to go to the Consulate on account of the swelling of my feet. From our
conversation I infer that independence will be given to us. I did not,
however, disclose to him our true desires.... Said consul approved my
telegram to McKinley, which has been sent to-day through him, a copy
of which is herewith enclosed. If they accept our representative in
the commission, we may arrive at a friendly understanding, and it will
enable us to prepare for the fight in case they refuse to listen to
our request. On the other hand, if at the very beginning they refuse
to admit our representative, we will at once be in a position to know
what should be done, _i.e._ to prepare for war." [42]

On May 4, 1898, the Hongkong junta voted that Aguinaldo ought to go
to the Philippines, and go he did. It would seem that he at first gave
up the idea of joining Dewey, for on May 11 he wrote a cipher letter,
giving minute directions for the preparation of signals to assist
his ship in making land, by day or by night, at Dingalan Bay on the
east coast of Luzon; directing the capture of the town of San Antonio,
just back of Capones Islands, in Zambales, and ending with the words:
"We will surely arrive at one of the two places above mentioned,
so you must be prepared."

Something led him again to change his mind, and he finally sailed on
the _McCulloch_.

In his "Reseña Verídica" written later for political purposes,
Aguinaldo has definitely claimed that Dewey promised him that
the United States would recognize the independence of the Filipino
people. I will let him tell his own story, confronting his statements
with those of the admiral.