for the Republic. Each State has also its own laws, which are administered independently of those of the Federal Government. Trial by jury occurs in criminal cases only. Felonies are punished by long terms of imprisonment, while the penalty for misdemeanors is generally a fine ranging from twenty-five cents to several hundred dollars. The former amount is the equivalent of one day's wages for certain classes of laborers.
Of late years, the authorities have ordered a great many brigands to be shot without a trial. In the State of Zacatecas, two hundred persons, who were known to be bandits, are said to have been killed in a single year.
Life and property are now as safe in Mexico as in the United States.
Europeans residing in Mexico complain of the system of keeping prisoners in close confinement for a long period without a trial. The prisons are damp and unhealthy, and the fare is of the worst quality.
The rules of practice for filing documents in the public offices are different from those of the United States. Original wills, deeds, mortgages, etc., must be recorded in blank books and deposited in the proper office. These are provided by the municipal government. None but interested persons can obtain copies of them. Deeds and other instruments executed as far back as the year 1540 are on file in the register's office of a few cities.
All deeds, leases, contracts, etc., must be executed before a notary (escribano publico).
Stamps must be affixed to all kinds of instruments, and a rubrica, or dash of the pen, must be added to a signature to make it legal.
At present aliens can take real estate by deed and devise, but they can not own land within twenty leagues of the frontier line, or less than fifteen miles from the coast, except by special permission of the Executive.
