o's headquarters, the parish church,
and a few hundred yards of railway were already destroyed when
the Americans occupied the place, still partly in flames. Some
few hundreds of Chinese were the only inhabitants remaining in
Malolos. The value of the food-stuffs captured in this place was
estimated at P1,500,000. Simultaneously, General Hall's brigade
operated five to seven miles north of Manila and drove the insurgents
out of Mariquina, San Mateo, and the environs of the Montalban River
with a loss of 20 men wounded and Lieutenant Gregg killed. It was now
evident that Aguinaldo had no intention to come to close quarters and
bring matters to a crisis by pitched battles. His policy was apparently
to harry the Americans by keeping them constantly on the move against
guerilla parties, in the hope that a long and wearisome campaign would
end in the Americans abandoning the Islands in disgust, leaving the
Filipinos to their own desired independence. Aguinaldo had moved on
to Calumpit with his main army with the intention of establishing
his Government there. On the American side, active preparations were
made to dislodge him. Small gunboats were fitted out for operating
on the Rio Grande de Pampanga, and an armoured train was prepared for
use farther north. From Paranaque, on the bay shore south of Manila,
the insurgents fired on the monitor _Monadnock_, but a few shots from
this vessel silenced the shore battery. In several places, within 10
to 15 miles of the capital, armed groups of insurgents concentrated,
but Aguinaldo moved on towards Baliuag, in the province of Bulacan,
so as to be within easy reach of the hill district of Angat in case
of defeat.

A few days after the capture of Malolos, General Otis issued a
proclamation to the Filipinos, in the hope that by drawing off public
sympathy from the insurgent cause it would dwindle away. The terms
of this document were as follows, viz.:--

(1) The supremacy of the United States must and will be enforced
throughout every part of the Archipelago. Those who resist can
accomplish nothing except their own ruin.

(2) The most ample liberty of self-government will be granted
which is reconcilable with the maintenance of a wise, just,
stable, effective, and economical administration, and compatible
with the sovereign and international rights and obligations of
the United States.

(3) The civil rights of the Filipinos will be guaranteed