The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1896-03-11
ENoLAND's SIDE OF 1T.

Sir Frederick Pollock Prepares State
ment of Great Brltain's Claims to Ter
rltory In Dispute with Venezuela.
LONDON, March 5.-The st, James Gazette
under the caption THE British case against
Venezuela, publishes two columns OF matter,
which 1t claims is q summary OF the report
made by Sir Frederick Pollock for submissien
TO parliament The Gazette says that bosidts
having at his disposal documents in possession
Of the British colonial and foreign offices, Pol
lock has drawn freely from information made
accessible to the British government by the
keepers Of the archives OF Spain and Holland.
The material supplied by Holland covers tie
period from the latter part of the sixteenth
century to tho second decade Of tho nineteenth
century. and the Spanish documents cover the
period since the first ascent OF the Amazon by
Orellana In 1912, and from the first ascent OF
the Crlnoeo by Juan Martinez until Venezuela
in 1889 assumed independent existence TIE
evidence includes the particulars and circum-
stances in which the British took possession CT
thu whole Of the Dutsh West India colonies iu
IL /, 1895 and 1903 and the treaties under which
these transferences we're ratified the first one
being Concluded in 1874 to which Spain was
party. The evidence also includes the story Of
the correspondence and negotiations with the
various interested governments by Venezuela
from 1870 down to the present time
The information supplied by the colonial
once comprises that collected by the successive
governors of the territory since the administra-
tion OF Col Nicholson In 1903 Us regards the ex-
tent and character OF the Ouch occupation and
exploration of the interior, and also the details
OF the Venezuelan incurs,ons into British ter
rltory between the Orinoco and the Cuyuui the
attempts of American concessionaires to es-
tablish themselves in British Guiana, the steps
taken 10 m lintain British ownership and the
work done by Great Britain to ascertain the
natural and geographic boundary without pref
udice to strict territorial rights beyond such
boundary. These documents, ecc 0mplnied by
important maps bearing thereon show Brit
ish case Of overwhelming strength against
Venezuelan pretenslons OF ownership to the
west bank Of the Essequibo.
The report shows that the Dutch had from
the earliest times posse ssion of the coast of
Guiana as far north as the mouth of the Orino-
CO. such possession implying the right of own
ership of the Hinterland. right exercised by
the Dutch, who in the sixteenth century had
coffee, cotton and sugar plantations far up the
rivers and prospeced for gold and silver In the
basin of the Cuyuni The carly Dutch maps
give the northwest boundary, starting from
Barima Point and taking northwesterly
course inland, roughly parallel with the Orino-
co to the confluence Of the Caroni and the ORR
,noco.
Sir Frederick Pollock proves that the Span
iards at no time established themselves in
Guiana proper until they overran part Of the
British territory to the 'Cuyuni in and since
1853 They got no further than the Orinoco
The fact that St Thome is marked on the
French map as the extreme limit OF their sta
tions is borne out by Dutch map which In
1913 was prepared for the committee OF colonies
of the Batavian republic by Maj. Won Blouchen-
roeder. This map shows that the Dutch from
tier begins at Barima, from which straigh
line is drawn inland. This map was prepared
to assist the statesmen who were negotiating
the cession of the Dutch colonies in Soutl
America to Great Britain. Sir Frederick Pol
lock gives details showing that it was upon tn
oasis OF this and similar maps that the cessio
was effected
Correspondence taken from the archive
shows that when the Spanish showed them
selves in the Cuyuni valley the Dutch govern
ment vigorously protested to Spain against tn
encroachments Of her subjects upon Dutc
territory. The archives show that Spain di
not answer the protests OF the Dutch govern
ment. Certainly Spain did not assert her own
ership of the region in question The state
general OF Holland In 1850 und In 17c9 set fort
the Dutch territorial rights and demanded rer
aration for Spanish violation thereof. Th
correspondence shows that the Dutch asserte
ownership OF the entire watershed OF tho Esst
quibo and laid great stress upon their rights
the Cuyuni, upon the upper reaches OF whic
stream they had established gold diggtngs ar
had been ON terms OF intercourse with tho Il
dian tribes there for l1O years In making r
searches. The evidence which Spaia placed
the disposal of the foreign office shows thi
Spain did not rebut the claim made by u
Dutch to the terr tory throughout tho basin
the Cuyuni.
The Dutch archives have been so we'll kel
that Sir rederick Pollock has been able
make an irrefragable case for British owne
ship of tho Cuyunl basin as having been inho
tied from the Dutch, though no absolute eV
dence Is adduceable to show how far the DutC
held the country between the natural geogrnp
ical delimitation known Us the Schomburl
line and the bank OF the Ornoco. The repo
after exhausting the evidence prior to Engl
acquisition OF the country, deals with the mo
recent diplomatic aspects Of the case whi
are not summarized.
WASHINGTON, March Sat the Vel
ezuelan legation the statement of Il
British case was declared to be pitiab
weak and easily disposed Of Minist,
Andrade said it did not contain 6
item which had not already been full
met and disproved in documents fu
nished to Secretaries Bayard ar
Gresham by the Venezuelan Cover
ment. All the arguments now pr
sented by Sir Frederick Pollock whi'
had not been included in Lord Sal
bury's letters of November 2o la,
leading to President Cleveland's speci
message, had already been abandon
by British statesmen.