MELLIZA DECREE, JANUARY 21, 1899

Exhibit 1220.

[Original in Spanish. Newspaper. P. I. R., 912.2.]

DECREE.

JARO, January 21, 1899.

Raymundo Melliza y Angulo, President of the Council of the Federal State of the Visayas:

I make known that:

For the purpose of unifying the popular power in the towns of this Federal State, with the advice and consent of my Council, I have disposed as follows:

ART. 1. In the towns where the local boards have been established, the military headquarters are totally abolished, the surveillance of the town being placed in charge of the Delegate of Police.

ART. 2. The volunteers of the regular army in the towns with their officers, shall be considered as belonging to the reserve army, without any active duties, except such as are conferred upon them by the Commission of War authorized by the President in time of peace, or by the general in chief, in the event of the mobilization of the battalion to which they may belong having been ordered.

ART. 3. In towns in which conditions make the presence of a detachment of regular troops necessary, this detachment shan act in concurrence with the Delegate of Police, and in the event of its being obliged to act alone under superior orders, a report shall be made to the said Delegate of the purpose of the operation and its result.

ART. 4. The detachment shall be obliged to patrol the suburbs and detached sections of the towns always with the concurrence of the Delegate of Police.

ART. 5. The Military detachment can only interfere in matters pertaining to public order within the towns in cases in which its asistance is requested by the Delegate of Police by order of the Local President.

ART 6 and last. The volunteers considered as a reserve, are obliged to place themselves on a war footing, even without superior orders, in a case of necessity, by the direction of the Delegate of Police and the commander of the detachment, the one having the highest rank assummg the command.

Let it be published for general information.

Given in Jaro, the twenty first day of January, 1899.

RAYMUNDO MELLIZA,
President.

JULIO HERNANDEZ,
Councillor in charge of War.

FRANCISCO SORIANO,
Secretary General.