856 



VENEZUELA. 



VERMONT. 



mines of Yuruari, in Guiana, although 

 their working has just begun, produce $11,000,- 

 000 annually. The total value of the imports 

 in 1889-'90 was 83,614,411 bolivars (1 bolivar = 

 15-4 cents) ; that of exports 100,917,338 bolivars. 

 The principal exports were as follow: Coffee, 

 71,168,000 bolivars; cacao, 9,329,000 bolivars; 

 gold, 9,072,000 bolivars ; hides, 4,728,000 bolivars ; 

 copper, 1,972.000 bolivars; animals, 1,290,000 

 bolivars. The trade with the United States has 

 largely increased and now exceeds that with 

 European countries. In 1880 the imports from 

 the United States amounted to $2,270,000 in 

 American money and the exports to the United 

 States to $6,040,000. In 1889 the imports of 

 American merchandise reached $5,000.000 and 

 the exports to the United States exceeded $10,- 

 000,000. The growth of this trade is due to the 

 establishment of direct steamship communica- 

 tion with the United States. There were 1,155 

 steamers and 6,394 sail vessels entered and cleared 

 in 1887-'88. The Venezuelan merchant fleet 

 comprised 26 steamers and 2,497 sail vessels. 



Communications. The railroads in opera- 

 tion in 1891 had a length of 430 kilometres. 

 Among the new lines that have been begun by 

 British, American, and German companies the 

 principal ones are the railroad to connect Caracas 

 with the State of Carabobo and one of equal 

 length which will run from Caracas to the city 

 of San Carlos. The number of letters and postal- 

 cards posted in 1889-'90 was 1,572,292; the 

 number received, 1,514,909; printed inclosures 

 posted, 1,365,576 ; received, 1,604,255 ; expenses, 

 961.815 bolivars. The telegraph lines belonging 

 to the Government had a length of 5,645 kilo- 

 metres in 1890. The number of messages in 

 1890 was 419,724; receipts, 326,904 bolivars; ex- 

 penses, 949,826 bolivars. 



Boundary Questions. By the award of the 

 Queen-Regent of Spain the boundary question 

 existing between Venezuela and Colombia since , 

 1833 was settled by giving to Colombia over 

 2.500 square leagues of territory. The boundary 

 dispute with England was aggravated in March, 

 1891, by the wounding of an Englishman named 

 Campbell, who attempted to work a claim in the 

 disputed territory without applying for a grant 

 from the Venezuelan authorities and who was 

 shot in resisting arrest, and died a few days 

 afterward of the wound. The district where the 

 shooting occurred was at once occupied by a 

 British military force and the Venezuelans 

 driven out. The British forcibly took possession 

 of the northwest district of Guiana after the dis- 

 covery that it contained some of the richest gold 

 fields in the world, although it was actually and 

 effectively occupied by Venezuelans previously, 

 and was claimed by them by virtue of histori- 

 cal documents dating from the time of the 

 Spanish conquest. The British title was based 

 on the survey made about 1842 by Sir Robert 

 Schomburg, who fixed on the Amacura river as 

 a scientific frontier. The Venezuelans claim 

 that their territory extends to the Essequibo 

 river, taking in the northern part of Guiana and 

 the rich mineral districts in the west. They dis- 

 like especially to see the mouth of the Orinoco 

 river, their principal water way, commanded 

 by British posts. In 1890 British military 

 posts have been advanced as far as the Ama- 



cura river. The Venezuelan Government on 

 Feb. 17, 1890, represented to the Government at 

 Washington that Great Britain had forcibly 

 taken possession of a part of Venezuelan Guiana, 

 and asked for its intervention. Secretary Blame 

 instructed Lincoln in London to use his good 

 offices to bring about a resumption of diplomatic 

 intercourse between Great Britain and Venezuela 

 ag a preliminary step toward the settlement of 

 the dispute by arbitration. On June 25 Mr. 

 Lincoln presented Senor Polido, the Venezuelan 

 envoy to Lord Salisbury. 



Rejection of Reciprocity. The Venezuelan 

 Congress in July, 1891, refused to conclude a rec- 

 iprocity treaty with the United States on the 

 terms proposed. The ground given in the re- 

 port of the special committee which was adopted 

 by Congress was that Venezuela is a purely agri- 

 cultural country, exporting a limited number of 

 natural products. To remove the import duties 

 imposed on these in the United States would riot 

 greatly benefit Venezuela, which finds customers 

 in many countries, while to admit American 

 machinery and manufactured goods free of duty 

 would be'to sacrifice 25 per cent, of the customs 

 revenue and unduly favor the manufacturers of 

 the United States at the expense of Europeans, 

 who are good customers of Venezuela, and who 

 have generally given more favorable terms to mer- 

 chants than have the Americans. 



VERMONT, a New England State, admitted 

 to the Union March 4, 1791 ; area, 9,565 square 

 miles; population in 1890, 332,422. Capital, 

 Montpelier. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year: Governor, Carroll S. 

 Page ; Lieutenant-Governor, Henry A. Fletcher ; 

 Secretary of State, Chauncey W. Brownell, Jr. ; 

 Treasurer, Henry F. Field ; Auditor of Accounts, 

 E. H. Powell; Adjutant-General, Theodore S. 

 Peck ; Superintendent of Education, E. F. 

 Palmer; Chief Judge, Jonathan Ross : Assistant 

 Justices, John W. Rowell, Russell S. Taft, James 

 M. Tyler, Loveland Munson, Henry R. Start, 

 and L. II. Thompson ; Clerk, M. E. Smilie. All 

 these officials are Republicans. The Senate has 

 29 Republicans and 1 Democrat ; the House, 172 

 Republicans, 62 Democrats, and 5 Independents. 



Finances. The Treasurer's statement for the 

 year ending June 30 shows the following re 

 sources : Cash on hand, $62,635.03 ; corporation 

 tax for 1891 (estimated), $250,000; State tax, 18 

 cents, one half payable Nov. 10, 1891, one half 

 June 10, 1892 (estimated), $320,000 : due from 

 towns, balance State school tax, $1,553.11 ; due 

 from towns, United States deposit money re- 

 called for redistribution, $482.80; total, $634,- 

 670.94. The liabilities were as follow: Due 

 towns, United States deposit money, $21,345.49 ; 

 due towns, 5-per-cent. State school tax, $89,- 

 029.77; due Soldiers' Home, received from 

 United States Government, $1,575; due to 

 soldiers, unpaid balances, $8.153.51 ; temporary 

 loans, $154,000; total, $274,103.77; leaving 

 available for the current fiscal year $360,567.17. 

 The State has also in trust $135,500 the Agricult- 

 ural College fund, represented by registered 

 bonds due in 1910. There is also the Huntington 

 fund, amounting to about $211,131, a liability 

 of the same nature as the Agricultural College 

 fund. The money has been used to pay current 



