<'<>N"GRESS. (THE VENEZUELAN BOUNDARY CONTROVERSY.) 



plained, but later ' Colonial Office List ' mr.ps show a 

 varying sweep nf the boundary westward into what 

 pivviously figured as Venezuelan territory, while 

 no change is noted on the Brazilian frontier." 



The other accompanying documents were two 

 dispatcher of Nov. 2(3 from Lord Salisbury to Sir 

 Julian Pauneefote. the first giving a general reply 

 to Mr. Olney's ronst ruction of the Monroe doctrine, 

 and denying that the British Government admits 

 that doctrine to be sound or that it has any sanc- 

 tion in international law: the second giving the 

 history of the controversy from the point of view of 

 Great Britain, and concluding as foil 



It will lie seen from the preceding statement that 

 the Government of Great Britain have from the first 

 held the same view as to the extent of territory 

 which they are entitled to claim as a matter of right. 

 It comprised the coast line up to the river Amacura 

 and the whole basin of the Essequibo river and its 

 tributaries. A portion of that claim, however, they 

 have always been willing to waive altogether; in re- 

 gard to another portion, they have been and con- 

 tinue to be perfectly ready to submit the question of 

 their title to arbitration. As regards the rest, that 

 which lies within the so-called Schomburgk line, 

 they do not consider that the rights of Great Britain 

 are open to question. Even within that line they 

 have, on various occasions, offered to Venezuela 

 considerable concessions as a matter of friendship 

 and conciliation, and for the purpose of securing an 

 amicable settlement of the dispute. If as time has 

 gone on the concessions thus offered diminished in 

 extent, and have now been withdrawn, this has been 

 the necessary consequence of the gradual spread 

 over the country of British settlements, which her 

 Majesty's Government can not in justice to the in- 

 habitants offer to surrender to foreign rule, and the 

 justice of such withdrawal is amply borne out by 

 the researches in the national archives of Holland 

 and Spain, which have furnished further and more 

 convincing evidence in support of the British 

 claims. 



" The discrepancies in the frontiers assigned to 

 the British colony in various maps published in 

 England, and erroneously assumed to be founded 

 on official information, are easily accounted for by 

 the circumstances which I have mentioned. Her 

 ' Government can not, of course, be respon- 

 sible for such publications made without their au- 

 thority. 



- Although the negotiations in 1890. 1891, and 

 1 s '.*:! did not lead to any result, her Majesty's Gov- 

 ernment have not abandoned the hope that they 

 may be resumed with better success, and that when 

 the internal politics of Venezuela are settled on a 

 more durable basis than has lately appeared to be 

 the case her Government may be enabled to adopt a 

 more moderate and conciliatory course in regard to 

 this question than that of their predecessors. Her 

 Majesty's Government are sincerely desirous of be- 

 ing on friendly relations with Venezuela, and cer- 

 tainly have no design to seize territory that properly 

 belongs to her, or forcibly to extend sovereignty 

 over any portion of her population. 



" They have, on the contrary, repeatedly expressed 

 their readiness to submit to arbitration the conflict- 

 ;aims of Great Britain and Venezuela to large 

 tracts of territory which from their auriferous na- 

 ture are known to be of almost untold value. But 

 they can not consent to entertain, or to submit to 

 arbitration of another power or of foreign jurists, 

 however eminent, claims based on the extravagant 

 pretensions of Spanish officials in the last century, 

 and involving the transfer of large numbers of 

 British subjects, who have for many years enjoyed 

 the settled rule of a British colony, to a nation of 

 different race and language, whose political system 

 VOL. xxxvi. 11 A 



is subject to frequent disturbance, and whose insti- 

 tutions as yet too often afford very inadequate pro- 

 tection to life and property. No issue of thi> 

 description has ever been involved in the questions 

 which Great Britain and the United States have 

 consented to submit to arbitration, and her Majes- 

 ty's Government are convinced that in similar cir- 

 cumstances the Government of the United States 

 would be equally firm in declining to entertain pro- 

 posals of such a nature.'' 



The message and documents were referred to the 

 Committee on Foreign Relations. 



In accordance with the suggestion in the Presi- 

 dent's message, Mr. Hitt. of Illinois, introduced in 

 the House Dec. 18 the following : 



" A bill making appropriation for the expenses of 

 a commission to investigate and report on the 

 true divisional line between the Republic of Vene- 

 zuela and British Guiana. 



" Be it enacted, etc., That the sum of $100.000 be. 

 and the same is hereby appropriated for the expenses 

 of a commission, to be appointed by the President, 

 to investigate and report upon the true divisional 

 line between the Republic of Venezuela and British 

 Guiana." 



He asked the unanimous consent of the House for 

 its immediate consideration. 



In opposition to the immediate consideration of 

 the resolution and suggesting that it would better 

 go to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Bou- 

 telle. of Maine, said, in part : 



" It seems to me that this subject is one of such 

 vast importance and such serious gravity that the 

 House of Representatives ought to proceed in a 

 decorous and deliberate manner in its considera- 

 tion. Late on yesterday the President's message 

 was read to us. I presume most of us have read it 

 more or less carefully in the newspapers. Very 

 little time has been given to the consideration of 

 that very remarkable document, and it seems to me 

 that possibly all the members of this House may 

 not be at this time fully advised as to the scope of 

 responsibility which may attach to the adoption of 

 this resolution. Gentlemen about me say that they 

 are ready. That may be; but at the same time I 

 feel convinced that I am doing service to the dignity 

 and interests of my country when I ask those ready- 

 gentlemen, on this side or the other, to use in a mat- 

 ter of this momentous importance the cool delibera- 

 tion and judicious procedure that are due to a mat- 

 ter that may vitally affect the interests of the two 

 great English-speaking nations of the world. 



"But, Mr. Speaker, the public press of this morn- 

 ing brings us abundant evidence of the feverish ex- 

 citement precipitated in this country by the message 

 that ought to cause us to take counsel of our wis- 

 dom. The eyes of the civilized world are directed 

 to-day to this House of Representatives and to the 

 Senate of the United States, and, without abating 

 one jot or one tittle of my desire that every right 

 we have and every right we intend to maintain in 

 the future shall be" upheld, I do think we had better 

 give to a matter of this extreme gravity at least as 

 much appearance of deliberate consideration as we 

 insist upon giving to any trivial matter of an ap- 

 propriation of a few thousand dollars." 



Mr. Hitt, of Illinois, supported his proposal for 

 immediate consideration mainly on the ground that 

 delay in granting the request of the President would 

 give the impression of dissent and disagreement on 

 the part of America, whereas, in a matter involving 

 the honor of the nation it should present an united 

 front. Mr. Crisp spoke on the same side of the 

 question, and the bill was passed, having been 

 amended by the insertion, after "sum of $100.000," 

 of the words "or so much thereof as may be neces- 

 sary." 



