The Portland daily press., 1895-11-09
EOR OVER FIFTY YEARS.
Great Britain and Venezuela Have
Been at Odds.

DeeH dt UuUS.
The Now Famous Boundary Dispute and
Its Origin.
The Venezuelan boundary dispute had
it's origin in the treaty of 1914, by which
Holland granted to Great Britain the
territory now known as British Guiana.
{ That treaty ceded the territory without
defining it's boundaries and the dispute
as to it's delimitation was handled with
languid Indifference by Great Britain IN
, til the discovery of gold put quite differ
ent complexion on the whole affair.
What had hitherto been regarded as
include some of the richest gold fields in
he colony. The ii rst formal British
claim was made in 1641, when Sir Robert
Schomburgk, a commissioner sent out
from England for the purpose, made sur
veys west of the Essequibo river and
planted posts and marks which defined
what has since become historical as the
Schomburgk line This survey was made
without the assent or participation OF the
Venezuelan government and the line laid
down gave Great Britain control of the
mouth of the Orinoco, with all the Attain
tic coast line between that river and Esse-
quibo Although this line is now referred
to by the British government as marking
the limits between what is without ques-
tion British territory and what may be
considered territory in dispute, it was
not so regarded by the British government
at that time, for, upon a protest from
Venezuela, Lord Aberdeen, then prime
minister of England, distinctly disayowed
any intention of occupying the territory
within it, and directed the colonial au-
thorities to obliterate the line and destroy
the posts and marks by which it had been
defined.
Lord Aberdeen subsequently proposed a
conventional boundary line, beginning
near the mouth of the Morocco, but carry
ing the British contention further to the
westward i'll the interior than had been
proposed by the Scholnburgk line. This
line, though disadvantageous to Venezu-
ella, might have been accepted but for the
fact that Lord Aberdeen accompanied it
by what Venezuela considered ahumiliat-
. ing condition. He proposed to "cede'
to Venezuela the territory Beyond this
line, and oblige her not to ALLEVIATE any
, part of it to third power The matter
, then remained unsettled until 1879, when
DR.. Roios, Venezuelan minister to LON
don. opened negotiations with Lord Sails
bury, who then set up claim that far
exceeded any heretofore made by Great
f Britain, He claimed not only the terri
tory to the east of the old Sohomburgk
line, but a vast tract beyond it, Lord
Granville succeeded Lord Salisbury while
the matter was under consideration, and
he proposed as line which whilesit did
not lay any claim to the mouth of the Ori-
, noco. was-more favorable to Great Britain
in the interior than any line which had
previously been suggested. DR.. RoJos
could not consider this and proposed the
settlement of the question by arbitration.
+ Great Britain did not agree to this, and
7 nothing more was done until in 1884 In
that year Guzman Blanco, who had
become Venezuelan minister at London,
. continued neogtiati ons for treaty OF ar
a bitration which came more nearly re-
sulting in a settlement of the controversy
, than any of the negotiations before or
since that time. A draft of treaty was
practically agreed upon which would
have referred the boundary question to
> arbitration and settled all the pending
questions between the two governments.
By change in the ministry, however,
the marquis Of Salisbury became premier,
and he declined to carry out the agree
ments which had been made by Earl
Granville. Three years later, when LORD
Rosebery was minister Of foreign affairs
in the Gladstone cabinet, the matter was
again taken up and Lord Rosebery pre-
pared a conventional line more favorable
to Venezuela than any proposition that
had come from the British side. He ac
companied it, however, with condition
that the Orinoco would be declared open
and free to the navigation OF British YES
sells. This was rejected by Venezuela and
arbitration was again proposed but was
not agreed to by Great Britain
In the meantime the British authorl-
ties took formal possession OF the terri
tory within the old Schomburgk line,
and in 1886, established fortifcatlons at
Barima Point. and posted notices at the
mouth of the American river announcing
that the territory was within British jur-
;sdiction. Venezuela demanded the i'm
mediate evacuation of these points and
the restoration of the status quo OF 1851,
preparatory to submitting the entire
boundary dispute or arbitration. These
demands were not complied with, and in
February, 1887, Venezuela formerly de-
clared all diplomatic relations with Eng
land suspended. AS the controversy
stands to-day, Venezuela is ready and
anxious to enter into treaty with Great
Britain, whereby the entire boundary con-
troversy will be submitted to settlement
by court of arbitration, without any
reservations whatever, while, on the
other hand, Great Britain has declined to
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