711.12155/1121

The Mexican Ambassador (González Roa) to the Secretary of State

[Translation]
[No. 3625]

Mr. Secretary: I refer to your Excellency’s note of July 16th last, which you were good enough to send me in reply to Note No. 2063 from this Embassy, of the preceding 22nd of May, in which I had the honor, by instruction from my Government, to request Your Excellency to have appropriate instructions given to the United States Commissioner on the International Boundary Commission, Mr. Lawson, in order that an examination might be made of the case of the lands situated within the avulsive changes of Ojinaga and the Machuca Islands and to have the corresponding decision made.

Your Excellency was good enough to inform me, in your kind note of July 16th, that everything connected with these lands is very complicated, due to the vagueness and ambiguity of the existing data, and that it would therefore be well for the two Governments to issue definite instructions to their Commissioners to examine and study with great care the data that exists respecting these lands, in order to be able to establish a basis for deciding whether such data are sufficient for the Commission to issue an authorized decision regarding the status of those zones, or whether the character of this data is of such a nature that it would be extremely difficult to reach a decision, which would indicate, in Your Excellency’s opinion, the suitability of having the matter discussed again by both Governments.

With respect to this, I have instructions to address Your Excellency, informing you that, in the opinion of my Government, the data in the possession of the Boundary Commission concerning the lands mentioned are sufficient to form the basis for a decision thereon, for which reason the Government of Mexico would be glad to have this case dealt with at once by the said Boundary Commission.

I avail myself [etc.]

Fernando González Roa