Note 2 — Chapter III · Of Military Justice

The outbreak of the War of Independence (February 4, 1899) precluded direct American intervention in favour of the Spanish prisoners. General Rios, whose importance was being overshadowed by Señor Fusetʼs productive activity, cabled to Madrid that he would attend to the matter himself. But the didactic tone of his letters to Aguinaldo was not conducive to a happy result, and having frankly confessed his failure, the general made an appeal to the consuls and foreign merchants to exercise conjointly their influence. A letter of appeal from them was therefore drawn up and confided for delivery in the insurgent camp to my late friend Baron Du Marais.2 This chivalrous gentleman, well known as the personification of integrity and honour, had resided many years in the Islands and spoke Tagálog fluently. On reaching the insurgent camp he was imprisoned on the charge of being a spy, but was shortly afterwards released, and on his way back to the capital he was waylaid by the natives, who foully murdered him. Señor Fuset then resumed his labours, and, as a result of his appeal to the generosity of his countrymen, he was able to set out for Boac and Batangas in the little steamer Castellano to carry supplies to the prisoners detained in those localities. On his journey he distributed to them 500 cotton suits, 290 pairs of shoes, 100 pairs of alpargatas (a sort of hempen shoe or sandal made in Spain), 14,375 packets of cigarettes, and ₱1,287. Several subsequent expeditions carried supplies to the prisoners, the total amount of material aid furnished to them, in goods and money, being estimated at ₱60,000.