"Fellow patriots, add your signatures to those which have already
been given. Explain to all our fellow eountrymen the benefits of this
change, which will be blessed by Heaven, by men and by our children.

"Viva America with the Philippines!!!" [31]

The letters were undoubtedly given to Aguinaldo for delivery on his
arrival. They were never delivered, and it is reasonable to suppose,
espeeially as Basa, who was a man of importance and means, was a
member of the group who desired annexation to the United States, that
Aguinaldo took the letters along in order to avoid a rupture with him
and then quietly suppressed them. Obviously, however, he sent or gave
a copy of the first one to Pratt, presumably without the written words:
"Viva, for America with the Philippines!"

And now comes a bit of evidence as to what occurred at Singapore
which I consider incontrovertible.

Aguinaldo returned promptly to Hongkong and on May 4, 1898, a meeting
of the junta was held. The minutes of this meeting, [32] signed by
each of the several Filipinos present, form a part of the Insurgent
records which have come into the possession of the United States
Government. They state among other things that:--

"The temporary Secretary read the minutes of the preceding meeting,
which were approved. The temporary President reported that D. Emilio
Aguinaldo had just arrived from Singapore and it became necessary
for him to take possession of the office to which he has been elected."