The Story of the Philippines Part 3

"On June 9 last the whole province of Cavite was under the control of the provisional revolutionary government, including many Spanish prisoners and friars, 7,000 guns, great quant.i.ties of ammunition and some cannon.

"At the same time that the province of Cavite was being conquered other revolutionary chiefs were carrying on campaigns in the Batangas, Laguna, Tayabas, Nueva Eziza, Bulcau, Batangas, Pampanga and Morong, which were under control of the revolutionary army by June 12, and such progress was made by the Philippine revolution in the few days of campaign against the Spaniards that by August 3 last it held under conquest fifteen important provinces of the island of Luzon; these provinces are being governed by laws emanating from the provisional revolutionary government and in all of them perfect order and complete tranquility reign.

"It is to be noted that the Spanish government has sent to Senor Aguinaldo various emissaries, who invited him to make common cause with Spain against the United States, promising him that the government of the Spanish nation would concede to him anything he might ask for the Philippine people. But Senor Aguinaldo has invariably replied to those emissaries, that it was too late and that he could not consider any proposition from the Spanish government, however beneficial it might be to the Philippines, because he had already pledged his word of honor in favor of certain representatives of the government at Was.h.i.+ngton.

"In view of this positive resolution of Senor Aguinaldo there began forthwith the intrigues of the Spanish enemy directed against the life of Senor Aguinaldo.

_Peace Convention of December, 1896._

"Senor Aguinaldo, in his own name and in that of the other chiefs and subordinates, obligated himself to lay down their arms, which, according to an inventory, were to be turned over to the Spanish government, thus terminating the revolution. His Excellency the Governor and Captain-General, Don Fernando Primo de Rivera, as the representative of His Majesty's government in the Philippines, obligated himself on his side (1) to grant a general amnesty to all those under charges or sentenced for the crime of rebellion and sedition and other crimes of that category; (2) to introduce into the Philippines all reforms necessary for correcting in an effective and absolute manner the evils which for so many years had oppressed the country, in political and administrative affairs; and (3) an indemnity of $800,000, payable at the following dates: A letter of credit of the Spanish Filipine Bank for $400,000 against the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank in Hongkong was to be delivered to Senor Aguinaldo on the same day that he should leave Biak-va-Bato, where he had established his headquarters, and should embark on the steamer furnished by the Spanish government (this letter of credit was in point of fact delivered); $200,000 was to be paid to the said Senor Aguinaldo as soon as the revolutionary general, Senor Ricarte, should receive his telegram ordering him to give up his arms, with an inventory thereof, to the commissioner designated by his excellency the Governor and Captain-General, Don Fernando Primo de Rivera; and the remaining $200,000 should be due and payable when the peace should be a fact, and it should be understood that peace was a fact when the Te Deum should be sung by order of his excellency the Governor and Captain-General of the Philippines.

"Senor Aguinaldo complied in every respect, so far as he was concerned, with the peace agreement. But the Spanish government did not observe a similar conduct, and this has been deplored and still is deeply deplored by the Philippine people. The general amnesty which was promised has remained completely a dead letter. Many Filipinos are still to be found in Fernando Po and in various military prisons in Spain suffering the grievous consequences of the punishment inflicted upon them unjustly and the inclemencies of the climate to which they are not accustomed. Some of these unfortunates, who succeeded in getting out of those prisons and that exile, are living in beggary in Spain, without the government furnis.h.i.+ng them the necessary means to enable them to return to the Philippines.

"In vain has the Philippine public waited for the reforms also promised. After the celebration of the compact of June and the disposition of the arms of the revolutionists the Governor-General again began to inflict on the defenseless natives of the country arbitrary arrest and execution without judicial proceedings solely on the ground that they were merely suspected of being secessionists; proceedings which indisputably do not conform to the law and Christian sentiments.

"In the matter of reforms the religious orders again began to obtain from the Spanish government their former and absolute power. Thus Spain pays so dearly for her fatal errors in her own destiny!

"In exchange for the loftiness of mind with which Senor Aguinaldo has rigidly carried out the terms of the peace agreement, General Primo de Rivera had the cynicism to state in the congress of his nation that he had promised no reform to Senor Aguinaldo and his army, but that he had only given them a piece of bread in order that they might be able to maintain themselves abroad. This was reechoed in the foreign press, and Senor Aguinaldo was accused in the Spanish press of having allowed himself to be bought with a handful of gold, selling out his country at the same time. There were published, moreover, in those Spanish periodicals caricatures of Senor Aguinaldo which profoundly wounded his honor and his patriotism.

"Senor Aguinaldo and the other revolutionists who reside in Hongkong agreed not to take out one cent of the $400,000 deposited in the chartered bank and the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, the only amount which Senor Aguinaldo received from the Spanish government on account of the stipulated indemnity, but to use it for arms in order to carry on another revolution in the Philippines, in case the Spanish government should fail to carry out the peace agreement, at least in so far as it refers to general amnesty and reforms. All the above named revolutionists, Senor Aguinaldo setting the example, resolved to deny themselves every kind of comfort during their stay in Hongkong, living in the most modest style, for the purpose of preventing a reduction by one single cent of the above named sum of $400,000, which they set aside exclusively for the benefit of their country.

_Law Suit between Don J. Artacho and Don E. Aguinaldo._

"Senor Artacho, induced by the father solicitor of the Dominicans and the Consul-General of Spain, filed in the courts of that colony a summons against Don E. Aguinaldo, asking for a division of the above-mentioned $400,000 between those revolutionary chiefs who resided in Hongkong. Artacho and three others, who joined the revolution in its last days and rendered little service to it, were the only ones who desired a division of this money; whereas forty-seven revolutionaries, many of whom were most distinguished chiefs, were opposed to it, supporting the resolution which Senor Aguinaldo had previously taken in regard to it. Senor Aguinaldo, in order to avoid all scandal, did everything possible to avoid appearing in court answering the summons of Artacho, who, realizing that his conduct had made himself hated by all Filipinos, agreed in a friendly arrangement to withdraw his suit, receiving in exchange $5,000; in this way were frustrated the intrigues of the solicitor of the Dominican order and of the Spanish Consul, who endeavored at any cost to destroy the $400,000 by dividing it up.

"Artacho is now on trial before a judicial court on charges preferred by various revolutionists for offenses which can be proved; he has no influence in the revolutionary party."

_Proclamation of General Aguinaldo_.

_May 24th_, 1898.

Filipinos:

The Great Nation North America, cradle of true liberty and friendly on that account to the liberty of our people, oppressed and subjugated by the tyranny and despotism of those who have governed us, has come to manifest even here a protection which is decisive, as well as disinterested, towards us considering us endowed with sufficient civilization to govern by ourselves this our unhappy land. To maintain this so lofty idea, which we deserve from the now very powerful Nation North America, it is our duty to detest all those acts which belie such an idea, as pillage, robbery and every cla.s.s of injury to persons as well as to things. With a view to avoiding international conflicts during the period of our campaign, I order as follows:

Article I. The lives and property of all foreigners, including Chinese and all Spaniards who either directly or indirectly have joined in taking arms against us are to be respected.

Article II. The lives and property of those who lay down their arms are also to be respected.

Article III. Also are to be respected all sanitary establishments and ambulances, and likewise the persons and things which may be found either in one or the other, including the a.s.sistants in this service, unless they show hostility.

Article IV. Those who disobey what is prescribed in the preceding articles will be tried by summary court and put to death, if such disobedience shall cause a.s.sa.s.sination, fire, robbery and violation.

Given at Cavite, the 24th of May, 1898.

_Emilio Aguinaldo._

It is to be remarked of this semi-official statement that Admiral Dewey did not make any promises he could not fulfill to Aguinaldo; did not a.s.sume to speak for the President or the army of the United States, but gave guns and ammunition to the insurgents, who aided him in maintaining a foothold on the sh.o.r.e. The insurgents did not win Dewey's victory, but aided to improve it. Without the aid of the American army Manila might have been destroyed, but could not have been captured intact. General Merritt settled the question of the status of the insurgent army with respect to the capture of Manila in a summary and sound way when he said there could be but one military authority in a military government, and as the commanding general of the Philippine expedition of the United States, he was that authority.

CHAPTER VI

The Proclamations of General Aguinaldo.

June 16th, 1898, Establis.h.i.+ng Dictatorial Government--June 20th, 1898, Instructions for Elections--June 23d, 1898, Establis.h.i.+ng Revolutionary Government--June 23d, 1898, Message to Foreign Powers--June 27th, 1898, Instructions Concerning Details--July 23d, 3898, Letter From Senor Aguinaldo to General Anderson--August 1st, 1898, Resolutions of Revolutionary Chiefs Asking for Recognition--August 6th, 1898, Message to Foreign Powers Asking Recognition.

One of the most critical questions in the situation of the Philippines is the precise position of the leader of the insurgents, General Aguinaldo. His utterances in his official character of leader of the natives who for years have been in rebellion against Spain, have been but fragmentary, as they have come before the people. We give for the public information the consecutive series of proclamations.

No. 1.

To the Philippine Public:

Circ.u.mstances have providentially placed me in a position for which I can not fail to recognize that I am not properly qualified, but since I can not violate the laws of Providence nor decline the obligations which honor and patriotism impose upon me, I now salute you, Oh, My Beloved People!

I have proclaimed in the face of the whole world that the aspiration of my whole life, the final object of all my efforts and strength is nothing else but your independence, for I am firmly convinced that that const.i.tutes your constant desire and that independence signifies for us redemption from slavery and tyranny, regaining our liberty and entrance into the concert of civilized nations.

I understand on the other hand that the first duty of every government is to interpret faithfully popular aspirations. With this motive, although the abnormal circ.u.mstances of the war have compelled me to inst.i.tute this Dictatorial Government which a.s.sumes full powers, both civil and military, my constant desire is to surround myself with the most distinguished persons of each Province, those who by their conduct, deserve the confidence of their province to the end that the true necessities of each being known by them, measures may be adopted to meet these necessities and apply the remedies in accordance with the desires of all.

I understand moreover the urgent necessity of establis.h.i.+ng in each town a solid and robust organization, the strongest bulwark of public security and the sole means of securing that union and discipline which are indispensable for the establishment of the Republic, that is Government of the people for the people, and warding off the international conflicts which may arise.

Following out the foregoing considerations I decree as follows:

Article I. The inhabitants of every town where the forces of the Spanish government still remain, will decide upon the most efficacious measures to combat and destroy them, according to the resources and means at their disposal, according to prisoners of war the treatment most conformable to humanitarian sentiments and to the customs observed by civilized nations.

Article II. As soon as the town is freed from Spanish domination, the inhabitants most distinguished for high character, social position and honorable conduct both in the center of the community and in the suburbs, will come together in a large meeting in which they will proceed to elect by a majority of votes, the chief of the town and a head man for each suburb, considering as suburbs not only those hitherto known as such, but also the center of the community.

All those inhabitants who fulfill the conditions above named, will have the right to take part in this meeting and to be elected, provided always that they are friendly to Philippine independence and are twenty years of age.

Article III. In this meeting shall also be elected by a majority of votes, three Delegates; one of police and internal order, another of justice and civil registry and another of taxes and property.

The delegate of police and internal order will a.s.sist the Chief in the organization of the armed force, which for its own security each town must maintain, according to the measure of its resources and in the preservation of order, government and hygiene of its population.

The delegate of justice and civil registry will aid the Chief in the formation of courts and in keeping books of registry of births, deaths and marriage contracts, and of the census.

The delegate of taxes and property will aid the chief in the collection of taxes, the administration of public funds, the opening of books of registry of cattle and real property, and in all work relating to encouragement of every cla.s.s of industry.

Article IV. The Chief, as President, with the head men and the above mentioned delegates, will const.i.tute the popular a.s.semblies who will supervise the exact fulfillment of the laws in force and the particular interests of each town.

The head man of the center of the community will be the Vice President of the a.s.sembly, and the delegate of justice its secretary.

The head men will be delegates of the Chief within their respective boundaries.

Article V. The Chiefs of each town after consulting the opinion of their respective a.s.semblies, will meet and elect by majority of votes the Chief of the Province and three councilors for the three branches above mentioned.

The Chief of the Province as President, the Chief of the town which is the capital of the Province, as Vice President, and the above named councilors will const.i.tute the Provincial Council, which will supervise the carrying out of the instructions of this government in the territory of the Province, and for the general interest of the Province, and will propose to this government the measures which should be adopted for the general welfare.

Article VI. The above named chiefs will also elect by majority of votes three representatives for each one of the Provinces of Manila and Cavite, two for each one of the Provinces cla.s.sified as terminal in Spanish legislation, and one for each one of the other Provinces and Politico-Military commands of the Philippine Archipelago.