VENEZUELA noi 



countries, which had been rudely interrupted during the latter days of General Castro's 

 term of office, were again instituted. Steps were also taken to settle several outstanding 

 boundary questions with both Great Britain and Colombia; and, with the latter republic, 

 commercial negotiations, as well as the interchange of diplomatic representatives, were 

 resumed. In February 1910 the Governments of Venezuela and the United States 

 agreed upon the appointment of the Earl of Desart, who had been in charge of the British 

 case before the International Commission of Inquiry into the Dogger Bank incident 

 (December 1904), as third arbiter in the disputes submitted to the Hague. 



On April 27, 1910 General Juan Vicente Gomez, who had assumed office of President 

 in November 1908 upon the departure of General Cipriano Castro, was elected Consti- 

 tutional President for the full term of 4 years. On April 3oth the Venezuelan Cabinet 

 resigned, but several of the members joined the new Government. Legations were 

 established in Cuba and Nicaragua, while diplomatic relations were re-established with 

 Italy. The government failed to arrive at any arrangement with Great Britain as to an 

 additional duty of 30 per cent upon goods imported from the British West Indies. 



Relations with France and the Netherlands remained ruptured. When the 

 new administration was inaugurated, assent had been given to the German Minister's 

 proposal of friendly mediation between Venezuela, France and the Netherlands, the 

 Venezuelan Government being anxious to resume diplomatic intercourse with both States. 

 When, however, an adjustment was expected, both the French and Dutch governments 

 made new demands, which were considered by Venezuela to be unacceptable. The 

 balance of payments owed by Venezuela to Spain for acts committed in the war of 

 Independence remained unsettled; but negotiations on the subject were again resumed. 

 Several other pending diplomatic questions between Venezuela and the United States 

 continued unadjusted, but on the other hand claims in connection with the Asphalt 

 Company's concession were settled by compromise. The decision of the Hague Tribunal 

 by which Venezuela was condemned to pay the sum of 46,867 in connection with the 

 Orinoco Steam Navigation Company's claim, was also satisfied. 



In April 1911 important changes were introduced in the Customs tariff, the whole 

 tariff law being revised. At the end of this year the payment made by Venezuela under 

 the protocols of Washington of 1903, to Belgium, France, Mexico, the United States, 

 Spain, Holland, Sweden and Norway, amounted to 15,817,131 bolivars. The original 

 claims amounted to 21,106,436 bolivars, so that there remained (November 30, 1911) 

 an unpaid balance of 5,289,354 bolivars. These amounts do not include the sums paid 

 previously to Germany, Great Britain and Italy, aggregating 17,835,150 bolivars. 



On January 8, 1912 the arbitration convention made between Venezuela and Brazil 

 was ratified, the convention to remain in force for 5 years. Negotiations were reopened 

 for the resumption of diplomatic relations between Venezuela and France, French citi- 

 zens retaining their rights to submit their claims to arbitration. On February 1 2th legal 

 time was established throughout the republic at 4^ hours later than Greenwich, the time 

 being telegraphed every second day from the observatory at Caracas (the capital) to 

 each port. The duplex system of telegraphy was adopted by the government upon the 

 whole of its lines. Wireless telegraph stations were established at La Guaira, Puerto 

 Cabello, Maracaibo and Cumana. On May 18, 1912 an executive decree provided that 

 none but the decimal system should be accepted officially in the law courts, offices of 

 the states and territories of the republic. Several important contracts were entered 

 into between the government and a British and North American corporation, including 

 a sanitation project as well as a paving and a water-supply scheme for the capital; but 

 eventually the syndicate was notified that the work must be stopped. 



In August several persons were arrested for smuggling dynamite and munitions of 

 war into the country from Trinidad, while diplomatic representations were made to the 

 British authorities by the Venezuelan government. . 



In November 1912 by Presidential decree six Venezuelan foreign legations of the first 

 class were established, assigned as follows: (i) the United States, Mexico and Cuba; 

 (2) Colombia; (3) Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia; (4) Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina 



