<P> The Spanish commission included the Spanish diplomats Eugenio Montero Ríos, Buenaventura de Abarzuza, José de Garnica, Wenceslao Ramírez de Villa - Urrutia, Rafael Cerero, as well as the French diplomat Jules Cambon . </P> <P> The American delegation, headed by former Secretary of State William R. Day--who had vacated his position as U.S. Secretary of State in order to head the commission--arrived in Paris on September 26, 1898 . The negotiations were conducted in a suite of rooms at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . At the first session on October 1, the Spanish demanded that before the talks get underway the city of Manila, which had been captured by the Americans a few hours after the signing of the peace protocol in Washington, should be returned to Spanish authority . The Americans refused to consider this and for the moment it was pursued no further . </P> <P> Felipe Agoncillo, a Filipino lawyer representing the First Philippine Republic, was denied participation in the negotiation . </P> <P> For almost a month, negotiations revolved around Cuba . The Teller Amendment to the U.S. Declaration of War with Spain made it impractical for the U.S. to annex the island as it did with Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines . On first instance, Spain refused to accept the Cuban national debt of four hundred million dollars, but ultimately it had no choice . Eventually, it was agreed that Cuba was to be granted to the Cubans and the four hundred million dollar liability returned to Spain . It was also agreed that Spain would cede Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States . </P>

The us and spanish sign the treaty of paris