The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-01-01

czurlt has always adhered Ia il e'Wi faith.
and WiIirh England. during the last dozen
wears. has viulaiCd without S,;ruplr or
bounds.
On Sept. ~, l-Sl, Lord Granville, in =
note to Senior Rnjrr, Ncnrzucla's diplo.
ma,ic agent in England. suggested an
agreement on :; huVndary line 10 begin
OH the coast - miles Il! i frfm the mouth
Of tho river Burima. Tho starting point
thus Indicated is we'll tn the east Of tie
Orinucn mouth, and, in fact, Granville cx-
plicitlv stated that he had rndr;Norrd TO
satisfy the reasonable prctcnsi"ns and
Claims of Venezuela. giving to her the so
called DarGancilcs Of the Orinoco and the
complrtr dominion nf lis mouth.
England Rcpudiatcd the Treaty.
Then followed the memorable events
leading to Guzman l'lancuS mission TO
England, his actual negotiation uf Il
treaty embracing tho arbitration principle
and the subsequent reputation of that
treaty hy England In 1881 Venezuela
imposed an additional duty of 30 por cent
on all merchandise from the British colo
nirS. This WAS intended as an aggressive
movement for crippling British West In
dian tr,d? 1t had the desired effect The
Britisl! government thcrcupon invited
Venezuela to send diplomatic representa-
tive of high rank to London for the pur
pose of settling al questions ut issue be-
tween tho two countries, and Guzman
Blanco was dispatched accordingly. After
protr;lclcd negotiations hn induced Lord
Granville, on june Is, 1885, to approve n
treaty which provided (articlc 15) that
I,,-, ln nd
England which could not DO adjusted in
ordinary ways should be settled by arbi-
tration. But on July - Of the same year
Lord Salisbury, the Tories having come
into power meantime, informed General
BlancO that ito engage tn refer TO arbltra-
ton all disputes and controversies what
socvcr would ho without precedent i'll the
treaties made by Great Britain. Questions
might arise, such as those involving tho
title of the British crown to territory or
o, her sovereign rights, which her ajcsty'S 5
government could not pledge themselves
beforehand to refer to arbitratiC'!.'
Therefore Lord Salisbury deliberately re-
putliaiCd the Granville treaty, and all sub
sculiont efforts to revive it were unarail-
ing.
But notwithstanding this harsh actinn
tho Liberal ministry, which s1un took the
place Or Snlisbury'S government. showed il
disposition 10 recognize the Injustice "i
British urrlrnSiun 10 sovereignty at the
mouth Of the O"inOco. Lord ROSCbCry, on
July 90. 1856, wrote in u spirit Of C0ncilia-
ton, promising Il boundary line start ing
somewhere to the cast IF the OrinuCc
mouth, merely rcmarliing that her majesty
uttar!cd special Importance to the posses
sion nf the river Gi!an;l, with Tie provi-o.
however, that the river OrinOcu should he
"cntircly free to commerce navigation
The foregoing detailed review Of the his.
turical aspects of England'S claim appears
to show that Lord SaliStury's present in
sistcncu on the Schumhur.,k line as the
boundary between British Guiana and
Venezuela is merely the development Of
an arbitrary COURSE determined on within
the past ten years, in Contempt Of the
traditions and also the formal record made
in the - years from 1914 to 1856.
In justification of lIngland'S present at
titudc il is now urged that the territorial
limits have always been in debate; that
she has really claimed all the timo do
miniOn us far west on tho coast rs Point
Barimn that the various y aberdeen, Gran
Vile and RuSrbcry compromise PROPOSE
tionS were only tentative and coucillatnry
and never surrendered England's real
claim to joint ownership Of the Orinoco
mouth, which claim she has ever been
prepared to assert and establish, and that,
in view of her recognized dc facto occupa-
ton for ten years of all the country cast of
tho Schomburgk line, shc should not be
asked to submit tho proprictorship of that
country to arbitration now.
Such is Great Britain's defense. Vcne-
zuca's sole reply is that this contention,
while very convenient for the interests OF
England, utterly ignores her own national
rights, which aro founded on historical
truths whose great weight nobody in his
SENSES can doubt.
Ex-Ninister Scruggs' Views.
william l.. ScruggS, for many years
United States minister to Brazil, in Il late
magazine article on tho subject, says:
''Thr real issue involved in tho present
phase Of the controversy between England
and Venezuela is very simple. Briefly
stated, il is about this: Whether, under
prctrXts afforded by the incidents Of a
boundary dispute which she has persist
emily refused to settle upon any just or
reasonable basis, Great Britain shall be
permitted to dismcnhcr IN American re-
public, menace I hr safety Of others ada
cent. and thus To indefinitely extend her
colonial system on this ointment in open
violation of public law and in total diSrc-
gard of the principles of the Monroe doc
trinc.
This language may seem little
strong, coming lis it does from an impair
tial source, but it will bc found to be
fully Justified hy the facts and circum-
stances of the CASE. 1t is IN axiom of in
turnll:unal ethics, sanctioned by general
usage, that all huundary disputes arising
from imperfect surveys, Or from adverse
constructions of treaty provisions, or
which turl tx 'lu>ivrly upon aScrrainablr
historical facts, or which involve questions
Of l,rr,;'r,hiv, right. are. in the last resort,
properly rrlcrablr In IL joint commission
or 10 nlli side friendly arbitration. The
present c:~r falls clearly within these pro-
visions and should constitute no eXcep-
tiOn.'
A Queer Cemetery.
\ correspondent of The H,'Ston Traveller
. describes the queer cemetery ui the MrXl-
can ci:y "i GiGnai ii!at". There Is hardly
room iii Guiana uaio for the living, so II