Whilst the Protocol was being signed in Washington the American troops were entrenched about 350 yards from the Spaniards, who were prepared to make their last stand at the Fort San Antonio Abad (Malate). From the morning of that day there were apparent signs of an intended sortie by the Spaniards, and, in view of this, the rebels marched towards the American lines, but were requested to withdraw. Indeed, the native forces were only too anxious to co-operate with the American troops, or at least, to have the semblance of doing so, in order to justify their claim to enter the beleaguered city as allies of the invaders. General Merritt, however, discouraged any such alliance, and issued precise orders to his subordinate officers to avoid, as much as possible, all negotiation with the Aguinaldo party.

Why the Spaniards were still holding the city of Manila at this date is perhaps best understood by the Americans. To the casual observer it would have appeared expedient to have made the possession of Manila a fait accompli before the Protocol of Peace was signed. The Americans had a large and powerful fleet in Manila Bay; they were in possession of Cavite, the arsenal and forts, and they had a large army under Maj.-General Merritt and his staff. General Augusti was, for weeks previous, personally disposed to surrender, and only refused to do so as a matter of form, hence the same means as were finally employed could apparently have brought about the same result at an earlier date. [201] The only hope the Spaniards could entertain was a possible benefit to be derived from international complication. From the tone of several of the Captain-General's despatches, published in Madrid, one may deduce that capitulation to a recognized Power would have relieved him of the tremendous anxiety as to what would befall the city if the rebels did enter. It is known that, before the bombardment, Admiral Dewey and his colleagues had given the humane and considerate assurance that the city should not be left to the mercy of the revolutionary forces.

The next day, Saturday, August 13, the Americans again demanded the surrender of the city within an hour, which was refused, according to Spanish custom. Without the slenderest hope of holding the city against the invaders, the Spaniards preconcerted a human sacrifice, [202] under the fallacious impression that the salvation of their honour demanded it, and operations commenced at 9.45 a.m. The ships present at the attack were the Olympia (flagship), Monterey, Raleigh, McCulloch, Petrel, Charleston, Baltimore, Boston, and Concord, with the little gunboat Rapido, and the captured (Spanish) gunboat Callao, and the armed steam-launch Barcelo. The Concord watched the Fort Santiago at the Pasig River entrance. The American commanders confined the bombardment to the forts and trenches situated to the south of the city. The whole of the walled city and the trading quarter of Binondo were undamaged. The fighting-line was led by the Olympia, which sent 4-inch shells in the direction of the fort at Malate (San Antonio de Abad). A heavy shower of rain made it difficult to get the range, and every shell fell short. The Petrel then took up position and shelled the fort with varying result, followed by the Raleigh. The Rapido and the Callao, being of light draught, were able to lie close in shore and pour in a raking fire from their small-calibre guns with considerable effect. The distance between the ships and the fort was about 3,500 yards, and, as soon as this was correctly ascertained, the projectiles had a telling effect on the enemy's battery and earthworks. The Olympia hurled about 70 5-inch shells and 16 8-inch shells, and the Petrel and the Raleigh about the same number each. There was rather a heavy wash in the bay for the little Callao and the Barcelo, but they were all the time capering about, pouring a hail of small shell whenever they had a chance. The Spaniards at Malate returned the fire and struck the Callao without doing any damage. The transport Zafiro lay between the fighting-line and the shore, having on board General Merritt, his staff, and a volunteer regiment. The transport Kwonghoi was also in readiness with a landing-party of troops on board. In another steamer were the correspondents of the London Times and New York Herald, and the special artists of the Century Magazine and the Herald. The field artillery took no part in the operations. The shelling of the Fort San Antonio Abad from the ships lasted until about 11 a.m., when the general signal was given to cease firing. One shell, from Malate, reached the American camp. The firing from the ships had caused the Spaniards to fall back. General Greene then ordered the 1st Colorado to advance. Two companies deployed over a swamp and went along the beach under cover of the Utah Battery. Two other companies advanced in column towards the Spanish entrenchments with colours flying and bands of music playing lively tunes. The first and second companies fired volleys to cover the advance of the other columns. They crossed the little creek, near Malate, in front of the fort; then, by rushes, they reached the fort, which they entered, followed by the other troops, only to find it deserted. The Spaniards had retreated to a breastwork at the rear of the fort, where they kept up a desultory fire at the Colorado troops, killing one man and wounding several. Fort San Antonio Abad was now in possession of the 1st Colorado under Lieut.-Colonel McCoy, who climbed up the flagstaff, hauled down the Spanish flag, and hoisted the Stars and Stripes amidst cheers from the army and fleet.

Four companies of the 1st Colorado advanced across the fields, entered the Spanish trenches, crossed the bridge, and moved up the road, the Spaniards still keeping up an ineffective fire from long range.

The 3rd Colorado came up with a band of music, and then the whole regiment deployed in skirmishing order and maintained a continual rifle fire until they halted on the Luneta Esplanade. The band took up a position in an old Spanish trench and played as the troops filed past along the beach. The Spaniards were gradually falling back on the city, and the rebels who were located near the Spanish lines continued the attack; but the Americans gave them the order to cease firing, which they would not heed. The Americans thereupon turned their guns upon the rebels, who showed an inclination to fight. Neither, however, cared to fire the first shot; so the rebels, taking another road, drove the Spaniards, in confusion, as far as Ermita, when Emilio Aguinaldo ordered his men to cease firing as they were just outside the city walls. The rebel commander had received strict orders not to let his forces enter Manila. The American troops then developed the attack, the Spaniards making, at first, a stubborn resistance, apparently for appearance' sake, for the fight soon ended when the Spaniards in the city hoisted the white flag on a bastion of the old walls. Orders were then given to cease firing, and by one o'clock the terms of capitulation were being negotiated. General F. V. Greene then sent an order to the troops for the rear regiments to muster on the Luneta Esplanade, and there half the American army waited in silent expectation. The Spanish entrenchments extended out from the city walls in different directions as far as three miles. The defenders were about 2,500 in number, composed of Spanish regular troops, volunteers, and native auxiliaries; about the same number of troops being in the hospitals inside the city. The opponent force amounted to about 15,000 rebels and 10,000 Americans ashore and afloat. The attacking guns threw heavier shot and had a longer range than the Spanish artillery. The Americans were also better marksmen than the Spaniards. They were, moreover, better fed and in a superior condition generally. The Americans were buoyed up with the moral certainty of gaining an easy victory, whereas the wearied Spaniards had long ago despaired of reinforcements coming to their aid; hence their defence in this hopeless struggle was merely nominal for "the honour of the country."

For some time after the white flag was hoisted there was street-fighting between the rebels and the loyals. The rattle of musketry was heard all round the outskirts. The rebels had taken 300 to 400 Spanish prisoners and seized a large quantity of stores. General Basilio Augusti, who was personally averse to useless bloodshed, relinquished his command of the Colony about a week prior to the capitulation. Just before the attack on the city he went on board a German steam-launch which was waiting for him and was conveyed to the German cruiser Kaiserin Augusta, which at once steamed out of the bay northwards. General Fermin Jaudenes remained as acting-Captain-General. [203] Brig.-General of Volunteers and Insp.-General Charles A. Whittier and Lieutenant Brumby then went ashore in the Belgian Consul's launch, and on landing they were met by an interpreter, Carlos Casademunt, and two officers, who accompanied them to the house of the acting-Captain-General, with whom the draft terms of capitulation were agreed upon. In his evidence before the Peace Commission at Paris, General Whittier said: "I think the Captain-General was much frightened. He reported in great trepidation that the insurgents were coming into the city, and I said that I knew that that was impossible because such precautions had been taken as rendered it so. "His fear and solicitude about the natives entering the city when I received the surrender of Manila were almost painful to witness." Lieutenant Brumby returned to Admiral Dewey to report, and again went ashore with General Merritt. In the meantime General Jaudenes had taken refuge in the sacristy of a church which was filled with women and children, presumably with the wise object of keeping clear of the unrestrained mobs fighting in the suburbs. For some time the Spanish officers refused to reveal his whereabouts, but eventually he and General Merritt met, and on August 14 the terms of the Capitulation were signed between General Nicolas de la Pena y Cuellas and Colonels Jose Maria Olaguer Tellin and Carlos Rey y Rich, as Commissioners for Spain, and Generals F. V. Greene and Charles A. Whittier, Colonel Crowder, and Captain Lamberton, U.S.N., as Commissioners for the United States. The most important conditions embodied in the Capitulation are as follows, viz.:

1. The surrender of the Philippine Archipelago.

2. Officers to be allowed to retain their swords and personal effects, but not their horses.

3. Officers to be prisoners of war on parole.

4. The troops to be prisoners of war and to deposit their arms at a place to be appointed by General Merritt.

5. All necessary supplies for their maintenance to be provided from the public Treasury funds, and after they are exhausted, by the United States.

6. All public property to be surrendered.

7. The disposal of the troops to be negotiated, later on, by the United States and Spanish Governments.

8. Arms to be returned to the troops at General Merritt's discretion.



The Capitulation having been signed, Lieutenant Brumby immediately went to Fort Santiago with two signalmen from the Olympia and lowered the Spanish flag, which had been flying there all day. Many Spanish officers and a general crowd from the streets stood around, and as he drew near to the flagstaff he was hissed by the onlookers. When the orange-and-red banner was actually replaced by the Stars and Stripes, many in the crowd shed tears. The symbol of Spanish sovereignty had disappeared for ever. The attitude of the mob was not reassuring, so Lieutenant Brumby asked an infantry officer who was present to bring his detachment as a guard. A company of infantry happened to be coming along, and presented arms, whilst the band, playing "The Star-spangled Banner," enlivened this dramatic ceremony. Whilst this was going on the Spaniards hoisted the Spanish flag on the transport Cebu and brought it down to the mouth of the Pasig River, where they set fire to it. A party of American marines boarded her, hauled down the Spanish flag, and tried to save the hull, but it was too far consumed. The Spaniards also destroyed barges and other Government property lying in the river.

In the official reports furnished by Generals T. M. Anderson and A. McArthur and published in America, the total casualties on the American side are stated to be as follows, viz.:—On August 13, five killed and 43 wounded. Previous to this in the trenches there were 14 killed and 60 wounded, making a total of 122.

The approximate number of European Spanish troops in the Archipelago during the year 1898 would stand thus:—

Total of troops under Gen. Primo de Rivera in January, 1898, say 25,000 Shipped back to Spain by Gen. Primo de Rivera after Aguinaldo's withdrawal to Hong-Kong (vide p. 400) 7,000

At the date of the Capitulation of Manila

Prisoners (regular troops) in hands of the rebels 8,000 Detachments in the Luzon Provinces (subsequently surrendered to, or killed by, the rebels) 1,000 Killed or mortally wounded in general combat 1,000 Wounded and diseased in Manila hospitals 2,600 Approximate total in Visayas and Mindanao Island (General Rios' jurisdiction) 3,000 Approximate total of able-bodied troops in Manila, prisoners of war (to America), up to December 10, 1898 2,400

25,000

General F. V. Greene marched his troops down the Calzada and entered the walled city, where he massed his forces. Sentinels were placed at all the city gates; some rebels got inside the city, but were disarmed and sent out again. At 7 p.m. the American troops took up their quarters in public buildings, porches, and even on the streets, for they were tired out. One might have imagined it to be a great British festival, for the streets were bedecked everywhere with the British colours displayed by the Chinese who were under British protection. That night General Merritt, General Greene and the staff officers were served at dinner by the late Captain-General's servants in the Town Hall (Plaza de la Catedral), the splendid marble entrance of which became temporarily a depot for captured arms, ammunition, and accoutrements of war.

No hostile feeling was shown by Spaniards of any class. The inhabitants of the city looked remarkably well after the 105 days' siege. Trade was absolutely at a standstill, and American troops were drafted out of the walled city to occupy the commercial quarter of Binondo on the opposite side of the river. The government of the city was at once taken over by Maj.-General Wesley Merritt, appointments being made by him to the principal departments as follows, viz.:—

By General Order dated August 15, Brig.-General T. M. Anderson became Commandant of the Cavite district, the garrison of which would be increased on the arrival of the transports on the way. Brig.-General Arthur McArthur became Military Commandant of the walled city of Manila and Provost-Marshal of the city of Manila, including all the suburbs, his barracks and staff-quarters to be within the walled city. The Commandant was to take over the offices, staff, and functions of the late Civil Governor. Colonel Ovenshine became Deputy Provost-Marshal of the walled city south of the river; Colonel James S. Smith was appointed Deputy Provost-Marshal of Binondo and all districts situated north of the river.

By General Order dated August 16, Brig.-General F. V. Greene became Treasurer-General; Brig.-General of Volunteers C. A. Whittier was nominated Commissioner of Customs.

By General Order dated August 15, it was provided that within 10 days a complete list should be sent to Washington of all public establishments and properties of every description, including horses; that all private property, including horses, would be respected, and that lodging for the prisoners of war would be provided by the Military Commandant of the city in the public buildings and barracks not required for the American troops. Colonel C. M. C. Reeve was appointed Chief of Police, with the 13th Regiment of Volunteer Minnesota Infantry for this service.

On August 16 a notice was placarded outside the General Post Office to the effect that, as all the Spanish staff had refused to work for the Americans, the local and provincial correspondence could not be attended to. This was, however, soon remedied.

In an order issued on August 22 it was enacted that all natives and all Spanish soldiers were to be disarmed before they were admitted into the walled city. The insurgent troops were included in the above category, but their arms were restored to them on their leaving the city. An exception was made in favour of the insurgent officers, from the grade of lieutenant upwards, who were permitted to enter and leave Manila with their swords and revolvers.

On August 25 a provisional agreement was entered into between the American authorities and Emilio Aguinaldo, to remain in force pending the result of the Paris Peace Commission, whereby their respective spheres were defined. The Americans retained jurisdiction over Manila City, Binondo, the right bank of the Pasig River up to the Calzada de Iris and thence to Malacanan, which was included. The remaining districts were necessarily in the hands of the rebels, there being no recognized independent government in Luzon other than the American military occupation of the capital and environs.

Towards the end of August, the American Commander-in-Chief, Maj.-General Wesley Merritt, quitted the Islands in order to give evidence before the Peace Commission at Paris, after having appointed General E. S. Otis to be the first Military Governor of Manila.

The British Consul, Mr. E. A. Rawson Walker, who had rendered such excellent service to both the contending parties, died of dysentery in the month of August, and was buried at Paco cemetery.

Philippine refugees returned to the Islands in large numbers, but the American authorities notified the Consul in Hong-Kong that only those Chinese who could prove to his satisfaction previous residence in Manila would be allowed to return there.

Trading operations were resumed immediately after the capitulation, and the first shipment of cigars made after that date was a parcel of 140,000 exported to Singapore in the first week of September and consigned to the Tabaqueria Universal. Business in Manila, little by little, resumed its usual aspect. The old Spanish newspapers continued to be published, and some of them, especially El Comercio, were enterprising enough to print alternate columns of English and Spanish, and, occasionally, a few advertisements in very amusing broken English. Two rebel organs, La Independencia and La Republica Filipina, soon appeared. They were shortly followed by a number of periodicals of minor importance, such as El Soldado Espanol, La Restauracion (a Carlist organ), The Kon Leche, El Cometa and El Motin (satirical papers) and two American papers, viz., The Manila American and The Manila Times. Liberty of the press was such a novelty in Manila that La Voz Espanola over-stepped the bounds of prudence and started a press campaign against the Americans. Delgado, the editor, after repeated warnings from the Provost-Marshal, was at length arrested. The paper was suppressed for abusing the Americans from the President downwards, and publishing matter calculated to incite the Spanish inhabitants to riot. The capital was seething with opposition to the new conditions; many were arrested, but few lamented the incarceration, for the prison was the porch which led to fame, and through it all who were ambitious to rise from obscurity had to pass. Moreover, imprisonment (for mere trifles) was such a commonplace event in Spanish times that no native lost caste by the experience of it, unless it were for a heinous crime which shocked his fellows. Meanwhile, in the public ways and the cafes and saloons, altercations between the three parties, Spanish, native, and American, were of frequent occurrence.

For some weeks before the capitulation there had been a certain amount of friction between the American soldiery and the rebels, who resented being held in check by the American authorities. Emilio Aguinaldo had his headquarters at Bacoor, on the Cavite coast, situated between two divisions of the American army, one at Cavite and the other at Manila, and within easy shelling distance from the American fleet. For obvious reasons he decided to remove his centre of operations, for it was becoming doubtful how long peace between the two parties would continue. The rebels had been sorely disappointed that they were not allowed to enter Manila with the Americans, or even before, for since the first few months of the rebellion they had pictured to themselves the delights of a free raid on the city. Aguinaldo therefore removed his headquarters to a place three miles north of Manila, but General Otis requested him to go farther away from the capital. As he hesitated to do so the General sent him an ultimatum on September 13 ordering him to evacuate that place by the afternoon of the 15th, so during the night of the 14th Aguinaldo moved on with his troops to Malolos. From this town, situate about 20 miles from Manila, he could better unite and control the rebel factions here and there over the northern provinces; he could, moreover, either make use of the line of railway or cut off the connection with Manila, or he could divert supplies from the rich rice districts and Pangasinan ports, whilst the almost impregnable mountains were of easy access in case of need.

Aguinaldo declared Malolos to be the provisional capital of his Revolutionary Government, and convened a Congress to meet there on September 15 in the church of Barasoain. [204] Fifty-four deputies responded to the summons, and in conformity with Aguinaldo's proclamation of June 23 they proceeded to elect a President of Congress, Vice-President, Secretaries, etc. The result of the voting was a remarkable event of the revolution. Don Pedro A. Paterno was elected President of Congress! The man whom the revolutionists had, less than four months before, so satirically admonished for his leaning towards Spanish sovereignty, was chosen to guide the political destinies of this budding democracy and preside over their republican legislative body! Deputies Benito Legarda and Ocampo were chosen to be Vice-President and Secretary respectively. Congress voted for Aguinaldo a salary of P50,000 and P25,000 for representation expenses. These figures were afterwards reversed, i.e., P25,000 salary, and P50,000 for expenses; but Aguinaldo, who never showed any desire for personal gain, was quite willing to set aside the vote. A decree in Congress, dated September 21, imposed compulsory military service on every able-bodied Philippine male over 18 years of age, except those holding office under the Revolutionary Government. At an early session of Congress Deputy Tomas del Rosario made a long speech advocating Church Disestablishment. [205]

The night before Congress met to announce the election of President, etc., an attempt was made to poison Emilio Aguinaldo. Dinner was about to be served to him; the soup was in the tureen, when one of the three Spanish prisoners who were allowed to be about the kitchen tasted the soup in a manner to arouse suspicion. The steward at once took a spoonful of it and fell dead on the spot. The three prisoners in question, as well as 11 Franciscan friars, were consequently placed in close confinement. At the next sitting of Congress the incident was mentioned and it was resolved to go en masse to congratulate Aguinaldo on his lucky escape. At 5 p.m. the same day a Te Deum was sung in Malolos Church anent this occurrence.

On October 1 the Ratification of Philippine Independence was proclaimed at Malolos with imposing ceremony. From 6 a.m. the Manila (Tondo) railway-station was besieged by the crowd of sightseers on their way to the insurgent capital (Malolos), which was en fete and gaily decorated with flags for the triumphal entry of General Emilio Aguinaldo, who walked to the Congress House attired in a dress suit, with Don Pedro A. Paterno on his right and Don Benito Legarda on his left, followed by other representative men of the Revolutionary Party, amidst the vociferous acclamations of the people and the strains of music. After the formal proclamation was issued the function terminated with a banquet given to 200 insurgent notabilities. This day was declared by the Malolos Congress to be a public holiday in perpetuity.

By virtue of Article 3 of the Protocol of Peace the Americans were in possession of the city, bay, and harbour of Manila pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace. The terms of peace were referred to a Spanish-American Commission, which met in Paris on October 1, five commissioners and a secretary being appointed by each of the High Contracting Parties. The representatives of the United States were the Hon. William R. Day, of Ohio, ex-Secretary of State, President of the American Commission; Senator Cushman K. Davis, of Minnesota; Senator William P. Frye, of Maine; Senator George Gray, of Delaware; and the Hon. Whitelaw Reid, of New York, ex-Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States in France, assisted by the Secretary and Counsel to their Commission, Mr. John Bassett Moore, an eminent professor of international law. The Spanish Commissioners were Don Eugenio Montero Rios, Knight of the Golden Fleece, President of the Senate, ex-Cabinet Minister, etc., President of the Spanish Commission; Senator Don Buenaventura Abarzuza, ex-Ambassador, ex-Minister, etc.; Don Jose de Garnica y Diaz, a lawyer; Don Wenceslao Ramirez de Villa-Urrutia, Knight of the Orders of Isabella the Catholic and of Charles III., etc., Minister Plenipotentiary to the Belgian Court; and General Don Rafael Cerero y Saenz, assisted by the Secretary to their Commission, Don Emilio de Ojeda, Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Morocco. The conferences were held in a suite of apartments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, placed at their disposal by M. Delcasse. Among other questions to be agreed upon and embodied in the treaty was the future of the Philippines. For Washington officials these Islands really constituted a terra incognita. Maj.-General Merritt and a number of other officials went to Paris to give evidence before the Commission. At their request, conveyed to me through the American Embassy, I also proceeded to Paris in October and expressed my views before the Commissioners, who examined me on the whole question. The Cuban debts and the future of the Philippines were really the knotty points in the entire debate. The Spanish Commissioners argued (1) that the single article in the Protocol relating to the Philippines did not imply a relinquishment of Spanish sovereignty over those Islands, but only a temporary occupation of the city, bay, and harbour of Manila by the Americans pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace. (2) That the attack on Manila, its capitulation, and all acts of force consequent thereon, committed after the Protocol was signed, were unlawful because the Protocol stipulated an immediate cessation of hostilities; therefore the Commissioners claimed indemnity for those acts, a restoration to the status quo ante, and "the immediate delivery of the place (Manila) to the Spanish Government" (vide Annex to Protocol No. 12 of the Paris Peace Commission conference of November 3).

The American Commissioners replied: (1) "It is the contention on the part of the United States that this article leaves to the determination of the treaty of peace the entire subject of the future government and sovereignty of the Philippines necessarily embodied in the terms used in the Protocol." (2) It is erroneous to suggest "that the ultimate demands of the United States in respect of the Philippines were embodied in the Protocol." (3) That there was no cable communication with Manila, hence the American commanders could not possibly have been informed of the terms of the Protocol on the day of its signature. The Spanish Commissioners, nevertheless, tenaciously persisting in their contention, brought matters to the verge of a resumption of hostilities when the American Commissioners presented what was practically an ultimatum, in which they claimed an absolute cession of the Islands, offering, however, to pay to Spain $20,000,000 gold, to agree, for a term of years, to admit Spanish ships and merchandise into the Islands on the same terms as American ships and merchandise, and to mutually waive all claims for indemnity—(vide Annex to Protocol No. 15 of the Paris Peace Commission conference of November 21).

For a few days the Spaniards still held out, and to appease public feeling in the Peninsula a fleet under Admiral Camara was despatched, ostensibly to the Philippines. It was probably never intended that the fleet should go beyond Port Said, for on its arrival there it was ordered to return, the official explanation to the indignant Spanish public being that America was preparing to seize the Archipelago by force, if necessary, and send a fleet to Spanish waters under the command of Admiral Watson. Sagasta's Government had not the least intention of letting matters go so far as that, but it suited the Spanish Cabinet, already extremely unpopular, to make an appearance of resistance. Moreover, Senor Sagasta had personal motives for wishing to protract the negotiations, the examination of which would lead one too far away from the present subject into Spanish politics.

At the next conference of the Commission the demands of the Americans were reluctantly conceded, and the form in which the treaty was to be drafted was finally settled. The sitting of the Commission was terminated by the reading of a strongly-worded protest by Senor Montero Rios in which the Spanish Commissioner declared that they had been compelled to yield to brute force and abuse of international law against which they vehemently protested. The secretaries of the respective Commissions were then instructed to draw up the document of the Treaty of Peace, which was signed at 9 p.m. on Saturday, December 10, 1898, in the Grand Gallery of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris. The expenses of the Spanish Commission amounted to L8,400. A delay of six months was agreed upon for the ratification by the two Governments of the treaty, the text of which is given at the end of this chapter. America undertook to establish equal duties on Spanish and American goods for a period of ten years; but it subsequently transpired that this was no special boon to Spain, seeing that America declared shortly after the signing of the treaty that there would be no preferential tariff, and that merchandise of all nations could enter the Islands at the same rate of duty and on equal terms with America. The clauses of the treaty relating to the Philippines met with determined opposition in the United States, where politicians were divided into three parties advocating respectively annexation, protection, and abandonment of the Islands to the natives.

At the closing conferences of the Commission several additional clauses to the treaty were proposed by the one party and the other and rejected. Among the most singular are the following:—The Spaniards proposed that America should pay annually to the descendants of Christopher Columbus $7,400 to be charged to the treasuries of Porto Rico and Manila. The Americans proposed that Spain should concede to them the right to land telegraph-cables in the Canary Islands, or on any territory owned by Spain on the coast of Africa, or in the Peninsula, in consideration of a cash payment of one million gold dollars.

We must now go back to September to follow the thread of events which intervened from that period and during the 71 days' sitting of the Peace Commission in Paris. My old acquaintance Felipe Agoncillo was sent to Washington in September by Emilio Aguinaldo to solicit permission from the American Government to represent the rebels' cause on the Paris Commission, or, failing this, to be allowed to state their case. The Government, however, refused to recognize him officially, so he proceeded to Paris. Having unsuccessfully endeavoured to be heard before the Commission, he drew up a protest in duplicate, handing a copy to the Spanish and another to the American Commissioners. The purport of this document was that whereas the Americans had supplied the Filipinos with war-material and arms to gain their independence and not to fight against Spain in the interests of America, and whereas America now insisted on claiming possession of the Archipelago, he protested, in the name of Emilio Aguinaldo, against what he considered a defraudment of his just rights. His mission led to nothing, so he returned to Washington to watch events for Aguinaldo. After the treaty was signed in Paris he was received at the White House, where an opportunity was afforded him of stating the Filipinos' views; but he did not take full advantage of it, and returned to Paris, where I met him in July, 1900, holding the position of "High Commissioner for the Philippine Republic." His policy was, then, "absolute independence, free of all foreign control." In 1904 we met again in Hong-Kong, where he was established as a lawyer.

In this interval, too, matters in Manila remained in statu quo so far as the American occupation was concerned. General E. S. Otis was still in supreme command in succession to General Merritt, and reinforcements were arriving from America to strengthen the position. General Otis's able administration wrought a wonderful change in the city. The weary, forlorn look of those who had great interests at stake gradually wore off; business was as brisk as in the old times, and the Custom-house was being worked with a promptitude hitherto unknown in the Islands. There were no more sleepless nights, fearing an attack from the dreaded rebel or the volunteer. The large majority of foreign (including Spanish) and half-caste Manila merchants showed a higher appreciation of American protection than of the prospect of sovereign independence under a Philippine Republic. On the other hand, the drunken brawls of the American soldiers in the cafes, drinking-shops, and the open streets constituted a novelty in the Colony. Drinking "saloons" and bars monopolized quite a fifth of the stores in the principal shopping street, La Escolta, where such unruliness obtained, to the detriment of American prestige, that happily the Government decided to exclude those establishments altogether from that important thoroughfare, which has since entirely regained its respectable reputation. The innovation was all the more unfortunate because of the extremely bad impression it made on the natives and Spaniards, who are remarkably abstemious. It must also have been the cause of a large percentage of the sickness of the American troops (wrongly attributed to climate), for it is well known that inebriety in the Philippines is the road to death. With three distinct classes of soldiers in Manila—the Americans, the rebels, and the Spanish prisoners—each living in suspense, awaiting events with divergent interests, there were naturally frequent disputes and collisions, sometimes of a serious nature, which needed great vigilance to suppress.

The German trading community observed that, due to the strange conduct of the commanders of the German fleet, who showed such partiality towards the Spaniards up to the capitulation of Manila, the natives treated them with marked reticence. The Germans therefore addressed a more than ample letter of apology on the subject to the newspaper La Independencia (October 17).

As revolutionary steamers were again cruising in Philippine waters, all vessels formerly flying the Spanish flag were hastily placed on the American register to secure the protection of the Stars and Stripes, and ex-Consul Oscar F. Williams was deputed to attend to these and other matters connected with the shipping trade of the port.

It was yet theoretically possible that the Archipelago might revert to Spain; hence pending the deliberations of the Peace Commission, no movement was made on the part of the Americans to overthrow the de facto Spanish Government still subsisting in the southern islands. General Fermin Jaudenes, the vanquished Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish forces in Manila (Sub-Inspector until General Augusti left), was liberated on parole in the capital until the first week of October, when the American Government allowed him to return to Spain. He left in the s.s. Esmeralda for Hong-Kong on October 15. Meanwhile, a month before, the Spanish Government appointed General Diego de los Rios Gov.-General of the Philippines, with residence at Yloilo. Spaniards of all classes were at least personally safe in Manila under American protection. All who could reach the capital did so, for Spanish sway in the provinces was practically at an end. Aguinaldo therefore directed his attention both to matters of government in Luzon and to the control of the southern islands.

Neither the Filipinos nor the Spaniards could foresee that the evacuation by the Spaniards of all the Islands would be insisted upon by the American Commissioners in Paris. Moreover, it was no easy task for Aguinaldo to maintain his own personal prestige (an indispensable condition in all revolutions), carry out his own plans of government, and keep together, in inactivity, a large half-disciplined fighting force. Three weeks after the capitulation of Manila, Aguinaldo sent several small vessels to the Island of Panay, carrying Luzon rebels to effect a landing and stir up rebellion in Visayas. He was anxious to secure all the territory he could before the conditions of peace should be settled in Paris, in the hope that actual possession would influence the final issue. General Rios was therefore compelled to enter on a new campaign, assisted by the small gunboats which had remained south since hostilities commenced north in May. Spanish troops were sent to Singapore en routefor Yloilo, and then a question arose between Madrid and Washington as to whether they could be allowed to proceed to their destination under the peace Protocol. The Tagalog rebels landed in the province of Antique (Panay Is.), and a few natives of the locality joined them. They were shortly met by the Spanish troops, and severe fighting took place in the neighbourhood of Bugason, where the rebels were ultimately routed with great loss of men and impedimenta.

The survivors fled to their vessels and landed elsewhere on the same coast. In several places on the Island the flag of rebellion had been unfurled, and General Rios' troops showed them no quarter. At the end of six weeks the rebels had been beaten in numerous encounters, without the least apparent chance of gaining their objective point—the seizure of Yloilo. In the Concepcion district (East Panay) the rebel chief Perfecto Poblado took the command, but gained no victory with his following of 4,000 men. So far, what was happening in the Islands, other than Luzon, did not officially concern the Americans.

About this time, in Manila, there was by no means that entente cordiale which should have existed between the rebels and the Americans, supposing them to be real allies. In reality, it was only in the minds of the insurgents that there existed an alliance, which the Americans could not, with good grace, have frankly repudiated, seeing that General T. M. Anderson was frequently soliciting Aguinaldo's assistance and co-operation. [206] Aguinaldo was naturally uneasy about the possible prospect of a protracted struggle with the Spaniards, if the Islands should revert to them; he was none the less irritated because his repeated edicts and proclamations of independence received no recognition from the Americans. General Anderson had already stated, in his reply (July 22) to a letter from Aguinaldo, that he had no authority to recognize Aguinaldo's assumption of dictatorship. The native swaggering soldiery, with the air of conquerors, were ever ready to rush to arms on the most trivial pretext, and became a growing menace to the peaceful inhabitants. Therefore, on October 25, Aguinaldo was again ordered to withdraw his troops still farther, to distances varying from five to eight miles off Manila, and he reluctantly complied. When this order was sent to him his forces in the neighbourhood of Manila were estimated to be as follows:—At Coloocan, 3,000 men, with two guns trained on Binondo; Santa Mesa, 380; Pasig, 400; Paco, Santa Ana, Pandacan, and Pasay, 400 to 500 each; south of Malate, 1,200, and at Santolan waterworks (on which the supply of potable water to the capital depended), 380.

In Panay Island General Rios published an edict offering considerable reforms, but the flame of rebellion was too widespread for it to have any effect. The Island of Cebu also was in revolt; the harsh measures of General Montero effected nothing to Spain's advantage, whilst that miserable system of treating suspects as proved culprits created rebels. Neither did the Moro raid on the Cebuanos, referred to at p. 406, serve to break their spirit; more than half the villages defied Spanish authority, refused to pay taxes, and forced the friars to take refuge in Cebu City, which was, so far, safe. Those who were able took passage to ports outside the Archipelago. In Leyte Island there were risings of minor importance, instigated by Tagalogs, and chiefly directed against the friars, who were everywhere obnoxious to the people. At Catbalogan (Samar Is.) an armed mob attacked the Spaniards, who fled to the house of an American. General Rios had not sufficient troops to dominate several islands covering such a large area. He was so hard pressed in Panay alone that, even if he had had ample means of transport, he could neither divide his forces nor afford to spend time in carrying them from one island to another. Towards the end of October he ran short of ammunition, but, opportunely, the Spanish mail-steamer Buenos Aires brought him a supply with which he could continue the struggle. Fresh Tagalog expeditions were meanwhile sent south, and coerced or persuaded the Panay people to rise in greater force than ever, until, finally, General Rios had to fall back on Yloilo. By the middle of November practically the whole island, except the towns of Yloilo, Molo, Jaro and La Paz, was under rebel dominion. In December General Rios held only the town and port of Yloilo. He had ordered the bridge of Manduriao to be destroyed, so as to establish a dividing line between him and the rebels who were entrenched on the opposite bank of the river, neither party being willing to make a bold onslaught on the other, although frequent skirmishing took place. On receipt of the news of the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris, General Rios proposed to the rebels a mutual cessation of hostilities, on the ground that no advantage could accrue to either party by a further sacrifice of blood and munitions of war, seeing that within a few days he was going to evacuate the town and embark his troops, and that, so far as he was concerned, they could then take his place without opposition. But the rebels, presumably interpreting his humane suggestion as a sign of weakness, continued to fire on the Spanish troops.

The small detachments and garrisons in Negros Island had been unable to resist the tide of revolt; the west coast of that island was over-run by the rebels under the leadership of Aniceto Lacson and Juan Araneta (a much respected planter of Bago, personally known to me), and the local Spanish Governor, Don Isidro Castro, was forced to capitulate, in due written form, at Bacolod, on November 6, with his troops and all the Spanish civil and military employees. By December 1 it was evident that, although Spanish empire in Visayas had been definitely broken, there was absolute discord among the (southern) rebels themselves. They split up into rival factions, each one wanting to set up a government of its own. The American Peace Commissioners had made their formal demand for the cession of all the Islands, and it was clear to the Spanish Government that General Rios would sooner or later have to evacuate under the treaty. It was useless, therefore, to continue to shed European blood and waste treasure in those regions. In the first week of December the Madrid Government ordered General Rios to suspend hostilities and retire to Mindanao Island with his troops, pending arrangements for their return to the Peninsula. General Rios replied to this order, saying that he would make the necessary preparations. Meanwhile, on December 11, the rebels approached the fortifications around Yloilo town, and the Spaniards kept up an almost continuous fusillade. Before daybreak on December 14 the rebels, armed with bowie-knives, attacked the Spanish entrenchments in great force and drove the Spaniards back from their first to their second redoubt. The Spaniards rallied, turned their four field-pieces on the enemy, and opened a raking artillery and rifle fire which mowed down the rebels, who retired in great disorder, leaving about 500 dead and wounded. The Spaniards, who were well protected behind their stockades, had 6 dead and 17 wounded. Notwithstanding their severe repulse, the rebels again fired on the Spaniards until some female relations of their General Araneta and others went out to the rebel lines and harangued and expostulated with the leaders, and so put them to shame with their tongues that thenceforth the rebels ceased to molest the Spaniards. General Rios then took measures for evacution. On December 23, 1898, he formally handed over Yloilo to the mayor of the town in the presence of his staff, the naval commanders, and the foreign consuls, and requested the German Vice-Consul to look after Spanish interests. On the following day the Spanish troops, numbering between five and six hundred, and several civilians were embarked in perfect order, without any unfortunate incident occurring, on board the s.s. Isla de Luzon, which sailed for Zamboanga, the rallying-place of the Spaniards, whilst some small steamers went to other places to bring the officials to the same centre.

Before leaving Yloilo, after many tedious delays respecting the conditions, an exchange of prisoners was effected with the rebels, who at the outset were inclined to be unduly exacting.

The rebels at once took possession of Yloilo, but a controlling American force arrived in the roadstead on December 27, under the command of General Miller, and was afterwards reinforced up to a total strength of about 3,000 troops.

The Caroline Islands (which were not ceded under the Treaty of Paris) were provisioned for three months, and the Spanish troops in Cebu Island and Yligan (Mindanao Is.) had been already ordered to concentrate and prepare for embarkation on the same day for Zamboanga (Mindanao Is.), where the bulk of them remained until they could be brought back to Spain on the terms of the treaty of peace. In a few days General Rios left Zamboanga in the s.s. Leon XIII. for Manila, and remained there until June 3, 1899, to endeavour to negotiate the liberation of the Spanish prisoners detained by Aguinaldo. They were kept under guard in the mountain districts, far away from the capital, in groups miles distant from each other. No one outside the rebel camp could ever ascertain the exact number of prisoners, which was kept secret. The strenuous efforts made by the Spaniards to secure their release are fully referred to in Chap. xxvi.

During this period of evacuation the natives in Balabac Island assassinated all the male Europeans resident there, the Spanish Governor, a lieutenant, and a doctor being among the victims. The European women were held in captivity for awhile, notwithstanding the peaceful endeavours to obtain their release, supported by the Datto Harun Narrasid, Sultan of Paragua and ex-Sultan of Sulu (vide p. 142). The place was then attacked by an armed force, without result, but eventually the natives allowed the women to be taken away.

Some of the Spanish soldiers and the civil servants concentrated in Zamboanga were carried direct to the Peninsula, via the Straits of Balabac, in the steamers Buenos Aires, Isla de Luzon, and Cachemir, and from Manila many of them returned to their country in the s.s. Leon XIII. In conformity with the Treaty of Paris (Art. 5), little by little all the Spanish troops, temporarily prisoners of the United States in Manila, were repatriated.

The Philippine Republican Congress at Malolos had now (December 26, 1898) adjourned in great confusion. The deputies could not agree upon the terms of a Republican Constitution. They were already divided into two distinct parties, the Pacificos and the Irreconcilables. The latter were headed by a certain Apolinario Mabini (vide p. 546), a lawyer hitherto unknown, and a notorious opponent of Aguinaldo until he decided to take the field against the Americans. The Cabinet having resigned, Aguinaldo prudently left Malolos on a visit to Pedro A. Paterno, at Santa Ana, on the Pasig River.

At the end of the year 1898, after 327 years of sovereignty, all that remained to Spain of her once splendid Far Eastern colonial possessions were the Caroline, the Pelew, and the Ladrone Islands (vide p. 39), minus the Island of Guam. Under the treaty of peace, signed in Paris, the Americans became nominal owners of the evacuated territories, but they were only in real possession, by force of arms, of Cavite and Manila. The rest of the Archipelago, excepting Mindanao and the Sulu Sultanate, was virtually and forcibly held by the natives in revolt. At the close of 1898 the Americans and the rebels had become rival parties, and the differences between them foreboded either frightful bloodshed or the humiliation of the one or the other.



Treaty of Peace

concluded between the United States of America and Spain, signed in Paris on December 10, 1898, and ratified in Washington on February 6, 1899. The original documents (in duplicate) are drawn up in Spanish and in English respectively.

The English Text} [207]

Article 1.—Spain relinquishes all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba. And as the Island is, upon its evacuation by Spain, to be occupied by the United States, the United States will, so long as such occupation shall last, assume and discharge the obligations that may under international law result from the fact of its occupation, for the protection of life and property.

Article 2.—Spain cedes to the United States the Island of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the Island of Guam in the Marianas or Ladrones.

Article 3.—Spain cedes to the United States the archipelago known as the Philippine Islands, and comprehending the islands lying within the following line: A line running from W. to E. along or near the 20th parallel of N. latitude, and through the middle of the navigable channel of Bachi, from the 118th to the 127th degree meridian of longitude E. of Greenwich, thence along the 127th degree meridian of longitude E. of Greenwich to the parallel of 4 deg. 45' N. latitude, thence along the parallel of 4 deg. 45' N. latitude to its intersection with the meridian of longitude 119 deg. 35' E. of Greenwich, thence along the meridian of longitude 119 deg. 35' E. of Greenwich to the parallel of latitude 7 deg. 40' N., thence along the parallel of latitude of 7 deg. 40' N. to its intersection with the 116th degree meridian of longitude E. of Greenwich, thence by a direct line to the intersection of the 10th degree parallel of N. latitude with the 118th degree meridian of longitude E. of Greenwich, and thence along the 118th degree meridian of longitude E. of Greenwich to the point of beginning.

The United States will pay to Spain the sum of $.20,000,000 within three months after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty.

Article 4.—The United States will, for the term of 10 years from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, admit Spanish ships and merchandise to the ports of the Philippine Islands on the same terms as ships and merchandise of the United States.

Article 5.—The United States will, upon the signature of the present treaty, send back to Spain, at its own cost, the Spanish soldiers taken as prisoners of war on the capture of Manila by the American forces. The arms of the soldiers in question shall be restored to them.

Spain will, upon the exchange of the ratification of the present treaty, proceed to evacuate the Philippines, as well as the Island of Guam, on terms similiar to those agreed upon by the Commissioners appointed to arrange for the evacuation of Porto Rico and other islands in the West Indies, under the Protocol of August 12, 1898, which is to continue in force till its provisions are completely executed.

The time within which the evacuation of the Philippine Islands and Guam shall be completed shall be fixed by the two Governments. Stands of colours, uncaptured war-vessels, small arms, guns of all calibres, with their carriages and accessories, powder, ammunition, live-stock, and materials and supplies of all kinds, belonging to the land and naval forces of Spain in the Philippines and Guam, remain the property of Spain. Pieces of heavy ordnance, exclusive of field artillery, in the fortifications and coast defences, shall remain in their emplacements for the term of six months, to be reckoned from the exchange of ratifications of the treaty; and the United States may, in the meantime, purchase such material from Spain, if a satisfactory agreement between the two Governments on the subject shall be reached.

Article 6.—Spain will, upon the signature of the present treaty, release all prisoners of war, and all persons detained or imprisoned for political offences in connection with the insurrections in Cuba and the Philippines and the war with the United States.

Reciprocally, the United States will release all persons made prisoners of war by the American forces, and will undertake to obtain the release of all Spanish prisoners in the hands of the insurgents in Cuba and the Philippines.

The Government of the United States will at its own cost return to Spain and the Government of Spain will at its own cost return to the United States, Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines, according to the situation of their respective homes, prisoners released or caused to be released by them, respectively, under this article.

Article 7.—The United States and Spain mutually relinquish all claims for indemnity, national and individual, of every kind, of either Government, or of its citizens or subjects, against the other Government, that may have arisen since the beginning of the late insurrection in Cuba and prior to the exchange of ratifications of the present treaty, including all claims for indemnity for the cost of the war.

The United States will adjudicate and settle the claims of its citizens against Spain relinquished in this article.

Article 8.—In conformity with the provisions of Articles 1, 2 and 3 of this treaty, Spain relinquishes in Cuba, and cedes in Porto Rico and other islands in the West Indies, in the Island of Guam, and in the Philippine Archipelago, all the buildings, wharves, barracks, forts, structures, public highways and other immovable property which, in conformity with law, belong to the public domain, and as such belong to the Crown of Spain.

And it is hereby declared that the relinquishment or cession, as the case may be, to which the preceding paragraph refers, cannot in any respect impair the property or rights which by law belong to the peaceful possession of property of all kinds, of provinces, municipalities, public or private establishments, ecclesiastical or civic bodies, or any other associations having legal capacity to acquire and possess property in the aforesaid territories renounced or ceded, or of private individuals, of whatsoever nationality such individuals may be.

The aforesaid relinquishment or cession, as the case may be, includes all documents exclusively referring to the sovereignty relinquished or ceded that may exist in the archives of the Peninsula. Where any document in such archives only in part relates to said sovereignty, a copy of such part will be furnished whenever it shall be requested. Like rules shall be reciprocally observed in favour of Spain in respect of documents in the archives of the islands above referred to.

In the aforesaid relinquishment or cession, as the case may be, are also included such rights as the Crown of Spain and its authorities possess in respect of the official archives and records, executive as well as judicial, in the islands above referred to, which relate to the said islands or the rights and property of their inhabitants. Such archives and records shall be carefully preserved, and private persons shall without distinction have the right to require, in accordance with law, authenticated copies of the contracts, wills and other instruments forming part of notarial protocols or files, or which may be contained in the executive or judicial archives, be the latter in Spain or in the islands aforesaid.

Article 9.—Spanish subjects, natives of the Peninsula, residing in the territory over which Spain by the present treaty relinquishes or cedes her sovereignty, may remain in such territory, or may remove therefrom, retaining in either event all their rights of property, including the right to sell or dispose of such property or of its proceeds; and they shall also have the right to carry on their industry, commerce and professions, being subject in respect thereof to such laws as are applicable to other foreigners. In case they remain in the territory they may preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain by making before a court of record, within a year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty, a declaration of their decision to preserve such allegiance; in default of which declaration they shall be held to have renounced it and to have adopted the nationality of the territory in which they may reside.

The civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of the territories hereby ceded to the United States shall be determined by the Congress.

Article 10.—The inhabitants of the territories over which Spain relinquishes or cedes her sovereignty shall be secured in the free exercise of their religion.

Article 11.—The Spaniards residing in the territories over which Spain by this treaty cedes or relinquishes her sovereignty shall be subject in matters civil as well as criminal to the jurisdiction of the courts of the country wherein they reside, pursuant to the ordinary laws governing the same; and they shall have the right to appear before such courts, and to pursue the same course as citizens of the country to which the courts belong.

Article 12.—Judicial proceedings pending at the time of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty in the territories over which Spain relinquishes or cedes her sovereignty shall be determined according to the following rules: (1) Judgements rendered either in civil suits between private individuals, or in criminal matters, before the date mentioned, and with respect to which there is no recourse, or right of review under the Spanish law, shall be deemed to be final, and shall be executed in due form by competent authority in the territory within which such judgements shall be carried out: (2) Civil suits between private individuals which may on the date mentioned be undetermined shall be prosecuted to judgement before the court in which they may then be pending or in the court that may be substituted therefor: (3) Criminal actions pending on the date mentioned before the Supreme Court of Spain, against citizens of the territory which by this treaty ceases to be Spanish, shall continue under its jurisdiction until final judgement; but, such judgement having been rendered, the execution thereof shall be committed to the competent authority of the place in which the case arose.

Article 13.—The rights of property secured by copyrights and patents acquired by Spaniards in the Island of Cuba and in Porto Rico, the Philippines and other ceded territories, at the time of the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, shall continue to be respected. Spanish scientific, literary and artistic works, not subversive of public order in the territories in question, shall continue to be admitted free of duty into such territories, for the period of ten years, to be reckoned from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty.

Article 14.—Spain will have the power to establish Consular officers in the ports and places of the territories, the sovereignty over which has been either relinquished or ceded by the present treaty.

Article 15.—The Government of each country will, for the term of ten years, accord to the merchant vessels of the other country the same treatment in respect of all port charges, including entrance and clearance dues, light dues, and tonnage duties, as it accords to its own merchant vessels, not engaged in the coastwise trade. This article may at any time be terminated on six months' notice given by either Government to the other.

Article 16.—It is understood that any obligations assumed in this treaty by the United States with respect to Cuba are limited to the time of its occupancy thereof; but it will, upon the termination of such occupancy, advise any Government established in the Island to assume the same obligations.

Article 17.—The present treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by Her Majesty the Queen-Regent of Spain; and the ratifications shall be exchanged at Washington within six months from the date hereof, or earlier if possible.

In faith whereof, we, the respective Plenipotentiaries, have signed this treaty and have hereunto affixed our seals.

Done in duplicate at Paris, the 10th day of December, in the year of our Lord 1898.

William R. Day. Cushman K. Davis. William P. Frye. Geo. Gray. Whitelaw Reid. Eugenio Montero Rios. B. de Abarzuza. J. de Garnica. W. R. de Villa-Urrutia. Rafael Cerero.



Two years afterwards a supplementary treaty was made between the United States and Spain, whereby the Islands of Cagayan de Jolo, Sibutu, and other islets not comprised in the demarcation set forth in the Treaty of Paris, were ceded to the United States for the sum of $100,000 gold. These small islands had, apparently, been overlooked when the Treaty of Paris was concluded.



CHAPTER XXIV

An Outline of the War of Independence, Period 1899-1901

"I speak not of forcible annexation because that is not to be thought of, and under our code of morality that would be criminal aggression."—President McKinley's Message to Congress; December, 1897.

"The Philippines are ours as much as Louisiana by purchase, or Texas or Alaska."—President McKinley's Speech to the 10th Pennsylvania Regiment; August 28, 1899.

Ignorance of the world's ways, beyond the Philippine shores, was the cause of the Aguinaldo party's first disappointment. A score of pamphlets has been published to show how thoroughly the Filipinos believed America's mission to these Islands to be solely prompted by a compassionate desire to aid them in their struggle for immediate sovereign independence. Laudatory and congratulatory speeches, uttered in British colonies, in the presence of American officials, and hope-inspiring expressions which fell from their lips before Aguinaldo's return to Cavite from exile, strengthened that conviction. Sympathetic avowals and grandiloquent phrases, such as "for the sake of humanity," and "the cause of civilization," which were so freely bandied about at the time by unauthorized Americans, drew Aguinaldo into the error of believing that some sort of bond really existed between the United States and the Philippine Revolutionary Party. In truth, there was no agreement between America and the Filipinos. There was no American plenipotentiary empowered to make any political compact with the Islanders. At that date there was neither a Philippine policy nor any fixed programme regarding the future disposal of the Islands, and whatever naval, military, or other officers might have said to Aguinaldo was said on their own private responsibility, and could in no way affect the action of the American Government. Without any training in or natural bent for diplomacy, Aguinaldo had not the faintest idea of what foreign "protection" signified. He thought that after the capture of Manila the Americans would sail away and leave the Filipinos to themselves, and only reappear if any other Power interfered with their native government.

Admiral Dewey had a double task to perform. He had to destroy the Spanish fleet, and to co-operate in the taking of Manila. In the destruction of the fleet the attitude of the natives was of little concern to him. In the taking of the capital it was important to know what part the natives would play. It was certain they would not be placid spectators of the struggle, wherever Aguinaldo might be. If they must enter into it, it was desirable to have them led by one who could control them and repress excesses. It would have been better for the Americans if, pending the issue with the Spaniards, no third party had existed; but, as it did exist, both contending nations were anxious for its goodwill or its control. Therefore Admiral Dewey's recognition of Aguinaldo as a factor in the hostilities was nothing more nor less than a legitimate stratagem to facilitate his operations against the Spaniards. Dewey simply neutralized a possible adverse force by admissible military artifice, and Aguinaldo was too ingenuous to see that he was being outwitted. The fighting section of the Filipinos was intensely irritated at not having been allowed to enter and sack the capital. They had looked forward to it as the crowning act of victory. The general mass of the christianized Islanders hoped that Philippine independence would immediately follow the capitulation of Manila, although, in the capital itself, natives of position and property evinced little enthusiasm for the insurgents' triumph, whilst some inwardly doubted it. In September a native lawyer, Felipe Agoncillo, was sent to Washington to lay the Filipinos' case before the President in the hope of gaining his personal support of their claims (vide p. 472). The first fear was that the Colony might revert to Spain, but that idea was soon dispelled by the news of the stipulations of the Treaty of Paris. Simultaneously Aguinaldo's revolutionary army was being pushed farther and farther away from the capital, and it was evident, from the mood of his fighting-men, that if the Americans remained in possession of the Colony, hostilities, sooner or later, must break out. The Americans officially ignored the Aguinaldo party as a factor in public affairs, but they were not unaware of the warlike preparations being made. Secret anti-American meetings were held at places called clubs, where it was agreed to attack simultaneously the Americans inside and outside the capital. General Pio del Pilar slept in the city every night, ready to give the rocket-signal for revolt. Natives between 18 and 40 years of age were being recruited for military service, according to a Malolos Government decree dated September 21, 1898. In every smithy and factory bowie-knives were being forged with all speed, and 10,000 men were already armed with them. General E. S. Otis was willing to confer with Aguinaldo, and six sessions were held, the last taking place on January 29, six days before the outbreak. Nothing resulted from these conferences, the Americans alleging that Aguinaldo would make no definite statement of his people's aims, whilst the Filipinos declare that their intentions were so well understood by the American general that he would listen to nothing short of unconditional submission.

The following manifesto, dated January 5, signed by Emilio Aguinaldo, clearly shows the attitude of the Revolutionary Party at this period:—

To My Brethren the Filipinos, and to All the Respected Consuls and Other Foreigners:—

General Otis styles himself Military Governor of these Islands, and I protest one and a thousand times and with all the energy of my soul against such authority. I proclaim solemnly that I have not recognized either in Singapore or in Hong-Kong or in the Philippines, by word or in writing, the sovereignty of America over this beloved soil. On the contrary, I say that I returned to these Islands on an American warship on the 19th of May last for the express purpose of making war on the Spaniards to regain our liberty and independence. I stated this in my proclamation of the 24th of May last, and I published it in my Manifesto addressed to the Philippine people on the 12th of June. Lastly, all this was confirmed by the American General Merritt himself, predecessor of General Otis, in his Manifesto to the Philippine people some days before he demanded the surrender of Manila from the Spanish General Jaudenes. In that Manifesto it is distinctly stated that the naval and field forces of the United States had come to give us our liberty, by subverting the bad Spanish Government. And I hereby protest against this unexpected act of the United States claiming sovereignty over these Islands. My relations with the American authorities prove undeniably that the United States did not bring me over here from Hong-Kong to make war on the Spaniards for their benefit, but for the purpose of our own liberty and independence. . . .

Emilio Aguinaldo.



Aguinaldo having been successively Dictator and President of the Revolutionary Government (vide p. 448), now assumed the new title of President of the Philippine Republic, the Articles of Constitution of which (drawn up by his Prime Minister Apolinario Mabini) were dated January 21, 1899, and promulgated by him on the following day. In due course the news came that the date of voting in the Senate for or against the retention of the Islands was fixed. The Americans already in the Colony were practically unanimous in their desire for its retention, and every effort was made by them to that end. The question of the treaty ratification was warmly discussed in Washington. A week before the vote was taken it was doubtful whether the necessary two-thirds majority could be obtained. It was a remarkable coincidence that just when the Republican Party was straining every nerve to secure the two or three wavering votes, the first shots were exchanged between a native and an American outpost in the suburbs of the capital. Each side accuses the other of having precipitated hostilities. However that may be, this event took place precisely at a date when the news of it in Washington served to secure the votes of the hesitating senators in favour of retention. [208] The provocative demeanour of the insurgents at the outposts was such that a rupture was inevitable sooner or later, and if a Senate vote of abandonment had come simultaneously with insurrection, the situation would have been extremely complicated; it would have been difficult for the Oriental not to have believed that the invader was nervously beating a retreat. The Nebraska Regiment was at Santa Mesa, guarding its front. Americans were frequently insulted, called cowards, and openly menaced by the insurgents. In the evening of Saturday, February 4, 1899, an insurgent officer came with a detail of men and attempted to force his way past the sentinel on the San Juan bridge. About nine o'clock a large body of rebels advanced on the South Dakota Regiment's outposts, and to avoid the necessity of firing, for obvious reasons, the picquets fell back. For several nights a certain insurgent lieutenant had tried to pass the Nebraska lines. At length he approached a sentinel, who called "halt" three times without response, and then shot the lieutenant dead. Several insurgents then fired and retreated; rockets were at once sent up by the Filipinos, and firing started all along the line, from Caloocan to Santa Mesa. By ten o'clock the Filipinos concentrated at Caloocan, Santa Mesa, and Gagalanging, whence they opened a simultaneous, but ineffectual, fusillade, supplemented by two siege guns at Balichalic and a skirmishing attack from Pandacan and Paco. Desperate fighting continued throughout the night; the Filipinos, driven back from every post with heavy loss, rallied the next morning at Paco, where they occupied the parish church, to which many non-combatant refugees had fled. The American warships, co-operating with their batteries, poured a terrific fire on the church, and kept up a continuous attack on the insurgent position at Caloocan, where General Aguinaldo was in command. At daylight the Americans made a general advance towards Paco and Santa Ana. At the former place the Filipinos resisted desperately; the church, sheltering refugees and insurgents, was completely demolished; [209] the Filipinos' loss amounted to about 4,000 killed and wounded, whilst the Americans lost about 175 killed and wounded. It is estimated that the approximate number of troops engaged in this encounter was 13,000 Americans and 20,000 Filipinos. The insurgents at Santa Ana, the survivors of the Paco defeat, and the force which had to abandon the Santolan water-works, where they left behind them a howitzer, all concentrated at Caloocan. The insurgent and American lines formed a semicircle some 15 miles in extent, making it impossible to give a comprehensive description of the numerous small engagements.

Immediately the news of the rupture reached Washington the Philippine Envoy, Felipe Agoncillo, fled to Montreal, Canada, in a great hurry, leaving his luggage behind. No one was troubling him, and there was not the least need for such a precipitate flight from a country where civilized international usages obtain. On February 5 an engagement took place at Gagalanging, where the natives collected in the hundreds of bungalows around that village awaiting the advance of the Oregon Regiment. Amongst the spectators was the German Prince Ludwig von Loewenstein. The Americans continued advancing and firing, when suddenly the prince ran across an open space and took shelter in a hut which he must have known would be attacked by the Oregons. The order was given to fire into the native dwellings giving cover to the insurgents, and the prince's dead body was subsequently found perforated by a bullet. In his pocket he carried a pass issued by Aguinaldo conceding to the bearer permission to go anywhere within the insurgent lines, and stating that he was a sympathizer with their cause. It was noticed that the prince several times deliberately threw himself into danger. No one could ascertain exactly in what capacity he found himself near the fighting-line. Less than two years previously he had married the daughter of an English earl, and the popular belief was that, for private reasons, he intentionally courted death.

The rebels were repulsed at every point with great loss. Lines of smoke from the burning villages marked the direction taken by the Americans advancing under the leadership of Generals Otis, Wheaton, Hale, and Hall. An immense amount of impedimenta in the shape of pontoons, telegraph posts and wires, ammunition, and provisions followed the infantry in perfect order. On the line taken by the troops many native householders hoisted white flags to indicate their peaceful intentions. Ambulances were frequently seen coming in with the wounded Americans and Filipinos, and among them was brought the chief of an Igorrote tribe with a broken thigh. His tribe, who had been persuaded by Aguinaldo to bring their bows and arrows to co-operate with him, were placed in the front and suffered great slaughter. In hospital the Igorrote chief spoke with much bitterness of how he had been deceived, and vowed vengeance against the Tagalogs. The next day at Caloocan the rebels made a determined stand, but were driven out of the place by 10-inch shells fired from the Monadnock over the American lines. General Hall occupied Santolan and the pumping-station there and repelled the repeated attacks made on his column. General McArthur with a flying column cleared the surrounding district of the enemy, but owing to the roughness of the country he was unable to pursue them. Aguinaldo was therefore able to escape north with his army, reinforced by native troops who had been trained in Spanish service. There was also a concentration of about 2,500 natives from the southern Luzon provinces. The insurgents had cut trenches at almost every mile along the route north. In the several skirmishes which took place on March 25 the Americans lost one captain and 25 men killed and eight officers and 142 men wounded. The next day there was some hard fighting around Polo and Novaliches, where the insurgents held out for six hours against General McArthur's three brigades of cavalry and artillery. After the defeat at Paco, Aguinaldo moved on to the town of Malabon, which was shelled; the enemy therefore immediately evacuated that place in great confusion, after setting fire to the buildings. Over 1,000 men, women, and children hastened across the low, swampy lands carrying their household goods and their fighting-cocks; it was indeed a curious spectacle. General Wheaton's brigade captured Malinta, and the insurgents fled panic-stricken after having suffered severely. The American loss was small in numbers, but Colonel Egbert, of the 22nd Infantry, was mortally wounded whilst leading a charge. As he lay on the litter in the midst of the fight General Wheaton cheered him with the words, "Nobly done, Egbert!" to which the dying colonel replied, "Good-bye, General; I'm done; I'm too old," and at once expired.

In March the natives tried to burn down one of the busiest Manila suburbs. At 8 o'clock one evening they set fire to the Chinese quarters in Santa Cruz, and the breeze rapidly wafted the flames. The conflagration lasted four hours. The English Fire-Brigade turned out to quench it. Hundreds of Chinese laden with chattels hurried to and fro about the streets; natives rushed hither and thither frantically trying to keep the fire going whilst the whites were endeavouring to extinguish it; and with the confusion of European and Oriental tongues the place was a perfect pandemonium. General Hughes was at the head of the police, but the surging mob pressed forward and cut the hose five times. With fixed bayonets the troops partially succeeded in holding back the swelling crowd. The electric wires got out of working order, and the city was lighted only by the glare of the flaming buildings. Bullets were flying in all directions about Tondo and Binondo. The intense excitement was intentionally sustained by batches of natives who rushed hither and thither with hideous yells to inspire a feeling of terror. Many families, fearing that the insurgents had broken through the American lines and entered the city en masse, frantically fled from the hotels and houses. Incessant bugle-calls from the natives added to the commotion, and thousands of Chinese crowded into the Chinese Consulate. Finally the rioters were driven back, and a cordon of troops assured the safety of the capital. Sharp engagements simultaneously took place at the Chinese cemetery and at San Pedro Macati. Bands of insurgents were arrested in Tondo. A group of 60 was captured escorting two cartloads of arms and ammunition to a house. Business was almost entirely suspended, and a general order was issued by the Military Governor commanding all civilians to remain in their houses after 7 p.m. This hour was gradually extended to 8 o'clock, then 9 o'clock, and finally to midnight, as circumstances permitted. An edict was posted up fixing the penalties for incendiarism. During two days smoke hovered around the neighbourhood, and the appearance of Manila from the bay was that of a smouldering city.

In the fighting up country, one of the greatest difficulties for the Americans was that the insurgents would not concentrate and have a decisive contest. They would fire a few volleys from cover and retreat to other cover, repeating these harassing, but inconclusive, tactics over many miles of ground. On their march the Americans had to fight a hidden foe who slipped from trench to trench, or found safety in the woods. Sometimes a trenchful of the enemy would fire a volley and half of them disappear through gullies leading to other cover. The next point of importance to be reached was Malalos, and on the way some thirty villages had to be passed. Besides the volleys delivered by hidden insurgents all along the line, a hard-fought battle took place on March 28 under the personal direction of General Aguinaldo, who concentrated about 5,000 men near Marilao. Aguinaldo directed the movements without appearing on the field; indeed it is doubtful whether, during this war, he ever led his troops into action. General McArthur's division had halted at Meycauayan the previous night, and in the morning advanced north in conjunction with General Hale's brigade, which took the right, whilst General Otis led his troops to the left of the railroad, General Wheaton's brigade being held in reserve. After a three-mile march these forces fell in with the enemy, who opened fire from trenches and thickets; but General Otis's troops charged them gallantly and drove them back across the river. There the insurgents rallied, relying upon the splendid trenches which they had dug. The battle raged for three hours, the combatants being finally within fifty yards of each other. Eventually the American artillery came into play, when the advanced works of the insurgent defences were literally pulverized and the general rout of the enemy began. They retreated to their second stronghold of bamboo thickets, pursued by the 1st South Dakota Infantry, which made a brilliant charge in the open, under a galling fire, with a loss of three lieutenants and seven men killed on the field and about a score wounded. The insurgents, however, were completely defeated and scattered, leaving 85 dead counted in the trenches and thickets, and a hundred prisoners in the hands of the Americans. Before abandoning Marilao the insurgents burnt the town to the ground and continued their hurried flight to Malolos. They had plenty of time to rally, for the Americans found great difficulty in bringing their artillery across the river at Guiguinto. It had to be drawn over the railway bridge by hand whilst the mules swam across to the northern bank, all being, at the same time, under a desultory fire from the enemy. The resistance of the Filipinos to the passage of the river at Guiguinto was so stubborn that the Americans lost about 70 killed and wounded. At 6 a.m. the Americans started the advance towards Malolos in the same order taken for the march to Marilao, General Hale's brigade taking the right and General Otis's the left of the railroad. Several skirmishes took place on the way and General Wheaton brought his reserves forward into the general advance. At Bocaue the river presented the same difficulties for artillery transport as were experienced at Guiguinto, except that the enemy was nowhere to be seen. Bigaa was reached and not an armed native was in sight, all having apparently concentrated in the insurgent capital, Malolos. The American casualties that day, due solely to the morning skirmishes, amounted to four killed and thirty wounded.

It is apparent, from the official despatches, that at this time the American generals seriously believed the Aguinaldo party would acknowledge its defeat and make peace if Malolos, the revolutionary seat of government, fell. All that was going on in Manila was well known to the insurgents in the field, as the news was brought to them daily by runners who were able to enter the city during daylight without interference. On March 30 General McArthur's division resumed the advance and brought up the baggage trains, after having repaired the several bridges damaged by the enemy. The environs of Malolos were reconnoitred up to within a mile of the town, and the dead bodies of insurgent soldiers were seen scattered here and there. Groups of hundreds of non-combatants were hurrying off from the beleaguered insurgent capital. General Otis's brigade pushed forward without any encounter with the enemy, but General Hale's column, which continued to take the right side of the railway, was fired upon from the woods, the total casualties that day being five killed and 43 wounded. At 7 a.m. (March 31) the Americans opened the combined attack on Malolos. General McArthur directed the operations from the railway embankment, and half an hour's artillery fire dislodged the enemy from their cover. The columns advanced cautiously towards the town in anticipation of a fierce resistance and, it was hoped, a fight to the finish. General Otis marched on direct: General Hale executed a flanking movement to the east; General Wheaton's brigades were held in reserve, and a halt of half an hour was made preparatory to the final assault. The scouts then returned and reported that the insurgents had abandoned their capital! It was a disappointment to the Americans who had looked forward to inflicting a decisive and crushing defeat on the enemy. The first troops to enter the town were the 20th Kansas Regiment, under Colonel Funston. The natives, in the wildest confusion, scampered off, after firing a few parting shots at the approaching forces, and the Americans, with a total loss of 15 killed and wounded, were in undisputed possession of the insurgent capital. Aguinaldo had prudently evacuated it two days before with his main army, going in the direction of Calumpit. Only one battalion had been left behind to burn the town on the approach of the Americans. Aguinaldo's headquarters, the parish church, and a few hundred yards of railway were already destroyed when the Americans occupied the place, still partly in flames. Some few hundreds of Chinese were the only inhabitants remaining in Malolos. The value of the food-stuffs captured in this place was estimated at P1,500,000. Simultaneously, General Hall's brigade operated five to seven miles north of Manila and drove the insurgents out of Mariquina, San Mateo, and the environs of the Montalban River with a loss of 20 men wounded and Lieutenant Gregg killed. It was now evident that Aguinaldo had no intention to come to close quarters and bring matters to a crisis by pitched battles. His policy was apparently to harry the Americans by keeping them constantly on the move against guerilla parties, in the hope that a long and wearisome campaign would end in the Americans abandoning the Islands in disgust, leaving the Filipinos to their own desired independence. Aguinaldo had moved on to Calumpit with his main army with the intention of establishing his Government there. On the American side, active preparations were made to dislodge him. Small gunboats were fitted out for operating on the Rio Grande de Pampanga, and an armoured train was prepared for use farther north. From Paranaque, on the bay shore south of Manila, the insurgents fired on the monitor Monadnock, but a few shots from this vessel silenced the shore battery. In several places, within 10 to 15 miles of the capital, armed groups of insurgents concentrated, but Aguinaldo moved on towards Baliuag, in the province of Bulacan, so as to be within easy reach of the hill district of Angat in case of defeat.

A few days after the capture of Malolos, General Otis issued a proclamation to the Filipinos, in the hope that by drawing off public sympathy from the insurgent cause it would dwindle away. The terms of this document were as follows, viz.:—

(1) The supremacy of the United States must and will be enforced throughout every part of the Archipelago. Those who resist can accomplish nothing except their own ruin.

(2) The most ample liberty of self-government will be granted which is reconcilable with the maintenance of a wise, just, stable, effective, and economical administration, and compatible with the sovereign and international rights and obligations of the United States.

(3) The civil rights of the Filipinos will be guaranteed and protected, religious freedom will be assured, and all will have equal standing before the law.

(4) Honour, justice, and friendship forbid the exploitation of the people of the Islands. The purpose of the American Government is the welfare and advancement of the Filipino people.

(5) The American Government guarantees an honest and effective civil service, in which, to the fullest extent practicable, natives shall be employed.

(6) The collection and application of taxes and revenues will be put on a sound and honest economical basis. Public funds will be raised justly and collected honestly, and will be applied only in defraying the proper expenses of the establishment and maintenance of the Philippine Government, and such general improvements as public interests demand. Local funds collected for local purposes shall not be diverted to other ends. With such a prudent and honest fiscal administration it is believed that the needs of the Government will, in a short time, become compatible with a considerable reduction of taxation.

(7) The pure, speedy, and effective administration of justice, whereby the evils of delay, corruption, and exploitation will be effectually eradicated.

(8) The construction of roads, railways, and other means of communication and transportation, and other public works of manifest advantage to the people will be promoted.

(9) Domestic and foreign trade, commerce, agriculture, and other industrial pursuits, and the general development of the country and interest of the inhabitants will be the constant objects of the solicitude and fostering care of the Government.

(10) Effective provision will be made for the establishment of elementary schools, in which the children of the people shall be educated, and appropriate facilities will also be provided for their higher education.

(11) Reforms in all departments of the Government, all branches of the public service, and all corporations closely touching the common life of the people must be undertaken without delay, and effected conformably with right and justice in such a way as to satisfy the well-founded demands and the highest sentiments and aspirations of the Philippine people.



The above proclamation, no doubt, embodies the programme of what the American Government desired to carry out at the time of its publication.

The Americans resumed the aggressive against the insurgents, and an expedition of 1,509 men and two mountain-guns was fitted out under the command of General Lawton to proceed up the Pasig River into the Lake of Bay in order to capture Santa Cruz at the eastern extremity. The expedition presented a curious sight; it comprised 15 native barges or "cascoes" towed by seven tugs. Some of the craft ran aground at Napindan, the entrance to the lake, and delayed the little flotilla until daylight. The barges ahead had to wait for the vessels lagging behind. Then a mist came over the shore, and there was another halt. A couple of miles off an insurgent steamer was sighted, but it passed on. Finally Santa Cruz was reached; 200 sharpshooters were landed under cover of the launch guns, and fighting continued all the afternoon until nightfall. Early in the morning the town was attacked, the church situated in the centre was captured, and the American loss was only six men wounded; the insurgents were driven far away, leaving 68 dead on the field, and a large number of wounded, whilst hundreds were taken prisoners.

On April 12, at the request of the Spanish General Rios, [210] the gunboat Yorktown was despatched to Baler, on the east coast of Luzon, to endeavour to rescue a party of 80 Spanish soldiers, three officers, and two priests who were holding out against 400 insurgents. These natives, who were all armed with Maueser rifles, laid in ambush, and surprised the landing-party under Lieutenant Gilmore. The whole party was captured by the insurgents, who were afterwards ordered to release them all. General Aguinaldo was always as humanely disposed as the circumstances of war would permit, and, at the request of the commissioners for the liberation of the Spanish prisoners, he gave this little band of 83 heroes and two priests their liberty under a decree so characteristic of Philippine imitative genius in its pompous allusion to the Spanish glorious past that it is well worth recording. [211]