WHAT IS GOING ON IN VENEZUELA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7201, 12 September 1901, Page 2

WHAT IS GOING ON IN VENEZUELA.

i COUNTRY OF REVOLUTIONS

(riy GUY H. SCULL, special correspondent of " Collier's Weekly.") There is ivn Republican Government in Venezuela. A mili-toury -dictatorship stands In :.-hc place- of such » Government. Prcsi-de-nt Castro is the dictator — he signs him-st-If supreme chief of t.h.£< Republic, but he has jKver been elected* to wine* — ajnd-the dictator arranges all th'tr.gs for homself. During the early part of AndradVs adtainCstraticn, Pres.ider.it Castro, who was then ja ths position of local politician "up thd State," an-d who had given Valuable as* g.'sta-nce in placing An-drad'e in office, camo to Caracas to receive a just rtfwatrd for his servic-s. President Attdrdde refused, to comply with Castro's demand' for a public appointment, whereupon' Castro strode into the cofrtre of the Plaza Bolivar, and, flow Uhing his hat -above his head, proclaimed to the assembled people that he was then going away, but 'that before a year 'had passed ; he would return, as President ol Vcitfcuela. He -had! declared! to the people t'hiat he would do this 'bhllMg, aiad ho did it. In October, 1899, Castro entered tfh<? capital ait -the head of a victorious army of revc'ltittonists, and. having ousted AndTade from the Yellow House, assumed' complete control of the governmifnit. THE ASPHALT MIX-UP. All thfhgs are "unstable irf this land. A quar uwtee may hold good «o long as the existing administration is in power.. But how long will that adtainistratioli remain in offios'? The roost uncertain of all is the roan wlro sits in -the President's chair. Accordtag to 'Uhe unwritten law regarding the length of the Presidential iterm, Presid-eait Oasbro had 1 little time to lose in gathering in his reward for -the time, funnis atfdi trouble which, he ted ixpcikLd <}-n Lis revolution. The asphalt lake at Guanoco had been oatfefully developed, aod the Venezuelans were beginning to recognise its value. The tax on the exported asphalt was two boliyars (40 cents) on the ton. Ifl lihe long nin this tax would amouiiifc to a substiantyll revenue. Bub how Owng could the admlaMstration count on being in power? During tfoei fifteen months of Mp dtebaiborship, President Castro has devoted considerable time and attention to the New York and Bermudez Company. The story of thci first concession, of this lake and it* subsequent history may be taken as a fair example of the usual method oif prod&dttre here m such cases* Aboutf twenty years ago a man foamed) Hamilton came to this country. He was presentable h* appearance, of quick intelligence, andi giib of. speech, and ;he gained the favour of President Guzman Blanco. He was given by executive decree the exclusive- rights to all mineral and other natural products in the State of Bermudez for -twenty-five years. This decree was Mer ratified by -an -Act of Congress. When Hamilton discovered the existence of the asphalt lake near Guanoco, he sdld ihis concession to the New York and Bermudez Company. Operations on this lake were carried on by the company unmolested until. 1897, when the first signs of the trouble appeared by certain Venezuelaos filling olaiino for parts of the property. Thereupon the company bought in fee simple all the lund eueounding the lake. On Jam 4of tk» -reset year the Government annulled the Hamilton concession, bttb recognised the , rights of the company as proprietors -of the lake. When the aftWr was brought to the High Court . the case was decided against 'the Government, and the Hamilton concession declared valid. Thus the company fad legal rights to the lake both by the concession and by its proprietcTshap. After Castro had made himself dictator, his Minister of Progress conceded to Guerra Marcm'o, a Venezuelan, a definite title to a large slice of the , lake known as the Felicidad mine, and also to another, part of the lake known as the Venezuelan mine. These two mines cc.mprii»e about five-sixths of the entire lake. Mr Sullivan, of the Warner, Quintan, and Sullivan Company, purchased the Felicidad mine for forty thousand dollars without a guarantee of title from Marcano. Thus on the surface the present difficulties appear nothing more than a dispute over the title to a part of the lake carried coi between two American companies. Biit the man who sold the mine to Sullivan had received his title from the Governmsnt. The concession was given to Marcano in total disregard of both the New York and Bermudez Company's rights as proprietors and file decision of the High Court in 1898. And the Venezuelan mine is also v for sale. The Government will guarantee the title. What were the reasons which prompted the Minister of Progress to give these concessions? Just this, President Castro- is dictator in the land. DICTATOR CASTRO'S HUMOROUS WAYS. " And if any affair is brought to the Court?" said an old gentleman, speaking in a low voice and in broken English, " I will tell you a story of the Court. In a trial not long ago a Judge on the Supreme Bench became too" independent. As he left the court-room -he was arrested and put .in prteon. Yen understand, he. was not told why he was arrested. They simply took him to prison, where they kept him for ten days and then let him go. President Castro met the Judge as he entered the court-house. "'Have you been away?' asked the President. 'I have not seen yon about Ihere these last few days.' " • Yes. I have been away.' '"Did you gain good health on your journey?' " ' Yes, good health.' " ' Did you acquire any valuable knowledge V " ' Yes, also some knowledge.' '"And you know now who is master here?' " ' Yes. I know that now.' "'Very well,' concluded the President, 'you may resume your seat on the Bench.' "And you can also see who is master here," added the old gentleman, using the pretext of wiping his spectacles to bend closer. "It is our friend Castro who is dictator—- But £till, it may not always be 80." j The controversy over the asphalt lake | was sufficiently entangled to begin with, but, of course, a revolution must break out ! to further complicate affairs — and this upi rising has occurred in the near neighbourhood of the a*pfcalfc lake. The Government ! has threatened to dispowew the New York | and Bermudez Company, the revolution is i against the Government, whereby, for the time being at least, the Government troops have plenty of work on hand, and the people who comprise the revolutionary forces are hostile to the asphalt company. As to what will be the exact outcome of such a situation it is imposalble to say. The problem of the revolution mustaolve itself according to the erratic customs of this country. Meanwhile no other information comes to Caracas from the uprising other than that carried by word of mouth. All kinds of rumours are being circulated through the town — after dark — and, of course, they receive but little attention. The relationship between the people and the Governmenb may be likened to the attitude which the small boys bear to the firecracker with a defective fuse. The fuse has been lighted, has sputtered, and the spark has disappeared. The small bays stand motionless at a respectful distance. There is a tense stillness over all, while each one wonders how soon will the firecracker explode. The chief talk here concrrns itself with revolutions. But the talk is spoken at night or under cover; revolutions are never mentioned in the open daylight. And from the outside, as if Stretching languidly beneath the warm southern sunshine, the country seems wonderfully contented With itself, and {it peace.

OVER THE HILLS TO CARACAS

A great stillness overhung the sea when the s.s. Maraeaibo p.oug_e«_ thiough the last ■vvaiurs of 'tha Oaribbean, aind' im the lig__- ti a linking sun raised far ahead a hign range of mourajadns which was known as 'th:i northern coast- line cf Venezuela. The night had already come when tht V.SSS.-1, at half steam, ahead, glided past ihe red lig_. at the end of ifche breakwaittr at La Guayra. ( From La Guayra, over the mountain range*, a railway inns to Caracas — a railway whucih has ©ever had _n <aocident. Ycu are first dnformod of (this by a man witb white _air ? white cap, and whito linen suit, Who stand- 'in the bright eunQdght on the stout _>ier as you knd. You are it-tal the same by the cuß'fcoto-'hi-Use i_te_pl*eter, who os au. army officer and haa neglected to feiwiv- j by the driver of .a. (rickety carriage yby itihe pdoaty olad ge_tle_»a_ -who wants a, tip because he told you ; and ihe magi, porter, who carries your trtmk on his head- and A somebody else's parcel in his free _a_d, says, " No smash-up— -never — fine engine." Aiter a oouple of hours or so of swinging cu.ves and gradies you co___ look back ab tihe re-ar -side of the mountain ramge. Thau 6ud_enly the tram g_d_d past some kind of factory, With «. few stray goats grazing on the sunburned grass _bo_b the walls. Them a kpw of dfeby huts wdlth. _il_*d^ roofs wenb by ; then & series of eidimigs, where a few empty cars stood im the _U_-> light ; then the train stopped. "This is Caracas," said a. gentleman sitting nearby. On firsb catering the town the stranger might wondlar why Caracas had been buiit where ib stands. Theire is no particula/r reasomi ivhy it should root have been built there ; nor any apparent reasons why the founders should' have ohosesn. that site. Pethaps, as I ___rd ifc eaid, ib hadl been placed " unde__eajth that star." All reads in Oairaoa- take their beginning from the Plaaa 801-var. You inquire of tho hotel proprietor which is the way to tt* Capitol. . ( "Go to the' _Taaa Boiiv_r,"Jhe say*, " cross over and them turn to your "left." You ask the shopkeeper how to find t_e Pantheon. " At the ofld of this street you wull'eome to the Plaza Bolivar," answers the shflipkeeper. " Then tt__ _> your .right, vraMc past the streets and you aro arrived." Thus it is Avith al given, directions in Caracas. No "matter whetfe you are, no matter wflrtte you wish tb, go, ifc '_• judgect always to be tih- wisest pia_ to walk first to the Plaza Bolivar, amd then snake a fresh start from there. T^his plaza, an open *paark in the very cet. tre of the. city where there aire treed a_d nichly-ooloured grass, affords a strong contrast to the raarn-w, unclean -trjfcte, t_e blank doorways, the ivhite ond barren w__s, the fiexce sunlight a_d the !be_t-d _tae_s; and iri the plaza ebai&ds a statue of the patriot Bolivar himself, seated on a Maying stalMom, his bared imd tm*tted one Hide toward, an imaginary mu__bu_e, ahdt ■Vreth just such an. f_presskini on _js face as who shoulu say, " We_, what of it?" When viewed from one of the furroundiiag hills the town appeal's flat and ckwfe to tihe ground — j«st a level stretch of hro-wii-tmbed roofs, broken only here -md there by \ the domes on the opera, house and the Capitol, and tho spire- of the __Vefcal ! churches, ibut toward where tbe mountainbegin to rise again are situated the summer dwellings of -otao of the mere influei-fcial | Venezuelan*. (Mr Loftmas, the Unitfrd J Slates Mi-iuster, _£_<__ i_> one of these-r— an old Spanish vife fortfterly owned by ' the Count do Toro — whsre there are lawns trcd tropical gardteoa and an avenue of royal palms. The city needs a new coat of paint. Even the walls of the Capitol are badly blistered. Those houses where attempts have been made to relieve the glaring whiteness of the predominant stucco walls have been painted in light colours, which have faded — faded brown, faded green, and faded pink. It is a pale city which lies half asleep in the strong sunlight. A certain period is remembered here during which the streets were well' paved. If when out driving at home you Come to a place where the road is being repaired, you know how the carriage bumps and swings. That is a slight exaggeration of the general condition of these streets at present. The open market, which is held every morning, is chiefly composed of people, vegetables and flies. The vendors arrange their vegetables dv little piles im the street; the flies arrange themselves on the vegetables. If a vendor sells some onions he .picks ithem from his Stock on the ground, thereby disturbing that particular mass of flies, which rise up with a quick swish and buzzing. There are flies around the basket of hard-boiled eggs, which are eaten on the spot; a fringe of flies about the puddle of milk that has 'been spilled on the sidewalk ; flies crawling over the body of the cur 'terrier asleep in. the shade of an old box. The earthquake shook of last October may account in part for the worn-out appearanoe ofHhe town; but the earthquake has nothing to do with the vegetables and the fifes. When night came all this was changed. The air became cold Eke a summer evening on the eastern coast at home when the wind blows fresh from the sea. A round moon lifted clear above the crest of the mountain range. Because it was Sunday evening the military hand played in the Plasa Bolivar, and the people gathered there to listen. Some of them hired chair**, whioh were used in the place of benches ; moat of them wandered slowly up and down. REVOLUTIONS THE CHIEF RECREATION IN VENEZUELA. In & neighbouring seat at a neighbouring table sab _ man who knew the nature of this land. He spoke of involutions. "Trouble may break out right here in the capital to-morrow. Yet it may -take months before the revolution is strong enough to come here. They have failed to hold Oarupano. And they must capture some port to geb arans frqm outside." The band had stopped" playing. The people were leaving the .plaaa. Although by this time the cafe was almost deserted, the man never raised his voice above the level tone in which he had begun to speak. He could Rarely be heard across the email table, _nd\e was bending over so that a button on his coat clicked constantly against the rim of his beer glass. Then the man continued to tell of formetroubles; of the time when Puerto Cabello was attacked ab night, and when the sun rose three hundred men were seen lying dead; spoke of the way im which a revolution gathered power; told of the battle between Castro and Andrade, when the generals of the latter had, been bought by. Castro, and, instead of charging, as they were ordered to do, they retreated. The bartender began putting up the shutters to cover the rows of bottles^ The empty glasses were collected and rinsed behind the bar.

"Castro — the little monkey," said the man. "He also won't last long. None of them last long. Bub the revolutionists, they don't know what they want. They want a cban*e, they know that. Yet the next man wul be just as bad! as Castro. A President is only in office a short while, and of course he takes what he can get. You would say that the_e is no hope for t_is country. Another man may come tomorrow, lb will be just the same. Today our Castro is in power. You cannot stop him, for Castro is dictator."