A Lawsuit in Mexico form a striking contrast to all known
United States methods. Yet Mexico is called the land of "Mariana"; if so, the United States, in respect of judicial proceedings, is the land of "any old
time" within the natural course
of
life, or after. Having outlined this phase of practice and duly philosophized about it, we will return to the case in hand.
The petition for recognition of signa
617
quote them from the record. It is proper to state in this connection that the ofi'icers of the defendant corpora tion, having, as indicated, no defense
to make, good-naturedly remained in court and responded to the several
notifications required to be made to them. The first step was to appoint an ofiicial translator for the perfunctory service of verifying the translation of
ture having been presented to the judge, accompanied by the translation of the
the notes, and incidentally to charge a fee of $30 for this and another piece of work-—which I also performed per
notes (made by me before leaving St.
sonally.
Louis), the judge himself made the entry, beginning immediately after my signature on the escrito.‘ “Received on its date with the seventy-seven notes
attached at ten a. m. Conste: Let it be recorded"—followed by his rubric, or flourish of pen which is an inseparable part of the signature of every Mexican. And here a right singular custom, recognized by statute: the judges, and public oflicials generally, sign their names in three different styles, accord ing to the nature and “dignity” of the document to be signed, whether with their full name, “half name" or rribrica. The Code of Civil Procedure provides, article 66: "Judicial resolutions are: (1) Simple orders of practice, which are
Hermosillo, December 12, 1908.
Presented the foregoing escrito, with the accompanying documents in the English language; let the due course of process be had, while they are being translated into Spanish, for which purpose Sr. Antonio Canale is appointed expert translator, who will be notified of his appointment that he may accept it and take oath to faithfully perform it. Let it be notified. The Second Judge of First Instance so ordered and signed. We attest.
(Signed) Asistente. Rtibn'ms.
Ricardo Joaquin
Searcy. M. Gomez, L. Perez, Asistente.
Then follow the notifications to the parties, who although actually present the record must show in due course. On the same date Mr. Joseph Wheless,
called decrees, and shall be authenti
being notified, said:
cated by the half-signature of the judge and secretary; (2) Decisions on matters not of simple practice, which are called
signs. We attest. [Signed by Searcy; also the Asistentes and Wheless; rdbn'eas]
autos, and shall be authenticated with the half-signature of the judge and the entire signature of the secretary;
they
must set out the legal grounds upon which they are based; (3) Judgments, final and interlocutory; they must all be authenti cated with the full signatures of the judge and the secretary.” The following steps are briefly re
corded, and as they illustrate the above mentioned points of practice I will
that he hears it, and
Then the record as to the translator: On the same date Sellor Antonio Canale being notified, said: that he hears it, accepts the duty imposed upon him, makes oath for its faithful performance; and thereupon he presents his translation in fifteen utilized pages, declaring it to be correct after the originals, and signed before the undersigned judge and assisting witnesses. We attest. [Searcy; Antonio Canale. Asistenles; rubri cas. Fee.]
These preliminaries being disposed of,
