LETTER TO RIOS, DECEMBER 25, 1898
[NOTE BY COMPILER. - This document may possibly be dated Oct. 25th in place of Dec. 25th
for the month is not clearly written in the original. - J. R. M. T.]
Exhibit 1206.

[Original in Spanish. Unsigned draft. apparently in the handwriting of F. Buencamino. P.I.R., 96.2.]

Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. Office of the President.

Private.

MALOLOS, Dec. 25, 1898.

His Excellency General DIEGO Rios.

RESPECTED GENERAL: I write to you without any desire of offending either your dignity or your patriotism, or of interfering in you high duties in the present circumstances so critical for all of us, Filipinos, Spaniards, and Americans. I write to you, General, actuated solely by the desire of doing an act of evident justice, compatible with your honor and with those high duties which I cite above and especially with the hope of yet saving from wreck the sovereignty of Spain in these Islands. I shall explain myself, General, to see if you can understand me and to see whether it will be the same as with General Augustin, who did not care to pay any attention to the frank warnings I gave him, with noble intentions, in my letter of June 9th, last. Time has unfortunately justified me and I am able to declare that of all the Spanish Generals you alone have known how to defend the Spanish flag in these Islands. Ah! If the others had only known how to sustain it as you have, how different would be today the sad condition of the Spanish empire in these lands. * * *

(NOTE.-This break occurs in the original.-COMPILER.)

I am informed that you are considering surrendering the place to us or to the Americans. After six months of vigorous siege and of total abandonment I understand why you would prefer us to the others.

The way to make this surrender is to join us and proclaim the federation of the Filipino Republic with the Spanish Republic recognizing the Chieftainship of our honorable President, Sefior Emilio Aguinaldo; a fraternal embrace will take place between Filipinos, Visayans and Spaniards, There will be hurras for Spain and the Philippines united as a Federal Republic - your troops will pass into the common army and you will be promoted to a lieutenant Generalship. The Spanish employees in the Visayas will be supported by us and the government will pass to our provincial councils and local juntas.

Those who want to go back to Spain will be sent back at our expense with enough to pay their way to Spain, and the flags of Spain and the Philippines will float side by side. You will give an account of this to Madrid and especially to Pi Margall, and in the mean time we shall fight the Americans together; we shall conquer and then we shall wait (and adjust our future relations).

My ideas are placed before you in this confused manner because I am pressed for time, but the bearer can give you fuller explanations, and I ask that you see in this only my desire to stop the shedding of blood by Spaniards and Filipinos and to reconcile both of them by appealing to the chivalric feeling so characteristic of the high and lofty sense of honor of Spain.

The surrender of the heroic column of your command is the greatest outrage which can be inflicted upon those valiant men since they will suffer the humiliations which their unfortunate companions suffer here; and You, able and upright and valiant General, are you going to sign a treaty WIth the Americans?

God preserve you from it, sir!

All of us admire your valor and your self-restraint, in battle and in adversity, for this reason we want to keep you as one of us, for in this camp we can appreciate a brave man even if he is an enemy.

Your transfer to our side does not really involve treason to Spain, since the moment sovereignty passes to the Americans, you are free to transfer your allegiance. This is in accordance with the principles of national honor. On the other hand if you join us you bring about the following: first, liberty for all the 9,000 Spanish prisoners in our hands and then it would serVe as the first base of the new alliance between Spain and the Philippines and then from both will come honors and applause for you as having been the one fortunate enough to effect it. This is all that I can say to you at present and I hope that you will tell me that you agree with me and then I shall be able to present this to my government, and obtain from it an agreement to what I have written as a private individual.

Your most respectful and affectionate servant.

[NOTE BY COMPILER. - This document may possibly be dated Oct. 25th in place of Dec. 25th for the month is not clearly written in the original. - J. R. M. T.]