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Show JAPS NOT SOLD MEXICAN LANDS Certain Concessions Are Granted But No Tracts Can Be Purchased. CONTRACTS NULLIFIED I No Foreign Interests Allowed to Obtain Lands in Lower California. MFXICO CITY, Wednesday, April 2. (By the Associated Press) "In Lower California there are various foreign enterprises, among which are one or tvio Japanese, to which have been giv - en concessions for the exploitation of certain natural sources in various places, but none of them has been per- j mitted, nor will be permitted to ac- 1 quire tracts of land, because the con- j stitution prohibits this definitely." was a statement made today by General! Amado Aguierre, under secretary dl agriculture and development. "Naturally there has been a respect for those compauies holding conces-1 sions which have always complied with the stipulations qf their contracts, but some companii 3, among them the Mexico Mex-ico Land company, have had their, contracts nullified for not having com plied with all their provisions. These; concessions will be duly and logalh j liquidated. Those interests which haVe large holdings will be obliged to divide them and nobody will be given more than 2500 acres." Mexico to Hold Lower California General Aguierre declared the gov -en menl had not and would not allow j foreign interests to obtain lands in Lower California and pointed out that, Article XXVII of the constitution pro-i hibila foreigners from holding lands; within 60 miles of a frontier and tftir- ' ty miles of a seacoast. He said that' under these provisions because of the geographical situation of Lower California, Cali-fornia, it would be virtually Impossible! lor foreign interests to secure any con- I siderable tract, even in the interior, because of the narrowness ol the peninsula. pen-insula. Regarding concessions held by foreigners for-eigners the under-scorelai v stated that among those holding fishing rights were both Japanese and Norwegians, Nor-wegians, but he made ji plain that no foreign interests held rights to land along the coasts. General Denies Story Discussing an interview by a newspaper news-paper Excelsior of this city on March 29th, General Aguierre Aguier-re denied its accuracy. In taking up this Interview at length, it w;i3 pointed point-ed out that it was stated that "the concessions were fully authorized by the provisions of the constitution, which he said absolutely robbed tho first sentence stating 'Japanese corporations cor-porations hao been granted conces sions to exploit agricultural lands in Lower California," of any meaning that would cause alarm since the gcographic.il configuration of Lower Low-er California and constitutional regulations regu-lations regarding zones barred to foreigners for-eigners absolutelj prohibited laige holdings." The under -secretary declared, however, how-ever, that the dispatch was Incorrect in that the only concessions granted were five year permits to conduct fishing fish-ing operations which permits allow no land or port holdings. General Aguierre stated that when akd regarding re-garding the reported concessions by George T. Sunrmerlln, ad interim charge at the American embassy here, he informed the American diplomat of tho facts substantially as given in his statement quoted above. Uaron Fugitaro Otori, Japanese minister min-ister to Mexico, stated yesterday that the only agricultural interests held by his countrymen were small farm lands near Mexicali which he said were absolutely ab-solutely without importance. |