CONGKESS. (PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.) 



was ever known to the laws of this country, or of 

 that from which our institutions have mainly been 

 derived. 



In the case <>f Mexico there are reasons especially 



strong for perfect harmony in the mutual exercise of 



jurisdiction. Nature has made us irrevocably neigh- 



:tnd wisdom and kind feeling should make us 



friends. 



The overflow of capital and enterprise from the 

 United States is a potent factor in assisting the de- 

 velopment of the resources of Mexico, and in build- 

 ingup the prosperity of both countries. 



To assist this good work all grounds of apprehen- 

 sion for the security of person and property should 

 be removed ; and I trust that in the interests of good 

 neighborhood the statute referred to will be so modi- 

 fied as to eliminate the present possibilities of danger 

 to the peace of the two countries. 



The Government of the Netherlands has exhibited 

 concern in relation to certain features of our tariff 

 laws, which are supposed by them to be aimed at a 

 class of tobacco produced in the Dutch East Indies. 

 Comment would seem unnecessary upon the unwis- 

 dom of legislation appearing to have a special nation- 

 al discrimination for its object, which, although un- 

 intentional, may give rise to injurious retaliation. 



The establishment, less than four years ago, of a 

 legation at Teheran is bearing fruit in the interest ex- 

 hibited by the Shah's Government in the industrial 

 activity of the United States and the opportunities of 

 beneficial intcrcha; 



Stable government is now happily restored in Peru 

 by the election of a constitutional President, and a 

 period of rehabilitation is entered upon. But the re- 

 covery is necessarily slow from the exhaustion caused 

 by the late war, and civil disturbances. A conven- 

 tion to adjust, by arbitration, claims of our citizens 

 has been proposed, and is under consideration. 



The naval officer who bore to Siberia the testimo- 

 nials bestowed by Congress in recognition of the aid 

 given to the Jeaunette survivors, has successfully ac- 

 complished his mission. His interesting report will 

 be submitted. It is pleasant to know that this mark 

 of appreciation has oeen welcomed by the Russian 

 Government and people as befits the traditional friend- 

 ship of the two countries. 



Civil perturbations in the Samoan Islands have dur- 

 ing the past few years been a source of considerable 

 embarrassment to the three governments, Germany, 

 Great Britain, and the United States, whose relations 

 and extra-territorial rights in that important group are 

 guaranteed by treaties. The weakness of the native 

 administration and the conflict of opposing interests 

 in the islands have led King Malietoa to seek alliance 

 or protection in some one quarter, regardless of the 

 distinct engagements whereby no one of the three 

 treaty powers may acquire any paramount or exclu- 

 sive interest. In May last Malietoa offered to place 

 Samoa under the protection of the United States, and 

 the late consul, without authority, assumed to grant 

 it. The proceeding was promptly disavowed, and 

 the over-zealous oflicial recalled. Special agents of 

 the three governments have been deputed to examine 

 the situation in the islands. With a change in the 

 representation of all three powers, and a harmonious 

 understanding between them, the peace, prosperity, 

 autonomous administration, and neutrality of Samoa 

 can hardly fail to !>< secured. 



It appearing that the Government of Spain did not 

 extend V" tin- tl:i_r of the United States in the Antilles 

 the full measure of reciprocity requisite under our 

 statute tor rh. c-.ntinuance of the suspension of dis- 

 crimination:, n^ainst the Spanish flag in our ports, 



splutely relinquished, I availed mj 

 tion conferred by law, and issued on^ 

 ber my proclamation, declaring reciprocal BV 

 in the United States. It is most gratifying 'i 

 testimony to the earnest spirit in which the Govum- 

 ment of the Queen Regent has met our efforts to avert 

 the initiation of commercial discriminations and re- 

 prisals, which are ever disastrous to the material in- 

 terests and the political good-will of the countries 

 they may affect. 



The profitable development of the large commercial 

 exchanges between the United States and the Spanish 

 Antilles is naturally an object of solicitude. Lying 

 close at our doors, and finding here their main mar- 

 kets of supply and demand, the welfare of Cuba and 

 Porto Rico, and their production and trade, are scarce- 

 ly less important to us than to Spain. Their commer- 

 cial and financial movements are so naturally a part of 

 our system that no obstacle to fuller and freer inter- 

 course should be permitted to exist. The standing 

 instructions of our representatives at Madrid and 

 Havana have for years been to leave no effort unes- 

 sayed to further these ends ; and at no time has the 

 equal good desire of Spain been more hopefully mani- 

 fested than now. 



The Government of Spain, by removing the con- 

 sular tonnage fees on cargoes shipped to the Antilles, 

 and by reducing passport fees, has shown its recog- 

 nition "of the needs of less trammeled intercourse. 



An effort has been made during the past year to re- 

 move the hindrances to the proclamation of the 

 treaty of naturalization with the Sublime Porte, signed 

 in 1874, which has remained inoperative owing to a 

 disagreement of interpretation of the clauses relative 

 to the effects of the return to and sojourn of a natural- 

 ized citizen in the land of origin. I trust soon to be 

 able to announce a favorable settlement of the differ- 

 ences as to this interpretation. 



It has been highly satisfactory to note the improved 

 treatment of American missionaries in Turkey, as has 

 been attested by their acknowledgments to our late 

 minister to that Government of his successful exer- 

 tions in their behalf. 



The exchange of ratifications of the convention of 

 Dec. 5, 1885, with Venezuela, for the reopening of the 

 awards of the Caracas Commission under the Claims 

 Convention of 1866, has not yet been effected, owing 

 to the delay of the Executive of that republic in ratify- 

 ing the measure. I trust that this postponement will 

 be brief; but should it much longer continue, the de- 

 lay may well be regarded as a rescission of the com- 

 pact and a failure on the part of Venezuela to com- 

 plete an arrangement so persistently sought by her 

 during many years and assented to by this Govern- 

 ment in a spirit of international fairness, although to 

 the detriment of holders of bona^fide awards of the im- 

 pugned commission. 



I renew the recommendation of my last annual mes- 

 sage, that existing legislation concerning citizenship 

 and naturalization be revised. We have treaties with, 

 many states providing for the renunciation of citizen- 1 

 ship by naturalized aliens, but no statute is found to 

 give effect to such engagements, nor any which pro- 

 vides a needed central bureau for the registration of 

 naturalized citizens. 



Experience suggests that our statutes regulating ex- 

 tradition might be advantageously amended by a pro- 

 vision for the transit across our territory, now a con- 

 venient thoroughfare of travel from one foreign coun- 

 try to another, of fugitives surrendered by a foreign 

 government to a third state. Such provisions an- 

 not unusual in the legislation of other countries, and 

 tend to prevent the miscarriage of justice. It is also 



Trained in October last~to rescind my desirable, in order to remove present uncertainties, 



essor's proclamation of Feb. 14, 1884, permit- that authority should be conferred on the Secretary of 



t'm_r >uch suspension. An arrangement was, how- State to issue a certificate in case of an arrest for the 



ever, speedily reached, and upon notification from the purpose of extradition, to the officer before whom the 



inn-tit of Spain that all differential treatment of proceeding is pending, showing that u requisition for 



:md tneir cargoes, from the United States the surrender of the person charged has been duly 



or any foreign country, had been completely and ab- made. Such a certificate, if required to be recoived 





