Evening star., 1899-07-29
E1-Minister Scruggs Expects a Vic
tory for Venezuela.
nEEHBG w HUHDhRY COMMISSION
Discussing the History Of occupa-
ton.
EFFECT OF RES CHE S

FeW peESoilS are aware VI tIit ldSt tndl
it was The wish of the Venezuelan leaders
| to have eX-President Cleveland argue their
boundary case before the arbitration tribu-
nal in Paris. Mr.. w. L. Scruggs, eX-minis-
! ter to Venezuela and Colombia, and for a
number of years the legal representative Of
Venezuela in this country, is authority for
the statement Upon resignng the minis
tership Mr.. Scruggs was appealed to by the
Venezuelans to act as their legal represen-
tive in the United States in the now famous
boundary dispute. Mr. Scruggs had made
an international reputation an able,
fearless and conscientious diplomat, and
the Venezueians were satisfied that they
could find no one better qualified to repre-
sent their interests He accepted the posi-
tion, but told them that under Ctrcum-
| stances would he agree to argue the case be-
fore the arbitrators, and that they must en-
ploy for that purpose some one else They
then asked Mr.. Scruggs to name reliable
American lawyer in whose hands they
could safely place this important duty. Ex-
President Harrison was Mr. Scruggs first
choice, but he was told that they much pre-
ferred ex-President Cleveland, and he was
asked if he would tender the place to Mr.
Cleveland. This he agreed to do, and upon
reaching home he asked Mr. Cleveland If
he would accept; but the eX-President de-
clined on the ground that as he had played
a hand in naming the council he did not
feel that it would be in good taste to argue
a case before judges of his own selection
Mr.. Clevelands declination cabled to
Venezuela by Mr.. Scruggs, and then he was
instructed to employ Mr.. Harrison or any
other gentleman he might think capable of
representing them. EX-President Harrison
was offered the position and accepted.
Mr.. Scruggs devoted more than four
years to study of the case, examining
and translating old records, and his brief
of the boundary was so full, so thorough
ti-fp +l,,f Il, II
it as his own, and it is the one now being
used in Paris.
While discussing the probable outcome of
the arbitration tribunal Mr.. Scruggs said:
THE territory involved in the Venezuelan
dispute is about equal to the area of New
York state. 1t is not the dimensions of the
territory which is so important factor in
the affair, however. On the disputed lands
are located some of the most valuable gold
mines in the world A good proportion of
the territory however is swamp country.
In other portions though, there is a fine
run of land, the climate being both agree
able and saubrous.
History of Occupation.
1.-The whole territory embraces three dis
tinct and well-defined tracts. the most i'm
portant of which is the Oronoco delta, re-
gion between the Oronoco river and the
Morocco river, extending back from the
coast of British Guiana to the lmataca
range Of mountains, forming a great par
allelogram embracing about 1000 square
miles. The second tract involved embraces
the territory between the Morocco river and
Esiquibo. which is about thirty miles dis
tant the Atlantic coast, this tract being
in the shape of triangle running back to
an apex at the lower falls of the ESiquibO
river. The third tract is the great internal
basin of the Cuine and Mazaruni rivers.
Those two rivers break over the mountain
barriers in great falls some ten miles west
of the Esquibo. This territory contains an
I said an0nf equal the @
the empire state. Spain. as the dtscoverer
of the continent, explored the Esiquioo riVer
and constructively occupied all of the coun-
try down to the Oronoco river, including all
these tracts.
''At the breaking out of the war between
Spain and the Netherlands in the sixteenth
century, which ragged about seventy years,
the Dutch gained a foothold, which was es-
tablshed about 1924, when the great West
Indian Trading Company was represented
there by an agency. 1t was belligereat
occupation. The Dutch held this region un-
til about 1649, when. by the treaty between
the Dutch and the Spanish. the Dutch were
confirmed in their possession OF what they
held. The treaty conveyed to them all ac-
tual holdings, but gave them no eminent
domain any uneccupied territory. The
Dutch, however, continued to occupy
greater part of the territory, although the
Spaniards claimed it,
THE first great dispute over the boun-
dary arose between the Spaniards and
Dutch in the latter part of the seventeenth
century. The Dutch had passed up the falls
of the Kuna river and established them
selves just above the point in what they
called the outpost or trading post, a tenn
porary structure but in reality 1t was
slave post. established for the purpose of
facilitating the work of capturing the In
dians who were impressed into the slave
business. AS soon the Spanish found the
Dutch had established themselves they
drove them down below the falls. End the
Dutch never returned or reoccupted the
lands. The Spaniards obtained the territory
and held it up to the time of the indepen-
dence of Venezuela.
About the same time the Dutch had es-
tablished a post on the Morocco river and
had occupied the Pumaron river, which is
a thousand miles east of the Oronoco.
They claimed that trading territory,
the same being disputed by the Spaniards.
The Dutch trading post on the Morocco
river remained there, occupied by the
Dutch, until the British took possession of
the country in 1903. Prior to that the
Dutch claimed all territory to the west of
Morocco extending to the Waina river, but
in point of fact they never occupied foot
of it nor granted foot of land to set
tiers. They got some timber from there,
over which the Spaniards protested, and
about the same time established a tempo
rary shelter for one of the agencies of the
West Indian Company somewhere on the
Barima river at some distance from its
mouth. That shelter was never occupied
excepting during two or three months. The
agents who established it were removed by
never reoccupied.
Re-Established the Natural Lines.
More than that the Spanish. as soon as
they found out the Dutch traders had va
Gated sent force to the region and drove
them out in 176S, thereby re-establishing
the old de facto Morocco line the natural
line between the Spanish and Dutch set
Elements, and that de facto line was MAIN
tained inviolate by both parties up to the
inoa of Sr n
Schomburgk's agitation of the question,
based upon Indian traditions and upon the
fact that there had been a shelter at the
mouth of the Morocco river that the claim
of Great Britain extended to the mouth
of the Morocco was put forth and resulted
in the establishment of the Schomburgk
line. That Schomburgk line disavowed
by Lord Aberdeen, then secretary of for
eign affairs for Great Britain, in 1874. In
fact, he not only disavowed this boundary,
but he gave orders to the authorities to
destroy all trace of that line. and he ex-
planned to the VeneZuelans that the line
was never intended boundary, but