General Aguinaldo's journey to Singapore.

In reply, the Consul said he would telegraph about this matter to
Admiral Dewey, who was, he said, Commander-in-Chief of the squadron
which would invade the Philippines, and who had, he also stated,
full powers conferred on him by President McKinley.

Between 10 or 12 in the forenoon of the next day the conference was
renewed and Mr. Pratt then informed me that the Admiral had sent him
a telegram in reply to the wish I had expressed for an agreement in
writing. He said the Admiral's reply was--_That the United States
would at least recognize the Independence of the Philippines under
the protection of the United States Navy. The Consul added that there
was no necessity for entering into a formal written agreement because
the word of the Admiral and of the United States Consul were in fact
equivalent to the most solemn pledge that their verbal promises and
assurance would be fulfilled to the letter and were not to be classed
with Spanish promises or Spanish ideas of a man's word of honour. In
conclusion the Consul said, "The Government of North America, is a
very honest, just, and powerful government._"

Being informed of what had been said by the visitor I consented to
meet Consul Pratt, and had a strictly private interview with him
between 9 and 12 p.m. on 22nd April, 1898, in one of the suburbs
of Singapore. As soon as Mr. Pratt met me he said that war had been
formally declared by the United States against Spain the day before,
_i.e._, on the 21st April.

In the course of the interview alluded to, Consul Pratt told me that as
the Spaniards had not fulfilled the promises made in the Biak-na-bató