The President desires that Admiral Dewey and General Otis shall have
an early conference and advise him what force and equipment will be
necessary in the Philippine Islands. The President would be glad to have
suggestions from these commanders as to the government of the islands,
which of necessity must be by the Army and the Navy for some time to
come. When these islands shall be ceded to us, it is his desire that
peace and tranquillity shall be restored and as kind and beneficent a
government as possible given to the people, that they may be encouraged
in their industries and made secure in life and property. The fullest
suggestions are invited.
WILLIAM McKINLEY.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 9, 1898_.
By virtue of the authority vested in me as Commander in Chief of the
Army and Navy of the United States, I hereby order and direct that
during the occupancy by the military authorities of the United States
of the island of Cuba and all islands in the West Indies west of the
seventy-fourth degree, west longitude, evacuated by Spain, said islands
shall constitute a collection district for customs purposes. Havana
shall be the chief port of entry. An officer of the Army shall be
assigned to such port, who shall be the collector of customs of the
islands and of the chief port and shall have general jurisdiction over
the collection of customs in the islands.
The ports of Matanzas, Cardenas, Cienfuegos, Sagua, Caibarien, Santiago,
Manzanillo, Nuevitas, Guantanamo, Gibara, and Baracoa, in said islands,
are hereby declared to be subports of entry, and an officer of the Army
will be assigned to each of the subports, who will be the collector
of customs of a subport and shall have general jurisdiction of the
collection of customs at such port. He shall make weekly reports to
the collector of customs of the islands at the chief port of all
transactions at the subport over which he has jurisdiction, with copies
of all entries of merchandise, duly certified.
The Secretary of War shall appoint such civilian deputy collectors,
inspectors, and other employees as may be found necessary.
The collectors of the subports shall deposit all moneys collected by
them with the collector of the islands, and a receipt from the collector
of the islands must be taken in duplicate for all such deposits.
There shall be appointed an auditor, who shall be stationed at the chief
port, whose duty it shall be to examine all entries of merchandise and
if found correct to certify to them. Such auditor shall on the first
of each month make a full and complete report, duly certified, to the
Secretary of War of all duties collected at each port, with an itemized
report of all expenditures made therefrom, which shall be referred to
the Auditor for the War Department for audit.
All questions arising in the administration of customs in the islands
shall be referred to the collector of the islands at the chief port for
decision, from which there shall be no appeal, except in such cases as
may be referred by the collector of the islands to the Secretary of War
for his decision.
WILLIAM McKINLEY.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 21, 1898_.
The SECRETARY OF WAR.
SIR: The destruction of the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Manila by the
United States naval squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Dewey, followed
by the reduction of the city and the surrender of the Spanish forces,
practically effected the conquest of the Philippine Islands and the
suspension of Spanish sovereignty therein.
With the signature of the treaty of peace between the United States
and Spain by their respective plenipotentiaries at Paris, on the 10th
instant, and as the result of the victories of American arms, the future
control, disposition, and government of the Philippine Islands are ceded
to the United States. In fulfillment of the rights of sovereignty thus
acquired and the responsible obligations of government thus assumed,
the actual occupation and administration of the entire group of the
Philippine Islands become immediately necessary, and the military
government heretofore maintained by the United States in the city,
harbor, and bay of Manila is to be extended with all possible dispatch
to the whole of the ceded territory.
In performing this duty the military commander of the United States is
enjoined to make known to the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands
that in succeeding to the sovereignty of Spain, in severing the former
political relations of the inhabitants, and in establishing a new
political power the authority of the United States is to be exerted for
the security of the persons and property of the people of the islands
and for the confirmation of all their private rights and relations.
It will be the duty of the commander of the forces of occupation to
announce and proclaim in the most public manner that we come, not as
invaders or conquerors, but as friends, to protect the natives in
their homes, in their employments, and in their personal and religious
rights. All persons who, either by active aid or by honest submission,
cooperate with the Government of the United States to give effect to
these beneficent purposes will receive the reward of its support and
protection. All others will be brought within the lawful rule we have
assumed, with firmness if need be, but without severity so far as may
be possible.
Within the absolute domain of military authority, which necessarily is
and must remain supreme in the ceded territory until the legislation of
the United States shall otherwise provide, the municipal laws of the
territory in respect to private rights and property and the repression
of crime are to be considered as continuing in force and to be
administered by the ordinary tribunals so far as practicable. The
operations of civil and municipal government are to be performed by such
officers as may accept the supremacy of the United States by taking the
oath of allegiance, or by officers chosen as far as may be practicable
from the inhabitants of the islands.
While the control of all the public property and the revenues of the
state passes with the cession, and while the use and management of all
public means of transportation are necessarily reserved to the authority
of the United States, private property, whether belonging to individuals
or corporations, is to be respected, except for cause duly established.
The taxes and duties heretofore payable by the inhabitants to the late
government become payable to the authorities of the United States,
unless it be seen fit to substitute for them other reasonable rates or
modes of contribution to the expenses of government, whether general or
local. If private property be taken for military use, it shall be paid
for when possible in cash at a fair valuation, and when payment in cash
is not practicable receipts are to be given.
All ports and places in the Philippine Islands in the actual possession
of the land and naval forces of the United States will be opened to the
commerce of all friendly nations. All goods and wares not prohibited for
military reasons, by due announcement of the military authority, will be
admitted upon payment of such duties and other charges as shall be in
force at the time of their importation.
Finally, it should be the earnest and paramount aim of the military
administration to win the confidence, respect, and affection of the
inhabitants of the Philippines by assuring to them in every possible
way that full measure of individual rights and liberties which is the
heritage of free peoples, and by proving to them that the mission of the
United States is one of benevolent assimilation, substituting the mild
sway of justice and right for arbitrary rule. In the fulfillment of this
high mission, supporting the temperate administration of affairs for the
greatest good of the governed, there must be sedulously maintained the
strong arm of authority to repress disturbance and to overcome all
obstacles to the bestowal of the blessings of good and stable government
upon the people of the Philippine Islands under the free flag of the
United States.
WILLIAM McKINLEY.
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, _Washington, December 21, 1898_.
General OTIS,
_Manila_:
Answering your message of December 14, the President directs that you
send necessary troops to Iloilo to preserve the peace and protect life
and property. It is most important that there should be no conflict with
the insurgents. Be conciliatory, but firm.
By order of the Secretary War: