esentatives to the congress. But it is a fact that
the Visayas have taken no active part in the present insurrection
nor in that of 1896, that the Spanish Government is still in full
control at Cebu and Iloilo, and in the Viscayas islands, and that
Aguinaldo has as yet made no effort to attack them. The Visayas
number nearly 2,000,000, or about as many as the population of all
the Tagalo Provinces, which Aguinaldo claims to have captured. There
is no evidence to show that they will support his pretensions, and
many reasons to believe that on account of racial prejudices and
jealousies and other causes they will oppose him.

Upon one point all are agreed, except possibly Aguinaldo and his
immediate adherents, and that is that no native government can maintain
itself without the active support and protection of a strong foreign
government. This being admitted it is difficult to see how any foreign
government can give this protection without taking such an active
part in the management of affairs as is practically equivalent to
governing in its own name and for its own account.

United States Troops and Navy.

I assume that the reports received at the War and Navy Departments
give all the desired information in regard to the military forces of
the United States.

At the time I left (August 30th) the Eighth Corps consisted of two
divisions, numbering in all about 12,000 men, with 16 field guns and
6 mountain guns. No wagons or animals had then arrived.

One regiment was stationed within the walled city guarding its gates,
and the captured guns and ammunition; a small force was at Cavite,
and the bulk of the troops were in Manila, outside of the walled
city. They were quartered in the Spanish barracks, which were all in
good condition, and in convents and private houses. The health of the
troops was excellent, notwithstanding the extraordinary hardships to
which they had been subjected in the trenches before entering Manila.

Admiral Dewey had under his command the Charleston, Monterey and
Monadnock, which arrived in July and August, the Callao and Leyte,
which had been captured from the Spaniards, and the ships which
were in the battle of May 1st, viz: Olympia, Boston, Baltimore,
Raleigh, Concord, Petrel and McCullough. The health of the squadron
was excellent. The Olympia and Concord were being docked and cleaned
at Hongkong. Permission to use the docks at Nagansaki during the
suspension of hostilities had been de