The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1899-03-10

ngo Ask to place Themselves Tn
der the sturs nnd stripes.
The Manila correspondent of the New
York Herald gives the following ac-
count Of the offer Of the inhabitants Of
Ncgros island. one Of the Philippines,
TO accept the sovereignty Of the United
States
1.-The depn'ation from Negros. con.
sisting Of Anisato Lacson, president Of
the provisional government of the is
land Eus.bio Luiz Luzuriaga. minis
ter Of the treasury. and Jose Ruiz Luzu-
Eiaga. president of the native congress.
held "a long conference with General
Otis
81 afterWard interviewed the visitors
and learned that on Nov. IL. having dc.
featei the Spanish garrisons. the in
hahitants esta blished a provisional gov
eminent, consisting Of the officials who
are now here and Juan Aremeta, minis
ter of war; Antonio Jaque, minister OF
justice; Simon Lazares, minister Of the
interior Augustin Amenabar. minister
of agriculture and commerce, and Nico-
las Gules. minister Of public works,
'Stanislao Gusay was chosen vice
president of the congress. which is made
up Of 80 deputies. Jose l. Vito. secre-
tary, and Juan Llorento. vice secretary
when Aguinnldo learned Of their
success in ousting the Spanish authority,
he sent his congratulations to them and
also copies Of a form Of government
which he proposed to sstsblSh in Ne
gros, similar in naturs l.. H.. principal
government Of Lu2ou and .ut.Hvielt
to il
THE leaders Of thu Negros revolution
did not approve Of Aguinaldo's sugges.
lions, and they asked Captain Glass Of
tho United States cruiser Charleston
for the protection Of America Captain
GLASS promised to forward tASli com
mlnication 70 the hmericGn authorities
~"lleanwD.le :ho government has been
working smoothly and the Island has
been peaceful
"HeaTiug of the tall Of lloilo, and
fearing the similar destruction Of the
principal towns of Negros should Agui
naldo's soldiers land on the island, they
sent a deputation to General Miller at
Aoilo, asking for a definite answer to
their application for American protec-
zion.
"Gensral Miller replied favorably
and the deputstion returned to Negros
The American flag was hoissod over the
town Of E.co!od in tho presence Of the
entire population. and the native troops
salutsd the Stars and st.ipss with 81
guns
This imposing onrunony took place
on Feb ~ The deputssion then re-.
turned to lloilo and came 10 this city,
1.-The present form Of government in
Negroes ii similar 10 that OF the Swisa
confederation. tbs island bang subdi-
vided int sss caution and W. prov.
inrea
The members al the dsputstion were
asked, What do yoo expect andsr Unit
ed States ruler
"'rhey replied We pat Ourselves
unresoryodly in the hands Of the Amer
scans We trust them to establish a
soru IF government suitable to the is
land We cannot guarantee anything
as To- ihp Nncof action the other islands
will take, but we will cooperate with
the Americans and use our Influence to
induce the reInaipicr Of the Nisayan
islands to CUIuu Gluar the American
flag
''Epgros Is ranked smong the II lar.
gest islands in the rhIlppine archipel'
ago, its ~appruNllaavs al-a being 1900
square miles The total population, ac.
oordirg to the la;sat Spaniah statistics
IL 2Oh 600
"NcgrQS lies parallel to Zcbu and is
separated from that island by a strait
about ~ miles wide, The largest towns
in Nesros are Jimamaylan. Dumaguete,
Bats and Bacolod The last named is
the administrative center
"~Considering its size. Ne;ros IL re.
garded by some authorities as the rich
est in the archipelago Thors are many
large sugar plantations. and sugar rails.
ing is the principal occupation Of the
inhabitants, In the Escalante region
splendid tobacco is grown. The low
lands along the coast arc in a fine state
OF cultivation
There are magnificent forests in the
mountains. which are inhabited by
wild Mulays N~Laspina. an active vol
cano, is the highest peak. reaching a
height Of s. 1870 feet