The Portland daily press., 1896-03-14
"REoENTLY ACQUIRED DISTRICT"

That's What Venezuelan Territory Claimed
by Great Britain Was Called Eight ears
Ago.
Washington, March 13.-The Venezue-
Ian commission held it's regular meeting
today. The Venezuelan minister has
been notified by his government that the
first instalInent of official evidence for
the commission is due to arrive in New
York next Tuesday.
The documents relate exclusively to
the period near the close of the 18th CEN
fury taken from the Royal Spanish ar
chiyes are not quoted in the British Blue
Book.
They are put for ward to demonstrate
the inadmissib1lity of the Dutch claim
to any territory west of the Eessequibo.
A large number of autI 9 ticated official
maps, covering the same period, are in
cluded.
The agents of Venezuela have present.
ed to the Venezuelan commission, among
other documents the official report Of
the ministry of the interior at Caracas to
the ministry of foreign relations, dated
May %, 1890, covering the radical ad-
vances of the British colonial officers in
to the disputed territory following the
rich discoveries of gold from 1885 to $780,
The report shows, according to the testi-
mony OF british magistrates and 9th
ers that az late as 1883 no British settle
ment existed even as far west as the
Pumaron river. AS late as 1888 the settle
ments we're referred to by the. English as
thes' Recently acquired district"
The commission virtually reached the
conclusion that the main points at is
sue in the dispute hinged on documents
lying in the royal archives of Spain and
Holland, and perhaps some other coun-
tries, and while such documents would
PROBABLY be quoted by each of the dis
putants in support of the contradictory
claims presented, the duty would de-
voIve on the committee not only to verify
by actual examination all such citations,
but IL practical, to develope contemporary
documents which might throw strong
sidelights upon the evidence submitted.
Dennlte action was postponed until the
full British and Venezuelan cases shall
have been formally brought under CON-
s11eration. There remains no doubt that
some Of the commissioners, or at all
events, the secretary of the commission,
Mr.. Malet-Prey and the agents under
his direction will soon be sent to Ma
drid and The Hague. 1t is explained
UAdu Uuio 0CuoI IltudtiUu Is uOI uS To CQ0
alleged discovery of Interpretations in
the decreens ands treaties already in the
commissions possession, but to the con-
viction that the final decision of the COM
mission ought not to be open to any at.
tack as to the inoonclusiveness of the
pivotal evidence upon which the decision
will in all probability be found to de-
pend. In the preliminary investigation
the commission has been confronted
with nnnarnus diam ptrica11v cOp a
maps and translations. While the geo.
gra phical discrepancies were within the
power OF the commission to harmonic
through the enormous mass of corro-
borative charts it commands, the COM
parative indeoipherbility and partial
of the royal DEGREES are
thought to be matters W hich necessitate
personal and expert examinations.
The committee expects to BIZ in posses
as the greater part of Venezuela's case
early next week. In view of this antioi-
patton, Mr.. Coudert and President Gil
man who have hitherto spent less time in
will remain here for the
present for daily meetings at (which the
and comparison of evidences
will be prosecuted continuously. Not
one of the commissioners has yet had an
opportunity to carefully examine the
British case, as the only available copy
that has reached them was one of the
advanced edition sent by Ambassador
Bayard to The State Department., and
may contain typographical or other
errors incident to haHty preparation. The
regular copies for the commission will
arrive here Monday. While access to the
State Department, copy has been allowed
there has been no opportunity to examine
it fully.