica of 18-12 declared that 
 the Province of Guanacaste is an iutegral part of the national 
 territory, and that it is incumbent upon the honor of the na- 
 tion to repel the aggression attempted by Nicaragua, . .137 
 
 No. 23. 
 
 Revenue posts are established on the Sarapiqui and La Flor rivers, 130 
 
 No. 24. 
 
 The Congress of Costa Rica ai^proves the Executive Decree which 
 establishes military revenue posts on the Sarapiqui river and 
 the western frontier of Nicaragua, ...... 141 
 
 No. 25. 
 
 The road which leads to the La Flor river, the frontier of the 
 States of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, is ordered to be repaired, 142 
 
 No. 20. 
 
 Bases for the formation of a Company, named the Sarapiqui Com- 
 pany, for the opening of a road from San Jose to the Sarapiqui 
 river, and for thi' navigation of the said river, in order that the 
 exportations of Costa Rica may be made through the Shu Juan 
 river. ... ......... 144 
 
 No. 27. 
 
 Costa Rica prohibits the navigation of the San Cdrlos river, an 
 afllucut of the San Juan, ami prt^scribcs penalties for the trans- 
 gressors, ........... 147 
 
 No. 28. 
 
 Costa Rica grants to the firm of Kirkland A: Goering the jirivilege 
 of steam navigation on the Siipo.-i river, and of establishing a 
 route of transit from the BolaHos Bay to the Lake of Nicara- 
 gua ; the grantees being authorized to use the waters of the 
 r..ake and of tiic San Juan and ('olorado rivers, in so far as they 
 bclouf.' to Costii I{i(ii. 148
 
 Til 
 
 No. 29. 
 
 The Government of Costa Rica accei^ts the apology made by the 
 Government of Nicaragua for having trespassed with its forces 
 upon the dividing line between the two States, that is, the La 
 Flor river, boundary of the Costa Rican Province of Guana- 
 caste, 1.50 
 
 No. 30. 
 
 Congratulation of the peoijle of Leon to the Costa Rican Army 
 upon the seizure of the steamers and its control of the river 
 and Lake, 153 
 
 No. 31. 
 
 Seizure of the steamers of the San Juan river and the Lake of 
 Nicaragua.— Official news from the Army. — Another triumph. 
 — Go ahead I — The war nearly at an end, ... . 154 
 
 No. 32. 
 
 Proclamation of the President of Costa Rica upon the seizure of 
 the steamers and the control of the San Juan river and the 
 Lake of Nicaragua, ......... 156 
 
 No. 33. 
 
 Opinion of the Government of Guatemala in regard to the action 
 of Costa Rica during the war against Walker, and especially in 
 the affair of the seizure of the steamers, ..... 158 
 
 No. 34. 
 
 What happened in Nicaragua after the seizure of the steamers by 
 the Costa Rican forces . . 159 
 
 No. 35. 
 
 What, in 1857, was thought in Nicaragua in regard to the blow 
 inflicted by Costa Rica upon Walker on the San Juan river and 
 
 the Lake of Nicaragua, 161 
 
 No. 36. 
 
 The public opinion of Nicaragua in regard to Costa Rica in 1857, 163 
 No. 37. 
 
 Gratuitous grant of lands along the course of the Sarapiqui river 
 down to its confluence with the San Juan river, for agricultural 
 purposes. ........... 164 
 
 No. 38. 
 
 Provisions of the Niearaguan Constitution of August 19, 1858, in 
 regard to limits and the division of the National territory, . 167 
 
 No. 39. 
 
 Schedule of the Judicial Division of the territory of the Republic 
 of Nicaragua, 170
 
 •vui 
 
 No. 40. 
 
 A road is ordered to be opened from the Capital to the Sarapiqui 
 river. ............ 173 
 
 No. 41. 
 
 Concessions made by Costa Kica for steam uavigation upon the 
 Sarapiqui and San C.irlos rivers, and for carrying the mail from 
 the wharf on the Sarapiqui river to San Juan del Norte and pice 
 tersa, ............ 174 
 
 No. 42. 
 
 Costa Kica is recognized as a party to the canal grant made to 
 
 Mr. Belly 175 
 
 No. 43. 
 
 A tax for the benefit of the public instruction of the Province of 
 Guanacaste is levied upon the exportation of wood shipped on 
 the Pacific coast between Cape Blanco and the Gulf of Salinas, 17(5 
 No. 44. 
 
 New rules enacted in regard to timber within the zone of the Sara- 
 piqui and other rivers of the Republic on the .\tlantic side, . 178 
 No. 45. 
 
 Costa Rica approves the contract of interoceanic canal entered 
 
 into with Mr. Felix Belly, of Paris 181 
 
 No. 40. 
 
 Territorial Division of the Republic of Costa Rica for Electoral 
 purposes, after the treaty of limits of April 15, 1858, . . 182 
 
 No. 47. 
 
 The Custom authorities of Costa Rica exercising jurisdiction on 
 the frontier established by the treaty of 1858, .... 183 
 No. 48. 
 
 Concessions made bj' Costa Rica for Steam Navigation on the 
 Sarajiiqui, San Cdrlos, and other rivers tributaries of the San 
 Juau river, and the Lake of Nicaragua, and for the building of 
 a road from the interior of Costa Rica to the Sarapiqui river. 
 or to any other river affluent to the San Juan, ... 185 
 
 No. 49. 
 
 Municipal territorial division of Costa Rica subseciueut to the 
 
 treaty of limits of lH.58, 187 
 
 No. 50. 
 
 Grant miidt- in favor of ])tni Jost? .\utonio Chamorro for the build- 
 ing of a road t(» tlie ImiikH of the San Juau river. . IHH 
 No. 51. 
 
 Measures taken in regard to the (Juatuso [ndians, occupying the 
 plains of the Haiiio name in the Rio Trio river in the territorial 
 iurisdiction of the Province of Alajuola, south of the Lake of 
 Nicaragua and the Sun Juan river, IHi)
 
 IX 
 
 No. 52. 
 
 Dr. Don Eiiamiuoudas Uribe, Commissioner of the Government 
 of Costa Kica, visits the San Juan and San Carlos rivers, and 
 suggests some measures for the foundation of two Costa Rican 
 towns — one at Punta de Castilla and another at the confluence 
 of the San Carlos and the Peflas Blancas rivers, . . . 192 
 
 No. 53. 
 
 The official organ of Nicaragua publishes the estimate of the work 
 to be done on the river and port of San Juan according to sur- 
 veys made by a mixed commission agreed upon between the 
 Governments of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, .... 197 
 
 No. 54. 
 
 Editorial of the " Gaceta Oficial " of Nicaragua on the reception 
 in Costa Rica of the Nicaraguan Minister, Don Mariano Mon- 
 tealegre. — Costa Rica is recognized as bordering upon the San 
 Juan river, as joint possessor of the navigation of the same, and 
 as much interested as Nicaragua in the Interoceanic Canal en- 
 terprise, 198 
 
 No. 55. 
 
 The exportation through San Juan de Nicaragua of the natural 
 products of the public lands of Costa Rica, such as timber, sar- 
 saparilla, rubber, balsams, resin, &c., is prohibited, in order to 
 prevent the natural wealth of the northern section of the Re- 
 public from being destroyed, ....... 201 
 
 No. 56. 
 
 The territorial jurisdiction of the " Comarca " (district) of Limon 
 is created. — The limits given to it are from Punta de Castilla, 
 frontier of Nicaragua, to the United States of Colombia, . . 203 
 
 No. 57. 
 
 Origin of the Martinez-Jerez Duumvirate. (From Memorias para 
 la historia de la camjiana nacional contra el filibusterismo — 
 1856 y '57 por Jer6nimo Perez). Masaya. 1873, . . .205 
 
 Chronological epitome of historical facts connected with 
 
 THE territorial DEMARCATION OF CoSTA KiCA AND 
 
 / Nicaragua, 206
 
 INTRODUCTION.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Two are the questions submitted to the arbitration of the 
 President of the United States of America under the treaty of 
 Guatemala of December 24, 1886. One, which is the princi- 
 pal, refers to the treaty of limits between Costa E-ica and Nic- 
 aragua, which was concluded on April 15, 1858, and to its 
 validity or nullity. The other, which is supplementary, or 
 secondary, refers to the interpretation to be given to certain 
 points in the said treaty alleged to be doubtful. 
 
 It was stipulated in the treaty of arbitration that both ques- 
 tions should be simultaneously discussed and decided, upon such 
 proceedings, and within such periods of time, as follows : 
 
 1st. Within ninet}'' days, subsequent to the acceptance of the 
 Arbitrator, the arguments and documents of the two parties 
 should be filed. 
 
 2d. Within eight days^ subsequent to the above, the argu- 
 ments and documents of each party should l)e communicated 
 to the other, 
 
 3d. Within thirty days, subsequent to the above, the reply of 
 each party to the argument and documents of the other, should 
 be submitted. 
 
 4th. Within a period of six months, and by onl}'^ one and 
 the same award, all the questions should be decided. 
 
 In spite of this, which under the provisions of the treaty 
 of Guatemala is plain, the Ilepul)!ic of Nicaragua has reserved 
 for some future time her argument upon the second supple- 
 mentary question, and comes and says that she holds herself 
 in readiness to submit that argument, when the principal ques- 
 tion is decided, or when the Arbitrator declares that the oppor- 
 tunity to do so has arrived, by signifying his intention of en- 
 tering upon the interpretation of doubtful points.
 
 The defense of !N^icaraoi:ua ought to have understood, from 
 the unity of proceedings wliich, under the express provisions 
 of the treaty of Guatemala, characterizes the present arbitra- 
 tion, that the periods of time granted to both parties for the 
 tiling and answering the arguments on the two questions were 
 not double, but simple ; and that the two questions should be 
 discussed together and decided at the same time l»y one and 
 the same award. 
 
 The text of the treaty of arbitration is so extreme!}' plain 
 in this respect that the division attempted by Nicaragua can- 
 not be satisfactorily explained. But, whether explained or not, 
 the fact is that it cannot be allowed, because Nicaragua Mnxild 
 then enjoy, in the present discussion, an undue advantage over 
 Costa Rica, by being permitted to make her argument and 
 exhibit her documents, at such time before tlie detiision as 
 might be suitable to lier purposes, while Costa Rica would be 
 deprived of the right of reading and refuting, at the time 
 provided for by the treaty, the arguments and proofs of her 
 opponent. 
 
 The treaty of arl)itration plainly states that the tirst period 
 of the del)ate, and no other, is the one wherein the briefs and 
 evidence of either party should l)e tiled. Neither of them can 
 pretend to enjoy other and different opportunities, in regard to 
 time, or otherwise, as are granted l)y the treaty. 
 
 The Government of Costa Rica has never enicrtaincd any 
 doubt as to the constru<-tion to be [)la('f <1 upon the treaty of 
 limits, the language of which seems to I. and to everybody 
 else not prejudiced, to be perfectly phiin. And yet, acting 
 with that sincerity which becomes a controversy of this kind, 
 it has not hesitated \<< frankly expi-ess its own o|>iiii(in upon all 
 the rpu'stions whi(;li tlie Government of Nicaragua propounded. 
 
 l>ut the Nicaraguan (Tovernment, after pi-esenting the strange 
 <l(»ubts wliicli 1 ccnrred to it, and rornnilating tlieni by means of 
 extremely brie i' jtropositiotis ditlicult to understand, instead of 
 cvplainitig them as frankly and extensively as required, within 
 tlie time in which Hiich a thing was possible, now comes and says
 
 that it will enter into such explanations afterwards, at such mo- 
 ment as may be pleasinf^ to it, or suitable to its purposes. 
 
 The Government of Costa Rica refuses its assent to any 
 change or alteration in this way by the Nicaraguan Govern- 
 ment of the provisions of the treaty of Guatemala. 
 
 I must say, also, a few words in regard to another point, 
 of no less importance, referring to the distinction necessarily 
 to be made between the questions wliich are the exclusive 
 subject of the present arbitration and another different ques- 
 tion which may eventually arise hereafter. The questions 
 submitted to the present arbitration arc, in substance, whether 
 THE treaty of April 15, 1858, is or is not valid, and what is 
 the construction to be placed upon some of its provisions ? The 
 other question — an essentially different one, — not actual, but 
 potential or eventual, — which will never arise except in case 
 that the treaty of 1858 is adjudged void, — which is not, by any 
 means, before the Arl-itrator, — and which, if it ever comes up, 
 will come up in a forui and on terms not yet agreed upon by 
 the two Ilepubli(!s, — is to find out which were the respective 
 territorial liviits of the tivo countries p)'^ior to 1858. 
 
 In other words, the question now under discussion is not 
 " WHICH were the territorial limits of Costa Rica and Nic- 
 aragua prior to 1858 V but simplj^ to determine the validity 
 or invalidity of the treaty concluded on the 15th of April, 
 1858, for the purpose of fixing the frontier between the two 
 Republics. 
 
 Wliatever has been said, or may be said, by eitlier party 
 in regard to limits prior to 1858 has to be considered only 
 as historical illustrations, but never as a matter of direct, im- 
 mediate, and actual concern. 
 
 No opportunity exists at present to pass judgment upon tlie 
 strength and efficiency of the Royal Ordinances and Letters- 
 Patent of the Crown of Spain, speaking of limits between 
 Costa Rica and Nicaragua, or to decide the questions of pub- 
 lic law arising out of the incorporation of Nicoya into Costa 
 Rica, in 1824, approved by the Federal Power and accepted 
 by Nicaragua by her first Constitution.
 
 Those matters will be amply discussed at the proper time, 
 if the opportunity to do so should ever pi-esent itself ; and 
 then both Governments shall tile such documents as may sup- 
 port, respectively, their different conclusions. 
 
 To decide the question of the day, the only one before the 
 Arbitrator, as Nicaragua pretends, upon bases whi(?h cannot 
 be estal>lislied solidly without a previous and thorough knowl- 
 edge of tlic ancient limits, would be to answer in advance a 
 question wliich has not been submitted, nor presented or de- 
 bated. It would be to prejudge tiie question without sutti- 
 cient knowledge of the subject. It would be to involve, at 
 the risk of nullity, things which the parties to the arbitra- 
 tion themselves distinctly separated in the treaty signed by 
 them at Guatemala. 
 
 The Government of Costa Rica entertains the firm confi- 
 dence that neitlier the tendency shown by the argument of 
 Nicaragua to involve and confuse those questions will find 
 any encouragement in tlie i-ighteous and enlightened mind t)f 
 the Arbitrator, nor that Costa llica will be refused full defense 
 of her rights, and absolute and strict equality with Nicaragua.
 
 PART FIRST."
 
 PART FIRST. 
 
 HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS. 
 
 Chaptek I. 
 
 LIMITS OF THE ANCIENT PROVINCE OF NICAEAGUA. 
 
 The present chapter, as well as the one following, in hoth 
 of which the frontiers of Costa Rica and Nicaragna, prior to 
 the treaty of April 15, 1858, are defined, might, without any 
 impropriety, he eliminated from the present reply, hecanse, as 
 it has l)een said in the introduction, such is not the suhject of 
 this controversy. But wishing, on the one hand, not to leave 
 any portion of the argument of Nicaragua unanswered, and 
 thinking, on the other hand, that it is in tlie interest of Costa 
 Rica to show that the treaty of 1858, far from enlarging her 
 territorial rights, actually abridged them, it has been deemed 
 necessary to devote a portion of this paper, as was done in the 
 former one, to some historical considerations, which, although 
 relatmg to matters not the subject of the arbitration, are, nev- 
 ertheless, conducive, as it cannot be doubted, to the illustration 
 of the question at issue. 
 
 The defense of Nicaragua has confused two questions which 
 the treaty of arbitration distinguished with particular clear- 
 ness, and the interrogatory, " which were the ancient limits 
 of the Province of Nicaragua ? " constitutes a cardinal basis 
 of her argument. In answer to that interrogatory she has 
 confiiied herself to simple assertions, supported only by incom- 
 plete and extremely compendious quotations fi-om several Royal 
 Ordinances and from different writers; l)ut no document em- 
 anating from the sovereign has been filed which shows what 
 the limits were during the Spanish rule.
 
 10 
 
 It is asserted by the defense of Nicaragua that the Desa- 
 guadero or San Jnun river belonged ab initio to that Eepnblic : 
 but this assertion is not correct, either legally or historically. 
 Before refuting it, I must, however, be allowed to call attention 
 to the change of basis which is noticed in that defense. 
 
 When Senores Don Tomas Ayon and Don Anselrao H. 
 Rivas, Ex-Secretaries of Foreign Relations of Nicaragua, spoke 
 for that Republic and defended her, the Desaguadero and the 
 San Juan river were not oni' and the same thing; and the San 
 Juan river had no more than one mouth ; and the Desaguadero 
 was situated in the Matina valley far south of the Colorado 
 river. ^ 
 
 Now that the defense of Nicaragua is entrusted to other hands, 
 the Desaguadero is the same as the San Juan river ; it has not 
 one but three mouths ; and the frontier of Costa Rica is not 
 to be found in the Matina valley, l)ut on tlie right bank of the 
 moutli of the Colorado river.- 
 
 Such variety and indecision in regard to such a capital point 
 plainly reveal that Costa Rica has alwa^'s had reason on her side ; 
 and tliat Nicaragua, ranch against her will, sees herself com- 
 pelled now to acknowledge it, at least, by plainly confessing that 
 their Secretaries of State who shouldered the burden and re- 
 sponsil)ility of e.\pt)unding and defending her rights, commit- 
 ted an ei'ivtr. 
 
 The truth is that the Desaguadero is the same as the San 
 Juan i-iver, and that, although the waters of this stream have 
 several outlets into the Atlantic, the historical and commer- 
 cial mouth pai' excellence^ the one recognized by the discover- 
 ers of the river, fortified during the colonial regime, the 
 thoroughfare of trallic; in the last years of that period, the 
 vehicle of (Central American conunerce from the Independence 
 up to some years sul»se(pient to the treaty of 1858, when the 
 pf)rt of San Juan became deteriorated, was always the mouth 
 
 ' Suo paj^cs 40 ftnd 41, ArRUinenl of Costa Rica. 
 '■■Argutufnt of Nicurugua.
 
 11 
 
 of the northei'u branch of the river, the one properly named 
 San Jnan or Desagnadero, denominations which were never 
 given either to the Tani-e or the Colorado rivers, known, both 
 of them, in tliis ccntnry, as they were in the two preceding, 
 by their own special names. 
 
 The San Juan rii'er helonged ab initio to Yeragua and not 
 to Nicaragua, hut afterwards it was common to loth Prov- 
 inces. 
 
 Had tlie King of Spain wished that Costa Rica should en- 
 joy the San Jnan I'iver, he would have forbidden her to navi- 
 gate it in the navigable portion thereof, would have eliminated 
 it from her jui-isdi(;tion, and would have adjudicated it to Nic- 
 aragua to the exclusion of Costa Kica. But he did exactly the 
 contrary, and the title in wliich Charles Y mentioned the De- 
 sagnadero as being within the limits of Cartago, or Costa Kica, 
 is precisely tlie one in wliicli, for the first time, Nicaragua was 
 given a right in the upper part of that sti-eam. So it is, that 
 closely following the language of the laws, or Royal Ordi- 
 nances, of Emperor Chai'les V, and placing upon them the 
 right construction, the territory of the lower part of the San 
 Juan i-iver belonged to Costa Rica, and tlie navigation of it 
 and of the Lake was common to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. 
 That community existed in law and in fact under the Govern- 
 ment of the Federal Republic of Central America, and subse- 
 quent to it, also, when Nicaragua and Costa Rica organized 
 themselves as independent Republics. It lasted until April 15, 
 1858, in which Costa Rica deemed it advisable to renounce a 
 portion of her rights in favor of Nicaragua. 
 
 In proof of these assertions Costa Rica exhibits the statutes 
 which fixed her territorial demarcation, and are clear and pre- 
 cise and emanate from the sovereign power. She also cites 
 authorities of other kinds, as geographers and historians, but 
 only when they corroborate or illustrate tiic legal provisions, 
 not when they are in opposition to them, or contradict them 
 without foundation, or err to the extreme of assertino- one thins 
 in one page and denj'ing it in another. Costa Rica rejects the
 
 12 
 
 authority of the celebrated historian Antonio de Ilerrera, when 
 that writer is found in palpable and nnjustitial>le contradiction 
 with a Royal Ordinance. With much more reason she refuses 
 to grive credit to the assertions of Senor Don Tomas Avon 
 when they are not duly backed by authentic documents of as 
 high authority as is required, for Senor Ayon's citations are 
 incomplete, and his historical work abounds in material errors 
 and inexplicable oversights. 
 
 Costa Rica pays respect to the law, to the law alone, and 
 exhibits the text thereof, which is her title; while Nicaragua 
 exhibits no title, and confines herself in her argument to cite 
 such fragments from the titles of Costa Rica as she deems 
 favorable to her pretension. 
 
 No one knows, therefore, what are the titles which Nicaragua 
 has invoked for more than half a century ; and we are forced 
 to fill, to a certain extent, the void which she has left in her 
 argument. 
 
 Gil Gimzalez Davila discovered Nicaragua and made his 
 first exploration between January, 1522, and May, 1523. lie 
 started from Panam;i on January 15, 1522, and returned in 
 June, 1523. But as soon as Pedrarias Davila knew of his dis- 
 covery he wanted to appropriate to himself the fruits thereof, 
 and began to persecute Gil Gonzalez, who succeeded, however, 
 in plairing himself in safety i>y sailing to San Domingo. 
 
 Pedrarias commissioned Francisco Hernandez de Cc^rdoba, 
 the (Ja])tain of his Guard, f(.>r the concpiest of the country 
 discovered by Gil Gonzalez to ike loest of Paihaiiii nji the 
 Southern Se<i. Cordoba landed on the eastern shore of the 
 Gulf of Orotiiui, or Nico^-a, and founded the town of Bruse- 
 las in the early part of 1524. He proceeded in his voyage 
 towards the Province of Ni('aragua, and he succeeded so well 
 that on May 1, 1524, he had reached the vicinity «)f Chinan- 
 dega, where he distributed the Iiooty and granted " encomien- 
 das," or rcipart iiiiiciitncs of Indians to liis companions, not, 
 however, without lirst aj)jiortioning more than one thousand 
 of the bume Indians to his chief Pedrarias, at the place of
 
 13 
 
 Los Desollados. It was in the same year tliat he founded the 
 cities of Leon and Granada, and sent Hernando de Soto to 
 explore the country in the direction of Honduras. 
 
 \\\ 1525 he fortified liimself at Granada, and relyinj^ upon 
 the eventual support of Cortes, who was then at Honduras, re- 
 helled against the authority of Pedrarias, who, being informed 
 by Hernando de Soto of the defection of his lieutenant, left 
 Tanama in January, 1526, and went to punish him, as he did 
 in tlie middle of that year, by causing him to be tried and put 
 to death at the public square of Leon. 
 
 Absoldte master of Nicaragua, but deprived of the Govern- 
 ment of Castilla del Oro, Pedrarias succeeded in being appointed 
 Governor and Captain-General of Nicaragua. His commis- 
 sion, which was issued on June 1, 1527, is at the same time 
 the title or charter of the Province of Nicaragua, then created 
 by it as a dominion of the Spanish crown. 
 
 Emperor Charles V did not define the precise boundaries of 
 the new Province, which, as the Royal Patent reads, com- 
 prised 
 
 " the lands and provinces of the Soutli Sea coast, towards 
 the west, discovered and conquered by Francisco Hernandez de 
 Cordoba, who, under your commission, settled in the Province 
 of Nicai'agua." 
 
 Said Poyal Patent further reads : 
 
 " It is our mercy and will, that you, Pedrarias Davila, 
 during our pleasure, be invested with the Governorship and Cap- 
 taincy-General of said lands and Provinces of Nicaragua." ^ 
 
 In subsequent royal ordinances and commissions, such as 
 the one issued at Toledo on May 4, 1534, in favor of Rodrigo 
 de Contreras, in which tliis Governor was vested with the 
 same faculties as Pedrarias, no demar<;ation is made of 
 the territory of Nicaragua;- but from the commission of 
 Pedrarias and the royal ordinance of April 21, 1529, it can 
 
 'Torres de Mendoza. Coleccion de documentos ineditos, vol. xl, p. 252, 
 where the comniisbion is found in extenso. 
 ^Torres de Mendoza. ColecciOn, vol. XLI, page 521.
 
 14 
 
 be seen that the authoritv of the Governors Avas to be exer- 
 cised over the land conquered by Hernandez de Cordoba, from 
 the town of Brnselas and the territory atljacent thereto, to the 
 Honduras boundary. As has been said in the argument of 
 Costa Rica, page 22, this territorial jurisdiction was gradually 
 diminished by the ci-eation of the new Provinces of Cartago, 
 or Costa Rica, and Nicoya, on the side of the Southern Sea. 
 There is not a single commission, a single royal ordinance, 
 extending tiie jurisdiction of jS'icaragua, during the XVIth 
 century, to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, and Herrera is 
 the tirst one who, at the end of the said century, spoke of said 
 coasts as belonginnr to her. 
 
 A historical error is committed by saying that Columbus 
 discovered Nicarajjua in 1502 when he travelled alono- the 
 coast from Cape Gracias a Dios to Cariay or to the San Juan 
 river. In doing this he did not reach Nicaragua, nor New 
 Granada^ either, but he only went along the coast of Veragua. 
 That coast was after\vards a part of Costa Rica, and lately of 
 Nicaragua. 
 
 The demonstration of thi> truth is simple. Twenty years be- 
 fore the discovery of Nicaragua those coasts were known by the 
 name of Veragua, from Cape Camaron to the Gulf of Darien or 
 Uraba. When, in 1509, the Catholic King gave the'Government 
 of Veragua to Diego de Nicuesa, the limits assigned to that com- 
 mand were from Cape Gracias ;i Dios to the Gulf of Ural)a, com- 
 prising all the present coasts of Nittaragua, Costa Rica, and Pan- 
 am;'i. The Mosquito coast was, therefore, a part of Veragua; and 
 the San .luan river or Desaguadero ran unknown through the 
 middle of that Province of Verairna.-' 
 
 'In his history of the Jesuits in New (Jranathi (Ili'sloria dr los JcituitaH ett, 
 Suent (tritiiii(lii), chiip. I, the C<>loiiil)ian vvrilcr, Don Jose Jonqiiin IJonla, 
 says that Coiumhiis (liscovorcil New (Jianaila wIkmi lie saw Cape Gracias a 
 Dios at a tlistanee. Sifior Ayiui is liislorically wronir in saying lliat ('nlvun- 
 bus (liseovered Ni(;araj^ua, altiion^'li (;ai)e (Jracias a Dios is now a part of 
 that Ilopiihlic. 
 
 ^ Navahkktk. Colircimi ■!<• Iok \iiijrs, dr,. 
 
 TollUKH DK MkNDOZA. VIiC all pnt .
 
 15 
 
 On Dec. 24, 1534, seven years after Nicaragua was raised 
 to tlie rank of a Governorship and Captaincy-General, Em- 
 peror Charles V appointed Felipe Gutierrez to be Governor of 
 Veragiia, and the limits of his teri'itorial jurisdiction were from 
 Cape Gracias a Dios to the boundary of Castilla del Oro. 
 
 In 1534 the Desaguadero was known to exist ; but neither it, 
 nor the territory through which it flowed, were reserved for Nic- 
 aragua, that river continuing, therefore, to run entirely in the 
 Province of Veragua. 
 
 In 1539 Captains Calero and Machuca explored its course and 
 passed out through it to the Northern Sea ; and, although the}'^ 
 fitted out their expedition at Granada under the auspices of 
 Rodrigo de Contreras, they did not think to have discovered 
 any unexplored part of the Government of Nicaragua, but an 
 entirely new province, the Governorship of which they proposed 
 to ask for Machuca. But before thej' had an opportunity to ad- 
 dress the King, Doctor Robles, a justice of the recently estab- 
 lished Audiencia of Panama, under whose jurisdiction Nicara- 
 gua fell, gave commission to his son-in-law, Hernan Sanchez de 
 Badajoz, to conquer Costa Rica, //'o;/i the lindts of the Duke- 
 dom of Yerayua uj) to Honduras, thus including El Desagua- 
 dero, in the Province of Costa Rica. The Audiencia directed 
 the Governor of Nicaragua to abstain from interfering in any 
 manner with the said Province of Costa Rica, which was un- 
 der another name, the same Government of Yeragua^ vacant 
 by the failure of the expedition of Felipe Gutierrez and his 
 flight into Peru. 
 
 The Governor of Nicaragua, feigning to be ignorant that the 
 coast of the Caribbean Sea did not fall under his jurisdiction, 
 paid no attention to the injunction of the Audiencia of Panama, 
 and, fitting out an expedition under his own command against 
 
 Washington Irving. Companions of Columbus. 
 
 Sir Arthur Helps. The Spanish Conquest of America, vol. I, page 
 398 (with a map). 
 
 Justin Winsor. A Narrative and Critical History of America, vol. H 
 (with maps), ifcc, Ac. Boston. 188(5. 
 
 'Peralta. Costa Mica, Nicaragua, &c., pp. 89, 725, 747.
 
 16 
 
 Hernan Sanchez de Badajoz, descended the Desagnadero and 
 landed at Tariaca, now Talainanca (Costa Rica), where he 
 arrested Badajoz and sent him as a prisoner to Spain, 
 
 In the eyes of the King, both Badajoz and Governor Con- 
 treras were guilty of usurpation, because neitlier of tliein had a 
 direct connnission from His Majesty to interfere with tlie gov- 
 ernment of Yeragua, the appointment of whose superior au- 
 thority depended exclusively upon the Crown, " because this 
 is a matter which has to be treated only with our Royal Per- 
 son and in our Council for the Indies.""' 
 
 The King disapproved the appointnient of Badajoz, made by 
 the Audiencia of Panama, and, by articles of agreement with 
 Diego Gutierrez, of November 29, 1540, entrusted to the lat- 
 ter the government of Veragua on the same terms as it had 
 been done with his brother and predecessor, Felipe Gutierrez. 
 Veragua was given new limits, and named Cartago. 
 
 Those limits were fi-om Rio Grande (River Aguan) and 
 Cape Caniaron to the Zaral)aro Bay, comprising the Mosquito 
 coast and the interior land, including the Desaguadcro, to 
 within fifteen leagues of the Lake of Nicaragua. 
 
 The King, by ordinance dated at Talavera on January 11, 
 1541, directed the Governor of Nicaragua, and all other au- 
 thorities of the Indies, " not to meddle or intrude in the lim- 
 its of the Government of Cartago ;''- but Rodrigo de Contre- 
 ras did not give up, and l)rought suit against Diego Gutierrez 
 before the Council of the Indies, asking for liimself alone the 
 territory of El Desaguadero. 
 
 The Council decreed, in the last resort, what has been said, 
 that is, that Gutierrez, by virtue of tlie agreement entered into 
 with liim, had tlic I'ight t<t pass through the mouth of El De- 
 saguadero, on the Moitbciii ISea, and settle and allot rcparti- 
 
 ' Liiicrs (if the Council of tlic Imlics to Doctor Kohli's, Associate Justice 
 of I'liiiiiiini, Mudrid, April '2\, lo-lO. 
 
 Kkiinandkz. CoUccii'm de Documodos pain la historia dc Coda Rica, Vol. 
 iv, p. 7(1. 
 
 'KKUNANnKZ. I bid nil, page 102.
 
 17 
 
 mientoes on both banks of that river up to within fifteen leagues 
 of the lake. (See argument of Costa llica, p. 32). 
 
 The Desaguadero was, therefore, an integral part of the Gov- 
 ernment of Cartago. 
 
 Diego Gutierrez made the Desaguadero the starting-point 
 or c-entre of his expeditions. P^roni tliere he went up as far 
 as Granada in searcii of people and provisions ; and from 
 there he started for all the other places where he intended to 
 estfiblish colonies. In use of his faculties he appointed Fran- 
 cisco Oalado Lieutenant Governor of El Desaguadero, and 
 caused him to act at the same time as Treasurer of the Govern- 
 ment.^ 
 
 Upon the death nf Gutierrez, which took place in the latter 
 part of 1544, the Audiencia of Los Confines i-ecommended the 
 Council of tiie Indies to accede to the petition of Machuca, who 
 wanted to be appointed Governor of El Desaguadero, or Costa 
 Rica, which he had discovered ; and the Bishop of Nicaragua 
 made the same recommendation in favor of Alonso Calero. 
 But as the son of Diego Gutierrez liad the right to succeed 
 his father in the Government of Cartago, and, by virtue of his 
 faculties, had assigned and transferred his riglits to Juan Perez 
 de Cal)rera, the latter, on Fel>ruarj 22, 1549, obtained Royal 
 letters investing liim with the same riglit that Gutierrez had. 
 Cabrera could not, however, owing to the opposition of the 
 Audiencia of Los Confines, accomplish the conquest of Car- 
 tago ; and in 1552 he obtained, in compensation thereof, the 
 Government of Honduras. 
 
 During the time intervening between the death of Gutierrez 
 and the expedition of Licentiate Cavallon to Costa Rica, in 1560, 
 grave events took place in the other provinces of the Audiencia 
 of Los Confines. 
 
 The tyranny of Rodrigo de Contreras was repressed in part by 
 the Audiencia. He was put on trial and compelled to go to the 
 
 'Royal Letter of the Prince Governor (Philip II) to Diego Gutierrez. 
 Peralta. Costa Rica, Nicaragua, &c., page 185. 
 
 Benzoni: History of the New World, Hakluyt Society, London, page 140. 
 2
 
 18 
 
 Court to answer the grave charges preferred against him. The 
 King heard the petitions of the Audiencia and Bishop Valdi- 
 vieso, and the earnest request of Las Casas, and snatt-hed the 
 Province of Nicoya from the rapacity of the successors of Pe- 
 drarias Davila, who had kept it as a personal " encomienda." 
 Nicoya was made a Corregidorship (Corregimiento), to he pro- 
 vided for by the royal crown ; and the Audiencia of Los 
 Confines, or Guatemala, appointed the Corregidor thereof only 
 temporarily until the King should act. 
 
 The reforms introduced by the Audiencia met with such a 
 bad reception on the part of the Contreras. and so great was 
 the anger caused on them by the loss of such a profitable " enco- 
 mienda " as that of Nicoya, that they raised up in ai-ms against 
 the authority of the King. Hernando de Contreras, the son 
 of the Governor of Nicaragua, killed, with his own hands. 
 Bishop Yaldivieso ; and his partisans, after this crime was ac- 
 complished, cried aloud in the streets, lAherty ! hng live Prince 
 ContreraK ! 
 
 The Contreras, iiowever, expiated their folly witli their 
 lives. 
 
 The Governorship and Captaincy-General of Nicaragua was 
 abolished, and Nicaragua became reduced to the rank of an 
 "Alcaldia ^fayor,'' whose head was sometimes appointed by 
 the crown but oftcner by the Audiencia of Guatemala. The 
 creation of Nicoya as a " Corregimiento " was contemporary 
 with the aliove said reduction of Nicai-agua. 
 
 Nicaragua had to suffer again by a new i-evolt in 1554, niid 
 for eight years she bore tlie burden of ten "Alcaldes Mayores." 
 
 In the meantime the Province of Cartago remained without 
 a -Governor ; and the King, u]>on information of this fact, 
 issued at Toledo the ordinances of December Ki, 1559, 
 and February 215, 15G0, autliori/ing and instructing Licentiate 
 Alonso Ortiz de Elgueta to concjucr atid peojile New Cartago, 
 or Cobta Kica, situated witliiii the limits murkcd in the com- 
 rnihsion of hicgo (iuticnc/ l)et\veen iloiiduras and Nicaragiia, 
 roiiipri-iiig tlic Desaguadcro and the whole l;md from sea to
 
 19 
 
 sea, as far as tlie jurisdiction of Tierra Firme on the side of 
 Notnl)re de Dios and Panama. 
 
 The King revoked the antliority given Ortiz on Februarys, 
 15fil, before the latter left Spain, and directed the Audiencia 
 of Guatemala to entrust the conquest of Cartago to Licentiate 
 Cavallon, with the same powers as had been given to Ortiz. 
 To facilitate his action Licentiate Cavallon had to l)e appointed 
 Alcalde Major of Nicaragua. (Argument of Costa Rica, 
 page 33). 
 
 Juan Vazquez de Coronado succeeded Licentiate Cavallon as 
 Alcalde Mayor of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. He made a 
 general exploration of the country east of the Gulf of Nicoya 
 and sent Captain Francisco de Marmolejo to tiie southern 
 shores of the Lake of Ni(;aragua and of the Desaguadero, in- 
 habited by the Catapas, Tices, and Votos Indians, shores whicji 
 Vazquez included in the Province of Costa Rica, although he 
 was the Alcalde Mayor of Nicaragua. 
 
 The successors of Vazquez de Coronado, down to Diego de 
 Artieda, exercised jui'isdiction over the same territorj', according 
 to the Royal Ordinances and letters-patent of November 29, 
 1540, May 6, 15-41, February 22, 154-9, December 13, 1559, 
 January 30, February 23, and July 18, 1560, February 5 and 
 May 17, 1561, April 2, 1562, April 8 and August 7, 1565. i 
 
 These oi-dinances, enacted by the King of Spain upon con- 
 sultation with the Council of the Indies, were tiie supreme law 
 of the Monarchy in America ; they all refer to one and the 
 same territory ; tliey all include the Desaguadero, as well as the 
 bordering land, within the jurisdiction of Costa Rica, sul)ject, 
 however, to the limitations established b}^ the artic-les of agree- 
 ment of November 29, 1540, and the sentence of the Council of 
 the Indies of May 6, 1541, and they are the earliest authentic titles 
 
 'Peralta. Costa Rica, Nicaragua y Panama, dr., pp. 101, 113, 157, 175, 
 179, 181, 182, 194, 204, 378, 387. 
 
 Leon Fernandez. Coleccioii de Doeuvientos, &c., vol. iv, pp. 143 aud 164. 
 
 ToRKES DE Mendoza. Coleccion de Docximentos Iniditos, vols, xi, xiv, 
 and xxiii.
 
 20 
 
 which the aucient Provinces of Costa Rica and Nicaragua can 
 invoke in support of their respective territorial rights in the 
 region (if El Desaguadero. 
 
 A perfect knowledge of these titles is indispensable to in- 
 terpret correctly the articles of agreement signed at El Pardo 
 on December 1, 1573, by King Philip II and Diego de Ar- 
 tieda, an instrument which might be called the territorial con- 
 stitution of the Province of Costa Rica. (Argument of Costa 
 Rica, p. 32). 
 
 There the limits of Costa Rica are marked, in the follow- 
 ing laniruage : 
 
 " The Province of Costa Rica and the other lands and 
 provinces included therein, that is to say, from the North Sea 
 as far as the South Sea in latitude, and in longitude from the 
 confines of Nicaragua towards Nicoy a, straight through the val- 
 leys of Chiriqni, as far as the Province of Veragua, on the 
 south ; and on tlie north, from the mouths of the Desaguadero, 
 towards Nicaragua, the whole territory down to tlie Province 
 of Veragua."* 
 
 This demarcation reduced the jurisdiction of Costa Rica- 
 Cliarles Y had extended it as far as the 10th degree of north 
 latitude, and Philip II reduced it to the 11th degree. Under 
 the former its northern extremity was Cape Camaron ; under 
 the latter it was Punta de Castilla, as it is now. 
 
 It is evident that, in mentioning the mouths of the Desagua- 
 ilero^ the instrument does not simply allude to the place wiiere 
 tlic waters of tiic San Juan river enn)ty into the sea, from 
 where the (!oast shoidd be followed in an imaginary line as 
 far as Veragua. This would simply be to describe the length of 
 the Atlantic littoral of ('osta Rica. But the articles of agree- 
 ment also speak of extent from the Northern to the Southern 
 Sea, and refer to all the land that is included between the 
 nudiths of the Desaguadero and the Soutlici-n Sea. To go 
 
 ir tho.-c mouths tow;irds the interior and liiid the Southern 
 
 Sea, it is nccessai-y to ast-cnd the San .luan river until Hnding 
 .some place " (ilre.ddy tuki it " by the Province of Nicaragua, 
 •A> Article 5 of the iu-tninienl literalh read^.
 
 21 
 
 It is known that the Nicara^iian limit, on the east of tlie Lake, 
 was within tifteen leagues of the latter, and did not comprise 
 the Mosquito coast or the mouths of the Desaguadero ; and no 
 one has ever said, as the argument of Nicaragua pretends, that 
 under tlie Artieda title, the Desaguadero is entirely within the 
 limits of Nicaragua. Costa Rica maintains precisely the con- 
 trar3\ Nor has any one said, except Nicaragua, that El De- 
 saguadero belongs to Nicaragua in the lohole of its course, a 
 proposition which is in flagrant contradiction of the literal lan- 
 guage of the Royal Ordinances cited in the former argument 
 of Costa Rica, and in the present reply, which cannot admit of 
 the peculiar construction placed upon them by the argument 
 of Nicaragua, unless by doing the greatest violence to gram- 
 mar. 
 
 The Spanish expression, " a las partes de Nicaragua," does 
 not mean " within the jurisdiction of Nicaragua,"' but " in the 
 vicinity of Nicaragua," or " towards Nicaragua," or " on the 
 side of Nicaragua." A las partes, hdcia, del lado, of those 
 Provinces, is not in Spanish to be in them, or within them, or 
 within their territory. 
 
 " The mouths of the outlet, or Desaguadero, which is to- 
 wards Nicaragua," does not mean that the Desaguadero is in. 
 Nicaragua, or icithin Nicaragua, but merely near, or on the 
 side of, or in the direction of, or tovmrds Nicaragua.^ 
 
 This has been properly translated into English, in the argu- 
 ment of Costa Rica, '"'■ toioards Nicaragna^'' or as the Depart- 
 ment of State did in Executive Document of the Senate, No. 
 50, 49th Congress, 2d session, " near Nicai^aguaP And it may 
 be translated also to Nicaragua, or in the direction of Nic- 
 
 ' In reference to this point which, on the other hand is perfectly plain, 
 see Syntactic Dictionary of the Spanish language {Dicciouario de Construc- 
 cion y Regimen de la Lengua Castellana), by R. J. Cuervo, in verbo "A," § 12, 
 letter "A." " Ensename, Aurelio, a que parte le dejaste." Cervantes. 
 Galatea (Show me, Aurelius, xohere you left him). "^ todas paries ve un 
 ancho calabozo. Jovellanos. (He sees everywhere a broad calabose)." 
 " Tus abuelos d esta parte habitaban. Reinoso (Your grandparents lived 
 on this side).
 
 22 
 
 aragua ; but never /", or inside, or icithin Nicaragua, mean- 
 ing inclusion in her territory. 
 
 That such an idea of inclusion is untenable is shown in two 
 ways : 
 
 First, because the boundary, or terminal line, of Nicaragua to- 
 wards the east, never reached, before 1573, the mouths of El De- 
 saguadero ; and Artieda had authority under his title to tal'e 
 posses^iioi in t/te name of the King of whatever was not al- 
 ready taken hetween said mouths and the frontiers of Nicoya 
 and the Southern Sea. 
 
 Second, because the same text of the Royal Grant in favor 
 of Artieda, wherein the Spanish adverbial phrase a la parte 
 occurs — once in singular with reference to the frontier between 
 Nicaragua and Nicoya, and onco in plural with reference to 
 the location of El Desaguadero — sliows that the construction 
 placed upon it by Nicaragua, in the sense of inclusion, is ab- 
 surd, bectause the boundary between Ni(;aragua and Nicoya 
 could not be inside of or within Nicaragua. The most that 
 can be said is, that it was near her, or on her side ; and in the 
 same way, where it is said that El Desaguadero is a, las partes 
 de Nicaragua, that means only towards or in the direction of 
 Nicaragua, but not icithi/i her territory. 
 
 Tlie frontier of Nicoya, as recognized l)y the argnnient of 
 Nicaragua, was the Del Salto rivor ; and not the mouth, or a 
 single point thereof, but the stream itself, which separated 
 Nicoya from the territory of the Chomes Indians. Tlie 
 Artieda agreement does not mention the Del Salto river; 
 but, while it is true that this i-iver was one of the boundaries 
 of the tcn'itoi'v of the new J*rovince, still there is no reason 
 for saying that the Lake shore and the baid<s of the San Juan 
 river were not limits of Costa Rica, since it appears that they 
 had been taken possession of in the King's name by Juan 
 Va/.ijucz de Coronado, Perafan de Ribera, Don Grcirorio de 
 Satuloval, and other Governors of Costa Rica. 
 
 The instrument af<»resaid a<lmits of no other construction, 
 and Nicaragua has not exhibited one single title to attenuate 
 its btrcugth.
 
 23 
 
 The assertions of private writers, and the contents of maps 
 representing the territorial jurisdiction of Nicaragua in a way 
 different from the one shown by the titles of Costa Rica, do 
 not deserve credit. 
 
 This is the case with the quotation from Mr. Squier in the 
 argument of Nicaragua. The assertions of this writer have 
 no foundation, either in law or in fact, and the dividing lines 
 which he draws are purely imaginary. The Constitution of 
 Costa Rica of 1825, to which he refers, understood the demar- 
 cation of Costa Rica to be the same as contained in the Arti 
 eda Royal grant, and could not exclude, nor did it exclude, 
 from the Costa Rican tei-ritory the District of Bagaces and 
 Las Caiias, situated on the hanks of the Del Salto river, con- 
 quered by Vazquez de Coronado and subjec^ted to the rule of 
 Costa Rica in 1562. ^ 
 
 The Artieda agreement reads that the limits of Costa Rica 
 begin on the side of the Southern Sea, from the place which 
 they call of the Chomes Indians, from where the name of 
 the Province, in the direction of Guatemala {<iae cue d Id irro- 
 vincia de Guatemala), is derived, direct through the valleys of 
 Chiriqui to the Province of Veragua. 
 
 It is to l)e noticed, in the above text, that the phrase, que 
 cue a la provmcia, which is herein translated, " in the di- 
 rection of Guatemala," was used only to mean the course or 
 direction, and not inclusion, since the Province of Los Chomes 
 did not belong to Guatemala, and was more than one hundred 
 leagues distant from it. 
 
 The Province of Los Chomes was situated on the left bank 
 of the Del Salto river, and extended towards the interior as far 
 as the source of the same river, and continued towards the south 
 alongside the Gulf of Nicoya. It belonged to Costa Rica ; its 
 territory is the same as belonged to the ancient Province of 
 Orotina ; and the city of Aranjuez was founded in it by Pera- 
 fan de Ribera, Governor of Costa Rica. 
 
 'Peralta. Costa Rica, Nicaragua, <&c., pages 249, 401, 761, 766, 768.
 
 24 
 
 The District of Nicova ran alono; the right side of the Del 
 Salto river, and included the peninsula of the latter name, ex- 
 tending: itself to the north as far as the La Flor river and the 
 shores of the Lake of Nicaragua. 
 
 It is true, and the argument of Costa Rica has so asserted, 
 that Nicoya was, at one time, attached to the Government of 
 Nicaragua ; but it is also true that the royal authority which 
 could segregate it, or constitute it independent, did so segre- 
 gate and constitute it. 
 
 When it is said, in the Cavallon's commission of "Alcalde 
 Mayor " of New Cartago (cited in the argument of Nicara- 
 gua, page 10), that his territorial jurisdiction extended from 
 the limits of the town of Nicoya, of the said Province of 
 Nicaragua, further on, tfec, it is not meant that Nicoya was 
 under the jurisdiction of Nicaragua. This language was used 
 in the wa}' of an archaism, by considering Nicoya ns a geo- 
 graphical or ethnological dependency of Nicaragua, as Portu- 
 gal is of Spain. And the proof is that, precisely in tliat ver}^ 
 year, 1561, in which tlie Audiencia of Guatemala issued Ca- 
 vallon's connnission, Nicoya was already independent from 
 Nicaragua, as has been shown, and is witnessed by the Royal 
 Ordinance of July 18, 1560, and by tlie letter of the Audiencia 
 of Los Confines, to wiiich the former was an answer. 
 
 The Auilicncia writes from Guatemala, on the 18th of De- 
 cember, 1551), and uses tliis hiiiguage : 
 
 " Tlie Pi-ovincc of Veragua, otherwise called Nueva Cartago, 
 is in tl)i^ district; which borders on the Province of Nicoya, 
 where your Majesty has always one ' Corregidor' (Mayor), and 
 wliere, for the past two years, certain neighboring Indians, 
 called the Chomes, iiave been reduced to submission,'"' &c., ifcc. 
 
 The King .-uiswers : 
 
 " You say that the Province of Veragua, otherwise called 
 Nueva Cartag(»,'i8 in your ilistrict and bt>rders on the Province 
 of Nicoya, where we have always a Corregidor. * * * J^^'oi- 
 tlie purpose of i)eopIing Nicoya and her neighboring c<»untry 
 we liave already instructed Licentiate Ortiz, our Alcalde Mayor
 
 25 
 
 of the Province of Nicaragua, and given him tlie proper au- 
 thority." 
 
 It is evident that, if Nicoya should have been witliin tlie 
 jurisdiction of the Alcalde Mayor of Ni(;ai-agua, no such special 
 authoi'ity, as the one given Licentiate Ortiz, would have been 
 required to govern it. When Licentiate Cavallon came to re- 
 place Ortiz, the former had not under his charge the Cor- 
 resiniiento of Nicoya which tlie x\udieiicia of Los Confines 
 entrusted U> Juan Rt)mo. Vazquez de Coronado, the successor 
 of Cavallon, in addressing the Corregidor of Nicoya, does not 
 speak to him as to a sul)ordinate, but as to an equal. ^ 
 
 The argument of Nicaragua states affirmatively that Seuor 
 l^ralta has virtually admitted that Nicoya l)elunged to Nica- 
 ragua, because, in a note made by him in the text of the Artieda 
 agreement, lie says: 
 
 "The Province of Nicoya was finally aggregated to Costa 
 Eica in the year 1825.'^ 
 
 But this phrase only means that the aggregation then made, 
 had taken place other times before, and was then made for the 
 last time. And so it is that Seiior Peralta, in another note 
 made by him in the agreement with Don Fernando de la Cueva 
 (Costa Rica, Nicaragua y Panama, p. 14:8), uses the following 
 words : 
 
 " Let it be noticed tliat by this agreement, as by the one with 
 Diego de Artieda, Nicoya was subject to the Governors of Costa 
 Rica, and that her dependency from Nicaragua was scarcely 
 anything else than nominal. When it was not governed by 
 ' Corregidores' or 'Alcaldes May ores' directly dependent upon 
 the Crown, it was rather submitted to Costa Rica." 
 
 The Artieda agreement reads as follows : 
 
 '' 14. And, whereas, between the Province of Nicoya and 
 the quarters which you are going to people, and where you 
 will reside in the said Province of Costa Rica there must be a 
 
 'Pekalta. Costa Eicn, Nicaragua, cfcc, pp. 178, 313, 221 to 224. Letters 
 uf the Alcalde Ma} or of Nicaragua to Juan Romo, Corregidor of Nicoya.
 
 26 
 
 great distance, and it is advisable that some person be ap 
 pointed there to administer our justice and assist you in every- 
 thing necessary or advisable, we do hereby give 3'ou the neces- 
 sary antliority to send a competent person to the said Province, 
 who will be there your Lieutenant, at tlie salary of as man}' 
 maravedises a year as have been paid to the former ' Corregi- 
 dores' and ' Alcaldes Mayores' of the said Province," tfec. 
 
 The agreement with Don Fernando de la Cueva, dated at 
 Madrid on the 29th of December, 1593, is no less explicit. 
 It reads as follows : 
 
 " Firstly. It is my will that you shall liave tlie Governorship 
 of tlie said Province of Costa Rica and the xVlcaldia Mayor of 
 Nicoya — the said Governorship for twelve years, and thK 
 Alcaldia Mayor foi- eight, as it was with Diego de Artieda 
 Cherino," &c.i 
 
 If the Honorable Minister of Nicaragua would have fixetl 
 his attention on all the articles of tlie Artieda and Don Fer- 
 nando de la Cueva agreements, especially Article li of the 
 formei', he would have convinced himself of the fact that Ni- 
 coya and Nicaragua were not one and the same political body 
 — one and the same Province — but two independent entireties, 
 ae independent as they could he, under the same Sovereign and 
 the same laws. Some i)i'anches <»f their government — -.is, for 
 instance, the ecclesiastic and financial branches — were always 
 conuiKtu, and the superior chief was c-ummon to Nicaragua, 
 Costa Rica, and Nicoya. 
 
 The argument of Nicaragua also says that, "according to 
 the Ai'tieda agreement, the Desaguadero completely falls 
 within the limits of Nicaragua." 
 
 'J'liat was n(»t tlie opinion of the legislator, riiilii) 11 bc- 
 lie\ed to lijive given ( 'o>ta Rica as its limits the iiionf/ta ui the 
 Desaguadero, and not the most suuthei-n one. Artieda had 
 authoi-ity fo occupy the three mouthsj and keep them under 
 the jurisdiction id' Costa Kica. 
 
 ' Pekalta. Uhi Hvprii, pugos 50;i and Ul'J.
 
 27 
 
 The proof that none of tlie three mouths of the Dcsagiiadero 
 beh:)iiged to ]Sicarag;ua is furnished l>y tlie Royal Orciinauce of 
 Philip II of Feliruary 10, 1576, directing the Audiencia of 
 Guatemala to enter into an agreement with Captain Diego 
 Lopez to conquer and people the Province of Taguzgalpa, 
 that is to say, the part of the old Government of Cartago 
 which was not included within the limits given to Artieda. 
 
 The Audiencia entrusted Licentiate Diego Garcia de Palacio, 
 oue of its justices to enter into an agreemeut in the luime of 
 His Majesty with Diego Lopez. Article 1st of that agree- 
 ment reads as follows: 
 
 " Firstly. His Majesty will appoint him his Governor and 
 Gaptain-General for the said Province, which is all the land in- 
 cluded between the mouth of the Desaguadero and the Camaron 
 Point on the northern side, where the Province of Honduras 
 begins ; and from there towards the interior, the whole terri- 
 tor}' ending at what is now the limit of the jurisdiction of the 
 Province of Nicai-agua and Xueva Segovia, and also of Hon- 
 duras." ^ 
 
 From the documents and facts above alluded to it appears 
 to be evident that in 1576 the Province of Nicaragua did not 
 exercise any jurisdictional rights over the mouths of the 
 Desagiuidero, or over the coasts on the Atlantic side ; and 
 that consequently the interpretation given by Nicaragua to 
 the Artieda agreement is erroneous. 
 
 Nicaragua never established any colony on the southern 
 bank of the San Juan river which was never occupied by her. 
 On the northern bank she founded Jaen, on the outlet of the 
 Lake, at the place where Fort San Carlos now stands. The 
 southern bank was considered to belong to Costa Rica, and 
 when the fortress, which is now called Castillo Viejo, was 
 
 " See Document No. — . 
 
 ToRKES DE Mendoza. Colec/iidn. Vol. xiv, p. 528, where the document 
 in extenso is found. 
 
 Peralta. El Rio Srtn .fiian de Nicaragua in E.\eculive Document of 
 the Senate, No. 50, -iOlh Congress, 2d Session, page 38.
 
 28 
 
 built on the Costa Rican bank of the San Juan river, the one 
 who ordered the work to be done and superintended it was not 
 the Governor of Nicaragua, but the Captain-General of Guate- 
 mala, who exercised high jurisdictional rights over Costa 
 Rica. The wt)i'k was done at the expense of the Treasury of 
 the Royal Audiencia, and under the technical inspection of the 
 " Adelantado " of Costa Rica, Don Juan Fernandez de Salinas. 
 
 In the time of tlie Spanish Government tlie San Juan river 
 behtugcd as much to Costa Rica as to Nicaragua; and the in- 
 nocent use and defense thereof against any foreign enemy 
 were, respectively, a right and a duty of the two provinces. The 
 free navigation and commerce through that river was not an 
 exclusive favor granted to Nicaragua, but a benetit bestowed 
 upon the two riparian provinces, in ordf-r not to compel them 
 to export their products hy the far distant ports of Omoa and 
 Trujilk) in Honduras. 
 
 The same status of coinnumity of use and nationality of the 
 San Juan river was retained during the Government of the 
 Fedoral Republic of Central America ; and the illustrious 
 President ]\I(>razan was the one who, in the name of tlie connnon 
 country, and not of Nicaragua alone, or of Costa Rica, wanted 
 to niake it serve the pi'ogress of the world and tlie common 
 good of Centi'al America, by directing, in 1887, John Baily, 
 an English engineer, to make that exploration of the San Juan 
 river, the Lake, and the Rivas Isthmus for the purposes of 
 an interoceanic canal, which became famous. The Federal 
 Republic of Central America, not the State of Nicaragua, took 
 stej)S ill ib:it tlircclion and entered into a favorable contract 
 with the iving of llollantl for the opening of that canal. 
 
 It was Costa Rica who, in later times, gave the mortal blow to 
 Williaui Walker, by occupying with her f(»rces the river banks, 
 an<l .^^ei/.iiig the transit steamers which carried j)rovisions and 
 
 ' I)fcr('t'» <(f llic Ffderal CJongress of Central Americii of Juue !(!, 1835, 
 and Octotier 21, l«;jO. 
 DuNi.or. Tiaveh m Central America, London, 1847, pp. 31 and 35. 
 BiiUUiu. \ir(ir(igiiii, New York, IS.'JCJ, vol. ii, pages 253, 257, 259.
 
 29 
 
 reinforcements for that leader. It was Costa Rica who cap- 
 tured Castillo Viejo and who compelled Walker to capitulate. 
 
 What moved Costa Rica to throw herself into the struggle ? 
 It was not a Quixotic love of war nor a vain ambition for 
 glory. It was the common danger, the defense of the common 
 soil, the powerful feeling of solidarity which in times of diffi- 
 culty causes sister nations to forget their former quarrels and 
 secure, by means of their united eftorts, the liberty of the 
 common country. 
 
 This community in danger, and in the duty of self-defense, 
 implied common and equal rights in the navigation of the San 
 Juan river which Costa Rica reclaims with justice.
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 LIMITS OF COSTA RICA. 
 
 The natui-al liinits of Costa Rica are those of the nti possi- 
 datis of 1826, from the month of the San Juan river, and fol- 
 lo\vin«5 tlie thalweg or mid-channel of the same, and continuing 
 through the Lake of Nicaragua in a straigh.t line up to the 
 month t»f the Sapoa river on the same Lake, to the mouth of 
 the La Flor river on the Pacific Ocean. This boundary is the 
 one which Mr. S(juier called " pretended boundary of Costa 
 Rica in 1850." In the copy of the map of Squier appended 
 to the ai-gnment of Nicaragua this line has been omitted. 
 
 " Pretended boundary of Costa Rica" io not a correct ex- 
 pression. Mr. Squier would have expressed himself with much 
 more propriety if he had said " actual boundary of Costa Rica 
 dUpittedhy Nicaragua.'''' Nor is it correct, either, to state that 
 Costa Rica, in 1850, preteiuJed a boundary, which ever since 
 18*25 had been markeil out bv decree of the Federal Congress 
 enacted on De('eml)er 9th of that year. It is still less (;ori*ect 
 to state that the liinits of Costa Rica are those set forth by her 
 Constitution of .lainiary 21, 1825, because the article of that 
 Constitution which icfci-s to limits (Art. XY) was virtually 
 reformcfl and amended l)y the Federal (Jotigi'ess. Those very 
 same linn'ts spoken of as preteiidcd in 1850 were the ones set 
 forth by tlic decree of Bases and (iiiarautees of March 8, 1841, 
 and by the (.'osta Rican (constitution of April 9, 1 84+, and by 
 all the statut(!s enacted in Costa Rica snbsequent to January 
 25, 1825, f(»r the orgaiii/ation of the District of Nittoya. 
 Therefore, whatever has been said in this respect by Mr. Sipiier 
 lacks fonndafi<»n in fact. 
 
 i'rior to Mr. S(|uier, the celebi-ated IraAcller, .lohii L. Steph- 
 ens, had IxMMi ill Oeiifral Aiiierica in the capacity of Charge 
 de AITaire^iof (be I'liited States. i I.c visited ('osta Rica in the
 
 31 
 
 early part of 1840. In chapter XYIII of his Incidents of 
 Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and i^nca^aw, expresses 
 liimself as foHows : 
 
 "At dusk we reached the river which runs by the suburbs 
 of Giiaiiacaste, tlie frontier town of Costa Rica." 
 
 Further on he says : 
 
 " I did not wish to continue on the direct route to Nicaragua, 
 but to go first to the port of San Juan on the Pacific, the 
 proposed termination of the canal to connect the Atlantic and 
 Pacific Oceans. The commandant regretted that I had not 
 come one day sooner. He mentioned a fact erf which I was 
 aware before, that Mr. Baily, an English gentleman, had been 
 employed by the Government (of Central-America) to survey 
 tlie canal route." 
 
 In another passage, wherein lie refers to liis remaining on 
 the Santa Rosa estate, l)elonging to Don Juan Jose Bonilla, a 
 Costa Rican gentleman, he says : 
 
 " The boundary line of the State of Costa Rica is a river 
 (La Flor) in tlie midst of a wilderness, and he (Don Juan Jose 
 Bonilla) was obliged to travel on horseback to Nicaragua 
 (Rivas), a journey of four days." 
 
 Mr. John Baily. already named, and from whom Squier 
 sometimes quotes [yicaragua, Vol. II, page 231, &c.,) had a 
 perfect knowledge of Central America. In 1823 he translated 
 into English the History of Guatemala by Juarros. . Fifteen 
 years later he explored the line of the canal and travelled along 
 the whole extent of the frontier of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. 
 x\fter residing 25 years in the country, v.hose history, laws, and 
 topograpliy were familiar to him, he pul)lished in London, in 
 1850, his book entitled Central America, with a map which 
 Mr. Squier adopted and corrected in 1856, according to his own 
 ideas and interests. In this work and map Baily gives Costa 
 Rica, as her limits, from the mouth of the La Flor i-iver to the 
 mouth of tlie San Juan river, following the dividing line of 
 the nti possidetis of 1826. 
 
 The learned Austrian traveller, C;irl von Scherzer, who
 
 32 
 
 risited Central America, by comtnission of tlie Imperial 
 Academy of Vienna, at the same time as Mr. Sqnier, and in 
 snbsequent years, says : 
 
 " The Federation was dissolved in 1839, and since that time 
 the State of Nicaraiiua has been an independent Republic, 
 althouirh with uncertain limits. The Province of Guanacaste, 
 whicli formerly belonged to her, leg-ally incorporated itself 
 into Costa Rica ; but the right to the southern shore of the 
 Lake of Nicaragua and to the right bank of the San Juan 
 river remains in dispute, although de facto in the possession 
 of Costa Rica." 
 
 " It may be said, under the present political condition of 
 things, that the southern frontier of Nicaragua is tlie San Juan 
 river, the southern shore oi the great lake and the mountain 
 which extends aci-oss tlie narrow Isthmus from the mouth of 
 the Sapoa river to the Gulf of Salinas.''' 
 
 Mr. Bedford Pim, an officer of the British Navy, who also 
 visited the Republics of Costa Rica and Nicaragua twenty- 
 seven years ago, and obtained from Nicaragua a railroad grant, 
 is even more expli(jit than Scherzer, and, although writing after 
 S(|uier, expresses himself as follows : 
 
 " The old l>oundary, by charter of 1574, cunnnenced at the 
 mouth of the river San Juan, and extended up that stream 
 within fifteen leagues of the Lake, whence a line was drawn 
 diu' wcr,t to the head-waters of tlie Rio Salto and down that 
 stream to the Pacific. To the north and west of that bound- 
 ary line lies the District of (Tuanacaste, which was annexed to 
 Costa Rica after the indepcndeiu'e l)y flic fi-ee-will of the in- 
 habitants in 1824, and their action was approved l)y the Fed- 
 eral Congress of Central America in 1825. Guanacaste has 
 since tlien been in actual possession of Costa Rica, and its 
 northern boundaries wouM, tlu'refore, be those of Costa Rica, 
 viz., th(! icmaiiiing fifteen hiagues of the Rio San Juan, and 
 now the (Mitiic length of that stream, thence along the borders 
 
 'SciiKHZKU. Ti'dPch in the Free Stules of Centrnl Ainerirn. 2 vols. Lon- 
 don, IH,")?. CliaplLT ii, puge 25.
 
 of the Lake to the Rio Sapojl, and from the source of that 
 stream to the beautiful harbor of Salinas Bay, on the Pacific."' 
 
 The quotations couki be multiplied ad libitum to show what, 
 in fact, needs no demonstration ; that is, that the limits of Costa 
 Rica, if those of the treatj' of 1858 are rejected, are dejure and 
 de facto those of the ^Ui possidetis of 1826. But as Nicaragua, 
 in her argument, has quoted from Squier and copied his map, 
 Costa Rica has deemed it advisable to show that the opinions 
 of Mr. Squier are not " the law and the prophets '' among the 
 authors. 
 
 Costa Rica, on the other hand, has shown that, l)esides the" 
 authority of the travellers and writers above cited, she has on 
 her side the superior authority of both the laws and the geo- 
 graphic facts. 
 
 It is a self-evident geographical fact that the principal sup- 
 ply of the San Juan river does not come from the Lake of Nic- 
 aragua, although it is its outlet, but from the Costa Rican rivers, 
 some of which are navigable, as the Frio, the San Carlos, and 
 the Sarapiqui rivers. 
 
 The importance of the latter is such that Monsieur Paul 
 Levy, a French engineer in the service of the Government of 
 Nicaragua, in an otHcial publication made by order and at the 
 expense of that Government, and dedicated to Don Fernando 
 Guzman and Don Vicente Quadra, two ex-Presidents of that 
 Roputtlii;, says "that the San Juan river is no more than a 
 tributary of the Sarapiqui." - 
 
 Mr. Thos. Rej'nolds, in a report addressed to President 
 Cleveland and transmitted by him to Congress with his Mes- 
 sage of the 5th of January last, corroborates the same remark 
 in the following words: 
 
 " The great river of the central interoceanic valley of Cen- 
 tral America is the Sarapiqui, and the Upper San Juan and 
 
 'Bedford Pim, R. N. The Gate of the Pacific, p. 24. London, 1863. 
 'Levy. Notan Geogrdfica^ y E'coniunicds sabre la Republlca do Nicaragua. 
 Paris, 1873, wiih a good map of Kicaragua.
 
 34 
 
 the San Carlos rivers are affluents to it, somewhat as the upper 
 Mississippi is an affluent of the Missouri ; hut in the former 
 case as in the hitter the name of the less important of the two 
 streams has heen given to that formed l>y their junction. But 
 even at the junction of the Upper San Juan with the San Car- 
 los the latter dominates in given characteristics to their com- 
 bined waters, and where these fall into the still greater Sara- 
 piqui those characteristics are intensified.''^ 
 
 The Sarapiqui river, as is well known, is exclusivel}' Costa 
 Rican, and it being the principal artery of the hydrographic 
 system of the region of the San Juan river, it is just and logi- 
 cal to recognize that Costa Rica has the same rights of naviga- 
 tion as far as the sea, which the Government of Canada 
 has in the St. Lawrence river. The Sarapiqui is navigable 
 for about fifty miles, and between its c(»nfluence with the San 
 .luan and the l>ifui'cation of tlie latter to form the Colorado river, 
 there are only thirteen. 
 
 The San Carlos river is also exclusively Costa Rican, and in 
 the rainy season is navigable for 60 miles. From its mouth 
 on the San Juan river to the mouth of the Sarapiqui there are 
 25 miles, and to the bifurcation of the Colorado there are 38. 
 
 The Colorado river supplied more by the Pocosol, the San 
 Carlos and tlie Sarapi(|in' I'ivers, than by the scanty auu)unt of 
 water wliicli flows from the Lake, runs exclusively through 
 Costa Rican territory, in an extent of 20 miles to the Caril)- 
 bean Sea, and is navigable for vessels drawing a large amount 
 of water. 
 
 From the mouth of the Colorado river to the San Carlos 
 pier there are 118 miles navigable, 80 within the Costa Rican 
 teri-itory, and 38 on tjic San Juan river, on the part thereof 
 whose right bmik always belonged to Costa Rica. 
 
 K<piity as well as international law, and the laws which cre- 
 ated and organized the present Rcpul)lics gf Central America, 
 
 'Kxecutlve DocumeBt No. 57, House of Uopresentatives, 49lh Congress, 
 'ill ScHHion. Condition and CAtininerce of N^icdnif/iid, lIoiuhiniH and ii<Uva- 
 'foi; J,. Ill
 
 85 
 
 rccoornize tliat Costa Rica has as tntich right as Nicaragua in 
 the San Juan river. 
 
 The treaty of April 15, 1858 restricted and abridged con- 
 sideraltly the i-ights of Costa Rica. If it falls, Costa Rica shall 
 recover by the same fact her former limits, that is, the thalweg 
 or mid-channel of the San Juan river to the Lake, theiute a 
 straight line to the month of the Sapoa river, thence another 
 line to the La Flor river, and thence along the course of the 
 latter to the Pacific Ocean. These are by all means the legal 
 and natural limits of Costa Rica.
 
 PART SECOND.
 
 PART SECOND. 
 ELUCIDATION OF THE PRINCIPAL POINT. 
 
 Ch^ter I. 
 
 ARGUMENTS OF NICARAGUA AGAINST THE VALIDITY OF THE TREATY OF 
 APRIL 15, 1858. 
 
 The reasons set forth in the argument of Nicaragua, for 
 the purpose of invalidating the treaty of limits of April 15, 
 1858, whicli that Republic concluded with Costa Rica, are 
 three, to wit : 
 
 1st. That the treaty did not receive the sanction required by 
 the fundamental law of Nicaragua for the perfection of a com- 
 pact of its nature. 
 
 2d. That the treaty was not ratified hy the Government of 
 Salvador, and tiiat the guarantee stipulated in favor of Nic- 
 aragua, as to Article X of that instrument, was not given effect. 
 
 3d. That the ratifications of the treaty were exchanged be- 
 fore it was submitted to the Congress of Nicaragua, and that 
 the approval given by that Congress was subsequent to the ex- 
 piration of the time agreed upon for that purpose. 
 
 From here it might be thouglit that the Government of 
 Nicaragua has deemed it advisable to withdraw from the pres- 
 ent discussion all the other reasons which, in its former cor- 
 respondence with the Government of Costa Rica, at different 
 times, it used to allege against the treaty, — reasons all of them, 
 which were, in the belief that they would also be presented here, 
 refuted at length in Chapters XI and XV of the Second Part 
 of the "Argument " of Costa Rica. • 
 
 But this silence, which certainly would have implied an ad- 
 mission of the ijroundless character of the reasons withheld, 
 and simplitied the discussion, is no more than apparent, because
 
 40 
 
 the omitted reasons are set forth again, although indirectly and 
 incidentally, in the discussion of other points more or less re- 
 lated to them. 
 
 An additional reason has now been given — the one occupy- 
 ing tlie 3d place in the foregoing list — which Nicaragua never 
 presented or thought of before, in spite of the many years 
 which the debate has lasted. 
 
 Under the circumstances aforesaid I shall not be able to 
 confine myself to a mere reply to*the three i-easons alleged by 
 Nicaragua in support of lier claim that the treaty of 1858 is 
 void ; hut 1 shall have to consider all other points indirectly 
 maintained l)y her in order that none of her arguments, 
 whether formally or informally presented, remain unanswered.
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 THE TREATY OF LIMITS WAS MADE IN STRICT PURSUANCE OF THE FUNDA- 
 MENTAL LAW IN FORCE IN NICARAGUA AT THE TIME OF ITS CONCLU- 
 SION. 
 
 The first and principal reason alleged hy the Government 
 of Nicraragiia to deny the validity of the treaty of 185s, is be- 
 cause the said treaty did not receive the sanction required by 
 the fundamental law of the State for the perfection of a com- 
 pact of its natiu'e. 
 
 This assertion is wholly incorrect, as was sliown by the for- 
 mer ai-gnment on behalf of Costa Rica, and cis will be now 
 su!)stantiated still more l>y the following considerations. 
 
 For the conclusion of the treaty of 1858, all the formalities 
 requii-ed by the public law of Nicaragua, in force at that time, 
 without the omission of a single one, were faithfully complied 
 with. 
 
 Tiie regime which existed at that tiuie in Nicaragua was 
 not the regular constitutional one which preceded the revolu- 
 tion initiated on May 5, ISSl, aud followed the Constitution 
 of August 19, 1858. 
 
 It was one, in every respect, exceptional and transitory, de- 
 voted above all to the political reorganization of the country. 
 Hence it was that the Executive concluded the treaty upon 
 bases given to it by the National Constituent Assembly, and 
 ratified it in use of faculties for that purpose delegated to it 
 by the Assemldy ; that the treaty was exchanged and promul- 
 gated as law of the Republic by virtue of the said ratification ; 
 and that, in fine, it was not approved by the Assembly until 
 after the exchange of the ratifications. All of this might, 
 perhaps, have been done differently under circumstances of a 
 regular regime, not constituent but constitutional. 
 
 The defense of Nicaragua has forgotten completely what 
 was the political condition of its own country at the time in
 
 4:2 
 
 which the treaty was initiated, negotiated, ratified, exchanged, 
 promulgated, and carried into execution; and so it is no won- 
 der that it reaches conchisions which it itself would have re- 
 jected if it had placed the question on its proper grounds. 
 
 To maintain that the condition of Nicaragua from May, 
 1854-, to August, 1S58, was a regular constitutional one, is tan- 
 tamount to tearing from the history of that country, and of 
 Central America in general, some of its most interesting 
 pages, where the recoi-d has been preserved of the Nicaraguaii 
 civil sti-uggles, the overthi-ow of the legitimate government, the 
 usurpation of William Walker, the war waged by the five 
 Central American States, at the head of which Costa Rica had 
 the glory to present herself to snatch from the hands of the 
 usurper his prey, and secure the common independence, and, 
 finally, the advent of the dictatorial duumvirate, which, "in spite 
 of all prctlictions to the contrary, not only saved the country 
 fi-oni the new struggle which threatened it, but wisely con 
 ducted it to its constitutional organization."* 
 
 The constitutional legality was represented in Nicaragua at 
 the beginning of the revolution l)y the Government of Gen- 
 eral Chamorro and by the Constitution of 1854; but neither 
 this Constitution nor the legitimate successor of General Cha- 
 morro's Government ever appeared again on the political 
 stage of the country after peace was re-established. 
 
 The administration of General Martinez was simply an ex- 
 tra(»rdinary one, which, although beneficial to the country which 
 it helped to organize, had been born out of the revt)lution. The 
 Constituent Assembly, also, was an extraordinai-y national rep- 
 resentation, convoked by the dictatorial duumvirate to recon- 
 struct the country. 
 
 The Exe(Mitive over wliich (icneral Martinez presided and 
 the National Constituent Assenil»ly held in their hands, at the 
 time when the treaty was nuide, all the powers required for the 
 conclusion of the latter and for its perfection. 
 
 ' Qeronimo Pbhrz. MemoridH sa/tre In rewlncum de Nicaragua. Vol. ii, 
 p. 215. Bee Document No. 52.
 
 43 
 
 All that was enacted hy the Constituent Assembl}'', and 
 sancticjncd and promulgated by the Executive, was law of Nic- 
 aragua. So it is witnessed by the statute-books of that coun- 
 try, where several enactments of this kind, respected and 
 obeyed, both then, and now, as national laws, can be found 
 without dithculty.i 
 
 To such an extent was the regime existing in Nicaragua at the 
 time of tiia treaty of 1858 extraordinary, that the Constituent 
 Asseml)ly, by decree of Doceml^er 10, 1857, decided to sanc- 
 tion and enforce in advance one chapter of the new Constitu- 
 tion (Chapter xvii), which detinud the powers of the Execu- 
 tive. And this whs done for the purpose that the Executive 
 could enter at once, without waiting for the Constitution, 
 which was not approved until August 19, 1858. and without 
 finding obstacles of any kind, into negotiations with Costa 
 Hica for tiie tiuil adjustment of all differences in regard to 
 limits, and thus secure that peace which was so desirable under 
 those circumstances.^ Tlie defense of Nicaragua has also for- 
 gotten this fact. 
 
 The Constituent Assemldy, besides acting in this way for the 
 purpose that the differences with Costa Rica should be speed- 
 ily and finally settled, enacted also a decree directing the Ex- 
 ecutive to continue the interrupted negotiations, and furnished 
 it with certain bases for the conclusion of the treaty ^>i limits, 
 approving thus ljef^>reiiand what might be done in accordance 
 therewith. 3 This is another most essential fact whicli the 
 defense of Nicaragua lias not been pleased to remember. 
 
 The Executive carried out the instructions given by the 
 Constituent Assembly, and as soon as it negotiated the treaty 
 of 1858, in strict conformity to tiie bases suggested by that 
 body, ratified, exchanged, and executed it, in use of its facul- 
 ties. 
 
 'The files of the Oaceta of 1858 show no less than 103 laws passed by the 
 Assembly, many of which were of fundamental character. 
 " See pages 71 aad 72 of the Argument of Costa Rica of October 27, 1887. 
 ' See page 73, Argumeut of Costa Rica of October 27, 1887.
 
 4:4 
 
 The Constituent Assembly, having full knowledge of the 
 facts wliic-h had been published in the olKe.ial organ, and which 
 the Executive had, furthermore, reported to it minutely, clothed 
 the treaty with its approval. This approval, sanctioned likewise 
 bv the Executive, was also published as law of the Republic.^ 
 
 The exceptional circumstances of political reconstruction, un- 
 der which Nicaragua was, when the treaty of limits was made, 
 satisfactorily explain why it was that the ratification of the 
 treatv was made by the Executive, as delegate of the Constitu- 
 ent Power, and wliy the act of excliange followed, and did not 
 precede, the approval by the Assembly. 
 
 But the defense of Nicaragua, besides ignoring all these 
 circumstances, and avoiding to enter into any consideration 
 thereof, has not hesitated to change their character l)y giving 
 tlie name of "Constitutional Congress, or Assembly" to the 
 Constituent body above mentioned. No law ever passed by 
 that body fails to read in its heading, as can be seen in the 
 statute-books, "The Constituent Assembly," ^tc. 
 
 So great is the desire siiown by the defense of Nicaragua 
 of avoiding to give the Constituent Assembly which approved 
 the treaty its proper name, that even in the literal translation 
 of the decrees of that body,^ it has found it advisable to 
 chaniro that name into the one of " Constitutional Assembly," 
 as if the English language had not the word " constituent," 
 conveying the same idea as tiie Spanish word " constituyente," 
 used in the Spanish text. 
 
 When the Asseml)ly gave its approval to the treaty, the latter 
 was already a Nicaraguan law. But that approval, although 
 not intended principally to perfect it, because it was already 
 j)erfcct, added to its strength. Its principal object was to re- 
 lieve the Executive from whatever responsibility that might 
 arise out of the exercise of the faculties delegated to it 
 for the (• MU'lusion and i-atification of the compact. 
 
 ' See page rtr>, Argument of Costn Uicti of October 27, 1887. 
 'See Argument of Nicaragua of October, 1887, page
 
 45 
 
 The approval, therefore, was notliing else than one of those 
 corroborative acts which in the course of business often occur, 
 and rest upon the well known and salutary pi-iuciple quod 
 ahundat non nocet. If that approval had never been given, 
 the validity of the treaty would not have been affected in the 
 least. 
 
 The delegation of legislative powers, made in favor of the 
 Executive, was not an act contrary to the pul)lic law of Nic- 
 aragua. Even undei' conditions of rci^ular constitutional 
 regime such a thing is perfectly legitimate in that Republic. 
 (Article 42, section 25, Nicaraguan Constitution of 1858). 
 
 The public law of Nicaragua, applicable to the case, and in 
 force at the time of the conclusion of the treaty of limits, was 
 not, as claimed in the argument to which I now reply, the Con- 
 stitution of 1838 ; but, on the one hand, Chapter XYI of the 
 Constitution of 1858, promulgated in advance l)y special de- 
 cree of December 10, 1857, and, on the other hand, the decree 
 of the Constituent Assembly of February 5, 1858, providing 
 for both the form and the substance of the treaty whiuh was 
 to be adjusted. 1 
 
 No allegation has ever been made that the said laws, wliose 
 existence not even has l)een mentioned in the argument of 
 Nicaragua, were violated. And if the ti-eaty was made, as it 
 was, in strict compliance with their provisions, nothing else is 
 required to cause Nicaragua to respect it as one of her laws, 
 as she did from 1858 to 1872, through her Legislative Con- 
 gresses, her Executive Cabinets, and her officials of all kinds. 
 
 What was done l)y the President of Nicaragua, Don Tomas 
 Martinez, within the legality of the circumstances, and by 
 virtue of the faculties delegated to him i)y the Constituent 
 Assembly, was entirely constitutional and lawful^ and binding 
 upon the nation. 
 
 Vattel says : 
 
 " If the nation has transferred the plenitude of sovereignty 
 
 'See page 73, Argument of Costa Rica of October 27th, 1887.
 
 46 
 
 to its ruler, if it has trusted to liim the care and vested in hira 
 tlie right, without reserve, of treating and conti-actingwith the 
 other States, it is deemed that it has vested it with all the 
 powers necessary to i-ender his contracts valid. The Prince (or 
 the ruler) is tiien the organ of the nation ; what he does is 
 reputed to be done by it ; and although he is not the owner 
 of the pul)lic propert}' he can alienate it validly."^ 
 
 And that great luniinar}' of the American law. Chancellor 
 Kent, in discussing this subject, expresses himself as follows : 
 
 " If a nation has conferred upon its Executive Department, 
 without reserve, the right of treating and contracting with 
 other States, it is considered as having vested it with all the 
 power necessary to make a valid treat}'," ^ 
 
 Atjd if the circumstance that the formalities of Article 194 
 of the Constitutit)n of 1838 were not ol)served should ever 
 produce as its result the nullification of the treaty, the in- 
 evitable conclusion to be reached therefrom would be tliat the 
 Nicaraguan Constitution of August 19, 1858, is also void. 
 And tlie reason is because neither the duumvirate which con- 
 voked the Assembly, nor the Assembly itself, nor any act 
 done by the one, or the otlier, did exactly fall under the strict 
 legality of the Constitution of 1838. 
 
 Out of the many fundamental laws which the regime afore- 
 said nullified, one of paramount importance can be cited. This 
 is the satne Article 194- of the Constitution of 1838, which the 
 defense of Nicaragua invokes in support of her claim that the 
 treaty of limits is null. 
 
 Art. 196 said as follows: 
 
 "Art. 19G. The present Constitution shall not be revised 
 in its totality until after four years have elapsed, and then, 
 ■iipon thf pr()f)er declaration (tccordhig to the rules of Article 
 194, th(d the reuiitio/i nhould tctke j)l(/ce, a Con.stitnoU Asf<ein.- 
 hhj ahull be convoked, the members of which shall have special 
 and butlioicnt powers from their constituents." 
 
 '§262, Chapter xxi, Hook I. ' I Kent, 162.
 
 47 
 
 But the Constituent Assomhly was convoked, and its meet- 
 ings were held, without the formalities of Art, 194 of the Con- 
 stitution having been observed at all, either previously or subse- 
 quently. If the treaty of limits is null, owing to the non- 
 compliance with that law, the Constitution of 1858, which 
 was framed and promulgated without taking it into considera- 
 tion, and has the same defect, is also mill. Such conclusion 
 would be absurd ; but its logical character shows that the Con- 
 stituent Assemblv of 1858 was not bound at all to obej' the 
 provisions of the Constitution of 1838, but had authority to 
 act with utmost freedom, so as to oljtain the higli purposes 
 which the dictatorial duumvirate had called it to accomplish. 
 
 In the presence of this doctrine, and of the facts and con- 
 siderations already set forth, there is not the slightest founda- 
 tion for the statement that the treaty of 1858 lacks validity 
 because it was made in violation of the fundamental laws of 
 Nicaragua.
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 DEMARCATION OF THE TEBKITOBY OF NICARAGUA ACCORDING TO HER FIRST 
 CONSTITUTION PROMULGATED APRIL 8, 182G— NICOYA. 
 
 The present Republic of Nieara<j;ua is nothing else than the 
 old State of tiie same name organized on the 8th of April, 
 1826, as one of the members of the Central x\merican Re- 
 piil)lic. 
 
 Chapter I of her Constitution, promulgated at the date 
 aforesaid, clearly defines the State and the territory thereof 
 iu the following language: 
 
 "Article 1st. The State shall retain tlie name of State of 
 Nicaragua, and it shall consist of all the inhabitants thereof, 
 and forui apart of the fedci'ation of Central America." 
 
 "Article 2d. The territory of the State comprises the Dis- 
 tricts of Nicaragua, Granada, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, 
 Segovia, Leon, Sul)tiaba and El Realejo. 
 
 " Its limits are : on the east, the Sea of the Antilles ; on 
 the north, the State of Honduras; on the west, the Gulf of 
 Concluigua ; on tlie south, the Pacific Ocean, and on the south- 
 east the fi'ee State of Costa Rica." 
 
 "Article 3d. The above-named tcn-itory shall l)c divided 
 into Departments, the nund)er and limits of which shall be 
 fixed by a special law." 
 
 The districts which, at the time of the foundation of the 
 State of Nicaragua, formed it, ac(^ording to its first Constitu- 
 tion, wcie Nicaiagua, (iranada, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, 
 Segovia, Leon, Subtiaba, Kl Rcalcjo, and iu)ne else. 
 
 The District of" Nicoya which, ix-forc flic independence, had 
 been at dincrcnt times alternatively attached, sometimes to 
 
 ^ IleeftpUttcUni lie lti9 lei/m iltrreton y neiicrdoK (jccufivon de Id l{c/ti'(/dica de 
 Nictirnijun en ( eutro A mhica^ fi/rtnada jior el Doctor y Maentro lACcnriado Don 
 JiMUM dr hi Ufirhii, dr., rfr. MiiniiRim. Inipriiita till G<)l)icitio IbGT, jingclS.
 
 49 
 
 Nicaragua, sometimes to Costa Rica, and wliicli in the last 
 years of the Spanish rule was united to Costa Rica for some 
 pni'poses and for other purposes to Nicaragua, hut which gen- 
 erally enjoyed a certain degree of independence as a Mayoralty 
 {Correghniento)^ dii'ectly depending upon the crown; the Dis- 
 trict of Nicoya, which l)y the sovereign will of its inli:il)i- 
 tants had hroken, two years before the foundation of the 
 State of Nicaragua, the partial bonds wliic.h connected it with 
 that State, and had incorporated itself, with the sanction of 
 the Fedei'al Congress of Centi-al America, into the bordering 
 State of Costa Rica ; that district, I say, was not compi-ised by 
 the tirst Constitution of Nicaragua in the number of those 
 wiiich formed that State. 
 
 So it appears from the plain language of Article 2nd of the 
 organic law of Nicaragua of 1826, which necessarily was the 
 basis upon which the Constitutions of 1838, 1854, 1858, and all 
 others subsequent have been founded. 
 
 Tlie exclusion of Nicoya was not only explicit, but uncon- 
 ditional, and without reserve. The Constituent legislators of 
 Nicaragua had before tiieir eyes the accomplished fact, sanc- 
 tioned by the Federal power, and they respected and recognized 
 it in Article 1st of the C(<nstitution. 
 
 This Article is by itself sufficient to leave beyond a doubt 
 that at the time of the organization of the State of Nicara- 
 gua, Nicoya did not form a portion of her territory. And 
 the truth of this assertion is confirmed, among many other 
 reasons, by the resolution of May 12, 1830, ^ passed by the 
 Legislative Assembly of Nicaragua, which reads as follows : 
 
 " Upon consideration of the motion made b}' one of the 
 Deputies asking that the District of Nicoya, Mhich aggre- 
 gated ITSELF TO THE State OF CosTA RicA becausc of the last 
 political convulsions, should be restored to Niitaragua, the leg 
 islative body was pleased to resolve : That, wdiereas, the cause 
 
 ' Eecopifaaon de las lei/es decretos y acuerdon ejecud'vvs de la Repiibh'ca de 
 Nicaragua, Ac. , por el Doctor Don Jesus de la Rocka, page G6. 
 4
 
 50 
 
 which brought about that result has ceased to exist, the Ex- 
 ecutive should urge the Federal Congress to restore the said 
 District to the condition in which it was before ; and for 
 this purpose the said Executive is vested with all the authority 
 that may be necessary.'" 
 
 The JSicaraguan Executive, in carrying out the resolution 
 above mentioned, expressed itself in still more precise and 
 conclusive language : 
 
 " Let this resolution be complied with," said the Executive, 
 " let it be transmitted to the Supreme Federal Government, 
 and, in doing so, let the Executive of this State explain, that 
 the reincorporation of the District of Kicoya into the State 
 of Nicaragua is advisable and necessary ; firsts because the cir- 
 cumstances whicli gave rise to its separation from Nicara- 
 gua AND its annexation TO CosTA K.ICA liave ceased to exist ; 
 second, because the said reincorporation contril)utes to the 
 re-establishment of peace, and to the complete reorganization 
 of the State; * * * fifth, because Nicoya is indebted to 
 the State of Nicaragua for tithes and other taxes, and tlie 
 payment of that debt is obstructed by the aggregation of 
 
 THAT DISTRICT TO CoSTA RiCA," 
 
 " Let these considerations be urged upon the Supreme Fed- 
 eral Executive, in order that it may be pleased to submit to 
 Congress, with favorable reconmiendation, if so deemed ad- 
 visable, THE petition of NICARAGUA FOR THE REINCORPORATION 
 OF NiCOYA INTO HER TERRITORY." 
 
 The foregoing documents show that in 1S;')(), nutrc than four 
 years after the organization of the State of Nicaragua, the 
 latter was asking the Federal Congress, not tlirough demands 
 or protests, as n(»w alleged, l»ut by humble prayers, for the re- 
 inforporation of Nicoya, which was then united to Costa Rica. 
 \>n\ the Central American (Congress did not deem it advisable 
 to accede to her petition. 
 
 That was exactly the state of things when tiie C(»n8titution 
 of Nicaragua of November 12, 1838, was promulgated. 
 
 'i'he desired reincorpor:ition of Nicoya had not taken place;
 
 51 
 
 and evidently the new Constitution could not declare that the 
 sovereignty of Nicaragua extended in the southeast, bordering 
 upon Costa liica, to a territcjry much more extensive than that 
 on which it had been estal)lished and organized in 1828. 
 
 Chapter I of the Constitution of 1838 defines the State and 
 its Territory as follows : 
 
 "Article 1st. The State shall retain the name of State of 
 Nicaragua; it consists of all its inhabitants, and it shall be- 
 long, by means of a compact, to the Federation of Central 
 America," 
 
 " Article 2nd. The territory of the State is the same which 
 was before comprised in the Trovince of Nicaragua ; its limits 
 are: on the east and northeast, the State of Honduras ; on the 
 west and south, the Pacific (Jcean ; and on the southeast, the 
 State of Costa liiea. The boundaries with the borderino; States 
 shall be marked out by a law which sliall be made a part of 
 the Constitution." 
 
 Article 1 st plainly establi.^hes the identity of the State, so that 
 the one organized in 1838 and the one constituted in 1826 were 
 one and the same, both having the same territory and both bor- 
 dering on the southeast with the free State of Costa Rica. That 
 identity was not destroyed by the insertion in Article 2nd of 
 the phrase, " Province of Nicaragua," bec-ause in the ancient 
 documents Nicoya and Nicaragua are often mentioned as dif- 
 ferent provinces, independent of each other ; and therefore the 
 expression, "Province of Nicaragua," does not necessarily im- 
 ply that the District of Nicoya was included.^ 
 
 In the new Constitution, the districts which formed the State 
 were not mentioned. But this omission was cured by the de- 
 cree of December 2d of the same year, 1838, ^ issued by the 
 same Constituent Assembly, dividing the territory of the State 
 into four departments, namely, east, west, north, and south. 
 
 ' See the Report of Bishop Morrell, 1752, pages 24 and 25 of the Argument 
 of Costa Rica. 
 ^ Rtcopilacion de leyes, cfcc, por el Doctor de la Rocha, p. 401.
 
 52 
 
 Article 15th of the said decree reads as follows: 
 
 '* The Southern Department shall comprise no more than 
 ONis District, named the Rivas Dis prict, until the question be- 
 tween THIS Government and that of Costa Rica about the 
 reincorporation of the District of Guanacaste is settled." 
 
 The Constituent Legislature of Nicaragua of 1838 declared 
 therefore, in the most solemn possible manner, that the South- 
 ern Department of the State had onl}' one District (Rivas), 
 and that this had to he so until the question pending with 
 Costa Rica should he settled and the District of Guana- 
 caste should be reincorporated into Nicaragua. 
 
 To reincorporate means in Spanish, according to the Dic- 
 tionary of the language:^ 
 
 "To incorporate again, to aggregate, or unite, to a political 
 or moral body something which had been separated from it." 
 
 If, according to the Decree of December 21, 1838, issued 
 by the Constituent Legislator, the District of Guanacaste 
 could not he counted among tlie districts of the southei'U Oe- 
 partinent until it was rciiux)rporated into Nicaragua, there is 
 no doubt that the Constitution of 1838 did not declare, nor 
 could it do 60, that Guanacaste was an integral part of the 
 Nicaraguan territory. The reincorporation nuiv have been 
 (strongly desired ; but it was not accomplisliod. 
 
 The truth is, indeed, that tlie question pending between 
 Costa Rica and Nicaragua upon this sulqect did not reacli a 
 settlement until the treaty of 1858 was made; and by it Costa 
 Rica ceded to Nictaragua not (»nly a portion of Guanacaste, 
 but also a portion of the Costa Rican territory wliich had 
 never l)elonged t(j the ancient District of Nicoya. Those 
 ceded territories became Nicaraguan on and after tlie date of 
 
 ' Dkcionariodelalengua OnHU'UaiKi jxtr In Acddeiniit ruptnloht. Madrid, 1884. 
 Iin|>rentiidc Don (iiej^orio Ileraiuuh'/,. 
 
 Tliii siinie definition is^'veii by Wobs'cr (An Anicricun DictiDnary of the 
 HngllHli I.iinj^uiisjo, 1881), by Worcester (A Dictionary of tlie Eonlisii Ijnn- 
 f(U)i{;e, Boston, IS'K)), by Lirousse CGr**"*! Diclionnaire Universe! du XIX 
 nif'^elc, I'aris, 1875) and l)y Calvo (Diclloonuire do Droit Interntitional Pub- 
 lic el Priv,-, PariH, IMH-I).
 
 53 
 
 the treaty, but the rest of the Costa Rican territory, Guana- 
 caste inchided, remained as foreign to Nicaragua as it had 
 been prior to the foumlation of the two States. 
 
 After the Nicaraguan Constitution of 1826 eliminated, un- 
 conditionally and without reserve, from the Nicaragnan terri- 
 tory tiie District of Nicoya, and after the bond which formerly 
 had united it to Nicaragua was thereby severed, all declara- 
 tions made in subsequent Constitutions, no matter how express, 
 in regard to sovereignty over Nicoya, if ever made, which I 
 deny upon the evidence above given, can have no other char- 
 acter tiian that of mere claims or pretensions, as far distant 
 from truth and perfect right, as simple thoughts or wishes 
 are from actual reality. 
 
 x\s the fortune of a merchant is not increased because he 
 recoi-ds in his books future and eventual profits, likewise the 
 dominioi\s of a sovereign are not enlarged because he writes 
 on a Constitution the names of provinces not actually subject 
 
 to his rule. 
 
 And what cannot be obtained by means of express and 
 known declarations, which may, in time, be refuted and blotted 
 out, much less can be obtained by mystic phrases of hidden 
 meaning, written a long time ago, when no one dreamt that 
 such a construction could be ever placed on them. 
 
 To suppose under this singular course of reasoning, that 
 Nicoya was an integral part of Nicaragua is to ignore the fact 
 that, during more than half a century after the Independence 
 and organization of the Central x\.merican States, that Dis- 
 trict, actually and legally was separated from Nicaragua and 
 incorporated into Costa Rica, and that, during the whole of 
 that period, it kept so separated, and formed a part of one of 
 the five provinces of Costa Rica, with whom it has identified 
 itself absolutely in interests, customs, and institutions, to such 
 an extent that citizens of Nicoya have exercised the supreme 
 power, the command of the Army, the Presidency of the Na- 
 tional Contrress, and filled the positions of Secretary of State, 
 Diplomatic Ministers, Justices of the Supreme Court, &c., <kc.
 
 54: 
 
 In the face of these facts the pretension ceases to be absurd, 
 and becomes one which, in reality, can be impeached as lack- 
 ing seriousness. 
 
 Nicaragua reasons about Guanacaste, as if she were dealing 
 with things and not with persons ; and forgets that the people 
 of that Department, in the exercise of an imprescriptible right, 
 decided to separate, and actually separated, themselves from 
 the Nicaraguan nation, even before said nation was organized 
 as a free Stale, that the segregation was sanctioned by the 
 connuon sovereign, which was the Federal Central American 
 power, and that to complete the transaction Nicaragua herself 
 recognized, accepted, and proclaimed it solemnly in its first 
 Constitution. Neither the Constitution of 1838 nor that of 
 1854, nor any other ever promulgated in Nicaragua, did de- 
 clare at any time a square inch of territory beyond the limit 
 assigned to the State l)y the Constitution of 1826 to be Nic- 
 araguan domain. Nor could any Constitution have done so 
 exci pt in case that the territorial accjuisition would have been 
 nuide after 1826, which never happened except under the treaty 
 of 1858, which gave Nicaragua a portion of Guanacaste. 
 
 There is not, therefore, as far as Guanacaste is concerned, 
 the slightest conflict between the treaty of 1858 and the Con- 
 stitution of Nicaragua ; and to maintain the contrary is com- 
 pletely to lose sight of the public law of that coimtry and 
 of the rutiiments of its history, ov of the Constitution of 
 April 8, 182(5, which was the first one ever pronnilgated in 
 Nicaragua, and under whii-,h she presented herself as a free 
 Centi-al American State in the comnumity of nations. 
 
 Better informed than the pul)lic men of Nicaragua seems to 
 have been the Minister of the United States in that country, 
 Mr. (Jharlcs N. Riotte, who, in liis dcspatcli to the Secretary 
 of State, Mr. Fish, (hited at Alanagiia on .liuic 20, 1872, says 
 the fnljowing : 
 
 " It i> a niattei' of liistory that sinc-e 1824-, wirnoirr intiok- 
 lu TiioN, the Province of (iiianacahte formed an integral part 
 of the Kepiiblic of Costa Itica. Nothing has more embittered
 
 55 
 
 the feeling in Costa Rica than this etenial harping for the ' lost 
 brethren ' by the Nicaragnans, keeping up in the minds of the 
 inhabitants of that Province an insecurity and uneasiness, the 
 principal cause of its miserable condition. It is really too bad 
 that these people, barely al)lc to exercise its authority on one- 
 third of its undisputed territory, and incapable of making it 
 felt over two-thirds thereof, should run riot after a distant, 
 wretched province, separated from the bulk of the Kepubli(; 
 by higii mountain ranges, inaccessible for six months in the 
 year, and heedlessly provoke the enmity of a comparatively 
 powerful neighbor." 1 
 
 And as the District of Nicoya or (luanacaste was not, accord- 
 ing to the declarations of the Nicaraguan Constitutions of 1826 
 and 1838, an integral part of the State of Nicaragua, as has 
 been proved above, it is a grave error to maintain that the 
 treaty of 1858 amended the Constitution of Nicaragua, and 
 that it has no value because the amendment made by it was 
 not in accordance with the forms and solemnities prescribed 
 for such cases by the Constitution of that State. 
 
 ' Papers relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States in 1873, 
 page 738.
 
 Chapter IV, 
 
 DEMARCATION OF THE TERRITORY OF NICARAGUA ACrORDIXG TO ITS FIRST 
 CONSTITUTION— SOUTHERN BANK OF THE SAN JUAN RIVER. 
 
 Besides the claim tliat licr sovereignty extends according to 
 her Constitution of 1S3S to the territory of Guanacaste, Nic- 
 aragua set forth tiiat she is entitled under the same Constitu- 
 tion to all the land adjoining the San Juan river down to the 
 mouth of the Colorado i-iver. 
 
 It is easy to show that that pretension is groundless. 
 
 If the text of the Constitution of Nicaragua of 1826, which 
 has heen copied in the preceding chapter is examined, it will 
 be found that not a wor<l exists in that instrument in support 
 of tiie idea tliat the southern bank of the San Juan river was 
 Nicaraguan territory, l)ut, on the contrary, it will appear that 
 the Constitution declares the territorj' of the State to border 
 on that side upon the fi-ee State of Costa Rica. 
 
 This State had organized itself on January 21, 1825, under 
 a constitution, which was communicated to the Federal Pow- 
 ers, in wliich it is said that the Costa Rican territory on the 
 side (jf the Northei'n Sea ended at the mouth of the San Juan 
 river. Therefore the Constitution of Nicaragua, whicii was 
 subsequent, far tVoiii suj)[)oi-ting the idea now set forth by her 
 Government, rather establishes the truth of the contrary as- 
 sertion, because it was in the power of Nicaragua to contradict 
 the decharation made by the Costa Rican organic law, and she 
 not oidy failed to do so, hut lixed as a limit of Nicaragua the 
 same one which the fi-ee State of Costa Rica, or<ranized a little 
 more than one year before, had designated. 
 
 The state of things in Nicai-agua in 1S;}S ln>ing the same 
 as in 1820, the Constitution j)ronndgated on the former date 
 could not eidarge the territory of the State and carry the 
 frontier beyond the San Juan river.
 
 57 
 
 But even supposing that snch a thing happened, which 
 never did, snch a declaration, in conflict with the first Costa 
 Rican Constitution which had been accepted and recognized, 
 never could prevail against it; and the result would be tiiat the 
 Nicaraguan declaration was of no more value than a simple 
 claim or pretension, made still less meritorious l)y the fact 
 that Costa Rica found herself in actual and immemorial pos- 
 session of the territory, and Nicaragua never possessed it, nor 
 exercised over it any a(;t of domain. 
 
 In the first part of this rejily the possession of Costa Rica 
 of the southern bank of the San Juan river, before the Inde- 
 pendence and sincte, up to the date of the treaty, in which her 
 rights of bordering nation were somewhat restricted, has been 
 proved. 
 
 All the legislative collectif)ns of Nicaragua since the 10th 
 of April, 1825, in which her first Constituent Congress met, 
 can be perused, and no act will be found which supports or 
 authorizes the claim that she exercised sovereign rights over 
 the zone above mentioned. 
 
 Political constitutions, on the other hand, are not the places 
 where questions of limits between the States are to be defined. 
 Otherwise such questions would never be settled without a 
 general upsetting of the State being caused by tlie variation 
 of its organic law. 
 
 Almost every country, especially in America, has luul ques- 
 tions of territorial limits with its neighbors, and they have 
 been settled by public treaties, which had never been given 
 the character of constitutional amendments. And this beiu": 
 the case, all the said treaties, without exception, could be held 
 void, as made in violation of the respective natioiuil Constitu- 
 tions. 
 
 This irremedial nullity would l)e incurred, among many 
 others, by the treaty by which Loui^iana was ceded tt) the 
 United States; by the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, by which 
 Mexico renounced her sovereignty over the territories of Up- 
 per California, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico ; by the
 
 58 
 
 treaty between Spain and France of 1856, which settled a 
 question of limits standing for centuries ; by the treaty be- 
 tween France and Italy, by which Savoy and Nice were an- 
 nexed to France, to the detriment of Italy ; by the treaty of 
 1806, l)y which Cliili ceded to Bolivia a portion of the Ata- 
 cania Desert; by the treaty of 1876, by which the Argentine 
 Repul)lic ceded a portion of territory to that of Paraguay ; 
 by the treaty of 1883, by which the annexation of Chiapas 
 and Soconusco to Mexico was finally recognized, &c., &c. 
 
 Xo one of these treaties has ever been considered as an 
 amendment to the Constitutions of the countries which entered 
 into them. And if the course of reasoning of Nicaragua is 
 accepted, the conclusion cannot be avoided that they all are in- 
 valid. A doctrine which leads to such conclusions needs not 
 to Ite refuted. To show its logical consequences is sufficient 
 to reject it.
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 THE CONVENTION OF LIMITS OF 1858 IS AN INTERNATIONAL TREATY LIKE 
 ANY OTHER, AND NOT AN UNFINISHED AMENDMENT TO THE NICARAGUAN 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 Oke of the erroneous ideas on which the arj^ument of Nic- 
 aragua rests, consists in considering the compact of 1858, not 
 as a piil)lic international convention like any other, but as an 
 amendment to, or a reform of, the Nicaragaan Constitution. 
 
 It has been already shown, in Chapters III and IV, how 
 groundless this assertion is in matter of fact, since the Con- 
 stitutions of Nicaragua could not comprise, nor did tlie^y com- 
 prise under her sovereignty, the territory of Nicoya, now 
 Province of Guanacaste, and much less the lands adjoining tlie 
 San Juan river on its southern baid-c. 
 
 Now I shall proceed to show the incorrectness of the same 
 idea from another standpoint. 
 
 By means of conjectures and interpretations, more or less 
 strained, Nicaragua tries to persuade that the treaty of limits 
 modified or amended Article 2d of the Constituti(jn of 1838. 
 But this pretension has been beforehand rejected and refuted 
 b}^ Nicaragua herself, through the organ of her Constituent 
 Asseml)ly of 1858, which by positive and express action, ad- 
 mitting of no contradiction, declared and proclaimed the con- 
 trary. 
 
 If, as it is claimed, the treaty of limits would have in- 
 volved or implied, in the mind of the Constituent Legislator 
 of Nicaragua, a constitutional reform or amendment, no doubt 
 can be entertained, that for concluding and perfecting it the 
 Constituent Assembly would have proceeded in the same way, 
 as it diti, for the special constitutional amendments which it de- 
 creed, in all of which it took pains to express by a final article 
 the constituent or organic character of its action. 
 
 If this was not done, if the Constituent Assembly did not
 
 60 
 
 subject the treaty to the rules of proceedings and to the forms 
 which correspond to a constitntional amendment, if no one 
 said, or thought, at that time, tliat the treaty implied such an 
 amendment, it is plain, as well as indisputable, that the As- 
 scniltly did not give the treaty a different ciiaracter than that 
 whii-h I-elongs to any other public treaties whatsoever ; and this 
 opinion of the Assembly, certainly one in conformity with 
 truth and principle, this authentic interpretation made by the 
 Nicaraguan Constituent Legislator himself, is the most eloquent 
 negative answer that can be given to the allegations of the 
 latter Governments of Nicaragua which attempt to attribute to 
 the treaty of liu)fts a character which does not belong to it. 
 
 If the Constituent Assembly of 1858 would have had in its 
 mind that when approving the treaty it was merely approving 
 it for the first time, subject to tiie action of a subsecpient leg- 
 islature, which might sanction or reject it, it would not have 
 eliminated from the law of territorial division of the Republic 
 which it enacted on August 30, 1858, ^ the reservation clause 
 in regard to Guanacaste, which the Constiiuent Assembly of 
 1838 had written in its own law of territorial division of De- 
 cember 21st of that year.- It is plain that if such had been 
 the case the Constituent Assemldy would have postponed the 
 elimination until the moment in which the subsequent legisla- 
 ture should give its approval. 
 
 But no sucii thing happened, and the new territorial divi- 
 sion was made by law as follows : 
 
 "Aktk'lk 1. The Republic is divided for electoral jiurposes 
 irjto seven dcjjartments, to wit: Chinandega, Leon, Nueva Se- 
 govia, Matagalpa, Chontales, Rivas, and Granada.'' 
 
 "AitTi(;M': 8. The District of Rivas (bordering with Guana- 
 caste) consists of the city of this name, the town of San Jorge, 
 
 'Sei- Giicclii (Ic Ni()ir)i>,'iiii. No. HI). Nov. !20, 185(5. 
 
 ^Hrropilttrii')/! di /an hi/tMSic. (k NirnriKjun, por il Dr. Lii Rocliu, Managua, 
 1807, i)ugc401.
 
 61 
 
 Buenos Ajres, Potosi, Obrage, Ometcpe, Moyagalpa, Pine(3a, 
 La Yirgen, and Tonugal." 
 
 No reservation of any kind is made here in regard to Gua- 
 nacaste or Nicoya, because the question wliich had been pend- 
 ing i)etween the two Republics al)out that territory was then 
 finally settled by the treaty of limits. 
 
 The Constituent ^Assembly of 1S5S gave to the treaty its 
 true character, and all the Executives and all the Legislatures 
 subsequent to that year, up to 1871, always agreed in regard 
 to this point. Nothing will be found, whether in the statute 
 books of Nicaragua, nor in the action of her administration, nor 
 in the decrees of the Nicaraguan courts from 1858 to 1871, 
 which involves the idea tiiat the treaty of limits was an inper- 
 fect and unfinished amendment to the Constitution of the 
 country; while, on the contrary, the proofs are abundant that 
 the said treaty was always recognized and considered, not as 
 something incomplete and still pending, but as a convention 
 finally concluded and sanctioned. 
 
 The reasons now alleged to give to the convention of limits 
 of 1858 no more character than that of a projected constitu- 
 tional reform never consummated, must be exceedingly weak 
 when they never occurred to the mind of any of the Supreme 
 Powers of Nicaragua from 1858 to 1871. They must be 
 very weak, indeed, when they were never used before the 
 downfall of the Ayon-Chevalier conti-act, or under the event- 
 ful circumstances of 1864, when Nicaragua suspended her re- 
 lations with Costa Rica, because of the hospitality which, ac- 
 cording to her laws, she could not refuse, and whii-h she ex- 
 tended to the ex-President of Salvador, General Don Gei-ardo 
 Barrios.
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 EVEN GRANTING THAT THE TREATY OF 1858 INVOLVED A CESSION OF TERRI- 
 TORY, THIS CESSION COULD BE MADE BY ONLY ONE LEGISLATURE ACCORD- 
 ING TO THE CONSTITUTION OF 1838. 
 
 If the Constitutions of Nicaragua prior' to 1858 are con- 
 sulted nothing will be found in tliem clearly and directl}' ex- 
 plaining which are the authorities or officers of the State, in 
 whom the power of validly contracting in the name of the 
 nation is vested. For tliis reason it is necessary for us to turn 
 to tlie general principles which in countries under democratic 
 institutions ve.-^t tliat ]X)wer jointly in the Chief Magistrate 
 of the State and the national representation. 
 
 But the national representation and the supreme Chief 
 Magistrate of Nicaragua were precisely the ones who made 
 the treaty of 1858 ; and, therefore, the conclusion cannot be 
 avoided that the treaty is valid and perfect under tlie most 
 strict principles of international law. 
 
 Perhaps the vcr}^ circumstance that the Constitution of 1838 
 was so silent in regard to the ti-caty-making power induced the 
 Constituent Asseml)ly to ena(;t special laws for the conclusion, 
 ratification, and exchange of the treaty of limits of 1858, 
 That treaty was not, as it is supposed, the work of the Ex- 
 ecutive, simply approved but iKjt sanctioned by the Constituent 
 Assembly, l)ut a legislative act, perfected and consunmiated, in 
 wliich the Executive a(^tcd not only in its capacity as such, but 
 as delegate of the ('onstitucnt As.vciiibly, under instructions 
 and upon bases fni-nisiicd liy tlic said Ass^cnibly, to wliicb it 
 strictly adhered. 
 
 It is claimed in the argument of Nicaragua that the treaty of 
 1858 involved a cession or alienation of the national territory, 
 and that, under tiiis circumstance, wbich dismembered the 
 State, the treaty could have iu> value without the recjuisites 
 pres<*ribc(l foi* (;oii^litiitional amcnihncnts being first complied 
 with.
 
 63 
 
 There is error in believing that the treaty liad the effect of 
 transferring to Costa Rica a portion of the territory of Nicara- 
 gua. This lias already been proved. But, even supposing that 
 such a transfer was made, the treat}' would, nevertlieloss, be 
 valid, because the Nicaraguan Legislative Power, according to 
 Article 109 of the Constitution of 1838, had authority to 
 alienate the national territory witliout needing foi- tliat purpose 
 to amend the Constitution. And if a simple, ordinary legisla- 
 ture had that power, the Constituent Assembly of 1858, which 
 represented the nation without any of the limitations of an ordi- 
 nary Congress, must also have had it with still more reason. 
 
 See what tlie above-said Article 109 of the Constitution of 
 1838 says in this respect : 
 
 " It belongs to the legislative power of the State — 
 
 " 1st. To enact, interpret, and abrogate the laws when neces- 
 sary. 
 
 "9th. To resolve what may be advisable about the adminis- 
 tration, preservation, and alienation of all pkoperty of the 
 State." 
 
 The defense of Costa Rica tries to disguise as much as it 
 can the constituent character of the Assembly of 1858 which 
 approved the treaty ; but, even supposing that it had been a 
 mere ordinary Congress, or Legislature, bound to act necessarily 
 within the limits of the Constitution of 1838, and also that the 
 treaty involved an alienation of State property, that ordinary 
 Congress had, however, full power to give its approval to the 
 treaty without transgressing tlie Constitutional rules. 
 
 It is well, therefore, for Vattel to say that the Chief of the 
 State cannot alienate its territory, and that the nation itself 
 must do it. This principle was precisely the one which was 
 applied to the present case. The nation itself, by means of a 
 Constituent Assembly, approved the treaty, and nothing else 
 can be demanded.
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 WHETHER THE TREATV OF 1858 WAS EXCHAN3ED BEFORE IT WAS RATIFIED. 
 
 Thk title of this chapter indicates the assertion of one of the 
 three reasons ^^iven l)y the representative of Nicarao;na in sup- 
 port of the chiini that the treaty of 1858 is null and void. 
 
 It is alleged that, under Article XII of that instrument, it 
 had to he ratified, and the ratifications exchanged within forty 
 days after its conclusion ; that the exchange was made on April 
 26th of the same year hy the Presidents of Costa liica and 
 Nicaragua, before tiie treaty was approved hy the Assembly ; 
 that the treaty was approved, not ratified, on June 4 subse- 
 (jucnt, when thirty-eight days had already elapsed since the 
 date of the exchange ; and, lastly, that the day on which the 
 Assembly gave its approval, the period of 40 days fixed l)y the 
 treaty for the exchange had expired. 
 
 This new argument of Kicarngua is as weak and untenable 
 as all others set forth by her. 
 
 It would 1)6 necessary that neither the Presidents of Costa 
 Pica and Nicaragua, nor their respective Cabinets, nor the 
 Chaml)ers of either Republic, nor, in one word, any person 
 whatsoever in the two countries, knew at the time of the cele- 
 bration (»f the treaty the meaning of the w^rd ratification used 
 therein, nor the importance and transcendency of the act ex- 
 pressed by it, nor its indispcnsalile prioi-ity to the exchange, to 
 bup])ose that, notwithstanding the express provision of the 
 trcatv, they decided to make the exchange without, a j)rcvi()U8 
 ratification, and without being fully ]>ersuaded that the form 
 in which the said ratification had been imparted was sutlicient 
 and valid. 
 
 It can never l»e admitted that serious men could have com 
 promiseii in such an inconsiderate way the acts of two Gov- 
 ernments, and the tianscendency of a compact of such impor-
 
 65 
 
 tance as the one fixing the limits l)etween the two countries, 
 purporting to he a settlement of protracted questions, and a 
 happy termination of an unpleasant state of things, vviiich, con- 
 sequently, was received hy the people of both countries with 
 signs of jubilation, more so, perhaps, by Nicaragua herself, 
 who went so far as to confer the rank of a general in her 
 army on the Salvadorian mediator. 
 
 According to the decree, to be found elsewhere in this reply? 
 the Constituent Assembly of Nicaragua, in use of the full 
 power vested in it, delegated to the Chief Magistrate of the 
 nation for the sake of l^revity, and owing to the importance of 
 the matter, the faculty to ratify the treaty, |)rovided that it was 
 in accordance with the bases that had been communicated to 
 him for his guidance. 
 
 In this there was no irregularity of any kind, because the 
 people tiiemselves, by means of their representatives entrusted 
 with framing the organic law, had a perfect right to delegate 
 their faculties to whomsoever they pleased ; and there was no 
 harm either, whatever the gravity of the subject might have 
 been, because, as long as the act was performed in strict accord- 
 ance with tiie insti'uctions and bases given l)y the Assembly, 
 the Assembly itself was in reality the party which concluded 
 the treaty, and the ratification became unnecessary, or, better 
 to say, it was given beforehand. 
 
 That the treaty of limits of 1858 did not go a single point 
 beyond the instructions given by the Asseujbly is clearly 
 proved b}" the fact of the approval which that body imparted 
 to it, and furthermore by the unanimous and warm acceptance 
 which it received by the public press of Nicaragua and b}' the 
 whole nation, as well as by the immediate execution of its 
 provisions and its enforcement during a long period of time. 
 
 The very fact of the approval of the treaty by the Assembly, 
 which is invoked as an argument in support of the alleged 
 want of ratification, proves a posteriori that that body con- 
 sidered both the treaty and the exchange, in the form in which 
 they were made, and the time thereof, as perfectly valid acts ; 
 5
 
 66 
 
 because, otherwise, if the Assembly had thought that the requi- 
 site of ratilication was wanting, it either would have ratified it, 
 if so deemed advisable, or would have withheld its sanction ex- 
 pressly, whether on the ground that the treaty did not -suit 
 its ideas, or because the forty days agreed upon fory the ratifica- 
 tion or exchange had elapsed. Therefore if the Assembly, 
 with full knowledge of the manner in which the treaty was 
 celebrated and of the way and date in which the exchange 
 was made, and of the fact th;it the period agreed upon for the 
 ratification had passed, approved the treaty, it is evident that 
 it judged, as was the truth, that the treaty had been legally 
 and in due time ratified by the President, in use of the special 
 faculties which had been vested in him for that purpose. 
 
 To think (otherwise would be equivalent to saying that the 
 most eminent men of Nicaragua, who formed the Constituent 
 Assembly of 1858, were incapalde of seeing such palpable de- 
 fects as those which are now alleged, and that that incapacity 
 was carried to the extreme, because it was exhibited in regard 
 to a(!ts of their own, just publicly accomplished. 
 
 The very same words of President Martinez and the Assem- 
 bly in regard to the treaty clearly slit)W what their intention 
 was, and what was tlie esjjecial course which, according to the 
 abnormal condition of the Republic and the peculiar chai'acter 
 of the subject, they had intended to pursue. Those words also 
 show that they had a clear insight into what they were doing. 
 The President, contrary to the general custom, because the 
 Executive, as a genei'al rule, confines its action only to the 
 approral of the treaties, ratified the one of 1858 ; and the 
 Assembly, difi'ei'cntly, also, from the usual custom of those 
 bodies which wxv. called to kapifv the international Conven- 
 tion, (•(Uilined itself ro aim'ko\ lo the one herein ivferred to. 
 
 The President ratified, bet^ause he had delegated authority 
 to do so ; and the Assembly approved, be(tause what is already 
 ratified needs no further rati(i(;ation. 
 
 The ti-caty of 1858 was, fherc^foi-e, ratilie<l by the oiu; who 
 had full authoiity fo do ko, and the ratification, as well ats tlie
 
 67 
 
 exchange, took place within the stipulated time. With this 
 the remark made by the representative of Nicaragua as to the 
 want of exchange of the treaty, after its approval by the As- 
 sembly, lias been answered. 
 
 This fact, which is correct, corroborates the efficiency which 
 Costa Rica, as well as Nicaragua, gave, l)oth at the time of the 
 conclusion of the ti'eaty, and during fourteen years of uninter- 
 rupted compliance with it, to the i-atitication made by the Presi- 
 dent and to the exchange which followed it. Costa Rica never 
 thought of asking for any exchange of the treaty after the ap- 
 proval by the Assembly, because none was to be made. The 
 exchange had already been made within the period fixed by 
 the treat}', and not only with all the required solemnity, but 
 with luxury of forms, as I have explained elsewhere.
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 ^'HETHER THE TREATY OF 1858 WAS RATHER IMPOSED UPON NICARAGUA THAN 
 ACCEPTED BY HER. 
 
 In tlie preceding argument of Costa Rica, Chapter XI of the 
 Second Part, the true hi&tory of the negotiations which cuhni- 
 nated in the convention of limits of x\pril 15, 1858, was given 
 with minute correctness, supported by documents. It would, 
 therefore, he idle for Costa Rica to say here any tiling further 
 in regard to that point, if she were not compelled to rectify 
 (certain assertions made in tlie Ai-gument of Nicaragua, which 
 are absolutely at variance with truth. 
 
 The said Argument set forth utiiriuati\ely that C'ostu Rica, 
 in flagrant violation of international law, without a previous 
 declaration of war, and with the animus of taking possession 
 by force of a portion of the Nicaraguan tei-ritory, which all 
 her diplomatic efforts had not been able to secure, protiting l)y 
 the state of })i'ostrati(in in whicli Nicaragua was at that time, 
 invaded her territory and occupied the San Juan river, which 
 gave occasion to the intervention of Salvador, and to tlie treaty 
 of 1858 "imposed upon Nicaragua rather tliaii accepted by 
 her." 
 
 It is a fact of in(nsputab]c notoriety tliat one and all of tlie 
 j)r(>positions which I have just transcribed are in opposition to 
 hi>fiti-ic;il truth. 
 
 Costa iiica and the otiier States of Central America, except 
 Nicaragua, enjoyed in ISf)*') the bcnclits of peatu^ ; but tlie 
 civil .struggles between (iranaijine.s juitl Leonesc furnished oc- 
 casion and reason for the war wliieh (^osta Rica, Guatemala, 
 Honduras, and Salvador were eomj)clled, in sj)ite of them- 
 selves, in union with :i |ioition of the people (»f Nicaragua, to 
 wage against General \\'illi:ini ^Valker, the ursurper of the [)ub- 
 lic power in the latter eounli-y.
 
 69 
 
 All the allied nations remained more or less prostrated on 
 account of that war, and none certainly more so than Costa 
 Kica and Nicaragua, which hure the greatest part of its bur- 
 den. 
 
 Tlie differences concerning territorial limits were ahsolutely 
 forgotten under tho.<e circumstances of common danger for 
 all Central America. And if Costa llica carried her forces 
 to Nicaragua, as she certainly did, it was not as an invader or 
 enemy, but as a friend and ally ; and if slie took possession of 
 Walker's steamers and with them ruled over the !San Juan 
 river and the Lake, she did so with the a])proval and consent 
 of the Ni(;araguan party which struggled for the independence 
 of their country, and iti pursuance of a treaty of alliance, of- 
 fensive and defensive, with all the other States of Central 
 America, solemnly promulgated and approved and applauded, 
 not only l)y every good Nicaraguan and the wliole Central 
 American people, but by otlicr nations whose safety had been 
 indirectly threatened. 
 
 Tiie only protest which, under those circumstances, was 
 raised against Costa Rica, was on the part of Walker and his 
 followers. But he, in Nicaragua, was only an usurpei', l)oth 
 hateful and tyrannical. 
 
 The seizure of the steamers and the control of the river and 
 the Lake is one of the greatest sources of pride and national 
 glory for Costa Rica. That exploit was the severest blow ever 
 inflicted upon the growing power of Walker, as he himself ac- 
 knowledged in his history of the Nicaraguan war. The docu- 
 ments and publications of tliat time all agree in considering 
 those facts as decisive of the final victory. 
 
 It is therefore scarce!}' conceivable that this being the case 
 the name of flagrant violation of international law should be 
 given to the most signal act of assistance and friendship which 
 Nicaragua could receive under those circumstances. 
 
 To co-oporate as an ally, to redeem a sister nation from the 
 foreign yoke to which she had been subjected, and which she 
 after a severe struggle had proved to be powerless to shake off.
 
 70 
 
 is not to violate international law, but, on the contrary, fulfill 
 perhaps excessively, the duty of reciprocal assistance which 
 sister nations like those of Central America owe to each other. 
 
 Costa Rica retained during the war tlie positions which 
 she had gained bv her effort, in order that they would not 
 fall again into the hands of the enemy to the prejudice of 
 all the allies. But Nicaragua, as soon as she saw the promi- 
 nence which her neighbor had reached became jealous and diffi- 
 dent, and in the moment, which certainly was the least op- 
 portune, took up the forgtoten question of limits. 
 
 This action gave occasion to unpleasantness which might 
 have led to war, if the prudence of Costa Rica had not avoided it. 
 
 Finally, owing in great part to the efforts of Salvador, all 
 the differences were compromised and adjusted by the treaty 
 of 1858, which was initiated, negotiated, ratified, exchanged, 
 promulgated, and enforced after Nicaragua was in full, quiet, 
 and peaceful possession of her waters, her territory, her for- 
 tresses, her ports, and her cities and towns, and when she was 
 at the most perfect peace, cordiality, and harmony with Costa 
 Rica. 
 
 To say, therefore, tliat the treaty of 1858, rather than ac- 
 cepted by Nicaragua, was imposed upon her by Costa Rica, is 
 asserting a fac-t not only absolutely at variance with truth, 
 but offensive to Nicaragua, who is supposed thereby to be 
 capable of signing an unaccejitable treaty, for fear of incur- 
 ring the anger of iier neighbor. 
 
 Such conclusions are reached when a cause is defended with 
 argunjcnts not resting up<'n truth.
 
 (/ H A P T K R IX. 
 
 WHETHER THE TREATY OF LIMITS IS NULL FOR WANT OF RATIFICATION BY 
 THE GOVERNMENT OF SALVADOR. 
 
 In Chapters X, XII, XIII, and XIV of the Second Part of 
 tlie precedhig Argument of Costa Rica, the questions arising 
 out of the want of ratification of tlie treaty of 1858 by the 
 Repuhlic of Salvador were fully considered, and it was shown 
 therein that that want of ratitication does not affect in any 
 way ov manner the validity of the compact as to the principal 
 contracting parties. 
 
 The reasons which the defense of Nicaragua alleijes in the 
 Argument to which I reply have been already amply refuted 
 in the Argument of Costa Rica ; and, indeed, there is not a 
 single passage in the Nicaraguan Argument which needs now 
 to be answered. 
 
 The whole reasoning of Nicaragua upon this sul)ject can be 
 summed up in the following propositions : 
 
 A. — The guarantee of Salvador was a stipulation introduced 
 into the treaty to the exclusive benefit of Nicaragua and against 
 Costa Rica. 
 
 But this proposition cannot be maintained in the presence 
 of Article IX of the same treaty, which reads as follows : 
 
 " Under no circumstances, and even in case that the Repub- 
 lics of Costa Rica and Nicaragua should unhappily find them- 
 selves in a state of war, neither of them shall be allowed to 
 commit any act of hostility against the other, whether in the 
 port of San Juan del Norte or in the San Juan river or the 
 Lake of Nicaragua." 
 
 As it is seen, the stipulation is mutual, and introduced for 
 the benefit of both countries, and ecpially restraining upon 
 them — not by any means a right for one, and a charge upon 
 the other, as Nicaragua pretends.
 
 72 
 
 B. — The guarantee of Salvador was the principal considera- 
 tion which inchiced ]S"icaragna to assent to the treaty. 
 
 Should this be true, Nicaragua would not have shown quite 
 as niucli anxiety as Costa Rica for settling the question of 
 limits which, for more than thirty years, had kept the two 
 countries in a constant state of uneasiness. Neither would she 
 have shown so much interest in acquiring peacefully, and in a 
 manner not subject to contradiction, the southern shore of the 
 Great Lake, and a portion of the right bank of the San Juan 
 river, as well as the portion of territoi-y which the treaty gave 
 her south of the Sapoa and La Flor rivers, — or in securing the 
 perpetual alliance of Costa Rica for the defense of the San 
 Juan river and the port of San Juan, and acquiring the 
 eminent domain and sovereignty over the watei'S of the San 
 Juan river, in which she only had, up to that time, the right 
 of possession in common, — or in releasing herself from the pay- 
 ment of the considerable amount of money which she owed to 
 Costa Rica. Nothing of this would have happened if the 
 treaty had been intended merely to secure for Nicaragua the 
 important right of not being harassed by hostilities by her 
 neighbor on the waters of the San Juan river and the other 
 plactes designated. See, therefoi-o, how far from being correct 
 is the proposition under consideration. 
 
 C. — The treaty of limits was a tripartite convention, and 
 cannot have either value (»r effect without the unanimous con- 
 sent of all the parties who subsciibed to it. 
 
 The inexactness of this proj^dsilion is self evident, when it 
 is considered, as has been superabundantly proved, that the 
 Government of Salvador was not an essential party to the 
 treaty of limits between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, l)Ut that 
 it was primarily a fi'iciKllv mediator and siibsc(inently a sec- 
 ondary l)arty, as surety <»r guai'antor, a character which could 
 di>apj)car without affecting in the least the ])rincipal obligation. 
 
 I). — If the consent ol all the jiartics is wanting, and one of 
 the ^tipnIalionsof the treaty falls thereby, the whole treaty must 
 also fall, because *' any special advantage conceded by a party
 
 73 
 
 under any one article of the compact is in consideration of all 
 the advantages enjoyed by the same party under tliat and all 
 other articles of the ti-outy. 
 
 To support tliis coiiclusion a passage of an opinion of Mr. 
 Cushing, Attorney-General of tlie United States, has been 
 quoted. 
 
 If Nicaragua pretends by this argument that tlie guarantee 
 in favor of the stipulation of Article X of the treaty oifered 
 by the Minister of Salvador in the name of his Government 
 is one of those special advantages conceded to one party by 
 the other in exchange and in compensation of all the other 
 advantages that the granting party enjoys under the whole 
 compact, the structure of her argument proves to be faulty. 
 
 The guarantee spoken of was not a special advantage for 
 Nicaragua, nor was it conceded by Costa Rica, but it was, as 
 plainly expressed by the language of the Article, a mutual ad- 
 vantage stipulated in favor of the two contracting nations 
 without difference or preference of any kind between them, 
 and in consideration of nothing else than a mere general Cen- 
 tral American interest felt by a third party, which was the 
 Government of Salvador. 
 
 So that, even following the course of reasoning of the de- 
 fense of Nicaragua in regard to this point, and even admitting, 
 what cannot be admitted without doing extreme violence to 
 the doctrine of contracts, that the promise or guarantee with- 
 out sufficient consideration was not a simple nudus pactus, 
 having no more value tlian that of the paper upon which it 
 was written, the result would always bo that the said doctrine 
 has no application in this case. 
 
 If the party who "conceded,"' or offered to concede, that 
 "advantage " had been Costa Rica, the application of the doc- 
 trine might take place, because, in that case, the advantage, 
 whether special or not, conceded by her might be claimed to 
 be in consideration of all the other advantages which the 
 whole of the treaty secured for her. But, as the alleged " ad- 
 vantage " is nothing which one of the parties offered to the
 
 74 
 
 other, but soraetliing that was offered to the two equally aud 
 at the same time by a third party, who acted as a mediator, it 
 is plain that it could not form part of the consideration of the 
 treaty. The advantage was not granted by Costa Rica, and, 
 therefore, it cannot be understood to be a consideration for the 
 " advantages '' which the whole treaty stipulated in her favor. 
 
 The opponent has tried to dazzle the upright and impartial 
 criterion of tlie Arl)itrator by referring to a passage, both in- 
 complete and inapplicable, of an opinion of Mr. Cushing. 
 
 True it is that on October 14, 1853, that disthiguished jurist 
 was called upon by the Secretary of State of tlie United 
 States, Mr. Marcy, to give his opinion upon a certain preten- 
 sion of the Charge d'Affaires of Denmark in this country, to 
 tlie effect that certain seamen who had deserted a Danish ves- 
 sel should be surrendered to him on the ground that the United 
 States, by treaty with the Government of Sweden, had bound 
 themselves to do so when the deserting seamen were Swedish, 
 and that Denmark under the clause " of most favored nation," 
 stipulated in the treaty celebrated with her, was entitled to 
 enjoy the same advantage. 
 
 Mr. Cushing maintained that if the grant made in favor of 
 Sweden had been gratuitous, Denmark might have the right, 
 under her own treaty, to share like benefits. But that, whereas 
 the " advantage " conceded to Sweden was something inti- 
 mately connected with all the other " advantages " granted 
 by her, it was not possible to extend it to Demnark under 
 the clause " of most favore<l nation," unless under circum- 
 stances entirely identical and upon Denmark's giving the en- 
 tiret}' of the compensation granted by Sweden.' 
 
 It is, therefore, plain that the defense of Nicaragua, picking 
 up detached phrases of a respectable text, distorts its meaning. 
 
 And the ])roof thereof is that Mr. Cushing himself, in the 
 same opinion and a few lines below the passage (Quoted by the 
 
 '()i)ini()ns of tlie AttorneysQeneral of the United States, vol. vi, page 
 148.
 
 75 
 
 opponent, says that " neither party to a twiaty can, of its mere 
 will and pleasure, abrogate such agreement, except under 
 agreed conditions;" and tiiat "the league, ^'/^«mei?i, can be 
 rightfully dissolved only by tlie same n)utuality of c(jnsent by 
 which it was tied," which being brought and applied to the 
 present case teaches Nicaragua that the treaty which she made 
 with Costa Rica, giving away certain things a^id receiving 
 others in exchange, cannot be rescinded, for the mere reason 
 that such agreement, for some cause or other, does not now suit 
 her convenience ; and that on the contrary she has to admit it as 
 valid and efficient as she has willingly done for many years.
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 WHETHKR NICABAGXJA CAN REPUDIATE THE TREATY OF LIMITS FOR BEING 
 
 PERNICIOUS. 
 
 « 
 
 One of the arguments of the learned opponent in favor of 
 tlie nullity of the treaty consists in the allegation tliat Nic- 
 aragua was injured by it. 
 
 " It is laid down by Vattel," says the Argument of Nic- 
 aragua, " that a treaty pernicious to the State is null, and not 
 at all obligatory, as no conductor of a nation has the power 
 to enter into engagements to do sucli things as are capable 
 of destroying the State, for whose safety the Govern rnent is 
 entrusted to him ; '' and in further proof of this assertion, 
 the same argument refers to the precedent of the treaty of 
 Madrid of 1526 between Emperor Charles V and the King 
 of France, Francis I; and also the renunciation of Maria 
 Theresa. From here it concludes that the treaty whicli fixed 
 the territ(jrial limits of the two nations twenty-nine years ago 
 must i)e consigned to oblivion, and stricken from the Statute 
 Books of Nicaragua. 
 
 The first thing to be said in answer to this argument is that 
 neither the (pujtation from Vattel is complete, nor is the case 
 referred to by that illustrious author in tlie passage quoted the 
 same as the ticaty of Nicaragua. In the san)c place, in which 
 Vattel explains what, in his judgment, nmst be done with per- 
 nicious treaties, tiuif is in 5^ KiO of Cha])ter XII, Book II, oi 
 his >taii<K'ird wurk on the " Law of Nations," lie recommends 
 the reader to turn his eyes t<i some otlier portion of his work, 
 and coii.-'idei- what he himself liad said in former paragraphs 
 of the same (chapter and P)Ook, and also in (chapter XXI of 
 the prc-ceding pKnik I. 
 
 There Vaffel says as foHows: 
 
 " A treaty is valid when there is no vi(;e in the manner in
 
 77 
 
 which it was coiichided, and for this nothing else can he de- 
 manded than a sutKcient power in the contracting; parties 
 and their mutual consent sufficiently declared." ' 
 
 The same distino^uished writer says in continuation as follows : 
 
 " 7%e hardship {lessio) cannot make a treaty invalidr The 
 one who enters into a contract must look well on what he does 
 and weigh with care everything before giving' his consent. 
 He can do whatever he pleases with wliat is his ; he can waive 
 his rights or give up his advantages, and the other party, 
 although benefitted by liis action, has no obligation to in- 
 quire into the reasons which moved him to act, or to weigh 
 the just value of his acts, ^tf treaty conld he repudiated he- 
 cause one of the parties to it deems itself wronged there would 
 he nothing lasting in the contracts among nations." 
 
 " The happiness and pea(!e of the nations manifestly demand 
 that tlieir treaties should not depend upon a cause of nullity 
 so vague and dangerous."^ 
 
 We are taught upon the authority of the same great writer 
 that those treaties which settle by means of a comproniiso dif- 
 ferences among nations, although necessarily implying losses and 
 renunciations, sometimes of considerable importance, are not 
 only valid but highl}' commendable. ^ 
 
 " It is commonly laid down," says Bernard, " that neither 
 the plea of ' duress,' nor that of lessio enormis (a degree of 
 hardship that is so plain and gross that the sufferer cannot be 
 supposed to liave contemplated what he was undertaking) rec- 
 ognized directly or circuitously, in one form or another, by 
 municipal law, both ancient and modern, can l)e allowed to jus- 
 tify the non-fulfilment of a treaty."^ 
 
 But even in case that tlie treaty of limits which Nicaragua 
 signed, ratified, and promulgated in 1858, subjected her to 
 losses, and really did injury, is it not plain that such injury 
 
 § 141, Chapter xii, Book ii. ' g 329, Cbaplcr xviii, Book ii. 
 
 § 158, Chapter ii, Book ii. 'Bernard on Diplomacy, 85. 
 
 Dr. Wharton's Digest, Chapter vi, § 132, Vol. ii, p. 5.
 
 78 
 
 cannot be other than that naturally involved in all compro- 
 mises ? 
 
 Such a commendable manner of putting an end to litigation, 
 as a compromise is, implies by its own essence on the part of 
 both contracting parties the sacrifice of some rights, no matter 
 how well founded, and thus excludes at once all idea that it is 
 possible to rescind it on account of hardship. 
 
 If an injury of that kind is alleged by Nicaragua for the 
 purpose of causing the treaty of 1858 to fall, with how much 
 more reason could Costa Rica allege it ? She lost by the 
 treaty the eminent domain on the San Juan river, and her condi- 
 tion and rights as a riparian State for an extent equal to the 
 third part of the course of the river and the whole of the 
 southern part of the Lake ; and, furthermore, she lost a con- 
 siderable zone of territory on the Papagallo Isthnnis from the 
 La Flor river to the centre of the Salinas Bay. 
 
 The above stated doctrine, held l)y the laws of all civilized 
 nations to be correct, is obvious ; and there is no writer on In- 
 ternational Law who contradicts it.
 
 Ohaptek XI, 
 
 CONSTANT RECOGNITION BY NICAKAGUA UNTIL 1872 OF THE VALIDITY OF THE 
 TREATY OF LIMITS. 
 
 There is a point extensively treated in the Argument of 
 Costa Rica, upon whicli not a word would be added in the 
 present reply, if Nicaragua had not boasted in her Argument 
 of the firnuiess with which for many continuous years she has 
 maintained the invalidity of the treaty of 1858. 
 
 In contrast with the persistence with which it is true that 
 Nicaragua has maintained, sul)sequent to 1872, the above said 
 idea, I shall present now some facts not set forth in my former 
 Argument, which testify to the respect which that treaty re- 
 ceived in Nicaragua prior to that year. 
 
 The preliminary arrangement Volio-Zelaya, signed in San 
 Jose on July 13, 1868,^ shows that on that date the Govern- 
 ment of Nicaragua recognized the force of the treaty of limits. 
 Otherwise the said Government would not have tried to secure 
 the acquiescence of the Government of Costa Rica for the im- 
 provement of the San Juan river and of the Bay of San Juan 
 del Norte which was then in project. 
 
 Another fact is the f(jllowing : 
 
 The ofticial newspaper of Nicaragua, in commenting upon 
 the speech of Licentiate Don Jesus Jimenez, President of 
 Costa Rica, in the ofhcial reception of Senor Don Mariano 
 Montealegre, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipo- 
 tentiary of Nicaragua, expressed itself in the following re- 
 markable language : 
 
 " But Nicaragua and Costa Rica find themselves in condi- 
 tion on account of their toj)Ofjraphic position, if it is so desired^ 
 to strengthen still viore these bonds, and work with greater 
 
 See Document No. 53.
 
 80 
 
 effort in uniting their interests fur tJie sal'e of hnnian pro- 
 gress T 
 
 " The San Juan river ^ while dividing the two States terri- 
 torially, mixes in snch a way in its bount'fid waters the com- 
 mercial intei'ests of both nations, as not to allow either one to 
 he indifferent to anything happening on itT 
 
 This was written on May 22, 1869, and it shows that at that 
 date it was still in the mind of Nicaragna that the stipulations 
 of the treaty of 1858 were binding upon her. 
 
 A few days afterwards civil war came again to afflict that 
 country. Among the instructions whicli, with supreme ap- 
 proval, were given to tlic Military Inspector of tlie Lake and 
 San Juan river, the following appears : 
 
 "The line of the San Juan river is one of the most impor- 
 tant positions which the Government needs to retain. The 
 efforts of the revolution may be made on that side. * * * 
 To strike a blow upon that Ihie is, therefore, the best thing to 
 be done, because they (the enemies) ma}' attempt to take pos- 
 session of the frontier of Costa Rica to make of it the bases 
 of their operations." 
 
 " It may also happen that the Government of Costa Rica, 
 alarmed by the revolution of Nicaragua, * * * acting 
 with e.Kaggerated zeal, and possil)ly trusting in the inability of 
 the Government ctf this Re}Mil)lic to protkot the points on 
 THIS LINK, may attemjit to take possession of El Castillo and 
 of the San Carlos fortresses for the purpose of protecting 
 itself (the Government of Costa Rica) against any attempt of 
 INVASION OF ITS TFKiiiToKY wbicli. Oil this sidc, might l)e 
 made." * * 
 
 * * * " It being necessary to j)rovi(ic! the Govei-nment 
 with Boldiers, * * * j,,n sball bo very particulai- in re- 
 cruiting people, * * * sending private agents to the ter- 
 ritory of (Josta Rica, n^/iere, hy no nie(f/is, a/iy armed force 
 shintld t'lif,')', unhiSH with tbe written })eniiissi()U of the coin- 
 vianding oj/icers of the <liffurent [)osts protecting the frontier 
 of that Republic." * * *
 
 81 
 
 Tlie frontier spoken of in these instructions is the one drawn 
 by the treaty of limits of 1858, and the connnaiulinfj^ otticei'S 
 of the different posts of the Costa Rican frontier were those 
 of the posts estal)lished to watch over the San Carlos and Sara- 
 piqni rivers as far as their confluence with the San Jnan. 
 
 The treaty had, therefore, in the eyes of the Government of 
 Nicaragua, perfect etiiciency. 
 
 In contrast witli tlie firmness now shown i)y Nicaragua to 
 maintain the invalidity of the treaty of limits, Costa Rica must 
 show the persistence with \vlii(;h, before she withdrew her aii- 
 hei'ence to the Ayon-Ciievalier conti-act, the contrary opinion 
 was maintained and (rarried into practical effect l>y the same 
 Republic. It is for that reason that I have mentioned the 
 three facts above stated. 
 
 On the other hand, it is worth wiiile to notice here that the 
 eagerness with which, subsequent to 1872, the validity of the 
 treaty of limits has been denied in Nicaragua, says nothing in 
 favor of the pretensions of that Government, nor weakens in 
 the least the force of its previous contrary action. Admis- 
 sions cannot be retracted. 
 
 And as the defense of Nicaragua wishes to tind in the al- 
 ways firm and never contradictory action of the Government 
 of Costa Rica some support of tiie conclusions adverse to the 
 treaty wliich it formulates, it alleges the fact that Costa Rica 
 acceded in good-will, and on several occasions, to give an 
 amicable solution to tiie annoying question debated between 
 the two countries ever since 1872, and cites especially the con- 
 ference held at Managua, and the treaty made at that city on 
 July 26th instant, where an indirect acknowledgment of the 
 imperfection of the treaty of limits is alleged to be found. 
 
 The Treaty of Managua reads as follows : 
 
 " Article 1. Tlie Government of Nicaragua loithdraics the 
 objections made to the validity of the treaty of limits with the 
 Govermnent of Costa Rica, signed on April 15, 1858, since it 
 will obtain from Congress on its p.vrt (the part of the Gov- 
 ernment oTf Nicaragua) the second ratification which it (the 
 Government of Nicaragua) has maintained to be indispensable. 
 6
 
 82 
 
 The substance of tliis Article recognizes and proclaims, in a 
 solemn and categorical manner, the justice of the cause wliicli, 
 during so man}' years, Costa Rica luid been defending. No 
 other meaning can he given to the icithdrawal made by the 
 Government of Nicaragua of the objections it had niade against 
 the treaty. 
 
 And, as after so many years of Nicaragua's having main- 
 tained that a second ratification of the treaty was necessary in 
 order to cause her to consider herself bound by it, it was not 
 possible that she should herself retract this point of mere form, 
 nor was it advisable for Costa llica that any formality which 
 Nicaragua, whether right or wrong, thouglit necessary to protect 
 the treaty against new objections, should be omitted, it is not 
 to be wondered at that the said ratification should have been 
 mentioned in the final part of Article I of the treaty' of Man- 
 agua ; but this ratification was spoken of not as being a nec- 
 essary formality asked for by Costa Rica, but as one considered 
 by Nicaragua to be indispensalde, although, in point of fact, it 
 was not. The treaty of Managua could refer not to one or two 
 ratifications of the treat}' of 1858, I)ut to as many as Nicara- 
 gua should like to consider necessary to acknowledge herself 
 bound without danger of new retractations. This did not im- 
 ply that Costa Rica accepted the necessity of such formalities. 
 
 If the treaty of Managua liad reached its consummation, 
 Nicaragua would liave liad the satisfaction to ratify for the 
 sixth time, if I am not mistaken, tbe treaty of 1858, while 
 Costa Rica, on bci* part, would have experienced tlie one of 
 seeing, finally and forever, settled her difference with Nicara- 
 gua, througli the withdrawal, by the lattei', of the objections 
 made l>y lier to the treaty of limits. 
 
 It is, therefore, iiicoiiccivuliU! how the treaty of Managua 
 could liavc l»ccn spoken of in the defense of Nicaragua. If 
 that instiMiment e.\)>resses tlio i-ight criterion of the Nicaraguan 
 (ioscrumciil, it furni>bcs the most ebxjucnt testimony to the 
 fact that, sub^tantially, and laying aside this or that formality, 
 tlie treaty of limits is valid, Jind not only valid but useful and 
 profitable for Nicaragua.
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THIS CHAPTER FOR DE- 
 STROYING THE EFFECT OF THE PERSISTENCE WITH WHICH NICARAGUA 
 HAS MAINTAINED, EVER SINCE 1872, THE NON- VALIDITY OF THE TREATY OF 
 LIMITS. 
 
 The Government of Nicaragua having hoasted of its persist- 
 ence, ever since 1872, in maintaining that the treaty of limits 
 of 1858 is not binding upon it, and it having formulated, also, 
 the charge of inconsistency against the Government of Costa 
 Rica, it does not seem inopportune to set fortli here, as briefly 
 as possible, the substance of certain documents which I ap- 
 pended to my Argument, and of others which I append to the 
 present Reply, and show plainly thereby the trutli of the facts. 
 
 Documents Nos. 23, 24, and 20, dated the flrst on May 16, 
 1858, the second and third on June 27 of the same year, and 
 the fourth on January 25, 1861 ; and those marked 31, 34, 
 and 35, dated, respectively, on April 1, May 26, and July 5, 
 1863, appended to the Argument of Costa Rica, will show 
 to the Arbitrator that Costa Rica exercised during that exten- 
 sive period of time, not only without opposition, but at the 
 request of Nicaragua, the rights recognized to her by Article 
 VIII of the treaty in regard to intervention in grants of transit 
 and canal. 
 
 Documents Nos. 43 and 45 of the same Argument, dated, 
 respectively. May 26 and July 31, 1864, will also show to him 
 that Costa Rica, six years after the date of the treaty, was ex- 
 ercising sovereign rights over the territory of the right bank 
 of the San Juan river, and making explorations therein in order 
 to build a better and shorter road from the interior of the 
 country to the river bank. 
 
 Those marked Nos. 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 
 49, 50, 51, 53, and 55 in the Appendix to the present Reply, 
 equally show the exercise by Costa Rica of her sovereign
 
 84: 
 
 ricrlits over the territorv which, according to the treaty of 1858, 
 belongs to her. 
 
 Document No. 47, of June 26,1866, will show specially how 
 emjihatic was the protest of the Government of Costa Rica, 
 which the Government of Nicaragua accepted as just, against 
 the attempt to increase the volume of the waters of the lower 
 part of the San Juan river at the expense of the Colorado river, 
 which belongs to Costa Rica. 
 
 Document No. 50, dated January 25, 1867, will show also 
 that Costa Rica, nine years after the conclusion of the treaty, 
 carried it into execution, with the consent of Nicaragua, by es- 
 talilishing a sanitary cordon at a place of the frontier which 
 the said treaty had marked out. 
 
 Document No. 51 of November 25, 1868, will show in the 
 same manner that Costa Rica, ten years after the treaty, was 
 exercising the rights which the said treaty recognized to her 
 over the San Juan river. 
 
 Document No. 56 of July 22, 1872, will give testimony of 
 the most eloquent character to the manner with which the 
 Costa Rican Government listened to the so-called "doubts," 
 which, then, for the first time, after 14 years of uninterrupted 
 ol)servance, arose in Nicaragua as to the validity of the treaty. 
 
 Document No. 58, dated December 3, 1875, will give an 
 instance of the manner in which Costa Rica, seventeen years 
 subsecpient to tlie date of the ti-eaty, contiinied to exercise her 
 rights over the whole territory which that convention had 
 given her. 
 
 And finally, documents Nos. 59 and 60, respectively dated 
 on June 26, 1880, and Septenii)er 10, 1886, will show, the for- 
 mer, how Costa Rica, twenty-two years after the date of the 
 treaty, protested against the noii <M)mpliance in regard to her 
 of the pi-<)vi.si(>ns of Ai'tick! N'ill of the same treaty, in the 
 matter (if the company organized in New York under the title 
 of '' Provi>ional Company of lutcroccaiiic Canal," and the 
 latter, the acnreptance Ity C/osta Rica of the ex|)lanations made 
 by the (lovernmont of Ni(;aragua For the non-compliance with 
 Buid provisiouti.
 
 85 
 
 It is seen, therefore, from all of this, that since the month 
 of May, 1858, to the month of September, ISSG, Costa Rica 
 has not receded one jot from her })ositi(»n in maintainiiii^ the 
 etiiciencj and validity of the treaty to which she signed her 
 name, and wliich on her part she always complied with faith- 
 fully and religiously.
 
 CONCLUSION.
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Before closing the present reply, the defense of Costa Rica 
 deems it advisal)le to present a general summing np of its con- 
 tents, which it submits as follows : 
 
 Under the arbitration treaty made at Guatemala, no possi- 
 bility exists for the making of two awards, one deciding the 
 principal question, and another, subsequent in date, on supple- 
 mentary or secondary points suggested by Nicaragua. Both 
 subjects must be the matter of one and the same decision. 
 
 The time for presentation of doubtful points, granted by 
 the treaty of Guatemala, having been allowed by Nicaragua to 
 pass unavailed, she cannot now be permitted to present those 
 points, nor is Costa Rica l>ound to accept them as forming a 
 part of the question submitted to arbitration. 
 
 All Royal Ordinances and Letters-Patent issued by the 
 Spanish Kings, as well as all opinions of writers on the his- 
 tor}'^ of the Indies, are not, nor can they be, admitted in the 
 present controversy, except as simply illustrating the historical 
 precedents of the question, because the original rights of the 
 parties were actually modified by subsequent transactions, as, 
 for instance, the annexation of Guanacaste to Costa Rica, 
 which took place, as all others, after tlie independence from 
 Spain had been secured. 
 
 This is neither the proper time nor the proper place to make 
 any declaration whatsoever, affecting questions not at issue, and
 
 90 
 
 neitlier debated nor submitted, as for instance the one referring 
 to the determination of the limits I)etween Costa Rica and Nic- 
 aragua, should the treaty of April 15, 1S5S, be adjudged void. 
 
 The uti possidetis of 1821 has notliing to do with the present 
 question, because the subject under discussion is not the terri- 
 torial extent of either Costa Kica or Nicaragua, independently 
 of the treaty of April 15, 1858. 
 
 And notice must be taken of the fact that, although the 
 doctrine of the uti possidefhs of 1821 is in general correct, it 
 is not so always in all cases and under all circmnstances, but 
 admits of modification under other rights of possession. 
 
 Had that doctrine been absolute and indisputable, Chiapas 
 and Soconusco would have belonged to Guatemala until 1883, 
 Sonsonate would belong to-day to the same Republic, &c., &c. 
 The I'cal and true uti possidetis is the one of 1838, when the 
 federal bond was dissolved. The status whicth, as far as pos- 
 session was concerned, existed at tluit time, and not the one 
 existHig in 1821, served as basis for the organization of the 
 five Sovereign Republics of Central America. 
 
 The defense of Nicaragua considers tliat the treaty of limits 
 of 1858 is a special one ; but mtticc nnist l)e taken that, as far 
 as re<|uisites and formalities in i-cgard to tlie manner of its con- 
 cluhioii arc concerned, there is no difference at all that can be 
 admitted between it and any other ti'caty whatsoevei", since 
 it was, as all others are, negotiated and concluded l)y plenipo- 
 tentiaries ai)pointcd l)y the Executive, approved 1)}' the Ex- 
 ecutive, ratified by tlie Legislative, and exchanged and pro- 
 mulgafcd by the K\C('Uli\e. 
 
 This is tlie reguhir ordei" of pri)C(!ediiigs in use in all nations 
 in regard to treaties ; and the assertion can be made conlidently
 
 91 
 
 that there is not a single precedent autliorizing the course of 
 proceedings, which according to tlie defense of Nicaragua tlie 
 treaty of 1858 ought to have gone tln-ough, and which is, no 
 doubt, a novelty in the Law of Nations. 
 
 If the treaty of limits is in any way special, it is so only in 
 one respect, to wit : that while all public treaties are by their 
 own nature permanent, for it is upon them that the peace of 
 the nations therein concerned rest, and while all of tliem when 
 once concluded cannot l)e allowed to fall, easily, or on light 
 reasons, and much less for alleged informalities, never spoken 
 of until after both contracting parties have been for years ex- 
 ecuting it, such a fate has not befallen, however, the treaty of 
 limits. 
 
 The treaty of limits of 1858 was not concluded, approved, 
 ratified, exchanged, and carried into effect under tlie sway of 
 the Constitution of 1S38, but under the sway of a traUv^itory 
 exceptional dictatorial regime, in which the National Consti- 
 tutional Assembly excercised without limitation all the- pow- 
 ers of the nation. 
 
 The laws under whose empire the treaty was made were the 
 decrees of December 1, 1857, and February 5, 1858, the pr6- 
 visions of which were literally compile J with. 
 
 There is no conflict between the treaty of limits and the 
 Constitution of 1838. 
 
 (a.) Because the Constitution of 1838 did not include the 
 District of Nicoya within the territory of Nicaragua, since, as 
 stated by the former Nicaraguan Constitution of April 8, 1826, 
 the said District did not belong to her.
 
 92 
 
 (h.) Because tlie Constitntion of 183S did not cither include 
 the territory suuth of tlie San Juan river, hecause said river 
 was the limit clearly defined bv the plain provisions of the 
 Costa Rican Constitution of 1S25 for the sovereignty of Costa 
 Rica. 
 
 (c.) Because the settlement of 1858 had l)een foreseen by the 
 said Constitution of 1838, wherein it was provided that as 
 soon as such settlement should be reached it was to be under- 
 stood as being embodied in the Constitution itself. 
 
 (d.) Because the Constitution of 1838 was not the funda- 
 mental law by which the perfection of the treaty should be 
 governed. 
 
 Costa Rica maintains that the treaty of 1858 is as much an 
 international convention as any other whatsoever; and as Nic- 
 aragua maintains that it is an amendment of the Constitution 
 the burden of proof falls upon her. She has not produced it, 
 nor can she do so, since the very first of all her laws on the 
 matter, the founchition and source of them all, which is the 
 Constitution of 1826, declares that the District of Nicoya does 
 not form part of Nicaragua. 
 
 Supposing that the Nicaraguan Constitution of 1838 should 
 have declared that the District of Guanacaste and the territory 
 Routh of the San Juan river belonged to that Republic, a 
 declaration whicli was never made, the effect thereof could 
 never prevail against the fundamental laws of Costa Ri(\a, 
 wliich were ]>revious — one of Januai-y 21, 1825, and the other 
 the amiexation of Nicoya of December !Hh of the same year. 
 
 Ever since April 8, 1820, the date of the first Constitution 
 of Nicaragua, that State may have had more or less reas(m 
 upon which to set forth a claim to sovereignty over Guana-
 
 93 
 
 caste; but she had no reason whatever to declare that tlie said 
 District was included in her territory. 
 
 If the doctrines maintained by Nicai-agna in her Ar<jjninent 
 should he admitted, scarcely one single treaty of limits could 
 possihl}' stand. Whicli of them has not wounded in some waj' 
 01- another the real or alleged sovereignty of either of the par- 
 ties ? Which one has ever been submitted to the special 
 course of proceedings provided for constitutional amendments? 
 
 If tlie treaty of limits has to fall because Article ll*4r of the 
 Constitution of 1838 was not complied with, its fall will drag 
 down with it the whole political reconstruction of Nicaragua 
 accomplislied by the Assembly of 1858. Article 194 was 
 not taken into consideration at all for the purposes of that re- 
 construction, although, under Article 196 of the same instru- 
 ment, the former Article ougiit to have been followed in a gen- 
 eral reform of the Constitution. 
 
 The first Costa Rican Constitution has been cited to prove 
 that Guanacaste does not form part of Costa Rica ; but no 
 notice has been taken of the fact that the annexation of 
 Guanacaste to Costa Rica took place ten months and eighteen 
 days subsequent to the date of that Constitution, Tlie Con- 
 stitution was promulgated on January 28, 1825; and the an- 
 nexation of Guanacaste was made by Federal decree of De- 
 cend^er 9 of the same year. 
 
 If such a ratification as the one asked for is wanting, there 
 are no less than four or five subsequent ratifications given by 
 different Nicaraguau Legislatures.
 
 94 
 
 The whole of the present question is narrowed down to the 
 proper construction of this phrase : " The Constituent Assem- 
 bh- of Nicaragua, in use of its k'gislative powers, etc., &c.," 
 and whether the use of the word " legislative '' is proper or 
 improper ; but, in good faith, that word cannot be understood 
 to mean anything different from the desire that the treaty 
 should produce such effects as those intended bv tlie contract- 
 ing parties. 
 
 The validity of the treaty has been repeatedly recognized 
 by several Cabinets of Nicaragua between 1858 and 1872 ; 
 but tlie change of mind that has l»een experienced in that lie- 
 public since 1872, under color of 'foiihti<, does not deprive the 
 said acknowledgments of tlieir efficiency. 
 
 The treaty of limits was negotiated, concluded, and per- 
 fected at a time in which Nicaragua was in full and perfect 
 peace, Nicaragua being in possession and enjoyment of her 
 lands, waters, ports, towns, <Sz(:. 
 
 Even granting that the treaty of limits involved aliena- 
 tion of territory, that alienation could be made under the C\)n- 
 stitution of 1888, by the Asseml)ly of 1858, or l»y any other 
 legislative body, without any previous ameiKbnent of the fun- 
 damental law. 
 
 'Y\\ii Assembly of 1858 gave to the treaty of limits the char- 
 acter of a treaty, and not that of an amendment to the Con- 
 Btitntion. And now it is too late to oppose the authentic in- 
 tcrjirctation inatU' by the Constituent Legislatorof Ni(taragua, 
 and which, HUe all intcipi-ctations nf its Uind, is a law of the 
 State.
 
 95 
 
 The failure of the accessory does not destroy the principal ; 
 and the treaty of limits cannot fail hecause the guarantee of 
 Salvador is wanting. Such a guarantee was not essential to 
 the treaty. 
 
 The guarantee of Salvador was not the only consideration, 
 or the principal one, which led Nicaragua to bind herself. 
 Such a guarantee did not form a part of the consideration. 
 
 The stipulation of Article X of the treaty never was a right 
 for Nicaragua and a burden for Costa Ricn, but a stipulation 
 of mutual effe(;t for and against both parties. 
 
 The Government of Costa Rica has always complied in 
 good faith with the treaty of limits, and no act can be cited 
 performed by it which reveals hesitation or doubt as to its val- 
 idity. If it has permitted the etiiciency of that treaty to be 
 doubted in Nicaragua, and if it has endeavored to smooth the 
 differences arising out of that action, that does not argue 
 against the intimate conviction entertained by Costa Rica of 
 the justice of her Cause, but only shows once more her tra- 
 ditional policy of peace and concord with the other nations of 
 Central America, and especially Nicaragua. 
 
 The treaty of limits was embodied in the Nicaraguau Con- 
 stitution of 1858. 
 
 The treaty of limits has been respected up to the present 
 time as a status quo in spite of the present controversy ; and 
 it is agreed that it shall be the status quo until all the (questions 
 pending between the two countries are finally settled.
 
 96 
 
 If the treaty of 1S5S falls, Costa Kiea recovers thereby her 
 ancient, Instorical, and legitimate limits of the La Flor and the 
 Sapoa rivers, the lake, and the San Juan river. 
 
 I have thus far given the general recapitulation of this 
 
 reply. 
 
 I must now add a few words about a point of special impor- 
 tance, that is, the one relative to the authenticity of the nu- 
 merous documents appended to my Argument and to the pres- 
 ent Reply, or whicli have been quoted in both of tliem. To 
 tile tliem all in the original, or in authenticated copies thereof, 
 within such a short time as that granted for the preparation of 
 both arguments would have l)een little short of a physical "im- 
 possibility, Ijesides being unnecessary. It is an impossibility, 
 because many of those papers are in the Archives of Spain, 
 the Mother Country, or in those of the ancient capital of the 
 Kingdom of Guatemala; and it is unnecessary, because they all 
 have l)ecn recently })ublished. 
 
 In regard to the documents not in those Archives, and which 
 are found in collections of laws and official newpapers, both of 
 Costa Rica and Nicaragua, they are in my possession, either 
 in the original printing or certified copies. 
 
 The defense of Costa Rica vouches for the authenticity of 
 all the documents which it has presented or quoted, and will 
 exhiltit the originals or authenticated copies of those which the 
 Ailiitiator may 1)0 pleased to designate, should he deem it 
 neces>ai V. 
 
 It also iiolds at the disposal of the Ari)iti"ator all the books 
 that it has cited. 
 
 In conclii>ion, j)erhaps it may not be out of place to re- 
 fer to the opinion of oiw. of the most conspicuous men of 
 Ni(^aragua, General M.-iximo Jerez, who, when the (]uestion 
 about tli(! trcMty of limits began to bi^ agitated in that country, 
 exj)re^se(l hini>t'lf in tbe Xicaraguaii Scitiatc in the following 
 language :
 
 97 
 
 " From the beginning of this question on the validity or 
 nullity of the treaty of limits of 1858, I always thought 
 that we are on the wrong side. It always seemed to me that 
 the reasons now alleged against the construction which we place 
 upon the Nicaraguan laws at the time of the treaty are good 
 at the most, and this is granting too much, to render that con- 
 struction doubtful; and, under these cii-cumstances, I never 
 shall deem it proper for tlie pul)li(* authorities of Nicaragua 
 to declare, in the face of the world, and foi- the purpose of 
 nullifying that treaty, that they, like children, did not under- 
 stand their own laws, nor were Ixmnd to know what tliey 
 meant. 
 
 " It is perhaps tlirough a feeling analogous to the one I have 
 just expressed that, although the Executive a long time ago 
 submitted to the consideration of Congress the unfortunate 
 question of the nullity of the treaty of limits. Congress has re- 
 mained silent, and allowed the treaty exchanged in 1858, and 
 executed iistgood faith during fifteen years, to continue in ob- 
 servance."^ 
 
 The defense of Costa Rica has nothing to add to the pre- 
 ceding words of the Nicaraguan Senator, General Jerez, and 
 confines itself to respectfully await such uecision as the learned 
 and upright Arbitrator shall be pleased to pass on the question. 
 PEDRO PEREZ ZELEDON, 
 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 
 
 Plenipotentiary of Costa Rica. 
 "Washington, D. C, 
 
 December 2, 188T. 
 
 ' Apuntamientos Geograficos, Estadisticos e Historicos por Joaquin Ber- 
 nardo Calvo. San Jose de Costa Rica, 188G. Imprenta Nacional 18»7, page 
 18. 
 
 7
 
 DOCUMENTS.
 
 DOCUMENTS. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Royal Ordinance of February 10, 1576,^/>>?' the rednrfio-n of 
 the Province of 2\i(juzgal2)a, situated to the north of the 
 Sa7i Juan de Nicaragua river. "^ 
 
 The King, 
 
 To the President, and the Judges of our Rojal Audien- 
 cia, sitting at the city of Santiago, of tlie Province of Gua- 
 temala : 
 
 It has been represented to us on the part of Captain Diego 
 Lopez, a resident of the city of Truxillo, of the Province of 
 Honduras, that it is advisable and very necessary for the ser- 
 vice of God our Lord, and that of ourselves, that the Province 
 of Taguzgalpa, also called New Cartago, which is in tlie said 
 Province, should be conquered and peopled ly Spaniards; 
 that many years ago ^e city named Elgueta was founded 
 there and peopled, but had to be abandoned owing to the ina- 
 bility of its inhabitants to resist the strong attacks of the natives ; 
 and that he, the said Diego Lopez, would undertake, if we were 
 pleased to accede to it, the said conquest and peopling, within 
 four years, and at his own expense, provided that he would l)e 
 gi'anted the same favors that were granted to Captain Diego 
 de Artieda, to whom we enti'usted the discovery and settle- 
 ment of the Province of Costa Rica ; and whereas all of this 
 has been heard and considered in our Council of the Lidies, 
 and the said Council resolved that we miglit issue this, our 
 
 'From Coleccion de Documentos iiieditos relativos al descubriniicnto, 
 conquista y organizacion de las antiguas posesiones espanolas de Aiiu'rica 
 y Oceania, sacadas de los Arcliivos del Reyno y niuy especialmeute del de 
 Tndias. Couipetentemente autorizada. Vol. xiv, pages 528 to 537. 
 
 T TRRARY
 
 102 
 
 present ordinance, to which we have been pleased to accede : 
 "We do, therefore, command you to enter, as soon as this ordi- 
 nance reaches yon, into an agreement with the said Diego 
 Lopez for the aforesaid purposes, observing the requisites pro- 
 vided for in the " Instructions " and ordinances in force relat- 
 iuij to new settlements. And as soon as the said agreement is 
 entered into, and before it is carried into execution, you shall 
 sul^nit it to us, togetlier with your opinion about it, addressed 
 to our Council aforesaid, to provide and decide as advisable. 
 
 Given at Madrid on February 10, 1576. 
 
 I, THE KING. 
 
 By command of His Majesty. 
 
 ^ ANTONIO DE ERASSO. 
 
 By virtue of the foregoing ordinance, an agreement for the 
 conquest of Taguzgalpa was made in Guatemahi, l)etween Li- 
 centiate Palacio, an Associate Justice of the Audiencia, com- 
 missioned to that effect, and the said Diego Lopez ; and tlie 
 limits of the Province were marked as follows : 
 
 Firstly. His Majesty will ap]K>int him his Governor and 
 Captain-General of the said Province, which is the whole land 
 in(!luded between the mouth of El Desaguadero, from its 
 northern hank, and Cape Camaron, at the point where the 
 Pr(»vince of Honduras begins, witli all the country included 
 therein, until reaching the boundary and jurisdiction of the 
 Province of Nicaragua and Nueva Segovia, and what is that 
 of ibinihnas; and the said Captain Diego Lopez si lall have 
 the said GoveriKjrshi]) dui'ing his lifetime, with the salary of 
 two thousand ducats, to be paid from the Treasury or revenues 
 belonging to His Majesty in the said Province; but if lU) su(Oi 
 funtls should exist, His Majesty shall not be bound to j)ay any- 
 thing on account of that salaiT ; and after the death of said 
 Diego Lopez, his eldest son or son-in-law, as his heir, shall 
 succeed him in tins grant, |»ro\ idtnl that he is a ])erson having 
 tl>e ne<;essary <|UMlilicatioris and hoing His Maj(!sty pleased to 
 accept.
 
 103 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 The Pt'esident of the Royal Audlencia of Guatemala trans- 
 mits to the Governor^ an<J to the most Nolle Corporation 
 of the City of Cartago, a resolution, hy which the election 
 of members of the Spanish Cortes for Costa Rica and Nicoya 
 was ordered to he made at that city. — It ajypears from this 
 document that the District of Nicoya had actu(dly heen 
 annexed to Costa Rica ever since May, 1813, about eight 
 YEARS before the independence from the mother country. 
 
 A preparatory meeting having been held ,t]ie following res- 
 olution was passed: 
 
 Whereas, upon the reading of the othi-ial letter addressed to 
 His Excellenc_y the President l)j the Most Noble Corporation 
 of the city of Cai-tago, it appears that the population of Costa 
 Rica is alleged to be only 41,000 inhal)itHnts, event including 
 
 THE DISTRICT OF NiCOYA, WHICH HAS BEEN ANNEXED TO CoSTA 
 
 Rica, which is less than the total which the Constitution re- 
 cjuires, and that for this reason the said Governor and Council 
 request that for the purposes of electing two nienil)ers of Con- 
 gress the said Province of Costa Rica should l)e united to the 
 one of Leon, of Nicaragua, or that the districts of Masaya and 
 Nicaragua (Rivas) should be incorporated into her ; 
 
 And whereas the Most Noble Council of the city of Leon 
 reported adversely, on the grounds that the purposes had in view 
 by Cartago were simply to alleviate tlie burden of taxes weighing 
 upon it, and cause some other districts l)elongiug to Nicaragua 
 to share that burden, and that the present member of Con- 
 o-ress for the said Province Don Florentino Castillo, had 
 stated in an official letter addressed by him to His Excellency 
 the President on June 8, 1812, that the same Council of the city 
 of Cartago in its instructions to him had admitted the fact that 
 the population of Costa Rica was about 70,000 inhal)itauts, and 
 that even subtracting the natives of Africa, fortunately very
 
 104 
 
 few there, there would still remain about sixty thousand peo- 
 ple of the other classes. 
 
 And -whereas the said Most Noble Council of the city of 
 Leon further represented that in case that the population of 
 Costa Rica was not large enough, the District of Nicoya, which 
 was bordering upon her, might be attached to her ; 
 
 And whereas due consideration has been taken of all the 
 
 OTHER REASONS AND GROUNDS UPON WHICH IT WAS ORDERED THAT 
 
 THE SAID District of Nicoya, united to Costa Rica, should 
 
 ELECT IN THE LATTER ONE MeMBER OF CoNGRESS TO REPRESENT IN 
 
 THE Cortes the two localities, and promote there the wel- 
 fare OF their worthy inhabitants ; 
 
 And whereas no exact census has been made, showing any 
 error in the approximate calculation made by this Assembly 
 (Junta) upon the data and information on record ; 
 
 And whereas the resolution which ordered that the election 
 for one Member of Congress should take place at tlie capital 
 of Costa Rica has proved beneficial to tliat Province, worthy to 
 a great degree of tlie attentions of the government, and frees 
 her people from the troubles and expense of a trip to Leon, many 
 leagues distant, for the purposes of the said election, 
 
 Ordered, That the decision of this Board (Junta) be carried 
 out, and that in consequence thereof the elections for Member 
 of Congress be made under and according to the instructions 
 enacted by this Board.'' 
 
 And this I communicate to you for your knowledge, and 
 for such compliance therewith as may be incumbent upon- you. 
 
 May God preserve you many years. 
 
 Guatemala, May 3, 1813. 
 
 BUSTAMANTE. 
 
 To the Governor and the Most JVohlc Council 
 of the City of Cartago.
 
 105 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 The first Constituent Congress of Costa Rica directs that the 
 Districts of Nicoya and Santa Cruz should be considered as 
 temporarily annexed to the State, and protected as such. 
 
 The Constitntent Congress, in answer to jour communication 
 of the 30th of last month, wherein, by order of the Supreme 
 Chief Magistrate, yi>n ask for instructions as to what 
 must be done with the District of Nicoya, resolved at the 
 meeting held yesterday, as follows : That the Districts of Ni- 
 coya and Santa Cruz must be considered annexed to this State 
 ad interim, until otherwise decided finally by the High Powers, 
 and that therefore the said districts must be 'protected and 
 taken care of with as much circumspection, prudence, and 
 earnestness as might be granted to any other integral part of 
 the Costa Rican State. 
 
 And by order of Congress, and returning to you the papers 
 of the case, we transmit the above to you for your information 
 and the proper effects. 
 
 God, Union, and Liberty. 
 
 San Jose, January 29, 1825. 
 
 MANUEL FERNANDEZ, 
 
 Secretary. 
 MANUEL ALYARADO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 To The Citizen Secretary-General j^ro tern.
 
 106 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 Measures taken by the Constitutional Assembly of Costa Rica 
 to carry into executio?i the Federal Decree xohich annexed 
 the District of Nicoya to her own Territory. 
 
 Okdek. 
 
 Office of the Secretaries 
 
 OF THE Constitutional Assembly. 
 To The Citizen Minister-General : 
 
 The Assembly having been made acquainted witli the terms 
 of the Federal Decree, declaring that the District of Nicoya 
 BE annexed to this State — 
 
 jResolved, That the Executive, in compliance therewith, shall 
 cause the said District to be furnished, as soon as possible, with 
 all the necessary officers ; that the different branches of the 
 administration of its Government shall be organized there in 
 the proper manner ; that the Constitution and the Laws of 
 THE State shall be communicated to it and enforced ; and that 
 a census, as approximate as possil)le, of tlic population of the 
 said District shall be nuide and sent to the Assembly in order 
 that it may resolve about the representation to l)e given the 
 District in that l^ody, and the manner of election. 
 
 And by order of the Assembly we transmit the above to you 
 foi- the iiiforiiKitioii of the Chief Magistrate, 
 (-luil, L'nioii, and Liberty. 
 San Jose, April 14, 182(>. 
 
 VFA)RO ZELED()N, 
 
 /Se<Tetary. 
 KUAxNCISCO MAllIA OUEAMIJNO, 
 
 Sec?'etary.
 
 107 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Extracts from the Constitution of the State of Nicaragua of 
 April 8, 1826, showing that at that time the District of Qua- 
 nacaste or Nicoya was not an integral part of the State, hut 
 had heen, hy its oimi will, and with the sanction of the Federal 
 Power, annexed to the hord&ring State of Costa Rica. 
 
 In the presence of God, the Author and Supreme Legislator 
 of the Universe : 
 
 We, the Representatives of the people of Nicaragxta in 
 Constituent Assembly convened, being fully and lawfully au- 
 thorized hy our constituents, and by the Federal Compact of 
 the Republic, to enact an organic law which may secure the 
 prosperity and happiness of the State, consisting in the perfect 
 enjoyment of the rights of man and citizen, namely, liberty, 
 equality, safety, and property, have hereby decreed and sanc- 
 tioned the following political Constitution : 
 
 Title First. 
 Of the State, its Territory, its Rights, and its Duties. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 Of the State and its Territory. 
 
 Article 1. The State shall retain the name of State of 
 Nicaragua. It consists of all its inhabitants ; and it forms 
 part of the Central American Confederation. 
 
 Article II. The territory of the Staitc embraces the 
 Districts of Nicaragua, Granada, Managua, Masaya, Ma- 
 TAGALPA, Segovia, Leon, Subtiaba, and El Realkio. * 
 
 Its limits are : On the east, the Sea of the Antilles ; on the 
 
 'The District of Nicoya was not named in this description. It had been 
 segregated from Nicaragua and incorporated into Costa Rica two years be- 
 fore.
 
 108 
 
 north, the State of Honduras ; on the west, the Gulf of Con- 
 chasrua : ou the south, tlie Pacific Ocean : and on the south- 
 east, tlie free State of Costa Rica. 
 
 Article III. The above-named territoey shall be divided 
 into Departments, and a special law, providing for the number 
 and limits thereof, shall be enacted. 
 
 Article CLXVIII. The present Constitution is solemnly 
 sanctioned by this Constituent Assembly. 
 
 Given in the City of Leon, on April 8th, 1826. 
 MANUEL MENDOZA, 
 
 Dejniiy for 2fatagalpa, President. 
 ISIDRO REYES, 
 
 Deputy for Leon, Vice-President. 
 PEDRO MUKOZ, 
 
 Deputy for Nicaragua. 
 RAMON PACHECO, 
 
 Deputy for Suhtiaba. 
 GREGORIO PARRAS, 
 
 Deputy for El liealejo. 
 SILVESTRE SELVA, 
 
 Deputy for Granada. 
 
 FRANCISCO re:kasco. 
 
 Deputy for Masaya. 
 JUAN JOSE ZAVALA, 
 
 Diputy for Managua. 
 JOSJi: VICENTE MORALES, 
 
 Deputy [suhatitute^ for Leon. 
 JUAN MANUEL ZAMORA, 
 
 Deputy for Masaya. 
 FRANCISCO PARRALES, 
 
 Deputy for Nicarugud, Secretary. 
 SEBASTIAN ESCOVAR, 
 
 Deputy for Urana<]((, Secretary.^ 
 
 ' As waHnulural and logical Nicoya wiiH not lepreseQted in Uit- ("onslituent 
 Assembly of Nicaragua.
 
 109 
 
 Leon, April 22, 1826. 
 Let it be executed. 
 
 Given under my hand, sealed witli the seal of the State and 
 countersigned by the Secretary in charge, ad interim, of all the 
 Departments of tlie Government. 
 
 JOSE MIGUEL DE LA QUADKA. 
 JUAN ARGUELLO, 
 
 Secretary.
 
 110 
 
 No. 6. 
 
 Schedule shoioing the way in which the districts of the Stait 
 of Costa Rica should elect their deputies. 
 
 The letter " A " indicates the place where the parochial 
 electors sliould meet for the election of tlie district electors ; 
 and the letter " B " indicates the place where the district 
 electors must meet to elect the deputies and their substitutes, 
 and also the persons who must exercise the supreme powers of 
 the State. 
 
 Electors. 
 
 Districts. 
 
 ParochiaL 
 
 District. 
 
 Deputies. 
 
 Substitutes. ' 
 
 t- - 
 
 San Josd. 
 
 Population, 16,288. 
 
 San Jose. A. B. 3 
 Curridabat, 1 
 Aserri, 1 
 
 11 
 
 3 
 
 1 i 
 
 Cartago. 
 Population, 12.330. 
 
 Cartago. A. B. 22 
 Coo, 1 
 Quircot. 1 
 Tobosi, 1 
 Tres Kios, 1 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 Heredia. 
 Population. 12,260. 
 
 Alajuela, 
 Population, 8,027. 
 
 Bagaces. 
 
 Population, 1,444. 
 
 Escacu. 
 Population, 3,273. 
 
 Ujarraz. 
 
 Population, 2,605. 
 
 T( rraba. 
 Population. 1,019. 
 
 Nicoya. 
 
 Population, 4,600. 
 
 Heredia. A. B. 22 
 Barba, 3 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 Alajuela. A. B. 16 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 Cafias. A. 1 
 Bagaces, 1 
 Esparza, 1 
 
 1 
 
 Escacu. A. B. 5 
 Pacaca, 2 
 Ujarraz. A. B. 3 
 Olosi, 2 
 Cucurritjue, 1 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 T.rraha. A. 2 
 Boruca, 1 
 
 1 
 
 Santa Cruz. A. B. 3 
 Nicoya, 3 
 Guanacaste, 3 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 San Jofic, Sopteniher '28, 1826. 
 
 CASTUO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 OREAMUNO, 
 Proto Secretary.
 
 Ill 
 
 JSo. 7. 
 
 The District of Nicoya called to take part in the election of 
 the Sirpveine Federal Authorities, hy order of the Congress of 
 Costa Rica, and as an integral part of the latter State. 
 
 Tlie Supreme Chief Magistrate of the free State of Costa 
 llica, 
 
 Whereas the Assembly has decreed and the Council .sanc- 
 tioned what follows : 
 
 The Constitutional Assembly of the free State of Costa Hica, 
 in compliance with Title III of the Federal Constitution, as 
 far as the District of Nicoya, newly incorporated into this 
 State by decree of the Federal Congress of Decem])er 9, 1825, 
 is concerned, has been pleased to decree and decrees : 
 
 Article 1. The District of Nicoya siiall take part in the 
 election of the Supreme P'ederal authorities in the Western 
 Department of this State by choosing the electors to represent 
 it in tiie Electoral College. 
 
 Article 2. The schedule hereto appended shall ^designate 
 the share of representation to l)e given to each district and town 
 for the election aforesaid ; and the schedule appended to the 
 decree of October l;3th of last year is hereby repealed. In 
 everytliing else the election shall be conducted according to 
 the provision of that de(n-ee. 
 
 To The Representative Council. 
 
 Given at San Jose, on September 29, 1826. 
 
 PEDRO ZELEDON, 
 
 President. 
 JOSE ANTONIO CASTRO, 
 
 Secretai'y. 
 FRANCISCO MARIA OREAMUNO, 
 
 Proto Secretary.
 
 112 
 
 Hall of the Council, 
 San Jose, OctoUr 6, 1826. 
 Let it pass to the Executive. 
 
 JOS£ RAFAEL de GALLEGOS, 
 
 President. 
 GREGORIO HERRERO, 
 
 Secvetary. 
 
 Therefore let it be executed. 
 San Jose, Octo])er 10, 1826. 
 
 JUAN MORA. 
 To Citizen Manuel Aguilar.
 
 113 
 
 No. 8. 
 
 Nicoya is gratUed the r'ujld to tahe pai^t hi the election of the 
 Supreme Authorities of the State of Costa Rica according to 
 the Constitution thereof. 
 
 The Supreme Chief Magistrate of the free State of Costa 
 Rica, 
 
 Whereas the Assemhly has decreed and the Council sanc- 
 tioned what foUows : 
 
 The Constitutional Assembly of the free State of Costa 
 Rica, considering tliat the District of Nicoya, again annexed 
 TO THIS State, ought to he ruled according to tlie Constitution, 
 and to liave sucli popular representation as provided hj the 
 same, has been pleased to decree, and does hereby decree, as 
 follows: 
 
 Article 1. The District of Nicoya shall be at once repre- 
 sented in the Constitutional Assembly by one Deputy, who 
 shall be elected by the people, to serve this year and tlie next 
 one of 1827. 
 
 Article II. The said District shall take part at the proper 
 time in the election of the Supreme Powers of the State ; and 
 for that purpose three votes shall be allotted to it. 
 
 Article III. The elections shall take place as provided by 
 the Decree of the Constituent Congress of January 21, 1825, 
 and by the schedule appended thereto, as now amended by the 
 addition of the said District. 
 To The Representative Council. 
 
 Given at San Jose on September 28, 1826. 
 PEDRO ZELEDON, 
 
 President. 
 JOS]^ ANTONIO CASTRO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 FRANCISCO MARIA OREAMUNO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 8
 
 114 
 
 Hall of the Council, 
 
 San Jose, October 6, 1826. 
 Let it be transmitted to the Executive. 
 
 JOSE RAFAEL de GALLEGOS, 
 
 President. 
 
 GREGORIO herrero, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 San Jose, October 10, 1826. 
 Therefore let it be executed. 
 
 JUAN MORA. 
 To Citizen Manuel Aguilar.
 
 115 
 
 No. 9. 
 The Nicaraguan territory ends at the La Flor river. 
 
 The Legislative A66einl)l}M)f the State of Nicaragua, con- 
 sidering: — that the only road through which trade can he carried 
 on between this State and the State of Costa Rica is exceedingly 
 out of order, — that it is m-gent to repair it in order to main- 
 tain and facilitate relations of commerce, friendship, and reci- 
 procity, — and that energetic measures are required to accom- 
 plish this purpose, decrees : 
 
 Article I. The road between the city of Rivas in Nicaragua 
 and the District of Nicoya shall be repaired, as fab as the 
 
 RIVER CALLED La FlOR- ^ 
 
 ' Limit of the two States.
 
 116 
 
 No. 10. 
 
 The Constitutional Assembly of Costa Rica enacts several meas- 
 ures for the cultivation of certain lands belonging to the 
 State, situated on the right hank of the San Juan del Norte 
 river. 
 
 The Supreme Chief Magistrate of tlie free State of Costa 
 Rica. 
 
 Whereas the Asserablj has decreed, and the Couucil sanc- 
 tioned, what folh)ws : 
 
 The Constitutional Assemblj^ of the free State of Costa Rica, 
 wishing to secure the welfare of the people and the prosperity 
 of the State, taking into consideration that a great many tracts 
 of land of consideriihle extent are found in it uncultivated and 
 uninlial)ited, and that as long as they remain in this condition 
 they are useless, while, on the contrary, if cultivated and set- 
 tled they would prochice nuich good ; wishing, therefore, to give 
 some impulse to heneiicial enterprises in this direction, and 
 give some inducement by means of gratuitous grants of land to 
 those who should desire to undertake them, has been pleased 
 to decree, and does hereby decree, as follows : 
 
 Akticlk I. All those who shall settle upon lands in the 
 north, northeast, east, and south, and cultivate them for live 
 consecutive years, shall be granted the whole tract cultivated 
 by them for the term of eight years, and also an additional 
 " caballeria ;"i and those who shall so engage themselves in 
 the cultivation of the land, or settle there, within two 
 years after the publication of this law, shall be given, in addi- 
 tion to the two rewards above named, one more " caballeria." 
 AiiTK'i.K II. Ill addition to the rewards granted in the f(»re- 
 going Article, one more "caballeria" .-hall be given to those 
 
 ' CuballeriA is a ineaBuru contaiDiDg45 bectareas, 25 arctis, and \\ square 
 mt'tcrs (Metric HystemJ.
 
 117 
 
 who shall engage themselves in cultivating cocoa, or in plant- 
 ing any kind of dye-wood. 
 
 Article III. Those who shall engage themselves upon said 
 lands in the raising of liorned cattle, starting with from 25 to 
 1,000 liead, siiall he granted a sifio (seven " cahallerias ") of 
 land ; and those starting with rnoi-e than 1,000 head of cattle 
 shall have two sitios, provided in V)oth cases that the settle- 
 ment is continued for live consecutive years ; and those 
 who shall settle upon the lands within the next two years 
 shall have three additional " cahallerias." 
 
 Article IV. The favors granted by the Decree of .Inly H, 
 1825, are hereby extended to every product grown, raised, or 
 obtained in tiie aforesaid settlements. 
 
 Article V. Every settler who should at-k for the survey of 
 his lands shall have his request granted, undei' the provisions 
 of the Decree of May 27th ultimo ; and, if his petition is tiled 
 within two years after the publication of this law, the additional 
 favor shall be granted to him by allowing the operation to be 
 made by a Commissioner appointed by him, and sworn by the 
 Intendente. The latter otticer shall attend to everything else, 
 including the issuing of the patent or title without charging 
 any fee. 
 
 Article VI. The lands to be granted, on the north and 
 northeast, shall be as follows : along the road to the city of 
 Alajuela, between the keighborhood of Frarjanes and 
 THE ISLAND AND THE San Jlan RIVER : aloug the road to San 
 
 Jose BETW' EEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE BlASCO AND S ANTA RoSA 
 RIVERS AND THE BANKS OF THE SAID SaN JcAN RIVER ; aloUg the 
 
 road to Cod, between the neighborhood of the El Pescado river 
 and the volcano of Turialba and l)eyond it; along the roads /)f 
 Matina, between the Turialba river and the limits of Tucurrique 
 and beyond it; and along the frontier of Colombia, l»etwcen 
 the mouth of the Santa Clara mountains and the border-line, 
 this line being temporarily the one drawn from one of the 
 two mentioned points to tlie other. On the south the Govern- 
 ment shall in each case, as it presents itself, designate the
 
 118 
 
 tracts of land to be allotted between the Portalon lands and 
 the El Xaranjo river, and also between the mouths of the groat 
 rivers of the interior and La Candelaria, and between the 
 PENINSULA OF NicoYA OR Cabo Blanco, and the mouths of 
 the Alvarado river, between the Gulf and the neighborhood of 
 Barco-Quebrado. 
 
 To the Representative Council. 
 
 Given at San Jose, this 26th day of October, 1828. 
 FELIx" HIDALGO, 
 
 Vice- President. 
 JOSE ANTONIO CASTRO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 PEDRO DOBLEZ. 
 
 Proto Secretary. 
 
 Hall of the Council, 
 
 San Jose, j^(yv(3m<?'gr 3, 1828. 
 Let it be transmitted to tiie Executive. 
 
 JOSE RAFAEL ue GALLEGOS, 
 
 President. 
 GREGORIO GUERRERO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 Therefore let it be executed. 
 San JoB^, November 4, 1828. 
 
 JUAN MORA. 
 To Citizen Joaquin J>ERNAiiDo Calvo.
 
 119 
 
 No. 11. 
 
 Tlie village of Guanacaste is raised hy the Governrneni of 
 Costa Rica to the CAitegory of a tovm. 
 
 The Supreme Chief Magistrate of the free State of Costa 
 Rica, 
 
 Whereas the Assetnl)ly has decreed ;infl the Council smiic- 
 tioned what follows : 
 
 The Extraordinary Assembly of the free State of Costa 
 Rica, considering the meritorious circumstancres of the village 
 of Guanacaste, its progress, and the increase of its population, 
 lias been pleased to decree, and does herein- decree, as follows : 
 Article I. The village of Guanacaste is raised to the (;at- 
 egory of a town. 
 
 Article II. The Executive shall issue the proper credential 
 on stamped paper of tiie 2d class of seal No. 1. 
 
 Let it l)e transmitted to the Representative Council. 
 Given at San Jose on July 18, 1831. 
 
 JOSE GABRIEL del CAMPO, 
 
 President. 
 MANUEL ALVARADO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 RAFAEL OSEJO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 Hall of the Council, 
 San Jose, July 23, 1881, 
 
 Let it be transmitted to the Executive. 
 
 BASILIC CARRILLO, 
 
 President. 
 JOSE ANSELMO SANCHO, 
 
 Sec7'etary. 
 Therefore let it be executed. 
 San Jos^, Julv 23, 1831. 
 
 JUAN MORA. 
 To the Citizen Joaquin Bernardo Calvo.
 
 120 
 
 No. 12. 
 
 The town of Santa Cruz (i/i the District of Xi coy a) has a 
 Representative in the Assembly of the State of Costa Rica. 
 
 The Supreme Chief Magistrate of the free State of Costa 
 Rica, in pursuance of the provisions of Articles 51, 56, and 80 
 of the Constitution of the State, for the renovation in the 
 coming year 1833, of the supreme legishitive, executive, and 
 conservative powers, has been pleased to decree, and does 
 hereby decree, as foHows : 
 
 The District Electoral College, to l)e appointed in Janu- 
 ary of next year (1833), for the renovation of members 
 of the supreme powers of the State, shall act as follows : * * 
 
 7th. Santa Cruz shall retain the representation which, under 
 the law of May 30, last year, it ouglit to have had. 
 
 ■K- * * -Jr * * 
 
 Let it be transmitted to the Execuitive. 
 Given in San Jose on the 15th of May, 1832. 
 
 JOAQUIN DE IGLESIAS, 
 
 President. 
 NICOLAS ULLOA, 
 
 Sec7'etai'y. 
 JOS£ MARIA ARIAS, 
 Secretary. 
 Tiierefore let it be executed. 
 San Jose, May 18, 1832. 
 
 JUAN MORA. 
 To Citizen .Ioaqi^in Bkrnakdo Calvo.
 
 121 
 
 No. 13. 
 
 histrncUo)is given to the Special (Jominissioner of the Gov- 
 errment of Costa Rica to visit the Districts of Nicoya and 
 . Bagaces. 
 
 The Supreme Cliief Mfigistrate of the free State of Costa 
 Kica : 
 
 Whereas one of the first duties of tlie Executive power is 
 to keep order and preserve the tranquillity of the State, taking 
 for that effect such measures as may be deemed advisal)le ; 
 and whereas an official communication, dated on the tiitii 
 ultimo, from the Superior Court of Justice, and also several 
 reports of the political authorities and of the Intendente, as 
 well as reports from several trustworthy persons, have been re- 
 ceived, all to the effect that the Districts of Nicoya and Ba- 
 gaces are becoming deuKiralized, either for want of energy 
 on the part of the local authorities and their failure to enforce 
 the laws and superior orders, or owing .to the insubordination 
 which several emigrants from the State of Nicaragua have in- 
 culcated in their inhabitants ; and whereas, if the proper 
 measure is not taken in time to preserve order in that precious 
 part of the State, the result will be to endanger public safety 
 and tranquillity, to cause all the eleuients of prosperity to re- 
 main stationery, if not to decline, and to subject the individual 
 rights to the attacks of malice and lawlessness, and render the 
 police either faulty or useless ; and whereas the lack of prompt 
 knowledge on the part of the superior authority of what 
 occurs in those districts renders it difficult for the Govern- 
 ment to devise the proper means for . enforcing the law 
 and securing the happiness and welfare of the people ; and 
 whereas, in consequence of the disorder therein prevalent, the 
 public Treasury of that locality cannot get the means neces- 
 sary for the support of the Govermnent and the promotion of 
 works of general interest, in spite of the meritorious circum-
 
 122 
 
 stances as well as righteousness of the Intendente General 
 of the State, Citizen Joaquin Rivas, I have tlierefore decided, 
 in pursuance of Section 2d, Article LXXXIl of the Organic 
 Law, and of Articles XIII and XXXVII of the Rules and 
 Regulations of September 28, 1831, to decree, and I do 
 lierebj decree, as follows : 
 
 1st. Citizen Joaquin Rivas, the Intendente General, is hereby 
 appointed Connnissioner, for the Executive, and in representa- 
 tion thereof, to go personally and as soon as possible to the Dis- 
 tricts of Nicoya and Bagaces, and visit there with the zeal and 
 activity cliaracterizing him, all the villages and towns of both 
 Districts, and do there and perform all that is provided for in 
 this Decree and in the instructions which separately siuill be 
 given to him. 
 
 2d. The said Commissioner shall do and perform what 
 Article 4-1 of the law of June 13, 1828, orders the superior 
 political chief to do, and shall cause the municipal authorities 
 to comply witli all the laws (;onnnunicated to them for the best 
 order in the public administration, especially in matters of po- 
 lice, education, increase of the municipal revenue, honest col- 
 lection and disbursement of the public funds, the public health, 
 the protection of the social guarantees, and the preservation of 
 the archives. 
 
 3d. The Commissioner shall also cause the Government's 
 Decree of August 31, 1832, ab(»ut vagrants and foreigners, to 
 be strictly enforced ; and he shall not leave the town which he 
 may be visiting witliout having caused all that has l)een pro- 
 vided foi-, to be put in practice and without having established 
 in it prinuiry schools. 
 
 4th. The Commissioner shall also, in pursiumce of the laws 
 in torce, inspectt the ofH(;es in charge of the sale of stamj^ed 
 j»aj)('r ; and Im sbull also inloiMii hiniscU of the condition of 
 the j)ul)lic revenue, and cause the laws establishing taxes of 
 Jill kinds to Ite enforced, giving for that j)urpose to each sub- 
 ordinatf >ucli ordci's and instructions as may be r»'([iiired. 
 
 5111. Tlu; ('ouunissi(»ner shall report to the (iovernment the
 
 123 
 
 result of his action, for which purpose he shall keep such reg- 
 isters or journals as may he necessary; and, whenever he inay 
 deem it advisable, he shall communicate directly with the Gov- 
 ernment from the place where he might happen to be. 
 
 6tli. The civil, military, and ecclesiastical authorities of the 
 said Districts, and tlieir towns and cities, sliall receive and rec- 
 ognize the aforesaid Intendente as Connnissioner of the Gov- 
 ernment for the purposes aforesaid, and shall pay him such 
 respect and consideration as is due to his character. 
 
 7th. The salary of $30 per month shall l)e paid the said 
 Commissioner, in addition to the one he receives under the 
 law as Intendente General ; and he shall be attended by 
 two mounted orderlies. 
 
 8th. The present Decree shall be printed, published, and 
 circulated for its due execution. 
 
 Given at the city of San Jose this 7th day of February, 
 
 1834. 
 
 JOSJi: RAFAEL de GALLEGOS. 
 
 To The Secretary-General of the Government.
 
 124 
 
 No. 14. 
 
 Ciassiji cation of the ioicus of Costa Rica in reference to home 
 government and Treasury matters. 
 
 The Vice-President acting as the Supreme Chief Executive 
 Magistrate of the free State of Costa Rica. 
 
 Whereas the A.ssembly has decreed and the Council sanc- 
 tioned tlie following : 
 
 " The Conj-titutional Assembly of the free State of Costa 
 Rica, desiring to make the transaction of Government business 
 expeditious and efficient, and also to improve the organization 
 of the Treasury, by appointing three high officers, who shall 
 exercise superior authority, with functions equal to those of 
 the sub-delegates of the Intendencia General, in their respective 
 districts, has decreed, and does hereby decree : — 
 
 Article I. In order to facilitate the administration of the 
 Government, in matters of Police, antl the Treasury, three 
 high officers shall be stationed, one at Cartago, aiu)ther 
 at Alajuela, and the third at the town of G uanacaste ; 
 they shall have, in their respective districts, the same duties 
 as the Political Chief had under the law of June 13, 1828 ; 
 and they must have the qualifications required l)y the said 
 law, which is hereby amended so as to be made applicable to 
 tliem. 
 
 ******* 
 
 Akticlk VI, Tlic Departments or districts shall be named 
 Eastern, Western, and (4 uanacaste : the first comprising the 
 cities of San Jos('' and Cartago, the towns of Paraiso and Es- 
 casii and the villages of Curridal)at, Aserri, Union, (^uircot, 
 Tobosi, ( /O('), ( )ro!ri', Tncurrique, Tcrral)a, Boruca and the val- 
 leys of 'i'unialba an<l Matina ; the second the cities of Heredia 
 and Alajuela, the town of P>arba and the villages of Pacaca, the 
 Aguucate Mine, Esparzaan<l Puntaiciias ; and \\\{i 'M\ t/i e tokens
 
 125 
 
 OF GuANACASTE AND BaGACES, AND THE VILLAGES OE SaNTA 
 
 Cruz, Nicoya and Canas. 
 
 Given in the city of Alajnela this 24th day of March, 1835. 
 MANUEL AGUILAR, 
 
 Presideyit. 
 RAFAEL REYES, 
 
 Secretary. 
 MANUEL ANTONIO BONILLA, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 Hall of the Council, 
 
 Alajuela, March 26, 1835. 
 
 Let it pass to the Executive. 
 
 JOSE JULIAN BLANCO, 
 
 Pi^esident. 
 JOSE MARIA ALVARADO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 Therefore let it be executed. 
 Alajuela, March 27th, 1835. 
 
 MANUEL FERNANDEZ. 
 
 To The Minister General.
 
 126 
 
 No. 15. 
 Guanacaste is declared to be one of the Jive judicial distncts 
 of Costa Iiica. 
 Tlie Vice-President, acting as the Supreme Chief Executive 
 Magistrate of the free State of Costa Rica, 
 
 Whereas the Assembly has decreed and the Council sanc- 
 tioned the following : 
 
 ****** 
 
 Article VI. For the remainder of the year tlie five justices 
 shall be judges of first instance for tlie five judii-ial districts in 
 which the State is divided, namely : 1st, the District of Car- 
 tago, with the towns of Torj-aba, Boruca, Tucurrique, Orosi, 
 Coo, Quircot, Tobosi, Valley de Matina, Paraiso, and La 
 Union ; 2d, the District of San Jose, with the towns of Cur- 
 ridabat, Aserri, Escasii, and Pacaca ; 3d, the District of He- 
 redia, with the town of Barba ; 4th, the District of Alajuela, 
 with the Aguacate mining lands ; and, 5th, the District of 
 Guanacaste, with Bagaces, Canas, Nicoya, and Santa Cruz. 
 2o the Representative Council. 
 Given at the city of Alajuela on March 23, 1835. 
 MANUEL AGUILAR, 
 
 President. 
 RAFAEL REYES, 
 
 Secretary. 
 MANUEL ANTONIO BONILLA, 
 
 Sea'ctary. 
 Haix of the Council, 
 
 Alajuela, March 27, 1835. 
 
 Let it pass to the Executive. 
 
 JOSE JULIAN BLANCO, 
 
 President. 
 JOSft MvVRIA ALVARADO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 Therefore let it i)e executed. 
 
 Ahijucla, March 27, 1835. 
 
 MANUEL FERNANDEZ. 
 To The Minister-General.
 
 127 
 
 No. 16. 
 
 The faithfulness of the District of Nicoya^ and its services 
 s^ibsequent to its incorj)oration to Costa Rica, are recognized 
 and rewarded. , 
 
 The Supreme Chief Magistrate of the free State of Costa 
 Rica, taking into consideration the services rendered bv the 
 District of Nicoya, and the faithfulness wuh which it has 
 
 DISTINGUISHED ITSELF EVER SINCE ITS ANNEXATION TO THIS StATE, 
 
 and desiring to facilitate by every possible means tlie increase 
 of its population, as well as its commerce, and secure for it the 
 degree of progress to which it is entitled by the good character 
 of its inhabitants, the fertility of its soil, and its advantageous 
 topographic position, has been pleased to decree, and decrees 
 as follows : 
 
 Article I. An annual fair to last three days, to commence 
 on December 8th of each year, is permitted to Guanacaste ; 
 and also to Santa Cruz, to begin on Ascension day ; and also 
 to the town of Nicoya, to begin on Candlemas day ; and also 
 to the town of Bagaces, to begin on July 24th ; and also to the 
 town of Cafias, to begin on December 25th. And the authori- 
 ties of the said localities shall see, under their strictest respon- 
 sibility, that public order and peace and public morality are 
 not disturbed, and that the disturbers of public peace are duly 
 punished according to law. 
 
 Article II. The ground on which the said fairs are to be 
 held, and the house to Ije used for the same, whether already 
 built or to be built in the future, is hereby granted to the in- 
 habitants of said towns in fee simple, the area of the ground 
 being equal to a -Jg yard lot of national measure. 
 
 Article III. The Government shall also see that the towns 
 of the said Department are given possession of such gronnds 
 to be used as commons, as they are entitled to, and that by 
 this means their own resources are increased, provided, how-
 
 128 
 
 ever, that the formalities of the law applicable to the case are 
 duly complied with. 
 
 To the Representative Council. 
 
 Given at the city of Heredia, on the 25th day of March, 
 
 1836. 
 
 MANUEL AGUILAE, 
 
 Preside^d. 
 
 MANUEL BONILLA, 
 
 Secretary. 
 FRANCISCO SAENZ, 
 
 Proto Secretary. 
 
 Hall of the Council, 
 
 Heredia, April 8, 1836. 
 Let it pass to the Executive. 
 
 JUAN Y. ESCALANTE, 
 
 President. 
 JOSE MARIA ECHAVARRIA, 
 
 Secretanj. 
 Therefore let it be executed. 
 San Jose, April 9, 1836. 
 
 BRAULIO CARRILLO. 
 To The Minister- Gp:neral.
 
 129 
 
 No. IT. 
 
 The rank and title of City is given to the tcnnn of (Tuanacaste 
 in recognition of the services rendered ly it to the State hy 
 resisting the iiivasion of Manuel Quijano. 
 
 The Supreme Chief Magistrate of the free State of Costa 
 Pica, 
 
 Whereas the Asseinhly has decreed and the Council sanc- 
 tioned what follows : 
 
 The Constituent Assembly of tiie free State of Costa Rica 
 considering — 1st. That the Department of Guanacaste has 
 rendered an important service to the State in defending itself 
 against the invaders of its territory under the leadership of 
 Manuel Quijano. — 2d. That it is necessary for the State to 
 show in some way its appreciation of the said service and of 
 the esteem m which it holds the inhabitants of that district for 
 the coui'age and enthusiasm shown b}' them on that occasion, 
 has been pleased to decree, and decrees as follows : 
 
 Article I. The rank and title of a City is granted to tlie 
 town of Guanacaste. 
 
 Article II. The inhabitants of the whole Department are 
 hereby exempted for one year from paying the tax known as 
 " road tax." 
 
 To the Tie2)resentative Council. 
 
 Given at the City of Heredia on August 25, 1836. 
 
 MANUEL ANTONIO BONILLA, 
 
 President. 
 
 FRANCISCO SAENZ, 
 
 Proto Secretary. 
 
 9
 
 130 
 
 Hall of the Council, 
 
 Heredia, September 2, 1836. 
 
 Let it pass to the Executive. 
 
 JOAQUI^^ FLORES, 
 
 President. 
 JOS£ MARIA ECHAYARRIA, 
 
 Secretary. 
 Therefore let it be executed. 
 San Jose, September 3, 1836. 
 
 BRAULIO CARRILLO. 
 
 To The Minister-General.
 
 131 
 
 No. 18. 
 
 Schedule for the election, of dep idles to the Constituent Assem- 
 bly of the St<Ue, at the rule of one deputy for each 5,000 
 souls, and fractions of that u.nit to the nuinher (f 3,000. 
 The letter A. means the jjlace where the lyarochial electors 
 must rneet, and the letter B. shoivs the jdace where the dis- 
 trict electors must meet. 
 
 Electobs. 
 
 I 
 
 Districts. ! Parochial ElixtorH. 
 
 iSi:^ri'^'"p»ti- 
 
 Substitutes. 
 
 Paraiso. 
 Population, 3,825. 
 
 Paraiso. A. B. 3 
 Matiua, 1 
 Orosi, 1 
 Tucurrique, 1 
 Boruca, 1 
 Terraba. A. 2 
 Cartago. A. B. 28 
 Coo. ' 1 
 Quircot, 1 
 Tobosi, 1 
 Union, 1 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Cartago. 
 Population, 15,875. 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 San Jose. 
 Population, 20.262. 
 
 San Jose. A. B. 38 
 Curridabat, 1 
 Asseri, 1 
 
 1 
 13 4 
 
 2 
 
 Heredia. 
 Population, 15,262. 
 
 Alajuela. 
 Population, 10,151. 
 
 1 
 
 Heredia. A. B. 27 
 Barba, 3 
 Canas. A. 1 
 Alajuela. A. B. with 
 
 Aguacate, 16 
 Bagaces, 1 
 Esparza and Punta 
 
 Areuns, 1 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 Escasu. 
 Population, 3,513. 
 
 Escasu. A. B. 5 
 Pacaca, 2 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Nicoya. 
 Population, 5,846. 
 
 Guanacaste. A. B. 3 
 Santa Cruz. A. 5 
 Nicoy&, 4 
 
 1 1 
 4 1 
 
 i 1 
 
 Office of the 
 4, 1838. 
 
 Secretary of the Asr-emlilj, San Jose, July 
 
 JUAN BONILLA, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 KAFAEL KAMIREZ, 
 
 Secretary.
 
 132 
 
 No. 19. 
 
 The Constituent Assembly of Nicaragua, of 1838 gives power 
 to the Executive to enter into a treaty with the Envoy of 
 Costa Rica. 
 
 The Chief Magistrate of the State of Nicaragua, 
 Whereas the Constituent Assembly has decreed as follows : 
 The Constituent Assembly of the State of Nicaragua, desir- 
 *ing to strengthen friendship and alliance with the State of Costa 
 Rica, on the ground that the present safety and future happi- 
 ness of l)oth States depends to a great extent on the accom- 
 plishment of tliis desire, and considering that the Executive 
 needs ample autliority to deal with tiie Envoy accredited in 
 this capital ; — in use of the ample powers which have been 
 vested in it by the people, has been pleased to decree and 
 decrees : 
 
 Tiie Executive is hereby authorized to adjust with the Envoy 
 of Costa Ri(;a such treaties of friendship and alliance as may be 
 deemed conducive to the good of both States, subject to the ap- 
 proval (jf this Assembly 1 
 
 Let it be transmitted to the Executive for the purposes that 
 it 1)0 printed, pul>lis]ied, and circulated. 
 Given at Leon, on November 8, 1838. 
 
 BENITO ROSALEZ, . 
 
 President. 
 SEBASTIAN SALINAS, 
 
 Secretary. 
 FAUSTO CHAMORRO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 'rhcr''foi"c let it be executed. 
 ]>eon, Decendter 1, 1838. 
 
 JOSI'] NUNEZ. 
 
 To ThK Sl<;(JKKTAKV-(iK.\i:iiAI.. 
 
 ' Til is decree wiis isHUcil when Ddd Francisco Maria Orcamuiio, Uosta 
 Hiciiri Hiivoy, prcHcritcd liiinHclf to the Cabinet of Nicarajtua for the purpose 
 tlial lliat State sliould linally givM up iicr claim to the District of Guanacaste.
 
 133 
 
 No. 20. 
 
 Law enacted by the Constituent Asseinhly of Nicaragua on 
 December 21, 1838, to carry into effect Article II of the 
 Constitution of the same year. 
 
 The Chief Magistrate of the State of Kicaragiia, 
 Whereas the Constituent Asseinltly has decreed what fol- 
 lows : # 
 
 The Constituent Assembly of the State of Nicaragua, desir- 
 ing to establish and regulate the method of election of the Su- 
 preme authorities of the State in conformity with tiie rules 
 prescribed by the organic law, has been pleaded to decree and 
 decrees : 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 Article I. The State is dicided into four Departments, 
 namely, East, West, North, and South. 
 
 Article II. The DepartuKiut of the East embraces three Dis- 
 tricts, namely Granada, Masaya, Xinotepet. 
 
 Article III. The Department of the West embraces two, 
 namely Leon and Chinandega. 
 
 Article IV. The Department of the North embraces two 
 Districts, namely Segovia and Matagalpa. 
 
 Article V. The Department of the South shall em- 
 brace ONLY ONE, namely RiyAS, UNTIL THE QUESTION PENDING 
 BETWEEN THIS GOVERNMENT AND THE GOVERNMENT (>F CoSTA 
 E.ICA FOR THE REINCORPORATION OF THE DISTRICT OF GuANA- 
 OASTE IS SETTLED. 
 
 Article VI. The Disti-ict of Granada consists of the city of 
 the same name, the town of Acoyapa, and the villages of Boaco, 
 Camoapa, Lustepet, Comalapa, Juigalpa, Lovago and Lovi- 
 guisca. 
 
 Article VII. The District of Masaya consists of the city 
 of this name and those of Managua and Tipitapa, and the 
 towns of Nindiri and Mateare.
 
 134 
 
 Article VIII. The District of Jinotepet consists of the 
 village of this name and those of San Juan, Nandaimes, Santa 
 Catarina, Nicjuinohouio, Masatepe, Diria, Dii-iomo, Diriamba, 
 Nandasmo, San Marcos, San Rafael and Santa Teresa. 
 
 The District of Leon consists of the city of this name and 
 the towns Snbtiaba. Pueblo Nnevo, and Nagarote. 
 
 Article X. The Disti-ir.t of Chinandega consists of this 
 town and those of Realejo and Villa Nueva, and the villages 
 • of El Viejo, Chichigalpa, Guadalupe, Posoltega, Posolteguilla, 
 Telica, Quezalquaque, Somotillo, El Sauce and Santa Rosa. 
 
 Article XL The District of Segovia consists of the vil- 
 lages of Somoto, Totogalpa, Ocotal, Mosoute, Macuelizo, 
 Nueva Segovia, Jicaro, Jalapa, Telpaneca, Palacaguina, Ja- 
 lagt'iina, Pueblo Nuevo, Condega, San Juan do Leinay, Estile 
 and La Trinidad. 
 
 Article XII. The District of Matagalpa consists of the 
 village of the same name and those of San Rafael, Jinotega, 
 Scbaco, Metapa, Tierra Bona, San Dionisio, Esquipulas, Min- 
 mui, and San Ramon. 
 
 Article XIII. The District of Rivas consists of the city 
 of the same name and the villages of San Gorge, Pueblo 
 Viejo, Buenos Ayres, Potosi, Obrage, Puel)lo Nuevo, Tola, 
 Ometepe and Moyogalpa, 
 
 Article XIV. Each District above named shall elect one 
 deputy, l)ut the District of Leon and the District of Rivaa 
 shall elect two each. The numl)er of the primary electors 
 wlii{;h coiTcsponds to each town or village above luimed shall 
 appear from the schedule, which is appended to this decree. 
 
 Article XV. Those towns, where more than ten electors are 
 to be chosen, shall be divided in as many cantons as are des- 
 ignafeil in the schedules appended to this decree, and the limits 
 of these crantons shall be fixed by tlie respective municipal au- 
 thorities ac«*ordiiig to the basis of their ])opulution and the 
 number of the electors to lie chosen. The same numicipal au- 
 thoiitics shall also designate the place at each canton where 
 the popular meetings nmst lie held.
 
 135 
 
 No. 21. 
 
 Prooislons of the Decree of Bases and Gudvantees of March 
 8, 1841, in regard to Costa Rieaii Territory. 
 
 Article 1. 
 Of the State. 
 
 9 
 
 § 1. The State consists of all its inhabitants whether native 
 or naturalized. It is sovereign and independent both in its 
 internal administration and its foreign relations. The sov- 
 ereignty essentially resides in the whole of the State ; and 
 no section theyeof, whether large or small, nor any person ex- 
 ercising the supreme power, shall assume the title of sovereign. 
 
 § 2. The territory of the State is comprised within 
 
 THE following LIMITS : On THE WEST THE La FlOR RIVER, 
 AND THE CONTINUATION OF THE LINE THEREOF, AND ALONG THE 
 SHORE OF THE LaKE OF NICARAGUA AND THE 8aN JuAN 
 RIVER TO THE MOUTH OF THE LAi'TER ON THE ATLANTIC ; ON 
 THE NORTH THE ATLANTIC OcEAN FROM THE MOUTH OF THE 
 
 San Juan river to the Escudo de Veragua ; on the 
 east from the latter place to the Chiriqui river ; and on the 
 
 SOUTH FROM THE LATTER RIVER AND ALL ALONG THE COAST OF 
 
 THE Pacific Ocean to the La Flor River. 
 
 § 3. The territory of the State is divided into live Depart- 
 ments, the capitals of which shall be, respectively, Cartago, San 
 Jose, Heredia, Alajuela, and Guanacaste. The first will con- 
 sist of all the towns between Matina and the E\ Fierro river ; 
 the second will be comprised between the latter river and the 
 Virilla river, including the towns of Terral)a and Boruca. 
 The third department will be comprised between the Virilla and 
 the Segundo rivers. The fourth will l^e comprised between 
 the Segundo and the Chomes rivers ; and the fifth will be 
 comprised between the Chomes and the La Flor rivers. 
 The Departments are subdivided into towns, and the towns
 
 136 
 
 into wards and sections, but the titles so far obtained of cities 
 and towns shall be preserved ; but in the future no such titles 
 shall be granted, except for great services rendered to the State. 
 Wlien the increase of the population may demand another dis- 
 tribution of the Departments, all new arrangements shall be 
 based upon the rate of 30,000 inhabitants for each one.
 
 137 
 
 No. 22. 
 
 The ConstHuent Assemhly of Costa Rica of 1842 declared 
 that the Province of (ruaiKicaste is an integral j!>^<r^ of the 
 national territory and that it is incamhent irpon the honor 
 of the nation to repel the aggression attempted by Nicaragua. 
 
 The Provisional Supreme Chief Magistrate of the State of 
 Costa Rica, 
 
 Whereas the Constituent Assembly has decreed what fol- 
 lows : 
 
 The Constituent Assembly of the State of Costa Rica, upon 
 consideration of the decree enacted by the Legislative As- 
 sembly of the State of Nicaragua, dated May 2-1 th instant, 
 giving authority to the Supreme Director of that State to 
 actually annex to it the District of Guanacaste ; and consid- 
 ering : 
 
 1st. That by decree of the Federal Congress of December 
 9, 1825, THE SAID Department was incorporated into the 
 TERRITORY of Costa Rica, until the demarcation of the States 
 provided for by Article VII of the Constitution of the Repub- 
 lic was accomplished. 
 
 2d. That by virtue of the said decree the State took pos- 
 session OF THE said Department and administered the Gov- 
 ernment thereof, with just title, and has retained it ever since 
 AS AN INTEGRAL part of its territory. 
 
 3d. That ever since the emancipation from the Spanish Gov- 
 ernment, the local and nuinicipul authorities of those towns and 
 villages have always shown their decided desire that Guana- 
 caste should BE ANNEXED TO THE TERRITORY OF CoSTA RiCA, re- 
 peated applications having been made by them to that effect, 
 as witnessed by the preliminary remarks of the aforesaid de- 
 cree of December 9th! 
 
 4th. That subsequently to the disruption of the national 
 representation in 1838, the people of that locality, through
 
 138 
 
 their respective authorities, solemnly Reiterated their de- 
 cision to continue united to Costa Rica. 
 
 5 til. That the reincorporation of that Department to 
 Nicaragua, as is attempted, is an usurpation of the indispu- 
 table right to possess it given by law to Costa Rica, and that 
 in consequence it is incumbent upon the honor and the duty 
 of the State to preserve the integrity of its territory and 
 the dignity of its name, repelling by all means the aggres- 
 sion which is intended against it for the purpose of despoiling 
 it of its property. 
 
 By unaminous vote decrees : 
 
 Article I. The Department of (tuanacaste is an integral 
 
 PART of the territory OF CoSTA RiCA. 
 
 Article II. The Executive shall see by all means that the 
 integrity OF THE State, its dignity and its rights shall be pre- 
 served. 
 
 Let it be communicated to the Executive for due execution 
 and in order that it may be printed, pul)lished and circulated. 
 
 Given at the City of ISan Jose on the 25th da}' of August, 
 1842. 
 
 JOSE FRANCISCO PERALTA, 
 
 Preside7it. 
 JOAQUIN B. CALVO, 
 
 ISecj'efary. 
 FELIX SANCIIO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 Therefore let it be executed, circulated, and j>ublishcd. 
 Government House, San Jose, August 27, 1842. 
 
 FRANCESCO MORAZAN. 
 To General -losE Miguel Sara via.
 
 139 
 
 No. 23. 
 
 Revenue posts are estahJished on the Sarapiqui and La 1'lor 
 
 rivers. 
 
 The President of the State of Costa Rica, 
 
 Upon information that foreign goods, as well as those articles 
 the traffic of which the Government has reserved for itself, are 
 frequently smuggled into this State through the northern coast, 
 the Sarapiqui river, and the western frontier ; and considering 
 that it is the duty of the Executive to prevent this trade from he- 
 ing carried on, to the detriment both of lawful commerce and 
 the public Treasury ; in use of the faculties vested in him by sec- 
 tions 22 and 26 of Article 110 of the Constitution, and by the 
 law of December 31, 1845, decrees : 
 
 Article I. A revenue military post is established on the 
 northern coast, on the banks of the Sakapiqci river ; and 
 another of the same kind upon the banks of thk La Flor 
 RIVER, ^ in the western part of the State; and both of them 
 will be stationed at the places which the Government may 
 designate. 
 
 Article II. Each one of these posts will be in charge of a 
 commandant, subject to the orders of the Intendente-General ; 
 and this commander shall have under him such troops as ac- 
 cording to the circnimstances may be determined. 
 
 Article III. It will be the duty of those posts to seize the 
 merchandise and goods unlawfully introduced into the State, 
 and also to prevent all persons from going out of the State 
 without exhibiting their proper passports ; ^and after six months 
 subsequent to the date of this decree it shall be also their duty 
 to take to the interior any person who does not come provided 
 with that document. 
 
 Article IV. The said posts shall be entitled to that share 
 
 ' This was the boundary of Costa Rica after the annexation of Guanacaste.
 
 140 
 
 of the articles seized which is allowed by law in recompense 
 of this service. 
 
 Given at the citv of San Jose, on May 10^ 1847. 
 
 JOSE ilAEIA CASTKO. 
 
 To Senor Juan de Dios Zespedes, 
 Chief of Bureau^ hi charge pro tern. 
 
 of the Departments of War and Treasury.
 
 141 
 
 No. 24. 
 
 ^ 7A<? Congress of Costa Rica approves the E^recutive Decree 
 which establishes military 7'evenue posts on the Sarupiqui 
 river and the icestern frontier of Nicaragua. 
 
 DEPARTArENT OF THE TREASURY, WaR, AND N AVV. 
 
 No. 266.— Circular. 
 
 Government House, 
 San Jose, t/ime 16, 1847. 
 The Constitutional Conj^ress communicated to njc on tlic 
 11th instant what follows: 
 
 " The Constitutional Congress having taken into considera- 
 tion the communication made by the Executive on the 27th of 
 May nltimo, asking for the approval of Decree No. 1, 
 dated on the 10th of the same month, by which two military 
 revenue posts are established on the Nicaraguan frontier, and 
 on the banks of the Sarnpiqui river; and taking into consid- 
 eration the provisions of § 26 of Article 110 of the funda- 
 mental law, and the report of the proper committee, has been 
 pleased, at a meeting held yesterday, to approve said Decree. 
 And I have the honor to transmit it to you by order of the 
 President of this State, for your information and the proper 
 eifect, hoping that you will be pleased to acknowledge the 
 receipt of this communication, and to accept the consideration 
 with which I subscribe myself your obedient servant. 
 By the Minister : 
 
 JUAN DE DIGS ZKSPEDEZ, 
 
 Chief of Bureau.
 
 14:2 
 
 No. 25. 
 
 The road which leads to the La Flor ricer, tlie frontier of 
 the States of Costa Rica and Nicaragua^ is ordered to be 
 repaired. 
 
 Juan Rafael Mora, President of the liepublie of Costa Rica : 
 
 Whereas tlie Constitntioual Congress has decreed as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 The Constitutional Congress of the Republic of Costa Rica, 
 taking into consideration that the tax of one-half i-eal (6j- cents), 
 levied at the toll-gate upon each head of cattle passing through 
 there, was created by the law of August 7, 1827, to be used 
 in part for the opening and repair of the road leading to the 
 frontiers of tiie State of Nicaragua, which ()l>ject has not been 
 realized ; and also considering that the residents and land-own- 
 ers of the Province of Guanacaste, upon whom the said tax 
 was especially laid, demand that this money be used iur the 
 aforesaid purposes ; and considering that it is of tlie highest 
 importance to the commerce and industry of the country, that 
 the means of (•.ommuiii(tation l)etween this Repul)lic and the 
 neighboring State should be facilitated, has been pleased to 
 decree, and decrees : 
 
 Article I. Out of the amount realized from tlic tax imposed 
 upon cattle l)y the law of August 7, 1847, tliere shall be 
 placed at the disposition of the Goverimr of the Province of 
 Guaiuicaste tlx- sum of SHOO, to be used in the opening of the 
 road which leads from the Pakranc:a to tuk La Flor I'iver,^ 
 the said tax being devoted in the future to the repaii- and im- 
 provomcnt of the saitl road. 
 
 To tbe Kxccufive Power. 
 
 'Boundary of Ihc l\v« Slulcs ullhcdiilc of this decree.
 
 143 
 
 Given at the Palace of the Supreme Powers in San Joe^, on 
 
 the 11th day of July, 1851. 
 
 FKANCISCO MARIA OREAMUNO, 
 
 President. 
 MODESTO GUEVARA, 
 
 Secretai'y. 
 MIGUEL MORA, 
 
 Seo'etary. 
 
 Therefore let it be executed. 
 
 National Palace, San Jose, July 28. 1851. 
 
 JUAN RAFAEL MORA. 
 
 MANUEL JOSE CARAZO. 
 
 To The Secretary of War and of the Treasuby.
 
 144 
 
 No. 26. 
 
 Bases for the formation of a Company^ named the Sarapiqxii 
 ComjKiny^for the upening of a road from San Jose to the 
 Sarapiqai river^ and for the navigation of the said river, 
 in order that the exportations of Costa Rica may he made 
 through the San Juan river. 
 
 Juan Rafael Mora, President of the Republic of Costa Rica : 
 
 Takino; into consideration : 
 
 1st, tliat the pi-ospei-ity of the country l)cing based upon ag- 
 riculture and commerce, it is of the highest importance to im- 
 pi-ove those two great fountains of wealth in order that they 
 may improve day t>y day and reach perfection. 
 
 2d. Tliat one of the best means of reachiiiir the end indi- 
 cated is to lay out convenient and short I'oads leading to the 
 ports on both oceans. 
 
 ;>d. That at present the Republic owns a very good road on 
 the Pacilic that can bo impi-oved ; and that there is none on the 
 side of the Atlantic, although such a one has been demanded for 
 a lung time by the urgent interest of the Costa Rican people. 
 
 4th. That several schemes, surveys, and examinations have 
 been undertaken for the last 30 years at different times by 
 sevei'al c-itizens of tlie nation in ordei' to ac('(^mplish such a de- 
 bii'e<l puri)ose. 
 
 r)th. That subsequently to \\\v said attcmpt> the discovery 
 was made of the means of biiihiing a road giving easy access 
 to the SARAPiyuf kivkk, wmicm is navioahle, and empties into 
 the San Juan kivkk, whkii in its turn emftiks into the 
 Northern Sea, wlicrc there is a good port known and fre- 
 quented by all commci-cial nations. 
 
 0th. That the (irttvernment, yichling to the general clamor, 
 and taking athanhigc of llial (lisc()very, gave th(; proper au- 
 thority, for a formal survey, and foi' the lu ii.dinc; of tue koad, 
 and ap])ro])riate<I for that ]>ui"pose a portion of the revenue de-
 
 145 
 
 voted to roads; and that the said formal survey proved to be 
 successful, and also that the work began, but could not be com- 
 pleted, for want of means. 
 
 7th. Tiiat if the necessitv of such an easy way of communi- 
 cation to the Atlantic has heretofore been imperious, now it is 
 still more urgent, owing to the increase of the population and 
 industry of the country, as shown bj' statistics. 
 
 8th. And, finally, that the frequency of relations of tliis 
 country with foreign States, is conducive to immense benefit 
 for its wealth and civilization, and anticipates a great and flat- 
 tering future for the Republic, I have been pleased to decree, 
 and do herebj' decree, as follows : 
 
 Article I. Due authority is given for the organization in 
 this country of a Costa Rican Company, to l)e known as the 
 Sarapiqui Company, consisting of twenty responsible members, 
 and having a capital of $60,000, divided into shares of $3,000 
 for each partner : the said capital to be increased hereafter, if 
 necessary. 
 
 Article II. This company shall iiave for its object the build- 
 ing of a substantial carriage road, within the period of five 
 years, to l)e counted from January 1, 1852, starting from this 
 city, and ending on the wharf of the Sarapiqui river. The 
 width of this road shall be 40 ^-ards, whenever the topographic 
 conditions of the locality' permits it ; and it shall be provided 
 with such bridges and other appurtenances as are necessary for 
 its use and preservation. 
 
 Article III. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preced- 
 ing Article, the company shall begin b^- l)uilding, as soon as 
 possil)le, a good road for mules, whi(rh shall be finished within 
 eighteen months, to be counted from the same day, January 1, 
 1852. 
 
 Article IX. It is hereby granted in favor of the said Com- 
 pany that it shall collect during the period of twenty-tive 
 years toll tax of two reals (25 cents) for each one hundred- 
 weight of all domestic merchandise that may be carrieil over 
 the whole of the said road, or a part thereof, and four reals 
 10
 
 146 
 
 (50 cents) for each one hundredweight of foreign merchan- 
 dise, of whatever nature, imported tlirough it. 
 
 Article XYIII. The Company shall have the right for the 
 period of iive years of establishing, if suitable to its interests, 
 STEAM NAVIGATION OX THE Sakapiqui kivek, either by itself 
 or by agreement with other companies ; and, in either event, 
 the Government grants to it, for tiie wliole period of the con- 
 tract for tlie roa'],the right to collect a navigation duty of one 
 real (12^ cents) on each one hundredweight of merchandise 
 exported, and two reals (25 cents) for each one hundredweight 
 of merchandise imported. 
 
 Given at the JStitional Palace, at San Jose, on October 27, 
 1851. 
 
 JUAN RAFAEL MORA. 
 
 JOAQUIN BERNARDO CALVO, 
 
 Secretary of the Interior.
 
 147 
 
 No. 27. 
 
 Costa Rica prohibits the Navigation of the San Carlos river, 
 an affluent of the San Jaan, and prescribes penalties for the 
 transgressors. 
 
 Juan Rafael Mora, President of tlie Eepnljlic of Costa Rica : 
 
 Whereas I have been informed tliat foreign niercliandise, and 
 also those articles, the trade of which the Government has re- 
 served for itself, are frequently smuggled through the San Car- 
 los river, therefore I do hereby' decree — 
 
 Article 1. Navigation on the San Carlos river is hereby 
 PROHIBITED, until Said river Is declared, with the proper for- 
 malities, to Ije a port of the Republic. 
 
 Article 2. Every boat or vessel wiiich may be found navi- 
 gating ON the San Carlos river shall be seized and forfeited, 
 together with everything on board, whether it is foreign mer- 
 chandise, or not ; and the owner, or master, and the sailors 
 thereof, shall be arrested and placed at the disposal of the judge 
 of the Treasury, to be tried according to law. 
 
 Article 3. A perambulating revenue post subordinate to 
 the Rio Grande Custom House, and consisting of one corporal 
 and three revenue guards, is hereby established, and it shall 
 be its duty to watch over the roads leading to the San Carlos 
 river, and guard the banks of the same. 
 
 Article 4. Such foreign merchandise, or articles whose 
 trade belongs to the Government, as mav be seized by this 
 revenue post, shall be delivered, together with the prisoner, or 
 prisoners, to the Collector of the Custom House al)ove-named, 
 and said collector sliall distribute the captured propert}', 
 according to the laws and deci-ees in force. 
 
 Given at the Palace of the Government in San Jose, on No- 
 vember 14, 1853. 
 
 JUAN RAFAEL MORA. 
 MANUEL JOSE CARAZO, 
 Secretary of the Treasury.
 
 148 
 
 No. 28. 
 
 Costa Rica grants to the jinn of Kirkland tf* Geenng the 
 privilege of dearn navigation on the Sapod river, and of 
 establishing a route of transit from the BoUmos Bay to the 
 Lale of Nicaragua ; the grantees being authorized to use 
 the waters of the Lake and <f the San J nan and Colorado 
 rivers, in so far as they belong to Costa Rica. 
 
 Juan Rafael Mora, the President of the Republic of Costa 
 Rica : 
 Whereas the Constitutional Congress has decreed as follows : 
 Tiie Constitutional Congress of the Repul)lic of Costa Ri(;a, 
 upon examination of the contract entered into on February 
 25tli instant, between the Government of the Republic and 
 Messrs. William P. Kirkland, William B. Geering, and their 
 associates for the purpose of establishing a line of transit be- 
 tween THE Pout of Las Salinas db Bolanos to the Sapoa 
 RIVER AND Port of San Juan, lias been pleased to decree, and 
 decrees : 
 
 Article 1. The contract of Fel>i'uary 25th instant, between 
 the Republic and William P. Kirkland, William B. Geering, 
 and their associates is hereby approved with the amendments 
 set forth in the following article : 
 
 Article II. The amendments spoken of in the foregoing- 
 Article ai'e the following: 
 
 1st. The Article of the contract will read as f»)llows : 
 " The Govei-nment of Costa Rica grants to Messrs. William 
 F*. Kii'kland, William B. Geering, and their associates, the ex- 
 clusive ])rivilege (»f steam navigation on J'he Sapo.a river 
 for thepui'pose of establishing a lineof transit from thk Gulf 
 OK Las Salinas i>e Bolanos to the Lake of Nicaragua, 
 for the period of Iwcnty ycai's, to l»e couiiU'd IVoiu the date of 
 this decree ; iiiid the said Messrs. William P. l\irl<land, Wil- 
 liam B. (ireering, and tluur associates, are herel)y declared to 
 foiiii ji (•(trjtoration, or jcirf ncr^liip, <»r ('ompany, which shall bo 
 kiiouii fr(»m this (hitc i»y the name of Transit Company of
 
 149 
 
 Costa Rica. In order to carry this undertaking into effect 
 the said Company shall have the i'owek tu use freely 
 
 THE waters of THE LaKE OF NlCARAGDA^ AND THE SaN 
 
 Juan and Colorado rivers in the part thereof which »e- 
 
 LONGS to said IIePUBLIC OF CoSTA RlCA." 
 
 2d. The new road shall not impede tiie free travel of the 
 other Republics of Central America which hah hceu permitted 
 by this Republic. 
 
 3d. Article 10 of the above mentioned contract shall be 
 understood as follows : The employees and laborers of the 
 Company, whilst they remain such, shall be free from all civil 
 and military service ; but in urgent cases they shall i-ender 
 such services as the Government may requii-e. 
 
 4th. An additional article shall be inserted in the al)ove- 
 named contract, in the following terms : 
 
 " If witiiin six months from this date the Company should 
 not have commenced the works which the enterprise requires, 
 and if the transit should not be established within eighteen 
 months, the said contract shall become null and of no effect, 
 and the Republic shall be at full liberty to dispose, as it may 
 deem convenient, of the favors granted to said Company." 
 
 To the Executive Power. 
 
 Given in the Hall Sessions in San Jose, the '2-2(\ day of 
 
 May, 1854. 
 
 FRANCISCO MARIA OREAMUNO, 
 
 Presuleni. 
 MODESTO GUEVARA, 
 
 Secrttd/y. 
 JESUS JIMENEZ, 
 
 Secret ar I/. 
 Therefore let it be executed, 
 National Palace, San Jose, May 23, 1854. 
 JUAN RAFAEL MORA. 
 JOAQUIN BERNARDO CALYO, 
 
 Secretai'ij of the lnter'ioi\ 
 
 ^ It will be rembered that Cosla Rica before the treaty of 1^58 was a 
 border State of the Lake of Nicaragua.
 
 150 
 
 No. 29. 
 
 The Government of Costa Rica accepts the ajyology made by 
 the Government of Nicaragua for having trespassed with 
 its forces npoji the dividing line between the two States, thai 
 is, the L<i Flor river, boundary of the Costa Rican Province 
 of Guanacaste. 
 
 San Jose, September 3, 1855. 
 To the Minister of Foreign Relations of the Supreme Govern- 
 ment of the Republic of Nicaragua. 
 Sir : I received yesterday at 12 M. your estimable note, 
 No. 13, in reply to the one which I had the honor to address 
 to you on July 23d last. 
 
 It would not be difficult for nie to answer to every one of your 
 al)le arguments, or prove satisfactorily, that my Government, 
 taking into consideration the information at that time received, 
 justly felt itself wounded in what is most sacred to a free 
 people, which is national honor and sovereignty, and was right 
 in demanding from ycjur Government a public apology and the 
 punishment of the invaders. But the statement made through 
 you by your Government conveys such a full, frank, and sin- 
 cere explanation of all the facts which alarmed us, as to prove 
 that there has not l)een any desire or intention of offending 
 the people and Government of Costa Rica. 
 
 In reading the statements therein made by your enlightened 
 Government, under your authorized signatui-e, that neither the 
 E.\c(-utive of Nicaragua, nor its subordinate authorities, ever 
 liad any intention to cause the sliglitest displeasure to the 
 Government ;ind people of Costa Rica, with which it desires 
 to (rultivate relations of fraternity and hai-mony, I cannot l)nt 
 bo ])ersuaded of the sincerity with wliicli your Government, 
 wisely l.'iying aside tlie delicate (juestion of principle, deemed 
 it j»rcf('i-abh! to justify it.self by chiiming to have acted upon 
 Hentimcnts of fraternity and (•(»niiiioii interest, and by urging 
 its acts to h:iv(! been acconi[)Iislicd with good intention under
 
 151 
 
 the pressure of circumstances, and not looking at Costa Rica as 
 a foreign nation, but as a friend and a sister. 
 
 And above all, my Government being anxious that it may 
 never be supposed that Costa Ri(;a, taking advantage of the 
 domestic troubles which end)arras.s your unfortunate country, 
 and of the civil war and the epidemics which hon-ibly devour 
 its children, wishes to increase its misfoi-tunes and render its 
 unfortunate situation graver, by insisting upon her demands, 
 1 have now the great pleasure to answer to you that my Gov- 
 ernment, setting aside said demands, and seeing in the two 
 nations nothing else than members of the same family, whic-ii 
 must keep cordially united to each other in fraternal relations, 
 declares itself satisfied with the very attentive, conciliatory, 
 and well-supported exphmation, wliich you have givm on Ije- 
 half of your Government. 
 
 I have been deeply impressed 1)}' tliat paragraph of your 
 note in which you feelingly say: "The foreign enemy, Sir, is 
 threatening us ; the danger is imminent ; and hefore that 
 clanger, it is necessary for us all to reprei^s any comjAaint, no 
 matter hoio just, desist from family quarrels, and set aside all 
 questions." 
 
 These are beautiful and well-expressed sentiments, the fre- 
 quent repetition of which renders it, liowever, ditiicult to under- 
 stand, how it is that they are not carried into practice in tiie 
 terrible struggle which afflicts Nicaragua. 
 
 You know well that the constant current of our thought 
 has run in that direction ; that in the midst of our peace and 
 prosperity we, Costa Ricans, never forget that we all are Cen- 
 tral-Americans ; but I shall not fail to say that your sympathetic 
 and correct remarks have powerfullj' impressed tlie noble mind 
 of his Excellency tiie President and hastened the oblivion of 
 the events which caused on him such a deej) impression. The 
 President trusts that in the future there will never be any 
 disagreement between the two countries, nor will anything 
 interrupt the happy harmony which to-day more than ever 
 must unite, not only the two Republics, but all the Central- 
 American States.
 
 152 
 
 I sliall not end this communication without assuring you 
 that each and all the acts done by order of my Government, 
 and of which yon make a detailed enumeration, have been 
 prompted only l)y the full conviction of our rights ; but, as there 
 seems to be some doubt aI)out its legality on the part of your 
 Government, we are ready to adjust the matters peacefully 
 as is proper among sister nations. 
 
 Now, more than on any other occasion, it is gratifying to 
 me to offer to you my respects as your most obedient servant 
 and friend, 
 
 J. BERNARDO CALVO. 
 
 ["Boletin Oficial, " 2d year, No. 126. San Jose, September, 13, 1885].
 
 153 
 
 No. 30. 
 
 Congratulation of the people of Leon to the Costa Rican Army 
 upon the (seizure of the steamers and Us control of the river 
 and Txike. 
 
 To the Costa Rican Soldiers : 
 
 The people of Leon open their arms to you in token of their 
 eternal o-ratitude for vonr heroic efforts in s;ivin<i: Nicarairua 
 and the whole of Central xVinerica from vandalism, and in liber, 
 ating tliem from the clutches of William Walker, the worse of 
 tyrants, who had no other object in view than war, bloodshed, 
 destruction, and absolute ruin of every town and city thi-ough 
 which he might pass, and who, in his fur}', never respects even 
 the Temples of God. 
 
 Providence has placed in your hands, as can be seen, the sword 
 which has to exterminate that infernal dragon, wlienever he pre- 
 sents himself. You shall conquer him ; you shall drive him 
 from the soil of your forefathers, overwhelmed with confusion, 
 and recognizing that Central America is not an uncivilized 
 country as he has said, and that it prefers death to degradation 
 and infamy. 
 
 We congratulate you, and congratulate ourselves, for the bril- 
 liant triumph achieved by you in reconquering the Lake and 
 the San Juan river, and in causing the enemy to sustain such im- 
 mense losses; and you may rest assured tliat we on our part 
 shall co-operate with pleasure in all your efforts, since we are 
 certain that God guides your steps and leads you in recogni- 
 tion of your holi/ ititentions (santas intenciones) through the 
 path of glory. 
 
 Leon, January 10th, 1857. 
 
 THE PEOPLE OF LEON. 
 
 [From the " Boletin Oficial " of Leon, transcribed in the " Bolctin Ofi- 
 cial" of Costa Rica, No. 2(35, February lllh, 1857].
 
 154: 
 
 No. 31. 
 
 Seizure of the f<teamers of the San Juan river and the Lake of 
 Nicaragua. — Official n.evjs from tlie Army. — Another tri- 
 umph. — Go ahead ! — Tlie war nearly at an end. 
 
 The infoiTnation received to-day from the San Juaii river 
 and transmitted hy Gen. Don Jose Joaquin Mora is very sat- 
 isfactory. 
 
 On December 28tli our troops seized the two steamers at 
 the Rapids of El Toro and Machiica, captured the fortress of 
 Castillo Viejo, wliicli is on tlie river hank, and also took pos- 
 session of the steamer Virgen, which was well armed and 
 loaded with cannons, rifles, gunpowder, swords, ct:c., tfec, to 
 the value of more than ten thousand dollars. 
 
 The steamer Yirgen had been Walker's most powerful aux- 
 iliai-y. With it he ran over the waters of the river and Lake, 
 and, safely and without opposition, made repeated attacks 
 wherever he pleased, taking advantage of the helpless condi- 
 tion of the allies, who, lacking vessels, saw themselves com- 
 pelled to operate on land by fatiguing and protracted marches. 
 
 The enemy does not count any more upon the pi^werful as- 
 sistance on which it has relied to escape so many attacks, and 
 move rapidly from (ine place to another actjording to his 
 wishes. 
 
 ( )in' troops have now seven steamers on the Lake and on 
 the San Juan I'iver. 
 
 The important strategic points (»f La i'rinidad and C^astillo 
 Viejo on \\\v. river are well giiai-dcd, tiuMi- fortilications have 
 1)een impi-ovud, theii- garrisons have been rcinfoi'ced, ami every- 
 thing will ])e done immediately to preserve them in a ])ei'fect 
 condition of safety and defence. 
 
 General Mora, i)i-cccilc(l by u gallant division, was march- 
 ing to attack the San d.irlos fortress on the Lake shore. 
 
 'IMie only t^teauicr left to the bandit Walker, which is the one
 
 156 
 
 named "San Carlos," seriousl damaged by Central- American 
 shot, must by this time be in our hands. 
 
 Our army, therefore, is in full possession of the Lake, and 
 can freely communicate with General Canas and the command- 
 inir officers of the allied armies at Granada, Masaya, and 
 neighboring places. 
 
 Such successful operations have not required tiie sacrifice of 
 any lives. Courage, boldness, and tlie surprises given the 
 enemies secured the triumpli. 
 
 The allied armies, united and well organized, were at tlie 
 end of last week preparing themselves to march against 
 Walker. 
 
 Desertion was increasing among the filibusters ; and hunger 
 as well as fever demoralizes them and compels them to remain 
 in deadly inaction. 
 
 God visibly protects our cause, and will grant us very soon a 
 complete victory. 
 
 [Extracts from the official report of General Mora].
 
 156 
 
 No. 32. 
 
 Proclamation of the President of Costa Rica upon the seiz- 
 ure of the steamers and the control of the Sioi Juan river 
 and the Lake of Nicaragua. 
 
 Official. 
 
 ^rhe President of tJie liepohHc to the People of Costa Pica. 
 
 Fellow-Citizens: The great artery of iilibusterism has 
 been severed forever. The sword of Costa Hica has cut it. 
 
 In twenty daj'sr of campaign, through deserts full of vipers, 
 through tliiek forests, through terrible marshes and swamps, 
 through large rivers, our soldiers have marched with the step 
 of conquerors, and taken possession of La Trinidad, Castillo 
 Viejo, the San Carlos fortress, eight steamers and some other 
 boats, ten pieces of cannon, three mortars, live hundred rifles, 
 a great number of swords, revolvers, and all kinds of ammuni- 
 tion of war, and more than one hundred enemies whom we 
 have generously released. Now. upon the waters of the San 
 Juan river and of the Grreat Lake, the rays of the sun do 
 not shine upon any other flag than that of Costa Rica. 
 
 All has been conquered without one shot, without a drop of 
 blood, by intrepidity and surprise. And what were our means 
 of action ? The fleet with which we attacked the steamers of 
 our strong enemies were trunks of trees s(!arcely hewed out, or 
 badly bound with vines. The nniskets which we had in our 
 hands were I'usty, and could hardly be used on account of 
 tlieii' contimial exposure to rain. We hud n(» provisions. 
 Wo had nothing. ]>ut we had courage, self-denial, patriot- 
 ism, that union of niiiid jx'culiar to Costa llica, and tiie 
 decision ((» con(juci" or to die. And Providence has blessed 
 OJH- soldiers, and condiu;ted them from victory to vi(;tory. 
 
 We ;ir(! masters of the I'ivcr and the Great Lake, and arc in 
 itommunication with our allies, while Walker, who is (tonflned 
 to liiviis and its neighboring teri'ittu'y, i> going to be attacked
 
 157 
 
 and conquered and annihilated, too-etlier with the city, if such 
 iis necessary. T have offered pardon U) all those who i)lindly 
 follow him, if they should abandon his cause. We shall know 
 how to conquer and foi-give. 
 
 But will this be the end i No, fellow-citizens. The work 
 commenced must be terminated. It is necessary for us not to 
 be subject any more to the danger that a new AValker comes 
 to distuib our peace, and >tru';i;de to reduce us to slavery. It 
 is necessary that so many ()l)stacles overconje, so many sacri- 
 fices made, shall not become fruitless. They have to i)e con- 
 tinued. Let us, therefore, raise upon that very river, and with 
 our own hands, a pow'erful barrier which may now and forever 
 stop that torrent of usurpation. Nothing would have been 
 gained by only obtaining a precarious peace. Let us conquer 
 a solid, lasting peace, honorable, and producive of fruitfid 
 results to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and the Cential American 
 States. 
 
 Costa Ricans, I rely upon you for all of this. With 3'onr 
 assistance and Divine protection, there will be nothing to stop 
 me. Let us bless Providence which shelters us, and let us 
 march united, at the cry of Long live Costa Rica ! with un- 
 disturbed faith and perseverance towards the future which is 
 
 before us. 
 
 JUAN R. MORA. 
 
 San Jose, January 11, 1857.
 
 158 
 
 No. 33. 
 
 Opi?iio7i of the Government of Chiatemala in regard to the 
 action of Costa Rica during the war againd Walker, and 
 especially in the affair of the seizure of the steamers. 
 
 Costa Rica has again gallantly undertaken a campaign 
 against the invaders of Nicaragua. She understood the im- 
 portance of occupying certain places on the San Juan river to 
 prevent the adventurers from being reinforced i)y way of the 
 Korthcrn Sea, and her troops have succeeded in accomplishing 
 this purpose l)y seizing the steamers which Walker had on the 
 river, occupying the San Carlos fortress, which is upon the 
 very same entrance to the Lake, and by taking possession also, 
 as is said, of one of the two steamers that the enemy had on the 
 Lake. * * * 
 
 It is certainly sad, and causes the soul of any person who is 
 friendly to the independence of the country to grieve, that while 
 Costa Rica is making new and sti'enuous efforts to save Nic- 
 aragua, and while the other Central American Republics are 
 preparing themselves to send troops to replace the losses sus- 
 tained in their ranks, there seems to be nothing, even the im- 
 minence of danger, capable of terminating the unhappy dis- 
 cord which has brought unfortunate Nicaragua to the condi- 
 tion in which she now finds herself. 
 ["Giiceta de Giialenmla," .hiuuaiy 22, 18r)7.]
 
 159 
 
 No. 34. 
 
 What happened in Nicaragua after the seizure of the ateainers 
 hy the Costa Rican forces. 
 
 San Jose, February 4, 1857. 
 News from the Ar.mv. 
 
 [Extracts from officihl clesi)atcbe8 aud documents]. 
 
 After twenty days of Bilence and anxiety, we have at last 
 received the news from the army which we pulilisiied in the 
 extra editions of the " Boletin " issued on the 2d and 3d 
 instant. 
 
 What is the reason of snch great calm, of snch an incompre- 
 hensible inaction, before an enemy who, although con(|uered, 
 is so active, astute, and bold ? 
 
 We do not believe in concealing the truth, hut, on the con- 
 trary, in proclaiming it aloud, and making it serve us as an ex- 
 ample, to avoid disuiuon and internal discord, which inevitably 
 produce the ruin of all nations. Nicaragua is unfortunately 
 the living, bloody, smoky, example, which Costa Rica must 
 have before her eyes to confirm her in her love of peace, and 
 of her modest and industrious existence, free from the accur&ed 
 rancor of parties, and to make her preserve, above all things, 
 the most vigorous union among her children. 
 
 The field of the Central American allies has been about to 
 offer the image of another "Agramante's field." Partisan 
 spirit, lamentable preferences, repeated disagreements, and lastly 
 a fatal division, caused the armies, already decdmated by sick- 
 ness and war, to be disbanded. AVlien Gen. Canas arrived^ 
 there, he did all that he could to re-establish indispensable unity 
 among the leaders and the troops ; and considering the state of 
 irritation, and the almost irreconcilable difterences which he 
 
 ' Gen. Don Jose Maria Canas, a Costa Rican officer, who afterwards gave 
 his name to the treaty of 1858.
 
 160 
 
 found there, what he succeeded in accomplishing cannot be 
 deemed small. 
 
 The triumphs obtained by Costa Rica on the San Juan river 
 caused a rcanimation of the spirits of Nicaragua, the concen- 
 tration of her thoughts, the oblivion of her petty differenc-es, 
 and the prevaleiice of the nol)le idea of saving the country 
 from traitorous and foreign enemies. 
 
 As soon as General Mora^ reached the fortress of San 
 Carlos, he devoted himself with characteristic activity, as well 
 as decision and tact, to accomplish a powerful harmonization 
 of all conflicting elements, and by calling together the Central 
 Ainerican leaders, and writing to the Generals of the armies, 
 and to every one who could exercise any influence in that direc- 
 tion, he prepared the way to give the couj) de grace to the 
 usurpers. 
 
 All of this has fortunately succeeded. All the leaders have 
 responded with patriotism and dignity to the appeal of the 
 Costa Rican Generals, who, being exempted from partisan 
 spirit, have no other feeling than the desire to fulfll their duty 
 towards their conniion c-onuti'v, and to fortify the Central 
 American independence by expelling from the Central Ameri- 
 can soil the last one of its enemies. 
 
 Under such circumstances nothing exists now which pre- 
 vents military operations from being cai-ried on ; and it may 
 be that, at the time of writing this, a terrilde end has been 
 reached by the enemy to the benefit and prosperity of Centi-al 
 America. 
 
 'Don Jo86 Joaquin Mora, a brother of Dcjii .luaii Kafad Mora, President 
 of Costa Kica.
 
 161 
 
 No. 35. 
 
 What, in 1857, ivaa i/wug/U in Nicaragua in regard to the 
 blow injiicted by Costa Rica upon Walker on the San Juan 
 river and the Lake of Nicaragua. 
 
 [From the " Boletin Oficial " ot Leon.l 
 The Vanguard of Central America. 
 
 Three hundred years ago a clever Minister of the English 
 Government, placing his finger upon the map of the New 
 World, recently discovered, pointed at the Istlmius of Nicara- 
 gua as the great door through which Europe should place iier- 
 self in rapid communication with China, Japan, and the Indian 
 Archipelago. At the end of last century a Spanish Minis- 
 ter saw in the same Isthmus the proper place for the opening 
 of ai) interoceanic canal ; and at the heginning of the present 
 century a scientific commission of the Spanish Government 
 made the proper surveys. Lately, on Septeml)er 22, 1849, and 
 August 19, 185 J, a passage from San Juan del Sur, the Lake^ 
 and the river of San Juan del Nurte, until the port of the 
 same name on the Atlantic was successfully made ; and the 
 door was thrown open through which our independence can be 
 threatened at any moment, as it has l)ccii now threatened, with 
 the knowledge and acquiescence of the nation which seems to 
 show the greatest interest for the non-alienation of the said 
 transit. The Republic of Costa Rica, surrounded by the 
 waters and territory of Nicaragua on her northern side, from 
 east to west, finds herself much more in contact with the said 
 line than all the other States, and it is for this reason that she 
 is called l>y nature to be the sentry and the " Vanguard of 
 Central America.'' 
 
 Costa Rica, indeed, has understood very well her own mis- 
 sion in the present struggle against the filibusters ; she was the 
 first to take the field on April 11 last, and defeated the encniy, 
 rendering it incapable to follow the rapid march which it 
 11
 
 162 
 
 intended. She could then measure the strength of the enemy, 
 and, casting her inquiring look upon the battle-tield, she 
 saw through tlie smoke ot gunpowder and the. noise of the 
 struggle, that the vital point of Walker laid on the extremity 
 of the transit line, as the strength of Sampson was in his hair. 
 At once, and witliout hesitating one single moment, she left 
 Rivas to engage in new strategic operations which she car- 
 ried on with great success by marching her victorious armies 
 from the San Carlos river to Funta de Castilla in the port 
 of San Juan del Norte, and from Castillo Viejo to the fort and 
 Lake of Nicaragua, depriving filibusters of their steamers, their 
 rities, their cannons, their ammunition of war, and closing the 
 door through which the}' could escape or receive reinforce- 
 ments. All of this was done while the allied forces, abandon- 
 ing Kivas to the enemy, compelled the invaders to concentrate 
 themselves in a small place without any possibility to pay at- 
 tention to the movements of that tormidable vanguard. 
 
 Costa Rica, which scarcely lias a population of 100,000 in- 
 habitants, has put on the field more than 5,000 men. She has 
 opened her treasures, free < f cost, to all those who, whether 
 through need or deceit, followed Walker. She has fitted out 
 natittnal men-of-war and chartered others which will very soon 
 efficiently blockade the southern port ; and in this way she has 
 raised so high the national flag that it can be seen from every 
 distance, and show that Costa Rica is indeed the Vanguard of 
 Central America. 
 
 G.J.
 
 163 
 
 No. 36. 
 
 The public opinioyi of N'tcaraywL /;/ regard to Costa Rica in 
 1857. — Nicaragua. — Tke United States of Costa Rica and 
 Nicaragua. 
 
 This would he the name of the Repnhlic formed hy the 
 union of tlie two countries, and this is the destiny to which 
 they are called by their past, present, and future conditions. 
 
 If the States of Guatemala, Salvador, and Honduras were, 
 during the colonial rule, three entities actually different from 
 each other, Costa Rica and Nicaragua were considered as only 
 one Province, notwithstanding their nominal separation. 
 
 There was not l)etween them an absolute independence. 
 Each had a Governor, but one of these governors was a sub- 
 delegate of the other. There was only one political chief, and 
 l^oth Territories constituted but one diocese. The Costa llican 
 people got from Nicaragua their wives, their learning, and 
 their fortune ; and their children, Nicaragnans by nature, re- 
 turned to Costa Rica to recognize the land of their parents 
 and strengthen still nK)re the bonds of consanguinity, wealth, 
 and intelligence which connected them to each other. At 
 present both Repul)lics need union as a means to preserve their 
 independence, dangerously compromised by the impetuous tor- 
 rent of the immense commercial movement of the whole world, 
 cai-ried from one ocean to the other tlirough their respective 
 territories. 
 
 Union alone can make them strong enough to oppose this 
 inevitable movement. Only a condition of union in which all 
 their interests are founded may render them respectal.le, and 
 only in this way they will be able to cultivate the science of 
 foreign politics with advantages that cannot be found under a 
 separate system.
 
 164 
 
 No. 37. 
 
 Gh'atuitons grant of lands along the course of the Sa7'aj)iq^n 
 river doion to its confluence icith the San Juan river, for 
 agricultural purposes. 
 
 Kafael G. Escalante, 
 
 Vice-President of the Bepuhlic of Costa Pica, acting 
 as Supreme Chief Executive Magistrate of the same : 
 
 Moved hv the desire of favorinii: the poor people of Costa 
 Rica by granting them gratuitously such tracts of lands as are 
 capable of giving support to their families, and having in view 
 at the same time the advisalnlity of promoting and facilitating 
 foreign immigration by making grants of the lands more fer- 
 tile and better situated for commerce, I do hereby decree : 
 
 Article 1. A strip of vacant land 500 3'ards wide is appro- 
 priated on the TWO banks of the Sarapiqi'i river, and all 
 
 ALONG its COURSK UNTIL ITS CONFLUENCE WITH THE SaN JuaN 
 
 RIVER, for the exclusive purpose of being given to poor Costa 
 Ricans and to the industrious people of any nationality who 
 may be willing to settle there and cultivate the land under the 
 rules established by this decree. 
 
 Article 2. Each settler shall be given a square area em- 
 bracing five manzanas, or 50,000 square yanis, with a river 
 front of 100 yards and a deptli of 500 ; and between one piece 
 of property an<l the other, a street 20 yards wide shall be left, 
 in order to facilitate tiie access to the t)thcr vacant grounds 
 beyond the limits of this strip. 
 
 Article 3. All those wiio shall settle within two years 
 from this date shall enjoy tiie favors herein granted ; but those 
 whr) shall not cultivate their lands within live years, also to bo 
 (•(Mintc<l from this dat(^ shall forfeit their I'ight in the land. 
 
 AkiulkL The giantce who shall have complied with the 
 conditioii.s of the foreg(»iiig Article, Iiesides enjoying the favors 
 af(^resaid, shall be entitled to an uddittional s(|uare area, (H]}xa\
 
 165 
 
 in extent to the one cultivated by him, in order that he may 
 nse it as he deems best ; but it shall be located in the rear of 
 the cultivated lot. 
 
 Article 5, If the settler should l)e willing' to en'j'iitre liiiii- 
 self, in addition to the purposes spoken of in the preceding 
 article, in cultivating cocoa, and shall have raised a cocoa 
 plantation within the live years spoken of in Article 3, he shall 
 be entitled to the ownership of the ground whicli he has de- 
 voted to that cultivation, provided that it is distant at least 
 one thousand yards from the banks of the Sarapiqui river. 
 
 Article 6. All foreigners who shall desire to avail them- 
 selves of the opportunities of the present decree may either 
 directl}'' apply to the Judge of the Treasury or send his applica- 
 tion through the Commandant of Sarapiqui, setting forth his in- 
 tention of becoming a Costa Itican citizen, and asking to be 
 given possession of the land which he must first cultivate. 
 The Judge of the Treasury will direct the Commandant of 
 Sarapiqui to give the possession asked for, and will enter into 
 the proper register, which the said judge shall keep, the name, 
 sex, age, profession or trade, condition, and nationality of the 
 settler. 
 
 Article 7. If the settler is a Costa Rican citizen he shall 
 also tile before the Judge of the Treasury a certiticate of the 
 Governor of the Province where he lives, showing that this 
 decree is applicable to him on account of his poverty, and the 
 said judge shall direct upon inspection of the said certiticate 
 that the Commandant of Sarapiqui should give him possession 
 of the area marked by law, the proper register being previously 
 made as aforesaid. 
 
 Article 8. As soon as the Commandant of Sarapiqui gives 
 the settler the possession of the land which he intends to culti- 
 vate and which was selected by him, he shall issue a certiticate 
 witnessing the fact and clearly designating the location of the 
 area to which it refers. This certiticate shall be suthcient title 
 for the settler for the purpose of asking both the survey and the 
 ownership of the land to which he may be entitled ; but it shall
 
 166 
 
 be of no use to him if he has not complied with the con- 
 ditions above establislied within the time provided for. 
 
 Article 9. After the expiration of the 5 years prescribed by 
 this decree, or before if the conditions liave been fultiled, the 
 settlers shall apply to the Judge of the Treasury, setting forth 
 the favors which he has deserved, and asking for a title of 
 ownership. 
 
 Article 10. The Judge of the Treasury, upon examination 
 of three witnesses testifying that the petitioner has complied 
 witii the required conditions, shall declare him entitled to the 
 favor or favors lierein granted, and shall transmit the record 
 of the case to the Government in order that the patent or title 
 shall be issued. 
 
 Article 11. Both in the court of the Treasury, and in the 
 office of tlie Commandant of Sarapiqui, all the fees to be charged 
 in relation to these cases shall be reduced one-half. And the 
 certilicates and testimony received in support thereof, in rela- 
 tion to the said matter, shall be written on unstamped paper. 
 
 Given at the National Palace at San Jose on April 23, 1858. 
 RAFAEL G. ESC A L ANTE. 
 JOSE MARIA CAKAS, 
 
 Secretary of the Treasury.
 
 167 
 
 No. 38. 
 
 Provisions of the Nicaraywui Constitutioii of August 19, 
 1858, in regard to limits and the division of tlte National 
 territory. 
 
 In the presence of God. 
 
 We, the representatives of the State, fully and legally au- 
 thorized by our constituents to reform the Constitution of No- 
 vember 12, 1858, decree and sanction the following Political 
 Constitution : 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 Of the Republic. 
 
 Article 1. The Republic of Nicaragua is the same that was 
 anciently called Province^ and after the independence State 
 of Nicaragua. Its territory' is bounded on the east and north- 
 east by the Sea of the Antilles ; on the north and north- 
 west by the State of Honduras ; on the west and south by the 
 Pacific Ocean ; and on the southeast by the Republic of Costa 
 Rica. The laws upon special limits form a part of the 
 
 CoNSTITDTIOJSr. ^ 
 
 Article 3. The territory shall be divided for the different 
 purposes of public administration into the departments, dis- 
 tricts, and sections which the Constitution and laws shall pro- 
 vide for. 2 
 
 'A few months before, the treaty of limits between Nicaragua and 
 Costa Rica had been signed, ratified, exchanged, and approved, and this 
 is the law evidently alluded to in this part of the new Constitution, since 
 Nicaragua has no other law or treaty on limits. 
 
 "That law of territorial division was enacted b}- the same Constituent 
 Assembly, and is Document No. 39 of this Appendix. In said territorial 
 division the ancient district of Nicoya, was not, nor could it be, mentioned.
 
 168 
 
 C-iiveu in the Hall of Sessions of the Constituent Assembly 
 in Managua, the 19th day of August of the year of our Lord, 
 1858, and tlie 3Sth of our Independence. 
 
 HERMENEGILDO ZEPEDA, 
 Deputy for the iJ'iisti'ict of Leon, Prefsident. 
 ANTONIO FALLA, 
 Deputy for the District of Rivas, Vice-President. 
 FELIX DE LA LLANA, 
 
 Deputy for the District of Leon. 
 CLETO MAYORGA, 
 
 Deputy for the District of Leon. 
 SANTIAGO FRADO, 
 Deputy for the District of CJiinandega. 
 
 MARIANO RAMIREZ, 
 Deputy for the District of Chinandega. 
 HIP6LIT0 GUTIERREZ, 
 Deputy for the District of Nueva Segovia. 
 PABLO CHAMORRO, 
 Deputy for the District of Matagalpa. 
 
 NARCISO ESPINOSA, 
 Deputy for tJie District of Matagalpa. 
 ISIDORO LOPEZ, 
 " Dejjuty for the District of Masaya. 
 
 FRANCISCO JIMENEZ, 
 Deputy for the District (f Granada. 
 
 JOSE L. CESAR, 
 Deputy for the District of Jinotepe. 
 J. MIGUEL CARDENAS, 
 Deputy for the District if liivas. 
 E. CARAZO, 
 
 Deputy for the District of liivas. 
 .1. ARGl'iELLO, 
 Deputy for the District of Liivas.
 
 169 
 
 JOSE A. MEJIA, 
 Deputy for the District of Jinotepe. 
 J. MARIANO BOLANOS, 
 Deputy for the District of Masaya.^ 
 
 Managua, August 19, 1858. 
 Let it be executed. 
 
 Given under my hand and the seal of the Republic and 
 countersigned by the Minister of Government, 
 
 TOMAS MARTINEZ. 
 ROSALIO CORTEZ, 
 
 Minister of Government. 
 
 'The districts represented by the Cunstitueut Assembly were Leon, 
 Rivas, Chinandega, Nueva Segovia, Matagalpa, Alasaya, Granada, and Jino- 
 tepe. Nicoya was separated from Nicaragua since 1824.
 
 170 
 
 No. 39, 
 
 Schedule of the Judicial Division of the territory of the Re- 
 jnihlic of Xicaragiia. 
 
 Depaetment of Granada, 
 
 Grauada 
 Jinotepe 
 Santa Teresa 
 La Paz 
 El Rosario 
 Nandaimes 
 
 District of Granada. 
 
 Diriomo 
 
 Diria 
 
 San Juan 
 
 Santa Catariua 
 
 Niquinohomo 
 
 Diriamba 
 
 Masaya 
 Nindiri 
 Nandasmo 
 
 District of Masaya. 
 
 Masatepe 
 San Marcos 
 San Rafael 
 
 Managua 
 Tipitapa 
 
 District of Managua. 
 
 Mateare 
 
 Department of Choutales. 
 District of Acoyapa. 
 
 Ac-oyapa 
 Lohago 
 Santo Tomas 
 Jui^alpa 
 Coniiilapa 
 
 Boac-o 
 
 San Lorenzo 
 
 Tenstepe 
 San J()S('' 
 San Miguelito
 
 171 
 
 District of San Carlos. 
 
 San Cdrlos. 
 
 Disi7'ict of' Castillo Vlejo. 
 
 Castillo Viejo. 
 
 District of San Juan del Norte. 
 
 Sau Juan del Norte. 
 
 Department of Chinandega. 
 
 District of Chinandega. 
 
 Chinandega 
 
 Viejo 
 
 Realejo 
 
 Cliichigalpa 
 
 Guadalupe 
 
 Posaltega 
 Posaltegiiilla 
 Sonit>tillo 
 Villa Nuevft 
 
 District of Corinto. 
 
 Corinto. 
 
 Department of Leon. 
 
 District of Leon. 
 
 Leon 
 
 San Felipe 
 
 Subtiaba 
 
 Camoapa 
 
 Telica 
 
 Quesalguaque 
 
 Souse 
 
 District of La Libertad. 
 Libertad.
 
 172 
 
 Department of Nueta Segoyia 
 
 District of Nueva Segovia. 
 
 Somotogrande 
 
 Ocotal 
 
 Masonte 
 
 Ciiidad Antigua 
 
 Jalapa 
 
 J icaro 
 
 Telpaneca 
 
 Condega 
 
 Totogalpa 
 
 Maeualizo 
 
 Santa Maria 
 
 Dipilto 
 
 Limay 
 
 Estill 
 
 Palacaguina 
 
 Jalagnina 
 
 Niigarote 
 
 Puel)lo Nuevo 
 
 Trinidad 
 
 Pueblo Nuevo 
 
 San Buenaventura 
 
 Santo Rosa 
 
 Department of Matagalpa. 
 
 District of Matagalpa. 
 
 Matagalpa 
 Jiuotega 
 San Kafael 
 La Concordia 
 Metopa 
 Sebace 
 
 Tierra Bona 
 Esquipulas 
 Muimese 
 San Dionisio 
 San Ramon 
 
 Department of IIivas. 
 
 Disti^t of Divas. 
 
 Kivas 
 San Gorge 
 Buenos Ayree 
 Potosi 
 Oltratre 
 
 Oraetepe 
 Moyogalpa 
 Pineda 
 La Virgcn 
 
 'i'oltU'Til
 
 173 
 
 No. 40. 
 
 A road is ordered to he opened from the Capital to the 
 Sarapujui river. 
 
 Juan Rafael Mora, 
 
 President of the Repvhlic of Costa Rica. 
 Whereas the Congress has decreed the following : 
 The Constitutional Congress of the Ilepal)lic of Costa Rica, 
 having seen and examined the contract made on July 8th 
 of the present year between the Supreme Goverinuent and the 
 Messrs. Canty foe thk purpose of building a road from this 
 Capital to the Sarapiqui river, has been pleased to decree, 
 and decrees : 
 
 Sole Article. Let the 12 articles contained in the above- 
 named contract be approved, as well as the additional article 
 proposed by the Supreme Executive Power on July 9th of the 
 present yeai', inserted in the same. 
 To the Supreme Executive Power. 
 
 Given in the Hall of Sessions, in San Jose, the 23d day of 
 September, 1858. 
 
 RAFAEL G. ESCALANTE, 
 
 President. 
 JESUS JIMENEZ, 
 
 Secretary. 
 MANUEL CASTRO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 Therefore let it be executed. 
 National Palace, San Jose, September 27. 1858. 
 JUAN RAFAEL MORA. 
 JUAN BERNARDO CALYO, 
 Minister of the Interior and the Treasury.
 
 174 
 
 No. 41. 
 
 Concessions made hy Costa Rica for steam navigation upon 
 the Sa?'apiqui and San Carlos rivers, and for carrying the 
 mail from the wharf on the Sarapiqui river to San Juan 
 del Norte and vice versa. 
 
 Juan Rafael Mora, 
 
 President of the Repnhlic of Costa Rica. 
 
 Whereas tlie Congress has decreed the following : 
 
 The ConstitutiiMial Congress of the Kepul^lic 'of Costa Kica 
 having considered the contract for steam navigation on the 
 " Sarapiqui and San Cfirlos rivers,'' made bj the Supreme 
 Government with the Messrs. Cant}' on July 8 instant, decrees : 
 
 Sole Article. The contract for steam navigation upon the 
 Sarapiqui and San Carlos rivers made l»y the Supreme Gov- 
 ernment witli the Messrs. Canty is approved, with the excep- 
 tion of Ai'ticles Yl and VII, which shall read in said contract 
 as follows : 
 
 "Article VI. The Government also grants to the Messrs. 
 Canty a monthly subsidy of sl50, in compensation for their 
 services in carrying and ])ringing the mail, twice a month, be- 
 tween the Sarapiqui wharf and San Juan del Norte." 
 
 " Article VII. Lastly, the Government grants to the Messrs. 
 Canty exemption from taxes on their steamboats, and the 
 protection of the same by the authorities of all ports, as far 
 as is possible." 
 
 To the Supreme Executive power. 
 
 Given in the Hall of Sessions, in San Jose, September 23, 
 
 1858. 
 
 RAFAEL G. ESCALANTE, 
 
 J^'esident. 
 JESUS JIMENEZ, 
 
 Secretary. 
 Therefore let it be executed. 
 National Palace, San Jose, September 27, 1858. 
 JUAN RAFAEL MORA. 
 JOAQUI^s' liERNAKDO CALV(J, 
 Minister of the Interior^ 'Treasury^ and War.
 
 175 
 
 No. 42. 
 
 Costa Rica is recognized as a painty to the canal grant made 
 
 to Mr. Belly. 
 Juan Rafael Mora, 
 
 President of the Repxiblic of Costa Rica. 
 
 Whereas the Constitutional Congress of tlie Republic hav- 
 ing taken into consideration the 28 articles comprised in the In- 
 teroceanic Convention, celebrated by the Governments of the 
 Republics of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, with Messrs. Felix 
 Belly and P. M. Millaud & Company, of Paris, and considering 
 at the same time the additional article to said convention, has 
 decreed, as follows: 
 
 Article 1. The Interoceanic Convention celebrated between 
 the Governments of the Republics of Costa Rica and Nicara- 
 gua and Messrs. Felix Belly and P. M. Millaud & Company, 
 of Paris, is approved in all its parts ; but with tlie understand- 
 ing that the responsibility spoken of in Article 10 shall only 
 apply when the foreign attack or invasion may be lawful. 
 
 Article 2. The present decree shall only have effect after 
 the Congress of the Republic of Nicaragua shall have ratified 
 the Convention, of which reference is made above. 
 
 To the Supreuje Executive Power. 
 
 Given in the Hall of Sessions, in San Jose, on the 16th day 
 of December, 1858. 
 
 RAFAEL G. ESCALANTE, 
 
 President. 
 JESUS JIMENEZ, 
 
 Secretary. 
 MANUEL CASTRO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 Therefore let it be executed. 
 
 National Palace, San Jose, December 16, 1858. 
 
 JUAN RAFAEL MORA. 
 NAZARIO TOLEDO, 
 Minister of foreign Relations.
 
 176 
 
 No. 43. 
 
 A tax for the henejit of the pvhlic instruction of the Provitice 
 of Guanacaste is levied upon the exportation of wood shipped 
 on the Pacific coast hetween Cape Blanco and the Gulf of 
 Salinas. 
 
 Juan Rafael Mora, 
 
 President of the Pepuhlic of Costa Pica : 
 With the view of enlarging the export commerce with the 
 
 products OF THE IMMENSE FORESTS WHICH THE REPUBLIC POS- 
 SESSES IN THE WESTERN PART OF HEK TERRITORY, and of provid- 
 ing by this means the Province of Moracia^ with funds for 
 public instruction, 1 do hereby decree : 
 
 Article 1. The exportation of crude lumber, of an}' quality 
 or size, is permitted for the term of live years on any part of 
 the Pacitic coast between Cape Blanco and the Gulf of Salinas, 
 without any other duties than those imposed by the present 
 deci'ee. 
 
 Article 2. For each log of wood which, by virtue of the 
 preceding Article, will be shipped from any place on the coast 
 situated in the jurisdiction of the Province of Moracia, the 
 sum of two reals (25 cents) shall be collected, whatever the 
 dimension of the log may l)e ; and the payment shall be 
 made pi'cviously to the shipping. 
 
 § 1. The amount of this tax shall be turned over to the fund 
 for pul)lic insti'uction in the Province above nameib 
 
 §2. The (Tovernoi- of the said Province shall make the col- 
 lection of this tax by (;ommissioners, whom he shMll !i])point 
 for that purpose. 
 
 Article 3. Whoever shall shiji, or attempt to ship, timber 
 from the places aforesaid, without jii-eviously paying the duty 
 prescribed liy Article 2(1, ^hall l>c i)onnd ipso facto to pay 
 double. 
 
 'fJuanacaste.
 
 177 
 
 Article 4. The duty of five cents per cubic foot shall con- 
 tinue to be paid for the timber felled in the littoral of the Gulf 
 of Puntarenas, if the thickness or horizontal section of the log 
 exceeds 12 square inches. 
 
 Article 5. All previous provisions relative to the exporta- 
 tion of timber are hereby repealed. 
 
 Given at the National Palace of San Jose on January 13, 
 1859. 
 
 JUAN RAFAEL MORA. 
 JOSt MARIA CASAS, 
 Secretary of the Treasury. 
 12
 
 178 
 
 No 44. 
 
 New rules enacted in regard to timber 'with in the /.one of the 
 Sarapiqui and other rivers of the Eepuhlic on the Atlantic 
 side. 
 
 Juan Rafael Mora, 
 
 President of the Republic of Costa Rica : 
 Whereas I have been informed that timber is cut down with- 
 out permission (^i the Government on the banks of the Sara- 
 piqui AND ELSEWHERE IN THE TERRITORY OF THE REPUBLIC ON THE 
 
 Atlantic side, and that in spite of tlie measures taken by the 
 Frontier authorities,' the said unlawful trade continues, I do 
 hereby decree : 
 
 Article 1. On and after the 1st day of April next it siiall 
 be unlawful for any one to cMit timber in the territory of the 
 Republic on the Atlantic side, for exportation purposes, with- 
 out permission of the P]xecutive. 
 
 ? 1. In consequence of this provision any one who wishes to 
 engage in this trade, in that section of the country, shall apply 
 to the Executive for a permit, and shall specify in his applica- 
 tion the place where he wishes to cut. 
 
 § 2. Before granting the said permit tlu' interested party 
 shall give security foi- the payment of the duties hereafter to 
 be provided for. 
 
 Article 2. Each log, of whatever tliicUness, shall be charged 
 the duty of one-half real (♦>;{: cents) for each yard. 
 
 Article 8. The MiLriAKV Commandant of Pinta de 
 Castilla,- either by himself, or by menns of commissioners, 
 shall attend to the collection of this duty, and shall keep for 
 that purj)ose such books as may Itc i'ci|uii'cd to show tlu; 
 amount derived from that source. 
 
 Article 4. Whoever, in ])Ui'suan(;e of tiie provisions of this 
 
 Tlie new fmnlicr CHlulilishcd liy Iht; trciily (<f April 15, lHr)H. 
 
 Kiislern exlremily (»f Uw honlcr line cslubiisheti by the treaty of 1858.
 
 179 
 
 decree, shall engage in the cutting of tirnher in the places 
 aforesaid, shall be bound, before shipping it, to file before the 
 Commandant of Pinta de Castilla a correct bill of lading 
 specifying all the pieces which are to be exported ; and, in 
 case that no such document is filed, or that, if filed, it does 
 not agree with the cargo, he shall pay double duty, and shall 
 forfeit the right to continue cutting timber. 
 
 Article 5. The timber trade which heretofore has been 
 carried on on the hanks of the I'ivers^ noniiiig throuyh the 
 territory of the Iiepnhlic, being unlawful, such timber as may 
 be now cut shall not l)e exported unless with permission of the 
 Government and upon the payment of the duties herein estab- 
 lished. 
 
 Article 6. The Commandants of Pltnta de Castilla and 
 Sarapiqui shall see that this decree is faithfully complied with, 
 and if, as has already happened, their authoi-ity is not recognized 
 they shall open an investigation to show that the provisions of 
 this decree have been violated, and shall submit the record 
 thereof with their report to this Department, giving also notice 
 thereof to the General Commandant. 
 
 Article 7. As soon as the General Commandant receives 
 positive information that timber is cut down on the Atlantic 
 side in violation of the present decree, he shall send the 
 proper forces to arrest the violators of the law of what- 
 ever nationality they may be-, in order that they may be 
 tried and punished in this Capital according to law. And every 
 settlement or establishment which the violators may have 
 made or erected for the purpose aforesaid, together with tools 
 and all other appurtenances, shall be forfeited. 
 
 Article 8. As soon as the works for the canal through the 
 Nicaraguan Isthmus are undertaken the effect of this decree 
 shall be suspended.-* 
 
 'The Sarapiqui, San Cjirlos, Rio Frio, and other rivers (treaty of 1858). 
 - Includinsj; the neighbor Nicaragua. 
 
 ■"This was for the purpose of favoring the enterprise of the canal which 
 always lias had the protection of Costa Rica.
 
 180 
 
 Giveu at the National Palace of San Jose on March 9, 
 1859. 
 
 JUAN RAFAEL MORA. 
 JOSE MARIA CAKAS, 
 Secretary of the Treasury.
 
 181 
 
 No. 45. 
 
 Costa Rica approves the contract of interoceanic canal entered 
 into with Mr. Felix Belly, of Paris. 
 
 Juan Rafael Mora, 
 
 President of the RepahUc of Costa Rica : 
 Whereas the Constitutional Congress has decreed as follows : 
 The Constitutional Congress of the Republic of Costa Rica, 
 upon examination of the amendments made to the interna- 
 tional convention relative to the construction of a Mari- 
 time Interoceanic Canal, through the San Juan river anl> 
 Lake of Nicaragua, entered into between the Republics 
 of Nicaragua and Costa Rica and Messrs. Felix Belly & 
 Co., of Paris, decrees : 
 
 Sole Aritole. All the amendments made by the Charal)ers 
 of the Republic of Ni(!aragua to the Convention aljove named 
 are hereby approved. 
 
 To the Supreme Executive. 
 
 Given at the Hall of Sessions at San Jose, on Jane 22, 1859. 
 RAFAEL G. ESCALANTE, 
 
 President. 
 MANUEL CASTRO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 JACINTO TREJOS, 
 
 Secretary. 
 Therefore let it be executed. 
 National Palace, San Jose, June 27, 1849. 
 
 JUAN RAFAEL MORA. 
 By sickness of the Hon. Secretary of Foreign Relations^ 
 SALVADOR GONZALEZ, 
 
 Assistant Secretary.
 
 182 
 
 No. 46. 
 
 Territorial Division of the liepuhlic of Costa Rica for Elec- 
 toral Purposes, after the treaty of limits of April 15, 
 1858. 
 
 The Senate and tlie House of Representatives of Costa Rica 
 in Congress assemhled, considering- that the elections of tlie 
 supreme officers, and also of the municipal authorities and the 
 juries for press trials, are to he made in accordance with the 
 provisions of the Constitution, have enacted the following law : 
 
 Title 1. — Sole Chapter. 
 
 Of the Territorial Dirision. 
 
 Article 1. The territory of the Repuhlic is divided for 
 electoi-al purposes into live provinces and one district (co- 
 marca), which, in their turn, shall he divided into cantons, and 
 the cantons into districts. 
 
 Article 2. The provinces shall he named San Jose, Car- 
 tago, Heredla, Alajuela and Gianacaste. 
 
 * ~ -X- * * -X- * 
 
 Article T. The Province of Guanacaste consists of the 
 city of Liheria (its (capital), and of tlic towns of Niooya, 
 Santa Cruz, J^agaces, and Canas. It is divided into four can- 
 tons, which shall have the same names as the cities and towns 
 above-mentioned, which shall l)e the chief towns of the can- 
 tons ; and the tifth town ah(»ve-nained shall l»e iiududed in the 
 canton of which the other city immediately preceding it in 
 order is the c-apital. Each canton shall have two districts.
 
 No. 47. 
 
 The Cii.sf.om Authorities of Costa Rica e.rer<isinfj jurisdirtioii 
 on the frontier < kihlishe'i hy the treaty 0/1858. 
 
 Jos^fi Maria Montealegke, 
 
 President of the Repuhlic of Casta Rica : 
 
 Taking into consideration tliat the revenue interests, botli of 
 this llepublic and of Nicarag:ua, demand that some rules should 
 be enacted for the importation and exportation of merchandise 
 through the land frontier between both countries, ^ and as 
 long as a decision completely satisfying- this necessity, and 
 made by agreement with the anthoi-ities of that Republic is 
 not enacted, I do hereby decree : 
 
 Article 1. Whoever shall introduce merchandise in the 
 territory of Costa Rica through the land boundary with Nic- 
 aragua shall be bound to obtain a permit to do so from the 
 
 REVENUE PORT ESTABLISHED ON THE BORDER LINE OF BOTH RePUB. 
 
 Lies. This permit shall be filed before the Receiver of Public 
 Moneys of Liberia,^ in order that he may make the liquidation of 
 the duties to be paid therefor according to law. 
 
 Article 2. The goods and merchandise introduced in viola- 
 tion of the provisions of the foregoing Article shall l)e forfeited. 
 
 Article 3. The revenue post of the frontier shall send a 
 duplicate of the permits issued by it to the Governor of the 
 Province, and the latter shall be bound on his own personal 
 responsibility to transmit those duplicates to the office of the 
 Principal Accountant or Comptroller in order that they may be 
 used to prove the accounts of the Receiver. 
 
 Article 4. AVhoever shall export, through the same loay, 
 merchandise destined for the Republic of Nicaragua, shall 
 apply for the proper permit to the Receiver of Public Moneys 
 at Liberia ; and the revenue post of the frontier shall detain 
 
 'The new frontier established by the treaty of 1858. 
 -' Capital of the Province of Guanacaste.
 
 184: 
 
 all merchandise intended to he carried through there, without 
 said permit, until it is duly ohtained and filed. The Receiver 
 shall he hound to send a copy of the said permits to the Gov- 
 ernor of the Province in order that the latter may transmit 
 them to the principal Treasury authorities in the bordering 
 department of the Republic of Nicaragua. 
 
 Article 5. The revenue post of the frontier shall keep 
 a book wherein all the permits issued by it for the interior of 
 the country shall l»e ct)pied accurately. And this book sliall 
 be sent at the end of every fiscal year to the otfi(;e of the 
 Comptroller. Another book shall be kept in the same way, 
 wherein all the permits issued by the Receiver of Liberia shall 
 be entered, together with a list of the merchandise exported 
 to Nicaragua ; and this shall be sent monthly to the Governor 
 of the Province of Guanacaste for his information. 
 
 Given at the National Palace of San Jose on the 26th da}' 
 of February, 1861. 
 
 JOSE MARIA MONTE ALEGRE. 
 VICENTE AGUILAR, 
 
 Secretary of the Treasury.
 
 185 
 
 No. 48. 
 
 Concessions made hy Costa Rica for Steam Navigation on the 
 8ai'(ij)i<im., San Ccirlos, and other rivers tributaries of 
 the San Juan rirer, and the Luke of Nicaragua, and for 
 the hmlding of a road from the interior of Costa Rica 
 to the Sarapiqui river, or to any other river affluent to the 
 San Jtian. 
 
 The Senate and House of Representatives of Costa Rica in 
 Congress assembled decree : 
 
 Article 1. The Executive shall inform Messrs. Thomas 
 Horace H. and George Canty that the contracts made on Jul}' 
 8, 1858, for Steam Navigation on the Sarapiqui, San Cakf^os, 
 
 AND other RIVKKS TRIBUTARIES OF THE SaN JuAN RIVER, AND THE 
 
 Lake of Nicaragua, and for the building of a road from 
 THIS Capital to the Sarapiqui river, or to ant other 
 emptying into the port of San Juan del Norte, have heen 
 terminated. 
 
 Article 2. In case that the company spoken of l»y Article 
 1 of tiie contract for the road, formed within the time stipu- 
 lated in Article 9 of the same, extended for six months l\v de- 
 cree of the provisional Government, and under the conditions es- 
 tablished by Article 1 aI)ove named, is still in existence, it shall 
 have the power, in spite of the declaration of the preceding 
 Article, to use the right granted to it by Article 12 of the 
 said contract; and in this case the Executive shall have the 
 duty to secure as soon as possible the proper decision. 
 To the House of Representatives. 
 
 Given at the Hall of Sessions at the National Palace, San 
 Jose, July 31, 1861. 
 
 R. RAMIREZ, 
 
 Pi^esident. 
 JUAN GONZALEZ, 
 
 Secretary. 
 R. FERNANDEZ, 
 
 Secretary.
 
 18C 
 
 Let it pass to the Executive. 
 
 Hall of the House of Representatives in the National Palace, 
 San Jose. Auii:ust 5, ISfil. 
 
 JULIAN VOLIO, 
 
 President. 
 DEMETRIO IGLESIAS, 
 
 Secretaiy. 
 ANDRES SANCHEZ, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 National Palace, 
 San Jose, August 12, 1861. 
 Let it he executed. 
 
 JOSE MARIA MONTEALEGRE. 
 FRANCISCO MONTEALEGRE, 
 Secretat^ of the Treasury, W\u\ Uoads and the Navy.
 
 187 
 
 No. 49. 
 
 Municipal territorial division of Costa Rica suhsequent to the 
 treaty of limits o/'1858. 
 
 The Senate and House of Representatives of Costa Rica in 
 Congress assembled, do hereby enact the following municipal 
 ordinance : 
 
 Session 1st. 
 
 Territorial Division. 
 
 Article 1. The territory of the Republic is divided, for the 
 purposes of municipal administration, into five provinces and 
 one district (comarca), the provinces to be subdivided into 
 cantons, and the cantons into districts. 
 
 Article 2. The provinces shall be named San Jose, Car- 
 tago, Heredia, Alajuela, and Guanacaste. The comarca shall 
 be named Punta Arenas. 
 
 Article 7. The Province of Guanacaste consists of the 
 city of Liberia, its capital, and the towns of Nicoya, Santa 
 Cruz, Bagaces, and Caaas. It shall be divided into four can- 
 tons, which shall have the same names as the city and towns 
 above mentioned, which shall l)e their capitals ; but the two 
 last-named towns shall form only one canton. Each canton 
 shall be divided into two districts.
 
 188 
 
 No. 50. 
 
 Grant intide in favor of Don Jost' Antonio Chnnorro for the 
 huilding of a road to the banha of the Sau d nan river. 
 
 ^ Tlie Senate aiid House of Representatives of Costa Rica 
 in Congress assembled decree : 
 
 x\rticle 1. Permission is hereby given to Don Jose Antonio 
 Chamorro. as re(|uested by him, to make through the public 
 lauds a road to establish communication between the interior 
 of the RepuMic and the hanks of the San Juan /'iver, through 
 
 which cuttle proceeding froui Nicaragua may be introduced. 
 
 ******* 
 
 To the Senate. 
 
 Given at the Hall of Sessions, National Palace, San Jose, 
 November 16, 1863. 
 
 FRANCISCO M. IGLESIAS, 
 
 President. 
 M. J. ZAMORA, 
 
 Secretary. 
 S. LARA, 
 
 Secretary. 
 To the Executive Power. 
 
 Hall of the Senate, National Palace, San Jose, December 
 2, 1863. 
 
 JOSE M. MONTEALEGRE, 
 
 I^resident. 
 JOAQUIN BERNARDO CALVO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 R. Fernandez, 
 
 Secretary. 
 Let it be executed. 
 
 JESUS JIMENEZ. 
 
 KR A N CISC( ) ECU E V AJiRlA, 
 
 Secretary of the treasury.
 
 189 
 
 No. 51. 
 
 Aleanmes taken in rerjard to the Gnatnso IiuHkhs, occupying 
 the pht'uis of the same ■name in the Rio Frio river in the 
 territorial jurisdiction of the l-^ovince of Alajuela, south 
 of the Lake of Nicaragua and the San Juan river. 
 
 The Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic 
 of Costa Rica in Congress assembled decree : 
 
 Article 1. The Executive is hereby authorized to appoint 
 those Caciques of Talamaiica whom it may choose to select, to 
 be political chiefs of their districts, dependent upon the Gov- 
 ernor of the Province of Cartago, and to cause the said Ca- 
 ciques to be paid out of the public Treasury in remuneration of 
 their services, a salary not less than .$10 nor more than $20 
 monthly. 
 
 Article 2. The Executive is also authorized by this decree to 
 appoint a capaljle and well intentioned person, who with the 
 title of Director of the Talamanca reservation should advise 
 and assist the Caciques in the administration of the Government 
 of the people under them., and suggest such measures as 
 may be conducive to their more speedy civilization, and also 
 furnish such reports and information as the Supreme Govern- 
 ment or the Governor of Cartago may ask of him. 
 
 Article 3., As long as the condition of those people does 
 not permit the administration of the Go\-ernment thereof to 
 be conducted on tlie same footing as in tlie rest of the Repub- 
 lic, the Caciques political chiefs shall rule over them, and shall 
 administer justice according to their usages and customs, but 
 subject to the orders of this Goveriunent ; I^ut it shall never l)e 
 lawful for them to impose capital punislnnent, nor the penalty 
 of exile from the territory of the Republic. As to tlie penalties 
 of imprisonment or coniinement at hard lalior, tliey shall have 
 no power to impose them, except for a term not exceeding one 
 year. 
 
 Article 4. An appeal can Ije taken from the decisions of
 
 190 
 
 the Caciques political chiefs to the Governor of Cartago, and 
 from the decisions of the latter to the President of the Ee- 
 puhlic ; and it shall be their duty, respectively, either to affirm 
 or repeal their decision against which the appeal was taken, 
 according to principles of justice, and upon the proper investi- 
 gation. 
 
 Article 5. "Whenever a person who is not a native of the 
 tribes of Talamanca should be guilty of any grave offense within 
 that jurisdiction, the case sliall be properly investigated by the 
 Director, and the record of the investigation shall be sent, to- 
 gether with the accused party, to the Judge for criminal matters 
 of the city of Cartago, where tiie prisoner shall be tried accord- 
 ing to law. The same proceedings shall be resorted to wlien 
 the culprit is an Indian, and the oifense committed l)y him is a 
 capital one, or is punished bylaw with expulsion from the terri- 
 tory of the Republic or with the penalties of imprisonment 
 at liard lal)or for more than one year. 
 
 Article B. The Executive is hereby authorized to pay a 
 salary which shall not exceed §60 per month to the Curates 
 whom the Bishop of the Diocese should send to those localities, 
 and these Curates, once there, shall not collect fees of any kind. 
 
 Article 7. Tiie Executive is likewise authorized to fix the 
 jurisdictit»nal limits of each political chief, to take all measures 
 conducive to the better administration of the Government of 
 those people, and to appoint such officer as it may deem to be 
 strictly necessary for the service there, and fix their salaries. 
 
 Article 8. The Executive shall have the power to use the 
 sdine means as above tM'pla'med ^ to undertal'e the cirUizafion 
 of the Ind'uuts culled Guatuso Indians, found in the Prov- 
 ince of Alajuela, and dependent upon the Governor of the 
 same Province. 
 
 To tlie House of Representatives. 
 
 Given at the Hall of Sessions, National I'alace, San Jose, 
 .lunc 18, 1867. 
 
 J. M. MONTEALKCiKK, 
 
 Prcsidod.
 
 191 
 
 J. RAFAEL MATA, 
 
 Secretary. 
 RAMON FERNANDEZ, 
 
 Secretary. 
 To the Executive Power. 
 
 Hall of the Chamher of Representatives, National Palace, 
 San Jose, July 24, 1867. 
 
 MANUEL A. BONILLA, 
 
 President. 
 ANDRES SAINZ, 
 
 Secretary. 
 JUAN M. CARAZO, 
 
 Secretary. 
 National Palace, San Jose, July 25, 1867. 
 Let it be executed. 
 
 JOSE MARIA CASTRO. 
 A. ESQUIVEL, 
 
 Secretary of the Interior.
 
 192 
 
 No. 52. 
 
 Dr. Don Epaminondus Unhe., Commissioner of the Govern- 
 ment of Costa Iiica, visits the San Juan and San Carlos 
 I'ivers, and suggests some measures for the foundation of 
 two Costa Riean towns — one at Punta de Castilla and an 
 other at the confluence of the San Carlos and the Ptnos 
 Blancas rivers. 
 
 In compliance with tiie pi-omise nuide by us in our former 
 issue, we shall here publish the report made by Don E. Uribe, 
 which we copy from the " Gaceta Oficial " of Costa Rica of 
 July 2. The importance of that report, as fai- as we are con- 
 cerned, is to be found especially in what refers to the town of 
 San Juan and the navigability of the Colorado river : 
 
 " Alajdela, Jane 1, 1868. 
 
 " To the Hon. Secretary of the Interior. 
 
 " Sir : In compliance with the orders that tlie President of 
 the Republic was pleased to give me to go to San Juan del 
 Norte to examine the condition of its port, of the road 
 which now is being huilt from. San Ramon to San Carlos, of 
 the San Carlos river and of the Colorado river and its bar, in 
 order to determine whether the said rivers admit of steam 
 navigation, and whether the bar is accessible, and also to find 
 out the pr(»per place to build « ^('"v^ on the former of the 
 above-said rivers, and to see how far a steamboat could ascend 
 that stream, and, finally, to get information inhet/ier the au- 
 thorities of Nicaragua had allowed or abetted the expeditions 
 v)Iiich some moyiths ago were made bij indivnhials of that Re* 
 public against the Guatuso Indians;^ I shall leport to you, 
 for the information of the (/liief Executive Magistrate, the 
 result of my labors. 
 
 ' Unc.ivili/A'd Indians wIjo inlmtiil the plains of the Hio Frio river, south 
 of Ihe Luke of iS'icuruguii and of the Siiu Juan river.
 
 193 
 
 1 left this city on April 4 ultimo, and, passing through 
 the towns of Grecia and San Ramon, I reached San Carlos in 
 fifteen and a half hours (ordinary rate of speed), although the 
 portion of the road l)ot\veen this place andahout three leagues 
 beyond San Ramon is the only one which can be called a car- 
 riage road. From there I continued my travel tiirough a very 
 narrow path, until the 6th instant ; and I did not encounter 
 any other difficulties than the Catarata Hill and the Cataract 
 and San Lorenzo rivers, the latter easil}' admitting of being 
 bridged. As to the hill itself, its difiiculties can l)e lessened 
 by levelling its grade six per cent., and giving to the road the 
 proper windings. 
 
 I embarked at the place which is called El Muelle (the 
 wharf), three leagues l)eyond Penas Blancas, and although my 
 boat was very heavil}' laden and it drew two feet of water and 
 the river was very shallow, and we went very slow in order to 
 observe everything well, I reached the San Juan river in 
 twelve hours, without having found in the whole voyage one 
 single place where the water was less than three feet deep, nor 
 any natural obstacle of any kind. I found, however, and this 
 only at certain places, several poles around which sand had 
 accumulated and caused different channels to be formed ; but 
 this evil will be very easy to remed}', in my judgment, l)y re- 
 moving the said poles, and allowing the water to run from one 
 bank to the other according to the natural inclination of the 
 river bed, and then 1 think that the depth of the water will 
 not be less than four feet. 
 
 As to the San Juan river, I did not find any difficulty in the 
 navigation thereof between the place at which the San Car- 
 los river empties into it and where it branches off to form the 
 Colorado river ; but between the latter place and its mouth 
 the boat ran aground several times on account of the shallow- 
 ness occasioned \)y the summer season, which, according to the 
 information given by the inhabitants of those localities, had 
 never been so severe before, and also because the Colorado river 
 takes from the San Juan three-quartci's of its water. 
 13
 
 194 
 
 The Port of San Juan is not at present in good condition 
 because tlie transit company, owing to the difficulties existing 
 between it and the Government of Nicaragua in regard to a 
 certain contract entered into bv them, has completely stopped 
 its work. Xevertheless, I think that this obstacle is not in- 
 superable as far as the interests of the commerce of Costa 
 Rica are concerned, because the only thing to be done in order 
 to obtain that the commerce of Costa Rica be carried on 
 through that place would be to clean, for the distance of one 
 or two miles, that branch of the San Juan river which passes 
 through the grounds of Panta de Castilla, and cause the latter 
 place to communicate, by means of a canal or railroad four 
 miles long, with the fresh-water lake formed by the Colorado 
 river, which lake is three leagues Jong, two hundred yards wide, 
 and four or five fathoms in depth, and continue from there 
 the navigation through the Colorado river, which at no time 
 of the year lacks five or six feet in depth in either of its 
 branches. 
 
 You will understand, sir, and 1 pray you to call the atten- 
 tion of the President to this point, that these statements are 
 made only through the necessity in which I feel myself in 
 duty bound to report to the Supreme Government all that 1 have 
 seen and has occurred to me in regard to the subject, which 
 I was directed to investigate, but not by any means because 
 I have the pretension to believe that I have found the ]>iulos- 
 ophcr's stone, because I know very well that a matter of such 
 great iin]»ort.'incc as this cannot be decided authoritatively, ex- 
 <'ci)t by one who, besides being competent on the subject, would 
 have time and money, neither of whicii 1 unfortunately have. 
 
 In K?:GAK1) to TIIK obstacles APPKHUKNOEn GKNKKAI-LY ON 
 ACCOUNT OF THE COMMON RIGHTS OF NICARAGUA AND CoSTA RiCA 
 
 IN THE TOWN OF San Juan, ()wing to the laiter being built 
 
 ON Nk.'ARAGUAN TERRrroRV, I BELIEVE THAT THKV WOULD BE OB- 
 VIATKI) SIKMIJ) NOT IIIK TWO IvKlMIBLICS REACH A SETfLEMENT 
 UPON SOLU) GROUNDS, BY PKOl'LING PuNTA DE CasTILLA,^ WHICH 
 
 'Costa Hiciin territory.
 
 195 
 
 AFFORDS SUFFICIENT EXTENT AND FACILITY, AS WELL AS GOOD 
 SANITARY CONDITIONS, FOR A VERY GOOD TOWN. TJPON THIS SUB- 
 JECT I AM AUTHORIZED BY SEVERAL MERCHANTS AMONG THE RICH- 
 EST AND MOST INFLUENTIAL OF SaN JuAN TO SUGGEST TO THE 
 
 Government that, if no arrangement can be reached with 
 Nicaragua, they will move to that place (Punta de 
 Castilla), provided that certain concessions are made to 
 them. 
 
 As to the point, whether the month of the Colorado river is 
 accessible or not, all that 1 can say is that, dnring the twenty- 
 two days I spent in San Juan, the steamer " Activo " entered 
 the port on four different occasions, and brought passengers 
 and cargoes which were transferred to the river boats " Kivas " 
 and " Panalaya,'" and carried through the Colorado river with- 
 out any obstacle to Nicaragua. 
 
 Owing to the fact that the Ti-ansit Company has suspended 
 its work 1 could not obtain a steamboat to ascend the San 
 Carlos river; but the Captain of the boat " El Cora," who made 
 that trip last year and went up as far as El Arenal, and four 
 merchants of respectability, have requested me to petition the 
 legislative body^ for the estal>lishment of a line of steam- 
 boats in the said river as soon as possible. Nevertheless, in 
 order to form a correct opinion, even approximately, of what 
 can be done in this river, I ascended it in a launch of 15 tons 
 burden, which was laden with a cargo of about 4 tons, and 
 without having encountered any obstacle I spent four and a 
 half days in going from the mouth of tlie San Carlos river 
 to the wharf. 
 
 I examined with care the banks of the San Carlos river be- 
 tween the old wharf and Penas Blancas, and I think that the 
 harbor must be located at the confluence, and that the town 
 must be built upon the angular space formed by the two 
 rivers, because the ground there is high, level, and extensive 
 enouffh. 
 
 The one of Costa Rica.
 
 196 
 
 I ENDEAVORED AS EARNESTLY AS I COULD TO INVESTIGATE 
 THE PART TAKEN BY THE NiCARAGUAN AUTHORITIES IN THE 
 OUTRAGES COMMITTED BY THE CITIZENS OF THAT REPUBLIC AGAINST 
 THE GUATUSO InDIANS/ AND I WAS INFORMED BY TRUSTWORTHY 
 PERSONS THAT THE SAID AUTHORITIES, INSTEAD OF FAVORING 
 THE WRONGDOERS, MADE AN EFFORT TO PUNISH THEM. 
 
 All that I have said in this report is the result of my own 
 personal observation, and if I succeed in obtaining that my 
 humble work be of any service to the country and satisfactory 
 to tlie Government you may rest assured that my aspirations 
 will be thoroughly fulfilled. 
 
 I liave the honor to subscribe myself, 3'our attentive servant, 
 
 E. URIBE. 
 
 [" Gaceta de Nicaragua," 6th year, No. 31, Managua, Saturday, August 1, 
 1868.] 
 
 * Costa Rican Indians.
 
 1^7 
 
 No. 53. 
 
 The official organ of Nicaragua jpuijliahes the estimate of tfie 
 work to he done on the river and port of San Juan ac- 
 cording to surveys made hy a mixed commission agreed upon 
 hetween the Governnients of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. 
 
 The present step is a forward one made by us on the road 
 of progress. The present administration, following its ad- 
 vanced ideas, directed that a survey of the river and port of 
 San Jnan del Norte should be made, in harmony with the 
 Government of Costa Rica, for the purpose of making such 
 improvements as required by the necessities of the commerce 
 of both Republics and the free communication with foreign 
 countries through the Atlantic. 
 
 In our preceding issue we published the report of Civil En- 
 gineer Don Maximiliano Sonnenstern ; and now we print the 
 estimate of the expenses which will be incurred in the work of 
 repairs on the river, port and bay of San Juan, and the meas- 
 ures which are to be taken to render it again freely navigable 
 by steamboats with all safety. The above-named report makes 
 us entertain the hope that the said work so beneficial for the 
 two Republics, necessitating no more expense than $76,000.00, 
 will be easily carried out, and that a new and flattering futui'e 
 will be promised to both countries. 
 
 [" Qaceta de Nicaragua " 6th jear, No. 46, Managua, November 14, 1868.]
 
 198 
 
 No. 54. 
 
 Editorial of the " Oaceta Oficial " of Nicaragua on the re- 
 cepiion in Cost", llica of the, Nicaragaan Minister^ Don 
 Mariano Montealegre. — Costa Rica is recognized as horder- 
 ing upon the San Juan river ^ as joint possessor of the navi- 
 gation of the same, and as imich interested as Nicaragua in 
 the Jnteroi-eanic Canal enterprise. 
 
 OuK Legation in Costa Rica. 
 
 On the lOtli instant, Don Mariano Montealegre, Envoy Ex- 
 traordinan' and Minister Plenipotentiarj' of Nicaragua, near 
 the Republic of Costa Rica, was officially received by Presi- 
 dent Jimenez. 
 
 On that occasion the customary speeches were made, the 
 text of which we print elsewhere. 
 
 From the concise and expressive answer of President 
 Jimenez it is to be concluded that his Government feels well 
 disposed in regard to tlie important mission entrusted l)y Senor 
 Guzman to Don Mariano Montealegre. 
 
 Evidence to the same effect is found in the conrteons 
 manner with which the Costa Rican Government received our 
 Minister Plenipotentiary. He was not only given the warm- 
 est recej)ti()n, l)ut was admitted in the diplomatic body, before 
 being ollicially presented to the President, in order that he 
 could attend tlie ceremonies of the inauguration of Senor 
 Jimenez as Chief Magistrate of that Republic. 
 
 Nothing else could have been expected, and so we said in 
 one of our previous mnnbers (No, 17), from a Magistrate as 
 the one who now rules the destinies of Costa Ric^a, and from 
 the circumstances attending the proclamation of a constitution 
 as liberal as the one which is now in force in that Republic. 
 
 " Ni(;akaoua and Costa Rica," Pkk8U)Knt Jimknkz bays,
 
 199 
 
 " ARE INDEED CALLED BY NATURE TO SHARE RECIPROCALLY THE 
 SAME FATE, AND THEREFORE THEY OUGHT TO STRENGTHEN THEIR 
 FRIENDSHIP, PRESERVE PERFECT HARMONY AND UNITE THEIR EF- 
 FORTS TO OPEN FOR THEMSELVES THE PATHS OF COMMON PRO- 
 
 GRESS. 
 
 "1 
 
 These words are indicative of tlie line of conduct which the 
 Government now established in Costa Rica intends to follow 
 witli the rest of the Central American Republics, a line of con- 
 duct which is to be hoped will be invariably observed by all 
 the Central American States among themselves, ^ because they 
 all need to preserve their friendship and j)erfect harmony since 
 their welfare and progress is common. 
 
 But Nicaragua and Costa Rica, more p:specially still, 
 
 FIND THEMSELVFS IN POSITIONS TO STRENGTHEN MORE AND MORE 
 these bonds, and OF WORKING WITH THE GREATEST EARNESTNESS 
 
 for the unity of their interests in deference to human pro- 
 gress, because they are topographically situated in the 
 best manner possible to accomplish that purpose. 
 
 The San Juan river, besides dividing the territory of 
 THE two States,^ causes the commercial interests of both 
 
 NATIONS TO INTERMIX IN SUCH A WAY THAT NEITHER CAN BE 
 INDIFFERENT TO WHAT HAPPENS IN THAT STREAM. 
 
 It has been proved by the most competent experts on the 
 subject, that if ever a port can I)e opened in this hemisphere 
 to the commerce of tlie world, by means of a canal uniting the 
 Atlantic wdtli the Pacilic Ocean, the only place through which 
 that work can be accomplished is the San Juan river. And 
 this is the reason why our neighbor must not allow the oppor- 
 tunity to pass unnoticed of co-operating in the happiness and 
 progress of Nicaragua by accepting the Ay(5n-Chevaliercon- 
 
 'In expressing himself in this waj' the meritorious Don Jesus Jimenez 
 was certainly far from thinking that shortly afterwards his sentiments 
 would tind no better return than the denunciation of the treaty of 1858. 
 "The same remark is applicable to these words of the "Gaceta." 
 ^ Certainly these words are not confirmed b}' the map appended to the 
 Argument of Nicaragua to which the present is a reply.
 
 200 
 
 TRACT IN THE PART THEREOF WHICH CORRESPONDS TO HER, sinCG 
 
 in that way she will contribute also to her own happiness and 
 progress. 
 
 [" Gaceta de Nicaragua," 7th year, No. 21. Managua, Saturday, May 22, 
 1869].
 
 201 
 
 No. 55. 
 
 The exportafAon through San Juan da Nicaragua of the nat- 
 ural products of the priM'iG lands of Costa Rica, such as 
 timber^ sarsajxirilla, rubher, balsams^ resin, dec, is pro- 
 hibited, in order to jyrevent the natural wealth of the north- 
 ern section of the Ihp)uhlic from being destroyed. ^ 
 
 Jesus Jimenez, 
 
 Provisional President of the Itepnhlic of Costa Rica : 
 
 In order to prevent the valuable natural productions of the 
 public lands on the Atlantic side from being destroyed, and 
 also to repress smuggling and protect lawful commerce, I do 
 hereby decree : 
 
 Article 1. The exportation through SA^f Juan de Nicar- 
 agua OF TIMBER, SARSAPARILLA, RUBBER, BALSAMS, RESINS, AND 
 ALL OTHER NATURAL PRODUCTS CUT, OR EXTRACTED, OR COLLECTED, 
 *IN THE FORESTS SITUATED ON THE PUBLIC LANDS OF THE KePUBLIC 
 
 BETWEEN THE Andes AND THE ATLANTIC, is hereby prohibited, 
 unless under previous authority given by the Judge of the 
 Treasury and by virtue of a contract entered into with the 
 Government by proposals and bids. All works undertaken in 
 tlie said locality fortlie purpose of exporting the said products 
 in the manner aforesaid are also prohibited. 
 
 Article 2. Whoever shall violate the provisions of the 
 foregoing Article shall lose the cargo so attempted to be carried 
 and shall be fined one hundred dollars, or, in default of pay- 
 ment, if the person has not sufficient property within the Re- 
 public to pay that amount, lie shall suffer three months of im- 
 prisonment at hard labor. 
 
 Article 3. Revenue posts shall be established in evert 
 
 PLACE OF CONFLUENCE OF THE SaN CaRLOS AND SaRAPIQUI 
 
 rivers with the San Juan. Each one of these posts shall be 
 commanded l)y a corporal, who shall have three privates under 
 him; but tlie number of the latter shall l>e increased if the 
 
 ' This decree was the first germ ot the idea of repudiating the treat}- of 
 1851.
 
 202 
 
 necessities of the service require it. The corporals sliall be 
 paid fifty dollars and the guards thirty-five dollars per month 
 each. 
 
 Article -i. It shall be the duty of these posts, 1st. To pre- 
 vent the exportation of the natural products of the public 
 lands of the Republic, and their being worked or obtained for 
 that purpose. 2d. To seize those products already cut down, 
 collected or extracted, and send thera whenever possible and 
 convenient, together with the arrested transgressors, to the 
 nearest authority in order that the latter may cause the pre- 
 liminary investigation to be made and submit the record 
 thereof, together with the prisoners, to the court which must 
 pass sentence. 3d. To seize every article the trade of which 
 the Government has reserved iov itself and tliose wliose im- 
 portation is forbidden, if attempted to be intro(hiced into the 
 Republic, and send them, together with the prisoners, to the near- 
 est authority, in the manner and for the purposes above named.* 
 And 4th. To watch that no articles of lawful commerce are 
 introduced into the country without tiie formalities prescribed 
 by tills decree; to detain those which may be attempted to be 
 introduced clandestinely and fi-audulently ; and tt) report with- 
 out loss of time to the proper otiicer, who must declare them 
 forfeited. 
 
 Article H). Whoever shall l)e ai-i-csted while making or 
 assisting in the exportation of tlie natural products aforesaid 
 without the pi'opcr authority and without paying the duties 
 established, shall l)e punished accoixiing t<» the provisions of 
 Article 2 of tiie present decree; l)ut if it should be found 
 out that he has already made the exportation ilicn be shall 
 have to pay a double tine or to undei'go double time in prison 
 at luird laboi-, whatever the nature and <pianlity of the exported 
 articles may be. 
 
 (iivon at the Nati(»nal Paltuu^ at San .lost' on Aj)ril 2S, 1809. 
 
 JKSUS JIMEiNKZ. 
 JUAN RAFAEL MATA, 
 Seo'etary of the Tre'iaury. 
 
 I
 
 203 
 
 No. 56. 
 
 The territorial jurisdiction of t/ie " Cowarca. '' {District) of 
 Litnon is created. — The limits given to it are from Punta 
 de Castilla, frontier of Nicaragua, to the United States of 
 Colombia. 
 
 The Provisional Chief Magistrate of the Republic, taking 
 into consideration the distance which separates the people of 
 the northern section of the Republic from this capital, and the 
 peculiar necessities of those scattered villages, does hereby de- 
 cree : 
 
 Article 1. The towns and villages in the Yalley of Matina, 
 and ah)ng the whole northern littoral of the Repul)lic, from 
 Punta de Castilla, which is the limit of Nicaragua,^ down 
 to the frontiers of the United States of Colombia, are hereby 
 declared to constitute, for all purposes of Government, the 
 Comarca or District of Limon, whose capital shall be the vil- 
 lage of Moin, where the officers exercising jurisdiction in the 
 whole territory of the comarca shall establish their residence. 
 
 Article 2. The Government of the comarca shall be ad- 
 ministered in the following way : 
 
 There shall be a Governor, with the functions and powers 
 given by law to the provincial Governors. 
 
 There shall be one constitutional Alcalde, exercising the au- 
 thority given to the officers of this kind by the laws of the 
 country. 
 
 There shall be as many justices of the peace as are now, 
 or may in the future be established, according to law, in the 
 towns or villages and districts belonging to the comarca, and 
 the territorial limits within which they shall exei-cise jurisdic- 
 tion shall be fixed, as far as possible, by tlie Governor. 
 
 There shall also be a military commandant and a harbor- 
 master. 
 
 ' Treaty of 1858.
 
 204: 
 
 The mimicipal authority shall be vested in the Governor, 
 as provided for by law in regard to the comarca of Punta 
 Arenas. 
 
 Article 3. In judicial niattert^, the comarca shall be suIj- 
 mitted to the jurisdiction of the courts of first instance of the 
 pi ovince of Cartago. 
 
 Article 4. For electoral purposes, tlie comarca shall be 
 considered as a district annexed to the canton of El Paraiso, 
 in the above-named province of Cartago. 
 
 Given at the National Palace, on June 0, 1870. 
 
 BRUKO CARRANZA. 
 JOAQUIN LIZANO, 
 Sovretai'y of the Interior.
 
 205 
 
 No. 57. 
 
 Origin, of the Martinez- J ertz D^nnnvirate. 
 
 [From Memorias para la liistoria de la campana naoional contra el 
 fililjusltrisnio, 1850, y 57 jior Jeiouinio Perez. Mtisaya, 1874.] 
 
 Martinez and Jerez. 
 
 Lecjitiniists and Demcxn-ats thoiig'ht that thecoiitiiiuati<iii of 
 the civil war was inevitable, for which reafon several leaders 
 who had been impressed l)y the danger rnn during the late 
 national war, endeavored to bring about some nndei-standing 
 between the heads of the two parties. We have a letter of 
 General Chamoi-ro whei'ein he said to Martinez : " It is neces- 
 sary for you and for Jei'ez, as the tiao men of most prestige^ 
 to take upon yourselves the task of constituting the liepvhlic^ 
 and overcome the difjicult situation subsequent to Walker^s 
 downfall^ 
 
 The two leaders, with a portion of their forces, embarked 
 on the steamer San Carlos and landed at Granada, where Mar- 
 tinez remained. Jerez reached Leon, receiving the ovations 
 of the whole people. General Barrios placed upon his head a 
 wreath of laurels. 
 
 Martinez, with several orientals, and Jerez, with sevei-al oc- 
 cidentals, assembled at Managua, endeavored in vain to make 
 an arrangement. The}' were about to take leave of each other 
 to commence again the fratricidal struggle, when Jerez, in 
 company with Don Evaristo Carazo, went to the rooms of 
 Martinez, who happened to be in company with Don Ignacio 
 Padilla and the author of these Memoirs, and said to him : 
 "Z^o you wish yoxi and me to assume the power and to govern 
 the Repuhlic dictatorially until the country is reorganized by 
 us ? " Yes, 1 will, was the answer. And an agreement was 
 drawn up and signed establishing the Duumvirate, which, in 
 spite of all the predictions to the coutrai-y, not only saved the 
 country from the new struggle which threatened it, but wisely 
 conducted it to its constitutional orijauization.
 
 CHRONOLOGICAL EPITOME 
 
 OF 
 HISTORICAL FACTS CONNECTED WITH THE TERRITORIAL DEMARCATION 
 
 OF 
 
 COSTA RICA AND NICARAGUA. 
 
 1502. — Fourth voyao;e of Columbus. Discovery of tlie eastern 
 coast of Central America, from Cape Honduras down 
 to Portobello and Cape Marmul, embracing the an- 
 cient Province of Veragua. 
 
 1509. — The King of Spain erects the Governorship of Vera- 
 gua in favor of Diego de Nicuesa,from Cape Gracias 
 a Dios to the Gulf of Darien. 
 
 1513. — Discovery of the Pacific Ocean or Southern Sea hy 
 Vasco Nunez de Balboa. 
 
 1514. — Pedrarias Davila, Governor of Castilla del Oro, 
 lands at Darien. 
 
 1519. — 15tli August. Panama founded. 
 
 1519. — ^Discovery of BrRicA, Gulf of Osa (now Golfo Dulce, 
 Costa-Rica), and (Tulf of Nicoja. 
 
 1520. — Nat;i founded. 
 
 1521. — Gtli September. Royal ordinance (Real Cedula) fixing 
 the boundaries of Panama or Governorship of Cas- 
 tilla del Oro, its western limit being the Province of 
 Veragua. 
 
 1522. — Discovery of Nicaragua, on the Sduthern Sea, by Gil 
 Gonzalez Davila. 
 
 1524. — Conquest of Nicaragua by Francisco Hernandez de 
 Cordoba. The cities of Leon and Granada founded. 
 
 1525. — P'irst survey of Lake Nicaragua by Captain Ruy Diaz, 
 who discovers its egress or outlet, el Desaguadero. 
 
 1525. — Hernando de Soto surveys the upper part of the Desa-. 
 guadero, from the lake to the first rapid, near the
 
 207 
 
 Indian settlement of Yoto, on the right or Costa- 
 Rican bank of the river. 
 
 1526. — Pedrarias Davila leaves Panama and comes to Nicara- 
 gna to quell the rebellion of his lieutenant Francisco 
 Hernandez de Cordoba. Cordoba is tried and put 
 to death. 
 
 1527. — Pedrarias Davila is superseded as Governor of Castilla 
 del Oro by Pedro de los Rios and is appointed Gov- 
 ernor and Captain-General of Nicaragua. No 
 boundaries were fixed to this Government, which was 
 to embrace the lands conquered by Francisco Her- 
 nandez de Cordoba on the Southern Sea. 
 
 1529. — Pedrarias Davila sends Martin Estete on a surveying 
 expedition to the Desaguadero. Estete goes no 
 farther than Captains Ruy Diaz and Hernando de 
 Soto, but he lands at Yoto and explores Costa Rica 
 up to the Suerre river. Gabriel de Rojas, Hernan 
 San(;hez de Badajoz, Diego de Castafieda, &c., were 
 the principal captains of this campaign. 
 
 1534. — 4111 May. Rodrigo de Contreras is appointed Gover- 
 nor and Captain-GenerMl of Nicaragua, in the same 
 manner as Pedrarias Davila. No boundaries were 
 marked and Nicaragua remains confined to the South- 
 ern Sea. 
 
 1534. — December 24. Felipe Gutierrez is appointed Gover- 
 nor of the Province of Veragua, under reservation 
 of the rights of Columbus's heirs, his jurisdiction 
 extending from Cape Gracias a Dios down to Castilla 
 del Oro. 
 
 1537. — Creation of ths Dukedom of Veragua, in favor of 
 Don Luis Colon, grandson of Columbus. This 
 Dukedom comprised, from sea to sea, 25 square 
 leagues, l)etween Chiriqui Lagoon (Zarabaro Bay) and 
 River Belen. The Province of Veragua (Costa Rica) 
 granted to Felipe Gutierrez was thenceforth bounded 
 by the Dukedom of the same name to the southeast
 
 ii08 
 
 and hy Cape Gracias a Dios to tlie north, including 
 the whole Mosquito coast, the rivers Yare, Caxines 
 (Escondido), San Jnan, Snerre, tfec, within the juris- 
 diction of Veragua. 
 
 1539. — Captains x\lonso Calero and Diego Machnca survey 
 the Desaguadero and sail from Lake "Nicaragua to 
 the sea. 
 
 1539. — Hernan Sanchez de Badajoz is appointed Governor of 
 Costa Rica, or Veragua, to succeed Felipe Gutierrez. 
 
 1540. — April. Hernan Sanchez de Badajoz hinds at the 
 mouth of the Rio Tarire (Sixola or Tiliri river) and 
 founds the tirst Spanish settlement on the northern 
 coast of C(tsta Rica. The King of Spain did not 
 approve the commission of Hernan Sanchez de 
 Badajoz. 
 
 1540. — -Noveraher 29th, Diego Gutierrez, Felipe's brother, 
 is appointed Governor of Veragua, New Cartago or 
 Costa Rica. This Province, which, under Felipe, 
 ended at Cape Gracias a Dios, was enlarged north- 
 wards farther than Cape Camaron to the hanks of 
 the Rio Grande (River Aguan or Roman). Its 
 southern limit was the Dukedom of Veragua. 
 
 1540. — Fi'oni this date tiie ducal estate of Veragua was called 
 hy this name, and the royal provh we of Veragua was 
 named Cartago or Costa liica. 
 
 155f). — The Dukedom of Veragua reserts to the Royal Crown, 
 and is incorporated into tlie Royal domain. 
 
 1560-157.3 — NiKvo Caktago or Costa Rica, comprising the 
 tcn-ilory of the I)csagnadci'o,is (roiujuered, settled, and 
 govej'ned in snc(!ession hy Juan Cavallon, .iuan Vaz- 
 (juoz (h' Coronado, Peraf;in de Ribcra. 
 
 1572. — Ferafan dc Rihera, Governor of Costa Rica, is ap- 
 |ioiiitcd (/orregidor of Nicoya. 
 
 1573. — l)cceml)cr Ist. — Philip II appoints Diego dc Artieda 
 (nrovertior and (yaptain-Ciciural of (Josta Rica, and 
 marks the l)oun(laric> of tlli^ Province, as follows:
 
 209 
 
 In latitude, from sea to sea ; and in longitude on the 
 Caril)bean Sea, from the San Jnan river, the main 
 outlet ur Desaguadero of Lake Nicai-agua, to the 
 confines of Yeragua (the Escudo de Veragua), and 
 on the Southern Sea, from the limits of Nicoya to the 
 valleys of Chiriqui (River Chiriqui Viejo). 
 1573. — Diego de Artieda is appointed Governor o^ Nicoya. 
 1576. — The early Province of Nuevo Cartago or Costa Rica 
 reduced to the boundaries marked l)y Philip II in 
 1573. A new province was created to the north of 
 the Desaguadert), called the Province of Taguzgalpa. 
 Its limits were from the northern mouth of the San 
 Juan river alongside the coast to Cape Camaron, and 
 all the land between the sea and the boundary line 
 of Nicaragua, Nueva Segovia, and Honduras. 
 The jurisdiction of Nicaragua did not go beyond fifteen 
 leagues from the lake shore to the east. It is plain by the 
 demarcation of Costa Rica in 1573, and by that of Taguz- 
 galpa in 1576, giving to these Provinces the full jurisdiction 
 on the Desaguadero from its mouths to fifteen leagues from 
 the lake, that Nicaragua did not possess an inch of territory 
 on the Caribbean Sea, at the end of the XVIth century, when 
 the territorial status of the Audiencia of Guatemala was finally 
 regulated. 
 
 The Taguzgalpa or Mosquito coast, from 1509 to 1573, a part 
 of Veragua, Nuevo Cartago, or Costa Rica, remained unsettled 
 and open to piratical invasions during the XVlIth century. 
 Tiie English settled at Rio Tinto (Black River), Cape Gracias 
 a Dios and Bluefields, or afforded protection to the Mosquito 
 Indians. 
 
 By the treaty of Versailles of 1783 between Spain and Eng- 
 land, this latti r Power agreed to evacuate the settlements 
 aforesaid. A more comprehensive and precise engagement 
 was entered into by the additional treaty of London of 1786 
 between the same parties. England was compelled to evacuate 
 the Mosquito coast ; but she did not give up the hope of having 
 14
 
 210 
 
 a permanent footing there, and, though apparently complying 
 with her treaty ol)ligations, she devised means to elude them 
 practically, and encouraged some private individuals to submit 
 to the Spanish law, to become Spanish subjects, and to ask 
 grants of lands, &c. Tliis was the case with Col. Robert Hodg- 
 son, to whose endeavors the Mosquito protectorate of modern 
 times owes ^lial regard. Spain, however, recovered the control 
 of the Mosquito coast whicli was placed directly under the mili- 
 tary supervision of the Captain-General of Guatemala.
 
 EKRATA, 
 
 Page. 
 
 Line. 
 
 Eeads 
 
 Should Bead 
 
 iv 
 
 16 
 
 Tausgalpa 
 
 Taguzgalpa 
 
 27 
 
 29 
 
 San Cdrlos 
 
 San Carlos 
 
 And wherever else 
 
 
 
 
 fouud. 
 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 4 
 
 1828 
 
 1826 
 
 66 
 
 5 
 
 fory 
 
 for 
 
 97 
 
 4 
 
 place 
 
 placed 
 
 103 
 
 8 
 
 May, 1813 
 
 1812 
 
 110 
 
 27 
 
 (1 
 
 Escacii 
 
 Escasii 
 
 " 
 
 31 
 
 Cucurrique 
 
 Tucurriqiie 
 
 117 
 
 17 
 
 the 
 
 an 
 
 " 
 
 25 
 
 Fkaejanes 
 
 Fraijanes 
 
 (( 
 
 27 
 
 Blasco 
 
 Blanco 
 
 119 
 
 25 
 
 1881 
 
 1831 
 
 134 
 
 12 
 
 Totogalpa 
 
 Tologalpa 
 
 " 
 
 21 
 
 Gorge 
 
 Jorge 
 
 164 
 
 2 
 
 Sarapiqui 
 
 Sarapiqui 
 
 167 
 
 8 
 
 1858 
 
 1838 
 
 171 
 
 9 
 
 Posaltega 
 
 Posoltega 
 
 " 
 
 10 
 
 Posalteguilla 
 
 Posolteguilla 
 
 172 
 
 25 
 
 San Gorge 
 
 San Jorge 
 
 181 
 
 26 
 
 1849 
 
 1859
 
 F 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 Santa Barbara 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW. 
 
 20m-8,'61 (0208484)476
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FA^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 AA 000 936 235 i