The times., 1898-10-10
MONDAY, OCTOBER 10. 1888.
saEasta's Reported DisiIIusion.

Sngasta's Reported DisiIIusion.
1t is as well to take any alleged in
formation on the subject of peace. en-
anating from Madrid, with a great deal
of reserve. and he would not be often
wrong who declined to believe any of it
on general principles. Nevertheless, it
may be true, as the dispatches repre-
sent. that Senor Sagasta has abandoned
hope of being able to secure any action
of the powers to prevent our retention
of the Philippines, and has made up his
mind to swallow the bitter pill of a
complete surrender of Spanish sover-
eighty in the Orient. with the best grace
possible under the circumstances.
His reported conviction that all
chance of violently Withdrawing the
Philippine question from consideration
and decision by the Peace Commission
and having it referred to an interna-
tional tribunal, exemplifies the strength
of the American position. The French
Foreign Office has plainly intimated that
France need not be expected to do more
than feel very sorry for Spain, and that
under conditions of diplomatic silence.
The tone of the leading Berlin press in
dicates that the German government
will not interpose any objection to the
annexation of the archipelago by the
United States, and. as for Russia. that
power may be assumed to view Ameri-
can occupation and control with COM
placency.
None of the continental powers would
no 70 int
ment of the Philippine future with
favor. They would all have TO be rep
resented in the Congress, which would
be necessary, supposing that America
were foolish enough to consent TO for
eign interference in a question solely
between this country and Spain. That
would simply mean a reopening OF all
the threatening questions between the
lot of them. There is nothing in the
situation TO suggest that either France
or Germany might get anything out of
the result, to warrant the risk of trou-
bles which would be apt to follow an
effort to partition the new American
possession among the governments of
the Continent; for that is all that inter
national interference would mean.
If Spain has come to realize that SOW
ereignty in the islands is forever lost
IL IS certain that q desperate struggle
will be made TO induce the United
States TO assumo-the Philippine debt
which is stated to amount to forty mil
lion dollars. We are advised that this
proposition, as last resort, is being
advocated with great energy by the
same people on this side who succeeded
in obtaining President McKinley's con-
sent to the terms of the Edmunds- Ire
land protocol Most of the public Sc
curities representing the debt are held
by the Jesuit, Franciscan, and Angus
tinian religious orders. who have been
until recently the real governing and
financial power in the Philippines, and
against whose rule. rather than the
merely nominal one of Spain, the ma
tiYes have repeatedly raised the banner
of revolution.
But that is question of moral
rather than legal evidence; besides
which, church and state are so COM
pletely in combination in the kingdom,
and have been in its late dependencies.
SAdl H. hOAlO Oc lAupOSSiDie 10 MT one
without hurting the other. As an alb
stract proposition it might occur to the
American people that it would be hard
upon the monastic orders to repudiate
Spanish debt representing some of
their investments. On the other hand,
Ii is somewhat difficult to forget that
they have enjoyed the pickings of the
archipelago for centuries. and have de-
rived a revenue Of annual millions from
their opportunities. So. under all the
circumstances there perhaps would be
some excuse for considering that they
already had their quantum meruit, and
could therefore have little cause of
complaint for the loss of, say, what
would be equivalent to the unearned in