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By our Treaty with the Netherlands of the 17th March, 1824, Her Britannic Majesty only engaged that no British establishment should be made on any of the islands south of the Straits of Singapore, nor any Treaty concluded by British authority with the Chiefs of those islands, but neither the Caroline Islands nor the Pelew Islands are to the south of those straits.
Again, the Protocol signed between this country, Spain, and Germany, on the 11th March, 1877, had sole reference to the Sulu Archipelago, which is situated far to the westward of the Pelew group, and with which it has no connection whatever.
In 1874 the Spanish Consul at Hong Kong put forward a claim to the sovereignty of Spain over the "Caroline or Pelew Islands;" but the Admiralty reported (Colonial Office, the 12th November, 1874), that neither Great Britain nor any other Government claimed sovereignty over them; and, on the 4th March, 1875, the British and German Ministers at Madrid, by direction of their respective Governments, protested to the Spanish Government against the claim which had been advanced by the Spanish Consul at Hong Kong, on the ground that Spain had never exercised any dominion over those islands.
A suggestion was then made, by the British Consul at Manila, that a British ship of war should be sent to the Caroline Islands for the purpose of surveying and making Trade Conventions with the natives; but although Lord Carnarvon saw no objection to the proposal, the idea was not carried out.
In 1876 the Spanish authorities in Manila again put forward the pretension of Spain to sovereignty over the Pelew or Caroline Islands, and as these pretensions interfered with the freedom of trade in those waters, Count Münster (who had brought these facts to the knowledge of Her Majesty's Government) was informed that the British Government was of opinion that the interests of the freedom of trade in the Eastern Archipelago required that these exaggerated pretensions on the part of Spanish officials, with or without the sanction of their Government, should be firmly resisted; and that they were, therefore, prepared to join with the German Government, if the latter should concur, in instructing their Representatives at Madrid to make further and energetic representations against any interference with the free action of the subjects of the two countries, owing to any assumption of sovereignty which was unfounded and which they did not acknowledge; but as the Sulu question was then under discussion, it was determined to await the result of those negotiations before addressing any further protest to the Spanish Government with regard to the Caroline and Pelew Islands.
Q. 2. Are all these islands subject to their own native Chiefs? P4. The Caroline and Pelew Archipelago consists of above forty groups, containing between 300 and 400 islands, and they extend over a space of 1,530 miles.
It is presumed they are subject to their own native Chiefs; but their independence has never been formally acknowledged or guaranteed by this country.
Q. 3. To whom belong such of these islands as are uninhabited?-A. It is difficult to give a satisfactory answer to this question.
Q. 4. What steps should be taken to secure the possession of them?-A. It is difficult to give a satisfactory answer to this question.
Q. 5. Is it known that the Dutch claim the sovereignty over the Pacific, south of 5° north latitude and west of 142° east longitude, including the western part of New Guinea and all the islands adjacent, including St. David's Island, belonging to the Sultan of Tidore, who is said to be under Dutch protection?-A. The boundaries of the Dutch possessions in the Eastern Seas are thus described in a letter from the Acting Consul-General for Netherlands India to the Colonial Secretary at Singapore, dated the 3rd June, 1880:
"En Asie, les Colonies et les possessions du Royaume des Pays-Bas, constituant le territoire des Indes Néerlandaises, sont situées entre 6° latitude septentrionale et 11° latitude méridionale, et entre 95° et 141° longitude orientale (Greenwich).
"Ces Colonies et ces possessions comprennent l'île de Sumatra avec les îles voisines appartenant; les archipels de Bintang ou Riouw et de Lingga; les îles de Karimou, de Tambelan, d'Anambas, et de Natuena; le groupe de Banea et de Billiton, avec les îles environnantes; Java avec Madura et les îlots d'alentour; Bornéo, à l'exception de la partie du côté du nord-ouest et du nord, du Cap Datoe jusqu'à Batoe Zenagat (4° 21′ latitude septentrionale et 117° 53′ longitude orientale) les îles situées autour de Bornéo au Sud de ces deux points; Célèbes et toutes les autres les vers l'est de Borneo et de Java, jusqu'au degré 141 longitude orientale, et vers le midi de l'archipel de Solok et de Mindanao, jusqu'au 11 degré latitude meridionale excepté Timor-Deli."
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It will be seen from the accompanying Map that this general description might include the Island of St. David, to the north of New Guinea, but it is not known for certain whether such was their intention.
At any rate, this description has never been formally accepted by the British Government as accurately describing the Dutch Colonial possessions.
Mr. Langen's previous letter to the Colonial Office is sent herewith.
(Signed) Foreign Office, April 14, 1881.
X
E. HERTSLET.
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In Colonial Office February 13, 188...