ater. These results, it is true,
were obtained against a dispirited army, containing a considerable
number of native troops of doubtful loyalty. Yet, from August, 1896,
to April, 1897, they fought 25,000 of the best regular troops sent
out from Spain, inflicting on them a loss of over 150 officers and
2,500 men, killed and wounded, and they suffered still greater losses
themselves. Nevertheless, from daily contact with them for six weeks, I
am very confident that no such results could have been obtained against
an American army, which would have driven them back to the hills and
reduced them to a petty guerilla warfare. If they attack the American
army this will certainly be the result, and, while these guerilla
bands might give some trouble so long as their ammunition lasted, yet,
with our navy guarding the coasts and our army pursuing them on land,
it would not be long before they were reduced to subjection.

Insurgent Civil Administration.

In August, 1896, and insurrection broke out in Cavite, under the
leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, and soon spread to other provinces
on both sides of Manila. It continued with varying successes on
both sides, and the trial and execution of numerous insurgents,
until December, 1897, when the Governor-General, Primo de Rivera,
entered into written agreement with Aguinaldo, the substance of
the document, which is in possession of Senor Felipe Agoncillo,
who accompanies me to Washington, being attached hereto and marked
"A." In brief, it required that Aguinaldo and the other insurgent
leaders should leave the country, the Government agreeing to pay
them $800,000 in silver, and promising to introduce numerous reforms,
including representation in the Spanish Cortes, freedom of the press,
amnesty for all insurgents, and the expulsion of secularization of
the monastic orders. Aguinaldo and his associates went to Hongkong
and Singapore. A portion of the money, $400,000, was deposited in
banks at Hongkong, and a lawsuit soon arose between Aguinaldo and one
of his subordinate chiefs, named Artacho, which is interesting on
account of the very honorable position taken by Aguinaldo. Artacho
sued for a division of the money among the insurgents, according to
rank. Aguinaldo claimed that the money was a trust fund and was to
remain on deposit until it was seen whether the Spaniards would carry
out their promised reforms, and if they failed to do so it was to
be used to defray the expenses of a