AVES ISLAND. 307 



and the agents of the American occupants of the island of the second 

 part, by which the possession of the island would seem to be ceded to 

 the Venezuelan authorities by those agents upon certain terms and 

 considerations therein set forth. This paper^ the undersigned, when 

 properly assured of its authenticity, deemed fit, as new matter in the 

 case, to be referred to his government, in order that explanations of it 

 by the claimants might be received and considered. These explana- 

 tions, showing that the alleged ^agreement' was entered into and 

 signed by the agents of the claimants under duress, [fraud, in the 

 Spanish translation,] and upon compulsion, were considered by the 

 government as sufficient wholly to invalidate and avoid the instru- 

 ment." 



This passage puts it beyond all doubt that the claimants, at the time 

 of soliciting the interposition of their government, took particular care 

 in concealing from it the existence of such a document ; and^ in fact, 

 it is seen that Mr. Eames says not a word about it before he learned 

 here that it was in possession of the government of Venezuela, and 

 among the documents bearing upon the question. He therefore turns 

 his attention to scrutinizing its authenticity^ and satisfied of it, he 

 deems it proper to refer it to the Department of State^ as it appeared 

 to be "new matter in the case," which required explanations which it 

 was necessary to consider. He accordingly holds up the claim and asks 

 for further instructions. When he is told that the explanations have 

 been received, and that they are sufiicient for the invalidation of the 

 instrument, he then prosecutes the matter anew, and lays it down in 

 written form. 



Who communicated a knowledge of the existence of this document, 

 it is immaterial here to state. Certain it is that the information did 

 not come from the Secretary of Foreign Eelations, who, from the very 

 fact that the question was not yet opened, although conversations in 

 relation to it had taken place, did not deem it expedient then to make 

 use of said proof. But afterwards, however, Mr. Eames exhibited to 

 him a copy of the permit, with which he had been furnished, and most 

 urgently begged to be allowed to see the original, for the purpose of 

 comparison. His wishes were complied with. We are, for this rea- 

 son, compelled to believe that the document in the power of the gov- 

 ernment is not the only one that had been drawn up, since Mr. Eames 

 procured a copy of it from some other source. Besides this^ there is no 

 doubt that the claimants, from the very first, had a knowledge of the 

 permit, from the copies taken by the agents. This is corroborated by 

 the language of Shelton's application to Mr. Marcy, the Secretary of 

 State, under date of May 14, 1855, in which he speaks as follows : 



"Said Dias, on the 13th of December, had drawn up and signed a 

 paper in the Spanish language, (which is on file in your department,) 

 which Captain Gibbs, our agent, was, under the circumstances, con- 

 strained to sign, and which Dias called his "permit." It has been 

 asserted that we admit the right of Venezuela to Shelton's Island, and 

 that of Captain Dias to eject us. In other words, that we were vio- 

 lators of the territory, and this, too, in the paper which Dias gave to 

 Captain Gibbs." 



The following passage from Charles H. Lang's declaration, speak- 



