New-York tribune., 1895-12-18
THE VENEZUELAN DISPUTE.
OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE
SECRETARY OLNEY'S NOTE AND LORD
SALISBURY'S REPLY.

CIl,TY CLEARLY SET FORTH BY THE SEC
prrARY OF srATE-THE BRITISH PRE-
MrER DENIES THE AMERICAN CON
TENTIoN AND REFUSES TO SUB
NIT THE WHOLE DISPUTE TO
IMPARTIAL ARBITRATION.
Washington. Dec. 1.-THE text OF the Venezuelan
oor-espondence (omitting mere formal and non
essential portons) is as follows;
MR. OLNEY TO MR.. BAYARD.
Department of State,
Washington July 90 1895.
Cir; am directed by the President to communi-
..,o - Won his views upon a subject to which he
Res given much anxious thought and respecting
wish ne has not reached a conclusion without
lively sense Of its great Importance, as well as OF
tbe serious responsibility involved in any aeuoh
now 20 be taken go :.
10 not nronosed and for the present purposes II
. ,,t ,,eccsssrv TO enter into any detailed accoui'
a. me controversy between Great britain an"
Venezuela respecting the western i0''''' ~ '
colony OF British Guiana The dispute - %
...,a,i date and began at least as carry d. '"'
- when Great Britain acquired by the treaty
,,,.n The Netherlands Of 1874 the estaoHshnie's 0'
1.r,crsra Essequibo and Berbice. fIo" '"''
emo 10 the pvcsent the dividing line be'"e'" nv
...-,blishments' (noW called British GUIANA an"
,..~..la has never ceased to be a subject OF con
....on The claims 81 both parties, IL must De
...,al are Of somewhat indefinite nature. On
e.. ore hand Venezuela m every constitution u
government since she became an lhHePeiioe''' go
r. declared her territorial limits 10 be those o. 'e
,tncv-Cenerai of Venezuela IN 1910 1eI out
r. moderation and prudence, 1t Is sald' siie hd9
-.,,~to3 herself with claiming the EssequiDo line
.,, line of the Essequbo River, that is-to be the
, boundary between Venezuela ana bTl'sh
c..ooa on the other hand. IL least an equal
s-ree OF indefnteness distinguishes lhe Claim 0'
g, britain 1t does not TO be asserted Ior
he
,,,ire5 by Great Britain had any clearly dehhed
,,es,ern limits which now be idehheu' ana
which are either the limits insisted upon 'o-u"!
., being the original limits. have been the oasls VI
legitimate territorial extensions On 'he coh''aiE,
having the actual possession OF a district calleu
49, I-,oron district she apparently remained in
s.e,o-er, as 10 the exact area of the colony uht'
900 when she commissioned an engineer. DIT hoo-
ar, Schomburgk. to examine ana lay uo" "
boundaries liz. os
7,,e result was the Schomburgk line, whlcH was
e>od nv retes and bounds, was deireated on maps
a,d vas AZ first indicated the face Of the eouh-
~ itself by posts, monograms ana othe' ine
symbols II it expected that Nehezuei" "o"r
ecoulesce in this line, the expectation was No
- soeeiv disappointment. NeI ezneIa al o'ce p'0
tested and with such vigor ana 10 sue" pu'P ]
.b line was explained to be only tentatVe-par' %
= ce,eral boundary scheme concerning Brazil ana
~ Netherlands as well Nenezuela-and the
monuments of the line set up by SchoihouieN W
y4nn3ved by the express order OF Loru Aoeiue H.
1r,dar these circumstances IL seems lmpossID4e ~
.-eat the Sohomburgk line as being the Douilu"IS
c;ained by Great Britain. as matter OF lIs". y! q"
,,nv,nnc but a line originating in considerations %
convenience and eXpedencl. Since 4'fV ,
o.bar boundary lines have from time 10 'ihe oeon
sndieated by Great Britain, but al. as conVeh'oHa
Ir.sIines to which Venezuela's assent mas Deeh
fesiras hut whicf in no instance 1t 10 believed mas
heen demanded as matter OF right mus he''Hei ~
1be partes Is to-day standing for the OouhuaI! mn
.,-e1icated upon strict legal right-liTeat bTllai"
having formulated such claim at AL whAe Nehe%-
,,ela insists upon the Essequ!bo Alo oil'S a" "
liberal concession 10 her aniasonlSt
GROWTH OF ENGLANDs CLAIM.
Several other features Of the situation remain 10
he briefly notced-the continuous grown % ''e u''
defined R-.tsh claim the fate of the various az
,-,-,s ~ arbitration Of the controversy, ana LIE
nart IN the matter heretofore taken by the Oh''eu
States As already seen. the exploitation ol ue
schonoburgk line in 1870 was at once Ioilo"eN ~ wy
,o,es, of Venezue.a and by proceedings on the
mar Of Great Britain which would be laHN ih'ei
vreted only as a disavowal of that line. IL
addition TO the facts already noticed-Lord ADef-
ueen himself IL 1874 proposed line beginning d, "'e
river Morocco a distinct abandonment OF 'ne "c"oiIi
b,,rgk line Notwithstanding this, however every
chanre in the British claim since that time mas
moved the frontier OF British Guiana further anu
further 10 the westward Of the line thus proposed
The Granville line of lS8l placed the starting point
at a distance Ot twenty ynine miles from lhe NoiVe0
.n the direction OF Punta Bar.ma- Inc foSeoei!
line Of 1886 placed it Of the Guaina River anu
about that time il the British authority known as
..The Statesman's Year Book is to be relied upon,
she area OF British Guiana was suddenly enlarged
BY some 5000 square miles. being stated al 'ovy'
eouare miles in 1856 and 10000 square miles III lo0'
The Salisbury line OF 1890 fixed the starting pom'
of the line in the mouth Of Amacuro, west OF the
punta Barima on the Orinoco. And finally IN
,so2 q second Rosebery line carried the boundary
from point to the wes; of the Amacuro as far as
she source OF the Cumano River and the sierra OF
1Tsupamc Nor have the various claims tnus emu
sneratel been claims paper merely An exercise
o- jurisdiction corresponding more or less 10 such
o,ai,,s has ACCOMPANIED OF followed close.y upon
each and has been the more irritating and un-
,ustiaable IT, as is alleged an agreement maze IN
.he wear 1850 bound both parties 10 refrain from such
occunatlon pending the settlement OF the dispute
white the British claim mas oecn developing IN
~ ,o.,rer above described. Venezuela has made
rr.,t and rcuoated efforts 10 have the question
~ boundary settled. Indeed allowance being maze
Cor .he distractions Of war OF independence ana
Cor freouent internal revolutions. 1t may be lalfy
.ad tbat Venezuela has never ceased to strive for
,,s adjustment 1t could, Of course. do so only
,bro,.u ,eacefl1 methods, any resort to force as
ara,nst its powerful adversary being out OF the
question Accordingly shortly after the drawing
NJ the Schon.Durek line. an eiiort Was Haue 70
ee,tle the boundary 10y treaty. and was apparently
,,rogressinc toward "A successful issue WheH 'h'
.ooo.atiors were brought 10 an end in 1874 by the
al ~ tho VENEZUELAN PleBipotentiaIy in 1872
Venezuela entered upon a period OF CIVIL conmo
,ions which lasted for more than quarter OF
century and the negotiations thus interrup'ec IL
1s.4 were not resumed until 1876 In that year Nehez
49,, ,.o.oa 90 close the dispute by accepting tht
Ntoroco line proposed by Lord Aberdeen. But, with
-, ,,,,,ipo reason for his refusal LORD GranVil'
rejected the proposal and suggested ne" hhe
conurehending a large tract OF territory all pre'eh
sion 10 which seemed 10 have been abandoned py '''
previous action OF Lord Aberdeen. Nehe~ue'' ~
sat - assen, 10 #. and negotiations dragged
,o,, ,.,,hout result until 1882 when Venezuela con
oIudcd that the only course open to her was AT
btration OF the controversy
BEFORE she had made any definite proposition