Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-09
THE CLAIM TO PATOS ISLAND.
Correspondents With Great Britain
Shown In Venezuela's Yellow Book.

In Venezuelas yellow Book" for 1901.
copy of which has been received in Wash
ington recently from the foreign office at
Caracas, are the exchanges between the
London and Caracas governments last year
in regard to the ownership of Patos Island
which has been in dispute between the two
countries for many years. Significance at
taches to this correspondence in view of
the approaching crisis between Venezuela
and Great Britain, as 1t is not improbable
that In the settlement of the claims of
British and German citizens against Vene-
zuela the Patos dispute also will be in
volved.
Reopening Of the Patos question was
caused by the action of the Venezuelan gun
boat Augusta, in January, 1901, In captur-
Ing certain British subjects on the island.
When the Caracas authorities were called
to account by the London foreign office
the former replied by renewing their long
standing claim to Patos, and a diplomatic
was the result. Venezuela bases her
claims to the island on its proximity to the
coast of Guiria, from which it Is distant
only three miles, claiming that 1t is a tenet
OF international law that a country COM
mands waters within marine league OF its
coast; that the international law institute
has defined the territorial sea six miles,
whereas the Island of Patos is more than
ten miles from Trinidad, the nearest British
possession. Further, that the treaty of
March, 1916, explicitly confirms the title
of Venezuela over all the islands near her
coast which were under the dominion of
Spain in the initiative period of Venezuelan
independence" In support Of this conten-
ton the Venezuelan authorities produce
letter from the royal Spanish minister for
state in 1873, in which he denies that royal
sanction ever was given to the concession
alleged to have been made to the Ayun-
tamiento of Trinidad by the governor Of
Patos. Huevos and Monos.
Great Britain, through her charge d at
flares at Caracas and later through her
minister advanced the contention that
when she conquered the Island Of Trinidad,
in 1897. sovereignty over Patos also was
obtained and so recognized by the Madrid
government; that Patos has remained in
the peaceful possession of Great Britain
for more than a century, during seventy
years of which time Venezuela advanced
no claim, and that the official map of
Codazzi colors the Island of Patos the same
as Trinidad. indicating that both belong to
the same country.
To this last contention Venezuela replied
by stating that the map of CodaZzi was SO
old as to make 1t impossible to distinguish
the various colors, and produced other
maps by the same author. which place
Patos as belonging to Venezuela
Being unable to agree on even the minor
points of the controversy, the British min
lister near the close Of last year, informed
the Venezuelan foreign Office that he would
make no further representation in the mat
ter, as there was nothing to be gained In
continuing the correspondents.
ask that the question be settled by arbitra-
ton a proposition to which the British
government will hardly accede in view OF
It's contention that the ownership OF Patos
is so clearly British as not to furnish suit
able subject for arbitration.