m ,isy ie App., II, p. 145. British Case App., II, p. 151. British Case App., II, p. 154. British Counter- Case App., p. 199. British Counter- Case App., pp. 204-207. 21 British Counter- Case App., p. 205. proximity of the Missions to the Colony of Esse- quibo, and stated how undesirable it was that they should advance a step further on the southern and eastern sides. Gravesaiide's Letters. British Case App., If, p. 69. iiritish Case App., II, p. 45. British Case App. II, p. 221. Britisli Case App., IV, p. 40. British Case App,, IV, p. 48. British Case App., IV, p. 44. British Case App,, IV, p. 121. It is attempted in the Venezuelan Case and 5 Counter- Case to establish the fact of the Spanish control over the Cuyuni by reference to certain passages in the reports of G-ravesande, the Direc- tor-General, expressing apprehensions of Spanish advance. lo An examination of the facts as now disclosed both by the Spanish and Dutch documents shows that Gravesande in these passages was Avriting from information given to him, which frequently proved not trustworthy. 15 Rumours undoubtedly reached him from time to time, particularly about the years I7f50-1766, which led him to believe that the Spaniards were contemplating action not only never taken but never even proposed, and that the Spaniards 20 were in a position to undertake operations which the actual state of their settlements, as disclosed by the official documents, utterly and absolutely •precluded. These rumours led Gravesande to believe that the Colony was exposed to dangers 25 which never, in fact, threatened it. The Report of the Acting Commandeur in the year 1750, when Gravesande was absent at home, shows that the alarm which he had raised in 1746 respecting the supposed action of 3q the Spaniards in establishing a Mission near the Cuyuni was without foundation in fact. In 1762 the Home Government instructed him to make inquiries by some trustworthy agent as to the true position of affairs on the 35 Cuyuni. That the authorities of the Company did not accept Gravesande's view of Spanish intentions is clear fi-om the letter to tlie Director-General in 1769. That Gravesande was, in fact, in error ,^0 as to the Spanish proceedings is shown by the Report of the Judicial proceedings instituted in consequence of the Dutch Remonstrance of 1769. It is also apparent that in 1770 the Home Government were satisfied that many of 45 the apprehensions expressed by Governor Grave- sande were wholly without foundation. The Governor who succeeded reported that Gravesande had never left the fort or visited anv one of the outlying stations. 50 [1878] G 22 It is suggested in the Yeueziielan Case and Counter-Case that the S^saniards, during the whole period of their occupation of Santo Thome controlled the whole of the Orinoco down to the 5 mouth, and prohibited trade by Dutch and other vessels tliereon. This is wholly contrary to the facts. It is admitted that the Spauiards sometimes attempted, as far as possible, to prevent illicit 10 trade to their own possessions. This was the one point upon which they declined to give way throughout the negotiations for the Treaty of Miinster, the Dutch having been originally de- sirous of free trade between Spanish and Dutch 15 possessions. Except on isolated occasions, the Spaniards were only able to control the trade at Santo Thom6 and to the Orinoco above that town. Throughout the whole period there existed a 20 considerable amount of trade by the Dutch to the right bank of the Orinoco below Santo Thome. A certain amount of trade with Santo Thome itself was permitted by the Spanish authorities, on the ground that it was absolutely 25 necessary for the existence of the town. One of the few occasions on which the Spaniards did endeavour to interfere witli Dutch trade on the Orinoco below Santo Thom6 was in the year 1760, when, owing to a report from the 30 Prefect of the Missions that five Dutchmen were established in huts at the mouth of the Creek Barima, and were carrying on traffic with the Indian tribes dwelling on the Orinoco, Don Jose de jj'lores was dispatched with an armed force to 35 attack the huts and hold prisoners all the Dutch, French or Spaniards that he might find there. He did not, however, go far up the Barima, as he was informed that it was some five days' journey 40 to the place where the Dutch were living. On his way to the Barima, Elores captured as prizes a schooner and two launches in the mouth of the Orinoco. The schooner appears to have come from Surinam for the purpose of fishing, 45 and not from Essequibo. It is worthy of note that the Decree condemn- ing the vessels declared that the schooner and launches had entered the Orinoco under the pretext of fishing, but that they had come for 50 the purpose of illicit traffic and for the pur- chase of poitos from the Caribs. The Expedition of Flores in 1760 British Case App., II, p. 187. British Case App., II, p. 194. British Case App., II, pp. 190, 191. 23 That this expedition had no political im- British Case App., portance is also clear from the Report of the II p 199 ' ' ' ■ ■ Director-General, who was informed that the boats captured belonged to wandering Surinam Rritish Case App., traders, of whom the Oaribs had forwarded 6 11, p. 201. '. coraplamts to him. That the Spaniards had not previously at- tempted to interfere with the Dutch fishing in the Aguirre and the mouth of the Orinoco or in British Case App., the River Barima is clearly shown from the 10 II p. 204. Report of Don Joseph Solano in 1761. British Case App., In the year 1762 a Royal Cedula under date of the 5th June was issued, whereby, with a view to the j)rotection of the Province, settlement between Santo Thome and the mouth of the 15 Orinoco was prohibited, and orders were also given for the destruction of the Mission villages situated below Santo Thome. To sum up the argument so far as it has proceeded, the only Spanish settlements were 20 that of Santo Thome on the Orinoco, at its various sites, and the Capuchin Missions in the area already described. The only area which these settlements con- trolled was the right bank of the Orinoco, in 25 the neighbourhood of Santo Thome, and the savannah in which the Mission settlements were situated. \'enezuelan artion. The first event of importance in the history of the territory in dispute after the revolt of the 30 Spanish Colony was the destruction of the Mission settlements by the insurgents in the year 1817. After that date the whole country was British Case App., practically abandoned, so that Level, in 18Ji7, ' ^' " reported that a province of Guayana did not 35 exist. In I860, however, on the discovery of gold, Venezuelans began to develop the district around the upper reaches of the Yuruari. Villages were re-established, the most easterly of which was Tumeremo. 40 In 1891 Venezuela established a police station (and subsequently two others) on the left bank of the Amakuru, and in 1892 a police station on the River TJruan. To the east of the Uruan, Venezuela has nothing except two police huts of 45 a temporary nature, established very recently on the north side of the Cuyuni, between the Uruan and Acarabisi Rivers, for the purpose merely of formally asserting her claim to that territory. As regards the coast and the rivers which 50 24 flow into the Atlantic between the Amaknru and the Essequibo, no single act of dominion, settle- ment, or control on the part of Spain or Venezuela has ever taken place. 5 It is clear that the Spaniards really acquainted with the actual state of Guayana did not consider that the Spanish territory extended as far as the Amakuru or the Cuyuni, much less up to the Essequibo, or to any of the tributaries of that 10 river. The Argument in this Chapter establishes — («.) That neither Spain nor Venezuela ever occupied or controlled any territory to the east of the Schomburgk line. 15 (b.) That west of that line there is a great extent of territory, which neither Spain nor Venezuela ever attempted to occupy and over which they exercised no control. (c) That the effective occupation and control 20 of Spain and Venezuela was limited to Santo Thome and to t.he Mission Settlenients situated west of a line drawn due north from the junction of the Uruan and Yuruari. 25 CHAPTER IV. History op the Dutch and British Title. It is now proposed to consider the extent of Dutch and British settlement and control. It will be found that from the commencement of 5 the seventeenth century down to the present time there has been a continuously increasing occupa- tion and development of the territory which both Dutch and British have regarded as being within the limits of the Colony. 10 The history of this gradual development as a whole has been already stated in the British Case and Counter-Case, and a large number of docu- ments in support of the statements have been cited. The Case and Counter-Case delivered on 15 behalf of Venezuela wholly fail to deal with the evidence or grapple with the conclusions which flow therefrom. Their line of argument would appear to be that all the acts of the Dutch or British are of no effect, as being those of 20 trespassers or i-aiders, whereas similar conduct on the part of Spaniards is proof of the exercise of dominion and sovereigntv. It has already been demonstrated in this Argument that this view is untenable. 25 Keeping in view the question which has been submitted to the Tribunal, namely, the de- termination of the boundary-line, it is proposed in this part of the Argument to deal with the subject by reference to the districts traversed by 30 the various rivers, and to show that from time to time the Dutch and British continuously, and as of right, visited, traded to, occupied, settled, and controlled all these districts. The rivers in question are the Amakuru, 35 Barima, Waini, Moruka, Pomeroon, Cuyuni, Massaruni, and Essequibo. All these rivers have minor branches or tributaries, but it is unnecessary for the purposes of this Argument . to enumerate their names. The salient facts 40 regarding each river will, as far as possible, be [1878] H 26 given chronologically, and in the order in wliicli their names are placed, though many of the incidents mentioned relate, as might be antici- pated, to more than one river. 5 The occupation and enjoyment by the Dutch and British of the territory traversed by the rivers above mentioned Avas that which might be expected in view of the condition of the countiy, varying from time to time under the different 10 circumstances which would lead particular enter- prises to be undertaken, on one river plantations, on another the establishment of posts or stations, in some parts timber cutting, in others trading and shipping stations. 15 The Venezuelan Counter-Case appears to suggest that because one main object of a station was for the purpose of trade it is to be regarded as having no eif ect as a settlement or point of occu- pation or control. Her Majesty's Government 20 do not admit this proposition, but as a matter of fact the suggestion that the stations were only for trading purposes is without foundation. The Dutch and British have exercised from these stations dominion and control over the 26 districts in which they were situated. Venezuelan Counter- Case, p. 33. Before dealing with the Dutch and British operations upon the rivers above enumerated, it will be well to say a few words upon the subject of the coast. 30 From the commencement of the seventeenth century the Dutch had unquestionable control of the whole of the coast-line as far as the Orinoco. They were attacked at times by the British 35 and Erench, but speaking of the period as a whole, it is clear that the Dutch commanded the coast as far as the Orinoco, and frequently entered that river for trading, fishing, and other purposes. 40 This was acknowledged by the Spaniards as early as 1614, as the documents cited at p. 22 of the British Case show. The presence of the Dutch in the mouth of the Orinoco and their control there will further 45 be established by the evidence respecting the Rivers Aguirre, Amakuru and Barima, to be referred to later. From the time when they determined to colf^nize in America, the Dutch fixed upon the The Coast. British Case, p. 22 27 British Case App., I, p. 67. British Case App., I, p. 73. British Counter- Case, p. 40. British Case App.; J, p. 146. British Counter- Case App., p, 353. British Case, p. -29. British Case App., I, pp. 177, 178. IJritisii Counter- Case App., p. 46. British Case App., II. p. 41. British Case, p. 25. British Case App., II, p. 7-2. mouth of tlie Orinoco as the western boundary, east of which they intended to exercise, and did exercise, their rights of settlement and control. Tlie grant of the Wild Coast from the Amazon 5 to the Orinoco for navigation and trade to the patrons of the Colony in 1628, the Sailing Regulations of 1632-33, the rights and privi- leges granted to, and enjoyed by, the Dutch West India Company, and the Dutch Pro- 10 clatnations following upon the Treaty of Miinster, were matters of public notoriety, of which Spain was fully cognizant. This territory was constantly treated by the Dutch as forming part of the district under 15 their control. As early as 1657 conditions were laid down for establishing colonies on the Avild mainland coast between 1 and 10 degrees. In 1669 the Hanau grant, a formal and public 20 document, treated the Dutch territory as extend- ing to the River Orinoco. The power of the Dutch over the coast is repeatedly referred to in Spanish documents. Thi;s, the report of the Council of War of the 25 Indies of the 12tli March, 1676, referred to at p. -9 of the British Case, cites a letter of the 17tli February of the same year, in which it is stated that they held the chief portion of the coast from Trinidad to the Amazon : the same 30 appears from the Minute of the Council of the Indies of 1693. Again, in 1743 the Marquis de Torrenueva bears testimony .to the same fact. It is unnecessary to refer again to the Dutch 3-") documents cited in the British Case, which establish that the Dutch exercised this control and carried on these operations as a matter of right, and not secretly or Avithout the knowledge of the Spaniards. 10 Prom time to time, when the condition of the Colonies on the coast of Guiana was under con- sideration, questions arose as to the method in which the Colonies shovild be maintained and de\'eloped ; and tlie claim published by the 15 Zeeland Chamber in explicit terms, in the Memorial to the shareholders in 1751, records the determination to remain in possession of Essequibo, with all her subject rivers, from the River Berbice down as far as the Orinoco. 50 28 It is submitted that the fair effect of the documents accessible on this point, e.g., the formal Memorial of the Zeeland Chamber, the published Register of the Colony, the letters 5 wi'itten by the Dutch Governors, the Registers of land grants, the processes of the Dutch Courts, and the documents issued by the States- General, is to show that the whole of the territories upon the coast-line as far as the 10 mouths of the Orinoco were treated as Dutch and under Dutch dominion. On the other hand, no evidence has been found to show that the Spaniards ever had any effective claim, right, dominion, or power within any part of these 15 territories. Before considering the operations of the Dutch upon the Rivers Amakuru and Barima it should be borne in mind that to the west of the Amakuru there was a large region over which 20 the Spaniards exercised no effective control, and which was open to the enterprise of the Dutch. That for a time Dutch influence extended to a point well within the mouth of the Orinoco itself, certainly as far as the Aguirre, seems 25 certain. In 1726 the Postholder of Wakepo was in- structed by the Court of Policy to go up the Orinoco to trade there. He was to trade above Santo Thome, if he could get the Spanish oO Governor's permission so to do ; but, failing that permission, he was to retire doAvn stream and to trade in the Aguirre. Eour years later the habitual resort of the Dutch traders to the Aguirre is incidentally 35 brought into prominence in the story of the murder there of the Bishop of Orran. In 1755 Alvarado, in an official document, d\\ elt on the trade relations of the Indians of the Aguirre with the Dutch, and declared that the 40 Spaniards could not enter into relations with the Indians of that river, because the upper part of it was situated in the forests protecting the Colony of Essequibo. In 1758 de la Garriga reported to the Spanish 45 Commandant that the Dutch slave traders entered the Aguirre whenever they chose, many of them, as was well known, living there permanently, or The Auuiri( British Case App., II, pp. 148, 204. British Case App., III, p. 11. British Case App., II, pp. 4, 5. British Case App., II, p. n. Venezuelan Counter-Case App., II, p. 142. British Case App., II, pp. 110, 111, 114. British Case App.. II, pp. 148, 149. 29 British Case App., IV, p. 20. Venezuelan Counter-Case, p. 18. for more than ten years at a time, and thence sending the slaves, whom they there bought, to their agents in Essequibo. De la Garriga added that the Governor of Essequibo claimed to the mouth of the Aguirre and thence along a line 5 drawn due soutli. Again, in 1769, de la Garriga, in a letter to the King of Spain, alludes to the fact of Dutch- men resident for the purposes of the slave trade in the Aguirre. 10 It is stated in the Venezuelan Counter-Case that it is admitted by Great Britain that the Amakuru belonged to Spain. This is incorrect ; no such admission has at any time been made. Spain never settled or effectively con- 15 trolled the Amakuru. What is admitted is that Great Britain has not pressed the claim which she undoubtedly might have made that the Colony of British Guiana should extend west of the Amakuru. 20 The Amakuru and lliirima. British Case App., I, pp 91, 99, 109, no. British Case App., I, p. 108. British Case App., I, p. 109. British Case, App., 1, p. 104. Britisli Counter- Case App., pp. 12, 14. Britisli Case App., I, pp. 110, 116. Tlie references to the Amakuru and Barima are given together, because in some of the documents and maps their relative positions are confused, the Amakuru being placed to the east of the Barima. 26 The evidence that during part of the seven- teenth century the Dutch were settled on the Amakuru is conclusive. The fact is stated in the formal Declarations sent to the Spanish Government in the year 16o7. 30 In that year the Governor of Guayana, Don Diego Lopez de Escobar, stated that he was informed of the close approach of the Dutch, and that some of them had settled among the Caribs, their allies. The territory occupied by the 35 Caribs M'as the lower part of the right bank of the Orinoco. Escobar is supported by the statement of Cristoval de Vera and others, who, in the year 1637, mentioned that the Dutch were settled on 40 the River Aniavero,* at the mouth of the River Orinoco. Erom Amakuru in 1638 the Dutch took in fresh supplies before they sailed for an attack upon the Island of Trinidad. 46 There are other documents in the Appendix to the Britisli Case and Counter-Case confirming the fact of the Dutch being in the Amakuru, * The naiiH' Ania\ero is obviously a mistake for Amakuru. [1878] I 30 and Spanish documents attest the existence of a Dutcii station there in the year 1637, at which they generally had four or sis ships from Holland. 5 Under date of the 16th March, 1673, the Commandeur of Essequiho wrote of his trade in crah oil with the Barima, and added that he was sending, evidently through the inland waterway, to trade with the Orinoco. In 1681 the Com- 10 maudeur mentions the Amakuru as a hunting and fishing ground for the support of the garrison in the Essequiho. In 1684 a pro- posal to huild a small station on the Barima for servants of the Company, was discussed 15 by the Dutch authorities under circum- stances which show that they treated the terri- tory as theirs, and as within their jurisdiction. That the Barima was regarded as Dutch terri- tory is clearly shown by the proposal made 20 by the Indian Chief in 1744 that the Dutch should station a Postholder there. In 1749 the Commandeur treats Barima as under his jurisdiction. Again, that the Oaribs in Barima considered 25 themselves and were treated as under the authority of the Dutch is evident from the records of the year 1752. In consequence of frequent complaint made to him by the Spanish Commandant of Orinoco of 30 the misconduct of the traders in Barima, the Dutch Director- General in 1757 conferred with the Dutch Governor of Surinam as to means for the suppression of these disorders. I"or the sake of comparison it is worth anticipating here the 35 fact that ten years later the Spanish Commandant again communicated with the Director-General in the matter of the disorders in Barima, and ,on this occasion admitted that the Barima was out of reach of Spanish control. This was 40 immediately followed by a vigorous exercise of Dutch authority in those parts. The fact that the Dutch publicly asserted that their authoi-ity extended to the Ships' Mouth or Great Mouth of the Orinoco ^vas well known to 45 the Spaniards, as apj)ears from the letter of Don Jose de Iturriaga in the year 1758 ; and the letter of de la Garriga of 1758 shows that jurisdiction had been claimed as far as the Aguirre. The Eeport of the Expedition of Elores in 50 1760 shows that the Dutch were at that time dwelling on the Barima, and the presence of the British Case App., I, p. 173. British Case App., I, p. 185. British Case App., I, Dp. 182, 185,186. British Case App., II, p. 42. British Case App., II, p. 61. British Case App., H, p. 1-2. British Case App., II, pp. 131, 132. British Case App., Ill, p. ]-il. British Case App., n, p. 141. British Case App., IT, p. 149. British Case .T|jp., II, p. 187. 31 British Case App., Dutch on that river is ai?ain proved hv Solano's 11, p. 204. _ _ o 1 ,7 Report in 1761. That the Dutch authoi-ity was considered as extending at least as far as the east side of the Barima, and had extended to that river according 5 to reputation among the oldest settlers and free Briiish Case App., Indians, appears from the Report of the Director- ^''''•^°^- General in 1761. British Case App,, The official register of the Colony of the year ' ''■ " ' 1762 gives 1'he River Amakuru as the limit of 10 the Colony upon the north : an official document Britisli Case App., of 1 764 speaks of the j urisdiction of the Company as extending to Barima ; and, in the same year, British Case App., the Colony is described as including the Rivers Barima and Waini. 15 British Case App., In that year also a large number of Caribs ' ' ' from Barima leat very valuable aid to tfie Dutch Government in the suppression of the great slave Briiish Case App., rebellion: and in 1765 one of the Chiefs of these TTF 1 OP Barima Indians Avas rcAvarded Avith an official ^^ badge fromi the Dutch Government. British Case App., In 1766 cedar wood was being cut in Barima British Counter- Under the Sanction of the Dutch Government ; Case App., p. aos. SM.^, on account of a serious assault committed on one of the persons erajiloyed there in this 25 timber cutting, the assailant was arrested, carried to the Essequibo, and there dealt with by the Court of Justice. British Case App., jj^ |.|jp game year, and chiefly in consequence of these disturbances among the Dutchmen on 30 the Barima, the Court of Policy ordered the Postbolder of the Moruka to enforce a rule, then made, that settlers were not to be allowed on that river. The fact that the eastern bank of the Barima 35 Avas regarded by both nations as being Dutch British Case App., territory is recorded in the year 1767 by the '*'''■ ' ^' Director-General; and the Postholder at Muruka had orders to pay strict attention to everything going on there. tO liritish Atlas, \x\ 1776 the Spanish Commandant Juan A'aldez „ Oft '^' ' drew a map, and marked on it against " the Creek of Barima" that it Avas there that the Caribs held their fairs with the Dutch. "Historia Father Caulin describes the Barima as in- 45 k'^r^tllh), liabited by heathen Indians in the service of the p- 56. Dutch of Essequibo. British Case App., That the Colony Avas regarded as extending ^'P-'^^- to Cape Barima is recorded by Lieutenant- British Case App., Governor Myers in 1804, and by Governor 50 VI p. 39. D'Urban in 1827. 32 The priest who had been put in charge of the Indian refugees from Venezuela by the British Government considered that his district included the Waini and Barima Rivers; and the Reports 5 of Mr. Crichton, the Superintendent of Bivers, for the years 1838 and 1839, show that he con- tinuously exercised jurisdiction up to the Barima River. He records, in 1839, that the Spanish authorities of Colombia had not been known to 10 come further than the Amakuru Creek. A perusal of the Reports of Mr. McClintock, the Postholder at Pomeroon, which extend from the year 1840 to 1871, shows that fi'om time to time, whenever occasion x'equired, that officer, as 15 Postholder of the Pomeroon, visited Barima and its district and exercised acts of jurisdiction there. In 1845 he recommended the establish- ment of a resident Postholder in Barima. The tradition among the Indian tribes that the 20 Barima and other territory to the east of the Amakuru was Dutch and afterwards British, is clearly established. As early as 1685 Caribs flying from Oronoque took refuge in Barima, Waini, and Amakuru. Similarly, in 1709 the 25 ATarows, driven out by the Governor of Oronoque, took refuge in Barima. Again, iVtr. Orich ton's Report in 1839 sliows that upwards of 300 Indians left the Orinoco and settled in the creeks of Barima, to avoid the arbitrary treatment of 30 the Venezuelan Government. The testimony of the witnesses who have made affidavits establish the facts not only that the Dutch had been settled at Koriabo, far up the Barima River, but that the Venezuelans had 35 never come east of the River Amakuru, that all the territory enst of that river was Dutch and British, and that in the exercise of their magis- terial jurisdiction Mr. King and Mr. Crichton, diu'ing a series of years, regularly visited Barima 40 and its district. The affidavit of a former Gt)vernor, the late Sir Henry Barkly, shows that the whole of the district up to the Amakuru Avas regarded as British territory. It would be beyond the scope 45 of this summary to give even an outline of the evidence as to the development of the north- west district since the year 1886. A detailed account will be found in the Reports of the Government Agent and in his Affidavit and 50 those of other witnesses. It will be found, on examination of their British Case App., VI, p. F>4. British Ca?e App., VI, p. 72. British Counter- Case, p. 288. British Cafe App., VI, p. 7 1. British Case App., VI, pp. 124-210. British Counter- Case App,, pp. ■294--iOO. British Case App., VI. p. 138. British Counter- Case, pp. 2C--J5. British Case App., 1, p. 18<. Britisii Case App., IV, p. 2. British Case App., VI, p. 76. British Case App., VII, pp. 208-232. British Case App., VII, p. iJao. British Ca.'^e App., VI), pp. i.o^-aig. British Counter- Case App., p. 406. 38 The Waini. British Counter- Case App., p. 403. British Case App., I, p. 224. British Case App., II, p. 148. British Case App., I, pp. 224, 226. British Case App., II, p, 26. British Case App., II, p. 45. British Case App., II, p. 70. Britisli Case App., II, p. 98. British Case App., II, pp. 92, 128. British Case App., VII. p. 195. British Case App., II, pp. 110, 148. lirilish Case App., IJ, p. 147. British Case App., Ill, p. 181. Briti.^h Counter- Case Apu., p. 37 (. British Case .App., V, pp. 182, 183. evidence that there has been a continuous development in settlement, trade, jurisdiction, police control, and other essentials of Govern- ment. In dealing next with the Waini, together 5 vi^ith its large branch the Barama or Paraman E-iver, it must be remembered that the inland waterway by which the Barima was generally reached from the head-quarters ol the Dutch Colony of Essequibo passes for a considerable 10 part of its course along the Waini. It follows that Dutch transactions in the Barima and the Amakuru imply Dutch presence and control in the Waini also. There are, moreover, also on record many 15 instances of Dutch action specially connected with the Waini and its affluents. That this river was early regarded as under the control of the Dutch is evident ft^om documents of the years 1701, 1703, and 1738. 20 In 1746 the Commandeur of Essequibo treated the Caribs of the Waini as under his jurisdiction and actively supported them against attack by Indians from Orinoco. In 1751 the Court of Justice of Essequibo 25 summoned to appear before it certain Indians from the Waini who were charged with harbour- ma: runawavs. In 175 l< armed barques were dispatched from Essequibo to guard the mouth of the Waini. 30 ^Referring to the same year, and to the year 1756, Dutch records also exist of official sanction of timber-cutting in the same river. It is on record that the habitual use of the Waini by Dutch traders was officially reported to 36 the Spanish authorities in 1755, and again in 1758 ; and in the latter year de la Grarriga stated that numbers of Dutch were known to remain, for purposes of trade, in the Barama, the chief branch of the Waini. 40 A S-eport of the Director- General in 1768 shows that he regarded the Waini as being the territory of the Dutch. In 1783 there was recorded an application for a land-grant on the Bara-bara, an affluent of 45 the Waini. In 1803, the Dutch, before finally yielding the Colony to the British, were devising a scheme for authorizing and regulating timber-grants on the ^^aini, the ownership of the land remaining 50 [1878] K 34 reserved to the Republic of the United Nether- lands. In the same year, after the British had taken possession, the Spanish Commandant in 5 Oronoque suggested to a British representative that two British vessels should he stationed at the mciith of the Waini Biver, to prevent the passage of runaways. Lists of Indians liable for service at the call of 10 the British Government were periodically sub- mitted to the Court of Policy by the Protectors of Indians, whose duty it was to prepare them. One of these is printed in the Appendix. It in- cludes Indians residing on the Waini, at a distance 15 of eight days from the Post, as well as otliers from the Barama. About 1830, and again in 1836, applications for wood-cutting rights in the Waini were received by the British authorities. 20 After the last-mentioned date, the recorded instances of British jurisdiction and influence on the Waini and the Barama are too numerous for individual mention in this Argument. Tliose referring to the period up to about 1870 25 may be summarized by a reference to tlie many and very detailed Reports, printed with the Case and Counter-Case, of the Superin- tendents of Rivers and Greeks, Crichton, King, and McClintock, all of whom regularly visited 80 the Waini and the Barama; as also by refer- ence to the extracts from the Reports of the Guiana Diocesan Society. These all show a steady exercise of British jurisdiction in the Waini, and, more especially, complete and systematic control of the Indians. 35 The events of more recent years in the Waini, especially those subsequent to the year 1886 and the development in the river of British interests, may similarly be summarized by reference to the Reports of the Government Agent of the North- 40 Western District. British Case App., V, p. 184. British Case App., VI, pp. 9-13. British Case App., VI, p. 60. British Counter- Case App., pp. 301, 302, 304, 306-312. British Case App., VII, pp. 255-319. British Counter- Case App. pp. 406-409. The evidence of settlement and control by the Dutch in the Pomeroon and Moruka is practi- cally continuous from 1659. Even before that 45 date, as appears from the records, settlers had established themselves in the neighbourhood of the Pomeroon as well as landwards in the Province of Moruka. A record of the year 1661 describes the Colony of Pomeroon, and mentions 50 that it was known by the name of Nova Zeelandia. The ronierooii and iluruka British Counter- Case App., p. 29. i5ritish Case I, p. 14B. App., 35 Biilish Counter- Case App., pp. 26-42. British Case App., VI, p. 211. British Case App,, V)I, pp. 223, 2>4. British Case App., I, pp. 150, 173. British Case App,, J, p. 152. British Case App. I, p. 16G. Britisli Case App., I, pp. 179, ISO. British Case .App., J, pp. 181, 182. British Case App., VII, pp. 149- 175. British Case App., I, pp. 193, 208, 210. British Case App., I, p. 238. British Case App., II, p. 5. British Case App., II, p. 25. British Case App., II, p. 113. The records of the city of Veere show a remark- ably complete development of Dutch industry about this time, not only on the Pomeroon River, but also, and more especially, on the Moruka; and the considerable traces of substantial Dutch 5 buildings at Owyebarri and other places on the Moruka are almost certainly referable to this same development. That these settlements were made from their very inception as of right, is evident from the-10 special act of the States-General in 166 i inter- preting their Charter of 1621, and from the new Charter of 1671. The existence of these settlements was formally reported to the King of Spain by Don Pedro de 15 Viedma in the year 1662. The settlement was of suflBcient magnitude to attract the attention of the British, who in the year 1665 attacked it. That it was an important settlement, and not, 20 as is suggested in the Venezuelan Case, a mere Post kept up as a matter of form, is evident from the almost contemporary description in the Spanish Archives. A Postholder was established in Pomeroon as 25 early as 1679, and was continued, at the different stations which were from time to time selected for the Post, practically without any break up to the year 1851, when different arrangements for administration were made. 30 In 1686 and until the Prench raid in 1689, the Colony in Pomeroon was organized as distinct from that of Essequibo, and placed under a separate Governor. The jurisdiction over trade exercised at the Post 35 of the Pomeroon is described in a Report to the West India Company in 1714. The situation of the Post was from time to time changed according to the discretion of the authorities ; and that it was intended to control 40 the Dutch territory and to exercise authority over the district stretching towards the Orinoco is plain from a letter of the Commandeur in 1737. If further proof were needed, the Report of Alvarado in the year 1755 shows that the 45 Spaniards were acquainted with the existence of the Post. It is unnecessary to refer here to the constant instances of the action of the Postholder, many of which are cited in the British Case. Among 50 them the Minutes of the Court of Justice of 36 1751 sliow that liis iurisdiction extended to the, British Case App., •' II, p. 70. Waini. The extension of plantations by the year 1753 necessitated tlie surveying of the "\Taini and the 5 Pomeroon with a view to fresh ground being Britisli Case App., occupied by planters ; and, as has already been ' P- • stated in the British Case, control was exercised continuously over the cutting of timber in the British Case App., -D ^ ^ II, pp. 92, 1 OS, Pomeroon. 136,142. 10 The settlement and post were regarded as part British Case App., of the defences of the Colony in 1754. The fact "' P' ^'^■ that the Dutch were established at Moruka and exercised jurisdiction over the district r>riiish Case App., was formally i-eported by Iturriaga in the year 15 1757. The means of communication with the interior by both the Moruka and the Waini, as well as by the other rivers in the north-w^est, are pointed British Case App., out by de la Garriga in his Report of 1758 ; and ' ^' 20 the fact that the Moruka Post included in its British Case App., jurisdiction the Pomeroon, Waini, and Barima is Britisir Counter- mentioned by the Director-General of Essequibo. ^^^^ App., p. -no. In 1765 the Posth older, under instructions British Case App., from the Director-General, arrested in Moruka an ' "' " '' 25 Indian charged with murder, and delivered him to the Court of Justice in Essequibo. The employment of the Postholder of Moruka about 1766 to control affairs in Barima has already been alluded to in dealing with the last-named 30 river. The extent to which settlements and develop- British Case App., ment had extended in the Pomeroon and Moruka ' '''^' ' district is recorded in 1772, and again in 1773. Between 1777 and 1778 proposals were made British Case App., 35 for the removal of the Post to another site, with a '^' PP' '^'''' ^''^^■ view to its greater efficiency in protecting" the Colony ; and, as has already been observed, the desirability of attempting to oust the Dutch from IV, p. -212. the Moruka Post was considered by the Spaniards 40 in the year 1779. In the Minutes of the Court of Justice for British Case App, 1783 there is again a record of an Indian ^' PP' ®' ^' judicially dealt with for the murder of a Dutch- man and his son in the Wakepo, between the 45 Moruka and the Pomeroon. The maps, dated 1798, of Walker and Bouchen- British Atlas, roeder, among others, illustrate the fact that by '^P" ' ' the time that the Colony was passing from the Dutch to the British the whole seaboard west- 50 ward to the Moruka, as well as the land for a considerable distance up the Pomeroon and its British Case App., 37 tribuiary, the Wakepo, had been surveyed and British Counter- laid out in agricultural lots. The surveyor's Case App., p. 38C. , n , • i ^i i i • i account for laying out these lots is on record. That many of them were taken up is evident from the lists of land -grants sanctioned by the 5 British Counter- Court of Justice on tlie 8th April 1791 and Case A pp., p. 381. onward. During the whole of the time of the British occupation, the district traversed by the Pomeroon and Moruka and their tributaries has been 10 treated as British territory. It is unnecessary for the purposes of this Argument to refer to all the incidents which have occurred. British Case App., In the year 1815 the Post was the centre of 15 ' ''■ ■ a large district, and was found to be specially suitable for exercising control over the Indians. Briusii Case App., j^^ j^gj^g g^ medical attendant was appointed for the purpose of attending the Indians of the district. 20 British jjHse App,, j^ iQiij ^ large number of Spanish refugees from the Orinoco arrived at the Pomeroon Post. They immediately came under the control of the British authorities, their place of residence was decided by the Government, and they submitted 25 to the British authority. The continuous attendance of Indians required for the service of the Post from the year 1808 British Case App., onwards is formally recorded in 1833 in a letter VI p. 49. from the Protector of Indians to the Governor. British Case App., British ^Missions were established on the Pome- 30 ' ' ' rooii before 1840, and on the Moruka in 1845, and have been maintained ever since. Their influence has been very great over the Indians, British Counter- jjot only of thcse two rivers, and as far as the Case App., pp ,301, '' , ,. 302,304,306-31?. Amakuru, but even southward to the distant 36 source of the Cuyuui and the Caroni. District between I'oiiieruou and Essequibo. It seems unnecessary to refer in detail to the abundant evidence of continuous occupation by the Dutch and British of the district between the Pomeroon and the Essequibo below the 40 Cuyuni ; and yet this territory also is claimed by the Venezuelans, and the claim is supported on 7 / the same grounds as those which are applicable to their claim to the territory l^etween the Pomeroon and Amakuru. 45 The Cuyuui. Turning now to the Cuyuui, it is submitted that the evidence referred to in Chapter III of tliis Argument has established that the Spaniards [1878] L 38 never controlled or attempied to control any part of the river, and that the Mission settle- ments and control never reached tlie Ouyuni at all. 5 The ohject and result of the Spanish raid in the year 1758 and the proposal to 'stablish a fort have already been discussed. It is worthy of remark that up till the middle of the eighteenth century there is no mention 10 whatever of the Cuyuni in any Spanish do(Ju- ment. A complete history of the Dutch operations on the Cuyuni would involve reference to the greater part of the documents printed in the 15 appendices to the British Case and Counter-Case. For the purposes of this argument it is sufficient to indicate again the leading heads of evidence which establish that the Dutch and British have consistently regarded and treated the Ouyuni as 20 an integral portion of the Colony. It is evident that before the year 1680 trade had been established upon the river. The agents of the Dutch had been in the habit of visiting the district traversed by the Cuyuni, 25 which had become one of the main sources of supply lo the Colony. It was only the occurrence of war between the Caribs and Akawois which for a time prevented this iise of that district. The trade in horses through this district, 30 and from the upper part of the river, had undoubtedly commenced by the end of the seventeenth century, and about the same time plantations were extending above the junction of the Cuyuni and l^Inssaruni. 35 The official diary for the years 1699 to 1701 shows that as a matter of daily routine the Cuyuni was being visited by the Dutch and its resources utilized for the purposes of the Colony. As early as the year 1703 the Dutch estab- 40 lished a Post in the savannah, six weeks' distance by water from the fort. In the year 1706 the horse trade through the Upper Cuyuni was evidently a fully established industry, and in the same year it is shown that 45 timber cutting had been carried on by order of the Commandeur at a considerable distance up the river. The district of the Ouyuni River at this period was reserved for the Company, and grants of land 50 to private individuals were not made therein until a much later date ; but plantations were estab- British Case App., I, p. 18?. British Case App., r, p. 1S5. British Case App., [jpp. 212,213. British Counter- Case App., pp. 47- 158. British Case App., VII, p. 15.3. British Counter- Case App., p. 159 British Case App., i, p. 228. British Case App., II, pp. 1,6, 10, 12. 89 lishecl at various points on the lower part of the river between the year 1724 and 1730. Bntish Case App., Again, in l7o2, plantations of indigo were "' P" '■*■ established up the river, and between 1738 and British Case App., 1742 various explorations for metals were made 5 II,PP. 27, 28, 31. .,^ different parts of the Ouyuni Valley. The British Case App., diary of Hildebrandt shows that this under- '''''■ ~ ■ taking was an attempt to develop land which belonged to the Dutch. British Case App., The action of the authorities of the Colony in 10 '^^' ' ~ ' connection with the proposal by Courthial to cut a road shows that no doubt then existed as to their control over the district of the E-iver Ouyuni. In 1752 the Spaniards were desirous of estab- 15 British Case App., lishing an overland trade in cattle wdth the Colony, but their application was refused. This trade could only have approached the Colony by means of the Cuyuni. The first reference to any suggestion of an 20 attack by waj'' of the Cuyuni occurred in 1754, British Case App., when tlie Director-Gcneral reported that the Indians would well guard the passage. By the British Case App., end of the following year a regular Post had ' ^' ' been established on the river. 25 That the Dutch were treating their territory British Case App., a'' extending to the neighbourhood of the Missions ' ^' ' is shown by the fact that, it having come to the knowledge of the Postholder in the Cvivuni that the Caribs had determined to make a raid upon 30 some of the Spanish Missions, the authorities of the Dutch Colony formally resolved to strictly refuse the Caribs powder and shot, and to give information to the Commandant of Guayana. British Case App., The proceedings of tlie Dutch in the Cuyuni 35 145 149 ' were perfectly well known to the Spaniards, as British Counter- t|^(. Reports of Alvarado, de la Garriga, de la Bisbal, Case Aup., p. 199. ^ =' ' Biitish Case App., and Diguja plainlv show. in, pp. 20, 21. British Case App., in 1763 the Dutch proposed to re-establish a T T ')0 1 Britisli" Case App., Post on the Upper Cuyuni, which Gravesande 40 IV, pp. 23, 89. ^^ i-,jg despatches alwavs claimed as a district British Case App., * II, pp. 172, 176, undoubtedly belonging to the Dutch. It was R^°;-V^n A re-established in the year 1766. nntisn Case App., «' HI, p. 132. British Cflse App., The formal Remonstrance of 1769 stated in the IV p 29 ' ■ most explicit terms the right of the Dutch to all 45 the tributaries of the Essequibo, and particularly to the Cuyuni. British Case App., Mamiion's Report of 1788 records the fact of /**' " ^' P- ^-- the Dutch guard being stationed from 20 to .-^c^ m 25 leagues up the Cuyuni above its junction with the Massaruui ; and in the year 17S9 the Dutch were employing a Oarib Chief as their ■watchman high up the river. 5 A reference to the llejjort of the Governor of Caracas in 1797 shows that he contemplated that the British boundary might start from the junc- tion of the Uruan and Yuruari. After the acquisition of the Colony by the 10 Britisli, coutrol over the River Cuyuni was sfill maintained. A list of the Indian Chiefs and of the men capable of bearing arms, made in the year 1818, records the fact that Indians resident three, ly eight, and ten days' journey up the River Cuyuni were available. That the settlements up the river were visited by missionaries from the Colony appears from the letter to Governor d'llrban in 1833. ^0 A Constable and Captain of the river, holding a formal authority from the Britisli Government, was appointed, and held office for many years. The reputation among the Indian inhabitants was that, upon the northern bank of the Cuyuni, 25 at least the territory below the Acarabisi be- longed to the British, and traces of former Dutch inhabitants have been found to exist at various points on the river. British Case App., V, p. lOG. British Case Ap V, p. 166. British Case App., VI, pp. "-13. British Case App., VI, p. 49. British Case App., VII, p. 229. Britisli Case App., VII, pp. 2-25, 'Jti3. Between the Cuyuni and the Essequibo flows 30 the River Massaruni, and this river, almost immediately after receiving the Cuyuni, flows into the Essequibo. Tlie evidence, to which reference has already been made, shows that there is no trace of any 35 Spanish occupation upon this river. Dutch occupation upon it, so far as records are con- cerned, does not appear to have been so extensive as upon the Cuyuni and Upper Essequibo ; but it can be shown that the Dutch visited and 40 traded to the river, and made use of its resources to an extent amply sufficient to give them a title to the territory traversed by it. As early as the year 1686 they had an annatto store up the Massaruni, and were in close alliance 45 with the Captains of the Caribs ; and in the same year there is evidence that the district was being used for the purpose of hunting and salting bush liogs, and obtaining other provisions. That this practice became regularly established is clear 50 from the Report of the Commandeur in 1710. The Massaruni. British Case, p 31 British Case App., I, p. 202, British Case App. I, p. 234. 41 British Counter- The official diary kept at Eort Kijkovoral 53,^50,57.'''^ ' shows that the Ujiper Massaruni was regularly and constantly visited. British Case App., The Report of the Engineer Maurain-Saincterre ^' P' ^^^" in. 1722 shows that the character of the ground in 5 the upper part of the Massaruni had l)een ex- plored, but that the nature of the river had been a bar to the establishment of plantations there ; Bi-itisii Case App., and entries made in 1730 and 1731 show that the ' '^P' ' ■ Massaruni was one of the rivers kept for the 10 private trade of the West India Company. British Case., p. 35. In 1711 Tliomas Hildebraudt was prospecting Bntisli {.'ase App., f^^ minerals some distance above the mouth of II, p. 31. the Massaruni. British Case App., Its capabilities are considered, along with 15 ' ^P' ~ ■ those of other rivers of the Colony, in the Director-General's treatise on the Posts, and the Britisli Case App., district between tlie Massaruni and Cuyuni is ' ■ s poken of in 1765 as " the middle of our land." Britisli Case App., The report of the presence of Spanish Indians 20 ,pp. 127, ii9. |j^ ^]^g river was the signal for immediate measures to arrest them, and the Chief wlio was found to have summoned their assistance was severely reprimanded and forbidden to do such a thing again. 25 That the Caribs of the Massaruni lliver were under the control and in the employment of the British Case App., Dutch is clear from the entries in the year 1750, Britisli Case App., ^^^ ^1^0 from the entries in the year 1761 as to III, p. lOo. ^i^g number of Indians available for the service of 30 the Company. That the forests on the ]\Iassaruni lliver British Case App., belonged to the Colony is also clear from the journal of the Postholder in 1808. From the earliest times of British oceupa- 35 tion, the Post which commanded the three rivers was situated on the Massaruni and formed the regular centre for jurisdiction over the districts up stream. 10 VI, pp. 36, 37. Britisli Counter- Erom a letter dated in 1826 to the Governor Case App., p. 274. . ii j • i it appears ttiat m that year a British party made a protracted journey up the Massaruni, in connection with a war in which the Indians of those parts were engaged. British Case App., In 1836 a Government expedition, accom- 45 panied by the Assistant Postholder, was sent up the river to secure peace among certain con- tending groups of Indians ; and the Protector of Indians a little later reported to the Governor that a Treaty of Peace between the coutendino 5Q parties had been effected by this espcditi ;u. [1878] 31 42 In 1839 Mr. Cricliton, in his Report, records British Case App., a visit to districts up 1 he Massaruni. In the ' ' ' followinsr year Mr. Kini? recorded a similar visit, Britisli Case App., Ill VI, p. 95. and sucli circuits were clearly usual. 6 It is proposed now to deal with the Dutch The Essequibo Eivei, occupation upon, the Essequibo itself, and particu- larly upon the upper part, in view of the fact that the Venezuelan claim, which is insisted upon up to the present time, asserts a right to the 10 whole territory up to the left bank of this river. As early as 1685 the River Essequibo, which British Cise App., had previously been kept in the hands of the ' PP- * > Company, was thrown open to private settlers. 15 The Commandeur's diary (1699-1701) alludes British Counter- to various plantations, both the Company's and pp"47_i58. free, as already existing on the Essequibo ; and the map of the surveyor Maas, dated 1706, shows Venezuelan Case, tiiem as extending, almost continuously, right ' *^' ^' 20 up to the' Ealls. Nearro traders were regularly employed on the British Case App , Upper Essequibo from 1703 to 1709. ' ^^' In 1714 steps were taken to organize the trade British Case App., on this river. In 1725 and 1733 reference is ' f '. /, ' British (.ase App., 25 made to the fact that the Dutch had been n, pp. 3, 16. trading up the river. In 1731 Van der Burg British Case App., was employed to make a trading-place up in the ^\. i .^' " [ J^ •' Oil British Case App., Essequibo; and a Post was established there by VII, p. 15S. the year 1737. The first situation of the Post British Case App., . . H, pp. 66, 71. 30 was at the mouth of the Siparuni, the second at the mouth of the Eupununi. The records which show the maintenance of British Case App., the Arinda Post during the latter half of the eighteenth century are continuous ; and the 35 obiect of the Post is stated in a formal document British Case App., *1I T) 227 in 1763 to have been the furtherance of the ' ^' trade in red slaves and dye, the exploration of land and nations in the interior, and the pre- vention of the escape ol slaves in that direction. 40 The transfer of Arinda to a higher position at the junction of the Pi-upununi in the year 1764 is recorded ; and from that date onward British Case App., it was the centre from which control of the ' ''^' ' surrounding neighbourhood was exercised in 45 various ways. The Pteport in 1764 shows that exploration had ^"'^'^'1 Case App., been effectively carried on from the Arinda Post far up into the interior of the country. That this Post was intended to exercise formal 43 control over the country and the travellers who might from time to time visit that part of the British Case App., river is confirmed by the instructions to the III, pp. 1 12, 113. ^T ,1 11 . -.nrki ' ^^ Postholder m 176i. ijritWh Case App., Tjjg importance of the Post is again pointed 5 ' ^" ■ out in 1768, and the means thereby afPorded of controlling the native tribes is evidenced by the Jk-itisli Case App., request made in 1770 that the Postholder should ask the Carib Owls, in the name of the Director- General, to send a detachment of fifty men of 10 their nation to assist in watching plantations. pritish Case App., jn 17(19 the Arinda Postholder reported upon IV, pp. 16, 17. . -^ the Rupununi and the Maho (Ireng). In connection with the Arinda Post, it is well to point out that the trade in slaves by the 15 Dutch, in conjunction with the Caribs from the interior of tiie province, which was carried on up the Piver Sipo (the Essequibo above the Pupununi) and also up the Apanoni (Pupununi), Massaruni, and many other tributaries of the 20 Bi-iiisli Case App., Essequibo, is noted by Centurion in his letter of ^^' ''• ^^- the 3rd November, 1770. He proposed to counteract Dutch influence by fortifying an island on Lake Parime, in the existence of wdiich Biitish Case App., he still believed. In his lleport of the 27th 25 ' '^' ' Ju]y, 1776, he records the fact that a sergeant had been for more than two years in one of the villages on the Piver Parime (Rio Branco), without seeing any European except an officer from tlie Dutcii Post on the Apanoni, Avhich was 30 undoubtedly the Arinda Post. I?iiiish Case App., Ill the year 1776 some Portuguese who came ^^'l'-'''^* to the Arinda Post were arrested and taken to the Essequibo Port. Hiitish Case App., In 1790 tlic Spaniards were well aware that 35 ^'P- '"^* the Dutch had established trading posts at the sources of the Essequibo, and that they took srreat care that no one not of their nation should enter any part of the district between the Massa- runi and that river. The Spaniards recognized 10 that the Dutcli Avould quickly arm the Caribs and prevent them (the Spaniards) going into the interior. British Counter- In the vcar 1801 the Indians in the Upper pp., p. - _. j7gsgq^^i|^o were mustered by the orders of the 15 IJritish Case App., ^ V, pp. 185, lb? Protector of the Indians. Exploration and development in the Upper Essequibo and its tributaries continued under the British Case App., British. Allusion is made in the Counter-Case, ' ^^' °' ■ p. 26, to the Chief ]Mahanarva and his friendship 50 British Case App., with the British. An expedition into the interior V, p. 202. 44 was undertaken by Dr. Hancock, and a survey made by him in 1812. Tribes residing ten to fifteen days' journey up-stream were placed on British Case App., the roll of men capable of bearing arms in 1818. 5 Mission influence was extended to the head of British Ca^e App., , , ^ ^ , VI, pp. 49, 50, 51, the river in 1833, and the Grovernor requested e,. that the river might be surveyed by an officer. In 1837 Sir H. Schomburgk planted the British R^'ii^h Case App., ' '^ VII, pp. ?, 6. flag in latitude 0° 41' north, at the sources of the 10 Essequibo ; his Report contains many references to the history of the Arinda Post as he had heard it at that time. By 1839 Mr. Toud had begun British Case App., to reside among the tribes settled near the source '''''' ' of the Essequibo and between that river and the 15 Eupununi. That this territory was regarded as unquestionably witliin the Colony is evident from the letter of Mr. Youd to the Governor in March 1839, referring to his visit to the Indians south of Pirara between the Uiver Essequibo and the 20 Bupununi, and from his proposal to form a missionary settlement on the eastern side of the Eupununi near the Urua Rapids. The site at which this Mission was subsequently established is shown in the British Atlas, p. 2. Subsequently, ^j'"'^'' Case App., 25 in the year 1841, a detachment of British troops was dispatched to Pirara with the object of protec- ting the Indians. The whole of this region was unknown to the Spaniards ; and it may be well to point out again 30 that, with reference to Arinda, it was recorded, British Case App., IV p. 49. as late as the vear 1769, that the Governor of Guayana had until that year never heard of the station, and that the country between Orinoco and Arinda was unknown to the Spaniards, and 35 was inaccessible to them and their Indians. When it is remembered that there is not even a suggestion of the presence of the Spaniards in the Essequibo River later than the very commence- ment of the seventeenth century, that they never 40 at any time visited or traded to any part of the ' upper river, and that there is no trace of any Spaniard ever having travelled over any part of the territory lying between Cuyuni and the Upper Essequibo, it may be well asked upon what con- 45 ceivable grounds Venezuela can now claim that the left bank or any part of the Essequibo River belongs to her. By every rule of international law, and on every principle by which the colonization of territory has been recognized, the Dutch, and 50 the British as their successors, are entitled to the whole drainage area of the Essequibo River. 45 The foregoing resume of the operations of the Dutch and British upon the various rivers might be supplemented by many other extracts from the documents contained in the Appen- dices of the British Case and Counter-Case, to all of which Great Britain will, if necessary, refer. ^ The conclusions which the evidence summarized in this Chapter establishes are : (a.) That the waterways of all these rivers were, from the commencement of the seventeenth ■' " century, under the control of the Dutch and subsequently of the British ; (6.) That at no time have the Spaniards or Venezuelans ever had any control of the water- way of any of the rivers ; ^^ (c.) That the Dutch and British have con- tinuously and in different ways occupied, settled, enjoyed, and controlled the territories or drainage areas through which these various rivers flow, and that the only intrusion or encroachment upon the 20 territory, which would otherwise have exclusively belonged to the Dutch and British, was the occupation by the Spanish Missions of the savannah country in the neighbourhood of tha upper tributaries of the Cuyuni, an occupation 26 confined, as has already been stated, to that part of the territory which is west of a line drawn due north from the junction of the Rivers Uruan and Yuruari. [1878] N 46 CHAPTER V. P0LITICA.L Control by the Dutch anp British OVER Indians. It is necessary to make some observations upon 5 the relations of the Dutch and British with the Indians, the effect and purport of wliich has been apparently misunderstood by the framers of the Venezuelan Counter-Case. The British contention is that the fact that the 10 Indians of certain districts habitually looked to the Dutch and British for protection, and were protected and controlled by them, is strong evidence to show that, as between Spain and Venezuela on the one hand and the United 15 Netherlands and Great Britain on the other, these districts belonged to the Dutch and British. Although it is the fact that from local reasons the Indian tribes shifted tlieir quarters from one part of a district to another, it is established that 20 they belonged to certain well known districts, generally connected with a river, and were con- stantly so spoken of in contemporary documents. Their change of abode in no way impairs the effect of their recognition of Dutch sovereignty. 25 It is in this connection, and for the purpose of these considerations, that it is desirable briefly to review the facts which the evidence establishes with reference to the relations between Dutch and British respectively and the native Indian 30 tribes. In the Charter of 1621 the Dutch contemplated that the West India Company should make con- tracts and alliance with the natives of the lands within the limits of their Chartei- ; and it Avas 35 well known as early as that year that this was the policy of the Dutch. This policy Avas throughout maintained, and, as is pointed out in Chapter V of the British Counter- Case, was expressly recognized by the 40 Treaty of Miinster. That the Dutch did, in fact, to the knowledge British Case App,, I, p. 44. British Case App., I, p. 52. British Counter- Case, p. 40. 17 British Case App., I, p. 70. British Case Ajjp., 1, p. 88. British Case App., I, p. 101. British Case App., I, pp. 116. !24, 153. British Case App., 11, p. 1!8. British Counter- Case App., p. 182. British Case App., III, pp. 103, 118. British Case App., IV, p. 5. British Case App., IV, p 187. British Case App., V, pp. '26, 1.59. British C:ise App., [I, pp. 46, 58 British Case App., V, pp. 214-21 P. 15 20 British Case App., VI, pp. 2, 9, 12, 21. of the Spaniards, enter into such alliances is established by overwhelming testimony. They were referred to in the Report of the Marquis de Sofraga in 1631. That they had been further extended is shown in the letter of the 5 Corporation of Trinidad to the King in 1637 ; and the Report of Escobar, cited in that letter, describes how close an alliance had been esta- blished. Other Spanish documents of the years 1638 and 1662 confirm the fact. These alliances 10 continued through the whole of the eighteenth century. Records in 1739, 1752, and 1765 attest the goodwill existing belween the Dutch and Cavibs. Alliance with the Caribs was a system recog- nized by the Dutch for the express purpose of strengthening and protecting the Colony ; and this fact is clearly established by the Reports of the Governor of Berbice in 1764 and of the Director- General of Essequibo in 1765 and 1769. Eormal assemblies of the Indians were periodi- cally held during the latter part of the eighteenth century ; and on these occasions the Indians undertook to be faithful and true to the Govern- ment and inhabitants of the Colony, and accepted 25 appointments from them. The Assemblies of Indians in 1778, 1784, and 1795, are instances which may be cited. Speaking of the whole period during which the Colony was in the possession of the Dutch, 39 at no date did the Dutch express the slightest apprehension of attack by the Caribs, to whom they were bound by the closest ties of friendship and alliance. Upon the other hand- many of the Spanish Missions were destroyed by the Caribs, and they were constantly raided and attacked by them. There is no doubt that the Caribs were frequently prevented by the Dutch from attacking the Spanish Missions. That the system of Indian control existed when the British took possession of the Colony is evident from the Acting Governor's letter to Loi'd Bathurst in 1813. The formal record kept of the Indians in the service of the Government, according to their various districts, extending from the Barima to the Essequibo, establishes! that the system was maintained hx the British as a part of the organization of the Colony. The records lor the years 1815, 1818, and 1821 59 are printed in the British Appendix. 35 40 45 48 The Eeport of William Hilhouse, Quarter- master-General of the Indians in 1S23, and other dociiments mentioned in the British Case, show British Case App., VI, pp. 22-35. that the system ^\■as not one of mere torm, 5 but that there was actual government and control over the various Indian tribes residing in the territory now in dispute. The affidavits which are printed in the 7th British Case App., volume of the British Appendix show the con- -, pp- - - - 10 tinuance of the system ; and the affidavit of Sir British Case App., Henry Barkly, speaking of the year 1849, ' P' shoAvs that Indians dwelling to the west of the Schomburgk line owned allegiance t o the British, and after that line was laid down moved to the east- 15 Avard of it in order to reside on British territory. This control was rapidly consolidated under British administration, and, as is seen by reference to pp 99-112 of the British Case, the Indians soon accepted their position as subjects 20 of the British Crown. Their Captains were appointed by the British Grovernor, the subsidies paid to them in earlier days were stojsped, they regularly resorted to the appointed Courts, and they welcomed the missionaries who settled in 25 their midst. 49 CHAPTER VI. Presknt Occupation. The condition of the territory in dispute as regards its occupation and control by Great Britain and Venezuela has been incidentally men- 5 tioned in the three preceding Chapters. It is, however, very important to state succinctly what was the actual condition of the occupation and control by the two nations at the date of the Treaty of Arbitration. 10 British Oc-cupation The present state of British occupation may conveniently be considered — first, with reference to the north-west district ; next, as to the Moruka and Pomeroon ; and lastly, with refei^ence to the Cuyuni, Massaruni, and Esseqviibo. 16 As to the north-west district, reference is made to the fourteenth Chapter of the British Counter- Case, where particulars are given with reference to it. The whole of this country as far as the right bank of the Amakuru has been com- 20 pletely organized with all the machinery for civilized government. Justice is regularly ad- ministered, court-houses and police-stations have been established, post-offices have been set up, roads have been made, a regular service of 25 steamers to Morawhana, and thence up the Barinia, has been organized, hospitals, hotels, and ' stores have been built, the agricultural industry as well as the mining has been developed, and the whole country is under complete political and 30 administrative control. Similarly the Moruka and Pomeroon Rivers are thickly inhabited by British subjects, and are completely administered. Police-stations, post- offices, with a daily post, hospitals, churches, 35 and missions, are there in existence. Some of the estates granted by the Dutch at the end of the last century are still in cultivation, and almost the whole of the rest of the land is now [1878] O 50 occupied by more recent grautholders. The Pomeroon River is now the great provision farm of the Colony. The Arabian coast, stretching from near the 5 Pomeroon to tlie Essequibo, is one long line of sugar estates and cattle-farms. The three large rivers Ouyuni, Massaruni, and Essequibo unite at a point some forty miles from the sea, in a common estuary. The banks 10 of this estuary, and of each of the separate rivers up to the first falls have long been thickly populated. From an administrative point of view the three rivers, above their falls with their drainage 15 areas, are regarded as one, and are under one Government Commissioner. It is therefore con- venient in part to treat of them together. The Commissioner periodically visits the Cuyuni as far as Uruan, the Massaruni as far 20 up as circumstances require, and also the the Essequibo itself and its tributary the Ru- pununi to the borders of Brazil. In all these three rivers the captains of the Indians are nominated by the Commissioner, to whom they 25 look for guidance and protection ; and offences committed in these districts are tried by British Magistrates. On the Cuyuni itself Posts have been estab- lished at Uruan, at Ekereku, and at Macapa ; 30 and the Postholders and men at each of these are under the Commissioner. TIie channel of this river, as well as those of the Massaruni and Essequibo, are under British control exercised through the Commissioner. 35 On all these rivers gold is being largely worked by British subjects, and under licences issued by the British Government. The work- ings, generally placers but in a few cases mines, are under the superintendence of British gold 40 officers, who are appointed to reside on each of the rivers by the British Government. On the Cuyuni this gold industry extends as far up as Waiamu. On the ^Massaruni the industry flourishes both on the large tributary, 45 the Puruni, and, still more, at a place called Himaraka, very far up on the main river. On the Essequibo the gold industry is of a still more important nature. It is chiefly situated on both banks of the Potaro, and at various places 50 on the main river above the Potaro and as high as the Siparuni. 51 Various public works have been undertaken to facilitate travel up all these rivers. Portages have been made past the falls on the Cuyuni; and a road from the Barama, in the north-west district, to tap the Cuyuni at the Acarabisi, has 5 been begun. Another road has been com- menced between the Cuyuni and the Massaruni, starting from their point of junction. On the Massaruni also the passage of falls has been facilitated by portages. 10 A very important road is well advanced from the left bank of the Essequibo at Bartika Grove, through the forest, to tap the sa'vannahs about the head of the Potaro, and so to open up the savannahs of the far interior. 15 Up the Essequibo, above the first long series of falls is the terminus of a railway from the Demerara River. At this terminus is a hotel and a gold station, with a resident gold officer and police ; and from this terminus a service 20 of steamers runs daily up to Tumatumari, within the mouth of the Potaro. Tumatumari is. the great centre of the gold industry of those parts. The Warden of the gold industry of the district, as well as a 25 subordinate gold officer, lives there. There is a regular post-office and mail service, and a hotel and a hospital. Prom Tumatumari many miles of road have been made on both banks of the Potaro, into the 30 distant mining claims ; and large sums of money have been spent in clearing the creeks to admit of water carriage to these same claims. Above the Potaro is the Mission station of "VVaraputa : and far away on the Rupununi 35 savannah are various British residents in regular communication with Geoi'getown. Venezuelan Occupation. The Venezuelan Government in their Case and Counter-Case have not made any state- ment as to the nature and extent of Venezuelan 40 occupation or control at the date of the Treaty in any part of the territory in dispute ; but the facts are that since 1850 Venezuela has been in occupation of parts of the territory lying to the west of the area coloured purple on the Map 45 at p. 4 of the Britisb Atlas, and of certain points on the extreme west of that area, including Tumeremo. In quite recent years she has established stations at the junction of the Urnan 52 Avitli the Cuyuni, and on the left bank of the Amakuru. With the exception of these and some small police-stations recently set up on the north bank of the Cuyuni, there are not, and never 5 ha^e been any Venezuelan settlements east of Tumeremo. There is thus, in fact, a considerable territory unoccupied between that in the occupation of Great Britain on the one side and Venezuela 10 on the other. 53 CHAPTER VII. Concluding Statement. Eor the purposes of this Chapter, it is assumed that it has been established that Great Britain is entitled to the rivers traversing the territory 5 in dispute from the Amakuru to the Essequiho inclusive. Under these circumstances upon vrhat prin- ciple should a boundary-line be dravrn between the territory of Great Britain and Venezuela ? 10 Upon every principle of international law, Great Britain is entitled to the drainage area traversed by these rivers. The only exception in the application of the rule to the case before the Tribunal is with regard to the territory occupied 15 by the Capuchin Missions which were destroyed in the year 1817. On what ground or upon what principle can Venezuela claim that any arbitrary point should be taken in the drainage area of any one of 20 these rivers as a limit to British territory ? It has been shown that there is no justification for the extravagant contention that by virtue of the Papal Bull or Spanish discovery the "Dutch, and the British as their successors, were not in their 25 operations independent nations entitled to settle and control territory, but are to be regarded as squatters and raiders, entitled after a certain time only to the actual sites of tlieir houses. It should be remeaibered that, as late as 1850, 30 the nearest Venezuelan station was from 30 to 40 miles west of the Amakuru, and her nearest custom-house 70 or 80 miles further up, and on the north bank of the river Orinoco. If the frontier of the Colony is drawn at the Amakuru, 85 Venezuela will still obtain far more than she is entitled legally to claim No reason can possibly be advanced either on historical or on physical grounds for fixing a limit to British territory at any point to the east of 40 the Amakuru, or allowing Venezuelan territory [1878] P 5i to cross that river. Such a boundary would deprive Great Britain of territo)"y she has held as of right, which she has controlled for upwards of ninety years, in which she has 5 established a fixed Government and developed trade, and on which, her subjects have expended large sums of money, and would give it to a country which has never exercised one single act of dominion or ownership in any part of that 10 territory. The first principle then by which the line should be determined is by following the course of the Amakuru to its source, giving the right bank to Great Britain and the left to Venezuela. 15 This would take the boundary-line up a river, which is one of the best of physical boundaries, to the source of the Amakuru in the Imataka range of mountains. J?rom the source of the Amakuru the natural 20 boundary of the territory to which Great ]?ritain is entitled would run along the ridge of the Imatakas to the north-west, following the water- parting between the afiluents of the Cuyuni and those of the Orinoco. As, however, has already 25 been stated, Great Britain admits the projiriety of modifying the boundary so as to give to Venezuela the savannah territory occupied in the last century by the ]\lissions. Giving effect to this modification, Great Britain is entithjd to a 30 frontier which follows the ridge of the Imatakas to the north-west as far as the sources of the Curumo, thence descending that stream to a point situate due eastward of Tumeremo, and then striking due south across country to the 35 junction of the Uruan with the Cuyuni. If the practical difficulties of delimiting a boundary across the country between the Curumo and the Uruan are considered insuperable, the frontier could be carried down the Curumo to its junction 40 with the Cuyuni. This would secure to Vene- zuela every inch of territory which was ever occupied or controlled by or in connection with the Missions. On reaching the Cuyuni the boundary should 15 follow the bed of that river to its source, though such a boundary gives to Venezuela territory to which she can show no title. From the source of the Cuyuni the boundary must be fixed by reference to the physical features of the country 60 in such a way as to give to Great Britain the whole basin of the Massaruni. The determining 55 feature at this portion of the line is the great mountain Roraima, the central point of the watershed, which was discovered by Schomhurek, and since his time has been explored only by British subjects. South of Eoraima, where the 5 watershed between the Essequibo and Rio Branco is not well marked, Great Britain claims a river boundary which would give her not only the whole basin of the Essequibo and its western tributaries, but also a considerable tract to the west of that 10 basin which has been explored only by Dutch and British subjects, and is inhabited by Indians owning British allegiance. This part of the boundary has not yet been delimited as between Great Britain and the Republic of Brazil, but 15 Venezuela cannot with justice put forward any claim to territory south of Mount Roraima. In all this territory there is no record of any kind of occupation or control by Spain, and hardly a trace of even the temporary presence of a single 20 Spaniard. In order to displace the title of Great Britain to the drainage areas of all the rivers between the right bank of the Amakuru and Essequibo and their tributaries, Venezuela must show effective 25 occupation ; and it is only to the extent to Avhich such effective occupation can be shown that the title of Great Britain can be defeated. ISiow tbat the examination of the u hole case is concluded, it is submitted that the title of Great 30 Britain bas been clearly established, not only to the whole of the territory to the east of the Schomburgk line, but also to a great part of the territory coloured purple on the Map at p. -1 of British Atlas. 35 Great Britain claims that the bovmdary line fc' between the Colony of British Guiana and the United States of Venezuela should be drawn so the as to include that territory. '^J^^'fm ^m m>¥m.. '•^iK