On the day of occupancy of Manila Aguinaldo wrote Anderson: 

“I received a telegram.  My interpreter is in Cavite; in consequence of this I have not answered till now.  My troops are forced by yours, by means of threats of violence, to retire from positions taken.  It is necessary, to avoid conflicts, which I should lament, that you order your troops that they avoid difficulty with mine, as until now they have conducted themselves as brothers to take Manila.”

General Merritt did not tolerate any folly about “joint occupation,” and sharply demanded the insurgents should restore the city the water supply from the mountain stream that is diverted from the Pasig to the city, and Aguinaldo claimed credit on the water question in these terms of prevarication and presumption.

“Since I have permitted the use of water before the formal declaration of the treaty, you can easily see that I am disposed to sacrifice to friendship everything not greatly prejudicial to the rights of the Philippine city.

“I comprehend, like yourself, the inconvenience of a double occupation of the city of Manila and its environs, considering the conditions of the capitulation with the Spaniards, but you must also understand that without the wide blockade maintained by my forces you would have obtained possession of the ruins of the city, but never the surrender of the Spanish forces, who would have been able to retire to the interior towns.

“Now, do not make light of the aid formerly given by us to secure the capitulation mentioned.  Greatly though justice may suffer, and risking well-founded fears in regard to my city, I do not insist upon the retention of all the positions conquered by my forces within the environs at the cost of much bloodshed, unspeakable fatigue, and much money.”

At the same time this Dictator was strutting with the powerful persuasion that the United States must be subordinate to his will, he was ambitious to live in the palace of the Governor General, putting an impertinance to that effect in his correspondence, but General Merritt told him he wanted it for himself and had already occupied and taken it into possession.  It has been made clear that Aguinaldo was from the first appearance of Americans writhing with the pangs of wounded vanity, conspiring to initiate the ignorant and inflate the insignificant, exciting a considerable force to share his sentiments.  Unquestionably the news communicated by Agoncillo to Aguinaldo of the sailing of the regular troops to reinforce the army in Manila caused the desperate assault upon our lines, and it may be accepted as the measurement of the Filipino ignorance of American character, that the insurgent calculation was that the combat designed and its influence estimated, was expected to cause the defeat of the ratification of the treaty in the Senate.

General Merritt assumed the Governor’s duties on August 23, at Matacanan palace.  Insurgents seemed more pacific, and business was resumed.  On August 25, Aguinaldo sent the following cablegram to the American press: