The San Francisco call., 1896-03-14
Daring Attempts to Grab the
Gold Fields of Invaded
Territory.
PROTEST AGAINST usURPATIoN
At One Time It Was Feared That
England Would Seize the En-
tire 0rinoco River.

WASHINGTON, D. c., March 13-The
Venezuelan Commission, at its regular
meeting to-day with all the members pres
ent. virtually reached the conclusion that
the main points at issue IN the dispute
hinged on documents lying in the royal
archives of Spain and Holland, and per-
haps some other countries, and that
while such documents would probably be
quoted by each OF the disputants in sup
port OF the contradictory claims presented,
the duty would devolve on the commits
sion not only to verify by actual examina-
tfon all such citations, but, if practicable,
to develop contemporary documents which
might throw strong side lights upon the
evidence submitted.
While definite action was postponed
until the full British and Venezuelan case
shall have been formally brought under
consideration, there remains no doubt that
some of The commissioners, or, at all
events the secretary of the commission,
Mr.. Mallet-Prevost, and agents under his
direction, will soon be sent to Madrid and
The Hague.
1t is explained that this determination is
not due to the alleged di covery of mis-
quotations in DEGREES and treaties already
i'll the commissions possession, but from
the conviction that the final decision of
the commission ought Lot to be open to
any attack as to inconclusiveness of the
pivotal evidence upon which such decision
will in all proba bility be found to depend.
In the preliminary Investigations OF the
commissioners they have been confronted
with numerous Numerically conflicting
maps and translations. While geograph-
ical discrepancies are within the power OF
-the commission TO harmonic through the
enormous mass of corroborative charts it
commands, comparatively indecipherable
and partial ELIGIBILITY OF royal DEGREES are
thought to be matters which necessitate
personal and expert examination.
The commission expects TO be in pos
session of the British Blue Book as well as
the greater part OF Venezuela's case early
next week, and in view of this anticipation
Coudert and Gilman, who have hitherto
spent little time in Washington will re-
main here for the present for daily meet
ings, at which the weighing and COM
parison of evidence will be prosecuted con-
tinuously. No one of the commissioners
has yet had an opportunity to carefully ex-
anime the British case, as the only avail
able copy that has reached them was one
OF the advance edition sent by ambassador
Bayard to the State Department, which
may contain typographical or other errors
. incident to hasty preparation. The regu-
lar copies for the commission will arrive
here. in all probability, tomorrow even
ing or Monday next. While access to a
State Department copy has been allowed,
there has been no opportunity to examine
it fully.
The agents of Venezuela have presented
To the Venezuelan Commission, among
other documents, the official report of the
Minister of the Interior at Caracas to the
Minister of Foreign Relations, dated May
%. 1890, consisting of forty printed pages,
covering the radical advances of the Brit
jsh colonial officers into the disputed ter
ritory following the rich discoveries of gold
from 1885 to 1890, as investigated by a ma
tional committee appointed by Venezuela
TO make a scientific exploring expedition
in Guiana territory. The elaborate report
of this commission is now for the first time
disclosed, and shows, according to the tes-
timony of the British magistrates and
others in the territory, that as late as 1883
no British settlements existed even as far
west as the Pomaroon River.
AS late as 1888 the settlements are re-
ferred to by the English as the recently
acquired district, and the colonial Gov
ernment is shown to be exerting its author
ity in every way to rush emigrants into
the interior, its success in some degree
being shown by these figures of gold ex-
,,orus: 1885, 939 ounces; 1886, 651S ounces;
1887. II, ,906 ounces; 1888, IA, SIC ounces; and
for the first six months of 1889, 14,424
ounces.
These documents, and especially those
relating 10 Venezuela's formal protest
against the usurpation seem TO place Wis
count GeoImanston, Governor of British
Guiana, in the light of suppIessing the
facts. although it is shown that he was in
constant communication with Lord Sails
bury. Testimony is adduced to demon
strate that the British authorities were
most generous to the Indians, thereby
securing access to the gold districts IN the
interior deserted by Venezuelans, who were
attracted by British Establishments to the
coast settlements.
The publication has been submitted
without argument, Venezuela relying alto
gether upon the simple statement OF
facts. 1t appears from the venezuelan
official report OF the Oulahd-ppupuaiy uio
pute that the expedition was sent out pe-
cause Venezuela became alarmed lest the
British should attempt to seize tie entire
Orinoco River and prevent the republic
from using it in any way. The lef ex-
ecutive of the commission, R. f. Zelgas,
formerly Venezuelan Minister to England,
found everything to confirm the most seri-
Gus fears of his Government, and only
through his energetic protests to the colo
nial Governor and the activity of Nene-
zuelan Ministers abroad was the policy OF