The San Francisco call., 1899-02-19
CONSULAR DIPLOMACY.

Spain. as they had been for a hundred years.
l. They have all that time aspired to independence
and have fought fallen and fought again for the right
to establish government OF their own. They nave
practically been in possession for century OF most
of the area of the islands from which they have
cessfuly excluded Spanish jurisdiction.
War being on between the United States and
Spain Dewey's feet appeared at Hongkong, and
Agunaldo arrived at Singapore. The subsequent
proceedings are told in the report of United States
Consul Pratt OF Singapore:
when six weeks ago l learned that General
Aguinaldo had arrived, incognito, at Singapore
Immediately sought him out An hours interview
convinced me he was the for the occasion, and
having communicated with Admiral Dewey, ac-
cordngly arranged for him join the latter which
he did at Cavite I thankful to have been the
means, though merely the accidental means, OF BRING
ing about the arrangement between General Agun-
aldo and Admiral Dewey which has resulted SO hap
PLY. l can only hope that the eventual outcome will
be all that be desired for the happiness and wei
fare of the Filipinos."
There is no doubt that Consul Pratt took
declaration OF war to be in good faith and believed
we were embarking in altruistic struggle to make
free and independent the victims of centuries OF
Spanish denial of self-government So believing
Consul Pratt secured "an arrangement" between
Aguinaldo and Dewey. What that arrangement was
is not revealed by either. Its terms unknown TO
the people of the United States We permitted to
believe that in line with solemn abjuration
of conquest, however and Prats hope that it would
erd in the happiness and welfare of the Filipinos
can only mean that it made to secure the inde-
pendence and freedom for which they had so long
fought against Spain.
We must resort to the Filipino Interpretation OF
this arrangement Singapore for further light, and
therein we find confirmation of the above view. Ad
dressing Pratt the Filipinos said: The programme
arranged between you and General Aguinado we
hope will secure to us Our independence
Consul Pratt's ambitious diplomacy has been
cluded by his recall, rebule and dismissal from the
service, his offense being that he took Con
gressonaI denial of the intention to make conQuests
be true and in line with that and with ancient
policy negotiated arrangement to help the Fill
pinos to their independence. Aguinado and his
countrymen do not seem to have had any suspicion
that consular representative of this Government
would seek them out, Pratt admits he did, to
range for their military cooperation in return for
their independence without having authority to do
There was no American Minister handy TO make
gotiations. We had Minister in Pekil-F one in Toxic
and in Seoul too distant to be consulted. Again,
there evidence that the arrangement made by Consul
Pratt at Singapore was ratified by Consul Wildman
at Hongkong. The latter went so far to be
trusted with the $4,000 belonging to the Filipino
Junta and the correspondence between him and
Aguinaldo reveals their mutual understanding OF
Consul Pratts arrangement" Wdman i'm
nediately promoted the Chinese Consul Generalcy,
which must have seemed to the Filpinos recognition
and reward by his Government for his part IN the
negotiation.
So it is impossible to extract any other conclusion
out of the situation than that the Fiipnos believed
official guarantees had passed between them and the
authorized representatives OF this Government.
Dewey carried out the arrangement and Spanish
power being terminated and yet official disavowal
OF the Singapore negotiation appearing, the Fpinos
expected its ullment. In the height OF this expec
taton Spain sold and bought them for $4,000, 900
and Pratt was recalled
The Filipino is probably simple savage but let
us respect his confusion that he finds the Sim
gapore negotiation apparently ratified as long as it
served the interests of the United States, and
pudated at the point where the Filipino interest ap
peared.