THE PHILIPPINES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11402, 20 April 1899, Page 5

THE PHILIPPINES.

AMERICANS FALL INTO. AN*

AMBUSH,

Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright.

WASHINGTON, April 18. Advices from the Philippines state that General -Law-ton, commanding one of tlie American divisions, will evacuate eight of the ..towns south of Manila that were recently occupied by Americans, and will return to the capital with a view of resuming operations in the north. General Law ton states that the present American j force is sufficient to go through the island, i but 100,000 men will be necessary to pacify the people and garrison the towns. Many of the volunteers complain of being detained on service at the Philippines. MANILA. April 19. (Received April 20, at 0.55 a.m.) The American cruiser Yorktown visited Baler in order to relieve the Spanish garrison, besieged by Filipinos. * Lieutenant i Gilmore, with a boat's crew of 14 men, fell I into an ambush and were captured.. j

The American lines enclosing Manila from the insurgents (writes the special correspondent of the Sydney Telegraph) may lie roughly described aa an irregular semi-circle |30 miles long, extending from the bay. Alj most at the centre of this semi-circle, and jls mile? from each end, is a V-shaped exI tension, reaching out nearer tho insurgents' trenches, so as to take in the Manila city waterworks, which the Americans captured from the Filipinos several days a R o. Within i-lus enclosure is a military police organisation, 3000 strong.to-preserve order in the city. Lvery civilian, American or English, goer, about town with a big- gun and a belt, of cartridges strapped about him. There is nothmg hko this to keep the native, who may have a big. lo;ic,--blaclec'. knife on him. at a safe- distance. Twenty thousand American soldiers are barely sufficient to police the c-itv and hold the 30 miles of lines surrounding Manila. And with this force weakened very materially by the'sending of troops necessaryto hold (loilo, the second largest town-of i]i'e group, it was out of the question for the Americans to advance on the insuro-en* strongholds beyond the lines. The headquarters of the Filipinos and the capital of the "Philippine Republic'"' is at Malolos, a town of 25,000 population, iu:<t 23 miles from Manila, in the interior, it is claimed that the Filipinos have on thi» island alone 50.000 armed men. and., biwiclee. mimer- j ous tribes in the mountains, urined v/ith bows < and arrows, spears, etc. They have, a powder j factory of their own, run. it is claimed, b'r Japanese brought here for the purpose. It is claimed also that they have outside skill in Ihe shape oi engineers', who have planned Uig trenches and breastworks placed outside the American lines. Their trenches consi.it of a double line about 200 yards apart, and in front of the first one from the American line? breastworks have been thrown up.

From the beginning of the war in the .Philippines by the Americans (not considering the naval engagement), with both Spaniards ami Filipinos, the United States army has lost on the field of battle 150 men. the Spaniards 25, and the Filipinos 2000. Five hundred wounded and 600 sick soldiers from the American ranks were on March 1 in the hospitals of Manila, Kleven hundred in the hospitals out of an army of 20.000 is not a Jargn percentage, when wo consider tho unfavourable- climate for Americans and tho fact .that there have been many engagements during the past, month, exposing the men night and day oi: the battle field.