Holbrook argus., 1904-03-05
HAGUE TRIBUNAL ENDED
BLOCKADlNG POWERS GIVEN THE
 PREFERENCE
President Muravieff, the Russian Minister of Jus tice and President of Tribunal, Declares Find ings Were Given Impartial Investigation

The Hague-The arbitration tribunal
 which has been considering the claims of the blockading powers for preferen tial treatment of their claims against
 Venezuela has decided unanimously that the three blockading powers, Great Britain, Germany and Italy, have the right to preference of 30 per cent of tho custom duties at La Guir and Puerto Babello, the litigants to pay their own cost in the procedure and divide equally the cost of the tribunal. The United States is com
 missioned to carry out the decision of the tribunal within three months. In giving judgment the tribunal points out that it has been guided by inter- national law and the equity of the case and that the protocol is signed at Washington since February B, 1903, and principally the protocol of May :, whereby the obligatory nature can not be doubted, form the legal basis of its sentence; that the tribunal is too competent to question the juris- diction of the mixed commission at Caracas, nor to judge their action or
 the character of the warlike opera tions of the blockading powers, nor to decide if the three blockading power exhausted all pacific means to prevent the necessity for employing force.
 The tribunal decided that it is only in position to certify that since 1901 Venezuela refused arbitration pro posed on several occasions by Germany and Great Britian that after the war no formal treaty of peace was conclud ed; that the operations of the block aders were stopped before they had received satisfaction for all their claims, and, further, that the ques- tion of preferential treatment was submitted to arbitration.
 The tribunal declares that it found and recognized in these facts precious evidence in favor of the great princi- pies of arbitration in all is phases. In adhering to the protocols the blockaders could not have intended to renounce their acquired rights nor their provided de facto position. The government of Venezuela itself has recognized in principle the we'll foundedness of their claims, while it had not recognized those of the non- blockading powers, and until the end of January, 1903, made not the slight est protest against the claims for preferential treatment.
 Throughout the diplomatic negotia- tions, Venezuela constantly distin- guished between the allied powers and the neutraIs. These latter, not having protested against the claims for refer ence of the blockading powers, either at the time the war stopped, nor i'm mediately after the signature of the protocol of February 13, the govern ment of Venezuela only agreed in re- spect to the allied powers to offer special guarantees for the fulfllment of its engagements. Tho good faith which should direct international re- lations imposes the duty on the tribunal of declaring that the words "all claims" employed by the Vene- zuelan representatives in the negotia- tions with the representatives of the allied powers could relate only to the latter powers. Neutrals could in some respect profit by the circumstances created by the operations of the war without acquiring new rights, the rights already acquired remaining l