Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 5, 1898

Instructions to the Peace Commissioners.

Executive Mansion,
Washington, September 16, 1898.

By a protocol signed at Washington August 12, 1898, a copy of which is herewith inclosed, it was agreed that the United States and Spain would each appoint not more than five Commissioners to treat of peace, and that the Commissioners so appointed should meet at Paris not later than October 1, 1898, and proceed to the negotiation and conclusion of a treaty of peace, which treaty should be subject to ratification according to the respective constitutional forms of the two countries.

For the purpose of carrying into effect this stipulation, I have appointed you as Commissioners on the part of the United States to meet and confer with Commissioners on the part of Spain.

As an essential preliminary to the agreement to appoint Commissioners to treat of peace, this Government required of that of Spain the unqualified concession of the following precise demands:

(1) The relinquishment of all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba.

(2) The cession to the United States of Porto Rico and other islands under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies.

(3) The cession of an island in the Ladrones, to be selected by the United States.

(4) The immediate evacuation by Spain of Cuba, Porto Rico, and other Spanish islands in the West Indies.

(5) The occupation by the United States of the city, bay, and harbor of Manila pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace which should determine the control, disposition, and government of the Philippines.

These demands were conceded by Spain, and their concession was, as you will perceive, solemnly recorded in the protocol of the 12th of August.

By article 1 of that instrument Spain agreed to “relinquish all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba.”

By article 2 she agreed to “cede to the United States the island of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and also an island in the Ladrones, to be selected by the United States.”

By article 3 it was declared that the United States would “occupy and hold the city, bay, and harbor of Manila pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace which shall determine the control, disposition, and government of the Philippines.”

By article 4 provision was made for the immediate evacuation of Cuba, Porto Rico, and other Spanish islands in the West Indies, as follows:

Spain will immediately evacuate Cuba, Porto Rico, and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies; and to this end each Government will, within ten days after the signing of this protocol, appoint Commissioners, and the Commissioners so appointed shall, within thirty days after the signing of this protocol, meet at Habana for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the aforesaid evacuation of Cuba and the adjacent Spanish islands; and each Government will, within ten days after the signing of this protocol, also appoint other Commissioners, who shall, within thirty days after the signing of this protocol, meet at San Juan, in Porto Rico, for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the aforesaid evacuation of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies.

The commissioners referred to in the foregoing article have been appointed, and they are now in session at Habana and San Juan, respectively. A copy of their instructions is herewith inclosed.

By these instructions you will observe that the evacuation of Cuba, Porto Rico, and other Spanish Islands in the West Indies is treated as a military operation, and will, when carried into effect, leave the evacuated places in the military occupation of the United States. The purposes of the United States during such occupation are set forth in General Order No. 101 of the War Department of July 18, 1898, which was issued by direction of the President on the capitulation of the Spanish forces at Santiago de Cuba and in the eastern part of the Province of Santiago and the occupation of the territory by the forces of the United States. A copy of this order is hereto annexed for your information.

As the evacuation of Cuba and the other Spanish islands in the West Indies by the Spanish military forces devolves upon the United States the duty of taking possession of and holding and preserving all the immovable property therein previously belonging to the Government of Spain, the evacuation commissioners of the United States are instructed to arrange for the taking into possession and to take into possession for the United States, all public buildings and grounds, forts, fortifications, arsenals, depots, docks, wharves, piers, and other fixed property previously belonging to Spain, and to arrange for the care and safe-keeping of such property under the authority and control of the United States. Small arms and accouterments, batteries of field artillery, supply and baggage wagons, ambulances, and other impedimenta of the Spanish army in Cuba and other Spanish islands in the West Indies are to be removed, if desired, by the representatives of Spain, provided such removal shall be effected within a reasonable time; but the armament of forts, fortifications, and fixed batteries, being in the nature of immovable fixtures, are not to be allowed to be taken, but are, in connection with such forts, fortifications, and batteries, to be taken over into the possession of the United States. The instructions of the evacuation commissioners also contain appropriate clauses in regard to the custody and preservation by the United States of state papers, public records, and other papers and documents necessary or convenient for the government of the islands, as well as all judicial and legal documents and other public records necessary or convenient for securing to individuals the titles to property.

It will be proper to confirm these transactions by appropriate clauses in the treaty of peace.

Similar clauses will be inserted in respect to the island ceded to the United States in the Ladrones. This Government has selected the Island of Guam, and you are instructed to embody in the treaty of peace a proper stipulation of cession.

A rumor has reached us from various quarters to the effect that the Spanish Peace Commissioners will be instructed to claim compensation for the public property of the Spanish Government in Cuba, as well as in territories agreed to be ceded to the United States. This rumor is not credited, but it is proper to make a few observations upon it. No such claim on the part of the Spanish Government is to be entertained in respect to any territory which Spain either cedes to the United States or as to which she relinquishes her sovereignty and title. The cession of territory or the relinquishment of sovereignty over and title to it is universally understood to carry with it the public property of the Government by which the cession or relinquishment is made. Any claim, therefore, on the part of Spain, such as that above suggested, would be inconsistent with the express agreements embodied in the protocol.

In the correspondence leading up to the signature of that instrument you will observe that this Government waived, for the time being, the requirement of a pecuniary indemnity from Spain. This concession was made in the hope that Spain would thereby be enabled promptly to accept our terms. But if the Spanish Commissioners should, contrary to our just expectations, put forward and insist upon a claim for compensation for public property, you are instructed to put forward as a counterclaim a demand for an indemnity for the cost of the war.

By article 6 of the protocol it was agreed that hostilities between the two countries should be suspended, and that notice to that effect should be given as soon as possible by each Government to the commanders of its military and naval forces. Such notice was given by the Government of the United States immediately after the signature of the protocol, the forms of the necessary orders having previously been prepared. But before notice could reach the commanders of the military and naval forces of the United States in the Philippines they captured and took possession by conquest of the city of Manila and its suburbs, which are therefore held by the United States by conquest as well as by virtue of the protocol.

In view of what has taken place it is necessary now to determine what shall be our future relations to the Philippines. Before giving you specific instructions on this subject it is my desire to present certain general considerations.

It is my wish that throughout the negotiations intrusted to the Commission the purpose and spirit with which the United States accepted the unwelcome necessity of war should be kept constantly in view. We took up arms only in obedience to the dictates of humanity and in the fulfillment of high public and moral obligations. We had no design of aggrandizement and no ambition of conquest. Through the long course of repeated representations which preceded and aimed to avert the struggle, and in the final arbitrament of force, this country was impelled solely by the purpose of relieving grievous wrongs and removing long-existing conditions which disturbed its tranquillity, which shocked the moral sense of mankind, and which could no longer be endured.

It is my earnest wish that the United States in making peace should follow the same high rule of conduct which guided it in facing war. It should be as scrupulous and magnanimous in the concluding settlement as it was just and humane in its original action. The luster and the moral strength attaching to a cause which can be confidently rested upon the considerate judgment of the world should not under any illusion of the hour be dimmed by ulterior designs which might tempt us into excessive demands or into an adventurous departure on untried paths. It is believed that the true glory and the enduring interests of the country will most surely be served if an unselfish duty conscientiously accepted and a signal triumph honorably achieved shall be crowned by such an example of moderation, restraint, and reason in victory as best comports with the traditions and character of our enlightened Republic.

Our aim in the adjustment of peace should be directed to lasting results and to the achievement of the common good under the demands of civilization, rather than to ambitious designs. The terms of the protocol were framed upon this consideration. The abandonment of the Western Hemisphere by Spain was an imperative necessity. In presenting that requirement, we only fulfilled a duty universally acknowledged. It involves no ungenerous reference to our recent foe, but simply a recognition of the plain teachings of history, to say that it was not compatible with the assurance of permanent peace on and near our own territory that the Spanish flag should remain on this side of the sea. This lesson of events and of reason left no alternative as to Cuba, Porto Rico, and the other islands belonging to Spain in this hemisphere.

The Philippines stand upon a different basis. It is none the less true, however, that, without any original thought of complete or even partial acquisition, the presence and success of our arms at Manila imposes upon us obligations which we can not disregard. The march of events rules and overrules human action. Avowing unreservedly the purpose which has animated all our effort, and still solicitous to adhere to it, we can not be unmindful that, without any desire or design on our part, the war has brought us new duties and responsibilities which we must meet and discharge as becomes a great nation on whose growth and career from the beginning the Ruler of Nations has plainly written the high command and pledge of civilization.

Incidental to our tenure in the Philippines is the commercial opportunity to which American statesmanship can not be indifferent. It is just to use every legitimate means for the enlargement of American trade; but we seek no advantages in the Orient which are not common to all. Asking only the open door for ourselves, we are ready to accord the open door to others. The commercial opportunity which is naturally and inevitably associated with this new opening depends less on large territorial possession than upon an adequate commercial basis and upon broad and equal privileges.

It is believed that in the practical application of these guiding principles the present interests of our country and the proper measure of its duty, its welfare in the future, and the consideration of its exemption from unknown perils will be found in full accord with the just, moral, and humane purpose which was invoked as our justification in accepting the war.

In view of what has been stated, the United States can not accept less than the cession in full right and sovereignty of the island of Luzon. It is desirable, however, that the United States shall acquire the right of entry for vessels and merchandise belonging to citizens of the United States into such ports of the Philippines as are not ceded to the United States upon terms of equal favor with Spanish ships and merchandise, both in relation to port and customs charges and rates of trade and commerce, together with other rights of protection and trade accorded to citizens of one country within the territory of another. You are therefore instructed to demand such concession, agreeing on your part that Spain shall have similar rights as to her subjects and vessels in the ports of any territory in the Philippines ceded to the United States.

We are informed that numerous persons are now held as prisoners by the Spanish Government for political acts performed in Cuba, Porto Rico, or other Spanish islands in the West Indies, as well as in the Philippines. You are instructed to demand the release of these prisoners, so far as their acts have connection with matters involved in the settlement between the United States and Spain.

It will be desirable to insert in any treaty of peace which you may conclude a stipulation for the revival of the provisions of our former treaties with Spain, so far as they may be applicable to present conditions.

I have directed Gen. Wesley Merritt, the late commander at Manila, to report to the Commission at Paris, where he will arrive October 2, with such information as he may possess; and it is understood he will carry with him, for the use of the Commission, the views of Admiral Dewey. To the views of these distinguished officers I invite the most careful consideration of the Commission.

It is desired that your negotiations shall be conducted with all possible expedition, in order that the treaty of peace, if you should succeed in making one, may be submitted to the Senate early in the ensuing session. Should you at any time in the course of your negotiations desire further instructions, you will ask for them without delay.

William McKinley.

[Inclosure 1.]

August 27, 1898.

Rear-Admiral Winfield Scott Schley, U. S. N.,
Commissioner on the part of the United States to Superintend the Evacuation of Porto Pico.

Sir: I inclose herewith for your information copies of two letters of instruction issued by the President on the 26th instant to the commissioners on the part of the United States to superintend the evacuation of Porto Rico.

Respectfully, yours,

J. B. Moore,
Acting Secretary.

[Subinclosure A.]

Executive Mansion, August 26, 1898.

To Major-General Brooke,
Rear-Admiral Schley,
Brigadier-General Gordon,
Commissioners on the part of the United States to Superintend the Evacuation of Porto Pico.

By a protocol signed at Washington August 12, 1898, a copy of which is hereto annexed, the Governments of the United States and Spain agreed upon and defined the conditions on which they would enter upon negotiations for the establishment of peace between the two countries.

Among the conditions thus agreed upon is the following:

Spain will cede to the United States the island of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies.

In order to give this stipulation effect, it is agreed by Article IV of the protocol that Spain will, among other things, “immediately evacuate * * * Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies;” and to this end each Government engages within ten days after the signing of the protocol to appoint commissioners, who shall, within thirty days after the signing of the protocol, meet at San Juan, in Porto Rico, “for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the aforesaid evacuation of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies.”

The President has appointed you commissioners on the part of the United States to meet commissioners on the part of Spain at San Juan for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the immediate evacuation of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, excluding Cuba and the adjacent Spanish islands, for the evacuation of which other commissioners have been appointed.

You are therefore directed to proceed to San Juan at as early a day as practicable, in order that you may meet the commissioners on the part of Spain at the place and within the time designated.

Your functions relate solely to “the evacuation” of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, with the exception above stated. The evacuation referred to is a military operation, and will, when carried into effect, leave the evacuated places in the military occupation of the United States. Any questions not properly connected with this operation, such as may be involved in the formal relinquishment of sovereignty and title or cession of territory by Spain, are not within your powers, but must remain to be dealt [with] by the Commissioners who are to meet at Paris under Article V of the protocol for the purpose of negotiating and concluding a treaty of peace.

The purposes and policy of this Government during; the period of military occupation will not form a subject of negotiation between yourselves and the Spanish commissioners; but they are set forth in General Orders, No. 101, of the War Department of July 18, 1898, which was issued by direction of the President on the capitulation of the Spanish forces at Santiago de Cuba and in the eastern part of the province of Santiago and the occupation of the territory by the forces of the United States. A copy of this order is hereto annexed for your information and guidance.

Your duties embrace both the arranging and the carrying out of the details of the evacuation. It will therefore be your duty to supervise the execution of the details of the evacuation, as well as to agree upon them.

By the terms of the protocol Porto Rico is to be ceded by Spain to the United States. As such cession of the island will necessarily carry with it all the immovable property therein heretofore belonging to the Government of Spain, you will therefore arrange for and take into possession for the United States all public buildings and grounds, forts, fortifications, arsenals, depots, docks, wharves, piers, and other fixed property heretofore belonging to Spain, and will arrange for the care and safe-keeping of the same as the property of the United States.

The small arms and accouterments, batteries of field artillery, supply and baggage wagons, ambulances, and other” impedimenta of the Spanish army in Porto Rico you will permit to be removed, if desired, by the representatives of Spain, provided such removal shall be effected within a reasonable time. The armament of forts, fortifications, and fixed batteries, being in the nature of immovable fixtures, will not be permitted to be taken, but will, in connection with said forts, fortifications, and batteries, be taken over by you into the possession of the United States.

It will be your duty to see that all state papers, public records, and other papers and documents necessary or convenient for the government of the island and records pertaining specially to the history of the island be taken into your custody and preserved as the property of the United States. You will also provide that all judicial and legal documents and other public records necessary or convenient for securing to individuals the titles to property shall also be saved and preserved.

In taking over public property into the possession of the United States you will have brief descriptions and full inventories made and transmit the same to the Secretary of War, duly verified.

You are authorized to allow such persons as may so desire to depart from the islands in a peaceful and regular manner with their personal possessions.

It will be your duty to confer with the general commanding the military forces in Porto Rico from time to time with reference to the details of the evacuation and to arrange through the commanding general that the United States shall be prepared to take possession of each city, town, place, or port with a suitable garrison as fast as the Spanish forces evacuate the same.

In like manner you will arrange, in connection with the commanding general, to take charge of the custom-houses and other public buildings as the same are severally delivered over to the representatives of the United States.

If, in the course of your proceedings, you desire further instructions on any particular questions that may arise, you will submit without delay your request for such instructions.

It is desired that your duties as commissioners shall be performed with all possible expedition.

William McKinley.

By the President:
J. B. Moore,
Acting Secretary of State.

[Great seal of the United States.]

[Subinclosure B.]

Executive Mansion,
Washington August 26, 1898.

To Major-General Brooke,
Rear-Admiral Schley,
Brigadier-General Gordon,
Commissioners on the part of the United States to Superintend the Evacuation of Porto Rico.

In addition to the matters contained in your formal instructions herewith submitted, your attention is hereby called to certain other matters, relating not so much to the immediate evacuation by Spain of the islands as to the future control and government of the same by the United States, to which it is desired that you will pay such attention as opportunity may afford.

You will bear in mind that Porto Rico and the other islands mentioned, except Cuba, are to become territory of the United States. Therefore, all things done by you in the discharge of your commission should be done with a view to the future welfare of the islands and the improvement of the state and condition of their people as dependencies of the United States.

So far as it may come within the scope of your duties, endeavor to arrange those matters within your jurisdiction so as to facilitate the speedy reestablishment of trade, commerce, business, and other peaceful pursuits of the inhabitants.

You will need to become informed as to the police arrangements of each city and town, and to be prepared to advise and assist the general in command of the island in the adoption and application of means to continue good order and the administration of the local laws and ordinances after the departure of the Spanish forces.

Where it can be done prudently, confer with the leading citizens of Porto Rico in an unofficial manner, and endeavor to ascertain their sentiments of loyalty to the United States and their views as to such measures as they may deem necessary or important for the future welfare and good government of the island.

In carrying out the details of the evacuation, you will, so far as applicable and as will not conflict with your personal instructions, observe the principles contained in the instruction for government of armies of the United States in the field (G. O., 100).

William McKinley.

By the President:
J. B. Moore,
Acting Secretary of State.

[Great seal of the United States.]

[Inclosure 2.]

Department of State,
Washington, August 27, 1898.

Rear-Admiral William T. Sampson, U. S. N.,
Commissioner on the part of the United States to Superintend the Evacuation of Cuba.

Sir: I inclose herewith for your information copies of two letters of instruction issued by the President on the 26th instant to the commissioners on the part of the United States to superintend the evacuation of Cuba.

Respectfully, yours,

J. B. Moore,
Acting Secretary.

[Subinclosure A.]

Executive Mansion,
Washington, August 26, 1898.

To Major-General Wade,
Rear-Admiral Sampson,
Major-General Butler,
Commissioners on the part of the United States to Superintend the Evacuation of Cuba.

By a proctocol signed at Washington August 12, 1898, a copy of which is hereto annexed, the Governments of the United States and Spain agreed upon and defined the conditions on which they would enter upon negotiations for the establishment of peace between the two countries.

Among the conditions agreed upon is the following:

Spain will relinquish all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba.

In order to give effect to this and other stipulations of the protocol, it is agreed by Article IV that Spain will, among other things, immediately evacuate Cuba, Porto Rico, and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies; and to this end each Government agrees within ten days after the signing of the protocol to appoint commissioners, who shall, within thirty days after the signing of the protocol, meet at Habana “for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the aforesaid evacuation of Cuba and the adjacent Spanish islands,” while other commissioners are to meet at San Juan, Porto Rico, for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the “evacuation of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies.”

The President has appointed you commissioners on the part of the United States to meet commissioners on the part of Spain at Habana for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the immediate evacuation of Cuba and the adjacent Spanish islands.

You are therefore directed to proceed to Habana at as early a day as practicable, in order that you may meet the commissioners on the part of Spain at the place and within the time designated.

The evacuation referred to is a military operation, and will, when carried into effect, leave the evacuated places in the military occupation of the United States.

The purposes and policy of this Government during the period of military occupation will not form the subject of negotiation between yourselves and the Spanish commissioners; but they are set forth in General Orders, No. 101, of the War Department of July 18, 1898, which was issued by direction of the President on the capitulation of the Spanish forces at Santiago de Cuba and in the eastern part of the Province of Santiago and the occupation of the territory by the forces of the United States. A copy of this order is hereto annexed for your information and guidance.

Your duties embrace both the arranging and the carrying out of the details of the evacuation. It will therefore be your duty to supervise the execution of the details of the evacuation as well as to agree upon them.

The evacuation of Cuba and the adjacent Spanish islands by the Spanish military forces will devolve upon the United States the duty of taking possession, holding, and preserving all the immovable property therein heretofore belonging to the Government of Spain; you will therefore arrange for and take into possession for the United States all public buildings and grounds, forts, fortifications, arsenals, depots, docks, wharves, piers, and other fixed property heretofore belonging to Spain, and will arrange for the care and safe-keeping of the same under the authority and control of the United States.

The small arms and accouterments, batteries of field artillery, supply and baggage wagons, ambulances, and other impedimenta of the Spanish army in Cuba and the adjacent Spanish islands you will permit to be removed, if desired, by the representatives of Spain, provided such removal shall be effected within a reasonable time. The armament of forts, fortifications, and fixed batteries, being in the nature of immovable fixtures, will not be permitted to be taken, but will, in connection with said forts, fortifications, and batteries, be taken over by you into the possession of the United States.

It will be your duty to see that all state papers, public records, and other papers and documents necessary or convenient for the government of the islands and records pertaining specially to their history be taken into your custody and preserved for the future use of such government as may be established therein. You will also provide that all judicial and legal documents and other public records necessary or convenient for securing to individuals the titles to property shall also be saved and preserved.

In taking over public property into the possession of the United States, you will have brief descriptions and full inventories made and transmit the same to the Secretary of War, duly verified.

You are authorized to allow such persons as may so desire to depart from the islands in a peaceful and regular manner with their personal possessions.

It will be your duty to confer with the general commanding the military forces in Cuba and the adjacent Spanish islands from time to time with reference to the details of the evacuation, and to arrange through the commanding general that the United States shall be prepared to take possession of each city, town, place, or port with a suitable garrison as fast as the Spanish forces evacuate the same.

In like manner you will arrange, in connection with the commanding general, to take charge of the custom-houses and other public buildings as the same are severally delivered over to the representatives of the United States.

If in the course of your proceedings you desire further instructions on any particular questions that may arise, you will submit without delay your request for such instructions.

It is desired that your duties as commissioners shall be performed with all possible expedition.

William McKinley

By the President:
J. B. Moore,
Acting Secretary of State.

[Great seal of the United States.]

[Subinclosure b.—Confidential.]

Executive Mansion,
Washington, August 26, 1898.

To Major-General Wade,
Rear-Admiral Sampson,
Major-General Butler,
Commissioners on the part of the United States to Superintend the Evacuation of Cuba.

In addition to the matters contained in your formal instructions herewith submitted, your attention is hereby called to certain other matters, relating not so much to the immediate evacuation by Spain of the islands in question as to their future control and government by the United States, to which it is desired that you will pay such attention as opportunity may afford.

So far as it may come within the scope of your duties, you will endeavor to arrange those matters within your jurisdiction so as to facilitate the speedy reestablishment of trade, commerce, business, and other peaceful pursuits of the inhabitants.

You will need to become informed as to the police arrangements of each city and town, and to be prepared to advise and assist the general in command of the islands in question in the adoption and application of means to continue good order and the administration of the local laws and ordinances after the departure of the Spanish forces.

Where it can be done prudently, confer with the leading citizens of Cuba and the adjacent Spanish islands in an unofficial manner and endeavor to ascertain their sentiments towards the United States and their views as to such measures as they may deem necessary or important for the future welfare and good government of the islands.

In carrying out the details of the evacuation you will, so far as applicable and as will not conflict with your personal instructions, observe the principles contained in the instructions for government of armies of the United States in the field (G. O., 100).

William McKinley.

By the President:
J. B. Moore,
Acting Secretary of State.

[Great seal of the United States.]