The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-04-07
HAVE MUCH AT STAKE
WHY PEOPLE OF BRITISH GUIANA
WANT DISPUTED TERRITORY.
Gold Mines of Exceeding Richness LO-
Gated I'm the Land Claimed by
the Venezuelan Government.

GEORGETOWN, British Guiana, March
13-If the Venezuelan British Guiana bound
ary dispute is decided in favor OF Venezue-
la, ninety-nine out of every one hundred
Englishmen In this country will lose money
by It and the same may. be said of nearly
every American living in the colony. except
the United States CONSUL Britfsn Guiana is
divided into three counties, Demarara, Ber-
bice and Essequibo. Practically all of the
gold fields are situated in Essequbo county
and nearly all of the territory which COM
prises that county is under dispute. AS the
sugar industry has dwindled down 20 very
small factor. owing to the reduction in the
price of sugar, the great expense of keeping
the plantations from being flooded and the
difficulty in getting laborers at reasonable
price, who can stand the climate, gold has
become the mainstay of the colony, and II
is to gold, and, possibly, timber. in the fut-
ure, from Essequibo county, that the
residents here have to look it may be
imagined that the interest over the boundary
dispute is very great.
While the rest of the world is looking on
the question practically settled. so far
as 1t is concerned. as to a possibility of war,
the point of view here is entirely different
The people, that is, the Englishmen, who
control everything. despite the large ma
jority OF the foreign population, do not fear
war. looking on such thing with the usual
British eyes which see nothing but victory
for themselves. But they do fear arbitration
above all things, for no matter how little of
Esseouibo county were given to Venezuela
number of gold mines would pass out of
British control The meager dispatches re-
ceived here scanned most eagerly by
everyone, many men who have their all in
gold sending their servants to the station
every night to read tine bulletin boards
rather than wait for the morning papers.
wondered at that the feeling here against
the United States is very strong, and what
is more. the Americans here do not hesitate
to blame the Washington government OPEN
ly. Instead of the feeling diminishing, ii is
growing with the delay. for, until the ques-
ton is decided. any introduction of ma
BILE The men Will not invest any more mon
ey in Essequibo county, with a chance of
having the whole territory taken out of
their hands.
Gold there is mere, and to what extent NAV
be judged by the registrations for the last
three days, and every bit OF ii was taken out
by placer mining-the day before yesterday,
73 ounces: yesterday, 30S ounces: to-day,
1000 ounces. Owing to the volcanic nature
of the country and the difficulty experienced
in getting to the fields. long canoe trips be-
ing necessary, UP to the present time the
mining has been VerV crude. Just before the
dispute became acute arrangements were be-
ing made for introducing machinery and
since all these things have come TO a stop il
may easily be seen how the whole of British
Ciuiana has been affected There has been
something, less than twenty tons of quartz
crushed in this colony since the beginning.
Machinery was put up where IL was thought
there was 2 rich vein, but that place was
worked out in less than week Thousands
of dollars have been lost here and Ii is just
now that the people think they see a pros
pect of getting something back.
As for the British claim that there are
hfty-two thousand British subjects in Esse-
quibo county. exclusive Of government off,
Gals. IL is very misleading. If line should
be drawn due south from the Orinoco river
II would De found that the actual settlers
between that and the Schomburgk line
would not number 1900. IL that, while in the
northwest district, that on the coast directly
south or the Orincco river. where the besi
quartz - supposed to exist, there are moi
more than two thousand actual settlers.
| Fully twenty thousand of the fifty-tws
thousand people live on the islands in the
mouth or the Essequbo river which arf
not in dispute. There are over five Thousand
miners who never stay in the unsettled fer
ritory more than four months at a time
/ four thousand or five thousand Indians Avs
thousand indentured coolies, and IL is esfi.
mated that there at least five thousa nf
| persons who owe allegiance to other no
tons Under the circumstances il can h
seen that Venezuela might easily nav ths
actual settlers for their land and be game,
la- h1f o~~---~'