New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-18
ENGLAND'S CASE WEAKENED.
NEWLY FOUND DOCUMENT DIsCREDITs
THE VENEZUELAN BLUE BOOK.
THE ONLY IMPORTANT POINT IN LETTER FROM
GOVERNOR LIGHT TRANSMITTING A RE-
PORT FROM scHoMBURoK CUT
ny
OUT BY THE EDITORS.

GOVERNOR LIGHT TRANSMITTING A RE
PORT FROM scHoMBURGK CUT
OUT BY THE EDITORS.
Washington April 1.-THE Venezuelan Govern
ment has laid before the Boundary Commission an
authentic document secured recently among the
official records of the Colony OF British GUIANA
which throws grave suspicion on the accuracy VI
the Salisbury Blue Book, upon which England e~-
pressed a willingness to rest her claim TO the as
puted territory. This newly found document III 'ne
opinion OF those !mpartIay studying the merits Oh
tho controversy calls for full and explicit expiah-
alton from Great Britain to Parliament ior
whose accurate information the Blue BOOK was Us
tensibly published. The inaccuracies do not APP
near In Professor Pollock's argument accompanying
tho case wherein all the errors have so far peeh
discovered and In few instances corrected out IN
what purports to be the presentation OF al, the EVIL
dence In the case The disclosure relates 10 Docu-
ment No. H. which begins on page Isl OF the oHic'aI
publication continuing over four pages and amount
Ing to considerably more than fuli newspaper
column The document In question Is the letter
from Governor Light. OF the colony, to the Mar
auis of Normandy dated July 49, 1889. transmitting
a report from schomburgk regarding his travels
under the auspices OF the Royal Geographical So
ciety, before the distinguished boanist had been
employed by the Government to devise provisional
boundary line. AS presented in the Blue Book this
letter opens as follows:
Mr. schomburgk employed by the de Oarpn az
British Guiana and adjoining countries who mas
lately arrived at nsvnY enabled to
reply to Your Lordships dispatch No IL dated rsS ,h
sor. No. IA. dated LIST December 1889.
Right at this point. the middle OF the opening
paragraph. the British official editors Of the evidence
the only matter In the letter that bears
upon the merits OF the dispute. and have laid them
selves open to charge Of garblns an official paper
In the Blue Book the document goes on from this
point to speak Of other matters Irrelevant to the
dispute and immateral to the consideration OF the
case The remainder OF the paragraph as we'll as
the second paragraph OF the letter both Of which
were suppressed without the formality OF the usual
marks showing that any omission was made. and
which are now supplied through Venezuelan chan
nes. ms follows
I shall observe there no documents In the
archives OF the colony respecting the western or
southern limits Of British Guiana. The memoir OF
Mr. schomburgk Is Therefore yalIaolei II confirms
TO the western limits. and points out what may DO
1T subjects for discussion with me different Coy,
Guiana. The Colombian Government Is desirous OF
nj h A So ia da ns nj T.
the predatory excursions OF the Brazilians near
been warned leave PIrara, the Brazilian authori-
ties have claimed IT, and having sent an officer 70
1, appears he assumed the identity OF an isolated
stump Of tree with the landmark sought; The
by rivers and chains OF mountains more conyen,
ien,iy than by parallels which may be proved by
Mn as son ha. besu" among ION the aSo
rhymes tho British nation alone can protect them.
Of ' the IIm,S Of Brtish Guiana Mr schomburgks
merits as geographer will naturally point him
out as a NJ person 10 be employed In any commits
zion for the question OF boundary
The fact here established that there were no
documents In the archives OF the colony respecting
the western or southern limits OF British Guiana
at the critical period when both Brazil and CO.
lombia were resisting the hrst encroachments OF
England in the opinion OF those now studying the
question. seriously weakcns the British contention.
ana for that reason apparently there was no hest
ta,lon In suppressing II.
Tho duty OF the Venezuelan Boundary Commits
slo: is practically ind whether the limits OF
British Guiana have been extended since the Mon
roe Doctrine was enunciated in 1922 British Guiana
having been coded to the English by the Dutch In
1874 The confession that in 1923 the colony was
without a document bearing upon Its southern or
proof upon Great Britain, and Is held TO invadatc
all tho British claims which cannot be fully sub
stantiated b. Dutch and 81 Spanish records tndsr
archives quoted n the Blue Book might have had
great weight MIN the % r Gni inc as
has thrown a cloud over all the other pages OF the
book and to-day the entire publication Is regarded
senior Andradc. the Venezuelan Minister here is
also having translated for the Commission the re-;
Governor In 1853. to the Crown. which will be pre-
scented to thu Commission in week or two The
ment which Is considered by ali concerned the
most important extant on the relative limits OF
peared on the scene In South America. The closely
written manuscript copy Of this authenticated re-.
port which is now being translated, covers 1856
pages and the Commission will be enabled to neg
iect the British extracts from 1t and study the
complete report.