This wish cannot be ignored by the men still in arms if they are animated by no other desire than to serve this noble people which has thus clearly manifested its will.
"So also do I respect this will now that it is known to me, and after mature deliberation resolutely proclaim to the world that I cannot refuse to heed the voice of a people longing for peace, nor the lamentations of thousands of families yearning to see their dear ones in the enjoyment of the liberty promised by the generosity of the great American nation.
"By acknowledging and accepting the sovereignty of the United States throughout the entire Archipelago, as I now do without any reservation whatsoever, I believe that I am serving thee, my beloved country.

May happiness be theirs.
"_Emilio Aguinaldo_.

[424] "_Manila_, April 19, 1901." This announcement of Aguinaldo, published in Spanish, Tagalog and English, undoubtedly hastened the end of the war, but it did not lead to immediate general surrender, for as Taylor has very truly said:-- "A force like Aguinaldo's could not be surrendered.

It had been torn by internal dissensions and the bonds of discipline had always been very lax.

It had originally been held together by a lively expectation of the advantages to be obtained from the pillage of Manila.