FULLON TO AGUINALDO, MAY 31, 1899

Exhibit 1254.

[Original in Spanish. Incomplete document. P. I. R. 117.2]

Seal: Republican Government - General Headquarters of the Visayas. - No. 122.

[MAY 31, 1899?]

To the Honorable President of the Philippine Republic and Captain General of the Armies of the nation, Seņor Emilio Aguinaldo.

Greeting and independence.

I have the high honor of addressing you this letter in order to inform you of what has occurred in this province by reason of a clash between

the military authorities and the provincial headquarters, on account of the refusa1 of the latter to comply with the provisions of the second paragraph of article 8, of the organic decree ordered published by you June 18, 1898, and in order you may understand the matter better, I send you the minutes of the mass meeting held in this town for the purpose of seeking a temporary solution of the matter, until you should decide. I send also the communications exchanged between these General Military Headquarters of the Visayas and the Provincial Headquarters of Antique.

By reason of the outbreak of hostilities between our country and the Americans, I desired to assume the powers of Provincial Commander, in order to facilitate in so far as possible the military action for the better attainment of the purposes of the campaign and to further the wishes of yourself and of every honest Filipino who desires to repulse with arms the brutal imposition of its sovereignty by that nation which is at present our enemy; but the President of the Provincial Council objected, under the pretext that the province is not threatened, when the truth is, as you know, that everywhere the Americans are appearing. There was no reason for this refusal and in order not to impede the course of the campaign and decide the matter by the speediest means possible, on account of the impossibility of waiting for the reso1ution of yourself and of the government, I called a mass meeting of the local presidentes, delegates and heads of all the towns of this province, in order that they might decide what might be proper, and you may see the result of the meeting in the minutes, which as I have stated, are enclosed herewith. These are not the only reasons that have impelled me to assume the powers of provincial commander, but there were others which are of more interest and benefit for the country; in the first place, because requiring some funds to support the army, said President has not been able to collect any contributions whatever, and in the second place, because his conduct and acts as provincial chief are not such as will redound to the honor of the Republic, but on the contrary they discredit it to such an extent as to cause a general discontent throughout the province, which, if it had been permitted to continue would have become an insurrection against our government; in order to prevent such an occurrencc, you will bc the judge of whether I did wel1 in assuming the powers of Provincial commander. And in order to keep you informed of my mi1itary and political administration in this province, I transmit herewith also the reports of the representatives of the towns. In the imposition of taxes * * * [Remainder of letter missing.]