Page:Mexico under Carranza.djvu/66

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MEXICO UNDER CARRANZA

"First. The constitutionalist government shall afford to foreigners residing in Mexico all the guaranties to which they are entitled according to our laws, and shall amply protect their lives, their freedom, and the enjoyment of their rights of property t allowing them indemnities for the damages which the revolution may have caused to them, in so far as such indemnities may be just and which are to be determined by a procedure to be established later. The government shall also assume the responsibility of legitimate financial obligations."

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Fourth. There shall he no confiscation in connection with the settlement of the agrarian question. This problem shall be solved by an equitable distribution of the lands still owned by the government; by the recovery of those lots which may have been illegally taken from individuals or communities; by the purchase and expropriation of large tracts of land, if necessary; by all other means of acquisition permitted by the laws of the country."

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"Seventh. In order to establish the constitutional government, the government by me presided shall observe and comply with the provisions of articles 4, 5, and 6 of the decree of December 12, 1914."

It should be noted that the two documents entitled respectively "Decree of General Carranza," dated December 12, 1914, and "Declaration to the Nation," signed by V. Carranza, dated June n, 1915, were, when they were issued, given the widest possible circulation in this country, as well