187. MEXICO (Republic). LAWS (July 19, 1823). [Decree announcing the formal separation of Sinaloa and Sonora prior to the establishment of the state of Occidente; the establishment of the interim vicars in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and in El Paso del Norte; and the waiving of duties on New Mexican products; the division of the province of Nueva Vizcaya into the provinces of Chihuahua and Durango; exempting New Mexico from taxes on its internally produced goods, etc.]. [At top] Francisco Molinos del Campo, Gefe Superior Politico Interino de Esta Ciudad y su Provincia. [text commences] Por la Primera Secretaría de Estado me ha comunicado con fecha de 21 del actual el Decreto que copio.... Quedan dividas las Provincias de Sonora y Sinaloa, como lo estan de hecho.... [at end] Dado en México á 24 de Julio de 1823.... [Mexico City, 1823]. Folio (43.5 x 31 cm). Broadside on laid watermarked paper. Creased where formerly folded, minor marginal chipping not affecting text, a few small wormholes affecting a few letters, ink sello cuatro stamps on verso; overall very good.

            This decree (No. 107 of the Primera Secretaria de Estado) first came out as a three-page folder, but it is more difficult to locate in this local issue broadside edition for Mexico City. Eberstadt 165:094 (three-page folder edition). The decree makes some significant changes in Borderlands areas, encompassing a great deal of what is now the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico. This is one of a flurry of laws passed in 1823-1824 trying to organize certain administrative and ecclesiastical affairs in Borderlands areas in response to widespread discontent with the centralized administration, which too strongly savored the colonial system. ($500-1,000)

Auction 21 Abstracts