Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-29
COMPROMISES UNPOPULAR. Germans Proposition Meets
 With No Encouragement. FAVORS THE BONDH0LD DERS
The Times Says England Has Abandoned the
 Sehomburgk Line,
UT THAT WILL NOT HELP MATTERS
Bill to Re Reported Until the Free Silver Substitute of the Senate
 Has Been Clinched

will not be reported to the senate until after the vote has been taken in the sem ate on the free coinage substitute to the house bond bill. The finance committee did not take the bill up for consideration this morning; in fact it was not referred to in the full meeting, but an understand ing was reached before the democratic members arrived at the committee rooms. It is apparent that MT. Jones of Nevada notified his republican associates that he would not give them the vote necessa- ry to report the bill until the free silver substitute of the senate had been
 clinched. Immediately after this has been done, the committee on finance will be able to report the tariff bill.
 Much of the time of the committee was consumed in an informal discussion of the compromise suggested by MT. Cor man as a substitute to the bill reported from the committee of conference after the house bond bill, with the senate free silver substitute, gets into conference. This proposition contemplates the issu- ance of $500, ,000 of gold bonds with which to retire the governments present gold obligations (greenbacks and treas ury notes), the declara tion that all bohds now outstanding, regardless of the pro- visions of these obligations, shall be made payable in gold, and the opening or the hints of the United States to the free and unlimited coinage of silver. Inls proposition found few friends in the committee. MT. Vest was vigorous m ms opposition, and other democratic sena- tors opposed it because it authorized the issue of gold bonds and provided for the retirement of the greenbacks. RepuDii- cans were antagonistic to man. Ihe argument was made that this proposition would only work harm to the country, and was intended more as politlcai compromise than as solution of the financial problem. It. was pointed out by one of the, sound money repubncans that it meant simply gold Dasls TOT the bondholders of. the country and sil- yer basis for every other class, and upon such a groundwork the financial fabric could not rest securely. Of course this discussion was entirely informal, but II developed enough to show that such proposition would find few friends ana many powerful enemies in the commlttee of the senate which dominates its finan- cial policy. 5.e .5t..Y.st
 schomburgk Line Abandoned.
 The London Times of January "A con tained a. statement that England had abandoned the Schomburgk hne as limit and. excluded only from arpitration the settled districts-that is' bri,isn uie us tricts: that any proposition on that ine made by Venezuela, or by the ohlteq States in her behalf, would be favorably received; that-the door would then pc open for counter propositions; that II Was no secret that Lord Salisbury was anx- iols to receive and favorably consioef any fair and frank propositioh ioohi"e 'c a settlement.
 Hon. William L. Scruggs, ex-United States minister to Venezuela, stated to- day that this is misleading. The pro fessed abandonment Of the Schompursh line. coupled with the reservation or set- tied districts, is, in point of fact, no more nor less, he says, than the reserva- lion of the Schomburgk line as limit, because every available point within the Schomburgk line, and certainly every strategetic point within that nne, mas been settled, either by mining camps. nolice stations, etc. If the proposition of the Times would exclude recent set tIements-those made within the last nf- teen years, it would be practical resto- ration of the status quo of l85O, ana that is all Venezuela has ever asked as nreIiminary measure to arbitration. If, after proper investigation, Englands title to any territory east of the Aber- deen line-that is to say, between the Morocco and Essequibo rivers-should De found defective. that, too, could De sup mitted to arbitration. And that to all intents and purposes would be in ac- cordance with the agreement or May 10, 1885. by Lord Granville. which was to submit the whole case to arbitrator, put that agreement by Lord Granville was repudiated by ms successor, lLoiu oa'' bury just two months later So that Tn the absence of some explicit understand ing as to what should be understood by "settled districts" what number of years or what time is necessary to give them that character and whether mere police stations and sentry boxes and mining camps shall be considered British settle ments. In the absence of that under standing it would be worse than futile to begin negotiations on the basis pro- posed by the Times.
 If is hardly necessary to state that Venezuela is now ready. as she has ever heen s;nce 1S44. to submit the whole ques- ton of boundary without conditions orf reservations to impartial and friendly arbitration.