Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1895-12-26

compelled the Dutch to cede her a portion
- Guiana This colony is known rs Bril
ish Guiana II adjoins Venezuela on thu
south The boundary line of this provinca
has long been III disput' The British
have occupied the disputed territory, and
British miners and coloniZers have seized
on the fertile fields and gold mines there.
Failing to get any satisfaction from
England after various requests to vacato
the territory, Venezuela appealed TO tn
| nited States. For several years our only
reply TO this appeal was in the form OF
mild suggestions To England. These sug-
gestions had little effect.
4 little stronger stand was taker in our
next communication on the subject. Eng
land wa. asked TO submit the question o.
the boundary dispute to arbitration Lord
Salisbury s recent aDswe- to this was thau
Great Britain had nothing to arbitrat1,
President Cleveland's message to con
gress, which has caused all the war talk.
proposes that \ commission he appointr
to settle the question. Then, II Bingham
is found to be cncroaGhing on Nenc2uclan
territory, she will either hay to give u
and get out or fight, provided Uncle san
does not back down, and there Is not much
danger of his doing that
Tho whole question, according to tho
American view of it. Is one Of bounda y
lines, and IL settle il the commission Will
have to turn back several pages % history
and search many musty record.
Purely a Territorial Controversy.
The dispute turns wholly upoH the
strong demand made by our government
that the territorial controversy lin its en-
tiretv" shall! be submitted to impartial ar
bitrati -. The outline whic, the pres -
dent gives in his annual message Of Secrr-
tary Oiney'S July dispatch to EmbnssadCl
Bayard says with great formality that our
government insists on arbitration as to the
whole of the territory, and in the most
significant words England's assumption
that "A portion Of the territory already be-
longs to her. and therefore cannot he put
10 tho risk of arbitration, Is utterly re
iccted.
In the language Of the message the
resort TO such arhitrai ion should includ,
the whole controversy and is not sat SIZED
if one of the powers concerned is permitted
to draw an arbitrary line through the ter
ritory in debate and to declare that ii vii
submit To arbitration only tho portion l.
ing on one side Of 1t. y
The arbitrary line referred to in tho
president : message is the famous Schom
hurgk line, beginning AT the mouth Of the
Orinoco river and pursuing an irregular
course southwark 10 the brazilian frontier
This is tho line that Lord salisbury row
insists upon rs the extreme possible bound
AIRY Of the Venezuelan republic, and III
refuses absolutely to submit to arbitration
any Of the territory east Of il, As matte
IT fact England is now and has been 70
1n1 ta,i n N ntr1l # al
The country cast Of the Schomhurgk Bu
Venezuela asserts that throughout tina
region, extending rs far as the Essequib
river, the British are nero usurpcrs an
the United states substantially ndnrs0
the assertion Ivy refusing TO sanction Brit
ish occupation there unless the Englis
title can be established by impartial arb
tratiun.
10 fully understand the significance ,
our governments position respecting III
merits Of the case and its support Of Vent
zuela demand for arbitration OF the torr
toral question ''in its entirety II is net
cssary 10 20 back for period OF abor
ninc years.
On Feb, ", 1883, Mr., Bayard then SCI
ratary Of state. addressed To Ministl
Phelps in London n long communicate
regarding recent acts of British aggressio
In Venezuelan territory. In it he said:
Tho government OF tho United STATE
has hitherto taken an earnest and friend
interest in the question of boundaries
long in dispute between Great Britain al
Venezuela, and, so far as its disinterestt
counsels were admissible, has advocate
an ainicable, final and honorable settl
,nent of the dispute. We have follow
this course on the assumption that the
sue was ono Of historical fact, eminent
adaptable for admitting of arbitration, al
that the territorial claims of each par
had fixed limit, the right to which woul
without difficulty, be determined acco!
Ing TO The evidence.
THE claim now stated to have he
put forth by the authority II Britt
Guiana necessarily gives rise to grave d
quietude and creates an apprehension tE
The territorial claim does not follow h
torical traditions or evidence, but is app'
entity underlined
If, indeed, II should appear that tn,
IL no fixed limit to the British houndu
claim, our good disposition to aid in S
Element might not only be defeated i