1898. Art. IX. of the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain, of Dec. 10, 1898, provides: "Spanish subTreaty with Spain, jects natives of the Peninsula," residing in the ceded or relinquished territory, who remain in such territory, "may preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain by making, before a court of record, within a year from the exchange of the ratification of this treaty, a declaration of their decision to preserve such allegiance; in default of which declaration they shall be held to have renounced it and to have adopted the nationality of the territory in which they may reside." The phrase," Spanish subjects, natives of the Peninsula," includes natives of the Balearic and Canary Islands, the word "Peninsula " "being taken to refer to the political kingdom and not to the geographical territory." Mr. Hay, Sec. of State, to Duke of Arcos, Spanish min., Nov. 27, 1899, See Mr. Hill, Act. Sec. of State, to Sec. of War, Oct. 6, 1899, 240 MS. The phrase in question does not include "Spanish subjects born of Spanish parents in Venezuela and Chile." Mr. Hay, Sec. of State, to Sec. of War, April 10, 1900, 244 MS. Dom. Let. Obviously it does not include natives of Cuba. (Mr. Hill, Act. Sec. of July 11, 1899, the United States military authorities in Cuba issued an order stating that Spanish subjects, natives of the Peninsula of Spain, who resided in Cuba and were desirous of preserving their Spanish nationality, might declare their intention before the mayor of the municipality in which they lived within one year from April 11, 1899. The order contained instructions as to the form in which the declaration should be drawn up. A similar system of registration was put in force in Porto Rico and the Philippines. On request of the Spanish minister at Washington, the military authorities in Cuba were instructed to send lists of the registration to the consulate-general of Spain at Havana. In December, 1899, the Spanish minister at Washington requested an extension of the time provided by the treaty, on the ground that no effective machinery existed either in Cuba, Porto Rico, or the Philippines for recording the options of Spanish subjects. The Department of State replied that it was not in the power of the Executive to extend the treaty period, and that the Secretary of War had stated that as the declaraH. Doc. 551-vol 3- -21 tion of election could be made "before any court of record, it is in the power of Spanish subjects to avail themselves of the privilege granted by the treaty at any time within the period prescribed." The Spanish minister, however, took the ground that, as the treaty provided that the declaration might be made "within one year after the exchange of the ratifications," it was the evident intention of the contracting parties to allow an effective year, and that as the order of the military authorities in Cuba was issued only on July 11, 1899, and the registration offices were opened only on the 18th of the same month, the full opportunity required by the treaty had not been allowed in Cuba. He also stated that the corresponding order in Porto Rico bore date August 21, but was not officially published until the 13th of the following month, while the registration offices were not opened till some time later. In the Philippines the opportunity had been even less, and he concluded that the then existing condition of things was tantamount to an annulment of the privilege granted by the treaty. The Department of State, in its reply, pointed out the ample opportunity afforded to all Spaniards in Cuba and in Porto Rico for making the declaration, the United States having thrown open the alcaldias of every town and hamlet for the purpose, instead of limiting the registration to courts of record, thus furnishing to each declarant the facility of registration almost at his door. The creation of a special machinery for registration was a special favor shown by the United States, there being no requirement of it in the treaty, so that the whole conventional opportunity had been fully given both in Cuba and in Porto Rico. As to the Philippines, the case was thought to be different, and it was considered just that the period should be extended by a new treaty for six months from April 11, 1900, unless it should be proved that before that time all the Peninsular Spaniards residing in those islands had in fact had a full opportunity to make the optional declaration which the treaty allowed. For. Rel. 1899, 715, 716, 717-718, 719–720. By a protocol signed at Washington March 29, 1900, the period of a year This protocol was duly approved by the Senate. (Mr. Hay, Sec. of State, treaty, a Spanish subject at the time of his death." (Griggs, At. "ARTICLE 1. Natives of the territories ceded or relinquished by Spain by virtue of the treaty of peace with the United Royal Decree, May States of the 10th of December, 1898, who at the date 11, 1901. of the exchange of ratifications of said treaty were residing in said territories and have lost their Spanish citizenship (la nacionalidad española), may recover it in accordance with the provisions of article 21 of the civil code prescribed for Spaniards who have lost their nationality by acquiring citizenship in a foreign country. "Nevertheless, persons referred to in the paragraph above, who were holding public office, civil or military, employment, or appointment by nomination of the Spanish Government, and who continued to exercise their official functions in the service of Spain, shall be held to have retained their Spanish nationality. "ART. 2. Natives of the territories ceded or relinquished, who at the date of the exchange of ratifications of the treaty of the 10th of December, 1898, as aforesaid, were residing outside of the country of their birth, and who at the time of the promulgation of this decree are found to be inscribed in the registers of the legations or consulates of Spain abroad, or who were holding public office under the Spanish administration, or who were domiciled within the actual dominions of Spain, shall be held to have retained their Spanish citizenship, unless within the period of a year from this date they shall make an express declaration to the contrary before the proper authorities. "The persons referred to in the paragraph above, who at the time of the promulgation of this decree do not fall within any of the categories above mentioned, have lost their Spanish nationality. They may recover the same in accordance with the provisions of the abovementioned article 21 of the civil code. "ART. 3. Spanish subjects born outside of the territories ceded or relinquished, who were residing therein at the date of the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty of the 10th of December, 1898, and would have lost their Spanish citizenship by not exercising within the proper period the right of option set forth in article 9 of said treaty, may recover the same by leaving said territories and complying with the formalities established in the second paragraph of article 19 of the civil code. "The persons referred to in the present article who, contrary to their wishes, have not been permitted to inscribe themselves as Spaniards in the municipal registers, may do so within the period of one year from this date before the Spanish consular registrars, making a note of the inscription which was denied to them in the municipal registrars. Those who fulfill this requirement shall be held to have retained without interruption their Spanish citizenship. Nevertheless, the persons referred to in the first paragraph of this article who reside in the ceded or relinquished territories by reason of public office, military or civil, employment, or appointment, the functions of which they were discharging at the time and which they continued to discharge in the service of Spain, shall be held not to have lost their Spanish citizenship. "ART. 4. The persons referred to in this decree who, subsequently to the exchange of ratifications of the treaty of peace with the United States, shall have held public office or taken part in the municipal, provincial, or general elections of the territories ceded or relinquished by Spain, or who shall have exercised in said territories any of the rights pertaining to citizenship therein, shall not be granted an option in favor of or a recovery of their Spanish citizenship, except as provided in article 23 of the civil code." "ART. 5. Spanish citizenship retained or recovered by virtue of the provisions of this decree can not be set up as against the governments or authorities of the ceded or relinquished territories in which the parties concerned were born or reside, except by the express consent of said governments or by virtue of a stipulation in an international treaty. "ART. 6. The persons who (in accordance with the prescriptions of this decree) would have lost their Spanish citizenship and consequently the right to draw any retiring fund or pension whatsoever, whether the same may have been actually granted or not, shall recover said rights at the same time with the recovery of Spanish citizenship in the following cases and subject to the following conditions: "First. The payment of any retiring fund or pension necessarily demands the residence of the beneficiary within the actual dominions of Spain and submission to the regulations which govern or in the future may govern said pensions. "Second. All restorations or rehabilitations for the purpose of drawing retiring funds or pensions must be preceded by an examination and revision of the claims upon which it might have been granted. Said rehabilitation will be subjected in the various cases to the following rules: "A. The persons referred to in the first paragraph of article 1 and In the second paragraph of article 2 of this decree may draw the retiring funds or pensions to which they are entitled, provided they recover Spanish citizenship within the period of one year from this a Article 23 of the civil code provides that “any Spaniard who loses his nationality by accepting employment of any other Government, or by entering the armed service of a foreign power without the King's permission, shall not recover Spanish citizenship without previously obtaining the royal authorization." date; the right to draw said pension, however, commencing from the date of the presentation of a petition requesting the examination and revision of their claims. "B. Those persons referred to in the first paragraph of article 3 who within the period of two years shall recover Spanish citizenship in the manner therein prescribed, shall be completely restored to the enjoyment of their respective retiring funds or pensions. "ART. 7. The persons referred to in article 4, no matter what be the manner in which they may have recovered Spanish citizenship, shall in no case be restored to the enjoyment of the retiring funds or pensions to which they might have been entitled. "ART. 8. The persons referred to in this decree who, in accordance with the provisions of the same, shall have lost the right to any retiring fund or pension whatsoever, shall, nevertheless, be entitled to petition the Government to grant them, for special services rendered to the cause of Spain, pensions as a reward therefor, in accordance with the prescriptions of the law of the 12th of May, 1837, it being further permissible in such a case to waive the residence in Spanish territory which is prescribed as a condition to their enjoyment. "ART. 9. The ministry of state, grace and justice, hacienda, and gobernación shall draw up the necessary provisions for the application of this decree in their respective departments. Given at the palace the 11th of May, 1901. "The president of the council of ministers, "PRÁXEDES MATEO SAGASTA. "Appendix. "MARIA CHRISTINA. "I. Article 19 of the civil code prescribes that children of a foreigner born in Spanish dominions who desire to acquire Spanish. citizenship shall, within the year following their majority or emancipation, make a declaration to that effect. "Those who are in the Kingdom should make this declaration before the official in charge of the civil registry of the town in which they reside; they who reside in a foreign country, before one of the consular or diplomatic agents of the Spanish Government, and they who are in a country in which the Government has no agent, should address the Spanish minister of state. "II. Article 21 provides that: 'A Spaniard who loses his citizenship by acquiring naturalization in a foreign country, can recover it on returning to the Kingdom by declaring before an official in charge of the civil registry of the domicil which he elects that such is his wish, in order that the official may make the corresponding inscription therein, and by renouncing the protection of the flag of such country."" For. Rel. 1901, 475. |