GUERILLA WARFARE. 271 had foresworn their allegiance to Spain. Had theysurprised the city, there wouldhave been a nightofplunder and massacre.

The new commander -in-chief at Manila, General Augustin, set flying columns in motion against the insurgents. The navy co-operated with the army wherevertheinsurrection showed itselfin the coast districts of Luzon. The gunboats would shell a rebel village or stockade, and the troops wouldrush it whenthe shell fire had thoroughly demoralised the defence. Thus the Spaniards were able to report a number of successes, and to declare quite truly that the insurrection was making no progress. The unfortunate fact for Augustin and his colleagues was, that a guerilla warfare of this kind, waged in such a country as Luzon,is like a smouldering bush fire that is no sooner trampled out in one place than it flares up wildly in another. But this did not seriously disturb the Spanish commanders.Foryearstheyhadhad,likeBritish officers on the north-west frontier of India, to be ready to turn out at a moment's notice to act against half-subdued tribes of semi-savage-. Malay and Tagal had their continual lapsesinto piracy and dacoity, and it did not make the position much more serious to have a number of Spanish or half-breedmalcontents adding to the trouble by their spasmodic outbreaks of insurrection. If this had been all, Augustin could have gone on contentedly winning victories over adversaries that could hardly hope ever to seriously threaten Manila.

Having won this first victory, the Government authorities arrested all suspected persons in the city and searched their houses. In several cases evidence was found of the Republicanplot, and in the following days there were hurried court-martialsand summaryexecutions.

But themovement was scotched,not killed. A native insurrection in the hills and jungles was more difficult to deal with than the desperate attack on the Manila suburbs. Scanty reinforcements were sent out from Spain— only a few battalions and two or three gunboats, for the continual drainof tens of thousandsdestined for Cuba left verylittlefor the Philippines.

Then, on a smaller scale, the story of the revolt in the West Indies repeated itself in the East. Blanco reported that the insurrection was suppressed,but it wouldsuddenly break out again in a new quarter. Tribes that had never paid anything but a nominal allegiance to Spain threw in their lot with the rebels. Victories won in the field seemedto have no result. It was like the fighting in New Zealand, where the natives would hold a stockade just long enough to cause heavy loss to the attacking force, and then retreat through the bush and build another. Polavieja, who had done such good service in the east ofCuba in the Giuna chiquita, was sent out to supersede Blanco.

And when he informed the home government that without large reinforcements he could not make an end of the rebellion,he wassuperseded by Primo de Rivera, who tried a new policy.

It is curious that he never seems to have seriously anticipated any foreign intervention on the side of the smouldering insurrection. At the beginning of the outbreak there had been some idea that Japan might try to make some capital out of her neighbour's troubles in the Philippines. But as for the United States acting in that direction,it was left completely out of the Spanish calculations; for all the agitation in the State:, was on the subject of Cuba. It was only when war became inevitable that the Philippineswere mentioned.

This plan seemed for awhile to be successful. It consisted in buying off the more active and dangerous of the :e:bel leaders. By the end of 1897 De Rivera had made terms with si of them, amongst others with Aguinaldo, a Spaniard, and thebest known of them all. He came into Manila and surrendered, and was given a free passage to Hong Kong, where, as all see, his residence was not of verylong duration. Others of the chiefs were sent to ical proof that the Philippine insurrection was at an end at last. But in the Nen Year, when it became more andmoreprobliat Spam would be involved in war with America, rebellion again broke out in Luzon ; andwhenPrimo deRivera had to report that his troops wereagaininpursuit of hostile bands,'- the lastrelics of the insurgent army," he inhis turn ipersededand recalled to Madrid.

Meanwhile, a- the Cuban war crisis became more and more ominous, Commodore Dewey, whocommanded the United States squadronin the Pacific, was directedto assemblehis ships at Hong Kong and prepare for eventualities. He put himself into close relation with the exiled rebel leaders, obtained from Manila very complete information as to the condition of the defence- of the bay and the Spanish squadron; and when at last the cables brought him news that peace- was at an end betweenSpain and the United States, In- sailed for Manila to sight the first battleot the war.