CHAPTER XXII

The Tagalog Rebellion of 1896-98 First Period

After the Napoleonic wars in Spain, the "Junta Suprema Central del Reino" convened the famous "Cortes de Cadiz" by decree dated September 12, 1809. This _junta_ was succeeded by another--"El Supremo Consejo de la Regencia"--when the _Cortes_ passed the first Suffrage Bill known in Spain on January 29, 1810. These _Cortes_ assembled deputies from all the Colonies--Cuba, Venezuela, Chile, Guatemala, Santa Fe, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, etc.; in fact, all those dependencies which constituted the four Viceroyalties and the eight Captain-Generalships of the day. The Philippine deputy, Ventura de los Reyes, signed the Act of Constitution of 1812. In 1820 the _Cortes_ again admitted this Colony's representatives, amongst whom were Vicente Posadas, Eulalio Ramirez, Anselmo Jorge Fajardos, Roberto Pimental, Esteban Marques, Jose Florentino, Manuel Saez de Vismanos, Jose Azcarraga, and nine others. They also took part in the parliamentary debates of 1822 and 1823. The Constitution was shortly afterwards suspended, but on the demise of Ferdinand VII. the Philippine deputies, Brigadier Garcia Gamba and the half-breed Juan Francisco Lecaros, sat in Parliament. Again, and for the last time, Philippine members figured in the _Cortes_ of the Isabella II. Regency; then, on the opening of Parliament in 1837, their exclusion, as well as the government of the Ultramarine Provinces by special laws, was voted.

The friars, hitherto regarded by the majority of Filipinos as their protectors and friendly intermediaries between the people and the civil rulers, had set their faces against the above radical innovations, foreseeing in them a death-blow to their own preponderance. Indeed, the "friar question" only came into existence after the year 1812.

In 1868 Queen Isabella II. was deposed, and the succeeding Provisional Government (1868-70), founded on Republican principles, caused an Assembly of Reformists to be established in Manila. The members of this _Junta General de Reformas_ were five Filipinos, namely, Ramon Calderon, Bonifacio Saez de Vismanos, Lorenzo Calvo, Gabriel Gonzalez Esquibel, and Joaquin Pardo de Tavera; eleven civilian Spaniards, namely, Joaquin J. Inchausti, Tomas Balbas y Castro, Felino Gil, Antonio Ayala, with seven others and five Spanish friars, namely, Father Fonseca, Father Domingo Trecera, Rector of the University, (Dominicans), one Austin, one Recoleto and one Franciscan friar. This _junta_ had the power to vote reforms for the Colony, subject to the ratification of the Home Government. But monastic influence prevailed; the reforms voted were never carried into effect, and long before the Bourbon restoration took place (1874) the Philippine Assembly had ceased to exist. But it was impossible for the mother country, which had spontaneously given the Filipinos a taste of political equality, again to yoke them to the old tutelage without demur. Alternate political progress and retrogression in the Peninsula cast their reflex on this Colony, but the first sparks of liberty had been gratuitously struck which neither reaction in the Peninsula nor persecution in the Colony itself could totally extinguish. No Filipino, at that period, dreamed of absolute independence, but the few who had been taught by their masters to hope for equal laws, agitated for their promulgation and became a thorn in the side of the Monastic Orders. Only as their eyes were spontaneously opened to liberty by the Spaniards themselves did they feel the want of it.

The Cavite Rising of 1872 (_vide_ p. 106), which the Philippine Government unwisely treated as an important political movement and mercilessly avenged itself by executions and banishment of many of the best Manila families, was neither forgotten nor forgiven. To me, as a foreigner, scores of representative provincial natives did not hesitate to open their hearts in private on the subject. The Government lost considerably by its uncalled-for severity on this occasion. The natives regarded it as a sign of apprehension, and a proof of the intention to rule with an iron rod. The Government played into the hands of the Spanish clergy, and all the friars gained by strengthening their monopoly of the incumbencies they lost in moral prestige. Thinking men really pitied the Government, which became more and more the instrument of the ecclesiastics. Since then, serious ideas of a revolution to be accomplished one day took root in the minds of influential Filipinos throughout the provinces adjacent to Manila. _La Solidaridad_, a Philippine organ, founded in Madrid by Marcelo Hilario del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, Eduardo Leyte and Antonio Luna for the furtherance of Philippine interests was proscribed, but copies entered the Islands clandestinely. In the villages, secret societies were formed which the priests chose to call "Freemasonry"; and on the ground that all vows which could not be explained at the confessional were anti-christian, the Archbishop gave strict injunctions to the friars to ferret out the so-called Freemasons. Denunciations by hundreds quickly followed, for the priests willingly availed themselves of this licence to get rid of anti-clericals and others who had displeased them. In the town of Malolos (which in 1898 became the seat of the Revolutionary Congress) Father Moises Santos caused all the members of the Town Council to be banished, and when I last dined with him in his convent, he told me he had cleared out a few more and had his eye on others. From other villages, notably in the provinces around the capital, the priests had their victims escorted up to Manila and consigned to the Gov.-General, who issued the deportation orders without trial or sentence, the recommendation of the all-powerful _padre_ being sufficient warrant. Thus hundreds of families were deprived of fathers and brothers without warning or apparent justification;--but it takes a great deal to rouse the patient native to action. Then in 1895 came the Marahui campaign in Mindanao (_vide_ p. 144). In order to people the territory around Lake Lanao, conquered from the _Moros_, it was proposed to invite families to migrate there from the other islands, and notifications to this effect were issued to all the provincial governors. At first it was put to the people in the smooth form of a proposal. None volunteered to go, because they could not see why they should give up what they had to go and waste their lives on a tract of virgin soil with the very likely chance of a daily attack from the _Moros_. Peremptory orders followed, requiring the governors to send up "emigrants" for the Yligan district. This caused a great commotion in the provinces, and large numbers of natives abandoned their homes to evade anticipated violence. I have no proof as to who originated this scheme, but there is the significant fact that the _orders_ were issued only to the authorities of those provinces supposed to be affected by the secret societies. Under the then existing system, the governors could not act in a case like this without the co-operation of the parish priests; hence during the years 1895 and 1896 a systematic course of official sacerdotal tyranny was initiated which, being too much even for the patient Filipino, was the immediate cause of the members of the _Katipunan_ secret society hastening their plans for open rebellion, the plot of which was prematurely discovered on Thursday, August 20, 1896. The rebellion in Cuba was calling for all the resources in men and material that Spain could send there. The total number of European troops dispersed over these Islands did not exceed 1,500 well armed and well officered, of which about 700 were in Manila. The native auxiliaries amounted to about 6,000. The impression was gaining ground that the Spaniards would be beaten out of Cuba; but whilst this idea gave the Tagalogs moral courage to attempt the same in these Islands, so far as one could then foresee, Spain's reverse in the Antilles and the consequent evacuation would have permitted her to pour troops into Manila, causing the natives' last chance to vanish indefinitely.

Several months before the outbreak, the _Katipunan_ sent a deputation to Japan to present a petition to the Mikado, praying him to annex the Philippines. This petition, said to have been signed by 5,000 Filipinos, was received by the Japanese Government, who forwarded it to the Spanish Government; hence the names of 5,000 disaffected persons were known to the Philippine authorities, who did not find it politic to raise the storm by immediate arrests.

The so-called "Freemasonry" which had so long puzzled and irritated the friars, turned out, therefore, to be the _Katipunan_, which simply means the "League." [173] The leaguers, on being sworn in, accepted the "blood compact" (vide p. 28), taking from an incision on the leg or arm the blood with which to inscribe the roll of fraternity. The cicatrice served also as a mark of mutual recognition, so that the object and plans of the leaguers should never be discussed with others. The drama was to have opened with a general slaughter of Spaniards on the night of August 20, but, just in the nick of time, a woman sought confession of Father Mariano Gil (formerly parish priest of Bigaa, Bulacan), then the parish priest of Tondo, a suburb of Manila, and opened the way for a leaguer, whose heart had failed him, to disclose the plot on condition of receiving full pardon. With this promise he made a clean breast of everything, and without an hour's delay the civil guard was on the track of the alleged prime movers. Three hundred supposed disaffected persons were seized in Manila and the Provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan within a few hours, and, large numbers being brought in daily, the prisons were soon crowded to excess. The implacable Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda advocated extermination by fire and sword and wholesale executions. Gov.-General Ramon Blanco hesitated to take the offensive, pending the arrival of reinforcements which were called for. He informed the Home Government that the rising was of no great importance, but that he required 1,000 more troops to be sent at once. The reply from Madrid was that they were sending 2,000 men, 2,000,000 cartridges, 6,000 Remington rifles, and the gunboats _Isla de Cuba_ and _Isla de Luzon_. Each steamer brought a contingent of troops, so that General Blanco had a total of about 10,000 Spanish regulars by the end of November. Spain's best men had been drafted off to Cuba, and these were chiefly raw levies who had all to learn in the art of warfare.

Meanwhile, the rebellion had assumed alarming proportions. Among the first to be seized were many of the richest and most prominent men in the Colony--the cream of Manila society. There was intense excitement in the capital as their names gradually leaked out, for many of them were well known to us personally or by repute. No one who possessed wealth was safe. An opulent Chinese half-caste, Don Pedro P. Rojas, who was popularly spoken of as the prime supporter of the rebellion, was a guest at Government House two days before the hour fixed for the general slaughter. It cost him a fortune to be allowed to leave the Islands. He took his passage for Europe in the _Isla de Panay_, together with Dr. Rizal, but very prudently left that steamer at Singapore and went on in the French mail to Marseilles and thence to Paris, where he was still residing in 1905. No _documentary_ evidence could be produced against him, and on June 1, 1897, the well-known politician, Romero Robledo, undertook his defence in the _Cortes_, in Madrid, in a brilliant speech which had no effect on his parliamentary colleagues. For the Spaniards, indeed, the personal character of Pedro P. Rojas was a matter of no moment. The Manila court-martial, out of whose jurisdiction Rojas had escaped, held his estates, covering over 70,000 acres, under embargo, caused his numerous steam cane-mills to be smashed, and his beautiful estate-house to be burnt, whilst his 14,000 head of cattle disappeared. Subsequently the military court exonerated Pedro P. Rojas in a decree which stated "that all those persons who made accusations against him have unreservedly retracted them, and that they were only extracted from such persons by the tortures employed by the Spanish officials; that the supposed introduction of arms into the Colony through an estate owned by Pedro P. Rojas is purely fantastical, and that the only arms possessed by the rebels were those taken by them in combat from the Spanish soldiers." [174] But his second cousin, Francisco L. Rojas, a shipowner, contrabandist, and merchant, was not so fortunate. He was also one of the first seized, and his trial was pending until General Blanco left the Islands. During this period Rojas' wife besought the General to release him, but he could not do so without incurring public censure, in view of the real or fictitious condemnatory evidence brought against him by the court-martial. The chief accusation was that of importing arms for the rebellion. It even became a current topic, for a few weeks, that some German merchants had made a contract with Rojas to sell him the arms, but the Spanish authorities had sufficient good sense, on this occasion, not to be guided by public outcry. When General Polavieja arrived, Francisco L. Rojas' fate became a certainty, and he was executed as a traitor. The departure of Pedro P. Rojas and the serenity of General Blanco aroused great indignation among the civilian Spaniards who clamoured for active measures. A week passed before it was apparent to the public that he had taken any military action. Meanwhile, he was urged in vain by his advisers to proclaim martial law. The press censor would not allow the newspapers to allude to the conspirators as "rebels," but as "brigands" (_tulisanes_). The authorities were anxious to stifle the notion of rebellion, and to treat the whole movement as a marauding affair. On August 23 the leading newspaper published a patriotic appeal to the Spaniards to go _en masse_ the next day to the Gov.-General to concert measures for public safety. They closed their shops and offices, and assembled before Government House; but the General refused to receive them, and ordered the newspaper to pay a fine of P500, which sum was at once raised in the streets and cafes.

On August 26, 1,000 rebels made a raid on Coloocan, four miles outside the capital. They killed a few Chinese, and seized others to place them in the van of their fighting men. The armed crowd was kept at bay by a posse of civil guards, until they learnt that a cavalry reinforcement was on the way from Manila. Then the rebels, under cover of darkness, fled towards the river, and were lost sight of. The next morning I watched the troopers cross over the _Puente de Espana_. There was mud up to the ponies' bellies, for they had scoured the district all around. The hubbub was tremendous among the habitual saunterers on the _Escolta_--the Rialto of Manila. For the next few days every Spaniard one met had some startling news to tell, until, by the end of the week, a reaction set in, and amidst jokes and _copitas_ of spirits, the idea that the Coloocan affair was the prelude to a rebellion was utterly ridiculed. The Gov.-General still refused to proclaim martial law, considering such a grave measure unnecessary, when suddenly the whole city was filled with amazement by the news of a far more serious attack near Manila.

About 4 a.m. on Sunday, August 30, the rebels concentrated at the village of San Juan del Monte, distant half an hour on horseback from the city gates. They endeavoured to seize the powder magazine. One Spanish artilleryman was killed and several of the defenders were badly wounded whilst engaged in dropping ammunition from window openings into a stream which runs close by. Cavalry and infantry reinforcements were at once sent out, and the first battle was fought at the entrance to the village of San Juan del Monte. The rebels made a hard stand this time under the leadership of Sancho Valenzuela (a hemp-rope maker in a fairly good way of business), but he showed no military skill and chiefly directed his men by frantic shouts from the window of a wooden house. Naturally, as soon as they had to retreat, Valenzuela and his three companions were taken prisoners. The rebels left about 80 dead on the field and fled towards the Pasig River, which they tried to cross. Their passage was at first cut off by gunboats, which fired volleys into the retreating mob and drove them higher up the bank, where there was some hand-to-hand fighting. Over a hundred managed to get into canoes with the hope of reaching the Lake of Bay; but, as they passed up the river, the civil guard, lying in ambush on the opposite shore, fired upon them, and in the consequent confusion every canoe was upset. The loss to the rebels in the river and on the bank was reckoned at about 50. The whole of that day the road to San Juan del Monte was occupied by troops, and no civilian was allowed to pass. At 3 p.m. the same day martial law was proclaimed in Manila and seven other Luzon provinces.

The next morning at sunrise I rode out to the battlefield with the correspondent of the _Ejercito Espanol_ (Madrid). The rebel slain had not yet been removed. We came across them everywhere--in the fields and in the gutters of the highroad. Old men and youths had joined in the scrimmage and, with one exception, every corpse we saw was attired in the usual working dress. This one exception we found literally upside down with his head stuck in the mud of a paddy-field. Our attention was drawn to him (and possibly the Spaniards' bullets, too) by his bright red baggy zouave trousers. We rode into the village, which was absolutely deserted by its native inhabitants, and stopped at the estate-house of the friars where the Spanish officers lodged. The _padre_ looked extremely anxious, and the officers advised us not to go the road we intended, as rebel parties were known to be lurking there. The military advice being practically a command, we took the highroad to Sampaloc on our way back to the city.

In the meantime the city drawbridges, which had probably not been raised since 1852 (_vide_ p. 343, footnote), were put into working order--the bushes which had been left to flourish around the approaches were cut down, and the Spanish civilians were called upon to form volunteer cavalry and infantry corps. So far the rebel leaders had issued no proclamation. It was not generally known what their aims were--whether they sought independence, reforms, extermination of Spaniards or Europeans generally. The attitude of the thoroughbred native non-combatants was glum silence born of fear. The half-castes, who had long vaunted their superior birth to the native, found themselves between two stools. If the natives were going to succeed in the battle, they (the half-castes) would want to be the peaceful wire-pullers after the storm. On the other hand, they had so long striven to be regarded as on a social equality with the Spaniards that they could not now abstain from espousing their cause against the rebels without exciting suspicion. Therefore, in the course of a few days, the half-castes resident in the capital came forward to enlist as volunteers. But no one imagined, at that time, how widespread was the _Katipunan_ league. To the profound surprise of the Spaniards it was discovered, later on, that many of the half-caste volunteers were rebels in disguise, bearing the "blood compact" mark, and presumably only waiting to see which way the chances of war would turn to join the winning side.

Under sentence of the court-martial established on August 30, the four rebel leaders in the battle of San Juan del Monte were executed on September 4, on the Campo de Bagumbayan, facing the fashionable Luneta Esplanade, by the seashore. Three sides of a square were formed by 1,500 Spanish and half-caste volunteers and 500 regular troops. Escorted by two Austin and two Franciscan friars, the condemned men walked to the execution-ground from the chapel within the walled city, where they had been confined since the sentence was passed. They were perfectly self-composed. They arrived on the ground pinioned; their sentence was read to them and Valenzuela was unpinioned for a minute to sign some document at a table. When he was again tied up, all four were made to kneel on the ground in a row facing the open sea-beach side of the square. Then amidst profound silence, an officer, at the head of 16 Spanish soldiers, walked round the three sides of the square, halting at each corner to pronounce publicly the formula--"In the name of the King! Whosoever shall raise his voice to crave clemency for the condemned shall suffer death." The 16 soldiers filed off in fours and stood about five yards behind each culprit. As the officer lowered his sword the volley was fired, and all but Valenzuela sank down and rolled over dead. It was the most impressive sight I had witnessed for years. The bullets, which had passed clean through Valenzuela's body, threw up the gravel in front of him. He remained kneeling erect half a minute, and then gradually sank on his side. He was still alive, and four more shots, fired close to his head, scattered his brains over the grass. Conveyances were in readiness to carry off the corpses, and the spectators quitted the mournful scene in silence. This was the first execution, which was followed by four others in Manila and one in Cavite in General Blanco's time, and scores more subsequently.

Up the river the rebels were increasing daily, and at Pasig a thousand of them threatened the civil guard, compelling that small force and the parish priest to take refuge in the belfry tower. On the river-island of Pandacan, just opposite to the European Club at Nagtajan, a crowd of armed natives, about 400 strong, attacked the village, sacked the church, and drove the parish priest up the belfry tower. In this plight the _padre_ was seen to wave a handkerchief, and so drew the attention of the guards stationed higher up the river. Aid was sent to him at once; the insurgents were repulsed with great loss, but one European sergeant was killed, and several native soldiers wounded. The rebellion had spread to the northern province of Nueva Ecija, where the Governor and all the Europeans who fled to the Government House in San Isidro were besieged for a day (September 8) and only saved from capture by the timely arrival from Manila of 500 troops, who outflanked the insurgents and dispersed them with great slaughter. In Bulacan the flying column under Major Lopez Arteaga had a score of combats with the rebels, who were everywhere routed. Spaniards and creoles were maltreated wherever they were found. A young creole named Chofre, well known in Manila, went out to Mariquina to take photographic views with a foreign half-caste friend of his named Augustus Morris. When they saw the rebels they ran into a hut, which was set fire to. Morris (who was not distinguishable as a foreigner) tried to escape and was shot, whilst Chofre was burnt to death. From Maragondon a Spanish lady was brought to Manila raving mad. At 23, _Calle Cabildo_ (Manila), the house of a friend of mine, I several times saw a Spanish lady who had lost her reason in Mariquina, an hour's drive from Manila.

Crowds of peaceful natives swarmed into the walled city from the suburbs. The Gov.-General himself abandoned his riverside residence at Malacanan, and came with his staff to _Calle Potenciana_. During the first four months quite 5,000 Chinese, besides a large number of Spanish and half-caste families, fled to Hong-Kong. The passport system was revived; that is to say, no one could leave Manila for the other islands or abroad without presenting himself personally at the Civil Governor's office to have his _cedula personal_ vised.

The seditious tendency of a certain Andres Bonifacio, a warehouse-man in the employ of a commercial firm in Manila, having come to the knowledge of the Spaniards, he was prematurely constrained to seek safety in Cavite Province which, thenceforth, became the most important centre of the rebellion. Simultaneously Emilio Aguinaldo [175] rallied his fighting-men, and for a short while these two organizers operated conjointly, Bonifacio being nominally the supreme chief. From the beginning, however, there was discord between the two leaders as to the plan of campaign to be adopted. Bonifacio advocated barbarous persecution and extermination of the Europeans, whilst Aguinaldo insisted that he was fighting for a cause for which he sought the sympathy and moral support of friends of liberty all the world over and that this could never be obtained if they conducted themselves like savages. Consequent on this disagreement as to the _modus operandi_, Bonifacio and Aguinaldo became rivals, each seeking the suppression of the other. Aguinaldo himself explains [176] that Bonifacio having condemned him to death, he retaliated in like manner, and the contending factions met at Naig. Leaving his armed followers outside, Aguinaldo alone entered the house where Bonifacio was surrounded by his counsellors, for he simply wished to have an understanding with his rival. Bonifacio, however, so abusively confirmed his intention to cut short Aguinaldo's career that the latter withdrew, and ordered his men to seize Bonifacio, who was forthwith executed, by Aguinaldo's order, for the prosperity of the cause and the good of his country.

Bonifacio's followers were few, and, from this moment, Emilio Aguinaldo gradually rose from obscurity to prominence. Born at Cauit [177] (Cavite) on March 22, 1869, of poor parents, he started life in the service of the incumbent of San Francisco de Malabon. Later on he went to Manila, where, through the influence of a relative, employed in a humble capacity in the capital, he was admitted into the College of San Juan de Letran under the auspices of the Dominican friars. Subsequently he became a schoolmaster at Silan (Cavite), and at the age of twenty-six years he was again in his native town as petty-governor (Municipal Captain). He is a man of small frame with slightly webbed eyes, betraying the Chinese blood in his veins, and a protruding lower lip and prominent chin indicative of resolve. Towards me his manner was remarkably placid and unassuming, and his whole bearing denoted the very antithesis of the dashing warrior. Throughout his career he has shown himself to be possessed of natural politeness, and ever ready with the soft answer that turneth away wrath. He understands Spanish perfectly well, but does not speak it very fluently. Aguinaldo's explanation to me of the initial acts of rebellion was as follows:--He had reason to know that, in consequence of something having leaked out in Manila regarding the immature plans of the conspirators, he was a marked man, so he resolved to face the situation boldly. He had then been petty-governor of his town (Cauit) sixteen months, and in that official capacity he summoned the local detachment of the civil guard to the Town Hall, having previously arranged his plan of action with the town guards (_cuadrilleros_). Aguinaldo then spoke aside to the sergeant, to whom he proposed the surrender of their arms. As he quite anticipated, his demand was refused, so he gave the agreed signal to his _cuadrilleros_, who immediately surrounded the guards and disarmed them. Thereupon Aguinaldo and his companions, being armed, fled at once to the next post of the civil guard and seized their weapons also. With this small equipment he and his party escaped into the interior of the province, towards Silan, situated at the base of the Sungay [178] Mountain, where the numerous ravines in the slopes running towards the Lake Bombon (popularly known as the Lake of Taal) afforded a safe retreat to the rebels. Hundreds of natives soon joined him, for the secret of Aguinaldo's influence was the widespread popular belief in his possession of the _anting-anting_ (_vide_ p. 237); his continuous successes, in the first operations, strengthened this belief; indeed, he seemed to have the lucky star of a De Wet without the military genius.

On August 31, 1896, eleven days after the plot was discovered in Manila, he issued his _pronunciamiento_ simultaneously at his birthplace, at Novaleta, and at San Francisco de Malabon. This document, however, is of little historic value, for, instead of setting forth the aims of the revolutionists, it is simply a wild exhortation to the people, in general vague terms, to take arms and free themselves from oppression. In San Francisco de Malabon Aguinaldo rallied his forces prior to their march to Imus, [179] their great strategic point. The village itself, situated in the centre of a large, well-watered plain, surrounded by planted land, was nothing--a mere collection of wooden or bamboo-and-thatch dwellings. The distance from Manila would be about 16 miles by land, with good roads leading to the bay shore towns. The people were very poor, being tenants or dependents of the friars; hence the only building of importance was the friars' estate-house, which was really a fortress in the estimation of the natives. This residence was situated in the middle of a compound surrounded by massive high walls, and to it some 17 friars fled on the first alarm. For the rebels, therefore, Imus had a double value--the so-called fortress and the capture of the priests. After a siege which lasted long enough for General Blanco to have sent troops against them, the rebels captured Imus estate-house on September 1, and erected barricades there. Thirteen of the priests fell into their hands. They cut trenches and threw up earthworks in several of the main roads of the province, and strengthened their position at Novaleta. Marauding parties were sent out everywhere to steal the crops and live-stock, which were conveyed in large quantities to Imus. Some of the captured priests were treated most barbarously. One was cut up piecemeal; another was saturated with petroleum and set on fire, and a third was bathed in oil and fried on a bamboo spit run through the length of his body. There was a _Requiem_ Mass for this event. During the first few months of the rising many such atrocities were committed by the insurgents. The Naig outrage caused a great sensation in the capital. The lieutenant had been killed, and the ferocious band of rebels seized his widow and daughter eleven years old. The child was ravished to death, and they were just digging a pit to bury the mother alive when she was rescued and brought to Manila in the steam-launch _Mariposa_ raving mad, disguised as a native woman. Aguinaldo, personally, was humanely inclined, for at his headquarters he held captive one Spanish trooper, an army lieutenant, a Spanish planter, a friar, and two Spanish ladies, all of whom were fairly well treated. The priest was allowed to read his missal, the lieutenant and trooper were made blacksmiths, and the planter had to try his hand at tailoring.

The insurgents occupied Paranaque and Las Pinas on the outskirts of Manila, and when General Blanco had 5,000 fresh troops at his disposal he still refrained from attacking the rebels in their positions. Military men, in conversation with me, excused this inaction on the ground that, to rout the rebels completely without having sufficient troops to garrison the places taken and to form flying columns to prevent the insurgents fleeing to the mountain fastnesses, would only require them to do the work over again when they reappeared. So General Blanco went on waiting in the hope that more troops would arrive with which to inflict such a crushing defeat on the rebels as would ensure a lasting peace. The rebels were in possession of Imus for several months. Three weeks after they took it, artillery was slowly carried over to Cavite, which is connected with the mainland by a narrow isthmus, so the rebels hastened to construct a long line of trenches immediately to the south of this (_vide_ map), whereby communication with the heart of the province was effectually cut off. Not only did their mile and a half of trenches and stockade check any advance into the interior from the isthmus, but it served as a rallying-point whence Cavite itself was menaced. The Spaniards, therefore, forced to take the offensive to save Cavite falling into rebel hands, made an attack on the Novaleta defences with Spanish troops and loyal native auxiliaries on November 10. The next day the Spaniards were repulsed at Binacayan with the loss of one-third of the 73rd Native Regiment and 60 Spanish troops, with 50 of both corps wounded. The intention to carry artillery towards Imus was abandoned and the Spaniards fell back on Dalahican, about a mile north of the rebel trenches of Novaleta, where they established a camp at which I spent a whole day. They had four large guns and two bronze mortars; in the trench adjoining the camp they had one gun. The troops numbered 3,500 Spaniards under the command of General Rios. The 73rd Native Regiment survivors had quarters there, but they were constantly engaged in making sorties on the road leading to Manila. No further attempt was made in General Blanco's time to dislodge the rebels from their splendidly-constructed trenches, which, however, could easily have been shelled from the sea side.

A number of supposed promoters of the rebellion filled the Cavite prison, and I went over to witness the execution of 13 of them on September 12. I knew two or three of them by sight. One was a Chinese half-caste, the son of a rich Chinaman then living. The father was held to be a respectable man of coolie origin, but the son, long before the rebellion, had a worthless reputation.

In the Provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan, north of Manila, the rebel mob, under the command of a native of Cabiao (Nueva Ecija) named Llaneras, was about 3,000 strong. To oppose this Major Lopez Arteaga had a flying column of 500 men, and between the contending parties there were repeated encounters with no definite result. Whenever the rebels were beaten off and pursued they fled to their strongholds of San Mateo (Manila, now Rizal) and Angat (Bulacan). The Spaniards made an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge the enemy at Angat, whilst at San Mateo, where they were supposed to be 5,000 strong, they were left undisturbed. The rebels attacked Calumpit (Bulacan), pillaged several houses, decapitated an Englishman's cook, and drove the civil guard and the parish priest up the belfry tower. On the other side of the river, Llaneras visited the rice-mills of an Anglo-American firm, took some refreshment, and assured the manager, Mr. Scott, that the rebels had not the least intention to interfere with any foreigners (as distinguished from Spaniards), against whom they had no complaint whatever.

At length a plan of campaign was prepared, and expeditionary forces were to march in two directions through the disaffected provinces south of Manila, and combine, according to circumstances, when the bulk of the rebels could be driven together. One division operated from the lake town of Vinan, whilst General Jaramillo took his troops round to Batangas Province and worked northwards. Before the lake forces had gone very far they met with a reverse at the hands of the rebels in the neighbourhood of Carmona, but rallied and pushed on towards the rebel quarters near Silan, where the enemy was apparently concentrating for a great struggle. The combined columns under General Jaramillo at length opened the attack. A pitched battle was fought, and no quarter was given on either side. This fierce contest lasted a whole day, and the Spaniards were forced to retire with considerable loss. The combined operations accomplished nothing decisive, and served only to check an advance on the capital by the rebels, who were already in practical possession of the whole of Cavite province excepting the port, arsenal, and isthmus of Cavite.

In Manila the volunteers mounted guard whilst the regulars went to the front. For a while the volunteers were allowed to make domiciliary search, and they did very much as they liked. Domiciliary search was so much abused that it had to be forbidden, for the volunteers took to entering any house they chose, and roughly examined the persons of natives to see if they had the _Katipunan_ brand. Crowds of suspects were brought into Manila, and shiploads of them were sent away in local steamers to the Caroline Islands and Mindanao, whilst every mail-steamer carried batches of them _en route_ for Fernando Po. On October 1 the s.s. _Manila_ sailed with 300 Filipinos for Chafarinas Islands, Ceuta, and other African penal settlements. In the local steamers many of them died on the way. The ordinary prisons were more than full, and about 600 suspects were confined in the dungeons of Fort Santiago at the mouth of the Pasig River, where a frightful tragedy occurred. The dungeons were over-crowded; the river-water filtered in through the crevices in the ancient masonry; the Spanish sergeant on duty threw his rug over the only light- and ventilating-shaft, and in a couple of days carts were seen by many citizens carrying away the dead, calculated to number 70. Provincial governors and parish priests seemed to regard it as a duty to supply the capital with batches of "suspects" from their localities. In Vigan, where nothing had occurred, many of the heads of the best families and moneyed men were arrested and brought to Manila in a steamer. They were bound hand and foot, and carried like packages of merchandise in the hold. I happened to be on the quay when the steamer discharged her living freight with chains and hooks to haul up and swing out the bodies like bales of hemp. From Nueva Caceres (Camarines), the Abellas and several other rich families and native priests were seized and shipped off. Poor old Manuel Abella, like scores of others, was tortured in Bilibid prison and finally shot. He was a notary, unfortunately possessed of a fine estate coveted by an impecunious Spaniard, who denounced Abella, and was rewarded by being appointed "Administrator" of his property, out of which he so enriched himself that he was able, in a few months, to return to Spain in a good financial position. A friend of mine, a native planter of Balayan, was imprisoned for months, and then sent back to his town declared innocent. He had been a marked man since 1895, just after his son Quintin, a law student, had had a little altercation with his clerical professors in Manila. Thousands of peaceful natives were treated with unjustifiable ferocity. The old torture-chamber on the ground-floor of the convent of Baliuag (Bulacan) is still shown to visitors. The court-martial, established under the presidency of a colonel, little by little practised systematic extortion, for, within three months of the outbreak, hundreds of the richest natives and half-castes in Manila were imprisoned for a few days and released _conditionally_. From the lips of my late friend, Telesforo Chuidian, a wealthy Chinese half-caste, known to all Manila society, I heard of the squalid misery and privations to which he and others of his class were subjected, but the complete list would fill a page. Some were even re-arrested for the same nefarious purpose, and the daily papers published their names on each occasion. Archbishop Nozaleda and Gov.-General Blanco were at variance from the beginning of the revolt, and in accordance with historical precedent it could only end in one way, namely, that the clerical party advised the Canovas Ministry to recall the General and appoint in his stead another who would be obedient to the friars.

General Blanco was not sufficiently sanguinary for the monks. As a strategist he had refused, at the outset, to undertake with 1,500 European troops a task which was only accomplished by his successor with 28,000 men. But the priests thought they knew better, and Blanco left for Spain in December, 1896. The relative positions of the parties at this crisis stood as follows:--The rebels were in possession of the whole of the Province of Cavite excepting the city and arsenal of Cavite and the isthmus connecting that city with the mainland. They were well fortified at Imus with trenches and stockades extending from the estate-house fort in several directions, defended by an army of 6,000 to 7,000 men. Their artillery was most primitive, however, consisting only of a few small guns called _lantacas_, some new guns of small calibre roughly cast out of the church bells, and iron waterpipes of large diameter converted into _mitrailleuse_ mortars. They were strongly entrenched behind a mile and a half of strategically constructed earthworks defending the town of Novaleta, which they held. They were supposed to have at least 20,000 men in occupation there. Including San Francisco de Malabon, Silan, Perez Dasmarinas, and the several other places they held, their total force in the whole province was estimated at 35,000 men. About one-fifth of that number was armed with rifles (chiefly Mauesers), the remainder carrying bowie-knives and bamboo lances. The bowie-knife was irresistible by the Spaniards when the native came to close-quarter fighting. The rebels had ample supplies of rice, buffaloes, etc., stolen from the non-combatant natives. To my personal knowledge they had daily communication with Manila, and knew everything that was going on there and the public feeling in the capital. They had failed in the attempt to seize the town of Santa Cruz (La Laguna), where they killed one Spaniard and then retreated. Loyal natives in Vinan organized volunteer forces to keep them out of that town. Those Manila volunteers known as the _Guerrilla a muerte_ battalion, with a few regulars, frequently patrolled the lake coast in steam-launches from Manila, and kept the rebels from occupying that district. North of Manila the rebellion reached no farther than Bulacan and Pampanga Provinces, where Llaneras's flying column, together with the rebels in the mountain fastnesses of Angat and San Mateo, amounted to about 10,000 men. Llaneras notified the Manila-Dagupan (English) Railway officials that they were to cease carrying loyal troops on their line; but as those orders were not heeded, a train was wrecked on November 19 about 20 miles up from the capital. The locomotive and five carriages were smashed, the permanent-way was somewhat damaged, five individuals were wounded, and the total loss sustained was estimated at P40,000. In the last week of November the friars' estate-house at Malinta, some five miles north of Manila, was in flames; we could see the blaze from the bay. The slightest reverse to Spanish arms always drew a further crowd of rebels into the field.

The total European force when General Blanco left was about 10,000 men. In Cavite Province the Spaniards held only the camp of Dalahican, and the city and arsenal of Cavite with the isthmus. The total number of suspects shipped away was about 1,000. I was informed by my friend the Secretary of the Military Court that 4,377 individuals were awaiting trial by court-martial. The possibility of the insurgents ever being able to enter the capital was never believed in by the large majority of Europeans, although from a month after the outbreak the rebels continued to hold posts within a couple of hours' march from the old walls. The natives, however, were led to expect that the rebels would make an attempt to occupy the city on Saint Andrew's Day (the patron-saint day of Manila, _vide_ p. 50). The British Consul and a few British merchants were of opinion that a raid on the capital was imminent, and I, among others, was invited by letter, dated Manila, November 16, 1896, and written under the authority of H.B.M.'s Consul, to attend a meeting on the 18th of that month at the offices of a British establishment to concert measures for escape in such a contingency. In spite of these fears, business was carried on without the least apparent interruption.

When General Blanco reached Spain he quietly lodged at the Hotel de Roma in Madrid, and then took a private residence. Out of courtesy he was offered a position in the _Cuarto Militar_, which he declined to accept. For several months he remained under a political cloud, charged with incompetency to quell the Philippine Rebellion. But there is something to be said in justification of Blanco's inaction. He was importuned from the beginning by the relentless Archbishop and many leading civilians to take the offensive and start a war _a outrance_ with an inadequate number of European soldiers. His 6,000 native auxiliaries (as it proved later on) could not be relied upon in a _civil_ war. Against the foreign invader, with Spanish prestige still high, they would have made good loyal fighting-material. Blanco was no novice in civil wars. I remember his career during the previous twenty-five years. With his 700 European troops he parried off the attacks of the first armed mobs in the Province of Manila (now Rizal), and defended the city and the approaches to the capital. Five hundred European troops had to be left, here and there, in Visayas for the ordinary defence. Before the balance of 300 could be embarked in half a dozen places in the south and landed in Manila, the whole Province of Cavite was in arms. He could not leave the defence of the city entirely in the hands of untrained and undrilled volunteers and march the whole of his European regular troops into another province. A severe reverse, on the first encounter, might have proved fatal to Spanish sovereignty. Blanco had the enormous disadvantage (one must live there to appreciate it) of the wet season, and the rebels understood this. He had, therefore, to damp the movement by feigning to attach to it as little importance as possible. Lastly, Blanco was a man of moderate and humane tendencies; a colonial governor of the late Martinez Campos school, whose policy is--when all honourable peaceful means are exhausted, use force.

The Canovas party was broken up by the assassination of the Prime Minister on August 8, 1897. This ministry was followed by the provisional Azcarraga Cabinet, which, at the end of six weeks, was superseded by the Liberal party under the leadership of Praxedes Sagasta, who, to temporize with America, recalled the inflexible General Weyler from Cuba, and on October 9 appointed General Ramon Blanco, Marquis de Pena Plata, to take the command there.

General Camilo Polavieja (Marquis de Polavieja) arrived in Manila in December, 1896, as the successor of Blanco and the chosen _Messiah_ of the friars. He had made a great name in Cuba as an _energetic_ military leader, which, in Spanish colonies, always implied a tinge of wanton cruelty. In Spain he was regarded as the right arm of the ultra-clericals and a possible supporter of Carlism. He was accompanied by General Lachambre, whose acquaintance I made in Havana. In the same steamer with General Polavieja came 500 troops, whilst another steamer simultaneously brought 1,500. Polavieja, therefore, on landing, had about 12,000 European troops and 6,000 native auxiliaries; but each steamer brought fresh supplies until the total European land forces amounted to 28,000. By this time, however, the 6,000 native troops were very considerably reduced by desertion, and the remainder could hardly be relied upon. But Polavieja started his campaign with the immense advantage of having the _whole_ of the dry season before him. General Lachambre, as Deputy Commander of the forces, at once took the field against the rebels in Cavite Province. It would be tedious to relate in detail the numerous encounters with the enemy over this area. Battles were fought at Naig, Maragondon, Perez Dasmarinas, Nasugbu, Taal, Bacoor, Novaleta, and other places. Imus, which in Manila was popularly supposed to be a fortress of relative magnitude, whence the rebels would dispute every inch of ground, was attacked by a large force of loyal troops. On their approach the rebels set fire to the village and fled. Very few remained to meet the Spaniards, and as these few tried to escape across the paddy-fields and down the river they were picked off by sharp-shooters. It was a victory for the Spaniards, inasmuch as their demonstration of force scared the rebels into evacuation. But it was necessary to take Silan, which the rebels hastened to strengthen, closely followed up by the Spaniards. The place was well defended by earthworks and natural parapets, and for several hours the issue of the contest was doubtful. The rebels fought bravely, leaping from boulder to boulder to meet the foe. In every close-quarter combat the bowie-knife had a terrible effect, and the loyal troops had suffered heavily when a column of Spaniards was marched round to the rear of the rebels' principal parapet. They were lowered down with ropes on to a rising ground facing this parapet, and poured in a continuous rifle fire until the rebels had to evacuate it, and the general rout commenced with great slaughter to the insurgents, who dispersed in all directions. Their last stronghold south of Manila having been taken, they broke up into small detachments, which were chased and beaten wherever they made a stand. The Spaniards suffered great losses, but they gained their point, for the rebels, unable to hold any one place against this onslaught, were driven up to the Laguna Province and endeavoured unsuccessfully to hold the town of Santa Cruz. It is interesting to remark, in order to show what the rebel aim at that time really was, that they entered here with the cry of "Long live Spain; Death to the Friars!" After three months' hard fighting, General Lachambre was proclaimed the Liberator of Cavite and the adjoining districts, for, by the middle of March, 1897, every rebel contingent of any importance in that locality had been dispersed.

Like every other Spanish general in supreme command abroad, Polavieja had his enemies in Spain. The organs of the Liberal party attacked him unsparingly. Polavieja, as everybody knew, was the chosen executive of the friars, whose only care was to secure their own position. He was dubbed the "General Cristiano." He was their ideal, and worked hand-in-hand with them. He cabled for more troops to be sent with which to garrison the reconquered districts and have his army corps free to stamp out the rebellion, which was confined to the Northern Provinces. Cuba, which had already drained the Peninsula of over 200,000 men, still required fresh levies to replace the sick and wounded, and Polavieja's demand was refused. Immediately after this he cabled that his physical ailments compelled him to resign the commandership-in-chief, and begged the Government to appoint a successor. The Madrid journals hostile to him thereupon indirectly attributed to him a lie, and questioned whether his resignation was due to ill-health or his resentment of the refusal to send out more troops. Still urging his resignation, General Fernando Primo de Rivera was gazetted to succeed him, and Polavieja embarked at Manila for Spain on April 15, 1897. General Lachambre, as the hero of Cavite, followed to receive the applause which was everywhere showered upon him in Spain. As to Polavieja's merits, public opinion was very much divided, and as soon as it was known that he was on the way, a controversy was started in the Madrid press as to how he ought to be received. _El Imparcial_ maintained that he was worthy of being honoured as a 19th century conquering hero. This gave rise to a volley of abuse on the other side, who raked up all his antecedents and supposed tendencies, and openly denounced him as a dangerous politician and the supporter of theocratic absolutism. According to _El Liberal_ of May 11, Senor Ordax Avecilla, of the Red Cross Society, stated in his speech at the Madrid Mercantile Club, "If he (the General) thought of becoming dictator, he would fall from the heights of his glory to the Hades of nonentity." His enemies persistently insinuated that he was really returning to Spain to support the clericals actively. But perhaps the bitterest satire was levelled against him in _El Pais_ of May 10, which, in an article headed "The Great Farce," said: "Do you know who is coming? Cyrus, King of Persia; Alexander, King of Macedonia; Caesar Augustus; Scipio the African; Gonzalo de Cordova; Napoleon, the Great Napoleon, conqueror of worlds. What? Oh, unfortunate people, do you not know? Polavieja is coming, the incomparable Polavieja, crowned with laurels, commanding a fleet laden to the brim with rich trophies; it is Polavieja, gentlemen, who returns, discoverer of new worlds, to lay at the feet of Isabella the Catholic his conquering sword; it is Polavieja who returns after having cast into obscurity the glories of Hernan Cortes; Polavieja, who has widened the national map, and brings new territories to the realm--new thrones to his queen. What can the people be thinking of that they remain thus in silence? Applaud, imbeciles! It is Narvaez who is resuscitated. Now we have another master!" No Spanish general who had arrived at Polavieja's position would find it possible to be absolutely neutral in politics, but to compare him with Narvaez, the military dictator, proved in a few days' time to be the grossest absurdity. On May 13 Polavieja arrived in Barcelona physically broken, half blind, and with evident traces of a disordered liver. His detractors were silent; an enthusiastic crowd welcomed him for his achievements. He had broken the neck of the rebellion, but by what means? Altogether, apart from the circumstances of legitimate warfare, in which probably neither party was more merciful than the other, he initiated a system of striking terror into the non-combatant population by barbarous tortures and wholesale executions. On February 6, 1897, in one prison alone (Bilibid) there were 1,266 suspects, most of whom were brought in by the volunteers, for the forces in the field gave little quarter and rarely made prisoners. The functions of the volunteers, organized originally for the defence of the city and suburbs, became so elastic that, night after night, they made men and women come out of their houses for inspection conducted most indecorously. The men were escorted to the prisons from pure caprice, and subjected to excessive maltreatment. Many of them were liberated in the course of a few days, declared innocent, but maimed for life and for ever unable to get a living. Some of these victims were well known to everybody in Manila; for instance, Dr. Zamora, Bonifacio Arevalo the dentist, Antonio Rivero (who died under torture), and others. The only apparent object in all this was to disseminate broadcast living examples of Spanish vengeance, in order to overawe the populace. Under General Blanco's administration such acts had been distinctly prohibited on the representation of General Carlos Roca.

Polavieja's rule brought the brilliant career of the notable Filipino, Dr. Jose Rizal y Mercado, to a fatal end. Born in Calamba (La Laguna), three hours' journey from Manila, on June 19, 1861, he was destined to become the idol of his countrymen, and consequently the victim of the friars and General Polavieja. Often have I, together with the old native parish priest, Father Leoncio Lopez, spent an hour with Jose's father, Francisco Mercado, and heard the old man descant, with pride, on the intellectual progress of his son at the Jesuits' school in Manila. Before he was fourteen years of age he wrote a melodrama in verse entitled _Junto al Pasig_ ("Beside the Pasig River"), which was performed in public and well received. But young Jose yearned to set out on a wider field of learning. His ambition was to go to Europe, and at the age of twenty-one he went to Spain, studied medicine, and entered the Madrid University, where he graduated as Doctor of Medicine and Philosophy. He subsequently continued his studies in Paris, Brussels, London, and at several seats of learning in Germany, where he obtained another degree, notwithstanding the fact that he had the difficulty of a foreign language to contend with. As happened to many of his _confreres_ in the German Universities, a career of study had simultaneously opened his eyes to a clearer conception of the rights of humanity. Thrown among companions of socialistic tendencies, his belief in and loyalty to the monarchical rule of his country were yet unshaken by the influence of such environment; he was destined only to become a disturbing element, and a would-be reformer of that time-worn institution which rendered secular government in his native land a farce. To give him a party name, he became an anti-clerical, strictly in a political and lawful sense. He was a Roman Catholic, but his sole aim, outside his own profession, was to save his country from the baneful influence of the Spanish friars who there held the Civil and Military Government under their tutelage. He sought to place his country on a level of material and moral prosperity with others, and he knew that the first step in that direction was to secure the expulsion of the Monastic Orders. He sympathized with that movement which, during his childhood, culminated in the Cavite Conspiracy (_vide_ p. 106). He looked profoundly into the causes of his country's unhappiness, and to promote their knowledge, in a popular form, he wrote and published in Germany, in the Spanish language, a book entitled "Noli me tangere." It is a censorious satirical novel, of no great literary merit, but it served the author's purpose to expose the inner life, the arrogance, and the despotism of the friars in their relations with the natives. On his return to the Islands, a year after the publication of this work, we met at the house of a mutual friend and conversed on the subject of "Noli me tangere," a copy of which he lent to me.

As an oculist Rizal performed some very clever operations, but he had another mission--one which brought upon him all the odium of the clerical party, but which as quickly raised him in popular esteem in native circles. He led a party in his own town who dared to dispute the legality of the Dominican Order's possession of a large tract of agricultural land. He called upon the Order to show their title-deeds, but was met with a contemptuous refusal. At length prudence dictated a return to Europe. I often recall the farewell lunch we had together at the Restaurant de Paris, in the _Escolta_. During his absence his own relations and the chief families in his town became the objects of persecution. They were driven from the lands they cultivated and rented from the Religious Order, without compensation for improvements, and Spaniards took their holdings. In 1890 Rizal saw with his own eyes, and perhaps with envy, the growing prosperity of Japan; but the idea of annexation to that country was distasteful to him, as he feared the Japanese might prove to be rather harsh masters. On his return to Europe he contributed many brilliant articles to _La Solidaridad_, the Madrid-Philippine organ mentioned on p. 363; but, disgusted with his failure to awaken in Spain a sympathetic interest in his own country's misfortunes, he left that field of work and re-visited London, where he found encouragement and very material assistance from an old friend of mine, a distinguished Filipino. Rizal's financial resources were none too plentiful, and he himself was anxious for a position of productive

## activity. It was proposed that he should establish himself in London

as a doctor, but with his mind always bent on the concerns of his country he again took to literary work. He edited a new edition of Dr. Antonio de Morga's work on the Philippines [180] (the original was published in Mexico in 1609), with notes, and wrote a new book in the form of romance, entitled "El Filibusterismo," [181] the purpose of which was to show how the Filipinos were goaded into outlawry.

About this time two priests, C---- and C----, who had seceded from the Roman Catholic Church, called upon my Philippine friend to urge him to take an interest in their projected evangelical work in the Islands. They even proposed to establish a new Church there and appoint a hierarchy--an extremely risky venture indeed. My friend was asked to nominate some Filipino for the archbishopric. It was put before Rizal, but he declined the honour on the ground that the acceptance of such an office would sorely offend his mother. Finally, in 1893, a Pampanga Filipino, named C----, came on the scene and proposed to furnish Rizal with ample funds for the establishment of a Philippine college in Hong-Kong. Rizal accepted the offer and set out for that colony, where he waited in vain for the money. For a while he hesitated between following the medical profession in Hong-Kong and returning to Manila. Mutual friends of ours urged him not to risk a re-entry into the Islands; nevertheless, communications passed between him and the Gov.-General through the Spanish Consul, and nothing could induce him to keep out of the lion's mouth. Rizal avowed that he had been given to understand that he could return to the Islands without fear for his personal safety and liberty. He arrived in Manila and was arrested. His luggage was searched in the Custom-house, and a number of those seditious proclamations referred to at p. 204 were found, it was alleged, in his trunks. It is contrary to all common sense to conceive that a sane man, who had entertained the least doubt as to his personal liberty, would bring with him, into a public department of scrutiny, documentary evidence of his own culpability. He was arraigned before the supreme authority, in whose presence he defended himself right nobly. The clerical party wanted his blood, but Gov.-General Despujols would not yield. Rizal was either guilty or innocent, and should have been fully acquitted or condemned; but to meet the matter half way he was banished to Dapitan, a town on the north shore of Mindanao Island. I saw the bungalow, situated at the extremity of a pretty little horse-shoe bay, where he lived nearly four years in bondage. His bright intelligence, his sociability, and his scientific attainments had won him the respect and admiration of both the civil and religious local authorities. He had such a well-justified good repute as an oculist that many travelled across the seas to seek his aid. The Cuban insurrection being in full operation, it opened the way for a new and interesting period in Rizal's life. Reading between the lines of the letters he was allowed to send to his friends, there was evidence of his being weighed down with _ennui_ from inactivity, and his friends in Europe took the opportunity of bringing pressure on the Madrid Government to liberate him. In a house which I visit in London there were frequent consultations as to how this could be effected. In the end it was agreed to organize a bogus "Society for the Liberation of Prisoners in the Far East." A few ladies met at the house mentioned, and one of them, Miss A----, having been appointed secretary, she was sent to Madrid to present a petition from the "Society" to the Prime Minister, Canovas del Castillo, praying for the liberation of Rizal in exchange for his professional services in the Spanish army operating in Cuba, where army doctors were much needed. Hints were deftly thrown out about the "Society's" relations with other European capitals, and the foreign lady-secretary played her part so adroitly that the Prime Minister pictured to himself ambassadorial intervention and foreign complications if he did not grant the prayer of what he imagined to be an influential society with potential ramifications. The Colonial Minister opposed the petition; the War Minister, being Philippine born, declined to act on his own responsibility for obvious reasons. Repeated discussions took place between the Crown advisers, to whom, at length, the Prime Minister disclosed his fears, and finally the Gov.-General of the Philippines, Don Ramon Blanco, was authorized to liberate Rizal, on the terms mentioned, if he saw no objection. As my Philippine friend, who went from London to Madrid about the matter, remarked to the War Minister, "Rizal is loyal; he will do his duty; but if he did not, one more or less in the rebel camp--what matters?" The Gov.-General willingly acted on the powers received from the Home Government, and Rizal's conditional freedom dated from July 28, 1896. The governor of Dapitan was instructed to ask Rizal if he wished to go to Cuba as an army doctor, and the reply being in the affirmative, he was conducted on board the steamer for Manila, calling on the way at Cebu, where crowds of natives and half-castes went on board to congratulate him. He had become the idol of the people in his exile; his ideas were _then_ the reflection of all Philippine aims and ambitions; the very name of Rizal raised their hopes to the highest pitch. Most fantastic reports were circulated concerning him. Deeds in Europe, almost amounting to miracles, were attributed to his genius, and became current talk among the natives when they spoke _sotto voce_ of Rizal's power and influence. He was looked up to as the future regenerator of his race, capable of moving armies and navies for the cause of liberty. Their very reverence was his condemnation in the eyes of the priests.

There were no inter-island cables in those days, and the arrival of Rizal in the port of Manila was a surprise to the friars. They expostulated with General Blanco. They openly upbraided him for having set free the soul of disaffection; but the general would not relinquish his intention, explaining, very logically, that if Rizal were the soul of rebellion he was now about to depart. The friars were eager for Rival's blood, and the parish priest of Tondo arranged a revolt of the _caudrilleros_ (guards) of that suburb, hoping thereby to convince General Blanco that the rebellion was in full cry, consequent on his folly. No doubt, by this trick of the friars, many civilian Spaniards were deceived into an honest belief in the ineptitude of the Gov.-General. In a state of frenzy a body of them, headed by Father Mariano Gil, marched to the palace of Malacanan to demand an explanation of General Blanco. The gates were closed by order of the captain of the guard. When the general learnt what the howling outside signified he mounted his horse, and, at the head of his guards, met the excited crowd and ordered them to quit the precincts of the palace, or he would put them out by force. The abashed priest [182] thereupon withdrew with his companions, but from that day the occult power of the friars was put in motion to bring about the recall of General Blanco. In the meantime Rizal had been detained in the Spanish cruiser _Castilla_ lying in the bay. Thence he was transferred to the mail-steamer _Isla de Panay_ bound to Barcelona. He carried with him letters of recommendation to the Ministers of War and the Colonies, courteously sent to him by General Blanco with the following letter to himself:--

(_Translation_.)

_Manila_, _30th August_, 1896.

_Dr. Jose Rizal_.

_My Dear Sir_,--

Enclosed I send you two letters, for the Ministers of War and the Colonies respectively, which I believe will ensure to you a good reception. I cannot doubt that you will show me respect in your relations with the Government, and by your future conduct, not only on account of your word pledged, but because passing events must make it clear to you how certain proceedings, due to extravagant notions can only produce hatred, ruin, tears and bloodshed. That you may be happy is the desire of Yours, etc.,

_Ramon Blanco_.

He had as travelling companion Don Pedro P. Rojas, already referred to, and had he chosen he could have left the steamer at Singapore as Rojas did. Not a few of us who saw the vessel leave wished him "God speed." But the clerical party were eager for his extermination. He was a thorn in the side of monastic sway; he had committed no crime, but he was the friars' arch-enemy and _bete noire_. Again the lay authorities had to yield to the monks. Dr. Rizal was cabled for to answer certain accusations; hence on his landing in the Peninsula he was incarcerated in the celebrated fortress of Montjuich (the scene of so many horrors), pending his re-shipment by the returning steamer. He reached Manila as a State prisoner in the _Colon_, isolated from all but his jailors. It was materially impossible for him to have taken any part in the rebellion, whatever his sympathies may have been. Yet, once more, the wheel of fortune turned against him. Coincidentally the parish priest of Morong was murdered at the altar whilst celebrating Mass on Christmas Day, 1896. The importunity of the friars could be no longer resisted; this new calamity seemed to strengthen their cause. The next day Rizal was brought to trial for _sedition_ and _rebellion_, before a court-martial composed of eight captains, under the presidency of a lieutenant-colonel. No reliable testimony could be brought against him. How could it be when, for years, he had been a State prisoner in forced seclusion? He defended himself with logical argument. But what mattered? He was condemned beforehand to ignominious death as a traitor, and the decree of execution was one of Polavieja's foulest acts. During the few days which elapsed between sentence and death he refused to see any priest but a Jesuit, Padre Faura, his old preceptor, who hastened his own death by coming from a sick bed to console the pupil he was so proud of. In his last moments his demeanour was in accordance with his oft-quoted saying, "What is death to me? I have sown the seed; others are left to reap." In his condemned cell he composed a beautiful poem of 14 verses ("My last Thought"), which was found by his wife and published. The following are the first and last verses.

_Mi Ultimo Pensamiento_.

Adios, Patria adorada, region del sol querida, Perla del Mar de Oriente, nuestro perdido Eden. A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida, Y fuera mas brillante, mas fresca, mas florida, Tambien por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien.

Adios, padres y hermanos, trozos del alma mia. Amigos de la infancia en el perdido hogar. Dad gracias que descanso del fatigoso dia; Adios, dulce extrangera, mi amiga, mi alegria, Adios, queridos seres, morir es descansar.

The woman who had long responded to his love was only too proud to bear his illustrious name, and in the sombre rays which fell from his prison grating, the vows of matrimony were given and sanctified with the sad certainty of widowhood on the morrow. Fortified by purity of conscience and the rectitude of his principles, he felt no felon's remorse, but walked with equanimity to the place of execution. About 2,000 regular and volunteer troops formed the square where he knelt facing the seashore, on the blood-stained field of Bagumbayan. After an officer had shouted the formula, "In the name of the King! Whosoever shall raise his voice to crave clemency for the condemned, shall suffer death," four bullets, fired from behind by Philippine soldiers, did their fatal work. This execution took place at 6 a.m. on December 30, 1896. An immense crowd witnessed, in silent awe, this sacrifice to priestcraft. The friars, too, were present _en masse_, many of them smoking big cigars, jubilant over the extinction of that bright intellectual light which, alas! can never be rekindled.

The circumstances under which Rizal, in his exile, made the acquaintance of Josephine Taufer, who became his wife, are curious. The account was given to me by Mrs. Rizal's foster-father as we crossed the China Sea together. The foster-father, who was an American resident in Hong-Kong, found his eyesight gradually failing him. After exhausting all remedies in that colony, he heard of a famous oculist in Manila named Rizal, a Filipino of reputed Japanese origin. Therefore, in August, 1894, he went to Manila to seek the great doctor, taking with him a Macao servant, his daughter, and a girl whom he had adopted from infancy. The Philippine Archipelago was such a _terra incognita_ to the outside world that little was generally known of it save the capital, Manila. When he reached there he learnt, to his dismay, that the renowned practitioner was a political exile who lived in an out-of-the-way place in Mindanao Island. Intent on his purpose, he took ship and found the abode of Dr. Rizal. The American had been forsaken by his daughter in Manila, where she eventually married a young native who had neither craft nor fortune. The adopted daughter, therefore, was his companion to Dapitan. When they arrived at the bungalow the bright eyes of the lovely Josephine interested the doctor far more than the sombre diseased organs of her foster-father. The exile and the maiden, in short, fell in love with each other, and they mutually vowed never to be parted but by force. The old man's eyes were past all cure, and in vain he urged the girl to depart with him; love dissented from the proposition, and the patient found his way back to Manila, and thence to Hong-Kong, with his Macao servant--a sadder, but a wiser man. The foster-child remained behind to share the hut of the political exile. When, an hour after her marriage, she became Widow Rizal, her husband's corpse, which had received sepulture in the cemetery, was guarded by soldiers for four days lest the superstitious natives should snatch the body and divide it into a thousand relics of their lamented idol. Then Josephine started off for the rebel camp at Imus. On her way she was often asked, "Who art thou?" but her answer, "Lo! I am thy sister, the widow of Rizal!" not only opened a passage for her, but brought low every head in silent reverence. Amidst mourning and triumph she was conducted to the presence of the rebel commander-in-chief, Emilio Aguinaldo, who received her with the respect due to the sorrowing relict of their departed hero. But the formal tributes of condolence were followed by great rejoicing in the camp. She was the only free white woman within the rebel lines. They lauded her as though an angelic being had fallen from the skies; they sang her praises as if she were a modern Joan of Arc sent by heaven to lead the way to victory over the banner of Castile. But she chose, for the time being, to follow a more womanly vocation, and, having been escorted to San Francisco de Malabon, she took up her residence in the convent to tend the wounded for about three weeks. Then, when the battle of Perez Dasmarinas was raging, our heroine sallied forth on horseback with a Maeuser rifle over her shoulder, and--as she stated with pride to a friend of mine who interviewed her--she had the satisfaction of shooting dead one Spanish officer, and then retreated to her convent refuge. Again, she was present at the battle of Silan, where her heroic example of courage infused new life into her brother rebels. The carnage on both sides was fearful, but in the end the rebels fell back, and there, from a spot amidst mangled corpses, rivulets of blood, and groans of death, Josephine witnessed many a scene of Spanish barbarity--the butchery of old inoffensive men and women, children caught up by the feet and dashed against the walls, and the bayonet-charge on the host of fugitive innocents. The rebels having been beaten everywhere when Lachambre took the field, Josephine had to follow in their retreat, and after Imus and Silan were taken, she, with the rest, had to flee to another province, tramping through 23 villages on the way. She was about to play another _role_, being on the point of going to Manila to organize a convoy of arms and munitions, when she heard that certain Spaniards were plotting against her life. So she sought an interview with the Gov.-General, who asked her if she had been in the rebel camp at Imus. She replied fearlessly in the affirmative, and, relying on the security from violence afforded by her sex and foreign nationality, there passed between her and the Gov.-General quite an amusing and piquant colloquy. "What did you go to Imus for?" inquired the General. "What did you go there for?" rejoined Josephine. "To fight," said the General. "So did I," answered Josephine. "Will you leave Manila?" asked the General. "Why should I?" queried Josephine. "Well," said the General, "the priests will not leave you alone if you stay here, and they will bring false evidence against you. I have no power to overrule theirs." "Then what is the use of the Gov.-General?" pursued our heroine; but the General dismissed the discussion, which was becoming embarrassing, and resumed it a few days later by calling upon her emphatically to quit the Colony. At this second interview the General fumed and raged, and our heroine too stamped her little foot, and, woman-like, avowed "she did not care for him; she was not afraid of him." It was temerity born of inexperience, for one word of command from the General could have sent her the way many others had gone, to an unrevealed fate. Thus matters waxed hot between her defiance and his forbearance, until visions of torture--thumb-screws and bastinado--passed so vividly before her eyes that she yielded, as individual force must, to the collective power which rules supreme, and reluctantly consented to leave the fair Philippine shores in May, 1897, in the s.s. _Yuensang_, for a safer resting-place on the British soil of Hong-Kong.

The execution of Dr. Rizal was a most impolitic act. It sent into the field his brother Pasciano with a large following, who eventually succeeded in driving every Spaniard out of their native province of La Laguna. They also seized the lake gunboats, took an entire Spanish garrison prisoner, and captured a large quantity of stores. Pasciano rose to the rank of general before the rebellion ended. [183]

General Fernando Primo de Rivera, Marquis de Estella, arrived in Manila, as the successor of General Camilo Polavieja, in the spring of 1897. He knew the country and the people he was called upon to pacify, having been Gov.-General there from April, 1880, to March, 1883. A few days after his arrival he issued a proclamation offering an amnesty to all who would lay down their arms within a prescribed period. Many responded to this appeal, for the crushing defeat of the rebels in Cavite Province, accompanied by the ruthless severity of the soldiery during the last Captain-Generalcy, had damped the ardour of thousands of would-be insurgents. The rebellion was then confined to the north of Manila, but, since Aguinaldo had evacuated Cavite and joined forces with Llaneras, the movement was carried far beyond the Provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga. Armed mobs had risen in Pangasinan, Zambales, Ilocos, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac. Many villages were entirely reduced to ashes by them; crops of young rice too unripe to be useful to anybody were wantonly destroyed; pillage and devastation were resorted to everywhere to coerce the peaceful inhabitants to join in the movement. On the other hand, the nerves of the priests were so highly strung that they suspected every native, and, by persistently launching false accusations against their parishioners, they literally made rebels. Hence at Candon (Ilocos Sur), a town of importance on the north-west coast of Luzon, five influential residents were simply goaded into rebellion by the frenzied action of the friars subordinate to the Bishop of Vigan, Father Jose Hevia de Campomanes. These residents then killed the parish priest, and without arms fled for safety to the mountain ravines. A few months before, at the commencement of the rebellion, this same Austin friar, Father Rafael Redondo, had ignominiously treated his own and other native curates by having them stripped naked and tied down to benches, where he beat them with the prickly tail of the ray-fish to extort confessions relating to conspiracy. In San Fernando de la Union the native priests Adriano Garces, Mariano Gaerlan, and Mariano Dacanaya were tortured with a hot iron applied to their bodies to force a confession that they were freemasons. The rebels attacked Bayambang (Pangasinan), drove out the Spanish garrison, seized the church and convent in which they had fortified themselves, made prisoner the Spanish priest, burnt the Government stores, Court-house, and Spanish residences, but carefully avoided all interference with the British-owned steam rice-mill and paddy warehouses. Troops were sent against them by special train from Tarlac, and they were beaten out of the place with a loss of about 100 individuals; but they carried off their clerical prisoner. General Monet operated in the north against the rebels with Spanish and native auxiliary forces. He attacked the armed mobs in Zambales Province, where encounters of minor importance took place almost daily, with no decisive victory for either party. He showed no mercy and took no prisoners; his troops shot down or bayoneted rebels, non-combatants, women and children indiscriminately. Tillage was carried on at the risk of one's life, for men found going out to their lands were seized as spies and treated with the utmost severity as possible sympathizers with the rebels. He carried this war of extermination up to Ilocos, where, little by little, his forces deserted him. His auxiliaries went over to the rebels in groups. Even a few Spaniards passed to the other side, and after a protracted struggle which brought no advantage to the Government, he left garrisons in several places and returned to Manila. In Aliaga (Nueva Ecija) the Spaniards had no greater success. The rebels assembled there in crowds, augmented by the fugitive mobs from Pangasinan, and took possession of the town. The Spaniards, under General Nunez, attacked them on two sides, and there was fought one of the most desperate battles of the north. It lasted about six hours: the slaughter on both sides was appalling. The site was strewn with corpses, and as the rebels were about to retreat General Nunez advanced to cut them off, but was so severely wounded that he had to relinquish the command on the field. But the flight of the insurgents was too far advanced to rally them, and they retired south towards Pampanga.

In Tayabas the officiousness of the Governor almost brought him to an untimely end. Two well-known inhabitants of Pagsanjan (La Laguna) were accused of conspiracy, and, without proof, court-martialled and executed. The Governor went to witness the scene, and returning the next day with his official suite, he was waylaid near Lucbang by a rebel party, who killed one of the officers and wounded the Governor. Filipinos returning to Manila were imprisoned without trial, tortured, and shipped back to Hong-Kong as deck passengers. The wet season had fully set in, making warfare in the provinces exceedingly difficult for the raw Spanish recruits who arrived to take the place of the dead, wounded, and diseased. Spain was so hard pressed by Cuban affairs that the majority of these last levies were mere boys, ignorant of the use of arms, ill clad, badly fed, and with months of pay in arrear. Under these conditions they were barely a match for the sturdy Islanders, over mountains, through streams, mud-pools, and paddy-fields. The military hospitals were full; the Spaniards were as far off extinguishing the _Katipunan_ as the rebels were from being able to subvert Spanish sovereignty. The rebels held only two impregnable places, namely Angat and San Mateo, but whilst they carried on an interminable guerilla warfare they as carefully avoided a pitched battle. The Gov.-General, then, had resort to another edict, dated July 2, 1897, which read thus:--

_Edict_

Don Fernando Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte, Marquis de Estella, Governor and Captain-General of the Philippines, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army.

Whereas the unlimited amplitude given to my former edicts by some authorities who are still according the benefits of the amnesty to those who present themselves after the expiration of the conceded time, imperatively calls for a most absolute and positive declaration that there is a limit to clemency and pardon, otherwise the indefinite postponement of the application of the law may be interpreted as a sign of debility; and

Whereas our generosity has been fully appreciated by many who have shown signs of repentance by resuming their legal status, whilst there are others who abuse our excessive benevolence by maintaining their rebellious attitude, and encroach on our patience to prolong the resistance; and

Whereas it is expedient to abolish the spectacle of a few groups, always vanquished whilst committing all sorts of felonies under the protection of a fictitious political flag, maintaining a state of uneasiness and corruption;

Now, therefore, the authorities must adopt every possible means of repression, and I, as General-in-Chief of the Army,

Order and Command

_Article_ 1.--All persons having contracted responsibilities up to date on account of the present rebellion who fail to report themselves to the authorities or military commanders before the 10th of July will be pursued and treated as guilty.

_Article_ 2.--Commanding generals in the field, military and civil governors in districts where the rebels exist, will prohibit all inhabitants from leaving the villages and towns, unless under absolute necessity for agricultural purposes, or taking care of rural properties or other works. Those comprised in the latter class will be provided by the municipal captains with a special pass, in which will be noted the period of absence, the place to be visited, and the road to be taken, always provided that all persons absenting themselves from the villages without carrying such passes, and all who, having them, deviate from the time, road, or place indicated, will be treated as rebels.

_Article 3._--After the 10th instant all persons will be required to prove their identity by the personal document (_cedula personal_), together with the pass above-mentioned, and neither the amnesty passes already granted nor any other document will have any legal validity.

All who contravene these orders will be tried by court-martial.

_Fernando Primo de Rivera_.

The indiscreetness of this measure was soon evident. It irritated the well-disposed inhabitants, from whom fees were exacted by the Gov.-General's venal subordinates; the rigorous application of the edict drove many to the enemy's camp, and the rebels responded to this document by issuing the following Exhortation in Tagalog dialect, bearing the pseudonym of "Malabar." It was extensively circulated in July, 1897, but bears no date. The Spanish authorities made strenuous but unsuccessful efforts to confiscate it. It is an interesting document because (1) It admits how little territory the _Katipunan_ itself considered under its dominion. (2) It sets forth the sum total of the rebels' demands at that period. (3) It admits their impotence to vanquish the loyal forces in open battle.

To the Brave Sons of the Philippines

The Spaniards have occupied the towns of Cavite Province because we found it convenient to evacuate them. We must change our tactics as circumstances dictate.

We have proved it to be a bad policy to be fortified in one place awaiting the enemy's attack. We must take the offensive when we get the chance, adopting the Cuban plan of ambush and guerilla warfare. In this way we can, for an indefinite period, defy Spain, exhaust her resources, and oblige her to surrender from poverty, for it must be remembered that the very Spanish newspapers admit that each soldier costs a dollar a day, and adding to this his passage money, clothing and equipment, the total amounts to a considerable sum. Considering that Spanish credit abroad is exhausted, that her young men, to avoid conscription, are emigrating to France and elsewhere in large numbers, Spain must of necessity yield in the end. You already know that Polavieja resigned because the Government were unable to send him the further 20,000 men demanded. The Cubans, with their guerilla system, avoiding encounters unfavourable to themselves, have succeeded in wearying the Spaniards, who are dying of fever in large numbers. Following this system, it would be quite feasible to extend the action of the _Katipunan_ to Ilocos, Pangasinan, Cagayan, and other provinces, because our brothers in these places, sorely tyrannized by the Spaniards, are prepared to unite with us.

The Provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, Tayabas, etc., are already under the _Katipunan_ Government, and to complete our success, the revolutionary movement should become general, for the ends which we all so ardently desire, namely:

(1) Expulsion of the friars and restitution to the townships of the lands which the friars have appropriated, dividing the incumbencies held by them, as well as the episcopal sees equally between Peninsular and Insular secular priests.

(2) Spain must concede to us, as she has to Cuba, Parliamentary representation, freedom of the Press, toleration of all religious sects, laws common with hers, and administrative and economic autonomy.

(3) Equality in treatment and pay between Peninsular and Insular civil servants.

(4) Restitution of all lands appropriated by the friars to the townships, or to the original owners, or in default of finding such owners, the State is to put them up to public auction in small lots of a value within the reach of all and payable within four years, the same as the present State lands.

(5) Abolition of the Government authorities' power to banish citizens, as well as all unjust measures against Filipinos; legal equality for all persons, whether Peninsular or Insular, under the Civil as well as the Penal Code.

The war must be prolonged to give the greatest signs of vitality possible, so that Spain may be compelled to grant our demands, otherwise she will consider us an effete race and curtail, rather than extend, our rights.

_Malabar_.

Shortly after this Emilio Aguinaldo, the recognized leader of the rebels, issued a _Manifiesto_ in somewhat ambiguous terms which might imply a demand for independence. In this document he says:--

We aspire to the glory of obtaining the liberty, _independence_, and honour of the country.... We aspire to a Government representing all the live forces of the country, in which the most able, the most worthy in virtue and talent, may take part without distinction of birth, fortune, or race. We desire that no monk, or friar, shall sully the soil of any part of the Archipelago, nor that there shall exist any convent, etc., etc.

Every month brought to light fresh public exhortations, edicts, and proclamations from one side or the other, of which I have numerous printed copies before me now. About this time the famous Philippine painter, Juan Luna (_vide_ p. 195), was released after six months' imprisonment as a suspect. He left Manila _en route_ for Madrid in the Spanish mail-steamer _Covadonga_ in the first week of July and returned to Manila the next year (November 1898).

In the field there were no great victories to record, for the rebels confined themselves exclusively to harassing the Spanish forces and then retreating to the mountains. To all appearances trade in Manila and throughout the Islands was little affected by the war, and as a matter of fact, the total exports showed a fair average when compared with previous years. The sugar production was, however, slightly less than in 1896, owing to a scarcity of hands, because, in the ploughing season, the young labourers in Negros were drafted off to military service. Total imports somewhat increased, notwithstanding the imposition of a special 6 per cent. _ad valorem_ tax.

But the probability of an early pacification of the Islands was remote. By the unscrupulous abuse of their functions the volunteers were obliging the well-intentioned natives to forsake their allegiance, and General Primo de Rivera was constrained to issue a decree, dated August 6, forbidding all persons in military service to plunder, or intimidate, or commit acts of violence on persons, or in their houses, or ravish women, under penalty of death. In the same month the General commissioned a Filipino, Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno, to negotiate terms of capitulation with the rebels. By dint of bribes and liberal expenditure of money (_vide_ Paterno's own letter at p. 410) Paterno induced the minor chiefs in arms to accept, in principle, the proposal of peace on the basis of reforms and money. Paterno was appointed by the Gov.-General sole mediator in the discussion of the terms to be made with Emilio Aguinaldo, and the General's private secretary, Don Niceto Mayoral, was granted special powers to arrange with Paterno the details of the proposed treaty. From Paterno's lips I have the following account of the negotiations:--

On August 4, 1897, he started on a series of difficult journeys into the rebel camps to negotiate severally with the chiefs, who, one after the other, stoutly refused to capitulate. On August 9 he interviewed Aguinaldo at Biac-na-bato, situated in the mountains, about a mile north of San Miguel de Mayumo (Bulacan). Aguinaldo withheld his decision until Paterno could report to him the definite opinions of his generals. Thereupon Paterno returned to the rebel chiefs, some of whom still tenaciously held out, whilst others were willing to capitulate, subject to Aguinaldo's approval. Paterno's mission was daily becoming more perilous, for the irreconcilable leaders regarded him as an evil genius sent to sow discord in the camp. After many delays the principal warriors assembled at Biac-na-bato on October 31 and held a great meeting, which Paterno, who is a fluent speaker, attended and harangued his audience in eloquent phrases, but to no purpose. His position was now a somewhat critical one. Several of the chiefs assumed such a defiant attitude that but for the clement nature of Aguinaldo, Paterno might never have returned to tell the tale. They clamorously insisted on their resolution to fight. Then Paterno adroitly brought matters to a crisis in a bold peroration which changed the whole scene. "Capitulate," he exclaimed, "or get hence and vanquish the enemy! Is victory to be gained in this hiding-place?" Piqued by this fearless challenge, General Natividad immediately sallied forth with his troops and encountered the Spaniards for the last time. His dead body was brought into the camp, and, in the shades of night, with sombre lights flickering around them, in the presence of Natividad's bleeding corpse, again Paterno exhorted them to reflect on the prospects in the field and the offer of capitulation. Impressed by the lugubrious scene, Aguinaldo yielded, and the next day peace negotiations were opened. But other difficulties intervened. Aguinaldo having heard that a subordinate chief was conspiring to force his hand to capitulate, abruptly cast aside the papers, declaring that he would never brook coercion. The deadlock lasted a whole day, but at length Aguinaldo signed conditions, which Paterno conveyed to General Primo de Rivera at San Fernando (Pampanga). The willingness to capitulate was by no means unanimous. Paterno was forewarned that on his route a party of 500 Irreconcilables were waiting to intercept and murder him, so to evade them he had to hide in a wood. Fifteen minutes' delay would have cost him his life. Even a Spanish colonel for some occult reason sought to frustrate the peace negotiations by falsely reporting to General Primo de Rivera that Paterno was inciting the rebels to warfare. But the General believed in Paterno's good faith, although he declared the terms proposed unacceptable, and in like manner three other amended proposals were rejected, until finally the fifth document was accepted as tantamount to a Protocol of Peace to serve as a basis for the treaty. Here ends Paterno's verbal declaration.

The Protocol was signed in duplicate by Emilio Aguinaldo of the one part, and Pedro A. Paterno, as Peacemaker, of the other part. One copy was archived in the office of the _Gobierno General_ in Manila, [184] and the other was remitted to the Home Government with a despatch from the Gov.-General.

After many consultations and much deliberation it was decided at a Cabinet meeting to approve unreservedly of the negotiations, and to that effect a cablegram was sent to General Primo de Rivera fully empowering him to conclude a treaty of peace on the basis of the Protocol. Meanwhile, it soon became evident that there were three distinct interests at stake, namely, those of Spain and the Spanish people, those of the friars, and the claims of the rebels. Consequently the traditional feud between the Archbishop of Manila and the Captain-General was revived.

General Primo de Rivera in his despatch urged the Madrid Government to grant certain reforms, in any case, which could not fail to affect the hitherto independent position of the friars in governmental affairs. He also drew the attention of the Government to the defenceless condition of the capital in the event of a foreign attack (_vide_ Senate speeches reported in the _Diario de las Sesiones_, Madrid, 1899 and 1900). The friars were exceedingly wroth, and combined to defeat the General's efforts to come to an understanding with the rebels. They secretly paid natives to simulate the _Katipunan_ in the provinces, and the plot only came to light when these unfortunate dupes fell into the hands of the military authorities and confessed what had happened. Nevertheless, the General pursued the negotiations with Paterno as intermediary. Aguinaldo's original demand was for a total indemnity of P3,000,000, but, in the course of the negotiations alluded to, it was finally reduced to P1,700,000, inclusive of P800,000 to be paid to Aguinaldo on his retirement from the Colony.

The terms of the Protocol of Peace having been mutually agreed upon, a treaty, known as the _Pacto de Biac-na-bato_, [185] is alleged to have been signed at Biac-na-bato on December 14, 1897, between Emilio Aguinaldo and others of the one part, and Pedro A. Paterno, as attorney for the Captain-General, acting in the name of the Spanish Government, of the other part. Under this treaty the rebels undertook to deliver up their arms and ammunition of all kinds to the Spaniards; to evacuate the places held by them; to conclude an armistice for three years for the application and development of the _reforms to be introduced_ by the other part, and not to conspire against Spanish sovereignty in the Islands, nor aid or abet any movement calculated to counteract those reforms. Emilio Aguinaldo and 34 other leaders undertook to quit the Philippine Islands and not return thereto until so authorized by the Spanish Government, in consideration whereof the above-mentioned P800,000 was to be paid as follows:--P400,000 in a draft on Hong-Kong to be delivered to Aguinaldo on his leaving Biac-na-bato [This draft was, in fact, delivered to him]; P200,000 payable to Aguinaldo as soon as he should send a telegram to the revolutionary general in command at Biac-na-bato, ordering him to hand over the rebels' arms to the Captain-General's appointed commissioner [This telegram was sent], and the final P200,000 immediately after the singing of the _Te Deum_ which would signify an official recognition of peace.

_It was further alleged_ that on behalf of the Spanish Government many radical reforms and conditions were agreed to (outside the Treaty of Biac-na-bato), almost amounting to a total compliance with the demands of the rebels. But no evidence whatever has been adduced to confirm this allegation. Indeed it is a remarkable fact that neither in the Madrid parliamentary papers (to copies of which I have referred), nor in the numerous rebel proclamations and edicts, nor in the published correspondence of Pedro A. Paterno, is even the full text of the treaty given. It is singular that the rebels should have abstained from publishing to the world those precise terms which they say were accepted and not fulfilled by the Spanish Government, which denies their existence.

Whatever reforms might have been promised would have been purely governmental matters which required no mediator for their execution; but as to the money payments to be made, Paterno was to receive them from the Government and distribute them. An Agreement to this effect was, therefore, signed by General Primo de Rivera and Pedro A. Paterno in the following terms, viz.:--

In the peace proposals presented by the sole mediator, Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno, in the name and on behalf of the rebels in arms, and in the Peace Protocol which was agreed to and submitted to His Majesty's Government, _which approved of the same_, there exists a principal clause relating to the sums of money which were to be handed over to the rebels and their families as indemnity for the loss of their goods consequent on the war, which sums amounted to a total of P1,700,000, which the mediator, Senor Paterno, was to distribute absolutely at his discretion, but the payment of the said sum will have to be subject to the conditions proposed by the representative of the Government, H.E. the General-in-Chief of this Army. These conditions were agreed to be as follows, viz.:--

(1) For the rebels in arms a draft for the sum of P400,000 will be handed to Senor Paterno, payable in Hong-Kong, as well as two cheques for P200,000 each, payable only on the condition of the Agreement being fulfilled on the other part. (2) For the families of those who were not rebels in arms, or engaged in rebellion, but who have likewise suffered the evils of war, the balance of the sum offered shall be paid in three equal instalments, the last to be paid six months after the date on which the _Te Deum_ shall be sung, assuming the peace to become an accomplished fact. Peace shall be held to be effectively concluded if, during the interval of these instalment periods, no party of armed rebels, with recognized leader, shall exist, and if no secret society shall have been discovered as existing here or abroad with the proved object of conspiracy by those who benefit by these payments. The representative of the rebels, Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno, and the representative of the Government, the Captain-General Don Fernando Primo de Rivera, agree to the above conditions, in witness whereof each representative now signs four copies of the same tenour and effect, one being for the Government, another for the archives of the Captain-Generalcy, and one copy each for the said representatives.

[186]Done in Manila on the 15th of December, 1897.

_Fernando Primo de Rivera_, _The General-in-Chief._ _Pedro A. Paterno_, _The Mediator._

In the course of a few days a military deputation was sent by the Gov.-General, under the leadership of Lieut.-Colonel Primo de Rivera, to meet Aguinaldo and his 34 companions-in-arms at a place agreed upon in the Province of Pangasinan. They had a repast together, and Aguinaldo called for cheers for Spain, in which all heartily joined. Thence they proceeded in vehicles to Sual to await the arrival of the s.s. _Uranus_, in which they embarked for Hong-Kong on Monday, December 27, 1897. Armed rebel troops were stationed at several places all along the route to Sual, ready to avenge any act of treachery, whilst two Spanish generals were held as hostages at the rebel camp at Biac-na-bato until Aguinaldo cabled his safe arrival in Hong-Kong.

Aguinaldo had very rightly stipulated that a Spanish officer of high rank should accompany him and his followers to Hong-Kong as a guarantee against foul play. The Gov.-General, therefore, sent with them his two nephews, Lieut.-Colonel Primo de Rivera and Captain Celestino Espinosa, and Major Antonio Pezzi. Aguinaldo and eight other chiefs, namely, Gregorio H. del Pilar, Wenceslao Vinegra, Vito Belarmino, Mariano Llaneras, Antonio Montenegro, Luis Viola, Manuel Fino, and Escolastico Viola, stayed at the Hong-Kong Hotel, whilst the remainder took up their abode elsewhere in the city. Aguinaldo cashed his draft for P400,000, but as to the other two instalments of the P800,000, the Spanish Government defaulted.

There was great rejoicing in Manila, in Madrid, and in several Spanish cities, and fetes were organized to celebrate the conclusion of peace. In Manila particularly, amidst the pealing of bells and strains of music, unfeigned enthusiasm and joy were everywhere evident. It was a tremendous relief after sixteen months of persecution, butchery, torture, and pecuniary losses. General Primo de Rivera received the thanks of the Government, whilst the Queen-Regent bestowed on him the Grand Cross of San Fernando, with the pension of 10,000 pesetas (nominal value L400). But no one in Spain and few in Manila as yet could foresee how the fulfilment of the Agreement would be bungled. According to a letter of Pedro A. Paterno, dated March 7, 1898, published in _El Liberal_ of Madrid on June 17, 1898, it would appear that (up to the former date) the Spanish Government had failed to make any payment to Paterno on account of the P900,000, balance of indemnity, for distribution according to Clause (2) of the Agreement set forth on the preceding page. The letter says:--

As a matter of justice, I ought to have received the two instalments, amounting to P600,000. Why is this obligation not carried out, and why has General Primo de Rivera not followed my advice by arresting Yocson and his followers from the 5th of last February? I have my conscience clear respecting the risings in Zambales and Pangasinan Provinces and those about to take place in La Laguna and Tayabas.

Whatever were the means employed, the rebellion was disorganized for a while, but the Spanish authorities had not the tact to follow up this _coup_ by temperate and conciliatory measures towards their wavering quondam foes. Persons who had been implicated in the rebellion were re-arrested on trivial trumped-up charges and imprisoned, whilst others were openly treated as seditious suspects. The priests started a furious campaign of persecution, and sought, by all manner of intrigue, to destroy the compact, which they feared would operate against themselves. More executions took place. Instead of the expected general amnesty, only a few special pardons were granted.

There had been over two months of nominal peace; the rebels had delivered up their arms, and there was nothing to indicate an intention to violate their undertakings. Primo de Rivera, who believed the rebellion to be fast on the wane, shipped back to Spain 7,000 troops. The Madrid Government at once appointed to vacant bishoprics two friars of the Orders obnoxious to the people, and it is inconceivable that such a step would have been so speedily taken if there were any truth in the rebels' pretension that the expulsion of the friars had been promised to them. Rafael Comenge, the President of the Military Club, was rewarded with the Grand Cross of Military Merit for the famous speech which he had delivered at the Club. It was generally lauded by Spaniards, whilst it filled all classes of natives with indignation. Here are some extracts from this oration:--

You arrive in time; the cannibals of the forest are still there; the wild beast hides in his lair (_bravo_); the hour has come to finish with the savages; wild beasts should be exterminated; weeds should be extirpated. (_Great applause_.) Destruction is the purport of war; its civilizing virtue acts like the hot iron on a cancer, destroying the corrupt tendons in order to arrive at perfect health. No pardon! (_Very good, very good_.) Destroy! Kill! Do not pardon, for this prerogative belongs to the monarch, not to the army. . . . From that historical, honoured, and old land Spain, which we all love with delirious joy, no words of peace come before this treason, but words of vigour and of justice, which, according to public opinion, is better in quality than in quantity. (_Frantic applause, several times repeated, which drowned the voice of the orator_.) Soldiers! you are the right arm of Spain. Execute; exterminate if it be necessary. Amputate the diseased member to save the body; cut off the dry branches which impede the circulation of the sap, in order that the tree may again bring forth leaves and flowers. (_Senor Penaranda interposed, shouting, "That is the way to speak!" Frantic applause_.)

Thirty thousand pesos were subscribed at the Military Club for the benefit of General Primo de Rivera. Admiral Patricio Montojo, who had co-operated against the rebels by firing a few shots at them when they occupied the coast towns of Cavite Province and transporting troops to and from Manila, was the recipient of a sword of honour on March 17, 1898. It was presented to him, on behalf of the Military Club, by Senor Comenge (who escaped from Manila as soon as the Americans entered the port) as a "perpetual remembrance of the triumph of our ships off the coast of Cavite," although no deed of glory on the part of the fleet, during the period of the rebellion, had come to the knowledge of the general public.

The reforms alluded to in the treaty made with the rebel chiefs were a subject of daily conversation; but when the _Diario de Manila _ published an article on March 17, demanding autonomy for the Islands and urging the immediate application of those reforms, General Primo de Rivera suspended the publication of the newspaper. Some were inquisitive enough to ask, Has a treaty been signed or a trick been played upon the rebels? The treatment of the people was far from being in harmony with the spirit of a treaty of peace.

The expatriated ex-rebels became alarmed by the non-receipt of the indemnity instalment and the news from their homes. A committee of Filipinos, styled _La Junta Patriotica,_ was formed in Hong-Kong. They were in frequent communication with their friends in the Islands. The seed of discontent was again germinating under the duplicity of the Spanish lay and clerical authorities. Thousands were ready to take the field again, but their chiefs were absent, their arms surrendered, and the rebellion disorganized. Here and there roving parties appeared, but having no recognized leaders, their existence did not invalidate the treaty. The Spaniards, indeed, feigned to regard them only as a remnant of the rebels who had joined the pre-existing brigand bands. The volunteers were committing outrages which might have driven the people again into open revolt, and General Primo de Rivera had, at least, the sagacity to recognize the evil which was apparent to everybody. The volunteers and guerilla battalions were consequently disbanded, not a day too soon for the tranquillity of the city. On March 25, the tragedy of the _Calle de Camba _took place. This street lies just off the _Calle de San Fernando _in Binondo, a few hundred yards from the river. In a house frequented by seafaring men a large number of Visayan sailors had assembled and were, naturally, discussing the topics of the day with the warmth of expression and phraseology peculiar to their race, when a passer-by, who overheard the talk, informed the police. The civil guard at once raided the premises, accused these sailors of conspiracy, and, without waiting for proof or refutation, shot down all who could not escape. The victims of this outrage numbered over 70. The news dismayed the native population. The fact could no longer be doubted that a reign of terrorism and revenge had been initiated with impunity, under the assumption that the rebellion was broken for many a year to come. How the particulars of this crime were related by the survivors to their fellow-islanders we cannot know, but it is a coincidental fact that only now the flame of rebellion spread to the southern Island of Cebu. For over a generation the Cebuanos around Talisay, Minglanilla, and Talambau had sustained a dispute with the friars respecting land-tenure. From time to time procurators of the Law Court secretly took up the Cebuanos' cause, and one of them, Florencio Gonzalez, was cast into prison and slowly done to death. This event, which happened almost coincidentally with the _Calle de Camba_ tragedy, excited the Cebuanos to the utmost degree. Nine days after that unfortunate episode, on April 3, 1898, a party of about 5,000 disaffected natives made a raid on the city of Cebu. The leaders were armed with rifles, but the rank-and-file carried only bowie-knives. About 4 p.m. all the forces which could be mustered in the city went out against the rebels, who overwhelmed the loyalists, cutting some to pieces, whilst the remainder hastened back to the city in great disorder. But, instead of following up their victory, the half-resolute rioters camped near Guadalupe for the night. At 5 a.m. on April 4 they marched upon the city. Peaceful inhabitants fled before the motley, yelling crowd of men, women and children who swarmed into the streets, armed with bowie-knives and sticks, demanding food and other trifles. The terrified Spanish volunteers, after their defeat, took refuge in the _Cotta de San Pedro _(the Fort), where the Governor, General Montero, joined them, and ordered all foreigners to do the same. Later on the foreigners were permitted to return to their residences. Amidst the confusion which prevailed, the flight of peaceful citizens, the street-fighting, and the moans of the dying, the rebels helped themselves freely to all they wanted. The mob of both sexes told the townspeople that they (the rioters) had nothing to fear, as _anting-anting _wafers (q.v.) had been served out to them. The rebels had cut the Cebu-Tuburan telegraph-wires (_vide_ p. 267), but in the meantime three small coasting steamers had been despatched to Yloilo, Yligan, and another port to demand reinforcements. The next day, at sunrise, the rebels attempted to reach the Fort, but were fired upon from the Governor's house, which is situated in front of it, compelling them to withdraw along the shore road, where the gunboat _Maria Cristina _opened fire on them. The rebels then retreated to the Chinese quarter of Lutao, around the Cathedral and the Santo Nino Church. The Spaniards remained under cover whilst the mob held possession of the whole city except the Fort, Government House, the College, the churches, and the foreigners houses. During the whole day there was an incessant fusillade, the rebels' chief stronghold being the Recoleto Convent. Groups of them were all over the place, plundering the shops and Spanish houses and offices. On April 5 a small force of Spanish regulars, volunteers, and sailors made a sortie and fired on the insurgents in Lutao from long range. They soon retired, however, as the Fort was in danger of being attacked from another side. The same afternoon the steamer sent to Yligan for troops returned with 240 on board. During the night the Spanish troops ventured into the open and shots were exchanged. On April 6 the _Venus_ arrived with 50 soldiers from Yloilo and was at once sent on to Bojol Island in search of rice and cattle, which were difficult to procure as that island was also in revolt. Native women were not interfered with by either party, nor were the foreigners, many of whom took refuge at the British Consulate. The rebels wished to advance from Lutao, but were kept back by the fire from the gunboat _Maria Cristina_. The Spanish troops did not care to venture past a block of buildings in which were the offices and stores of a British firm. On April 7 the merchant steamer _Churruca_ arrived with troops, and in a couple of hours was followed by the cruiser _Don Juan de Austria_, also bringing reinforcements under the command of General Tejeiro (a former Governor of Cebu Is.). The total fresh troops amounted to about 500 men of the 73rd Native Regiment and Spanish _cazadores_. Whilst these troops were landing, many of the rebels hastened out of the city towards San Nicolas. General Montero and the Spanish refugees then emerged from the _cotta_. After General Tejeiro had strategically deployed his troops, a squad of them, crossing the General Lono Square (now called _Plaza de Rizal_) drove the rebels before them and dislodged them from the vicinity of the Recoleto Convent. At the same time the rebels were attacked at the _mestizo_ quarter called the Parian and at Tiniago, whence they had to retreat, with severe loss, towards San Nicolas, which practically adjoins Cebu and is only separated therefrom by a narrow river. Simultaneously, the _Don Juan de Austria_ threw a shell into the corner house of the (chiefly Chinese) shopping-quarter, Lutao, which killed several Chinese and set fire to the house. The flames, however, did not catch the adjoining property, so the troops burst open the doors, poured petroleum on the goods found therein, and caused the fire to extend until the whole quarter was, as I saw it, a mass of charred ruins with only the stone walls remaining. To complete the destruction of Lutao, once a busy bazaar, situated in that part of the city immediately facing the sea, another bomb was thrown into the centre. The troops then marched to San Nicolas, and a third shell fired at the retreating enemy entered and completely destroyed a large private residence. An attempt was made to procure supplies from the little Island of Magtan, which lies only half a mile off the coast of Cebu, but the expedition had to return without having been able to effect a landing at the capital town of Opon, which had risen in rebellion. On April 8 the loyal troops continued their pursuit of the rebels, who suffered severe losses at San Nicolas and Pili, on the road south of Cebu city. The corpses collected in the suburbs were carted into the city, where, together with those lying about the streets, they were piled into heaps, partly covered with petroleum-bathed logs, and ignited. The stench was very offensive for some hours, especially from a huge burning pile topped with a dead white horse in the General Lono Square. Practically the whole of the east coast of the island had risen against the Spaniards, but the rebels were careful not to interfere with foreigners when they could distinguish them as such. A large force of insurgents made another stand at Labangan, where they were almost annihilated; it is estimated they left quite a thousand dead on the field. The loyal troops followed up the insurgents towards the mountain region, whilst the _Don Juan de Austria_ cruised down the coast with the intention of bombarding any town which might be in rebel hands. The material losses in Cebu amounted to about P1,725,000 in Lutao, represented by house property of Chinese and half-castes and their cash and stock-in-trade. The "Compania General de Tabacos" lost about P30,000 in cash in addition to the damage done to their offices and property. Rich natives and Chinese lost large sums of money, the total of which cannot be ascertained. From the Recoleto Convent P19,000 in cash were stolen, and there, as well as in many of the Spanish residences, everything valuable and easily removable was carried off; but whether all this pillage was committed by the rebels alone must ever remain a mystery. The only foreigner who lost his life was my late Italian friend Signor Stancampiano, who is supposed to have died of shock, for when I last saw him he was hopelessly ill. As usual, a considerable number of well-known residents of the city were arrested and charged with being the prime movers in these doleful events.

Upon the hills on the west coast of Cebu, near Toledo town, some American friends of mine experienced a series of thrilling adventures. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, mother and son, to whom I am indebted for their generous hospitality, resided on a large sugar-estate at Calumampao, of which Mr. Wilson was part owner. They were, naturally, in ignorance of what had taken place in Cebu City. The rebellion spread to their district, and many of the natives on and about the estate were eager to join in the movement. Mr. Wilson did his utmost to point out to them the futility of the attempt, but they indulged in all sorts of superstitions about the invulnerability of their chief, Claudio, and the charm attached to a red flag he carried, and they were determined to take their chance with him. On April 19 an insurgent force came on to the plantation, compelled the labourers to join their standard, and coolly quartered themselves in the out-buildings and warehouses. They did no harm to the Wilsons, but they kidnapped a Spanish gentleman who lived close by, and shot him, in spite of Mr. Wilson's entreaties to spare his life. The insurgents moved off, taking with them the estate hands, and in a couple of days a company of Spanish soldiers, under the command of Captain Suarez, arrived at the estate-house. The officer was very affable, and Mr. and Mrs. Wilson treated him as hospitably as they did all their friends and European passers-by. Naturally the conversation fell on the all-absorbing topic of the day and the object of his mission. After he and his men had been well refreshed they started down the hill to meet some cavalry reinforcements, and, as the Wilsons watched their departure, to their astonishment they saw Claudio, at the head of 200 rebels, rushing down the hill with the red flag floating in the air. Simultaneously a body of Spanish horse approached through the valley; Claudio and his followers, caught between the Spanish cavalry and infantry, retreated to a storehouse in the valley. The result was that some 40 rebels were killed, others taken prisoners, and the remainder escaped into the planted fields. Every leader was killed, and every peaceful native whom the Spaniards met on their way was unmercifully treated. Mr. Wilson was then asked to go on board a Spanish vessel, and when he complied he was charged with being in league with the rebels. He was allowed to return to shore to fetch his mother--a highly-educated, genial old lady--and when they both went on board they found there two Englishmen as prisoners. Their guest of a few days previous treated them most shamefully. When they were well on the voyage to Cebu the prisoners were allowed to be on the upper deck, and Mrs. Wilson was permitted to use an armchair. The soldiers insulted them, and, leaning their backs against Mrs. Wilson's chair, some sang ribald songs, whilst others debated whether their captives would be shot on the beach or at the _Cotta_ in Cebu. Sometimes they would draw their swords and look viciously towards them. At last, after a series of intimidations, they reached Cebu, where, after being detained on board several hours, they were all taken before the Governor and the Chief Justice, and were only saved from further miseries through the intercession of the American Vice-Consul, who, by the way, was an Englishman. War had just been declared between America and Spain (April 23, 1898), and the estate had to be left to the mercy of the rebels, whilst my friends took passage to Singapore on the _Gulf of Martaban_.

All immediate danger having now been dispelled, the Spaniards solaced themselves with the sweets of revenge. A Spanish functionary (who with his wife and brother's family were well known to me for several years) caused the soldiers to raid private houses, and bring out native families by force into the public square, or conduct them to the cemetery on the Guadalupe road, where they were shot in batches without inquiry and cremated. The heartrending scenes and wailing of the people failed to turn their persecutor from his purpose, save in one case--that of a colleague, who, wearing his chain of office, stepped forward and successfully begged for his life. A low estimate of this official's victims is 200. The motive for his awful crime was greed, for he formally confiscated his victims' goods and shipped them off daily in schooners to Yloilo. His ill-gotten gains would have been greater but for the action of the Governor, who, fearing that retribution might fall on his own head as the highest authority, ordered his guilty subordinate to appear before him, and in the presence of Filipinos he reprimanded him, boxed his ears, and commanded him to quit the island within a given period under pain of death. The Governor's indignation was evidently feigned, for he very shortly availed himself of an altogether novel means of terrorism. Sedition was smouldering throughout the island, but after the events of April the Spaniards seemed too daunted to take the field against the Cebuanos. The Christian Governor, therefore, took into his service a Mindanao Mahometan, Rajahmudah Datto Mandi, and his band of about 100 Samal Moros to overrun the island and punish the natives. This chief, with his warriors, had been called from Zamboanga (Mindanao Is.) to Yloilo by General Rios, who immediately commissioned him to Cebu in the month of July, 1898. On his arrival there he at once started his campaign under the auspices of the Governor, who granted him full liberty to dispose of the lives and property of the Cebuanos to his heart's content, and as proof of the accomplishment of his gory mission he brought in and presented to his patron the ears which he had cut off the Cebuanos. North of Cebu City he and his retainers made a fresh start, slaying the people, burning villages, and devastating the standing crops. Having accomplished his task within three months Datto Mandi withdrew with all his men, except two who wished to settle at Pardo. He could not persuade them to leave, and after his departure they were cut to pieces by the Cebuanos. Pending positive corroboration I was very sceptical about this strange narrative; but, being in Mindanao Island six years afterwards, I went to visit Datto Mandi, who most readily confirmed all the above particulars, and presented me with his portrait. Prior to the American advent, Datto Mandi, _protege_ as well as protector of the Spaniards, exercised a sort of feudal dominion over the services and the sundry cherished belongings of his people. Speaking of him as I myself found him, he was extremely affable and hospitable. The invitation to Datto Mandi was perhaps the most singular event of this period, and goes to show with what desperate fear the Spaniards retained their hold on the island up to the evacuation, which took place on December 26, 1898.

In the provinces north of Manila the rebellion was again in full vigour, and, all trust in Spanish good faith was irrevocably lost. The Spanish quarters at Subig (Zambales) and Apalit (Pampanga) were attacked and looted in the first week of March. The new movement bore a more serious aspect than that under Aguinaldo and his colleagues, who, at least, were men of certain intelligence, inspired by a wish to secure reforms, whereas their successors in revolt were of far less mental capacity, seeking, apparently, only retaliation for the cruelties inflicted on the people. It is possible, too, that the premium of P800,000 per 35 rebel chiefs inflamed the imaginations of the new leaders, who were too ignorant to appreciate the promised reforms linked with the same bargain. During the month of February the permanent-way of the Manila-Dagupan Railway had been three times torn up to prevent the transport of loyal troops. At the same time the villages around were looted and burnt. Early in March the rebels, under the chief leadership of Yocson, of Malolos, attacked and killed the garrisons and the priests in the north of Pangasinan and Zambales, excepting six soldiers who managed to escape. [187] Some of the garrison troops were murdered after surrender. The telegraph-line between Lingayen (Pangasinan) and a place a few miles from Bolinao (Zambales) was cut down and removed. A lineman was sent out to repair it under escort of civil guards, who were forced by the rebels to retire. On March 7, about 2 a.m., the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company's cable-station at Bolinao was besieged by rebels. The village was held by about 400 armed natives, who had killed one native and two European soldiers on the way. The lighthouse-keeper and the Inspector of Forests safely reached Santa Cruz, 40 miles south, in a boat. The other civilian Spaniards and priests escaped in another boat, but were pursued and captured by the insurgents, who killed two of the civilians and brought the European women and friars into the village as prisoners at 4.30 the same afternoon. Eight soldiers had taken refuge in the cable-station, and at 6 a.m. a message was sent to the British staff requiring them to turn out the soldiers or quit the premises themselves. They refused to take either course, and declared their neutrality. A similar message was sent several times, with the same result. By 4 p.m. the soldiers had fortified the station as well as they could, and the rebels attacked, but were repulsed with a few shots. Nothing happened during the night, but the next day (March 8) another message was sent to the British staff urging them to withdraw as the rebels would renew the assault at 10 a.m. The staff again refused to comply. Then it appears that the rebels delayed their attack until the arrival of their chief, hourly expected. An ultimatum was at length received at the station, to the effect that if all arms were given up they would spare the soldiers' lives. They also demanded the surrender of the two rebels held prisoners by these soldiers. At this stage one of the company's staff, who were allowed to go and come as they pleased, volunteered to interview the rebels; but matters could not be arranged, as the Spanish corporal (a plucky youth of twenty years of age) in the station refused to surrender anything at any price. Still parleying was continued, and on March 11 one of the company's staff again visited the rebel camp to state that if the regular bi-monthly steamer failed to arrive on the morrow the corporal would surrender arms. Then the rebel chief proposed that the corporal should meet him half-way between the company's office and the rebel camp, the rebel pledging his word of honour that no harm should befall the corporal. The corporal, however, could not do this, as it would have been contrary to the Spanish military code to capitulate on his own authority, but he confirmed his willingness to surrender arms if no steamer arrived the next day, and the company's employee returned to the camp to notify this resolution. But in a few minutes he observed a commotion among the insurgents; some one had descried a warship approaching, and the native canoes were very busy making ready for escape or attack. The British delegate, therefore, hastened back to the station, and at 3 p.m. a Spanish gunboat arrived, to their immense relief, and landed 107 marines. Heavy firing continued all that afternoon, inflicting great loss on the rebels, whilst the Spaniards lost one soldier. On March 12 a Spanish cruiser anchored off the Bay of Bolinao; also a merchant steamer put into port bringing the Company's Manila Superintendent with apparatus for communicating with Hong-Kong in case the station were demolished. The next day H.M.S. _Edgar_ entered, and Bolinao was again perfectly safe.

In consequence of this threatened attack on the cable-station the cable was detached from Bolinao and carried on to Manila in the following month (_vide_ p. 267).

As soon as the news reached Manila that Bolinao was menaced, General Monet proceeded north with 1,000 men, whilst 3,000 more followed by railway as far as they could reach. On the way the General had five engagements with the enemy, between Lingayen (Pangasinan) and Bolinao, where he arrived on the night of March 14, having routed the insurgents everywhere with great loss to them. On the Spanish side one lieutenant and one soldier were killed. After leaving a garrison of 300 men in Bolinao, General Monet returned to Manila in the Spanish cruiser the next day.

On March 31 Father Moises Santos, who had caused all the members of the Town Council of Malolos to be banished in 1895, was assassinated. He had been appointed Vicar of the Augustine Order and was returning to Malolos station, en route for Manila, in a buggy which stuck fast in a mud-pool (the same in which I have found myself several times), where he was stabbed to death. His body was recovered and taken by special train to Manila, where it was interred with great pomp in the Church of St. Augustine. He was 44 years of age, and had been 19 years in the Colony (_vide_ p. 364).

In April, 1898, the Home Government recalled General Primo de Rivera, appointing in his stead General Basilio Augusti, who had never before held chief command in the Islands. Primo de Rivera was no doubt anxious to be relieved of a position which he could not well continue to hold, with dignity to himself, after the Madrid Government had shelved his recommendations for reforms. His subsequent speeches in the Senate incline one to draw this conclusion. The Colonial Minister, Segismundo Moret (who became Prime Minister in 1905), warmly supported the proposed reforms, but monastic influences were brought to bear which Praxedes Sagasta had not the moral courage to resist.

Don Pedro A. Paterno, the peacemaker, was sorely disappointed, too, that the Government had failed to remunerate him for his services. His position will be best understood from the subjoined translation of the letter which he addressed to a high authority on the subject. The original document was read in public session of Congress in Madrid on June 16, 1898, by the Deputy Senor Muro.

_Manila_, _23rd of February_, 1898.

_My Esteemed Friend_,--

As it appears that, at last, one is thinking of giving me something for the services rendered by me, and as, according to you, the recompense is going to be a title of Castile, I wish to speak frankly, in secret, on the subject. I do not wish to fall into ridicule, because in such a material and mercantile place as Manila a title without rent-roll, or grandeur, or anything of the nature of an employment, or Cross of Maria Christina, or rewards such as have been showered broadcast by three Captain-Generals would, in Philippine circles, make me appear as the gullible boy and the laughing-stock of my fellows. To express my private opinion, I aspire, above all, to the preservation of my name and prestige, and if I were asked to renounce them for a childish prize, even though it be called a title of Castile, despised by serious statesmen in Europe, I think I should be obliged to refuse it. But I am willing to meet half-way the state of Spanish society in the Philippines, and as I belong to the family of the _Maguinoo_ Paterno, I must express myself in another way. That title of Castile might become the cherished ideal in the Philippines if it were valued as I desire.

In the first place, it _must not be less than that of Duke_, because the natives have obeyed me as the _Great Maguinoo_, or Prince of Luzon, and the ex-revolutionists call me the arbiter of their destinies.

The reward from Spain must not be less than the Philippine public already award to me.

In the second place, the reward, to be accepted by me with dignity and preservation of prestige, must be presented to me in the sense that it is for the general welfare of the Philippines as implied in the title of _Grandee of Spain of the First Class_ with the consequent right to a seat in the Senate to defend the interests of the Colony, seeing that we have no Members of Parliament, and parliamentary representation is anxiously desired.

I can show that I possess an income of P25,000 and more, if necessary.

In the third place, it must be in the nature of a gift and not a purchase, that is to say, the patent of nobility must be a free gift.

In the fourth place, it must be valued in dollars, so that the reward may not be held in contempt by the public, who know my liberality when I pay, with splendid generosity, sea voyages, river and land journeys for myself and for my emissaries, or when I distribute with abundant profusion pecuniary and material recompenses _to buy over the wills of and unite all the insurgent chiefs to bring them to surrender to Spain_. Up to the present, I have not received a cent from the revolutionists or from the Spanish Government to cover these expenses.

It is notorious that I have worked so grandly that no one can now ask me to sink into insignificance.

The recent concessions made by the Spanish Government have been seen by the Philippine public. The grade of Captain-General was given for subjecting a few Moslem chiefs of Mindanao; promotions and grand crosses with pensions have been awarded, and I, who have put an end to the war at a stroke, saving Spain many millions of dollars--I, who, amidst inundations and hurricanes have assaulted and conquered the barracks and military posts of the enemy, causing them to lay down their arms to Spain without bloodshed, and at my command surrender all their chiefs and revolutionary Government with their brigades and companies, I think I have good right to ask Spain, if she wishes to show herself a mother to me, to give me as much as she has given to other sons for lesser services.

To conclude, for family reasons, _ I want a title of Castile, that of Prince or Duke, if possible, and to be a Grandee of the first class_, free of nobility patent fees and the sum of P---- once for all.

I think that the title of Castile, or Spain's reward, if it reaches me without the mentioned formalities, will be an object of ridicule, and Spain ought not to expose me to this, because I wish to serve her always, in the present and in the future.

I also recommend you very strongly to procure for my brother Maximino Molo Agustin Paterno y Debera Ignacio the title of Count or a Grand Cross free of duties, for he has not only rendered great services to the nation, but he has continually sustained the prestige of Spain with the natives.

I am, etc., etc., _Pedro A. Paterno_.

N.B.--1. I told you verbally that if my merits did not reach two millimetres, it is the friend's duty to amplify them and extend them and make others see them as if they were so many metres, especially as they have _no equal_.

Prince of Limasaba is the first title of Castile conceded to a native of the Philippines. He was the first king of the Island of Limasaba in the time of Maghallanes, according to Father Jose Fernandez Cuevas, of the Company of Jesus, in his "Spain and Catholicism in the Far East," folio 2 (years 1519 to 1595). In Spain, in modern times, Prince of Peace, Prince of Vergara, etc.

2. and 3. Verbally I mentioned _one million_ of dollars, and that Parliament should meet sometimes for the Philippines and for extraordinary reasons. Take note that out of the 25,000 men sent here by Spain on account of the insurrection, statistics show 6,000 struck off the effective list in the first six months and many millions of dollars expenses. The little present, or the Christmas-box (_mi Aguinaldo_) is of no mean worth.

Some biographical notes of Don Pedro A. Paterno, with most of which he furnished me himself, may be interesting at this stage.

His Excellency Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno belongs to the class of Filipinos--the Chinese half-caste--remarkable in this Colony for that comparative intellectual activity of which Don Pedro himself is one of the brightest living examples. In the early decades of last century a Chinaman, called Molo, carried on a prosperous trade in the _Calle del Rosario_, in the Manila district of Binondo. His Philippine wife, whose family name was Yamson, carried in her veins the "blue blood," as we should say in Europe, of Luzonia. She was the direct descendant of the Great _Maguinoo_, or Prince of Luzon, a title hereditary, according to tradition. Three sons were the issue of this marriage, one of whom, Maximino Molo, was the father of Pedro. Averse to indolent pleasure during his father's lifetime, Maximino, with his own scant but independent resources, started active life with a canoe and a barge, conveying goods out as far as Corregidor Island to secure the first dealings with the ships entering the port. In this traffic he made money so fast that he opened an office, and subsequently a store of his own, in the _Escolta_. His transactions attained large proportions, and by the time this kind of trade in the bay became obsolete, he was already one of the most respected middlemen operating between the foreign houses and provincial producers. His Christian name was abbreviated to Maximo; and so proverbial were his placidity and solicitude for others that his friends affectionately nicknamed him Paterno (paternal), which henceforth became the adopted cognomen of the family. His unbounded generosity won for him the admiration of all his race, who graciously recognized him as their _Maguinoo_. Sympathetic in the ambitions and in the distress of his own people, he was, nevertheless, always loyal to Spanish authority; but whether his fortune awakened Spanish cupidity, or his influence with the masses excited the friars' jealousy, the fact is that in 1872 he was banished to the Ladrone Islands, accused of having taken part in the rising of Cavite. Ten years afterwards he was again in Manila, where I had the pleasure of his acquaintance, and on his decease, which took place July 26, 1900, he left considerable wealth.

Born in 1857, Pedro A. Paterno, at the early age of 14 years, was sent for his education to Spain, where he resided 11 years. The preparatory period over, he entered the University of Salamanca, and later on that of Madrid, where, under the protection and tutelage of the Marquis de Heredia, he was introduced into aristocratic circles, in which he became a great favourite. Amongst his college companions was the Marquis de Mina. At one time it was proposed that he should wed the daughter of the Marchioness de Montolibar, a suggestion which he disregarded because his heart already inclined towards the Filipina who is now his wife.

His assistance to the Home Government was of no mean importance. In 1882 he supported the abolition of the Government Tobacco Monopoly. In 1893 he again rendered valuable service to the State, in consideration of which he was awarded the Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic, with the distinction of "Excellency." In 1895 the oft-discussed question of the title of nobility he was to receive was revived. After the Peace of Biac-na-bato he fully expected that the usual Spanish custom would have been followed of conceding a title to the Peacemaker. The precedents for such an act, in modern times, are the titles given to Manuel Godoy (1795) and to General Espartero [188] (1840), who became respectively Prince of Peace and Prince of Vergara for similar services rendered to the Crown. A dukedom, Paterno believes, would have been his reward if the revolution had definitely terminated with the retirement of Emilio Aguinaldo from the Islands in 1897.

A man of versatile gifts, Pedro A. Paterno has made his mark in literature with works too numerous to mention; he is a fluent orator, a talented musician, and the composer of the argument of an opera, _Sangdugong Panaguinip_ ("The Dreamed Alliance"). As a brilliant conversationalist and well-versed political economist he has few rivals in his country. A lover of the picturesque and of a nature inclined to revel in scenes of aesthetic splendour, his dream of one day wearing a coronet was nurtured by no vulgar veneration for aristocracy, but by a desire for a recognized social position enabling him, by his prestige, to draw his fellow-men from the sordid pleasure of mere wealth-accumulation towards the sentimental, imaginative ideals of true nobility. In 1904 Pedro A. Paterno was the editor and proprietor of the newspaper _La Patria_, the mission of which was (1) to support the American dominion as a _fait accompli_, (2) to urge the fulfilment of the promise of eventual Philippine home rule, (3) to sustain a feeling of gratitude towards Spain, whence the Filipinos derived their civilization, and (4) to support Roman Catholic unity, on the ground that unity is strength.

In the second week of April, 1898, General Primo de Rivera left Manila for Spain, on the arrival of his successor in the Captain-Generalcy, General Basilio Augusti, in the s.s. _Isla de Mindanao_. [189] Some days before General Primo de Rivera's departure the American Consul at Manila had received despatches from his Government to prepare to quit the Islands, as war was imminent between Spain and the United States. He was further instructed to hand over his consulate archives to the British Consul, who would take charge of American interests. But without the concurrence of the Spanish authorities no official transfer could be made from one consulate to the other, and the General professed ignorance of the existing relations between his country and America. He cabled to Madrid for information, but managed to delay matters until his successor assumed office, when the transfer was duly made. Consul Oscar F. Williams was in no way molested. He passed to and fro in the city without the least insult being offered him by any Spaniard. The Gov.-General courteously proposed to send a large bodyguard to his consulate, but it was not necessary. Yet, as soon as Consul Williams closed his office and went on board the s.s. _Esmeralda_, the American Consulate escutcheon was painted out, and the notice boards outside the doors were kicked about the streets.

General Primo de Rivera was so well aware of the strained relations between Spain and America, that the s.s. _Leon XIII._, in which he travelled from Manila to Barcelona, was armed as a cruiser, with two 4-inch Hontoria guns mounted aft of the funnel and two Nordenfeldts in the bows. This steamer, crowded with refugee Spanish families, some of whom slept on the saloon floors, made its first stoppage at Singapore on April 17. At the next port of call General Primo de Rivera learnt that the United States of America had presented an ultimatum to his Government. Before he reached Barcelona, in the third week of May, war between the two countries had already broken out (April 23, 1898). There were riots in Madrid; martial law was proclaimed; the Parliamentary Session was suspended; a strict censorship of the press was established; the great disaster to Spanish arms in Philippine waters had taken place; the Prime Minister Sagasta had intimated his willingness to resign, and Primo de Rivera entered Madrid when it was too late to save the Philippine Islands for Spain, even had the rebel version of the implied reforms under the alleged Treaty of Biac-na-bato been fulfilled to the letter.

The leaders of the principal political parties were hastily summoned to the palace to consult separately with the Queen-Regent on the situation, and they were unanimously of opinion that the Prime Minister who had accepted war should carry them through the crisis. Spain was apparently more concerned about the salvation of the Antilles than of her Far Eastern Colony.

The friars, fully alive to their moral responsibility towards the nation for the loss of the Philippines, were, nevertheless, desirous of finding a champion of their cause in the political arena, and Deputy Uria was willing to accept this onerous task. The Bishop-elect of Porto Rico (an Austin friar) was a fellow-passenger with General Primo de Rivera. According to _El Liberal_ of June 3, 1898, when he arrived in Madrid he went with the Procurator of his Order to interview the Colonial Minister, Senor Romero Giron, on the prospects of Deputy Uria's proposed debate when Congress should meet again. The Minister pointed out to them the attendant difficulties, and referred them to the Prime Minister. They immediately went to Senor Sagasta's residence, where they were promptly given to understand that _if any one could be found to defend them, there might well be others who would oppose them_, so their champion withdrew.

When, months later, Parliament was re-opened, the Minister of War denied in Congress that the Treaty of Biac-na-bato had ever existed, [190] and in support of his contention he cited a cablegram which the Gov.-General Primo de Rivera is alleged to have sent to the Prime Minister Sagasta. It was published in the _Gaceta de Madrid_ of December 16, 1897, and reads as follows:--

_(Translation)_

_Manila_, 12th of December, 1897

To the President of the Council of Ministers, from the Governor-General

At the expiration of the time allowed and announced in the _Gazette_ of November 28, after which rigorous and active war measures would be taken against the rebels, a deputation from the enemy came to me on behalf of the brothers Aguinaldo, Llaneras, and the so-called Republican Government, offering to surrender themselves, their followers, and their arms, _on the sole conditions of their lives being spared and that they should receive means with which to emigrate_. It appears to me, and to the general officers of this army, that this surrender is the result of the successive combats by which we have held the positions taken in Morong, Paray, Minuyan, and Arayat, and the enthusiasm displayed by the resolute volunteers in the provinces outside Tagalog sphere. I feel sure of being able to take Biac-na-bato, as well as all the other points occupied by the rebels, but I am not so certain of being able to secure the persons of the chiefs of the rebellion with their followers. The war would then be carried on by roving parties who, from their hiding-places in the forests and mountains, might appear from time to time, and although of little importance, they would sustain the rebellion.

The generals agree with me that the peace will save the honour of Spain and the army, but in view of the importance of the event I consider it necessary to solicit the approval of the Government.

If the Government should accept the proposals, I will bring them to an issue at once, but I so far distrust them that I cannot be sure of anything until I have the men and the arms in my possession. In any case, it is now the unanimous opinion that the situation is saved.

_Primo de Rivera_.

_(Translation of reply)_

_Madrid_, 13th of December, 1897

President of the Council of Ministers to the Governor-General,

Manila

Colonial Ministry Code. H.M. the Queen has perused with great satisfaction your Excellency's telegram, and commands me to congratulate you in the name of the nation. In view of the opinion of your Excellency and the generals under your orders that _the honour of the army is saved_, the Government fully authorizes your Excellency to accept the surrender of the rebel chiefs and their Government on the terms specified in your telegram. Please advise the surrender as soon as possible in order to give due and solemn publicity to the event. Receive my sincere congratulations and those of the Government.

_Sagasta_.

At the period of the above despatches the Peninsular and the Insular authorities were living in a fool's paradise with respect to Philippine affairs. Had it been officially admitted that those reforms which the clerical party so persistently opposed, but which the home legislators were willing to concede, had been granted to the rebels as a condition of peace, "the honour of the army" would have suffered in Spanish public opinion. Hence, the Spaniards' conception of national dignity imposed on the Government the necessity of representing the rebel chiefs as repentant, begging for their lives, and craving the means of existence in exile as the result of Spanish military valour.

But abroad, where the ministerial denial, mentioned on p. 414, was published by the foreign press, Aguinaldo was universally spoken of as having been "bought off."

A wiser government would have learnt a lesson from a sixteen-months' rebellion and have afterwards removed its causes, if only to ensure the mother country's sovereignty. The probability of the Filipinos being able to subvert Spanish rule by their own unaided efforts was indeed remote, but a review of Spanish colonial history ought to have suggested to the legislators that that extraneous assistance to sedition which promoted emancipation in the former Spanish-American territories might one day be extended to the Filipinos.

The publication of the above documents, however, did little to calm the anger of the Madrid politicians who maintained that Spanish dominion in the Philippines could only be peacefully assured by a certain measure of reform in consonance with the natives' aspirations.

Months afterwards, when Spanish sovereignty in the Archipelago was drawing to a close, the Conde de las Almenas opened a furious debate in the Senate, charging all the Colonial Govs.-General with incompetency, but its only immediate effect was to widen the breach between political parties.

##