Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-28
TO GET DELAGOA BAY
England Secures This Concession by
a Secret Treaty.
GERMANY And PORTUGAL PARTIES
The Report Comes From the
Berlin LokaI Anzeiger.
DISCREDITED BY FRANCE

DISCREDITED BY FRANCE
| PARIS, December 2S.-The publication by
| the Lokal Anzeiger of Berlin of the secret
| treaty between Germany, Portugal and
| Great Britain, providing for the partition
| of the Portuguese colonies, meets with no
| credence in official circles here. A foreign
office official said to a representative of the
| Associated Press that their advices from
| Portugal and Germany left no doubt that
the publication was largely invention They
| could not believe Portugal would sign Il
| treaty stripping herself of her colonies and
SO far-reaching and harmful to Portugal
Notwithstanding the denial of the French
| tGregn office, it is believed in other quar-
ters That an agreement between Great Brit
ain and Germany may exist, outside of the
Understanding arrived at between them
this year, as an outcome of the negotia-
tions to build a telegraph line connecting
Cape Town with Cairo.
Denied by Germany.
BERLIN, December 2S-A German off,
ciai agency issued a statement last even
ing to the effect that the assertions of
the Lokal Anzeiger We're arbitrary and
erroneous guess-work."
Official circles ir Berlin describe the
statements made as quite Inaccurate"
Ignored by British officials.
LONDON, December $50 many alleged
disclosures of secret Delagoa Bay agree
ments have recently been submitted to the
British foreign office that the officials have
made 1t a rule neither to deny nor affirm
them, and when questioned today regard
ing the statement of the Lokal Anzeiger the
officials adhered to this rule But a rep
resentative of the Associated Press gath
cred that the alleged disclosures were quite
Inaccurate.
a dispatch to the Times from Berlin COM
ments on the Lokal AuZeiger treaty state
ments as follows
when it is remembered that two of
Portugal's Asiatic possessions, Goa and Da-
mao, form enclaves of the province of Bonn
bay. the statements of the Lokai Anzeiger
border on the fantastic.'
Outline of the Treaty.
The New York Herald of today publishes
the following from its correspondent at
Berlin, under date Of Wednesday: The
Lokal Anzeiger tonight publishes the con-
tents of the Observation-Disclosures
secret treaty. This double treaty will have
executive force as soon as the Swiss jurists
Messrs. Blaesf, Hensier and Goldau, have
given decision in the Delagoa arbitration.
The decision it is expected, will be given
in January or February, and will proba bly,
be in favor of England, in which case
Portugal must pay to England and America
an indemnity of f1,90J,00O sterling
England obtained in 1891 from Portugal
the right of presumption in Delagoa bay
The cession of Delagoa bay to England
may therefore be expected in March next.
May Attack DelagOa.
1t is possible that President Kruger may
now declare war on Portugal and attack
Delagoa at once.
In order to prevent any interference by
France or Russia, England concluded a
secret treaty with Germany regarding the
complete partition of the Portuguese colo
NAL possessions. Germany is to receive all
IortugalS ASiauc poSSessionS-that Is to
say, TimOr, Goa, Damaio, Macao and Diu
With 2opn square miles Of territory and a
million inhabitants.
Germany further receives in Africa all
Portuguese territory north of Mozambaue
except a strip of land three miles wide for
MI Cecil Rhodes trans-Afrcan railway
For this the German government will pay
Portugal 2500O,0OO marks.
Portugal Assents.
What surprises me in the statement of
the Lokal Anzeiger is that it refers to
Asia, when l have been repeatedly assured
at the foreign office that the treaty only
refers to Africa and did not refer to Asia.
1t must, however, be remembered that the
Iokal Anzeiger was in a position to pub
Hsn the Samoa treaty twenty-four hours
before the official publication took place
England receives the remaining African
possessions of Portugal. which contain two
million square kilometers and have thirteen
million inhabitants.
The consent of Portugal to this arrange
ment has already been obtained in prin-
ciple.
The Lokal Anzeiger declares it has news
from such source that no dement, Is
possible.
Coveted by England for Years.
The Herald article continues: That Great
Britain would ultimately become the DOS
SCISSOR Of Delagoa Bay has long been ex-
pected. 1t has been known for some years
that negotiations for the transfer have with
more or less secrecy, been carried on be-
tween Portugal and Great Britain for the
transfer. Various domestic political con-
siderations have deferred Portugal from
parting with one of her most valuable nos
sessions. 1t would not be surprising if
Great Britain, under stress of present cir
cumstances, acted upon the negotiations of
the last few years and pressed for the ex-
ecution OF the understanding between the
two countries.
The present town of Lorenzo Marquez,
not infrequently termed Delagoa Bay dates
only from 1867. 1t is built on the site of an
ola village named in honor of the navigator
who In lo44, planted the first Portuguese
factories there. The harbor has been com
pared with two of the finest in the world
Rio and Sydney, and properly developed it
would become the maritime port of the
Whoie OF the basin of the Limpopo river
ana s. OF the states occupying the plateau of
south Africa. Great Britain from 1920 on
ward disputed the claims of Portugal to the
ownership OF Deiasoa bay, and based Its
own claims upon an occupation by the
Dutch, of which the reversion fell to her
Capt. Owens, carrying out surveys, in 1923
obtained concession from the native chiefs
concerned in its shores.
Referred to Arbitrator
The dispute was ultimately referred to
the arbitration of the president of the
French republic, Marshal MacMahon whose
award in 1875 was given in favor of Por-
tusal. Britain, however, did not relin-
QuiSh her aims and she consoIe6 harra1r