legislative decree mentioned before will suffice to show that there is no collision between this law and the executive decree of July 1, last year; for there can be no doubt that the attributions of the President of the Union give him the right to modify the character of the custom-house at Ciudad Bolivar, to restrict its operations, and to close even any other custom-house in the Republic. Therefore, and considering the reasons brought forward, it is decided that there does not exist the collision alleged by George F. Carpenter between the executive decree of July 1, 1893, and those issued afterwards in reference to its execution, on one side, and No. 8, article 14, of the constitution, and article 1 of the law XIV of the código de hacienda, on the other side. Given in the hall of administration of the high federal court, in the capitol at Caracas, the 14th of August, 1894, in the eighty-fourth year of the independence and the thirty-sixth of the federation. SIR: I have to acknowledge receipt of your No. 21,' of the 8th instant, and to express concurrence in your views regarding the policy to be pursued in our efforts to bring about free navigation of the Orinoco River. You are authorized to urge upon the Venezuelan Government that as an act of friendliness to the United States, as well as in the interest of the commerce of the two countries, it re-open to ships of the United States the branches of the Orinoco now closed to them. I am, etc., W. Q. GRESHAM. No. 28.] Mr. Haselton to Mr. Gresham. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Caracas, December 10, 1894. (Received December 29.) SIR: Pursuant to your instruction No. 20, of October 25 last, I had an interview with the minister of foreign affairs regarding the opening to vessels of the United States of the various mouths or bayous of the Orinoco River which are now closed to them. Subsequently we exchanged notes upon the subject, copies of which are inclosed, together with a translation of the communication of the 1 Not printed. minister. Nothing was said in our conversation above referred to which is not in substance embodied in the notes. It will be seen that the Government of Venezuela urges the prevention of contraband trade as the reason for its restrictive measures, and suggests the establishment of a port upon the Gulf of Paria as a means of facilitating commerce without prejudice to its revenues. I shall make inquiries as to the practicability of establishing a satisfactory port upon the above-named gulf, about which I have some doubts, with a view to determining and reporting how far the announced purpose of Venezuela is in its results likely to meet the views of our Government and the commercial requirements of the future. I have, etc., SENECA HASELTON. [Inclosure 1 in No. 28.] Mr. Haselton to Señor Rojas. MR. MINISTER: Under instructions from the Department of State at Washington, I desire respectfully to express to the Government of your excellency the earnest desire of the Government which I represent, that ships of the United States may be allowed free navigation of the several mouths or bayous of the Orinoco River which are now closed to them. The Government of the United States would regard such a re-opening to navigation as an act of friendliness, and as a step taken in the interest of the commerce of the two countries. I take, etc., SENECA HASELTON. [Inclosure 2 in No. 28.-Translation.] Señor Rojas to Mr. Haselton. MOST EXCELLENT SIR: I had the honor to receive the polite communication of your excellency of the 27th of November last, sent to manifest the earnest desire of the Government of the United States that vessels of that nation might be permitted to navigate freely the several mouths or bayous of the Orinoco, and to express moreover that the reopening of the said passages would be esteemed as an act of friendship and a step leading to the increase of the commerce of both countries. The motive which guided the executive power when it made use of the perogatives conferred upon it by the constitution and the national code of finance and closed to foreign commerce by decree of July 1, 1893, ratified the 6th of June of this year, all entrances to the Orinoco other than the "Boca Grande," was to prevent contraband trade, the cause of the financial instability, and to assure the life of the mercantile and industrial enterprises, which derive their security from a strict compliance with the law. The results reached have fully justified the steps taken; but nevertheless the Government, although unable at present to annul the law, yet desiring as it does at the proper time to promote those interests which can in any manner be furthered by fluvial navigation, proposes to establish a port of transshipment at a place near to the Gulf of Paria, destined for foreign freight that is to be consumed at FR 94- -51 places situated on the banks of the Orinoco and that may arrive in vessels that find difficulty in entering by the "Boca de Navios,” which alone is to-day open to foreign commerce. This purpose when carried into effect will be equivalent to what seems to be the desire of the United States, which, moreover, will be particularly satisfactory to the Government of Venezuela, as it has always a special interest in removing obstacles that can oppose the greater development of the commercial relations of Venezuela with the Great Republic of the North. I renew, etc., SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith, in copy and translation, a decree issued to-day with reference to foreigners who may come to Venezuela. I have, etc., R. M. BARTLEMAN. [Inclosure 1 in No. 148.-Translation.] Joaquin Crespo, Constitutional President of the United States of Venezuela, with the approval of the council of government, considering: 1. That article 78 of the present constitution gives the President of the Republic the right, with the approval of the council of government, "to prohibit the entrance into the national territory, or to expel from it, those foreigners who have no esidence in the country and who are notoriously prejudicial to the public order." 2. That in order to carry out the terms of this decree it is necessary to know those individuals who enter the country, just as in other countries is being done for the same object. DECREE. ARTICLE 1. Foreigners who may come to Venezuela shall present to the chief of the custom-house of the respective port a documentary declaration that shall state (1) their full names and those of their parents; (2) their nationality; (3) the place and date of their birth; (4) their last place of residence; (5) their profession and manner of living; and (6) their names, ages, and nationality of their wives and minor children, if accompanied by them. ART. 2. The chiefs of custom-houses will make known by telegraph to the national executive the contents of said declarations, or that none have been presented. ART. 3. In case they shall be without said documents, foreigners may ask for them on the testimony of persons who know them, and who are trustworthy. ART. 4. Foreigners who have already entered the country during the past six months shall present the declaration asked for, if in the federal district, to the gov ernor of the same; and if they have gone to other places, those who reside in the capitals shall present their declarations to the presidents of the States, while those who reside in other localities shall present them to the local authorities. ART. 5. In the cases mentioned in the previous article, the governor of the federal district or the president of the respective State shall inform the national executive of the result, in accordance with articles 2 and 3, in order that it may determine whether the foreigners who have made unsatisfactory declarations, or have not been able or were unwilling to comply with the required formalities, are to be considered prejudicial or proper subjects for expulsion. ART. 6. Consuls of the Republic will publish this decree at the places where they reside, causing it to be translated in those countries where Spanish is not the lan guage, and they shall send to the Government copies of the papers in which it has been reproduced. Given, signed by my hand, sealed with the seal of the national executive and countersigned by the ministers in the office of interior, foreign affairs, and hacienda, in the federal palace at Caracas, this 14th day of May, 1894, year eighty-third of the Independence and thirty-sixth of the Federation. Countersigned, the minister of interior, JOAQUIN CRespo. José R. NUNEZ. Countersigned, the minister of foreign affairs, P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS. Countersigned, the minister of hacienda, FABRICIO CONDO. BOUNDARY BETWEEN VENEZUELA AND BRITISH GUIANA,1 [Translation.] LEGATION OF VENEZUELA, Dr. David Lobo, chargé d'affaires ad interim of Venezuela, presents his compliments to the Secretary of State, and in compliance with the request expressed by the Secretary at the interview of October 24 has the honor to inclose herewith a brief review of the boundary question pending between Venezuela and Great Britain. He asks the Secretary also to inform him on what day it will be convenient to the former to have him call at the Department for a fresh discussion of the subject referred to. Prominent facts relating to the boundary question between Venezuela and Great Britain. LEGATION OF VENEZUELA. The Republic of Venezuela inherited from Spain all the territories formerly known as Captaincy General of Venezuela. Guiana was a province thereof. It was bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and by the Amazon River on the south. A part of this territory had been invaded by the Dutch, during their war of independence. Their rights over the newly acquired possessions along the northern coast of South America were recognized by Spain on the 30th of January, 1648 (treaty of Munster). In the extradition treaty signed at Aranjuez on June 23, 1791, by Spain and Holland, the islands of St. Eustache and Curaçao, and the colonies named Essequibo, Demerara, Berbice, and Surinam, lying east of Venezuela, were considered to be Dutch possessions. Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice were transferred to Great Britain through the treaty of London, August 13, 1814. England has no other titles in Guiana than those conferred by virtue of this treaty, so that in 1811, the year of Venezuelan independence, the Essequibo River was the boundary between Dutch Guiana and Venezuela. The Essequibo limit was furthermore maintained by the Government of Colombia, in 1822, and has been established in the constitution of Venezuela up to the present time. See same subject, ante, pp. 250-252. 1841.-An English commissioner, Engineer Schomburgk, planted posts and other marks of dominion in Barima and Amacuro, far west of the Essequibo River. The Government protested and Her British Majesty ordered the prompt removal of the marks, which, it was stated, were not intended to indicate possession. 1844. The minister plenipotentiary of Venezuela in London, Señor Fortique, succeeded in opening negotiations with England, after three years' preliminaries, and proposed the Essequibo River as a divisional line between Venezuela and British Guiana. Lord Aberdeen, then minister for foreign affairs, proposed the Morocco, a river west of the Essequibo, but the Government did not accept the latter line, as it deprived the Republic of the tract of land lying between the two rivers. 1850.-To the effect of contradicting a rumor that Great Britain intended to claim jurisdiction over Venezuelan Guiana, Mr. Wilson, then British chargé d'affaires to Venezuela, stated that his Government had no intention to occupy the region disputed; that they would neither order such occupations nor sanction them on the part of their authori ties, and that the latter would be enjoined to refrain from such acts. He also requested and obtained a similar declaration from the Government of Venezuela. 1876. The settlement of the question was again urged by Venezuela, and in February, 1877, Dr. I. M. Rojas, minister resident in London, reopened the negotiations commenced by Señor Fortique. He stated that the proposition offered by Lord Aberdeen had not been accepted because of certain conditions connected with it which interfered with the sovereignty of the country. He also expressed the conciliatory sentiments of the Government; but the consideration of the matter was postponed by the British cabinet until after the arrival of the gov ernor of British Guiana, who was expected in London about March. 1879-1881.-Dr. Rojas, who had resigned his post in 1878, was again appointed to the legation in London. On the 12th of April, 1880, he informed Lord Salisbury that Venezuela, in order to come to a satis factory agreement, would abandon the position of strict right and adopt a frontier to the convenience of both parties, such as the Moroco River, indicated by Lord Aberdeen in 1844 as a boundary on the coast. Her Majesty's Government replied, February 12, 1881, that the Moroco line could not longer be admitted, but that they would consider any conventional line starting from a point on the coast south of the former. On the 21st of the same month Dr. Rojas sent his answer to Lord Granville and suggested, as a proof of the friendly wishes of Venezuela, the drawing of a line commencing on the coast 1 mile north of the mouth of the Moroco. He also declared that, in case of uonacceptance, there was no other course left but arbitration. Lord Granville equally rejected the new boundary, and proposed another which he described in a confidential memorandum. This compromise was carefully examined by the Government and found utterly unacceptable, as it established a limit widely different from the original Essequibo frontier, and was based on certain assumptions absolutely erroneous. 1883.-Gen. Guzmán Blanco was appointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Great Britain, for the settlement of this and various other matters. While negotiating a new treaty of commerce, he obtained from the British Government a written promise to submit to arbitration all disputes arising between the two countries, the Guiana boundary question included. A change in the ministry took place shortly afterwards, and Lord Rosebery, Lord Granville's successor, |