EFFECTS AND IMPLICATIONS OF NONFULFILLMENT OF ARTICLE SEVEN -1859 TREATY

After preliminary negotiations in 1929, joint commissioners inspected the original marks set up in 1860 and 1861 at Garbutt's Falls and at Gracias a Dios Falls and replaced these marks with concrete monuments. The two governments, Great Britain and Guatemala, after exchanging notes, agreed that the monuments determined part of the boundary line between British Honduras and the Republic of Guatemala. In 1933, during discussions over the demarcation of the line between these terminal points, Guatemala again raised the question of the bilateral stipulations contained in Article 7' of the Convention of 1859, "and, thus revived, the Anglo-Guatemalan dispute was to assume a new character and a magnitude far wider than the Anglo-Guatemalan dispute of the nineteenth century". (67)

The issue of Article Seven was once more raised by Guatemala, and Britain promised to look into it, but refused to pay part of the Puerto Barrios railway, nor did Guatemala pursue further an idea to build a road from the frontier to Guatemala City. In 1934 Britain offered to build a road from the City of Belize to the frontier at Peten, and that Guatemala would build a connecting road on her side. Guatemala refused to do this because it appeared that the commercial benefits in the region would be absorbed by Belize only. Then in 1936 Britain offered to pay 50,000 pounds to Guatemala but, Guatemala refused to accept anything less than 400,000. pounds.

In 1936 President Jorge Ubico made the following offers to Britain:

1. Britain should pass British Honduras to Guatemala for the sum of 400,000. pounds, or,
2. Britain should pay Guatemala 400,000 pounds and give Guatemala the piece of land up to the Rio Grande, including Punta Gorda (Giving Peten an outlet to the sea), or,
3. Britain should give the strip of land and pay 50,000 pounds with four per cent interest as from 1859.

The British government rejected all three proposals, but repeated its offer of 50,000 pounds, as "His Majestys' Government had no intention of increasing their offer or of abandoning any of the conditions attached to it". (68)