The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1896-01-18

THE HISTORY OF The DISPUTE.
Republicans See No Sure Thing
Game In the Political
Horizon.

The dispute over the border of
Venezuela which has assumed such
an important place in the minds of
the American people is not new is
sue, but had its origin eighty one
years ago
In 1914, Holland granted to Great
Britain the territory now known as
British Guiana, and that treaty ceded
the territory without definitely fixing
It's boundaries, hence the dispute as
to the actual boundary line had new
er been settled.
1t has occasionally come up and
been subject of some notice, vet
never before was made the subject Of
grave international complications.
The boundary never having been
settled, in 1S41 England sent Sir
Robert Schomburgk out for the pur
pose OF making surveys west of the
Essequibo river, and he planted posts
and marks which define what has
since been known as the Schomburgk
line. This survey was made without
the assent or participation of the
Venezuelan government, and the line
laid down gave Great Britain control
OF the mouth of the Orinocc, with all
the Atlantic coast line between that
river and Essequibo.
Although this line is now referred
to by the British government as mar
king the limits between what is with
out question British territory and
what may be considered territory in
dispute, it was not SO considered by
the British government at the time,
for upon protest from Venezuela,
Lord Aberdeen, then prime minister
OF England distinctly disavowed any
intention of occupying the territory
within it, and directed the colonial
| authorities to obliterate the line and
destroy the posts and marks by which
it had been defined
The matter then remained unset.
tied until 1879, when the Venezuelan
minister to London opened negotia-
tons with Lord Salisbury, who then
set up claim that far exceeded any
Heretofore made by Great Britain.
lie claimed not only the territory to
the east of the old Schomburgk line,
but vast tract beyond it. Lord
Granville succeeded Lord Salisbury
while the matter was under consider
alton, and he proposed line which,
while it did not lay any claim to the
mouth of the Orinoco, was more fav.
orable to Great Britain in the interi-
or than any line which had previous
ly been suggested. DR.. Rojos, the
Venezuelan minister could not con-
slider this, and proposed the settle
ment OF the question by arbitration.
Great Britain did not agree to this,
and nothing more was done until in
1884.
In that year Gusman Blanco, who
had become Venezuelan minister at
London, continued negotiations for
treaty of arbitration, which came
more nearly resulting in settlement
of the controversy than any of the
negotiations before or since that time.
A draft of treaty was practically a.
greed upon, which would have refer
red the boundary question to arbitra-
ton and settled all the pending ques.
tions between the two governments.
BY change in the ministry, howev-
er, the Marquis of Salisbury became
premier, and he declined to carry out
the agreements which had been made
by Earl Granville.
Three years later, when Lord Rose
berry was Englishminister of foreign
affairs, the matter was again taken
up, and Lord Roseberry proposed
conventional line more favorable to
Venezuela than any proposition that
had come from the British side. He
accompanied it, however, with the