Washington, 5th January.
Accompanying the treaty is a great mass of correspondence, making a printed volume of 675 pages. This includes, among other things, all of the credentials of the American commissioners to Paris, and the protocols, which are the records of the daily proceedings of the Commissioners that lend up to the final treaty of peace, embodying necessarily all of the proposi tions and counter propositions of the past, printed in both languages, english and banish. From inspection of these, appears that the Press reports from Pari: during the proceedings of the commission set them out with a remarkable degree of accuracy, considering the secrecy which was supposed to have overhanged the proceedings.
There is also included all the correpondence that passed between the French Embassy here and the Department of State which led up to the signing of the protocol, but the interesting feature, namely, the effort of the Spanish Minister of Foreign Afuire to withdraw the sovereignty of the Philippines from question, has already been published, unolticially.
Included in' this correspondence is a letter from M. Thiébaut, the French Charyé, protesting against the continuance of the' operations of the insurgents in the Pi es, which, he assumed, was with ledge and consent of the American nanders, and suggesting that the Spanish troops captured at Manila be allowed to fight the Filipinos. To this Mr. More, Acting Secretary, replied, on September the 5th, that upon investigation he had found that' most of the statements were groundless. There was a sort of suggestion from the French Charge to the effect that the families of the Spanish officers who were captured at Guam were There is included all of the correspondence that passed betwoon the Department of State and the United States Consuls at Manila, Ho: kong, and Singapore, relative to the Philippines. Consul Williams at Manila, before the actual outbreak of war, reported a series of most horrible outrages by the Spaniards upon the Filipinos. He declared that 5 per cent of the latter are loyal to Spain. He complains of being surrounded by spies everywhere, saying that even his Consular office is not safe from them.
Consul Wildman, at Hongkong, on November the 3rd, telegraphed that General said: "He has power to make treaties with foreign Governments and has proposed an offensive and..defensive alliance. with the United States." Agoncillo asked for arms to aid the rebellion. - Acting Secretary Cridler, on December the lath, replied, telling Wildman to advise Ayoneillo that the United States does not negotiate treaties, and it is not possible to forward arms. You should not encourage any tendency on the part of Agoncillo to communicate with the Department." A long letter of date July the 18th, from Consul Wildman, defends Agoncillo, as a man who had been systematically blackened. Saya he: According to his own.statement he has been approached by Spsin and yy Germany and has tempting offers from the Catholic Church."
On April the 28th, Consul Pratt telegraphed from Singapore: " Aguinaldo gone at my instance to Hongkong to arrange with Dewey for ce-operation of insurgents at Manila."
On June the 20th Secretary Day telegraphed Pratt, among other things Avoid any negotiations with Philippine insurgents."
Pratt replied that he had no intentions of negotiating. Says he: Left that to Dewey, who desires Ayuinaldo to come." Secretary Day again admonished Pratt to be cautions to create no impression that might embarrass the government and lead to misunderstanding in its future action.
On July the 2nd, Pratt reported to the Department that the Sultan of the Sulu Islands was in negotiation at Singapore for the annexation of his group to British Borneo, which, he said, should be watched.
All of the statements made by General Merritt before the American Commission at Paris appear in the document. In substance he said the insurgents would fight if the attempt was made to surrender Luzon to Spain; Spain could not reduce the islands unaided. Asked whether the insurgents were capable of government, ho replied that it would take time; they would have to be educated up to it. Senator Frye asked if the natives would enlist under the American flag and if Aguinaldo could be given a command. He replied in the affirmative to both questions. Further he said that Major Bell's report showed that the insurgents had 39,500 stands of arms, Aguinaldo had $300,000 in bank in Hongkong and $200,000 of public funds in Bancoor. Major Bell expressed the opinion that if the United States should govern the islands for a yeat Aguinaldo would have no army left.
General Greene's statement is also produced. He said there were 13,000 Spanish prisoners in the islands, including 400 officers, with 22,000 army and 22,000,000 rounds of ammunition. He described Aguinaldo's character and said that much tact would be requited in dealing with him. In his opinion the chieftain did not command the support of a large body of Filipinos. "Then it) must he remembered that the insurgents were all Tagalos, only one of the thirty races in the Philippines. At the time he spoke none of the 2,000,000 Visayas, a people of equal abilities, had taken any part. He was asked what chance there would be for a native government, to which he replied: **No native govern: ment can maintain itself without the active support of a strong foreign government. It is difficult to see how any foreign government can give this protection without taking such an active part in the management of affairs as is practically equivalent to its own name.
There is a vast amount of other matter included in the papers, extracts from newspapers, long special reports on the mineral and other resources of the islands, historical treatises, statistical statements of value of imports and exports; and, in
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.