St. Paul daily globe., 1895-12-22

and hazy bounds, it has enlarged
upon it's swamps extending $50 miles
or thereabout from the seacoast,
originally obtained from the Dutch,
until it's western fringe covers the
gold bearing mountains of middle
South America. There were no pur-
chases of land and no cessions of
territory whereby England acquired
30 much real estate. Concerning his
country's right to the great tract
Lord Salisbury does not seem to be
certain. While he denies the Vene-
zuelan claim to all of it, he is willing
to debate the title to that part lying
west of the Schomburg line. To this
boundary from the Atlantic he claims
domain, and will submit to no arbi-
tration. This is the one to which
President Cleveland refers as car
bitrary." 1t pursues an uncertain
course from the Orinoco's mouth to
the Brazilian frontier. President
Cleveland holds that all the territory
east to the Essequibo river is debat-
able, and supports Venezuela's de-
mand for a settlement of the conflict
ing claims for it.
BRITISH GUIANA.
In the discussion of the Monroe
doctrine and the Intervention of the
United States in the territorial dis
pute between Venezuela and Great
Britain, proposed by the president,
1t has been assumed that the geo.
graphical questions involved are full
ly understood by the public. This
may be so, and it may not be true.
In either event, brief review of the
situation is not untimely. British
Guiana, situated in the northeastern
part Of South America, just north
of the equator, has well defined boun-
darieS southeast and north. 1t is the
northwestern and western boundar-
ies that are involved in discussion.
East of the British possessions lie
the Dutch provinces; the territories
are separated by the River Coren-
tyne. The Brazilian frontiers on the
south are also we'll defined. AT the
mouth the rough waters of the At
lantic have thus far successfully re-
ton. To the west and north lies ter
ritOry in which heavy gold deposits
have been discovered. Prior to the
finding of the metal, England looked
indifferently upon the country. 1t
possessed no commercial value. In
parts of it even goats would Starve.
Taking it in one parcel, swamp, val
ley, plain and mountain, it was not
worth fencing Venezuelan claim
met no check or opposition, and the
British colonists lay to the eastward
of the Essequibo river, without at
tempt to encroach on the land over
which ownership is now asserted. In
the formal cession of territory to En-
gland, Holland made specific trans
fer by title of the counties, and fur
ther described them as lying east Of
the Essequibo river"
THE ORIGINAL BOUNDS.
It was in 1914 that Great Britain ac-
ouired Guiana from the Dutch. Four
years before, Venezuela had asserted
its independence and cut loose from
Spanish rule. The Dutch and the
Spanish, from their earliest real occu-
patton of South American territory in
1913 or thereabout, and particularly aft
er the treaty of 1851, had regarded the
Essequfbo as the line of separation be-
tween their possessions. In the four
years intervening between the declara-
ton of Venezuelan independence and
British accession no attempt was made
to enlarge the territory on either side.
n wa not until 124O that ENGLAND mazda