The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-10-31
THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS
SENIOR RTOS, PRESIDENT OF SPAN
 ISH COMPASSION, IS ILL. ...
Some Doubt'as to the Holding of a Joint Session To-day--The Philippine Ques- tion still Likely to Cause Trouble Two Wearisome Contentious Are Likely to he Early Raised by the Su,n M Ar ...l. n.,xiaAr NInd
spamiards-Anxiety in Madrid.

Spaniards-Anxiety in Madrid.
 Paris, Oct. 3O-Senor Montero Rios, president of the Spanish peace commits sion, is ill This causes some doubt this. evening as to whether there will be a joint session of the commissions to- morrow. If he is unable to attend it is unlikely that the Spaniards would consent to enter the conference to take up the Philippine question for initial consideration. The strong impression, which has been growing here recently that the Spaniards, upon receiving definite assurances of the American in- tention toward the entire Philippine group would quit the conference and all negotiations, is modified by the at titude of the Spanish newspapers arriv- ing here to-day. These are found to have wheeled into line with the Epocha of October 27, which demanded that the Spanish commissioners should sign treaty in Paris no matter how oner- ous the conditions imposed by the Americans.
 Nevertheless, despite this attitude of the Madrid press and despite the de- nial given on Friday last to the corre- spondent of the Associated Press by a spanish commissioner who denied that the Spaniards had any intention of withdrawing, the Americans here will not be surprised if one or more of the
 Spanish commissioners resign and practically close the negotiations. This feeling is based upon the fact that Senor Rios early last week, would have
 resigned. if, his so doing would not
 have imperilled the Sagasta ministry and the reasoning is that, if, while pressing the Cuban debt, which is not mentioned in the protocol and which the Spanish commissioners insist should not be left to Spain alone, Senor Rios were inclined to resign, he might, in the open field of contention as to the Phil ippines, feel that resignat tion would help Senor Sagasta, on the ground that the
 demand of the United States for the
 entire Philippine group would be extor- donate.
 It is believed here tonight, on the eve
 of taking up the main question. that the Spanish commissioners are not like ly to acquiesce here in any treaty that the Americans would sign. In the Phil ippine discussion two wearisome con- tentions are likely to be early raised by the Spanish commissioners. The first is on the protocol phrase "control, dis position and government" of the archi- pelago, the Spaniards doubtless hold 1 ing that the word disposition" does
 not involve possession, though they
 know that possession" was originally
 written in the protocol and changed to disposition on M. Cambon's Insist
 ance in behalf of Spain. Collateral to
 this is a second contention, possibly to
 be merged with the first, that when the protocol was signed there was an ex- l terior moral agreement between M. | Cambon and Judge Day that neither | the protocol nor it's terms should in the 1 treaty negotiations involve Spanish | sovereignty in the Philippine archipel- I ago.
 On this point Judge Day, through the l Associated Press, has already pointed | ly denied the existence of an actual,
 constructive or implied understanding
 outside of the protocol. either verbally | or in correspondence, and this denial is ! supported by the French yellow book. l M Cambon, however has given the 1 matter some significance by emitting 1 to deny the report, although the alleged 1 existence of a secret understanding ex- t terior to the protocol was first printed l In the Paris papers and reiterated di- l rectly and by inference. The joint ses-
 sion, if one be held tomorrow, will take | 711o at n m FThn r1olrjao par,1Sr
 ready,