On August 9 General Jaramillo wished to send the Spanish warship General Alava, or a Spanish merchant vessel with the Red Cross flag, to San Fernando de la Union with provisions for the prisoners, but General E. S. Otis objected to the proposed proceeding on the ground that it would compromise the dignity of America. But General Jaramillo still persisted in his project, and after a lapse of three days he again addressed a note on the subject to General E. S. Otis, from whom he received another negative reply. On September 5 General Jaramillo informed General Otis that the prisoners were concentrated in the ports named in the insurgentsʼ decree, and solicited permission to send a vessel flying the Red Cross flag to receive them. Three days afterwards General Otis replied that a recognition of Aguinaldoʼs pretension to designate certain ports for the Spaniardsʼ embarkation would be not only humiliating but ridiculous. Furthermore, he was expecting reinforcements shortly, with which peace would be assured and all the ports re-opened, and then America would co-operate for the liberty of the prisoners. General Jaramillo replied to this communication by addressing to General Otis a lengthy philosophical epistle on the principles involved in the question, but as General Otis did not care to continue the correspondence, General Jaramillo sought to bring pressure on him by notifying him that the s.s. P. de Satrústegui would be detained 48 hours in order to learn his decision as to whether that vessel could call for the prisoners. As General Otis did not reply within the prescribed period General Jaramillo went to see him personally and ineffectually opened his heart to him in very energetic terms, which General Otis complacently tolerated but persisted in his negative resolution, and the interview ended with the suggestion that General Jaramillo should obtain Aguinaldoʼs consent for a vessel carrying the American flag to enter the ports and bring away the prisoners.
About this time an incident occurred which, but for the graciousness of General Otis, might have operated very adversely to the interests of those concerned. In September, 1899, a Spanish lady arrived in Manila saying that she was the representative of a Society of Barcelona Ladies formed to negotiate the liberation of the prisoners. She brought with her a petition addressed to Aguinaldo, said to bear about 3,000 signatures. But unfortunately the document contained so many offensive allusions to the Americans that General Jaramillo declined to be associated with it in any way. No obstacle was placed in the way of the lady if she wished to present her petition privately to Aguinaldo; but, apparently out of spite, she had a large number of copies printed and published broadcast in Manila. General Jaramillo felt it his duty to apologize to General Otis and repudiate all connexion with this offensive proceeding, which General Otis very affably excused as an eccentricity not worthy of serious notice.
On September 29 the Spanish commissioners, Toral and Rio, again started for the insurgent capital, Tárlac. The proposal for vessels to enter the ports under the American flag was rejected by Aguinaldoʼs advisers, Pedro A. Paterno and Felipe Buencamino, and negotiations were resumed on the money indemnity basis. The Aguinaldo party had already had sore experience of the worth of an agreement made with Spanish officials, and during the discussion they raised the question of the validity of their powers and the guarantee for their proposed undertakings. The real difficulty was that America might object to Spain officially making any compact whatsoever which must necessarily involve a recognition of the Philippine Republic; and even as it was, the renewed suggestion of a payment of millions of dollars was a secret negotiation. The Spanish commissioners started by proposing that Aguinaldo should give up 80 per cent. of the prisoners on certain conditions to be agreed upon thereafter, and retain the 20 per cent. as guarantee for the fulfilment of these hypothetical terms; moreover, even the 20 per cent. were to be concentrated at a place to be mutually agreed upon, etc. The artfulness of the commissionersʼ scheme was too apparent for Paterno and Buencamino to accept it. The commissioners then presented the Insurgent Government with a voluminous philosophical dissertation on the subject, whilst the Filipinos sought brief facts and tangible conditions. The Filipinos then offered to address a note to the Spanish Consul in Manila to the effect that the prisoners who were infirm would be delivered at certain ports as already stated, and that he could send ships for them on certain terms. Still the commissioners lingered in Tárlac, and on October 23 the Filipinos made the following proposals, which were practically an intimation to close the debate.
1. Recognition of the Philippine Republic as soon as the difficulties with America should be overcome.
2. The payment of seven millions of pesos.
These conditions having been rejected by the commissioners, Aguinaldoʼs advisers drew up a document stating the reasons why the negotiations had fallen through, with special reference to the insufficiency of the commissionersʼ powers and the inadmissibility of their attitude in desiring to treat with Aguinaldo individually instead of with his Government, for which reasons the Philippine Republic formally declared its resolution definitely to cease all negotiations with the Spanish commissioners, preferring to deal directly with the Spanish Government. Not satisfied with this formal intimation the commissioners asked that the conditions of the liberation already granted since January to the invalid prisoners should be modified, and that they should be handed over to them—the very persons already declared to be insufficiently authorized. In response to this importunity the requisite passports were immediately sent to the commissioners to enable them to quit the Philippine Republicʼs seat of government and territory forthwith.
Apart from the moral aspect of the case, and regarded only in the light of a business transaction, it does not appear that the Filipinos were ever offered a solid guarantee for the fulfilment of any of the proposed conditions. But the insuperable difficulty was Spainʼs inability to comply with the Filipinosʼ essential condition of recognition of the Philippine Republic.
Finally, in the prosecution of the War of Independence, the American troops drove the insurgents so hard, capturing town after town, that they were constrained to abandon the custody of the Spanish survivors, who flocked in groups to the American posts, and eventually embarked for their native land. On May 20, 1900, the Spanish Commission received a letter from the insurgent General Trias stating that orders had been issued to liberate all the prisoners.
In due course the Spanish warships sunk at the Battle of Cavite were raised by the Americans, and the dead bodies of Spainʼs defenders on that memorable day were handed over to a Spanish Commission. The same organization also took charge of the bodies recovered from Baler (east coast of Luzon), and after a Requiem mass was said at the Cathedral these mortal remains were conducted with appropriate solemnity on board the s.s. Isla de Panay, which left Manila for Barcelona on February 14, 1904.