> 325.72 Mfcl I a. ( 3 kJ ! '.r> '■ | ..V 5k'J.v ; •• J/: ? ?• • ■ - ■ '• • . ■ . V # Mai*** ;(;• j; .. ■ v-v if f ."*r t y *■. > -v » .■ V i’-’. ■*. 4 it-;,': ;■-V> . . ' , £■. . - •• ■ ■til v. >* ' ’V# , l*v Cite Hifirarp of tye (Hnitiergitp of iftottf) Carolina U BERTAS, Vll)i& book to as presrnteb :: : . DECKEEES FOR THE AND COLONIZATION. OFFICE OF COLONIZATION. MEXICO. QjNP cvem&ei 1865 . MEXICO. PRINTED BY IGNACIO CUMPLIDO, calle de los Reboides n? 2. 1865. DECREE For the establishment of civil and military colonies on the Imperial Mexican Rail-Road between Ve¬ racruz AND THE CITY OF MEXICO. MAXIMILIAN, Emperor of Mexico: Considering: That the establishment of lines of Rail- Road is necessarily followed by the creation of new centers of population: Considering: That in the present state of the Empire it is important that these centers of population should not be very far from each other: Considering: That all commerce and industry require complete security along their lines of communication: We have decided to decree, and do decree as follows: Art. 1st. There shall be established on both sides of the Rail Road from Veracruz to the city of Mexico, and at the most suitables points, which points will be desig¬ nated by our Minister of Fomento, civil and military settlements at a distance from each other of not more than four or five leagues. t *1 527267 4 Art. 2d. Each settlement shall have an extent of at least one square league, taking care that its center hall he as near as possible to the Rail-Road station. Art. 3d. The survey, measurement and division of these settlements shall be made by the colonial compa¬ ny of the Engineers of Guadalupe. Art. 4th. In case the lands selected as most suitable for these settlements should not be national property, but should belong to private individuals, they shall be ex-appropriated for the public use, on such conditions as our Minister of Fomento may decide. Art. 5th. The first settlements to be established shall be between “La Soledad” and “Puebla,” and steps there¬ for shall be taken immediately. Then those which are to be established between La Puebla and the city of Mexico, will be formed. Art. 6th. There shall be established a line of small forts or blockhouses, at the most suitable points along the road, and so situated that they can communicate with each other, by means of signals, day and night. These forts shall be sufficiently large to contain the ne¬ cessary supplies and munitions. Art. 7th. Our Ministers of Fomento, of War, and of Hacienda are each charged with the execution of so much of this decree as relates to his Department. Given at Chapultepec, September 5th 1865. Maximilian. To the Minister of Fomento' By the Emperor In the absence the of Minister of Fomento, Manuel Orozco y Berra. Sub* Secretary. 5 Regulations from the Ministry of Fomento for CARRYING OUT THE FOREGOING DECREE. Art. 1st. The settlements to which the preceeding Decree relates shall be established near those places which this Ministry will designate, having regard to the points where the Rail Road stations are to be, and taking into consideration those circumstances that are indispensably connected with the welfare of the set¬ tlements. Art. 2d. The Engineers of Guadalupe, being divi¬ ded into parties, shall proceed as soon as the places, shall be designated, throughly to examine, in every particular, the land, as to its fitness for the said settle¬ ment, and the selection being made, they will survey and measure a square league, or 4.338 acres, which they will divide into one hundred lots of forty acres each, numbering each one in regular order. The 338 remai¬ ning acres shall be divided into lots of 25 metres front by 50 deep (82x 164 feet,) upon which the settlers may build their houses, arranged in streets of sufficient breadth for free and commodious passage. Art. 3d. As soon as the engineers shall have selected the land suitable for the settlement, they shall make it known to the public functionary, in whose jurisdiction the land my lie, to the end that he may immediately notify the owner thereof that said land is about to be occupied for the public good, and that he may at once apply to the Ministry of Fomento for proper indemni¬ fication. Art. 4th. The engineers in making the measurement referred to in Article 2d., shall value the land according 6 to its quality and with regard to the prices which rule in the neighbourhood in which said land may be situa¬ ted, a copy of which valuation they will deliver to the proprietor of the land, so that he may ask for the pro¬ per indemnification. Art. 5th. Should the proprietor not he satisfied with the valuation made by said engineers, he shall name an expert, in whom he may have confidence, who shall va¬ lue the land; and should his valuation not agree with that of said engineers, the highest political authority of the place in which said land may he situated, shall name a third party, who shall decide the question. Art. 6th. The provisions of the preceding article shall be carried out in case the proprietor cannot agree with the Department of Fomento in regard to price and terms of the indemnification, which may be made either in specie, at the times which the said Depart¬ ment may designate, or in securities on the land itself, for which the colonists, according to the number of acres allotted to each one, may be bound in five year bonds, bearing an annual interest of six per cent. Art. 7th. In order to carry out the provisions of the preceding article, the price of each acre shall be fixed at one dollar, and it shall be optional with the settlers either to pay for their land inmmediately, or to hold it on the above-mentioned terms. Art. 8th. The issues which may arise as to indem¬ nification shall in no wise interfere with the settle¬ ment of the lands, which shall commence as soon as they are examined and the notice due be given to their ow¬ ners. Art. 9tlr. The engineers shall plat each settlement, designating the hundred lots designed for cultivation, as well as those intended for building, taking care to leave 7 in each one the necessary amount of land for streets, churches, a school, a paseo and other public works. These plats (or maps) shall be transmitted to the Mi¬ nistry of Fomento, so that by means of them it may make the grants that may be solicited, and issue the proper titles. Art. 10th. To the French soldiers, and also to those of the foreign regiment, whose term of service may have expired, and who may wish to remain in the Empire, there will be given, gratis , in said settlements, a lot for cultivation, and also one for building, provided they render that service which, for the safety of the settle¬ ments themselves, may be required by the Minister of War. Art. 11th. One half of the lots designed for cultiva¬ tion, as well as those for building, shall be reserved for those Mexicans and foreigners who may desire to esta¬ blish themselves upon them. Art. 12th. The Ministry of War will request His Ex¬ cellency Marshall Bazaine to assign the engineers of Guadali'.pe to the execution of those labours which, in these Regulations, are recommended to them, and it will arrange with him as to what compensation should be given them. Art. 13th. The same Department will issue the ne¬ cessary regulations in regard to the military service which will be required from the settlers, as well as those relative to the construction of the Block-houses Mexico. September 7th 1865. The Minister of Fomento; In his absence, The Sub-Secretary Manuel Orozco y Berra. 8 DECREE TO ENCOURAGE IMMIGRATION. We Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, in considera¬ tion of the sparseness of population in the Mexican Territory, in proportion to its extent: desiring to give to immigrants all possible security for property and liberty, in order that they may become good Mexicans, sincerely attached to their new country; and having heard the opinion of our Board of Colonization, do decree as follows: Art. I. Mexico is open to immigration from all na¬ tions. Art. II. Immigration agents shall be appointed, who will be paid by the government, and whose duty it will be to protect the arrival of immigrants, and install them on the lands assigned them, and assist them in every possible manner in establishing them¬ selves. These agents will receive the orders of an Im¬ perial Commissioner of Immigration specialy appointed by us, and to whom, through our Minister of Improve¬ ment, (Fomento) all communications relating to immi¬ gration shall be addressed. Art. III. Each immigrant shall receive a duly executed title, incommutable, of his landed estate and a certificate that it is free of mortgage. Art. IV. Such property shall be free from taxes for the first year and also from duties on transfers of pro¬ perty, but only on the first sale. Art. V. The immigrants may be naturalized as soon as they shall have established themselves as settlers. Art. VI. Immigrants who may desire to bring laborers with them or induce them to come in consi- 9 derable numbers, of any race whatever, are authori¬ zed to do so; but those laborers will be subject to special protective regulations. Art. VII. The effects of immigrants, their work¬ ing and brood animals, seeds, agricultural implements, machines and working tools, shall enter free of custom¬ house and transit duties. Art. VIII. Immigrants are exempted from military service for five years, but they will form a stationary militia, for the purpose of protecting their property and neighborhoods. Art. IX. Liberty in the exercise of their respective forms of religious worship is secured to immigrants by the organic law of the Empire. Art. X. Each of our Ministers is charged with carrying out such parts of this decree as relate to his department. Given at Chapultepec on the 5th day of September, 1865. Maximilian. To the Minister of Improvement (Fomento). By the Emperor— Manuel' Orozco y Berra, Sub-Secretary (in the absence of the Minister of Improvement ). —REGULATIONS:— Under article 6th, of the foregoing decree we ordain as follows: I. Under the laws of the Empire, all persons of color are free by the mere act of touching Mexican soil. 10 II. They may make contracts with the employer who has engaged, or may engage them, by which such employer shall bind himself to feed, clothe, and lodge them, and give them medical attendance and also pay them a sum of money acording to whatever agreements they may enter into with him: moreover, he shall deposit in the savings bank hereinafter mentioned, for the benefit of the laborer, a sum equivalent to one- fourth of his wages. The laborer shall, on his part, obligate himself to his employer to perform the labor for which he is employed, for a term of not less than five, nor more than ten years. III. The employer shall bind himself to support the children of his laborers. In the event of the father’s death, the employer will be regarded as the guardian of the children and they will remain in his service until they become of age, on the same terms as those agreed to by their father. IV. Each laborer shall receive a book certified by the local authority, in which book a description of his person, the statement of his place of labor, and a cer¬ tificate of his life and habits will be entered. In case of a change of employer, the consent of the former employer shall be entered in this book. V. In case of the death of the employer, his heirs, or whoever may acquire his estate, shall be bound to the laborer in the same manner in which such employer was; and the laborer on his part shall be bound towards such new proprietor on the same terms as in his former contract. VI. In case of desertion, the laborer when arrested, shall be placed, without pay, on public works, until his employer presents himself to claim him. VII. In case of any injustice of the employer towards the laborers, he shall be brought before a ma¬ gistrate. VIII. Special police commissioners will see to the enforcement of these Regulations, and officially pro¬ secute all violators thereof. IX. A Savings Bank will be established by the Government for the following objects: X. The employers shall deposit in said Bank, every month, for the benefit of the laborers, a sum equivalent to one-fourth of the wages which each is entitled to under his contract of employment. XI. The laborers can deposit, in addition, in the Savings Bank, in money, such sums as they may desire. XII. These deposits shall bear interest at the rate of five per-cent per annum. XIII. At the end of his engagement, and on pre¬ sentation of his book, the laborer shall receive the entire amount of his savings. XIV. If at the end of his engagement the laborer wishes to leave his money in the Savings Bank, he can then receive the interest accrued; or, if he wishes to leave this also, it will be added to his capital and also draw interest. XV. In case a laborer should die intestate or without heirs, his property shall pass to the Treasury of the Government. Given at Chapultepec, on the 5th day of September, 1865. MAXIMILIAN. To the Minister of Improvement (Fomento). By the Emperor. Manuel Orozco y Berra, Sub-Secretary [in flic absence of the Minister of Improvement.) 12 Regulations and instructions in frutherance of “the Decree to encourage immigration.” Art. 1st. The lands offered for colonization are divi¬ ded into three classes. Art. 2d. First. Those that are of the public domain and have never been reduced to cultivation. Art. 3d. Second. Those that have been more or less improved as Haciendas, the right to dispose of which the Government has acquired either by purchase or otherwise. Art. 4th. Third. Private lands and Haciendas, the owners of which are disposed to offer them to immigrants on liberal terms for colonization. Many Haciendas that are or have been under cultivation may be bought on easy terms, and for less than one dollar per acre. Art. 5th. These private Haciendas or plantations sometimes embrace several hundred squares miles. Smal¬ ler sizes often afford lands and room for a settlement of a dozen or more families. Art. 6th. Immigrants are advised to establish them¬ selves at first in settlements or communities, as well for mutual protection and assistance, as for the benefit of churches and schools, the convenience of mills, black¬ smith-shops, &c &c. Art. 7th. It is the polic}^ of the Government to en¬ courage settlement upon private as well as public lands; and the same rights, privileges and exemptions are of¬ fered to immigrants who may settle upon the former as are granted to those who settle upon the latter. Art. 8th. Lands of class first are offered in alternate sections, as donations to actual settlers, and in quanti- 13 ties, varying from 160 acres for a single man to 640 for the heads of families according to circumstances to be explained hereafter. IMMIGRATION. Art. 9th. The Government not only invites all well disposed persons to come and assist in the occupation of its vacant places; but His Majesty, the Emperor, tou¬ ched by the spectacle of good men struggling with ad¬ versity in other lands, tenders hospitality and homes especially to these. Moved by the generous impulses of his nature, he offers them material assistance to enable them to reach this bountiful and beautiful land. To those of them who wish to change their skies, make Mexico their home, and identify themselves with the country, a free passage by sea for their families and effects is offered. Art. 10th. Immigrants are therefore divided into two classes: A & B. The former being of those just alluded to, who by misfortune have lost all their substance; and the latter, those who are less straightened in their means. Art. 11th. Not only a free passage by sea is offered to class “A,” but when they arrive in the country, a tra¬ velling allowance of 10 cents the league thence to their new homes, will be made for each member of their fa¬ milies, counting as members, also, their apprentices. Art. 12th. Lands of class “first” will be donated to these immigrants by alternate sections, viz 160 acres to a single man, and 320 to a man with a family, with a pre-emption right to as much more in each case. Art. 13th. Immigrants of class “A” who, after arri¬ ving in the country, may prefer to settle upon Hacien- / 14 das or other lands, are at liberty to do so; but in that case they will be required to refund, with interest, the money that may have been advanced in assisting them to reach their new domiciles. Art. 14th. Immigrants of class “B,” who are those that can afford to pay their own expenses, have the whole country before them. They may establish them¬ selves where-ever they can fmd suitable and available lands. If they prefer the unimproved lands of the pu¬ blic domain, they also can have them free, in alternate sections, but only for actual settlement , at the rate of 320 acres for a single man and 640 to a man with a family, with a preemption right to as much more in each case. Art. 15th. These donations of land to persons, whe¬ ther of class “A” or “B,” are made on condition and with the understanding, that they shall, in good faith proceed forthwith be occupy , subdue and cultivate the land so donated. Art. 16 th. The lands of the public Haciendas will be offered at Government prices, and pro rata according to the actual cost of purchase by the Government. Art. 17th. As it regards private lands and Hacien¬ das, the field of selection is much larger. Immigrants are free to make their own bargains with proprietors, the Government waiving its fees on such transactions as per Art. IV of the Decree. Art. 18th. As it regards the public Haciendas, a re¬ servation of improved lands will be made from each to serve during the first years as a common, for the free use of the colonists. The size of this common will be deter¬ mined by the number of families the lands of the Ha¬ cienda may be sufficient to accommodate. It will be large enough to give them bread-stuffs and vegetables at once, and until they can bring their own lands into 15 - cultivation. It will be large enough also to afford space for a village, in case the immigrants should find it de¬ sirable, as probably at first they will, to establish them¬ selves in villages. No rent will be charged for the first years for the use of this common. Art. 19th. This Reserve or Common is ultimately intended for educational purposes, and, after the first years, a ground rent of ten per cent upon the value of the land, but not of the improvements, will be required . AGENCIES, Art. 20th. Agents for immigration will be stationed at convenient points abroad, for the purpose of afford¬ ing information to the emigrant there, as to this country, its lands, the best way of reaching them, and upon all other subjects pertaining there to. Art. 21. Persons wishing to emigrate will first apply to the most convenient agent. The applicant must state his occupation, whether agricultural, mercantile mechanical or professional. He must also give his age, with the name, sex, and age of each member of his family, including apprentices. If he requires assistance for the journey, he must state his circumstances, and give satisfactory references as to his character and standing in the community. PERMITS. Art. 22th. The permit of the Immigration Agent is necessary to entitle the immigrant to the privileges of the Decree. Unless he bring with him such a permit into the country, he will neither be entitled to lands, to free entry at the custom house, nor to any other pri¬ vileges beyond those accorded to mere strangers. 16 EFFECTS. Art. 23th. Immigrants with such permits, may brin in, duty free, all their personal and household effect; their live stock, their implements of husbandry, tool and instruments of all kinds used by them in the pm suit of their trade, art, profession or calling. But the; may not bring, without the payment of duty, any mei chandize, or thing for sale, exchange or barter. Art. 24th. Before embarking, if coming by sea, o leaving home, if coming by land, the emigrant shoul furnish the agent for immigration with a complete list c the persons and effects that he proposes to carry wit him. These effects must be properly packed, marked an numbered; and the contents of each pakage, box, c case, must be duly certified, in order that they may th more readily pass the custom-house and toll-gates. Art. 25th. Arriving in port, or crossing the boundrj an Agent will be there, whose duty it is to give the ino migrants such assistance, and afford them such furthe information as they may require to speed them o: their way. Mexico 27 September 1865. Approved: Maximilian. Office of Colonization, N? 13 Calle de San Juan de Letran .— Mexico . 6 November 1865. PRINTED BY ORDER OF M. F. Maury , Imperial Commissioner . > This BOOK may be kept out TWO WEEKS ONLY, and is subject to a fine of FIVE CENTS a day thereafter. Tt~was~ta ken out- on the day-indicated b e low : T1IH IBdVHO IV O'N dO A±ISb3AIND