The San Francisco call., 1898-08-23
MERRlTT'S ARRIVAL
 WAS UNEXPECTED

MANILA, P. l., July 26.-Major Gen eral Wesley Merritt, the first Military Governor of the Philippines under the American administration, arrived here yesterday on board the transport New port, and at once assumed command of the forces under Brigadier Generals Anderson and Greene. His arrival was so quiet and unostentatious that but for the salute from the flagship Olympia in his honor after he had paid his first official visit to Rear Admiral Dewey, it might have escaped notice of many of his subordinates.
 From the fleet in Manila harbor, off Cavite, the smoke of the Newport was seen hours before she passed Corregi- dor Island, and all sorts of conjectures were made as to her identity. At II o'clock a. m. she steamed into the har- bor. and was met by the Concord which was dispatched to interview the stranger. A few minutes later she came within signaling distance, when it was discovered who and what she was. Immediately preparations were made to give her and her distinguished pas senger a fitting reception by the fleet, and as she slowly passed the Olympia the latter'S crew roared out three hear ty cheers for the Governor, which were returned with a will by the troops on board the Newport, and echoed by the crew of the Charleston, alongside of which vessel she anchored at noon.
 Major General Merritt immediately visited the flagship, where he remained for over an hour, discussing the situa- ton with Rear-Admiral Dewey. AS he returned to the Newport in the Ad- miraps barge, his authority was off, o,, I1x,x II R,-4,, 1f lute of thirteen guns from the flagship. and almost before the echo of the last gun had died away every man in the American forces knew the man for whom they had been waiting had ar rived.
 Owing to the rain, which poured in- cessantly all afternoon, no attempt was made to'land the troops from the New port; but this will undoubtedly be done as soon as the weather clears suffi- Ciently to admit of transferring the men to their new quarters ashore.
 Except for a few eases of sickness, none of which were serious, the troops on board the Newport arrived in splen- did condition, their trip across the Pa cific having been an ideal one, so far as the weather conditions are concerned.
 The condition of the troops already encamped at Paranaje, a few miles south of Manila, Is anything but an en- viable one. For the past three days it has rained torrents, almost necessarily, and the men have been compelled to erect bamboo platforms beneath their shelter tents. in order to avoid sleeping upon the wet ground. Even this pre- caution, however, does not ensure them against the moisture of the atmos- phere, which dampens everything under cover almost as effectually as the rain does in the open. As the natural se- quence of this state of affairs. the sick lists of the various regiments are grad ually increasing every day; and unless the weather abates, or the troops are returned to the barracks at Cavite, the medical corps will assuredly have it's hands full in the near future.
 Outside of the few acres of untitled land upon which the camp is situated the country between Paranaje and Ma nila is in such water-logged state that it will be utterly impossible to move troops over 1t in the direction of the beseiged city for week or more,