The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-03

Andrade TO inform him as soon as possible
OF the resolution OF the commission on
this point that there may be no delay in
submitting the Venezuelan case. The doc
uments are exceedingly vOluminOus and
include a large number of valuable maps
which must be sent TO Washington il the
commission concludes TO sit here They
are all in Caracas. but ready for i'm
mediate transmission. They could be pre-
sented to the state department within ten
days Of the notification that they were
required here.
Until that time the work Of the commits
sion must necessarily be altogether of
preliminary character. If the Organiza-
tion of the body is perfected, as is now
expected, early next week, some time
must elapse before the American minis
tiers at the Hague and Madrid could Sc
cure and transmit copies of the Dutch and
Spanish archives, which are considered eS-
sential to an impartial adjudication Of
the opposing claims. Venezuela, however,
is prepared to furnish certified copies of
all these documents that tend to prove
her right TO the disputed territory and
perhaps Great Britain will consent to
The probable attitnde of the British
government toward the commission evokes
tne keenest curiosity While it IS the pre-
Valling opinion that IL will embrace the
opportunity to state its side Of the case
without agreeing to be bound by the
findings, it is not believed that this can
be done without considerable delay. 1t
IS understood that, although the English
have accumulated all possible evidence to
support their claim to the entire Orinooo
region, they had never expected to be
compelled to produce it and have not ar
ranged il in such shape that il could be
promptly submitted. 1t would not be sur
prising, therefore, in case Great Britain
should take cognizance of the appoint
ment of the American commission, if a
request should be received from Lord Sal
lsbury asking for a sufficient delay to
enable his government to prepare its doc
umentary proofs. In any event the actual
discussion of the merits of the contro-
Versy can hardly commence inside of the
next two weeks and there is no possibil-
lty of a decision for several months if the
investigation is to be made as thorough
as contemplated.
The five members of the Venezuela.
British Guiana boundary commission have
not yet formally notified the President
of their acceptance, but Mr.. Cleveland had
received assurances before the appoint
ments were announced that each of the
gentlemen selected was willing to serve.
1t is learned that no formal tenders of
places on the commission were made but
Justices Brewer and Alvey, and Messrs.
COudert White and Gilman were sounded
as to their sentiments with regard to
serving, and the President was fully cog
infant of their views. This possibly ac-
counts for the technical denials made by
two members of the commission as to
the place having been rendered them.
The selection of Prof. Gilman was largely
determined by his prominence as a geog-
rapher. The fact that he has written a
life of President Monroe, in which a chap
ter is devoted to the Monroe doctrine,
was of secondary importance in connec-
tion with his appointment, as Prof. Gill
man does not express any radical views
on the subject. 1t is interesting to note
that Prof Gilman, in his book on Monroe
takes the ground that the idea embodied
in the famous doctrine did not originate
with Canning, but was practically sug-
gested many years before his time.
Chief Justice Fuller Is largely respon-
sible for the selection of Justice Brewer.
The chief justice had several talks with
the President and Secretary Olney on the
subject, and 1t is not unlikely that his
opinion also had weight in the appoint
ment of Chief Justice Alvey.
Rome, Jan. 2.-Important documents
have been found in the archives of the
vatican relating to Catholic missions in
Venezuela. These documents show that
the missions within the territory claimed
by Great Britain were included in the
diocese of Caracas prior to Great Britain
acquiring Guiana