Manila, Sept. 9.
The great war now raging in Europe, and the slight value that a great Power has put on treaties of neutrality, has made some of the leading Filipinos in the Philippines "furiously to think," as our French friends would say; with the result that some sixty influential men in Manila have become impressed with be the idea of a Philippine Commonwealth with the United States as the suzerain Power; even as Canada, Aut alia, New Zealand and South are under the aegis of Great Britain; and have thereto busied themselves in obtaining of the most important Filipinos to a petition praying Congress to give them this form of government.
According to information to hand, many of the signatures already attached to the document are those of men who are the most respected among the Filipino business section of the community and can be termed thoroughly representative of all that is best of the people. It is hoped that the number of signatures will soon reach 500, on which it is the intention to interest Speaker Osmena and request him to forward the same, with euch comment as he may think necessary, to Senor Manuel Quezon at Washington for presentation to Congress in connexion with the Jones' Bill.
As far as I can gather from one of the signatories, there accompanies the petition " rough draft of 8 proposed organic act conferring on the people of the islands essentially the same powers now enjoyed by the citizens of Canada, Australia and New Zealand under British domina-
29 tion. It is this which it is asked be substituted by Congress for the present Jones bill that is now under I also understand that has been drawn up by an American, who is recognized in the city as an authority on affairs connected with colonial government and administration, at the express wish of several prominent Filipinos whose large interests in the archi-pelage, and whose complete isolation from the field of polities, give extra weight to their view!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.