the nearest one, if there is none in the said place, the minister always to be preferred to the consul.

ART. 55. In case of danger of speedy death in a place where there is no minister or consul, the marriage shall be valid provided it be satisfactorily shown that such danger existed, and that there was no minister or consul in the place.

ART. 56. For the contracting of marriage the law of the nation of the foreigners who are about to contract it shall determine the age at which this can be done by the persons who are to give their consent, and shall define the impediments that may bar it.

ART. 57. In all cases the prohibitory provisions shall be observed which, according to Guatemalan law, are a bar to the solemnization of the marriage, for reasons of morality or public order, on account of relationship, or the legal dissolution of previous bonds.

ART. 58. The disqualifications recognized in some countries on account of political proscription or trial for and conviction of crime shall not be considered as impediments to marriage.

ART. 59. When the contracting parties are foreigners and have not resided in Guatemala for two years they shall be required to show, by a certificate of the competent officer, according to the laws of their country, duly authenticated, and with all the requisites which, according to Guatemalan law, are necessary to make it authentic and valid, that notice of the marriage which they propose to contract has been published, with all the necessary formalities, in the country in which they had their domicile or residence during the year previous to their coming to Guatemala. They shall in all cases show, by means of an authentic document, that they are at liberty to contract marriage.

ART. 60. A foreigner who has been legally divorced in his own country may lawfully contract a new civil marriage in Guatemala, according to decree No. 484.

ART. 61. A marriage contracted outside of Guatemala by foreigners according to the laws of their nation shall have, in Guatemala, all the effects of a lawful marriage.

ART. 62. A marriage contracted in a foreign country by a Guatemalan and a foreign woman, or vice versa, shall be valid in Guatemala, provided that in its solemnization the laws were observed that are established in the country in which it took place for regulating the external forms of the contract, and provided that the contracting parties had a right to contract marriage according to the laws of Guatemala.

ART. 63. A marriage solemnized in a foreign country may be proved by any means of proof, if, in the country in which it was solemnized, the registration of marriages is not required by law.

ART. 64. The marriages of foreigners must be recorded in the civil register of the proper municipality when the contracting parties or their descendants remove to Guatemala.

ART. 65. Sentences shall likewise be recorded whereby marriages are declared to be null and void, or married persons are declared to be divorced.

ART. 66. The laws of the country of the married persons shall determine their respective capacity for such civil acts as are consequent upon marriage.

ART. 67. It shall be understood that the matrimonial régime, in default of an explicit agreement, is that which is recognized by the nation to which the contracting parties belong.

ART. 68. If marriage has been contracted between a Guatemalan and a foreign woman, or between a Guatemalan woman and a foreigner, and

no stipulation has been made by them with regard to their property, it shall be understood when the husband is a Guatemalan that he marries under the régime of common property, and when the wife is a Guatemalan woman that she marries under the régime of the common law in the country of her husband; and as regards the property, the funda mental law shall govern.

ART. 69. The legitimacy of the children of foreigners shall be deter mined by the laws of their country, which shall also regulate the rights of parental authority.

ART. 70. Foreigners in the full enjoyment of their civil rights may recognize their natural children, be guardians and proguardians, if they reside in Guatemala, of their relatives within the fourth civil degree, and adopt and be adopted by other foreigners or by native Guatemalans; but whenever these acts affect a Guatemalan they shall be governed by Guatemalan law as regards all their effects.

TITLE VI.

SOLE CHAPTER.-Concerning diplomatic intervention.

ART. 71. The intervention of a foreign Government in behalf of its citizens, either directly or through its diplomatic or consular agents, is admissible and proper only in case of denial of justice or of willful delay in its administration after all the usual means established by law have been exhausted.

ART. 72. There is denial of justice when a judicial magistrate refuses to make a formal declaration in regard to the principal matter or any of the incidents of a case which he is trying or which is submitted to him for examination, or when any law has clearly and undoubtedly been violated, and all legal means of re dress having been exhausted, it has not been possible to secure a reversal of the decision or reparation of the damage done, it being understood that the mere fact that a decision is not favorable to a claimant does not constitute a denial of justice.

ART. 73. Delay in the administration of justice is not willful when the judge bases it upon some reason of law or upon some impediment which it is impossible for him to overcome.

ART. 74. When a complaint is laid before the Government for denial of justice or on the ground of its administration being willfully delayed, it must be conclusively shown that those offenses have actually been committed in notorious violation of the laws of the country, and that adequate and sufficient petitions and arguments have been presented and that suitable means have been used for the purpose of securing a judicial correction of those offenses or lawful redress for the injury which has thereby been caused, and that such efforts have not effected a discontinuance of the denial of justice, or of the willful delay in its administration, and have not secured reparation for the injuries resulting therefrom.

ART. 75. A foreigner bringing a civil action against the Republic for injuries done him, for condemnation of property, or for the acts of public officers, shall, before appealing to the Government, lay his case before the proper court, that it may be tried and decided in the manner provided by law.

ART. 76. In order to answer the complaint-and they shall act as parties to the suit in all its stages-the assistant district attorney in this city shall be summoned, or the collectors of internal revenue in those departments where there is no special representatives of the

public exchequer. The officer or officers shall likewise be summoned against whom is brought the charge which originated the action, and he or they may be present at all proceedings if they consider this to be their interest.

ART. 77. An extract from the complaint, signed by the clerk of the court, in which shall be given the name, surname, and domicile of the plaintiff, the amount claimed, and a brief statement of the facts in the case, shall be immediately published in some newspaper printed in the chief town of the department, if any is printed there; and if there is none, in some of those printed in the nearest town. This shall be published at the expense of the plaintiff.

ART. 78. Any citizen who is not debarred from so doing by any legal impediment may appear as a party opposing the action brought, in addition to the persons mentioned in article 76.

ART. 79. In these suits the testimony of witnesses shall not be admitted as evidence unless it is shown that the officer who caused the injury or condemnation refused to give suitable documentary evidence thereof, or unless it shall appear evident, from the nature and circumstances of the case, that it was absolutely impossible to obtain such documentary evidence.

ART. 80. In order to make better provision, the court may cause all such probatory measures to be taken as may best conduce to the establishment of the truth.

ART. 81. A plaintiff who shall have manifestly exaggerated the amount of the damages or injuries suffered shall be liable to the payment of a fine equal to 25 per cent of the sum claimed, and shall also be liable to have any other civil or criminal action brought against him that may result from the suit. It shall be the duty of the judge executing the sentence to collect the fine, for which purpose he may resort to coercive measures. If an indeterminate value is claimed in the suit, the plaintiff, in the cases mentioned in this article, shall be required to pay a fine of not less than five hundred nor more than a thousand dolIn case of the plaintiff's insolvency, he shall be imprisoned one day for each dollar that he fails to pay.

ART. 82. In no case shall it be claimed that the Nation is under obligations to pay for damages, injuries, or condemnations that have not been done or executed by the legitimate authorities or their agents, acting in their public character.

ART. 83. All persons, not holding official positions, who shall order contributions or forced loans, or who shall commit acts of spoliation of any kind whatever, and also those who shall obey such orders, shall be responsible to the parties injured, both directly and personally, with their property.

ART. 84. The Government shall order the payment of such sums as the courts may decide to be the amount of the damages and injuries done, provided that a copy be presented, in due form, of the judicial decision declaring that the public treasury is bound to pay the indemnity asked for.

ART. 85. The Nation shall assert its right to cause the responsible officer to refund to the public treasury the amount that it shall have disbursed by reason of the condemnatory sentence pronounced in favor of the claimant.

TITLE VII.

SOLE CHAPTER.-Naturalization of foreigners.

ART. 86. In order to become naturalized, according to paragraph 3, article 7, of the constitution of the Republic, the following shall be the proper mode of procedure: A person desiring to become naturalized must furnish evidence to the political chief of the department that he has resided in the Republic for two years; that his conduct has been good, and that he has an income, profession, art, trade, or other proper means of earning his livelihood. The evidence on these points may be either documentary or furnished by the testimony of one or more witnesses. The papers in the case having been prepared, the political chief shall send them to the department of foreign relations, and when the application shall have been examined, the President of the Republic shall issue an order granting naturalization if the conditions required shall have been complied with. The order having been issued, a copy of it shall be sent to the officer having charge of the Civil Register, so that he may record it, as required by law.

ART. 87. In order to make the reservation regarding nationality which is mentioned in article 7 of the constitution of the Republic and the statement referred to in article 6 of that instrument, the interested parties shall apply, in writing, to the departmental political chiefs, who, after having caused them to ratify their applications, shall send the latter to the department of foreign relations, which shall issue the proper certificate on payment of one dollar, which payment shall cover all charges except that for the stamped paper used. This certificate, in order to have proper legal effect, must be recorded in the Civil Register.

ART. 88. Any foreigner, without distinction of origin, may be naturalized in accordance with the provisions of article 86.

ART. 89. Naturalization may be express, tacit, or presumptive. ART. 90. Certificates of naturalization are divided into two classes, viz, concessory and declarative certificates. By the former, naturaliza tion is expressly, granted; the latter contains a declaration that the parties interested have become naturalized according to law, owing to their having complied with certain requirements, or, what amounts to the same thing, they contain a declaration of tacit naturalization.

ART. 91. A certificate declarative of tacit naturalization is retroactive in its effects to the time when the loyal act was consummated which effected the change of nationality; whereas a concessory certifi cate produces its effects on and after the day of its issue.

ART. 92. No certificate of naturalization can be granted to a subject of a nation that is at war with Guatemala, or to a person who is reputed to be or who has been legally convicted, in any country, of being a pirate, a slave trader, an incendiary, a poisoner, a parricide, or a counterfeiter of coin or bank notes, or of other paper serving as a substitute for coin.

ART. 93. Tacit naturalization is secured

I. By not making the reservation referred to in paragraph 1, article 7, of the constitution of the Republic.

II. By accepting one of those public offices which are reserved for Guatemalans.

ART. 94. A naturalized person acquires all the rights and contracts all the obligations of Guatemalans, unless such rights and obligations are excepted in the following articles:

TITLE VII.

SOLE CHAPTER.-Concerning expulsion.

ART. 95. The territory of Guatemala is an asylum for all foreigners. ART. 96. The Government exercises over foreigners all the rights of inspection and vigilance which belong to it, according to the laws and police regulations, which foreigners, without exception, are required to obey.

ART. 97. If foreigners who have taken refuge in Guatemala shall (misusing the right of asylum) conspire against the country or endeavor to overthrow or modify its institutions, or to disturb in any way the public tranquillity and peace of a friendly nation, the Government may order their expulsion from the national territory.

ART. 98. Foreigners who, not having permission from the Government to remain in the country as domiciled persons, shall fail to furnish evidence that they possess adequate means of subsistence, may be sent to the frontier of the country from which they come, or put on board of a vessel in one of the ports of the Republic.

ART. 99. A foreigner temporarily residing in the country, or an immigrant, who endangers public tranquillity by his conduct, or who has been prosecuted for or convicted in another country of one of the crimes or offenses for which extradition is granted, may be compelled by the Government to leave a determinate place, or to reside in such place as may be assigned to him, and finally to leave the Republic.

ART. 100. An immigrant who, being unable to identify himself, shall be guilty of falsehood in stating his name and circumstances may be expelled from the territory of Guatemala by order of the President of the Republic, as may be any person presenting fraudulent documents for the purpose of identification.

ART. 101. Political chiefs and municipal alcaldes shall take care that indigent foreigners, and also those who are sick and in need, be always assisted by the charitable establishments and board under their control, and they shall in all cases, acting in concert with the consular officers of the nation to which such foreigners belong, take proper measures to return them to the country whence they came.

ART. 102. The same course is to be pursued in the case of abandoned children, the offspring of foreigners. In such cases the effort. shall always be made to reconcile the interests of good order and a proper police system with the sacred duties of humanity.

ART. 103. Decisions respecting sick and indigent foreigners and foreign children who have been abandoned shall always be brought to the knowledge of the proper consular officer, who shall be requested to take charge of persons belonging to the former of the above-mentioned classes of persons, on his own responsibility.

ART. 104. If a foreign government shall request, on grounds considered sufficient, the internment of one of its subjects who resides in a town or locality near to the frontier of such country, the Government of Guatemala may intern him, and designate as his residence such place or territory as it may think proper.

ART. 105. Only in exceptional cases connected with the preservation of public order can foreigners be expelled who are married to Guatemalan women, and who have resided in the country for a period exceeding five years. The same rule applies to those whose option of nationality is still pending.