99. The court shall also inform the attorney-general of all vacancies, absences, and substitutions, for purposes of keeping the proper accounts. By command of Brigadier-General Davis: W. P. HALL, Adjutant-General. GENERAL ORDERS, No. HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF PORTO RICO, I. Subpoenas for witnesses, letters rogatory, and all other legal documents and instruments which issue from the courts of this island addressed to courts or officials of foreign countries must in every case be accompanied by the necessary fees to cover all costs for the execution and return of such papers. Such fees should be transmitted in foreign exchange, either by bill on London or on some accredited banking house of the country to which the document is to be sent. II. All papers of the character herein referred to will be transmitted to these headquarters through the solicitor-general, who will see that the proper fees are enclosed before forwarding them. By command of Brigadier-General Davis: W. P. HALL, Adjutant-General. GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF PORTO RICO, Upon the recommendation of the judicial board, paragraph 82, General Orders, No. 118, current series, these headquarters, is amended to read as follows: The district court shall decide whether to allow the appeal, not only when such is to be made on account of an error in the procedure, but also because of infraction of law, and its decision adverse thereto may be appealed against before the supreme court within fifteen days. For this purpose the district court, when denying the right of appeal, shall grant a literal and certified copy of the ruling against which appeal was made to the party appealing within three days at the latest, and besides shall order both parties to appear before the supreme court. By command of Brigadier-General Davis: W. P. HALL, Adjutant-General. GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF PORTO RICO, Whenever it may come to the knowledge of any court in this department before which is pending any civil cause that by the rules and practice of such court there must be made a publication in some newspaper of some order, rule, notice, or other proceeding, such court, or any judge thereof, shall have the power to designate the newspaper in which such publication shall be made, and shall also fix the legal charges for the same. Such publication shall be in the language which is the official language of the court having jurisdiction of the cause. Preference shall be given to newspapers published in the town or city wherein one or more of the defendants may reside, if in this department, or in the town or city wherein all or a part of the subject-matter of the cause may be located, if in this department, as the court may direct. In the event of such local publication being deemed by said court impracticable, the publication shall appear in some newspaper located in the city of San Juan. Nothing in this order shall in any way affect the legality of such publications appearing in the Official Gazette or in any other newspapers which may be recognized by the Government as official. By command of Brigadier-General Davis: W. P. HALL, Adjutant-General. GENERAL ORDERS, No. 194. HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF PORTO RICO, The following schedule of fees to be charged by the judges, prosecuting attorneys, secretaries, and bailiffs of the various municipal courts of the island, and to be retained by those officials, is published for the information and guidance of all concerned: CIVIL MATTERS. Dollars. 1st. The municipal judges shall receive for each order or writ 2nd. For each final sentence.. 0.50 1.25 3rd. For each testimony taken....... .20 Double fees shall be paid should the testimony be taken through an interpreter or outside the court room. 4th. For judgment ordering a dispossession of property they shall receive for each hour 1.50 5th. For a meeting held for the purpose of constituting a family council they shall charge for each hour___ 1.00 6th. For each appearance in court of the parties concerned for the purpose of making petitions admitted by law. 25 7th. For each order, letter requisitorial, requisition, letter rogatory, and information .50 8th. For each official communication_ 9th. For each edict--- .15 10th. For attendance at auctions, inventories, seizure of property, ocular 11th. For the performance of the act of reconciliation (amicable settle- 12th. When the act does not take place, owing to the nonappearance of From one hundred to two hundred, twice, from two hundred to three hundred, three times, and from three hundred to four hundred, four times that amount. 14th. When, after the defendant has been summoned, the trial does not 17th. The secretaries of the municipal courts shall receive for each order 18th. For each sentence 19th. For each notification, summons, requisition, or citation for a later date, executed in the court room or in the place destined for that purpose, including a copy of the decision. 20th. For each of said proceedings or formalities, when taking place outside the places mentioned ---. 21st. Should same be effected by means of decrees, owing to the absence from his domicile of the party concerned, including said decree____ 22nd. If the notified person shall refuse to sign, and it shall be necessary that same be done by two witnesses__ 23rd. For drawing up the reply, when same must be admitted, they shall charge in addition_-_ 24th. For each notification made in the court rooms. 25th. For each annotation made in contracts with tenants, or in other documents, which give evidence of possession, attachments, appointments of judicial administrators, their removal, or any other circumstance or act taking place by virtue of the order of the judge---- 26th. For the act of taking off annotations or comments on documents, Dollars. 0.50 1.00 28th. For proceedings connected with the delivery of the money or objects so deposited, either to the parties concerned or in public establishments 1.00 29th. When, pursuant to law, or by order of the judge, they shall make a written statement of the delivery of documents to any person or public office 30th. For each testimony of the parties concerned, witnesses and experts, they shall charge for each folio_‒‒‒‒ Should the testimony be taken through an interpreter, or outside of the court room, double fees shall be charged. 31st. For each rogatory letter to any court of justice, warrant, requisition, order, certificate, and information__ .50 .30 1.00 32nd. For each official communication, order, or edict. .25 1.00 For meetings held for the purpose of constituting a family council, each hour 1.00 34th. For each hour spent at auctions, in placing persons in charge of others, attachments, ejectments--‒‒‒ 1.00 39th. For the act of reconciliation (amicable settlement of disputes), including the certificate of the act.__ 37th. For the examination of writs and documents of liquidation referred 36th. For appraisement, distribution of the respective shares, attestation of costs, and liquidations of accounts and interests, each folio covered by said proceedings_. 35th. For drawing up inventories, seizure of property, giving possession and description thereof, denunciations, ocular inspections, and confrontations, each hour consumed___ 75 .60 04 .80 40th. When said act is not carried into effect through default of appear- For the increase of aforesaid fees the same gradation in the im- 42nd. When the trial does not take place the fees for the preliminary proceedings shall be_____ 43rd. Bailiffs shall charge for each summons. 1.50 .80 1.75 45th. For each requisition by virtue of a judicial order.... 44th. When the summons has to be made outside the towns or villages they shall charge double fees. .60 .40 49th. For assistance at each judicial act outside the court room, each hour consumed__. 46th. For looking up witnesses when the party concerned refuses to sign 40 .15 .25 .50 .70 CRIMINAL MATTERS. 51st. The secretary shall charge for the same. 50th. For each trial of minor offences the judge shall charge, judgment included, per hour.. 2.00 53rd. The bailiff, for ditto_-- 52nd. The prosecuting attorney shall charge for the same_. 1.50 54th. In the execution of judgments the same fees shall be charged as have been established for civil proceedings. 1.00 .80 GENERAL PROVISIONS. 1st. The former schedules for experts, interpreters, appraisers of costs, etc., shall remain in force. 2nd. The cost of verbal proceedings, whereof the amount involved does not exceed one hundred dollars, must not exceed ten per cent, and in other trials not more than twenty per cent. 3rd. Double fees shall be charged for proceedings that take place after sunset. 4th. In case of eviction from a house, the rent of which does not exceed ten dollars, all the fees, including those for ejectment, shall not exceed three dollars. 5th. The secretary shall issue a receipt to the parties concerned for all the fees in each case, specifying separately the article of the schedule under which each item is charged. 6th. The secretaries shall note at the foot of each signature, for which fees are paid according to the schedule, the amount received, and the article of the schedule authorizing said charge. 7th. Upon the termination of each matter or case the secretary shall make a specified statement of all the costs under the schedule. 8th. In proceedings taking place outside court rooms no fees shall be charged other than those set down in the schedule and 50 cents for each hour of journey. The parties concerned shall furnish the necessary means of transportation according to the uses and customs of the community. 9th. Although the parties concerned may have approved the appraisement of the costs, if any excess in the charge of fees should be proven, no matter if it amounts to only one cent, the official shall return in full to the respective parties twice the amount of all the fees he may have charged. By command of Brigadier-General Davis: W. P. HALL, GENERAL ORDERS,} No. HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF PORTO RICO, I. The following interpretation of certain articles of the Treaty of Paris by the War Department is published for the information and guidance of all concerned: Articles IX, X and XI of the Treaty are intended to guarantee to Spanish subjects remaining in the Island (Porto Rico) certain rights and privileges. Article IX guarantees Spanish subjects the right to continue allegiance to the Spanish Crown and still remain in said territory, retain their rights of property and to engage in business, which said rights are to be exercised pursuant to the laws of the country applicable to other foreigners. Article XI guarantees to Spanish subjects the right to sue and be sued in the courts of the Country in like manner as citizens. Said stipulations were not intended to confer special privileges upon Spanish subjects, but to secure them certain rights and privileges enjoyed by other residents by prohibiting their denial to Spanish subjects. The United States Government agreed with the Spanish Government that subjects of Spain residing in said territory should not be discriminated against because of their Spanish citizenship. It was not intended, nor required, nor desired that they should possess any special advantages or immunities by reason of their Spanish citizenship. The United States stipulated that as regards property rights they should stand on a footing of equality with other foreigners domiciled in the Island. The property rights of Spanish citizens are subject to such laws as are applied to other foreigners. (Art. IX.) But in judicial proceedings the rights guaranteed to Spaniards are those enjoyed by the natives. Spanish citizens are subject in matters civil and criminal to the courts of the country and required to pursue the same course as the citizens of the country to which the courts belong. By citizens is meant inhabitants owing allegiance to the authority maintaining law and order. Spanish subjects are not exempt from the laws or the jurisdiction of the courts by reason of their citizenship. The purpose of the Treaty is to make impossible to refuse such jurisdiction and thereby secure to Spanish subjects the right to appear before the courts of the country, demand and receive a hearing on an equal footing with such citizens. Many nations refuse this privilege to aliens. The right to invoke the powers of the court is a privilege essential to the protection of all rights and the Spanish Government very properly desired that its subjects domiciled in the territory surrendered should possess and retain this right. Having the right to invoke the power of all the courts of the country, they are co-relatively bound to respect such powers when invoked by others and the condition upon which the rights guaranteed by the Treaty are maintained is: "that such rights are subject to the laws of the country the purpose of the Treaty being to prevent the laws of the country from discriminating against Spanish subjects in regard to these matters by reason of their citizenship. The Provisional Court of Porto Rico has been instituted, installed and maintained as one of the Courts of the country. Spanish subjects are therefore subject to its jurisdiction the same as other residents of the Island in cases wherein the Court has jurisdiction of the subject-matter. It is maintained pursuant to a law of the country and Spanish residents remaining in said Island, or rights arising in said Island are subject to the powers of both the law and the courts. If the case # is one wherein a native of Porto Rico, being made a co-respondent would be required to respond to the mandate of the Provisional Court, it follows that a Spanish citizen must likewise respond to proper service of process, or suffer the consequences of his default. A Spanish mortgagee has not the right to have an action against him tried and determined in an Island Court because he is a citizen of Spain. II. In accordance with the foregoing interpretation, all questions of jurisdiction arising between the United States provisional court instituted by General Orders, No. 88, series 1899, these headquarters, and the insular courts instituted by General Orders, No. 118, series 1899, these headquarters, will be determined by the said courts in conformity therewith. III. Pursuant to instruction from the War Department, the offence of counterfeiting coins of the Island of Porto Rico does not lie within the jurisdiction of the United States provisional court, and General Orders, No. 88, series 1899, these headquarters, is amended accordingly. By command of Brigadier-General Davis: W. P. HALL, |