attitude against this republic, to close official relations, and to declare war, issuing the unjustifiable decree dated 25th of March of this year. With this emergency, the executive authority was obliged to use the foremost of its attributes "to maintain inviolable the sovereignty and independence of the republic and the integrity of its territory, and to conserve the peace and domestic tranquillity." In every light the said decree of the Honduranean government amounted to a formal declaration of war, unless it were that its armies had not at once invaded Salvador. The unlooked-for rupture of every kind of official and private relations between both countries, the unjustifiable insults and injuries, as grave as gratuitous, embodied in that decree, and, lastly, the clear and determined words with which the republic of Honduras declared itself in a state of war with Salvador, are facts which demonstrate, in an irrefutable manner, the truth of the proposition which we have enunciated. With these antecedents, and in the certainty that the Honduranean government was accumulating every kind of warlike supply to commence hostilities at the opportune time, and also seeing that the reactionaries redoubled their efforts to produce discord in the interior, it appears evident that the government had drawn the line of conduct proper to preserve harmless the national honor and the republic from the threatened evils, and at the least sacrifice: to accept war, to prosecute it with activity, and to select the enemy's soil for the campaign-conditions which gave us the advantage and averted from our people the evils consequent to occupancy by a foreign army and the operations of war. The government, thus convinced, could not do less than accept the situation and do its best for a favorable result to the unwelcome war. (See Decrees Nos. 1 and 2.) We have thus detailed the circumstances preceding the campaign in Honduras to direct your attention to the fact of the invasion of that republic without the formal declaration of war by the legislative authority, as is its prerogative, according to section 14 of the 36th article of the constitution. It has been declared that in this case the executive usurped one of the provinces of the legislature; but, upon consideration, it appears not to be so, for it is shown that it was the government of Honduras which declared war and that ours only accepted it, selecting with prudence and activity the time and the theater for the operations of the campaign. Consequent to this was the procuration by the government of funds with which to support the extraordinary expenses of the war, when the ordinary revenue became insufficient therefor. This aroused the patriotism of the Salvadoreans, and these satisfactorily aided the government with their means. We see, therefore, that the assemblage of the legislature, under the circumstances, was unnecessary, not having to declare war, nor the manner of its prosecution. At the same time it was absolutely necessary to make some arrests temporarily, and to banish some individuals who had aided, at every peril, the Honduranean aggressor, defeating the efforts of the government and creating every sort of difficulty in the interior. The Marshal President, desiring to be prominent in the maintenance of the national dignity, the glory and the luster of the Salvadorean arms, resolved to direct the war in person, and therefore placed himself at the front of the army, delivering the executive power to the vice-president. The campaign opened in May. You well know, representatives, that unbroken series of triumphs, so glorious to our standard, extending the sway of liberal principles, and assuring to the nation a long era of peace and tranquillity, elements so necessary to its happiness and progress. The aggressor being reduced to the last extremity, and deeming the war already ended, the government of Salvador, firm in its determination not to prolong the abnormal condition, if the public good, did not exact it, revoked the decrees of the 5th and 5th of April, issuing that of the 19th of June, as by No. 3. But the greater part of the Salvadorean forces having returned triumphant, there remaining in Honduras only a small number to support the provisional government in the re-establishment of domestic order, and in its labor of re-organization General Don José Maria Medina appeared anew in Santa Barbara with a force of six or eight hundred men and munitions of war, which some disaffected emigrants from Guatemala had sent to him from northern ports. At the same time party passion burst forth in the interior. Excited by the course of events, conspiracies were formed to embarrass the action of the government, and a riot broke out in Cojutopeque, illustrating the ignorance and fanaticism of the Indians. The abuse of the press on the part of the enemies to order had reached such a point that it was only used to enervate the government measures and to injure the authorities. Certainly, at that time, affairs were critical. Abroad, war blazed afresh; at home, anarchy, with its horrors, threatened. Then the government, seeing the impossibility to assemble the chambers of the legislature, and not finding in the constitution sufficient means to confront so grave a sitnation, firm in the belief that the principle to which all others are subordinate is the conservation and safety of the state, assumed the course which circumstances de manded, and the pressing necessity obliged and promulgated the decree of the 17th of July, marked No. 4. Consonantly to this disposition, and to attain the proposed end, some persons of every estate and condition who had openly overturned order were expelled from the country. Also some new troops were sent to Honduras, which, efficiently aided by our neighbor and sister, the republic of Guatemala, continued uninterruptedly the splendid triumphs of the first campaign, even to completely destroy the last remnants of the party inimical to Salvador in that republic. The exercise of the rights and the fulfillment of the duties anterior and higher to the positive laws recognized by the constitution, the imperative necessity to save the republic from the frightful consequences which would have attended victory on the part of General Medina, and the beneficent and splendid results which have been obtained, make clear the justice and propriety of the course pursued by the government and the good faith which has presided over all its actions. The consolidation of order, the guarantee of peace and public tranquillity, the honor and glory of the national flag, and the spread of liberal principles-these are, representatives, the grand results obtained at the cost of very small sacrifices. One of the advantages derived from the overthrow of the government of General Medina was the agreement signed at Gratias by the citizen Marshal President, in his quality as general-in-chief of the army, and the provisional government of Honduras, as by Schedule 5. In this document you will find expressed the just obligations which the new gov ernment has recognized in favor of Salvador, which partly compensate for the sacrifices of the war. Your happy convening, which has for its principal objects to remedy the defects and omissions of the constitution, shown principally by popular demonstrations, has impelled the executive to abrogate the decree of the 17th of July, to which end he has issued that of the 24th ultimo, as by No. 6. Decrees are also submitted as to the press, and also the creation of townships in the district of Cojutopeque. The supreme government, trusting in your patriotism and intelligence, and with an approving conscience, awaits your judgment upon all its dispositions and measures which have been specified, and doubts not but that you will give to it your approval. The proclamations of the President, and many other papers published by the official press, clearly state the true causes of the conflict provoked by Honduras, and of all the intrigues and machinations in the interior, which favored the designs of the Hondu rancan leader; but, if possibly you may deem more precise data necessary for resolution upon the points submitted, we will present all others which you may request. San Salvador, October 4, 1872. The Minister of Foreign Relations, The Minister of the Treasury and War, The Minister of Public Instruction and Government, GREGORIO ARBIZU. J. J. SAMAYOA. [Inclosure 2.-Translation.] GENERAL MINISTRY. The President of the Republic of Salvador to its inhabitants : Know ye that the National Constituent Congress has decreed the following: The National Constituent Congress of the republic of Salvador, considering that it is a duty of the executive to maintain inviolate the sovereignty and independence of the republic; and that, complying with this sacred duty, he has dictated proper measures, and acted conformably to the exaction of the abnormal circumstances in which the country was placed by the unjustifiable war, which, under date of the 25th day of March last, was declared by the government of Honduras, presided over at that time by the General Don José Maria Medina; That the executive authority in issuing the decree of the 17th of July last, and in all the consequential procedures, has had for his only object to preserve the peace, and the interior tranquillity threatened, not only by the seditions in Cojutopeque, but also by the designs of some discontented with the actual order of things; decrees: Only article: All the acts of the executive comprised within the memorial or expo sition which, dated the 4th of the present month, the ministers of state in their respective departments have brought to the knowledge of this assembly, are approved. To the executive authority. Given in the national palace of San Salvador, the 14th day of October, 1872. JOSE LARREYUAGO, Deputy President. DOSITEO FIALLOS, The Minister of Public Instruction, Justice, and Ecclesiastical Affairs, encharged with the Ministry of the Interior, FABIO CASTILLO. [Inclosure 3.-Translation.] [Extract from the Boletin Oficial of the 31st October, 1872.] The President of the Republic of Salvador to its inhabitants : Know ye that the National Constituent Congress has decreed as follows: The National Constituent Congress of Salvador, considering that the establishment of a bank for loans on mortgages of real estate, (banco hipotecario-agricola,) with eirenlation and discounts, will greatly contribute to the progress of the agriculture, industry, and commerce of the country; and that it is a paramount duty of those charged with the direction of the destinies of the nation to procure by all possible measures its prosperity and well-being; decrees: ARTICLE 1. The supreme executive power is authorized, with shareholders both from within and beyond the republic, to establish in the country a bank for the hypothecation of real estate, with circulation and discounts. ART. 2. The foundation capital of said institution shall not exceed five millions of dollars. ART. 3. The privileges and guarantees that the government gives to the shareholders shall last twenty-five years. ART. 4. The government shall not intervene in the management of the bank, and only shall have an inspection upon it. ART. 5. The institution shall place itself under the protection of some foreign flag. ART. 6. The nation shall have a portion of the advantages of the institution, and with this conception the government may guarantee to the shareholders a moderate conventional interest, conceding at the same time such privileges as it may deem convenient. ART. 7. The notes of the bank shall be treated by the government as cash. ART. 8. The rates which the bank shall fix in its division of hypothecation shall be ten per cent. of yearly interest, payable every three months, and five per cent. for amortization (cancellation) at the least at the end of the year. ART. 9. The maximum rate of the bank in its operations of circulation and discount shall be twelve per cent. of annual interest, payable every three months. ART. 10. To aid the operations of the institution the government shall publish the law of hypothecations, and all others tending to make effective the credits of the bank, without the formularies which are ordinarily exacted. To the executive authority. Given in the chambers of the National Constituent Assembly, at San Salvador, on the 24th day of the month of October, 1872. TEODORO MORENO, Deputy Vice-President. DOSITEO FIALLOS, Deputy Secretary. MARIANO CASTRO, Deputy Secretary. National Palace, San Salvador, October 25, 1872. The Minister of Justice, FABIO CASTILLO. SANTIAGO GONZALEZ. No. 89.1 No. 341. Mr. Biddle to Mr. Fish. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, San Salvador, November 30, 1872. (Received Dec. 30.) SIR: I have the honor to transmit to you herewith a copy and translation of a constitution, dated the 9th of November instant, framed by a National Constituent Congress, reforming that of the 16th of October, 1871. The principal changes are the extension of the presidential term to four years, without eligibility to re-election during a period of equal length, and the enlargement of the executive authority in emergent cases. The leading principles embodied in the previous constitution are preserved, with some changes in details, and that the secondary laws may conform thereto, the President has decreed the re-assembling of the convention on the 15th day of January, 1873, as per inclosure No. 2, to consider the laws of election; of the state of siege; for the press; for procedures at law; and reforms in the civil and criminal codes, and also in the laws, military and commercial. I have, &c., THOMAS. BIDDLE. CONSTITUENT CONGRESS [Inclosure 1.-Franslation.] DECREES-CONSTITUTION PROMULGATED THE NINTH OF NOVEMBER, 1872-GENERAL MINISTRY. The President of the Republic of Salvador to its people: Know ye: That the National Constituent Congress has decreed as follows: In the presence of God, the supreme legislator of the universe, and in the name of the Salvadorean people, the National Constituent Congress decrees, sanctions, and proclaims the following constitution, re-forming that promulgated on the 16th October, 1871: CHAPTER I. ARTICLE 1. The Salvadorean nation is sovereign, free, and independent. ART. 2. The sovereignty essentially resides in the community of citizens, and its exercise is limited to the right of suffrage according to law. ART. 3. Every public power emanates from the people. The officials are its delegates and agents, and have not other powers than those given them by law; therefore they are entitled to obedience and respect, and also must render account of their office. Section 2.-Of the territory. ART. 4. The territory of Salvador has for its boundaries-to the east, the gulf of Fonseca; to the north, the republics of Guatemala and Honduras; to the west, the river La Paz; and to the south, the Pacific Ocean. The special designation shall be the object of secondary laws. Section 3.-Form of the government. ART. 5. The government of the Salvadorean nation is republican, popular, represen tative; those administering it are responsible and alternative. It is composed of three distinct and independent powers, the legislative, executive, and judicial.” Section 4.-The religion. ART. 6. The Catholic religion, Apostolic and Roman, is that of the state, and the government will protect it. It tolerates the public worship of the Christian sects, when it does not offend morality nor the public order. CHAPTER II. Section 1.-Of natural born and naturalized Salvadoreans. Article 7. Natural born Salvadoreans are: 1st. All born in the territory of Salvador, excepting the children of foreigners, not naturalized. 2d. The children of a foreigner with a Salvadorean woman, or of a Salvadorean with a foreign woman, born in the territory of the republic. 3d. The children born to Salvadoreans in a foreign land, within which they are not naturalized. ART. 8. Naturalized Salvadoreans are those who have acquired this quality according to law, and those who hereafter become so according to the following rules: 1st. Such Spanish Americans who, having proven a year's residence in the republic, with good conduct, may obtain naturalization papers from the government, which is obliged to concede them. 24. All other foreigners may demand and receive naturalization papers from the government, with the proof of good conduct and a residence of two years. 3d. Those who obtain naturalization papers from the legislative body. Section 2.-Of the citizens. ART. 9. All Salvadorean adults of twenty-one years and of good behavior are citizens, who have besides any of the following requisitions: the being father of a family or head of a house; knowledge of reading and writing, or possessing an independent livelihood. Also, adults of eighteen years, who have received literary degrees, are citizens. ART. 10. Rights of citizenship may be suspended by regular imprisonment on a criminal charge, not bailable. 2d. By being legally declared a fraudulent debtor. 31. By conduct notoriously vicious, or by common vagrancy. 4th. By mental imbecility; or, 5th, by judicial interdiction. ART. 11. The quality of citizenship shall be forfeited by those, 1st. Who are convicted of unbailable offenses. 2d. Those who, residing within the republic, accept office from another nation, without lawful authority. 3d. Those naturalized abroad. Section 3.-Of foreigners. ART. 12. Children of foreigners born within the republic, and qualified by law should declare within one year after the qualification, before the proper authority whether they accept or not the Salvadorean nationality; otherwise they will be considered as naturalized. ART. 13. Foreigners residing in Salvador must obey the laws, and to pay the ordinary imposts equally with Salvadoreans, and if unduly molested in their persons and interests, shall have the same guarantees as those natural born. ART. 14. When they advance any just claim against the nation, they must have recourse to the tribunals designated by law. ART. 15. Foreigners all may acquire real estate in the nation; said property not to be exempted from the legal charges which would weigh upon it were it in the hands of Salvadoreans. ART. 16. The circumstance of the marriage of a Salvadorean woman with a foreigner does not deprive her of her quality as a Salvadorean, nor are her goods exetupted from the imposts and contributions to which they would be subjected as of those natural born. CHAPTER III. Only section.—Rights, duties, and guarantees of Salvadoreans. ART. 17. Salvador recognizes rights prior to and higher than the positive laws, it has as principles, liberty, equality, fraternity, and for bases, the family, labor, property, and the public order. ART. 18. All the inhabitants of Salvador have incontestable rights to preserve and defend their rights and liberty; to acquire, possess, and dispose of their property, and to enjoy happiness without molestation. ART. 19. Every one is free in the republic. There shall be no slave within the territory, nor be a citizen who traffics in slaves. ART. 20. The republic is a sacred asylum for the foreigner who may wish to reside within its territory, unless to those guilty of crimes whom another nation demands, by virtue of existing treaties and those of extradition. ART. 21. Every inhabitant of the territory of the republic, free of responsibility, may emigrate whenever it pleases him without necessity of passport, and may return at will. ART. 22. Every one, free of responsibility, may travel through the territory of the |