The Philippines: Past and Present | Page 8

book
would have remained unwritten. Surely no man who bases his
statements concerning Filipino rule on the facts set forth in these
records can be accused of deriving his information from hostile or
prejudiced sources.
Of them, Major Taylor says:--
"No one reading the Insurgent records can fail to be impressed with the
difference between the Spanish and the Tagálog documents. Many of

the former are doubtless written with a view to their coming into the
hands of the Americans, or with deliberate purpose to have them do so,
and are framed accordingly. All Tagálog documents, intended only for
Filipinos, say much that is not said in the Spanish documents. The
orders of the Dictator [5] to his subjects were conveyed in the latter
series of documents."

CHAPTER II
Was Independence Promised?
It has long been the fashion in certain quarters to allege, or to insinuate,
that American consuls and naval officers promised the Insurgent
leaders that the independence of the Philippines would be recognized
by the United States. It has been claimed by some that the coöperation
of the Insurgents in the military operations against Manila was sought
for and secured. Others say that they were at least de facto allies of the
United States, and that they were in the end shamelessly betrayed and
wantonly attacked.
These are very serious charges. I shall prove, chiefly by the Insurgent
records, that each of them is false. I ask the forbearance of my readers
if, in the three chapters which I devote to these matters, I quote
documentary evidence at length. When original documents or extracts
from them tell a clear and reasonably concise story, I sometimes insert
them bodily in the text. In other cases I give my own version of the
facts which they set forth, but give the full text in foot-notes. In nearly
all instances references are given to sources of documentary
information. I greatly regret that Taylor's narrative, with its very
numerous supporting documents, is not readily accessible to the student
of history. It ought to have been published, but never got beyond the
galley-proof stage. In referring to it, I am therefore obliged to use the
word Taylor followed by the letters and figures designating the page of
this galley proof on which the passage referred to is found. Whenever
possible I give the War Department numbers [6] of Insurgent
documents, but in a few cases can give only the exhibit numbers

assigned by Taylor in printing the documents.
As his exhibits are serially arranged it is easy to find any one of them.
Copies of his work may be found in the War Department and in the
office of the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary.
Referring to the charge that the Insurgents were deceived, even had
deceit been practised as claimed, Aguinaldo would have had no just
ground for complaint, for he himself not only frankly advocated its use,
but deliberately employed it in his dealings with the Americans, as
clearly appears in records hereinafter cited. [7] However, most
Americans hold to a standard very different from his. Was it departed
from in this instance?
Aguinaldo has specifically and repeatedly charged that Pratt and
Dewey promised him the recognition of the independence of the
Philippines by the United States. [8]
Judge Blount has referred to the "de facto alliance between the
Americans and Aguinaldo," and has dwelt at length on "promises, both
expressed and implied," which were subsequently repudiated by Consul
Pratt, Admiral Dewey and Generals Anderson and Merritt, constantly
suggesting, even when he does not specifically charge, bad faith on the
part of these officers of the United States. [9]
On analyzing his statements we find that he is disereetly non-committal
as to exactly what were the expressed promises, nor does he make it so
plain as might be desired what legitimate inferences were deducible
from the acts of the Americans in question. He quotes an alleged
statement of General Anderson to the effect that:--
"Whether Admiral Dewey and Consuls Pratt, Wildman, [10] and
Williams [11] did or did not give Aguinaldo assurances that a
Philippino government would be recognized, the Phillippinos certainly
thought so, judging from their acts rather than from their words.
Admiral Dewey gave them arms and ammunition, as I did subsequently
at his request." [12]

Before discussing these charges I will briefly review certain historical
facts, knowledge of which will be useful in considering them.
In August, 1896, an insurrection against Spain had broken out in the
Philippines under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, a resident of
Cavite Viejo, who had been a school teacher, and was, at that time,
gobernadorcillo [13] of his town.
It had been terminated by the so-called "Treaty of Biacnabató," signed
in Manila on December 15, 1897.
This document provided for the surrender of "Don