Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Third Session of the Fortieth Congress
Mr. Plumb to Mr. Seward.
Sir: As illustrating the opinions and action of the public men of this country upon questions of constitutional law, and as presenting what may be the beginning of a serious conflict between the general government and one of the most important of the Mexican States, I transmit to the department herewith, translation of proceedings in the impeachment [Page 507] and removal from office of the governor of the State of Jalisco by the Mexican congress just prior to its late adjournment.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
Impeachment of the Governor of the state of Jalisco before the National Congress.
CONGRESSIONAL REPORT.
In the city of Mexico, on the 9th of May, 1868, the congress of the Union being erected in grand jury, the citizen secretary of the section read in full the process verbal relative to the accusation which the citizen deputies Robles Martinez, Silviano Moreno, and Angulo make against the governor of the State of Jalisco, for abuse of authority and infraction of articles 20, 101, and 112 of the constitution, and the law of the 30th of November, 1861.
The report of the section was also read, which concludes with the following proposition:
“It is declared that the citizen Antonio Gomez Cuervo, governor of the State of Jalisco, is guilty of violation of the organic law of the 30th of November, 1861.”
After some discussion, the following proposition was introduced:
“The discussion of the report of the section of the grand jury is suspended, for the reason that the cause cannot proceed to the determination of the guilt or innocence of the presumed offender, as notice has not been served upon him of the day fixed for the trial of his cause, that he may be heard in his defense.”
After discussion, this proposition was adopted by a vote of one hundred and twenty-one against seven.
The following proposition was then adopted:
“The twenty-eighth day of the present month is hereby designated for the continuance of the proceedings commenced against the governor of the State of Jalisco, the citizen Antonio G. Cuervo, to whom there shall to-day be sent, by extraordinary express, the corresponding notification by the secretary of congress.”
Jalisco.
The accusation of Mr. Gomez Cuervo, governor of the State of Jalisco, before the general congress, has been very badly received in Guadalajara, and has led to the issuance of the decree we insert below, and which reached here yesterday by an extraordinary courier.
Decree of the State of Jalisco.
Emeterio Robles Gil, constitutional governor substitute of the State of Jalisco, to the inhabitants of the same; be it known:
Considering that the fact of the congress of the Union having submitted the citizen governor of the State to trial, for having carried into effect the decree No. 61 of this legislature, implies the declaration that said legislature had not the power to issue said law.
That although it is true that article 29 of the federal constitution provides that in cases of invasion, grave disturbance of the public peace, or any other cause that may place society in great peril or conflict, solely the president, in accord with his council of ministers, and with the approbation of the council of the union, can suspend personal guarantees; yet when an imminent danger in a State, or the immediate repression of crime, are the questions treated of, the legislatures should have the right of dictating the measures necessary to check the evil, although this may occasion that in a certain manner some guarantees with regard to the offenders may be suspended.
[Page 508]That it is thus implicitly stipulated in articles 19 and 28 of the constitution of the State, on providing in them that extraordinary powers may be given to the governor, and that he may of his own accord assume them whenever the urgency of the case shall require.
That if the legislatures had not the right alluded to, and in virtue whereof that of the State issued its decree No. 61, the sovereignty of the States would not exist, since even for the providing for their own preservation they would have to apply to the federal government.
Number 88. The inhabitants of Jalisco, represented by their congress, declare:
Article 1. It is declared that the congress of the State of Jalisco had full right to issue the decree No. 61, and possesses full right to dictate all others that it may judge opportune in the sense already expressed.
Art. 2. It is declared that the government of the State has complied with its duty in carrying into effect the decree referred to.
Art. 3. As what is expressed in the preceding declarations involves a controversy between the State and the federation, which should be decided in conformity with article 98 of the general constitution, a copy of this decree will be remitted to the supreme court of justice, in order that it may direct that the corresponding trial be commenced.
Art. 4. That the legislatures of the other States be exhorted to support, if they shall think proper, the rights of which the congress of the Union seeks to deprive them in denying that they can legislate, suspending certain guarantees when necessity requires it.
Hall of sessions of the congress of the State, Guadalajara, 21st of May, 1968.
RAMON LUNA, President
J. V. Tagle, Secretary.
P. Laudazuré, Secretary.
Wherefore I order that it be printed and published in legal form, for its due fulfillment.
Antonio P. Verdia, Secretary.
Remarks by the Editor of the Siglo XIX.
This decree gives rise to serious reflections. Whenever any high functionary is accused of infraction of the constitution or federal laws, it is the unavoidable duty of congress to subject him to trial, but this trial does not in any manner imply a declaration in respect to the acts of the legislatures.
The decrees of the latter are not revisable by the congress of the Union, and if individual guarantees be attacked by them, the law affords the injured parties the recourse of the courts for their protection.
The governors of the States are subject to two classes of responsibilities: as chiefs of the executive in each State, they are responsible before the respective legislatures, and as agents of the federation they are responsible before the general congress. The case may well occur of conflict between these two responsibilities; but keeping in view that the constitution is the supreme law of the country, and ought to be observed, notwithstanding whatever may be provided to the contrary by the particular laws of the States, and it being the federal courts that are charged with the application of the law of the Union, it is clear that the governors have to yield to the decisions and resolutions of the federal tribunals.
The suspension of guarantees can only be made by the President of the republic, in accord with his council of ministers and with the approbation of congress. This does not prevent the legislatures from conceding extraordinary powers to the governors, provided they neither attack nor suspend guarantees established by the general constitution.
This view is found set forth in one of the late circulars from the ministry of government, and the legislature of Queretaro acted in conformity therewith when it applied to the federal authorities for power to suspend the guarantee of free residence.
The constitution of the State of Jalisco authorizes the legislature to confer extraordinary powers upon the executive, but in no manner to suspend guarantees secured by the federal constitution.
If the States could decree such suspension and legislate on matters of individual guarantees, the union would exist only in name; the bonds of nationality would be relaxed, and the existence of the general powers would be almost superfluous, as they would be reduced to a complete nullity.
The sovereignty of the States should be complete in so far as relates to their interior regimen, but it should never be in opposition to the constitution.
In the internal affairs of the States the Union has in no way to intervene; but the [Page 509] Union should take care that in all and in each one of the States the federal constitution be observed.
We have always defended the sovereignty of the States, and our ideas on this point have been received with favor throughout the country, and even by the official press of Jalisco, particularly when we mention that the congress would arrogate to itself powers not belonging to it if it attempted to revise the elections of the functionaries of the State or the decree of the legislatures.
These reflections are suggested by the “considerations” of the decree of the legislature of Jalisco.
In so far as relates to the resolutions it contains, it is at once perceived that it is of no consequence that the legislature itself approves of its own acts, or of those of the governor.
It does not follow from such declarations, that there will be any controversy between the State and the federation, as the latter has not pronounced any decision in the matter, and thus the question does not come within the provisions of article 98 of the constitution, nor does any controversy exist upon which the supreme court of justice has to open trial.
The excitative addressed to the other States by the legislature of Jalisco, that they should sustain its pretensions, is very grave, because it is equivalent to inciting them to an unconstitutional course, that would subvert one of the fundamental bases of our political system, which consists in the supremacy of the Union and of the federal law. A bad interpretation of local sovereignty may have dangerous consequences. An exaggeration of the rights of the States produced the late civil war in the neighboring republic, placed it on the brink of ruin, and was most disastrous above all for the States that sought to place themselves above the Constitution.
It is to be hoped that the legislatures of the other States will not follow the path indicated to them by that of Jalisco, because that course would lead to discord, to anarchy, and the dissolution of the republic. It is also to be desired that the executive of the Union should take part in this matter, and make the States understand that they cannot place themselves above the constitution, and that their sovereignty depends precisely upon the deference they maintain for the federal law.
In the accusation and the trial of Mr. Gomez Cuervo there is no conflict or controversy between the federation and the State of Jalisco; there is simply an ordinary case of responsibility, which has to be decided by the grand jury, whose competency is undoubted, and has been recognized by the accused himself, when endeavoring to justify his acts, and in giving notice that he should make use of the right of defense.
The grand jury, in declaring the guilt or innocence of the accused, does not revise the decrees of the legislature of Jalisco, but decides whether the governor attacked or not the federal authority, and whether he violated or not the constitution by disregarding and disobeying the protection extended by the judge of the district in favor of citizens who were shot half an hour after there had been extended over them the judicial authority of the Union.
We do not wish at present to express any opinion as to what should be the decision of the jury, and will only remark that it would be undesirable in the highest degree, if any controversy should defeat the right to censure public functionaries and to make effective their responsibility.
In the jury there will undoubtedly be the utmost justice, as is indicated by the fact of having suspended its proceedings to give time for the defense of the accused, and there will also be sufficient calmness to proceed as behooves so august a tribunal, without being disturbed by the decree of the legislature of Jalisco.
The trial is to take place on the 28th. If the defendant should be absolved, he will continue in the government, full of prestige and respectability.
If he should be condemned, this decision will make manifest that the constitution and individual guarantees cannot be trampled upon with impunity; that the responsibility of public functionaries is not a vain promise; and that there really exist legal remedies against the arbitrary acts of power.
To oppose the taking place of this trial, as appears to be the intention of the legislature of Jalisco by its last decree, is a serious error, which almost involves the confession of the culpability of the accused.
Circular addressed by the minister of government to the governors of the States.
SECRETARYSHIP OF STATE AND OF THE DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT—SECTION 1ST—CIRCULAR.
I this day communicated the following to the citizen governor of Jalisco:
“In council of ministers I laid before the constitutional President the decree [Page 510] numbered 88, issued by the legislature of your State, and which you transmit to me with your dispatch of the 21st instant.
“The gravity of the subject to which the decree relates, and the transcendency of the declarations it makes, strongly arrest the attention of the federal executive, and after examining the affair with all the attention that it demands, the citizen President has directed that I should make to you the representations which are the object of this note, and for the ends that are therein expressed.
“The decree No. 88 is evidently unconstitutional, and invades the grave attributes which the fundamental law confers solely upon the congress of the Union and the federal executive. The text of that law is so clear as to render impossible, any misinterpretation.
“Solely, the President of the republic, in concurrence with the council of ministers, says article 29 of the federal constitution, and with the approbation of the congress of the Union, ‘may suspend the guarantees established by this constitution.’ So far were the constituent legislators from conceding to the legislatures of the States the faculty of suspending the constitutional guarantees, that they refused the power even to the.congress of the Union whenever the suspension should not be made by the President of the republic, in accord with his council of ministers; this essential requisite, the only one in our constitutional law limiting the legislative faculties of congress, constituting the proof that not even congress itself can suspend a constitutional guarantee, except in joint action with the government, this being a further wise precaution in a matter in itself most serious. All these views are so evidently true that if not the text of article 29, its discussion in the session of the constituent congress, on the 21st of November, 1856, would leave no room for the slightest doubt.
“For these unquestionable reasons it is an established principle of our constitutional right that the legislatures of the States can never suspend the guarantees sanctioned by the constitution.
“It is true that there may be instances when the constitutional law may not suffice for the assurance of public order, threatened in some locality by a serious peril; but the remedy for such an evil is not in infringing the law, doing what it prohibits, but in applying to the only power that can suspend guarantees, asking the necessary authorizations to confront the situation. In the circular from this department, of the 12th of last month, I stated to the government under your worthy charge what ought to be done in such cases, in order to attend equally both to the exigencies of the public peace and to the respect due to the supreme law of the country.
“Such a law does not attack the sovereignty of the States; it is known that it determines the quality and conditions of the federal compact which unites all of the States to form of them the nation; it is known that the local sovereignty only exists with the restrictions which that law establishes, nor is any one ignorant that to secure the general good of the country the States legitimately represented in the constituent congress consented to reserve certain faculties to the federal power exclusively.
“For this the States, without any offense to their sovereignty, are restricted from making alliances or treaties; they cannot coin money, nor make war against a foreign power, nor legislate on matters reserved to the congress of the Union, nor exercise faculties committed to the President of the republic; and this is why the States, without offending their sovereignty, cannot suspend guarantees, since this important attribute is exclusively reserved by article 29 of the constitution to the federal power.
“Local constitutions, it is true, permit their legislatures to invest their governors with extraordinary faculties, but such authorization cannot be invoked to enable them to do what belongs only to the competent federal power.
“The extraordinary faculties that a legislature may give cannot pass the limits assigned by the internal regimen of the State; they cannot treat of matters in which the legislature itself is incompetent, and this for the simple reason that what is not possessed cannot be given. For this reason these extraordinary faculties could never authorize a governor to do what the President only can do; and for the same reason a legislature cannot give authority to do what is permitted only to the congress of the Union. In this sense, and in no other, are articles 19, fraction 6 and 28, fraction 9, of the constitution of Jalisco to be interpreted.
“As the declarations made in the decree to which I am referring are supported” by considerations which are certainly illegal, the federal government cannot, admit them, nor recognize in the legislature of Jalisco, as asserted in the first article of the decree, the right of suspending constitutional guarantees, or of legislating upon matters which are reserved to the congress of the Union.
“The government makes no observations with respect to the third article, as the supreme court of justice will know how to fulfill its duty by determining what the law ordains in this case; but it cannot, indeed, omit indicating, although very summarily, that the excitative spoken of in article 4 is illegal, not because it invites other legislatures to do what they are prohibited from doing, but because the constitution does not permit States to form alliances or coalitions of any kind.
“Having by the preceding answered your official note of the 21st instant, I have finally [Page 511] to state to you, by express order of the citizen President, that the decree referred to being unconstitutional, the government of the Union, as also the authorities, to whom the constitution confides its inviolability, will proceed to act in their respective cases, obeying always, and with all preference, the general constitution of the republic, which cannot be derogated by the said decree.”
And I transcribe the same to you, by the order of the citizen President, in order that you may be pleased to communicate this note to the legislature of your State, when the excitative, which that of Jalisco has made, with reference to this affair, shall be treated of
The Citizen Governor of the State of——.
Trial in Congress.
CONGRESSIONAL REPORT.
Session of the 28th of May, 1868; Mr. Zarco presiding:
The session commenced at half-past one in the afternoon, one hundred and twenty-nine representatives being present.
Mr. Zarco, president. Congress constitutes itself in grand jury.
Mr. Sanchez Ascona, secretary of the section of the grand jury, read the process verbal of the accusation made against the citizen Gomez Cuervo, governor of Jalisco, from which process we take the most important documents and the report with which it concludes. They are as follows:
The Accusation.
On the 2d day of February last, Antonio Gomez Cuervo, who acts as governor of the State of Jalisco, sanctioned the annexed decree, which, under the number 61, was issued by the legislature of that State, and which has the character of a special law of retroactive effect, the application of which is intrusted to the executive power, and in which decree are violated the guarantees respecting the life and liberty of individuals, provided by article 20 of the constitution of the republic.
On the 23d of the same month of February, at midnight, five individuals were apprehended, and were executed, by order of Señor Gomez Cuervo, at daybreak on the following day, without any previous trial whatever.
The victims in vain sought the protection of the federal courts for the assurance of their individual guarantees, a protection which was amply decreed in their favor, ordering the suspension of the execution for Señor Gomez Cuervo, infringing articles 101 and 102 of the constitution, and the organic law of the 30th of November, 1861, disregarding what had been opportunely decreed by the judge of the district, ordered that the five individuals should be executed in the principal square of Guadalajara.
Señor Gomez Cuervo has gone still further: he has manifested to the federal court that he will not obey such orders as are communicated to him with the object of hindering the executions he may decree.
The superior tribunal of the circuit has reported and transmitted all the antecedents of this busiuess to the ministry and to the supreme court of justice of the nation.
For all the foregoing violations of the constitution we, the undersigned, accuse Señor Gomez Cuervo before the grand jury of the nation.
Law No. 61 of the State of Jalisco.
Antonio Gomez Cuervo, constitutional governor of the State of Jalisco, to the inhabitants of the same; be it known that—
The honorable legislature of the State has remitted to me the following decree:
“Considering that the alarming proportions to which the perpetration of the crimes of robbery, kidnapping, and assassination have arrived requires a speedy and energetic remedy;
“That society, with good reason, intimidated by the magnitude of the dangers which surround it, urgently calls for the adoption of extraordinary measures, which shall put a stop to the evil and re-establish the public tranquillity;
[Page 512]“That congress cannot see with indifference the agony and alarm of the people, and should, on the contrary, make the greatest efforts to check in their origin the crimes which threaten the very dissolution of society;
“That in the situation to which we have arrived the ordinary means established by the laws are not sufficient, and that it is necessary to strengthen the action of the executive, in order that it may be able to restore tranquillity so profoundly disturbed;
“The congress of the State, making itself the interpreter of the most imperious of public exigencies, and desirous of saving the sacred interests of the people it represents, has thought proper to issue the following decree:
“Number 61. The people of Jalisco, represented by their congress, decree:
“Article 1. The observance of the law of the 3d of the present month, in so far as relates to the crimes of robbery, kidnapping, and assassination, is hereby suspended.
“Art. 2. During this suspension the government shall have the powers which the circular of the 12th of March, 1881, conceded to the military authorities for punishing the crimes of robbery, making the proceedings and penalties therein established applicable also to the crimes of kidnapping and assassination.
“Art. 3. The government can delegate the faculties treated of in the foregoing article to such political authorities and military chiefs as it may deem advisable.
“Art. 4. The government is authorized to expel from the State, by executive order, for the term of four years, any suspicious individual, or person suspected to be a robber or kidnapper.
“Let it be communicated to the executive for its promulgation and observance.
“Hall of sessions of the congress of the State, Guadalajara, January 31, 1868.
“ANDRES TERAN, President.
“José G. Gonzales, Secretary.
“Pedro Landazwire, Secretary.”
In conformity with article 3d of the preceding decree, I have thought proper to direct:
1. The powers contained in article 2d are delegated to the political prefects of the cantons, and to the directors of the departments of the proper use of these powers, and strict application of the proceedings established in the circular of the 12th of March, 1861, the strictest responsibility will be exacted from said functionaries, under penalty of being dismissed from office in conformity with the laws, and furthermore punished as the case may require.
2. The same powers are delegated to the military authorities of the State, and with the approval of the citizen general-in-chief of the fourth division, they shall also be transmitted to such officers of the same division as, with the accord of said general, may be charged with the persecution or apprehension of the delinquents referred to in the inclosed decree, the government reserving to itself to restrict these powers in the special instructions, which in each case may be given, and to which the said chiefs shall scrupulously adhere, under penalties of the ordinance which shall be made effective by the superior officer whose duty it may be.
3. The section of justice of the government department shall form a weekly report of the criminals proceeded against, according to the present provisions, which shall be certified to and duly published.
4. The bodies of the criminals executed in compliance with respective provisions shall remain exposed to public view for the space of twenty-four hours on the site of the execution, or in that of the perpetration of the crime of which the criminals have been the authors, as may be judged convenient by the authority imposing the penalty.
Wherefore, I order that it be printed and published in legal form for its fulfillment.
A. Lancaster Jones, Secretary.
[Untitled]
The following is the circular referred to:
DEPARTMENT OF WAR AND MARINE—CIRCULAR.
Under date of the 7th instant I communicated to the citizen prefect and principal commandant of the district of Morelos the following:
“By your official note of the 6th instant, his excellency the President has learned with regret of the excesses committed by a party of bandits on the estate of San Carlos, and approves the efficacious solicitude with which you took steps for pursuing the malefactors, and the succor afforded to the district wherein the crime was perpetrated, although not comprehended within the jurisdiction under your command.
“The supreme government is actively engaged in the formation of a law of expeditious and severe proceedings for the trial of robbers, and firmly establishing public security, by the exemplary punishment of these offenders; but until said law shall be published by the respective departments, his excellency the President empowers you to order the execution of every robber taken in the act, giving a report of what shall so take place.
[Page 513]“With respect to the bandits, against whom there may be well-grounded presumptions, when once captured, you will proceed to draw up an act, in which shall appear the declarations of two competent persons of known probity, and the culpability being proved by the uniformity of testimony against the individual, whether for the perpetration of a robbery or because he belongs to bands of highwaymen, you will give orders that he be shot, transmitting an authorized copy of the proceedings, and remaining with a tranquil conscience as regards the carrying into effect these proceedings, as the supreme government, deviating from the channels and proceedings established by the laws, and trying robbers militarily, does so by virtue of the ample faculties with which it is invested, urged by the necessity of the moment and the dnty of saving society; but its dispositions during this transitory epoch will remain without effect immediately, as has been stated, that by the respective ministry or by the sovereign congress, the regular administration of justice shall be established as the situation of society shall require.”
I transcribe the same to you by order of his excellency the President, in order that within the precincts of your authority, and with respect to robbers, the provisions of the inclosed communication be carried into effect.
His excellency the Governor of the State of Jalisco.
Order from the federal court.
COURT OF THE DISTRICT.
The citizen Licentiate Ignacio Matute has just presented himself in this court as counsel of prisoners, stating in writing that five individuals are to be shot in the morning of to-day without being tried by the tribunals established by the constitution.
As, if this be true, it attacks the guarantees the constitution of 1857 has conceded to every Mexican, it becomes the duty of this court to impart the protection, and id. demanded; and, therefore, in the name of the justice of the Union, I issue to you the present, for the purpose that you shall give orders for the suspension of said execution, with the reservation of a proper trial, in order that should the proceeding in question prove to be legal the action of the government shall remain free.
Independence and liberty! Guadalajara, February 24, 1868, at 25 minutes past 5 in the morning.
TREJO.
The Citizen Governor of the State.
Reply of the governor.
SUPREME CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF JALISCO—SECTION OF JUSTICE.
The criminals referred to in your note that I have just received, and which I hasten to answer, have been tried and sentenced to death in conformity with the provisions in force in the State in matters of robbery and kidnapping, with which provisions I supposed you were perfectly acquainted from the day of their publication. Copies of them were sent to your court, as also to the superior tribunal of circuit. The duty of the government under my charge is to fulfill those provisions, and enforce their fulfillment in pursuance of the attributes imposed by the constitution of the State, and it is impossible for me, without violating that duty, of the observance of which I have to render account to the honorable legislature, to order the suspension of the proceeding against said criminals, as you intimate in your said note.
Independence and liberty! Guadalajara, at five minutes after 6 in the morning, February 24, 1868.
J. A. G. CUERVO.
A. Lancaster Jones, Secretary.
The Citizen Judge of the District, Present.
Judicial citation.
department of justice and public instruction—section 1.
For the effects of article 149 of the interior regulations of the congress of the Union, I inclose to you, duly certified, the process verbal formed against the citizen governor of that State, under the accusation of the citizen deputies Robles, Martinez, and Agulo, [Page 514] and which the section of the grand jury of the congress has been pleased to remit to this department for the purposes indicated.
I have to ask that you will acknowledge the corresponding receipt.
Independence and liberty! Mexico, April 16, 1868.
From occupation of the citizen minister.
MANUEL CASTILLA Y PORTUGAL, Chief Clerk.
The Judge of the District, Guadalajara.
Service of the same.
Guadalajara, April 24, 1868.
This citation, with the official note which accompanies it, having been received, let the directions of the section of the grand jury of the congress of the Union, in their resolution of the 15th of the present month, be carried into effect, the judge who signs hereto passing to the house of the citizen governor of the State for the purpose expressed in article 149 of the internal regulations of congress. By the judge of the district of the State of Jalisco, decreed and signed.
D. J. TREJO.
A. ANGEL PEREZ.
A. VICENTE URZUA.
On the 25th of the same month, with the object of giving compliance to the foregoing order, associated with those assisting, I passed to the palace of the State, and the citizen Antonio Gomez Cuervo, governor of the same, being present, the undersigned judge read this process, and having concluded, Señor Gomez Cuervo said:
“The state of excitement and of alarm in which the inhabitants of the State of Jalisco found themselves in the month of January last, owing to the kidnapping and other crimes that were committed even in the principal streets of the capital, energetically called for the adoption of efficacious measures for putting a stop to a state of vandalism without example even in the epochs of the greatest disorders and revolution.
“The whole city demanded that such measures should be taken. No one is ignorant of the representations which, with, that object, were addressed to the government and to the legislature, until the latter finally had to issue the decree of the 31st of January, which forms the second page of this procés, and which declared in force the circular of the 12th of March, 1861, leaving its application to the charge of the political authorities in addition to the military, although with the restriction that to the government belonged the faculty of designating what authorities and what officers should have the powers which in the circular were given to the governors and military commandants.
“It is to be noticed that this is the same disposition which was ordered to be again observed under date of the 27 th of May, 1867, by the department of justice of the general government, when it was at San Luis, and that it had continued in force in the State until it was suspended by the legislature of the same, as it was not until the month of January last, that by the government, or the congress of the nation, the mode of administering justice had been determined.
“The decree No. 61 of the congress of the State having been published, as I have stated, and there being no law that conflicted with it, and above all, in fulfillment of article 28 of the constitution of the State, which provides that the governor shall publish the laws without excuse or observation, I was obliged to proclaim it forthwith, decreeing immediately, in conformity with article 3d, the regulations I thought proper for delegating, without danger of abuse, the powers referred to in article 2d.
“I must observe in passing, that, as is public and notorious, the decree was received with applause by the whole of society, who saw in it their salvation. Votes of thanks to congress were drawn up, tranquillity commenced to be restored, and the authorities were only recommended to be prudent in its application.
“On the apprehension of the kidnappers, whose execution has led to my being accused, they were directly, and by virtue of the law, consigned to the political prefect, who tried, condemned, and executed them, without any intervention on the part of the government, whose functions in the matter ceased with the publication of the law.
“These criminals asked protection after they were sentenced, and the judge of the district communicated to me, a few moments before the execution, to suspend the same.
“The section of the grand jury will at once perceive that the law having been issued under the responsibility of the congress of the State, executed by the political prefect in virtue of the authorization given in the law itself, the executive government of the same was entirely foreign to the question, since it was neither the executor of the sentence, nor had it pronounced the sentence, or issued the law, this being the reason why it limited itself in its reply to stating its constitutional obligations.
“I have pointed out the situation of Jalisco when the decree was issued, and some [Page 515] other circumstances relating to its subsistence, in order that the section of the grand jury may be pleased to estimate them at what they may be worth. For my part, I conclude with the assurance that, although I am convinced of the necessity there was for the punishments which took place in this city, I regret the same, as I pride myself in being one of the first to recognize the respect that is due to individual guarantees.” This he said and signed before me.
A. GOMEZ CUERVO.
TREJO.
A. ANGEL PEREZ.
A. VICENTE URZUA.
Then follow various representations of municipalities and citizens of Jalisco, asking the absolution of the accused.
Report of the section of the grand jury.
The section of the grand jury has made a most scrupulous examination of the cause instituted by reason of the accusation presented to the chamber by the citizen deputies Robles, Martinez, Moreno, and Agulo, against the constitutional governor of Jalisco, Antonio Gomez Cuervo.
With an intimate conviction of the gravity and importance of this affair, the undersigned have thought it their duty to consider it thoroughly, in order to report to the national grand jury what they judge to be the most strict justice.
The section does not believe it necessary to make an extract of the procés wherein are contained the proofs of the facts which give rise to the accusation, as this proceeding appears unnecessary, the documents having been read in full in accordance with the regulations prescribed, and will have sufficiently informed the chamber, even to the fullest details. It is sufficient for their purpose to state the facts that appear to be proved, make the application of the legal precepts which serve as the basis of the accusation, and deduce therefrom the consequence which is contained in the opinion they have been able to form of the affair, submitting the same to the wisdom of the jury.
The legislature of Jalisco issued, on the 31st of January of the present year, a decree putting in force the circular which, with reference to the crime of robbery, was dictated by the supreme government of the republic, on the 12th of March, 1861. On the simple perusal of this decree it is clearly and undeniably seen that it is in open opposition to a great part of the precepts contained in the federal charter of 1857, in force in the republic since the 8th of December of last year, when the dictatorship ceased, which was created to meet the difficulties of the late foreign war.
In the opinion of the undersigned, the principle is not even doubtful, that only the congress of the Union, or during its recess the permanent deputation, with the previous consent of the government in council of ministers, can suspend the guarantees conceded to the inhabitants of the republic, in the bill of rights contained in section 1 of title 1 of the constitution. The 29th article of the fundamental law not only reserves to the chamber this important faculty, but carefully restricts it, pointing out the cases wherein use may be made of it, the special points which it is prohibited to touch, and the precise conditions to be observed in making use of that authority.
The legislators of 1857, not content with having made the explicit declaration contained in this article, were desirous of still further removing any doubt or error, by establishing, in the 126th article, the basis upon which the law of the constitution is founded, whose rules form the supreme law of all the Union, to which the authorities of the land must subject themselves, notwithstanding whatever disposition to the contrary that may be contained in the constitutions or laws of the States.
Consequently the general constitution and the organic laws issued to complete it and make practicable the division and attributes of the federal powers, are very positive as regards the deference and respect that are due to them, over the local regimen, the first condition of which is that of subordination to the stipulations contained in the social compact. Neither can the character of free and sovereign, possessed by the States of the federation with respect to their internal administration, be opposed to this, because the condition of this autonomy springs precisely from and is based upon the federal charter, which is the root and principle of our institutions, and therefore there cannot be comprehended in the exercise of that right the violation and disregard of the fundamental law.
This being so, the decree which the legislature of the State of Jalisco ordered to be promulgated on the 31st of January last ought neither to have been issued nor observed, because by it were suspended the guarantees conceded in articles 13, 14, and 20 of the constitution.
The deputies who form that legislative body will be personally responsible, in conformity with the constitution of the State, for that act, which constitutes a fault committed in the discharge of their attributes; and it may also be considered that the governor, Antonio Gomez Cuervo, also is responsible, because he not only carried into effect [Page 516] the provisions of that decree, in every sense unconstitutional, but he went still further than the legislature, and issued a regulation on the 2d of February last, delegating to the subaltern authorities, both military and political, the discretional powers with which he believed himself invested.
In the application of the decree referred to occurred the event which gives rise to this accusation, and the nature of which we believe we are able to examine with probabilities of correctness by the light thrown on it by the foregoing considerations.
Five persons were arrested in Guadalajara who, according to the rumor circulated after their apprehension, had committed the crime of kidnapping; and it was said in public, that at daybreak on the 24th of February last, they were to be shot without any previous trial having taken place, or the least time allowed for an examination into the charge which had led to their being sentenced to the highest penalty.
The judge of the district of Jalisco, at the petition of the counsel for criminals, and in accordance with the organic law of 30th November, 1861, opportunely ordered the suspension of the execution, meanwhile that a trial for their defense might be opened, and communicated this disposition to the governor, Don Antonio Gomez Cuervo. This functionary, for the reasons which appear in his answer, received by the judge of the district a day after the criminals had been executed, in whose favor protection had been decreed, or for whatever other reasons, did not comply with the judicial decree of suspension, which placed the prisoners under the shield of the federal courts. Such an act involves a flagrant violation of article 4th of the said law of the 30th November, 1861, undermines at their base our social institutions, and consequently is a charge of inevitable responsibility. The exculpations made by the accused, on replying to the charges, are not sufficient, in the judgment of the section, to extenuate them, or much less to refute them.
These exculpations are reduced to two points: In the first place, Señor Gomez Cuervo believes that the obligation the constitution of the State imposes upon him of executing the laws of the same relieves him from enforcing obedience to the general constitution and laws; and in the second place, he thinks that the abnormal situation in which the State of Jalisco was found authorizes and justifies his proceedings.
We have already remarked how inexact and illegal the opinion is upon which the first of his exculpations is founded; and with respect to the second, it is easy to see that, whatever may be the character of necessity given to the occasion for a punishable act, it is not sufficient to avert the judicial proceedings, although it may at the proper time be alleged as an extenuating circumstance in mitigation of the rigor of the law in the sentences.
In the judgment of the undersigned, it results from what has been set forth that the accusation which has given rise to the continuation of this process is legal and well founded, and the undersigned conclude by submitting to the enlightened deliberation of the national grand jury the following:
“It is declared that the citizen Antonio Gomez Cuervo, governor of the State of Jalisco, is guilty of infraction of the general law of the 30th of November, 1861, and of the constitution.”
Section of the grand jury, Mexico, May 9, 1868.
CENDEJAS.
PROTASIO P. TAGLE.
GARCIA CARRILO.
SANCHEZ ASCONA, Secretary.
The reading of the documents having been concluded, the said citizen Sanchez Ascona read the following official note from citizen Gomez Cuervo:
Defense of Governor Cuervo.
SUPREME GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF JALISCO.
Summoned by the secretary of the grand jury to appear on the 28th instant, to defend myself before it from the accusation which has been made against me for violation of individual guarantees, and without refraining from doing so if it shall be possible, either personally or by means of counsel, I am desirous that the grand jury should at once be made acquainted with the documents I inclose, which may have some influence in the decision of the matter in question. They will form my only defense, should the brevity of time allowed me for appearing, not admit of making it in any other manner.
Elected governor of the State of Jalisco against my wish, against my expectations and when I had never figured nor aspired to figure in any public post, I thought it my duty nevertheless, as a citizen, to accept the position, although for me it was a sacrifice which was what as a liberal I had already made, seeing with resignation my little [Page 517] property destroyed at one time by reactionists, at another by interventionists and French, notwithstanding the false reproaches now made against me through party spirit of having served the empire, and on which point document No. 1 gives sufficient explanations.
On taking charge of the government, I did so with the firm determination of always being the faithful interpreter of the law, and that it should be the guide of my conduct, procuring whatever good might be possible for a people who, without any merits on my part, had so elevated me. I am convinced that, so far as my incapacity has permitted, I have not deviated from that path, and this alone it is that makes me now see with regret that I should be criminally tried when my conscience tells me that I have not been wanting in my duty.
I purposely refrain from describing the state of alarm in which, at the beginning of this year, the whole State of Jalisco was found, owing to the unheard of and incredible development of the most ferocious banditism, which perpetrated crimes and depredations even in the principal streets of the capital. I well know that it is said by the enemies of the government that this state of things was exaggerated, and I, therefore, let facts speak which cannot be contradicted.
To put an end to the evil I have spoken of, the congress of the State issued, under date of the 3d of January, the decree relating to criminal trials, which I inclose, marked No. 2, in which, while giving the parties accused all constitutional guarantees, brief proceedings were provided, and such measures as it was considered might conduce to the desired result were dictated. The trials were established, but robberies and kidnappings continued, because the decree had not sufficient efficacy to terrify the bandits, who, it is mournful to have to state, counted, if not on the direct support of the opposition, on the moral support they derived from seeing the authority depreciated and ridiculed by the daily and blood-thirsty invectives, which, without reason, were directed against it, in publications which have only been allowed to exist owing to the government, the faithful slave to the law, having wished to respect to the utmost the liberty of thought and of the press.
Owing to the ineffeacy of the decree of the 3d of January, the alarm of society was of such a nature, that, on the 31st of the same month, a committee from the municipality of Guadalajara presented themselves before congress, asking for the adoption of more severe measures, as also a numerous concourse of citizens to present the memorial marked No. 3, contained in the adjoined number of the official paper of the State, of the 6th of February.
Congress could not resist, before the exigencies of a population possessed with terror; it comprehended that although only the president in council, with his ministers, and with the approbation of the congress of the Union, can in certain cases suspend the constitutional guarantees, this right ought also to be possessed by the States in urgent cases which do not give time to apply to the federation, as they have the right in such cases of making war against a foreign power, although in article 112 of the constitution it is prohibited in general; and as he who is attacked by a bandit has the right of killing him without waiting for his condemnation by the tribunals, congress, under the pressure of the circumstances, issued on the same day, the 31st of January, the decree No. 61, of which I inclose a copy marked No. 4. Fraction 1 of the 28th article of the constitution of the State (document No. 5) prescribes among the attributes of the, governor that of publishing and executing all of the laws, and of causing them to be obeyed, as also of taking care that the public order shall be preserved.
The meaning of that fraction has been determined, since the year 1862, by congress itself, in the same official documents which, underlined, are contained in the pamphlet No. 6, (pages 19 and 25,) and later in fraction 3d of article 16 of the decree No. 73, (document No. 7.)
The governor, by virtue of that constitutional precept, has the obligation to publish, under the exclusive responsibility of the legislature, the laws which the latter may is sue, immediately on receiving them, and without his being permitted to make any observation whatever, since it is declared that the government does not sanction them but is only the medium of their publication, as are afterwards the political chiefs and directors in the cantons of the States.
This precedent being made known, it is clear that I incurred no responsibility by the publication of the decree No. 61. I simply performed my constitutional duty, and no charge can on that account be brought against me.
After the publication of the decree, the execution of which was intrusted to the political authorities without the government further interfering therewith, public tranquillity began to revive, and still more so when about that time five kidnappers were apprehended, who were tried in conformity with the decree, and whose criminality was proved in due form, as is seen in the certified copy of the act which was drawn up in conformity with the circular of the 12th of March, 1861, (document No. 8.)
All society was awaiting what was to take place; the culprits were condemned to death, and their execution became such a necessity that had it been suspended it would [Page 518] have caused a disorder, as all the world would have seen by it the solemn declaration of impunity for criminals of that kind.
The proof of this is shown in the fact that scarcely had the criminals been executed when from the greater part of the towns commenced to come in votes of thanks to the congress, to the government, and to the political prefect, among which may be seen those which will be found published in numbers 185, 188, 189, and 200 of the official paper of the State, (documents Nos. 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13,) the numbers of which are inclosed for that purpose.
At five in the morning of the day of the execution I received an official note from the judge of the district ordering me to suspend the execution, as the criminals had asked the protection of the guarantees.
I then gave the answer which appears in the procés verbal, stating my obligations as governor of the State; this answer was sent in sufficient time for the court of the district to address itself either to the congress, author of the law, or to the political prefect, charged with the execution of it. I know not by what incident, accidental or not, the note was carried to the judge of the circuit, and the judge of the district did not receive it until after the culprits had been shot. But considering the state of things, and above all, that I was neither the author of the decree nor the person charged with its execution, that it was not tome whom the judge of the district should have addressed himself, but to the political prefect or to congress, would it have been prudent, would it have been politic, even though I had been the party that had decreed the execution, to suspend it as was ordered?
I am of opinion that in those moments my responsibility would have been affected by again introducing alarm and agitation into a society that, always humane and opposed to bloody spectacles, nevertheless then saw their salvation in the execution of those five criminals.
I call the attention of the grand jury to the circumstance that when these events were passing in Guadalajara there had been already proposed in the general congress by the ministry initiative for declaring in force the law of the 25th of January, 1862, the discussion of which has only been terminated a few days since. What would have happened if the congress of the State, instead of dictating the decree No. 61, had remained indifferent, and tolerated until now the continuation of the dreadful situation in which Guadalajara was placed?
If, as I have before stated, it be possible for me to attend the session of the grand jury, personally or by counsel, I will then amplify the reasons I have here only indicated.
However that may be, I from this moment submit to the determination it may dictate, as my conscience tells me that I have not been criminal, and this will tranquilize me in case I shall be condemned.
The citizen Secretaries of the Grand Jury, Mexico.
The reading of the documents being concluded, the debate commenced.
Speech of Mr. Zarco, President of Congress, sustaining the accusation.
Mr. Zarco, president: I was unwilling to speak, as I wished to avoid saying anything against the accused. The part of defender is undoubtedly more attractive than that of accuser, and I would not aggravate the situation of Señor Gomez Cuervo. But such sentiments have been expressed, and such reasons adduced by the defenders of the accused that with much regret I am forced to make some rectifications.
The principal argument on which the defense is based is that the desperate situation in which kidnappers had placed Jalisco called for the conduct observed by the legislature and the governor, and to incline the mind of the jury to pronounce an absolution a public disorder is even predicted.
Notwithstanding the alarming symptoms which, since the commencement of this question, it is said have appeared in the State of Jalisco, notwithstanding the predictions of a disturbance of the public peace which are being repeated to us, the truth is that the accused has come to bow down before the jury, and that he has attempted to justify his conduct, and that the people of Jalisco remain and will remain tranquil because they will respect the sentence of the law.
Our duty, above every individual consideration, is to do justice, and to give no motive for the repetition and even justification of the calumnies always cast upon us of not knowing how to govern ourselves.
I have defended, through the press, the sovereignty and independence of the States in their internal regimen; I have sustained that congress has no right even to revise the [Page 519] decrees issued by the States; but if I have sustained this, I also sustain, as an indisputable truth, that the federal constitution and laws are above the laws and constitutions of the States, and if we ought to respect the internal government of localities we ought not to consent that the constitution shall be violated.
The counsel for Señor Gomez Cuervo has been very able; the good will of the audience has been captivated, and we all regretted that he had not a better cause to defend; but notwithstanding his brilliant style, he has not been able to diminish, even in one single point, the culpability of his client.
I have remarked that he as well as the other speakers who have taken up the defense of the accused, have occupied themselves in trying to do away with a charge which is not made against him. They have sought to sustain the right or obligation he was under of promulgating the decree of the legislature.
The charge is not that of having published the decree, but of having carried it into effect. He should have remembered that no law in the world is superior to the fundamental compact; he should have remembered what is provided by the law of 30th November, 1861, and should have availed himself of the opportunity afforded him by the judge of the district in decreeing the trial of protection.
The responsibility for those assassinations, which recall those of Tacubaya, it is sought to throw entirely upon the political prefect, because he tried and condemned the persons executed; and it is sought to establish that the governor had no obligation, and that it would have been an act of officiousness on his part to inform the judge of the district to what party he ought to have addressed himself to obtain the suspension of that butchery.
In the age in which we live, in a civilized country, fully constituted, we are told that the means to save the life of a man are not to be pointed out! The law of protection says, in its fourteenth article, (which was read,) and this was what the judge did, and the governor violated the constitution in consummating the executions, which were neither more nor less than assassinations.
I have demonstrated that the counsel for the defense has shown little ability in seeking to throw the responsibility upon the political prefect, and it is so because the responsibility rests on the governor.
It has attempted to be maintained that the law in question was the result of the situation, and that it was only issued against bandits; it has been asserted that it was given to assure guarantees; but it has been forgotten that the guarantees of society are composed of the union of the guarantees of individuals, and that executions like these terrify a society where lynch-law is unknown.
That law is a remnant of the barbarism which exists in the United States; because, unfortunately for humanity, in the country which appears to be the most civilized, there still remain remnants of barbarism. Lynch-law, which, for the honor of the jury, should not be invoked here, is an abuse which is committed when it is thought that the judge delays the punishment of the delinquent. Then the masses rise and attack prisons, and incendiarism and death are the consequences of that stupid law.
No! let it be said, in honor of our country, the Mexican people never will precipitate themselves into such excesses, or commit such assassinations.
It has been said that the victims of the 24th of February were wretched criminals. It is not noble to insult the dead, and we do not even know whether those unfortunate beings were kidnappers or not. They entered the prison without their crime having been stated, and it is thus recorded in the books of the alcalde. On what principles were they condemned?
The constitution prohibits the suspension of the guarantees which assure the life of man; the law for punishing bandits and disturbers of the public peace has respected that guarantee; and those who, like myself, seek for the abolition of the penalty of death, can scarcely tolerate an execution being carried into effect, even after the tutelary forms of legislation have been complied with, and our blood boils against assassinations such as those perpetrated in Guadalajara.
But it is said that the circumstances exacted the publication of the law and its fulfillment, and that the alarm which existed in that State ceased with the action of that sanguinary measure. It is not true. Before and after the promulgation of that decree, up to the present moment, I have received papers and letters from Jalisco, and there is not one of them which does not speak of robberies, kidnappings, and assassinations. This contradicts in the most solemn manner the absued and calumnious rumor that the malefactors had become more bold as soon as they knew that congress was trying the governor Gomez Cuervo for the acts of the 24th of February, and that calumny, gentlemen of the jury, I contradict in the name of the nation.
Appeal is made to the circumstances; and what circumstances can there be more grave than those wherein the life of a man is endangered? It has been said that the judge applied too late. The judge acted when they called him, and earnestly endeavored to do his duty, as in the proceedings it will be seen that orders were issued at five and five minutes after five in the morning.
[Page 520]The governor exculpates himself by saying that he had not condemned the culprits; this answer is like Cain’s, when God asked him, What has thou done with thy brother?
Señor Gomez has said that those men kept society in a state of alarm, and that if they had not been executed the people would have risen. It is not true that they would have revolted; they would have submitted to the law.
What order of a State is this, and what city, that could not consider themselves safe until five men should have perished?
It has been sought to make a charge against the federal authority for its conduct, and it is being endeavored to justify an authority which is the one to be blamed for the insecurity existing. It is insisted that the malefactors have been reanimated by the news of this trial. It may be that no band of robbers know that we are trying Señor Gomez Cuervo.
It has been said that the people do not comprehend their rights, and that there are vacuums in the laws. The people do comprehend their rights; and if there be any vacuums in the laws we must fill them legally.
It is said that public convenience demands the absolution of the accused. This is immoral, above all, when treating of judges of the fact. We have to act with justice, and without any personal consideration. Were we not to do so, society could not exist.
It is to be determined whether the constitution and the law of federal protection have been violated.
Agreed upon that fact, we have to vote against that delinquency. Public convenience, which I shall not invoke, requires that, convinced of the culpability of the accused, we shall condemn him.
The day when the people see that a governor, or other public functionaries, fall legally, on that day will be assured the great principles of the republic.
I beseech the jury that, looking at the question in the light of justice, the governor of Jalisco be declared guilty.
Mr. Zarco resumed the chair as presiding officer.
Speech of Mr. Sanchez Ramon against the accusation.
Mr. Sanchez Ramon. Sir, I know my incapacity, and it would make me abstain from speaking, did not the present question involve an event the resolution of which may contribute in a great measure to the well-being or otherwise of the State of Jalisco; and if I resolve on speaking, it is because I think it just, since I am in duty bound to do so as one of the representatives of that State.
The governor of a great State has at last been brought to the bar of the accused, before the grand jury of the nation. The accusation against him on this occasion, as on others, is nothing more than a means invoked for depriving him of the post to which he was elevated by an immense majority of the inhabitants of Jalisco. The present question has nothing new in it; it is the same that has been already presented on other occasions to congress under different forms, but the same ends have always been sought by the persons who accuse him.
In Jalisco, more than in other States, it has unfortunately been seen that some of its sons, legally defeated in electoral contests, forgetting or disregarding sound republican maxims, have not been willing to rest satisfied, and, without regarding the desolating and bloody past, without taking into account the future of the country, by their discontent have become the sworn enemies of the government, encouraging disunion and discord, putting obstacles in the way of the administration, and seeking to make impracticable even the measures necessary for the preservation of order and of peace—only to make unpopular and displace the elected of the people.
If a frank, reasonable, and just opposition is convenient and useful, a violent, passionate, and unjustifiable opposition cannot but produce evils, and evils of incalculable transcendency.
The accusation which to-day, invested with an appearance of decorum, dignity, and respect to our fundamental law, occupies the attention of the grand jury, is nothing more than a political proceeding, better combined and better directed than the other steps that have previously been taken for the same purpose—that of removing from his post the man elected by the people.
That is, in reality, the question, and not one of true constitutional right, which animates the promoters; for in their place not only would they have acted in the same manner that the governor has acted, but they would even have gone further, as Jalisco has had examples when those who act to-day as accusers held office or had great influence with the government.
All the members of the jury know the afflicted situation of Jalisco when its legislature declared the circular of the 12th March to be in force, as, besides the news which [Page 521] through distinct channels was at that time brought to the capital, the exact account of it made by the defender of the accused has just been heard. Nevertheless, permit me to state that those circumstances were so critical, on account of the kidnappings, as was reported by the press—and I have letters in my possession proving the same—that the idea occurred to many citizens, if the authorities did not take extraordinary and energetic measures for re-establishing guarantees, of putting into practice the terrible lynch-law, which, besides being discreditable, would have brought the government into many serious difficulties. The government had the cry of the opposition against it; it saw that the measures it took were insufficient to put an end to the evil, or even for calming it. The citizens who were kidnapped, when, after having sacrificed their means, they were returned to society, frightened and cowed, did not dare to make any revelations to the authorities, the same thing happening, as here, that the few who have met with that misfortune refuse to afford the information necessary for guiding the police, in order that they may apprehend these evil-doers—and all through the well-founded fear that a speedy and severe punishment would not be applied to them.
It is also known that the population of Guadalajara, tired with suffering, presented itself before the legislature to ask for the law, which at last it conceded, viz., that the above-mentioned circular should be declared in force, which law, if not similar, is very like that of the 3d of June, 1861, which, as I have manifested to congress, is the law in force against kidnappers. Five of these were apprehended and tried in accordance with said circular, who, on conviction and after confessing their horrible crime of kidnapping, were condemned to expiate their crimes on the scaffold.
A few moments before their execution it was sought to protect them through the federal authority but, instead of addressing the proper officer, the application was made to the governor, and it is known why, after all, the protection was not verified. In those circumstances it was fortunate, because, if the kidnappers had been shielded, Guadalajara and the whole of Jalisco would have remained unprotected, as the adjoining States, with laws similar to the one that was put in practice in Guadalajara, freed themselves from that plague without being impeded by federal authorities, such as those in Jalisco, who, overzealous for guarantees in favor of kidnappers, were indifferent about guarantees for society at large.
The former insecurity would have become greater, because the bandits, emboldened by the kind of protection they found in the opposition, instead of flying terrified after escaping being caught by the police, would have joined with others of the neighboring States and have returned with fresh vigor to give full effect to their infernal plans.
The government maintained itself firm in the idea of saving society, and society has shown its gratitude by a multitude of manifestations which it has addressed to it; and this is what has given rise to the accusation which now engages the attention of the grand jury.
Are not kidnappers deprived of their constitutional guarantees which it was thought was inculcated by trying them in conformity with the law declared to be in force by the legislature of the State?
If the law of 3d of June, 1861, is the one in force, and if, according to that law, they are to be tried in conformity with certain articles of the law of 25th January, I cannot see how the constitution can be infringed. But if the exigencies of the critical and exceptional circumstances in which Jalisco was placed did not allow the governor to act otherwise than as he did; if the guarantees consigned in our code are any of them, or have been, suspended with respect to kidnappers, the inculpability of the governor of Jalisco, as regards the charges brought against him, it appears to me is evident.
But supposing that what I have said is of no value, can the grand jury declare the party accused culpable for having fulfilled his duty towards his immediate superior, the legislature, for whom he acts, the responsibility resting only on one party, and the one cannot be punished and the other left unpunished? It is clear that this is not so; and this alone is sufficient that the jury should give their vote against the accusation.
With respect to the feeling which may be entertained on account of the decree No. 88 of the legislature of Jalisco, which, as it has just been seen, is a very distinct thing, I will say that now the legislature is entirely distinct from Señor Gomez Cuervo, and that he respected the supreme measures of the congress, as his own defender has shown; and I hope, from the rectitude and good sense of which the members of the grand national jury have given proofs, that neither this occurrence, nor influences of any kind, will lead them to deviate from the right path traced out by justice for the well-being of society.
I must add that it appears just that the governments of the States should possess more liberty in providing for their internal preservation in critical cases, without having to apply to the general government; for if the federation is to be desired, it is not because it signifies a band of iron that restrains them so that they cannot move, even although the social edifice may fall and involve them in its ruins.
What is to be regretted is that, there being a determined mode of initiating these reforms in our code, another of an irregular course should be appealed to, such as that [Page 522] the supreme court of justice should open the respective trial in the controversy brought on by the decree No. 88, to which I allude.
Sir, these spontaneous manifestations of the people of Jalisco which have reached the grand jury show very clearly what the question is. In their name I ask, in behalf of the well-being of those people, a vote of absolution for their constitutional governor, Antonio Gomez Cuervo.
Official Congressional Report.–Session of the 28th of May, 1868.
In the city of Mexico, on the 28th day of May, 1868, the congress of the Union being erected in grand jury for the continuation of the trial commenced against the governor of Jalisco, citizen Antonio Gomez Cuervo, in conformity with the resolution adopted on the 9th instant, the secretary read articles 141 to 156, inclusive, of the rules; and, in compliance therewith, the secretary of the section read in full the procés verbal relative to the accusation which the citizens deputies Robles, Martinez, Moreno, Silviano, and Angulo have made against that functionary for abuse of authority and violation of articles 20, 101, and 112 of the constitution, and of the law of the 30th of November, 1861.
Account was also taken of the representations addressed to congress in defense of the said citizen by the municipal authorities of Autlan, Lagos de Moreno, Tepetitlan, Teuchitlan, Guadalajara, of the city of Sayula, and of the residents of Lagos, Alotonilco el Alto, Tepetitlan, and the reform club of Guadalajara.
In continuation, the report of the section was read, which concludes with the following proposition:
“It is declared that the citizen Antonio Gomez Cuervo, governor of the State of Jalisco, is guilty of violation of the general law of the 30th of November, 1861, and of the constitution.”
The secretary of the section concluded by reading two communications, addressed by the accused—the first relative to his defense, and the second in which he names as his defender the citizen Lancaster Jones and asks to be excused from attendance on account of illness.
The said citizen read the defense, and the reading of the resolution proposed in the report having been repeated, it was placed in discussion.
The speakers against the report were Messrs. Samoman, Canedo, Rodriguez, Ramon, and Gudiñow y Gomez; and in favor, Messrs. Jesus Lopez, Barron, Frias y Soto, Zarco, and Sanchez Azcona.
The report having been sufficiently discussed, the question was put if it should be approved. The secretary, at the request of citizen D. Rosas, read article 105 of the constitution.
The vote, having been taken, resulted for the affirmative—108 votes against 24 in the negative; and in consequence the proceedings were ordered to be passed to the supreme court of justice for the constitutional effects. [The declaration of the sentence, the governor, meanwhile, as the effect of the action of the congress, being suspended from his office.]
Mexico, May 29, 1868.
J. N. ESPINOSA DE LOS MONTEROS.
A true copy. Attest: