132 THE ANGLO- VENEZUELAJ^ BOUNDARY DISPUTE 



Britain similarly acquired her title from the Dutch Ijy war, with re- 

 sulting conquest and cession. Venezuela succeeded to Spanish rights 

 and Great Britain to Dutch rights. Thus the arbitral tribunal was 

 engaged in trying the title to a piece of real estate. True, the estate 

 was large ; true, the parties were great corporations. Trial to the title 

 of a tract claimed by two states of our Union may be tried before our 

 Supreme Court, but no permanent court exists for tr3nng the title to 

 lands claimed by two nations. The appeal, therefore, has often, in 

 such cases, been to the force of arms rather than to the force of argu- 

 ment. By agreement of the claimants in this case, the matter was to 

 be settled by a battle of brains rather tiian b}' a battle of bullets. 



Si)ain's title to the disi)uted territory is thus stated in Venezuela's 

 case : 



Spain first discovered the new world ; first explored its continents; 

 first explored, possessed, and settled Guiana, and first firml}' estab- 

 lished herself in that province as its sole and lawful owner. 



Similarly, Venezuela's title is thus stated: 



Venezuela revolted from Spain April 19, 1810. On March 30, 1845, 

 Spain recognized Venezuela's independence and formally renounced 

 in her favor all the sovereignty, rights, and claims previously' her own 

 in the territory formerly known as the Captaincy-General of Vene- 

 zuela. Said territory included the region now in dispute. 



Such is the Venezuelan title. The British title cannot be so suc- 

 cinctly stated. In very brief, however, it is as follows : 



In 1581 the Dutch, then subjects of Spain, revolted and entered 

 ui)on that long and bloody war which resulted in their independence 

 in 1648. During this war the Dutch, in 1598, made a trading voyage 

 to the Guiana coast. This voyage, made 100 years after the Spanish 

 discovery of this coast, was the first Dutch vo3'age thereto of which 

 we have any definite knowledge. Already Trinidad had been occu- 

 j)ied by the Spanish, a Spanish settlement planted on the lower 

 Orinoco, and formal and ceremonial possession taken of Guiana by 

 Sj)aniards in the name of their King. In June, 1621, was created by 

 the States-General of the United Netherlands the Dutch West India 

 Company. By the terms of its charter no native or inhabitant of the 

 Netherlands was permitted, except in the name of the company, to 

 sail upon or trade with the countries of America and the West Indies, 

 from Newfoundland to Cape Horn and from Cape Horn to Bering 

 Strait. Trade to the New World, without permission of the company, 

 was, by the charter, forbidden to all Dutchmen. The compan}' ex- 



