It was yet theoretically possible that the Archipelago might revert to Spain; hence pending the deliberations of the Peace Commission, no movement was made on the part of the Americans to overthrow the de facto Spanish Government still subsisting in the southern islands. General Fermin Jáudenes, the vanquished Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish forces in Manila (Sub-Inspector until General Augusti left), was liberated on parole in the capital until the first week of October, when the American Government allowed him to return to Spain. He left in the s.s. Esmeralda for Hong-Kong on October 15. Meanwhile, a month before, the Spanish Government appointed General Diego de los Rios Gov.-General of the Philippines, with residence at Yloilo. Spaniards of all classes were at least personally safe in Manila under American protection. All who could reach the capital did so, for Spanish sway in the provinces was practically at an end. Aguinaldo therefore directed his attention both to matters of government in Luzon and to the control of the southern islands.
Neither the Filipinos nor the Spaniards could foresee that the evacuation by the Spaniards of all the Islands would be insisted upon by the American Commissioners in Paris. Moreover, it was no easy task for Aguinaldo to maintain his own personal prestige (an indispensable condition in all revolutions), carry out his own plans of government, and keep together, in inactivity, a large half-disciplined fighting force. Three weeks after the capitulation of Manila, Aguinaldo sent several small vessels to the Island of Panay, carrying Luzon rebels to effect a landing and stir up rebellion in Visayas. He was anxious to secure all the territory he could before the conditions of peace should be settled in Paris, in the hope that actual possession would influence the final issue. General Rios was therefore compelled to enter on a new campaign, assisted by the small gunboats which had remained south since hostilities commenced north in May. Spanish troops were sent to Singapore en routefor Yloilo, and then a question arose between Madrid and Washington as to whether they could be allowed to proceed to their destination under the peace Protocol. The Tagálog rebels landed in the province of Antique (Panay Is.), and a few natives of the locality joined them. They were shortly met by the Spanish troops, and severe fighting took place in the neighbourhood of Bugáson, where the rebels were ultimately routed with great loss of men and impedimenta.
The survivors fled to their vessels and landed elsewhere on the same coast. In several places on the Island the flag of rebellion had been unfurled, and General Riosʼ troops showed them no quarter. At the end of six weeks the rebels had been beaten in numerous encounters, without the least apparent chance of gaining their objective point—the seizure of Yloilo. In the Concepcion district (East Panay) the rebel chief Perfecto Poblado took the command, but gained no victory with his following of 4,000 men. So far, what was happening in the Islands, other than Luzon, did not officially concern the Americans.
About this time, in Manila, there was by no means that entente cordiale which should have existed between the rebels and the Americans, supposing them to be real allies. In reality, it was only in the minds of the insurgents that there existed an alliance, which the Americans could not, with good grace, have frankly repudiated, seeing that General T. M. Anderson was frequently soliciting Aguinaldoʼs assistance and co-operation.[16] Aguinaldo was naturally uneasy about the possible prospect of a protracted struggle with the Spaniards, if the Islands should revert to them; he was none the less irritated because his repeated edicts and proclamations of independence received no recognition from the Americans. General Anderson had already stated, in his reply (July 22) to a letter from Aguinaldo, that he had no authority to recognize Aguinaldoʼs assumption of dictatorship. The native swaggering soldiery, with the air of conquerors, were ever ready to rush to arms on the most trivial pretext, and became a growing menace to the peaceful inhabitants. Therefore, on October 25, Aguinaldo was again ordered to withdraw his troops still farther, to distances varying from five to eight miles off Manila, and he reluctantly complied. When this order was sent to him his forces in the neighbourhood of Manila were estimated to be as follows:—At Coloocan, 3,000 men, with two guns trained on Binondo; Santa Mesa, 380; Pasig, 400; Paco, Santa Ana, Pandácan, and Pasay, 400 to 500 each; south of Malate, 1,200, and at Santólan waterworks (on which the supply of potable water to the capital depended), 380.
In Panay Island General Rios published an edict offering considerable reforms, but the flame of rebellion was too widespread for it to have any effect. The Island of Cebú also was in revolt; the harsh measures of General Montero effected nothing to Spainʼs advantage, whilst that miserable system of treating suspects as proved culprits created rebels. Neither did the Moro raid on the Cebuános, referred to at p. [406], serve to break their spirit; more than half the villages defied Spanish authority, refused to pay taxes, and forced the friars to take refuge in Cebú City, which was, so far, safe. Those who were able took passage to ports outside the Archipelago. In Leyte Island there were risings of minor importance, instigated by Tagálogs, and chiefly directed against the friars, who were everywhere obnoxious to the people. At Catbalogan (Sámar Is.) an armed mob attacked the Spaniards, who fled to the house of an American. General Rios had not sufficient troops to dominate several islands covering such a large area. He was so hard pressed in Panay alone that, even if he had had ample means of transport, he could neither divide his forces nor afford to spend time in carrying them from one island to another. Towards the end of October he ran short of ammunition, but, opportunely, the Spanish mail-steamer Buenos Aires brought him a supply with which he could continue the struggle. Fresh Tagálog expeditions were meanwhile sent south, and coerced or persuaded the Panay people to rise in greater force than ever, until, finally, General Rios had to fall back on Yloilo. By the middle of November practically the whole island, except the towns of Yloilo, Molo, Jaro and La Paz, was under rebel dominion. In December General Rios held only the town and port of Yloilo. He had ordered the bridge of Manduriao to be destroyed, so as to establish a dividing line between him and the rebels who were entrenched on the opposite bank of the river, neither party being willing to make a bold onslaught on the other, although frequent skirmishing took place. On receipt of the news of the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris, General Rios proposed to the rebels a mutual cessation of hostilities, on the ground that no advantage could accrue to either party by a further sacrifice of blood and munitions of war, seeing that within a few days he was going to evacuate the town and embark his troops, and that, so far as he was concerned, they could then take his place without opposition. But the rebels, presumably interpreting his humane suggestion as a sign of weakness, continued to fire on the Spanish troops.
The small detachments and garrisons in Negros Island had been unable to resist the tide of revolt; the west coast of that island was over-run by the rebels under the leadership of Aniceto Lacson and Juan Araneta (a much respected planter of Bago, personally known to me), and the local Spanish Governor, Don Isidro Castro, was forced to capitulate, in due written form, at Bacólod, on November 6, with his troops and all the Spanish civil and military employees. By December 1 it was evident that, although Spanish empire in Visayas had been definitely broken, there was absolute discord among the (southern) rebels themselves. They split up into rival factions, each one wanting to set up a government of its own. The American Peace Commissioners had made their formal demand for the cession of all the Islands, and it was clear to the Spanish Government that General Rios would sooner or later have to evacuate under the treaty. It was useless, therefore, to continue to shed European blood and waste treasure in those regions. In the first week of December the Madrid Government ordered General Rios to suspend hostilities and retire to Mindanao Island with his troops, pending arrangements for their return to the Peninsula. General Rios replied to this order, saying that he would make the necessary preparations. Meanwhile, on December 11, the rebels approached the fortifications around Yloilo town, and the Spaniards kept up an almost continuous fusillade. Before daybreak on December 14 the rebels, armed with bowie-knives, attacked the Spanish entrenchments in great force and drove the Spaniards back from their first to their second redoubt. The Spaniards rallied, turned their four field-pieces on the enemy, and opened a raking artillery and rifle fire which mowed down the rebels, who retired in great disorder, leaving about 500 dead and wounded. The Spaniards, who were well protected behind their stockades, had 6 dead and 17 wounded. Notwithstanding their severe repulse, the rebels again fired on the Spaniards until some female relations of their General Araneta and others went out to the rebel lines and harangued and expostulated with the leaders, and so put them to shame with their tongues that thenceforth the rebels ceased to molest the Spaniards. General Rios then took measures for evacution. On December 23, 1898, he formally handed over Yloilo to the mayor of the town in the presence of his staff, the naval commanders, and the foreign consuls, and requested the German Vice-Consul to look after Spanish interests. On the following day the Spanish troops, numbering between five and six hundred, and several civilians were embarked in perfect order, without any unfortunate incident occurring, on board the s.s. Isla de Luzon, which sailed for Zamboanga, the rallying-place of the Spaniards, whilst some small steamers went to other places to bring the officials to the same centre.
Before leaving Yloilo, after many tedious delays respecting the conditions, an exchange of prisoners was effected with the rebels, who at the outset were inclined to be unduly exacting.
The rebels at once took possession of Yloilo, but a controlling American force arrived in the roadstead on December 27, under the command of General Miller, and was afterwards reinforced up to a total strength of about 3,000 troops.
The Caroline Islands (which were not ceded under the Treaty of Paris) were provisioned for three months, and the Spanish troops in Cebú Island and Ylígan (Mindanao Is.) had been already ordered to concentrate and prepare for embarkation on the same day for Zamboanga (Mindanao Is.), where the bulk of them remained until they could be brought back to Spain on the terms of the treaty of peace. In a few days General Rios left Zamboanga in the s.s. Leon XIII. for Manila, and remained there until June 3, 1899, to endeavour to negotiate the liberation of the Spanish prisoners detained by Aguinaldo. They were kept under guard in the mountain districts, far away from the capital, in groups miles distant from each other. No one outside the rebel camp could ever ascertain the exact number of prisoners, which was kept secret. The strenuous efforts made by the Spaniards to secure their release are fully referred to in Chap. [xxvi].
During this period of evacuation the natives in Balábac Island assassinated all the male Europeans resident there, the Spanish Governor, a lieutenant, and a doctor being among the victims. The European women were held in captivity for awhile, notwithstanding the peaceful endeavours to obtain their release, supported by the Datto Harun Narrasid, Sultan of Paragua and ex-Sultan of Sulu (vide p. [142]). The place was then attacked by an armed force, without result, but eventually the natives allowed the women to be taken away.