should lament, that you
order your troops that they avoid difficulty with mine, as until now
they have conducted themselves as brothers to take Manila."

General Merritt did not tolerate any folly about "joint occupation,"
and sharply demanded the insurgents should restore the city the water
supply from the mountain stream that is diverted from the Pasig to
the city, and Aguinaldo claimed credit on the water question in these
terms of prevarication and presumption.

"Since I have permitted the use of water before the formal declaration
of the treaty, you can easily see that I am disposed to sacrifice to
friendship everything not greatly prejudicial to the rights of the
Philippine city.

"I comprehend, like yourself, the inconvenience of a double occupation
of the city of Manila and its environs, considering the conditions
of the capitulation with the Spaniards, but you must also understand
that without the wide blockade maintained by my forces you would
have obtained possession of the ruins of the city, but never the
surrender of the Spanish forces, who would have been able to retire
to the interior towns.

"Now, do not make light of the aid formerly given by us to secure
the capitulation mentioned. Greatly though justice may suffer, and
risking well-founded fears in regard to my city, I do not insist upon
the retention of all the positions conquered by my forces within
the environs at the cost of much bloodshed, unspeakable fatigue,
and much money."

At the same time this Dictator was strutting with the powerful
persuasion that the United States must be subordinate to his will,
he was ambitious to live in the palace of the Governor General,
putting an impertinance to that effect in his correspondence, but
General Merritt told him he wanted it for himself and had already
occupied and taken it into possession. It has been made clear that
Aguinaldo was from the first appearance of Americans writhing with
the pangs of wounded vanity, conspiring to initiate the ignorant and
inflate the insignificant, exciting a considerable force to share
his sentiments. Unquestionably the news communicated by Agoncillo to
Aguinaldo of the sailing of the regular troops to reinforce the army
in Manila caused the desperate assault upon our lines, and it may
be accepted as the measurement of the Filipino ignorance of American
character, that the insurgent calculation was that the combat designed
and its influence estimated, was expecte