352 AVES ISLAND. 



whose allegiance was abjured ; and when the republic of Colombia Avas 

 founded, the dominion and soverignty which Venezuela held over her 

 territory passed over to Colombia, vdiich dominion and sovereignty she 

 maintained until Venezuela, in separating from her, reassumed them; 

 and she has maintained them, because there is no evidence that either 

 the one or the other has made any cession of territory, or an express 

 declaration of abandonment of any portion thereof, so as to justify the 

 judgment that it is derelict. On the contrary, if Venezuela have made 

 any manifestion, it has been in the inverse sense, so that her rights 

 should never be deemed to have been abandoned. Thus it may be seen 

 that the law of May 3, 1838, declares the existence in full vigor of the 

 pragmatic (ordinances) cedules, orders, decrees, and resolutions of the 

 Spanish government, sanctioned up to the 10th of March, 1808, which 

 had been held in observance under said Spanish government within 

 the territory which now forms the republic, and also of the laws of the 

 Digest of the Indies, and of other enactments. Thus it is seen, in the 

 treaty of peace and recognition between Venezuela and his Catholic 

 Majesty, that the latter, after renouncing by article first all sovereignty, 

 rights, and actions over the American territory known under the an- 

 cient name of captaincy-general of Venezuela, recognizes her, in article 

 second, to be a free, sovereign, and independent nation, consisting of 

 the provinces and territories mentioned in her constitution and other 

 laws, and of other, whatsoever, territories or islands which may belong 

 to her. 



This much, said in relation to the sixth proposition, proves the truth 

 of the three following ones enunciated by Mr. Eames: that Colom- 

 bia preserved the title and possession of the "^'Aves," both of which 

 passed over to Venezuela when she separated from the former, and 

 which she has preserved up to this hour, without being disturbed therein 

 by any one, since no one had there exercised any act that ever tended 

 to question her possession until a few Americans^ disregarding the 

 rights of property, commenced to take out guano from said island, and 

 that after having done the same thing in other islands belonging to 

 Venezuela. From the moment that she was informed of this, what was 

 her duty to prevent the prevalence of the idea that the law renounced 

 her rights? Her forbearance might afterwards have been invoked 

 to justify against her the presumption of a juris et dejure abandonment ; 

 and, in order not to leave room for such an allegation, the President 

 ordered that the island should be garrisoned by a force of the govern- 

 ment, and the Americans on the island be notified of the fact that said 

 island belongs to Venezuela, so that they should not plead ignorance ; 

 and, if he instituted no proceedings against them in pursuance of the 

 laws of the country, it was to avoid, by all means, whatever might 

 effect in any way the friendly relations of the United States ; and it is 

 to him a source of regret, of deep regret, that what was an impulse of 

 generosity on the part of the government, should be adduced by Mr. 

 Eames as a proof that the proceeding of the Americans were lawful. 

 By this act the government furnished sufficient evidence that it had no 

 intention of abandoning its rights, and barred prescription, "for which 

 there is no determinate period of years, because it depends on the nature 

 of circumstances and things." (Vattel, vol. 2, § 142.) 



