he
refers to the recently created Philippine Militia and Consulting
Assembly. Well, admitting for argument sake, that with such
Militia and Consulting Assembly the liberty and happiness of the
Philippines were assured (a doubtful hypothesis, Senor Paterno),
this happiness is not due to Senor Paterno's efforts, but simply
to the circumstances. Spain is at war with North America, and
now offers us this sugar-plum to draw us to her side to defend
her against invasion.

We ask you again, Senor Paterno, where are those sacrifices?

We do not see them, although we seek them with the light of
impartiality, for, as the splendour of justice shines on our flag,
we should not fail to do this even for our greatest enemies,
amongst whom we do not count you.

Do you allude to the Peace of Biac-na-bato? If so, we ask, what
have you done with that peace to which we subscribed in good
faith, and which you and General Primo de Rivera together have
stupidly and scandalously torn into shreds? You have, indeed,
bungled the amnesty when many of the banished are, up to now,
suffering the miseries of their sad and unjust fate.

You have put off the promised reforms which, even yet, have
not come.

You have delayed the payment of the P400,000 for the second and
third instalments of the agreed sum.

You have not delivered into the hands of our chief, Don Emilio
Aguinaldo, the money as agreed upon.

Ah! You thought that when we had surrendered to you our arms and
our garrisoned strongholds--when our forces were dispersed and we
were absent--you could turn back to the Government of iniquity
without reflecting that Divine Providence could permit, in the
hour of great injustice, her emissary Don Emilio Aguinaldo to
return resolved to chastise energetically the immoral and impotent
Spanish Government.

Then comes Senor Paterno, telling us that however great our efforts
may be in the cause of liberty, we cannot live without an ally,
and that we can find no better alliance than the sovereignty of
Spain. Frankly, we must say that this is inconceivably incompatible
with Senor Paterno's clear intelligence. How do you understand an
alliance with sovereignty? How can you imagine a people great,
free and happy under the sovereignty of Spain? Senor Paterno
cites, as examples, the alliances b