h the
President nominated Brigadier-General Elwell S. Otis, U.S.A., to be
Major-General by brevet, to rank from February 4, 1899, for military
skill and most distinguished service in the Philippine Islands. The
nomination was confirmed by the Senate. Secretary Alger sent the
following congratulatory message to General Otis:

"You have been nominated and confirmed a Major-General by brevet in
the Regular Army. The President wishes this message of congratulations
sent you, in which I cordially join."

The Spanish way of dealing with unfortunate officers appears in this:

"Madrid, Friday.--Admiral Montojo, who was in command of the Spanish
squadron destroyed by Admiral Dewey in the battle of Manila Bay, and
the commander of the Cavite arsenal were this evening incarcerated in
the military prison pending trial for their conduct at Manila. Admiral
Cervera has also been imprisoned, along with General Linares, the
two men in the Spanish service who gave the Americans trouble.

The Colon Gazette on the 23d of February publishes extracts from a
private letter dated Iloilo, January 12, that prior to the conclusion
of peace Lieutenant Brandeis, formerly of the Twenty-first Baden
Dragoons, with 800 Spanish troops, held the town against 20,000
to 30,000 Filipinos, who were monkeying about and assuming to be
conducting a siege, just as the Aguinaldo crowd was doing at Manila
when General Merritt arrived. When peace was declared the Iloilo
Spaniards presently surrendered and the Filipinos rushed in as
conquering heroes. The pacific policy of the President prevented the
United States troops from taking the place from the swarm of islanders
until the outbreak in front of Manila, when our strict defensive was
unavailable and General Miller quietly occupied and possessed Iloilo,
the important sugar-exporting town of the Philippines.

The natives of the Island of Negros sent a delegation to General
Miller, after he had captured Iloilo, to offer their allegiance to
the United States, and the General holds Jaro and Molo, where there
has been skirmishing recently. The insurgents have 2,000 men at
Santa Barbara.

The governor of Camarines, in the interior of Luzon, has issued
a proclamation declaring that the Americans intend to make the
Filipinos slaves.

March 4th the United States cruiser Baltimore arrived at Manila
having on board the civil members of the United States Philippine
Commission. On the same day the rebels of the villa