| OCR Text |
Show Indians were Mexican citizens.-From this it would seem tbat the In. diaus occnpying a great partof the territory ceded to the United States were citizens of the Hexican Republic and indnded in the term LL Mexi-cansn used in the eighth and niuth articles above quoted ; and that in accordance therewith they were entitled to elect, within a year from the exchange of ratification, whether they would retain the title and rights of Mexican citizens or acquire those of citizens of the United States. Indeed, on this question there can be no doubt., for the Supreme Court of the United States has decided (United States v. Ritchie, 17 . . H oward, 639) that- . These solemn decler~tionso f the political power of the Clovernment had the effeot neoessarily to invest the Indiana with the privilegesof citizenship as effectually aa had the Declarationof Independenoe of the United States of 1776 to invest all those persons with these privileges residing in the country st the time, and whoadhered to the interests of the oolouies. In delivering the opinion of the court in the above case, Mr. Justice Nelson said that from their degraded condition and ignorance generally the privileges extended to them- , . in the sdministrstian of the Government must have been limited, and theystill doubtlens requind i t * fosrerrng csro roJ prore~.rion. tlor aa s rnae we r11i11kit iu-posaibla to deny that under tbe Coustirurion xod rho laws of the aollo1r.V no distinc-tion was made as to the rights of oitieeuship, and the privileges belonging to it, be-tween this and fhe Enropeau or Spanish blood. Equality between them, es we hhve seen, has been repeatedly affirmed in the moat salelvn aots of the Government. ! It will be seen from this opinion tbat every Indian (of whatkver tribe or of whatever degree of civilization) located within the limits of Mexico at the time of the adoption of the plan of Ignala, and the otber acts referred to became by the operation of that plan of government a citizen of the monarchy of Mexico and was at the time of the cession of 1848 a citizen of the Republic of Mexico andelltitled t o all the privi-leges in this oountry guaranteed by the treaty of Guaddalnpe-Hidalgo to Mexicans established in the territory ceded by that treaty. In otber words, they were entitled to elect, within one year after exchange of ratifications of the treaty, to retain the title and rights of Mexican citi-zens or to "acquire those of citizens of the United States," and those electing, and those who by their silence were deemed to have elected to acquire citizenship in the United States were entitled at the proper time, of which Congress is made the judge, to '6 be incorporated into the Union" and to be admitted "to the enjoyment of all the rights of ,. ~ citizens of the United States according to the principles of the Consti-tution." The Mexica,ns in this territory might be divided primarily into two, distinct classes : (1) Mexican citizens of theEuropean or Spanish blood, hnd (2) Mexican citizens of the Indian hlood. Of this second cVass two subdirisions might be made: (a) The civilized Pueblo and Mission Indians, or those inhabiting towns or villages and engaged in pastoral |
