The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-15
THE PERIOD OF FIFTY YEARS.
IL Does Not Give Prescriptive Title to
the British Mlning ana Other Encronch-
mentn or which Venezuela ~Complnins.

the British MlninE and Other Encronch-
mentr or which Venezuela Complains.
WASHINGTON. Nov. l2.-If a search were
made for the turning point in the Venezuelan
boundary question, 1t would probably be found
In Mr.. Olney's despatch of July 10 last. when,
setting aside Lord Salisbury's objection that
venczuela's claim covers two-thirds Of tho
colony of British Guiana as not being an
in uperablc objection to unrestricted arbitra-
| tlon," he proceeded to say that n weiehtier OBJ
| lection mentioned was that this claim 'im-
peaches titles which have been unQuestioned
for many generations" He accordingly asked
whether England would be satisfied with inn
peaching such titles to territory in the exclu-
sive. notorious, and actual use and occupation
Of either party for even two generations, or.
say, for sixty years. Would she assent to
unrestricted arbitration OF all the territory in
controversy on the condition of a sixty-year
period for acquiring u title by prescriptions
That proved to be the key question. for after
laughing unsuccessfully TO make twenty or
twenty-une years the period, following usages In
America and England respectively. Lord Sails
bury compromised, il appears, on fifty, and
the problem was solved.
Fifty years carries the starting point back to
the year 1876. Had Secretary olney secured
sixty. lie would haze put this point beyond
The tracing of the Schomburgk line, in 1s41,
whi,h is often regarded as the beginning of the
active controversy. But the announcement of
that line was not followed by settlements. 1t
was drawn through uninhabited regions. and.
so Tar from attempting to make IL valid by colo
MIA Ion. the British Government OK pressly
lisclaimcd attributinR to 1t anything moro
than a tentative or preparatory value. and. on
the renewal of Nenezueia's protest, caused the
posts set UP along the line to he taken down.
A little later. Lord Aberdeen. during the year
1914, suggested the line OF the Orinoco as a
boundary. This is a small stream not very
far northwest Of tn. EsseGuibo. and 1t may be
shown in. the arbitration that there were set
Elements not only OF the Dutch. but of the
In 1856. Mr. B. II. Wilson. the British
Charge d'Affaires in Venezuela. referring to a
rumor which had been spread, declared in an
official note that Venezuela need not mistrust
for a moment the formal declaration which is
now made in The name and by the express order
ain has no intention to occupy or encrosch upon
the territory in dispute. This last date falls
quate for giving nrescriptive title. by occu-
pancy. and since there appears to have been
durines the correspondence Just mentioned.
1t would seem that the present period Of nifty
ons special incident I, that may be pointed
acas. on the com plant OF certain merchants
Of Ciudad Bolivar. requested Venezuela to
since leon denied that Great, Britain was
bound by, his acts, so far as her boundary was
S WI,ich sSrms 't part r1' Of The case o. Venezuela ueie.
slows clearly, his IMPRESSION. and that of the
British merchants for whom he acted. as to
Their in evidence thu the posts which would
haze given Point Barima to the English. under
seems clear. therefore. tlat the present holding
of the mouth of the Orinoco at Point Barina
by BIRTHS" ofcers and settlers will not Sc
cure a prescriptive title under the pending
agreement.
! ments OF which Venezuela complained when
-he brokeof III relations With England date back
rarely a dozen years. She asserts that as late
as 1868 the Governor. Of ,Demerara. In a
decree OIL the division OF registers. did not es-
tahlish a more northerly line than that Of the
pears from the documents that the famous visit
OF Magistrate MichRe! Mc1urk. IN which he set
~ ~ claim 10 the regions watcred by the rivers
branch. was il 1881.
IL was these encroachments thst caused Ven
eZucla to brea \ of diplomatic intercourse with
Great Britain in the year 1887. Since then
suchS encrcachments have steadily gone on.
Yuruari region and in the Bnrima region,
which nave caused colonization, belong almost
seems to give a good margin when a round half
century is adopted us the time within which
title by exclusive settlement alone shall not be
II may be said that there arc British settle
mcnts older than fifty years west of the Esse-
auibo. and hence within the extreme line
which Venezuela claims, that viii come with
in the pending agreement. But 1t is to be pre-
sumed thai Venezuela will accede to such u
disposition Of them, provided that it is made
by arbitration. Her objection all along has
been that Great Britain would not consent to
settling such matters by the decision OF disln-
terested third parties. but required that IA treaty
should. be directly mad. between the two conn
tries fixing Ihe boundary line. This would
have resulted in a yielding OF some territory
cision. viii III would have been a violation OF
her fundamental law.