The times., 1899-11-03

relief could not be had By this means AT
the request Of General Otis the Commission
prepared a new and simplifed scheme OF
government for the island, giving the
people large voice in their affairs, but
placing an American in full control The
main features of this plan had already
been explained to leading people of the ISL
and by member of the Commission in
person, and their appreciation secured. This
system has just been put into operation.
The people are satisfied, the public order
is better in the island today than at any
time during the last twenty years
The fiat failure of this attempt to es-
tablish an independent native government
in Negros, conducted as it was under the
most favorable circumstances. makes it
apparent that here, as well as in the less
favored provinces, a large amount of
American control is at present absolutely
essential to a successful administration Of
public affairs.
Efforts Mt Cancellations.
The efforts of the military authorities,
acting under the instructions of the Presi-
dent to prevent an outbreak of hostiIities
with the FiIipinos, have already been de-
scribed. The fighting began while the civil
members of the Commission were on the
way to the Philippines bearing the in
stTuctions of the President to make known
to the inhabitants the peaceful and bene-
ffcent intentions of the United States. The
insurgents rash and wholly unjustifable
appeal to arms did not prevent the Com
mission from entering upon their labors.
though it greatly restricted the. area of
their operations On April 4 they issued a
proclamation setting forth the principles
by which the United States would be guild
ed in exercising the sovereignty which
Spain had ceded to us over the Philippine
Islands. and assuring the people not only
of their rights and privileges but, also,
of the largest participation in gov
ernment which might be found compatible
with the general welfare and recCncilabie
with the sovereign rights and obligations
of the United States. The proclamation
had good effect in Manila and the ada
cent parts of Luzon and in the Island of
Negros and such other places as were open
to its reception. Indeed, the public senti
ment of Manila, which in March had been
strongly anti-American, underwent a pal
pable change, and currents of peace and
Cancellation were set in motion until they
found a response in the ranks of the in
surgents themselves.
Aguinaldo sent a delegation to Manila to
confer with the Commission, and while the
NOAlDlLSSiOH SbcduldsAiy TetuSEu 10 ulSGuSS
his proposal TO suspend hostilities, as being
a military matter, assurances were given
of the benehcent purposes of the United
States, and the Presidents readiness to
grant the Philippine peoples as large a
measure of home rule and as ample liber-
ties as were consistent with the ends of
government, subject only to the reCCgui-
tion of the sovereignty of the United
States-a point which. being established.
the Commission invariably refused even
to discuss.
The so-caIIed Congress Of Aguinaldo vot-
ed for a peaceful settlement on the basis
OF the Commissions proclamation, and
MabinL the irreconcilable head Of the So
called Cabinet, was replaced by PaternO,
the former mediator between the Spanish
Government and AguinaldO. But nothing
came of negotiations, as Aguinaldo's ennis
saries were without powers, and merely
came and came again for information. The
courteous reception accorded to them by
the Commission. the fullness of the infor-
nation communicated to them, the assur-
ances of a liberal form of government
when they laid down their arms, and the
earnest appeals to them to stop further
bloodshed in a struggle which could only
end in their defeat-all witness to the spirit
of patient conciliation exhibited by the
Commission in endeavoring to reach an
amicable adjustment with the insurgents,
and the obduracy Of AguinaIdo in continu-
ing fOrcibIe resistance and in refusing even
to outline terms which might be compared
with the terms offered or with the con-
cessions which the superior power might
have been willing to make. No better
proof could be furnished that the primary
object of his struggle is not, as is pretend
cd 10 Hbartty Of no
the continuance of his own arbitrary and
despotic power. In any event, the Ameri-
can people may feel confident that no ef-
fort was omitted by the Commission to Sc
cure a peaceful end of the struggle, but
the opportunities they offered and urged
were all neglected, If not indeed spuTned.
Capacity for SeIf-GOvernment.
To what extent the Fflipfnos are capa-
bic OF governing themselves is a problem
which occupied the diIigent and earnest at
tention of the Commission for several
months, in the course of which a great
number of witnesses were examined. These
witnesses represented all shades of poIiti-
cal thought, all classes of the population,
all varieties of occupation and all impor-
tant differences of tribe and locality. The
Commission also made d careful study of
Spanish governmental institutions beta in
LuZOn and in the southern islands, as we'll
as Of the organic laws under which they
were established and by which their opera
tiOns were regulated and controlled. At
the same time the Commission by ming
ling freely with the Filipinos in LuZon and
other parts of the archipelago, endeayOred
to understand their character and apti-
tudes and to appreciate the needs and
pirations of the peoples for whose benefit
y of -
framed.
The most striking and perhaps the most
significant fact in the entire situation is
the multiplicity of tribes inhabiting he
archipelago, the diversity OF their Ian
guages (which are mutually unintellieiEle),
and the multifariOus phases of civi ization
ranging all the way from the highest to
the lowest, exhibited by the natives of the
several provinces and islands. In spite of
the general use of the Spanish language by
the educated classes and the considerable
similarity of economic and social cOnd4
tions prevalent in Luzon and the Visayan
Islands, the masses of the people are with
out a common speech, and they lack the
sentiment of nationality The Filipinos
are not nation. but a yariegated assem-
blage of different tribes and peoples, and
their loyalty is still of the tribal type
AS to the general intellectual capacities
of the Filipinos. the Commission is dis
posed to rate them high. But excepting in
a limited number of persons these capaci-
ties have not been developed by education
or experience. The masses of the people
are uneducated That intelligent public
opinion on which popular government rests
does not exist in the Philippines. And it
cannot exist until education has elevated
the masses, broadened their intellectual
horizon and diSriuiiund their fapuItV Of