Abilene weekly reflector., 1898-11-10
PROPOSAL REJECTED
Spaniards Refuse the American De.
mands About the Philippines.
The NEGOTIATIONS NOT Yet OFF.
The Conteutioos Made by the Spanish Com.
mlaal0uers-An AdJournment Taken
Until Tuesday 70 Consider the
Spanish Pressutment.

cP0uhnh AHO9outmeuS
Paris, Nov. 6-The Spanish commits
sioners, in the course Of a two-hours'
session Of the peace conference yester-
day, fatty refused to accept the propo-
sition made by the Americans to take
the entire Philippine group and to re-
imburse Spain for her pacific" ex.
penditures there. This negative &C.
ton was expected. The Spanish com.
missioners had also q number Of posi-.
tive declarations which filled some 81
sheets Of typewriter presentment.
In this statement the Spaniards held
that the United States had no ulti.
mate rights in the Philippine islands
and could have none save by the con.
sent Of Spain In these negotiations
and upon terms satisfactory to her.
According to the Spanish contention
in the formal statement, the United
States entertained no thought Of an.
nexing the Philippines when the pro.
tocol was signed or it would have been
expressed in the protocol as clearly as
the conditions regarding the cession of
territory in the Antilles and the ORR
ent M. Cambon, before the signature
OF the protocol, received from Madrid
the presentiment alleged-a cable
message clearly setting forth that the
maintenance Of Spain's authority over
the Philippines should not be affected
by the protocol, to which reservation
the United States made at that time no
protest or objection. 1t is further held
by Senor Rios and his colleagues that
the capitulation Of Manila, having oc-
Cured after the signing Of the proto-
col, and thus, after the suspension Of
hostilities, was invalid.
With all this for ground work, the
Spaniards made their first positive
move against, the Americans, and it
constituted their counter proposition.
They charged upon the United States
q wrongful appropriation OF public
moneys belonging to Spain by seizing
the tariff duties at Manila, and they
formally demanded the return Of these
moneys, in the sum Of nearly l,OoO,o 900.
On the same premises the United
States was declared to have made and
held as prisoners the Spanish troops
at Manila In violation Of international
law, because done after the suspension
Of hostilities under the protocol. A
further charge was that by the i'm
prisonment of the Spanish troops at
Manila the United States had pre-
vented Spain from quelling the insur.
rection and had thus contributed to
the violence against Spain after the
cessation Of hostilities. The Spanish
presentment also cited the refusal Of
the Americans to consider the Cuban
debt, on the ground that it was not
sanctioned in the protocol, and de-
manded an adherence to this as prece-
dent In the discussion of the Philip
pines, regarding cession Of which
the Spanish commissioners held the
protocol to make no mention.
In support Of these assertions, argu-
ments and demands the Spanish pre-
sentiment invokes Spain's record In the
correspondence by mail and telegraph,
though 1t is not known unofficially
whether the Spaniards produced the
message said to have been sent from
Madrid to M. Cambon, at the time the
protocol was signed, in which, it was
affirmed, Spain reserved her Philippine
sovereignty.
The presentment was read by Inter-
prefer Ferguson, being rendered from
the Spanish, in which it was written,
into English. At the close OF the read
ing the Americans said they wished to
have the Spanish statement rendered
into written English for more careful
consideration and an adjournment was
taken to Tuesday.
1t may again be asserted on the
highest authority-as bearing on the
Spanish argument-that when the
protocol was signed there was no
understanding, verbal or otherwise,
which the protocol does not show
forth. Nor have the American COM
missoners at any time, on the other
hand held or believed that the proto.
col determined anything against
Spain's sovereignty in the Philippines.
The American representatives have,
however, held, and doubtless will
hold, that the protocol was meant to
provide, and does provide, for deci-
sion by the Paris conference regarding
the ownership Of the Philippines. In
this connection, too, the Americans
will undoubtedly cite the fact that
originally the protocol contained the
word possess" instead Of "disposi-
tion," the latter having been substi.
tuted at M. Cambon's request and in
Difference to Spanish sensibilities. The
original reading will unquestionably
be recurred to now as indicating
the mental attitude Of the Amer.
lean signers Of the protocol toward
American possession in the Philip
pines This line of reasoning natural
ly will include the question Of the
precedent which the Spaniards say
was created hv the refusal of the