Mr. Moore to Mr. Hay.
President of our Commission received last night from the president of the Spanish Commission a communication submitting for adoption in lieu of our final proposition of last Monday any one of the three following alternative propositions:
- First. Relinquishment by Spain of her sovereignty over Cuba and cession of Puerto Rico and other Antilles, the island of Guam in the [Page 959] Ladrones, and the Philippine Islands archipelago, including Mindanao and Sulu, to the United States, the latter paying to Spain the sum of $100,000,000 as compensation for her sovereignty over the archipelago and the works of public utility which she has executed during her rule in all the islands of the east and west, the sovereignty over which she relinquishes or cedes.
- Second. Cession to the United States of the island of Kusaie, in the Carolines, of the right to land a cable on any of these or of the Marianas, while they remain under Spanish rule, and cession of the Philippine Islands archipelago proper—that is, beginning on the north, the islands of Batanes, Babuyanes, Luzon, Visayas, and all the others following to the south as far as the Sulu Sea, Spain reserving to the south of this sea the island of Mindanao and Sulu, which have never formed a part of the Philippine Islands archipelago proper. The United States as compensation for said islands, for the right to land cables, and for the public works executed by Spain in said islands during her rule will pay to Spain the sum of $50,000,000.
- Third. Spain relinquishes her sovereignty over Cuba and gratuitously cedes to the United States the Philippine Islands archipelago proper, besides Puerto Rico, the other West Indies, and the island of Guam, which she cedes as compensation for the expenses of the war and as indemnity to American citizens for injuries suffered since the beginning of the last Cuban insurrection. The United States and Spain will submit to an arbitral tribunal what are the debts and obligations of a colonial character which should pass with the islands the sovereignty over which Spain relinquishes and cedes.
On these propositions the Commissioners hold the following views: Messrs. Day, Davis, and Reid think we are committed to our final proposition of last Monday; Commissioners Frye and Gray favor submitting a proposal to leave to Spain Mindanao and Sulu group and take instead Ualan or Strong Island in the Carolines, paying only $20,000,000., Mr. Day would favor this if it were an original proposition. He believes that Mindanao and the Sulu group can be readily separated from the other islands and that with their population they are likely to be a source of trouble and expense, and are not desirable for us. He thinks Ualan or Strong Island would be very valuable to us, and he would prefer it. He also thinks that this concession would probably bring a treaty and that it may be that our present ultimatum will; but, as already stated, he thinks our only consistent course now is to stand by that ultimatum. Commissioner Gray prefers above all acceptance of third proposition.
Our Commissioners desire to answer president of Spanish Commission to-morrow.