VENEZUELA. 



827 



saary to remind the Venezuelan Government of 

 its obligations. 



Anglo-German Blockade. On July 23 Lord 

 Lansdowne, British Minister of Foreign Affairs, 

 suggested to the German ambassador at London 

 joint action of the two governments to obtain 

 satisfaction for their respective claims against 

 Venezuela. The German Government proposed a 

 joint naval demonstration. A blockade of La 

 Guayra, Puerto Cabello, and Maracaibo was sug- 

 gested by the naval authorities, or, as an alterna- 

 tive, the seizure of all the gunboats of Venezuela, 

 until the demands were complied with. Lord 

 Lansdowne preferred the latter plan, as a block- 

 ade was open to objections. On Nov. 11 Germany 

 agreed to join Great Britain in addressing an 

 ultimatum to Venezuela and acceded to the plan 

 of seizing the gunboats as the first step. Before 

 embarking, however, in a project of joint coer- 

 cion the German Government desired to have it 

 understood that the British and German claims 

 should stand or fall together, that neither 

 claim could be settled without an equally satis- 

 factory settlement of the other, and that neither 

 Government should be at liberty to recede except 

 by mutual agreement. The British minister 

 agreed that each Government should support the 

 other's demands, and should not desist from 

 doing so except by agreement. The British Gov- 

 ernment divided its claims into three classes, 

 placing in the first rank cases of unjustifiable 

 interference with the liberty and property of 

 British subjects and with British vessels, next 

 injury to property in the revolutions, and last 

 claims of bondholders. It was not desired, how- 

 ever, to distinguish them in making the demands 

 upon Venezuela, but to obtain a general settle- 

 ment, as it was believed that to advance any one 

 class of claims or to specify any particular 

 amount would diminish the chance of obtaining 

 reparation in all cases. If the Venezuelan Gov- 

 ernment returned an unsatisfactory answer or 

 none at all to its last note the British Govern- 

 ment was ready to proceed to coercive measures. 

 If the seizure of the gunboats failed to produce 

 the desired effect, England and Germany could 

 then consider what should be the next step. On 

 Nov. 28 President Castro, in conformity with an 

 act of Congress, appointed a new commission to 

 examine all claims of foreigners, but none were 

 presented. The British and German governments 

 each sent 6 vessels of war to the coast of Venez- 

 uela. On Dec. 7 the German charg6 d'affaires 

 von Pilgrim-Baltazzi and the British minister 

 W. H. D. Haggard each presented an ultimatum. 

 If x a satisfactory reply were not immediately 

 forthcoming the German Government threatened 

 to take measures for the satisfaction of German 

 claims. The English note demanding the imme- 

 diate satisfaction of British claims was of sim- 

 ilar tenor. The German note declared Venez- 

 uela's reply of May 9 relative to claims arising 

 out of the civil wars of 1898 and 1900 to be un- 

 satisfactory, the Venezuelan argument that in- 

 ternal legislation excludes diplomatic interven- 

 tion to arrange the claims of foreigners being 

 contrary to international law. The treaty with 

 Colombia to which the Venezuelan Govern- 

 ment appealed is valid only between Germany 

 and Colombia, and moreover does not exclude 

 diplomacy, and Venezuela herself had made diplo- 

 matic agreements with France, Germany, and 

 Spain relative to the payment of claims arising 

 out of revolutions. The decree of Jan. 24, 1901, 

 does not constitute a guaranty for a just solu- 

 tion of the claims. The present Government of 

 Venezuela can not evade responsibility for acts 



of its predecessors. The submission of the claims 

 to the commission or the Supreme Court was 

 declared inadmissible because the commission had 

 arbitrarily rejected or cut down claims that had 

 been presented, and judges of the Supreme Court 

 had been removed who had given judgments un- 

 welcome to the Government. Furthermore, the 

 decree provided for payment in valueless certifi- 

 cates of debt. The notes demanded the imme- 

 diate payment of war claims amounting to 1,718,- 

 816 bolivars and the recognition of the claims 

 arising out of the present civil war, the loan 

 raised by a German syndicate to build an abat- 

 toir at Caracas, and the 5-per-cent. Venezuelan 

 loan of 1896 issued to redeem the guaranteed 

 interest on the bonds of the German railroad, 

 which would be submitted to a mixed commis- 

 sion to determine their amount and provisions 

 for payment. The English note asserted that 

 full explanation had been given regarding the 

 Ban High, exonerated the Trinidad officials, and 

 demanded a promise of immediate payment of 

 the shipping claims and those arising from the 

 civil wars and the ill-treatment and imprison- 

 ment of British subjects. A sum equal to that 

 to be immediately paid to Germany was de- 

 manded, and any surplus over the amount of 

 these claims when ascertained would be reserved 

 for the payment of the other claims and the 

 guaranteed railroad debt. These other claims 

 England was willing to refer to a mixed com- 

 mission for a decision as to their amount and 

 the guarantee to be given for their payment. 

 The reply of President Castro rejected the points 

 raised in the German note, denied that Venezuela 

 had ever refused to pay well-founded claims, and 

 said that the Venezuelan tribunals were still open 

 to claimants. To England he replied that no 

 British claims had yet been formulated, and sug- 

 gested that if there were any such they should 

 be put in concrete form and brought before the 

 competent tribunals. Before committing itself 

 to overt action the German Government had 

 exchanged views with the Government at Wash- 

 ington, giving an assurance that it did not intend 

 to occupy territory or a coaling station, and in- 

 quired if there would be objections to its taking 

 active measures to secure the collection of debts 

 due to German citizens on account of violation 

 of their concessions and destruction of their 

 property consequent upon the internal dissen- 

 sions of Venezuela. The State Department replied 

 in substance that the United States would never 

 undertake to shelter the American republics 

 against the results of their misdeeds or viola- 

 tions of international law, but any punishment 

 inflicted by a European power must not include 

 the seizure of American soil. President Castro 

 appealed to the United States to intervene for 

 the prevention of hostilities which he repre- 

 sented as a violation of the Monroe doctrine. 

 The United States minister at Caracas, Herbert 

 W. Bowen, informed him that the United States 

 would not interpose to avert the forcible collec- 

 tion of debts due so long as no permanent occu- 

 pation of Venezuelan territory was attempted by 

 European powers. On Dec. 8, on the expiration 

 of the limit of twenty-four hours set in the ulti- 

 matum, the British and German legations were 

 closed, their interests being placed in charge of 

 United States Minister Bowen, and the diplo- 

 matic representatives of the two powers went on 

 board their war-ships at La Guayra. On Dec. 9 

 the German war-ship Panther entered the harbor 

 of La Guayra and cleared for action, while cutters 

 from the fleet went alongside of the four vessels 

 of the Venezuelan navy that were there and de- 



