A remarkable incident in the fall of Manilla was the
con- duct of the German Admiral. He appears to have sent his steam-launch to the shore before the bombardment had con- cluded or the city had surrendered. Into this launch jumped General Augusti, the Captain-General of the Philippines, and he was at once conveyed on board the Kaiserin Augusta,' which immediately set sail for Hong-kong. "It is generally believed," says Renter's agent, "that his escape was pre- arranged." This extraordinary breach of international courtesy, if not, indeed, of international law, has naturally caused great indignation in America. The New York Times declares that this and other instances of German sympathy have brought the American people to the determination that "whoever derives advantage from the disposition to be made of the Philippines, Germany shall derive none." That is, no doubt, a somewhat exaggerated view of the case, but the Germans will need all their ingenuity to explain the action of their ships before Manilla in a way that will satisfy the American people. It should also be noted that the actual possession of Manilla is strongly influencing public opinion in the States in favour of the retention of the whole Philippine group. This feeling is intensified by the news that the terms arranged by General Merritt on the spot include the cession of the entire Archipelago. The advocates of expansion now argue: 'We must keep what we have fought for and gained.'
