EXTRACTS FROM BRITISH GUIANA—BRAZIL BOUNDARY ARBITRATION.
BRITSH CASE. Chapter IX. (Discussion of the Watershed Doctrine).
pp. 127.Again in 1861 Twiss in his work on the “Law of Nations,” after referring at length to the Oregon case, continues in the following words :—
“It is obvious that a claim to all the lands watered by a river and its tributaries, founded on the discovery and occupation of the mouth of the river, must conflict with a claim to all the inland territory as far as the line of watershed, founded in the discovery and occupation of an extent of seacoast, about which latter position of Law there is no dispute amongst Nations.”
pp. 128.in 1867 Bluntschli stated the following proposition as part of his code :—
Lorsque les colons commencent par prendre possession des rivages de la mer, on admet que cette prise de possession comprend toute la partie de la terre ferme qui, par sa situation et spécialement par les fleuves qui la traversent, est reliée a la côte de manière à former avec celle-ci un ensemble naturel.
p. 138.One of the most important matters for enquiry in regard to occupation on the upper waters of a river-basin is this : how far is access to these upper waters obtained from the country beyond the watershed, and how far, on the other hand, does the river itself afford the means of communication with the outer world ?