The Philippine Islands

 A Political, Geographical, Ethnographical, Social and Commercial History of the Philippine Archipelago

 Embracing the Whole Period of Spanish Rule

 With an Account of the Succeeding American Insular Government

 By John Foreman, F. R. G. S. 

 Third Edition, Revised and Enlarged with Maps and Illustrations

 London: T. Fisher Unwin 1, Adelphi Terrace. MCMVI

Printed and bound by Hazell, Watson and Viney, LD. , London andAylesbury. 

Preface to the First Edition

It would be surprising if the concerns of an interesting Colonylike the _Philippine Islands_ had not commanded the attention ofliterary genius. 

I do not pretend, therefore, to improve upon the able productions ofsuch eminent writers as Juan de le Concepcion, Martinez Zúñiga, Tomásde Comyn and others, nor do I aspire, through this brief composition, to detract from the merit of Jagor's work, which, in its day, commendeditself as a valuable book of reference. But since then, and withinthe last twenty years, this Colony has made great strides on thepath of social and material progress; its political and commercialimportance is rapidly increasing, and many who know the Philippineshave persuaded me to believe that my notes would be an appreciatedaddition to what was published years ago on this subject. 

The critical opinions herein expressed are based upon personalobservations made during the several years I have travelled in andabout all the principal islands of the Archipelago, and are upheldby reference to the most reliable historical records. 

An author should be benevolent in his judgement of men and mannersand guarded against mistaking isolated cases for rules. In mattersof history he should neither hide the truth nor twist it to supporta private view, remembering how easy it is to criticize an act whenits sequel is developed: such will be my aim in the fullest measureconsistent. 

By certain classes I may be thought to have taken a hypercritical viewof things; I may even offend their susceptibilities--if I adulatedthem I should fail to chronicle the truth, and my work would be adeliberate imposture. 

I would desire it to be understood, with regard to the classes andraces in their collectedness, that my remarks apply only to the largemajority; exceptions undoubtedly there are--these form the smallminority. Moreover, I need hardly point out that the native populationof the capital of the Philippines by no means represents the truenative character, to comprehend which, so far as its complicacy canbe fathomed, one must penetrate into and reside for years in theinterior of the Colony, as I have done, in places where extraneousinfluences have, as yet, produced no effect. 

There may appear to be some incongruity in the plan of a work whichcombines objects so dissimilar as those enumerated in the Contentspages, but this is not exclusively a History, or a Geography, or anAccount of Travels--it is a concise review of all that may interestthe reader who seeks for a general idea of the condition of affairsin this Colony in the past and in the present. 

J.  F. 

Preface to the Third Edition

The success which has attended the publication of the Second Editionof this work has induced me to revise it carefully throughout, addingthe latest facts of public interest up to the present period. 

Long years of personal acquaintance with many of the prime movers inthe Revolutionary Party enabled me to estimate their aspirations. Myassociations with Spain and Spaniards since my boyhood helped me, as an eye-witness of the outbreak of the Rebellion, to judge of theopponents of that movement. My connection with the American PeaceCommission in Paris afforded me an opportunity of appreciating thenoble desire of a free people to aid the lawful aspirations of millionsof their fellow-creatures. 

My criticism of the regular clergy applies only to the four religiousconfraternities in their lay capacity of government agents in theseIslands and not to the Jesuit or the Paul fathers, who have justlygained the respect of both Europeans and natives: neither is itintended, in any degree, as a reflection on the sacred institutionof the Church. 

I take this opportunity of acknowledging, with gratitude, myindebtedness to Governor-General Luke E. Wright, Major-General LeonardWood, Colonel Philip Reade, Major Hugh L. Scott, Captain E.  N. Jones, Captain C.  H. Martin, Captain Henry C. Cabell, Captain George Bennett, Captain John P. Finley, Dr. David P. Barrows, Mr. Tobias Eppstein, and many others too numerous to mention, who gave me such valuableand cordial assistance in my recent investigations throughout theArchipelago. 

This book is not written to promote the interests of any person orparty, and so far as is consistent with guiding the reader to a fairappreciation of the facts recorded, controversial comment has beenavoided, for to pronounce a just dictum on the multifarious questionsinvolved would demand a catholicity of judgement never concentratedin the brain of a single human being. 

I am persuaded to believe that the bare truth, unvarnished by flattery, will be acceptable to the majority, amongst whom may be counted allthose educated Americans whose impartiality is superior to theirpersonal interest in the subject at issue. 

It is therefore confidently hoped that the present Edition may meritthat approval from readers of English which has been so graciouslyaccorded to the previous ones. 

J.  F. _September_, 1905. 

Table of Contents

_Introduction_

_Chapter_ I

_General Description of the Archipelago_

 Geographical features of the Islands. Limits. Mountains. 13 Rivers. Lakes. Volcanoes. Eruptions of the Mayon and Taal Volcanoes. 14 Monsoons. Seasons. Temperature. Rains. Climate. Earthquakes. 22

_Chapter_ II

_Discovery of the Archipelago_

 Hernando de Maghallanes. Treaty of Tordesillas. 24 Discovery of Magellan Straits and the Ladrone Islands. 27 Death of Maghallanes. Elcano's voyage round the world. 28 The Loaisa expedition. The Villalobos expedition. Andrés de Urdaneta. 31 Miguel de Legaspi; his expedition; he reaches Cebú; dethrones King Tupas. 33 Manila is proclaimed the capital of the Archipelago. 36 Martin de Goiti. Juan Salcedo. Native Local Government initiated. 37

_Chapter_ III

_Philippine Dependencies, Up To 1898_

 The Ladrone, Caroline, and Pelew Islands. 39 First mission to the Ladrone Islands. Pelew Islanders. Caroline Islanders. 40 Spain's possession of the Caroline Islands disputed by Germany. 44 Posadillo, Governor of the Caroline Islands, is murdered. 45 The Ladrone, Caroline, and Pelew Islands (except Guam) sold to Germany. 46

_Chapter_ IV

_Attempted Conquest by Chinese_

 Li-ma-hong, a Chinese corsair, attacks Manila. 47 He settles in Pangasinán; evacuates the Islands. 49 Rivalry of lay and Monastic authorities. Philip II. 's decree of Reforms. 51 Manila Cathedral founded. Mendicant friars. Archbishopric created. 55 Supreme Court suppressed and re-established. Church and State contentions. 57 Murder of Gov. -General Bustamente Bustillo. The monks in open riot. 60

_Chapter_ V

_Early Relations with Japan_

_The Catholic Missions_

 The Emperor of Japan demands the surrender of the Islands. 63 Fray Pedro Bautista's mission; he and 25 others are crucified. 65 Jesuit and Franciscan jealousy. The martyrs' mortal remains lost at sea. 67 Emperor Taycosama explains his policy. Further missions and executions. 68 Missionary martyrs declared saints. Emperor of Japan sends a shipment of lepers. 70 Spaniards expelled from Formosa by the Dutch. Missions to Japan abandoned. 71

_Chapter_ VI

_Conflicts with the Dutch_

 The Spanish expedition to the Moluccas fails. 72 Chinese mutiny, murder the Spanish leader, and take the ship to Cochin China. 73 Expeditions of Bravo de Acuna and Pedro de Heredia. Battle of Playa Honda. 74 Koxinga, a Chinese adventurer, threatens to attack the Colony. 76 Vittorio Riccio, an Italian monk, visits Manila as Koxinga's ambassador. 77 Chinese goaded to rebellion; great massacre. 77 Vicissitudes of Govs. -General. Defalcations. Impeachments. 78 Gov. -General Fajardo de Tua kills his wife and her paramour. 80 Separation of Portugal and Spain (1640). Spanish failure to capture Macao. 81 Nunneries. Mother Cecilia's love adventures. Santa Clara Convent. 81 The High Host is stolen. Inquisition. Letter of Anathema. 82 The Spanish Prime Minister Valenzuela is banished to Cavite. 83 Monseigneur Maillard de Tournon, the Papal Legate. 84 His arrogance and eccentricities; he dies in prison at Macao. 85 Question of the _Regium exequatur_. Philip V. 's edict of punishments. 86

_Chapter_ VII

_British Occupation of Manila_

 Coalition of France and Spain against England by the "Family Compact. " 87 Simon de Anda y Salazár usurps the Archbishop-Governor's authority. 88 British bombard Manila. Archbishop-Governor Rojo capitulates. 89 British in possession of the City. Sack and pillage. Agreed Indemnity. 90 Simon de Anda y Salazár defies Governor Rojo and declares war. 91 British carry war into the provinces. Bustos opposes them. 92 Bustos completely routed. Chinese take the British side. 93 Massacre of Chinese. Villa Corta's fate. The _Philipino_ treasure. 94 Simon de Anda y Salazár offers rewards for British heads. 95 Austin friars on battle-fields. Peace of Paris (Feb. 10, 1763). 96 Archbishop-Governor Rojo dies. La Torre appointed Gov. -General. 97 British evacuate Manila. La Torre allows Anda to receive back the City. 98 Anda goes to Spain; is rewarded by the King; returns as Gov. -General. 99 Anda is in conflict with the out-going Governor, the Jesuits, and the friars. 99 Anda dies in hospital (1776). His burial-place and monument. 100 Rebellion succeeds the war. Ilocos Rebellion led by Diego de Silan. 100 Revolt in Bojol Island led by Dagóhoy. 101 Revolts in Leyte Island, Surigao (Mindanao Is. ), and Sámar Island. 102 Rebellion of "King" Málong and "Count" Gumapos. 103 Rebellion of Andrés Novales. Execution of A. Novales and Ruiz. 104 Apolinario de la Cruz declares himself "King of the Tagálogs. " 105 General Marcelo Azcárraga, Spanish War Minister, Philippine born. 105 The Cavite Conspiracy of 1872. The Secret Society of Reformers. 106 The Philippine Martyrs, Dr. Búrgos and Fathers Zamora and Gomez. 107 Illustrious exiles--Dr. Antonio M. Regidor and José M. Basa. 108

_Chapter_ VIII

_The Chinese_

 The China-Manila trade in the days of Legaspi. 109 The _Alcayceria_. The _Parian_. Chinese banished. Restrictions. 110 The Chinese as immigrants; their comparative activity. 112 Chinese mandarins come to seek the "Mount of Gold" in Cavite. 114 The Chinese are goaded to revolt. Saint Francis' victory over them. 115 Massacre of Foreigners. The Chinese Traders; their Guilds. 116 Chinese patron saint; population. The _Sangley_. The _Macao_. 118 Restrictions on Chinese immigration. Their gradual exclusion. 119

_Chapter_ IX

_Wild Tribes and Pagans_

 The _Aetas_ or _Negritos_ or _Balugas_. 120 The _Gaddanes_. The _Itavis_. The _Igorrotes_. The _Ibanacs_. 122 Attempt to subdue the _Igorrotes_. Its failure. 124 The _Calingas_. The _Igorrote-Chinese. _ The _Tinguianes_. 125 The _Basanes_. The _Manguianes_. The _Hindoos_. _Albinos_. 128

_Chapter_ X

_Mahometans and Southern Tribes_

 Early history of the Mahometans, called Moros. 129 The First Expedition against the Mindanao Moros. 130 Gov. -General Corcuera effects a landing in Sulu Island. 131 The scourge of Moro Piracy. Devastation of the coasts. Captives. 132 Zamboanga Fort; cost of its maintenance. Fighting Friars. 133 Vicissitudes of Sultan Mahamad Alimudin. 134 The Sultan appeals to his suzerain's delegate and is made prisoner. 134 His letter to Sultan Muhamad Amirubdin. 135 The charges against the Sultan. Extermination of Meros decreed. 136 Mindanao and Sulu Moros join forces. Extermination impossible. 137 The Treaty with Sultan Mahamad Alimudin. 138 The Claveria and Urbiztondo expeditions against Moros. 139 Gov. -General Malcampo finally annexes Joló (1876). 140 Spain appoints Harun Narrasid Sultan of Sulu (1885). 141 The ceremony of investiture. Opposition to the nominee. 142 Datto Utto defies the Spaniards. Terrero's expedition (Jan. , 1887). 143 Colonel Arolas' victory at Maybun (Sulu Is. ) (April, 1887). 144 The Marahui Campaign (1895). The Moro tribes. 145 The _Juramentado_. Moro dress; character; arts; weapons. 146 Moro customs. The _Pandita_. The _Datto_. 148 Joló (Sulu) town. H. H. The Sultan of Sulu. 149 A _juramentado_ runs _amok_. Across Sulu Island to Maybun. 152 The Sultan's official reception. Subuános of Zamboanga. 154 Climate in the South. Palaúan Island. Spanish settlers. 157 Across Palaúan Island. The _Tugbanúas_ tribe. 158 Their dress, customs, and country. 159 Efforts to colonize Paláuan Island. The Moro problem. 160

_Chapter_ XI

_Domesticated Natives--Origin--Character_

 Theory concerning the first inhabitants of these Islands. 163 Their advent before the Spanish Conquest. 165 Japanese and Chinese early immigrants. 166 Native character; idiosyncracies and characteristics. 167 Notion of sleep. "Castila!". 169 Tagálog and Visayo hospitality. The native's good qualities. 172 Native aversion to discipline; bravery; resignation; geniality. 175 Mixed races. Native physiognomy; marriages; minors' rights. 176 Family names. The _Catapúsan_. 179 Dancing; the _Balitao_; the _Comitan_. The _Asuan_. 180 Mixed marriages. The Half-caste (_Mestizo_). 181 The Shrines and Saints. The Holy Child of Cebú. St. Francis of Tears. 183 Our Lady of Cagsaysay. The Virgin of Antipolo. 184 Miraculous Saints. _Santones_. Native Conception of Religion. 187 Musical talent. Slavery. Education in Spanish times. 190 The Intellectuals. The Illiterates. State aid for Schools. 192 The Athenæum. Girls' Colleges. St. Thomas' University. 194 The Nautical School. The provincial student. Talented natives. 195 Diseases. Leprosy. Insanity. Death-rate. Sanitation. 197

_Chapter_ XII

_The Religious Orders_

 Their early co-operation a necessity. 199 Their power and influence. 200 Opinions for and against that power. 201 The Spanish parish priest. Father Piernavieja. 202 Virtueless friars. Monastic persecution. 204 The Hierarchy. The Orders. Church revenues and State aid. 206 Rivalry of Religious Orders. Papal intervention to ensure peace. 209

_Chapter_ XIII

_Spanish Insular Government_

 The _Encomiendas_. The Trading-Governors. 211 The Judge-Governors (_Alcálde Máyor_). The Reforms of 1886. 213 Cost of Spanish Insular Government. The Provincial Civil Governor's duties. 214 The position of Provincial Civil Governor. Local Funds. Provincial poverty. 216 Highways and Public Works. Cause of national decay. 218 Fortunes made easily. Peculations. Town Local Government. 220 The _Gobernadorcillo_ (petty-governor). The _Cabeza de Barangay_ (Tax-collector). 222 The _Cuadrillero_ (guard). The _Fallas_ (tax). The _Cédula personal_. 224 The _Tribunal_ (town hall). Reforms affecting travellers. 225

_Chapter_ XIV

_Spanish-Philippine Finances_

 Philippine budgets. Curious items of revenue and expenditure. 227 Spanish-Philippine army, police, and constabulary statistics. 230 The armed forces in the olden times. 232 Spanish-Philippine navy and judicial statistics. 233 Prison statistics. Brigandage. The brigands' superstition. 235 A chase for brigands. The _anting-anting_. Pirates. 237 The notorious Tancad. Dilatory justice. A _cause célèbre_. 239 Spanish-Philippine Criminal Law procedure. 241

_Chapter_ XV

_Trade of the Islands from Early Times_

 Its early history. Its State galleons. 243 The _Consulado_ merchants. The Mexican subsidy. 244 In the days of the Mexican galleons. The _Obras Pias_. 245 Losses of the treasure-laden galleons. Trade difficulties. 246 The period of restrictions on trade. Prohibitory decrees. 248 The Manila merchants alarmed; appeal to the King. 249 Penalties on free-traders. Trading friars. The budget for 1757. 250 Decline of trade. Spanish trading-company failures. 252 The _Real Compañia de Filipinas_; its privileges and failure. 253 The dawn of free trade. Foreign traders admitted. 254 Manila port, unrestrictedly open to foreigners (1834), becomes known to the world. 256 Pioneers of foreign trade. Foreign and Philippine banks. 257 The Spanish-Philippine currency. Mexican-dollar smuggling. 259 Ports of Zamboanga, Yloilo, Cebú, and Sual opened to foreign trade. 261 Mail service. Carrying-trade. Middlemen. Native industries. 263 The first Philippine Railway. Telegraph service. Seclusion of the Colony. 265

_Chapter_ XVI

_Agriculture_

 Interest on loans to farmers. Land values and tenure in Luzon Island. 269 Sugar-cane lands and cultivation. Land-measures. 271 Process of sugar-extraction. Labour conditions on sugar-estates. 273 Sugar statistics. World's production of cane and beet sugar. 275 Rice. Rice-measure. Rice machinery; husking; pearling; statistics. 276 Macan and Paga rice. Rice planting and trading. 278

_Chapter_ XVII

_Manila Hemp--Coffee--Tobacco_

 _Musa textilis_. Extraction and uses of the fibre. Machinery. 281 Hemp experiments in British India. Cultivation. Qualities. 283 Labour difficulties. Statistics. Albay province (local) land-measure. 286 Coffee. Coffee dealing and cultivation. 289 Tobacco. The Government Tobacco Monopoly. 292 Tobacco-growing by compulsory labour. Condition of the growers. 294 Tobacco Monopoly abolished. Free trade in tobacco. 296 Tobacco-trading risks; qualities; districts. Cigar values. 299

_Chapter_ XVIII

_Sundry Forest and Farm Produce_

 Maize. Cacao-beans. Chocolate. 300 Cacao cultivation. Castor oil. Gogo. 302 Camote. Gabi. Potatoes. Mani (pea-nut). Areca-nut. Buyo. 303 Cocoanuts. Extraction of Tuba (beverage). 304 Cocoanut-oil extraction. Coprah. Coir. 305 Nipa palm. Cogon-grass. Cotton-tree. 307 Buri palm. Ditá. Palma brava. Bamboo. 308 Bojo. Bejuco (Rattan-cane). Palásan (Bush-rope). 310 Gum mastic. Gutta-percha. Wax. Cinnamon. Edible Bird's-nest. 311 Balate (Trepang). Sapan-wood. Tree-saps. 312 Hardwoods; varieties and qualities. 313 Molave wood tensile and transverse experiments. 315 Relative strengths of hardwoods. Timber trade. 317 Fruits; the Mango; the Banana; the Papaw, etc. 318 Guavas; Pineapples; Tamarinds; the Mabolo. 320 Sundry vegetable produce. Flowers. 321 Botanical specimens--curious and beautiful. Orchids. 322 Firewoods; Locust beans; _Amor seco_. 324 Botanical names given to islands, towns etc. 324 Medicinal herbs, roots, leaves and barks. Perfumes. 325

_Chapter_ XIX

_Mineral Products_

 Coal import. Coal-mining ventures. 326 Comparative analyses of coal. 328 Gold-mining ventures. The Paracale and Mambulao mines. 329 Iron-mining ventures. Failures, poverty and suicide. 332 Copper. Marble. Stone. Gypsum. Sulphur. Mineral oil. 334

_Chapter_ XX

_Domestic Live-stock--Ponies, Buffaloes, Etc_. 

 Ponies. Horses. Buffaloes (_carabaos_). 336 Donkeys. Mules. Sheep. Fish. Insects. Reptiles. Snakes. 338 Butterflies. White ants. Bats. Deer. Wild boars. 340 Fowls. Birds. The Locust plague. Edible insects. 341

_Chapter_ XXI

_Manila Under Spanish Rule_

 The fortified city. The moats. The drawbridges. 343 Public buildings in the city. The port in construction. 344 Manila Bay. Corregidor Island and Marivéles. 345 The Pasig River. Public lighting. Tondo suburb. 346 Binondo suburb. Chinese and native artificers. 347 Easter week. The vehicle traffic. 348 The Theatres. The _Carrillo_. The "_Moro Moro_" performance. 349 The bull-ring. Annual feasts. Cock-fighting. 350 European club. Hotels. The Press. Spanish journalism. 351 Botanical gardens. Dwelling-houses. 353 Manila society. Water-supply. Climate. 354 Population of the Islands in 1845; of Manila in 1896. 355 Typhoons and earthquakes affecting Manila. 356 Dress of both sexes. A "first-class" funeral. 357 Excursions from Manila. Los Baños. 359 The story of Los Baños and Jalajala. The legend of Guadalupe Church. 360

_Chapter_ XXII

_The Tagálog Rebellion of 1896-98_

_First Period_

 The _Córtes de Cadiz_. Philippine deputies in the Peninsula. 362 The Assembly of Reformists. Effect of the Cavite Rising of 1872. 363 Official acts conducive to rebellion. The _Katipunan_ League. 364 Arrest of prominent Filipinos. The first overt act of rebellion. 366 War commences. The Battle of San Juan del Monte. 368 Execution of Sancho Valenzuela and others. 369 Andrés Bonifacio heads the movement. He is superseded by Emilio Aguinaldo. 370 Imus (Cavite) is captured by the rebels. The history of Imus. 372 Atrocities of the rebels. Rebel victory at Binacayan. 373 Execution of 13 rebels in Cavite. The rebel chief Llaneras in Bulacan. 374 Volunteers are enrolled. Tragedy at Fort Santiago; cartloads of corpses. 375 A court-martial cabal. Gov. -General Blanco is recalled. 376 The rebels destroy a part of the railway. They threaten an assault on Manila. 377 General Camilo Polavieja succeeds Blanco as Gov. -General. 378 General Lachambre, the Liberator of Cavite. Polavieja returns to Spain. 379 Dr. José Rizal, the Philippine ideal patriot; his career and hopes. 381 His return to Manila; banishment, liberation, re-arrest, and execution. 383 The love-romance of Dr. José Rizal's life. 387 General Primo de Rivera succeeds Polavieja as Gov. -General. 389 The Gov. -General decrees concentration; its bad effect. 391 The rebels define their demands in an exhortation to the people. 392 Emilio Aguinaldo now claims independence. 394 Don Pedro A. Paterno acts as peace negotiator. 395 The Protocol of Peace between the Rebels and the Gov. -General. 396 The alleged Treaty of Biac-na-bató (Dec. 14, 1897). 397 The Primo de Rivera-Paterno agreement as to indemnity payment. 398 Emilio Aguinaldo in exile. Peace rejoicings. Spain defaults. 399 The rebel chiefs being in exile, the people are goaded to fresh revolt. 400 The tragedy of the _Calle de Camba_. Cebú Island rises in revolt. 401 The Cebuános' raid on Cebú City; Lutao in flames; piles of corpses. 402 Exciting adventures of American citizens. Heartrending scenes in Cebú City. 404 Rajahmudah Datto Mandi visits Cebú. Rebels in Bolinao (Zambales). 406 Relief of Bolinao. Father Santos of Malolos is murdered. 408 The peacemaker states his views on the reward he expects from Spain. 409 Don Máximo Paterno, the Philippine "Grand Old Man". 411 Biographical sketch of his son, Don Pedro A. Paterno. 411 General Basilio Augusti succeeds Primo de Rivera as Gov. -General. 413 The existence of a Peace Treaty with the rebels is denied in the Spanish _Cortés_. 414

_Chapter_ XXIII

_The Tagálog Rebellion of 1896-98_

_Second Period_

_American Intervention_

 Events leading to the Spanish-American War (April-Aug. , 1898). 417 Events preliminary to the naval Battle of Cavite (May 1, 1898). 419 Aspirations of the Revolutionary Party. 420 Revolutionary exhortation denouncing Spain. 421 Allocution of the Archbishop of Madrid to the Spanish army. 423 Gov. -General Basilio Augusti issues a call to arms. 424 His proclamation declaring a state of war with America. 425 War in the Islands approaching. Flight of non-combatants. 426 The naval Battle of Cavite. Destruction of the Spanish Fleet. 427 The Stars and Stripes hoisted at Cavite. 429 The first news of the naval defeat raises panic in Madrid. 431 Emilio Aguinaldo returns from exile to Cavite (May 19, 1898). 432 Revolutionary exhortation to the people to aid America. 433 In the beleaguered city of Manila. German attitude. 434 The merchants' harvest. Run on the _Banco Español-Filipino_. 435 General Aguinaldo becomes Dictator. Filipinos congratulate America. 436 Conditions in and around Manila. Señor Paterno's pro-Spanish Manifesto. 438 The revolutionists' refutation of Señor Paterno's manifesto. 440 General Monet's terrible southward march with refugees. 445 Terror-stricken refugees' flight for life. The _Macabebes_. 446 The Revolutionary Government proclaimed. Statutes of Constitution. 448 Message of the Revolutionary President accompanying the proclamation. 454 The Revolutionists' appeal to the Powers for recognition. 457 Spain makes peace overtures to America. The Protocol of Peace. 458 The Americans prepare for the attack on Manila. 460 The Americans again demand the surrender of Manila. 461 The Americans' attack on Manila (Aug. 13, 1898). 462 Spain's blood-sacrifice for "the honour of the country". 464 Capitulation of Manila to the Americans (Aug. 14, 1898). 465 The Americans' first measures of administration in Manila. 467 Trade resumed. Liberty of the Press. Malolos (Bulacan) the rebel capital. 468 General Aguinaldo's triumphal entry into Malolos. 470 The Paris Peace Commission (Oct. -Dec. , 1898). 471 Peace concluded in Paris between America and Spain (Dec. 10, 1898). 472 Innovations in Manila customs. Spanish government in Visayas. 473 Strained relations between the rebels and the Americans. 475 Rebels attack the Spaniards in Visayas. The Spaniards evacuate the Visayas. 476 The end of Spanish rule. The rebels' disagreement. 478 Text of the Treaty of Peace between America and Spain. 479

_Chapter_ XXIV

_An Outline of the War of Independence Period, 1899-1901_

 Insurgents prepare for the coming conflict. 484 Anti-American manifesto. The Philippine Republic. 486 The war begins; the opening shot. Battle of Paco. 487 Fighting around Manila; Gagalanging. Manila in flames. 489 Battle of Marilao. Capture of Malolos, the insurgent capital. 490 Proclamation of American intentions. Santa Cruz (La Laguna) captured. 493 Effect of the war on public opinion in America. 495 Insurgent defeat. Calumpit captured. Insurgents ask for an armistice. 496 Insurgent tactics. General Lawton in Cavite. 499 Violent death of General Antonio Luna. 501 General Aguinaldo's manifesto; his pathetic allusion to the past. 502 Insurgents destroy the s. S. _Saturnus_. Death of General Lawton. 503 War on the wane. Many chiefs surrender. 505 Partial disbandment of the insurgent army urged by hunger. 506 Capture of General Emilio Aguinaldo (March 23, 1901). 507 He swears allegiance to America. His home at Canit (Cavite Viejo). 509

_Chapter_ XXV

_The Philippine Republic in the Central and Southern Islands_

 The Spaniards evacuate Yloilo (Dec. , 1898). Native Government there. 511 General Miller demands the surrender of Yloilo. The Panay army. 512 Riotous insurgent soldiery. Flight of civilians. 513 The Yloilo native Government discusses the crisis in open assembly. 514 Mob riot. Yloilo in flames. Looting, anarchy, and terrorism. 515 Bombardment of Yloilo. The American forces enter and the insurgents vanish. 516 Surrender of insurgent leaders. Peace overtures. "Water-cure". 517 Formal surrender of the Panay army remnant at Jaro (Feb. 2, 1901). 518 Yloilo town. Native Government in Negros Island. Peaceful settlement. 519 An armed rabble overruns Negros Island. 521 Native Government in Cebú Island. American occupation of Cebú City. 522 Cebuáno insurgents on the warpath. Peace signed with Cebuános. 524 Reformed government in Cebú Island. Cebú City. 526 American occupation of Bojol Island. Insurgent rising quelled. 528 Native Government in Cottabato. Slaughter of the Christians. 529 The Spaniards' critical position in Zamboanga (Mindanao Is. ). 531 Rival factions and anarchy in Zamboanga. Opportune American advent. 532 The Rajahmudah Datto Maudi. Zamboanga town. 534 Sámar and Marinduque Islands under native leaders. 535 Slaughter of American officers and troops at Balangiga (Sámar Is. ). 536

_Chapter_ XXVI

_The Spanish Prisoners_

 The approximate number of Spanish prisoners and their treatment. 537 The Spanish Government's dilemma in the matter of the prisoners. 538 Why the prisoners were detained. Baron Du Marais' ill-fated mission. 539 Further efforts to obtain their release. The captors state their terms. 541 Discussions between Generals E.  S. Otis and Nicolás Jaramillo. 542 The Spanish commissioners' ruse to obtain the prisoners' release fails. 543 The end of the Spaniards' captivity. 544

_Chapter_ XXVII

_End of the War of Independence and After_

 The last of the recognized insurgent leaders. Notorious outlaws. 545 Apolinario Mabini. Brigands of the old and of the new type. 546 Ferocity of the new caste of brigands. 548 The Montalón and Felizardo outlaw bands. 549 The "Guards of Honour. " The _Pulaján_ in gloomy Sámar. 550 Army and Constabulary Statistics. Insurgent navy. 553 Sedition. Seditious plays. 554 Landownership is conducive to social tranquillity. 555

_Chapter_ XXVIII

_Modern Manila_

 Innovations under American rule. 556 Clubs. Theatres. Hotels. "Saloons. " The Walled City. 558 The Insular Government. Feast-days. Municipality. 560 Emoluments of high officials. The Schurman Commission. 561 The Taft Commission. The "Philippines for the Filipinos" doctrine. 563 The Philippine Civil Service. Civil government established. 565 Constabulary. Secret Police. The Vagrant Act. 567 Army strength. Military Division. Scout Corps. 569

_Chapter_ XXIX

_The Land of the Moros_

 The Bates Agreement with the Sultan of Sulu. 571 The warlike _Dattos_ and their clansmen. 573 Captain Pershing's brilliant exploits around Lake Lanao. 574 Storming the _Cottas_. American pluck. 575 American policy in Moroland. Maj. -General Leonard Wood. 576 Constitution of the Moro Province. 577 Municipalities. Tribal Wards. Moro Province finances. 578 Moro Province armed forces. Gen. Wood's victory at Kudarangan. 580 Datto Pedro Cuevas of Basílan Island. His career. 582 General Wood in Sulu Island. Panglima Hassan. Major H.  L. Scott. 584 Major Hugh L. Scott vanquishes Panglima Hassan. A _bichâra_. 585 Joló town. H. H. The Sultan of Sulu. 587 American policy towards the Moro chiefs. 588 The Manguiguin's eventful visit to Zamboanga. 589 Education and progress in the Moro Province. 591 What the Moro Province needs. The prospect therein. 592

_Chapter_ XXX

_The Spanish Friars, After 1898_

 Free cult. Causes of the anti-friar feeling. 594 Attitude of the Philippine clergy. Monsignor Chapelle. 596 The question of the friars' lands. American view. 597 The American Government negotiates with the Holy See. 599 The Pope's contrary view of the friars' case. 600 The friars'-lands purchase. The approximate acreage. Monsignor Guidi. 601 The anti-friar feeling diminishes. The Philippine Independent Church. 602 The head of the Philippine Independent Church throws off allegiance to the Pope. 604 Conflict between Catholics and Schismatics. 606 Aglipayan doctrine. Native clergy. Monsignor Agius. 607 American education. The Normal School. The Nautical School. 608 The School for Chinese. The Spanish Schools. 610 The English language for Orientals. Native politics. 611 The Philippine Assembly. The cry for "independence". 612 The native interpretation of the term "Protection". 613 Capacity for self-government. Population. Benguet road. 614 Census Statistics. Regulations affecting foreign travellers. 616 Administration of justice. Provincial Courts. Justices of the peace. 618

_Chapter_ XXXI

_Trade and Agriculture Since the American Advent_

 Trade in war-time. After-effect of war on trade and agriculture. 620 Losses in tilth-cattle. The Congressional Relief Fund. 621 Fruitless endeavours to replace the lost buffalo herds. 622 Government supplies rice to the needy. Planters' embarrassments. 623 Agitation for an Agricultural Bank. Bureau of Agriculture. 624 Land-tax. Manila Port Works. The Southern ports. 626 Need of roads. Railway projects. 627 The carrying-trade. The Shipping Law. Revenue and Expenditure. 628 The Internal Revenue Law. Enormous increase in cost of living. 630 "The Democratic Labour Union. " The Chinese Exclusion Act. 632 Social position of the Chinese in the Islands since 1898. 634 The new Philippine currency (_Peso Conant_). 635 American Banks. The commercial policy of the future. 637 Trade Statistics. Total Import and Export values. Hemp shipments. 639 Total Chief Exports. Total Sugar Export. 640 Tobacco, Cigar, and Coprah shipments. Values of Coprah and Cocoanut-oil. 644 Sapan-wood, Gum Mastic, and Coffee shipments. 646 Gold and Silver Imports and Exports. Tonnage. Exchange. 647 Proportionate table of Total Exports. 648 Proportionate table of Total Imports. 649 Proportionate table of Staple Exports and Rice Imports. 650

_Chronological Table of Leading Events_. 651

_Index_. 655

List of Illustrations

_The Author_ _Frontispiece__Taal Volcano_ _Facing_ 16_Mavon Volcano_ 16_Effect of the Hurricane of September 26, 1905_ 23_A Negrito Family_ 120_An Igorrote Type (Luzon)_ 128_A Pagan Type (Mindanao)_ 128_A Tagálog Girl_ 128_Moro Weapons_ 132_A Scene in the Moro Country_ 148_Zamboanga Fortress ("Fuerza del Pilar")_ 148_A Visayan Girl_ 164_A Tagálog Girl_ 164_A Visayan Planter_ 172_A Chinese Half-caste_ 172_A Tagálog Milkwoman_ 182_A Tagálog Townsman_ 182_Middle-class Tagálog Natives_ 196_A Spanish-Mexican Galleon_ 244_A Canoe_ 244_A Casco (Sailing-barge)_ 244_A Prahu (Sailing-canoe)_ 244_A Sugar-estate House, Southern Philippines_ 275_Shipping Hemp in the Provinces_ 288_Botanical Specimen_ 321_Botanical Specimen_ 322_Botanical Specimen_ _Facing_ 323_Botanical Specimen_ 324_The Old Walls of Manila City_ 344_La Escolta_ in the Business Quarter of Manila 347_A Riverside Washing-scene_ 359_Dr. José Rizal_ 381_Don Felipe Agoncillo_ 381_General Emilio Aguinaldo_ 396_Don Pedro a Paterno_ 396_Admiral Patricio Montojo_ 430_Admiral George Dewey_ 430_General Basilio Augusti_ 430_Maj. -General Wesley Merritt_ 430_Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda_ 430_Tagálog Bowie-knives and Weapons_ 485_A Pandita (Mahometan Priest)_ 534_Rajahmudah Datto Mandi and Wife_ 534_Santa Cruz Church (Manila Suburb)_ 559_Panglima Hassan (of Sulu)_ 584_A Mindanao Datto and Suite_ 584_The Rt. Rev. Bishop Gregorio Aglípay_ 604_A Roadside Scene in Bulacan Province_ 627

_Maps_

_The Province of Cavite_ 371_Map of the Archipelago_ _at the end_

Introduction

 "Nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in malice. " _Othello_, Act V. , Sc. 2. 

During the three centuries and a quarter of more or less effectiveSpanish dominion, this Archipelago never ranked above the mostprimitive of colonial possessions. 

That powerful nation which in centuries gone by was built up byIberians, Celts, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Visigoths, Romans, and Arabs was in its zenith of glory when the conquering spirit anddauntless energy of its people led them to gallant enterprises ofdiscovery which astonished the civilized world. Whatever may havebeen the incentive which impelled the Spanish monarchs to encouragethe conquest of these Islands, there can, at least, be no doubt as tothe earnestness of the individuals entrusted to carry out the royalwill. The nerve and muscle of chivalrous Spain ploughing through awide unknown ocean in quest of glory and adventure, the unswervingdevotion of the ecclesiastics to the cause of Catholic supremacy, each bearing intense privations, cannot fail to excite the wonder ofsucceeding generations. But they were satisfied with conquering andleaving unimproved their conquests, for whilst only a small fractionof this Archipelago was subdued, millions of dollars and hundredsof lives were expended in futile attempts at conquest in Gamboge, Siam, Pegu, Moluccas, Borneo, Japan, etc. --and for all these toilsthere came no reward, not even the sterile laurels of victory. TheManila seat of government had not been founded five years when theGovernor-General solicited royal permission to conquer China!

Extension of dominion seized them like a mania. Had they followed uptheir discoveries by progressive social enlightenment, by encouragementto commerce, by the concentration of their efforts in the developmentof the territory and the new resources already under their sway, halfthe money and energy squandered on fruitless and inglorious expeditionswould have sufficed to make high roads crossing and recrossing theIslands; tenfold wealth would have accrued; civilization would havefollowed as a natural consequence; and they would, perhaps evento this day, have preserved the loyalty of those who struggled forand obtained freer institutions. But they had elected to follow theprinciples of that religious age, and all we can credit them withis the conversion of millions to Christianity and the consequentcivility at the expense of cherished liberty, for ever on the trackof that fearless band of warriors followed the monk, ready to passthe breach opened for him by the sword, to conclude the conquest bythe persuasive influence of the Holy Cross. 

The civilization of the world is but the outcome of wars, and probablyas long as the world lasts the ultimate appeal in all questions willbe made to force, notwithstanding Peace Conferences. The hope of everextinguishing warfare is as meagre as the advantage such a state ofthings would be. The idea of totally suppressing martial instinct inthe whole civilized community is as hopeless as the effort to convertall the human race to one religious system. Moreover, the commongood derived from war generally exceeds the losses it inflicts onindividuals; nor is war an isolated instance of the few sufferingfor the good of the many. "_Salus populi suprema lex_. " "Nearlyevery step in the world's progress has been reached by warfare. Inmodern times the peace of Europe is only maintained by the equalityof power to coerce by force. Liberty in England, gained first by anexhibition of force, would have been lost but for bloodshed. The greatAmerican Republic owes its existence and the preservation of its unityto this inevitable means, and neither arbitration, moral persuasion, nor sentimental argument would ever have exchanged Philippine monasticoppression for freedom of thought and liberal institutions. 

The right of conquest is admissible when it is exercised for theadvancement of civilization, and the conqueror not only takes uponhimself, but carries out, the moral obligation to improve the conditionof the subjected peoples and render them happier. How far the Spaniardsof each generation fulfilled that obligation may be judged from thesepages, the works of Mr. W.  H. Prescott, the writings of Padre de lasCasas, and other chroniclers of Spanish colonial achievements. Thehappiest colony is that which yearns for nothing at the hands ofthe mother country; the most durable bonds are those engendered bygratitude and contentment. Such bonds can never be created by religiousteaching alone, unaccompanied by the twofold inseparable conditionsof moral and material improvement. There are colonies wherein equaljustice, moral example, and constant care for the welfare of thepeople have riveted European dominion without the dispensable adjunctof an enforced State religion. The reader will judge the merits ofthat civilization which the Spaniards engrafted on the races theysubdued; for as mankind has no philosophical criterion of truth, it isa matter of opinion where the unpolluted fountain of the truest moderncivilization is to be found. It is claimed by China and by Europe, andthe whole universe is schismatic on the subject. When Japan was onlyknown to the world as a nation of artists, Europe called her barbarous;when she had killed fifty thousand Russians in Manchuria, she wasproclaimed to be highly civilized. There are even some who regardthe adoption of European dress and the utterance of a few phrases ina foreign tongue as signs of civilization. And there is a Continentalnation, proud of its culture, whose sense of military honour, dignity, and discipline involves inhuman brutality of the lowest degree. 

Juan de la Concepcion, [1] who wrote in the eighteenth century, bases the Spaniards' right to conquest solely on the religioustheory. He affirms that the Spanish kings inherited a divine rightto these Islands, their dominion being directly prophesied in Isaiahxviii. He assures us that this title from Heaven was confirmed byapostolic authority, [2] and by "the many manifest miracles withwhich God, the Virgin, and the Saints, as auxiliaries of our arms, demonstrated its unquestionable justice. " Saint Augustine, he states, considered it a sin to doubt the justice of war which God determines;but, let it be remembered, the same _savant_ insisted that the worldwas flat, and that the sun hid every night behind a mountain!

An apology for conquest cannot be rightly based upon the sole desireto spread any particular religion, more especially when we treat ofChristianity, the benign radiance of which was overshadowed by thatdebasing institution the Inquisition, which sought out the brightestintellects only to destroy them. But whether conversion by coercionbe justifiable or not, one is bound to acknowledge that all theurbanity of the Filipinos of to-day is due to Spanish training, which has raised millions from obscurity to a relative conditionof culture. The fatal defect in the Spanish system was the futileendeavour to stem the tide of modern methods and influences. 

The government of the Archipelago alone was no mean task. 

A group of islands inhabited by several heathen races--surroundedby a sea exposed to typhoons, pirates, and Christian-hatingMussulmans--had to be ruled by a handful of Europeans with inadequatefunds, bad ships, and scant war material. For nearly two centuriesthe financial administration was a chaos, and military organizationhardly existed. Local enterprise was disregarded and discouraged solong as abundance of silver dollars came from across the Pacific. Sucha short-sighted, unstable dependence left the Colony resourcelesswhen bold foreign traders stamped out monopoly and brought commerceto its natural level by competition. In the meantime the astuteecclesiastics quietly took possession of rich arable lands in manyplaces, the most valuable being within easy reach of the Capitaland the Arsenal of Cavite. Landed property was undefined. It allnominally belonged to the State, which, however, granted no titles;"squatters" took up land where they chose without determined limits, and the embroilment continues, in a measure, to the present day. 

About the year 1885 the question was brought forward of grantingGovernment titles to all who could establish claims to land. Indeed, for about a year, there was a certain enthusiasm displayed both by theapplicants and the officials in the matter of "Titulos Reales. " Butthe large majority of landholders--among whom the monastic elementconspicuously figured--could only show their title by actualpossession. [3] It might have been sufficient, but the fact is thatthe clergy favoured neither the granting of "Titulos Reales" nor theestablishment of the projected Real Estate Registration Offices. 

Agrarian disputes had been the cause of so many armed risings againstthemselves in particular, during the nineteenth century, that theyopposed an investigation of the land question, which would only haverevived old animosities, without giving satisfaction to either nativeor friar, seeing that both parties were intransigent. [4]

The fundamental laws, considered as a whole, were the wisest devisableto suit the peculiar circumstances of the Colony; but whilst many ofthem were disregarded or treated as a dead letter, so many loopholeswere invented by the dispensers of those in operation as to renderthe whole system a wearisome, dilatory process. Up to the last everypossible impediment was placed in the way of trade expansion; and informer times, when worldly majesty and sanctity were a joint idea, the struggle with the King and his councillors for the right oflegitimate traffic was fierce. 

So long as the Archipelago was a dependency of Mexico (up to 1819)not one Spanish colonist in a thousand brought any cash capital tothis colony with which to develop its resources. During the firsttwo centuries and a quarter Spain's exclusive policy forbade theestablishment of any foreigner in the Islands; but after they didsettle there they were treated with such courteous considerationby the Spanish officials that they could often secure favours withgreater ease than the Spanish colonists themselves. 

Everywhere the white race urged activity like one who sits behind ahorse and goads it with the whip. But good advice without examplewas lost to an ignorant class more apt to learn through the eyethan through the ear. The rougher class of colonist either forgot, or did not know, that, to civilize a people, every act one performs, or intelligible word one utters, carries an influence which pervadesand gives a colour to the future life and thoughts of the native, and makes it felt upon the whole frame of the society in embryo. Onthe other hand, the value of prestige was perfectly well understood bythe higher officials, and the rigid maintenance of their dignity, bothin private life and in their public offices, played an important partin the moral conquest of the Filipinos. Equality of races was neverdreamed of, either by the conquerors or the conquered; and the latter, up to the last days of Spanish rule, truly believed in the superiorityof the white man. This belief was a moral force which considerablyaided the Spaniards in their task of civilization, and has left itsimpression on the character of polite Philippine society to this day. 

Christianity was not only the basis of education, but the symbol ofcivilization; and that the Government should have left educationto the care of the missionaries during the proselytizing periodwas undoubtedly the most natural course to take. It was desirablethat conversion from paganism should precede any kind of seculartuition. But the friars, to the last, held tenaciously to their oldmonopoly; hence the University, the High Schools, and the Colleges(except the Jesuit Schools) were in their hands, and they remained asstumbling-blocks in the intellectual advancement of the Colony. Insteadof the State holding the fountains of knowledge within its directcontrol, it yielded them to the exclusive manipulation of those whoeked out the measure as it suited their own interests. 

Successful government by that sublime ethical essence called "moralphilosophy" has fallen away before a more practical _régime_. Libertyto think, to speak, to write, to trade, to travel, was only partiallyand reluctantly yielded under extraneous pressure. The venality of theconqueror's administration, the judicial complicacy, want of publicworks, weak imperial government, and arrogant local rule tended todismember the once powerful Spanish Empire. The same causes haveproduced the same effects in all Spain's distant colonies, and to-daythe mother country is almost childless. Criticism, physical discoveryof the age, and contact with foreigners shook the ancient beliefin the fabulous and the supernatural; the rising generation beganto inquire about more certain scientific theses. The immutabilityof Theology is inharmonious to Science--the School of Progress;and long before they had finished their course in these Islands thefriars quaked at the possible consequences. The dogmatical affirmation"_qui non credit anathema sit_, " so indiscriminately used, had lostits power. Public opinion protested against an order of things whichchecked the social and material onward movement of the Colony. And, strange as it may seem, Spain was absolutely impotent, even thoughit cost her the whole territory (as indeed happened) to remedy theevil. In these Islands what was known to the world as the Governmentof Spain was virtually the Executive of the Religious Corporations, whoconstituted the real Government, the members of which never understoodpatriotism as men of the world understand it. Every interest was madesubservient to the welfare of the Orders. If, one day, the Colonymust be lost to _them_, it was a matter of perfect indifference intowhose hands it passed. It was their happy hunting-ground and lastrefuge. But the real Government could not exist without its Executive;and when that Executive was attacked and expelled by America, thereal Government fell as a consequence. If the Executive had beenstrong enough to emancipate itself from the dominion of the friarsonly two decades ago, the Philippines might have remained a Spanishcolony to-day. But the wealth in hard cash and the moral religiousinfluence of the Monastic Orders were factors too powerful for anynumber of executive ministers, who would have fallen like ninepinsif they had attempted to extricate themselves from the thraldom ofsacerdotalism. Outside political circles there was, and still is inSpain, a class who shrink from the abandonment of ideas of centuries'duration. Whatever the fallacy may be, not a few are beguiled intothinking that its antiquity should command respect. 

The conquest of this Colony was decidedly far more a religiousachievement than a military one, and to the _friars of old_ theirnation's gratitude is fairly due for having contributed to her glory, but that gratitude is not an inheritance. 

Prosperity began to dawn upon the Philippines when restrictionson trade were gradually relaxed since the second decade of lastcentury. As each year came round reforms were introduced, butso clumsily that no distinction was made between those who wereeducationally or intellectually prepared to receive them and those whowere not; hence the small minority of natives, who had acquired thehabits and necessities of their conquerors, sought to acquire for _all_an equal status, for which the masses were unprepared. The abolition oftribute in 1884 obliterated caste distinction; the university graduateand the herder were on a legal equality if they each carried a _cédulapersonal_, whilst certain Spanish legislators exercised a rare effortto persuade themselves and their partisans that the Colony was ripe forthe impossible combination of liberal administration and monastic rule. 

It will be shown in these pages that the government of these Islandswas practically as theocratic as it was civil. Upon the principle ofreligious pre-eminence all its statutes were founded, and the readerwill now understand whence the innumerable Church and State contentionsoriginated. Historical facts lead one to inquire: How far was Spainever a _moral_ potential factor in the world's progress? Spanishcolonization seems to have been only a colonizing mission preparatoryto the attainment, by her colonists, of more congenial conditionsunder other _régimes_; for the repeated struggles for liberty, generation after generation, in all her colonies, tend to show thatSpain's sovereignty was maintained through the inspiration of fearrather than love and sympathy, and that she entirely failed to renderher colonial subjects happier than they were before. 

One cannot help feeling pity for the Spanish nation, which has letthe Pearl of the Orient slip out of its fingers through culpableand stubborn mismanagement, after repeated warnings and similarexperiences in other quarters of the globe. Yet although Spain'slethargic, petrified conservatism has had to yield to the progressivespirit of the times, the loss to her is more sentimental than real, and Spaniards of the next century will probably care as little aboutit as Britons do about the secession of their transatlantic colonies. 

Happiness is merely comparative: with a lovely climate--a continualsummer--and all the absolute requirements of life at hand, there is notone-tenth of the misery in the Philippines that there is in Europe, andnone of that forlorn wretchedness facing the public gaze. Beggary--thatconstant attribute of the highest civilization--hardly exists, and suicide is extremely rare. There are no ferocious animals, insects, or reptiles that one cannot reasonably guard against; itis essentially one of those countries where "man's greatest enemy isman. " There is ample room for double the population, and yet a millionacres of virgin soil only awaiting the co-operation of husbandmanand capitalist to turn it to lucrative account. A humdrum life isincompatible here with the constant emotion kept up by typhoons, shipwrecks, earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, brigands, epidemics, devastating fires, etc. 

It is a beautiful country, copiously endowed by Nature, where theeffulgent morning sun contributes to a happy frame of mind--where thecolonist's rural life passes pleasantly enough to soothe the longingfor "home, sweet home. "

 "And yet perhaps if countries we compare And estimate the blessings which they share, Though patriots flatter, yet shall wisdom find An equal portion dealt to all mankind. "

Such is America's new possession, wherein she has assumed the moralresponsibility of establishing a form of government on principlesquite opposite to those of the defunct Spanish _régime_: whetherit will be for better or for worse cannot be determined at thistentative stage. Without venturing on the prophetic, one may notonly draw conclusions from accomplished facts, but also reasonablyassume, in the light of past events, what might have happened underother circumstances. There is scarcely a Power which has not, inthe zenith of its prosperity, consciously or unconsciously felt the"divine right" impulse, and claimed that Providence has singled itout to engraft upon an unwilling people its particular conception ofhuman progress. The venture assumes, in time, the more dignified nameof "mission"; and when the consequent torrents of blood recede frommemory with the ebbing tide of forgetfulness, the conqueror sootheshis conscience with a profession of "moral duty, " which the conqueredseldom appreciate in the first generation. No unforeseen circumstanceswhatever caused the United States to drift unwillingly into Philippineaffairs. The war in Cuba had not the remotest connexion with theseIslands. The adversary's army and navy were too busy with the taskof quelling the Tagálog rebellion for any one to imagine they couldbe sent to the Atlantic. It was hardly possible to believe thatthe defective Spanish-Philippine squadron could have accomplishedthe voyage to the Antilles, in time of war, with every neutral port_en route_ closed against it. In any case, so far as the ostensiblemotive of the Spanish-American War was concerned, American operationsin the Philippines might have ended with the Battle of Cavite. TheTagálog rebels were neither seeking nor desiring a change of masters, but the state of war with Spain afforded America the opportunity, internationally recognized as legitimate, to seize any of the enemy'spossessions; hence the acquisition of the Philippines by conquest. Upto this point there is nothing to criticize, in face of the universaltacit recognition, from time immemorial, of the right of might. 

American dominion has never been welcomed by the Filipinos. All theprincipal Christianized islands, practically representing the wholeArchipelago, except Moroland, resisted it by force of arms, until, after two years of warfare, they were so far vanquished that thosestill remaining in the field, claiming to be warriors, were, judgedby their exploits, undistinguishable from the brigand gangs which haveinfested the Islands for a century and a half. The general desire was, and is, for sovereign independence; and although a pro-American partynow exists, it is only in the hope of gaining peacefully that whichthey despaired of securing by armed resistance to superior force. Thequestion as to how much nearer they are to the goal of their ambitionbelongs to the future; but there is nothing to show, by a review ofaccomplished facts, that, without foreign intervention, the Filipinoswould have prospered in their rebellion against Spain. Even if theyhad expelled the Spaniards their independence would have been ofshort duration, for they would have lost it again in the strugglewith some colony-grabbing nation. A united Archipelago under theMalolos Government would have been simply untenable; for, apartfrom the possible secessions of one or more islands, like Negros, for instance, no Christian Philippine Government could ever haveconquered Mindanao and the Sulu Sultanate; indeed, the attempt mighthave brought about their own ruin, by exhaustion of funds, want ofunity in the hopeless contest with the Moro, and foreign interventionto terminate the internecine war. Seeing that Emilio Aguinaldo had tosuppress two rivals, even in the midst of the bloody struggle whenunion was most essential for the attainment of a common end, howmany more would have risen up against him in the period of peacefulvictory? The expulsion of the friars and the confiscation of theirlands would have surprised no one cognizant of Philippine history. Butwhat would have become of religion? Would the predominant religionin the Philippines, fifty years hence, have been Christian? Recentevents lead one to conjecture that liberty of cult, under native rule, would have been a misnomer, and Roman Catholicism a persecuted cause, with the civilizing labours of generations ceasing to bear fruit. 

No generous, high-minded man, enjoying the glorious privilege ofliberty, would withhold from his fellow-men the fullest measure ofindependence which they were capable of maintaining. If America'sintentions be as the world understands them, she is endeavouring tobreak down the obstacles which the Filipinos, desiring a lastingindependence, would have found insuperable. America claims (asother colonizing nations have done) to have a "mission" to perform, which, in the present case, includes teaching the Filipinos the art ofself-government. Did one not reflect that America, from her birth as anindependent state, has never pretended to follow on the beaten tractsof the Old World, her brand-new method of colonization would surpriseher older contemporaries in a similar task. She has been the first toteach Asiatics the doctrine of equality of races--a theory which theproletariat has interpreted by a self-assertion hitherto unknown, anda gradual relinquishment of that courteous deference towards the whiteman formerly observable by every European. This democratic doctrine, suddenly launched upon the masses, is changing their character. Thepolite and submissive native of yore is developing into an ill-bred, up-to-date, wrangling politician. Hence rule by coercion, insteadof sentiment, is forced upon America, for up to the present shehas made no progress in winning the hearts of the people. Outsidethe high-salaried circle of Filipinos one never hears a spontaneousutterance of gratitude for the boon of individual liberty or for thesuppression of monastic tyranny. The Filipinos craving for immediateindependence, regard the United States only in the light of a usefulmedium for its attainment, and there are indications that theirfuture attachment to their stepmother country will be limited to anunsentimental acceptance of her protection as a material necessity. 

Measures of practical utility and of immediate need have been setaside for the pursuit of costly fantastic ideals, which excite morethe wonder than the enthusiasm of the people, who see left in abeyancethe reforms they most desire. The system of civilizing the nativeson a curriculum of higher mathematics, literature, and history, without concurrent material improvement to an equal extent, is likefeeding the mind at the expense of the body. No harbour improvementshave been made, except at Manila; no canals have been cut; few newprovincial roads have been constructed, except for military purposes;no rivers are deepened for navigation, and not a mile of railwayopened. The enormous sums of money expended on such unnecessary worksas the Benguet road and the creation of multifarious bureaux, with asuperfluity of public servants, might have been better employed inthe development of agriculture and cognate wealth-producing publicworks. The excessive salaries paid to high officials seem to be out ofall proportion to those of the subordinate assistants. Extravagance inpublic expenditure necessarily brings increasing taxation to meet it;the luxuries introduced for the sake of American trade are gradually, and unfortunately, becoming necessities, whereas it would be moreconsiderate to reduce them if it were possible. It is no blessing tocreate a desire in the common people for that which they can verywell dispense with and feel just as happy without the knowledgeof. The deliberate forcing up of the cost of living has converteda cheap country into an expensive one, and an income which wasonce a modest competence is now a miserable pittance. The infinitevexatious regulations and complicated restrictions affecting tradeand traffic are irritating to every class of business men, whilstthe Colony's indebtedness is increasing, the budget shows a deficit, and agriculture--the only local source of wealth--is languishing. 

Innovations, costing immense sums to introduce, are forced upon thepeople, not at all in harmony with their real wants, their instincts, or their character. What is good for America is not necessarily goodfor the Philippines. One could more readily conceive the feasibility of"assimilation" with the Japanese than with the Anglo-Saxon. To rule andto assimilate are two very different propositions: the latter requiresthe existence of much in common between the parties. No legislation, example, or tuition will remould a people's life in direct oppositionto their natural environment. Even the descendants of whites in thePhilippines tend to merge into, rather than alter, the conditions ofthe surrounding race, and _vice versa_. It is quite impossible fora race born and living in the Tropics to adopt the characteristicsand thought of a Temperate Zone people. The Filipinos are not anindustrious, thrifty people, or lovers of work, and no power on earthwill make them so. The Colony's resources are, consequently, not aquarter developed, and are not likely to be by a strict applicationof the theory of the "Philippines for the Filipinos. " But whyworry about their lethargy, if, with it, they are on the way to"perfect contentment"?--that summit of human happiness which no oneattains. Ideal government may reach a point where its exactions tendto make life a burden; practical government stops this side of thatpoint. White men will not be found willing to develop a policy whichoffers them no hope of bettering themselves; and as to labour--otherwilling Asiatics are always close at hand. Uncertainty of legislation, constantly changing laws, new regulations, the fear of a tax oncapital, and general prospective insecurity make large investors pause. 

Democratic principles have been too suddenly sprung upon themasses. The autonomy granted to the provinces needs more controlthan the civil government originally intended, and ends in anappeal on almost every conceivable question being made to oneman--the Gov. -General: this excessive concentration makes efficientadministration too dependent on the abilities of one person. Thereare many who still think, and not without reason, that ten years ofmilitary rule would have been better for the people themselves. Evennow military government might be advantageously re-established in SámarIsland, where the common people are not anxious for the franchise, or care much about political rights. A reasonable amount of personalfreedom, with justice, would suffice for them; whilst the trading classwould welcome any effective and continuous protection, rather than haveto shift for themselves with the risk of being persecuted for havinggiven succour to the _pulajanes_ to save their own lives and property. 

Civil government, prematurely inaugurated, without sufficientpreparation, has had a disastrous effect, and the present state ofmany provinces is that of a wilderness overrun by brigand bands toostrong for the civil authority to deal with. But one cannot fail torecognize and appreciate the humane motives which urged the prematureestablishment of civil administration. Scores of nobodies before therebellion became somebodies during the four or five years of socialturmoil. Some of them influenced the final issue, others were mereshow-figures, really not more important than the _beau sabreur_ incomic opera. Yet one and all claimed compensation for laying asidetheir weapons, and in changing the play from anarchy to civil lifethese actors had to be included in the new cast to keep them fromfurther mischief. 

The moral conquest of the Philippines has hardly commenced. Thebenevolent intentions of the Washington Government, and theirreproachable character and purpose of its eminent members who wieldthe destiny of these islanders, are unknown to the untutored masses, who judge their new masters by the individuals with whom they come intoclose contact. The hearts of the people cannot be won without moralprestige, which is blighted by the presence of that undesirable classof immigrants to whom Maj. -General Leonard Wood refers so forcibly inhis "First Report of the Moro Province. " In this particular region, which is ruled semi-independently of the Philippine Commission, the peculiar conditions require a special legislation. But, apartfrom this, the common policy of its enlightened Gov. -General wouldserve as a pattern of what it might be, with advantage, throughoutthe Archipelago. 

So much United States money and energy have been already expendedin these Islands, and so far-reaching are the pledges made to theirinhabitants, that American and Philippine interests are indissolublyassociated for many a generation to come. It does not necessarilyfollow that the fullest measure of national liberty will create realpersonal liberty. Such an idea does not at all appeal to Asiatics, according to whose instinct every man dominates over, or is dominatedby, another. If America should succeed in establishing a permanentlypeaceful independent Asiatic government on democratic principles, it will be one of the unparalleled achievements of the age. 

CHAPTER I

General Description of the Archipelago

The Philippine Islands, with the Sulu Protectorate, extend a littleover 16 degrees of latitude--from 4° 45' to 21° N. , and longitudefrom 116° 40' to 126° 30' E. --and number some 600 islands, many ofwhich are mere islets, besides several hundreds of rocks jutting outof the sea. The 11 islands of primary geographical importance areLuzon, Mindanao, Sámar, Panay, Negros, Palaúan (Parágua), Mindoro, Leyte, Cebú, Masbate, and Bojol. Ancient maps show the islands andprovinces under a different nomenclature. For example: (old names inparentheses) Albay (Ibalon); Batangas (Comintan); Basílan (Taguima);Bulacan (Meycauayan); Cápis (Panay); Cavite (Cauit); Cebú (Sogbu);Leyte (Baybay); Mindoro (Mait); Negros (Buglas); Rizal (Tondo; lateron Manila); Surigao (Caraga); Sámar (Ibabao); Tayabas (Calilayan). 

Luzon and Mindanao united would be larger in area than all the restof the islands put together. Luzon is said to have over 40, 000 squaremiles of land area. The northern half of Luzon is a mountainous regionformed by ramifications of the great cordilleras, which run N. ToS. All the islands are mountainous in the interior, the principalpeaks being the following, viz. :--

 Feet above sea level

 Halcon (Mindoro) 8, 868 Apo [5] (Mindanao) 8, 804 Mayon (Luzon) 8, 283 San Cristóbal (Luzon) 7, 375 Isarog (Luzon) 6, 443 Banájao (Luzon) 6, 097 Labo (Luzon) 5, 090 South Caraballo (Luzon) 4, 720 Caraballo del Baler (Luzon) 3, 933 Maquíling (Luzon) 3, 720

Most of these mountains and subordinate ranges are thickly coveredwith forest and light undergrowth, whilst the stately trees are gailyfestooned with clustering creepers and flowering parasites of the mostbrilliant hues. The Mayon, which is an active volcano, is comparativelybare, whilst also the Apo, although no longer in eruption, exhibitsabundant traces of volcanic action in acres of lava and blackenedscoriae. Between the numberless forest-clad ranges are luxuriant plainsglowing in all the splendour of tropical vegetation. The valleys, generally of rich fertility, are about one-third under cultivation. 

There are numerous rivers, few of which are navigable by sea-goingships. Vessels drawing up to 13 feet can enter the Pasig River, but this is due to the artificial means employed. 

The principal Rivers are:--In _Luzon Island_ the Rio Grande de Cagayán, which rises in the South Caraballo Mountain in the centre of theisland, and runs in a tortuous stream to the northern coast. It has twochief affluents, the Rio Chico de Cagayán and the Rio Magat, besidesa number of streams which find their way to its main course. Steamersof 11-feet draught have entered the Rio Grande, but the sand shoalsat the mouth are very shifty, and frequently the entrance is closedto navigation. The river, which yearly overflows its banks, bathesthe great Cagayan Valley, --the richest tobacco-growing district inthe Colony. Immense trunks of trees are carried down in the torrentwith great rapidity, rendering it impossible for even small craft--the_barangayanes_--to make their way up or down the river at that period. 

The Rio Grande de la Pampanga rises in the same mountain and flowsin the opposite direction--southwards, --through an extensive plain, until it empties itself by some 20 mouths into the Manila Bay. Thewhole of the Pampanga Valley and the course of the river present abeautiful panorama from the summit of Arayat Mountain, which has anelevation of 2, 877 feet above the sea level. 

The whole of this flat country is laid out into embanked rice fieldsand sugar-cane plantations. The towns and villages interspersed arenumerous. All the primeval forest, at one time dense, has disappeared;for this being one of the first districts brought under Europeansubjection, it supplied timber to the invaders from the earliest daysof Spanish colonization. 

The Rio Agno rises in a mountainous range towards the west coastabout 50 miles N. N. W. Of the South Caraballo--runs southwards asfar as lat. 16°, where it takes a S. W. Direction down to lat. 15°48'--thence a N. W. Course up to lat. 16°, whence it empties itself bytwo mouths into the Gulf of Lingayen. At the highest tides there isa maximum depth of 11 feet of water on the sand bank at the E. Mouth, on which is situated the port of Dagupan. 

The Bicol River, which flows from the Bató Lake to the Bay of SanMiguel, has sufficient depth of water to admit vessels of smalldraught a few miles up from its mouth. 

In _Mindanao Island_ the Butuan River or Rio Agusan rises at a distanceof about 25 miles from the southern coast and empties itself on thenorthern coast, so that it nearly divides the island, and is navigablefor a few miles from the mouth. 

The Rio Grande de Mindanao rises in the centre of the island andempties itself on the west coast by two mouths, and is navigablefor some miles by light-draught steamers. It has a great number ofaffluents of little importance. 

The only river in _Negros Island_ of any appreciable extent is theDanao, which rises in the mountain range running down the centre ofthe island, and finds its outlet on the east coast. At the mouth itis about a quarter of a mile wide, but too shallow to permit largevessels to enter, although past the mouth it has sufficient depthfor any ship. I went up this river, six hours' journey in a boat, and saw some fine timber near its banks in many places. Here andthere it opens out very wide, the sides becoming mangrove swamps. 

The most important Lakes are:--In _Luzon Island_ the Bay Lake orLaguna de Bay, supplied by numberless small streams coming from themountainous district around it. Its greatest length from E. To W. Is25 miles, and its greatest breadth N. To S. 21 miles. In it thereis a mountainous island--Talim, --of no agricultural importance, andseveral islets. Its overflow forms the Pasig River, which emptiesitself into the Manila Bay. Each wet season--in the middle of theyear--the shores of this lake are flooded. These floods recede as thedry season approaches, but only partially so from the south coast, which is gradually being incorporated into the lake bed. 

Bombon Lake, in the centre of which is a volcano in constant activity, has a width E. To W. Of 11 miles, and its length from N. To S. Is14 miles. The origin of this lake is apparently volcanic. Accordingto tradition it was formed by the terrific upheaval of a mountain7, 000 or 8, 000 feet high, in the year 1700. It is not supplied by anystreams emptying themselves into it (further than two insignificantrivulets), and it is connected with the sea by the Pansipít River, which flows into the Gulf of Balayan at lat. 13° 52' N. 

Cagayán Lake, in the extreme N. E. Of the island, is about 7 mileslong by 5 miles broad. 

Lake Bató, 3 miles across each way, and Lake Buhi, 3 miles N. To S. And2 1/2 miles wide, situated in the eastern extremity of Luzon Island, are very shallow. 

In the centre of Luzon Island, in the large valley watered bythe above-mentioned Pampanga and Agno Rivers, are three lakes, respectively Canarem, Mangabol, and Candava; the last two beinglowland meres flooded and navigable by canoes in the rainy season only. 

In _Mindoro Island_ there is one lake called Naujan, 2 1/2 miles fromthe N. E. Coast. Its greatest width is 3 miles, with 4 miles in length. 

In _Mindanao Island_ there are the Lakes Maguindanao or Boayan, inthe centre of the island (20 miles E. To W. By 12 N. To S. ); Lanao, 18 miles distant from the north coast; Liguasan and Buluan towardsthe south, connected with the Rio Grande de Mindanao, and a group offour small lakes on the Agusuan River. 

The Lanao Lake has great historical associations with the strugglesbetween Christians and Moslems during the period of the Spanishdominion, and is to this day a centre of strife with the Americans. 

In some of the straits dividing the islands there are strong currents, rendering navigation of sailing vessels very difficult, notably inthe San Bernadino Straits separating the Islands of Luzon and Sámar, the roadstead of Yloilo between Panay and Guimarrás Islands, and thepassage between the south points of Cebú and Negros Islands. 

Most of the islets, if not indeed the whole Archipelago, are ofvolcanic origin. There are many volcanoes, two of them in frequentintermittent activity, viz. The Mayon, in the extreme east ofLuzon Island, and the Taal Volcano, in the centre of Bombon Lake, 34 miles due south of Manila. Also in Negros Island the CanlaúanVolcano--N. Lat. 10° 24'--is occasionally in visible eruption. In1886 a portion of its crater subsided, accompanied by a tremendousnoise and a slight ejection of lava. In the picturesque Island ofCamiguín a volcano mountain suddenly arose from the plain in 1872. 

The _Mayon Volcano_ is in the north of the Province of Albay;hence it is popularly known as the Albay Volcano. Around its basethere are several towns and villages, the chief being Albay, thecapital of the province; Cagsaua (called Darága) and Camáling onthe one side, and Malinao, Tobaco, etc. , on the side facing the eastcoast. The earliest eruption recorded is that of 1616, mentioned bySpilbergen. In 1769 there was a serious eruption, which destroyed thetowns of Cagsaua and Malinao, besides several villages, and devastatedproperty within a radius of 20 miles. Lava and ashes were thrown outincessantly during two months, and cataracts of water were formed. In1811 loud subterranean noises were heard proceeding from the volcano, which caused the inhabitants around to fear an early renewal of itsactivity, but their misfortune was postponed. On February 1, 1814, [6] it burst with terrible violence. Cagsaua, Badiao, and three othertowns were totally demolished. Stones and ashes were ejected in alldirections. The inhabitants fled to caves to shelter themselves. Sosudden was the occurrence, that many natives were overtaken by thevolcanic projectiles and a few by lava streams. In Cagsaua nearlyall property was lost. Father Aragoneses estimates that 2, 200 personswere killed, besides many being wounded. 

Another eruption, remarkable for its duration, took place in 1881-82, and again in the spring of 1887; but only a small quantity of asheswas thrown out, and did very little or no damage to the property inthe surrounding towns and villages. 

The eruption of July 9, 1888, severely damaged the towns of Libogand Legaspi; plantations were destroyed in the villages of Bigaá andBonco; several houses were fired, others had the roofs crushed in;a great many domestic animals were killed; fifteen natives lost theirlives, and the loss of live-stock (buffaloes and oxen) was estimatedat 500. The ejection of lava and ashes and stones from the cratercontinued for one night, which was illuminated by a column of fire. 

The last great eruption occurred in May, 1897. Showers of red-hotlava fell like rain in a radius of 20 miles from the crater. Inthe immediate environs about 400 persons were killed. In thevillage of Bacacay houses were entirely buried beneath the lava, ashes, and sand. The road to the port of Legaspi was covered out ofsight. In the important town of Tobaco there was total darkness andthe earth opened. Hemp plantations and a large number of cattle weredestroyed. In Libog over 100 inhabitants perished in the ruins. Thehamlets of San Roque, Misericordia, and Santo Niño, with over150 inhabitants, were completely covered with burning _débris_. Atnight-time the sight of the fire column, heaving up thousands of tonsof stones, accompanied by noises like the booming of cannon afar off, was indescribably grand, but it was the greatest public calamitywhich had befallen the province for some years past. 

The mountain is remarkable for the perfection of its conic form. Owingto the perpendicular walls of lava formed on the slopes all around, it would seem impossible to reach the crater. The elevation of thepeak has been computed at between 8, 200 and 8, 400 feet. I have beenaround the base on the E. And S. Sides, but the grandest view is tobe obtained from Cagsaua (Darága). On a clear night, when the moonis hidden, a stream of fire is distinctly seen to flow from the crest. 

_Taal Volcano_ is in the island of the Bombon Lake referred toabove. The journey by the ordinary route from the capital would beabout 60 miles. This volcano has been in an active state from timeimmemorial, and many eruptions have taken place with more or lesseffect. The first one of historical importance appears to have occurredin 1641; again in 1709 the crater vomited fire with a deafening noise;on September 21, 1716, it threw out burning stones and lava over thewhole island from which it rises, but so far no harm had befallenthe villagers in its vicinity. In 1731 from the waters of the lakethree tall columns of earth and sand arose in a few days, eventuallysubsiding into the form of an island about a mile in circumference. In1749 there was a famous outburst which dilacerated the coniform peakof the volcano, leaving the crater disclosed as it now is. Beingonly 850 feet high, it is remarkable as one of the lowest volcanoesin the world. 

The last and most desolating of all the eruptions of importanceoccurred in the year 1754, when the stones, lava, ashes, and wavesof the lake, caused by volcanic action, contributed to the utterdestruction of the towns of Taal, Tanaúan, Sala, and Lipa, andseriously damaged property in Balayán, 15 miles away, whilst cindersare said to have reached Manila, 34 miles distant in a straightline. One writer says in his MS. , [7] compiled 36 years after theoccurrence, that people in Manila dined with lighted candles at midday, and walked about the streets confounded and thunderstruck, clamouringfor confession during the eight days that the calamity was visible. Theauthor adds that the smell of the sulphur and fire lasted six monthsafter the event, and was followed by malignant fever, to which half theinhabitants of the province fell victims. Moreover, adds the writer, the lake waters threw up dead alligators and fish, including sharks. 

The best detailed account extant is that of the parish priest of Salaat the time of the event. [8] He says that about 11 o'clock at nighton August 11, 1749, he saw a strong light on the top of the VolcanoIsland, but did not take further notice. At 3 o'clock the next morninghe heard a gradually increasing noise like artillery firing, whichhe supposed would proceed from the guns of the galleon expected inManila from Mexico, saluting the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Cagsaysaywhilst passing. He only became anxious when the number of shots heheard far exceeded the royal salute, for he had already counted ahundred times, and still it continued. So he arose, and it occurredto him that there might be a naval engagement off the coast. He wassoon undeceived, for four old natives suddenly called out, "Father, let us flee!" and on his inquiry they informed him that the island hadburst, hence the noise. Daylight came and exposed to view an immensecolumn of smoke gushing from the summit of the volcano, and here andthere from its sides smaller streams rose like plumes. He was joyedat the spectacle, which interested him so profoundly that he did notheed the exhortations of the natives to escape from the grand butawful scene. It was a magnificent sight to watch mountains of sandhurled from the lake into the air in the form of erect pyramids, and then falling again like the stream from a fountain jet. Whilstcontemplating this imposing phenomenon with tranquil delight, astrong earthquake came and upset everything in the convent. Then hereflected that it might be time to go; pillars of sand ascended outof the water nearer to the shore of the town, and remained erect, until, by a second earthquake, they, with the trees on the islet, were violently thrown down and submerged in the lake. The earthopened out here and there as far as the shores of the Laguna de Bay, and the lands of Sala and Tanaúan shifted. Streams found new beds andtook other courses, whilst in several places trees were engulfed inthe fissures made in the soil. Houses, which one used to go up into, one now had to go down into, but the natives continued to inhabitthem without the least concern. The volcano, on this occasion, wasin activity for three weeks; the first three days ashes fell likerain. After this incident, the natives extracted sulphur from theopen crater, and continued to do so until the year 1754. 

In that year (1754), the same chronicler continues, between nine andten o'clock at night on May 15, the volcano ejected boiling lava, which ran down its sides in such quantities that only the watersof the lake saved the people on shore from being burnt. Towards thenorth, stones reached the shore and fell in a place called Bayoyongan, in the jurisdiction of Taal. Stones and fire incessantly came fromthe crater until June 2, when a volume of smoke arose which seemedto meet the skies. It was clearly seen from Bauan, which is on a lowlevel about four leagues (14 miles) from the lake. 

Matters continued so until July 10, when there fell a heavy showerof mud as black as ink. The wind changed its direction and a suburbof Sala, called Balili, was swamped with mud. This phenomenon wasaccompanied by a noise so great that the people of Batangas and Bauan, who that day had seen the galleon from Acapulco passing on her homevoyage, conjectured that she had saluted the Shrine of Our Lady ofCagsaysay on her way. The noise ceased, but fire still continued toissue from the crater until September 25. Stones fell all that night;and the people of Taal had to abandon their homes, for the roofs werefalling in with the weight upon them. The chronicler was at Taalat this date, and in the midst of the column of smoke a tempest ofthunder and lightning raged and continued without intermission untilDecember 4. 

The night of All Saints' day (Nov. 1) was a memorable one, for thequantity of falling fire-stones, sand, and ashes increased, graduallydiminishing again towards November 15. Then, on that night, aftervespers, great noises were heard. A long melancholy sound dinned inone's ears; volumes of black smoke rose; an infinite number of stonesfell, and great waves proceeded from the lake, beating the shores withappalling fury. This was followed by another great shower of stones, brought up amidst the black smoke, which lasted until 10 o'clock atnight. For a short while the devastation was suspended prior to thelast supreme effort. All looked half dead and much exhausted afterseven months of suffering in the way described. [9] It was resolvedto remove the image of Our Lady of Cagsaysay and put in its placethe second image of the Holy Virgin. 

On November 29, from seven o'clock in the evening, the volcano threwup more fire than all put together in the preceding seven months. Theburning column seemed to mingle with the clouds; the whole of theisland was one ignited mass. A wind blew. And as the priests and themayor (_Alcalde_) were just remarking that the fire might reach thetown, a mass of stones was thrown up with great violence; thunderclapsand subterranean noises were heard; everybody looked aghast, and nearlyall knelt to pray. Then the waters of the lake began to encroachupon the houses, and the inhabitants took to flight, the nativescarrying away whatever chattels they could. Cries and lamentationswere heard all around; mothers were looking for their children indismay; half-caste women of the Parian were calling for confession, some of them beseechingly falling on their knees in the middle ofthe streets. The panic was intense, and was in no way lessened bythe Chinese, who took to yelling in their own jargonic syllables. 

After the terrible night of November 29 they thought all was over, when again several columns of smoke appeared, and the priest went offto the Sanctuary of Cagsaysay, where the prior was. Taal was entirelyabandoned, the natives having gone in all directions away from thelake. On November 29 and 30 there was complete darkness around thelake vicinity, and when light reappeared a layer of cinders aboutfive inches thick was seen over the lands and houses, and it wasstill increasing. Total darkness returned, so that one could notdistinguish another's face, and all were more horror-stricken thanever. In Cagsaysay the natives climbed on to the housetops and threwdown the cinders, which were over-weighting the structures. On November30 smoke and strange sounds came with greater fury than anythingyet experienced, while lightning flashed in the dense obscurity. Itseemed as if the end of the world was arriving. When light returned, the destruction was horribly visible; the church roof was dangerouslycovered with ashes and earth, and the chronicler opines that its nothaving fallen in might be attributed to a miracle! Then there wasa day of comparative quietude, followed by a hurricane which lastedtwo days. All were in a state of melancholy, which was increased whenthey received the news that the whole of Taal had collapsed; amongstthe ruins being the Government House and Stores, the Prison, Statewarehouses and the Royal Rope Walk, besides the Church and Convent. 

The Gov. -General sent food and clothing in a vessel, which was nearlywrecked by storms, whilst the crew pumped and baled out continuallyto keep her afloat, until at length she broke up on the shoals atthe mouth of the Pansipit River. Another craft had her mast split bya flash of lightning, but reached port. 

With all this, some daft natives lingered about the site of the townof Taal till the last, and two men were sepulchred in the GovernmentHouse ruins. A woman left her house just before the roof fell inand was carried away by a flood, from which she escaped, and wasthen struck dead by a flash of lightning. A man who had escaped fromMussulman pirates, by whom he had been held in captivity for years, was killed during the eruption. He had settled in Taal, and was heldto be a perfect genius, for he could mend a clock!

The road from Taal to Balayan was impassable for a while on accountof the quantity of lava. Taal, once so important as a trading centre, was now gone, and Batangas, on the coast, became the future capitalof the province. 

The actual duration of this last eruption was 6 months and 17 days. 

In 1780 the natives again extracted sulphur, but in 1790 a writer atthat date [10] says that he was unable to reach the crater owing tothe depth of soft lava and ashes on the slopes. 

There is a tradition current amongst the natives that an Englishmansome years ago attempted to cut a tunnel from the base to the centreof the volcanic mountain, probably to extract some metallic productor sulphur. It is said that during the work the excavation partiallyfell in upon the Englishman, who perished there. The cave-like entranceis pointed out to travellers as the _Cueva del Inglés_. 

Referring to the volcano, Fray Gaspar de San Agustin in his History[11] remarks as follows:--"The volcano formerly emitted many largefire-stones which destroyed the cotton, sweet potato and otherplantations belonging to the natives of Taal on the slopes of the(volcano) mountain. Also it happened that if three persons arrivedon the volcanic island, one of them had infallibly to die therewithout being able to ascertain the cause of this circumstance. Thiswas related to Father Albuquerque, [12] who after a fervent deesisentreating compassion on the natives, went to the island, exorcisedthe evil spirits there and blessed the land. A religious procession wasmade, and Mass was celebrated with great humility. On the elevation ofthe Host, horrible sounds were heard, accompanied by groaning voicesand sad lamentations; two craters opened out, one with sulphur in itand the other with green water (sic), which is constantly boiling. Thecrater on the Lipa side is about a quarter of a league wide; the otheris smaller, and in time smoke began to ascend from this opening so thatthe natives, fearful of some new calamity, went to Father Bartholomew, who repeated the ceremonies already described. Mass was said a secondtime, so that since then the volcano has not thrown out any more fireor smoke. [13] However, whilst Fray Thomas Abresi was parish priestof Taal (about 1611), thunder and plaintive cries were again heard, therefore the priest had a cross, made of Anobing wood, borne to thetop of the volcano by more than 400 natives, with the result thatnot only the volcano ceased to do harm, but the island has regainedits original fertile condition. "

The Taal Volcano is reached with facility from the N. Side of theisland, the ascent on foot occupying about half an hour. Lookinginto the crater, which would be about 4, 500 feet wide from one borderto the other of the shell, one sees three distinct lakes of boilingliquid, the colours of which change from time to time. I have beenup to the crater four times; the last time the liquids in the lakeswere respectively of green, yellow, and chocolate colours. At thetime of my last visit there was also a lava chimney in the middle, from which arose a snow-white volume of smoke. 

The Philippine Islands have numberless creeks and bays formingnatural harbours, but navigation on the W. Coasts of Cebú, Negros andPalaúan Islands is dangerous for any but very light-draught vessels, the water being very shallow, whilst there are dangerous reefs allalong the W. Coast of Palaúan (Parágua) and between the south pointof this island and Balábac Island. 

The S. W. Monsoon brings rain to most of the islands, and the wetseason lasts nominally six months, --from about the end of April. Theother half of the year is the dry season. However, on those coastsdirectly facing the Pacific Ocean, the seasons are the reverse of this. 

The hottest season is from March to May inclusive, except on the coastswashed by the Pacific, where the greatest heat is felt in June, July, and August. The temperature throughout the year varies but slightly, the average heat in Luzon Island being about 81° 50' Fahr. In thehighlands of north Luzon, on an elevation above 4, 000 feet, the maximumtemperature is 78° Fahr. And the minimum 46° Fahr. Zamboanga, which isover 400 miles south of Manila, is cooler than the capital. The averagenumber of rainy days in Luzon during the years 1881 to 1883 was 203. 

Commencing July 11, 1904, three days of incessant rain in RizalProvince produced the greatest inundation of Manila suburbs withinliving memory. Human lives were lost; many cattle were washed away;barges in the river were wrenched from their moorings and dashedagainst the bridge piers; pirogues were used instead of vehicles inthe thoroughfares; considerable damage was done in the shops and manypersons had to wade through the flooded streets knee-deep in water. 

The climate is a continual summer, which maintains a rich verdurethroughout the year; and during nine months of the twelve an alternateheat and moisture stimulates the soil to the spontaneous productionof every form of vegetable life. The country generally is healthy. 

The whole of the Archipelago, as far south as 10° lat. , is affectedby the monsoons, and periodically disturbed by terrible hurricanes, which cause great devastation to the crops and other property. Thelast destructive hurricane took place in September, 1905. 

Earthquakes are also very frequent, the last of great importance havingoccurred in 1863, 1880, 1892, 1894, and 1897. In 1897 a tremendoustidal wave affected the Island of Leyte, causing great destruction oflife and property. A portion of Taclóban, the capital of the island, was swept away, rendering it necessary to extend the town in anotherdirection. 

In the wet season the rivers swell considerably, and often overflowtheir banks; whilst the mountain torrents carry away bridges, cattle, tree trunks, etc. , with terrific force, rendering travelling in someparts of the interior dangerous and difficult. In the dry season longdroughts occasionally occur (about once in three years), to the greatdetriment of the crops and live-stock. 

The southern boundary of the Archipelago is formed by a chain of some140 islands, stretching from the large island of Mindanao as far asBorneo, and constitutes the Sulu Archipelago, the Sultanate of whichwas under the protection of Spain (_vide_ Chap. Xxix. ). It is nowbeing absorbed, under American rule, in the rest of the Archipelago, under the denomination of Moro Province (q. V. ). 

CHAPTER II

Discovery of the Archipelago

The discoveries of Christopher Columbus in 1492, the adventures andconquests of Hernan Cortés, Blasco Nuñez de Balboa and others inthe South Atlantic, had awakened an ardent desire amongst those ofenterprizing spirit to seek beyond those regions which had hithertobeen traversed. It is true the Pacific Ocean had been seen by Balboa, who crossed the Isthmus of Panamá, but how to arrive there with hisships was as yet a mystery. 

On April 10, 1495, the Spanish Government published a generalconcession to all who wished to search for unknown lands. This was adirect attack upon the privileges of Columbus at the instigation ofFonseca, Bishop of Búrgos, who had the control of the Indian affairsof the realm. Rich merchants of Cadiz and Seville, whose imaginationwas inflamed by the reports of the abundance of pearls and gold on theAmerican coast, fitted out ships to be manned by the roughest classof gold-hunters: so great were the abuses of this common licence thatit was withdrawn by Royal Decree of June 2, 1497. 

It was the age of chivalry, and the restless cavalier who had wonhis spurs in Europe lent a listening ear to the accounts of romanticglory and wealth attained across the seas. That an immense ocean washedthe western shores of the great American continent was an establishedfact. That there was a passage connecting the great Southern sea--theAtlantic--with that vast ocean was an accepted hypothesis. Many hadsought the passage in vain; the honour of its discovery was reservedfor Hernando de Maghallanes (Portuguese, Fernão da Magalhães). 

This celebrated man was a Portuguese noble who had received the mostcomplete education in the palace of King John II. Having studiedmathematics and navigation, at an early age he joined the Portuguesefleet which left for India in 1505 under the command of Almeida. Hewas present at the siege of Malacca under the famous Albuquerque, andaccompanied another expedition to the rich Moluccas, or Spice Islands, when the Islands of Banda, Tidor, and Ternate were discovered. Itwas here he obtained the information which led him to contemplatethe voyage which he subsequently realized. 

On his return to Portugal he searched the Crown Archives to seeif the Moluccas were situated within the demarcation accorded toSpain. [14] In the meantime he repaired to the wars in Africa, wherehe was wounded in the knee, with the result that he became permanentlylame. He consequently retired to Portugal, and his companions in arms, jealous of his prowess, took advantage of his affliction to assail himwith vile imputations. The King Emmanuel encouraged the complaints, and accused him of feigning a malady of which he was completelycured. Wounded to the quick by such an assertion, and convinced ofhaving lost the royal favour, Maghallanes renounced for ever, by aformal and public instrument, his duties and rights as a Portuguesesubject, and henceforth became a naturalized Spaniard. He thenpresented himself at the Spanish Court, at that time in Valladolid, where he was well received by the King Charles I. , the Bishop ofBúrgos, Juan Rodriguez Fonseca, Minister of Indian Affairs, and bythe King's chancellor. They listened attentively to his narration, and he had the good fortune to secure the personal protection of HisMajesty, himself a well-tried warrior, experienced in adventure. 

The Portuguese Ambassador, Alvaro de Acosta, incensed at the successof his late countryman, and fearing that the project under discussionwould lead to the conquest of the Spice Islands by the rival kingdom, made every effort to influence the Court against him. At the sametime he ineffectually urged Maghallanes to return to Lisbon, allegingthat his resolution to abandon Portuguese citizenship required thesovereign sanction. Others even meditated his assassination to savethe interests of the King of Portugal. This powerful opposition onlyserved to delay the expedition, for finally the King of Portugalwas satisfied that his Spanish rival had no intention to authorizea violation of the Convention of Demarcation. 

Between King Charles and Maghallanes a contract was signed in Saragossaby virtue of which the latter pledged himself to seek the discoveryof rich spice islands within the limits of the Spanish Empire. Ifhe should not have succeeded in the venture after ten years fromthe date of sailing he would thenceforth be permitted to navigateand trade without further royal assent, reserving one-twentieth ofhis net gains for the Crown. The King accorded to him the titleof Cavalier and invested him with the habit of St. James and thehereditary government in male succession of all the islands he mightannex. The Crown of Castile reserved to itself the supreme authorityover such government. If Maghallanes discovered so many as six islands, he was to embark merchandise in the King's own ships to the value ofone thousand ducats as royal dues. If the islands numbered only two, he would pay to the Crown one-fifteenth of the net profits. The King, however, was to receive one-fifth part of the total cargo sent in the_first_ return expedition. The King would defray the expense of fittingout and arming five ships of from 60 to 130 tons with a total crewof 234 men; he would also appoint captains and officials of the RoyalTreasury to represent the State interests in the division of the spoil. 

Orders to fulfil the contract were issued to the Crown officers in theport of Seville, and the expedition was slowly prepared, consistingof the following vessels, viz. : The commodore ship _La Trinidad_, under the immediate command of Maghallanes; the _San Antonio_, Captain Juan de Cartagena; the _Victoria_, Captain Luis de Mendoza;the _Santiago_, Captain Juan Rodriguez Serrano; and the _Concepcion_, Captain Gaspar de Quesada. 

The little fleet had not yet sailed when dissensions arose. 

Maghallanes wished to carry his own ensign, whilst Doctor SanchoMatienza insisted that it should be the Royal Standard. 

Another, named Talero, disputed the question of who should be thestandard-bearer. The King himself had to settle these quarrels by hisown arbitrary authority. Talero was disembarked and the Royal Standardwas formally presented to Maghallanes by injunction of the King inthe Church of Santa Maria de la Victoria de la Triana, in Seville, where he and his companions swore to observe the usages and customsof Castile, and to remain faithful and loyal to His Catholic Majesty. 

On August 10, 1519, the expedition left the port of San Lúcar deBarrameda in the direction of the Canary Islands. 

On December 13 they arrived safely at Rio Janeiro. 

Following the coast in search of the longed-for passage to thePacific Ocean, they entered the Solis River--so called because itsdiscoverer, João de Solis, a Portuguese, was murdered there. Its namewas afterwards changed to that of Rio de la Plata (the Silver River). 

Continuing their course, the intense cold determined Maghallanes towinter in the next large river, known then as San Julian. 

Tumults arose; some wished to return home; others harboured a desireto separate from the fleet, but Maghallanes had sufficient tactto persuade the crews to remain with him, reminding them of theshame which would befall them if they returned only to relate theirfailure. He added that, so far as he was concerned, nothing but deathwould deter him from executing the royal commission. 

As to the rebellious captains, Juan de Cartagena was already putin irons and sentenced to be cast ashore with provisions, and adisaffected French priest for a companion. The sentence was carriedout later on. Then Maghallanes sent a boat to each of three of theships to inquire of the captains whom they served. The reply from allwas that they were for the King and themselves. Thereupon 30 men weresent to the _Victoria_ with a letter to Mendoza, and whilst he wasreading it, they rushed on board and stabbed him to death. Quesadathen brought his ship alongside of the _Trinidad_, and, with sword andshield in hand, called in vain upon his men to attack. Maghallanes, with great promptitude, gave orders to board Quesada's vessel. Thenext day Quesada was executed. After these vigorous but justifiablemeasures, obedience was ensured. 

Still bearing southwards within sight of the coast, on October 28, 1520, the expedition reached and entered the seaway thenceforth knownas the Magellan Straits, dividing the Island of Tierra del Fuego fromthe mainland of Patagonia. [15]

On the way one ship had become a total wreck, and now the _San Antonio_deserted the expedition; her captain having been wounded and madeprisoner by his mutinous officers, she was sailed in the direction ofNew Guinea. The three remaining vessels waited for the _San Antonio_several days, and then passed through the Straits. Great was therejoicing of all when, on November 26, 1520, they found themselveson the Pacific Ocean! It was a memorable day. All doubt was now atan end as they cheerfully navigated across that broad expanse of sea. 

On March 16, 1521, the Ladrone Islands were reached. There the shipswere so crowded with natives that they were obliged to be expelled byforce. They stole one of the ship's boats, and ninety men were sent onshore to recover it. After a bloody combat the boat was regained, andthe fleet continued its course westward until it hove to off an islet, then called Jomonjol, now known as Malhou, situated in the channelbetween Sámar and Dinagat Islands (_vide_ map). Then coasting alongthe north of the Island of Mindanao, they arrived at the mouth of theButuan River, where they were supplied with provisions by the chief. Itwas Easter week, and on this shore the first Mass was celebrated inthe Philippines. The natives showed great friendliness, in returnfor which Maghallanes took formal possession of their territory inthe name of Charles I. The chieftain himself volunteered to pilotthe ships to a fertile island, the kingdom of a relation of his, and, passing between the Islands of Bojol and Leyte, the expedition arrivedon April 7 at Cebú, where, on receiving the news, over two thousandmen appeared on the beach in battle array with lances and shields. 

The Butuan chief went on shore and explained that the expeditionbrought people of peace who sought provisions. The King agreed toa treaty, and proposed that it should be ratified according to thenative formula--drawing blood from the breast of each party, theone drinking that of the other. This form of bond was called by theSpaniards the _Pacto de sangre_, or the Blood compact (q. V. ). 

Maghallanes accepted the conditions, and a hut was built on shore inwhich to say Mass. Then he disembarked with his followers, and theKing, Queen, and Prince came to satisfy their natural curiosity. Theyappeared to take great interest in the Christian religious rites andreceived baptism, although it would be venturesome to suppose theyunderstood their meaning, as subsequent events proved. The princesand headmen of the district followed their example, and swore fealtyand obedience to the King of Spain. 

Maghallanes espoused the cause of his new allies, who were at war withthe tribes on the opposite coast, and on April 25, 1521, he passedover to Magtan Island. In the affray he was mortally wounded by anarrow, and thus ended his brief but lustrous career, which fills oneof the most brilliant pages in Spanish annals. 

Maghallanes called the group of islands, so far discovered, the SaintLazarus Archipelago. In Spain they were usually referred to as theIslas del Poniente, and in Portugal as the Islas del Oriente. 

On the left bank of the Pasig River, facing the City of Manila, standsa monument to Maghallanes' memory. Another has been erected on thespot in Magtan Island, where he is supposed to have been slain onApril 27, 1521. Also in the city of Cebú, near the beach, there isan obelisk to commemorate these heroic events. 

It was perhaps well for Maghallanes to have ended his days out ofreach of his royal master. Had he returned to Spain he would probablyhave met a fate similar to that which befell Columbus after all hisglories. The _San Antonio_, which, as already mentioned, deserted thefleet at the Magellan Straits, continued her voyage from New Guinea toSpain, arriving at San Lúcar de Barrameda in March, 1521. The captain, Alvaro Mesquita, was landed as a prisoner, accused of having secondedMaghallanes in repressing insubordination. To Maghallanes were ascribedthe worst cruelties and infraction of the royal instructions. Accusedand accusers were alike cast into prison, and the King, unable tolay hands on the deceased Maghallanes, sought this hero's wife andchildren. These innocent victims of royal vengeance were at oncearrested and conveyed to Búrgos, where the Court happened to be, whilst the _San Antonio_ was placed under embargo. 

On the decease of Maghallanes, the supreme command of the expedition inCebú Island was assumed by Duarte de Barbosa, who, with twenty-six ofhis followers, was slain at a banquet to which they had been invitedby Hamabar, the King of the island. Juan Serrano had so ingratiatedhimself with the natives during the sojourn on shore that his lifewas spared for a while. Stripped of his raiment and armour, he wasconducted to the beach, where the natives demanded a ransom for hisperson of two cannons from the ships' artillery. Those on board sawwhat was passing and understood the request, but they were loathto endanger the lives of all for the sake of one--"_Melius est utpereat unus quam ut pereat communitas_" (Saint Augustine)--so theyraised anchors and sailed out of the port, leaving Serrano to meethis terrible fate. 

Due to sickness, murder during the revolts, and the slaughter in Cebú, the exploring party, now reduced to 100 souls all told, was deemedinsufficient to conveniently manage three vessels. It was resolvedtherefore to burn the most dilapidated one--the _Concepcion_. At ageneral council, Juan Caraballo was chosen Commander-in-Chief ofthe expedition, with Gonzalo Gomez de Espinosa as Captain of the_Victoria_. The royal instructions were read, and it was decidedto go to the Island of Borneo, already known to the Portugueseand marked on their charts. On the way they provisioned the shipsoff the coast of Palaúan Island (Parágua), and thence navigated towithin ten miles of the capital of Borneo (probably Brunei). Herethey fell in with a number of native canoes, in one of which was theKing's secretary. There was a great noise with the sound of drumsand trumpets, and the ships saluted the strangers with their guns. 

The natives came on board, embraced the Spaniards as if they were oldfriends, and asked them who they were and what they came for. Theyreplied that they were vassals of the King of Spain and wished tobarter goods. Presents were exchanged, and several of the Spaniardswent ashore. They were met on the way by over two thousand armedmen, and safely escorted to the King's quarters. After satisfyinghis Majesty's numerous inquiries, Captain Espinosa was permitted toreturn with his companions. He reported to Caraballo all he had seen, and in a council it was agreed that the town was too large and thearmed men too numerous to warrant the safety of a longer stay. However, being in need of certain commodities, five men were despatched to thetown. As days passed by, their prolonged absence caused suspicionand anxiety, so the Spaniards took in reprisal the son of the Kingof Luzon Island, who had arrived there to trade, accompanied by 100men and five women in a large prahu. The prince made a solemn vow tosee that the five Spaniards returned, and left two of his women andeight chiefs as hostages. Then Caraballo sent a message to the Kingof Borneo, intimating that if his people were not liberated he wouldseize all the junks and merchandise he might fall in with and killtheir crews. Thereupon two of the retained Spaniards were set free, but, in spite of the seizure of craft laden with silk and cotton, thethree men remaining had to be abandoned, and the expedition set sail. 

For reasons not very clear, Caraballo was deprived of the supremecommand and Espinosa was appointed in his place, whilst Juan SebastianElcano was elected Captain of the _Victoria_. With a native pilot, captured from a junk which they met on the way, the ships shapedtheir course towards the Moluccas Islands, and on November 8, 1521, they arrived at the Island of Tidor. Thus the essential object ofthe expedition was gained--the discovery of a western route to theSpice Islands. 

Years previous the Portuguese had opened up trade and still continuedto traffic with these islands, which were rich in nutmegs, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, sage, pepper, etc. It is said that Saint FrancisXavier had propagated his views amongst these islanders, some of whomprofessed the Christian faith. 

The King, richly attired, went out with his suite to receive andwelcome the Spaniards. He was anxious to barter with them, andwhen the _Trinidad_ was consequently laden with valuable spices itwas discovered that she had sprung a leak. Her cargo was thereforetransferred to the sister ship, whilst the _Trinidad_ remained inTidor for repairs, and Elcano was deputed to make the voyage homewith the _Victoria_, taking the western route of the Portuguese inviolation of the Treaty of Tordesillas. Elcano's crew consisted offifty-three Europeans and a dozen natives of Tidor. The _Victoria_started for Spain at the beginning of the year 1522; passed throughthe Sunda Straits at great risk of being seized by the Portuguese;experienced violent storms in the Mozambique Channel, and was almostwrecked rounding the Cape of Good Hope. A few of the crew died--theironly food was a scanty ration of rice--and in their extreme distressthey put in at Santiago Island, 350 miles W. Of Cape Verd, to procureprovisions and beg assistance from the Portuguese Governor. It waslike jumping into the lion's mouth. The Governor imprisoned those whowent to him, in defence of his Sovereign's treaty rights; he seizedthe boat which brought them ashore; inquired of them where they hadobtained the cargo; and projected the capture of the _Victoria_. 

Captain Elcano was not slow to comprehend the situation; he raisedanchor and cleared out of the harbour, and, as it had happened severaltimes before, those who had the misfortune to be sent ashore wereabandoned by their countrymen. 

The _Victoria_ made the port of San Lúcar de Barrameda on September6, 1522, so that in a little over three years Juan Sebastian Elcanohad performed the most notable voyage hitherto on record--it was thefirst yet accomplished round the world. It must, however, be borne inmind that the discovery of the way to the Moluccas, going westward, was due to Maghallanes--of Portuguese birth--and that the route thenceto Europe, continuing westward, had long before been determined bythe Portuguese traders, whose charts Elcano used. 

When Elcano and his 17 companions disembarked, their appearance wasmost pitiable--mere skeletons of men, weather-beaten and famished. TheCity of Seville received them with acclamation; but their firstact was to walk barefooted, in procession, holding lighted candlesin their hands, to the church to give thanks to the Almighty fortheir safe deliverance from the hundred dangers which they hadencountered. Clothes, money, and all necessaries were suppliedto them by royal bounty, whilst Elcano and the most intelligentof his companions were cited to appear at Court to narrate theiradventures. His Majesty received them with marked deference. Elcano wasrewarded with a life pension of 500 ducats (worth at that date about£112 10s. ), and as a lasting remembrance of his unprecedented feat, his royal master knighted him and conceded to him the right of usingon his escutcheon a globe bearing the motto, "_Primus circundedit me_. "

Two of Elcano's officers, Miguel de Rodas and Francisco Alva, wereeach awarded a life pension of 50, 000 maravedis (worth at that timeabout 14 guineas), whilst the King ordered one-fourth of that fifthpart of the cargo, which by contract with Maghallanes belonged to theState Treasury, to be distributed amongst the crew, including thoseimprisoned in Santiago Island. 

The cargo of the _Victoria_ consisted of twenty-six and a half tonsof cloves, a quantity of cinnamon, sandal wood, nutmegs, etc. Amongstthe Tidor Islanders who were presented to the King, one of them wasnot allowed to return to his native home, because he had carefullyinquired the value of the spices in the Spanish bazaars. 

Meanwhile the _Trinidad_ was repaired in Tidor and on her way toPanamá, when continued tempests and the horrible sufferings of thecrew determined them to retrace their course to the Moluccas. In thisinterval Portuguese ships had arrived there, and a fort was beingconstructed to defend Portuguese interests against the Spaniards, whom they regarded as interlopers. The _Trinidad_ was seized, andthe Captain Espinosa with the survivors of his crew were granted apassage to Lisbon, which place they reached five years after theyhad set out with Maghallanes. 

The enthusiasm of King Charles was equal to the importance of thediscoveries which gave renown to his subjects and added glory to hisCrown. Notwithstanding a protracted controversy with the PortugueseCourt, which claimed the exclusive right of trading with the SpiceIslands, he ordered another squadron of six ships to be fittedout for a voyage to the Moluccas. The supreme command was confidedto Garcia Yofre de Loaisa, Knight of Saint John, whilst SebastianElcano was appointed captain of one of the vessels. After passingthrough the Magellan Straits, the Commander Loaisa succumbed to thefatigues and privations of the stormy voyage. Elcano succeeded him, but only for four days, when he too expired. The expedition, however, arrived safely at the Moluccas Islands, where they found the Portuguesein full possession and strongly established, but the long series ofcombats, struggles and altercations which ensued between the rivalPowers, in which Captain Andrés de Urdaneta prominently figured, left no decisive advantage to either nation. 

But the King was in no way disheartened. A third expedition--the lastunder his auspices--was organized and despatched from the PacificCoast of Mexico by the Viceroy, by royal mandate. It was composed oftwo ships, two transports and one galley, well manned and armed, chosenfrom the fleet of Pedro Alvarado, the late Governor of Guatemala. Underthe leadership of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos it sailed on November 1, 1542; discovered many small islands in the Pacific; lost the galley onthe way, and anchored off an island about 20 miles in circumferencewhich was named Antonia. They found its inhabitants very hostile. Afight ensued, but the natives finally fled, leaving several Spaniardswounded, of whom six died. Villalobos then announced his intentionof remaining here some time, and ordered his men to plant maize. Atfirst they demurred, saying that they had come to fight, not to tillland, but at length necessity urged them to obedience, and a smallbut insufficient crop was reaped in due season. Hard pressed forfood, they lived principally on cats, rats, lizards, snakes, dogs, roots and wild fruit, and several died of disease. In this plight aship was sent to Mindanao Island, commanded by Bernado de la Torre, to seek provisions. The voyage was fruitless. The party was opposedby the inhabitants, who fortified themselves, but were dislodgedand slain. Then a vessel was commissioned to Mexico with news and tosolicit reinforcements. On the way, Volcano Island (of the LadroneIslands group) was discovered on August 6, 1543. A most importantevent followed. The island, now known as Sámar, was called the _IslaPhilipina_, and a galiot was built and despatched to the group (itis doubtful which), named by this expedition the _Philippine Islands_in honour of Philip, Prince of Asturias, the son of King Charles I. , heir apparent to the throne of Castile, to which he ascended in 1555under the title of Philip II. On the abdication of his father. 

The craft returned from the Philippine Islands laden with abundance ofprovisions, with which the ships were enabled to continue the voyage. 

By the royal instructions, Ruy Lopez de Villalobos was strictlyenjoined not to touch at the Moluccas Islands, peace having beenconcluded with Portugal. Heavy gales forced him nevertheless to takerefuge at Gilolo. The Portuguese, suspicious of his intentions inview of the treaty, arrayed their forces against his, inciting theKing of the island also to discard all Spanish overtures and refuseassistance to Villalobos. The discord and contentions between thePortuguese and Spaniards were increasing; nothing was being gainedby either party. Villalobos personally was sorely disheartenedin the struggle, fearing all the while that his opposition to thePortuguese in contravention of the royal instructions would onlyexcite the King's displeasure and lead to his own downfall. Hencehe decided to capitulate with his rival and accepted a safe conductfor himself and party to Europe in Portuguese ships. They arrived atAmboina Island, where Villalobos, already crushed by grief, succumbedto disease. The survivors of the expedition, amongst whom were severalpriests, continued the journey home via Cochin China, Malacca and Goa, where they embarked for Lisbon, arriving there in 1549. 

In 1558 King Charles was no more, but the memory of his ambitionoutlived him. His son Philip, equally emulous and unscrupulous, was too narrow-minded and subtly cautious to initiate an expensiveenterprise encompassed by so many hazards--as materially unproductiveas it was devoid of immediate political importance. Indeed the basisof the first expedition was merely to discover a Western route tothe rich Spice Islands, already known to exist; the second went thereto attempt to establish Spanish empire; and the third to search for, and annex to, the Spanish Crown, lands as wealthy as those claimed by, and now yielded to, the Portuguese. 

But the value of the Philippine Islands, of which the possession wasbut recent and nominal, was thus far a matter of doubt. 

One of the most brave and intrepid captains of the Loaisaexpedition--Andrés de Urdaneta--returned to Spain in 1536. In formeryears he had fought under King Charles I. , in his wars in Italy, when the study of navigation served him as a favourite pastime. Sincehis return from the Moluccas his constant attention was given to theproject of a new expedition to the Far West, for which he unremittinglysolicited the royal sanction and assistance. But the King had grownold and weary of the world, and whilst he did not openly discourageUrdaneta's pretensions he gave him no effective aid. At length, in 1553, two years before Charles abdicated, Urdaneta, convinced ofthe futility of his importunity at the Spanish Court, and equallyunsuccessful with his scheme in other quarters, retired to Mexico, where he took the habit of an Augustine monk. Ten years afterwardsKing Philip, inspired by the religious sentiment which pervaded hiswhole policy, urged his Viceroy in Mexico to fit out an expeditionto conquer and christianize the Philippine Islands. Urdaneta, now apriest, was not overlooked. Accompanied by five priests of his Order, he was entrusted with the spiritual care of the races to be subduedby an expedition composed of four ships and one frigate well armed, carrying 400 soldiers and sailors, commanded by a Basque navigator, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. This remarkable man was destined to acquirethe fame of having established Spanish dominion in these Islands. Hewas of noble birth and a native of the Province of Guipúzcoa inSpain. Having settled in the City of Mexico, of which place he waselected Mayor, he there practised as a notary. Of undoubted piety, he enjoyed reputation for his justice and loyalty; hence he wasappointed General of the forces equipped for the voyage. 

The favourite desire to possess the valuable Spice Islands stilllurked in the minds of many Spaniards. Amongst them was Urdaneta, wholaboured in vain to persuade the Viceroy of the superior advantagesto be gained by annexing New Guinea instead of the Philippines, whencethe conquest of the Moluccas would be but a facile task. However, theViceroy was inexorable and resolved to fulfil the royal instructionsto the letter, so the expedition set sail from the Mexican port ofNavidad for the Philippine Islands on November 21, 1564. 

The Ladrone Islands were passed on January 9, 1565, and on the 13thof the following month the Philippines were sighted. A call forprovisions was made at several small islands, including Camiguín, whence the expedition sailed to Bojol Island. A boat despatched tothe port of Butuan returned in a fortnight with the news that therewas much gold, wax, and cinnamon in that district. A small vessel wasalso sent to Cebú, and on its return reported that the natives showedhostility, having decapitated one of the crew whilst he was bathing. 

Nevertheless, General Legaspi resolved to put in at Cebú, which wasa safe harbour; and on the way there the ships anchored off LimasanaIsland (to the south of Leyte). Thence, running south-west, the portof Dapítan (Mindanao Is. ) was reached. 

Prince Pagbuaya, who ruled there, was astonished at the sightof such formidable ships, and commissioned one of his subjects, specially chosen for his boldness, to take note of their movements, and report to him. His account was uncommonly interesting. He relatedthat enormous men with long, pointed noses, dressed in fine robes, ate stones (hard biscuits), drank fire, and blew smoke out of theirmouths and through their nostrils. Their power was such that theycommanded thunder and lightning (discharge of artillery), and thatat meal times they sat down at a clothed table. From their loftyport, their bearded faces, and rich attire, they might have beenthe very gods manifesting themselves to the natives; so the Princethought it wise to accept the friendly overtures of such marvellousstrangers. Besides obtaining ample provisions in barter for Europeanwares, Legaspi procured from this chieftain much useful informationrespecting the condition of Cebú. He learnt that it was esteemed apowerful kingdom, of which the magnificence was much vaunted amongstthe neighbouring states; that the roadstead was one of great safety, and the most favourably situated amongst the islands of the paintedfaces. [16]

The General resolved, therefore, to filch it from its native kingand annex it to the Crown of Castile. 

He landed in Cebú on April 27, 1565, and negotiations were enteredinto with the natives of that island. Remembering, by tradition, the pretensions of the Maghallanes' party, they naturally opposedthis renewed menace to their independence. The Spaniards occupiedthe town by force and sacked it, but for months were so harassed bythe surrounding tribes that a council was convened to discuss theprudence of continuing the occupation. The General decided to remain;little by little the natives yielded to the new condition of things, and thus the first step towards the final conquest was achieved. Thenatives were declared Spanish subjects, and hopeful with the successthus far attained, Legaspi determined to send despatches to the Kingby the priest Andrés de Urdaneta, who safely arrived at Navidad onOctober 3, 1565, and proceeded thence to Spain. In a letter writtenby Legaspi in 1567 he alluded, for the first time, to the wholearchipelago as the Islas Filipinas. 

The pacification of Cebú and the adjacent islands was steadily andsuccessfully pursued by Legaspi; the confidence of the natives wasassured, and their dethroned King Tupas accepted Christian baptism, whilst his daughter married a Spaniard. 

In the midst of the invaders' felicity the Portuguese arrived todispute the possession, but they were compelled to retire. A fortresswas constructed and plots of land were marked out for the buildingof the Spanish settlers' residences; and finally, in 1570, Cebú wasdeclared a city, after Legaspi had received from his royal masterthe title of Gov. -General of all the lands which he might be ableto conquer. 

In May, 1570, Captain Juan Salcedo, Legaspi's grandson, was despatchedto the Island of Luzon to reconnoitre the territory and bring itunder Spanish dominion. 

The history of these early times is very confused, and there aremany contradictions in the authors of the Philippine chronicles, none of which seem to have been written contemporaneously with thefirst events. It appears, however, that Martin de Goiti and a fewsoldiers accompanied Salcedo to the north. They were well receivedby the native chiefs or petty kings Lacandola, Rajah of Tondo (knownas Rajah Matandá, which means in native dialect the aged Rajah), and his nephew the young Rajah Soliman of Manila. 

The sight of a body of European troops armed as was the custom inthe 16th century, must have profoundly impressed and overawed thesechieftains, otherwise it seems almost incredible that they shouldhave consented, without protest, or attempt at resistance, to (forever) give up their territory, yield their independence, pay tribute, [17] and become the tools of invading foreigners for the conquest oftheir own race without recompense whatsoever. 

A treaty of peace was signed and ratified by an exchange of drops ofblood between the parties thereto. Soliman, however, soon repented ofhis poltroonery, and roused the war-cry among some of his tribes. Tosave his capital (then called Maynila) falling into the hands of theinvaders he set fire to it. Lacandola remained passively watching theissue. Soliman was completely routed by Salcedo, and pardoned on hisagain swearing fealty to the King of Spain. Goiti remained in thevicinity of Manila with his troops, whilst Salcedo fought his wayto the Bombon Lake (Taal) district. The present Batangas Provincewas subdued by him and included in the jurisdiction of MindoroIsland. During the campaign Salcedo was severely wounded by an arrowand returned to Manila. 

Legaspi was in the Island of Fanay when Salcedo (some writers sayGoiti) arrived to advise him of what had occurred in Luzon. They atonce proceeded together to Cavite, where Lacandola visited Legaspion board, and, prostrating himself, averred his submission. ThenLegaspi continued his journey to Manila, and was received therewith acclamation. He took formal possession of the surroundingterritory, declared Manila to be the capital of the Archipelago, and proclaimed the sovereignty of the King of Spain over the wholegroup of islands. Gaspar de San Agustin, writing of this period, says:"He (Legaspi) ordered them (the natives) to finish the building ofthe fort in construction at the mouth of the river (Pasig) so thatHis Majesty's artillery might be mounted therein for the defence ofthe fort and the town. Also he ordered them to build a large houseinside the battlement walls for Legaspi's own residence--anotherlarge house and church for the priests, etc. . .. Besides these twolarge houses, he told them to erect a hundred and fifty dwellings ofmoderate size for the remainder of the Spaniards to live in. All thisthey promptly promised to do, but they did not obey, for the Spaniardswere themselves obliged to terminate the work of the fortifications. "

The City Council of Manila was constituted on June 24, 1571. On August20, 1572, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi succumbed to the fatigues of hisarduous life, leaving behind him a name which will always hold aprominent place in Spanish colonial history. He was buried in Manilain the Augustine Chapel of San Fausto, where hung the Royal Standardand the hero's armorial bearings until the British troops occupiedthe city in 1763. A street in Manila and others in provincial townsbear his name. Near the Luneta Esplanade, Manila, there is a verybeautiful Legaspi (and Urdaneta) monument, erected shortly after theRebellion of 1896. 

 "Death makes no conquest of this conqueror, For now he lives in fame, though not in life. "

 _Richard III. _, Act 3, Sc. 1. 

In the meantime Salcedo continued his task of subjecting the tribes inthe interior. The natives of Taytay and Cainta, in the Spanish militarydistrict of Mórong, (now Rizal Province) submitted to him on August15, 1571. He returned to the Laguna de Bay to pacify the villagers, and penetrated as far as Camarines Norte to explore the BicolRiver. Bolinao and the provinces of Pangasinán and Ilocos yielded tohis prowess, and in this last province he had well established himselfwhen the defence of the capital obliged him to return to Manila. 

At the same time Martin de Goiti was actively employed in overrunningthe Pampanga territory with the double object of procuring supplies forthe Manila camp and coercing the inhabitants on his way to acknowledgetheir new liege lord. It is recorded that in this expedition Goitiwas joined by the Rajahs of Tondo and Manila. Yet Lacandola appears tohave been regarded more as a servant of the Spaniards _nolens volens_than as a free ally, for, because he absented himself from Goiti's camp"without licence from the _Maestre de Campo_, " he was suspected bysome writers of having favoured opposition to the Spaniards' incursionsin the Marshes of Hagonoy (Pampanga coast, N. Boundary of Manila Bay). 

The district which constituted the ancient province of Taaly Balayan, subsequently denominated Province of Batangas, wasformerly governed by a number of caciques, the most notable ofwhom were Gatpagil and Gatjinlintan. They were usually at warwith their neighbours. Gatjinlintan, the cacique of the BatangasRiver (Pansipít?) at the time of the conquest, was famous for hisvalour. Gatsungayan, who ruled on the other side of the river, was celebrated as a hunter of deer and wild boar. These men werehalf-castes of Borneo and Aeta extraction, who formed a distinctrace called by the natives Daghagang. None of them would submit tothe King of Spain or become Christians, hence their descendants wereoffered no privileges. 

The Aetas collected tribute. Gabriel Montoya, a Spanish soldier ofLegaspi's legion, partially conquered those races, and supportedthe mission of an Austin friar amongst them. This was probably FrayDiego Móxica, who undertook the mission of Batangas on its separationfrom the local administration of Mindoro Island in 1581. The firstGovernor of San Pablo or Sampaloc in the name of the King of Spain wasappointed by the soldier Montoya, and was called Bartolomé Maghayin;the second was Cristóbal Somangalit and the third was Bernabé Pindan, all of whom had adopted Christianity. Bay, on the borders of the lakeof that name, and four leagues from San Pablo, was originally ruledby the cacique Agustin Maglansangan. Calilayan, now called Tayabas, was founded by the woman Ladía, and subsequently administered by anative _Alcalde_, who gave such satisfaction that he was three timesappointed the King's lieutenant and baptized as Francisco de San Juan. 

San Pablo, the centre of a once independent district, is situated atthe foot of the mountains of San Cristóbal and Banájao, from whichover fourteen streams of fresh water flow through the villages. 

The system established by Juan Salcedo was to let the conquered landsbe governed by the native caciques and their male successors so long asthey did so in the name of the King of Castile. Territorial possessionseems to have been the chief aim of the earliest European invaders, and records of having improved the condition of the people or ofhaving opened up means of communication and traffic as they went onconquering, or even of having explored the natural resources of thecolony for their own benefit, are extremely rare. 

CHAPTER III

Philippine Dependencies, Up To 1898The Ladrones, Carolines and Pelew Islands

In 1521 Maghallanes cast anchor off the Ladrone Islands (situatedbetween 17° and 20° N. Lat. By 146° E. Long. ) on his way to thediscovery of those Islands afterwards denominated the Philippines. Thisgroup was named by him Islas de las Velas. [18] Legaspi called themthe Ladrones. [19] Subsequently several navigators sighted or touchedat these Islands, and the indistinct demarcation which comprised themacquired the name of Saint Lazarus' Archipelago. 

In 1662 the Spanish vessel _San Damian_, on her course from Mexicoto Luzon, anchored here. On board was a missionary, Fray Diego Luisde San Victores, who was so impressed with the dejected conditionof the natives, that on reaching Manila he made it his common themeof conversation. In fact, so importunately did he pursue the subjectwith his superiors that he had to be constrained to silence. In thefollowing year the Governor, Diego Salcedo, replied to his urgentappeal for a mission there in terms which permitted no furthersolicitation in that quarter. But the friar was persistent in hisproject, and petitioned the Archbishop's aid. The prelate submittedthe matter to King Philip IV. , and the friar himself wrote to hisfather, who presented a memorial to His Majesty and another to theQueen beseeching her influence. Consequently in 1666 a Royal Decreewas received in Manila sanctioning a mission to the Ladrones. 

Fray Diego took his passage in the galleon _San Diego_, and havingarrived safely in the Viceregal Court of Mexico, he pressed his viewson the Viceroy, who declared that he had no orders. Then the priestappealed to the Viceroy's wife, who, it is said, was entreating herhusband's help on bended knee, when an earthquake occurred whichconsiderably damaged the city. It was a manifestation from heaven, the wily priest avowed, and the Viceroy, yielding to the superstitionof the age, complied with the friar's request. 

Therefore, in March, 1668, Fray Diego started from Acapulco in chargeof a Jesuit mission for the Ladrones, where they subsequently receiveda pension of P3, 000 per annum from Queen Maria Ana, who, meanwhile, had become a widow and Regent. To commemorate this royal munificence, these Islands have since been called by the Spaniards "Islas Marianas, "although the older name--Ladrones--is better known to the world. 

When the mission was fairly established, troops were sent there, consisting of twelve Spaniards and nineteen Philippine natives, with two pieces of artillery. 

The acquiescence of the Ladrone natives was being steadily gained bythe old policy of conquest, under the veil of Christianity, when theysuddenly rebelled against the stranger's religion, which brought withit restraint of liberty and a social dominion practically amountingto slavery. Fortunately, Nature came again to the aid of Fray Diego, for, whilst the natives were in open revolt, a severe storm levelledtheir huts to the ground, and the priest having convinced them thatit was a visitation from heaven, peace was concluded. 

Fray Diego left the mission for Visayas, where he was killed. Afterhis departure the natives again revolted against servile subjection, and many priests were slain from time to time--some in the exerciseof their sacerdotal functions, others in open warfare. 

In 1778 a Governor was sent there from Mexico with thirty soldiers, but he resigned his charge after two years' service, and otherssucceeded him. 

The Islands are very poor. The products are Rice, Sago, Cocoanuts, and Cane-sugar to a small extent; there are also pigs and fowls inabundance. The Spaniards taught the natives the use of fire. Theywere a warlike people; every man had to carry arms. Their languageis Chamorro, much resembling the Visayan dialect. The population, for a hundred years after the Spanish occupation, diminished. Womenpurposely sterilised themselves. Some threw their new born offspringinto the sea, hoping to liberate them from a world of woe, andthat they would regenerate in happiness. In the beginning of the17th century the population was further diminished by an epidemicdisease. During the first century of Spanish rule, the Governmentwere never able to exact the payment of tribute. Up to the Spanishevacuation the revenue of these Islands was not nearly sufficientto cover the entire cost of administration. About twenty years agoGovernor Pazos was assassinated there by a rebellious group. 

There were nine towns with parish priests. All the churches werebuilt of stone, and roofed with reed thatching, except that of thecapital, which had an iron roof. Six of the towns had Town Halls madeof bamboo and reed grass; one had a wooden building, and in two of them(including the capital) the Town Halls were of stone. 

The Seat of Government was at Agaña (called in old official documentsthe "City of San Ignacio de Agaña"). It is situated in the Island ofGuam, in the creek called the Port of Apra. Ships have to anchor abouttwo miles off Punta Piti, where passengers, stores, and mails areconveyed to a wooden landing-stage. Five hundred yards from here wasthe Harbour-master's office, built of stone, with a tile roof. FromPunta Piti there was a bad road of about five miles. The situationof Agaña seems to be ill-suited for communication with vessels, andproposals were ineffectually made by two Governors, since 1835, toestablish the capital town elsewhere. The central Government took noheed of their recommendations. In Agaña there was a Government House, a Military Hospital and Pharmacy, an Artillery Dépôt and InfantryBarracks, a well-built Prison, a Town Hall, the Administrator's Office(called by the natives "the shop"), and the ruins of former publicbuildings. It is a rather pretty town, but there is nothing notableto be seen. 

The natives are as domesticated as the Philippine Islanders, andhave much better features. Spanish and a little English are spokenby many of them, as these Islands in former years were the resortof English-speaking whalemen. For the Elementary Education of thenatives, there was the College of San Juan de Letran for boys, anda girls' school in Agaña; and in 7 of the towns there was, in 1888, a total of 4 schools for boys, 5 schools for girls, and 9 schoolsfor both sexes, under the direction of 20 masters and 6 mistresses. 

When the Ladrone Islands (Marianas) were a dependency of theSpanish-Philippine General-Government, a subsidized mail steamer leftManila for Agaña, and two or three other ports, every three months. 

An island was discovered by one of the Spanish galleon pilots in1686, and called _Carolina_, in honour of Charles II. Of Spain, but its bearings could not be found again for years. 

In 1696 two canoes, with 29 Pelew Islanders, drifted to the coastof Sámar Island, and landed at the Town of Guivan. They were 60days on the drift, and five of them died of privations. They wereterror-stricken when they saw a man on shore making signs to them. Whenhe went out to them in a boat, and boarded one of the canoes, they alljumped out and got into the other; then when the man got into that, they were in utter despair, considering themselves prisoners. 

They were conducted to the Spanish priest of Guivan, whom they supposedwould be the King of the Island, and on whom would depend their livesand liberty. They prostrated themselves, and implored his mercy andthe favour of sparing their lives, whilst the priest did all he could, by signs, to reassure them. 

It happened that there had been living here, for some years, two otherstrange men brought to this shore by currents and contrary winds. Thesecame forward to see the novelty, and served as interpreters, so thatthe newcomers were all lodged in native houses in twos and threes, and received the best hospitality. 

They related that their Islands numbered 32, and only producedfowls and sea-birds. One man made a map, by placing stones in therelative position of the Islands. When asked about the number of theinhabitants, one took a handful of sand to demonstrate that they werecountless. There was a King, they explained, who held his court inthe Island of Lamurrec, to whom the chiefs were subject. They muchrespected and obeyed him. Among the castaways was a chief, with hiswife--the daughter of the King. 

The men had a leaf-fibre garment around their loins, and to itwas attached a piece of stuff in front, which was thrown over theshoulders and hung loose at the back. The women were dressed thesame as the men, except that their loin vestment reached to theirknees. The King's daughter wore, moreover, tortoise-shell ornaments. 

They were afraid when they saw a cow and a dog, their Island havingno quadrupeds. Their sole occupation consisted in providing food fortheir families. Their mark of courtesy was to take the hand of theperson whom they saluted and pass it softly over the face. 

The priest gave them pieces of iron, which they prized as if theyhad been of gold, and slept with them under their heads. Their onlyarms were lances, with human bones for points. They seemed to be apacific people, intelligent and well-proportioned physically. Bothsexes wore long hair down to their shoulders. 

Very content to find so much luxury in Sámar, they offered to returnand bring their people to trade. The Jesuits considered this a capitalpretext for subjecting their Islands, and the Government approved ofit. At the instance of the Pope, the King ordered the Gov. -General, Domingo Zabálburu, to send out expeditions in quest of these Islands;and, between 1708 and 1710, several unsuccessful efforts were madeto come across them. In 1710, two islands were discovered, and namedSan Andrés. Several canoes arrived alongside of the ship, and theoccupants accepted the Commander's invitation to come on board. Theywere much astonished to see the Spaniards smoke, and admired theiron fastenings of the vessel. When they got near shore, they allbegan to dance, clapping their hands to beat time. They measured theship, and wondered where such a large piece of wood could have comefrom. They counted the crew, and presented them with cocoanuts, fish, and herbs from their canoes. The vessel anchored near to the shore, but there was a strong current and a fresh wind blowing, so that it wasimprudent to disembark. However, two priests insisted upon erectinga cross on the shore, and were accompanied by the quarter-master andan officer of the troops. The weather compelled the master to weighanchor, and the vessel set sail, leaving on land the four Europeans, who were ultimately murdered. For a quarter of a century these Islandswere lost again to the Spaniards. 

In 1721 two Caroline prahus were wafted to the Ladrone Islands, whereD. Luiz Sanchez was Governor. The Caroline Islanders had no ideawhere they had landed, and were quite surprised when they beheld thepriest. He forcibly detained these unfortunate people, and handedthem over to the Governor, whom they entreated, with tears--butall in vain--to be allowed to return to their homes. There theyremained prisoners, until it suited the Governor's convenience tosend a vessel with a priest to their Island. The priest went there, and thence to Manila, where a fresh expedition was fitted out. Itwas headed by a missionary, and included a number of soldiers whomthe natives massacred soon after their arrival. All further attemptto subdue the Caroline Islands was necessarily postponed. 

The natives, at that time, had no religion at all, or were, in avague sense, polytheists. Their wise men communicated with thesouls of the defunct. They were polygamists, but had a horrorof adultery. Divorce was at once granted by the chiefs on proofof infidelity. They were cannibals. In each island there was achief, regarded as a semi-spiritual being, to whom the natives wereprofoundly obedient. Huts were found used as astrological schools, where also the winds and currents were studied. They made cloth ofplantain-fibre--hatchets with stone heads. Between sunset and sunrisethey slept. When war was declared between two villages or tribes, each formed three lines of warriors, 1st, young men; 2nd, tall men;3rd, old men; then the combatants pelted each other with stones andlances. A man _hors de combat_ was replaced by one of the back filecoming forward. When one party acknowledged themselves vanquished, it was an understood privilege of the victors to shower invectives ontheir retiring adversaries. They lived on fruits, roots and fish. Therewere no quadrupeds and no agriculture. 

Many Spanish descendants were found, purely native in their habits, and it was remembered that about the year 1566, several Spaniardsfrom an expedition went ashore on some islands, supposed to be these, and were compelled to remain there. 

The Carolines ("Islas Carolinas") and Pelews ("Islas Palaos")comprise some 48 groups of islands and islets, making a total of about500. Their relative position to the Ladrone Islands is--of the former, S. S. W. Stretching to S. E. ; of the latter, S. W. Both groups lie dueE. Of Mindanao Island (_vide_ map). The principal Pelew Islandsare Babel-Druap and Kosor--Yap and Ponapé (Ascencion Is. ) are themost important of the Carolines. The centres of Spanish Governmentwere respectively in Yap and Babel-Druap, with a Vice-Governorof the Eastern Carolines in Ponapé--all formerly dependent on theGeneral-Government in Manila. The Carolines and Pelews were includedin the Bishopric of Cebú, and were subject, judicially, to the SupremeCourt of Manila. 

These Islands were subsequently many times visited by ships of othernations, and a barter trade gradually sprang up in dried cocoanutkernels (coprah) for the extraction of oil in Europe and America. Lateron, when the natives were thoroughly accustomed to the foreigners, British, American, and German traders established themselves on shore, and vessels continued to arrive with European and American manufacturesin exchange for coprah, trepang, ivory-nuts, tortoise-shell, etc. 

Anglo-American missionaries have settled there, and a great numberof natives profess Christianity in the Protestant form. Religiousbooks in native dialect, published in Honolulu (Sandwich Is. ) by theHawaiian Evangelical Association, are distributed by the Americanmissionaries. I have one before me now, entitled "Kapas Fel, Puk Eu, "describing incidents from the Old Testament. A few of the nativescan make themselves understood in English. Besides coprah (thechief export) the Islands produce Rice, Yams, Bread-fruit (_rima_), Sugar-cane, etc. Until 1886 there was no Government, except that ofseveral petty kings or chiefs, each of whom still rules over his owntribe, although the Protestant missionaries exercised a considerablesocial influence. 

In 1885 a Spanish naval officer, named Capriles, having been appointedGovernor of the Islands, arrived at Yap, ostensibly with the objectof landing to hoist the Spanish flag as a signal of possession, for it was known in official quarters that the Germans were aboutto claim sovereignty. However, three days were squandered (perhapsintentionally) in trivial formalities, and although two Spanishmen-o'-war--the _Manila_ and the _San Quintin_--were already anchoredin the Port of Yap, the German warship _Iltis_ entered, landed marines, and hoisted their national flag, whilst the Spaniards looked on. Thenthe German Commander went on board the _San Quintin_ to tell theCommander that possession of the Islands had been taken in the name ofthe Emperor of Germany. Neither Capriles, the appointed Governor, norEspaña, the Commander of the _San Quintin_, made any resistance; andas we can hardly attribute their inactivity to cowardice, presumablythey followed their Government's instructions. Capriles and Españareturned to Manila, and were both rewarded for their inaction; theformer being appointed to the Government of Mindoro Island. In Manilaan alarming report was circulated that the Germans contemplated anattack upon the Philippines. Earthworks were thrown up outside thecity wall; cannons were mounted, and the cry of invasion resoundedall over the Colony. Hundreds of families fled from the capital andenvirons to adjacent provinces, and the personal safety of the Germanresidents was menaced by individual patriotic enthusiasts. 

In Madrid, popular riots followed the publication of the incident. TheGerman Embassy was assaulted, and its escutcheon was burnt in thestreets by the indignant mob, although, probably, not five percent. Of the rioters had any idea where the Caroline Islands weresituated, or anything about them. Spain acted so feebly, and Germanyso vigorously, in this affair, that many asked--was it not due toa secret understanding between the respective Ministries, disruptedonly by the weight of Spanish public opinion? Diplomatic notes wereexchanged between Madrid and Berlin, and Germany, anxious to withdrawwith apparent dignity from an affair over which it was probably neverintended to waste powder and shot, referred the question to the Pope, who arbitrated in favour of Spain. 

But for these events, it is probable that Spain would never have doneanything to demonstrate possession of the Caroline Islands, and for16 months after the question was solved by Pontific mediation, therewas a Spanish Governor in Yap--Sr. Elisa--a few troops and officials, but no Government. No laws were promulgated, and everybody continuedto do as heretofore. 

In Ponapé (Ascencion Is. ) Sr. Posadillo was appointed Governor. Afew troops were stationed there under a sub-lieutenant, whilst someCapuchin friars--European ecclesiastics of the meanest type--weresent there to compete with the American Protestant missionaries inthe salvation of natives' souls. A collision naturally took place, and the Governor--well known to all of us in Manila as crack-brainedand tactless--sent the chief Protestant missionary, Mr. E.  T. Doane, a prisoner to Manila on June 16, 1887. [20] He was sent back free toPonapé by the Gov. -General, but, during his absence, the eccentricPosadillo exercised a most arbitrary authority over the natives. Thechiefs were compelled to serve him as menials, and their subjectswere formed into gangs, to work like convicts; native teachers weresuspended from their duties under threat, and the Capuchins disputedthe possession of land, and attempted to coerce the natives to accepttheir religion. 

On July 1 the natives did not return to their bondage, and all thesoldiers, led by the sub-lieutenant, were sent to bring them in byforce. A fight ensued, and the officer and troops, to the last man, were killed or mortally wounded by clubs, stones and knives. Theastonished Governor fortified his place, which was surrounded by theenemy. The tribes of the chiefs Nott and Jockets were up in arms. Therewas the hulk _Da. Maria de Molina_ anchored in the roadstead, and theCapuchins fled to it on the first alarm. The Governor escaped fromhis house on the night of July 4 with his companions, and rushed tothe sea, probably intending to swim out to the hulk. But who knows? Heand all his partisans were chased and killed by the natives. 

On September 21 the news of the tragedy reached Manila by theman-o'-war _San Quintin. _ About six weeks afterwards, three men-o'-warwere sent to Ponapé with infantry, artillery, a mountain battery, anda section of Engineers--a total of about 558 men--but on their arrivalthey met an American warship--the _Essex_--which had hastened on toprotect American interests. The Spaniards limited their operationsto the seizure of a few accused individuals, whom they brought toManila, and the garrison of Yap was increased to 100 men, under aCaptain and subordinate officers. The prisoners were tried in Manilaby court-martial, and I acted as interpreter. It was found that theyhad only been loyal to the bidding of their chiefs, and were notmorally culpable, whilst the action of the late Governor of Ponapémet with general reprobation. 

Again, in July, 1890, a party of 54 soldiers, under Lieutenant Porras, whilst engaged in felling timber in the forest, was attacked bythe Malatana (Caroline) tribe, who killed the officer and 27 of hismen. The news was telegraphed to the Home Government, and caused agreat sensation in Madrid. A conference of Ministers was at once held, and the Cánovas del Castillo Ministry cabled to the Gov. -General Weylerdiscretionary power to punish these islanders. Within a few monthstroops were sent from Manila for that purpose. Instead, however, of chastising the _Kanakas_, the Government forces were repulsedby them with great slaughter. The commissariat arrangements weremost deficient: my friend Colonel Gutierrez Soto, who commanded theexpedition, was so inadequately supported by the War Department that, yielding to despair, and crestfallen by reason of the open and adversecriticism of his plan of campaign, he shot himself. 

Under the Treaty of Paris (1898) the Island of Guam (Ladrone group)was ceded by Spain to the United States, together with the PhilippineIslands. The remainder of the Ladrone group, the Caroline and thePelew Islands were sold by Spain to Germany in June, 1899. 

CHAPTER IV

Attempted Conquest by Chinese

On the death of General Legaspi, the Government of the Colony wasassumed by the Royal Treasurer, Guido de Lavezares, in conformitywith the sealed instructions from the Supreme Court of Mexico, whichwere now opened. During this period, the possession of the Islandswas unsuccessfully disputed by a rival expedition under the commandof a Chinaman, Li-ma-hong, whom the Spaniards were pleased to term apirate, forgetting, perhaps, that they themselves had only recentlywrested the country from its former possessors by virtue of mightagainst right. On the coasts of his native country he had indeed beena pirate. For the many depredations committed by him against privatetraders and property, the Celestial Emperor, failing to catch him bycajolery, outlawed him. 

Born in the port of Tiuchiu, Li-ma-hong at an early age evinced amartial spirit and joined a band of corsairs which for a long timehad been the terror of the China coasts. On the demise of his chiefhe was unanimously elected leader of the buccaneering cruisers. Atlength, pursued in all directions by the imperial ships of war, hedetermined to attempt the conquest of the Philippines. Presumablythe same incentives which impelled the Spanish mariners to conquerlands and overthrow dynasties--the vision of wealth, glory andempire, --awakened a like ambition in the Chinese adventurer. It wasthe spirit of the age. [21] In his sea-wanderings he happened tofall in with a Chinese trading junk returning from Manila with theproceeds of her cargo sold there. This he seized, and the captivecrew were constrained to pilot his fleet towards the capital ofLuzon. From them he learnt how easily the natives had been plunderedby a handful of foreigners--the probable extent of the opposition hemight encounter--the defences established--the wealth and resourcesof the district, and the nature of its inhabitants. 

His fleet consisted of 62 war ships or armed junks, well found, having on board 2, 000 sailors, 2, 000 soldiers, 1, 500 women, a numberof artisans, and all that could be conveniently carried with whichto gain and organize his new kingdom. On its way the squadron castanchor off the Province of Ilocos Sur, where a few troops were sentashore to get provisions. Whilst returning to the junks, they sackedthe village and set fire to the huts. The news of this outrage washastily communicated to Juan Salcedo, who had been pacifying theNorthern Provinces since July, 1572, and was at the time in VillaFernandina (now called Vigan). Li-ma-hong continued his course untilcalms compelled his ships to anchor in the roads of Caoayan (Ilocoscoast), where a few Spanish soldiers were stationed under the ordersof Juan Salcedo, who still was in the immediate town of Vigan. Underhis direction preparations were made to prevent the enemy entering theriver, but such was not Li-ma-hong's intention. He again set sail;whilst Salcedo, naturally supposing his course would be towardsManila, also started at the same time for the capital with all thefighting men he could collect, leaving only 30 men to garrison Viganand protect the State interests there. 

On November 29, 1574, the squadron arrived in the Bay of Manila, and Li-ma-hong sent forward his Lieutenant Sioco--a Japanese--at thehead of 600 fighting men to demand the surrender of the Spaniards. Astrong gale, however, destroyed several of his junks, in which about200 men perished. 

With the remainder he reached the coast at Parañaque, a village sevenmiles south of Manila. Thence, with tow-lines, the 400 soldiers hauledtheir junks up to the beach of the capital. 

Already at the village of Malate the alarm was raised, but theSpaniards could not give credit to the reports, and no resistance wasoffered until the Chinese were within the gates of the city. Martin deGoiti, the _Maestre de Campo_, [22] second in command to the Governor, was the first victim of the attack. 

The flames and smoke arising from his burning residence were thefirst indications which the Governor received of what was goingon. The Spaniards took refuge in the Fort of Santiago, which theChinese were on the point of taking by storm, when their attentionwas drawn elsewhere by the arrival of fresh troops led by a Spanishsub-lieutenant. Under the mistaken impression that these were thevanguard of a formidable corps, Sioco sounded the retreat. A bloodyhand-to-hand combat followed, and with great difficulty the Chinesecollected their dead and regained their junks. 

In the meantime Li-ma-hong, with the reserved forces, was lying inthe roadstead of Cavite, and Sioco hastened to report to him theresult of the attack, which had cost the invader over one hundreddead and more than that number wounded. Thereupon Li-ma-hong resolvedto rest his troops and renew the conflict in two days' time underhis personal supervision. The next day Juan Salcedo arrived by seawith reinforcements from Vigan, and preparations were unceasinglymade for the expected encounter. Salcedo having been appointed tothe office of _Maestre de Campo_, vacant since the death of Goiti, the organization of the defence was entrusted to his immediate care. 

By daybreak on December 3 the enemy's fleet hove-to off the capital, where Li-ma-hong harangued his troops, whilst the cornets and drumsof the Spaniards were sounding the alarm for their fighting men toassemble in the fort. 

Then 1, 500 chosen men, well armed, were disembarked under theleadership of Sioco, who swore to take the place or die in theattempt. Sioco separated his forces into three divisions. The citywas set fire to, and Sioco advanced towards the fort, into whichhand-grenades were thrown, whilst Li-ma-hong supported the attackwith his ships' cannon. 

Sioco, with his division, at length entered the fort, and ahand-to-hand fight ensued. For a while the issue was doubtful. Salcedofought like a lion. Even the aged Governor was well to the frontto encourage the deadly struggle for existence. The Spaniardsfinally gained the victory; the Chinese were repulsed with greatslaughter, and their leader having been killed, they fled in completedisorder. Salcedo, profiting by the confusion, now took the offensiveand followed up the enemy, pursuing them along the sea-shore, where they were joined by the third division, which had remainedinactive. The panic of the Chinese spread rapidly, and Li-ma-hong, in despair, landed another contingent of about 500 men, whilst hestill continued afloat; but even with this reinforcement the _morale_of his army could not be restored. 

The Chinese troops therefore, harassed on all sides, made a precipitateretreat on board the fleet, and Li-ma-hong set sail again for thewest coast of the island. Foiled in the attempt to possess himselfof Manila, Li-ma-hong determined to set up his capital in otherparts. In a few days he arrived at the mouth of the Agno River, inthe province of Pangasinán, where he proclaimed to the natives that hehad gained a signal victory over the Spaniards. The inhabitants there, having no particular choice between two masters, received Li-ma-hongwith welcome, and he thereupon set about the foundation of his newcapital some four miles from the mouth of the river. Months passedbefore the Spaniards came in force to dislodge the invader. Feelingthemselves secure in their new abode, the Chinese had built manydwellings, a small fortress, a pagoda, etc. At length an expeditionwas despatched under the command of Juan Salcedo. This was composedof about 250 Spaniards and 1, 600 natives well equipped with smallarms, ammunition and artillery. The flower of the Spanish Colony, accompanied by two priests and the Rajah of Tondo, set out to expelthe formidable foe. Li-ma-hong made a bold resistance, and refused tocome to terms with Salcedo. In the meantime, the Viceroy of Fokien, having heard of Li-ma-hong's daring exploits, had commissioned aship of war to discover the whereabouts of his imperial master'sold enemy. The envoy was received with delight by the Spaniards, who invited him to accompany them to Manila to interview the Governor. 

Li-ma-hong still held out, but perceiving that an irresistibleonslaught was being projected against him by Salcedo's party, hevery cunningly and quite unexpectedly slipped away, and sailed outof the river with his ships by one of the mouths unknown to hisenemies. [23] In order to divert the attention of the Spaniards, Li-ma-hong ingeniously feigned an assault in an opposite quarter. Ofcourse, on his escape, he had to abandon the troops employed in thismanoeuvre. These, losing all hope, and having indeed nothing buttheir lives to fight for, fled to the mountains. Hence it is popularlysupposed that from these fugitives descends the race of people in thehill district north of that province still distinguishable by theiroblique eyes and known by the name of Igorrote-Chinese. 

"_Aide-toi et Dieu t'aidera_" is an old French maxim, but the Spaniardschose to attribute their deliverance from their Chinese rivals tothe friendly intervention of Saint Andrew. This Saint was declaredthenceforth to be the Patron Saint of Manila, and in his honour HighMass was celebrated in the Cathedral at 8 a. M. On the 30th of eachNovember. In Spanish times it was a public holiday and gala-day, whenall the highest civil, military and religious authorities attendedthe _Funcion votiva de San Andrés_. This opportunity to assert thesupremacy of ecclesiastical power was not lost to the Church, and formany years it was the custom, after hearing Mass, to spread the Spanishnational flag on the floor of the Cathedral for the metropolitanArchbishop to walk over it. However, a few years prior to the Spanishevacuation the Gov. -General refused to witness this antiquated formulaand it subsequently became the practice to carry the Royal Standardbefore the altar. Both before and after the Mass, the bearer (_AlférezReal_), wearing his hat and accompanied by the Mayor of the City, stood on the altar floor, raised his hat three times, and three timesdipped the flag before the Image of Christ, then, facing the public, he repeated this ceremony. On Saint Andrew's Eve the Royal Standard wasborne in procession from the Cathedral through the principal streetsof the city, escorted by civil functionaries and followed by a bandof music. This ceremony was known as the _Paseo del Real Pendon_. 

According to Juan de la Concepcion, the Rajahs [24] Soliman andLacandola took advantage of these troubles to raise a rebellionagainst the Spaniards. The natives, too, of Mindoro Island revoltedand maltreated the priests, but all these disturbances were speedilyquelled by a detachment of soldiers. 

The Governor willingly accepted the offer of the commander of theChinese man-o'-war to convey ambassadors to his country to visitthe Viceroy and make a commercial treaty. Therefore two priests, Martin Rada and Gerónimo Martin, were commissioned to carry a letterof greeting and presents to this personage, who received them withgreat distinction, but objected to their residing in the country. 

After the defeat of Li-ma-hong, Juan Salcedo again set out to theNorthern Provinces of Luzon Island, to continue his task of reducingthe natives to submission. On March 11, 1576, he died of fever nearVigan (then called Villa Fernandina), capital of the Province ofIlocos Sur. A year afterwards, what could be found of his bones wereplaced in the ossuary of his illustrious grandfather, Legaspi, in theAugustine Chapel of Saint Fausto, Manila. His skull, however, which hadbeen carried off by the natives of Ilocos, could not be recovered inspite of all threats and promises. In Vigan there is a small monumentraised to commemorate the deeds of this famous warrior, and there isalso a street bearing his name in Vigan and another in Manila. 

For several years following these events, the question of prestigein the civil affairs of the Colony was acrimoniously contested bythe Gov. -General, the Supreme Court, and the ecclesiastics. 

The Governor was censured by his opponents for alleged undue exerciseof arbitrary authority. The Supreme Court, established on the Mexicanmodel, was reproached with seeking to overstep the limits of itsfunctions. Every legal quibble was adjusted by a dilatory process, impracticable in a colony yet in its infancy, where summary justicewas indispensable for the maintenance of order imperfectly understoodby the masses. But the fault lay less with the justices than withthe constitution of the Court itself. Nor was this state of affairsimproved by the growing discontent and immoderate ambition of theclergy, who unremittingly urged their pretensions to immunity fromState control, affirming the supramundane condition of their office. 

An excellent code of laws, called the _Leyes de Indias_, in forcein Mexico, was adopted here, but modifications in harmony with thespecial conditions of this Colony were urgently necessary, whilst allthe branches of government called for reorganization or reform. Underthese circumstances, the Bishop of Manila, Domingo Salazar, [25]took the initiative in commissioning an Austin friar, Alonso Sánchez, to repair firstly to the Viceroy of Mexico and afterwards to the Kingof Spain, to expose the grievances of his party. 

Alonso Sánchez left the Philippines with his appointment asprocurator-general for the Augustine Order of monks. As the executionof the proposed reforms, which he was charged to lay before HisMajesty, would, if conceded, be entrusted to the control of theGovernment of Mexico, his first care was to seek the partisanshipof the Viceroy of that Colony; and in this he succeeded. Thence hecontinued his journey to Seville, where the Court happened to be, arriving there in September, 1587. He was at once granted an audienceof the King, to present his credentials and memorials relativeto Philippine affairs in general, and ecclesiastical, judicial, military and native matters in particular. The King promised to peruseall the documents, but suffering from gout, and having so many anddistinct State concerns to attend to, the negotiations were greatlydelayed. Finally, Alonso Sánchez sought a minister who had easy accessto the royal apartments, and this personage obtained from the Kingpermission to examine the documents and hand to him a succinct _résumé_of the whole for His Majesty's consideration. A commission was thenappointed, including Sánchez, and the deliberations lasted five months. 

At this period, public opinion in the Spanish Universities wasvery divided with respect to Catholic missions in the Indies. Somemaintained that the propaganda of the faith ought to be purelyApostolic, such as Jesus Christ taught to His disciples, inculcatingdoctrines of humility and poverty without arms or violence; and if, nevertheless, the heathens refused to welcome this mission of peace, the missionaries should simply abandon them in silence without furtherdemonstration than that of shaking the dust off their feet. 

Others held, and amongst them was Sánchez, that such a method wasuseless and impracticable, and that it was justifiable to force theirreligion upon primitive races at the point of the sword if necessary, using any violence to enforce its acceptance. 

Much ill-feeling was aroused in the discussion of these two anddistinct theories. Juan Volante, a Dominican friar of the Conventof Our Lady of Atocha, presented a petition against the views of theSánchez faction, declaring that the idea of ingrafting religion withthe aid of arms was scandalous. Juan Volante was so importunate that hehad to be heard in Council, but neither party yielded. At length, theintervention of the Bishops of Manila, Macao and Malacca and severalcaptains and governors in the Indies influenced the King to put anend to the controversy, on the ground that it would lead to no good. 

The King retired to the Monastery of the Escorial, and Sánchez wascited to meet him there to learn the royal will. About the same timethe news reached the King of the loss of the so-called InvincibleArmada, sent under the command of the incompetent Duke of MedinaSidonia to annex England. Notwithstanding this severe blow to thevain ambition of Philip, the affairs of the Philippines were delayedbut a short time. On the basis of the recommendation of the junta, the Royal Assent was given to an important decree, of which themost significant articles are the following, namely:--The tributewas fixed by the King at ten reales (5s. ) per annum, payable by thenatives in gold, silver or grain, or part in one commodity and partin the other. Of this tribute, eight reales were to be paid to theTreasury, one-half real to the bishop and clergy (_sanctorum_ tax), and one-and-a-half reales to be applied to the maintenance of thesoldiery. Full tribute was not to be exacted from the natives stillunsubjected to the Crown. Until their confidence and loyalty shouldbe gained by friendly overtures, they were to pay a small recognitionof vassalage, and subsequently the tribute in common with the rest. 

Instead of one-fifth value of gold and hidden treasure due to HisMajesty (_real quinto_), he would thenceforth receive only one-tenthof such value, excepting that of gold, which the natives would bepermitted to extract free of rebate. 

A customs duty of three per cent. _ad valorem_ was to be paid onmerchandise sold, and this duty was to be spent on the army. 

Export duty was to be paid on goods shipped to New Spain (Mexico), andthis impost was also to be exclusively spent on the armed forces. Thesegoods were chiefly Chinese manufactures. 

The number of European troops in the Colony was fixed at 400men-at-arms, divided into six companies, each under a captain, asublieutenant, a sergeant, and two corporals. Their pay was to beas follows, namely:--Captain P35, sub-lieutenant P20, sergeant P10, corporal P7, rank and file P6 per month; besides which, an annualgratuity of P10, 000 was to be proportionately distributed to all. 

Recruits from Mexico, for military service in the Islands, were notto enlist under the age of 15 years. 

The Captain-General was to have a body-guard of 24 men (Halberdiers)with the pay of those of the line, under the immediate command of aCaptain to be paid P15 per month. 

Salaries due to State employees were to be punctually paid when due;and when funds were wanted for that purpose, they were to be suppliedfrom Mexico. 

The King made a donation of P12, 000, which, with another like sum tobe contributed by the Spaniards themselves, would serve to liquidatetheir debts incurred on their first occupation of the Islands. 

The Governor and Bishop were recommended to consider the projectof a refuge for young Spanish women arrived from Spain and Mexico, and to study the question of dowries for native women married topoor Spaniards. 

The offices of Secretaries and Notaries were no longer to be sold, but conferred on persons who merited such appointments. 

The governors were instructed not to make grants of land to theirrelations, servants or friends, but solely to those who should haveresided at least three years in the Islands, and have worked thelands so conceded. Any grants which might have already been made tothe relations of the governors or magistrates were to be cancelled. 

The rent paid by the Chinese for the land they occupied was to beapplied to the necessities of the capital. 

The Governor and Bishop were to enjoin the judges not to permitcostly lawsuits, but to execute summary justice verbally, and so faras possible, fines were not to be inflicted. 

The City of Manila was to be fortified in a manner to ensure itagainst all further attacks or risings. 

Four penitentiaries were to be established in the Islands in the mostconvenient places, with the necessary garrisons, and six to eightgalleys and frigates well armed and ready for defence against theEnglish corsairs who might come by way of the Moluccas. 

In the most remote and unexplored parts of the Islands, the Governorwas to have unlimited powers to act as he should please, withoutconsulting His Majesty; but projected enterprises of conversion, pacification, etc. , at the expense of the Royal Treasury, were to besubmitted to a Council comprising the Bishop, the captains, etc. TheGovernor was authorized to capitulate and agree with the captain andothers who might care to undertake conversions and pacifications ontheir own account, and to concede the title of _Maestre de Campo_to such persons, on condition that such capitulations should beforwarded to His Majesty for ratification. 

Only those persons domiciled in the Islands would be permitted totrade with them. 

A sum of P1, 000 was to be taken from the tributes paid into the RoyalTreasury for the foundation of the Hospital for the Spaniards, andthe annual sum of P600, appropriated by the Governor for its support, was confirmed. Moreover, the Royal Treasury of Mexico was to sendclothing to the value of 400 ducats for the Hospital use. 

The Hospital for the natives was to receive an annual donation of P600for its support, and an immediate supply of clothing from Mexico tothe value of P200. 

Slaves held by the Spaniards were to be immediately set at liberty. Nonative was thenceforth to make slaves. All new-born natives weredeclared free. The bondage of all existing slaves from ten yearsof age was to cease on their attaining twenty years of age. Thoseabove twenty years of age were to serve five years longer, and thenbecome free. At any time, notwithstanding the foregoing conditions, they would be entitled to purchase their liberty, the price of whichwas to be determined by the Governor and the Bishop. [26]

There being no tithes payable to the Church by Spaniards or natives, the clergy were to receive for their maintenance the half-real abovementioned in lieu thereof, from the tribute paid by each nativesubjected to the Crown. When the Spaniards should have crops, theywere to pay tithes to the clergy (_diezmos prediales_). 

A grant was made of 12, 000 ducats for the building and ornaments ofthe Cathedral of Manila, and an immediate advance of 2, 000 ducatson account of this grant was made from the funds to be remittedfrom Mexico. 

Forty Austin friars were to be sent at once to the Philippines, to befollowed by missionaries from other corporations. The King allowedP500 to be paid against the P1, 000 passage money for each priest, the balance to be defrayed out of the common funds of the clergy, derived from their share of the tribute. 

Missionaries in great numbers had already flocked to the Philippinesand roamed wherever they thought fit, without licence from the Bishop, whose authority they utterly repudiated. 

Affirming that they had the direct consent of His Holiness the Pope, they menaced with excommunication whosoever attempted to impedethem in their free peregrination. Five years after the foundation ofManila, the city and environs were infested with niggardly mendicantfriars, whose slothful habits placed their supercilious countrymenin ridicule before the natives. They were tolerated but a short timein the Islands; not altogether because of the ruin they would havebrought to European moral influence on the untutored tribes, butbecause the Bishop was highly jealous of all competition against theAugustine Order which he assisted. Consequent on the representationsof Alonso Sánchez, His Majesty ordained that all priests who went tothe Philippines were, in the first place, to resolve never to quit theIslands without the Bishop's sanction, which was to be conceded withgreat circumspection and only in extreme cases, whilst the Governorwas instructed not to afford them means of exit on his sole authority. 

Neither did the Bishop regard with satisfaction the presence of theCommissary of the Inquisition, whose secret investigations, shroudedwith mystery, curtailed the liberty of the loftiest functionary, sacredor civil. At the instigation of Alonso Sánchez, the junta recommendedthe King to recall the Commissary and extinguish the office, buthe refused to do so. In short, the chief aims of the Bishop were toenhance the power of the friars, raise the dignity of the Colonialmitre, and secure a religious monopoly for the Augustine Order. 

Gomez Perez Dasmariñas was the next Governor appointed to theseIslands, on the recommendation of Alonso Sánchez. In the RoyalInstructions which he brought with him were embodied all theabove-mentioned civil, ecclesiastical and military reforms. Atthe same time, King Philip abolished the Supreme Court. He wishedto put an end to the interminable lawsuits so prejudicial to thedevelopment of the Colony. Therefore the President and Magistrateswere replaced by Justices of the Peace, and the former returned toMexico in 1591. This measure served only to widen the breach betweenthe Bishop and the Civil Government. Dasmariñas compelled him tokeep within the sphere of his sacerdotal functions, and tolerated norival in State concerns. There was no appeal on the spot against theGovernor's authority. This restraint irritated and disgusted the Bishopto such a degree that, at the age of 78 years, he resolved to presenthimself at the Spanish Court. On his arrival there, he explained tothe King the impossibility of one Bishop attending to the spiritualwants of a people dispersed over so many Islands. For seven years afterthe foundation of Manila as capital of the Archipelago, its principalchurch was simply a parish church. In 1578 it was raised to the dignityof a Cathedral, at the instance of the King. Three years after thisdate the Cathedral of Manila was solemnly declared to be a "SuffraganCathedral of Mexico, under the advocation of Our Lady of the ImmaculateConception"; Domingo Salazár being the first Bishop consecrated. Henow proposed to raise the Manila See to an Archbishopric, with threeSuffragan Bishops. The King gave his consent, subject to approvalfrom Rome, and this following in due course, Salazár was appointedfirst Archbishop of Manila, but he died before the Papal Bull arrived, dated August 14, 1595, officially authorizing his investiture. 

In the meantime, Alonso Sánchez had proceeded to Rome in May, 1589. Amongst many other Pontifical favours conceded to him, heobtained the right for himself, or his assigns, to use a die or stampof any form with one or more images, to be chosen by the holder, andto contain also the figure of Christ, the Very Holy Virgin, or theSaints Peter or Paul. On the reverse was to be engraven a bust portraitof His Holiness, with the following indulgences attached thereto, viz. :--"To him who should convey the word of God to the infidels, or give them notice of the holy mysteries--each time 300 years'indulgence. To him who, by industry, converted any one of these, or brought him to the bosom of the Church--full indulgence for allsins. " A number of minor indulgences were conceded for services tobe rendered to the Pontificate, and for the praying so many PaterNosters and Ave Marias. This Bull was dated in Rome July 28, 1591. 

Popes Gregory XIV. And Innocent IX. Granted other Bulls relating to therewards for using beads, medals, crosses, pictures, blessed images, etc. , with which one could gain nine plenary indulgences every dayor rescue nine souls from purgatory; and each day, twice over, allthe full indulgences yet given in and out of Rome could be obtainedfor living and deceased persons. 

Sánchez returned to Spain (where he died), bringing with him thebody of Saint Policarp, relics of Saint Potenciana, and 157 Marytrs;amongst them, 27 popes, for remission to the Cathedral of Manila. 

The Supreme Court was re-established with the same faculties asthose of Mexico and Lima in 1598, and since then, on seven occasions, when the Governorship has been vacant, it has acted _pro tem_. Thefollowing interesting account of the pompous ceremonial attendingthe reception of the Royal Seal, restoring this Court, is given byConcepcion. [27] He says:--"The Royal Seal of office was receivedfrom the ship with the accustomed solemnity. It was contained in achest covered with purple velvet and trimmings of silver and gold, over which hung a cloth of silver and gold. It was escorted bya majestic accompaniment, marching to the sounds of clarions andcymbals and other musical instruments. The _cortége_ passed throughthe noble city with rich vestments, with leg trimmings and uncoveredheads. Behind these followed a horse, gorgeously caparisoned andgirthed, upon whose back the President placed the coffer containingthe Royal Seal. The streets were beautifully adorned with exquisitedrapery. The High Bailiff, magnificently robed, took the reins inhand to lead the horse under a purple velvet pall, bordered withgold. The magistrates walked on either side; the aldermen of the city, richly clad, carried their staves of office in the august procession, which concluded with a military escort, standard bearers, etc. , andproceeded to the Cathedral, where it was met by the Dean, holdinga Cross. As the company entered the sacred edifice, the Te Deum wasintoned by a band of music. "

In 1886 a Supreme Court, exactly similar to, and independent of, that of Manila, was established in the City of Cebú. The question ofprecedence in official acts having been soon after disputed betweenthe President of the Court and the Brigadier-Governor of Visayas, itwas decided in favour of the latter, on appeal to the Gov. -General. Inthe meantime, the advisability of abolishing the Supreme Court of Cebú, was warmly debated by the public. 

For many years after the conquest, deep religious sentiment pervadedthe State policy, and not a few of the Governors-General acquiredfame for their demonstrations of piety. Nevertheless, the conflictiveambition of the State and Church representatives was a powerfulhindrance to the progress of the Colony. 

The quarrel between Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera (1635-44) andthe Archbishop arose from a circumstance of little concern to theColony. The Archbishop ordered a military officer, who had a slave, either to sell or liberate her. The officer, rather than yieldto either condition, wished to marry her, but failing to obtainher consent, he stabbed her to death. He thereupon took asylum in aconvent, whence he was forcibly removed, and publicly executed in frontof Saint Augustine's Church by order of the Governor. The Archbishopprotested against the act, which, in those days, was qualified as aviolation of sanctuary. 

The churches were closed whilst the dispute lasted. The Jesuits, always opposed to the Austin friars, sided with the Governor. TheArchbishop therefore prohibited them to preach outside their churchesin any public place, under pain of excommunication and 4, 000 ducatsfine, whilst the other priests agreed to abstain from attending theirreligious or literary _réunions_. Finally, a religious council wascalled, but a coalition having been formed against the Archbishop, he was excommunicated--his goods distrained--his salary stopped, and he was suspended in his archiepiscopal functions under a penaltyof 4, 000 ducats fine. At this crisis, he implored mercy and theintervention of the Supreme Court. The magistrates decided against theprelate's appeal, and allowed him twelve hours to comply, under painof continued excommunication and a further fine of 1, 000 ducats. TheArchbishop thereupon retired to the Convent of Saint Francis, wherethe Governor visited him. The Archbishop subsequently made the mostabject submission in an archiepiscopal decree which fully sets forththe admission of his guilt. Such a violent settlement of disputesdid not long remain undisturbed, and the Archbishop again sought thefirst opportunity of opposing the lay authority. In this he can only beexcused--if excuse it be--as the upholder of the traditions of cordialdiscord between the two great factions--Church and State. The SupremeCourt, under the presidency of the Governor, resolved therefore tobanish the Archbishop from Manila. With this object, 50 soldierswere deputed to seize the prelate, who was secretly forewarned oftheir coming by his co-conspirators. On their approach he held theHost in his hand, and it is related that the sub-lieutenant sent incharge of the troops was so horrified at his mission that he placedthe hilt of his sword upon the floor and fell upon the point, but asthe sword bent he did not kill himself. The soldiers waited patientlyuntil the Archbishop was tired out and compelled, by fatigue, toreplace the Host on the altar. Then they immediately arrested him, conducted him to a boat under a guard of five men, and landed him onthe desert Island of Corregidor. The churches were at once reopened;the Jesuits preached where they chose; terms were dictated to thecontumacious Archbishop, who accepted everything unconditionally, and was thereupon permitted to resume his office. The acts of Corcuerawere inquired into by his successor, who caused him to be imprisonedfor five years; but it is to be presumed that Corcuera was justifiedin what he did, for on his release and return to Spain, the Kingrewarded him with the Governorship of the Canary Islands. 

It is chronicled that Sabiniano Manrique de Lara (1653-63), whoarrived in the galleon _San Francisco Xavier_ with the ArchbishopPoblete, refused to disembark until this dignitary had blessed theearth he was going to tread. It was he too who had the privilege ofwitnessing the expurgation of the Islands of the excommunicationsand admonitions of Rome. The Archbishop brought peace and goodwillto all men, being charged by His Holiness to sanctify the Colony. 

The ceremony was performed with great solemnity, from an elevation, in the presence of an immense concourse of people. Later on, thepious Governor Lara was accused of perfidy to his royal master, and was fined P60, 000, but on being pardoned, he retired to Spain, where he took holy orders. 

His successor, Diego Salcedo (1663-68), was not so fortunate in hisrelations with Archbishop Poblete, for during five years he warmlycontested his intervention in civil affairs. Poblete found it hard toyield the exercise of veto in all matters which, by courtesy, had beenconceded to him by the late Governor Lara. The Archbishop refused toobey the Royal Decrees relating to Church appointments under the Royalpatronage, such preferments being in the hands of the Gov. -General asvice-royal patron. These decrees were twice notified to the Archbishop, but as he still persisted in his disobedience, Salcedo signed anorder for his expulsion to Marivéles. This brought the prelate to hissenses, and he remained more submissive in future. It is recordedthat the relations between the Governor and the Archbishop becameso strained that the latter was compelled to pay a heavy fine--toremain standing whilst awaiting an audience--to submit to contumelyduring the interviews--and when he died, the Governor ordered royalfeasts to celebrate the joyful event, whilst he prohibited the _deprofundis_ Mass, on the ground that such would be inconsistent withthe secular festivities. 

The King, on being apprised of this, permitted the Inquisition totake its course. Diego Salcedo was surprised in his Palace, andimprisoned by the bloodthirsty agents of the _Santo Oficio_. Someyears afterwards, he was shipped on board a galleon as a prisoner tothe Inquisitors of Mexico, but the ship had to put back under stressof weather, and Salcedo returned to his dungeon. There he sufferedthe worst privations, until he was again embarked for Mexico. On thisvoyage he died of grief and melancholy. The King espoused the causeof the ecclesiastics, and ordered Salcedo's goods, as well as thoseof his partisans, to be confiscated. 

Manuel de Leon (1669-77) managed to preserve a good understanding withthe clergy, and, on his decease, he bequeathed all his possessionsto the Obras Pias (q. V. ). 

Troubles with the Archbishop and friars were revived on the Governmentbeing assumed by Juan de Nárgas (1678-84). In the last year ofhis rule, the Archbishop was banished from Manila. It is difficultto adequately appreciate the causes of this quarrel, and there isdoubt as to which was right--the Governor or the Archbishop. On hisrestoration to his See, he was one of the few prelates--perhaps theonly one--who personally sought to avenge himself. During the dispute, a number of friars had supported the Government, and these he causedto stand on a raised platform in front of a church, and publicly recanttheir former acts, declaring themselves miscreants. Juan de Nárgas hadjust retired from the Governorship after seven years' service, and theArchbishop called upon him likewise to abjure his past proceedings andperform the following penance:--To wear a penitent's garb--to place arope around his neck, and carry a lighted candle to the doors of thecathedral and the churches of the Parian, San Gabriel and Binondo, on every feast day during four months. Nargas objected to thisdegradation, and claimed privilege, arguing that the Archbishop hadno jurisdiction over him, as he was a Cavalier of the Military Orderof St. James. But the Archbishop only desisted in his pretensions tohumiliate Nárgas when the new Governor threatened to expel him again. 

Fernando Bustamente Bustillo y Rueda (1717-19) adopted verystringent measures to counteract the Archbishop's excessive claims toimmunity. Several individuals charged with heinous crimes had takenchurch asylum and defied the civil power and justice. The Archbishopwas appealed to, to hand them over to the civil authorities, or allowthem to be taken. He refused to do either, supporting the claim ofimmunity of sanctuary. At the same time it came to the knowledge ofthe Governor that a movement had been set on foot against him by thosecitizens who favoured the Archbishop's views, and that even the friarshad so debased themselves as to seek the aid of the Chinese residentsagainst the Governor. José Torralba (q. V. ), the late acting-Governor, was released from confinement by the Governor, and reinstated by himas judge in the Supreme Court, although he was under an accusation ofembezzlement to the extent of P700, 000. The Archbishop energeticallyopposed this act. He notified to Torralba his excommunication andecclesiastical pains, and, on his own authority, attempted to seize hisperson in violation of the privileges of the Supreme Court. Torralba, with his sword and shield in hand, expelled the Archbishop's messengerby force. Then, as judge in the Supreme Court, he hastened to avengehimself of his enemies by issuing warrants against them. They fled toChurch asylum, and, with the moral support of the Archbishop, laughedat the magistrates. There the refugees provided themselves with arms, and prepared for rebellion. When the Archbishop was officially informedof these facts, he still maintained that nothing could violate theirimmunity. The Governor then caused the Archbishop to be arrested andconfined in a fortress, with all the ecclesiastics who had taken anactive part in the conspiracy against the Government. 

Open riot ensued, and the priests marched to the Palace, amidsthideous clamourings, collecting the mob and citizens on the way. It wasone of the most revolting scenes and remarkable events in Philippinehistory. Priests of the Sacred Orders of Saint Francis, Saint Dominic, and Saint Augustine joined the Recoletos in shouting "Viva la Iglesia, ""Viva nuestro Rey Don Felipe Quinto. " [28] The excited rabble rushedto the Palace, and the Guard having fled, they easily forced theirway in. One priest who impudently dared to advance towards theGovernor, was promptly ordered by him to stand back. The Governor, seeing himself encircled by an armed mob of laymen and servants ofChrist clamouring for his downfall, pulled the trigger of his gun, but the flint failed to strike fire. Then the crowd took courageand attacked him, whilst he defended himself bravely with a bayonet, until he was overwhelmed by numbers. From the Palace he was draggedto the common jail, and stabbed and maltreated on the way. His son, hearing of this outrage, arrived on horseback, but was run throughby one of the rebels, and fell to the ground. He got up and tried tocut his way through the infuriated rioters, but was soon surroundedand killed, and his body horribly mutilated. 

The populace, urged by the clerical party, now fought for theliberty of the Archbishop. The prison doors were broken open, and theArchbishop was amongst the number of offenders liberated. The prelatecame in triumph to the Palace, and assumed the Government in October, 1719. The mob, during their excesses, tore down the Royal Standard, and maltreated those whom they met of the unfortunate Governor'sfaithful friends. A mock inquiry into the circumstances of the riotwas made in Manila in apparent judicial form. Another investigationwas instituted in Mexico, which led to several of the minor actors inthis sad drama being made the scapegoat victims of the more exaltedcriminals. The Archbishop held the Government for nine years, andwas then transferred to the Mexican Bishopric of Mechoacan. 

Pedro Manuel de Arandia (1754-59) is said to have expired ofmelancholy, consequent, in a measure, on his futile endeavours togovern at peace with the friars, who always secured the favour ofthe King. 

On four occasions the Supreme State authority in the Colony has beenvested in the prelates. Archbishop Manuel Rojo, acting-Governor atthe time of the British occupation of Manila in 1763, is said tohave died of grief and shame in prison (1764) through the intriguesof the violent Simon de Anda y Salazar (q. V. ). 

José Raon was Gov. -General in 1768, when the expulsion of the Jesuitswas decreed. After the secret determination was made known to him, he was accused of having divulged it, and of having concealed hisinstructions. He was thereupon placed under guard in his own residence, where he expired (_vide_ Simon de Anda y Salazár). 

Domingo Moriones y Murillo (1877-80), it is alleged, had gravealtercations with the friars, and found it necessary to remind theArchbishop Payo that the supreme power in the Philippines belongedto the State--not to the Church representative. 

From the earliest times of Spanish dominion, it had been the practiceof the natives to expose to view the corpses of their relationsand friends in the public highways and villages whilst conveyingthem to the parish churches, where they were again exhibited to thecommon gaze, pending the pleasure of the parish priest to perform thelast obsequies. This outrage on public decorum was proscribed by theDirector-General of Civil Administration in a circular dated October, 18, 1887, addressed to the Provincial Governors, enjoining them toprohibit such indecent scenes in future. Thereupon the parish priestssimply showed their contempt for the civil authorities by simulatingtheir inability to elucidate to the native petty governors the trueintent and meaning of the order. At the same time, the Archbishopof Manila issued instructions on the subject to his subordinatesin very equivocal language. The native local authorities thenpetitioned the Civil Governor of Manila to make the matter clear tothem. The Civil Governor forthwith referred the matter back to theDirector-General of Civil Administration. This functionary, in a newcircular dated November 4, confirmed his previous mandate of October18, and censured the action of the parish priests, who "in improperlanguage and from the pulpit, " had incited the native headmen to setaside his authority. The author of the circular sarcastically addedthe pregnant remark, that he was penetrated with the conviction thatthe Archbishop's sense of patriotism and rectitude _would deter himfrom subverting the law_. This incident seriously aroused the jealousyof the friars holding vicarages, and did not improve the relationsbetween Church and State. 

CHAPTER V

Early Relations With Japan

Two decades of existence in the 16th century was but a short periodin which to make known the conditions of this new Colony to itsneighbouring States, when its only regular intercourse with them wasthrough the Chinese who came to trade with Manila. Japanese mariners, therefore, appear to have continued to regard the north of Luzonas "no-man's-land"; for years after its nominal annexation by theSpaniards they assembled there, whether as merchants or buccaneersit is difficult to determine. Spanish authority had been asserted bySalcedo along the west coast about as far as lat. 18° N. , but in 1591the north coast was only known to Europeans geographically. So far, the natives there had not made the acquaintance of their new masters. 

A large Spanish galley cruising in these waters met a Japanese vesseloff Cape Bojeador (N. W. Point), and fired a shot which carried away thestranger's mainmast, obliging him to heave-to. Then the galley-men, intending to board the stranger, made fast the sterns, whilst theSpaniards rushed to the bows; but the Japanese came first, boardedthe galley, and drove the Spaniards aft, where they would have allperished had they not cut away the mizzenmast and let it fall with allsail set. Behind this barricade they had time to load their arquebusesand drive back the Japanese, over whom they gained a victory. TheSpaniards then entered the Rio Grande de Cagayán, where they met aJapanese fleet, between which they passed peacefully. On shore theyformed trenches and mounted cannons on earthworks, but the Japanesescaled the fortifications and pulled down the cannons by the mouths. 

These were recovered, and the Spanish captain had the cannon mouthsgreased, so that the Japanese tactics should not be repeated. Abattle was fought and the defeated Japanese set sail, whilst theSpaniards remained to obtain the submission of the natives by forceor by persuasion. 

The Japanese had also come to Manila to trade, and were located inthe neighbouring village of Dilao, [29] where the Franciscan friarsundertook their conversion to Christianity, whilst the Dominican Orderconsidered the spiritual care of the Chinese their especial charge. 

The Portuguese had been in possession of Macao since the year 1557, and traded with various Chinese ports, whilst in the Japanese townof Nagasaki there was a small colony of Portuguese merchants. Thesewere the indirect sources whence the Emperor of Japan learnt thatEuropeans had founded a colony in Luzon Island; and in 1593 he senta message to the Governor of the Philippines calling upon him tosurrender and become his vassal, threatening invasion in the event ofrefusal. The Spanish colonies at that date were hardly in a positionto treat with haughty scorn the menaces of the Japanese potentate, for they were simultaneously threatened with troubles with the Dutchin the Moluccas, for which they were preparing an armament (_vide_Chap. Vi. ). The want of men, ships, and war material obliged themto seek conciliation with dignity. The Japanese Ambassador, FarrandaKiemon, was received with great honours and treated with the utmostdeference during his sojourn in Manila. 

The Governor replied to the Emperor, that being but a lieger of theKing of Spain--a mighty monarch of unlimited resources and power--hewas unable to acknowledge the Emperor's suzerainty; for the mostimportant duty imposed upon him by his Sovereign was the defence ofhis vast domains against foreign aggression; that, on the other hand, he was desirous of entering into amicable and mutually advantageousrelations with the Emperor, and solicited his conformity to a treatyof commerce, the terms of which would be elucidated to him by an envoy. 

A priest, Juan Cobo, and an infantry captain were thereupon accreditedto the Japanese Court as Philippine Ambassadors. On their arrivalthey were, without delay, admitted in audience by the Emperor; thetreaty of commerce was adjusted to the satisfaction of both parties;and the Ambassadors, with some Japanese nobles, set sail for Manilain Japanese ships, which foundered on the voyage, and all perished. 

Neither the political nor the clerical party in Manila was, however, dismayed by this first disaster, and the prospect of penetratingJapan was followed up by a second expedition. 

Between the friars an animated discussion arose when the Jesuitsprotested against members of any other Order being sent to Japan. SaintFrancis Xavier had, years before, obtained a Papal Bull from PopeGregory XIII. , awarding Japan to his Order, which had been the first toestablish missions in Nagasaki. Jesuits were still there in numbers, and the necessity of sending members of rival religious bodies is notmade clear in the historical records. The jealous feud between thoseholy men was referred to the Governor, who naturally decided againstthe Jesuits, in support of the King's policy of grasping territoryunder the cloak of piety. A certain Fray Pedro Bautista was chosen asAmbassador, and in his suite were three other priests. These embarkedin a Spanish frigate, whilst Farranda Kiemon, who had remained inManila the honoured guest of the Government, took his leave, and wenton board his own vessel. The authorities bade farewell to the twoembassies with ostentatious ceremonies, and amidst public rejoicingsthe two ships started on their journey on May 26, 1593. After 30 days'navigation one ship arrived safely at Nagasaki, and the other at aport 35 miles further along the coast. 

Pedro Bautista, introduced by Ferranda Kiemon, was presented tothe Emperor Taycosama, who welcomed him as an Ambassador authorizedto _negotiate a treaty of commerce, and conclude an offensive anddefensive alliance for mutual protection. _ The Protocol was agreedto and signed by both parties, and the relations between the Emperorand Pedro Bautista became more and more cordial. The latter solicited, and obtained, permission to reside indefinitely in the country and sendthe treaty on by messenger to the Governor of the Philippines; hencethe ships in which the envoys had arrived remained about ten months inport. A concession was also granted to build a church at Meaco, nearOsaka, and it was opened in 1594, when Mass was publicly celebrated. 

In Nagasaki the Jesuits were allowed to reside unmolested and practisetheir religious rites amongst the Portuguese population of tradersand others who might have voluntarily embraced Christianity. Bautistawent there to consult with the chief of the Jesuit Mission, whoenergetically opposed what he held to be an encroachment upon themonopoly rights of his Order, conceded by Pope Gregory XIII. Andconfirmed by royal decrees. Bautista, however, showed a permissionwhich he had received from the Jesuit General, by virtue of which hewas suffered to continue his course pending that dignitary's arrival. 

The Portuguese merchants in Nagasaki were not slow to comprehend thatBautista's coming with priests at his command was but a prelude toSpanish territorial conquest, which would naturally retard theirhoped-for emancipation from the Spanish yoke. [30] Therefore, in their own interests, they forewarned the Governor of Nagasaki, who prohibited Bautista from continuing his propaganda against theestablished religion of the country in contravention of the Emperor'scommands; but as Bautista took no heed of this injunction, he wasexpelled from Nagasaki for contumacy. 

It was now manifest to the Emperor that he had been basely deceived, and that under the pretext of concluding a commercial and politicaltreaty, Bautista and his party had, in effect, introduced themselvesinto his realm with the clandestine object of seducing his subjectsfrom their allegiance, of undermining their consciences, pervertingthem from the religion of their forefathers, and that all this wouldbring about the dismemberment of his Empire and the overthrow of hisdynasty. Not only had Taycosama abstained from persecuting foreignersfor the exercise of their religious rites, but he freely licensed theJesuits to continue their mission in Nagasaki and wherever Catholicshappened to congregate. He had permitted the construction of theirtemples, but he could not tolerate a deliberate propaganda whichforeshadowed his own ruin. [31]

Pedro Bautista's designs being prematurely obstructed, he took hispassage back to Manila from Nagasaki in a Japanese vessel, leavingbehind him his interpreter, Fray Jerome, with the other Franciscanmonks. An Imperial Decree was then issued to prohibit foreign priestsfrom interfering with the religion of Japanese subjects; but this lawhaving been set at naught by Bautista's colleagues, one was arrestedand imprisoned, and warrants were issued against the others; meanwhilethe Jesuits in Nagasaki were in no way restrained. 

The Governor of Nagasaki caused the Franciscan propagandists to beconducted on board a Portuguese ship and handed over to the chargeof the captain, under severe penalties if he aided or allowed theirescape, but they were free to go wherever they chose outside theJapanese Empire. The captain, however, permitted one to return ashore, and for some time he wandered about the country in disguise. 

Pedro Bautista had reached Manila, where the ecclesiastical dignitariesprevailed upon the Governor to sanction another expedition to Japan, and Bautista arrived in that country a second time with a number ofFranciscan friars. The Emperor now lost all patience, and determinednot only to repress these venturesome foreigners, but to stamp outthe last vestige of their revolutionary machinations. Therefore, byImperial Decree, the arrest was ordered of all the Franciscan friars, and all natives who persisted in their adhesion to these missionaries'teachings. Twenty-six of those taken were tried and condemned toignominious exhibition and death--the Spaniards, because they had comeinto the country and had received royal favours under false pretences, representing themselves as political ambassadors and suite--theJapanese, because they had forsworn the religion of their ancestorsand bid fair to become a constant danger and source of discord in therealm. Amongst these Spaniards was Pedro Bautista. After their earsand noses had been cut off, they were promenaded from town to townin a cart, finally entering Nagasaki on horseback, each bearing thesentence of death on a breast-board. 

On a high ground, near the city and the port, in front of the Jesuits'church, these 26 persons were crucified and stabbed to death withlances, in expiation of their political offences. It was a sad fate formen who conscientiously believed that they were justified in violatingrights and laws of nations for the propagation of their particularviews; but can one complain? Would Buddhist missionaries in Spainhave met with milder treatment at the hands of the Inquisitors? [32]

Each Catholic body was supposed to designate the same road toheaven--each professed to teach the same means of obtaining thegrace of God; yet, strange to say, each bore the other an implacablehatred--an inextinguishable jealousy! If conversion to Christianitywere for the glory of God only, what could it have mattered whethersouls of Japanese were saved by Jesuits or by others? For King Philipit was the same whether his political tools were of one denomination orthe other, but many of the Jesuits in Japan happened to be Portuguese. 

The Jesuits in Manila probably felt that in view of their oppositionto the Franciscan missions, public opinion might hold them morallyresponsible for indirectly contributing to the unfortunate eventsrelated; therefore, to justify their acts, they formally declaredthat Pedro Bautista and his followers died excommunicated, becausethey had disobeyed the Bull of Pope Gregory XIII. 

The general public were much excited when the news spread throughthe city, and a special Mass was said, followed by a religiousprocession through the streets. The Governor sent a commission toJapan, under the control of Luis de Navarrete, to ask for the deadbodies and chattels of the executed priests. The Emperor showed norancour whatsoever; on the contrary, his policy was already carriedout; and to welcome the Spanish lay deputies, he gave a magnificentbanquet and entertained them sumptuously. Luis de Navarrete havingclaimed the dead bodies of the priests, the Emperor at once orderedthe guards on the execution ground to retire, and told Navarretethat he could dispose as he pleased of the mortal remains. Navarretetherefore hastened to Nagasaki, but before he could reach there, devout Catholics had cut up the bodies, one carrying away a head, another a leg, and so forth. It happened, too, that Navarrete diedof disease a few days after his arrival in Nagasaki. His successor, Diego de Losa, recovered the pieces of the deceased priests, whichhe put into a box and shipped for Manila, but the vessel and box ofrelics were lost on the way. 

Diego de Losa returned to Manila, the bearer of a polite letterand very acceptable presents from the Emperor to the Governor ofthe Philippines. 

The letter fully expatiated on recent events, and set forth awell-reasoned justification of the Emperor's decrees against thepriests, in terms which proved that he was neither a tyrant nor awanton savage, but an astute politician. The letter stated, that underthe pretext of being ambassadors, the priests in question had comeinto the country and had taught a diabolical law belonging to foreigncountries, and which aimed at superseding the rites and laws of hisown religion, confused his people, and destroyed his Government andkingdom; for which reason he had rigorously proscribed it. Againstthese prohibitions, the religious men of Luzon preached their lawpublicly to humble people, such as servants and slaves. Not beingable to permit this persistence in law-breaking, he had ordered theirdeath by placing them on crosses; for he was informed that in thekingdom where Spaniards dominated, this teaching of their religiousdoctrine was but an artifice and stratagem by means of which the civilpower was deceitfully gained. He astutely asks the Gov. -General ifhe would consent to Japanese preaching their laws in his territory, perturbing public peace with such novelties amongst the lower classes?

Certainly it would be severely repressed, argued the Emperor, addingthat in the exercise of his absolute power and for the good of hissubjects, he had avoided the occurrence in his dominions of what hadtaken place in those regions where the Spaniards deposed the legitimatekings, and constituted themselves masters by religious fraud. 

He explains that the seizure of the cargo of a Spanish ship was only areprisal for the harm which he had suffered by the tumult raised whenthe edict was evaded. But as the Spanish Governor had thought fit tosend another ambassador from so far, risking the perils of the sea, he was anxious for peace and mutual good-feeling, but only on theprecise condition that no more individuals should be sent to teacha law foreign to his realm, and under these unalterable conditionsthe Governor's subjects were at liberty to trade freely with Japan;that by reason of his former friendship and royal clemency, he hadrefrained from killing all the Spaniards with the priests and theirservants, and had allowed them to return to their country. 

As to religion itself, Taycosama is said to have remarked thatamong so many professed, one more was of little consequence, --hencehis toleration in the beginning, and his continued permissionto the Jesuits to maintain their doctrines amongst their ownsectarians. Moreover, it is said that a map was shown to Taycosama, marking the domains of the King of Spain and Portugal, and that inreply to his inquiry: "How could one man have conquered such vastterritory?"--a certain Father Guzman (probably a Portuguese) answered:"By secretly sending religious men to teach their doctrine, and when asufficient number of persons were so converted, the Spanish soldiery, with their aid, annexed their country and overthrew their kings. " Suchan avowal naturally impressed Taycosama profoundly. [33]

In Seville there was quite a tumult when the details of the executionsin Japan were published. 

In the meantime, the lamentable end of the Franciscan missionariesdid not deter others from making further attempts to follow theirexample. During the first 20 years of the 17th century, priestssucceeded in entering Japan, under the pretence of trading, in spiteof the extreme measures adopted to discover them and the precautionstaken to uproot the new doctrine, which it was feared would becomethe forerunner of sedition. Indeed, many Japanese nobles professingChristianity had already taken up their residence in Manila, and wereregarded by the Emperor as a constant danger to his realm, hence hewas careful to avoid communication with the Philippines. During theshort reigns of Dayfusama and his son Xogusama, new decrees wereissued, not against foreign Christians, but against those who madeapostates amongst the Japanese; and consequently two more Spanishpriests were beheaded. 

In September, 1622, a large number of Spanish missionariesand Christian Japanese men and children were executed inNagasaki. Twenty-five of them were burnt and the rest beheaded, their remains being thrown into the sea to avoid the Christiansfollowing their odious custom of preserving parts of corpses asrelics. Two days afterwards, four Franciscan and two Dominicanfriars with five Japanese were burnt in Omura. Then followed anedict stating the pains and penalties, civil deprivations, etc. , against all who refused to abandon their apostasy and return to thefaith of their forefathers. Another edict was issued imposing deathupon those who should conduct priests to Japan, and forfeiture of theships in which they should arrive and the merchandise with which theyshould come. To all informers against native apostates the culprits'estates and goods were transferred as a reward. 

A Spanish deputation was sent to the Emperor of Japan in 1622, alleging a desire to renew commercial relations, but the Emperor wasso exasperated at the recent defiance of his decrees that he refusedto accept the deputies' presents from the Philippine Government, and sent them and the deputation away. 

Still there were friars in Manila eager to seek martyrdom, but thePhilippine traders, in view of the danger of confiscation of theirships and merchandise if they carried missionaries, resolved notto despatch vessels to Japan if ecclesiastics insisted on takingpassage. The Government supported this resolution in the interests oftrade, and formally prohibited the transport of priests. The Archbishopof Manila, on his part, imposed ecclesiastical penalties on those ofhis subordinates who should clandestinely violate this prohibition. 

Supplicatory letters from Japan reached the religious communities inManila, entreating them to send more priests to aid in the spread ofChristianity; therefore the chiefs of the Orders consulted together, bought a ship, and paid high wages to its officers to carry fourFranciscan, four Dominican and two Recoleto priests to Japan. Whenthe Governor, Alonso Fajardo de Tua, heard of the intended expedition, he threatened to prohibit it, affirming that he would not consent toany more victims being sent to Japan. Thereupon representatives of thereligious Orders waited upon him, to state that if he persisted inhis prohibition, upon his conscience would fall the enormous chargeof having lost the souls which they had hoped to save. The Governortherefore retired from the discussion, remitting the question to theArchbishop, who at once permitted the ship to leave, conveying the tenpriests disguised as merchants. Several times the vessel was nearlywrecked, but at length arrived safely in a Japanese port. The tenpriests landed, and were shortly afterwards burnt by Imperial order. 

In Rome a very disputed inquiry had been made into the circumstancesof the Franciscan mission; but, in spite of the severe ordeal of the_diaboli advocatus_, cononization was conceded to Pedro Bautista andhis companions. 

In 1629 the Papal Bull of Urban VIII. , dated September 14, 1627, waspublished in Manila, amidst public feasts and popular rejoicing. TheBull declared the missionaries of Japan to be Saints and Martyrs andPatron Saints of the second class. Increased animation in favour ofmissions to Japan became general in consequence. Ten thousand pesoswere collected to fit out a ship to carry 12 priests from Manila, besides 24 priests who came from Pangasinán to embark privately. Theship, however, was wrecked off the Ilocos Province coast (Luzon Is. ), but the crew and priests were saved. 

A large junk was then secretly prepared at a distance from Manilafor the purpose of conveying another party of friars to Japan; but, just as they were about to embark, the Governor sent a detachmentof soldiers with orders to prevent them doing so, and he definitelyprohibited further missionary expeditions. 

In 1633 the final extinction of Christians was vigorously commencedby the Emperor To-Kogunsama; and in the following year 79 personswere executed. The same Emperor sent a ship to Manila with a presentof 150 lepers, saying that, as he did not permit Christians in hiscountry, and knowing that the priests had specially cared for theseunfortunate beings, he remitted them to their care. The first impulseof the Spaniards was to sink the ship with cannon shots, but finally itwas agreed to receive the lepers, who were conducted with great pompthrough the city and lodged in a large shed at Dilao (now the suburbof Paco). This gave rise to the foundation of the Saint Lazarus'(Lepers') Hospital, existing at the present day. [34] The Governorreplied to the Emperor that if any more were sent he would kill themand their conductors. 

The Emperor then convoked a great assembly of his vassal kings andnobles, and solemnly imposed upon them the strict obligation to fulfilall the edicts against the entry and permanence of Christians, undersevere penalties, forfeiture of property, deprivation of dignities, or death. So intent was this Prince on effectually annihilatingChristianity within his Empire, that he thenceforth interdicted alltrade with Macao; and when in 1640 his decree was disregarded byfour Portuguese traders, who, describing themselves as ambassadors, arrived with a suite of 46 Orientals, they were all executed. 

In the same year the Governor of the Philippines called a Congress oflocal officials and ecclesiastics, amongst whom it was agreed that tosend missionaries to Japan was to send them directly to death, and itwas thenceforth resolved to abandon Catholic missions in that country. 

Secret missions and consequent executions still continued until aboutthe year 1642, when the Dutch took Tanchiu--in Formosa Island--fromthe Spaniards, and intercepted the passage to Japan of priests andmerchants alike. The conquest of Japan was a feat which all theartifice of King Philip IV. 's favourites and their monastic agentscould not compass. 

In 1862, during the Pontificate of Pius IX. , 620 missionaries who hadmet with martyrdom in Japan, in the 17th century, were canonized withgreat pomp and appropriate ceremony in Rome. 

CHAPTER VI

Conflicts with the Dutch

_Consequent_ on the union of the Crowns of Portugal and Spain(1581-1640), the feuds, as between nations, diplomatically subsided, although the individual antagonism was as rife as ever. 

Spanish and Portuguese interests in the Moluccas, as elsewhere, werethenceforth officially mutual. In the Molucca group, the old contestsbetween the once rival kingdoms had estranged the natives from theirancient compulsory alliances. Anti-Portuguese and Philo-Portugueseparties had sprung up amongst the petty sovereignties, but thePortuguese fort and factory established in Ternate Island were heldfor many years, despite all contentions. But another rivalry, asformidable and more detrimental than that of the Portuguese in daysgone by, now menaced Spanish ascendancy. 

From the close of the 16th century up to the year of the "FamilyCompact" Wars (1763), Holland and Spain were relentless foes. Torecount the numerous combats between their respective fleets duringthis period, would itself require a volume. It will suffice here toshow the bearing of these political conflicts upon the concerns of thePhilippine Colony. The Treaty of Antwerp, which was wrung from theSpaniards in 1609, 28 years after the union of Spain and Portugal, broke the scourge of their tyranny, whilst it failed to assuagethe mutual antipathy. One of the consequences of the "Wars of theFlanders, " which terminated with this treaty, was that the Dutch wereobliged to seek in the Far East the merchandise which had hithertobeen supplied to them from the Peninsula. The short-sighted policyof the Spaniards in closing to the Dutch the Portuguese markets, which were now theirs, brought upon themselves the destruction ofthe monopolies which they had gained by the Union. The Dutch werenow free, and their old tyrant's policy induced them to establishindependently their own trading headquarters in the Molucca Islands, whence they could obtain directly the produce forbidden to them inthe home ports. Hence, from those islands, the ships of a powerfulNetherlands Trading Company sallied forth from time to time to meetthe Spanish galleons from Mexico laden with silver and manufacturedgoods. Previous to this, and during the Wars of the Flanders, Dutch corsairs hovered about the waters of the Moluccas, to takereprisals from the Spaniards. These encounters frequently took placeat the eastern entrance of the San Bernadino Straits, where the Dutchwere accustomed to heave-to in anticipation of the arrival of theirprizes. In this manner, constantly roving about the Philippine waters, they enriched themselves at the expense of their detested adversary, and, in a small degree, avenged themselves of the bloodshed andoppression which for over sixty years had desolated the Low Countries. 

The Philippine Colony lost immense sums in the seizure of itsgalleons from Mexico, upon which it almost entirely depended forsubsistence. Being a dependency of New Spain, its whole intercoursewith the civilized world, its supplies of troops and Europeanmanufactured articles, were contingent upon the safe arrival of thegalleons. Also the dollars with which they annually purchased cargoesfrom the Chinese for the galleons came from Mexico. Consequently, the Dutch usually took the aggressive in these sea-battles, althoughthey were not always victorious. When there were no ships to meet, they bombarded the ports where others were being built. The Spaniards, on their part, from time to time fitted out vessels to run down tothe Molucca Islands to attack the enemy in his own waters. 

During the Governorship of Gomez Perez Dasmariñas (1590-93), thenative King of Siao Island--one of the Molucca group--came to Manilato offer homage and vassalage to the representative of the King ofSpain and Portugal, in return for protection against the incursionsof the Dutch and the raids of the Ternate natives. Dasmariñas receivedhim and the Spanish priests who accompanied him with affability, and, being satisfied with his credentials, he prepared a large expeditionto go to the Moluccas to set matters in order. The fleet was composedof several frigates, 1 ship, 6 galleys, and 100 small vessels, allwell armed. The fighting men numbered 100 Spaniards, 400 Pampanga andTagálog arquebusiers, 1, 000 Visaya archers and lancers, besides 100Chinese to row the galleys. This expedition, which was calculated tobe amply sufficient to subdue all the Moluccas, sailed from Caviteon October 6, 1593. The sailing ships having got far ahead of thegalleys, they hove-to off Punta de Azúfre (N. Of Maricaban Is. ) towait for them. The galleys arrived; and the next day they were ableto start again in company. Meanwhile, a conspiracy was formed by theChinese galleymen to murder all the Spaniards. Assuming these Chineseto be volunteers, their action would appear to be extremely vile. If, however, as is most probable, they were pressed into this militaryservice to foreigners, it seems quite natural, that being forced tobloodshed without alternative, they should first fight for their ownliberty, seeing that they had come to the Islands to trade. 

All but the Chinese were asleep, and they fell upon the Spaniards ina body. Eighteen of the troops and four slaves escaped by jumpinginto the sea. The Governor was sleeping in his cabin, but awoke onhearing the noise. He supposed the ship had grounded, and was comingup the companion _en déshabille_, when a Chinaman clove his head witha cutlass. The Governor reached his state-room, and taking his Missaland the Image of the Virgin in his hand, he died in six hours. TheChinese did not venture below, where the priests and armed soldierswere hidden. They cleared the decks of all their opponents, made fastthe hatches and gangways, and waited three days, when, after puttingashore those who were still alive, they escaped to Cochin China, wherethe King and Mandarins seized the vessel and all she carried. On boardwere found 12, 000 pesos in coin, some silver, and jewels belongingto the Governor and his suite. Thus the expedition was brought to anuntimely end. The King of Siao, and the missionaries accompanying him, had started in advance for Otong (Panay Is. ) to wait for the Governor, and there they received the news of the disaster. 

Amongst the most notable of the successful expeditions of theSpaniards, was that of Pedro Bravo de Acuña, in 1606, which consistedof 19 frigates, 9 galleys, and 8 small craft, carrying a totalof about 2, 000 men, and provisions for a prolonged struggle. Theresult was that they subdued a petty sultan, friendly to the Dutch, and established a fortress on his island. 

About the year 1607 the Supreme Court (the Governorship being vacantfrom 1606 to 1608), hearing that a Dutch vessel was hovering offTernate, sent a ship against it, commanded by Pedro de Heredia. Acombat ensued. The Dutch commander was taken prisoner with several ofhis men, and lodged in the fort at Ternate, but was ransomed on paymentof P50, 000 to the Spanish commander. Heredia returned joyfully toManila, where, much to his surprise, he was prosecuted by the SupremeCourt for exceeding his instructions, and expired of melancholy. Theransomed Dutch leader was making his way back to his headquartersin a small ship, peacefully, and without threatening the Spaniardsin any way, when the Supreme Court treacherously sent a galley anda frigate after him to make him prisoner a second time. Overwhelmedby numbers and arms, and little expecting such perfidious conductof the Spaniards, he was at once arrested and brought to Manila. TheDutch returned 22 Spanish prisoners of war to Manila to ransom him, but whilst these were retained, the Dutch commander was neverthelessimprisoned for life. 

Some years afterwards a Dutch squadron anchored off the south pointof Bataan Province, not far from Punta Marivéles, at the entranceto Manila Bay. Juan de Silva, the Governor (1609-16), was in greatstraits. Several ships had been lost by storms, others were away, and there was no adequate floating armament with which to meet theenemy. However, the Dutch lay-to for five or six months, waiting toseize the Chinese and Japanese traders' goods on their way to theManila market. They secured immense booty, and were in no hurry toopen hostilities. This delay gave de Silva time to prepare vessels toattack the foe. In the interval he dreamt that Saint Mark had offeredto help him defeat the Dutch. On awaking, he called a priest, whom heconsulted about the dream, and they agreed that the nocturnal visionwas a sign from Heaven denoting a victory. The priest went (fromCavite) to Manila to procure a relic of this glorious intercessor, and returned with his portrait to the Governor, who adored it. Inhaste the ships and armament were prepared. On Saint Mark's day, therefore, the Spaniards sallied forth from Cavite with six ships, carrying 70 guns, and two galleys and two launches, also well armed, besides a number of small, light vessels to assist in the formationof line of battle. 

All the European fighting men in Manila and Cavite embarked--over1, 000 Spaniards--the flower of the Colony, together with a largeforce of natives, who were taught to believe that the Dutch wereinfidels. On the issue of this day's events perchance dependedthe possession of the Colony. Manila and Cavite were garrisoned byvolunteers. Orations were offered in the churches. The MiraculousImage of Our Lady of the Guide was taken in procession from theHermitage, and exposed to public view in the Cathedral. The Saintsof the different churches and sanctuaries were adored and exhibiteddaily. The Governor himself took the supreme command, and dispelledall wavering doubt in his subordinates by proclaiming Saint Mark'spromise of intercession. On his ship he hoisted the Royal Standard, on which was embroidered the Image of the Blessed Virgin, with themotto "_Mostrate esse Matrem_" and over a beautifully calm sea heled the way to battle and to victory. 

A shot from the Spanish heavy artillery opened the bloody combat. TheDutch were completely vanquished, after a fierce struggle, whichlasted six hours. Their three ships were destroyed, and their flags, artillery, and plundered merchandise, to the value of P300, 000, wereseized. This famous engagement was thenceforth known as the Battleof Playa Honda. 

Again, in 1611, under de Silva, a squadron sailed to the Moluccasand defeated the Dutch off Gilolo Island. 

In 1617 the Spaniards had a successful engagement off the Zambalescoast with the Dutch, who lost three of their ships. 

In July, 1620, three Mexican galleons were met by three Dutch vesselsoff Cape Espíritu Santo (Sámar Is. ), at the entrance of the SanBernadino Straits, but managed to escape in the dark. Two ran ashoreand broke up; the third reached Manila. After this, the Gov. -General, Alonso Fajardo de Tua, ordered the course of the State ships to bevaried on each voyage. 

In 1625 the Dutch again appeared off the Zambales coast, and Gerónimode Silva went out against them. The Spaniards, having lost one man, relinquished the pursuit of the enemy, and the Commander was broughtto trial by the Supreme Court. 

In 1626, at the close of the Governorship of Fernando de Silva, aSpanish Colony was founded on Formosa Island, but no supplies were sentto it, and consequently in 1642 it surrendered to the Dutch, who heldit for 20 years, until they were driven out by the Chinese adventurerKoxinga. And thus for over a century and a half the strife continued, until the Dutch concentrated their attention on the development oftheir Eastern Colonies, which the power of Spain, growing more andmore effete, was incompetent to impede. 

In the middle of the 17th century the Tartars invaded China andoverthrew the Min Dynasty--at that time represented by the ChineseEmperor Yunglic. He was succeeded on the throne by the TartarEmperor Kungchi, to whose arbitrary power nearly all the ChineseEmpire had submitted. Amongst the few Mongol chiefs who held outagainst Ta-Tsing dominion was a certain Mandarin known by the name ofKoxinga, who retired to the Island of Kinmuen, where he asserted hisindependence and defied his nation's conqueror. Securely establishedin his stronghold, he invited the Chinese to take refuge in hisisland and oppose the Tartar's rule. Therefore the Emperor orderedthat no man should inhabit China within four leagues of the coast, except in those provinces which were undoubtedly loyal to the newGovernment. The coast was consequently laid bare; vessels, houses, plantations, and everything useful to man, were destroyed in order tocut off effectually all communications with lands beyond the TartarEmpire. The Chinese from the coast, who for generations had earned aliving by fishing, etc. , crowded into the interior, and their miserywas indescribable. 

Koxinga, unable to communicate with the mainland of the Empire, turned his attention to the conquest of Formosa Island, at the timein the possession of the Dutch. According to Dutch accounts theEuropean settlers numbered about 600, with a garrison of 2, 200. TheDutch artillery, stores, and merchandise were valued at P8, 000, 000, and the Chinese, who attacked them under Koxinga, were about 100, 000strong. The settlement surrendered to the invaders' superior numbers, and Koxinga established himself as King of the Island. Koxinga hadbecome acquainted with an Italian Dominican missionary named VittorioRiccio, whom he created a Mandarin, and sent him as Ambassador tothe Governor of the Philippines. Riccio therefore arrived in Manilain 1662, the bearer of Koxinga's despatches calling upon the Governorto pay tribute, under threat of the Colony being attacked by Koxingaif his demand were refused. 

The position of Riccio as a European friar and Ambassador of aMongol adventurer was as awkward as it was novel. He was receivedwith great honour in Manila, where he disembarked, and rode to theGovernment House in the full uniform of a Chinese envoy, throughlines of troops drawn up to salute him as he passed. At the same time, letters from Formosa had also been received by the Chinese in Manila, and the Government at once accused them of conniving at rebellion. Allavailable forces were concentrated in the capital; and to increasethe garrison the Governor published a decree, dated May 6, 1662, ordering the demolition of the forts of Zamboanga, Ylígan (MindanaoIs. ), Calamianes and Ternale [35] (Moluccas). 

The only provincial fort preserved was that of Surigao (then calledCaraga), consequently in the south the Mahometans became completemasters on land and at sea for half a year. 

The troops in Manila numbered 100 cavalry and 8, 000infantry. Fortifications were raised, and redoubts were constructedin which to secrete the Treasury funds. When all the armament was inreadiness, the Spaniards incited the Chinese to rebel, in order toafford a pretext for their massacre. 

Two junk masters were seized, and the Chinese population was menaced;therefore they prepared for their own defence, and then opened theaffray, for which the Government was secretly longing, by killinga Spaniard in the market-place. Suddenly artillery fire was openedon the Parian, and many of the peaceful Chinese traders, in theirterror, hanged themselves; many were drowned in the attempt to reachthe canoes in which to get away to sea; some few did safely arrivein Formosa Island and joined Koxinga's camp, whilst others tookto the mountains. Some 8, 000 to 9, 000 Chinese remained quiet, butready for any event, when they were suddenly attacked by Spaniardsand natives. The confusion was general, and the Chinese seemed tobe gaining ground; therefore the Governor sent the Ambassador Riccioand a certain Fray Joseph de Madrid to parley with them. The Chineseaccepted the terms offered by Riccio, who returned to the Governor, leaving Fray Joseph with the rebels; but when Riccio went back witha general pardon and a promise to restore the two junk masters, he found that they had beheaded the priest. A general carnage ofthe Mongols followed, and Juan de la Concepcion says [36] that theoriginal intention of the Spaniards was to kill every Chinaman, but that they desisted in view of the inconvenience which would haveensued from the want of tradesmen and mechanics. Therefore they madea virtue of a necessity, and graciously pardoned in the name of HisCatholic Majesty all who laid down their arms. 

Riccio returned to Formosa Island, and found Koxinga preparing forwarfare against the Philippines, but before he could carry out hisintentions he died of fever. The chiefs successor, of a less bellicosespirit, sent Riccio a second time to Manila, and a treaty was agreedto, re-establishing commercial relations with the Chinese. Shortlyafter Koxinga's decease a rebellion was raised in Formosa; andthe Island, falling at length into the hands of a Tartar party, became annexed to China under the new dynasty. Then Riccio wascalled upon to relate the part he had taken in Koxinga's affairs, and he was heard in council. Some present were in favour of invadingthe Philippines in great force because of the cruel and unwarrantedgeneral massacre of the Chinese in cold blood; but Riccio took painsto show how powerful Spain was, and how justified was the action ofthe Spaniards, as a measure of precaution, in view of the threatenedinvasion of Koxinga. The Chinese party was appeased, but had theTartars cared to take up the cause of their conquered subjects, the fate of the Philippines would have been doubtful. 

The rule of the Governors-General of the Islands was, uponthe whole, benignant with respect to the natives who manifestedsubmission. Apart from the unconcealed animosity of the monastic party, the Gov. -General's liberty of action was always very much locallyrestrained by the Supreme Court and by individual officials. Thestanding rule was, that in the event of the death or deprivation ofoffice of the Gov. -General, the Civil Government was to be assumedby the Supreme Court, and the military administration by the seniormagistrate. Latterly, in the absence of a Gov. -General, from any causewhatsoever, the sub-inspector of the forces became Acting-Gov. -General. 

Up to the beginning of the last century the authority of the King'sabsolute will was always jealously imposed, and the Governors-Generalwere frequently rebuked for having exercised independent action, taking the initiative in what they deemed the best policy. But RoyalDecrees could not enforce honesty; the peculations and frauds on thepart of the secular authorities, and increasing quarrels and jealousiesamongst the several religious bodies, seemed to annihilate all prospectof social and material progress of the Colony. As early as the reignof Philip III. (1598-1621) the procurators of Manila had, during threeyears, been unsuccessfully soliciting from the mother country financialhelp for the Philippines to meet official discrepancies. The affairsof the Colony were eventually submitted to a special Royal Commissionin Spain, the result being that the King was advised to abandon thispossession, which was not only unproductive, but had become a costlycentre of disputes and bad feeling. However, Fray Hernando de Moraga, a missionary from the Philippines, happened to be in the Peninsulaat the time, and successfully implored the King to withhold hisratification of the recommendation of the Commission. His Majestyavowed that even though the maintenance of this Colony should exhausthis Mexican Treasury, his conscience would not allow him to consentto the perdition of souls which had been saved, nor to relinquishthe hope of rescuing yet far more in these distant regions. 

During the first two centuries following the foundation of the Colony, it was the custom for a Royal Commission to be appointed to inquireinto the official acts of the outgoing Governor before he could leavethe Islands--_Hacérle la residencia_, as it was called. 

Whilst on the one hand this measure effectually served as a checkupon a Governor who might be inclined to adopt unjustifiable meansof coercion, or commit defalcations, it was also attended with manyabuses; for against an energetic ruler an antagonistic party wasalways raised, ready to join in the ultimate ruin of the Governorwho had aroused their susceptibilities by refusing to favour theirnefarious schemes. Hence when a _prima facie_ case was made outagainst a Governor, his inexperienced successor was often persuadedto consent to his incarceration whilst the articles of impeachmentwere being investigated. 

Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera (1635-44) had been Governor of Panamábefore he was appointed to the Philippines. During his term of officehere he had usually sided with the Jesuits on important questionstaken up by the friars, and on being succeeded by Diego Fajardo, he was brought to trial, fined P 25, 000, and put into prison. Afterfive years' confinement he was released by Royal Order and returnedto Spain, where the King partially compensated him with the Governmentof the Canary Islands. 

Juan Vargas (1678-84) had been in office for nearly seven years, and the Royal Commissioner who inquired into his acts took four yearsto draw up his report. He filled 20 large volumes of a statement ofthe charges made against the late Governor, some of which were grave, but the majority of them were of a very frivolous character. This isthe longest inquiry of the kind on record. 

Acting-Governor José Torralba (1715-17) was arrested on thetermination of his Governorship and confined in the Fortress ofSantiago, charged with embezzlement to the amount of P 700, 000. Hehad also to deposit the sum of P 20, 000 for the expenses of theinquiry commission. Several other officials were imprisoned with himas accomplices in his crimes. He is said to have sent his son withpublic funds on trading expeditions around the coasts, and his wifeand young children to Mexico with an enormous sum of money defraudedfrom the Government. Figures at that date show, that when he took theGovernment, there was a balance in the Treasury of P 238, 849, andwhen he left it in two years and a half, the balance was P 33, 226, leaving a deficit of P 205, 623, whilst the expenses of the Colonywere not extraordinary during that period. Amongst other charges, he was accused of having sold ten Provincial Government licences(_encomiendas_), many offices of notaries, scriveners, etc. , andconceded 27 months' gambling licences to the Chinese in the Parianwithout accounting to the Treasury. He was finally sentenced to paya fine of P 100, 000, the costs of the trial, the forfeiture of theP 20, 000 already deposited, perpetual deprivation of public office, and banishment from the Philippine Islands and Madrid. When theRoyal Order reached Manila he was so ill that his banishment waspostponed. He lived for a short time nominally under arrest, and waspermitted to beg alms for his subsistence within the city until hedied in the Hospital of San Juan de Dios in 1736. 

The defalcations of some of the Governors caused no inconsiderableanxiety to the Sovereign. Pedro de Arandia, in his dual capacity ofGov. -General and Chief Justice (1754-59), was a corrupt administratorof his country's wealth. He is said to have amassed a fortune of P25, 000 during his five years' term of office, and on his death heleft it all to pious works (_vide_ "Obras pias"). 

Governor Berenguer y Marquina (1788-93) was accused of bribery, but the King absolved him. 

In the last century a Governor of Yloilo is said to have absconded ina sailing-ship with a large sum of the public funds. A local Governorwas then also _ex-officio_ administrator; and, although the systemwas afterwards reformed, official extortion was rife throughout thewhole Spanish administration of the Colony, up to the last. 

A strange drama of the year 1622 well portrays the spirit of thetimes--the immunity of a Gov. -General in those days, as well asthe religious sentiment which accompanied his most questionableacts. Alonso Fajardo de Tua having suspected his wife of infidelity, went to the house where she was accustomed to meet her paramour. Herattire was such as to confirm her husband's surmises. He calleda priest and instructed him to confess her, telling him that heintended to take her life. The priest, failing to dissuade Fajardo frominflicting such an extreme penalty, took her confession and profferedher spiritual consolation. Then Fajardo, incensed with jealousy, mortally stabbed her. No inquiry into the occurrence seems to havebeen made, and he continued to govern for two years after the event, when he died of melancholy. It is recorded that the paramour, who wasthe son of a Cádiz merchant, had formerly been the accepted _fiancé_of Fajardo's wife, and that he arrived in Manila in their company. TheGovernor gave him time to confess before he killed him, after which(according to one account) he caused his house to be razed to theground, and the land on which it stood to be strewn with salt. Juande la Concepcion, however, says that the house stood for one hundredyears after the event as a memorial of the punishment. 

In 1640 Olivarez, King Philip IV. 's chief counsellor, had succeeded byhis arrogance and unprecedented policy of repression in arousing thelatent discontent of the Portuguese. A few years previously they hadmade an unsuccessful effort to regain their independent nationalityunder the sovereignty of the Duke of Braganza. At length, when a callwas made upon their boldest warriors to support the King of Spain inhis protracted struggle with the Catalonians, an insurrection brokeout, which only terminated when Portugal had thrown off, for ever, the scourge of Spanish supremacy. 

The Duke of Braganza was crowned King of Portugal under the titleof John IV. , and every Portuguese colony declared in his favour, except Ceuta, on the African coast. The news of the separationof Portugal from Spain reached Manila in the following year. TheGov. -General at that time--Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera--at oncesent out an expedition of picked men under Juan Claudio with ordersto take Macao, --a Portuguese settlement at the mouth of the CantonRiver, about 40 miles west of Hongkong. The attempt miserably failed, and the blue-and-white ensign continued to wave unscathed over thelittle territory. The Governor of Macao, who was willing to yield, was denounced a traitor to Portugal, and killed by the populace. JuanClaudio, who was taken prisoner, was generously liberated by favourof the Portuguese Viceroy of Goa, and returned to Manila to relatehis defeat. [37]

The Convent of Santa Clara was founded in Manila in 1621 by Gerónimade la Asuncion, who, three years afterwards, was expelled from themanagement by the friars because she refused to admit reforms in theconventual regulations. The General Council subsequently restoredher to the matronship for 20 years. Public opinion was at thistime vividly aroused against the superiors of the convents, who, it was alleged, made serious inroads on society by inveigling themarriageable young women into taking the veil and to live unnaturallives. The public demanded that there should be a fixed limit tothe number of nuns admitted. An ecclesiastic of high degree madestrenuous efforts to rescue three nuns who had just been admitted, but the abbess persistently refused to surrender them until herexcommunication was published on the walls of the nunnery. 

In 1750 a certain Mother Cecilia, who had been in the nunnery of SantaCatalina since she was 16 years of age, fell in love with a Spaniardwho lived opposite, named Francisco Antonio de Figueroa, and beggedto be relieved of her vows and have her liberty restored to her. TheArchbishop was willing to grant her request, which was, however, stoutly opposed by the Dominican friars. On appeal being made to theGovernor, as viceregal patron, he ordered her to be set at liberty. Thefriars nevertheless defied the Governor, who, to sustain his authority, was compelled to order the troops to be placed under arms, and thecommanding officer of the artillery to hold the cannons in readinessto fire when and where necessary. In view of these preparations, thefriars allowed the nun to leave her confinement, and she was lodged inthe College of Santa Potenciana pending the dispute. Public excitementwas intense. The Archbishop ordered the girl to be liberated, but ashis subordinates were still contumacious to his bidding, the Bishopof Cebú was invited to arbitrate on the question, but he declinedto interfere, therefore an appeal was remitted to the Archbishop ofMexico. In the meantime the girl was married to her lover, and longafterwards a citation arrived from Mexico for the woman to appearat that ecclesiastical court. She went there with her husband, fromwhom she was separated whilst the case was being tried, but in theend her liberty and marriage were confirmed. 

During the Government of Niño de Tabora (1626-32), the High Hostand sacred vessels were stolen from the Cathedral of Manila. TheArchbishop was in consequence sorely distressed, and walked barefootedto the Jesuits' convent to weep with the priests, and therein finda solace for his mental affliction. It was surmised that the wrathof God at such a crime would assuredly be avenged by calamities onthe inhabitants, and confessions were made daily. The friars agreedto appease the anger of the Almighty by making public penance andby public prayer. The Archbishop subjected himself to a most rigidabstinence. He perpetually fasted, ate herbs, drank only water, slept on the floor with a stone for a pillow, and flagellated his ownbody. On Corpus Christi day a religious procession passed through thepublic thoroughfares solemnly exhorting the delinquents to restorethe body of Our Saviour, but all in vain. The melancholy prelate, weak beyond recovery from his self-imposed privations, came to thewindow of his retreat as the _cortége_ passed in front of it, andthere he breathed his last. 

As in all other Spanish colonies, the Inquisition had its secretagents or commissaries in the Philippines. Sometimes a priest wouldhold powers for several years to inquire into the private lives andacts of individuals, whilst no one knew who the informer was. TheHoly Office ordered that its _Letter of Anathema_, with the names infull of all persons who had incurred pains and penalties for heresy, should be read in public places every three years, but this orderwas not fulfilled. The _Letter of Anathema_ was so read in 1669, and the only time since then up to the present day was in 1718. 

During the minority of the young Spanish King Charles II. The regencywas held by his mother, the Queen-Dowager, who was unfortunatelyinfluenced by favourites, to the great disgust of the Court andthe people. Amongst these sycophants was a man named Valenzuela, ofnoble birth, who, as a boy, had followed the custom of those days, and entered as page to a nobleman--the Duke del Infantado--to learnmanners and Court etiquette. 

The Duke went to Italy as Spanish ambassador, and took Valenzuelaunder his protection. He was a handsome and talented young fellow, learned for those times, --intelligent, well versed in all the generousexercises of chivalry, and a poet by nature. On his return from Italywith the Duke, his patron caused him to be created a Cavalier of theOrder of Saint James. The Duke shortly afterwards died, but throughthe influence of the Dowager-Queen's confessor--the notorious Nitard, also a favourite--young Valenzuela was presented at Court, where hemade love to one of the Queen's maids-of-honour--a German--and marriedher. The Prince, Don Juan de Austria, who headed the party againstthe Queen, expelled her favourite (Nitard) from Court, and Valenzuelabecame Her Majesty's sole confidential adviser. Nearly every night, at late hours, the Queen went to Valenzuela's apartment to conferwith him, whilst he daily brought her secret news gleaned from thecourtiers. The Queen created him Marquis of San Bartolome and ofVilla Sierra, a first-class Grandee of Spain, and Prime Minister. Hewas a most perfect courtier; and it is related of him that when abull-fight took place, he used to go to the royal box richly adornedin fighting attire, and, with profound reverence, beg Her Majesty'sleave to challenge the bull. The Queen, it is said, never refused himthe solicited permission, but tenderly begged of him not to exposehimself to such dangers. Sometimes he would appear in the ring as acavalier, in a black costume embroidered with silver and with a largewhite-and-black plume, in imitation of the Queen's half mourning. Itwas much remarked that on one occasion he wore a device of the sun withan eagle looking down upon it, and the words, "_I alone have licence_. "

He composed several comedies, and allowed them to be performed at hisexpense for the free amusement of the people. He also much improvedthe city of Madrid with fine buildings, bridges, and many publicworks to sustain his popularity amongst the citizens. 

The young King, now a youth, ordered a deer hunt to be prepared inthe Escorial grounds; and during the diversion His Majesty happenedto shoot Valenzuela in the muscle of his arm, whether intentionally oraccidentally is not known. However, the terrified Queen-mother faintedand fell into the arms of her ladies-in-waiting. This circumstance wasmuch commented upon, and contributed in no small degree to the publicodium and final downfall of Valenzuela in 1684. At length Don Juan deAustria returned to the Court, when the young King was of an age toappreciate public concerns, and he became more the Court favouritethan ever Valenzuela or Nitard had been during the Dowager-Queen'sadministration. Valenzuela fell at once from the exclusive positionhe had held in royal circles and retired to the Escorial, where, byorder of Don Juan de Austria, a party of young noblemen, including DonJuan's son, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, the Marquis of Valparaiso, and others of rank, accompanied by 200 horsemen, went to seize thedisfavoured courtier. He was out walking at the time of their arrival, but he was speedily apprised of the danger by his bosom friend, thePrior of Saint Jerome Monastery. The priest hid him in the roof of themonastery, where, being nearly suffocated for want of ventilation, a surgeon was sent up to bleed him and make him sleep. The searchparty failed to find the refugee, and were about to return, when thesurgeon treacherously betrayed the secret to them, and Valenzuelawas discovered sleeping with arms by his side. He was made prisoner, confined in a castle, degraded of all his honours and rank, and finallybanished by Don Juan de Austria to the furthermost Spanish possessionin the world--the Philippines, --whilst his family was incarceratedin a convent at Talavera in Spain. 

When the Pope heard of this violation of Church asylum in the Escorialcommitted by the nobles, he excommunicated all concerned in it;and in order to purge themselves of their sin and obtain absolution, they were compelled to go to church in their shirts, each with a ropearound his neck. They actually performed this penance, and then theNuncio accredited to the Spanish Court, Cardinal Mellini, relievedthem of their ecclesiastical pains and penalties. 

Valenzuela was permitted to establish a house within the prison ofCavite, where he lived for several years as a State prisoner andexile. When Don Juan de Austria died, the Dowager-Queen regainedin a measure her influence at Court, and one of the first favoursshe begged of her son, the King, was the return of Valenzuela toMadrid. The King granted her request, and she at once despatched aship to bring him to Spain, but the Secretary of State interferedand stopped it. Nevertheless, Valenzuela, pardoned and liberated, set out for the Peninsula, and reached Mexico, where he died fromthe kick of a horse. 

In 1703 a vessel arrived in Manila Bay from India, under an Armeniancaptain, bringing a young man 35 years of age, a native of Turin, who styled himself Monseigneur Charles Thomas Maillard de Tournon, Visitor-General, Bishop of Savoy, Patriarch of Antioch, ApostolicNuncio and Legate _ad latere_ of the Pope. He was on his way to Chinato visit the missions, and called at Manila with eight priests andfour Italian families. 

Following the custom established with foreign ships, the custodianof the Fort of Cavite placed guards on board this vessel. This actseems to have aroused the indignation of the exalted stranger, whoassumed a very haughty tone, and arrogantly insisted upon a verbalmessage being taken to the Governor (Domingo Sabalburco) to announcehis arrival. In Manila these circumstances were much debated, andat length the Governor instructed the custodian of Cavite Fort toaccompany the stranger to the City of Manila. On his approach a salutewas fired from the city battlements, and he took up his residence inthe house of the Maestre de Campo. There the Governor went to visit himas the Pope's legate, and was received with great arrogance. However, the Governor showed no resentment; he seemed to be quite dumfounded bythe Patriarch's dignified airs, and consulted with the Supreme Courtabout the irregularity of a legate arriving without exhibiting the_regium exequatur_. The Court decided that the stranger must be calledupon to present his Papal credentials and the royal confirmation ofhis powers with respect to Spanish dominions, and with this object amagistrate was commissioned to wait upon him. The Patriarch treatedthe commissioner with undisguised contempt, expressing his indignationand surprise at his position being doubted; he absolutely refused toshow any credentials, and turned out the commissioner, raving at himand causing an uproarious scandal. At each stage of the negotiationswith him the Patriarch put forward the great authority of the Pope, and his unquestionable right to dispose of realms and peoples at hiswill, and somehow this ruse seemed to subdue everybody; the Governor, the Archbishop, and all the authorities, civil and ecclesiastical, wereoverawed. The Archbishop, in fact, made an unconditional surrender tothe Patriarch, who now declared that all State and religious authoritymust be subordinate to his will. The Archbishop was ordered by himto set aside his Archiepiscopal Cross, whilst the Patriarch used hisown particular cross in the religious ceremonies, and left it in theCathedral of Manila on his departure. He went so far as to causehis master of the ceremonies to publicly divest the Archbishop ofa part of his official robes and insignia, to all which the prelatemeekly consented. All the chief authorities visited the Patriarch, who, however, was too dignified to return their calls. Here was, in fact, an extraordinary case of a man unknown to everybody, andrefusing to prove his identity, having absolutely brought all theauthority of a colony under his sway! He was, as a matter of fact, the legate of Clement XI. 

The only person to whom he appears to have extended his friendship wasthe Maestre de Campo, at the time under ecclesiastical arrest. TheMaestre de Campo was visited by the Patriarch, who so ingeniouslyblinded him with his patronage, that this official squanderedabout P20, 000 in entertaining his strange visitor and making himpresents. The Patriarch in return insisted upon the Governor andArchbishop pardoning the Maestre de Campo of all his alleged misdeeds, and when this was conceded he caused the pardon to be proclaimed ina public Act. All the Manila officials were treated by the Patriarchwith open disdain, but he created the Armenian captain of the vesselwhich brought him to Manila a knight of the "Golden Spur, " in a publicceremony in the Maestre de Campo's house in which the Gov. -Generalwas ignored. 

From Manila the Patriarch went to China, where his meddling withthe Catholic missions met with fierce opposition. He so dogmaticallyasserted his unproved authority, that he caused European missionariesto be cited in the Chinese Courts and sentenced for their disobedience;but he was playing with fire, for at last the Emperor of China, weariedof his importunities, banished him from the country. Thence he wentto Macao, where, much to the bewilderment of the Chinese population, he maintained constant disputes with the Catholic missionaries until hedied there in 1710 in the Inquisition prison, where he was incarceratedat the instance of the Jesuits. 

When King Philip V. Became aware of what had occurred in Manila, he was highly incensed, and immediately ordered the Gov. -Generalto Mexico, declaring him disqualified for life to serve under theCrown. The senior magistrates of the Supreme Court were removed fromoffice. Each priest who had yielded to the legate's authority withoutpreviously taking cognisance of the _regium exequatur_ was orderedto pay P1, 000 fine. The Archbishop was degraded and transferredfrom the Archbishopric of Manila to the Bishopric of Guadalajara inMexico. In spite of this punishment, it came to the knowledge of theKing that the ex-Archbishop of Manila, as Bishop of Guadalajara, wasstill conspiring with the Patriarch to subvert civil and religiousauthority in his dominions, with which object he had sent him P1, 000from Mexico, and had promised a fixed sum of P1, 000 per annum, withwhatever further support he could afford to give him. Therefore theKing issued an edict to the effect that any legate who should arrivein his domains without royal confirmation of his Papal credentialsshould thenceforth be treated simply with the charity and courtesydue to any traveller; and in order that this edict should not beforgotten, or evaded, under pretext of its having become obsolete, it was further enacted that it should be read in full on certain daysin every year before all the civil and ecclesiastical functionaries. 

CHAPTER VII

British Occupation of Manila

In 1761 King George III. Had just succeeded to the throne of England, and the protracted contentions with France had been suspended fora while. It was soon evident, however, that efforts were being madeto extinguish the power and prestige of Great Britain, and with thisobject a convention had been entered into between France and Spainknown as the "Family Compact. " It was so called because it was analliance made by the three branches of the House of Bourbon, namely, Louis XV. Of France, Charles III. Of Spain, and his son Ferdinand, who, in accordance with the Treaty of Vienna, had ascended the throne ofNaples. Spain engaged to unite her forces with those of France againstEngland on May 1, 1762, if the war still lasted, in which case Francewould restore Minorca to Spain. Pitt was convinced of the necessity ofmeeting the coalition by force of arms, but he was unable to securethe support of his Ministry to declare war, and he therefore retiredfrom the premiership. The succeeding Cabinet were, nevertheless, compelled to adopt his policy, and after having lost many advantagesby delaying their decision, war was declared against France and Spain. 

The British were successful everywhere. In the West Indies theCaribbean Islands and Havana were captured with great booty by Rodneyand Monckton, whilst a British Fleet was despatched to the PhilippineIslands with orders to take Manila. 

On September 14, 1762, a British vessel arrived in the Bay of Manila, refused to admit Spanish officers on board, and after taking soundingsshe sailed again out of the harbour. 

In the evening of September 22 the British squadron, composed of 13ships, under the command of Admiral Cornish, entered the bay, and thenext day two British officers were deputed to demand the surrenderof the Citadel, which was refused. Brigadier-General Draper thereupondisembarked his troops, and again called upon the city to yield. Thiscitation being defied, the bombardment commenced the next day. Thefleet anchored in front of a powder-magazine, took possession of thechurches of Malate, Ermita, San Juan de Bagumbayan, and Santiago. Twopicket-guards made an unsuccessful sortie against them. The whole forcein Manila, at the time, was the King's regiment, which mustered about600 men and 80 pieces of artillery. The British forces consisted of1, 500 European troops (one regiment of infantry and two companiesof artillery), 3, 000 seamen, 800 Sepoy fusileers, and 1, 400 Sepoyprisoners, making a total of 6, 830 men, including officers. [38]

There was no Gov. -General in the Philippines at the time, and theonly person with whom the British Commander could treat was theacting-Governor, the Archbishop Manuel Antonio Rojo, who was willing toyield. His authority was, however, set aside by a rebellious war party, who placed themselves under the leadership of a magistrate of theSupreme Court, named Simon de Anda y Salazar. This individual, insteadof leading them to battle, fled to the Province of Bulacan the daybefore the capture of Manila in a prahu with a few natives, carryingwith him some money and half a ream of official stamped paper. [39]He knew perfectly well that he was defying the legal authority ofthe acting-Governor, and was, in fact, in open rebellion against hismandate. It was necessary, therefore, to give an official colour tohis acts by issuing his orders and proclamations on Government-stampedpaper, so that their validity might be recognized if he subsequentlysucceeded in justifying his action at Court. 

On September 24 the Spanish batteries of San Diego and San Andresopened fire, but with little effect. A richly laden galleon--the_Philipino_--was known to be on her way from Mexico to Manila, but theBritish ships which were sent in quest of her fell in with anothergalleon--the _Trinidad_--and brought their prize to Manila. Hertreasure amounted to about P2, 500, 000. [40]

A Frenchman resident in Manila, Monsieur Faller, made an attack onthe British, who forced him to retire, and he was then accused by theSpaniards of treason. Artillery fire was kept up on both sides. TheArchbishop's nephew was taken prisoner, and an officer was sent withhim to hand him over to his uncle. However, a party of natives fellupon them and murdered them. The officer's head having been cut off, it was demanded by General Draper. Excuses were made for not givingit up, and the General determined thenceforth to continue the warfarewith vigour and punish this atrocity. The artillery was increased byanother battery of three mortars, placed behind the church of Santiago, and the bombardment continued. 

Five thousand native recruits arrived from the provinces, and out ofthis number 2, 000 Pampangos were selected. They were divided intothree columns, in order to advance by different routes and attackrespectively the churches of Santiago, Malate, and Ermita, and thetroops on the beach. At each place they were driven back. The leader ofthe attack on Malate and Ermita--Don Santiago Orendain--was declareda traitor. The two first columns were dispersed with great confusionand loss. The third column retreated before they had sustained orinflicted any loss. The natives fled to their villages in dismay, and on October 5 the British entered the walled city. After a coupleof hours' bombardment, the forts of San Andrés and San Eugenio weredemolished, the artillery overturned, and the defenders' fusileersand sappers were killed. 

A council of war was now held by the Spaniards. General Drapersustained the authority of the Archbishop against the war party, composed chiefly of civilians determined to continue the defencein spite of the opinion of the military men, who argued that acapitulation was inevitable. But matters were brought to a crisisby the natives, who refused to repair the fortifications, and theEuropeans were unable to perform such hard labour. Great confusionreigned in the city--the clergy fled through the Puerta del Parian, where there was still a native guard. According to Zúñiga, the Britishspent 20, 000 cannon balls and 5, 000 shells in the bombardment ofthe city. 

Major Fell entered Manila (Oct. 6) at the head of his troops, andGeneral Draper followed, leading his column unopposed, with twofield-pieces in the van, whilst a constant musketry fire cleared theCalle Real (the central thoroughfare) as they advanced. The peoplefled before the enemy. The gates being closed, they scrambled up thewalls and got into boats or swam off. 

Colonel Monson was sent by Draper to the Archbishop-Governor tosay that he expected immediate surrender. This requisition wasdisputed by the Archbishop, who presented a paper purporting to beterms of capitulation. The Colonel refused to take it, and demandedan unconditional surrender. Then the Archbishop, a Colonel of theSpanish troops, and Colonel Monson went to interview the General, whose quarters were in the Palace. The Archbishop, offering himselfas a prisoner, presented the terms of capitulation, which providedfor the free exercise of their religion; security of privateproperty; free trade to all the inhabitants of the Islands, and thecontinuation of the powers of the Supreme Court to keep order amongstthe ill-disposed. These terms were granted, but General Draper, on hispart, stipulated for an indemnity of four millions of pesos, and itwas agreed to pay one half of this sum in specie and valuables and theother half in Treasury bills on Madrid. The capitulation, with thesemodifications, was signed by Draper and the Archbishop-Governor. TheSpanish Colonel took the document to the Fort to have it countersignedby the magistrates, which was at once done; the Fort was deliveredup to the British, and the magistrates repaired to the Palace to paytheir respects to the conquerors. 

When the British flag was seen floating over the Fort of Santiagothere was great cheering from the British Fleet. The Archbishopstated that when Draper reviewed the troops, more than 1, 000 menwere missing, including sixteen officers. Among these officers werea Major fatally wounded by an arrow on the first day of the assault, and the Vice-Admiral, who was drowned whilst coming ashore in a boat. 

The natives who had been brought from the provinces to Manila wereplundering and committing excesses in the city, so Draper had themall driven out. Guards were placed at the doors of the nunneries andconvents to prevent outrages on the women, and then the city was givenup to the victorious troops for pillage during three hours. Zúñiga, however, remarks that the European troops were moderate, but that theIndian contingents were insatiable. They are said to have committedmany atrocities, and, revelling in bloodshed, even murdered theinhabitants. They ransacked the suburbs of Santa Cruz and Binondo, and, acting like savage victorious tribes, they ravished women, and evenwent into the highways to murder and rob those who fled. The threehours having expired, the troops were called in, but the followingday a similar scene was permitted. The Archbishop thereupon besoughtthe General to put a stop to it, and have compassion on the city. TheGeneral complied with this request, and immediately restored orderunder pain of death for disobedience. Some Chinese were in consequencehanged. General Draper himself killed one whom he found in the act ofstealing, and he ordered that all Church property should be restored, but only some priests' vestments were recovered. 

Draper demanded the surrender of Cavite, which was agreed to by theArchbishop and magistrates, but the Commanding Officer refused tocomply. The Major of that garrison was sent with a message to theCommander, but on the way he talked with such freedom about thesurrender to the British, that the natives quitted their posts andplundered the Arsenal. The Commander, rather than face humiliation, retired to a ship, and left all further responsibility to the Major. 

Measures were now taken to pay the agreed indemnity. However, the consequent heavy contributions levied upon the inhabitants, together with the silver from the pious establishments, churchornaments, plate, the Archbishop's rings and breast-cross, onlyamounted to P546, 000. The British then proposed to accept onemillion at once and draw the rest from the cargo of the galleon_Philipino_, should it result that she had not been seized by theBritish previous to the day the capitulation was signed--but the onemillion was not forthcoming. The day before the capture of Manila aroyal messenger had been sent off with P111, 000, with orders to hidethem in some place in the Laguna de Bay. The Archbishop now orderedtheir return to Manila, and issued a requisition to that effect, but the Franciscan friars were insubordinate, and armed the natives, whom they virtually ruled, and the treasure was secreted in MajayjayConvent (Tayabas Province). Thence, on receipt of the Archbishop'smessage, it was carried across country to a place in North Pampanga, bordering on Cagayán and Pangasinán. The British, convinced thatthey were being duped, insisted on their claim. Thomas Backhouse, commanding the troops stationed at Pasig, went up to the Laguna deBay with 80 mixed troops, to intercept the bringing of the _Philipino_treasure. He attacked Tunasan, Vinan and Santa Rosa, and embarked forPagsanján, which was then the capital of the Laguna Province. Theinhabitants, after firing the convent and church, fled. Backhousereturned to Calamba, entered the Province of Batangas, overran it, and made several Austin friars prisoners. In Lipa he seized P3, 000, and established his quarters there, expecting that the _Philipino_treasure would be carried that way; but on learning that it had beentransported by sea to a Pampanga coast town, Backhouse returned tohis post at Pasig. 

In the capitulation, the whole of the Archipelago was surrendered tothe British, but the magistrate Simon de Anda determined to appeal toarms. Draper used stratagem, and issued a proclamation commiseratingthe fate of the natives who paid tribute to Spaniards, and assuringthem that the King of England would not exact it. The Archbishop, asGovernor, became Draper's tool, sent messages to the Spanish families, persuading them to return, and appointed an Englishman, married in thecountry, to be Alderman of Tondo. Despite the strenuous oppositionof the Supreme Court, the Archbishop, at the instance of Draper, convened a council of native headmen and representative families, and proposed to them the cession of all the Islands to the King ofEngland. Draper clearly saw that the ruling powers in the Colony, judging from their energy and effective measures, were the friars, so he treated them with great respect. The Frenchman Faller, whounsuccessfully opposed the British assault, was offered troops togo and take possession of Zamboanga and assume the government there, but he refused, as did also a Spaniard named Sandoval. 

Draper returned to Europe; Major Fell was left in command of thetroops, whilst Drake assumed the military government of the city, withSmith and Brock as council, and Brereton in charge of Cavite. Draper, on leaving, gave orders for two frigates to go in search of the_Philipino_ treasure. The ships got as far as Capul Island and put intoharbour. They were detained there by a ruse on the part of a half-castepilot, and in the meantime the treasure was stealthily carried away. 

Simon de Anda, from his provincial retreat, proclaimed himselfGov. -General. He declared that the Archbishop and the magistrates, as prisoners of war, were dead in the eye of the law; and thathis assumption of authority was based upon old laws. None of hiscountrymen disputed his authority, and he established himself inBacolor. The British Council then convened a meeting of the chiefinhabitants, at which Anda was declared a seditious person anddeserving of capital punishment, together with the Marquis of MonteCastro, who had violated his _parole d'honneur_, and the Provincialof the Austin Friars, who had joined the rebel party. All the Austinfriars were declared traitors for having broken their allegiance tothe Archbishop's authority. The British still pressed for the paymentof the one million, whilst the Spaniards declared they possessed nomore. The Austin friars were ordered to keep the natives peaceableif they did not wish to provoke hostilities against themselves. Atlength, the British, convinced of the futility of decrees, determinedto sally out with their forces, and 500 men under Thomas Backhousewent up the Pasig River to secure a free passage for supplies to thecamp. Whilst opposite to Maybonga, a Spaniard, named Bustos, and hisCagayán troops fired on them. The British returned the fire, and Bustosfled to Mariquina. The British passed the river, and sent an officerwith a white flag of truce to demand surrender. Bustos was insolent, and threatened to hang the officer if he returned. Backhouse's troopsthen opened fire and placed two field-pieces, which completely scaredthe natives, who fled in such great confusion that many were drownedin the river. Thence the British drove their enemy before them like aflock of goats, and reached the Bamban River, where the Sultan of Sulu[41] resided with his family. The Sultan, after a feigned resistance, surrendered to the British, who fortified his dwelling, and occupied itduring the whole of the operations. There were subsequent skirmisheson the Pasig River banks with the armed insurgents, who were drivenas far as the Antipolo Mountains. 

Meanwhile, Anda collected troops; and Bustos, as hisLieutenant-General, vaunted the power of his chief through the Bulacanand Pampanga Provinces. A Franciscan and an Austin friar, having ledtroops to Masilo, about seven miles from Manila, the British went outto dislodge them, but on their approach most of the natives feignedthey were dead, and the British returned without any loss in armsor men. 

The British, believing that the Austin friars were conspiring againstthem in connivance with those inside the city, placed these friarsin confinement, and subsequently shipped away eleven of them toEurope. For the same reason they at last determined to enter theSaint Augustine Convent, and on ransacking it, they found that thepriests had been lying to them all the time. Six thousand pesosin coin were found hidden in the garden, and large quantities ofwrought silver elsewhere. The whole premises were then searched, and all the valuables were seized. A British expedition wentout to Bulacan, sailing across the Bay and up the Hagonoy River, where they disembarked at Malolos on January 19, 1763. The troops, under Captain Eslay, of the Grenadiers, numbered 600 men, many ofwhom were Chinese volunteers. As they advanced from Malolos, thenatives and Spaniards fled. On the way to Bulacan, Bustos came outto meet them, but retreated into ambush on seeing they were superiorin numbers. Bulacan Convent was defended by three small cannons. Assoon as the troops came in sight of the convent, a desultory fireof case-shot made great havoc in the ranks of the resident Chinesevolunteers forming the British vanguard. At length the British broughttheir field-pieces into action, and pointing at the enemy's cannon, thefirst discharge carried off the head of their artilleryman Ybarra. Thepanic-stricken natives decamped; the convent was taken by assault;there was an indiscriminate fight and general slaughter. The _Alcalde_and a Franciscan friar fell in action; one Austin friar escaped, and another was seized and killed to avenge the death of the Britishsoldiers. The invading forces occupied the convent, and some of thetroops were shortly sent back to Manila. Bustos reappeared near theBulacan Convent with 8, 000 native troops, of whom 600 were cavalry, but they dared not attack the British. Bustos then manoeuvred in theneighbourhood and made occasional alarms. Small parties were sentout against him, with so little effect that the British Commanderheaded a body in person, and put the whole of Bustos' troops toflight like mosquitoes before a gust of wind, for Bustos feared theywould be pursued into Pampanga. After clearing away the underwood, which served as a covert for the natives, the British reoccupied theconvent; but Bustos returned to his position, and was a second timeas disgracefully routed by the British, who then withdrew to Manila. 

At this time it was alleged that a conspiracy was being organizedamongst the Chinese resident in the Province of Pampanga with theobject of assassinating Anda and his Spanish followers. The Chinesecut trenches and raised fortifications, avowing that their bellicosepreparations were only to defend themselves against the possible attackof the British; whilst the Spaniards saw in all this a connivancewith the invaders. The latter no doubt conjectured rightly. Anda, acting upon the views of his party, precipitated matters by appearingwith 14 Spanish soldiers and a crowd of native bowmen to commence theslaughter in the town of Guagua. The Chinese assembled there in greatnumbers, and Anda endeavoured in vain to induce them to surrender tohim. He then sent a Spaniard, named Miguel Garcés, with a message, offering them pardon in the name of the King of Spain if they wouldlay down their arms; but they killed the emissary, and Anda thereforecommenced the attack. The result was favourable for Anda's party, and great numbers of the Chinese were slain. Many fled to the fields, where they were pursued by the troops, whilst those who were capturedwere hanged. Such was the inveterate hatred which Anda entertainedfor the Chinese, that he issued a general decree declaring all theChinese traitors to the Spanish flag, and ordered them to be hangedwherever they might be found in the provinces. Thus thousands ofChinese were executed who had taken no part whatever in the eventsof this little war. 

Admiral Cornish having decided to return to Europe, again urged for thepayment of the two millions of pesos instalment of the indemnity. TheArchbishop was in great straits; he was willing to do anything, but his colleagues opposed him, and Cornish was at length obliged tocontent himself with a bill on the Madrid Treasury. Anda appointedBustos _Alcalde_ of Bulacan, and ordered him to recruit and traintroops, as he still nurtured the hope of confining the British toManila--perhaps even of driving them out of the Colony. 

The British in the city were compelled to adopt the most rigorousprecautions against the rising of the population within the walls, and several Spanish residents were arrested for intriguing againstthem in concert with those outside. 

Several French prisoners from Pondicherry deserted from the British;and some Spanish regular troops, who had been taken prisoners, effectedtheir escape. The Fiscal of the Supreme Court and a Señor Villa Cortawere found conspiring. The latter was caught in the act of sendinga letter to Anda, and was sentenced to be hanged and quartered--thequarters to be exhibited in public places. The Archbishop, however, obtained pardon for Villa Corta on the condition that Anda shouldevacuate the Pampanga Province: Villa Corta wrote to Anda, begging himto accede to this, but Anda absolutely refused to make any sacrificeto save his friend's life, and at the same time he wrote a disgracefulletter to the Archbishop, couched in such insulting terms that theBritish Commander burnt it without letting the Archbishop see it. VillaCorta's life was saved by the payment of P3, 000. 

The treasure brought by the _Philipino_ served Anda to organizea respectable force of recruits. Spaniards who were living in theprovinces in misery, and a crowd of natives always ready for pay, enlisted. These forces, under Lieut. -General Bustos, encamped atMalinta, about five miles from Manila. The officers lodged in a housebelonging to the Austin friars, around which the troops pitched theirtents--the whole being defended by redoubts and palisades raisedunder the direction of a French deserter, who led a company. Fromthis place Bustos constantly caused alarm to the British troops, whoonce had to retreat before a picket-guard sent to carry off the churchbells of Quiapo. The British, in fact, were much molested by Bustos'Malinta troops, who forced the invaders to withdraw to Manila andreduce the extension of their outposts. This measure was followedup by a proclamation, dated January 23, 1763, in which the BritishCommander alluded to Bustos' troops as "canaille and robbers, " andoffered a reward of P5, 000 for Anda's head, declaring him and hisparty rebels and traitors to their Majesties the Kings of Spain andEngland. Anda, chafing at his impotence to combat the invading partyby force of arms, gave vent to his feelings of rage and disappointmentby issuing a decree, dated from Bacolor (Pampanga), May 19, 1763, of which the translated text reads as follows, viz. :--

 "Royal Government Tribunal of these Islands for His Catholic Majesty:--Whereas the Royal Government Tribunal, Supreme Government and Captain-Generalship of His Catholic Majesty in these Islands are gravely offended at the audacity and blindness of those men, who, forgetting all humanity, have condemned as rebellious and disobedient to both their Majesties, him, who as a faithful vassal of His Catholic Majesty, and in conformity with the law, holds the Royal Tribunal, Government and Captain-Generalship; and having suffered by a reward being offered by order of the British Governor in council to whomsoever shall deliver me alive or dead; and by their having placed the arms captured in Bulacan at the foot of the gallows--seeing that instead of their punishing and censuring such execrable proceedings, the spirit of haughtiness and pride is increasing, as shown in the proclamation published in Manila on the 17th instant, in which the troops of His Majesty are infamously calumniated--treating them as blackguards and disaffected to their service--charging them with plotting to assassinate the English officers and soldiers, and with having fled when attacked--the whole of these accusations being false: Now therefore by these presents, be it known to all Spaniards and true Englishmen, that Messrs. Drake, Smith and Brock who signed the proclamation referred to, must not be considered as vassals of His Britannic Majesty, but as tyrants and common enemies unworthy of human society, and therefore, I order that they be apprehended as such, and I offer ten thousand pesos for each one of them alive or dead. At the same time, I withdraw the order to treat the vassals of His Britannic Majesty with all the humanity which the rights of war will permit, as has been practised hitherto with respect to the prisoners and deserters. "

Anda had by this time received the consent of his King to occupy theposition which he had usurped, and the British Commander was thusenabled to communicate officially with him, if occasion required it:Drake therefore replied to this proclamation, recommending Anda tocarry on the war with greater moderation and humanity. 

On June 27, 1763, the British made a sortie from the city to dislodgeBustos, who still occupied Malinta. The attacking party consisted of350 fusileers, 50 horsemen, a mob of Chinese, and a number of guns andammunition. The British took up quarters on one side of the river, whilst Bustos remained on the other. The opposing parties exchangedfire, but neither cared nor dared to cross the water-way. The Britishforces retired in good order to Masilo, and remained there until theyheard that Bustos had burnt Malinta House, belonging to the Austinfriars, and removed his camp to Meycauayan. Then the British withdrewto Manila in the evening. On the Spanish side there were two killed, five mortally wounded, and two slightly wounded. The British losseswere six mortally wounded and seven disabled. This was the lastencounter in open warfare. Chinamen occasionally lost their livesthrough their love of plunder in the vicinity occupied by the British. 

During these operations the priesthood taught the ignorant nativesto believe that the invaders were infidels--and a holy war waspreached. The friars, especially those of the Augustine Order, [42] abandoned their mission of peace for that of the sword, andthe British met with a slight reverse at Masilo, where a religiousfanatic of the Austin friars had put himself at the head of a smallband lying in ambush. 

On July 23, 1763, a British frigate brought news from Europe of anarmistice, and the preliminaries of peace, by virtue of which Manilawas to be evacuated (Peace of Paris, February 10, 1763), were receivedby the British Commander on August 27 following, and communicatedby him to the Archbishop-Governor for the "Commander-in-Chief" ofthe Spanish arms. Anda stood on his dignity, and protested that heshould be addressed directly, and be styled Captain-General. On thisplea he declined to receive the communication. Drake replied by amanifesto, dated September 19, to the effect that the responsibilityof the blood which might be spilt in consequence of Anda's refusalto accept his notification would rest with him. Anda publisheda counter-manifesto, dated September 28, in Bacolor (Pampanga), protesting that he had not been treated with proper courtesy, andclaiming the governor-generalship. 

Greater latitude was allowed to the prisoners, and Villa Corta effectedhis escape disguised as a woman. He fled to Anda, --the co-conspiratorwho had refused to save his life, --and their superficial friendshipwas renewed. Villa Corta was left in charge of business in Bacolorduring Anda's temporary absence. Meanwhile the Archbishop became ill;and it was discussed who should be his successor in the governmentin the event of his death. Villa Corta argued that it fell to himas senior magistrate. The discussion came to the knowledge of Anda, and seriously aroused his jealousy. Fearing conspiracy againsthis ambitious projects, he left his camp at Polo, and hastened tointerrogate Villa Corta, who explained that he had only made casualremarks in the course of conversation. Anda, however, was restless onthe subject of the succession, and sought the opinion of all the chiefpriests and the bishops. Various opinions existed. Some urged that thedecision be left to the Supreme Court; others were in favour of Anda, whilst many prudently abstained from expressing their views. Anda wasso nervously anxious about the matter that he even begged the opinionof the British Commander, and wrote him on the subject from Bacolor(Pampanga) on November 2, 1763. 

Major Fell seriously quarrelled with Drake about the FrenchmanFaller, whom Admiral Cornish had left under sentence of death forhaving written a letter to Java accusing him of being a pirate and arobber. Drake protected Faller, whilst Fell demanded his execution, and the dispute became so heated that Fell was about to slay Drakewith a bayonet, but was prevented by some soldiers. Fell then wentto London to complain of Drake, hence Anda's letter was addressedto Backhouse, who took Fell's place. Anda, who months since hadrefused to negotiate or treat with Drake, still claimed to bestyled Captain-General. Backhouse replied that he was ignorant ofthe Spaniards' statutes or laws, but that he knew the Governor wasthe Archbishop. Anda thereupon spread the report that the BritishCommander had forged the Preliminaries of Peace because he could nolonger hold out in warfare. The British necessarily had to send to theprovinces to purchase provisions, and Anda caused their forage partiesto be attacked, so that the war really continued, in spite of the newsof peace, until January 30, 1764. On this day the Archbishop died, sorely grieved at the situation, and weighed down with cares. He hadengaged to pay four millions of pesos and surrender the Islands, butcould he indeed have refused any terms? The British were in possession;and these conditions were dictated at the point of the bayonet. 

Immediately after the funeral of the Archbishop, Anda receiveddespatches from the King of Spain, by way of China, confirming the newsof peace to his Governor at Manila. Then the British acknowledgedAnda as Governor, and proceeded to evacuate the city. But rivalfactions were not so easily set aside, and fierce quarrels ensuedbetween the respective parties of Anda, Villa Corta, and Ustarizas to who should be Governor and receive the city officially fromthe British. Anda, being actually in command of the troops, heldthe strongest position. The conflict was happily terminated by thearrival at Marinduque Island of the newly-appointed Gov. -General, from Spain, Don Francisco de La Torre. A galley was sent there byAnda to bring His Excellency to Luzon, and he proceeded to Bacolor, where Anda resigned the Government to him on March 17, 1764. 

La Torre sent a message to Backhouse and Brereton--the commandingofficers at Manila and Cavite, --stating that he was ready to takeover the city in due form, and he thereupon took up his residencein Santa Cruz, placed a Spanish guard with sentinels from thatward as far as the Pontoon Bridge (Puente de Barcas, which thenoccupied the site of the present Puente de España), where the Britishadvance-guard was, and friendly communication took place. GovernorDrake was indignant at being ignored in all these proceedings, andordered the Spanish Governor to withdraw his guards, under threat ofappealing to force. Backhouse and Brereton resented this rudeness andordered the troops under arms to arrest Drake, whose hostile action, due to jealousy, they declared unwarrantable. Drake, being apprisedof their intentions, escaped from the city with his suite, embarkedon board a frigate, and sailed off. 

La Torre was said to be indisposed on the day appointed for receivingthe city. Some assert that he feigned indisposition as he did not wishto arouse Anda's animosity, and desired to afford him an opportunityof displaying himself as a delegate, at least, of the highest localauthority by receiving the city from the British, whilst he pamperedhis pride by allowing him to enter triumphantly into it. As the cityexchanged masters, the Spanish flag was hoisted once more on the Fortof Santiago amidst the hurrahs of the populace, artillery salutes, and the ringing of the church bells. 

Before embarking, Brereton offered to do justice to any claimswhich might legitimately be established against the Britishauthorities. Hence a sloop lent to Drake, valued at P4, 000, was paid for to the Jesuits, and the P3, 000 paid to ransom VillaCorta's life was returned, Brereton remarking, that if the sentenceagainst him were valid, it should have been executed at the time, but it could not be commuted by money payment. At the instance of theBritish authorities, a free pardon was granted and published to theChinese, few of whom, however, confided in it, and many left withthe retiring army. Brereton, with his forces, embarked for India, after despatching a packet-boat to restore the Sultan of Sulu tohis throne. In connection with this expedition, 150 British troopstemporarily remained on the Island of Balambangan, near Balabac Island, and Anda sent a messenger to inquire about this. The reply came thatthe Moros, in return for British friendliness, invited the hundredand fifty to a feast and treacherously slew 144 of them. 

During this convulsed period, great atrocities werecommitted. Unfortunately the common felons were released by the Britishfrom their prisons, and used their liberty to perpetrate murders androbbery in alliance with those always naturally bent that way. Sogreat did this evil become, so bold were the marauders, that in timethey formed large parties, infested highways, attacked plantations, and the poor peasantry had to flee, leaving their cattle and alltheir belongings in their power. Several avenged themselves of thefriars for old scores--others settled accounts with those Europeanswho had tyrannized over them of old. The Chinese, whether so-calledChristians or pagans, declared for and aided the British. 

The proceedings of the choleric Simon de Anda y Salazár were approvedby his Sovereign, but his impetuous disposition drove from himhis best counsellors, whilst those who were bold enough to upholdtheir opinions against his, were accused of connivance with theBritish. Communications with Europe were scant indeed in those days, but Anda could not have been altogether ignorant of the causes ofthe war, which terminated with the Treaty of Paris. 

A few months afterwards Anda returned to Spain and was receivedwith favour by the King, who created him a Cavalier of the Order ofCharles III. With a pension of 4, 000 reales (about £40), and awardedhim a pension of 3, 000 pesos, and on November 6, 1767, appointedhim a Councillor of Castile. In the course of the next three yearsGov. -General José Raon, who superseded La Torre, had fallen intodisgrace, and in 1770 Anda was appointed to the governor-generalshipof the Islands, specially charged to carry out the royal will withrespect to the expulsion of the Jesuits and the defence of Crownrights in ecclesiastical matters. 

Anda at once found himself in conflict with the Jesuits, the friars, and the out-going Gov. -General Raon. As soon as Raon vacated hispost, Anda, as Gov. -General, had his predecessor confined in the Fortof Santiago, where he died. At the same time he sent back to Spaintwo magistrates who had sided with Raon, imprisoned other judges, and banished military officers from the capital. Anda's positionwas a very peculiar one. A partisan of the friars at heart, he hadundertaken the defence of Crown interests against them, but, in ameasure, he was able to palliate the bitterness he thus created byexpelling the Jesuits, who were an eyesore to the friars. The Jesuitsmight easily have promoted a native revolt against their departure, but they meekly submitted to the decree of banishment and left theIslands, taking away nothing but their clothing. Having rid himself ofhis rivals and the Jesuits, Anda was constantly haunted by the fearof fresh conflict with the British. He had the city walls repairedand created a fleet of ships built in the provinces of Pangasinán, Cavite, and Zambales, consisting of one frigate of war with 18 cannon, another with 32 cannon, besides 14 vessels of different types, carrying a total of 98 cannon and 12 swivel guns, all in readinessfor the British who never reappeared. 

Born on October 28, 1709, in the Province of Alava, Spain, Simonde Anda's irascible temper, his vanity, and his extravagant loveof power created enmities and brought trouble upon himself at everystep. Exhausted by six years of continual strife in his private andofficial capacities, he retired to the Austin Friars' Hospital ofSan Juan de Dios, in Cavite, where, on October 30, 1776, he expired, much to the relief of his numerous adversaries. The last resting-placeof his mortal remains is behind the altar of the Cathedral, marked bya tablet; and a monument erected to his memory--107 years after hisdeath--stands on the quayside at the end of the Paseo de Santa Lucia, near the Fort of Santiago, Manila. 

Consequent on the troubled state of the Colony, a serious rebellionarose in Ylogan (Cagayán Province) amongst the Timava natives, whoflogged the Commandant, and declared they would no longer pay tributeto the Spaniards. The revolt spread to Ilocos and Pangasinán; in thelatter province Don Fernando Araya raised a troop of 30 Spaniardswith firearms, and 400 friendly natives with bows and arrows, andafter great slaughter of the rebels the ringleaders were caught, and tranquillity was restored by the gallows. 

A rising far more important occurred in Ilocos Sur. The _Alcalde_was deposed, and escaped after he had been forced to give up hisstaff of office. The leader of this revolt was a cunning and wilyManila native, named Diego de Silan, who persuaded the people to ceasepaying tribute and declare against the Spaniards, who, he pointed out, were unable to resist the English. The City of Vigan was in greatcommotion. The Vicar-General parleyed in vain with the natives; then, at the head of his troops, he dispersed the rebels, some of whom weretaken prisoners. But the bulk of the rioters rallied and attacked, and burnt down part of the city. The loyal natives fled before theflames. The Vicar-General's house was taken, and the arms in it wereseized. All the Austin friars within a large surrounding neighbourhoodhad to ransom themselves by money payments. Silan was then acknowledgedas chief over a large territory north and south of Vigan. He appointedhis lieutenants, and issued a manifesto declaring Jesus of Nazarethto be Captain-General of the place, and that he was His _Alcalde_for the promotion of the Catholic religion and dominion of the Kingof Spain. His manifesto was wholly that of a religious fanatic. Heobliged the natives to attend Mass, to confess, and to see that theirchildren went to school. In the midst of all this pretended piety, he stole cattle and exacted ransoms for the lives of all those whocould pay them; he levied a tax of P100 on each friar. Under thepretence of keeping out the British, he placed sentinels in alldirections to prevent news reaching the terrible Simon de Anda. ButAnda, though fully informed by an Austin friar of what was happening, had not sufficient troops to march north. He sent a requisition toSilan to present himself within nine days, under penalty of arrestas a traitor. Whilst this order was published, vague reports wereintentionally spread that the Spaniards were coming to Ilocos ingreat force. Many deserted Silan, but he contrived to deceive eventhe clergy and others by his feigned piety. Silan sent presents toManila for the British, acknowledging the King of England to be hislegitimate Sovereign. The British Governor sent, in return, a vesselbearing despatches to Silan, appointing him _Alcalde_. Elated withpride, Silan at once made this public. The natives were undeceived, for they had counted on him to deliver them from the British; now, totheir dismay, they saw him the authorized magistrate of the invader. Hegave orders to make all the Austin friars prisoners, saying that theBritish would send other clergy in their stead. The friars surrenderedthemselves without resistance and joined their Bishop near Vigan, awaiting the pleasure of Silan. The Bishop excommunicated Silan, andthen he released some of the priests. The christian natives havingrefused to slay the friars, a secret compact was being made, withthis object, with the mountain tribes, when a Spanish half-castenamed Vicos obtained the Bishop's benediction and killed Silan;and the Ilocos rebellion, which had lasted from December 14, 1762, to May 28, 1763, ended. 

Not until a score of little battles had been fought were the numerousriots in the provinces quelled. The loyal troops were divided intosections, and marched north in several directions, until peace wasrestored by March, 1765. Zúñiga says that the Spaniards lost in theseriots about 70 Europeans and 140 natives, whilst they cost the rebelsquite 10, 000 men. 

The submission made to the Spaniards, in the time of Legaspi, of theManila and Tondo chiefs, was but of local importance, and by no meansimplied a total pacific surrender of the whole Archipelago; for eachdistrict had yet to be separately conquered. In many places a boldstand was made for independence, but the superior organization andscience of the European forces invariably brought them final victory. 

The numerous revolutionary protests registered in history againstthe Spanish dominion show that the natives, from the days ofLegaspi onwards, only yielded to a force which they repeatedly, ineach generation, essayed to overthrow. But it does not necessarilyfollow that either the motives which inspired the leaders of thesesocial disturbances, or the acts themselves, were, in every case, laudable ones. 

The Pampanga natives were among the first to submit, but a few yearsafterwards they were in open mutiny against their masters, who, theyalleged, took their young men from their homes to form army corps, and busily employed the able-bodied men remaining in the district tocut timber for Government requirements and furnish provisions to thecamp and to the Arsenal at Cavite. 

In 1622 the natives of Bojol Island erected an oratory in the mountainin honour of an imaginary deity, and revolted against the tyranny ofthe Jesuit missionaries. They proclaimed their intention to regaintheir liberty, and freedom from the payment of tribute to foreigners, and taxes to a Church they did not believe in. Several towns andchurches were burnt, and Catholic images were desecrated, but therebels were dispersed by the Governor of Cebú, who, with a considerablenumber of troops, pursued them into the interior. In the same islanda more serious rising was caused in 1744 by the despotism of a Jesuitpriest named Morales, who arrogated to himself governmental rights, ordering the apprehension of natives who did not attend Mass, andexercising his sacerdotal functions according to his own caprice. Thenatives resisted these abuses, and a certain Dagóhoy, whose brother'sbody had been left uninterred to decompose by the priest's orders, organized a revenge party, and swore to pay the priest in his owncoin. The Jesuit was captured and executed, and his corpse was leftfour days in the sun to corrupt. Great numbers of disaffected nativesflocked to Dagóhoy's standard. Their complaint was, that whilstthey risked their lives in foreign service for the sole benefit oftheir European masters, their homes were wrecked and their wives andfamilies maltreated to recover the tribute. Dagóhoy, with his people, maintained his independence for the space of 35 years, during whichperiod it was necessary to employ constantly detachments of troopsto check the rebels' raids on private property. On the expulsion ofthe Jesuits from the Colony, Recoleto friars went to Bojol, and thenDagóhoy and his partisans submitted to the Government on the conditionof all receiving a full pardon. 

In 1622 an insurrection was set on foot in Leyte Island against Spanishrule, and the Governor of Cebú went there with 40 vessels, carryingtroops and war material, to co-operate with the local Governor againstthe rebels. The native leader was made prisoner, and his head placedon a high pole to strike terror into the populace. Another prisonerwas garrotted, four more were publicly executed by being shot witharrows, and another was burnt. 

In 1629 an attempt was made in the Province of Surigao (then calledCaraga), in the east of Mindanao Island, to throw off the Spanishyoke. Several churches were burnt and four priests were killedby the rebels, and the rising was only quelled after three years'guerilla warfare. 

In 1649 the Gov. -General decided to supply the want of men in theArsenal at Cavite and the increasing necessity for troops, by pressingthe natives of Sámar Island into the King's service. Thereupon a nativeheadman named Sumoroy killed the priest of Ybabao, on the east coastof Sámar, and led the mob who sacked and burnt the churches alongthe coast. The Governor at Catbalogan got together a few men, andsent them into the mountains with orders to send him back the headof Sumoroy, but instead of obeying they joined the rebels and senthim a pig's head. The revolt increased, and General Andrés LopezAzáldegui was despatched to the island with full powers from theGov. -General, whilst he was supported on the coast by armed vesselsfrom Zamboanga. Sumoroy fled to the hills, but his mother was foundin a hut; and the invading party wreaked their vengeance on her byliterally pulling her to pieces. Sumoroy was at length betrayed byhis own people, who carried his head to the Spanish Captain, andthis officer had it exhibited on a pole in the village. Some yearsafterwards another rebel chief surrendered, under a pardon obtainedfor him by the priests, but the military authorities imprisoned andthen hanged him. 

The riots of 1649 extended to other provinces for the same cause. InAlbay, the parish priest of Sorsogón had to flee for his life; inMasbate Island, a sub-lieutenant was killed; in Zamboanga, a priestwas murdered; in Cebú, a Spaniard was assassinated; and in Surigao(then called Caraga) and Butuan, many Europeans fell victims to thefury of the populace. To quell these disturbances, Captain Gregorio deCastillo, stationed at Butuan, was ordered to march against the rebelswith a body of infantry, but bloodshed was avoided by the Captainpublishing a general pardon in the name of the King, and crowds ofinsurgents came to the camp in consequence. The King's name, however, was sullied, for very few of those who surrendered ever regained theirliberty. They were sent prisoners to Manila, where a few were pardoned, others were executed, and the majority became galley-slaves. 

In 1660 there was again a serious rising in Pampanga, the nativesobjecting to cut timber for the Cavite Arsenal without payment. Therevolt spread to Pangasinán Province, where a certain Andrés Málongwas declared king, and he in turn gave to another--Pedro Gumapos--thetitle of "Count. " Messages were sent to Zambales and other adjacentprovinces ordering the natives to kill the Spaniards, under pain ofincurring "King" Málong's displeasure. 

Three army-corps were formed by the rebels: one of 6, 000 men, underMelchor de Veras, for the conquest of Pampanga; another of 3, 000men, led by the titular count Gumapos, to annex Ilocos and Cagayán, whilst the so-called King Málong took the field against the Pangasinánpeople at the head of 2, 000 followers. Ilocos Province declared in hisfavour, and furnished a body of insurgents under a chief named JuanManzano, whilst everywhere on the march the titular king's troopsincreased until they numbered about 40, 000 men. On the way manySpaniards--priests and laymen--were killed. The Gov. -General sent byland to Pampanga 200 Spanish troops, 400 Pampangos and half-breeds, well armed and provisioned, and Mount Arayat was fortified andgarrisoned by 500 men. By sea: two galleys, six small vessels, andfour cargo launches--carrying 700 Spaniards and half-breeds, and 30Pampangos--went to Bolinao, in Zambales Province. The rebels wereeverywhere routed, and their chiefs were hanged--some in Pampangaand others in Manila. 

Almost each generation has called forth the strong arm of the conquerorto extinguish the flame of rebellion in one island or another, therevolt being sometimes due to sacerdotal despotism, and at othertimes to official rapacity. 

In the last century, prior to 1896, several vain attempts to subvertSpanish authority were made, notably in 1811 in Ilocos, where thefanatics sought to establish a new religion and set up a new god. Anattempt was then made to enlist the wild tribes in a plot to murderall the Spaniards, but it was opportunely discovered by the friarsand suppressed before it could be carried out. 

In June, 1823, an order was received from Spain to the effect thatofficers commissioned in the Peninsula should have precedence of allthose appointed in the Colony, so that, for instance, a lieutenantfrom Spain would hold local rank above a Philippine major. ThePhilippine officers protested against this anomaly, alleging that thecommissions granted to them in the name of the Sovereign were as goodas those granted in Spain. The Gov. -General refused to listen to theobjections put forward, and sent Captain Andrés Novales and others onboard a ship bound for Mindanao. Novales, however, escaped to shore, and, in conspiracy with a certain Ruiz, attempted to overthrow theGovernment. At midnight all Manila was aroused by the cry of "Longlive the Emperor Novales!" Disaffected troops promenaded the city;the people sympathized with the movement; flags were waved as therebels passed through the streets; the barrack used by Novales'regiment was seized; the Cathedral and Town Hall were occupied, and at 6 o'clock in the morning Andrés Novales marched to FortSantiago, which was under the command of his brother Antonio. To hisgreat surprise, the brother Antonio stoutly refused to join in therising, and Andrés' expostulations and exhortations were finallymet with a threat to fire on him if he did not retire. Meanwhile, the Gov. -General remained in hiding until he heard that the fort washolding out against Andrés' assault, when he sent troops to assistthe defenders. Hemmed in between the fort and the troops outside, Andrés Novales and Ruiz made their escape, but they were soon takenprisoners. Andrés Novales was found hiding underneath the drawbridgeof the _Puerta Real_. The Gov. -General at once ordered Andrés Novales, Ruiz, and Antonio Novales to be executed. The Town Council then wentin a body to the Gov. -General to protest against the loyal defenderof Fort Santiago being punished simply because he was Andrés Novales'brother. The Gov. -General, however, threatened to have shot any onewho should say a word in favour of the condemned. 

In a garden of the episcopal palace, near the ancient _Puerta delPostigo_, the execution of the three condemned men was about to takeplace, and crowds of people assembled to witness it. At the criticalmoment an assessor of the Supreme Court shouted to the Gov. -Generalthat to take the life of the loyal defender of the fort, solelyon the ground of his relationship to the rebel leader, would be aniniquity. His words found a sympathetic echo among the crowd, and theGov. -General, deadly pale with rage, yielded to this demonstration ofpublic opinion. Antonio Novales was pardoned, but the strain on hisnerves weakened his brain, and he lived for many years a semi-idiotin receipt of a monthly pension of 14 pesos. 

In 1827 the standard of sedition was raised in Cebú and a few townsof that island, but these disturbances were speedily quelled throughthe influence of the Spanish friars. 

In 1828 a conspiracy of a separatist tendency was discovered, andaverted without bloodshed. 

In 1835 Feliciano Páran took the field against the Spaniards in CaviteProvince, and held out so effectually that the Gov. -General came toterms with him and afterwards deported him to the Ladrone Islands. 

In 1836 there was much commotion of a revolutionary character, thepeculiar feature of it being the existence of pro-friar and anti-friarnative parties, the former seeking to subject absolutely the civilgovernment to ecclesiastical control. [43]

In 1841 a student for the priesthood, named Apolinario de la Cruz, affected with religious mania, placed himself at the head of afanatical party in Tayabas, ostensibly for the purpose of establishinga religious sect. Some thousands of natives joined the movement, and troops had to be sent to suppress the rising. Having assumed thetitle of King of the Tagálogs, he pretended to have direct heavenlysupport, telling the ignorant masses that he was invulnerable and thatthe soldiers' bullets would fly from them like chaff before the wind. 

In 1844, during a rising at Jimamaylan, in Negros Island, theSpanish Governor was killed. The revolt is said to have been due tothe Governor having compelled the State prisoners to labour for hisprivate account. 

In 1854 a Spanish half-caste, named Cuesta, came back from Spain withthe rank of major, and at once broke out into open rebellion. The crywas for independence, and four Luzon provinces rose in his support;but the movement was crushed by the troops and Cuesta was hanged. 

In 1870 a certain Camerino raised rebellion in Cavite province, andafter many unsuccessful attempts to capture him he came to terms withthe Gov. -General, who gave him a salaried employment for a coupleof years and then had him executed on the allegation that he wasconcerned in the rising of Cavite Arsenal. 

In 1871 there existed a Secret Society of reformers who used tomeet in Santa Cruz (Manila) at the house of the Philippine priest, Father Mariano. [44] From the house proper a narrow staircase ledto a cistern about 25 feet square, in the side of which there was adoor which closed perfectly. The cistern was divided into two unequalparts, the top compartment being full of water, whilst the lower partserved as the reformers' conference room, so that if search were made, the cistern was, in fact, a cistern. 

Among the members of this confraternity were Father Agustin Mendoza, the parish priest of Santa Cruz; Dr. José Búrgos, also a native priest;Máximo Paterno, the father of Pedro A. Paterno; Ambrosio RianzaresBautista; and others still living (some personally known to me), underthe presidency of José Maria Basa (now residing in Hong-Kong). ThisSecret Society demanded reforms, and published in Madrid their organ, _Eco de Filipinas_, copies of which reached the Islands. The copy forthe paper was the result of the society's deliberations. The monks, incensed at its publication, were, for a long time, puzzled to findout whence the information emanated. Many of the desired reformsclosely affected the position of the regular clergy, the Philippinepriests, led by Dr. Búrgos, urging the fulfilment of the Council ofTrent decisions, which forbade the friars to hold benefices unlessthere were no secular priests available. 

It appears that the friars, nevertheless, secured these ecclesiasticalpreferments by virtue of Papal Bulls of Pius V. And subsequent Popes, who authorized friars to act as parish priests, not in perpetuity, but so long as secular clergymen were insufficient in number to attendto the cure of souls. The native party consequently declared thatthe friars retained their incumbencies illegally and by intrusion, inview of the sufficiency of Philippine secular priests. Had the Councilof Trent enactments been carried out to the letter, undoubtedly thereligious communities in the Philippines would have been doomed tocomparative political impotence. The friars, therefore, sought toembroil Dr. Búrgos and his party in overt acts of sedition, in orderto bring about their downfall and so quash the movement. To this endthey contrived to draw a number of Manila and Cavite natives into aconspiracy to subvert the Spanish Government. The native soldiers ofthe Cavite garrison were induced to co-operate in what they believedto be a genuine endeavour to throw off the Spanish dominion. Theywere told that rockets fired off in Manila would be the signal forrevolt. It happened, however, that they mistook the fireworks of asuburban feast for the agreed signal and precipitated the outbreakin Cavite without any support in the capital. The disaffectedsoldiers seized the Arsenal, whilst others attacked the influentialEuropeans. Colonel Sábas was sent over to Cavite to quell the riot, and after a short, but stubborn resistance, the rebels were overcome, disarmed, and then formed up in line. On Colonel Sábas asking if therewere any one who would not cry, "_Viva España!_" one man steppedforward a few paces out of the ranks. The Colonel shot him dead, and the remainder were marched to prison. 

The ruse operated effectually on the lay authorities, who yielded tothe Spanish monks' demand that the extreme penalty of the law shouldbe inflicted upon their opponents. Thereupon, Dr. José Búrgos (aged30 years), Father Jacinto Zamora (aged 35 years), and Father MarianoGomez [45] (a dotard, 85 years of age) were executed (February 28, 1872) on the _Luneta_, the fashionable esplanade outside the walledcity, facing the sea. 

The friars then caused a bill of indictment to be put forwardby the Public Prosecutor, in which it was alleged that aRevolutionary Government had been projected. The native clergy wereterror-stricken. It was decreed that whilst the Filipinos alreadyacting as parish priests would not be deposed, no further appointmentswould be made, and the most the Philippine novice could aspire towould be the position of coadjutor--practically servant--to the friarincumbent. Moreover, the opportunity was taken to banish to the Ladrone(Marianas) Islands many members of wealthy and influential familieswhose passive resistance was an eyesore to the friars. Among thesewas the late Máximo Paterno (q. V. ), the father of Pedro A. Paterno;also Dr. Antonio M. Regidor y Jurado and José Maria Basa, who arestill living. [46]

In 1889 I visited a penal settlement--La Colonia Agrícola de SanRamón--in Mindanao Island, and during my stay at the director's houseI was every day served at table by a native convict who was said tohave been nominated by the Cavite rebels to the Civil Governorship ofManila. There was, however, no open trial from which the public couldform an opinion of the merits of the case, and the idea of subvertingthe Spanish Government would appear to have been a fantastic concoctionfor the purposes stated. But from that date there never ceased toexist a secret revolutionary agitation which culminated in the eventsof 1898. 

CHAPTER VIII

The Chinese

Long before the foundation of Manila by Legaspi in 1571 theChinese traded with these Islands. Their _locus standi_, however, was invariably a critical one, and their commercial transactionswith the semi-barbarous Philippine Islanders were always conductedafloat. Often their junks were boarded and pillaged by the natives, but, in spite of the immense risk incurred, the Chinese lacked nothingin their active pursuit. Their chief home port was Canton. 

Legaspi soon perceived the advantages which would accrue to hisconquest by fostering the development of commerce with these Islands;and, as an inducement to the Chinese to continue their traffic, he severely punished all acts of violence committed against them. 

In the course of time the Chinese had gained sufficient confidenceunder European protection, to come ashore with their wares. In 1588, Chinese were already paying rent for the land they occupied. Somewriters assert that they propagated their religious doctrines as wellas their customs, but nothing can be found to confirm this statement, and a knowledge of Chinese habits inclines one to think it mostimprobable. In their trading junks they frequently carried theiridols, as a Romish priest carries his missal when he travels. Thenatives may have imitated the Chinese religious rites years before theSpaniards came. There is no evidence adduced to prove that they madeany endeavour to proselytize the natives as the Spaniards did. On theother hand, there is reason to believe that some idols, lost by theChinese in shipwreck and piratical attacks, have been, and still are, revered by the natives as authenticated miraculous images of ChristianSaints (_vide_ "Holy Child of Cebú" and "Our Lady of Cagsaysay"). 

The Chinese contributed, in a large measure, to bring about a state oforder and prosperity in the new Colony, by the introduction of theirsmall trades and industries; and their traffic in the interior, andwith China, was really beneficial, in those times, to the object whichthe conquerors had in view. So numerous, however, did they become, that it was found necessary to regulate the growing commerce and the_modus vivendi_ of the foreign traders. 

In the bad weather they were unable to go to and from their junks, and, fearing lest under such circumstances the trade would fall off, the Government determined to provide them with a large building calledthe _Alcayceria_. The contract for its construction was offered to anyprivate person or corporation willing to take it up on the followingterms, viz. :--The original cost, the annual expense of maintenance, and the annual rents received from the Chinese tenants were to beequally shared by the Government and the contractor. The contract wasaccepted by a certain Fernando de Mier y Noriega, who was appointedbailiff of the _Alcayceria_ for life, and the employment was to behereditary in his family, at a salary of 50 pesos per month. However, when the plan was submitted to the Government, it was consideredtoo extensive, and was consequently greatly reduced, the Governmentdefraying the total cost (P 48, 000). The bailiff's salary was likewisereduced to P 25 per month, and only the condition of sharing rentand expense of preservation was maintained. The _Alcayceria_, wasa square of shops, with a back store, and one apartment above eachtenement. It was inaugurated in 1580, in the Calle de San Fernando, in Binondo, opposite to where is now the Harbour-Master's Office, and within firing range of the forts. In the course of years thisbecame a ruin, and on the same site Government Stores were built in1856. These, too, were wrecked in their turn by the great earthquakeof 1863. In the meantime, the Chinese had long ago spread far beyondthe limits of the _Alcayceria_, and another centre had been providedfor them within the City of Manila. This was called the _Parian_, which is the Mexican word for market-place. It was demolished byGovernment order in 1860, but the entrance to the city at that part(constructed in 1782) still retains the name of _Puerta del Parian_. 

Hence it will be seen that from the time of the conquest, and forgenerations following, the Spanish authorities offered encouragementand protection to the Chinese. 

Dr. Antonio Morga, in his work on the Philippines, p. 349, writes(at the close of the 16th century): "It is true the town cannot existwithout the Chinese, as they are workers in all trades and business, and very industrious and work for small wages. "

Juan de la Concepcion writes [47] (referring to the beginning ofthe 17th century); "Without the trade and commerce of the Chinese, these dominions could not have subsisted. " The same writer estimatesthe number of Chinese in the Colony in 1638 at 33, 000. [48]

In 1686 the policy of fixing the statutory maximum number of Chineseat 6, 000 was discussed, but commercial conveniences outweighed itsadoption. Had the measure been carried out, it was proposed to lodgethem all in one place within easy cannon range, in view of a possiblerising. 

In 1755 it was resolved to expel all non-Christian Chinese, but a termwas allowed for the liquidation of their affairs and withdrawal. ByJune 30, 1755, the day fixed for their departure from Manila, 515Chinamen had been sharp enough to obtain baptism as Christians, in order to evade the edict, besides 1, 108 who were permitted toremain because they were studying the mysteries and intricacies ofChristianity. 2, 070 were banished from Manila, the expulsion beingrigidly enforced on those newly arriving in junks. 

Except a few Europeans and a score of Western Asiatics, the Chinese whoremained were the only merchants in the Archipelago. The natives hadneither knowledge, tact, energy, nor desire to compete with them. TheChinese were a boon to the Colony, for, without them, living wouldhave been far dearer--commodities and labour of all kinds more scarce, and the export and import trade much embarrassed. The Chinese andthe Japanese are really the people who gave to the natives the firstnotions of trade, industry, and fruitful work. The Chinese taught them, amongst many other useful things, the extraction of saccharine juicefrom the sugar-cane, the manufacture of sugar, and the working ofwrought iron. They introduced into the Colony the first sugar-millswith vertical stone crushers, and iron boiling-pans. 

The history of the last 150 years shows that the Chinese, althoughtolerated, were always regarded by the Spanish colonists as anunwelcome race, and the natives have learnt, from example, to despisethem. From time to time, especially since the year 1763, the feelingagainst them has run very high. 

The public clamoured for restrictions on their arrival, impedimentsto the traffic of those already established there, intervention ofthe authorities with respect to their dwellings and mode of living, and not a few urged their total expulsion. Indeed, such influencewas brought to bear on the Indian Council at Madrid during thetemporary Governorship of Juan Arechedera, Bishop of Nueva Segovia(1745-50), that the Archbishop received orders to expel the Chinesefrom the Islands; but, on the ground that to have done so would have_prejudiced public interests_, he simply archived the decree. Even upto the close of Spanish rule, the authorities and the national tradingclass considered the question from very distinct points of view;for the fact is, that only the mildest action was taken--just enoughto appease the wild demands of the people. Still, the Chinaman wasalways subject to the ebb and flow of the tide of official goodwill, and only since 1843 were Chinese shops allowed to be opened on thesame terms as other foreigners. There are now streets of Chinese shops. 

The Chinaman is always ready to sell at any price which will leave hima trifling nett gain, whereas the native, having earned sufficientfor his immediate wants, would stubbornly refuse to sell his waresexcept at an enormous profit. 

Again, but for Chinese coolie competition, [49] constant labourfrom the natives would have been almost unprocurable. The nativeday-labourer would work two or three days, and then suddenlydisappear. The active Chinaman goes day after day to his task(excepting only at the time of the Chinese New Year, in January orFebruary), and can be depended upon; thus the needy native was pushed, by alien competition, to bestir himself. In my time, in the portof Yloilo, four foreign commercial houses had to incur the expenseand risk of bringing Chinese coolies for loading and dischargingvessels, whilst the natives coolly lounged about and absolutelyrefused to work. Moreover, the exactions of the native create aserious impediment to the development of the Colony. Only a verysmall minority of the labouring class will put their hands to workwithout an advance on their wages, and will often demand it without anyguarantee whatsoever. If a native is commissioned to perform any kindof service, he will refuse to stir without a sum of money beforehand, whilst the Chinese very rarely expect payment until they have givenvalue for it. Only the direst necessity will make an unskilled nativework steadily for several weeks for a wage which is only to be paidwhen due. There is scarcely a single agriculturist who is not compelledto sink a share of his capital in making advances to his labourers, who, nevertheless, are in no way legally bound thereby to serve thecapitalist; or, whether they are or not, the fact is, that a largeproportion of this capital so employed must be considered lost. Thereare certain lines of business quite impossible without the co-operationof Chinese, and their exclusion will be a loss to the Colony. 

Taxes were first levied on the Mongol traders in 1828. In1852 a general reform of the fiscal laws was introduced, and theclassification of Chinese dealers was modified. They were then dividedinto four grades or classes, each paying contributions according tothe new tariff. 

In 1886 the universal depression, which was first manifest in thisColony in 1884, still continued. Remedies of most original characterwere suggested in the public organs and private circles, and a renewedspasmodic tirade was directed against the Chinese. A petition, madeand signed by numbers of the retail trading class, was addressed tothe Sovereign; but it appears to have found its last resting-placein the Colonial Secretary's waste-paper basket. The Americans in theUnited States and Mexico were in open riot against the Celestials--theGovernments of Australia had imposed a capitation tax on their entry[50]--in British Columbia there was a party disposed to throw offits allegiance to Great Britain rather than forego its agitationagainst the Chinese. Why should not the Chinese be expelled from thePhilippines, it was asked, or at least be permitted only to pursueagriculture in the Islands? In 1638, around Calamba and along theLaguna shore, they tilled the land; but the selfishness and jealousyof the natives made their permanence impossible. In 1850 the Chinesewere invited to take up agriculture, but the rancorous feeling of thenatives forced them to abandon the idea, and to seek greater securityin the towns. 

The chief accusation levelled against the Chinaman is, that he comes asan adventurer and makes money, which he carries away, without leavingany trace of civilization behind him. The Chinese immigrant is of thelowest social class. Is not the dream of the European adventurer, ofthe same or better class, to make his pile of dollars and be off tothe land of his birth? If he spends more money in the Colony than theChinaman does, it is because he lacks the Chinaman's self-abnegationand thriftiness. Is the kind of civilization taught in the coloniesby low-class European settlers superior?

The Chinaman settled in the Philippines under Spanish rule was quitea different being to the obstinate, self-willed, riotous coolie inHong-Kong or Singapore. In Manila he was drilled past docility--in sixmonths he became even fawning, cringing, and servile, until goadedinto open rebellion. Whatever position he might attain to, he wasnever addressed (as in the British Colonies) as "Mr. " or "Esqre, " orthe equivalent, "Señor D. , " but always "Chinaman ----" ("Chino ----"). 

The total expulsion of the Chinese in Spanish times would have beenhighly prejudicial to trade. Had it suited the State policy tocheck the ingress of the Chinese, nothing would have been easierthan the imposition of a P50 poll tax. To compel them to take upagriculture was out of the question in a Colony where there was solittle guarantee for their personal safety. The frugality, constantactivity, and commendable ambition of the Celestial clashes with thedissipation, indolence and want of aim in life of the native. Thereis absolutely no harmony of thought, purpose, or habit between thePhilippine Malay native and the Mongol race, and the consequence ofChinese coolies working on plantations without ample protection wouldbe frequent assassinations and open affray. Moreover, a native plantercould never manage, to his own satisfaction or interest, an estateworked with Chinese labour, but the European might. The Chinese isessentially of a commercial bent, and, in the Philippines at least, he prefers taking his chance as to the profits, in the bubble and riskof independent speculation, rather than calmly labour at a fixed wagewhich affords no stimulus to his efforts. 

Plantations worked by Chinese owners with Chinese labour might navesucceeded, but those who arrived in the Colony brought no capital, andthe Government never offered them gratuitous allotment of property. Alaw relating to the concession of State lands existed ("_Terrenosbaldíos_" and "_Colonias agrícolas_"), but it was enveloped in somany entanglements and so encompassed by tardy process and intricateconditions, that few Orientals or Europeans took advantage of it. 

History records that in the year 1603 two Chinese Mandarins came toManila as Ambassadors from their Emperor to the Gov. -General of thePhilippines. They represented that a countryman of theirs had informedHis Celestial Majesty of the existence of a mountain of gold in theenvirons of Cavite, and they desired to see it. The Gov. -Generalwelcomed them, and they were carried ashore by their own peoplein ivory and gilded sedan-chairs. They wore the insignia of HighMandarins, and the Governor accorded them the reception due to theirexalted station. He assured them that they were entirely misinformedrespecting the mountain of gold, which could only be imaginary, but, to further convince them, he accompanied them to Cavite. The Mandarinsshortly afterwards returned to their country. The greatest anxietyprevailed in Manila. Rumours circulated that a Chinese invasion wasin preparation. The authorities held frequent councils, in whichthe opinions were very divided. A feverish consternation overcamethe natives, who were armed, and ordered to carry their weaponsconstantly. The armoury was overhauled. A war plan was discussed andadopted, and places were singled out for each division of troops. Thenatives openly avowed to the Chinese that whenever they saw thefirst signs of the hostile fleet arriving they would murder themall. The Chinese were accused of having arms secreted; they werepublicly insulted and maltreated; the cry was falsely raised thatthe Spaniards had fixed the day for their extermination; they dailysaw weapons being cleaned and put in order, and they knew that therecould be no immediate enemy but themselves. There was, in short, every circumstantial evidence that the fight for their existencewould ere long be forced upon them. 

In this terrible position they were constrained to act onthe offensive, simply to ensure their own safety. They raisedfortifications in several places outside the city, and many anunhappy Chinaman had to shoulder a weapon reluctantly with tears inhis eyes. They were traders. War and revolution were quite foreign totheir wishes. The Christian rulers compelled them to abandon theiradopted homes and their chattels, regardless of the future. What astrange conception the Chinese must have formed of His Most CatholicMajesty! In their despair many of them committed suicide. Finally, on the eve of Saint Francis' Day, the Chinese openly declaredhostilities--beat their war-gongs, hoisted their flags, assaultedthe armed natives, and threatened the city. Houses were burnt, andBinondo was besieged. They fortified Tondo; and the next morningLuis Perez Dasmariñas, an ex-Gov. -General, led the troops againstthem. He was joined by 100 picked Spanish soldiers under Tomás deAcuña. The nephew of the Governor and the nephew of the Archbishoprallied to the Spanish standard nearly all the flower of Castiliansoldiery--and hardly one was left to tell the tale! The bloodshed wasappalling. The Chinese, encouraged by this first victory, besiegedthe city, but after a prolonged struggle they were obliged to yield, as they could not provision themselves. 

The retreating Chinese were pursued far from Manila along the Lagunade Bay shore, thousands of them being overtaken and slaughtered ordisabled. Reinforcements met them on the way, and drove them as faras Batangas Province and into the Mórong district (now included inRizal Province). The natives were in high glee at this licence to shedblood unresisted--so in harmony with their natural instincts. It iscalculated that 24, 000 Chinese were slain or captured in this revolt. 

The priests affirm positively that during the defence of the citySaint Francis appeared in person on the walls to stimulate theChristians--thus the victory was ascribed to him. 

This ruthless treatment of a harmless and necessary people--for upto this event they had proved themselves to be both--threatened tobring its own reward. They were the only industrious, thriving, skilful, wealth-producing portion of the population. There wereno other artificers or tradespeople in the Colony. Moreover, theSpaniards were fearful lest their supplies from China of food forconsumption in Manila, [51] and manufactured articles for export toMexico, should in future be discontinued. Consequently they hastenedto despatch an envoy to China to explain matters, and to reassurethe Chinese traders. Much to their surprise, they found the Viceroyof Canton little concerned about what had happened, and the junks ofmerchandise again arrived as heretofore. 

Notwithstanding the memorable event of 1603, another struggle wasmade by the Chinese 36 years afterwards. In 1639, exasperated at theofficial robbery and oppression of a certain doctor, Luis Arias doMora, and the Governor of the Laguna Province, they rose in openrebellion and killed these officials in the town of Calamba. Soserious was the revolt that the Gov. -General went out against them inperson. The rebels numbered about 30, 000, and sustained, for nearlya year, a petty warfare all around. The images of the Saints werepromenaded in the streets of Manila; it was a happy thought, for 6, 000Chinese coincidentally surrendered. During this conflict an edictwas published ordering all the Chinese in the provinces to be slain. 

In 1660 there was another rising of these people, which terminatedin a great massacre. 

The Spaniards now began to reflect that they had made rather abad bargain with the Mongol traders in the beginning, and that theGovernment would have done better had they encouraged commerce withthe Peninsula. Up to this time the Spaniards had vainly reposed ontheir laurels as conquerors. They squandered lives and treasure oninnumerable fruitless expeditions to Gamboge, Cochin China, Siam, Pegu, Japan, and the Moluccas, in quest of fresh glories, instead ofconcentrating their efforts in opening up this Colony and fosteringa Philippine export trade, as yet almost unknown, if we excludemerchandise from China, etc. , in transit to Mexico. From this periodrestrictions were, little by little, placed on the introductionof Chinese; they were treated with arrogance by the Europeans andMexicans, and the jealous hatred which the native to this day feels forthe Chinaman now began to be more openly manifested. The Chinaman had, for a long time past, been regarded by the European as a necessity--andhenceforth an unfortunate one. 

Nevertheless, the lofty Spaniard who by favour of the King hadarrived in Manila to occupy an official post without an escudo toomuch in his pocket, did not disdain to accept the hospitality ofthe Chinese. It was formerly their custom to secure the goodwill andpersonal protection of the Spanish officials by voluntarily keepinglodging-houses ready for their reception. It is chronicled that thesegratuitous residences were well furnished and provided with all therequisites procurable on the spot. For a whole century the Spaniardswere lulled with this easy-going and felicitous state of things, whilstthe insidious Mongol, whose clear-sighted sagacity was sufficient topierce the thin veil of friendship proffered by his guest, was everprepared for another opportunity of rising against the dominion ofCastile, of which he had had so many sorry experiences since 1603. Theoccasion at last arrived during the British occupation of Manila in1763. The Chinese voluntarily joined the invaders, but were unableto sustain the struggle, and it is estimated that some 6, 000 of themwere murdered in the provinces by order of the notorious Simon de Anda(_vide_ p. 93). They menaced the town of Pasig--near Manila--and FrayJuan de Torres, the parish priest, put himself at the head of 300natives, by order of his Prior, Fray Andrés Fuentes, to oppose them, and the Chinese were forced to retire. 

On October 9, 1820, a general massacre of Chinese, British, and other foreigners took place in Manila and Cavite. Epidemiccholera had affected the capital and surrounding districts; greatnumbers of natives succumbed to its malignant effects, and theyaccused the foreigners of having poisoned the drinking-water inthe streams. Foreign property was attacked and pillaged--even shipslying in the bay had to sail off and anchor out afar for safety. Theoutbreak attained such grave proportions that the clergy intervenedto dissuade the populace from their hallucination. The High Host wascarried through the streets, but the rioters were only pacified whenthey could find no more victims. 

Amongst other reforms concerning the Chinese which the Spanishcolonists and Manila natives called for in 1886, through the publicorgans, was that they should be forced to comply with the lawpromulgated in 1867, which provided that the Chinese, like all othermerchants, should keep their trade-books in the Spanish language. Thedemand had the appearance of being based on certain justifiablegrounds, but in reality it was a mere ebullition of spite intendedto augment the difficulties of the Chinese. 

The British merchants and bankers are, by far, those who give mostcredit to the Chinese. The Spanish and native creditors of the Chineseare but a small minority, taking the aggregate of their credits, andinstead of seeking malevolently to impose new hardships on the Chinese, they could have abstained from entering into risky transactions withthem. All merchants are aware of the Chinese trading system, and noneare obliged to deal with them. A foreign house would give a Chinamancredit for, say, £300 to £400 worth of European manufactured goods, knowing full well, from personal experience, or from that of others, that the whole value would probably never be recovered. It remaineda standing debt on the books of the firm. The Chinaman retailedthese goods, and brought a small sum of cash to the firm, on theunderstanding that he would get another parcel of goods, and so hewent on for years. [52] Thus the foreign merchants practically sunkan amount of capital to start their Chinese constituents. Sometimesthe acknowledged owner and responsible man in one Chinese retailestablishment would have a share in, or own, several others. If matterswent wrong, he absconded abroad, and only the one shop which he openlyrepresented could be embargoed, whilst his goods were distributedover several shops under any name but his. It was always difficultto bring legal proof of this; the books were in Chinese, and thewhole business was in a state of confusion incomprehensible to anyEuropean. But these risks were well known beforehand. It was only thenthat the original credit had to be written off by the foreigner as anett loss--often small when set against several years of accumulatedprofits made in successive operations. 

The Chinese have guilds or secret societies for their mutualprotection, and it is a well-ascertained fact that they had topay the Spanish authorities very dearly for the liberty of livingat peace with their fellow-men. If the wind blew against them fromofficial quarters the affair brought on the _tapis_ was hushed up bya gift. These peace-offerings, at times of considerable value, wereprocured by a tax privately levied on each Chinaman by the headmen oftheir guilds. In 1880-83 the Gov. -General and other high functionariesused to accept Chinese hospitality, etc. 

In December, 1887, the Medal of Civil Merit was awarded to a Chinamannamed Sio-Sion-Tay, resident in Binondo, whilst the Government forseveral years had made contracts with the Chinese for the publicservice. Another Chinaman, christened in the name of Cárlos Palanca, was later on awarded the Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic, withthe title of Excellency. 

Many Chinese have adopted Christianity, either to improve theirsocial standing, or to be enabled thereby to contract marriage withnatives. Their intercessor and patron is _Saint Nicholas_, since thetime, it is said, that a Chinaman, having fallen into the Pasig River, was in danger of being eaten by an alligator, and saved himself bypraying to that saint, who caused the monster to turn into stone. Thelegendary stone is still to be seen near the left bank of the river. 

There appears to be no perfectly reliable data respecting the number ofChinese residents in the Archipelago. In 1886 the statistics differedlargely. One statistician published that there was a total of 66, 740men and 194 women, of whom 51, 348 men and 191 women lived in Manilaand suburbs, 1, 154 men and 3 women in Yloilo, and 983 men in Cebú, the rest being dispersed over the coast villages and the interior. Themost competent local authorities in two provinces proved to me thatthe figures relating to their districts were inexact, and all otherinformation on the subject which I have been able to procure tends toshow that the number of resident Chinese was underrated. I estimatethat just before the Rebellion of 1896 there were 100, 000 Chinesein the whole Colony, including upwards of 40, 000 in and around thecapital. 

Crowds of Chinese passed to these Islands _via_ Sulu (Joló), which, as a free port, they could enter without need of papers. Pretendingto be resident colonists there, they managed to obtain passports totravel on business for a limited period in the Philippines, but theywere never seen again in Sulu. 

In Spanish times the Chinaman was often referred to as a _Macao_ ora _Sangley_. The former term applied to those who came from SouthernChina (Canton, Macao, Amoy, etc. ). They were usually cooks and domesticservants. The latter signified the Northern Chinaman of the tradingclass. The popular term for a Chinaman in general was a _Suya_. 

In Manila and in several provincial towns where the Chinese residentswere numerous, they had their own separate "Tribunals" or localcourts, wherein minor affairs were managed by petty governors oftheir own nationality, elected bi-annually, in the same manner asthe natives. In 1888 the question of admitting a Chinese Consulatein the Philippines was talked of in official circles, which provesthat the Government was far from seeing the "Chinese question" in thesame light as the Spanish or native merchant class. In the courseof time they acquired a certain consideration in the body politic, and deputations of Chinese were present in all popular ceremoniesduring the last few years of Spanish rule. 

Wherever the Chinese settle they exhibit a disposition to hold theirfooting, if not to strengthen it, at all hazards, by force if needbe. In Sarawak their Secret Societies threatened to undermine theprosperity of that little State, and had to be suppressed by capitalpunishment. Since the British occupation of Hong-Kong in 1841, therehave been two serious movements against the Europeans. In 1848 theChinese murdered Governor Amiral of Macao, and the colonists had tofight for their lives. In Singapore the attempts of the Chinese to defythe Government called for coercive measures, but the danger is small, because the immigrant Chinaman has only the courage to act in mobs. 

In Australia and the United States it was found necessary toenact special laws regulating the ingress of Mongols. Under theSpanish-Philippine Government the most that could be said againstthem, as a class, was that, through their thrift and perseverance, they outran the shopkeeping class in the race of life. 

The Insular Government "Chinese Exclusion Act, " at present inoperation, permits those Chinese who are already in the Islandsto remain conditionally, but rigidly debars fresh immigration. Thecorollary is that, in the course of a few years, there will be noChinese in the Philippines. The working of the above Act is alludedto in Chapter xxxi. 

Under a native Government their lot is not likely to be a happyone. One of the aims of the Tagálog Revolutionists was to excludethe Chinese entirely from the Islands. 

CHAPTER IX

Wild Tribes and Pagans

The population of the Philippines does not consist of one homogeneousrace; there are Mahometans, Pagans, and Christians, the last being inthe majority. The one tribe is just as much "Filipino" as the other, and, from the point of view of nationality, they are all equallyfellow-countrymen. [53] So far as tradition serves to elucidate theproblem of their origin, it would appear that the Filipinos are amixed people, descendants of Papuan, Arabian, Hindoo, Malay, Japanese, Chinese, and European forefathers. [54]

According to the last census (1903), the uncivilized populationamounted to 8 1/2 per cent. Of the whole. 

The chief of these tribes are the _Aetas_, or _Negritos_, the_Gaddanes_, _Itavis, Igorrotes, Igorrote-Chinese, Tinguianes, Tagbunuas, Batacs, Manobos_, etc. Also among the southern races ofMindanao Island, referred to in Chapters x. And xxix. , there areseveral pagan tribes interspersed between the Mahometan clans. 

I have used only the generic denominations, for whilst these tribesare sub-divided (for instance, the _Buquils_ of Zambales, a sectionof the _Negritos_; the _Guinaanes_, a sanguinary people inhabitingthe mountains of the Igorrote district, etc. ), the fractions denoteno material physical or moral difference, and the local names adoptedby the different clans of the same race are of no interest to thegeneral reader. The expression _Bukidnon_, so commonly heard, doesnot signify any particular caste, but, in a general sense, the peopleof the mountain (_bukid_). 

_Aetas_, or _Negritos_, numbering 22, 000 to 24, 000, inhabitthe mountain regions of Luzon, Panay, Negros, and some smallerislands. They are dark, some of them being as black as Africannegroes. Their general appearance resembles that of the Alfoor Papuanof New Guinea. They have curly matted hair, like Astrakhan fur. Themen cover only their loins, and the women dress from the waistto the knees. They are a spiritless and cowardly race. They wouldnot deliberately face white men in anything like equal numbers withwarlike intentions, although they would perhaps spend a quiverful ofarrows from behind a tree at a retreating foe. 

The _Aeta_ carries a bamboo lance, a palm-wood bow, and poisonedarrows when out on an expedition. He is wonderfully light-footed, and runs with great speed after the deer, or climbs a tree likea monkey. Groups of fifty to sixty souls live in community. Theirreligion seems to be a kind of cosmolatry and spirit-worship. Anythingwhich for the time being, in their imagination, has a supernaturalappearance is deified. They have a profound respect for old age andfor their dead. They are of extremely low intellect, and, althoughsome of them have been brought up by civilized families livingin the vicinity of the _Negrito_ mountainous country, they offerlittle encouragement to those who would desire to train them. Evenwhen more or less domesticated, the _Negrito_ cannot be trusted todo anything which requires an effort of judgement. At times his mindseems to wander from all social order, and an apparently overwhelmingeagerness to return to his native haunts disconcerts all one's plansfor his civilization. 

For a long time they were the sole masters of Luzon Island, wherethey exercised seignorial rights over the Malay immigrants, untilthese arrived in such numbers, that the _Negritos_ were forced toretire to the highlands. The taxes imposed upon primitive Malaysettlers by the _Negritos_ were levied in kind, and when payment wasrefused, they swooped down in a posse, and carried off the head ofthe defaulter. Since the arrival of the Spaniards, the terror of thewhite man has made them take definitely to the mountains, where theyappear to be very gradually decreasing. 

The Spanish Government, in vain, made strenuous efforts to implantcivilized habits among this weak-brained race. 

In 1881 I visited the Cápas Missions in Upper Pampanga. Theauthorities had established there what is called a _real_, --a kindof model village of bamboo and palm-leaf huts, --to each of which afamily was assigned. They were supplied with food, clothing and allnecessaries of life for one year, which would give them an opportunityof tilling the land and providing for themselves in future. But theyfollowed their old habits when the year had expired and the subsidyceased. On my second visit they had returned to their mountain homes, and I could see no possible inducement for them to do otherwise. Theonly attraction for them during the year was the fostering of theirinbred indolence; and it ought to have been evident that as soon asthey had to depend on their own resources they would adopt theirown way of living--free of taxes, military service, and socialrestraint--as being more congenial to their tastes. 

Being in the Bataan Province some years ago, I rode across themountain range to the opposite coast with a military friend. On ourway we approached a Negrito _real_, and hearing strange noises andextraordinary calls, we stopped to consult as to the prudence of ridingup to the settlement. We decided to go there, and were fortunate enoughto be present at a wedding. The young bride, who might have been aboutthirteen years of age, was being pursued by her future spouse as shepretended to run away, and it need hardly be said that he succeeded inbringing her in by feigned force. She struggled, and again got away, and a second time she was caught. Then an old man with grey hair cameforward and dragged the young man up a bamboo ladder. An old womangrasped the bride, and both followed the bridegroom. The aged sirethen gave them a douche with a cocoa-nut shell full of water, andthey all descended. The happy pair knelt down, and the elder havingplaced their heads together, they were man and wife. We endeavouredto find out which hut was allotted to the newly-married couple, but we were given to understand that until the sun had reappearedfive times they would spend their honeymoon in the mountains. Afterthe ceremony was concluded, several present began to make their usualmountain-call. In the lowlands, the same peculiar cry serves to bringhome straggling domestic animals to their nocturnal resting-place. 

There is something picturesque about a well-formed, healthy Negritadamsel, with jet-black piercing eyes, and her hair in one perfectball of close curls. The men are not of a handsome type; some of themhave a hale, swarthy appearance, but many of them present a sickly, emaciated aspect. A Negrita matron past thirty is perhaps one of theleast attractive objects in humanity. 

They live principally on fish, roots, and mountain rice, but theyoccasionally make a raid on the neighbouring valleys and carry offthe herds. So great was their cattle-stealing propensity in Spanishtimes, that several semi-official expeditions were sent to punishthe marauders, particularly on the Cordillera de Zambales, on thewest side of Luzon Island. 

The husbandry of the Negritos is the most primitive imaginable. Itconsists of scraping the surface of the earth--without clearance offorest--and throwing the seed. They never "take up" a piece of land, but sow in the manner described wherever they may happen temporarilyto settle. 

The _Gaddanes_ occupy the extreme N. W. Corner of Luzon Island, andare entirely out of the pale of civilization. I have never heard thatany attempt has been made to subdue them. They have a fine physicalbearing; wear the hair down to the shoulders; are of a very darkcolour, and feed chiefly on roots, mountain rice, game, fruits, andfish. They are considered the only really warlike and aggressivelysavage tribe of the north, and it is the custom of the young men aboutto marry to vie with each other in presenting to the sires of theirfuture brides all the scalps they are able to take from their enemies, as proof of their manly courage. This practice prevails at the seasonof the year when the tree, commonly called by the Spaniards "thefire-tree, " is in bloom. The flowers of this tree are of a fire-redhue, and their appearance is the signal for this race to collect theirtrophies of war and celebrate certain religious rites. When I was inthe extreme north, in the country of the _Ibanacs_, [55] preparingmy expedition to the _Gaddanes_ tribe, I was cautioned not to remainin the Gaddanes country until the fire-tree blossomed. The arms usedby the _Gaddanes_ are frightful weapons--long lances with tridentedtips, and arrows pointed with two rows of teeth, made out of flintor sea-shells. These weapons are used to kill both fish and foe. 

The _Itavis_ inhabit the district to the south of that territoryoccupied by the _Gaddanes_, and their mode of living and food arevery similar. They are, however, not so fierce as the _Gaddanes_, and if assaults are occasionally made on other tribes, it maybe rather attributed to a desire to retaliate than to a love ofbloodshed. Their skin is not so dark as that of their northernneighbours--the _Gaddanes_ or the partially civilized _Ibanacs_--andtheir hair is shorter. 

The _Igorrotes_ are spread over a considerable portion of Luzon, principally from N. Lat. 16° 30' to 18°. They are, in general, a finerace of people, physically considered, but semi-barbarous and livingin squalor. They wear their hair long. At the back it hangs down tothe shoulders, whilst in front it is cut shorter and allowed to coverthe forehead half-way like a long fringe. Some of them, settled in thedistricts of Lepanto and El Abra, have a little hair on the chin andupper lip. Their skin is of a dark copper tinge. They have flat noses, thick lips, high cheek-bones, and their broad shoulders and limbsseem to denote great strength, but their form is not at all graceful. 

Like all the wild races of the Philippines, the _Igorrotes_ areindolent to the greatest degree. Their huts are built bee-hive fashion, and they creep into them like quadrupeds. Fields of sweet potatoesand sugar-cane are under cultivation by them. They cannot be forced orpersuaded to embrace the Western system of civilization. Adultery islittle known, but if it occurs, the dowry is returned and the divorcesettled. Polygamy seems to be permitted, but little practised. Murdersare common, and if a member of one hut or family group is killed, that family avenges itself on one of the murderer's kinsmen, hencethose who might have to "pay the piper" are interested in maintainingorder. In the Province of La Isabela, the Negrito and Igorrote tribeskeep a regular _Dr. _ and _Cr. _ account of heads. In 1896 there wereabout 100, 000 head-hunting _Igorrotes_ in the Benguet district. Thistribe paid to the Spaniards a recognition of vassalage of one-quarterof a peso _per capita_ in Benguet, Abra, Bontoc, and Lepanto. 

Their aggressions on the coast settlers have been frequent forcenturies past. From time to time they came down from their mountainretreat to steal cattle and effects belonging to the domesticatedpopulation. The first regular attempt to chastise them for theseinroads, and afterwards gain their submission, was in the time ofGovernor Pedro de Arandia (1754-59), when a plan was concerted toattack them simultaneously from all sides with 1, 080 men. Their ranchesand crops were laid waste, and many _Igorrotes_ were taken prisoners, but the ultimate idea of securing their allegiance was abandoned asan impossibility. 

In 1881 General Primo de Rivera, at the head of a large armed force, invaded their district with the view of reducing them to obedience, but the apparent result of the expedition was more detrimental thanadvantageous to the project of bringing this tribe under Spanishdominion and of opening up their country to trade and enlightenedintercourse. Whilst the expeditionary forces were not sufficientlylarge or in a condition to carry on a war _à outrance_ successfully, to be immediately followed up by a military system of government, onthe other hand, the feeble efforts displayed to conquer them servedonly to demonstrate the impotence of the Europeans. This gave thetribes courage to defend their liberty, whilst the licence indulgedin by the white men at the expense of the mountaineers--and boastedof to me personally by many Spanish officers--had merely the effectof raising the veil from their protestations of goodwill towardsthe race they sought to subdue. The enterprise ignominiously failed;the costly undertaking was an inglorious and fruitless one, exceptto the General, who--being under royal favour since, at Sagunta, in 1875, he "pronounced" for King Alfonso--secured for himself thetitle of Count of La Union. 

The _Igorrotes_ have, since then, been less approachable by Europeans, whom they naturally regard with every feeling of distrust. Rightlyor wrongly (if it can be a matter of opinion), they fail to see anymanifestation of ultimate advantage to themselves in the arrival of atroop of armed strangers who demand from them food (even though it beon payment) and perturbate their most intimate family ties. They do notappreciate being "civilized" to exchange their usages, independence, and comfort for even the highest post obtainable by a native in theprovinces, which then was practically that of local head servantto the district authority, under the name of Municipal Captain. Toroam at large in their mountain home is far more enjoyable to themthan having to wear clothes; to present themselves often, if not tohabitually reside, in villages; to pay taxes, for which they wouldget little return--not even the boon of good highroads--and to actas unsalaried tax-collectors with the chance of fine, punishment, andruin if they did not succeed in bringing funds to the Public Treasury. 

As to Christianity, it would be as hard a task to convince them of whatRoman Catholicism deems indispensable for the salvation of the soul, asit would be to convert all England to the teachings of Buddha--althoughBuddhism is as logical a religion as Christianity. Just a few ofthem, inhabiting the lowlands in the neighbourhood of Vigan and otherchristian towns, received baptism and paid an annual tribute of halfa peso from the year 1893 to 1896. 

Being in Tuguegarao, the capital of Cagayán Province, about 60miles up the Rio Grande, I went to visit the prisons, where I sawmany of the worst types of _Igorrotes_. I was told that a priestwho had endeavoured to teach them the precepts of Christianity, and had explained to them the marvellous life of Saint Augustine, was dismayed to hear an _Igorrote_ exclaim that no coloured manever became a white man's saint. Nothing could convince him thatan exception to the rule might be possible. Could experience haverevealed to him the established fact--the remarkable anomaly--thatthe grossest forms of immorality were only to be found in the trailof the highest order of white man's civilization?

The _Igorrotes_ have worked the copper mines of their region forgenerations past, in their own primitive way, with astonishingresults. They not only annually barter several tons of copperingots, but they possess the art of manufacturing pots, cauldrons, tobacco-pipes, and other utensils made of that metal. They alsounderstand the extraction of gold, which they obtain in very smallquantities by crushing the quartz between heavy stones. 

Specimens of the different tribes and races of these Islands were onview at the Philippine Exhibition held in Madrid in 1887. Some ofthem consented to receive Christian baptism before returning home, but it was publicly stated that the _Igorrotes_ were among those whopositively refused to abandon their own belief. 

A selection of this tribe was included in the Filipinos on show atthe San Louis Exhibition (U. S. A. ) in 1904, and attracted particularattention. Some of them liked the United States so much that theytried hard to break away from their keepers in order to remain there. 

The _Calingas_ are a branch of the _Igorrotes_, found along the CagayánRiver around Ilagán. They are not only head-hunters, but cannibals. Afriend of mine, an American colonel, was up there some time duringthe war, and explained to me the difficulty he had in convincing aCalinga chief that a man's head is his personal property, and thatto steal it is a crime. 

The _Igorrote-Chinese_ are supposed to be the descendants of theChinese who fled to the hills on the departure of the corsairLi-ma-hong from Pangasinán Province in 1754 (_vide_ p. 50). Theirintermarriage with the _Igorrote_ tribe has generated a caste ofpeople quite unique in their character. Their habits are much thesame as those of the pure _Igorrotes_, but with their fierce nature isblended the cunning and astuteness of the Mongol; and although theirintelligence may be often misapplied, yet it is superior to that ofthe pure _Igorrote_. In the Province of Pangasinán there are numbersof natives of Chinese descent included in the domesticated population, and their origin is evidently due to the circumstances mentioned. 

The _Tingulanes_ inhabit principally the district of El Abra(N. W. Coast, Luzon Is. ). They were nominally under the controlof the Spanish Government, who appointed their headmen pettygovernors of villages or ranches on the system adopted in the subdueddistricts. According to Father Ferrando (63 years ago), the form ofoath taken in his presence by the newly-elected headman on receivingthe staff of office was the following, viz. :--"May a pernicious windtouch me; may a flash of lightning kill me, and may the alligatorcatch me asleep if I fail to fulfil my duty. " The headman presentedhimself almost when he chose to the nearest Spanish Governor, who gavehim his orders, which were only fulfilled according to the traditionalcustom of the tribe. Thus, the headman, on his return to the ranche, delegated his powers to the council of elders, and according to theirdecision he acted as the executive only. Whenever it was possible, they applied their own _lex non scripta_ in preference to acting uponthe Spanish Code. 

According to their law, the crime of adultery is punished by a fineof 30 pesos value and divorce, but if the adultery has been mutual, the divorce is pronounced absolute, without the payment of a fine. 

When a man is brought to justice on an accusation which he denies, a handful of straw is burnt in his presence. He is made to hold up anearthenware pot and say as follows:--"May my belly be converted intoa pot like this, if I have committed the deed attributed to me. " Ifthe transformation does not take place at once, he is declared tobe innocent. 

The _Tinguianes_ are pagans, but have no temples. Their gods arehidden in the mountain cavities. Like many other religionists, theybelieve in the efficacy of prayer for the supply of their materialwants. Hence if there be too great an abundance of rain, or too littleof it, or an epidemic disease raging, or any calamity affecting thecommunity in general, the _Anitos_ (images representing the gods orsaints) are carried round and exhorted, whilst Nature continues heruninterrupted course. The minister of _Anito_ is also appealed towhen a child is to be named. The infant is carried into the woods, andthe pagan priest pronounces the name, whilst he raises a bowie-knifeover the newborn creature's head. On lowering the knife, he strikesat a tree. If the tree emits sap, the first name uttered stands good;if not, the ceremony is repeated, and each time the name is changeduntil the oozing sap denotes the will of the deity. 

The _Tinguianes_ are monogamists, and generally are forced by theparents to marry before the age of puberty, but the bridegroom, orhis father or elder, has to purchase the bride at a price mutuallyagreed upon by the relations. These people live in cabins on postsor trees 60 to 70 feet from the ground, and defend themselves fromthe attacks of their traditional enemies, the _Guinaanes_, by heavingstones upon them. Nevertheless, in the more secure vicinities of thechristian villages, these people build their huts similar to those ofthe domesticated natives. From the doors and window-openings skullsof buffaloes and horses are hung as talismans. 

Physically they are of fine form, and the nose is aquiline. They wearthe hair in a tuft on the crown, like the Japanese, but their featuresare similar to the ordinary lowland native. They are fond of music andpersonal ornaments. They tattoo themselves and black their teeth; andfor these, and many other reasons, it is conjectured that they descendfrom the Japanese shipwrecked crews who, being without means at handwith which to return to their country, took to the mountains inlandfrom the west coast of Luzon. I spent several months with this tribe, but I have never seen a _Tinguian_ with a bow and arrow; they carrythe lance as the common weapon, and for hunting and spearing fish. 

Their conversion to Christianity has proved to be an impossibletask. A Royal Decree of Ferdinand VI. . Dated in Aranjuez, June 18, 1758, sets forth that the infidels called _Tinguianes, Igorrotes_, and by other names who should accept Christian baptism, shouldbe exempt all their lives from the payment of tribute and forcedlabour. Their offspring, however, born to them after receiving baptism, would lose these privileges as well as the independence enjoyed bytheir forefathers. This penalty to future generations for becomingChristians was afterwards extended to all the undomesticated races. 

Many of these tribes did a little barter traffic with the Chinese, but--with the hope that necessity would bring them down tothe christian villages to procure commodities, and thus becomesocialized--the Government prohibited this trade in 1886. 

The _Tinguianes_ appear to be as intelligent as the ordinary subduednatives. They are by no means savages, and they are not entirelystrangers to domestic life. A great many Christian families of El Abraand Ilocos Sur are of _Tinguian_ origin, and I may mention here thatthe Ilocano dominated natives have the just reputation of being themost industrious Philippine people. For this reason, Ilocano servantsand workmen are sought for in preference to most others. 

The _Basanes_ are a very timid people who inhabit the mountains ofMindoro Island. They have long, lank hair and whitish faces, and donot appear to be of one of the original races. They are occasionallymet with (when they do not hide themselves) in the cordillera whichruns north-west to south-east and then ends off in two spurs, betweenwhich, after passing Mount Halcon, there is a large valley leadingto the southern shore. The _Manguianes_, another Mindoro wild tribe, come to the coast villages sometimes to barter, and bring pieces ofgold for the purpose. They also wear gold jewellery made of the metalextracted by themselves. 

There is another race of people whose source is not distinctlyknown, but, according to tradition, they descend from the Sepoys whoformed part of the troops under British command during the militaryoccupation of Manila in 1763 (_vide_ p. 88). The legend is, that these_Hindoos_, having deserted from the British army, migrated up thePasig River. However that may be, the sharp-featured, black-skinnedsettlers in the Barrio de Dayap, of Cainta Town (Mórong district), are decidedly of a different stock to the ordinary native. The notablephysical differences are the fine aquiline nose, bright expression, and regular features. They are Christians--far more laborious than thePhilippine natives, and are a law-abiding people. I have known many ofthem personally for years. They were the only class who voluntarilypresented themselves to pay the taxes to the Spaniards, and yet, on the ground that generations ago they were intruders on the soil, they were more heavily laden with imposts than their fellow-neighboursuntil the abolition of tribute in 1884. 

There are also to be seen in these Islands a few types of that classof tropical inhabitant, preternaturally possessed of a white skinand extremely fair hair--sometimes red--known as _Albinos_. I leaveit to physiologists to elucidate the peculiarity of vital phenomenain these unfortunate abnormities of Nature. Amongst others, I oncesaw in Negros Island a hapless young Albino girl, with marble-whiteskin and very light pink-white hair, who was totally blind in thesunny hours of the day. 

The _Mahometan_ and other tribes, inhabiting the Sulu Sultanate, Mindanao, Palaúan (Parágua) and the adjacent islands of the Southconstituting "Moroland, " are described in Chapters x. And xxix. 

CHAPTER X

Mahometans and Southern Tribes

Simultaneously with the Spanish conquest of the Philippines, twoBorneo chiefs, who were brothers, quarrelled about their respectivepossessions, and one of them had to flee. His partisans joined him, and they emigrated to the Island of Basílan, [56] situated to thesouth of Zamboanga (Mindanao Is. ). The _Moros_, as they are called inthe Islands, are therefore supposed to be descended from the MahometanDyaks of Borneo. They were a valiant, warlike, piratical people, whoadmired bravery in others--had a deep-rooted contempt for poltroons, and lavished no mercy on the weak. 

In the suite of this emigrant chief, called Paguian Tindig, catoe hiscousin Adasaolan, who was so captivated by the fertility of BasílanIsland that he wished to remain there; so Tindig left him in possessionand withdrew to Sulu Island, where he easily reduced the nativesto vassalage, for they had never yet had to encounter so powerfula foe. So famous did Paguian Tindig become that, for generationsafterwards, the Sultans of Sulu were proud of their descent from sucha celebrated hero. After the Spaniards had pacified the great Butuanchief on the north coast of Mindanao, Tindig consented to acknowledgethe suzerainty of their king, in exchange for undisturbed possessionof the realm which he had just founded. 

Adasaolan espoused the Princess Paguian Goan, daughter of Dimasangcay, King of Mindanao, by his wife Imbog, a Sulu woman, and with thisrelationship he embraced the Mahometan faith. His ambition increasedas good fortune came to him, and, stimulated by the promised supportof his father-in-law, he invaded Sulu, attacked his cousin Tindig, and attempted to murder him in order to annex his kingdom. A shortbut fierce contest ensued. Tindig's fortified dwelling was besiegedin vain. The posts which supported the upper storey were greasedwith oil, and an entrance could not be effected. Wearied of hisfailures, Adasaolan retired from the enterprise, and Tindig, inturn, declared war on the Basílan king after he had been to Manilato solicit assistance from his Spanish suzerain's representative, who sent two armed boats to support him. 

When Tindig, on his return from Manila, arrived within sight of Sulu, his anxious subjects rallied round him, and prepared for battle. Thetwo armed boats furnished by the Spaniards were on the way, but, asyet, too far off to render help, so Adasaolan immediately fell uponTindig's party and completely routed them. Tindig himself died bravely, fighting to the last moment, and the Spaniards, having no one tofight for when they arrived, returned to Manila with their armed boats. 

Adasaolan, however, did not annex the territory of his defeatedcousin. Rajah Bongso succeeded Tindig in the Government of Sulu, and when old age enfeebled him, he was wont to show with pride thescars inflicted on him during the war of independence. 

Adasaolan then made alliances with Mindanao and Borneo people, and introduced the Mahometan religion into Sulu. Since then, Sulu(called "Joló, " by the Spaniards) has become the Mecca of the SouthernArchipelago. [57]

The earliest records relating to Mindanao Island, since the Spanishannexation of the Philippines, show that about the year 1594 arich Portuguese cavalier of noble birth, named Estevan Rodriguez, who had acquired a large fortune in the Philippines, and who had awealthy brother in Mexico, proposed to the Governor Perez Dasmariñasthe conquest of this island. For this purpose he offered his personand all his means, but having long waited in vain to obtain theroyal sanction to his project, he prepared to leave for Mexico, disgusted and disappointed. He was on the point of starting forNew Spain; he had his ship laden and his family on board, when theroyal confirmation arrived with the new Governor, Dr. Antonio Morga(1595-96). Therefore he changed his plans, but despatched the ladenship to Mexico with the cargo, intending to employ the profits ofthe venture in the prosecution of his Mindanao enterprise. With thetitle of General, he and his family, together with three chaplainpriests, started in another vessel for the south. They put in atOtong (Panay Is. ) on the way, and left there in April, 1596. Havingreached the great Mindanao River (Rio Grande), the ship went up itas far as Buhayen, in the territory of the chief Silongan. A partyunder Juan de la Jara, the _Maestre de Campo_, was sent ashore toreconnoitre the environs. Their delay in returning caused alarm, so theGeneral buckled on his shield, and, with sword in hand, disembarked, accompanied by a Cebuáno servant and two Spaniards, carrying lances. Onthe way they met a native, who raised his _campilán_ to deal a blow, which the General received on his shield, and cut down the foe tothe waist. Then they encountered another, who clove the General'shead almost in two, causing his death in six hours. The Cebuáno atonce ran the native through with a lance. This brave was discoveredto be the youngest brother of the chief Silongan, who had sworn toMahomet to sacrifice his life to take that of the Castilian invader. 

The General's corpse was sent to Manila for interment. The expeditionled by the _Maestre de Campo_ fared badly, one of the party beingkilled, another seriously wounded, and the rest fleeing on board. Thenext day it was decided to construct trenches at the mouth of theriver, where the camp was established. The command was taken by the_Maestre de Campo_, whose chief exploit seems to have been that hemade love to the deceased General's widow and proposed marriage to her, which she indignantly rejected. Nothing was gained by the expedition, and after the last priest died, the project was abandoned and thevessel returned to Cebú. 

In 1638 another expedition against the Moros was headed by theGov. -General Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, who made the first landingof troops in Sulu Island on April 17 of that year. He also establishedsome military posts on the coast of Mindanao Island, one of whichwas Sampanilla (now called Malábang) on the Illana Bay shore. Fouryears afterwards it was abandoned until 1891, when General Weylerwent there and had a fort built, which still exists. 

It would appear that all over these Islands the strong preyed onthe weak, and the boldest warrior or oppressor assumed the titleof Sultan, _Datto_, etc. , over all the territory he could dominate, making the dignity hereditary. So far as can be ascertained, one ofthe oldest titles was that of Prince of Sibuguey, whose territorywas situated on the bay of that name which washes the N. E. Coast ofZamboanga Province. The title fell into disuse, and the grandson ofthe last prince, the present _Manguiguin_, or Sultan of Mindanao, resides at Dinas. The sultanate dates from the year 1640, but, inreality, there never was a sultan with effective jurisdiction overthe whole island, as the title would seem to imply. The Sultan's heiris styled the _Rajahmudah_. 

The alliances effected between the Sulu and Mindanao potentates gavea great stimulus to piracy, which hitherto had been confined to thewaters in the locality of those islands. It now spread over the wholeof the Philippine Archipelago, and was prosecuted with great vigourby regular organized fleets, carrying weapons almost equal to thoseof the Spaniards. In meddling with the Mahometan territories theSpaniards may be said to have unconsciously lighted on a hornets'nest. Their eagerness for conquest stirred up the implacable hatredof the Mahometan for the Christian, and they unwittingly broughtwoe upon their own heads for many generations. Indeed, if half theconsequences could have been foreseen, they surely never would haveattempted to gain what, up to their last day, they failed to secure, namely, the complete conquest of Mindanao and the Sulu Sultanate. 

For over two and a half centuries Mahometan war-junks ravaged everycoast of the Colony. Not a single peopled island was spared. Thousandsof the inhabitants were murdered, whilst others were carried intoslavery for years. Villages were sacked; the churches were looted;local trade was intercepted; the natives subject to Spain were driveninto the highlands, and many even dared not risk their lives and goodsnear the coasts. The utmost desolation and havoc were perpetrated, and militated vastly against the welfare and development of theColony. For four years the Government had to remit the payment oftribute in Negros Island, and the others lying between it and Luzon, onaccount of the abject poverty of the natives, due to these raids. Fromthe time the Spaniards first interfered with the Mahometans there wascontinual warfare. Expeditions against the pirates were constantlybeing fitted out by each succeeding Governor. Piracy was indeed anincessant scourge and plague on the Colony, and it cost the Spaniardsrivers of blood and millions of dollars only to keep it in check. 

In the last century the Mahometans appeared even in the Bay ofManila. I was acquainted with several persons who had been inMahometan captivity. There were then hundreds who still remembered, with anguish, the insecurity to which their lives and properties wereexposed. The Spaniards were quite unable to cope with such a prodigiouscalamity. The coast villagers built forts for their own defence, andmany an old stone watch-tower is still to be seen on the islands southof Luzon. On several occasions the Christian natives were urged, bythe inducement of spoil, to equip corsairs, with which to retaliate onthe indomitable marauders. The Sulu people made captive the Christiannatives and Spaniards alike, whilst a Spanish priest was a choiceprize. And whilst Spaniards in Philippine waters were straining everynerve to extirpate slavery, their countrymen were diligently pursuinga profitable trade in it between the West Coast of Africa and Cuba!

One must admit that, indirectly, the Mahometan attacks had the goodpolitical effect of forcing hundreds of Christians up from the coastto people and cultivate the interior of these Islands. 

Due to the enterprise of a few Spanish and foreign merchants, steamers at length began to navigate the waters of the Archipelago, provided with arms for defence, and piracy by Mahometans beyondtheir own locality was doomed. In the time of Gov. -General Norzagaray(1857-60), 18 steam gunboats were ordered out, and arrived in 1860, putting a close for ever to this epoch of misery, bloodshed, andmaterial loss. The end of piracy brought repose to the Colony, andin no small degree facilitated its social advancement. 

During the protracted struggle with the Mahometans, Zamboanga(Mindanao Is. ) was fortified, and became the headquarters of theSpaniards in the south. After Cavite it was the chief naval station, and a penitentiary was also established there. [58] Its maintenancewas a great burden to the Treasury--its existence a great eyesoreto the enemy, whose hostility was much inflamed thereby. Aboutthe year 1635 its abandonment was proposed by the military party, who described it as only a sepulchre for Spaniards. The Jesuits, however, urged its continuance, as it suited their interests to havematerial support close at hand, and their influence prevailed inManila bureaucratic centres. 

In 1738 the fixed annual expenses of Zamboanga fort and equipment were17, 500 pesos, and the incidental disbursements were estimated at 7, 500pesos. These sums did not include the cost of scores of armed fleetswhich, at enormous expense, were sent out against the Mahometans tolittle purpose. Each new (Zamboanga) Governor of a martial spirit, and desiring to do something to establish or confirm his fame forprowess, seemed to regard it as a kind of duty to premise the quellingof imaginary troubles in Sulu and Mindanao. Some, with less patriotismthan selfishness, found a ready excuse for filling their own pocketsby the proceeds of warfare, in making feigned efforts to rescuecaptives. It may be observed, in extenuation, that, in those days, the Spaniards believed from their birth that none but a Christianhad rights, whilst some were deluded by a conscientious impressionthat they were executing a high mission; myth as it was, it at leastserved to give them courage in their perilous undertakings. Peacewas made and broken over and over again. Spanish forts were at timesestablished in Sulu, and afterwards demolished. Every decade broughtnew devices to control the desperate foe. Several Governors-Generalheaded the troops in person against the Mahometans with temporarysuccess, but without any lasting effect, and almost every new Governormade a solemn treaty with one powerful chief or another, which wasrespected only as long as it suited both parties. This continuedcampaign, the details of which are too prolix for insertion here, may be qualified as a religious war, for Roman Catholic priests tookan active part in the operations with the same ardent passion as theMahometans themselves. Among these tonsured warriors who acquiredgreat fame _out_ of their profession may be mentioned Father Ducos, the son of a Colonel, José Villanueva, and Pedro de San Agustin, thelast being known, with dread, by the Mahometans in the beginning ofthe 17th century under the title of the Captain-priest. One of the mostrenowned kings in Mindanao was Cachil Corralat, an astute, far-seeingchieftain, who ably defended the independence of his territory, and kept the Spaniards at bay during the whole of his manhood. 

An interesting event in the Spanish-Sulu history is the visit of theSultan Mahamad Alimudin to the Gov. -General in 1750, and his subsequentvicissitudes of fortune. The first royal despatch addressed by theKing of Spain to the Sultan of Sulu was dated in Buen Retiro, July 12, 1744, and everything, for the time being, seemed to augur a periodof peace. In 1749, however, the Sultan was violently deposed by anambitious brother, Prince Bantilan, and the Sultan forthwith went toManila to seek the aid of his suzerain's delegate, the Gov. -General ofthe Philippines, who chanced to be the Bishop of Nueva Segovia. InManila the Priest-Governor cajoled his guest with presents, andaccompanied him on horseback and on foot, with the design of persuadinghim to renounce his religion in favour of Christianity. The Sultanfinally yielded, and avowed his intention to receive baptism. Among thefriars an animated discussion ensued as to the propriety of this act, special opposition being raised by the Jesuits; but in the end theSultan, with a number of his suite, outwardly embraced the Christianfaith. The Sultan at his baptism received the name of Ferdinand I. OfSulu; at the same time he was invested with the insignia and gradeof a Spanish Lieut. -General. Great ceremonies and magnificent feastsfollowed this unprecedented incident. He was visited and congratulatedby all the _élite_ of the capital. By proclamation, the festivitiesincluded four days' illumination, three days' procession of thegiants, [59] three days of bull-fighting, four nights of fireworks, and three nights of comedy, to terminate with High Mass, a _Te Deum_, and special sermon for the occasion. 

In the meantime, the Sultan had requested the Governor to have theCrown Prince, Princesses, and retainers escorted to Manila to learnSpanish manners and customs, and on their arrival the Sultan andhis male and female suite numbered 60 persons. The Bishop-Governordefrayed the cost of their maintenance out of his private purseuntil after the baptism, and thenceforth the Government supportedthem in Manila for two years. At length it was resolved, according toappearances, to restore the Sultan Ferdinand I. To his throne. Withthat idea, he and his retinue quitted Manila in the Spanish frigate_San Fernando_, which was convoyed by another frigate and a galley, until the _San Fernando_ fell in with bad weather off Mindoro Island, and had to make the Port of Calapan. Thence he proceeded to Yloilo, where he changed vessel and set sail for Zamboanga, but contrary windscarried him to Dapítan (N. W. Coast of Mindanao Is. ), where he landedand put off again in a small Visayan craft for Zamboanga, arrivingthere on July 12, 1751. Thirteen days afterwards the _San Fernando_, which had been repaired, reached Zamboanga also. 

Before Ferdinand I. Left Manila he had (at the instance of the SpanishGov. -General, José de Obando, 1750-54) addressed a letter to SultanMuhamad Amirubdin, of Mindanao. The original was written by FerdinandI. In Arabic; a version in Spanish was dictated by him, and both weresigned by him. These documents reached the Governor of Zamboanga bythe _San Fernando_, but he had the original in Arabic retranslated, and found that it did not at all agree with the Sultan's Spanishrendering. The translation of the Arabic runs thus:--

"I shall be glad to know that the Sultan Muhamad Amirubdin and all hischiefs, male and female, are well. I do not write a lengthy letter, as I intended, because I simply wish to give you to understand, incase the Sultan or his chiefs and others should feel aggrieved at mywriting this letter in this manner, that I do so under pressure, beingunder foreign dominion, and I am compelled to obey whatever they tellme to do, and I have to say what they tell me to say. Thus the Governorhas ordered me to write to you in our style and language; therefore, do not understand that I am writing you on my own behalf, but becauseI am ordered to do so, and I have nothing more to add. Written inthe year 1164 on the ninth day of the Rabilajer Moon, Ferdinand I. , King of Sulu, who seals with his own seal. "

This letter was pronounced treasonable. Impressed with, or feigning, this idea, the Spaniards saw real or imaginary indications of a designon the part of the Sultan to throw off the foreign yoke at the firstopportunity. All his acts were thus interpreted, although no positiveproof was manifest, and the Governor communicated his suspicions toManila. There is no explanation why the Spaniards detained the Sultanat Zamboanga, unless with the intention of trumping up accusationsagainst him. The Sultan arrived there on July 12, and nothing was knownof the discrepancy between the letters until after July 25. To supposethat the Sultan could ever return to reign peacefully as a Christianover Mahometan subjects was utterly absurd to any rational mind. 

On August 3 the Sultan, his sons, vassals, and chiefs were all castinto prison, without opposition, and a letter was despatched, datedAugust 6, 1751, to the Governor in Manila, stating the cause. TheSultan was the first individual arrested, and he made no difficultyabout going to the fort. Even the Prince Asin, the Sultan's brother, who had voluntarily come from Sulu in apparent good faith with friendlyovertures to the Spaniards, was included among the prisoners. Thereason assigned was, that he had failed to surrender christian captivesas provided. 

The prisoners, besides the Sultan, were the following, viz. :--

 Four sons of the Sultan. Prince Asin (brother). Prince Mustafá (son-in-law). Princess Panguian Banquiling (sister). Four Princesses (daughters). Datto Yamudin (a noble). 160 ordinary male and female retainers. Five brothers-in-law. One Mahometan Cherif. Seven Mahometan priests. Concubines with 32 female servants. 

The political or other crime (if any) attributed to these last isnot stated, nor why they were imprisoned. The few weapons brought, according to custom, by the followers of the Sultan who had come fromSulu to receive their liege-lord and escort him back to his country, were also seized. 

A decree of Gov. -General José de Obando set forth the followingaccusations against the prisoners, viz. :--

(1) That Prince Asin had not surrendered captives. (2) That whilstthe Sultan was in Manila, new captives were made by the party whoexpelled him from the throne. (3) That the number of arms brought toZamboanga by Sulu chiefs was excessive. (4) That the letter to SultanMuhamad Amirubdin insinuated help wanted against the Spaniards. (5)That several Mahometan, but no christian books were found in theSultan's baggage. (6) That during the journey to Zamboanga he hadrefused to pray in christian form. (7) That he had only attended Masstwice. (8) That he had celebrated Mahometan rites, sacrificing a goat;and had given evidence in a hundred ways of being a Mahometan. (9)That his conversation generally denoted a want of attachment to theSpaniards, and a contempt for their treatment of him in Manila, [60]and, (10) that he still cohabited with his concubines, contrary tochristian usage. 

The greatest stress was laid on the recovery of the captive Christians, and the Gov. -General admitted that although the mission of the fleetwas to restore the Sultan to the throne (which, by the way, doesnot appear to have been attempted), the principal object was therescue of christian slaves. He therefore proposed that the libertyof the imprisoned nobles and chiefs should be bartered at the rateof 500 christian slaves for each one of the chiefs and nobles, and the balance of the captives for Prince Asin and the clergy. Onemay surmise, from this condition, that the number of Christians incaptivity was very considerable. 

A subsequent decree, dated in Manila December 21, 1751, ordered theextermination of the Mahometans with fire and sword; the fitting out ofVisayan corsairs, with authority to extinguish the foe, burn all thatwas combustible, destroy the crops, desolate their cultivated land, make captives, and recover christian slaves. One-fifth of the spoil(the _Real quinto_) was to belong to the King, and the natives wereto be exempt from the payment of tribute whilst so engaged. 

Before giving effect to such a terrible, but impracticable resolution, it was thought expedient to publish a pamphlet styled a "HistoricalManifest, " in which the Gov. -General professed to justify his actsfor public satisfaction. However, public opinion in Manila was averseto the intended warfare, so to make it more popular, the Governorabolished the payment of one-fifth of the booty to the King. Anappeal was made to the citizens of Manila for arms and provisionsto carry on the campaign; they therefore lent or gave the following, viz. :--Twenty-six guns, 13 bayonets, 3 sporting guns, 15 carbines, 5blunderbusses, 7 braces of pistols, 23 swords, 15 lances, 900 cannonballs, and 150 pesos from Spaniards, and a few lances and 188 pesosfrom natives. 

Meanwhile, Prince Asin died of grief at his position. 

Under the leadership of the _Maestre de Campo_ of Zamboanga, hostilities commenced. With several ships he proceeded to Sulu, carrying a large armament and 1, 900 men. When the squadron anchored offSulu, a white and a red flag were hoisted from the principal fort, forthe Spaniards to elect either peace or war. Several Sulus approachedthe fleet with white flags, to inquire for the Sultan. Evasive answerswere given, followed by a sudden cannonade. 

No good resulted to the Spaniards from the attack, for the Sulusdefended themselves admirably. Tawi Tawi Island was next assaulted. Acaptain landed there with troops, but their retreat was cut off andthey were all slain. The Commander of the expedition was so discouragedthat he returned to Zamboanga and resigned. Pedro Gastambide thentook command, but after having attacked Basílan Island fruitlessly, he retired to Zamboanga. The whole campaign was an entire fiasco. Itwas a great mistake to have declared a war of extermination withouthaving the means to carry it out. The result was that the irateSulus organized a guerilla warfare, by sea and by land, against allChristians, to which the Spaniards but feebly responded. The "tableswere turned. " In fact, they were in great straits, and, wearied atthe little success of their arms, endless councils and discussionswere held in the capital. 

Meanwhile, almost every coast of the Archipelago was energeticallyravaged. Hitherto the Spaniards had only had the Sulus to contendwith, but the licence given by the Gov. -General to reprisal excitedthe cupidity of unscrupulous officials, and, without apparent rightor reason, the _Maestre de Campo_ of Zamboanga caused a Chinesejunk from Amoy, carrying goods to a friendly Sultan of Mindanao, tobe seized. After tedious delay, vexation, and privation, the masterand his crew were released and a part of the cargo restored, but the_Maestre de Campo_ insisted upon retaining what he chose for his ownuse. This treachery to an amicable chief exasperated and undeceived theMindanao Sultan to such a degree that he forthwith took his revengeby co-operating with the Sulus in making war on the Spaniards. Freshfleets of armed canoes replenished the Sulu armadillas, ravaged thecoasts, hunted down the Spanish priests, and made captives. 

On the north coast of Mindanao several battles took place. There is alegend that over 600 Mahometans advanced to the village of Lubungan, but were repulsed by the villagers, who declared their patron, SaintJames, appeared on horseback to help them. Fray Roque de Santa Mónicawas chased from place to place, hiding in caves and rocks. Being againmet by four Mahometans, he threatened them with a blunderbuss, andwas left unmolested. Eventually he was found by friendly natives, andtaken by them to a wood, where he lived on roots. Thence he journeyedto Linao, became raving mad, and was sent to Manila, where he diedquite frantic, in the convent of his Order. 

The Sultan and his fellow-prisoners had been conveyed to Manilaand lodged in the Fortress of Santiago. In 1753 he petitioned theGov. -General to allow his daughter, the Princess Faatima, and twoslaves to go to Sulu about his private affairs. A permit was granted oncondition of her returning, or, in exchange for her liberty and thatof her two slaves, to remit 50 captives, and, failing to do either, the Sultan and his suite were to be deprived of their dignitiesand treated as common slaves, to work in the galleys, and to beundistinguished among the ordinary prisoners. On these conditions, the Princess left, and forwarded 50 slaves, and one more--a Spaniard, José de Montesinos--as a present. 

The Princess Faatima, nevertheless, did return to Manila, bringingwith her an Ambassador from Prince Bantilan, her uncle and Governorof Sulu, who, in the meantime, had assumed the title of SultanMahamad Miududin. The Ambassador was Prince Mahamad Ismael DattoMarayalayla. After an audience with the Governor, he went to the fortto consult with the captive Sultan, and they proposed a treaty withthe Governor, of which the chief terms were as follows, viz. :--

An offensive and defensive alliance. 

All captives within the Sultanate of Sulu to be surrendered withinone year. 

All articles looted from the churches to be restored within one year. 

On the fulfilment of these conditions, the Sultan and his people wereto be set at liberty. 

The treaty was dated in Manila March 3, 1754. The terms were quiteimpossible of accomplishment, for the Sultan, being still in prison, had no power to enforce commands on his subjects. 

The war was continued at great sacrifice to the State and with littlebenefit to the Spaniards, whilst their operations were greatly retardedby discord between the officials of the expedition, the authoritieson shore, and the priests. At the same time, dilatory proceedingswere being taken against the _Maestre de Campo_ of Zamboanga, who wascharged with having appropriated to himself others' share of the warbooty. Siargao Island (off the N. E. Point of Mindanao Is. ) had beencompletely overrun by the Mahometans; the villages and cultivatedland were laid waste, and the Spanish priest was killed. 

When the Governor Pedro de Arandia arrived in 1754, the Sultantook advantage of the occasion to put his case before him. He had, indeed, experienced some of the strangest mutations of fortune, andArandia had compassion on him. By Arandia's persuasion, the Archbishopvisited and spiritually examined him, and then the Sultan confessedand took the Communion. In the College of Santa Potenciana there wasa Mahometan woman who had been a concubine of the Sultan, but who nowprofessed Christianity, and had taken the name of Rita Calderon. TheSultan's wife having died, he asked for this ex-concubine in marriage, and the favour was conceded to him. The nuptials were celebratedin the Governor's Palace on April 27, 1755, and the espoused couplereturned to their prison with an allowance of 50 pesos per month fortheir maintenance. 

In 1755 all the Sultan's relations and suite who had been incarceratedin Manila, except his son Ismael and a few chiefs, were sent backto Sulu. The Sultan and his chiefs were then allowed to live freelywithin the city of Manila, after having sworn before the Governor, onbended knees, to pay homage to him, and to remain peaceful during theKing's pleasure. Indeed, Governor Arandia was so favourably disposedtowards the Sultan Mahamad Alimudin (Ferdinand I. ) that personally hewas willing to restore him to his throne, but his wish only broughthim in collision with the clergy, and he desisted. 

The British, after the military occupation of Manila in 1763, took upthe cause of the Sultan, and reinstated him in Sulu. Then he avengedhimself on the Spaniards by fomenting incursions against them inMindanao, which the Gov. -General, José Raon, was unable to opposefor want of resources. The Mahometans, however, soon proved theiruntrustworthiness to friend and foe alike. Their friendship lastedon the one side so long as danger could thereby be averted from theother, and a certain Datto Teng-teng attacked the British garrisonone night at Balambangan and slaughtered all but six of the troops(_vide_ pp. 92, 98). 

In 1836 the sovereignty of the Sultan was distinctly recognized in atreaty made between him and Spain, whereby the Sultan had the rightto collect dues on Spanish craft entering Joló, whilst Sulu vesselspaid dues to the Spaniards in their ports as foreign vessels. 

In 1844 Gov. -General Narciso Claveria led an expedition against theMoros and had a desperate, but victorious, struggle with them atthe fort of Balanguigui (an islet 14 miles due east of Sulu Is. ), for which he was rewarded with the title of Conde de Manila. 

The town of Sulu (Joló) was formerly the residence of the Sultan'sCourt. This Sovereign had arrogantly refused to check the piraticalcruisings made by his people against Spanish subjects in the localityand about the Islands of Calamianes; therefore, on February 11, 1851, General Antonio de Urbiztondo, Marquis de la Solana (an ex-Carlistchief), who had been appointed Gov. -General of the Philippines inthe previous year, undertook to redress his nation's grievances byforce. The Spanish flag was hoisted in several places. Sulu town, whichwas shelled by the gunboats, was captured and held by the invaders, and the Sultan Muhamed Pulalon fled to Maybun on the south coast, to which place the Court was permanently removed. At the close ofthis expedition another treaty was signed (1851), which provided forthe annual payment of P1, 500 to the Sultan and P600 each to three_dattos_, on condition that they would suppress piracy and promotemutual trade. Still the Mahometans paid the Spaniards an occasionalvisit and massacred the garrison, which was as often replaced byfresh levies. 

In 1876 the incursions of the Mahometans and the temerity of thechiefs had again attained such proportions that European dominion overthe Sulu Sultanate and Mindanao, even in the nominal form in which itexisted, was sorely menaced. Consequent on this, an expedition, headedby Vice-Admiral Malcampo, arrived in the waters of the Sultanate, carrying troops, with the design of enforcing submission. The chief ofthe land forces appears to have had no topographical plan formed. Theexpedition turned out to be one of discovery. The troops were marchedinto the interior, without their officers knowing where they weregoing, and they even had to depend on Sulu guides. Naturally, theywere often deceived, and led to precisely where the Mahometans wereawaiting them in ambush, the result being that great havoc was made inthe advance column by frequent surprises. Now and again would appeara few _juramentados_, or sworn Mahometans, who sought their way toAllah by the sacrifice of their own blood, but causing considerabledestruction to the invading party. With a kris at the waist, a javelinin one hand, and a shield supported by the other, they would advancebefore the enemy, dart forward and backwards, make zigzag movements, and then, with a war-whoop, rush in three or four at a time upon a bodyof Christians twenty times their number, giving no quarter, expectingnone--to die, or to conquer! The expedition was not a failure, butit gained little. The Spanish flag was hoisted in several places, including Sulu (Joló), where it remained from February 29, 1876, until the Spanish evacuation of the Islands in 1898. 

The Mahometans (called by the Spaniards _Moros_) now extend overnine-tenths of Mindanao Island, and the whole of the Sultanate ofSulu, which comprises Sulu Island (34 miles long from E. To W. , and12 miles in the broadest part from N. To S. ) and about 140 others, 80 to 90 of which are uninhabited. 

The native population of the Sulu Sultanate alone would be about100, 000, including free people, slaves, and some 20, 000 men-at-armsunder orders of the _Dattos_. [61] The domains of His Highness reachwestward as far as Borneo, where, up to 25 years ago, the Sultanate ofBrunei [62] was actually tributary (and now nominally so) to that ofSulu. The Sultan of Sulu is also feudal lord of two vassal Sultanatesin Mindanao Island. There is, moreover, a half-caste branch of thesepeople in the southern half of Palauan Island (Parágua) of a verysubdued and peaceful nature, compared with the Sulu, nominally underthe Sulu Sultan's rule. 

In Mindanao Island only a small coast district here and there wasreally under Spanish empire, although Spain (by virtue of an oldtreaty, which never was respected to the letter) claimed suzeraintyover all the territory subject to the Sultan of Sulu. After the Suluwar of 1876 the Sultan admitted the claim more formally, and on March11, 1877, a protocol was signed by England and Germany recognizingSpain's rights to the Tawi Tawi group and the chain of islandsstretching from Sulu to Borneo. At the same time it was understoodthat Spain would give visible proof of annexation by establishingmilitary posts, or occupying these islands in some way, but nothingwas done until 1880, when Spain was stirred into action by a reportthat the Germans projected a settlement there. A convict corps atonce took possession, military posts were established, and in 1882the 6th Regiment of regular troops was quartered in the group atBongao and Siassi. 

Meanwhile, in 1880, a foreign colonizing company was formed inthe Sultanate of Brunei, under the title of "British North BorneoCo. " (Royal Charter of November 7, 1881). The company recognized thesuzerain rights of the Sultan of Sulu, and agreed to pay to him anannual sum as feudal lord. Spain protested that the territory was hers, but could show nothing to confirm the possession. There was no flag, or a detachment of troops, or anything whatsoever to indicate that thecoast was under European protection or dominion. Notes were exchangedbetween the Cabinets of Madrid and London, and Spain relinquishedfor ever her claim to the Borneo fief of Brunei. 

The experience of the unfortunate Sultan Alimudin (Ferdinand I. ) taughtthe Sulu people such a sad lesson that subsequent sultans have notcared to risk their persons in the hands of the Spaniards. There was, moreover, a Nationalist Party which repudiated dependence on Spain, andhoped to be able eventually to drive out the Spaniards. Therefore, in1885, when the heir to the throne, Mohammad Jamalul Kiram (who was thenabout 15 years old) was cited to Manila to receive his investiture atthe hands of the Gov. -General, he refused to comply, and the Governmentat once offered the Sultanate to his uncle, Datto Harun Narrasid, whoaccepted it, and presented himself to the Gov. -General in the capital. 

The ceremony of investiture took place in the Government House atMalacañan near Manila on September 24, 1886, when Datto Harun tookthe oath of allegiance to the King of Spain as his sovereign lord, and received from the Gov. -General, Emilio Terrero, the title of HisExcellency _Paduca Majasari Maulana Amiril Mauminin Sultan MuhamadHarun Narrasid_, with the rank of a Spanish lieut. -general. TheGov. -General was attended by his Secretary, the Official Interpreter, and several high officers. In the suite of the Sultan-elect were hisSecretary, _Tuan Hadji Omar_, a priest, _Pandita Tuan Sik Mustafá_, and several _dattos_. For the occasion, the Sultan-elect was dressedin European costume, and wore a Turkish fez with a heavy tassel ofblack silk. His Secretary and Chaplain appeared in long black tunics, white trousers, light shoes, and turbans. Two of the remainder of hissuite adopted the European fashion, but the others wore rich typicalMoorish vestments. 

The Sultan returned to his country, and in the course of three monthsthe Nationalist Party chiefs openly took up arms against the King ofSpain's nominee, the movement spreading to the adjacent islands ofSiassi and Bongao, which form part of the Sultanate. [63]

The Mahometans on the Great Mindanao River, from Cottabato [64]upwards, openly defied Spanish authority; and in the spring of 1886the Government were under the necessity of organizing an expeditionagainst them. The Spaniards had ordered that native craft shouldcarry the Spanish flag, otherwise they would be treated as pirates orrebels. In March, 1887, the cacique of the Simonor ranche (Bongao Is. ), named Pandan, refused any longer to hoist the christian ensign, and hewas pursued and taken prisoner. He was conveyed on the gunboat _Panay_to Sulu, and on being asked by the Governor why he had ceased to usethe Spanish flag, he haughtily replied that "he would only answer sucha question to the Captain-General, " and refused to give any furtherexplanation. Within a month after his arrest the garrison of Sulu(Joló) was strengthened by 377 men, in expectation of an immediategeneral rising, which indeed took place. The Spanish forces were led byMajors Mattos and Villa Abrille, under the command of Brig. -GeneralSeriná. They were stoutly opposed by a cruel and despotic chief, named Utto, who advanced at the head of his subjects and slaves. Withthe co-operation of the gunboats up the river, the Mahometans wererepulsed with great loss. 

Scores of expeditions had been led against the Mindanao natives, and their temporary submission had usually been obtained by theSpaniards--on whose retirement, however, the natives always reverted totheir old customs, and took their revenge on the settlers. Moreover, the petty jealousies existing between the highest officers in thesouth rendered every peaceful effort fruitless. 

Datto Utto having defiantly proclaimed that no Spaniard should everenter his territory, an armed expedition was fitted out; and from theexample of his predecessor in 1881 (_vide_ p. 124) the Gov. -General, Emilio Terrero, perchance foresaw in a little war the vision of titlesand more material reward, besides counterbalancing his increasingunpopularity in Manila, due to the influence of my late friend, the Government Secretary Felipe Canga-Argüelles. Following in thewake of those who had successfully checked the Mahometans in theprevious spring, he took the chief command in person in the beginningof January, 1887, to force a recantation of Datto Utto's utterances. 

The petty Sultans of Bacat, Buhayen and Kudarangan in vain unitedtheir fortunes with those of Utto. The stockades of cocoanut trunks, _palma-bravas_ (q. V. ) and earth (_cottas_) were easily destroyed bythe Spanish artillery, and their defenders fled under a desultoryfire. There were very few casualties on either side. Some of theChristian native infantry soldiers suffered from the bamboo spikes(Spanish, _puas_) set in the ground around the stockades, but theenemy had not had time to cover with brushwood the pits dug for theattacking party to fall into. In about two months the operations endedby the submission of some chiefs of minor importance and influence;and after spending so much powder and shot and Christian blood, theGeneral had not even the satisfaction of seeing either the man he wasfighting against or his enemy's ally, the Sultan of Kudarangan. Thislatter sent a priest, Pandita Kalibaudang, and Datto Andig to sue forpeace and cajole the General with the fairest promises. Afterwardsthe son and heir of this chief, Rajahmudah Tambilanang, presentedhimself, and he and his suite of 30 followers were conducted tothe camp in the steam launch _Carriedo_. Utto, whose residence hadbeen demolished, had not deigned to submit in person, but sent, asemissaries, Dattos Sirungang, Buat and Dalandung, who excused onlythe absence of Utto's prime minister. Capitulations of peace werehanded to Utto's subordinates, who were told to bring them back signedwithout delay, for despatches from the Home Government, received fouror five weeks previously, were urging the General to conclude thisaffair as speedily as possible. They were returned signed by Utto--orby somebody else--and the same signature and another, supposed to bethat of his wife, the Ranee Pudtli (a woman of great sway amongst herpeople) were also attached to a letter, offering complete submission. 

The Spaniards destroyed a large quantity of rice-paddy, and stipulatedfor the subsequent payment of a war indemnity in the form of cannons(_lantacas_), buffaloes, and horses. 

The General gave the emissaries some trifling presents, and they wenttheir way and he his, --to Manila, which he entered in state on March21, with flags flying, music playing, and the streets decorated withbunting of the national colours, to give welcome to the conquerorof the Mahometan chief--whom he had never seen--the bearer of peacecapitulations signed--by whom? As usual, a _Te Deum_ was celebratedin the Cathedral for the victories gained over the infidels; theofficers and troops who had returned were invited by the Municipalityto a theatrical performance, and the Gov. -General held a reception inthe Palace of Malacañan. Some of the troops were left in Mindanao, it having been resolved to establish armed outposts still fartherup the river for the better protection of the port and settlementof Cottabato. 

Whilst the Gov. -General headed this military parade in the Cottabatodistrict, the ill-feeling of the Sulu natives towards the Spaniardswas gradually maturing. An impending struggle was evident, andColonel Juan Arolas, the Governor of Sulu, concentrated his forces inexpectation. The Sulus, always armed, prepared for events in their_cottas_; Arolas demanded their surrender, which was refused, andthey were attacked. Two _cottas_, well defended, were ultimatelytaken, not without serious loss to the Spaniards. In the reportof the slain a captain was mentioned. Arolas then twice asked forauthority to attack the Mahometans at Maybun, and was each timerefused. At length, acting on his own responsibility, on April 15, 1887, he ordered a gunboat to steam round to Maybun and open fire atdaybreak on the Sultan's capital, which was in possession of the partyopposed to the Spanish nominee (Harun Narrasid). At 11 o'clock thesame night he started across country with his troops towards Maybun, and the next morning, whilst the enemy was engaged with the gunboat, he led the attack on the land side. The Mahometans, quite surprised, fought like lions, but were completely routed, and the seat of theSultanate was razed to the ground. It was the most crushing defeatever inflicted on the Sulu Nationalist Party. The news reached Manilaon April 29, and great praise was justly accorded to Colonel Arolas, whose energetic operations contrasted so favourably with the Cottabatoexpedition. All manner of festivities in his honour were projectedin Manila, but Arolas elected to continue the work of subduing theMoro country. Notwithstanding his well-known republican tendencies, on September 20, 1887, the Queen-Regent cabled through her Ministry heracknowledgment of Colonel Arolas' valuable services, and the pleasureit gave her to reward him with a Brig. -General's commission. [65]

In 1895 an expedition against the Mahometans was organized under thesupreme command of Gov. -General Ramon Blanco. It was known as theMarahui (or Marauit) Campaign. The tribes around Lake Lanao (ancientname Malanao) and the Marahui district had, for some time past, madeserious raids on the Spanish settlement at Ylígan, which is connectedwith Lake Lanao by a river navigable only by canoes. Indeed, the livesand property of Christians in all the territory adjoining Yligan werein great jeopardy, and the Spanish authorities were set at defiance. Itwas therefore resolved, for the first time, to attack the tribes anddestroy their _cottas_ around the lake for the permanent tranquillityof Yligan. The Spanish and native troops alike suffered great hardshipsand privations. Steam launches in sections (constructed in Hong-Kong), small guns, and war material were carried up from Yligan to the lake bynatives over very rugged ground. On the lake shore the launches werefitted up and operated on the lake, to the immense surprise of thetribes. From the land side their _cottas_ were attacked and destroyed, under the command of my old friend Brig. -General Gonzalez Parrado. Theoperations, which lasted about three months, were a complete success, and General Gonzalez Parrado was rewarded with promotion to Generalof Division. Lake Lanao, with the surrounding district and the routedown to Yligan, was in possession of the Spaniards, and in order toretain that possession without the expense of maintaining a largemilitary establishment, it was determined to people the conqueredterritory with Christian families from Luzon and the other islandssituated north of Mindanao. It was the attempt to carry out thiscolonizing scheme which gave significance to the Marahui Expeditionand contributed to that movement which, in 1896, led to the downfallof Spanish rule in the Archipelago. 

The last Spanish punitive expedition against the Mindanao Mahometanswas sent in February, 1898, under the command of General Buille. Theoperations lasted only a few days. The enemy was driven into theinterior with great loss, and one chief was slain. The small gunboatsbuilt in Hong-Kong for the Marahui Campaign--the _General Blanco, Corcuera_, and _Lanao_--again did good service. 

There are three branches or tribes of the _Malanao_ Moros around theLake Lanao:

(1) _Bayabos_, at the north of the Lake, their centre being Marahui. 

(2) _Onayans_, at the south of the Lake, their centre being Bayan. 

(3) _Macui_ tribe includes the remaining Lake Lanao people, except afew independent ranches to the east of the Macui, belonging to theBayabos. The Macui claim to be the most ancient, although no tribecan trace descent farther back than the 13th century. Intermarriagehas destroyed traces, but there are over a hundred sultans who claimto be of royal blood. 

The other principal Mindanao tribes are as follows, viz. :--_Aetas_, in the regions near Mount Apo (_vide_ p. 121). 

_Bagobos_, on the foothills of Mount Apo. A peaceful people, disposedto work, and reputed to be human sacrificers. 

_Manobos_, in the valley of the Agusan River. There are also some onthe Gulf of Davao and in the Cottabato district. 

_Samales_ inhabit the small islands in the Gulf of Davao, but thereis quite a large colony of them at Magay, a suburb of Zamboanga, (from the neighbouring islets) under Rajahmudah Datto Mandi. 

_Subuanos_ occupy the peninsula of the Zamboanga Province. Theyare docile and lazy, and much prone to stealing. They are farless courageous than the _Samales_, by whom they are overawed. Somephysiognomists consider them to be of the same caste as the _Manobos_, the _Guimbanos_ of Sulu, and the _Samecas_ of Basilan. 

_Tagubans_ live on the north shore of the Gulf of Davao. 

_Tirurayas_ inhabit the mountains to the west of the Rio Grande. 

There is a large number of smaller tribes. 

A few years ago we were all alarmed on Corpus Christi Day, during thesolemn procession of that feast in Cottabato, by the sudden attack ofa few Mahometans on the crowd of Christians assembled. Of course theformer were overwhelmed and killed, as they quite expected to be. Theywere of that class known as _juramentados_, or sworn Mahometans, whobelieve that if they make a solemn vow, in a form binding on theirconsciences, to die taking the blood of a Christian, their souls willimmediately migrate to the happy hunting-ground, where they will everlive in bliss, in the presence of the Great Prophet. This is the mostdangerous sect of Mahometans, for no exhibition of force can sufficeto stay their ravages, and they can only be treated like mad dogs, or like a Malay who has run _ámok_. 

The face of a Mindanao south coast Moro is generally pleasant, buta smile spoils his appearance; the parting lips disclose a filthyaperture with dyed teeth in a mahogany coloured foam of masticatedbetel-nut. Holes as large as sixpences are in the ears of the women, who, when they have no ear-rings, wear a piece of reed with a vermiliontip. The dress is artistically fantastic, with the _sárong_ andthe _jábul_ and no trousers visible. Apparently the large majority(perhaps 70 per cent. ) of the Párang-Párang Moros have a loathsomeskin disease. Those who live on shore crop their hair, but the swamp, river, and sea people who live afloat let it grow long. 

The Sulu Islanders, male and female, dress with far greater taste andascetic originality than the christian natives. The women are fondof gay colours, the predominant ones being scarlet and green. Theirnether bifurcated garment is very baggy, the bodice is extremely tight, and, with equally close-fitting sleeves, exhibits every contour ofthe bust and arms. They use also a strip of stuff sewn together atthe ends called the _jábul_, which serves to protect the head fromthe sun-rays. The end of the _jábul_ would reach nearly down tothe feet, but is usually held _retroussé_ under the arm. They havea passion for jewellery, and wear many finger-rings of metal andsometimes of sea-shells, whilst their ear-rings are gaudy and oflarge dimensions. The hair is gracefully tied in a coil on the topof the head, and their features are at least as attractive as thoseof the generality of Philippine christian women. 

The men wear breeches of bright colours, as tight as gymnasts'pantaloons, with a large number of buttons up the sides; a kind ofwaistcoat buttoning up to the throat; a jacket reaching to the hips, with close sleeves, and a turban. A chief's dress has many adornmentsof trinkets, and is quite elegant, a necessary part of his outfitbeing the _bárong_ (sword), which apparently he carries constantly. 

They are robust, of medium height, often of superb physicaldevelopment; of a dusky bronze colour, piercing eyes, low forehead, lank hair, which is dressed as a chignon and hangs down the back ofthe neck. The body is agile, the whole movement is rapid, and theyhave a wonderful power of holding the breath under water. They areof quick perception, audacious, haughty, resolute, zealous abouttheir genealogies; extremely sober, ready to promise everythingand do nothing, vindictive and highly suspicious of a stranger'sintentions. Their bearing towards the Christian, whom they callthe infidel, is full of contempt. They know no gratitude, and theywould not cringe to the greatest Christian potentate. They are verylong-suffering in adversity, hesitating in attack, and the bravestof the brave in defence. They disdain work as degrading and onlya fit occupation for slaves, whilst warfare is, to their minds, anhonourable calling. Every male over 16 years of age has to carry atleast one fighting-weapon at all times, and consider himself enrolledin military service. 

They have a certain knowledge of the Arts. They manufacture on theanvil very fine kris daggers, knives, lance-heads, etc. Many of theirfighting-weapons are inlaid with silver and set in polished hardwoodor ivory handles artistically carved. 

In warfare they carry shields, and their usual arms on land arethe _campilán_, a kind of short two-handed sword, wide at the tipand narrowing down to the hilt, the _bárong_ for close combat, thestraight _kris_ for thrusting and cutting, and the waved, serpent-like_kris_ for thrusting only. They are dexterous in the use of arms, and can most skilfully decapitate a foe at a single stroke. At seathey use a sort of assegai, called _bagsacay_ or _simbilin_, abouthalf an inch in diameter, with a sharp point. Some can throw as manyas four at a time, and make them spread in the flight; they use thesefor boarding vessels. They make many of their own domestic utensils ofmetal, also coats of mail of metal wire and buffalo horn, which resisthand-weapons, but not bullets. The wire probably comes from Singapore. 

The local trade is chiefly in pearls, mother-of-pearl, shells, shark fins, etc. [66] The Sultan, in Spanish times, had a sovereignright to all pearls found which exceeded a certain size fixed bySulu law--hence it was very difficult to secure an extraordinaryspecimen. The Mahometans trade at great distances in their small craft, called _vintas_, for they are wonderfully expert navigators. Theirlargest vessels do not exceed seven tons, and they go as far as Borneo, and even down to Singapore on rare occasions. 

I found that almost any coinage was useful for purchasing in themarket-places. I need hardly add that the Chinese small traders havefound their way to these regions; and it would be an unfavourablesign if a Chinaman were not to be seen there, for where the frugalCelestial cannot earn a living one may well assume there is littleprosperity. Small Chinese coins (known as _cash_ in the China TreatyPorts) are current money there, and I think, the most convenientof all copper coins, for, having a hole in the centre, they can bestrung together. Chinese began to trade with this island in 1751. 

The root of the Sulu language is Sanscrit, mixed with Arabic. EachFriday is dedicated to public worship, and the faithful are calledto the temple by the beating of a box or hollow piece of wood. Allrecite the Iman with a plaintive voice in honour of the Great Prophet;a slight gesticulation is then made whilst the _Pandita_ reads apassage from the Mustah. I observed that no young women put in anappearance at the temple on the occasion of my visit. 

At the beginning of each year there is a very solemn ceremonial, and, in the event of the birth or death of a child, or the safe returnfrom some expedition, it is repeated. It is a sort of _Te Deum_ inconformity with Mahometan rites. During a number of days in a certainmonth of the year they abstain from eating, drinking, and pleasureof all kinds, and suffer many forms of voluntary penance. Strangersare never allowed, I was told, inside the Mosque of the Sultan. Thehigher clergy are represented by the hereditary _Cherif_, who hastemporal power also. The title of _Pandita_ simply means priest, andis the common word used in Mindanao as well as in Palaúan Island. Heseems to be almost the chief in his district--not in a warlike sense, like the _Datto_; but his word has great influence. He performs allthe functions of a priest, receives the vow of the _juramentados_, and expounds the mysteries and the glories of that better world whitherthey will go without delay if they die taking the blood of a Christian. 

In theory, the Moros accept the Koran and the teachings of Mahomet:in practice, they omit the virtues of their religious system andfollow those precepts which can be construed into favouring vice;hence they interpret guidance of the people by oppression, polygamyby licentiousness, and maintenance of the faith by bloodshed. Relaysof Arabs come, from time to time, under the guise of Koran expounders, to feed on the people and whet their animosity towards the Christian. 

The _Panditas_ are doctors also. If a _Datto_ dies, they intone adolorous chant; the family bursts into lamentations, which are finallydrowned in the din of the clashing of cymbals and beating of gongs, whilst sometimes a gun is fired. In rush the neighbours, and join inthe shouting, until all settle down quietly to a feast. The body isthen sprinkled with salt and camphor and dressed in white, with thekris attached to the waist. There is little ceremony about placingthe body in the coffin and burying it. The mortuary is marked by awooden tablet--sometimes by a stone, on which is an inscription inArabic. A slip of board, or bamboo, is placed around the spot, and apiece of wood, carved like the bows of a canoe, is stuck in the earth;in front of this is placed a cocoanut shell full of water. 

The old native town, or _cotta_ of Sulu (Joló) was a collection ofbamboo houses built upon piles extending a few hundred yards into thesea. This was all demolished by the Spaniards when they permanentlyoccupied the place in 1876, excepting the Military Hospital, whichwas re-constructed of light materials, native fashion. The sea-beachwas cleared, and the native village put back inland. 

The site is an extremely pretty little bay on the north of the island, formed by the points Dangapic and Candea, and exactly in front, about four or five miles off, there are several low-lying islets, well wooded, with a hill abruptly jutting out here and there, thewhole forming a picturesque miniature archipelago. 

Looking from the sea, in the centre stands the modern Spanish town ofSulu (Joló), built on the shore, rising about a couple of yards abovesea-level, around which there is a short stone and brick sea-wall, withseveral bends pleasantly relieving the monotony of a straight line. 

Forming a background to the European town, there are three thicklywooded hillocks almost identical in appearance, and at each extremityof the picture, lying farther back inland, there is a hill slopingdown gradually towards the coast. The slope on the eastern extremityhas been cleared of undergrowth to the extent of about 50 acres, giving it the appearance of a vast lawn. At the eastern and westernextremities are the native suburbs, with huts of light material built afew yards into the sea. On the east side there is a big Moro bungalow, erected on small tree-trunks, quite a hundred yards from the beachseawards. To the west, one sees a long shanty-built structure runningout to sea like a jetty; it is the shore market. The panorama couldnot be more charming and curious. Still farther west, towering aboveevery other, stands the _Bad Tumantangas_ peak (Mount of Tears), the last point discernible by the westward-journeying Joloano, whois said to sigh with patriotic anguish at its loss to view, with allthe feeling of a Moorish Boabdil bidding adieu to his beloved Granada. 

The town is uniformly planned, with well-drained streets, runningparallel, crossed at rectangles by lovely avenues of shadingtrees. Here and there are squares, pretty gardens, and a clean andorderly market-place. There is a simple edifice for a church, splendidbarracks equal to those in Manila when these were built, many houses ofbrick and stone, others of wood, and all roofed with corrugated iron. 

The neighbourhood is well provided with water from natural streams. Thetown is supplied with drinking-water conducted in pipes, laid for thepurpose from a spring about a mile and a quarter distant, whilst otherpiping carries water to the end of the pier for the requirements ofshipping. This improvement, the present salubrity of the town (once afever focus), and its latest Spanish embellishments, are mainly due tothe intelligent activity of its late Governors, Colonel (now General)González Parrado, and the late General Juan Arolas. 

The town is encircled on the land side by a brick loop-holed wall. Theoutside (Spanish) defences consisted of two forts, viz:--The "_Princesade Asturias_" and "_Torre de la Reina_" and within the town those ofthe "_Puerta Blockaus_", "_Puerta España_" and the redoubt "_AlfonsoXII. _"--this last had a Nordenfeldt gun. 

The Spanish Government of Sulu was entirely under martial law, andthe Europeans (mostly military men) were constantly on the alert forthe ever-recurring attacks of the natives. 

The general aspect of Sulu (Joló) is cheerful and attractive. The dayscene, enlivened by the Moro, passing to and fro with his lithe gait, in gay attire, with the _bárong_ in a huge sash, and every white man, soldier or civilian, carrying arms in self-defence, may well inflamethe imaginative and romantic mind. One can hardly believe one isstill in the Philippines. At night, the shaded avenues, bordered bystately trees, illuminated by a hundred lamps, present a beautiful, picturesque scene which carries the memory far, far away from thesurrounding savage races. Yet all may change in a trice. There isa hue and cry; a Moro has run _ámok_--his glistening weapon withina foot of his escaping victim; the Christian native hiding away infear, and the European off in pursuit of the common foe; there is atramping of feet, a cracking of firearms; the Moro is biting the dust, and the memory is brought abruptly back from imagination's flightsto full realization of one's Mahometan _entourage_. 

By a decree dated September 24, 1877, all the natives, and otherraces or nationalities settled there, were exempted from all kinds ofcontributions or taxes for 10 years. In 1887 the term was extended foranother 10 years; hence, no imposts being levied, all the Spaniardshad to do was to maintain their prestige with peace. 

In his relations with the Spaniards, the Sultan held the titleof Excellency, and he, as well as several chiefs, received annualpensions from the Government at the following rates:--

 Pesos. Sultan of Sulu 2, 400 Sultan of Mindanao 1, 000 Datto Beraduren, heir to the Sulu Sultanate 700 Paduca Datto Alimudin, of Sulu 600 Datto Amiral, of Mindanao 800 Other minor pensions 600 ===== P6, 100

and an allowance of 2 pesos for each captive rescued, and 3 pesosfor each pirate caught, whether in Sulu or Mindanao waters. 

The Sultan is the _Majasari_ (the stainless, the spotless)--thePontiff-king--the chief of the State and the Church; but it is saidthat he acknowledges the Sultan of Turkey as the _Padishah_. He isthe irresponsible lord and master of all life and property among hissubjects, although in his decrees he is advised by a Council of Elders. 

Nevertheless, in spite of his absolute authority, he does not seem tohave perfect control over the acts of his nobles or chiefs, who area privileged class, and are constantly waging some petty war amongthemselves, or organizing a marauding expedition along the coast. TheSultan is compelled, to a certain extent, to tolerate their excesses, as his own dignity, or at least his own tranquillity, is in a greatmeasure dependent on their common goodwill towards him. The chiefscollect tribute in the name of the Sultan, but they probably furnishtheir own wants first and pay differences into the Royal Treasury, seeing that it all comes from their own feudal dependents. 

The Sultan claims to be the nominal owner of all the product of Suluwaters. In the valuable Pearl Fisheries he claims to have a priorright to all pearls above a certain value, although the finder isentitled to a relative bounty from the Sultan. "Ambal, " a product foundfloating on the waters and much esteemed by the Chinese as medicine, is subject to royal dues. The great pearl-fishing centre is SiassiIsland (in the Tapul group), lying about 20 miles south of Sulu Island. 

The Sultanate is hereditary under the Salic Law. The Sultan issupported by three ministers, one of whom acts as Regent in his absence(for he might choose to go to Singapore, or have to go to Mecca, if he had not previously done so); the other is Minister of War, and the third is Minister of Justice and Master of the Ceremonies. 

Slavery exists in a most ample sense. There are slaves by birth andothers by conquest, such as prisoners of war, insolvent debtors, andthose seized by piratical expeditions to other islands. A creole friendof mine was one of these last. He had commenced clearing an estate forcane-growing on the Negros coast, when he was seized and carried offto Sulu Island. In a few years he was ransomed and returned to Negros, where be formed one of the finest sugar haciendas and factories inthe Colony. 

In 1884 a Mahometan was found on a desolate isle lying off the Antiquecoast (Panay Is. ), and of course had no document of identity, so hewas arrested and confined in the jail of San José de Buenavista. Fromprison he was eventually taken to the residence of the SpanishGovernor, Don Manuel Castellon, a very humane gentleman and a personalfriend of mine. In Don Manuel's study there was a collection ofnative arms which took the stranger's fancy; one morning he seizeda kris and lance, and, bounding into the breakfast-room, caperedabout, gesticulated, and brandished the lance in the air, much to theamusement of the Governor and his guests. But in an instant the fellow(hitherto a mystery, but undoubtedly a _juramentado_) hurled the lancewith great force towards the Public Prosecutor, and the missile, aftersevering his watch-chain, lodged in the side of the table. The Governorand the Public Prosecutor at once closed with the would-be assassin, whilst the Governor's wife, with great presence of mind, thrust atable-knife into the culprit's body between the shoulder-blade andthe collar-bone. The man fell, and, when all supposed he was dead, he suddenly jumped up. No one had thought of taking the kris out ofhis grasp, and he rushed around the apartment and severely cut two ofthe servants, but was ultimately despatched by the bayonets of theguards who arrived on hearing the scuffle. The Governor showed mehis wounds, which were slight, but his life was saved by the valourof his wife--Doña Justa. 

It has often been remarked by old residents, that if free licence weregranted to the domesticated natives, their barbarous instincts wouldrecur to them in all vigour. Here was an instance. The body of theMoro was carried off by an excited populace, who tied a rope to it, beat it, and dragged it through the town to a few miles up the coast, where it was thrown on the sea-shore. The priests did not interfere;like the Egyptian mummies cast on the Stygian shores, the culpritwas unworthy of sepulture--besides, who would pay the fees?

During my first visit to Sulu in 1881, I was dining with the Governor, when the conversation ran on the details of an expedition about to besent to Maybun, to carry despatches received from the Gov. -Generalfor the Sultan, anent the Protectorate. The Governor seemed rathersurprised when I expressed my wish to join the party, for the journeyis not unattended with risk to one's life. [I may here mention thatonly a few days before I arrived, a young officer was sent on somemission a short distance outside the town of Joló, accompanied by apatrol of two guards. He was met by armed Mahometans, and sent backwith one of his hands cut off. I remember, also, the news reachingus that several military officers were sitting outside a café inJoló Town, when a number of _juramentados_ came behind them and cuttheir throats. ] However, the Governor did not oppose my wish--on thecontrary, he jocosely replied that he could not extend my passport sofar, because the Sulus would not respect it, yet the more Europeansthe better. 

Officials usually went by sea to Maybun, and a gunboat was now andagain sent round the coast with messages to the Sultan, but therewas no Government vessel in Joló at this time. 

Our party, all told, including the native attendants, numbered about30 Christians, and we started early in the morning on horseback. Icarried my usual weapon--a revolver--hoping there would be no need touse it on the journey. And so it resulted; we arrived, without beingmolested in any way, in about three hours, across a beautiful country. 

We passed two low ranges of hills, which appeared to run from S. W. ToN. E. , and several small streams, whilst here and there was a rancheof the Sultan's subjects. Each ranche was formed of a group of10 to 20 huts, controlled by the cacique. Agriculture seemed tobe pursued in a very pristine fashion, but, doubtless owing to theexuberant fertility of the soil, we saw some very nice crops of Rice, Indian Corn, Sugar Cane, and Indigo and Coffee plantations on a smallscale. In the forest which we traversed there were some of the largestbamboos I have ever seen, and fine building timber, such as Teak, Narra, Molave, Mangachapuy, and Camagon (_vide_ Woods). I was assuredthat Cedars also flourished on the island. We saw a great number ofmonkeys, wild pigeons, cranes, and parrots, whilst deer, buffaloes, and wild goats are said to abound in these parts. 

On our arrival at Maybun, we went first to the bungalow of aChinaman--the Sultan's brother-in-law--where we refreshed ourselveswith our own provisions, and learnt the gossip of the place. Oninquiry, we were told that the Sultan was sleeping, so we waited atthe Chinaman's. I understood this man was a trader, but there were novisible signs of his doing any business. Most of our party slept the_siesta_, and at about four o'clock we called at the Palace. It wasa very large building, well constructed, and appeared to be builtalmost entirely of materials of the country. A deal of bamboo andwood were used in it, and even the roof was made of split bamboo, although I am told that this was replaced by sheet-iron when theyoung Sultan came to the throne. The vestibule was very spacious, and all around was pleasantly decorated with lovely shrubs and plantspeculiar to most mid-tropical regions. The entrance to the Palace wasalways open, but well guarded, and we were received by three _Dattos_, who saluted us in a formal way, and, without waiting to ask us anyquestion, invited us, with a wave of the hand, to follow them intothe throne-room. [67] The Sultan was seated on our entering, but whenthe bearer of the despatches approached with the official interpreterby his side, and we following, he rose in his place to greet us. 

His Highness was dressed in very tight silk trousers, fastened partlyup the sides with showy chased gold or gilt buttons, a short Eton-cutolive-green jacket with an infinity of buttons, white socks, ornamentedslippers, a red sash around his waist, a kind of turban, and a kris athis side. His general appearance was that of a Spanish bull-fighterwith an Oriental finish off. We all bowed low, and the Sultan, surrounded by his Sultanas, put his hands to his temples, and, onlowering them, he bowed at the same time. We remained standing whilstsome papers were handed to him. He looked at them--a few words weresaid in Spanish, to the effect that the bearer saluted His Highnessin the name of the Governor of Sulu. The Sultan passed the documentsto the official interpreter, who read or explained them in the Sululanguage; then a brief conversation ensued, through the interpreter, and the business was really over. After a short pause, the Sultanmotioned to us to be seated on floor-cushions, and we complied. Thecushions, covered with rich silk, were very comfortable. Servants, infantastic costumes, were constantly in attendance, serving betel-nutto those who cared to chew it. 

One Sultana was fairly pretty, or had been so, but the others wereheavy, languid, and lazy in their movements; and their teeth, dyed black, did not embellish their personal appearance. TheSultan made various inquiries, and passed many compliments on us, the Governor, Gov. -General, etc. , which were conveyed to us throughthe interpreter. Meanwhile, the Sultanas chatted among themselves, and were apparently as much interested in looking at us as we werein their style, features, and attire. They all wore light-coloured"dual garments" of great width, and tight bodices. Their _coiffure_was carefully finished, but a part of the forehead was hidden by anungraceful fringe of hair. 

We had so little in common to converse on, and that little had tobe said through the interpreter, that we were rather glad when wewere asked to take refreshments. It at least served to relieve theawkward feeling of glancing at each other in silence. Chocolate andornamental sweetmeats were brought to us, all very unpalatable. When wewere about to take our departure, the Sultan invited us to remain allnight in the Palace. The leader of our party caused to be explainedto him that we were thankful for his gracious offer, but that, beingso numerous, we feared to disturb His Highness by intruding so faron his hospitality. Still the Sultan politely insisted, and whilstthe interpretation was being transmitted I found an opportunity toacquaint our chief of my burning curiosity to stay at the Palace. Inany case, we were a large number to go anywhere, so our leader, inreply to the Sultan, said that he and four Europeans of his suitewould take advantage of His Highness's kindness. 

We withdrew from the Sultan's presence, and some of us Europeanswalked through the town accompanied by functionaries of the royalhousehold and the interpreter. There was nothing striking in theplace; it was like most others. There were some good bungalows ofbamboo and thatching. I noticed that men, women, and children weresmoking tobacco or chewing, and had no visible occupation. Many ofthe smaller dwellings were built on piles out to the sea. We saw anumber of divers preparing to go off to get pearls, mother-of-pearl, etc. They are very expert in this occupation, and dive as deep as 100feet. Prior to the plunge they go through a grotesque performance ofwaving their arms in the air and twisting their bodies, in order--asthey say--to frighten away the sharks; then with a whoop they leapover the edge of the prahu, and continue to throw their arms and legsabout for the purpose mentioned. They often dive for the shark andrip it up with a kris. 

Five of us retired to the Palace that night, and were at once conductedto our rooms. There was no door to my room; it was, strictly speaking, an alcove. During the night, at intervals of about every hour, as itseemed to me, a Palace servant or guard came to inquire how the Señorwas sleeping, and if I were comfortable. "Duerme el Señor?" ("Doesthe gentleman sleep?") was apparently the limit of his knowledge ofSpanish. I did not clearly understand more than the fact that the manwas a nuisance, and I regretted there was no door with which to shuthim out. The next morning we paid our respects to His Highness, whofurnished us with an escort--more as a compliment than a necessity--andwe reached Joló Town again, after a very enjoyable ride through asuperb country. 

The Sultan's subjects are spread so far from the centre ofgovernment--Maybun--that in some places their allegiance is butnominal. Many of them residing near the Spanish settlements are quickat learning Castilian sufficiently well to be understood, but theSpaniards tried in vain to subject them to a European order of things. 

About 20 miles up the coast, going north from Zamboanga, the Jesuitssent a missionary in 1885 to convert the _Subuanos_. He endeavouredto persuade the people to form a village. They cleared a way throughthe forest from the beach, and at the end of this opening, aboutthree-quarters of a mile long, I found a church half built of wood, bamboo, and palm-leaves. I had ridden to the place on horseback alongthe beach, and my food and baggage followed in a canoe. The openingwas so roughly cleared that I thought it better to dismount whenI got half way. As the church was only in course of construction, and not consecrated, I took up my quarters there. I was followedby a _Subuano_, who was curious to know the object of my visit. Itold him I wished to see the headman, so this personage arrivedwith one of his wives and a young girl. They sat on the floor withme, and as the cacique could make himself understood in Spanish, we chatted about the affairs of the town _in posse_. The visitingpriest had gone to the useless trouble of baptizing a few of thesepeople. They appeared to be as much Christian as I was Mahometan. Thecacique had more than one wife--the word of the _Pandita_ of thesettlement was the local law, and the _Pandita_ himself of course hadhis seraglio. I got the first man, who had followed me, to direct meto the _Pandita's_ house. My guide was gaily attired in bright redtight acrobat breeches, with buttons up the side, and a jacket likea waistcoat, with sleeves so close-fitting that I suppose he seldomtook the trouble to undress himself. I left the cacique, promising tovisit his bungalow that day, and then my guide led me through windingpaths, in a wood, to the hut of the _Pandita_. On the way I met aman of the tribe carrying spring-water in a bamboo, which he tiltedto give me a drink. To my inquiries if he were a Christian, and ifhe knew the _Castilian Pandita_ (Spanish priest), he replied in theaffirmative; continuing the interrogation, I asked him how many godsthere were, and when he answered "four, " I closed my investigation ofhis Christianity. My guide was too cunning to take me by the directpath to the _Pandita's_ bungalow. He led me into a half-cleared plotof land facing it, whence the inmates could see us for at least tenminutes making our approach. When we arrived, and after scrambling upthe staircase, which was simply a notched trunk of a tree about nineinches diameter, I discovered that the _Pandita_, forewarned, had fledto the mountain close by, leaving his wives to entertain the visitor. Ifound them all lounging and chewing betel-nut, and when I squattedon the floor amongst them they became remarkably chatty. Then I wentto the cacique's bungalow. In the rear of this dwelling there was asmall forge, and the most effective bellows of primitive make which Ihave ever seen in any country. It was a double-action apparatus, madeentirely of bamboo, except the pistons, which were of feathers. Thesepistons, working up and down alternately by a bamboo rod in each hand, sustained perfectly a constant draught of air. One man was squattingon a bamboo bench the height of the bellows' rods, whilst the smithcrouched on the ground to forge his kris on the anvil. 

The headman's bungalow was built the same as the others, but withgreater care. It was rather high up, and had the usual notchedlog-of-wood staircase, which is perhaps easy to ascend with nakedfeet. The cacique and one of his wives were seated on mats on thefloor. After mutual salutations the wife threw me three cushions, onwhich I reclined--doing the _dolce far niente_ whilst we talked aboutthe affairs of the settlement. The conversation was growing ratherwearisome anent the Spanish priest having ordered huts to be builtwithout giving materials, about the scarcity of palm-leaves in theneighbourhood, and so forth, so I bade them farewell and went on toanother hut. Here the inmates were numerous--four women, three or fourmen, and two rather pretty male children, with their heads shaven soas to leave only a tuft of hair towards the forehead about the size ofa crown piece. To entertain me, six copper tom-toms were brought out, and placed in a row on pillows, whilst another large one, for the bassaccompaniment, was suspended from a wooden frame. A man beat the basswith a stick, whilst the women took it in turns to kneel on the floor, with a stick in each hand, to play a tune on the series of six. A fewwords were passed between the three men, when suddenly one of themarose and performed a war-dance, quaintly twisting his arms and legsin attitudes of advance, recoil, and exultation. The dance finished, I mounted my horse and left the settlement in embryo, called by themissionaries Reus, which is the name of a town in Catalonia. 

The climate of Mindanao and Sulu Islands is healthy and delightful. Theheat of Zamboanga is moderated by daily breezes, and in Sulu, in themonth of June, it is not oppressive. A year's temperature readingson the Illana Bay coast (Mindanao Is. ) are as follows, viz. :--

Average of Inside the House, Outside in the Shade, Fahrenheit. Fahrenheit. 

 6 a. M. Noon. 6 p. M. 6 a. M. Noon. 6 p. M. Jan. -March 73° 84° 83° 72° 84° 80°April-June 74 1/2° 83° 78 1/2° 74 1/2° 92 1/2° 78°July-Sept. 74° 84° 80° 72 1/2° 88° 79°Oct. -Dec. 73° 85° 80° 73° 83° 78°

The Island of Palaúan (Parágua) was anciently a dependency of theSultanate of Brunei (Borneo), hence the dominion over this islandof the Sultan of Sulu as suzerain lord of Brunei. At the beginningof the 18th century Spaniards had already settled in the north ofit. It had a very sparse population, and a movement was set on footto subjugate the natives. In order to protect the Spanish settlersfrom Mahometan attacks a fort was established at Labo. However, thesupplies were not kept up, and many of the garrison died of misery, hunger, and nakedness, until 1720, when it was abandoned. 

Some years afterwards the island was gratuitously ceded to theSpaniards by the Sultan of Sulu, at their request. Captain AntonioFabeau was sent there with troops to take formal possession, beingawarded the handsome salary of P50 per month for this service. Onthe arrival of the ships, an officer was sent ashore; the peoplefled inland, and the formalities of annexation were proceeded withunwitnessed. The only signs of possession left there were the corpsesof the troops and sailors who died from eating rotten food, or weremurdered by Mahometans who attacked the expedition. Subsequently afortress was established at Taytay, where a number of priests andlaymen in a few years succeeded in forming a small colony, which atlength shared the fate of Labo. The only Spanish settlement in theisland at the date of the evacuation was the colony of Puerta Princesa, on the east coast. [68]

Before starting on my peregrination in Palaúan Island, I sought in vainfor information respecting the habits and nature of the _Tagbanúas_, a half-caste Malay-Aeta tribe, disseminated over a little more thanthe southern half of the island. [69] It was only on my arrival atPuerta Princesa that I was able to procure a vague insight into thepeculiarities of the people whom I intended to visit. The Governor, Don Felipe Canga-Argüelles, was highly pleased to find a travellerwho could sympathize with his efforts, and help to make known, ifonly to the rest of the Archipelago, this island almost unexploredin the interior. He constantly wrote articles to one of the leadingjournals of Manila, under the title of "Echoes from Parágua" (Palaúan), partly with the view of attracting the attention of the Governmentto the requirements of the Colony, but also to stimulate a spirit ofenterprise in favour of this island, rich in hardwoods, etc. 

Puerta Princesa is a good harbour, situated on a gulf. The soilwas levelled, trees were planted, and a slip for repairing vesselswas constructed. There was a fixed white light visible eleven milesoff. It was a naval station for two gunboats, the Commander of thestation being _ex-officio_ Governor of the Colony. It was also aPenal Settlement for convicts, and those suspected by the civil orreligious authorities. To give employment to the convicts and suspects, a model sugar-estate was established by the Government. The localitysupplied nearly all the raw material for working and preserving theestablishment, such as lime, stone, bricks, timber, sand, firewood, straw for bags, rattans, etc. 

The aspect of the town is agreeable, and the environs are pretty, but there is a great drawback in the want of drinking-water, which, in the dry season, has to be procured from a great distance. 

The Governor showed me great attention, and personally took command ofa gunboat, which conducted me to the mouth of the Iguajit River. Thisis the great river of the district, and is navigable for about threemiles. I put off in a boat manned by marines, and was rowed abouttwo miles up, as far as the mission station. The missionary receivedme well, and I stayed there that night, with five men, whom I hadengaged to carry my luggage, for we had a journey before us of somedays on foot to the opposite coast. 

My luggage, besides the ordinary travelling requisites and provisions, included about 90 yards of printed stuffs of bright colours, six dozencommon handkerchiefs, and some 12 pounds' weight of beads on strings, with a few odds and ends of trinkets; whilst my native bearers wereprovided with rice, dried fish, betel-nut, tobacco, etc. , for a weekor more. We set out on foot the next day, and in three days and ahalf we reached the western shore. 

The greatest height above the sea-level on our route was about 900metres, according to my aneroid reading, and the maximum heat atmid-day in the shade (month of January) was 82° Fahr. The nights werecold, comparatively speaking, and at midnight the thermometer oncedescended to 59° Fahr. 

The natives proved to be a very pacific people. We found some engagedin collecting gum from the trees in the forest, and others cuttingand making up bundles of rattans. They took these products down tothe Iguajit River mission station, where Chinese traders barteredfor them stuffs and other commodities. The value of coin was notaltogether unknown in the mission village, although the differencein value between copper and silver coinage was not understood. Inthe interior they lived in great misery, their cabins being wretchedhovels. They planted their rice without ploughing at all, and alltheir agricultural implements were made of wood or bamboo. 

The native dress is made of the bark of trees, smashed with stones, to extract the ligneous parts. In the cool weather they make tunics ofbark, and the women wear drawers of the same material. They adorn theirwaists with sea-shell and cocoanut shell ornaments, whilst the fibreof the palm serves for a waistband. The women pierce very large holesin their ears, in which they place shells, wood, etc. They never batheintentionally. Their arms are bows and arrows, and darts blown througha kind of pea-shooter made of a reed resembling _bojo_ (q. V). Theyare a very dirty people, and they eat their fish or flesh raw. 

I had no difficulty whatever in procuring guides from one group ofhuts to the next on payment in goods, and my instructions were alwaysto lead me towards the coast, the nearest point of which I knew wasdue west or a few points to the north. 

We passed through a most fertile country the whole way. Therewere no rivers of any importance, but we were well supplied withdrinking-water from the numerous springs and rivulets. The forestsare very rich in good timber, chiefly _Ipil_ (_Eperma decandria)_, a very useful hardwood (_vide_ Woods). I estimated that many of thesetrees, if felled, would have given clean logs of 70 to 80 feet long. Ipresume the felling of timber was not attempted by these nativeson account of the difficulties, or rather, total want of transportmeans. From a plateau, within half a day's journey of the oppositecoast, the scenery was remarkably beautiful, with the sea to the westand an interminable grandeur of forest to the east. There were a fewfishermen on the west coast, but further than that, there was not asign of anything beyond the gifts of Nature. About half a mile from thecoast, on the fringe of the forest, there was a group of native huts, two of which were vacated for our accommodation in exchange for goods. 

With an abundance of fish, we were able to economize ourprovisions. One of my men fell ill with fever, so that we had towait two days on the west coast, whilst I dosed him with Eno's fruitsalt and quinine. In the meantime, I studied the habits of thesepeople. Among the many things which astonished them was the use ofmatches, whilst our cooking highly amused them. Such a thing as ahorse I suppose had never been seen here, although I would gladly havebought or hired one, for I was very weary of our delay. We all wenton the march again, on foot nearly all the way, by the same passesto the Iguajit River, where we found a canoe, which carried us backto Puerta Princesa. 

The island produces many marketable articles, such as beeswax, ediblebird's nests, fine shells, dried shell-fish, a few pearls, bush-ropeor _palásan_ (q. V. ) of enormous length, wild nutmegs, ebony, logwood, etc. , which the Chinese obtain in barter for knives and other smallmanufactures. 

The first survey of the Palaúan Island coast is said to have beenmade by the British. A British map of Puerta Princesa, with a fewmiles of adjoining coast, was shown to me in the Government Houseof this place. It appears that the west coast is not navigable forships within at least two miles of the shore, although there are afew channels leading to creeks. Vessels coming from the west usuallypass through the Straits of Balábac, between the island of that nameand the islets off the Borneo Island coast. 

In the Island of Balábac there was absolutely nothing remarkable tobe seen, unless it were a little animal about the size of a big cat, but in shape a perfect model of a doe. [70] I took one to Manila, but it died the day we arrived. No part of the island (which isvery mountainous and fertile) appeared to be cultivated, and eventhe officials at the station had to obtain supplies from Manila, whilst cattle were brought from the Island of Cuyo, one of theCalamianes group. 

In the latter years, the Home Government made efforts to colonizePalaúan Island by offering certain advantages to emigrants. By RoyalOrder, dated February 25, 1885, the Islands of Palaúan and Mindanaowere to be occupied in an effectual manner, and outposts established, wherever necessary, to guarantee the secure possession of theseislands. The points mentioned for such occupation in Palaúan Islandwere Tagbusao and Malihut on the east coast, and Colasian and Malanuton the west coast. It also confirmed the Royal Decree of July 30, 1860, granting to all families emigrating to these newly establishedmilitary posts, and all peaceful tribes of the Islands who mightchoose to settle there, exemption from the payment of tribute for sixyears. The families would be furnished with a free passage to theseplaces, and each group would be supplied with seed and implements. 

A subsequent Royal Order, dated January 19, 1886, was issued, to theeffect:--That the Provincial Governors of the Provinces of North andSouth Ilocos were to stimulate voluntary emigration of the nativesto Palaúan Island, to the extent of 25 families from each of the twoprovinces per annum. That any payments due by them to the PublicTreasury were to be condoned. That such families and any personsof good character who might establish themselves in Palaúan shouldbe exempt from the payment of taxes for ten years, and receive freepassage there for themselves and their cattle, and three hectares ofland gratis, to be under cultivation within a stated period. That twochupas of rice (_vide_ Rice measure) and ten cents of a peso shouldbe given to each adult, and one chupa of rice to each minor each dayduring the first six months from the date of their embarking. Thatthe Governor of Palaúan should be instructed respecting the highwaysto be constructed, and the convenience of opening free ports in thatisland. That the land and sea forces should be increased; and ofthe latter, a third-rate man-o'-war should be stationed on the westcoast. That convicts should continue to be sent to Palaúan, and theGovernor should be authorized to employ all those of bad conduct inpublic works. That schools of primary instruction should be establishedin the island wherever such might be considered convenient, etc. , etc. [71]

The Spaniards (in 1898) left nearly half the Philippine Archipelagoto be conquered, but only its Mahometan inhabitants ever persistentlytook the aggressive against them in regular continuous warfare. Theattempts of the Jesuit missionaries to convert them to Christianitywere entirely futile, for the _Panditas_ and the Romish priests wereequally tenacious of their respective religious beliefs. The lasttreaty made between Spain and Sulu especially stipulated that theMahometans should not be persecuted for their religion. 

To overturn a dynasty, to suppress an organized system of feudallaws, and to eradicate an ancient belief, the principles of whichhad firmly established themselves among the populace in the course ofcenturies, was a harder task than that of bringing under the Spanishyoke detached groups of Malay immigrants. The pliant, credulous natureof the Luzon settlers--the fact that they professed no deeply-rootedreligion, and--although advanced from the migratory to the settledcondition--were mere nominal lieges of their puppet kinglings, werefacilities for the achievement of conquest. True it is that thedynasties of the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru yielded toSpanish valour, but there was the incentive of untold wealth; here, only of military glory, and the former outweighed the latter. 

If the Spaniards failed to subjugate the Mahometans, or to incorporatetheir territory in the general administrative system of the Colony, after three centuries of intermittent endeavour, it is difficult toconceive that the Philippine Republic (had it subsisted) would havebeen more successful. It would have been useless to have resolvedto leave the Moros to themselves, practically ignoring theirexistence. Any Philippine Government must needs hold them in checkfor the public weal, for the fact is patent that the Moro hates thenative Christian not one iota less than he does the white man. 

CHAPTER XI

Domesticated Natives--Origin--Character

The generally-accepted theory regarding the origin of the compositerace which may be termed "domesticated natives, " is, that theirancestors migrated to these Islands from Malesia, or the MalayPeninsula. But so many learned dissertations have emanated fromdistinguished men, propounding conflicting opinions on the descentof the Malays themselves, that we are still left on the field ofconjecture. 

There is good reason to surmise that, at some remote period, these Islands and the Islands of Formosa and Borneo were united, and possibly also they conjointly formed a part of the Asiaticmainland. Many of the islets are mere coral reefs, and some of thelarger islands are so distinctly of coral formation that, regardedtogether with the numerous volcanic evidences, one is induced tobelieve that the Philippine Archipelago is the result of a stupendousupheaval by volcanic action. [72] At least it seems apparent thatno autochthonous population existed on these lands in their islandform. The first settlers were probably the _Aetas, _ called also_Negritos_ and _Balugas_, who may have drifted northwards from NewGuinea and have been carried by the strong currents through theSan Bernadino Straits and round Punta Santiago until they reachedthe still waters in the neighbourhood of Corregidor Island, whilstothers were carried westwards to the tranquil Sulu Sea, and travellingthence northwards would have settled on the Island of Negros. It isa fact that for over a century after the Spanish conquest, NegrosIsland had no other inhabitants but these mountaineers and escapedcriminals from other islands. 

The sturdy races inhabiting the Central Luzon highlands, decidedlysuperior in physique and mental capacity to the _Aetas, _ may be ofJapanese origin, for shortly after the conquest by Legaspi a Spanishgalley cruising off the north coast of Luzon fell in with Japanese, who probably penetrated to the interior of that island up the RioGrande de Cagayán. Tradition tells us how the Japanese used to saildown the east coast of Luzon as far as the neighbourhood of Lamon Bay, where they landed and, descending the little rivers which flowed intothe Lake of Bay, settled in that region which was called by the firstSpanish conquerors Pagsanján Province, and which included the LagunaProvince of to-day, with a portion of the modern Tayabas Province. 

Either the Japanese extended their sphere from the Lake of Bay shore, or, as some assert (probably erroneously), shipwrecked Japanese wentup the Pansipít River to the Bómbon Lake: the fact remains that Taal, with the Bómbon Lake shore, was a Japanese settlement, and even up tonow the Taaleños have characteristics differing from those of the pureMalay immigrant descendants. The Philippine patriot, Dr. José Rizal, was a good Japanese-Malay type. 

The Tagálogs, who occupy a small portion of Luzon Island, chieflythe provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan, are believedto be the cross-breed descendants of these Japanese immigrants. Atthe period of the Spanish conquest the _Tao ílog_, that is to say, "the man who came by the river, " afterwards corrupted into themore euphonious name of _Tagálog_, occupied only the lands from thesouth shore of Laguna de Bay southwards. Some traded with the Malaysettlers at Maynila (as the city on the Pasig River was then called)and, little by little, radicated themselves in the Manila suburbs ofQuiapo, Sampáloc, and Santa Cruz. [73]

From the West, long before the Spanish conquest, there was a greatinflux of Malays, who settled on the shores and the lowlands and drovethe first settlers (_Aetas_) to the mountains. Central Luzon andthe Lake environs being already occupied, they spread all over thevacant lands and adjacent islands south of Luzon. These expeditionsfrom Malesia were probably accompanied by Mahometan propagandists, who had imparted to the Malays some notions, more or less crude, of their religion and culture, for at the time of Legaspi's arrivalin Manila we find he had to deal with two chiefs, or petty kings, both assuming the Indian title of _Rajah_, whilst one of them had theMahometan Arabic name of Soliman. Hitherto the _Tao ílog, _ or Tagálog, had not descended the Pasig River so far as Manila, and the religiousrites of the Tondo-Manila people must have appeared to Legaspi similarto the Mahometan rites, [74] for in several of his despatches to hisroyal master he speaks of these people as _Moros_. All the dialectsspoken by the Filipinos of Malay and Japanese descent have their rootin the pure Malay language. After the expulsion of all the adultmale Japanese Lake settlers in the 17th century, it is feasible tosuppose that the language of the males who took their place in theLake district and intermarried there, should prevail over the idiomof the primitive settlers, and possibly this amalgamation of speechaccounts for the difference between the Tagálog dialect and othersof these islands peopled by Malays. 

The Malay immigration must have taken place several generationsprior to the coming of the Spaniards, for at that period the lowlandoccupants were already divided into peoples speaking differentdialects and distinguishing themselves by groups whose names seem tobe associated with the districts they inhabited, such as Pampanga, Iloco, and Cagayán; these denominations are probably derived fromsome natural condition, such as _Pámpang_, meaning a river embankment, _Ilog_, a river, _Cauáyan_, a bamboo, etc. 

In a separate chapter (x. ) the reputed origin of the Mahometans ofthe southern islands is alluded to. They are also believed to beimmigrants from the West, and at the time of the conquest recenttraditions which came to the knowledge of the Spaniards, and wererecorded by them, prove that commercial relations existed betweenBorneo and Manila. There is a tradition [75] also of an attemptedconquest of Luzon by a Borneo chief named Lacasama, about 250 yearsbefore the Spanish advent; but apparently the expedition came togrief near Luzon, off an island supposed by some to be Masbate. 

The descendants of the Japanese and Malay immigrants were the peoplewhom the Spanish invaders had to subdue to gain a footing. To thepresent day they, and the correlative Chinese and Spanish half-castes, are the only races, among the several in these Islands, subjected, in fact, to civilized methods. The expression "Filipino" neitherdenotes any autochthonous race, nor any nationality, but simply oneborn in those islands named the Philippines: it is, therefore, open toargument whether the child of a Filipino, born in a foreign country, could be correctly called a Filipino. 

The christianized Filipinos, enjoying to-day the benefits of Europeantraining, are inclined to repudiate, as compatriots, the descendantsof the non-christian tribes, although their concurrent existence, since the time of their immigrant forefathers, makes them all equallyFilipinos. Hence many of them who were sent to the St. Louis Exhibitionin 1904 were indignant because the United States Government had chosento exhibit some types of uncivilized natives, representing aboutone-twelfth of the Philippine population. Without these exhibits, and on seeing only the educated Filipinos who formed the PhilippineCommission, the American people at home might well have asked--Isnot American civilization a superfluity in those islands?

The inhabitants of these Islands were by no means savages, entirelyunreclaimed from barbarism before the Spanish advent in the 16thcentury. They had a culture of their own, towards which the Malaysettlers themselves appear to have contributed very little. In thenascent pre-Spanish civilization, Japanese immigrants were almostthe only agriculturists, mine-workers, manufacturers, gold-seekers, goldsmiths, and masters of the industrial arts in general. Pagsanján(Laguna) was their great industrial centre. Malolos (Bulacan) wasalso an important Japanese trading base. Whilst working the mines ofIlocos their exemplary industry must undoubtedly have influenced thecharacter of the Ilocanos. Away down in the Bicol country of Camarines, the Japanese pushed their trade, and from their great settlement inTaal their traffic must have extended over the whole province, firstcalled by the Spaniards Taal y Balayán, but since named Batangas. Fromthe Japanese, the Malays learnt the manufacture of arms, and theIgorrotes the art of metal-working. Along the coasts of the largeinhabited islands the Chinese travelled as traders or middlemen, atgreat personal risk of attack by individual robbers, bartering thegoods of manufacturers for native produce, which chiefly consistedof sinamay cloth, shark-fin, balate (trepang), edible birds'-nests, gold in grain, and siguey-shells, for which there was a demand in Siamfor use as money. Every north-east monsoon brought down the junksto barter leisurely until the south-west monsoon should waft themback, and neither Chinese nor Japanese made the least attempt, norapparently had the least desire, to govern the Islands or to overrulethe natives. Without coercion, the Malay settlers would appear tohave unconsciously submitted to the influence of the superior talentor astuteness of the sedulous races with whom they became merged andwhose customs they adopted, proof of which can be traced to the presentday. [76] Presumably the busy, industrious immigrants had neither timenor inclination for sanguinary conflicts, for those recorded appearto be confined to the raids of the migratory mountaineers and anoccasional attack by some ambitious Borneo buccaneer. The reader whowould wish to verify these facts is recommended to make a comparativestudy of native character in Vigan, Malolos, Taal, and Pagsanján. 

In treating of the domesticated natives' character, I wish it to beunderstood that my observations apply solely to the _large majority_of the six or seven millions of them who inhabit these Islands. 

In the capital and the ports open to foreign trade, where cosmopolitanvices and virtues obtain, and in large towns, where there is a constantnumber of domiciled Europeans and Americans, the native has becomea modified being. It is not in such places that a just estimate ofcharacter can be arrived at, even during many years' sojourn. Thenative must be studied by often-repeated casual residence in localitieswhere his, or her, domestication is only "by law established, " imposinglittle restraint upon natural inclinations, and where exotic notionshave gained no influence. 

Several writers have essayed to depict the Philippine native character, but with only partial success. Dealing with such an enigma, the mosteminent physiognomists would surely differ in their speculationsregarding the Philippine native of the present day. That Catonianfigure, with placid countenance and solemn gravity of feature, wouldreadily deceive any one as to the true mental organism within. Thelate parish priest of Alaminos (Batangas)--a Franciscan friar, whospent half his life in the Colony--left a brief manuscript essayon the native character. I have read it. In his opinion, the nativeis an incomprehensible phenomenon, the mainspring of whose line ofthought and the guiding motive of whose actions have never yet been, and perhaps never will be, discovered. 

The reasoning of a native and a European differs so largely thatthe mental impulse of the two races is ever clashing. Sometimes anative will serve a master satisfactorily for years, and then suddenlyabscond, or commit some such hideous crime as conniving with a brigandband to murder the family and pillage the house. 

When the hitherto faithful servant is remonstrated with for havingcommitted a crime, he not unfrequently accounts for the fact by saying, "_Señor_, my head was hot. " When caught in the act on his first starton highway robbery or murder, his invariable excuse is that he isnot a scoundrel himself, but that he was "invited" by a relation or_compadre_ to join the company. 

He is fond of gambling, profligate, lavish in his promises, but _lâche_in the extreme as to their fulfilment. He will never come frankly andopenly forward to make a clean breast of a fault committed, or even apardonable accident, but will hide it, until it is found out. In commonwith many other non-European races, an act of generosity or a voluntaryconcession of justice is regarded as a sign of weakness. Hence itis that the experienced European is often compelled to be more harshthan his real nature dictates. 

If one pays a native 20 cents for a service performed, and that beexactly the customary remuneration, he will say nothing, but if afeeling of compassion impels one to pay 30 cents, the recipient willloudly protest that he ought to be paid more. [77] In Luzon the nativeis able to say "Thank you" (_salámat-pô_) in his mother-tongue, butin Panay and Negros there is no way of expressing thanks in nativedialect to a donor (the nearest approach to it is _Dios macbáyat_);and although this may, at first sight, appear to be an insignificantfact, I think, nevertheless, a great deal may be deduced from it, for the deficiency of the word in the Visaya vernacular denotes adeficiency of the idea which that word should express. 

If the native be in want of a trivial thing, which by plain asking hecould readily obtain, he will come with a long tale, often begin bytelling a lie, and whilst he invariably scratches his head, he willbeat about the bush until he comes to the point, with a supplicatingtone and a saintly countenance hiding a mass of falsity. But ifhe has nothing to gain for himself, his reticence is astonishinglyinconvenient, for he may let one's horse die and tell one afterwardsit was for want of rice-paddy, or, just at the very moment one wantsto use something, he will tell one "_Uala-pô_"--there is not any. 

I have known natives whose mothers, according to their statement, have died several times, and each time they have tried to beg the loanof the burial expenses. The mother of my first servant died twice, according to his account. 

Even the best class of natives do not appreciate, or feel gratefulfor, or even seem to understand a spontaneous gift. Apparently, they only comprehend the favour when one yields to their asking. Thelowest classes never give to each other, unsolicited, a cent's worth, outside the customary reciprocal feast-offerings. If a European makes_voluntary_ gratuities to the natives, he is considered a fool--theyentertain a contempt for him, which develops into intolerableimpertinence. If the native comes to borrow, lend him a little lessthan he asks for, after a verbose preamble; if one at once lent, orgave, the full value requested, he would continue to invent a host ofpressing necessities, until one's patience was exhausted. He seldomrestores the loan of anything voluntarily. On being remonstrated withfor his remissness, after the date of repayment or return of thearticle has expired, he will coolly reply, "You did not ask me forit. " An amusing case of native reasoning came within my experiencejust recently. I lent some articles to an educated Filipino, who hadfrequently been my guest, and, at the end of three months, I requestedtheir return. Instead of thanking me for their use, he wrote a letterexpressing his indignation at my reminder, saying that I "ought to knowthey were in very good hands!" A native considers it no degradationto borrow money: it gives him no recurrent feeling of humiliation ordistress of mind. Thus, he will often give a costly feast to impresshis neighbours with his wealth and maintain his local prestige, whilston all sides he has debts innumerable. At most, with his loosenessof morality, he regards debt as an inconvenience, not as a calamity. 

Before entering another (middle- or lower-class) native's house, heis very complimentary, and sometimes three minutes' polite excusatorydialogue is exchanged between the visitor and the native visitedbefore the former passes the threshold. When the same class of nativeenters a European's house, he generally satisfies his curiosity bylooking all around, and often pokes his head into a private room, asking permission to enter afterwards. 

The lower-class native never comes at first call; among themselves itis usual to call five or six times, raising the voice each time. Ifa native is told to tell another to come, he seldom goes to him todeliver the message, but calls him from a distance. When a nativesteals (and I must say they are fairly honest), he steals only what hewants. One of the rudest acts, according to their social code, is tostep over a person asleep on the floor. Sleeping is, with them, a verysolemn matter; they are very averse to waking any one, the idea being, that during sleep the soul is absent from the body, and that if slumberbe suddenly arrested the soul might not have time to return. When aperson, knowing the habits of the native, calls upon him and is told"He is asleep, " he does not inquire further--the rest is understood:that he may have to wait an indefinite time until the sleeper wakesup--so he may as well depart. To urge a servant to rouse one, one hasto give him very imperative orders to that effect: then he standsby one's side and calls "Señor, señor!" repeatedly, and each timelouder, until one is half awake; then he returns to the low note, and gradually raises his voice again until one is quite conscious. 

In Spanish times, wherever I went in the whole Archipelago--near thecapital, or 500 miles from it--I found mothers teaching their offspringto regard the European as a demoniacal being, an evil spirit, or, at least, as an enemy to be feared! If a child cried, it was hushedby the exclamation, "Castila!" (European). If a white man approacheda poor hut or a fine native residence, the cry of caution, thewatchword for defence was always heard--"Castila!"--and the childrenhastened their retreat from the dreaded object. But this is now athing of the past since the native crossed swords with the "Castila"(q. V. ) and the American on the battle-field, and, rightly or wrongly, thoroughly believes himself to be a match for either in equal numbers. 

The Filipino, like most Orientals, is a good imitator, but having noinitiative genius, he is not efficient in anything. He will copy amodel any number of times, but one cannot get him to make two copiesso much alike that the one is undistinguishable from the other. Yethe has no attachment for any occupation in particular. To-day he willbe at the plough; to-morrow a coachman, a collector of accounts, a valet, a sailor, and so on; or he will suddenly renounce socialtrammels in pursuit of lawless vagabondage. I once travelled with aColonel Marqués, acting-Governor of Cebú, whose valet was an ex-lawstudent. Still, many are willing to learn, and really become veryexpert artisans, especially machinists. 

The native is indolent in the extreme, and never tires of sittingstill, gazing at nothing in particular. He will do no regular workwithout an advance; his word cannot be depended upon; he is fertilein exculpatory devices; he is momentarily obedient, but is averseto subjection. He feigns friendship, but has no loyalty; he is calmand silent, but can keep no secret; he is daring on the spur ofthe moment, but fails in resolution if he reflects. He is wantonlyunfeeling towards animals; cruel to a fallen foe; tyrannical overhis own people when in power; rarely tempers his animosities withcompassion or pity, but is devotedly fond of his children. He isshifty, erratic, void of chivalrous feeling; and if familiarity bepermitted with the common-class native, he is liable to presume uponit. The Tagálog is docile and pliant, but keenly resents an injustice. 

Native superstition and facile credulity are easily imposed upon. Areport emitted in jest, or in earnest, travels with alarming rapidity, and the consequences have not unfrequently been serious. The nativerarely sees a joke, and still more rarely makes one. He never revealsanger, but he will, with the most profound calmness, avenge himself, awaiting patiently the opportunity to use his bowie-knife witheffect. Mutilation of a vanquished enemy is common among theseIslanders. If a native recognizes a fault by his own conscience, he will receive a flogging without resentment or complaint; if heis not so convinced of the misdeed, he will await his chance to givevent to his rancour. 

He has a profound respect only for the elders of his household, andthe lash justly administered. He rarely refers to past generationsin his lineage, and the lowest class do not know their own ages. TheFilipino, of any class, has no memory for dates. In 1904 not one ina hundred remembered the month and year in which General Aguinaldosurrendered. During the Independence war, an esteemed friend of mine, a Philippine priest, died, presumably of old age. I went to his townto inquire all about it from his son, but neither the son nor anothernear relation could recollect, after two days' reflection, even theyear the old man passed away. Another friend of mine had his brainsblown out during the Revolution. His brother was anxious to relatethe tragedy to me and how he had lost 20, 000 pesos in consequence, but he could not tell me in which month it happened. Families arevery united, and claims for help and protection are admitted howeverdistant the relationship may be. Sometimes the connection of a"hanger-on" with his host's family will be so remote and doubtful, that he can only be recognized as "_un poco pariente nada mas_"(a sort of kinsman). But the house is open to all. 

The native is a good father and a good husband, unreasonably jealous ofhis wife, careless of the honour of his daughter, and will take no heedof the indiscretions of his spouse committed before marriage. Caseshave been known of natives having fled from their burning huts, taking care to save their fighting-cocks, but leaving their wivesand children to look after themselves. 

If a question be suddenly put to a native, he apparently loses hispresence of mind, and gives the reply most convenient to save himselffrom trouble, punishment, or reproach. It is a matter of perfectindifference to him whether the reply be true or not. Then, as theinvestigation proceeds, he will amend one statement after another, until, finally, he has practically admitted his first explanationto be quite false. One who knows the native character, so far as itsmysteries are penetrable, would never attempt to get at the truth ofa question by a direct inquiry--he would "beat about the bush, " andextract the truth bit by bit. Nor do the natives, rich or poor, of anyclass in life, and with very few exceptions in the whole population, appear to regard lying as a sin, but rather as a legitimate, thoughcunning, convenience, which should be resorted to whenever it willserve a purpose. It is my frank opinion that they do not, in theirconsciences, hold lying to be a fault in any degree. If the liar bediscovered and faced, he rarely appears disconcerted--his countenancerather denotes surprise at the discovery, or disappointment at hisbeing foiled in the object for which he lied. As this is one of themost remarkable characteristics of the Filipino of both sexes in allspheres of life, I have repeatedly discussed it with the priests, several of whom have assured me that the habit prevails even in theconfessional. [78] In the administration of justice this circumstanceis inconvenient, because a witness is always procurable for a fewpesos. In a law-case, in which one or both parties belong to thelowest class, it is sometimes difficult to say whether the false orthe true witnesses are in majority. 

Men and women alike find exaggerated enjoyment in litigation, whichmany keep up for years. Among themselves they are tyrannical. They haveno real sentiment, nor do they practise virtue for virtue's sake, and, apart from their hospitality, in which they (especially the Tagálogs)far excel the European, all their actions appear to be only guidedby fear, or interest, or both. 

The domesticated Tagálogs of Luzon have made greater progressin civilization and good manners than the Visayos of Panay andNegros. The Tagálog differs vastly from his southern brother inhis true nature, which is more pliant, whilst he is by instinctcheerfully and disinterestedly hospitable. Invariably a Europeanwayfarer in a Tagálog village is invited by one or another of theprincipal residents to lodge at his house as a free guest, for tooffer payment would give offence. A present of some European articlemight be made, but it is not at all looked for. The Tagálog hostlends his guest horses or vehicles to go about the neighbourhood, takes him round to the houses of his friends, accompanies him to anyfeast which may be celebrated at the time of his visit, and lendshim his sporting-gun, if he has one. The whole time he treats himwith the deference due to the superiority which he recognizes. He isremarkably inquisitive, and will ask all sorts of questions aboutone's private affairs, but that is of no consequence--he is notintrusive, and if he be invited to return the visit in the capital, or wherever one may reside, he accepts the invitation reluctantly, but seldom pays the visit. Speaking of the Tagálog as a host, pureand simple, he is generally the most genial man one could hope to meet. 

The Negros and Panay Visayo's cold hospitality is much tempered withthe prospect of personal gain--quite a contrast to the Tagálog. Onthe first visit he might admit the white traveller into his houseout of mere curiosity to know all about him--whence he comes--why hetravels--how much he possesses--and where he is going. The basis ofhis estimation of a visitor is his worldly means; or, if the visitorbe engaged in trade, his power to facilitate his host's schemes wouldbring him a certain measure of civility and complaisance. He is fondof, and seeks the patronage of Europeans of position. In manners, theNegros and Panay Visayo is uncouth and brusque, and more conceited, arrogant, self-reliant, ostentatious, and unpolished than his northernneighbour. If remonstrated with for any fault, he is quite disposedto assume a tone of impertinent retort or sullen defiance. The Cebuánois more congenial and hospitable. 

The women, too, are less affable in Panay and Negros, and evince analmost incredible avarice. They are excessively fond of ornament, and at feasts they appear adorned with an amount of gaudy Frenchjewellery which, compared with their means, cost them a lot of moneyto purchase from the swarm of Jew pedlars who, before the Revolutionof 1896, periodically invaded the villages. 

If a European calls on a well-to-do Negros or Panay Visayo, thewomen of the family saunter off in one direction or another, tohide themselves in other rooms, unless the visitor be well known tothe family. If met by chance, perhaps they will return a salutation, perhaps not. They seldom indulge in a smile before a stranger; have noconversation; no tuition beyond music and the lives of the Saints, andaltogether impress the traveller with their insipidity of character, which chimes badly with their manifest air of disdain. 

The women of Luzon (and in a slightly less degree the Cebuánas)are more frank, better educated, and decidedly more courteous andsociable. Their manners are comparatively lively, void of arrogance, cheerful, and buoyant in tone. However, all over the Islands thewomen are more parsimonious than the men; but, as a rule, theyare more clever and discerning than the other sex, over whom theyexercise great influence. Many of them are very dexterous businesswomen and have made the fortunes of their families. A notable exampleof this was the late Doña Cornelia Laochanco, of Manila, with whomI was personally acquainted, and who, by her own talent in tradingtransactions, accumulated considerable wealth. Doña Cornelia (who diedin 1899) was the foundress of the system of blending sugar to samplefor export, known in Manila as the _fardería. _ In her establishmentat San Miguel she had a little tower erected, whence a watchmankept his eye on the weather. When threatening clouds appeared a bellwas tolled and the mats were instantly picked up and carried off byher Chinese coolie staff, which she managed with great skill, due, perhaps, to the fact that her three husbands were Chinese. 

The Philippine woman makes an excellent general servant in nativefamilies; in the same capacity, in European service, she is, as a rule, almost useless, but she is a good nursemaid. 

The Filipino has many excellent qualities which go far to makeamends for his shortcomings. He is patient and forbearing in theextreme, remarkably sober, plodding, anxious only about providingfor his immediate wants, and seldom feels "the canker of ambitiousthoughts. " In his person and his dwelling he may serve as a patternof cleanliness to all other races in the tropical East. He has littlethought beyond the morrow, and therefore never racks his brains aboutevents of the far future in the political world, the world to come, or any other sphere. He indifferently leaves everything to happen asit may, with surprising resignation. The native, in general, will gowithout food for many hours at a time without grumbling; and fish, rice, betel-nut, and tobacco are his chief wants. Inebriety is almostunknown, although strong drink (nipa wine) is plentiful. 

In common with other races whose lives are almost exclusively passedamid the ever-varying wonders of land and sea, Filipinos rarely expressany spontaneous admiration for the beauties of Nature, and seem littlesensible to any aspect thereof not directly associated with the humaninterest of their calling. Few Asiatics, indeed, go into rapturesover lovely scenery as Europeans do, nor does "the gorgeous glamourof the Orient" which we speak of so ecstatically strike them as such. 

When a European is travelling, he never needs to trouble about whereor when his servant gets his food or where he sleeps--he looks afterthat. When a native travels, he drops in amongst any group of hisfellow-countrymen whom he finds having their meal on the roadside, and wherever he happens to be at nightfall, there he lies down tosleep. He is never long in a great dilemma. If his hut is about tofall, he makes it fast with bamboo and rattan-cane. If a vehicle breaksdown, a harness snaps, or his canoe leaks or upsets, he always has hisremedy at hand. He stoically bears misfortune of all kinds with thegreatest indifference, and without the least apparent emotion. Underthe eye of his master he is the most tractable of all beings. He never(like the Chinese) insists upon doing things his own way, but tries todo just as he is told, whether it be right or wrong. A native entersone's service as a coachman, but if he be told to paddle a boat, cook ameal, fix a lock, or do any other kind of labour possible to him, he isquite agreeable. He knows the duties of no occupation with efficiency, and he is perfectly willing to be a "jack-of-all-trades. " Another goodfeature is that he rarely, if ever, repudiates a debt, although he maynever pay it. So long as he gets his food and fair treatment, and hisstipulated wages in advance, he is content to act as a general-utilityman; lodging he will find for himself. If not pressed too hard, he willfollow his superior like a faithful dog. If treated with kindness, according to _European_ notions, he is lost. The native never looksahead; if left to himself, he will do all sorts of imprudent things, from sheer want of reflection on the consequences, when, as he puts it, "his head is hot" from excitement due to any cause. 

On March 15, 1886, I was coming round the coast of Zambales in a smallsteamer, in which I was the only saloon passenger. The captain, whomI had known for years, found that one of the cabin servants had beensystematically pilfering for some time past. He ordered the stewardto cane him, and then told him to go to the upper deck and remainthere. He at once walked up the ladder and threw himself into the sea;but the vessel stopped, a boat was lowered, and he was soon pickedup. Had he been allowed to reach the shore, he would have becomewhat is known as a _remontado_ and perhaps eventually a brigand, for such is the beginning of many of them. 

The thorough-bred native has no idea of organization on a largescale, hence a successful revolution is not possible if confined tohis own class unaided by others, such as Creoles and foreigners. Heis brave, and fears no consequences when with or against his equals, or if led by his superiors; but a conviction of superiority--moralor physical--in the adversary depresses him. An excess of audacitycalms and overawes him rather than irritates him. 

His admiration for bravery and perilous boldness is only equalledby his contempt for cowardice and puerility, and this is reallythe secret of the native's disdain for the Chinese race. Under goodEuropean officers he makes an excellent soldier, and would followa brave leader to death; however, if the leader fell, he would atonce become demoralized. There is nothing he delights in more thanpillage, destruction, and bloodshed, and when once he becomes masterof the situation in an affray, there is no limit to his greed andsavage cruelty. 

Yet, detesting order of any kind, military discipline is repugnantto him, and, as in other countries where conscription is the law, all kinds of tricks are resorted to to avoid it. On looking over thedeeds of an estate which I had purchased, I saw that two brothers, each named Catalino Raymundo, were the owners at one time of a portionof the land. I thought there must have been some mistake, but, onclose inquiry, I found that they were so named to dodge the Spanishrecruiting officers, who would not readily suppose there were twoCatalino Raymundos born of the same parents. As one Catalino Raymundohad served in the army and the other was dead, no further secret wasmade in the matter, and I was assured that this practice was commonamong the poorest natives. 

In November, 1887, a deserter from the new recruits was pursuedto Langca, a ward of Meycauáyan, Bulacan Province, where nearlyall the inhabitants rose up in his defence, the result being thatthe Lieutenant of Cuadrilleros was killed and two of his men werewounded. When the Civil Guard appeared on the spot, the whole wardwas abandoned. 

According to the Spanish army regulations, a soldier cannotbe on sentinel duty for more than two hours at a time under anycircumstances. Cases have been known of a native sentinel having beenleft at his post for a little over that regulation time, and to havebecome phrenetic, under the impression that the two hours had longsince expired, and that he had been forgotten. In one case the manhad to be disarmed by force, but in another instance the sentinelsimply refused to give up his rifle and bayonet, and defied all whoapproached him. Finally, an officer went with the colours of theregiment in hand to exhort him to surrender his arms, adding thatjustice would attend his complaint. The sentinel, however, threatenedto kill any one who should draw near, and the officer had no otherrecourse open to him but to order a European soldier to climb upbehind the sentry-box and blow out the insubordinate native's brains. 

In the seventies, a contingent of Philippine troops was sent toassist the French in Tonquin, where they rendered very valuableservice. Indeed, some officers are of opinion that they did more toquell the Tuh Duc rising than the French troops themselves. When inthe fray, they throw off their boots, and, barefooted, they rarelyfalter. Even over mud and swamp, a native is almost as sure-footedas a goat on the brink of a quarry. I have frequently been carriedfor miles in a hammock by four natives and relays, through morassydistricts too dangerous to travel on horseback. They are great adeptsat climbing wherever it is possible for a human being to scale aheight; like monkeys, they hold as much with their feet as with theirhands; they ride any horse barebacked without fear; they are utterlycareless about jumping into the sea among the sharks, which sometimesthey will intentionally attack with knives, and I never knew a nativewho could not swim. There are natives who dare dive for the caiman andrip it up. If they meet with an accident, they bear it with supremeresignation, simply exclaiming "_desgracia pá_"--it was a misfortune. 

I can record with pleasure my happy recollection of many alight-hearted, genial, and patient native who accompanied me onmy journeys in these Islands. Comparatively very few thorough-brednatives travel beyond their own islands, although there is a constantflow of half-castes to and from the adjacent colonies, Europe, etc. 

The native is very slowly tempted to abandon the habits and traditionalcustoms of his forefathers, and his ambitionless felicity may beenvied by any true philosopher. 

No one who has lived in the Colony for years could sketch thereal moral portrait of such a remarkable combination of virtuesand vices. The domesticated native's character is a succession ofsurprises. The experience of each year modifies one's conclusions, and the most exact definition of such an inscrutable being is, afterall, hypothetical. However, to a certain degree, the characteristicindolence of these Islanders is less dependent on themselvesthan on natural law, for the physical conditions surrounding themundoubtedly tend to arrest their vigour of motion, energy of life, and intellectual power. 

The organic elements of the European differ widely from those of thePhilippine native, and each, for his own durability, requires his ownspecial environment. The half-breed partakes of both organisms, but hasthe natural environment of the one. Sometimes artificial means--themode of life into which he is forced by his European parent--willcounteract in a measure natural law, but, left to himself, the tendencywill ever be towards an assimilation to the native. Original nationalcharacteristics disappear in an exotic climate, and, in the courseof time, conform to the new laws of nature to which they are exposed. 

It is an ascertained fact that the increase of energy introduced intothe Philippine native by blood mixture from Europe lasts only to thesecond generation, whilst the effect remains for several generationswhen there is a similarity of natural surroundings in the two racescrossed. Moreover, the peculiar physique of a Chinese or Japaneseprogenitor is preserved in succeeding generations, long after theSpanish descendant has merged into the conditions of his environment. 

The Spanish Government strove in vain against natural law tocounteract physical conditions by favouring mixed marriages, [79]but Nature overcomes man's law, and climatic influence forces itsconditions on the half-breed. Indeed, were it not for new supplies ofextraneous blood infusion, European characteristics would, in time, become indiscernible among the masses. Even on Europeans themselves, in defiance of their own volition, the new physical conditions andthe influence of climate on their mental and physical organismsare perceptible after two or three decades of years' residence inthe mid-tropics. 

All the natives of the domesticated type have distinct Malay, orMalay-Japanese, or Mongol features--prominent cheek-bones, largeand lively eyes, and flat noses with dilated nostrils. They are, on the average, of rather low stature, very rarely bearded, and of acopper colour more or less dark. Most of the women have no distinctline of hair on the forehead. Some there are with a frontal hairydown extending to within an inch of the eyes, possibly a reversionto a progenitor (the _Macacus radiata_) in whom the forehead hadnot become quite naked, leaving the limit between the scalp and theforehead undefined. The hair of both males and females stands out fromthe skin like bristles, and is very coarse. The coarseness of thefemale's hair is, however, more than compensated by its luxuriance;for, provided she be in a normal state of health, up to the prime oflife the hair commonly reaches down to the waist, and occasionallyto the ankles. The women are naturally proud of this mark of beauty, which they preserved by frequent washings with _gogo_ (q. V. ) and theuse of cocoanut oil (q. V. ). Hare-lip is common. Children, from theirbirth, have a spot at the base of the vertebrae, thereby supporting thetheory of Professor Huxley's _Anthropidae_ sub-order--or man (_vide_Professor Huxley's "An Introduction to the Classification of Animals, "p. 99. Published 1869). 

Marriages between natives are usually arranged by the parents ofthe respective families. The nubile age of females is from about11 years. The parents of the young man visit those of the maiden, toapproach the subject delicately in an oratorical style of allegory. Theresponse is in like manner shrouded with mystery, and the veil is onlythrown off the negotiations when it becomes evident that both partiesagree. Among the poorer classes, if the young man has no goods tooffer, it is frequently stipulated that he shall serve on probationfor an indefinite period in the house of his future bride, --as Jacobserved Laban to make Rachel his wife, --and not a few drudge for yearswith this hope before them. 

Sometimes, in order to secure service gratis, the elders of theyoung woman will suddenly dismiss the young man after a prolongedexpectation, and take another _Catipad_. As he is called, on thesame terms. The old colonial legislation--"Leyes de Indias"--in vainprohibited this barbarous ancient custom, and there was a modernSpanish law (of which few availed themselves) which permitted theintended bride to be "deposited" away from parental custody, whilstthe parents were called upon to show cause why the union should nottake place. However, it often happens that when Cupid has alreadyshot his arrow into the virginal breast, and the betrothed foreseea determined opposition to their mutual hopes, they anticipate theprivileges of matrimony, and compel the bride's parents to countenancetheir legitimate aspirations to save the honour of the family. _Honisoit qui mal y pense_--they simply force the hand of a dictatorialmother-in-law. The women are notably mercenary, and if, on the partof the girl and her people, there be a hitch, it is generally onthe question of dollars when both parties are native. Of course, if the suitor be European, no such question is raised--the ambitionof the family and the vanity of the girl being both satisfied by thealliance itself. 

When the proposed espousals are accepted, the donations _propternuptias_ are paid by the father of the bridegroom to defray thewedding expenses, and often a dowry settlement, called in Tagálogdialect "_bigaycaya_" is made in favour of the bride. Very rarelythe bride's property is settled on the husband. I never heard of sucha case. The Spanish laws relating to married persons' property werequaint. If the husband were poor and the wife well-off, so they mightremain, notwithstanding the marriage. He, as a rule, became a simpleadministrator of her possessions, and, if honest, often depended onher liberality to supply his own necessities. If he became bankruptin a business in which he employed also her capital or possessions, she ranked as a creditor of the second class under the "CommercialCode. " If she died, the poor husband, under no circumstances, by legalright (unless under a deed signed before a notary) derived any benefitfrom the fact of his having espoused a rich wife: her property passedto their legitimate issue, or--in default thereof--to her nearest bloodrelation. The children might be rich, and, but for their generosity, their father might be destitute, whilst the law compelled him torender a strict account to them of the administration of their propertyduring their minority. This fact has given rise to many lawsuits. 

A married woman often signs her maiden name, sometimes adding "_de_----" (her husband's surname). If she survives him, she again takesup her _nomen ante nuptias_ amongst her old circle of friends, and only adds "widow of ----" to show who she is to the public (ifshe be in trade), or to those who have only known her as a marriedwoman. The offspring use both the parental surnames, the mother'scoming after the father's; hence it is the more prominent. Frequently, in Spanish documents requiring the mention of a person's name in full, the mother's maiden surname is revived. 

Thus marriage, as I understand the spirit of the Spanish law, seemsto be a simple contract to legitimize and license procreation. 

Up to the year 1844, only a minority of the christian natives haddistinctive family names. They were, before that date, known by certainharsh ejaculations, and classification of families was uncared foramong the majority of the population. Therefore, in that year, a listof Spanish surnames was sent to each parish priest, and every nativefamily had to adopt a separate appellation, which has ever sincebeen perpetuated. Hence one meets natives bearing illustrious namessuch as Juan Salcedo, Juan de Austria, Rianzares, Ramon de Cabrera, Pio Nono Lopez, and a great many Legaspis. 

When a wedding among natives was determined upon, the betrothed wentto the priest--not necessarily together--kissed his hand, and informedhim of their intention. There was a tariff of marriage fees, but thepriest usually set this aside, and fixed his charges according to theresources of the parties. This abuse of power could hardly be resisted, as the natives have a radicate aversion to being married elsewhere thanin the village of the bride. The priest, too (not the bride), usuallyhad the privilege of "naming the day. " The fees demanded were sometimesenormous, the common result being that many couples merely cohabitedunder mutual vows because they could not pay the wedding expenses. 

The banns were verbally published after the benediction followingthe conclusion of the Mass. In the evening, prior to the marriage, it was compulsory on the couple to confess and obtain absolution fromthe priest. The nuptials almost invariably took place after the firstMass, between five and six in the morning, and those couples who werespiritually prepared first presented themselves for Communion. Then anacolyte placed over the shoulders of the bridal pair a thick mantleor pall. The priest recited a short formula of about five minutes'duration, put his interrogations, received the muttered responses, andall was over. To the espoused, as they left the church, was tendereda bowl of coin; the bridegroom passed a handful of the contents tothe bride, who accepted it and returned it to the bowl. This act wassymbolical of his giving to her his worldly goods. Then they left thechurch with their friends, preserving that solemn, stoical countenancecommon to all Malay natives. There was no visible sign of emotionas they all walked off, with the most matter-of-fact indifference, to the paternal abode. This was the custom under the Spaniards, and it still largely obtains; the Revolution decreed civil marriage, which the Americans have declared lawful, but not compulsory. 

After the marriage ceremony the feast called the _Catapúsan_ [80]begins. To this the vicar and headmen of the villages, the immediatefriends and relatives of the allied families, and any Europeans whomay happen to be resident or sojourning, are invited. The table isspread, _à la Russe_, with all the good things procurable served atthe same time--sweetmeats predominating. Imported beer, Dutch gin, chocolate, etc. , are also in abundance. After the early repast, bothmen and women are constantly being offered betel-nut to masticate, and cigars or cigarettes, according to choice. 

Meanwhile, the company is entertained by native dancers. Two ata time--a young man and woman--stand _vis-à-vis_ and alternatelysing a love ditty, the burthen of the theme usually opening bythe regret of the young man that his amorous overtures have beendisregarded. Explanations follow, in the poetic dialogue, as theparties dance around each other, keeping a slow step to the plaintivestrains of music. This is called the _Balítao_. It is most popularin Visayas. 

Another dance is performed by a young woman only. If well executedit is extremely graceful. The girl begins singing a few words in anordinary tone, when her voice gradually drops to the _diminuendo_, whilst her slow gesticulations and the declining vigour of the musictogether express her forlornness. Then a ray of joy seems momentarilyto lighten her mental anguish; the spirited _crescendo_ notes gentlyreturn; the tone of the melody swells; her measured step and actionenergetically quicken--until she lapses again into resigned sorrow, and so on alternately. Coy in repulse, and languid in surrender, the _danseuse_ in the end forsakes her sentiment of melancholy forelated passion. 

The native dances are numerous. Another of the most typical, is thatof a girl writhing and dancing a _pas seul_ with a glass of water onher head. This is known as the _Comítan_. 

When Europeans are present, the bride usually retires into thekitchen or a back room, and only puts in an appearance after repeatedrequests. The conversation rarely turns upon the event of the meeting;there is not the slightest outward manifestation of affection betweenthe newly-united couple, who, during the feast, are only seen togetherby mere accident. If there are European guests, the repast is servedthree times--firstly for the Europeans and headmen, secondly forthe males of less social dignity, and lastly for the women. Neitherat the table nor in the reception-room do the men and women mingle, except for perhaps the first quarter of an hour after the arrival, or whilst dancing continues. 

About an hour after the mid-day meal, those who are not lodging at thehouse return to their respective residences to sleep the _siesta_. Onan occasion like this--at a _Catapúsan_ given for any reason--nativeoutsiders, from anywhere, always invade the kitchen in a mob, loungearound doorways, fill up corners, and drop in for the feast uninvited, and it is usual to be liberally complaisant to all comers. 

As a rule, the married couple live with the parents of one or theother, at least until the family inconveniently increases. In oldage, the elder members of the families come under the protectionof the younger ones quite as a matter of course. In any case, anewly-married pair seldom reside alone. Relations from all partsflock in. Cousins, uncles and aunts, of more or less distant grade, hang on to the recently-established household, if it be not extremelypoor. Even when a European marries a native woman, she is certain tointroduce some vagabond relation--a drone to hive with the bees--acondition quite inevitable, unless the husband be a man of speciallydetermined character. 

Death at childbirth is very common, and it is said that 25 per cent. Ofthe new-born children die within a month. 

Among the lowest classes, whilst a woman is lying-in, the husbandcloses all the windows to prevent the evil spirit (_asuan_) entering;sometimes he will wave about a stick or bowie-knife at the door, or ontop of the roof, for the same purpose. Even among the most enlightened, at the present day, the custom of shutting the windows is inheritedfrom their superstitious forefathers, probably in ignorance of theorigin of this usage. 

In Spanish times it was considered rather an honour than otherwiseto have children by a priest, and little secret was made of it. 

In October, 1888, I was in a village near Manila, at the bedsideof a sick friend, when the curate entered. He excused himself fornot having called earlier, by explaining that "Turing" had sent hima message informing him that as the vicar (a native) had gone toManila, he might take charge of the church and parish. "Is 'Turing'an assistant curate?" I inquired. My friend and the pastor were soconvulsed with laughter at the idea, that it was quite five minutesbefore they could explain that the intimation respecting the parochialbusiness emanated from the absent vicar's _bonne amie_. 

Consanguine marriages are very common, and perhaps this accounts forthe low intellect and mental debility perceptible in many families. 

Poor parents offer their girls to Europeans for a loan of money, and they are admitted under the pseudonym of sempstress orhousekeeper. Natives among themselves do not kiss--they smell eachother, or rather, they place the nose and lip on the cheek and drawa long breath. 

Marriages between Spaniards and pure native women, although lessfrequent than formerly, still take place. Since 1899 many Americans, too, have taken pure native wives. It is difficult to apprehend analliance so incongruous, there being no affinity of ideas, the onlycondition in common being, that they are both human beings professingChristianity. The husband is either drawn towards the level ofthe native by this heterogeneous relationship, or, in despair ofremedying the error of a passing passion, he practically ignoreshis wife in his own social connections. Each forms then a distinctcircle of friends of his, or her, own selection, whilst the woman isbut slightly raised above her own class by the white man's influenceand contact. There are some exceptions, but I have most frequentlyobserved in the houses of Europeans married to native women in theprovinces, that the wives make the kitchen their chief abode, and areonly seen by the visitor when some domestic duty requires them to moveabout the house. Familiarity breeds contempt, and these _mésalliances_diminish the dignity of the superior race by reducing the birth-originof both parents to a common level in their children. 

The Spanish half-breeds and Creoles constitute a very influentialbody. A great number of them are established in trade in Manila andthe provinces. Due to their European descent, more or less distant, they are of quicker perception, greater tact, and gifted with widerintellectual faculties than the pure Oriental class. Also, the Chinesehalf-breeds, --a caste of Chinese fathers and Philippine mothers, --whoform about one-sixth of the Manila population, are shrewder thanthe natives of pure extraction, their striking characteristic beingdistrust and suspicion of another's intentions. It is a curiousfact that the Chinese half-caste speaks with as much contempt ofthe Chinaman as the thorough-bred Filipino does, and would fainhide his paternal descent. There are numbers of Spanish half-breedsfairly well educated, and just a few of them very talented. Manyof them have succeeded in making pretty considerable fortunes intheir negotiations, as middlemen, between the provincial nativesand the European commercial houses. Their true social position isoften an equivocal one, and the complex question has constantly tobe confronted whether to regard a Spanish demi-sang from a native orEuropean standpoint. Among themselves they are continually strugglingto attain the respect and consideration accorded to the superior class, whilst their connexions and purely native relations link them to theother side. In this perplexing mental condition, we find them on theone hand striving in vain to disown their affinity to the inferiorraces, and on the other hand, jealous of their true-born Europeanacquaintances. A morosity of disposition is the natural outcome. Theircharacter generally is evasive and vacillating. They are captious, fond of litigation, and constantly seeking subterfuges. They appearalways dissatisfied with their lot in life, and inclined to fostergrievances against whoever may be in office over them. Pretentiousin the extreme, they are fond of pomp and paltry show, and it isdifficult to trace any popular movement, for good or for evil, without discovering a half-breed initiator, or leader, of one casteor another. They are locally denominated _Mestizos_. 

The Jesuit Father, Pedro Murillo Velarde, at p. 272 of his workon this Colony, expressed his opinion of the political-economicalresult of mixed marriages to the following effect:--"Now, " he says, "we have a querulous, discontented population of half-castes, who, sooner or later, will bring about a distracted state of society, andoccupy the whole force of the Government to stamp out the discord. " Howfar the prophecy was fulfilled will be seen in another chapter. 

Being naturally prone to superstitious beliefs, the Islanders accepted, without doubting, all the fantastic tales which the early missionariestaught them. Miraculous crosses healed the sick, cured the plague, and scared away the locusts. Images, such as the _Holy Child of Bangi, _relieved them of all worldly sufferings. To this day they revere manyof these objects, which are still preserved. 

The most ancient miraculous image in these Islands appears to be the_Santo Nino de Cebú_--the Holy Child of Cebú. It is recorded that onJuly 28, 1565, an image of the Child Jesus was found on Cebú Islandshore by a Basque soldier named Juan de Camus. It was venerated andkept by the Austin friars. Irreverent persons have alleged it was apagan idol. Against this, it may be argued that the heathen Cebúanoswere not known to have been idolaters. In 1627 a fire occurredin Cebú city, when the Churches of Saint Nicholas and of the HolyChild were burnt down. The image was saved, and temporarily placedin charge of the Recoleto friars. A fire also took place on the siteof the first cross erected on the island by Father Martin de Rada, the day Legaspi landed, and it is said that this cross, although madeof bamboo, was not consumed. There now stands an Oratory, whereinon special occasions is exposed the original cross. Close by is themodern Church of the Holy Child. 

In June, 1887, the Prior of the convent conducted me to the strong-roomwhere the wonderful image is kept. The Saint is of wood, about fifteeninches high, and laden with silver trinkets, which have been presentedon different occasions. When exposed to public view, it has thehonours of field-marshal accorded to it. It is a mystic deity withebon features--so different from the lovely Child presented to uson canvas by the great masters! During the feast held in its honour(January 20), pilgrims from the remotest districts of the island andfrom across the seas come to purify their souls at the shrine of "TheHoly Child. " In the same room was a beautiful image of the Madonna, besides two large tin boxes containing sundry arms, legs, and headsof Saints, with their robes in readiness for adjustment on processiondays. The patron of Cebú City is Saint Vidal. 

The legend of the celestial protector of Manila is not lessinteresting. It is related that in Dilao (now called Paco), nearManila, a wooden image of Saint Francis de Assisi, which was in thehouse of a native named Alonso Cuyapit, was seen to weep so copiouslythat many cloths were moistened by its tears. The image, with its handsoutspread during three hours, invoked God's blessing on Manila. Andthen, on closing its hands, it grasped a cross and skull. Vows weremade to the Saint, who was declared protector of the capital, andthe same image is now to be seen in the Franciscan Church, underthe appellation of _San Francisco de las lágrimas_--"Saint Francisof Tears. "

Up to the seventies of last century, a disgusting spectacle used to beannually witnessed at the Church of San Miguel (Manila) on December 8;it was a realistic representation of the Immaculate Conception!

"Our Lady of Cagsaysay, " near Taal (Batangas), has been revered formany years both by Europeans and natives. So enthusiastic was thebelief in the miraculous power of this image, that the galleons, when passing the Batangas coast on their way to and from Mexico, were accustomed to fire a salute from their guns (_vide_ pp. 18, 19). This image was picked up by a native in his fishing-net, andhe placed it in a cave, where it was discovered by other natives, who imagined they saw many extraordinary lights around it. Accordingto the local legend, they heard sweet sonorous music proceeding fromthe same spot, and the image came forward and spoke to a native woman, who had brought her companions to adore the Saint. 

The history of the many shrines all over the Colony would well filla volume; however, by far the most popular one is that of the Virginof Antipolo--_Nuestra Señora de Buen Viaje y de la Paz_, "Our Ladyof Good Voyage and Peace. "

This image is said to have wrought many miracles. It was first broughtfrom Acapulco (Mexico) in 1626 in the State galleon, by Juan Niño deTabora, who was appointed Gov. -General of these Islands (1626-32) byKing Philip IV. The Saint, it is alleged, had encountered numberlessreverses between that time and the year 1672, since which date it hasbeen safely lodged in the Parish Church of Antipolo--a village in theold Military District of Mórong (Rizal Province)--in the custody ofthe Austin friars. In the month of May, thousands of people repair tothis shrine; indeed, this village of 3, 800 inhabitants (diminished to2, 800 in 1903) chiefly depends upon the pilgrims for its existence, for the land within the jurisdiction of Antipolo is all mountainousand very limited in extent. The priests also do a very good trade inprints of Saints, rosaries, etc. , for the sale of which, in Spanishtimes, they used to open a shop during the feast inside and just infront of the convent entrance. The total amount of money spent in thevillage by visitors during the pilgrimage has been roughly computedto be P30, 000. They come from all parts of the Islands. 

The legends of the Saint are best described in a pamphlet publishedin Manila, [81] from which I take the following information. 

The writer says that the people of Acapulco (Mexico) were loth topart with their Holy Image, but the saintly Virgin herself, desirousof succouring the inhabitants of the Spanish Indies, smoothed alldifficulties. During her first voyage, in the month of March, 1626, a tempest arose, which was calmed by the Virgin, and all arrivedsafely in the galleon at the shores of Manila. She was then carriedin procession to the Cathedral, whilst the church bells tolled andthe artillery thundered forth salutes of welcome. A solemn Mass wascelebrated, which all the religious communities, civil authorities, and a multitude of people attended. 

Six years afterwards the Gov. -General Juan Niño de Tabora died. Byhis will he intrusted the Virgin to the care of the Jesuits, whilsta church was being built under the direction of Father Juan Salazárfor her special reception. During the erection of this church, theVirgin often descended from the altar and exhibited herself amongst theflowery branches of a tree, called by the natives Antipolo (_Artocarpusincisa_). The tree itself was thenceforth regarded as a precious relicby the natives, who, leaf by leaf and branch by branch, were graduallycarrying it off. Then Father Salazar decreed that the tree-trunk shouldserve for a pedestal to the Divine Miraculous Image--hence the title"Virgin of Antipolo. "

In 1639 the Chinese rebelled against the Spanish authority (_vide_p. 115). In their furious march through the ruins and the blood oftheir victims, and amidst the wailing of the crowd, they attacked theSanctuary wherein reposed the Virgin. Seizing the Holy Image, theycast it into the flames, and when all around was reduced to ashes, there stood the Virgin of Antipolo, resplendent, with her hair, her lace, her ribbons and adornments intact, and her beautiful bodyof brass without wound or blemish! Passionate at seeing frustratedtheir designs to destroy the deified protectress of the Christians, a wanton infidel stabbed her in the face, and all the resources ofart have ever failed to heal the lasting wound. Again the Virginwas enveloped in flames, which hid the appalling sight of herburning entrails. Now the Spanish troops arrived, and fell uponthe heretical marauders with great slaughter; then, glancing withtrembling anxiety upon the scene of the outrage, behold! with gladastonishment they descried the Holy Image upon a smouldering pileof ashes--unhurt! With renewed enthusiasm, the Spanish warriors boreaway the Virgin on their shoulders in triumph, and Sebastian Hurtadode Corcuera, the Gov. -General at the time, had her conveyed to Caviteto be the patroness of the faithful upon the high seas. 

A galleon arrived at Cavite, and being unable to go into port, thecommander anchored off at a distance. Then the new Gov. -General, Diego Fajardo (1644-53), sent the Virgin on board, and, by her help, a passage was found for the vessel to enter. 

Later on, twelve Dutch warships appeared off Marivéles, thenorthwestern extremity of Manila Bay. They had come to attack Cavite, and in their hour of danger the Spaniards appealed to the Virgin, who gave them a complete victory over the Dutchmen, causing themto flee, with their commander mortally wounded. During the affray, the Virgin had been taken away for safety on board the _San Diego_, commanded by Cépeda. In 1650 this vessel returned, and the piousprelate, José Millan Poblete, [82] thought he perceived clearindications of an eager desire on the part of the Virgin to retire toher Sanctuary. The people, too, clamoured for the Saint, attributingthe many calamities with which they were afflicted at that periodto her absence from their shores. Assailed by enemies, frequentlythreatened by the Dutch, lamenting the loss of several galleons, and distressed by a serious earthquake, their only hope reposed inthe beneficent aid of the Virgin of Antipolo. 

But the galleon _San Francisco Xavier_ feared to make the journeyto Mexico without the saintly support, and for the sixth time theVirgin crossed the Pacific Ocean. In Acapulco the galleon lay atanchor until March, 1653, when the newly-appointed Gov. -General, Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, Archbishop Miguel Poblete, FatherRodrigo Cárdenas, Bishop-elect of Cagayán, and many other passengersembarked and set sail for Manila. Their sufferings during the voyagewere horrible. Almost overcome by a violent storm, the ship becameunmanageable. Rain poured in torrents, whilst her decks were washed bythe surging waves, and all was on the point of utter destruction. Inthis plight the Virgin was exhorted, and not in vain, for at hercommand the sea lessened its fury, the wind calmed, black threateningclouds dispersed, all the terrors of the voyage ceased, and under abeautiful blue sky a fair wind wafted the galleon safely to the portof Cavite. 

These circumstances gained for the Saint the title of "Virgin of GoodVoyage and Peace"; and the sailors, --who gratefully acknowledged thattheir lives were saved by her sublime intercession, --followed by theecclesiastical dignitaries and military chiefs, carried the image toher retreat in Antipolo (September 8, 1653), where it was intendedshe should permanently remain. However, deprived of the succour ofthe Saint, misfortunes again overtook the galleons. Three of themwere lost, and the writer of the brochure to which I refer supposes(Chap. Iv. ) that perchance the sea, suffering from the number offurrows cut by the keels of the ships, had determined to take a fiercerevenge by swallowing them up!

Once more, therefore, the Virgin condescended to accompany a galleonto Mexico, bringing her back safely to Philippine shores in 1672. 

This was the Virgin's last sea voyage. Again, and for ever, she wasconveyed by the joyous multitude to her resting-place in AntipoloChurch, and on her journey thither, there was not a flower, adds thechronicler, which did not greet her by opening a bud--not a mountainpigeon which remained in silence, whilst the breezes and the rivuletspoured forth their silent murmurings of ecstasy. Saintly guardianof the soul, dispersing mundane evils!--no colours, the chroniclertells us, can paint the animation of the faithful; no discourse candescribe the consolation of the pilgrims in their adoration at theShrine of the Holy Virgin of Antipolo. 

Yet the village of Antipolo and its neighbourhood was, in Spanishtimes, the centre of brigandage, the resort of murderous highwaymen, the focus of crime. What a strange contrast to the sublime virtuesof the immortal divinity enclosed within its Sanctuary!

On November 26, 1904, this miraculous Image was temporarily removedfrom Antipolo to Manila for the celebration of the feast of theImmaculate Conception. Carried by willing hands to the place ofembarkation, it made the voyage to the capital, down the PasigRiver, in a gorgeously decorated barge, towed by a steam launch, escorted by hundreds of floating craft and over 20, 000 natives, marching along the river banks in respectful accompaniment. The nextday a procession of about 35, 000 persons followed the Virgin to theCathedral of Manila, where she was enshrined, awaiting the great eventof December 8. Subsequently she was restored to her shrine at Antipolo. 

The most lucrative undertaking in the Colony is that of a shrine. Ityields all gain, without possible loss. Among the most popular ofthese "Miraculous Saint Shows" was that of Gusi, belonging to thelate parish priest of Ilug, in Negros Island. At Gusi, half an hour'swalk from the Father's parish church, was enthroned San Joaquin, who, for a small consideration, consoled the faithful or relievedthem of iheir sufferings. His spouse, Santa Ana, having taken upher residence in the town of Molo (Yloilo Province), was said tohave been visited by San Joaquin once a year. He was absent on thejourney at least a fortnight, but the waters in the neighbourhood ofthe Shrine being sanctified the _clientèle_ was not dispersed. Somesceptics have dared to doubt whether San Joaquin really paid thisvisit to his saintly wife, and alleged that his absence was feigned, firstly to make his presence longed for, and secondly to remove thecobwebs from his hallowed brow, and give him a wash and brush up forthe year. The Shrine paid well for years--every devotee leaving hismite. At the time of my pilgrimage there, the holy Father's son wasthe petty-governor of the same town of Ilug. 

Shrine-owners are apparently no friends of free trade. In 1888 therewas a great commotion amongst them when it was discovered that awould-be competitor and a gownsman had conspired, in Pampanga Province, to establish a Miraculous Saint, by concealing an image in a fieldin order that it should "make itself manifest to the faithful, "and thenceforth become a source of income. 

It is notorious that in a church near Manila, a few years ago, an image was made to move the parts of its body as the reverendpreacher exhorted it in the course of his sermon. When he appealedto the Saint, it wagged its head or extended its arms, whilst thefemale audience wept and wailed. Such a scandalous disturbance didit provoke that the exhibition was even too monstrous for the clergythemselves, and the Archbishop prohibited it. But religion has manywealth-producing branches. In January, 1889, a friend of mine showedme an account rendered by the Superior of the Jesuits' School forthe education of his sons, each of whom was charged with one peso asa gratuity to the Pope, to induce him to canonize a deceased memberof their Order. I have been most positively assured by friends, whosegood faith I ought not to doubt, that San Pascual Bailón really has, on many occasions, had compassion on barren women (their friends)and given them offspring. Jose Rizal, in his "Noli me tangere" hintsthat the real Pascual was a friar. 

Trading upon the credulity of devout enthusiasts by fetishism andshrine quackery is not altogether confined to the ecclesiastics. ASpanish layman in Yloilo, some few years ago, when he was an officialof the prison, known as the "Cotta, " conceived the idea of declaringthat the Blessed Virgin and Child Jesus had appeared in the prisonwell, where they took a bath and disappeared. When, at length, the belief became popular, hundreds of natives went there to getwater from the well, and the official imposed a tax on the pilgrims, whereby he became possessed of a modest fortune, and owned two ofthe best houses in the Square of Yloilo. 

The Feast of Tigbáuang (near Yloilo), which takes place in January, is also much frequented on account of the miracles performed bythe patron Saint of the town. The faith in the power of this minordivinity to dispel bodily suffering is so deeply rooted that membersof the most enlightened families of Yloilo and the neighbouring townsgo to Tigbáuang simply to attend High Mass, and return at once. Ihave seen steamers entering Yloilo from this feast so crowded withpassengers that there was only standing room for them. 

An opprobrious form of religious imposture--perhaps the mostcontemptible--which frequently offended the public eye, before theAmerican advent, was the practice of prowling about with doll-saintsin the streets and public highways. A vagrant, too lazy to earn anhonest subsistence, procured a licence from the monks to hawk about awooden box containing a doll or print covered by a pane of glass. Thishe offered to hold before the nose of any ignorant passer-by who waswilling to pay for the boon of kissing the glass!

During Holy Week, a few years ago, the captain of the Civil Guardin Tayabas Province went to the town of Atimonan, and saw nativesin the streets almost in a state of nudity doing penance "for thewounds of Our Lord. " They were actually beating themselves withflails, some of which were made of iron chain, and others of ropewith thongs of rattan-cane. Having confiscated the flails--one ofwhich he gave to me--he effectually assisted the fanatics in theirpenitent castigation. Alas! to what excesses will faith, unrestrainedby reason, bring one!

The result of tuition in mystic influences is sometimes manifestedin the appearance of native Santones--indolent scamps who roamabout in remote villages, feigning the possession of supernaturalgifts, the faculty of saving souls, and the healing art, with theobject of living at the expense of the ignorant. I never happenedto meet more than one of these creatures--an escaped convict namedApolonio, a native of Cabuyao (Laguna), who, assuming the characterof a prophet and worker of miracles, had fled to the neighbourhoodof San Pablo village. I have often heard of them in other places, notably in Cápis Province, where the Santones were vigorously pursuedby the Civil Guard, and as recently as May, 1904, a notorious humbugof this class, styling himself _Pope Isio, alias Nazarenong Gala_, was arrested in West Negros and punished under American authority. 

The Spanish clergy were justifiably zealous in guarding the Filipinosfrom a knowledge of other doctrines which would only lead them toimmeasurable bewilderment. Hence all the civilized natives wereRoman Catholics exclusively. The strict obedience to _one_ systemof Christianity, even in its grossly perverted form, had the effectdesired by the State, of bringing about social unity to an advanceddegree. Yet, so far as I have observed, the native seems to understandextremely little of the "inward and spiritual grace" of religion. Heis so material and realistic, so devoid of all conception of thingsabstract, that his ideas rarely, if ever, soar beyond the contemplationof the "outward and visible signs" of christian belief. The symbolsof faith and the observance of religious rites are to him religionitself. He also confounds morality with religion. Natives go to churchbecause it is the custom. Often if a native cannot put on a cleanshirt, he abstains from going to Mass. The petty-governor of a townwas compelled to go to High Mass accompanied by his "ministry. " Insome towns the _Barangay Chiefs_ were fined or beaten if they wereabsent from church on Sundays and certain Feast Days. [83]

As to the women, little or no pressure was necessary to oblige themto attend Mass; many of them pass half their existence between privatedevotion and the confessional. 

The parish priest of Lipa (Batangas) related to a friend of mine thathaving on one occasion distributed all his stock of pictures of theSaints to those who had come to see him on parochial business, hehad to content the last suppliant with an empty raisin-box, withoutnoticing that on the lid there was a coloured print of Garibaldi. Lateron Garibaldi's portrait was seen in a hut in one of the suburbs withcandles around it, being adored as a Saint. 

A curious case of native religious philosophy was reported in aManila newspaper. [84] A milkman, accused by one of his customers ofhaving adulterated the milk, of course denied it at first, and then, yielding to more potent argument than words, he confessed that he haddiluted the milk with _holy water from the church fonts_, for at thesame time that he committed the sin he was penitent. 

Undoubtedly Roman Catholicism appears to be the form of Christianitymost successful in proselytizing uncivilized races, which are impressedmore through their eyes than their understanding. If the grandeur ofthe ritual, the magnificence of the processions, the lustre of thechurch vessels and the images themselves have never been understoodby the masses in the strictly symbolic sense in which they appealto us, at least they have had their influence in drawing millions tocivilization and to a unique uniformity of precept, the practice ofwhich it is beyond all human power to control. 

For Music the native has an inherent passion. Musicians are to be foundin every village, and even among the very poorest classes. Beforethe Revolution there was scarcely a parish, however remote, withoutits orchestra, and this natural taste was laudably encouraged by thepriests. Some of these bands acquired great local fame, and were soughtfor wherever there was a feast miles away. The players seemed to enjoyit as much as the listeners, and they would keep at it for hours at atime, as long as their bodily strength lasted. Girls from six yearsof age learn to play the harp almost by instinct, and college girlsquickly learn the piano. There are no native composers--they are butimitators. There is an absence of sentimental feeling in the executionof set music (which is all foreign), and this is the only drawback totheir becoming fine instrumentalists. For the same reason, classicalmusic is very little in vogue among the Philippine people, who preferdance pieces and ballad accompaniments. In fact, a native musicalperformance is so void of soul and true conception of harmony thatat a feast it is not an uncommon thing to hear three bands playingclose to each other at the same time; and the mob assembled seem toenjoy the confusion of the melody! There are no Philippine vocalistsworth hearing. 

Travelling through the Laguna Province in 1882 I was impressed bythe ingenuity of the natives in their imitation of European musicalinstruments. Just an hour before I had emerged from a dense forest, abundantly adorned with exquisite foliage, and where majestic trees, flourishing in gorgeous profusion, afforded a gratifying shelter fromthe scorching sun. Not a sound was heard but the gentle ripple of alimpid stream, breaking over the boulders on its course towards theravine below. But it was hardly the moment to ponder on the poeticscene, for fatigue and hunger had almost overcome sentimentality, and I got as quickly as I could to the first resting-place. This Ifound to be a native cane-grower's plantation bungalow, where quitea number of persons was assembled, the occasion of the meeting beingthe baptism and benediction of the sugar-cane mill. Before I wasnear enough, however, to be seen by the party--for it was nearlysunset--I heard the sound of distant music floating through theair. Such a strange occurrence excited my curiosity immensely, andI determined to find out what it all meant. I soon discovered thatit was a bamboo band returning from the feast of the "baptism of themill. " Each instrument was made of bamboo on a semi-European model, and the players were merely farm-labourers. 

Philippine musicians have won fame outside their own country. Someyears ago there was a band of them in Shanghai and another inCochin China on contract. It was reported, too, that the band of theConstabulary sent to the St. Louis Exhibition in 1904 was the delightof the people in Honolulu, where they touched _en route_. 

Slavery was prohibited by law as far back as the reign of PhilipII. ; [85] it nevertheless still exists in an occult form amongthe natives. Rarely, if ever, do its victims appeal to the lawfor redress, firstly, because of their ignorance, and secondly, because the untutored class have an innate horror of resistinganciently-established custom, and it would never occur to themto do so. Moreover, in the time of the Spaniards, the numberless_procuradores_ and _pica-pleitos_--touting solicitors had no interestin taking up cases so profitless to themselves. Under the pretextof guaranteeing a loan, parents readily sell their children (male orfemale) into bondage. The child is handed over to work until the loanis repaid; but as the day of restitution of the advance never arrives, neither does the liberty of the youthful victim. Among themselvesit was a law, and is still a practised custom, for the debts ofthe parents to pass on to the children, and, as I have said before, debts are never repudiated by them. Slavery, in an overt form, nowonly exists among some wild tribes and the Moros. 

Education was almost exclusively under the control of the friars. Upto the year 1844 anything beyond religious tuition was reservedfor the Spanish youth, the half-castes, and the children ofthose in office. Among the many reforms introduced in the time ofGov. -General Narciso Claveria (1844-49), that of extending Educationto the provincial parishes was a failure. In the middle of the reignof Isabella II. (about 1850) it was the exclusive privilege of theclasses mentioned and the native petty aristocracy, locally designatedthe _gente ilustrada_ and the _pudientes_ (Intellectuals and peopleof means and influence). Education, thus limited, divided the peopleinto two separate castes, as distinct as the ancient Roman citizen andthe plebeian. Residing chiefly in the ports open to foreign trade, the Intellectuals acquired wealth, possessed rich estates and finehouses artistically adorned. Blessed with all the comforts whichmoney could procure and the refinement resulting from education, theyfreely associated and intermarried with the Spaniards, whose easy graceand dignified manners they gradually acquired and retain, to a greatextent, to the present day. The other caste--the Illiterates--weredependents of the Intellectuals. Without mental training, with fewwants, and little expenses, they were as contented, in their sphere, as the upper class were in theirs. Like their masters, they had theirhopes, but they never knew what misery was, as one understands it inEurope, and in this felicitous, ambitionless condition, they neverurgently demanded education, even for their children. The movement camefrom higher quarters, and during the O'Donnell ministry a Royal Decreewas sent from Madrid establishing schools throughout the provinces. 

On the banks of the Pasig River there was a training college forschoolmasters, who were drafted off to the villages with a miserablestipend, to teach the juvenile rustics. But the governmental systemof centralization fell somewhat hard on the village teacher. Forinstance, I knew one who received a monthly salary of 16 pesos, and every month he had to spend two of them to travel to Manila andback to receive the money--an outlay equal to 12 1/2 per cent. Of histotal income. For such a wretched pittance great things were not tobe expected of the teacher, even though he had had a free hand in hiswork. Other circumstances of greater weight contributed to keep thestandard of education among the common townfolk very low; in someplaces to abolish it totally. The parish priests were _ex-officio_Inspectors of Schools for primary instruction, wherein it was theirduty to see that the Spanish language was taught. The old "Lawsof the Indies" provided that christian doctrine should be taughtto the heathen native in Spanish. [86] Several decrees confirmingthat law were issued from time to time, but their fulfilment didnot seem to suit the policy of the friars. On June 30, 1887, theGov. -General published another decree with the same object, and senta communication to the Archbishop to remind him of this obligationof his subordinates, and the urgency of its strict observance. But ithad no effect whatever, and the poor-class villagers were only taughtto gabble off the christian doctrine by rote, for it suited the friarto stimulate that peculiar mental condition in which belief precedesunderstanding. The school-teacher, being subordinate to the inspector, had no voice in the matter, and was compelled to follow the views ofthe priest. Few Spaniards took the trouble to learn native dialects (ofwhich there are about 30), and only a small percentage of the nativescan speak intelligible Spanish. There is no literature in dialect; thefew odd compositions in Tagalog still extant are wanting in the firstprinciples of literary style. There were many villages with untrainedteachers who could not speak Spanish; there were other villages withno schools at all, hence no preparation whatever for municipal life. 

If the friars had agreed to the instruction of the townfolk through themedium of Spanish, as a means to the attainment of higher culture, onecould well have understood their reluctance to teach it to the rurallabourers, because it is obvious to any one who knows the characterof this class that the knowledge of a foreign language would unfitthem for agricultural labour and the lower occupations, and producea new social problem. Even this class, however, might have beenmentally improved by elementary books translated into dialect. But, unfortunately, the friars were altogether opposed to the educationof the masses, whether through dialect or Spanish, in order to holdthem in ignorant subjection to their own will, and the result wasthat the majority grew up as untutored as when they were born. 

Home discipline and training of manners were ignored, even inwell-to-do families. Children were left without control, and byexcessive indulgence allowed to do just as they pleased; hence theybecame ill-behaved and boorish. 

Planters of means, and others who could afford it, sent their sons anddaughters to private schools, or to the colleges under the directionof the priests in Manila, Jaro (Yloilo Province), or Cebú. A few--veryfew--sent their sons to study in Europe, or in Hong-Kong. 

According to the Budget of 1888 the State contributed to the expenseof Education, in that year, as follows, viz. :--

 P. Cts. Schools and Colleges for high-class education in Manila, including Navigation, Drawing, Painting, Book-keeping, Languages, History, Arts and Trades, Natural HistoryMuseum and Library and general instruction. 86, 450 00School of Agriculture (including 10 schools and modelfarms in 10 Provinces) 113, 686 64General Expenses of Public Instruction, including NationalSchools in the Provinces 38, 513 70 ========== P238, 650 34

The teaching offered to students in Manila was very advanced, as willbe seen from the following Syllabus of Education in the MunicipalAthenæum of the Jesuits:--

 Agriculture. Geometry. Philosophy. Algebra. Greek. Physics and Chemistry. Arithmetic. History. Rhetoric and Poetry. Commerce. Latin. Spanish Classics. Geography. Mechanics. Spanish Composition. English. Natural History. Topography. French. Painting. Trigonometry. 

In the highest Girls' School--the Santa Isabel College--the followingwas the curriculum, viz. :--

 Arithmetic. Geology. Philippine History. Drawing. Geometry. Physics. Dress-cutting. History of Spain. Reading. French. Music. Sacred History. Geography. Needlework. Spanish Grammar. 

There were also (for girls) the Colleges of Santa Catalina, SantaRosa, La Concordia, the Municipal School, etc. A few were sent tothe Italian Convent in Hong-Kong. 

A college known as Saint Thomas' was founded in Manila by Fray Miguelde Benavides, third Archbishop of Manila, between the years 1603and 1610. He contributed to it his library and P 1, 000, to whichwas added a donation by the Bishop of Nueva Segovia of P 3, 000 andhis library. In 1620 it already had professors and masters underGovernment auspices. It received three Papal Briefs for 10 yearseach, permitting students to graduate in Philosophy and Theology. Itwas then raised to the status of a University in the time of PhilipIV. By Papal Bull of November 20, 1645. The first rector of SaintThomas' University was Fray Martin Real de la Cruz. In the meantime, the Jesuits' University had been established. Until 1645 it was theonly place of learning superior to primary education, and conferreddegrees. The Saint Thomas' University (under the direction of Dominicanfriars) now disputed the Jesuits' privilege to confer degrees, claimingfor themselves exclusive right by Papal Bull. A lawsuit followed, andthe Supreme Court of Manila decided in favour of Saint Thomas'. TheJesuits appealed to the King against this decision. The Supreme Councilof the Indies was consulted, and revoked the decision of the ManilaSupreme Court, so that the two Universities continued to give degreesuntil the Jesuits were expelled from the Colony in 1768. From 1785Saint Thomas' University was styled the "Royal University, " and wasdeclared to rank equally with the Peninsular Universities. 

There were also the Dominican College of San Juan de Letran, foundedin the middle of the 17th century, the Jesuit Normal School, theConvent of Mercy for Orphan Students, and the College of SaintJoseph. This last was founded in 1601, under the direction of theJesuits. King Philip V. Gave it the title of "Royal College, " andallowed an escutcheon to be erected over the entrance. The same kingendowed three professorial chairs with P 10, 000 each. Latterly it wasgoverned by the Rector of the University, whilst the administrationwas confided to a licentiate in pharmacy. 

At the time of the Spanish evacuation, therefore, the only universityin the City of Manila was that of Saint Thomas, which was empowered toissue diplomas of licentiate in law, theology, medicine, and pharmacyto all successful candidates, and to confer degrees of LL. D. Thepublic investiture was presided over by the Rector of the University, aDominican friar; and the speeches preceding and following the ceremony, which was semi-religious, were made in the Spanish language. 

In connection with this institution there was the modern Saint Thomas'College for preparing students for the University. 

The Nautical School naturally stood outside the sphere ofecclesiastical control. Established in 1839 in Calle Cabildo (walledcity), its purpose was to instruct youths in the science of navigationand prepare them for the merchant service within the waters of theArchipelago and the adjacent seas. During the earthquake of 1863 theschool building was destroyed. It was then re-established in CalleSan Juan de Letran, subsequently located in Calle del Palacio, andwas finally (in 1898) removed from the walled city to the businessquarter of Binondo. Special attention was given to the teaching ofmathematics, and considerable sums of money were allocated, from timeto time, for the equipment of this technical centre of learning. 

One of the most interesting and amusing types of the native wasthe average college student from the provinces. After a courseof two, three, up to eight years, he learnt to imitate Europeandress and ape Western manners; to fantastically dress his hair;to wear patent-leather shoes, jewellery, and a latest-fashionedfelt hat adjusted carefully towards one side of his head. He wentto the theatre, drove a "tilbury, " and attended native _réunions_, to deploy his abilities before the _beau sexe_ of his class. Duringhis residence in the capital, he was supposed to learn, amongstother subjects, Latin, Divinity, Philosophy, and sometimes Theology, preparatory, in many cases, to succeeding his father in a sugar-caneand rice plantation. The average student had barely an outline ideaof either physical or political geography, whilst his notions ofSpanish or universal history were very chaotic. I really think theManila newspapers--poor as they were--contributed very largely tothe education of the people in this Colony. 

Still, there are cases of an ardent genius shining as an exception tohis race. Amongst the few, there were two brothers named Luna--theone was a notably skilful performer on the guitar and violin, who, however, died at an early age. The other, Juan Luna, developeda natural ability for painting. A work of his own conception--the"Spoliarium, " executed by him in Rome in 1884--gained the second prizeat the Madrid Academy Exhibition of Oil Paintings. The Municipalityof Barcelona purchased this _chef d'oeuvre_ for the City Hall. Otherfamous productions of his are "The Battle of Lepanto, " "The Death ofCleopatra, " and "The Blood Compact" (q. V). This last masterpiecewas acquired by the Municipality of Manila for the City Hall, but was removed when the Tagálog Rebellion broke out, for reasonswhich will be understood after reading Chapter xxii. This artist, the son of poor parents, was a second mate on board a sailing ship, when his gifts were recognized, and means were furnished him withwhich to study in Rome. His talent was quite exceptional, for theseIslanders are not an artistic people. Having little admiration forthe picturesque and the beautiful in Nature, they cannot depict them:in this respect they form a decided contrast to the Japanese. Paete(La Laguna) is the only place I know of in the provinces where thereare sculptors by profession. The Manila Academy was open to all comersof all nationalities, and, as an ex-student under its Professors DonLorenzo Rocha and Don Agustin Saez, I can attest to their enthusiasmfor the progress of their pupils. 

In the General Post and Telegraph Office in Manila I was shown anexcellent specimen of wood-carving--a bust portrait of Mr. Morse(the celebrated inventor of the Morse system of telegraphy)--the workof a native sculptor. Another promising native, Vicente Francisco, exhibited some good sculpture work in the Philippine Exhibition, heldin Madrid in 1887: the jury recommended him for a State pension, tostudy in Madrid and Rome. The beautiful design of the present insularcoinage (Philippine peso) is the work of a Filipino. The biographyof the patriot martyr Dr. José Rizal (q. V. ), the most brilliant ofall Filipinos, is related in another chapter. 

The native of cultivated intellect, on returning from Europe, found avery limited circle of friends of his own new training. If he returneda lawyer or a doctor, he was one too many, for the capital swarmedwith them; if he had learnt a trade, his knowledge was useless outsideManila, and in his native village his technical acquirements weregenerally profitless. Usually the native's sojourn in Europe madehim too self-opinionated to become a useful member of society. Itremains to be seen how American training will affect them. 

The (American) Insular Government has taken up the matter of Philippineeducation very earnestly, and at considerable outlay: the subject isreferred to in Chapter xxx. 

The intellectual and spiritual life, as we have it in Europe, doesnot exist in the Philippines. If ever a Filipino studied any subject, purely for the love of study, without the hope of material or socialadvantage being derived therefrom, he would be a _rara avis_. 

The _Disease_ most prevalent among the Filipinos is fever--especiallyin the spring: and although, in general, they may be considered arobust, enduring race, they are less capable than the European ofwithstanding acute disease. I should say that quite 50 per cent. Ofthe native population are affected by cutaneous disease, said to becaused by eating fish daily, and especially shell-fish. It is locallyknown as _Sarnas_: natives say that monkey flesh cures it. 

In 1882 _Cholera morbus_ in epidemic form ravaged the nativepopulation, carrying off thousands of victims, the exact number ofwhich has never been published. The preventive recommended by thepriests on this occasion, viz. , prayer to Saint Roque, proved quiteineffectual to stay the plague. A better remedy, found in the country, is an infusion of _Niota tetrapetala_ (Tagálog, _Manungal_). From timeto time this disease reappears. The returns given in the _OfficialGazette_ of March 2, 1904, Vol. II. , No. 9, show the average monthlymortality due to _Cholera_, in the 20-1/3 months between March 20, 1902, and December 1, 1903, to be 5, 360. Annually, many natives sufferfrom what is called _Colerin_--a mild form of _Cholera_, but notepidemic. In the spring, deaths always occur from acute indigestion, due to eating too plentifully of new rice. Many who have recoveredfrom _Cholera_ become victims to a disease known as _Beri-Beri_, said to be caused by the rice and fish diet. The first symptom of_Wet Beri-Beri_ is a swelling of the legs, like dropsy; that of _DryBeri-Beri_ is a wasting away of the limbs. _Smallpox_ makes greatravages, and _Measles_ is a common complaint. _Lung_ and _Bronchial_affections are very rare. The most fearful disease in the Colony is_Leprosy_. [87] To my knowledge it is prevalent in the Province ofBulacan (Luzon Is. ), and in the islands of Cebú and Negros. There is anasylum for lepers near Manila and at Mabolo, just outside the City ofCebú (_vide_ Lepers), but no practical measures were ever adopted bythe Spaniards to eradicate this disease. The Spanish authorities werealways too indifferent about the propagation of leprosy to establisha home on one island for all male lepers and another home, on anotherisland, for female lepers--the only effectual way to extirpate thisawful malady. In Baliuag (Bulacan), leper families, personally knownto me, were allowed to mix with the general public. In Cebú and NegrosIslands they were permitted to roam about on the highroads and beg. 

The Insular Government has taken up the question of the Lepers, and in 1904 a tract of land was purchased in the Island of Culion(Calamianes group) to provide for their hygienic isolation. Accordingto the _Official Gazette_ of March 2, 1904, Vol. II. , No. 9, thetotal number of lepers, of whom the Insular Government had obtainedcognizance, up to December 31, 1903, was 3, 343. Besides these therewould naturally be an unknown number who had escaped recognition. 

There is apparently little _Insanity_ in the Islands. From theReport of the Commissioner of Public Health for February, 1904, it would appear that there were only about 1, 415 insane persons ina population of over seven-and-a-half millions. 

Since the American advent (1898) the _Death-rate_ is believed to havenotably decreased. The Report of the Commissioner of Public Healthfor 1904 states the death-rate per thousand in Manila to have been asfollows, viz. :--Natives 53. 72; Europeans other than Spaniards 16. 11;Spaniards 15. 42; and Americans 9. 34. The Commissioner remarks that"over 50 per cent. Of the children born in the city of Manila neverlive to see the first anniversary of their birthday. " The Board ofHealth is very active in the sanitation of Manila. Inspectors makefrequent domiciliary visits. The extermination of rats in the monthof December, 1903, amounted to 24, 638. House-refuse bins are put intothe streets at night, and an inspector goes round with a lamp aboutmidnight to examine them. Dead animals, market-rubbish, house-refuse, rotten hemp, sweepings, etc. , are all cremated at Palomar, Santa Cruz, and Paco, and in July, 1904, this enterprising department startedthe extermination of mosquitoes! In the suburbs of Manila there arenow twelve cemeteries and one crematorium. 

CHAPTER XII

The Religious Orders

History attests that at least during the first two centuries of Spanishrule, the subjugation of the natives and their acquiescence in thenew order of things were obtained more by the subtle influence of themissionaries than by the sword. As the soldiers of Castile carried warinto the interior and forced its inhabitants to recognize their King, so the friars were drafted off from the mother country to mitigatethe memory of bloodshed and to mould Spain's new subjects to socialequanimity. In many cases, in fact, the whole task of gaining theirsubmission to the Spanish Crown and obedience to the dictates ofWestern civilization was confided solely to the pacific medium ofpersuasion. The difficult mission of holding in check the naturalpassions and instincts of a race which knew no law but individualwill, was left to the successors of Urdaneta. Indeed, it was but thegeneral policy of Philip II. To aggrandize his vast realm under thepretence of rescuing benighted souls. The efficacy of conversion wasnever doubted for a moment, however suddenly it might come to pass, and the Spanish cavalier conscientiously felt that he had a highmission to fulfil under the Banner of the Cross. In every naturalevent which coincided with their interests, in the prosecution oftheir mission, the wary priests descried a providential miracle. 

In their opinion the non-Catholic had no rights in this world--noprospect of gaining the next. If the Pope claimed the whole world(such as was known of it) to be in his gift--how much more so heathenlands! The obligation to convert was imposed by the Pope, and wasan inseparable condition of the conceded right of conquest. It wastherefore constantly paramount in the conqueror's mind. [88] ThePope could depose and give away the realm of any sovereign prince"_si vel paulum deflexerit_. " The Monarch held his sceptre under thesordid condition of vassalage; hence Philip II. , for the securityof his Crown, could not have disobeyed the will of the Pontiff, whatever his personal inclinations might have been regarding thespread of Christianity. [89] If he desired it, he served his ends withadvantage to himself--if he were indifferent to it, he secured by itsprosecution a formidable ally in Rome. America had already drained thePeninsula of her able-bodied men to such an extent that a militaryoccupation of these Islands would have overtaxed the resources ofthe mother country. The co-operation of the friars was, therefore, analmost indispensable expedient in the early days, and their power insecular concerns was recognized to the last by the Spanish-Philippineauthorities, who continued to solicit the aid of the parish priestsin order to secure obedience to decrees affecting their parishioners. 

Up to the Rebellion of 1896 the placid word of the ecclesiastic, thesuperstitious veneration which he inspired in the ignorant native, had a greater law-binding effect than the commands of the civilfunctionary. The gownsman used those weapons appropriate to hisoffice which best touched the sensibilities and won the adhesion ofa rude audience. The priest appealed to the soul, to the unknown, to the awful and the mysterious. Go where he would, the convert'simagination was so pervaded with the mystic tuition that he cameto regard his tutor as a being above common humanity. The feelingof dread reverence which he instilled into the hearts of the mostcallous secured to him even immunity from the violence of brigands, who carefully avoided the man of God. In the State official the nativesaw nothing but a man who strove to bend the will of the conquered raceto suit his own. A Royal Decree or the sound of the cornet would nothave been half so effective as the elevation of the Holy Cross beforethe fanatical majority, who became an easy prey to fantastic promisesof eternal bliss, or the threats of everlasting perdition. Nor is thisassertion by any means chimerical, for it has been proved on severaloccasions, notably in the raising of troops to attempt the expulsionof the British in 1763, and in the campaign against the Sultan of Suluin 1876. But through the Cavite Conspiracy of 1872 (_vide_ p. 106)the friars undoubtedly hastened their own downfall. Many natives, driven to emigrate, cherished a bitter hatred in exile, whilst otherswere emerging yearly by hundreds from their mental obscurity. Alreadythe intellectual struggle for freedom from mystic enthralment hadcommenced without injury to faith in things really divine. 

Each decade brought some reform in the relations between theparish priest and the people. Link by link the chain of priestcraftencompassing the development of the Colony was yielding to naturalcauses. The most enlightened natives were beginning to understand thattheir spiritual wants were not the only care of the friars, and thatthe aim of the Religious Orders was to monopolize all within theirreach, and to subordinate to their common will all beyond their mysticcircle. The Romish Church owes its power to the uniformity of preceptand practice of the vast majority of its members, and it is preciselybecause this was the reverse in political Spain--where statesmen aredivided into a dozen or more groups with distinct policies--that theChurch was practically unassailable. In the same way, all the membersof a Religious Order are so closely united that a quarrel with oneof them brings the enmity and opposition of his whole community. TheProgressists, therefore, who combated ecclesiastical preponderance inthe Philippines, demanded the retirement of the friars to conventualreclusion or missions, and the appointment of _clérigos_, or secularclergymen to the vicarages and curacies. By such a change they hopedto remedy the abuses of collective power, for a misunderstanding witha secular vicar would only have provoked a single-handed encounter. 

That a priest should have been practically a Government agent in hislocality would not have been contested in the abstract, had he not, as a consequence, assumed the powers of the old Roman Censors, whoexercised the most dreaded function of the _Regium Morum_. Spanishopinion, however, was very much divided as to the political safety ofstrictly confining the friars to their religious duties. It was doubtedby some whether any State authority could ever gain the confidence orrepress the inherent inclinations of the native like the friar, who ledby superstitious teaching, and held the conscience by an invisible cordthrough the abstract medium of the confessional. Others opined thata change in the then existing system of semi-sacerdotal Governmentwas desirable, if only to give scope to the budding intelligence ofthe minority, which could not be suppressed. 

Emerging from the lowest ranks of society, with no trainingwhatever but that of the seminary, it was natural to suppose thatthese Spanish priests would have been more capable than ambitiouspolitical men of the world of blending their ideas with those of thenative, and of forming closer associations with a rural populationengaged in agricultural pursuits familiar to themselves in theirown youth. Before the abolition of monasteries in Spain the priestswere allowed to return there after 10 years residence in the Colony;since then they have usually entered upon their new lives for theremainder of their days, so that they naturally strove to make thebest of their social surroundings. 

The Civil servant, as a rule, could feel no personal interest inhis temporary native neighbours, his hopes being centred only inrising in the Civil Service there or elsewhere--Cuba or Porto Rico, or where the ministerial wheel of fortune placed him. 

The younger priests--narrow-minded and biased--those who had justentered into provincial curacies--were frequently the greaterbigots. Enthusiastic in their calling, they pursued with ardourtheir mission of proselytism without experience of the world. Theyentered the Islands with the zeal of youth, bringing with them theimpression imparted to them in Spain, that they were sent to makea moral conquest of savages. In the course of years, after repeatedrebuffs, and the obligation to participate in the affairs of everydaylife in all its details, their rigidity of principle relaxed, and theybecame more tolerant towards those with whom they necessarily camein contact. They were usually taken from the peasantry and familiesof lowly station. As a rule they had little or no secular education, and, regarding them apart from their religious training, they might beconsidered a very ignorant class. Amongst them the Franciscan friarsappeared to be the least--and the Austins the most--polished of all. 

The Spanish parish priest was consulted by the native in all matters;he was, by force of circumstances, often compelled to become anarchitect, --to build the church in his adopted village--an engineer, to make or mend roads, and more frequently a doctor. His word wasparamount in his parish, and in his residence he dispensed withthat stern severity of conventual discipline to which he had beenaccustomed in the Peninsula. Hence it was really here that hismental capacity was developed, his manners improved, and that theraw sacerdotal peasant was converted into the man of thought, study, and talent--occasionally into a gentleman. In his own vicinity, when isolated from European residents, he was practically therepresentative of the Government and of the white race as well asof social order. His theological knowledge was brought to bear uponthe most mundane subjects. His thoughts necessarily expanded as theexclusiveness of his religious vocation yielded to the realizationof a social position and political importance of which he had neverentertained an idea in his native country. 

So large was the party opposed to the continuance of priestlyinfluence in the Colony that a six-months' resident would not failto hear of the many misdeeds with which the friars in general werereproached. It would be contrary to fact to pretend that the bulk ofthem supported their teaching by personal example. I was acquaintedwith a great number of the friars, and their offspring too, in spiteof their vow of chastity; whilst many lived in comparative luxury, notwithstanding their vow of poverty. 

There was the late parish priest of Malolos, whose son, my friend, was a prominent lawyer. Father S----, of Bugason, had a whole familyliving in his parish. An Archbishop who held the See in my time had adaughter frequently seen on the _Paseo de Santa Lucia_; and in July, 1904, two of his daughters lived in Calle Quiotan, Santa Cruz, Manila, and two others, by a different mother, in the town of O----. Thelate parish priest of Lipa, Father B----, whom I knew, had a sonwhom I saw in 1893. The late incumbent of Santa Cruz, Father M----L----, induced his spiritual flock to petition against his being madeprior of his Order in Manila so that he should not have to leave hiswomen. The late parish priest (friar) of Baliuag (Bulacan) had threedaughters and two sons. I was intimately acquainted with the latter;one was a doctor of medicine and the other a planter, and they bore thesurname of Gonzalez. At Cadiz Nuevo (Negros Is. ) I once danced withthe daughter of a friar (parish priest of a neighbouring village), whilst he took another girl as his partner. I was closely acquainted, and resided more than once, with a very mixed-up family in the southof Negros Island. My host was the son of a secular clergyman, his wifeand sister-in-law were the daughters of a friar, this sister-in-law wasthe mistress of a friar, my host had a son who was married to anotherfriar's daughter, and a daughter who was the wife of a foreigner. Inshort, bastards of the friars are to be found everywhere in theIslands. Regarding this merely as the natural outcome of the celibaterule, I do not criticize it, but simply wish to show that the pretendedsanctity of the regular clergy in the Philippines was an absurdity, and that the monks were in no degree less frail than mankind in common. 

The mysterious deaths of General Solano (August 1860) and of Zamora, the Bishop-elect of Cebú (1873), occurred so opportunely for Philippinemonastic ambition that little doubt existed in the public mind asto who were the real criminals. When I first arrived in Manila, aquarter of a century ago, a fearful crime was still being commentedon. Father Piernavieja, formerly parish priest of San Miguel deMayumo, had recently committed a second murder. His first victimwas a native youth, his second a native woman _enceinte_. The publicvoice could not be raised very loudly then against the priests, butthe scandal was so great that the criminal friar was sent to anotherprovince--Cavite--where he still celebrated the holy sacrifice ofthe Eucharist. Nearly two decades afterwards--in January 1897--thisrascal met with a terrible death at the hands of the rebels. He wasin captivity, and having been appointed "Bishop" in a rebel diocese, to save his life he accepted the mock dignity; but, unfortunately forhimself, he betrayed the confidence of his captors, and collectedinformation concerning their movements, plans, and strongholds forremittance to his Order. In expiation of his treason he was boundto a post under the tropical sun and left there to die. See how thepublic in Spain are gulled! In a Málaga newspaper this individual wasreferred to as a "venerable figure, worthy of being placed high up onan altar, before which all Spaniards should prostrate themselves andadore him. As a _religieux_ he was a most worthy minister of the Lord;as a patriot he was a hero. "

Within my recollection, too, a friar absconded from a Luzon Islandparish with a large sum of parochial funds, and was never heard ofagain. The late parish priests of Mandaloyan and Iba did the same. 

I well remember another interesting character of the monasticOrders. He had been parish priest in a Zambales province town, butintrigues with a _soi-disant cousine_ brought him under ecclesiasticalarrest at the convent of his Order in Manila. Thence he escaped, andcame over to Hong-Kong, where I made his acquaintance in 1890. Hetold me he had started life in an honest way as a shoemaker's boy, but was taken away from his trade to be placed in the seminary. Hismind seemed to be a blank on any branch of study beyond shoemakingand Church ritual. He pretended that he had come over to Hong-Kongto seek work, but in reality he was awaiting his _cousine_, whom herejoined on the way to Europe, where, I heard, he became a _garçonde café_ in France. 

In 1893 there was another great public scandal, when the friars wereopenly accused of having printed the seditious proclamations whoseauthorship they attributed to the natives. The plan of the friars wasto start the idea of an intended revolt, in order that they might bethe first in the field to quell it, and thus be able to again proclaimto the Home Government the absolute necessity of their continuance inthe Islands for the security of Spanish sovereignty. But the plot wasdiscovered; the actual printer, a friar, mysteriously disappeared, and the courageous Gov. -General Despujols, Conde de Caspe, was, through monastic influence, recalled. He was very popular, and thepublic manifestation of regret at his departure from the Islands waspractically a protest against the Religious Orders. 

In June, 1888, some cases of personal effects belonging to a friarwere consigned to the care of an intimate friend of mine, whose guestI was at the time. They had become soaked with sea-water before hereceived them, and a neighbouring priest requested him to open thepackages and do what he could to save the contents. I assisted myfriend in this task, and amongst the friar's personal effects wewere surprised to find, intermixed with prayer-books, scapularies, missals, prints of saints, etc. , about a dozen most disgustinglyobscene double-picture slides for a stereoscope. What an entertainmentfor a guide in morals! This same friar had held a vicarage beforein another province, but having become an habitual drunkard, he wasremoved to Manila, and there appointed a confessor. From Manila hehad just been again sent to take charge of the _cure of souls_. 

I knew a money-grabbing parish priest--a friar--who publicly announcedraffles from the pulpit of the church from which he preached moralityand devotion. On one occasion a 200-peso watch was put up for P500--atanother time he raffled dresses for the women. Under the pretext ofbeing a pious institution, he established a society of women, calledthe Association of St. Joseph (_Confradia de San José_), upon whomhe imposed the very secular duties of domestic service in the conventand raffle-ticket hawking. He had the audacity to dictate to a friendof mine--a planter--the value of the gifts he was to make to him, and when the planter was at length wearied of his importunities, he conspired with a Spaniard to deprive my friend of his estate, alleging that he was not the real owner. Failing in this, he stirredup the petty-governor and headmen against him. The petty-governor wasurged to litigation, and when he received an unfavourable sentence, the priest, enraged at the abortive result of his malicious intrigues, actually left his vicarage to accompany his litigious _protégé_ to thechief judge of the province in quest of a reversion of the sentence. 

A priest of evil propensities brought only misery to his parish andaroused a feeling of odium against the Spanish friars in general. Asincumbents they held the native in contempt. He who should be theparishioner was treated despotically as the subject whose life, liberty, property, and civil rights were in his sacerdotal lord'spower. And that power was not unfrequently exercised, for if anative refused to yield to his demands, or did not contribute withsufficient liberality to a religious feast, or failed to come toMass, or protected the virtue of his daughter, or neglected thegenuflexion and kissing of hands, or was out of the priest's party inthe municipal affairs of the parish, or in any other trivial way becamea _persona non grata_ at the "convent, " he and his family would becomethe pastor's sheep marked for sacrifice. As Government agent it waswithin his arbitrary power to attach his signature to or withhold itfrom any municipal document. From time to time he could give full ventto his animosity by secretly denouncing to the civil authorities as"inconvenient in the town" all those whom he wished to get rid of. Hehad simply to send an official advice to the Governor of the province, who forwarded it to the Gov. -General, stating that he had reasonto believe that the persons mentioned in the margin were disloyal, immoral, or whatever it might be, and recommend their removal fromthe neighbourhood. A native so named suddenly found at his door apatrol of the Civil Guard, who escorted him, with his elbows tiedtogether, from prison to prison, up to the capital town and thence toManila. Finally, without trial or sentence, he was banished to somedistant island of the Archipelago. He might one day return to findhis family ruined, or he might as often spend his last days in miseryalone. Sometimes a native who had privately heard of his "denunciation"became a _remontado_, that is to say he fled to the mountains to lead abandits life where the evils of a debased civilization could not reachhim. Banishment in these circumstances was not a mere transportationto another place, but was attended with all the horrors of a cruelcaptivity, of which I have been an eye-witness. From the foregoingit may be readily understood how the conduct of the regular clergywas the primary cause of the Rebellion of 1896; it was not the monks'immorality which disturbed the mind of the native, but their Cæsarismwhich raised his ire. The ground of discord was always infinitely morematerial than sentimental. Among the friars, however, there were manyexceptional men of charming manners and eminent virtue. If little wasdone to coerce the bulk of the friars to live up to the standard ofthese exceptions, it was said to be because the general interests ofMother Church were opposed to investigation and admonition, for fearof the consequent scandal destructive of her prestige. 

The Hierarchy of the Philippines consists of one Archbishop in Manila, and four Suffragan Bishoprics, respectively of Nueva Segovia, Cebú, Jaro, and Nueva Cáceres. [90] The provincials, the vicars-general, and other officers of the Religious Orders were elected by theChapters and held office for four years. The first Bishop of Manilatook possession in 1581, and the first Archbishop in 1598. 

The Jesuits came to these Islands in 1581, and were expelled therefromin 1770 by virtue of an Apostolic Brief [91] of Pope Clement XIV. , but were permitted to return in 1859, on the understanding thatthey would confine their labours to scholastic education and theestablishment of missions amongst uncivilized tribes. Consequently, in Manila they refounded their school--the Municipal Athenæum--amission house, and a Meteorological Observatory, whilst in many partsof Mindanao Island they have established missions, with the vain hopeof converting Mahometans to Christianity. [92] The Jesuits, comparedwith the members of the other Orders, are very superior men, and theirfraternity includes a few, and almost the only, learned ecclesiasticswho came to the Colony. Since their return to the Islands (1859)in the midst of the strife with the Religious Orders, the peoplerecognized the Jesuits as disinterested benefactors of the country. 

Several Chinese have been admitted to holy orders, two of themhaving become Austin Friars. [93] The first native friars date theiradmission from the year 1700, since when there have been sixteen ofthe Order of St. Augustine. Subsequently they were excluded from theconfraternities, and only admitted to holy orders as vicars, curatesto assist parish vicars, chaplains, and in other minor offices. Upto the year 1872 native priests were appointed to benefices, but inconsequence of their alleged implication in the Cavite Conspiracy ofthat year, their church livings, as they became vacant, were givento Spanish friars, whose headquarters were established in Manila. 

The _Austin Friars_ were the religious pioneers in these Islands;they came to Cebú in 1565 and to Manila in 1571; then followed the_Franciscans_ in 1577; the _Dominicans_ in 1587, a member of thisOrder having been ordained first Bishop of Manila, where he arrivedin 1581. The _Recoletos_ (unshod Augustinians), a branch of the SaintAugustine Order, came to the Islands in 1606; the _Capuchins_--thelowest type of European monk in the Far East, came to Manila in 1886, and were sent to the Caroline Islands (_vide_ p. 45). The _Paulists_, of the Order of Saint Vincent de Paul, were employed in scholasticwork in Nueva Cáceres, Jaro, and Cebú, the same as the Jesuits werein Manila. The _Benedictines_ came to the Islands in 1895. Only themembers of the first four Orders above named were parish priests, and each (except the _Franciscans_) possessed agricultural land;hence the animosity of the natives was directed against thesefour confraternities only, and not against the others, who neithermonopolized incumbencies, nor held rural property, but were simplyteachers, or missionaries, whose worldly interests in no way clashedwith those of the people. Therefore, whenever there was a popularoutcry against "the friars, " it was understood to refer solely tothe Austins, the Franciscans, the Dominicans and the Recoletos. [94]There was no Spanish secular clergy in the Islands, except three orfour military chaplains. 

The Church was financially supported by the State to the extent ofabout three-quarters of a million pesos per annum. 

The following are some of the most interesting items taken from"The Budget for 1888, " viz. :--

 _Sanctorum_ or Church tax of 18 3/4 cents (i. E. , 1 1/2 reales) on each _Cédula personal_, say on 2, 760, 613 Cédulas in 1888, less 4 per cent, cost of collection P496, 910. 00

The friars appointed to incumbencies received in former times tithesfrom the Spaniards, and a Church tax from the natives computed by theamount of tribute paid. Tithe payment (_diézmos prediales_) by theSpaniards became almost obsolete, and the _Sanctorum_ tax on _Cédulas_was paid to the Church through the Treasury (_vide_ p. 55). 

There were priests in missions and newly-formed parishes where thedomiciled inhabitants were so few that the _Sanctorum_ tax on theaggregate of the _Cédulas_ was insufficient for their support. Thesemissionaries were allowed salaries, and parish priests were permittedto appropriate from their revenues, as annual stipend, amounts rangingfrom 500 to 800 pesos, as a rule, with a few exceptions (such asBinondo parish and others), rated at 1, 200 pesos, whilst one, atleast (the parish priest, or missionary of Vergara, Davao Province), received 2, 200 pesos a year. In practice, however, a great many parishpriests spent far more than their allotted stipends. 

A project was under consideration to value the incumbencies, andclassify them, like the Courts of Justice (_vide_ p. 234), with theview of apportioning to each a fixed income payable by the Treasuryin lieu of accounting to the Church for the exact amount of the_Sanctorum_. 

By decree of Gov. -General Terrero, dated November 23, 1885, theState furnished free labour (by natives who did not pay poll-tax)for Church architectural works, provided it was made clear that thecost of such labour could not be covered by the surplus funds of the_Sanctorum_. The chief items of Church expenditure were as follows, viz. :--

 _State outlay for Church. _ P. Cts. 

Archbishop's salary 12, 000 00Other salaries (Cathedral) 40, 300 00Other expenses (Cathedral) 3, 000 00Four Bishops, each with a salary of P6, 000 24, 000 00Court of Arches (amount contributed by the State [95]) 5, 000 00Chaplain of Los Baños 120 00Sulu Mission 1, 000 00Mission House in Manila for Capuchin friars 1, 700 0012 Capuchins (State paid) for the Caroline and PelewIslands--6 at P300 and 6 at P500 each per annum 4, 800 00Transport of Missionaries estimated at about, per annum 10, 000 00The anticipated _total_ State outlay for the support ofthe Church, Missions, Monasteries, Convents, etc. , _including the above and all other items_ for thefinancial year of 1888 was P724, 634 50

Moreover, the religious Corporations possessed large privaterevenues. The Dominicans' investments in Hong-Kong, derived fromcapitalized income, are still considerable. The Austin, Recoleto, and Dominican friars held very valuable real estate in the provinces, which was rented to the native agriculturists on conditions which thetenants considered onerous. The native planters were discontented withthe treatment they received from these landowners, and their numerouscomplaints formed part of the general outcry against the regularclergy. The bailiffs of these corporation lands were unordainedbrothers of the Order. They resided in the Estate Houses, and bycourtesy were styled "fathers" by the natives. They were under certainreligious vows, but not being entitled to say Mass, they were termed"legos, " or ignorant men, by their own Order. 

The clergy also derived a very large portion of their incomes fromcommissions on the sale of _cédulas_, sales of Papal Bulls, masses, pictures, books, chaplets and indulgences, marriage, burial andbaptismal fees, benedictions, donations touted for after the cropswere raised, legacies to be paid for in masses, remains of wax candlesleft in the church by the faithful, fees for getting souls out ofpurgatory, alms, etc. The surplus revenues over and above parochialrequirements were supposed to augment the common Church funds inManila. The Corporations were consequently immensely wealthy, andtheir power and influence were in consonance with that wealth. 

Each Order had its procurator in Madrid, who took up the cudgels indefence of his Corporation's interest in the Philippines wheneverthis was menaced. On the other hand, the Church, as a body politic, dispensed no charity, but received all. It was always begging; alwaysabove civil laws and taxes; claimed immunity, proclaimed poverty, and inculcated in others charity to itself. 

Most of the parish priests--Spanish or native--were very hospitableto travellers, and treated them with great kindness. Amongst themthere were some few misanthropes and churlish characters who did notcare to be troubled by anything outside the region of their vocation, but on the whole I found them remarkably complaisant. 

In Spain there were training colleges of the three Communities, inValladolid, Ocaña, and Monte Agudo respectively, for young novicesintended to be sent to the Philippines, the last Spanish Colony wherefriars held vicarages. 

The ecclesiastical archives of the Philippines abound with proofs ofthe bitter and tenacious strife sustained, not only between the civiland Church authorities, but even amongst the religious communitiesthemselves. Each Order was so intensely jealous of the others, thatone is almost led to ponder whether the final goal of all could havebeen identical. All voluntarily faced death with the same incentive, whilst amicable fellowship in this world seemed an impossibility. Thefirst Bishop (_vide_ p. 56) struggled in vain to create a religiousmonopoly in the Philippines for the exclusive benefit of theAugustine Order. It has been shown how ardent was the hatred whichthe Jesuits and the other Religious Orders mutually entertained foreach other. Each sacred fraternity laboured incessantly to gain theascendancy in the conquered territories, and their Divine callingserved for nothing in palliating the acrimony of their reciprocalaccusations and recriminations, which often involved the civil power. 

For want of space I can only refer to a few of these disputes. 

The Austin friars attributed to the Jesuits the troubles with theMahometans of Mindanao and Sulu, and, in their turn, the Jesuitsprotested against what they conceived to be the bad policy ofthe Government, adopted under the influence of the other Orders inManila. So distinct were their interests that the Augustine chroniclersrefer to the other Orders as _different religions_. 

In 1778 the Province of Pangasinán was spiritually administered by theDominicans, whilst that of Zambales was allotted to the Recoletos. TheDominicans, therefore, proposed to the Recoletos to cede Zambalesto them, because it was repugnant to have to pass through Recoletoterritory going from Manila to their own province! The Recoletoswere offered Mindoro Island in exchange, which they refused, untilthe Archbishop compelled them to yield. Disturbances then arose inZambales, the responsibility of which was thrown on the Dominicans bytheir rival Order, and the Recoletos finally succeeded in regainingtheir old province by intrigue. 

During the Governorship of Martin de Urena, Count de Lizárraga(1709-15), the Aragonese and Castilian priests quarrelled about theecclesiastical preferments. 

At the beginning of the 18th century the Bishop-elect of Cebú, FrayPedro Saez de la Vega Lanzaverde, refused to take possession becausethe nomination was _in partibus_. He objected also that the Bishopricwas merely one in perspective and not yet a reality. The See remainedvacant whilst the contumacious priest lived in Mexico. Fray Sebastiande Jorronda was subsequently appointed to administer the Bishopric, but also refused, until he was coerced into submission by the SupremeCourt (1718). 

In 1767 the Austin friars refused to admit the episcopal visits, andexhibited such a spirit of independence that Pope Benedict XIV. Wasconstrained to issue a Bull to exhort them to obey, admonishing themfor their insubordination. 

The friars of late years were subject to a visiting priest--theProvincial--in all matters _de vita et moribus_, to the Bishop ofthe diocese in all affairs of spiritual dispensation, and to theGov. -General as vice-royal patron in all that concerned the relationsof the Church to the Civil Government. [96]

An observant traveller, unacquainted with the historical antecedentsof the friars in the Philippines, could not fail to be impressed by theestrangement of religious men, whose sacred mission, if genuine, oughtto have formed an inseverable bond of alliance and goodfellowship. 

CHAPTER XIII

Spanish Insular Government

From the days of Legaspi the supreme rule in these Islands was usuallyconfided for indefinite periods to military men: but circumstancesfrequently placed naval officers, magistrates, the Supreme Court, and even ecclesiastics at the head of the local government. During thelast half century of Spanish rule the common practice was to appointa Lieut. -General as Governor, with the local rank of Captain-Generalpending his three-years' term of office. An exception to this rule inthat period was made (1883-85) when Joaquin Jovellar, a Captain-Generaland ex-War Minster in Spain, was specially empowered to establish somenotable reforms--the good policy of which was doubtful. Again, in 1897, Fernando Primo de Rivera, Marquis de Estella, also a Captain-Generalin Spain, held office in Manila under the exceptional circumstancesof the Tagálog Rebellion of 1896, in succession to Ramon Blanco, Marquis de Peña Plata. Considering that Primo de Rivera, during hisprevious Gov. -Generalship (1880-83), had won great popularity withthe Filipinos, he was deemed, in Madrid, to be the man most capableof arresting the revolutionary movement. How far the confidence ofthe Home Government was misplaced will be seen in Chapter xxii. 

Soon after the conquest the Colony was divided and sub-divided intoprovinces and military districts as they gradually yielded to theSpanish sway. Such districts, called _Encomiendas_, [97] were thenfarmed out to _Encomenderos_, who exercised little scruple in theirrigorous exactions from the natives. Some of the _Encomenderos_acquired wealth during the terms of their holdings, whilst othersbecame victims to the revenge of their subjects. They must indeedhave been bold, enterprising men who, in those days, would have takencharge of districts distant from the capital. It would appear thattheir tenure was, in a certain sense, feudal, for they were frequentlycalled upon to aid the Central Government with vessels, men, and armsagainst the attacks of common enemies. Against Mahometan incursionsnecessity made them warriors, --if they were not so by taste, --civilengineers to open communications with their districts, administrators, judges, and all that represented social order. _Encomiendas_ weresometimes given to Spaniards as rewards for high services renderedto the commonwealth, [98] although favouritism or (in later years)purchase-money more commonly secured the vacancies, and the holderswere quite expected to make fortunes in the manner they thought fit, with due regard for the Royal Treasury (_vide_ p. 54). 

The _Encomenderos_ were, in the course of time, superseded byJudicial Governors, called _Alcaldes_, who received small salaries, from £60 per annum and upwards, but were allowed to trade. Theright to trade--called "_indulto de comercio_"--was sold to the_Alcalde-Governors_, except those of Tondo, [99] Zamboanga, Cavite, Nueva Ecija, Islas Batanes and Antique, whose trading right wasincluded in the emoluments of office. The Government's object waseconomy. 

In 1840 Eusebio Mazorca wrote thus [100]:--"The salary paid to thechiefs of provinces who enjoy the right of trade is more or less P300per annum, and after deducting the amount paid for the trading right, which in some provinces amounts to five-sixths of the whole--as inPangasinán; and in others to the whole of the salary--as in Caraga;and discounting again the taxes, it is not possible to conceive howthe appointment can be so much sought after. There are candidates upto the grade of brigadier who relinquish a P3, 000 salary to pursuetheir hopes and projects in governorship. "

This system obtained for many years, and the abuses went onincreasing. The _Alcaldes_ practically monopolized the trade of theirdistricts, unduly taking advantage of their governmental position tohinder the profitable traffic of the natives and bring it all intotheir own hands. They tolerated no competition; they arbitrarilyfixed their own purchasing prices, and sold at current rates. Due tothe scarcity of silver in the interior, the natives often paid theirtribute to the Royal Treasury in produce, --chiefly rice, --which wasreceived into the Royal Granaries at a ruinously low valuation, andaccounted for to the State at its real value; the difference being theillicit profit made by the _Alcalde_. Many of these functionariesexercised their power most despotically in their own circuits, disposing of the natives' labour and chattels without remuneration, and not unfrequently, for their own ends, invoking the King's name, which imbued the native with a feeling of awe, as if His Majesty weresome supernatural being. 

In 1810 Tomás de Comyn wrote as follows:--"In order to be a chiefof a province in these Islands, no training or knowledge or specialservices are necessary; all persons are fit and admissible. .. . It isquite a common thing to see a barber or a Governor's lackey, a sailoror a deserter, suddenly transformed into an Alcalde, Administrator, and Captain of the forces of a populous province without any counsellorbut his rude understanding, or any guide but his passions. " [101]

By Royal Decree of 1844 Government officials were thenceforth strictlyprohibited to trade, under pain of removal from office. 

In the year 1850 there were 34 Provinces, and two Political MilitaryCommandancies. Until June, 1886, the offices of provincial CivilGovernor and Chief Judge of that province were vested in the sameperson--the _Alcalde Mayor_. This created a strange anomaly, for anappeal against an edict of the Governor had to be made to himselfas Judge. Then if it were taken to the central authority in Manila, it was sent back for "information" to the Judge-Governor, withoutindependent inquiry being made in the first instance; hence protestagainst his acts was fruitless. 

During the Regency of Queen Maria Christina, this curious arrangementwas abolished by a Decree dated in Madrid, February 26, 1886, to takeeffect on June 1 following. 

Eighteen Civil Governorships were created, and _Alcaldes'_ functionswere confined to their judgeships; moreover, the Civil Governor wasassisted by a Secretary, so that two new official posts were createdin each of these provinces. 

The Archipelago, including Sulu, was divided into 19 Civil ProvincialGovernments, four Military General Divisions, 43 Military ProvincialDistricts, and four Provincial Governments under Naval Officers, forming a total of 70 Divisions and Sub-Divisions. 

COST OF SPANISH ADMINISTRATION

 P. Cts. 

The Gov. -General received a salary of 40, 000 00

The Central Government Office, called "_GobiernoGeneral_, " with its Staff of Officials and allexpenses 43, 708 00

The General Government Centre was assisted in theGeneral Administration of the Islands by two otherGoverning Bodies, namely:

 The General Direction of Civil Administration 29, 277 34

 The Administrative Council 28, 502 00

The Chief of the General Direction received a salary of P12, 000, withan allowance for official visits to the Provinces of P500 per annum. 

The Council was composed of three Members, each at a salary of P4, 700, besides a Secretary and officials. 

Seventy divisions and sub-divisions as follows, viz. :--

CIVIL GOVERNMENTS

Manila PceSalary of Civil Governor P5, 000 Total Cost. 20, 248 00

Alday, Batangas, Bulacan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Laguna, Pampanga, Pangasinán. Eight First-Class Govts. : Salary of each Civil Gov. P4, 500 Total cost of each Govt. P8, 900 Eight First-Class Govts. Cost 71, 200 00

Bataán, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Mindoro, Nueva Eclia, Tayabas, Zambales. Seven Second-Class Govts. : Salary of each Civil Gov. P4, 000 Total cost of each Govt. P7, 660 Seven Second-Class Govts. Cost 53, 620 00

Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva VizcayaThree Third-Class Govts. : Salary of each Civil Gov. P3, 500 Total cost of each Govt. P6, 700 Three Third-Class Govts. Cost 20, 100 00

MILITARY GENERAL GOVERNMENTS

Under a Brig. -Gen. And Staff

Gen. Division of S. Visayas 10, 975 00Gen. Division of N. Visayas 10, 975 00Gen. Division of Mindanao 17, 825 00Gen. Division of Cavite 6, 596 66

MILITARY PROVINCES AND DISTRICTS

Under a Colonel and Staff

Sulu 7, 240 00Yloilo 4, 410 00Cottabato 5, 426 00

Under a Lieut. -Colonel and Staff

East Carolines and Pelew Islands 4, 900 00West Carolines and Pelew Islands 5, 970 00Cebú 3, 500 00Cápiz 3, 500 00Misámis 4, 816 66Ladrone Islands 4, 975 00

Under a Major and Staff

Zamboanga 3, 856 66Surigao 4, 356 66Davao 4, 156 66Dapítan 2, 692 00Zucuran 2, 692 00

La Union, Antique, Sámar, Leyte, El Abra, Bojol, Tárlac, Negros, Morong Each under a Major:-- Nine Districts @ P3, 040 27, 360 00Batanes, Calamianes, Romblun, Benguet, Lepanto, Burias, Infante, Príncipe, Bontoc, Concepcion: Each under a Captain:-- Ten Districts @ P1, 980 19, 800 00

Cagayán (Mindanao)--Biling, Nueva Vizcaya, Sasangani(Palaúan) Each under a Captain:-- Five Districts @ P1, 792 8, 960 00

Siassi, Bongao, Tatoan Each under a Captain:-- Three Districts @ P2, 032 6, 096 00Escalante, [102] under a Lieutenant 1, 525 00

Masbate, under a Cavalry Sub-Lieutenant 1, 450 00

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS UNDER NAVAL OFFICERS, OFFICERS IN CHARGE OFNAVAL STATIONS AS EX-OFFICIO GOVERNORS

Corregidor 3, 821 00Balábac 3, 960 00Isabela de Basílan 5, 276 66Palaúan (Puerta Princesa) 6, 910 00

Total cost of General Government of the Islands 500, 677 96

Deduct--Officers' Pay, etc. , included in Army Estimates P145, 179 96Officers' Pay, etc. , included in Navy Estimates 14, 640 00

 159, 819 96

 P340, 858 00

The Spanish Government intended, in due course, to establishCivil Government throughout the Islands. A Civil Governor was therepresentative of the Gov. -General, whose orders and decrees he had topublish and execute at his own discretion. He could not absent himselffrom his province without permission. He had to maintain order, vetopetitions for arms' licences, hold under his orders and dispose of theCivil Guard, Carabineers, and local guards. He could suspend the payfor ten days of any subordinate official who failed to do his duty, or he could temporarily suspend him in his functions with justifiablecause, and propose to the Gov. -General his definite removal. He had topreside at all municipal elections; to bring delinquents to justice;to decree the detention on suspicion of any individual, and place himat the disposal of the chief judge within three days after his capture;to dictate orders for the government of the towns and villages; toexplain to the petty-governors the true interpretation of the lawand regulations affecting their districts. 

The Governor was chief of police, and could impose fines up to P50without the intervention of judicial authority; and in the event of themulcted person being unable to pay, he could order his imprisonmentat the rate of one day's detention for each half-peso of the fine;it was provided, however, that the imprisonment could not exceed30 days in any case. He had to preside at the ballot for militaryconscription, but he could delegate this duty to his Secretary, or, failing him, to the Administrator. Where no harbour-master had beenappointed, the Civil Governor acted as such. He had the care of theprimary instruction; and it was his duty specially to see that thenative scholars were taught the Spanish language. Land concessions, improvements tending to increase the wealth of the province, permitsfor felling timber, and the collection of excise taxes were allunder his care. He had also to furnish statistics relating to thelabour poll-tax; draw up the provincial budget; render provincialand municipal accounts, etc. , all of which had to be counter-signedunder the word _Intervine_ by the Secretary. He was provincialpostmaster-general, chief of telegraph service, prisons, charities, board of health, public works, woods and forests, mines, agricultureand industry. Under no circumstances could he dispose of the publicfunds, which were in the care of the Administrator and Interventor, andhe was not entitled to any percentages (as _Alcalde-Governors_ formerlywere), or any emoluments whatsoever further than his fixed salary. 

A Governor had to be a Spaniard over 30 years of age. It is curious tonote, from its political significance, that among the many classes ofpersons eligible for a Civil Governorship were those who had beenMembers of the Spanish Parliament or Senate during one completesession. 

Upon the whole, a Provincial Governor passed life very comfortablyif he did not go out of his way to oppress his subjects and creatediscord. His tranquillity, nevertheless, was always dependent upon hismaintaining a good understanding with the priesthood of his district, and his conformity with the demands of the friars. If he had themisfortune to cross their path, it brought him a world of woe, andfinally his downfall. There have been Provincial Governors who inreality held their posts by clerical influence, whilst others whoexercised a more independent spirit--who set aside Church intereststo serve those of the State, with which they were intrusted--fellvictims to sacerdotal intrigue; for the subordinates of the hierarchyhad power to overthrow as well as to support those who were appointedto their districts. Few improvements appear to have been made in theprovinces by the initiative of the local Governors, nor did theyseem to take any special interest in commercial and agriculturaladvancement. This lack of interest was somewhat excusable andcomprehensible, however, seeing that after they were appointed, andeven though they governed well within the strict limitations of theiroffice, they were constantly expecting that a ministerial change or thefall of a single minister might remove them from their posts, or thatthe undermining influence of favouritism might succeed in accomplishingtheir withdrawal. It was natural, therefore, that they should havebeen indifferent about the fostering of new agricultural enterprises, of opening tracks for bringing down timber, of facilitating trade, or of in any way stimulating the development of the resources of aprovince when the probability existed that they would never have thepersonal satisfaction of seeing the result of their efforts. 

Some Governors with whom I am personally acquainted have, in spite ofall discouragement, studied the wants of their provinces, but to nopurpose. Their estimates for road-making and mending, bridge-building, and public works generally were shelved in Manila, whilst the localfunds (_Fondos locales_), which ought to have been expended in thelocalities where they were collected, were seized by the authoritiesin the capital and applied to other purposes. 

An annual statement of one province will be sufficient, as an example, to illustrate the nature of this local tax:--

LOCAL FUNDS [103]--ALBAY PROVINCE

Provincial Revenue

 P. Cts. P. Cts. Stamps on Weights and Measures 2, 490 00Billiard Tax and Live Stock credentials 496 0090% of fines for shirking forced labour 1, 500 00Tax in lieu of forced labour 85, 209 00Vehicle tax 4, 000 00

 93, 695 00

Municipal Revenue

Tax paid by sellers in the public market-place 7, 050 00Tax on slaughter of animals for food 12, 098 00Tax on local sales of hemp 40 0090% of the Municipal fines and tax on Chinese 554 0010% on tithes paid and house-property tax 380 0010% on Industrial licences 5, 710 0010% on Alcohol licences 2, 525 00

 28, 357 00 ======== == P122, 052 00

In the same year this province contributed to the common funds ofthe Treasury a further sum of P133, 009. 

There was in each town another local tax called _Caja de Comunidad, _contributed to by the townspeople to provide against any urgentnecessity of the community, but it found its way to Manila and wasmisappropriated, like the _Fondos locales_. 

There was not a peso at the disposal of the Provincial Governor forlocal improvements. If a bridge broke down so it remained for years, whilst thousands of travellers had to wade through the river unlessa raft were put there at the expense of the very poorest people byorder of the petty-governor of the nearest village. The "Tribunal, "which served the double purpose of Town Hall and Dâk Bungalow forwayfarers, was often a hut of bamboo and palm-leaves, whilst others, which had been decent buildings generations gone by, lapsed intoa wretched state of dilapidation. In some villages there was noTribunal at all, and the official business had to be transacted inthe municipal Governor's house. I first visited Calamba (La Laguna)in 1880, and for 14 years, to my knowledge, the headmen had to meetin a sugar-store in lieu of a Tribunal. In San José de Buenavista, the capital town of Antique Province, the Town Hall was commenced ingood style and left half finished during 15 years. Either some onefor pity's sake, or the headmen for their own convenience, went tothe expense of thatching over half the unfinished structure, whichwas therefore saved from entire ruin, whilst all but the stone wallsof the other half rotted away. So it continued until 1887, when theGovernment authorized a partial restoration of this building. 

As to the roads connecting the villages, quite 20 per cent. Of themserve only for travellers on foot, on horse or on buffalo back atany time, and in the wet season certainly 60 per cent, of all thePhilippine highways are in too bad a state for any kind of passengerconveyance to pass with safety. In the wet season, many times Ihave made a sea journey in a prahu, simply because the highroad nearthe coast had become a mud-track, for want of macadamized stone anddrainage, and only serviceable for transport by buffalo. In the dryseason the sun mended the roads, and the traffic over the baked clodsreduced them more or less to dust, so that vehicles could pass. Privateproperty-owners expended much time and money in the preservation ofpublic roads, although a curious law existed prohibiting repairs tohighways by non-official persons. 

Every male adult inhabitant (with certain specified exceptions) had togive the State fifteen days' labour per annum, or redeem that labourby payment. Of course thousands of the most needy class preferred togive their fifteen days. This labour and the redemption-money wereonly theoretically employed in local improvements. This system wasreformed in 1884 (_vide_ p. 224). 

The Budget for 1888 showed the trivial sum of P120, 000 to be usedin road-making and mending in the whole Archipelago. It providedfor a Chief Inspector of Public Works with a salary of P6, 500, aided by a staff composed of 48 technical and 82 non-technicalsubordinates. As a matter of fact, the Provincial and DistrictGovernors often received intimation not to encourage the employmentof labour for local improvements, but to press the labouring-classto pay the redemption-tax to swell the central coffers, regardlessof the corresponding misery, discomfort, and loss to trade in theinterior. But labour at the Governor's disposal was not alonesufficient. There was no fund from which to defray the cost ofmaterials; or, if these could be found without payment, some one mustpay for the transport by buffaloes and carts and find the implementsfor the labourers' use. How could hands alone repair a bridge whichhad rotted away? To cut a log of wood for the public service wouldhave necessitated communications with the Inspection of Woods andForests and other centres and many months' delay. 

The system of controlling the action of one public servant byappointing another under him to supervise his work has always foundfavour in Spain, and was adopted in this Colony. There were a greatmany Government employments of the kind which were merely sinecures. Inmany cases the pay was small, it is true, but the labour was often ofproportionately smaller value than that pay. With very few exceptions, all the Government Offices in Manila were closed to the publicduring half the ordinary working-day, --the afternoon, --and many ofthe Civil Service officials made their appearance at their desksabout ten o'clock in the morning, retiring shortly after mid-day, when they had smoked their habitual number of cigarettes. 

The crowd of office-seekers were indifferent to the fact thatthe true source of national vigour is the spirit of individualself-dependence. Constant clamour for Government employment tendsonly to enfeeble individual effort, and destroys the stimulus, orwhat is of greater worth, the necessity of acting for one's self. TheSpaniard (except the Basque and the Catalonian) looks to the Governmentfor active and direct aid, as if the Public Treasury were a naturalspring at the waters of which all temporal calamities could be washedaway--all material wants supplied. He will tell you with pride ratherthan with abashment that he is an _empleado_--a State dependent. 

National progress is but the aggregate of personal individualactivity rightly directed, and a nation weakens as a whole as itscomponent parts become dormant, or as the majority rely upon theefforts of the few. The spirit of Cæsarism--"all for the people andnothing by them"--must tend not only to political slavery, but to areduction in commercial prosperity, national power, and internationalinfluence. The Spaniards have indeed proved this fact. The best lawswere never intended to provide for the people, but to regulate theconditions on which they could provide for themselves. The consumersof public wealth in Spain are far too numerous in proportion to theproducers; hence not only is the State constantly pressed for funds, but the busy bees who form the nucleus of the nation's vitality areheavily taxed to provide for the dependent office-seeking drones. Itis the fatal delusion that liberty and national welfare depend solelyupon good government, instead of good government depending upon unitedand co-operative individual exertion, that has brought the Spanishnation to its present state of deplorable impotence. 

The Government itself is but the official counterpart of thegoverned. By the aid of servile speculators, a man in politicalcircles struggles to come to the front--to hold a portfolio in theministry--if it only be for a session, when his pension for life isassured on his retirement. Merit and ability have little weight, andthe proteges of the outgoing minister must make room for those of thenext lucky ministerial pension-seeker, and so on successively. ThisColony therefore became a lucrative hunting-ground at the disposalof the Madrid Cabinet wherein to satisfy the craving demands of theirnumerous partisans and friends. They were sent out with a salary and tomake what they could, --at their own risk, of course, --like the countrylad who was sent up to London with the injunction from his father, "Make money, honestly if you can, but make it. "

From the Conquest up to 1844, when trading by officials was abolished, it was a matter of little public concern how Government servants madefortunes. Only when the jealousy of one urged him to denounce anotherwas any inquiry instituted so long as the official was careful not toembezzle or commit a direct fraud on the _Real Haber_ (the Treasuryfunds). When the _Real Haber_ was once covered, then all that couldbe got out of the Colony was for the benefit of the officials, greatand small. In 1840, Eusebio Mazorca wrote as follows: [104]--"Eachchief of a province is a real sultan, and when he has terminated hisadministration, all that is talked of in the capital is the thousandsof pesos clear gain which he made in his Government. "

Eusebio Mazorca further states: [105]--"The Governor receives paymentof the tribute in rice-paddy, which he credits to the native at tworeales in silver per caban. Then he pays this sum into the RoyalTreasury in money, and sells the rice-paddy for private account atthe current rate of six, eight or more reales in silver per caban, and this simple operation brings him 200 to 300 per cent. Profit. "

The same writer adds:--"Now quite recently the Interventor of Zamboangais accused by the Governor of that place of having made some P15, 000to P16, 000 solely by using false measures . .. The same Interventor towhom I refer, is said to have made a fortune of P50, 000 to P60, 000, whilst his salary as second official in the Audit Department [106]is P540 per annum. " According to Zúñiga, the salary of a professorof law with the rank of magistrate was P800 per annum. 

Up to June, 1886, the provincial taxes being in the custody of theAdministrator, the Judicial Governor had a percentage assigned to himto induce him to control the Administrator's work. The Administratorhimself had percentages, and the accounts of these two functionarieswere checked by a third individual styled the "Interventor, " whoseduties appeared to be to intervene in the casting-up of his superiors'figures. He was forbidden to reside with the Administrator. Afterthe above date the payment of all these percentages ceased. 

But for the peculations by Government officials from the highestcircles downwards, the inhabitants of the Colony would doubtlesshave been a million or so richer per annum. One frequently heardof officials leaving for Spain with sums far exceeding the totalemoluments they had received during their term of office. Someprovincial employees acquired a pernicious habit of annexing whatwas not theirs by all manner of pretexts. To cite some instances:I knew a Governor of Negros Island who seldom saw a native pass theGovernment House with a good horse without begging it of him; thus, under fear of his avenging a refusal, his subjects furnished himlittle by little with a large stud, which he sold before he left, much to their disgust. 

In another provincial capital there happened to be a native headmanimprudently vain enough to carry a walking-stick with a chasedgold-knob handle studded with brilliants. It took the fancy of theSpanish Governor, who repeatedly expressed his admiration of it, hopingthat the headman would make him a present of it. At length, when theGovernor was relieved of his post, he called together the headmen totake formal leave of them, and at the close of a flattering speech, hesaid he would willingly hand over his official-stick as a remembranceof his command. In the hubbub of applause which followed, he added, "and I will retain a souvenir of my loyal subordinates. " Suiting theaction to the word, he snatched the coveted stick out of the handof the owner and kept it. A Gov. -General in my time enriched himselfby peculation to such an extent that he was at his wits' end to knowhow to remit his ill-gotten gains clandestinely. Finally, he resolvedto send an army Captain over to Hong-Kong with P35, 000 to purchase adraft on Europe for him. The Captain went there, but he never returned. 

There were about 725 towns and 23 missions in the Colony. Each townwas locally governed by a native--in some cases a Spanish or Chinesehalf-caste--who was styled the petty-governor or _Gobernadorcillo_, whilst his popular title was that of _Capitan_. This service wascompulsory. The elections of _Gobernadorcillos_ and their subordinatestook place every two years, the term of office counting from the July 1following such elections. In the few towns where the _Gobernadorcillos_were able to make considerable sums, the appointment was eagerlysought for, but as a rule it was considered an onerous task, and Iknow several who have paid bribes to the officials to rid them of it, under the pretext of ill-health, legal incapacity, and so on. The_Gobernadorcillo_ was supported by what was pompously termed a"ministry, " composed of two lieutenants of the town, lieutenants ofthe wards, the chiefs of police, of plantations, and of live-stock. 

The _Gobernadorcillo_ was nominally the delegate and practically theservant of his immediate chief, the Provincial Governor. He was thearbiter of local petty questions, and endeavoured to adjust them, but when they assumed a legal aspect, they were remitted to the localJustice of the Peace, who was directly subordinate to the ProvincialChief Judge. He was also responsible to the Administrator for thecollection of taxes--to the Chief of the Civil Guard for the captureof criminals, and to the priest of his parish for the interests ofthe Church. His responsibility for the taxes to be collected sometimesbrought him imprisonment, unless he succeeded in throwing the burdenon the actual collectors--the _Cabezas de Barangay_. 

The _Gobernadorcillo_ was often put to considerable expense in thecourse of his two years, in entertaining and supplying the wants ofofficials passing through. To cover this outlay, the loss of his owntime, the salaries of writers in the Town Hall, presents to his Spanishchiefs to secure their goodwill, and other calls upon his privateincome, he naturally had to exact funds from the townspeople. Legally, he could receive, if he chose (but few did), the munificent salary ofP2 per month, and an allowance for clerks equal to about one-fifthof what he had to pay them. Some of these _Gobernadorcillos_ werewell-to-do planters, and were anxious for the office, even if itcost them money, on account of the local prestige which the title of"Capitan" gave them, but others were often so poor that if they hadnot pilfered, this compulsory service would have ruined them. However, a smart _Gobernadorcillo_ was rarely out of pocket by his service. Oneof the greatest hardships of his office was that he often had toabandon his plantation or other livelihood to go to the provincialcapital at his own expense whenever he was cited there. Many of themwho did not speak or understand Spanish had to pay and be at themercy of a Secretary (_Directorcillo_), who was also a native. 

When any question arose of general interest to the townspeople (suchas a serious innovation in the existing law, or the annual feasts, or the anticipated arrival of a very big official, etc. ) the headmen(_principalia_) were cited to the Town Hall. They were also expectedto assemble there every Sunday and Great Feast Days (three-cross Saintdays in the Calendar), to march thence in procession to the churchto hear Mass, under certain penalties if they failed to attend. Eachone carried his stick of authority; and the official dress was ashort Eton jacket of black cloth over the shirt, the tail of whichhung outside the trousers. Some _Gobernadorcillos_, imbued with asense of the importance and solemnity of office, ordered a band toplay lively dance music at the head of the _cortége_ to and from thechurch. After Mass they repaired to the convent, and on bended kneekissed the priest's hand. Town affairs were then discussed. Somepresent were chided, others were commended by their spiritual dictator. 

In nearly every town the people were, and still are, divided intoparties holding divergent views on town affairs, each group being readyto give the other a "stab in the back" when the opportunity offers, and not unfrequently these differences seriously affect the socialrelations of the individual members. 

For the direct collection of taxes each township was sub-divided intogroups of forty or fifty families called _Barangays_: each group hadto pay taxes to its respective head, styled _Cabeza de Barangay_, who was responsible to the petty-governor, who in turn made thepayment to the Provincial Administrator for remission to the Treasury(_Intendencia_) in Manila. This _Barangay chiefdom_ system took itsorigin from that established by the natives themselves prior to theSpanish conquest, and in some parts of the Colony the original titleof _datto_ was still applied to the chief. This position, hereditaryamong themselves, continued to be so for many years under Spanishrule, and was then considered an honourable distinction because itgave the heads of certain families a birthright importance in theirclass. Later on they were chosen, like all the other native localauthorities, every two years, but if they had anything to lose, theywere invariably re-elected. In order to be ranked among the headmenof the town (the _principalia_), a _Barangay chief_ had to serve forten years in that capacity unless he were, meanwhile, elected to ahigher rank, such as lieutenant or _gobernadorcillo_. Everybody, therefore, shirked the repugnant obligations of a chiefdom, forthe Government rarely recognized any bad debts in the collection ofthe taxes, until the chief had been made bankrupt and his goods andchattels sold to make good the sums which he could not collect fromhis group, whether it arose from their poverty, death, or from theirhaving absconded. I have been present at auction sales of live-stockseized to supply taxes to the Government, which admitted no excusesor explanations. Many _Barangay chiefs_ went to prison throughtheir inability or refusal to pay others' debts. On the other hand, there were among them some profligate characters who misappropriatedthe collected taxes, but the Government had really little right tocomplain, for the labour of tax-gathering was a _forced service_without remuneration for expenses or loss of time incurred. 

In many towns, villages, and hamlets there were posts of the CivilGuard established for the arrest of criminals and the maintenance ofpublic order; moreover, there was in each town a body of guards called_Cuadrilleros_ for the defence of the town and the apprehension ofbandits and criminals within the jurisdiction of the town only. Thetown and the wards together furnished these local guards, whosesocial position was one of the humblest and least enviable. Therewere frequent cases of _Cuadrilleros_ passing over to a band ofbrigands. Some years ago the whole muster belonging to the town ofMauban (Tayabas) suddenly took to the mountains; on the other hand, many often rendered valuable aid to society, but their doubtfulreliability vastly diminished their public utility. 

From the time Philippine administration was first organized up tothe year 1884, all the subdued natives paid tribute. Latterly itwas fixed at one peso and ten cents per annum, and those who did notchoose to work for the Government during forty days in the year, paidalso a poll-tax (_fallas_) of P3 per annum. But, as a matter of fact, thousands were declared as workers who never did work, and whilstroads were in an abominable condition and public works abandoned, not much secret was made of the fact that a great portion of thepoll-tax never reached the Treasury. These pilferings were knownto the Spanish local authorities as _caidas_ or droppings; and in acertain province I met at table a provincial chief judge, the nephewof a general, and other persons who openly discussed the value ofthe different Provincial Governments (before 1884) in Luzon Island, on the basis of so much for salary and so much for fees and _caidas_. 

However, although the tribute and _fallas_ system worked as well as anyother would under the circumstances, for some reason, best known to theauthorities, it was abolished. In lieu thereof a scheme was proposed, obliging _every civilized inhabitant_ of the Philippines, exceptingonly public servants, the clergy, and a few others, _to work forfifteen days per annum without the right of redeeming this obligationby payment_. Indeed, the decree to that effect was actually receivedin Manila from the Home Government, but it was so palpably ludicrousthat the Gov. -General did not give it effect. He had sufficient commonsense to foresee in its application the extinction of all Europeanprestige and moral influence over the natives if Spanish and foreigngentlemen of good family were seen sweeping the streets, lighting thelamps, road-mending, guiding buffalo-carts loaded with stones, and soon. This measure, therefore, regarded by some as a practical joke, by others as the conception of a lunatic theorist--was withdrawn, or at least allowed to lapse. 

Nevertheless, those in power were bent on reform, and the Peninsularsystem of a document of identity (_Cédula personal_), which workswell amongst Europeans, was then adopted for all civilized classesand nationalities above the age of 18 years without exception, itspossession being compulsory. The amount paid for this document, whichwas of nine classes, [107] from P25 value downwards, varied accordingto the income of the holder or the cost of his trading-licences. Anyperson holding this document of a value under P3 1/2 was subject tofifteen days' forced labour per annum, or to pay 50 cents for eachday he failed to work. The holder of a document of P3 1/2 or overpaid also P1 1/2 "Municipal Tax" in lieu of labour. The "_Cédula_"thenceforth served as a passport for travelling within the Archipelago, to be exhibited at any time on demand by the proper authority. Nolegal document was valid unless the interested parties had producedtheir _Cédulas_, the details of which were inscribed in the legalinstrument. No petitions would be noticed, and very few transactionscould be made in the Government offices without the presentation ofthis identification document. The decree relating to this reform, like most ambiguous Spanish edicts, set forth that any person was atliberty to take a higher-valued _Cédula_ than that corresponding tohis position, without the right of any official to ask the reasonwhy. This clause was prejudicial to the public welfare, because itenabled thousands of able-bodied natives to evade labour for publicimprovements of imperative necessity in the provinces. The publiclabour question was indeed altogether a farce, and simply affordeda pretext for levying a tax. 

It would appear that whilst the total amount of taxation in Spanishtimes was not burdensome, the fiscal system was obviously defective. 

The (American) Insular Government has continued the issue of the_Cédula_ on a reasonable plan which bears hard on no one. Forcedlabour is abolished; government work is paid for out of the taxes;and the uniform cost of the _Cédula_ is one peso for every malebetween the ages of 18 and 60 years. 

In 1890 certain reforms were introduced into the townships, mostof which were raised to the dignity of Municipalities. The titlesof _Gobernadorcillo_ and _Directorcillo_ (the words themselves inSpanish bear a sound of contempt) were changed to _Capitan Municipal_and _Secretario_ respectively (Municipal Captain and Secretary) withnominally extended powers. For instance, the Municipal Captains wereempowered to disburse for public works, without appeal to Manila, a few hundred pesos in the year (to be drawn, in some cases, fromempty public coffers, or private purses). The functions of the localJustices of the Peace were amplified and abused to such a degreethat these officials became more the originators of strife thanthe guardians of peace. The old-established obligation to supplytravellers, on payment therefor, with certain necessaries of lifeand means of transport was abolished. 

Hitherto it had been the custom for a traveller on arriving at a townwithout knowing any one there, or without letters of introduction, to alight (by right) at the Tribunal, or Town Hall. Each suchestablishment had, or ought to have had, a tariff of necessaryprovisions and the means of travelling to the next town (suchas ponies, gigs, hammocks, sedan-chairs, etc. , according to theparticular conditions of the locality). Each _Barangay_ or _Cabezeria_furnished one _Cuadrillero_ (_vide_ pp. 223, 224) for the serviceof the Tribunal, so that the supply of baggage-carriers, bearers, etc. , which one needed could not be refused on payment. The nativeofficial in charge of this service to travellers, and in control of the_Cuadrilleros_, was styled the _Alguacil_. Hence the Tribunal servedthe double purpose of Town Hall and casual ward for wayfarers. Therewere all sorts of Tribunales, from the well-built stone and woodhouse to the poverty-stricken bamboo shanty where one had to passthe night on the floor or on the table. 

By decree of Gov. -General Weyler (1888-91) dated October 17, 1888, which came into force on January 1, 1889, the obligation of theTribunal officials to supply provisions to travelling civilians hadbeen already abolished, although, under both reforms, civilians couldcontinue to take refuge at the Tribunal as theretofore. Notwithstandingthe reform of 1890, until the American advent the European travellerfound it no more difficult than before to procure _en route_ therequisite means for provincial travelling. 

CHAPTER XIV

Spanish-Philippine Finances

The secession of Mexico from the Spanish Crown in the second decadeof last century brought with it a complete revolution in Philippineaffairs. Direct trade with Europe through one channel or another hadnecessarily to be permitted. The "Situado, " or subsidy (_vide_ p. 244), received from Mexico became a thing of the past, and necessity urgedthe home authorities to relax, to a certain extent, the old restrainton the development of Philippine resources. 

In 1839 the first Philippine Budget was presented in the SpanishCórtes, but so little interest did the affairs of the Colony excitethat it provoked no discussion. After the amendment of only oneitem the Budget was adopted in silence. It was not the practicein the earliest years to publish the full Philippine Budget in theIslands, although allusion was necessarily made to items of it in the_Gaceta de Manila_. However, it could be seen without difficulty inMadrid. Considering that the Filipinos had no political rights, exceptfor the very brief period alluded to in Chapter xxii. (_vide Córtes deCádiz_), it is evident that popular discussion of public finance wouldhave been undesirable, because it could have led to no practical issue. 

There is apparently no record of the Philippine Islands having been atany time in a flourishing financial condition. With few exceptions, in latter years the collected revenue of the Colony was usually muchless than the estimated yield of taxes. The Budget for 1888 is heregiven in detail as an example. 

PHILIPPINE BUDGETS

 Financial Estimated Income Difference. Year. Income. Realized. P P P 1884-85 11, 298, 508. 98 9, 893, 745. 87 1, 404, 763. 11 1885-86 11, 528, 178. 00 9, 688, 029. 70 1, 840, 148. 30 1886-87 11, 554, 379. 00 9, 324, 974. 08 2, 229, 404. 92 1894-95 13, 280, 139. 40 13, 579, 900. 00 299, 760. 60 1896-97 17, 086, 423. 00 17, 474, 000. 00 387, 577. 00

ANTICIPATED REVENUE, YEAR 1888

 P cts. 

Direct Taxes 5, 206, 836 93

Customs Dues 2, 023, 400 00

Government Monopolies (stamps, cock-fighting, opium, gambling, etc. ) 1, 181, 239 00Lotteries and Raffles 513, 200 00Sale of State property 153, 571 00War and Marine Department (sale of uselessarticles. Gain on repairs to private ships inthe Government Arsenal) 15, 150 00Sundries 744, 500 00

 9, 837, 896 93

Anticipated Expenditure, year 1888 9, 825, 633 29

Anticipated Surplus P 12, 263 64

The actual deficit in the last previous Budget for which there wasno provision was estimated at P1, 376, 179. 56, against which the abovebalance would be placed. There were some remarkable inconsistenciesin the 1888 Budget. The Inspection of Woods and Forests was aninstitution under a Chief Inspector with a salary of P6, 500, assisted by a technical staff of 64 persons and 52 non-technicalsubordinates. The total cost for the year was estimated at P165, 960, against which the expected income derived from duties on felledtimber was P80, 000; hence a loss of P85, 960 was duly anticipated tosatisfy office-seekers. Those who wished to cut timber were subjectedto very complicated and vexatious regulations. The tariff of dutiesand mode of calculating it were capriciously modified from time totime on no commercial basis whatever. Merchants who had contracted tosupply timber at so much per foot for delivery within a fixed periodwere never sure of their profits; for the dues might, meanwhile, be raised without any consideration for trading interests. The mosturgent material want of the Colony was easy means of communicationwith the interior of the Islands. Yet, whilst this was so sadlyneglected, the Budget provided the sum of P113, 686. 64 for a School ofAgriculture in Manila and 10 model farms and Schools of Cultivationin the provinces. It was not the want of farming knowledge, but thescarcity of capital and the scandalous neglect of public highwaysand bridges for transport of produce which retarded agriculture. The113, 000 pesos, if disbursed on roads, bridges, town halls, andlanding-jetties, would have benefited the Colony; as it was, thissum went to furnish salaries to needy Spaniards. 

The following are some of the most interesting items of the Budget:

CURIOUS ITEMS OF REVENUE

 P cts. 

2, 760, 613 Identification Documents (_Cedulas personales_), costing 4 per cent, to collect--gross value 4, 401, 629 25Tax on the above, based on the estimated local consumptionof Tobacco 222, 500 00Chinese Capitation Tax 236, 250 00Tax on the above for the estimated local consumption of Tobacco 11, 250 00Recognition of vassalage collected from the unsubduedmountain tribes 12, 000 00Industrial and Trading Licences (costing 1/2 per cent, tocollect), gross value 1, 350, 000 00Yield of the Opium Contract (farmed out) 483, 400 00Yield of the Cock-fighting Contract (farmed out) 149, 039 00Lotteries and Raffles, nett profit say 501, 862 00State Lands worked by miners 100 00Sale of State Lands 50, 000 00Mint--Profits on the manipulation of the bullion, less expensesof the Mint (P 46, 150), nett 330, 350 00Stamps and Stamped Paper 548, 400 00Convict labour hired out 50, 000 00

CURIOUS ITEMS OF EXPENDITURE

 P cts. 34 per cent, of the maintenance of Fernando Po (by Decree ofAugust 5, 1884) 68, 618 18Share of the pension paid to the heir of Christopher Columbus, the Duke de Veragua (P 23, 400 a year) 3, 000 00Share of the pension paid to Ferdinand Columbus, Marquisde Bárboles 1, 000 00The Marquis de Bedmar is the heir of the assayer and casterin the Mint of Potosi (Peru). The concern was taken over bythe Spanish Government, in return for an annual perpetualpension, of which this Colony contributed the sum of 1, 500 00The Consular and Diplomatic Services, Philippine Share 66, 000 00Postal and Telegraph Services (staff of 550 persons) 406, 547 17The Submarine Cable Co. Subsidy (Bolinao to Hong-Kong) 48, 000 00Charitable Institutions partly supported by Government, including the "Lepers' Hospital" P500 26, 887 50

THE ARMY AND ARMED LAND FORCES

Rank and File and Non-commissioned Officers as follows:--

Infantry, Artillery, Engineer, and Carabineer Corps 9, 470Cavalry Corps 407Disciplinary Corps (Convicts) 630Disciplinary Corps (Non-commissioned Officers) 92Three Civil Guard Corps (Provincial Constabulary) 3, 342Veteran Civil Guard Corps (Manila Military Police) 400

Total number of men 14, 341

ARMY OFFICERS IN THE PHILIPPINES. 

Year 1888. 

How Employed. Lieutenant-Generals. | Brigadier-Generals. | | Colonels. | | | Lieutenant-Colonels. | | | | Majors. | | | | | Captains. | | | | | | Lieutenants. | | | | | | | Sub-Lieutenants. | | | | | | | | Totals. | | | | | | | | |

Governor-General, with localrank of Captain-General 1 1Employed in GovernmentAdministration, PoliticalMilitary ProvincialGovernments, Staff Officersand Officers at the Ordersof the Governor-General 1 7 7 14 39 37 23 12 140With command or attached toArmy Corps and DisciplinaryCorps 5 11 14 88 136 127 381Civil Guard 3 3 9 33 54 54 156Veteran Civil Guard 1 6 6 13Invalid Corps 1 1Military Academy 1 1 2 4Prisons and Penitentiaries 1 1 4 3 9Commissariat Department 1 1 1 14 18 35Judicial Audit Department 1 1 2 2 6In expectation of service 1 3 6 12 12 12 46In excess of Active Servicerequirements 3 1 7 9 20Total of Officers 2 9 19 36 73 191 262 220 812

The Archbishop, as Vicar-General of the Armed Forces, ranked inprecedence as a Field-Marshal. (In the Spanish Army a Field-Marshalranks between a Brig. -General and Lieut. -General. )

OFFICERS' PAY PER ANNUM

Rank. Ordinary Pay. | When Commanding a Corps. _Extra_. | | When in Civil Guard. | | | When in Veteran | | | Civil Guard. | | | | P P P PCaptain-Generalwas paid asGovernor-Generalof the Colony 40, 000 [108]Lieutenant-General(local rank), Sub-Inspector ofArmy Corps 12, 000Brigadier-General 4, 500 800Colonel 3, 450 600 4, 200Lieutenant-Colonel 2, 700 400 3, 288Major 2, 400 2, 520 2, 880Captain 1, 500 1, 584Lieutenant 1, 125 1, 242 1, 485Sub-Lieutenant 975 1, 068 1, 275

After 6 years' and up to 9 years' service, an officer could claima free passage back to the Peninsula for himself and, if married, his family. 

After 9 years' service, his retirement from the Colony for three yearswas compulsory. If he nevertheless wished to remain in the Colony, he must quit military service. If he left before completing sixyears' service, he would have to pay his own passage unless he went"on commission" or with sick-leave allowance. 

Estimated Annual Disbursements for--

 P cts

The Civil Guard (Constabulary), composed of ThreeCorps = 3, 342 Men and 156 Officers 638, 896 77The Veteran Civil Guard (Manila Police) One Corps =400 Men and 13 Officers 73, 246 88 ----------The Disciplinary Corps, Maintenance of 630 Convictsand Material 56, 230 63(For the Disciplinary Convict Corps) 92 Non-commissionedOfficers and 23 Officers 47, 909 51 ========== P 104, 140 14

Army Estimates

 P cts

Estimate according to the Budget for 1888 _Plus_the following sums charged on other estimates, viz. :-- 3, 016, 185 91Disciplinary Corps, maintenance of 630 Convictsand material 56, 230 63The Civil Guard 638, 896 77The Veteran Civil Guard 73, 246 88Pensions 117, 200 00Transport and maintenance of Recruits from Provinces 6, 000 00Expeditions to be made against the Moros--Religiousceremonies to celebrate Victories gained overthem--Maintenance of War Prisoners, etc. 11, 000 00 ============Total cost of Army and Armed Land Forces P 3, 918, 760 19

Before the walls were built around Manila, about the year 1590, each soldier and officer lived where he pleased, and, when required, the troops were assembled by the bugle call. 

At the close of the 16th century barracks were constructed, but upto the middle of last century the native troops were so badly andirregularly paid that they went from house to house begging alms ofthe citizens (_vide_ p. 53, King Philip II. 's Decree). 

In the 17th century troops died of sheer want in the Fort of Ylígan(Mindanao Is. ), and when this was represented to the Gov. -Generalhe generously ordered that the Spanish soldiers were in future to bepaid P2 per month and native soldiers P1 per month to hold the fort, at the risk of their lives, against attack from the Mahometans. 

In the forts of Labo and Taytay (Palaúan Is. ) the soldiers' pay wasonly nominal, rations were often short, and their lives altogethermost wretched. Sometimes they were totally overlooked by the militarychiefs, and they had to seek subsistence as best they could whenprovisions were not sent from the capital (_vide_p. 157). 

Mexican soldiers arrived in nearly every ship, but there were nobarracks for them, no regular mode of living, no regulations fortheir board and lodging, etc. ; hence many had to subsist by servingnatives and half-breeds, much to the discredit of the mother country, and consequent loss of prestige. Each time a new expedition wasorganized a fresh recruiting had to be made at great cost and withgreat delay. There was practically no regular army except thosenecessarily compelled to mount guard, etc. , in the city. Even theofficers received no regular pay until 1754, and there was some excusefor stealing when they had a chance, and for the total absence ofenthusiasm in the Service. When troops were urgently called for, theGov. -General had to bargain with the officers to fill the minor postsby promises of rewards, whilst the high commands were eagerly soughtfor, not for the pay or the glory, but for the plunder in perspective. 

In 1739 the Armoury in Manila contained only 25 Arquebuses ofnative make, 120 Biscayan muskets, 40 Flint guns, 70 Hatchets, and40 Cutlasses. 

The first regular military organization in these Islands was in thetime of Governor Pedro Manuel de Arandia (1754), when one regimentwas formed of five companies of native soldiers, together with fourcompanies of troops which arrived with the Governor from Mexico. Thiscorps, afterwards known as the "King's Regiment" [109] (_Regimientodel Rey_) was divided into two battalions, increased to 10 companieseach as the troops returned from the provinces. 

The 20 companies were each composed as follows:--

1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 1 sub-lieutenant, 4 sergeants, 2 drummers, 6 first corporals, 6 seconds corporals, and 88 rank and file. 

The Gov. -General's Body Guard of Halberdiers was reformed, andthenceforth consisted of 18 men, under a captain and a corporal. 

The Monthly Pay under these reforms was as follows:--

Staff Officers. Regimental Officers Governor-General's P. And Staff P. C. Body Guard P. 

Chief of the Staff 40 Captain 25 00 Captain 35Adjutant-Major. 25 Lieutenant. 18 00 Corporal 10Adjutant. 18 Sub-Lieutenant. 14 00 Guards 5Captain 12 Sergeant 4 00 Drummer 3 00 First Corporal 3 25 Second Corporal 3 00 Rank and File 2 62 1/2

From October 1, 1754, the troops were quartered in barracks, Commissariat Officers were appointed, and every man and every officerwas regularly paid fortnightly. The soldiers were not used to thisdiscipline, and desertion was frequent. They much preferred the oldstyle of roaming about to beg or steal and live where they choseuntil they were called out to service, and very vigorous measureshad to be adopted to compel them to comply with the new regulations. 

In May, 1755, four artillery brigades were formed, the commandingofficer of each receiving P30 per month pay. 

In 1757 there were 16 fortified provincial outposts, at a totalestimated cost of P37, 638 per annum (including Zamboanga, the chiefcentre of operations against the Mahometans, which alone cost P18, 831in 1757), besides the armed forces and Camp of Manila, Fort Santiago, and Cavite Arsenal and Fort, which together cost a further sum ofP157, 934 for maintenance in that year. 

 SPANISH VESSELS IN PHILIPPINE WATERS

 Year 1898

 Name. Class. Tons. H. P. 

 Reina Cristina Cruiser 3, 500 3, 950 Castilla Cruiser 3, 260 4, 400 Don Anto. De Ulloa Cruiser 1, 200 1, 523 Don Juan de Austria Cruiser 1, 130 1, 600 Isla de Cuba Cruiser 1, 048 2, 200 Isla de Luzon Cruiser 1, 048 2, 200 Velasco Gunboat 1, 152 1, 500 Elcano Gunboat 560 600 General Lezo Gunboat 520 600 Argos Gunboat 508 600 Marqués del Duero Gunboat 500 550 Manila Transport 1, 900 750 General Alava Transport 1, 200 1, 000 Cebú Transport 532 600 Callao Gunboat, and 4 others very small, besides 3 armed steam launches built in Hong-Kong, viz. :--_Lanao, Corcuera_, and _General Blanco_. 

 NAVAL DIVISIONS

 Station. Commander's Pay. P

 South Division 5, 760 Palaúan (Pta. Princesa) 4, 560 Isabel de Basílan 3, 360 Balábac Island 3, 360 Corregidor Island 3, 360 West Caroline Islands 3, 360 East Caroline Islands 4, 560

 HARBOUR-MASTERS

 Station. Pay. Station. Pay. P P Manila 3, 200 Pangasinán 1, 500 Yloilo 3, 200 Ilocos Norte y Sur. 1, 500 Cebú 1, 500 Cagayán 1, 500 Cápis 1, 500 Ladrone Islands 1, 500 Zamboanga 1, 500 Laguimanoc (Civilian) 144

The Chief of the Philippine Naval Forces was a Rear-Admiral receivingP16, 392 per annum. 

There were two Brigades of Marine Infantry, composed of 376 men with18 officers. 

_Cavite Arsenal_

The chief Naval Station was at Cavite, six miles from Manila. Theforces at this station were 90 Marines as Guards, and 244 Marines asreserves. One hundred convicts were employed for Arsenal labour. 

The Officer in command of the Cavite Arsenal and Naval Station tookrank after the Rear-Admiral, and received a salary of P8, 496 per annum. 

The Navy Estimates (Budget for 1888) amounted to P2, 573, 776·27. 

_Spanish Judicial Statistics_

_Civil and Criminal Law Courts_

The Civil and Criminal Law Courts were as follows, viz. :--

 2 Supreme Courts in Manila and Cebú, quite independent of each other. 4 First-Class Courts of Justice in Manila (called "de término. ") 8 First-Class Courts of Justice in the Provinces (called "de término_. ")10 Second-Class Courts of Justice in the Provinces (called "de ascenso. ")19 Third-Class Courts of Justice in the Provinces (called "de entrada. ") 7 Provincial Governments with judicial powers. 

_Judges' Salaries_

President of the Supreme Court of Manila P7, 000President of the Supreme Court of Cebu 6, 000Judge of each of the 12 First-Class Courts 4, 000Judge of each of the 10 Second-Class Courts 3, 000Judge of each of the 19 Third-Class Courts 2, 000

_Law Courts Estimate for_ 1888

 P cts. 

Supreme Court of Manila 90, 382 00Supreme Court of Cebú 49, 828 00All the minor Courts and allowances to ProvincialGovernors with judicial powers 192, 656 00 ------- --Estimated total cost for the year P332, 866 00

_Penitentiaries and Convict Settlements_

Manila (Bilíbid Jail) containing on an average 900 Native ConvictsAnd in 1888 there were also 3 Spanish ConvictsCavite Jail contained in 1888 51 Native ConvictsZamboanga Jail contained in 1888 98 Native ConvictsAgricultural Colony of San Ramon (Zamboanga), worked by convict labour, contained in 1888 164 Native ConvictsLadrone Island Penal Settlement contained in 1888 101 Native ConvictsLadrone Island Penal Settlement contained in 1888 3 Spanish ConvictsIn the Army and Navy Services 730 Native Convicts ----- 2, 045 Convicts

Total estimated disbursements for Penitentiariesand Convict maintenance in the Settlements for the year P82, 672. 71

_Brigandage_ first came into prominence in Governor Arandia's time(1754-59), and he used the means of "setting a thief to catch athief, " which answered well for a short time, until the crime becamemore and more habitual as provincial property increased in valueand capital was accumulated there. In 1888 the Budget provided anallowance of 2, 000 pesos for rewards for the capture or slaughter ofthese ruffians. Up to the end of Spanish rule, brigandage, pillage, and murder were treated with such leniency by the judges that therewas little hope for the extinction of such crimes. When a band ofthieves and assassins attacked a village or a residence, murdered itsinhabitants, and carried off booty, the Civil Guard at once scoured thecountry, and often the malefactors were arrested. The Civil Guard wasan excellent institution, and performed its duty admirably well; butas soon as the villains were handed over to the legal functionaries, society lost hope. Instead of the convicted criminals being garrottedaccording to law, as the public had a right to demand, they were"protected"; some were let loose on the world again, whilst otherswere sent to prison and allowed to escape, or they were transported toa penal settlement to work without fetters, where they were just ascomfortable as if they were working for a private employer. I recordthese facts from personal knowledge, for my wanderings in the Islandsbrought me into contact with all sorts and conditions of men. I havebeen personally acquainted with many brigands, and I gave regularemployment to an ex-bandit for years. 

The Philippine brigand--known in the northern islands as _Tulisán_and in the southern islands as _Pulaján_--is not merely an outlaw, such as may yet be found in Southern and Eastern Europe; his infamouswork of freebooting is never done to his satisfaction without thecomplement of bloodshed, even though his victim yield to him allwithout demur. Booty or no booty, blood must flow, if he be theordinary _Tulisán_ of the type known to the Tagálogs as _dugong-aso_(blood of a dog). As distinguished from the milder _Tulisán pulpul_(literally, the blunt brigand), who robs, uses no unnecessary violence, but runs away if he can, and only fights when he must. 

At Christmas, 1884, I went to Laguimanoc in the Province of Tayabasto spend a few days with an English friend of mine. [110] On the waythere, at Sariaya, I stayed at the house of the Captain of the CivilGuard, when a message came to say that an attack had been made thenight before on my friend's house, his manager, a Swede, having beenkilled, and many others in the village wounded. The Captain showed methe despatch, and invited me to join him as a volunteer to hunt downthe murderers. I agreed, and within half an hour we were mounted andon their track all through that dark night, whilst the rain poured intorrents. Four native soldiers were following us on foot. We jumpedover ditches, through rice-paddy fields and cocoanut plantations, and then forded a river, on the opposite bank of which was thenext guards' post in charge of a lieutenant, who joined us witheight foot-soldiers. That same night we together captured five ofthe wretches, who had just beached a canoe containing part of theirspoils. The prisoners were bound elbows together at their backs andsent forward under escort. We rode on all night until five o'clockthe next morning, arriving at the convent of Pagbilao just as FatherJesus was going down to say Mass. I had almost lost my voice throughbeing ten hours in the rain; but the priest was very attentive to us, and we went on in a prahu to the village where the crime had beencommitted. In another prahu the prisoners were sent in charge ofthe soldiers. In the meantime, the Chief Judge and the GovernmentDoctor of the province had gone on before us. On the way we met acanoe going to Pagbilao, carrying the corpse of the murdered Swedefor burial. When we arrived at Laguimanoc, we found one native deadand many natives and Chinese badly wounded. 

My friend's house had the front door smashed in--an iron strong-boxhad been forced, and a few hundred pesos, with some rare coins, werestolen. The furniture in the dining-room was wantonly hacked aboutwith bowie-knives, only to satisfy a savage love for mischief. Hisbedroom had been entered, and there the brigands began to maketheir harvest; the bundles of wearing-apparel, jewellery, andother valuables were already tied up, when lo! the Virgin herselfappeared, casting a penetrating glance of disapproval upon the wickedrevelry! Forsaking their plunder, the brigands fled in terror from thesaintly apparition. And when my friend re-entered his home and crossedthe bloodstained floor of the dining-room to go to his bedroom, thecardboard Virgin, with a trade advertisement on the back, was stillpeeping round the door-jamb to which she was nailed, with the words"Please to shut the door" printed on her spotless bust. 

The next day the Captain remained in the village whilst I went onwith the Lieutenant and a few guards in a prahu down the coast, where we made further captures, and returned in three days. Duringour journey in the prahu the wind was so strong that we resolved tobeach our craft on the seashore instead of attempting to get overthe shoal of the San Juan River. We ran her ashore under full sail, and just at that moment a native rushed towards us with an ironbar in his hand. In the evening gloom he must have mistaken us fora party of weather-beaten native or Chinese traders whose skullshe might smash in at a stroke and rifle their baggage. He halted, however, perfectly amazed when two guards with their bayonets fixedjumped forward in front of him. Then we got out, took him prisoner, and the next day he was let off with a souvenir of the lash, asthere was nothing to prove that he was a brigand by profession. Thesecond leader of the brigand gang was shot through the lungs a weekafterwards, by the guards who were on his track, as he was jumpingfrom the window-opening of a hut, and there he died. 

The Captain of the Civil Guard received an anonymous letter statingwhere the brigand chief was hiding. This fact came to the knowledge ofthe native _cuadrillero_ officer who had hitherto supplied his friend, the brigand, with rice daily, so he hastened on before the Captaincould arrive, and imposed silence for ever on the fugitive bandit bystabbing him in the back. Thus the _cuadrillero_ avoided the disclosureof unpleasant facts which would have implicated himself. The prisonerswere conducted to the provincial jail, and three years afterwards, when I made inquiries about them, I learnt that two of them had diedof their wounds, whilst not a single one had been sentenced. 

The most ignorant classes believe that certain persons are possessedof a mystic power called _anting-anting_, which preserves them fromall harm, and that the body of a man so affected is even refractoryto bullet or steel. Brigands are often captured wearing medallions ofthe Virgin Mary or the Saints as a device of the _anting-anting_. InMaragondón (Cavite), the son of a friend of mine was enabled to gointo any remote place with impunity, because he was reputed to bepossessed of this charm. Some highwaymen, too, have a curious notionthat they can escape punishment for a crime committed in Easter Week, because the thief on the cross was pardoned his sins. 

In 1885 I purchased a small estate, where there was some good wild-boarhunting and snipe-shooting, and I had occasion to see the man whowas tenant previous to my purchase, in Manila Jail. He was accusedof having been concerned in an attack upon the town of Mariquina, and was incarcerated for eighteen months without being definitelyconvicted or acquitted. Three months after his release from prisonhe was appointed petty-governor of his own town, much to the disgustof the people, who in vain petitioned against it in writing. 

I visited the Penal Settlement, known as the Agricultural Colony ofSan Ramon, situated about fifteen miles north of Zamboanga, where Iremained twelve days. The director of the settlement was D. FelipeDujiols, an army captain who had defended Oñate (in Guipuzcoa, Spain), during the Carlist war; so, as we were each able to relate our personalexperiences of that stirring period, we speedily became friends. Ashis guest, I was able to acquire more ample information about thesystem of convict treatment. With the 25 convicts just arrived, there were in all 150 natives of the most desperate class--assassins, thieves, conspirators, etc. , working on this penal settlement. Theywere well fed, fairly well lodged, and worked with almost the samefreedom as independent labourers. Within a few yards of the director'sbungalow were the barracks, for the accommodation of a detachmentof 40 soldiers--under the command of a lieutenant--who patrolled thesettlement during the day and mounted guard at night. During my stayone prisoner was chained and flogged, but that was for a seriouscrime committed the day before. The severest hardship which theseconvicts had to endure under the rule of my generous host, D. Felipe, was the obligation to work as honest men in other countries would bewilling to do. In this same penal settlement, some years ago, a partyof convicts attacked and killed three of the European overseers, and then escaped to the Island of Basilan, which lies to the southof Zamboanga. The leader of these criminals was a native named PedroCuevas, whose career is referred to at length in Chap. Xxix. 

Within half a day's journey from Manila there are several well-knownmarauders' haunts, such as San Mateo, Imus, Silan, Indan, the mouthsof the Hagonoy River (Pampanga), etc. In 1881 I was the only Europeanamongst 20 to 25 passengers in a canoe going to Balanga on the westshore of Manila Bay, when about midday a canoe, painted black andwithout the usual outriggers, bore down upon us, and suddenly twogun-shots were fired, whilst we were called upon to surrender. Thepirates numbered eight; they had their faces bedaubed white and theircanoe ballasted with stones. There was great commotion in our craft;the men shouted and the women fell into a heap over me, recitingAve Marias, and calling upon all the Saints to succour them. Justas I extricated myself and looked out from under the palm-leafawning, the pirates flung a stone which severely cut our pilot'sface. They came very close, flourishing their knives, but our crewmanaged to keep them from boarding us by pushing off their canoewith the paddles. When the enemy came within range of my revolver, one of their party, who was standing up brandishing a bowie-knife, suddenly collapsed into a heap. This seemed to discourage the rest, who gave up the pursuit, and we went on to Balanga. 

The most famous _Tulisán_ within living memory was a Chinese half-castenamed Juan Fernandez, commonly known as _Tancad_ ("tall, " in Tagálog)because of his extraordinary stature. His sphere of operations wasaround Bulacan, Tárlac, Mórong, and Nueva Ecija. He took part in21 crimes which could have been proved against him, and doubtlessmany more. A man of wonderful perception and great bravery, he wasonly 35 years old when he was captured in Bulacan Province by theSpanish Captain Villa Abrille. Brought before a court-martial on thespecific charge of being the chief actor in a wholesale slaughter atTayud, which caused a great sensation at the time, he and ten of hiscompanions were executed on August 28, 1877, to the immense relief ofthe people, to whom the very name of _Tancad_ gave a thrill of horror. 

No one experienced in the Colony ever thought of privately prosecutinga captured brigand, for a criminal or civil lawsuit in the Philippineswas one of the worst calamities that could befall a man. Betweennotaries, procurators, barristers, and the sluggish process of thecourts, a litigant was fleeced of his money, often worried into abad state of health, and kept in horrible suspense for years. It wasas hard to get the judgement executed as it was to win the case. Evenwhen the question at issue was supposed to be settled, a defect in thesentence could always be concocted to re-open the whole affair. If thecase had been tried and judgement given under the Civil Code, a waywas often found to convert it into a criminal case; and when apparentlysettled under the Criminal Code, a flaw could be discovered under the_Laws of the Indies_, or the _Siete Partidas_, or the _Roman Law_, or the _Novisima Recopilacion_, or the _Antiguos fueros_, Decrees, Royal Orders, _Ordenanzas de buen Gobierno_, and so forth, by whichthe case could be re-opened. It was the same in the 16th century(_vide_ p. 56). 

I knew a planter in Negros Island who was charged with homicide. Thejudge of his province acquitted him, but fearing that he mightagain be arrested on the same charge, he came up to Manila with meto procure a ratification of the sentence in the Supreme Court. Thelegal expenses were so enormous that he was compelled to fully mortgagehis plantation. Weeks passed, and having spent all his money withoutgetting justice, I lent his notary £40 to assist in bringing the caseto an end. The planter returned to Negros apparently satisfied that hewould be troubled no further, but later on, the newly-appointed judgein that Island, whilst prospecting for fees by turning up old cases, unfortunately came across this one, and my planter acquaintance wassentenced to eight years' imprisonment, although the family lawyer, proceeding on the same shifty lines, still hoped to find defects inthe sentence in order to reverse it in favour of his client. 

Availing one's self of the dilatoriness of the Spanish law, it waspossible for a man to occupy a house, pay no rent, and refuse to quiton legal grounds during a couple of years or more. A person who hadnot a cent to lose could persecute another of means by a trumped-upaccusation until he was ruined, by an "_informacion de pobreza_"--adeclaration of poverty--which enabled the persecutor to keep thecase going as long as he chose without needing money for fees. [111]A case of this kind was often started at the instigation of a nativelawyer. When it had gone on for a certain time, the prosecutor'sadviser would propose an "extra-judicial arrangement, " to extortcosts from the wearied and browbeaten defendant. 

About the year 1886 there was a _cause célèbre_, the parties beingthe firm of Jurado & Co. _versus_ the Hong-Kong and Shanghai BankingCorporation. The Bank had agreed to make advances on goods to beimported by the firm in exchange for the firm's acceptances. Theagreement was subject to six months' notice from the Bank. Indue course the Bank had reason to doubt the genuineness of certaindocuments. Mr. Jurado was imprisoned, but shortly released on bail. Hewas dismissed from his official post of second chief of Telegraphs, worth P4, 000 a year. Goods, as they arrived for his firm, werestored pending litigation, and deteriorated to only a fraction oftheir original value. His firm was forced by these circumstances intoliquidation, and Mr. Jurado sued the Bank for damages. The case wasopen for several years, during which time the Bank coffers were oncesealed by judicial warrant, a sum of cash was actually transported fromthe Bank premises, and the manager was nominally arrested, but reallya prisoner on parole in his house. Several sentences of the Court weregiven in favour of each party. Years after this they were all quashedon appeal to Madrid. Mr. Jurado went to Spain to fight his case, and in 1891 I accidentally met him and his brother (a lawyer) in thestreet in Madrid. The brother told me the claim against the Bank thenamounted to P935, 000, and judgement for that sum would be given withina fortnight. Still, years after that, when I was again in Manila, thecase was yet pending, and another onslaught was made on the Bank. TheCourt called on the manager to deliver up the funds of the Bank, andon his refusal to do so a mechanic was sent there to open the safes, but he laboured in vain for a week. Then a syndicate of Philippinecapitalists was formed to fleece the Bank, one of its most energeticmembers being a native private banker in Manila. Whilst the case wasin its first stages I happened to be discussing it at a shop in the_Escolta_ when one of the partners, a Spaniard, asked me if I wouldlike to see with my own eyes the contending lawyers putting theirheads together over the matter. "If so, " said he, "you have only togo through my shop and up the winding back staircase, from the landingof which you can see them any day you like at one o'clock. " I acceptedhis invitation, and there, indeed, were the rival advocates laughing, gesticulating, and presumably cogitating how they could plunder thelitigant who had most money to spend. At one stage of the proceedingsthe Bank specially retained a Spanish lawyer of great local repute, who went to Madrid to push the case. Later on Mr. Francis, Q. C. , was sent over to Manila from Hong-Kong to advise the Bank. The PrimeMinister was appealed to and the good offices of our Ambassador inMadrid were solicited. For a long time the Bank was placed in a mostawkward legal dilemma. The other side contended that the Bank couldnot be heard, or appear for itself or by proxy, on the ground thatunder its own charter it had no right to be established in Manila;that, in view of the terms of that charter, it had never been legallyregistered as a Bank in Manila, and that it had no legal existencein the Philippines. This was merely a technical quibble. Severaltimes when the case was supposed to be finally settled, it was againre-opened. Happily it may now be regarded as closed for ever. 

A great many well-to-do natives have a mania for seeing their sonslaunched into the "learned professions"; hence there was a mob ofnative doctors who made a scanty living, and a swarm of half-lawyers, popularly called "abogadillos, " who were a pest to the Colony. Upto the beginning of the 18th century the offices of solicitors andnotaries were filled from Mexico, where the licences to practisein Manila were publicly sold. After that period the colleges andthe university issued licences to natives, thus creating a class ofnative pettifogging advocates who stirred up strife to make cases, for this purpose availing themselves of the intricacies of the law. 

The Spanish-Philippine _Criminal Law Procedure_ was briefly asfollows:--(1) The Judge of Instruction took the _sumaria_, i. E. , the inquiry into whether a crime had been committed, and, if so, who was the presumptive culprit. It was his duty to find the factsand sift the case. In a light case he could order the immediatearrest of the presumptive delinquent; in a grave case he wouldremit it. (2) In the Court of First Instance the verbal evidence washeard and sifted, the _fiscal_, or prosecuting attorney, expressinghis opinion to the judge. The judge would then qualify the crime, and decide who was the presumptive culprit. Then the defence began, and when this was exhausted the judge would give his opinion. Thiscourt could not acquit or condemn the accused. The opinion on the_sumaria_ was merely advisory, and not a sentence. This inquiry wascalled the "vista"; it was not in reality a trial, as the defendantwas not allowed to cross-examine; but, on the other hand, in theory, he was not called upon to prove his innocence before two courts, butbefore the sentencing court (_Audiencia_) only. The case would thenbe remitted with the _sumaria_, and the opinion of the Court of FirstInstance, to the _Audiencia_, or Supreme Court, for review of errorsof law, but not of facts which remained. The _Audiencia_ did not callfor testimony, but, if new facts were produced, it would remit backthe _sumaria_ to the lower court, with the new written testimonyadded to the _autos_ (documents in the case). These new witnesseswere never confronted with the accused, and might never be seen byhim, and were not cross-examined. If no new facts were elicited, the record of the lower court would be accepted by the _Audiencia_, errors of law being the only point at issue, and this court mightat once pass sentence. In practice the _Audiencia_ usually treatedthe finding of the lower court as sentence (not merely opinion), and confirmed it, if no new testimony were produced and there were noerrors of law. But, although the opinion of the lower court might bepractically an acquittal, the _Audiencia_ might find errors of law, thus placing the accused twice in jeopardy. If the case were remittedback, in view of new testimony, it finally returned to the _Audiencia_for decision, nine judges being required to give their opinion in agrave case, so that if the Court of First Instance and five judgesof the _Audiencia_ found the accused guilty, there was a majorityagainst him. The sentencing court was always the _Audiencia_. Ifthe sentence were against the accused, a final appeal could be made, by "writ of error, " to the Supreme Court of Spain, whose decision, however, rested not on facts, but on errors of law. 

The (American) Insular Government tacitly admitted that the Spanishwritten law was excellent, notwithstanding its fulfilment beingdilatory. The Spanish Penal Code has been adopted in its generalapplication, but a new code, based on it, was in course of compilationin 1904. The application of the Spanish Code occasionally evolvessome curious issues, showing its variance with fundamental Americanlaw. For instance, in September, 1905, a native adulteress havingbeen found by her husband _in flagrante delicto_, he stabbed herto death. The Spanish law sustains the husband's right to slay hisfaithless consort and her paramour, in such circumstances (_vide_p. 80), but provides that the lawful slayer shall be banishedfrom the country. The principle of this law is based on Roman law, human instinctive reasoning, and the spirit of the law among theLatin nations of Europe. American law assumes this natural act ofthe husband to be a crime, but whilst admitting the validity of theSpanish Code in these Islands, the American bench was puzzled todecide what punishment could be inflicted if the arraigned husbandcommitted contempt of court by thereafter returning to his native land. 

CHAPTER XV

Trade of the IslandsIts Early History

From within a year after the foundation of the Colony up to thesecond decade of last century direct communication with Mexico wasmaintained by the State galleons, termed the _Naos de Acapulco_. Thefirst sailings of the galleons were to Navidad, but for over twocenturies Acapulco was the port of destination on the Mexican side, andthis inter-communication with New Spain only ceased a few years beforethat Colony threw off its allegiance to the mother country. But it wasnot alone the troubled state of political affairs which brought aboutthe discontinuance of the galleons' voyages, although the subsequentsecession of Mexico would have produced this effect. The expense ofthis means of intercourse was found to be bearing too heavily uponthe scanty resources of the Exchequer, for the condition of Spain'sfinances had never, at any period, been so lamentable. 

The Commander of the State _Nao_ had the title of General, with asalary of P40, 000 per annum. The chief officer received P25, 000 ayear. The quarter-master was remunerated with 9 per cent, on the valueof the merchandise shipped, and this amounted to a very considerablesum per voyage. 

The last State galleon left Manila for Mexico in 1811, and the lastsailing from Acapulco for Manila was in 1815. 

These ships are described as having been short fore and aft, butof great beam, light draught, and, when afloat, had a half-moonappearance, being considerably elevated at bows and stern. They wereof 1, 500 tons burden, had four decks, and carried guns. 

The Gov. -General, the clergy, the civil functionaries, troops, prisoners, and occasionally private persons, took passage in theseships to and from the Philippines. It was practically the Spanish Mail. 

The Colony had no coin of its own. [112] It was simply a dependencyof Mexico; and all that it brought in tribute and taxes to its RoyalTreasury belonged to the Crown, and was at the King's disposal. Formany years these payments were made wholly--and afterwardspartially--in kind, and were kept in the Royal Stores. As the junksfrom China arrived each spring, this colonial produce belonging to theCrown was bartered for Chinese wares and manufactures. These goods, packed in precisely 1, 500 bales, each of exactly the same size, constituted the official cargo, and were remitted to Mexico by theannual galleon. The surplus space in the ship was at the disposal ofa few chosen merchants who formed the "_Consulado_, "--a trading ringwhich required each member to have resided in the Colony a stipulatednumber of years, and to be possessed of at least eight thousand pesos. 

For the support of the Philippine administration Mexico remittedback to Manila, on the return of the galleon, a certain percentage ofthe realized value of the above-mentioned official cargo, but seeingthat in any case--whether the Philippine Treasury were flourishingor not--a certain sum was absolutely necessary for the maintenanceof the Colony, this remittance, known as the "_Real Situado_, " orroyal subsidy, was, from time to time, fixed. [113]

The Philippine Colony was therefore nominally self-supporting, andthe _Situado_ was only a guaranteed income, to be covered, as far asit could be, by shipments of foreign bartered manufactures and localproduce to Mexico. But, as a matter of fact, the Mexican subsidyseldom, if ever, was so covered. 

By Royal Decree of June 6, 1665, the Mexican subsidy to the Philippineswas fixed at P2, 500, 000, of which P2, 000, 000 was remitted in coinand P500, 000 in merchandise for the Royal Stores. Against this wasremitted value in goods (Philippine taxes and tribute) P 176, 101. 40so that the net Subsidy, or donation, from Mexico was P 2, 323, 898. 60. 

Hence, in the course of time, coin--Mexican dollars called_pesos_--found its way in large quantities to the Philippines, andthence to China. 

The yearly value of the merchants' shipments was first limited toP250, 000, whilst the return trade could not exceed P500, 000 in coinor stores, and this was on the supposition that 100 per cent. Profitwould be realized on the sales in Mexico. 

The allotment of surplus freight-room in the galleon was regulated bythe issue of _boletas_--documents which, during a long period, servedas paper money in fact, for the holders were entitled to use them forshipping goods, or they could transfer them to others who wished todo so. The demand for freight was far greater than the carrying powerprovided. Shipping warrants were delivered gratis to the membersof the _Consulado_, to certain ecclesiastics, and others. Indeed, it is asserted by some writers that the Governor's favourites wereserved with preference, to the prejudice of legitimate trade. 

The Spaniards were not allowed to go to China to fetch merchandisefor transhipment, but they could freely buy what was brought by theChinese. Indian and Persian goods uninterruptedly found their way toManila. Spanish goods came exclusively _viâ_ Mexico. 

The mail galleon usually sailed in the month of July in each year, andthe voyage occupied about five months. Very strict regulations werelaid down regarding the course to be steered, but many calamitiesbefell the ships, which were not unfrequently lost through theincapacity of the officers who had procured their appointmentsby favour. For a century and a half there was practically nocompetition. All was arranged beforehand as to shape, quantity, size, etc. , of each bale. There was, however, a deal of trickery practisedrespecting the declared values, and the _boletas_ were often quotedat high prices. Even the selling-price of the goods sent to Mexicowas a preconcerted matter. 

The day of the departure of the galleon or its arrival with a coupleof millions of pesos or more, [114] and new faces, was naturally oneof rejoicing--it was almost the event of the year. A _Te Deum_ waschanted in the churches, the bells tolled, and musicians perambulatedthe streets, which were illuminated and draped with bunting. 

So far as commercial affairs were concerned, the Philippine merchantspassed very easy lives in those palmy days. One, sometimes two, daysin the week were set down in the calendar as Saint-days to be strictlyobserved; hence an active business life would have been incompatiblewith the exactions of religion. The only misadventure they had to fearwas the loss of the galleon. Market fluctuations were unknown. Duringthe absence of the galleon, there was nothing for the merchants to dobut to await the arrival of the Chinese junks in the months of March, April, and May, and prepare their bales. For a century and a half thissort of trading was lucrative; it required no smartness, no spirit ofenterprise or special tact. Shippers were busy for only three monthsin the year, and during the remaining nine months they could enjoylife as they thought fit--cut off from the rest of the world. 

Some there were who, without means of their own, speculated with the_Obras Pias_funds, lent at interest. [115]

The Philippine merchants often lost the value of their shipments in theState galleons by shipwreck or seizure by enemies. Mexico frequentlylost the Philippine remittances to her, and the specie she sent tothe Philippines. The State galleon made only one voyage a year thereand back, if all went well; but if it were lost, the shipment had tobe renewed, and it often happened that several galleons were seizedin a year by Spain's enemies. 

The abortive attempt to annex the British Isles to the Spanish Crown in1588 brought about the collapse of Spain's naval supremacy, enablingEnglish mariners to play havoc with her galleons from America. ThePhilippine Islands, as a colony, had at that date only just come intoexistence, but during the series of Anglo-Spanish wars which precededthe "Family Compact" (_vide_ p. 87), Philippine-Mexican galleonsladen with treasure became the prey of British commanders, notablyAdmiral Anson. The coasts were beset by Anson's squadron. He was theterror of the Philippines from the year 1743. His exploits gave riseto consternation, and numerous councils were held to decide what todo to get rid of him. The captured galleon _Pilar_ gave one-and-a-halfmillion pesos to the enemy--the _Covadonga_ was an immense prize. Allover the Islands the Spaniards were on the alert for the dreaded foe;every provincial Governor sent look-outs to high promontories withorders to signal by beacons if the daring Britisher's ships were seenhovering about, whilst, in Manila, the citizens were forewarned that, at any moment, they might be called upon to repel the enemy. 

Not only in fleets of gold-laden vessels did Spain and her dependencieslose immense wealth through her hostile ambition, for in view of therestrictions on Philippine trade, and the enormous profits accruingto the Spanish merchants on their shipments, British, Dutch, French, and Danish traders competed with them. Shippers of these nationalitiesbought goods in Canton, where they established their own factories, or collecting-stores. In 1731 over three millions of Mexican dollars(pesos) were taken there for making purchases, and these foreign shipslanded the stuffs, etc. , in contraband at the American ports, whereSpaniards themselves co-operated in the trade which their absolute Kingdeclared illicit, whilst the traders considered it a natural right. 

As the Southern (Peninsula) Spanish merchants were helpless to staythis competition, which greatly affected their profits, their rancorousgreed made them clamour against the Philippine trade, to which theychose to attribute their misfortunes, and the King was petitioned tocurtail the commerce of this Colony with Mexico for their exclusivebenefit. But it was not Spanish home trade alone which suffered:Acapulco was so beset by smugglers, whose merchandise, surreptitiouslyintroduced, found its way to Mexico City, that, in latter days, thePhilippine galleons' cargoes did not always find a market. Moreover, all kinds of frauds were practised about this time in the quality ofthe goods baled for shipment, and the bad results revealed themselveson the Mexican side. The shippers, unwisely, thought it possible todeceive the Mexicans by sending them inferior articles at old prices;hence their disasters became partly due to "the vaulting ambition thato'erleaps itself and falls on t'other side. " The Governor commissionedfour of the most respectable Manila traders to inspect the sortingand classification of the goods shipped. These citizens distinguishedthemselves so highly, to their own advantage, that the Governor hadto suppress the commission and abandon the control, in despair offinding honest colleagues. Besides this fraud, contraband goods weretaken to Acapulco in the galleons themselves, hidden in water-jars. 

In the time of Governor Pedro de Arandia (1754-59) the 100 percent. Fixed profit was no longer possible. Merchants came down toAcapulco and forced the market, by waiting until the ships were obligedto catch the monsoon back, or lie up for another season, so that oftenthe goods had to be sold for cost, or a little over. In 1754 returnswere so reduced that the _Consulado_ was owing to the _Obras Pias_over P300, 000, and to the _Casa Misericordia_ P147, 000, without anyhope of repayment. The _Casa Misericordia_ lent money at 40 per cent. , then at 35 per cent. , and in 1755 at 20 per cent. Interest, but thestate of trade made capital hardly acceptable even at this last rate. 

Early in the 18th century the Cadiz merchants, jealous of thePhilippine shippers, protested that the home trade was much injured bythe cargoes carried to Mexico in Philippine bottoms. So effectuallydid they influence the King in their favour that he issued a decreeprohibiting the trade between China and the Philippines in allwoven stuffs, skein and woven silk and clothing, except the finestlinen. Manila imports from China were thereby limited to fine linen, porcelain, wax, pepper, cinnamon, and cloves. At the expiration of sixmonths after the proclamation of the decree, any remaining stocks ofthe proscribed articles were to be burnt! Thenceforth trade in suchprohibited articles was to be considered illicit, and such goodsarriving in Mexico after that date were to be confiscated. 

By Royal Decree dated October 27, 1720, and published in Mexico by theViceroy on February 15, 1724, the following was enacted, viz. :--Thatin future there should be two galleons per annum, instead of oneas heretofore, carrying merchandise to Acapulco, each to be of 500tons. That the merchandise sent in the two was to be of the value ofP300, 000 precisely in gold, cinnamon, wax, porcelain, cloves, pepper, etc. , but not silks, or stuffs of any kind containing silk, underpain of confiscation, to be allotted in three equal parts, namely, to the Fiscal officer, the Judge intervening, and the informer, andperpetual banishment from the Indies of all persons concerned in theshipment. That the number of Manila merchants was to be fixed, and anyone not included in that number was to be prohibited from trading. Noecclesiastic, or professor of religion, or foreigner could be includedin the elected few, whose rights to ship were non-transferable. That ifthe proceeds of the sale happened to exceed the fixed sum of P600, 000, on account of market prices being higher than was anticipated, only that amount could be brought back in money, and the difference, or excess, in goods. [If it turned out to be less than that amount, the difference could not be remitted in cash by Mexican merchants forfurther purchases, the spirit of the decree being to curtail the supplyof goods from this Colony to Mexico, for the benefit of the Spanishhome traders. The infringer of this regulation was subject to thepenalties of confiscation and two years' banishment from the Indies. ]

By Royal Decree of the year 1726, received and published in Manilaon August 9, 1727, the following regulations were made known, viz. :--That the prohibition relating to silk and all-silk goods wasrevoked. That only one galleon was to be sent each year (instead oftwo) as formerly. That the prohibition on clothing containing somesilk, and a few other articles, was maintained. That for five yearscertain stuffs of fine linen were permitted to be shipped, to thelimit of 4, 000 pieces per annum, precisely in boxes containing each500 pieces. 

The Southern Spanish traders in 1729 petitioned the King against thePhilippine trade in woven goods, and protested against the five-years'permission granted in the above decree of 1726, declaring that itwould bring about the total ruin of the Spanish weaving industry, and that the galleons, on their return to the Philippines, instead ofloading Spanish manufactures, took back specie for the continuanceof their traffic to the extent of three or four millions of pesoseach year. The King, however, refused to modify the decree of 1726until the five years had expired, after which time the Governor wasordered to load the galleons according to the former decree of 1720. 

The Manila merchants were in great excitement. The Governor, underpretext that the original Royal Decree ought to have been transmitteddirect to the Philippines and not merely communicated by the MexicanViceroy, agreed to "obey and not fulfil" its conditions. 

From the year 1720, during the period of prohibitions, the RoyalTreasury lost about P50, 000 per annum, and many of the taxes werenot recovered in full. Besides this, the donations to Government bythe citizens, which sometimes had amounted to P40, 000 in one year, ceased. A double loss was also caused to Mexico, for the people therehad to pay much higher prices for their stuffs supplied by Spanish(home) monopolists, whilst Mexican coffers were being drained to makegood the deficits in the Philippine Treasury. The Manila merchantswere terribly alarmed, and meeting after meeting was held. A Congressof Government officials and priests was convened, and each priestwas asked to express his opinion on the state of trade. 

Commercial depression in the Philippines had never been so marked, and the position of affairs was made known to the King in a petition, which elicited the Royal Decree dated April 8, 1734. It providedthat the value of exports should thenceforth not exceed P500, 000, and the amount permitted to return was also raised to P1, 000, 000(always on the supposition that 100 per cent. Over cost laid downwould be realized). The dues and taxes paid in Acapulco on arrival, and the dues paid in Manila on starting, amounted to 17 per cent. Ofthe million expected to return. [116] This covered the whole costof maintenance of ships, salaries, freight, and charges of all kindswhich were paid by Government in the first instance, and then recoveredfrom the _Consulado_. 

The fixed number of merchants was to be decided by the merchantsthemselves without Government intervention. Licence was grantedto allow those of Cavite to be of the number, and both Spaniardsand natives were eligible. Military and other professional men, except ecclesiastics, could thenceforth be of the number. Foreignerswere strictly excluded. The right to ship (_boleta_) was not to betransferable, except to _poor widows_. A sworn invoice of the shipmentwas to be sent to the royal officials and magistrate of the SupremeCourt of Mexico for the value to be verified. The official in charge, or supercargo, was ordered to make a book containing a list of thegoods and their respective owners, and to hand this to the commander ofthe fortress in Acapulco, with a copy of the same for the Viceroy. TheViceroy was to send his copy to the Audit Office to be again copied, and the last copy was to be forwarded to the Royal Indian Council. 

Every soldier, sailor, and officer was at liberty to disembark with abox containing goods of which the Philippine value should not exceedP30, in addition to his private effects. All hidden goods were to beconfiscated, one-half to the Royal Treasury, one-fourth to the Judgeintervening, and one-fourth to the informer; but, if such confiscatedgoods amounted to P50, 000 in value, the Viceroy and Mexican Councilwere to determine the sum to be awarded to the Judge and the informer. 

If the shipment met a good market and realized more than 1, 000, 000pesos, only 1, 000, 000 could be remitted in money, and the excessin duty-paid Mexican merchandise. If the shipment failed to fetch1, 000, 000, the difference could not be sent in money for making newpurchases. (The same restriction as in the decree of 1720. )

The object of these measures was to prevent Mexicans supplyingtrading capital to the Philippines instead of purchasing Peninsulamanufactures. It was especially enacted that all goods sent to Mexicofrom the Philippines should have been purchased with the capitalof the Philippine shippers, and be their exclusive property withoutlien. If it were discovered that on the return journey of the galleonmerchandise was carried to the Philippines belonging to the Mexicans, it was to be confiscated, and a fine imposed on the interested partiesof three times the value, payable to the Royal Treasury, on the firstconviction. The second conviction entailed confiscation of all theculprits' goods and banishment from Mexico for 10 years. 

The weights and measures of the goods shipped were to be Philippine, and, above all, wax was to be sent in pieces of precisely the sameweight and size as by custom established. 

The Council for freight allotment in Manila was to comprise theGovernor, the senior Magistrate, and, failing this latter, theMinister of the Supreme Court next below him; also the Archbishop, orin his stead the Dean of the Cathedral; an ordinary Judge, a MunicipalCouncillor, and _one merchant_ as Commissioner in representation ofthe eight who formed the _Consulado_ of merchants. 

The expulsion of the non-christian Chinese in 1755 (_vide_p. 111) caused a deficit in the taxes of P30, 000 per annum. Theonly exports of Philippine produce at this date were cacao, sugar, wax, and sapanwood. Trade, and consequently the Treasury, were in adeplorable state. To remedy matters, and to make up the above P30, 000, the Government proposed to levy an export duty which was to be appliedto the cost of armaments fitted out against pirates. Before the taxwas approved of by the King some friars loaded a vessel with exportmerchandise, and absolutely refused to pay the impost, allegingimmunity. The Governor argued that there could be no religiousimmunity in trade concerns. The friars appealed to Spain, and thetax was disapproved of; meantime, most of the goods and the vesselitself rotted pending the solution of the question by the RoyalIndian Council. 

There have been three or four periods during which no galleon arrivedat the Philippines for two or three consecutive years, and coin becamevery scarce, giving rise to rebellion on the part of the Chineseand misery to the Filipinos. After the capture of the _Covadonga_ bythe British, six years elapsed before a galleon brought the subsidy;then the _Rosario_ arrived with 5, 000 gold ounces (nominally P80, 000). 

However, besides the subsidy, the Colony had certain other sourcesof public revenue, as will be seen by the following:--

 PHILIPPINE BUDGET FOR THE YEAR 1757

 Income. P cts. Stamped Paper 12, 199 87 1/2 Port and Anchorage Dues 25, 938 00 Sale of Offices, such as Notaries, Public Scribes, Secretaryships, etc. 5, 839 12 1/2 Offices hired out 4, 718 75 Taxes farmed out 28, 500 00 Excise duties 4, 195 00 Sale of _Encomiendas_, and 22 provincial govts. Hired out 263, 588 00 Divers taxes, fines, pardons, etc. 18, 156 00 Tribute, direct tax 4, 477 00 Sudsidy from Mexico 250, 000 00 Deficit 79, 844 00 ------- -- P 697, 455 75

 Expenditure. P cts. Supreme Court 34, 219 75 Treasury and Audit Office 12, 092 00 University 800 00 Cost of the annual Galleon 23, 465 00 Clergy 103, 751 00 Land and sea forces all over the Philippines including offensive and defensive operations against Moros--Staff and Material 312, 864 00 Salaries, Hospital and Divers Expenses 70, 158 00 Remittance in Merchandise to Mexico on account of the Subsidy 140, 106 00 ------- -- P 697, 455 75

When the merchant citizens of Manila were in clover, they madedonations to the Government to cover the deficits, and loans wereraised amongst them to defray extraordinary disbursements, such asexpeditions against the Mahometans, etc. In the good years, too, thevaluation of the merchandise shipped and the corresponding returns wereunderrated in the sworn declarations, so that an immensely profitabletrade was done on a larger scale than was legally permitted. Between1754 and 1759, in view of the reduced profits, due to the circumstancesalready mentioned, the Manila merchants prayed the King for a reductionof the royal dues, which had been originally fixed on the basis ofthe gross returns being equal to double the cost of the merchandiselaid down in Acapulco. To meet the case, another Royal Decree wasissued confirming the fixed rate of royal dues and disbursements, butin compensation the cargo was thenceforth permitted to include 4, 000pieces of fine linen, without restriction as to measure or value; thesworn value was abolished, and the maximum return value of the wholeshipment was raised to one-and-a-half millions of pesos. Hence thetotal dues and disbursements became equal to 11 1/3 per cent. Insteadof 17 per cent. , as heretofore, on the anticipated return value. 

In 1763 the Subsidy, together with the _Consulado_ shippers' returns, amounted in one voyage to two-and-a-half millions of pesos (_vide_p. 88). After the independence of Mexico (1819), tribute in kind(tobacco) was, until recently, shipped direct to Spain, and Peninsulacoin began to circulate in these Islands (_vide_ Currency). 

Consequent on the banishment of the non-christian Chinese in 1755, trade became stagnant. The Philippines now experienced what Spain hadfelt since the reign of Phillip III. , when the expulsion of 900, 000Moorish agriculturists and artisans crippled her home industries, which needed a century and a half to revive. The Acapulco trade wasfast on the wane, and the Manila Spanish merchants were anxious to getthe local trade into their own hands. Every Chinese shop was closedby Government order, and a joint-stock trading company of Spaniardsand half-breeds was formed with a capital of P76, 500, in shares ofP500 each. Stores were opened in the business quarter, each under thecontrol of two Spaniards or half-breeds, the total number of shopmenbeing 21. The object of the company was to purchase clothing andstaple goods of all kinds required in the Islands, and to sell thesame at 30 per cent. Over cost price. Out of the 30 per cent. Were tobe paid an 8 per cent. Tax, a dividend of 10 per cent. Per annum tothe shareholders, and the remainder was to cover salaries and form areserve fund for new investments. The company found it impossible tomake the same bargains with the Chinese sellers as the Chinese buyershad done, and a large portion of the capital was soon lost. Thefunds at that date in the _Obras Pias_ amounted to P159, 000, andthe trustees were applied to by the company for financial support, which they refused. The Governor was petitioned; theologians andmagistrates were consulted on the subject. The theological objectionswere overruled by the judicial arguments, and the Governor orderedthat P130, 000 of the _Obras Pias_ funds should be loaned to thecompany on debentures; nevertheless, within a year the company failed. 

A commercial company, known as the "_Compañia Guipuzcoana deCarácas_, " was then created under royal sanction, and obtainedcertain privileges. During the term of its existence, it almostmonopolized the Philippine-American trade, which was yet carried onexclusively in the State galleons. On the expiration of its charter, about the year 1783, a petition was presented to the Home Government, praying for a renewal of monopolies and privileges in favour of a newtrading corporation, to be founded on a modified basis. Consequently, a charter (_Real cédula_) was granted on March 10, 1785, to a company, bearing the style and title of the "_Real Compañia de Filipinas_. " Itscapital was P8, 000, 000, in 32, 000 shares of P250 each. King CharlesIII. Took up 4, 000 shares; another 3, 000 shares were reserved for thefriars and the Manila Spanish or native residents, and the balancewas allotted in the Peninsula. 

The defunct company had engaged solely in the American trade, employingthe galleons; its successor left that sphere of commerce and proposedto trade with the East and Europe. 

[117] "To the '_Real Compañia de Filipinas_' was conceded theexclusive privilege of trade between Spain and the Archipelago, with the exception of the traffic between Manila and Acapulco. Itsships could fly the Royal Standard, with a signal to distinguish themfrom war-vessels. It was allowed two years, counting from the date ofcharter, to acquire foreign-built vessels and register them under theSpanish flag, free of fees. It could import, duty free, any goods forthe fitting out of its ships, or ships' use. It could take into itsservice royal naval officers, and, whilst these were so employed, their seniority would continue to count, and in all respects theywould enjoy the same rights as if they were serving in the navy. Itcould engage foreign sailors and officers, always provided that thecaptain and chief officer were Spaniards. All existing Royal Decreesand Orders, forbidding the importation into the Peninsula of stuffsand manufactured articles from India, China, and Japan were abrogatedin favour of this company. Philippine produce, too, shipped to Spainby the company, could enter duty free. The prohibition on directtraffic with China and India was thenceforth abolished in favour of allManila merchants, and the company's ships in particular could call atChinese ports. The company undertook to support Philippine agriculture, and to spend, with this object, 4 per cent, of its nett profits. "

In order to protect the company's interests, foreign ships were notallowed to bring goods from Europe to the Philippines, although theycould land Chinese and Indian wares. 

By the Treaties of Tordesillas and Antwerp (q. V. ), the Spaniardshad agreed that to reach their Oriental possessions they wouldtake only the Western route, which would be _viá_ Mexico or roundCape Horn. These treaties, however, were virtually quashed byKing Charles III. On the establishment of the "_Real Compañia deFilipinas_. " Holland only lodged a nominal protest when the company'sships were authorized to sail to the Philippines _viá_ the Cape ofGood Hope, for the Spaniards' ability to compete had, meanwhile, vastly diminished. 

With such important immunities, and the credit which ought to havebeen procurable by a company with P8, 000, 000 paid-up capital, itsoperations might have been relatively vast. However, its balancesheet, closed to October 31, 1790 (five-and-a-half years after itstarted), shows the total nominal assets to be only P10, 700, 194, largely in unrecoverable advances to tillers. The working account isnot set out. Although it was never, in itself, a flourishing concern, it brought immense benefit to the Philippines (at the expense of itsshareholders) by opening the way for the Colony's future commercialprosperity. This advantage operated in two ways. (1) It gave greatimpulse to agriculture, which thenceforth began to make importantstrides. By large sums of money, distributed in anticipation of the4 per cent, on nett profit, and expended in the rural districts, itimparted life, vigour and development to those germs of husbandry--suchas the cultivation of sugar-cane, tobacco, cotton, indigo, pepper, etc. --which, for a long time had been, and to a certain extent arestill, the staple dependence of many provinces. (2) It opened theroad to final extinction of all those vexatious prohibitions of tradewith the Eastern ports and the Peninsula which had checked the energyof the Manila merchants. It was the precursor of free trade--thestepping-stone to commercial liberty in these regions. 

The causes of its decline are not difficult to trace. Established asit was on a semi-official basis, all kinds of intrigues were resortedto--all manner of favouritism was besought--to secure appointments, more or less lucrative, in the _Great Company_. Influential incapacityprevailed over knowledge and ability, and the men intrusted with thedirection of the company's operations proved themselves inexperiencedand quite unfit to cope with unshackled competition from the outerworld. Their very exclusiveness was an irresistible temptation tocontrabandists. Manila private merchants, viewing with displeasuremonopoly in any form, lost no opportunity of putting obstacles inthe way of the company. Again, the willing concurrence of nativelabourers in an enterprise of magnitude was as impossible to securethen as it is now. The native had a high time at the expense of thecompany, revelling in the enjoyment of cash advances, for which somegave little, others nothing. Success could only have been achievedby forced labour, and this right was not included in the charter. 

In 1825 the company was on the point of collapse, when, to supportthe tottering fabric, its capital was increased by P12, 500, 000 under_Real Cédula_ of that year, dated June 22. King Charles IV. Took15, 772 (P250) shares of this new issue. But nothing could save thewreck, and finally it was decreed, by _Real Cédula_ of May 28, 1830, that the privileges conceded to the "_Real Compañia de Filipinas_"had expired--and Manila was then opened to Free Trade with the wholeworld. It marked an epoch in Philippine affairs. 

In 1820 the declared independence of Mexico, acknowledged subsequentlyby the European Powers, forced Spain to a decision, and direct tradebetween the Philippines and the mother country became a reluctantnecessity. No restrictions were placed on the export to Spain ofcolonial produce, but value limitations were fixed with regard toChinese goods. The export from the Philippines to Acapulco, Callao, and other South American ports was limited to P750, 000 at that date. Inthe same year (1820) permission was granted for trade between Manilaand the Asiatic ports. Twenty-two years afterwards one-third of allthe Manila export trade was done with China. 

When the galleons fell into disuse, communication was definitelyestablished with Spain by merchant sailing ships _viâ_ the Cape ofGood Hope, whilst the opening of the Suez Canal (1869) brought thePhilippines within 32 days' journey by steamer from Barcelona. 

The voyage _viâ_ the Cape of Good Hope occupied from three to sixmonths; the sailings were less frequent than at the present day, andthe journey was invariably attended with innumerable discomforts. Itwas interesting to hear the few old Spanish residents, in my time, compare their privations when they came by the Cape with the luxuriousfacilities of later times. What is to-day a pleasure was then ahardship, consequently the number of Spaniards in the Islands wassmall; their movements were always known. It was hardly possible fora Spaniard to acquire a sum of money and migrate secretly from oneisland to another, and still less easy was it for him to leave theColony clandestinely. 

The Spaniard of that day who settled in the Colony usually becamewell known during the period of the service which brought him tothe Far East. If, after his retirement from public duty, on theconclusion of his tenure of office, he decided to remain in theColony, it was often due to his being able to count on the pecuniarysupport and moral protection of the priests. The idea grew, so thatneedy Spaniards in the Philippines, in the course of time, cameto entertain a kind of socialistic notion that those who had meansought to aid and set up those who had nothing, without guarantee ofany kind: "_Si hubiera quien me proteja!_" was the common sigh--theoutcome of Cæsarism nurtured by a Government which discountenancedindividual effort. Later on, too, many natives seemed to think thatthe foreign firms, and others employing large capital, might wellbecome philanthropic institutions, paternally assisting them withunsecured capital. The natives were bred in this moral bondage:they had seen trading companies, established under royal sanction, benefit the few and collapse; they had witnessed extensive works, undertaken _por viâ de administracion_ miscarry in their ostensibleobjects but prosper in their real intent, namely, the providing ofberths for those who lived by their wits. 

The patriarchal system was essayed by a wealthy firm of Americanmerchants (Russell & Sturgis) with very disastrous results tothemselves. They distributed capital all over the Colony, and thenatives abused their support in a most abominable manner. A native, alleging that he had opened up a plantation, would call on the firmand procure advances against future crops after scant inquiry. Havingonce advanced, it was necessary to continue doing so to save thefirst loans. 

Under the auspices of the late Mr. Nicholas Loney, great impulse wasgiven to the commerce of Yloilo, and, due to his efforts, the Islandof Negros was first opened up. His memory is still revered, and he isoften spoken of as the original benefactor to the trading communityof that district. Russell & Sturgis subsequently extended theiroperations to that locality. The result was that they were deceived inevery direction by the natives, who, instead of bringing in produceto pay off advances, sent their sons to college, built fine houses, bought pianos, jewellery, etc. , and in a hundred ways satisfied theirpride and love for outward show in a manner never known before, atthe expense of the American capitalists. As bankers, the firm enjoyedthe unlimited confidence of those classes who had something to lose aswell as to gain; hence it is said that, the original partners havingwithdrawn their money interest, the firm endeavoured to continuethe business with a working capital chiefly derived from the fundsdeposited by private persons at 8 per cent, per annum. All mighthave gone well but for the rascality of the native agriculturists, who brought about the failure of the house in 1875 by taking loansand delivering no produce. The news amazed everybody. Trade was, for the moment, completely paralyzed. The great firm, which for yearshad been the mainspring of all Philippine mercantile enterprise, hadfailed! But whilst many individuals suffered (principally depositorsat interest), fifty times as many families to-day owe their financialposition to the generosity of the big firm; and I could mention thenames of half a dozen real-estate owners in Yloilo Province who, having started with nothing, somehow found themselves possessingcomparatively large fortunes at the time of the liquidation. 

Consequent on the smash, a reaction set in which soon proved beneficialto the Colony at large. Foreign and Spanish houses of minor importance, which had laboured in the shade during the existence of the greatfirm, were now able to extend their operations in branches of tradewhich had hitherto been practically monopolized. 

Before Manila was opened to foreign trade, even in a restricted form, special concessions appear to have been granted to a few traders. Onewriter mentions that a French mercantile house was founded in Manilamany years prior to 1787, and that an English firm obtained permissionto establish itself in 1809. In 1789 a foreign ship was allowed toenter the port of Manila and to discharge a cargo. This would appearto have been the first. In olden times the demand for ordinary foreigncommodities was supplied by the Chinese traders and a few Americansand Persians. During the latter half of the 18th century a Spanishman-of-war occasionally arrived, bringing European manufactures forsale, and loaded a return cargo of Oriental goods. 

The Philippine Islands were but little known in the foreign marketsand commercial centres of Europe before the middle of the 19thcentury. Notwithstanding the special trading concessions granted toone foreigner and another from the beginning of last century, it wasnot until the port of Manila was unrestrictedly opened to residentforeign merchants in 1834 that a regular export trade with the wholemercantile world gradually came into existence. 

It is said that whilst the charter of the "_Real Compañiade Filipinas_" was still in force (1785-1830) a Mr. Butler [118]solicited permission to reside in and open up a trade between Manilaand foreign ports; but his petition was held to be monstrous andgrievously dangerous to the political security of the Colony; hence itwas rejected. The Spaniards had had very good reason to doubt foreignintercourse after their experience of 1738, when they preferred awar with England to a gross abuse of the _Asiento_ contract enteredinto under the Treaty of Utrecht. [119] Subsequently the American firmalready mentioned, Russell & Sturgis, made a request to be allowed totrade, which, having the support of the Gov. -General of the day, wasgranted; and Mr. Butler, taking advantage of this recent precedent, also succeeded in founding a commercial house in Manila. To theseforeigners is due the initiation of the traffic in those productswhich became the staple trade of the Colony and paved the way for thebulk of the business being, as it is to-day, in the hands of Europeanand American merchants. 

The distrustful sentiment of olden times (justifiable in the 18thcentury) pervaded the Spaniards' commercial and colonial policy up totheir last day. Proposed reforms and solicitations for permissionto introduce modern improvements were by no means welcomed. Inthe provinces clerical opposition was often cast against liberalinnovations, and in the Government bureaux they were encompassed withobstructive formalities, objections, and delays. [120]

By Royal Ordinance of 1844 strangers were excluded from the interior;in 1857 unrepealed decrees were brought forward to urge the prohibitionof foreigners to establish themselves in the Colony; and, as lateas 1886, their trading here was declared to be "prejudicial to thematerial interests of the country. " [121]

The support of the friars referred to in p. 255 became a thing ofthe past. Colonists had increased tenfold, the means of communicationand of exit were too ample for the security of the lenders, who, asmembers of religious communities, could not seek redress at law, and, moreover, those "lucky hits" which were made by penniless Europeansin former times by pecuniary help "just in the nick of time" wereno longer possible, for every known channel of lucrative transactionwas in time taken up by capitalists. 

It was the capital brought originally to the Philippines throughforeign channels which developed the modern commerce of the Colony, and much of the present wealth of the inhabitants engaged in tradeand agriculture is indirectly due to foreign enterprise. Negros Islandwas entirely opened up by foreign capital. In Manila, the fathers ofmany of the half-castes and pure natives who at this day figure asmen of position and standing, commenced their careers as messengers, warehouse-keepers, clerks, etc. , of the foreign houses. 

There were a great many well-to-do Spaniards in trade, but few whosefunds on starting were brought by them from the Peninsula. The firstSpanish steamer-owner in the Colony, a baker by trade, owed hisprosperity to the support of Russell & Sturgis. One of the richestSpanish merchants (who died in 1894) once kept a little grocer's shop, and after the failure of Russell & Sturgis he developed into a merchantand shipowner whose firm became, in time, the largest Spanish houseoperating in hemp and other produce. 

About 14 Spanish firms of a certain importance were established inManila, Yloilo, and Cebú, in addition to the Europeans trading hereand there on the coasts of the Islands. In Manila there were (andare still) two foreign bank branches [122] (one with a sub-branch inYloilo), three bank agencies, and the Philippine private banking-houseof J.  M. Tuason & Co. ; also the "Banco Español-Filipino, " which wasinstituted in 1852, with a capital of P400, 000, in 2, 000 shares ofP200 each. The capital was subsequently increased to P600. 000. [123]Authorized by charter, it issued notes payable to bearer on demand fromP10 upwards. The legal maximum limit of note issue was P1, 200, 000, whilst the actual circulation was about P100, 000 short of thatfigure. This bank did a very limited amount of very secure business, and it has paid dividends of 12 to 15 per cent. ; hence the shares werealways at a premium. In 1888, when 12 per cent, dividend was paid, this stock was quoted at P420; in 1895 it rose to P435. The _ObrasPias_ funds (_vide_ p. 245) constituted the orginal capital of thebank. The new position of this institution, under the (American)Insular Government since 1905, is explained in Chapter xxxi. 

The first Philippine bank was opened in Manila by a certain FranciscoRodriguez about the year 1830. 

From the conquest up to the year 1857 there was no Philippinecoinage. Mexican dollars were the only currency, and in default ofsubsidiary money these dollars, called _pesos_, were cut. In 1764 cutmoney was prohibited, and small Spanish silver and copper coins cameto the Islands. In 1799 the Gov. -General forbade the exportation ofmoney, and fixed the peso at 8 _reales fuertes_ and the _real_ at17 _cuartos. _ Shortly afterwards gold came to the Islands, and wasplentiful until 1882. In 1837 other copper coins came from Spain, and the _real fuerte_ was fixed at 20 _cuartos_. In 1857 the Manilamint was established, _pesetas_ were introduced, five being equal toone peso, and 32 cuartos being equal to one peseta. Contemporaneouslythe coinage in Spain was 34 cuartos to one peseta and 5 pesetas toone _duro_--the coin nominally equivalent to the peso--but the durobeing subdivided into 20 _reales vellon_, the colonial real fuertecame to be equivalent to 2 1/2 reales vellon. The evident intentionwas to have one common nominal basis (peso and duro), but subdividedin a manner to limit the currency of the colonial coinage to its ownlocality. With pesos, reales, cuartos, maravedis, and ounces of gold, bookkeeping was somewhat complicated; however, the Government accountswere rendered easy by a decree dated January 17, 1857, which fixedpesos and cents for official reckoning. Merchants then adopted thisstandard. Up to 1860 gold was so abundant that as much as 10 per cent, was paid to exchange an _onza_ of gold (P16) for silver. In 1878 goldand silver were worth their nominal relative values. Gold, however, has gradually disappeared from the Colony, large quantities havingbeen exported to China. In 1881 the current premium for purchasinggold was 2 per cent. , and at the beginning of 1885 as much as 10 percent. Premium was paid for Philippine gold of the Isabella II orany previous coinage. The gold currency of Alfonso XII. (1875-85)was always of less intrinsic value than the coin of earlier date, the difference averaging about 2 per cent. At the present day goldcould only be obtained in very limited quantities at about the samerate as sight drafts on Europe. Philippine gold pieces are rare. 

In 1883 Mexican dollars of a later coinage than 1877 were calledin, and a term was fixed after which they would cease to be legaltender. In 1885 decimal bronze coins were introduced. In July, 1886, a decree was published calling in all foreign and Chinese chop dollars[124] within six months, after which date the introducer of such coininto the Colony would be subject to the penalty of a fine equal to20 per cent. Of the value imported, the obligation to immediatelyre-export the coin, and civil action for the misdemeanour. At theexpiration of the six months the Treasury was not in a position toeffect the conversion of the foreign medium in private hands priorto the publication of the decree. The term was extended, but in timethe measure became practically void, so far as the legal tender wasconcerned. However, the importation of Mexican dollars was stillprohibited; but, as they remained current in Manila at par value, whilst in Hong-Kong and Singapore they could be bought for 8 to 12per cent, (and in 1894 25 per cent. ) less than Manila dollars, largequantities were smuggled into the Colony. It is estimated that in theyear 1887 the clandestine introduction of Mexican dollars into Manilaaveraged about P150, 000 per month. I remember a Chinaman was caught inSeptember, 1887, with P164, 000, imported in cases declared to containmatches. In 1890 there was a "boom" in the silver market. Owing tothe action of the American Silverites, the Washington Treasury calledfor a monthly supply of 4, 000, 000 of silver dollars; consequentlysight rate on London in Hong-Kong touched 3s. 10 1/4d. , and in Manilarose to 3s. 10 1/2d. , but a rapid reaction set in when the Treasurydemand ceased. In 1895 we heard in Manila that the Government wereabout to coin Philippine pesos and absolutely demonetize Mexicansas a medium in the Islands. But this measure was never carried out, probably because the Government had not the necessary cash withwhich to effect the conversion. Some few Philippine peso pieces were, however, put into circulation concurrently with the Mexican pesos. 

In June, 1903, the ss. _Don Juan_, owned by Francisco L. Rojas, ofManila, took on board in Hong-Kong about $400, 000 Mexicans (i. E. , pesos) for the purpose of smuggling them into Manila. On board therewere also, as passengers, a Señor Rodoreda and a crowd of Chinesecoolies. The vessel caught fire off the west coast of Luzon. Thecaptain, the crew, and the Spanish passenger abandoned the ship inboats, leaving the Chinese to their awful fate. A steam launch wassent alongside and saved a few dollars, whilst the despairing Chinesebecame victims to the flames and sharks. The ship's burnt-out hullwas towed to Manila Bay. The remaining dollars were confiscated, and the captain and chief engineer were prosecuted. 

The universal monetary crisis due to the depreciation of silver wasexperienced here, and the Government made matters still worse bycoining half-pesos and 20-cent pieces, which had not the intrinsicvalue expressed, and exchange consequently fell still lower. InSeptember, 1887, a Madrid periodical, _Correo de España_, stated thatthe bastard Philippine 50-cent pieces were rejected in Madrid even bymoney-changers. In May, 1888, the peso was quoted at 3s. 2 3/4d. (over19 per cent. Below nominal value), and shippers to the Colony, whohad already suffered considerably by the loss on exchange, had theirinterests still further impaired by this action of the Treasury. ForExchange Fluctuations _vide_ Chap, xxxi. , "Trade Statistics. "

A Custom-house was established and port opened in Zamboanga (MindanaoIs. ) for direct communication with abroad in 1831; those of Sual(Pangasinán) and Yloilo (Panay Is. ) in 1855, and that of Cebú in1863. The Custom-house of Sual was subsequently abolished, and theport having been closed to direct foreign trade, the place has lostits former importance, and lapsed into the state of a lifeless village. 

Special permission could be obtained for ships to load in and saildirect from harbours where no Custom-houses were established, on asum of money being lodged beforehand at the _Caja de Depósitos _inManila, to cover duties, dues, etc. , to be assessed. 

After the opening of the port of Yloilo, three years elapsed before acargo of produce sailed thence to a foreign port. Since then it hasgradually become the shipping centre for the crops (chiefly sugarand sapanwood) raised in the islands of Panay and Negros. Fromabout the year 1882 to 1897 it attracted a portion of what wasformerly the Cebú trade. Since then the importance of Yloilo hasdiminished. Its development as a port was entirely due to foreigners, and considerably aided agriculture in the Visayas Islands. Heretoforethe small output of sugar (which had never reached 1, 000 tons inany year) had to be sent up to Manila. The expense of local freight, brokerages, and double loading and discharging left so little profitto the planters that the results were then quite discouraging. Nonebut wooden sugar-cane mills were employed at that time, but sincethen many small steam-power factories have been erected (_vide_Sugar). The produce shipped in Yloilo [125] was principally carriedto the United States in American sailing-ships. 

For figures relating to Chief Exports from the various ports, _vide_Chap. Xxxi. , "Trade Statistics. "

Most of the carrying Import trade was in the hands of subsidizedSpanish steamer-owners, whilst the larger portion of the Exports wasconveyed in foreign vessels, which arrived in ballast from Easternports where they had left cargoes. 

Smuggling was carried on to a considerable extent for years, and in1891 a fresh stimulus was given to contraband by the introduction of aProtectionist Tariff, which came into force on April 1 of that year, and under which Spanish goods brought in Spanish ships were allowedto enter free of duty. [126]

In order to evade the payment of the Manila Port Works Tax (q. V. ), forwhich no value was given, large quantities of piece-goods for Manilawere shipped from Europe to Yloilo, passed through the Custom-housethere and re-shipped in inter-island steamers to Manila. In 1890 sometwo-thirds of the Yloilo foreign imports were for re-shipment. 

The circumstances which directly led to the opening of Zamboanga (in1831) as a commercial port are interesting when it is remembered thatMindanao Island is still quasi-independent in the interior--inhabitedby races unconquered by the Spaniards, and where agriculture bycivilized settlers is as yet nascent. It appears that the Port of Joló(Sulu Is. ) had been, for a long time, frequented by foreign ships, whose owners or officers (chiefly British) unscrupulously supplied theSulus with sundry manufactured goods, including _arms of warfare_, much to the detriment of Spanish interests there, in exchange formother-of-pearl, pearls, gums, etc. The Spaniards claimed suzerainrights over the island, but were not strong enough to establish andprotect a Custom-house, so they imposed the regulation that shipsloading in Joló should put in at Zamboanga for clearance to foreignports. The foreigners who carried on this illicit traffic protestedagainst a sailing-ship being required to go out of her homewardcourse about one hundred and twenty miles for the mere formalityof customs clearance. A British ship (and perhaps many before her)sailed straight away from Joló, in defiance of the Spaniards, andthe matter was then brought to the notice of the British Government, who intimated that either Joló must be declared a free port or aCustom-house must be established there. The former alternative waschosen by the Spaniards, but Zamboanga remained an open port forforeign trade which very rarely came. 

The supreme control of merchant shipping and naval forces wasvested in the same high official. No foreigner was permitted to owna vessel trading between Spain and her colonies, or between oneSpanish colony and another, or doing a coasting trade within theColony. This difficulty was however readily overcome, and reduced toa mere ineffective formality, by foreigners employing Spaniards tobecome nominal owners of their vessels. Thus a very large portion ofthe inter-island steamer carrying-trade was virtually conducted byforeigners, chiefly British. 

Mail-steamers, subsidized by the Government, left the capital everyfortnight for the different islands, and there was a quarterly PacificMail Service to the Ladrone Islands. [127] Regular mails arrived from, and left for, Europe every fortnight, but as there were intermediateopportunities of remitting and receiving correspondence, reallyabout three mails were received and three despatched every month. Themail-route for Europe is _viâ_ Singapore, but there were some sevenor eight sailings of steamers per month between Manila and Hong-Kong(the nearest foreign colony--640 miles), whence mails were forwardedto Europe, Australia, Japan, the United States, etc. 

Between the capital and several ports in the adjacent provinces therewas a daily service of passenger and light cargo-steamers. 

Between Yloilo and the adjoining Province of Antique, the Districtof Concepcion and the Islands of Negros and Cebú, there were somehalf-dozen small steamers, belonging to Filipinos and Spaniards, running regularly with passengers and merchandise, whilst in thesugar-producing season--from January to May--they were fully freightedwith cargoes of this staple article. 

The carrying-trade in sailing craft between the Islands was chieflyin the hands of natives and half-castes. There were also a few Spanishsailing-ship owners, and in the Port of Yloilo a few schooners (called_lorchas_), loading from 40 to 100 tons of sugar, were the propertyof foreigners, under the nominal ownership of Spanish subjects, for the reasons mentioned in the preceding page. 

The principal exporters employ middlemen for the collecting of produce, and usually require their guarantee for sales at credit to theprovincial purchasers of imports. These middlemen are always personsof means, born in the Colony, and, understanding both the intricaciesof the native character and the European mode of transacting business, they serve as very useful--almost indispensable--intermediaries. 

It was only when the crisis in the Sugar trade affected the wholeworld, and began to be felt in the Philippines in 1884, that themajority of the natives engaged in that industry slowly began tounderstand that the current price of produce fluctuated accordingto supply and demand. Before transactions were so thoroughly in thehands of middlemen, small producers used to take their samples to thepurchasers, "to see how much they cared to pay" as they expressedit--the term "market price" seldom being used or understood in theprovinces, because of the belief that prices rose or fell accordingto the caprice or generosity of the foreign buyer. Accustomed todeal, during the first centuries of the Spanish occupation, with theChinese, the natives, even among themselves, rarely have fixed pricesin retail dealings, and nearly every quotation in small traffic istaken only as a fancy price, subject to considerable rebate beforeclosing. The Chinese understand the native pretty well; they study hislikings, and they so fix their prices that an enormous reduction canbe made for his satisfaction. He goes away quite contented, whilstthe Chinaman chuckles over having got the best of the bargain. Eventhe import houses, when they advertise their goods for sale, seldomstate the prices; it seems as if all regarded the question of priceas a shifty one. 

The system of giving credit in the retail trade of Manila, and a fewprovincial towns, was the ruin of many shopkeepers. There were fewretailers who had fixed prices; most of them fluctuated according tothe race, or nationality, of the intending customer. The Chinese dealermade no secret about his price being merely nominal. If on the firstoffer the hesitating purchaser were about to move away, he would callafter him and politely invite him to haggle over the bargain. [128]

The only real basis of wealth in the Colony is the raw materialobtained by Agriculture, and Forest produce. Nothing was done by theconquerors to foster the Industrial Arts, and the Manufacturing Tradeswere of insignificant importance. Cigars were the only _manufactured_export staple, whilst perfumes, a little cordage, and occasionallya parcel of straw or finely-split bamboo hats were shipped. 

In the Provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga, split-cane and Nito(_lygodium_) hats, straw mats, and cigar-cases are made. Some ofthe finest worked cigar-cases require so much time for making thatthey cost up to P20 each. Hats can only be obtained in quantities byshippers through native middlemen. 

In Yloilo Province a rough cloth called _Sinamay_ is woven [129]from selected hemp fibre. Also in this province and that of Antique(Panay Is. ), _Piña_ muslin of pure pine-leaf fibre and _Husi_ of mixedpine-leaf and hemp filament are made. Ilocos Province has a reputationin these Islands for its woollen and dyed cotton fabrics. Taal(Batangas) also produces a special make of cotton stuffs. Pasig, on the river of that name, and Sulípan (Pampanga), are locally knownfor their rough pottery, and Cápiz and Romblon for their sugar-bags. 

Paete, at the extreme east of the Laguna de Bay, is the centre forwhite-wood furniture and wood-carving. In Mariquina, near Manila, wooden clogs and native leather shoes are made. Santa Cruz (Manila)is the gold and silver-workers' quarter. The native women in nearlyall the civilized provinces produce some very handsome specimens ofembroidery on European patterns. Mats to sleep upon (_petates_) strawbags (_bayones_), baskets (_tampipes_), alcohol, bamboo furniture, buffalo-hide leather, wax candles, soap, etc. , have their centres ofmanufacture on a small scale. The first Philippine brewery was openedOctober 4, 1890, in San Miguel (Manila) by Don Enrique Barretto, to whom was granted a monopoly by the Spanish Government for twentyyears. It is now chiefly owned by a Philippine half-caste, Don PedroP. Rojas (resident in Paris), who formed it into a company which hasbecome a very flourishing concern. Philippine capital alone supportsthese manufactures. The traffic and consumption being entirely local, the consequent increase of wealth to the Colony is the economizeddifference between them and imported articles. These industries bringno fresh capital to the Colony, by way of profits, but they contributeto check its egress by the returns of agriculture changing hands tothe local manufacturer instead of to the foreign merchant. 

Want of cheap means of land-transport has, so far, been the chiefdrawback to Philippine manufactures, which are of small importancein the total trade of the Colony. 

Philippine railways were first officially projected in 1875, when a Royal Decree of that year, dated August 6, determined thelegislative basis for works of that nature. The Inspector of PublicWorks was instructed to form a general plan of a railway systemin Luzon Island. The projected system included (1) a line runningnorth from Manila through the Provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, andPangasinán. (2) A line running south from Manila, along the Lagunade Bay shore and eastwards through Tayabas, Camarines, and AlbayProvinces. (3) A branch from this line on the Laguna de Bay shore torun almost due south to Batangas. The lines to be constructed wereclassed under two heads, viz. :--(1) Those of general public utilityto be laid down either by the State or by subsidized companies, theconcession in this case being given by the Home Government; and (2)those of private interest, for the construction of which concessionscould be granted by the Gov. -General. 

In 1885 the Government solicited tenders for the laying of thefirst line of railway from Manila to Dagúpan--a port on the Gulfof Lingayen, and the only practicable outlet for produce from theProvince of Pangasinán and Tárlac District. The distance by seais 216 miles--the railway line 196 kilometres (say 120 miles). Thesubsidy offered by the Government amounted to about P7, 650 per mile, but on three occasions no tender was forthcoming either from Madridor in Manila, where it was simultaneously solicited. Subsequentlya modified offer was made of a guaranteed annual interest of 8 percent, on a maximum outlay of P4, 964, 473. 65, and the news was receivedin Manila in October, 1886, that the contract had been taken up bya London firm of contractors. The prospectus of "The Manila RailwayCo. , Ltd, " was issued in February, 1888. The line was to be completedwithin four years from July 21, 1887, and at the end of ninety-nineyears the railway and rolling-stock were to revert to the SpanishGovernment without compensation. The rails, locomotives (36 tons and12 tons each), tenders, coaches, waggons, and ironwork for bridges allcame from England. The first stone of the Central Station in Manila(Bilibid Road, Tondo) was laid by Gov. -General Emilio Terrero on July31, 1887. In 1890 the original contractors failed, and only the firstsection of 28 miles was opened to traffic on March 24, 1891. 

Many other circumstances, however, contributed to delay the openingof the whole line. Compensation claims were very slowly agreed to;the Government engineers slightly altered the plans; the company'sengineers could not find a hard strata in the bed of the CalumpitRiver [130] (a branch of the Rio Grande de Pampanga) on which tobuild the piers of the bridge; and lastly the Spanish authorities, who had direct intervention in the work, found all sorts of excusesfor postponing the opening of the line. When the Civil Director wasapplied to, he calmly replied that he was going to the baths, andwould think about it. Finally, on appeal to the highest authority, Gov. -General Despujols himself went up to Tárlac, and in an energeticspeech, reflecting on the dilatoriness of his subordinates, he declaredthe first Philippine railway open to traffic on November 23, 1892. Forabout a year and a half passengers and goods were ferried across theCalumpit River in pontoons. Large caissons had to be sunk in the riverin which to build the piers for the iron bridge, which cost an enormoussum of money in excess of the estimate. Later on heavy rains causeda partial inundation of the line, the embankment of which yielded tothe accumulated mass of water, and traffic to Dagúpan was temporarilysuspended. The total outlay on the line far exceeded the company'soriginal calculation, and to avert a financial collapse fresh capitalhad to be raised by the issue of 6 per cent. Prior Lien Mortgage Bonds, ranking before the debenture stock. The following official quotationson the London Stock Exchange will show the public appreciation ofthe Manila Railway Company's shares and bonds:--

 OFFICIAL QUOTATIONS. 

 December. | 7% Cum. Pref. £10 Shares. | | 6% Deb. £100 Stock. | | | 6% Prior Lien Mort. Bonds, | | | Series A. , £100. | | | | 6% Prior Lien Mort. Bonds, | | | | Series B. , £100. 

 £ £ £ £ 1893 2 49 98 87 1894 1 32 104 91 1895 1/2 29 107 85 1896 1/4 22 96 64 1897 1/4 19 101 75 1898 1 3/4 45 110 98 1899 1 3/4 33 1/2 101 1/2 87 1/2 1900 1 1/2 42 103 1/2 97 1901 2 55 108 102 1902 1 1/2 52 109 102 1903 1 1/2 58 108 104 1904 3 1/2 83 110 107 1905 4 3/4 117 110 106

Up to July 1, 1905, the interest has been regularly paid on thePrior Lien Bonds. No interest has been paid on the debentures (up toDecember, 1905) since July 1, 1891, nor on the 7 per cent. CumulativePreference Shares since July 1, 1890. On January 26, 1895, theseshares were officially quoted, for sellers, 0. 

Including the termini in Manila (Tondo) and Dagúpan, there are 29stations and 16 bridges along the main line, over which the journeyoccupies eight hours. There are two branch lines, viz. :--from Bigaáto Cabanatúan (Nueva Ecija), and from Angeles (Pampanga) to CampStotsenberg. From the Manila terminus there is a short line (about amile) running down to the quay in Binondo for goods traffic only. Thecountry through which this line passes is flat, and has large naturalresources, the development of which--without a railway--had not beenfeasible owing to the ranges of mountains--chiefly the Cordillera ofZambales--which run parallel to the coast. 

The railway is ably managed, but when I travelled on it in 1904 muchof the rolling-stock needed renewal. 

In 1890, under Royal Order No. 508, dated June 11 of that year, a 99years' concession was granted to a British commercial firm in Manilato lay a 21-mile line of railway, without subsidy, from Manila toAntipolo, to be called the "Centre of Luzon Railway. " The work was tobe commenced within one year and finished within two years. The basisof the anticipated traffic was the conveyance of pilgrims to the Shrineof Our Lady of Good Voyage and Peace (_vide_ p. 184); but, moreover, the proposed line connected the parishes of Dilao (then 4, 380 pop. ), Santa Ana (then 2, 115 pop. ), Mariquina (then 10, 000 pop. ), Cainta(then 2, 300 pop. ), and Taytay (then 6, 500 pop. )--branching to Pasigand Angono--with Antipolo (then 3, 800; now 2, 800 pop. ). The estimatedoutlay was about P1, 000, 000, but the concession was abandoned. Theproject has since been revived under American auspices. 

Under Spanish government there was a land Telegraph Service from Manilato all civilized parts of Luzon Island--also in Panay Island from Cápizto Yloilo, and in Cebú Island from the city of Cebú across the Islandand up the west coast as far north as Tuburan. There was a land-linefrom Manila to Bolinao (Zambales), from which point a submarine cablewas laid in April, 1880, by the Eastern Extension Australasia andChina Telegraph Company, Ltd. , whereby Manila was placed in directtelegraphic communication with the rest of the world. For thisservice the Spanish Government paid the company P4, 000 a month fora period of 10 years, which expired in June, 1890. In April, 1898, the same company detached the cable from Bolinao and carried it onto Manila in the s. S. _Sherard Osborn_, 207 nautical miles havingbeen added to the cable for the purpose. In return for this servicethe Spanish Government gave the company certain exclusive rights andvaluable concessions. In May, 1898, the American Admiral Dewey orderedthe Manila-Hong-Kong cable to be cut, but the connection was madegood again after the Preliminaries of Peace with Spain were signed(August 12, 1898). Cable communication was suspended, therefore, from May 2 until August 21 of that year. 

In 1897 another submarine cable was laid by the above company, under contract with the Spanish Government, connecting Manila withthe Southern Islands of Panay and Cebú (Tuburan). The Manila-Panaycable was also cut by order of Admiral Dewey (May 23, 1898), but afterAugust 12, under an arrangement made between the American and SpanishGovernments, it was re-opened on a neutral basis, and the company'sown staff worked it direct with the Manila public, instead of throughthe medium of Spanish officials. 

Since the American occupation a new cable connecting the Islandswith the United States has been laid (opened July 4, 1903), whilst anetwork of submarine and land-wires has been established throughoutthe Archipelago. 

Owing to their geographical position, none of the Philippine portsare on the line of the regular mail and passenger steamers _en route_elsewhere; hence, unlike Hong-Kong, Singapore, and other Eastern ports, there is little profit to be derived from a cosmopolitan floatingpopulation. Due, probably, to the tedious Customs regulations--theobligation of every person to procure, and carry on his person, adocument of identification--the requirement of a passport to enterthe Islands, and complicated formalities to recover it on leaving--theabsence of railroads and hotels in the interior and the difficulties oftravelling--this Colony, during the Spanish _régime_, was apparentlyoutside the region of tourists and "globe-trotters. " Indeed thePhilippine Archipelago formed an isolated settlement in the Far Eastwhich traders or pleasure-seekers rarely visited _en passant_ toexplore and reveal to the world its natural wealth and beauty. It wasa Colony comparatively so little known that, forty years ago, fairlyeducated people in England used to refer to it as "The Manillas, "whilst up to the end of Spanish rule old residents, on visitingSingapore and Hong-Kong, were often highly amused by the extravagantnotions which prevailed, even there, concerning the Philippines. Butthe regulations above referred to were an advantage to the respectableresident, for they had the desirable effect of excluding many of thosenondescript wanderers and social outcasts who invade other colonies. 

Since the Revolution there has been a large influx of American touriststo the Islands, arriving in the army-transports, passage free, to see"the new possession, " as the Archipelago is popularly called in theUnited States. 

CHAPTER XVI

Agriculture

In years gone by, before so many colonies were opened up all overthe world, the few who, in the Philippines, had the courage to facethe obstacles to agriculture in a primitive country made fairly largefortunes in the main staple products--sugar and hemp. Prices were thentreble what they have since been, labour was cheaper, because the needsof the labouring-class were fewer, and, owing to the limited demandand the rarity of epidemic cattle-disease, buffaloes for tilling wereworth one-eighth of what they cost at the present day. Although theamount of trade was vastly less, those natives engaged in it were insounder positions than the same class generally is now. 

Within the last few years there are hundreds who have embarked inagricultural enterprises with only one-tenth of the capital necessaryto make them successful. A man would start planting with only a fewhundred pesos and a tract of cleared land, without title-deeds, andconsequently of no negotiable value. In the first year he inevitablyfell into the hands of money-lenders, who reasonably stipulated for avery high rate of interest in view of the absence of guarantees. Therates of interest on loans under such circumstances varied as a rulefrom 12 to 24 per cent. I know a Visayo native who, by way of interest, commission, and charges, demanded as much as 30 per cent. I need notrefer to the isolated cases which have come to my knowledge of over100 per cent. Being charged. As at the present day agriculture inthe Philippines does not yield 30 per cent. Nett profit, it naturallyfollows that the money-lender at this rate has to attach the estateupon which he has made loans, and finally becomes owner of it. Inthe meantime, the tiller who has directed the labour of converting atract of land into a plantation, simply gets a living out of it. Somefew were able to disencumber their property by paying, year by year, not only the whole of the nett returns from the plantation, but alsothe profits on small traffic in which they may have speculated. Itseldom happened, however, that the native planter was sufficientlyloyal to his financial supporter to do this: on the contrary, althoughhe might owe thousands of pesos, he would spend money in feasts, andundertake fresh obligations of a most worthless nature. He would buyon credit, to be paid for after the next crop, a quantity of paltryjewellery from the first hawker who passed his way, or let the cashslip out of his hands at the cock-pit or the gambling-table. 

Even the most provident seemed to make no reserve for a bad year, andthe consequence was that in 1887 I think I may safely assert that ifall the Philippine planters had had to liquidate within twelve months, certainly 50 per cent. Of them would have been insolvent. One ofthe most hazardous businesses in the Colony is that of advancing tothe native planters, unless it be done with the express intention ofeventually becoming owner of an estate, which is really often the case. 

The conditions of land-tenure in Luzon Island under Spanish rulestood briefly thus:--The owners either held the lands by virtue ofundisturbed possession or by transferable State grant. The tenants--theactual tillers--were one degree advanced beyond the state of slavecultivators, inasmuch as they could accumulate property and were freeto transfer their services. They corresponded to that class of farmersknown in France as _métayers_ and amongst the Romans of old as _ColoniPartiarii_, with no right in the land, but entitled to one-half of itsproduce. Like the ancients, they had to perform a number of servicesto the proprietor which were not specified in writing, but enforcedby usage. Tenants of this kind recently subsisted--and perhapsstill do--in Scotland (_vide_ "Wealth of Nations, " by Adam Smith, edition of 1886, p. 160). Leases for long periods were exceptional, and I never heard of compensation being granted for improvements ofPhilippine estates. The conditions in Visayas are explained on p. 274. 

The value of land suitable for _Sugar-cane_ growing variesconsiderably, being dependent on proximity to a port, or sugar-market, and on quality, facilities for drainage, transport, site, boundaries, etc. 

In the Province of Bulacan, land which in a great measure is exhaustedand yields only an average of 21 tons of cane per acre, was valued(prior to the American occupation), on account of its nearness tothe capital, at P115 per acre. In Pampanga Province, a little furthernorth, the average value of land, yielding, say, 30 tons of cane peracre, was P75 per acre. Still further north, in the Province of NuevaEcija, whence transport to the sugar-market is difficult and can onlybe economically effected in the wet season by river, land producingan average of 35 tons of cane per acre would hardly fetch more thanP30 per acre. Railroads will no doubt eventually level these values. 

In reality, Bulacan land is priced higher than its intrinsic value asascertained by yield and economy of produce-transport. The nativesare, everywhere in the Colony, more or less averse to alienatingreal estate inherited from their forefathers, and as Bulacan is oneof the first provinces where lands were taken up, centuries ago, anattachment to the soil is particularly noticeable. In that province, as a rule, only genuine necessity, or a fancy price far in excess ofproducing-worth, would induce an owner to sell his land. 

Land grants were obtainable from the Spanish Government by provingpriority of claim, but the concession was only given after wearisomedelay, and sometimes it took years to obtain the title-deeds. Thenlarge capital was requisite to utilize the property, the clearanceoften costing more than the virgin tract, whilst the eviction ofsquatters was a most difficult undertaking: "_J'y suis et j'y reste_, "thought the squatter, and the grantee had no speedy redress at law. Onthe other hand, the soil is so wonderfully rich and fertile that thestudy of geoponics and artificial manuring was never thought essential. 

The finest sugar-cane producing island in the Archipelago is Negros, in the Visaya district, between N. Latitudes 9° and 11°. The areaof the Island is about equal to that of Porto Rico, but for want ofcapital is only about one-half opened up. Nevertheless, it sent tothe Yloilo market in 1892 over 115, 000 tons of raw sugar--the largestcrop it has yet produced. In 1850 the Negros sugar yield was 625 tons. 

The price of uncleared land there, suitable for sugar-cane cultivation, in accessible spots, was, say, P35 per acre, and cleared land mightbe considered worth about P70 per acre. The yield of sugar-cane maybe estimated at 40 tons per acre on the estates opened up within thelast ten years, whilst the older estates produce per acre nearly 30tons of cane, but of a quality which gives such a high-class sugarthat it compensates for the decrease in quantity, taking also intoaccount the economy of manipulating and transporting less bulk. 

Otaheiti cane (yellow) is generally planted in Luzon, whilst Java cane(red) is most common in the southern islands. _Tubo_ is the Tagáloggeneric name for sugar-cane. 

The following equivalents of Philippine land-measures may be useful, viz. :--

 1 Quiñon = 40, 000 square varas = 10, 000 square brazas. = 5 cabans = 6. 9444 acres = 2. 795 hectares. 

 1 Balita = 4, 000 square varas = 1, 000 square brazas. = . 69444 acre = . 2795 hectare. 

 1 Loan = 400 square varas = 100 square brazas. = . 06944 acre = . 02795 hectare. 

 1 Square Braza = 3. 3611 square English yards. = 4, 355. 98 square English inches. 

 1 Square Vara = . 8402 square English yards. = 1, 088. 89 square English inches. 

 1 Acre = 5, 760 square varas = 1. 44 balitas. = . 72 caban = . 404671 hectare. 

The average yield of sugar per acre is about as follows, viz. :--

Pampanga Province, say @ 6 1/2% extraction = 1. 95 Tons of Sugar. Other Northern provinces, say @ 5 1/2% extraction = 1. 65 Tons of Sugar. Negros Island (with almost exclusively European mills), say @ 7 1/2% extraction = 2. 75 Tons of Sugar. 

From Yloilo the sugar is chiefly exported to the United States, where there is a demand for raw material only from the Philippinesfor the purpose of refining, whilst from Manila a certainquantity of crystal-grain sugar is sent, ready for consumption, to Spain. Consequently, in the Island of Luzon, a higher class ofmachinery is employed. In 1890 there were five private estates, withvacuum-pans erected, and one refinery, near Manila, (at Malabón). Alsoin 1885 the Government acquired a sugar-machinery plant with vacuum-panfor their model estate at San Ramon in the Province of Zamboanga; thesugar turned out at the trial of the plant in my presence was equalto 21 D. S. Of that year. Convict labour was employed. During theRebellion half the machinery on this estate was destroyed or stolen. 

It is a rare thing to see other than European mills in the Island ofNegros, whilst in every other sugar-producing province roughly-madevertical cattle-mills of wood, or stone (wood in the south and stonein the north), as introduced by the Chinese, are still in use. Withone exception (at Cabanatúan, Nueva Ecija), which was a failure, the triple-effect refining-plant is altogether unknown in this Colony. 

The sugar-estates generally are small. There are not a dozen estatesin the whole Colony which produce over 1, 000 tons of raw sugar eachper season. An estate turning out 500 tons of sugar is considered alarge one. I know of one estate which yielded 1, 500 tons, and another1, 900 tons in a good season. In the Island of Negros there is no portsuitable for loading ships of large tonnage, and the crops have tobe carried to the Yloilo market, in small schooners loading from 40to 100 tons (_vide_ p. 263). From the estates to the coast there areneither canals nor railroads, and the transport is by buffalo-cart. 

The highest tablelands are used for cane-planting, which imperativelyrequires a good system of drainage. In Luzon Island the output of sugarwould be far greater if more attention were paid to the seasons. Thecane should be cut in December, and the milling should never last overten weeks. The new cane-point setting should be commenced a fortnightafter the milling begins, and the whole operation of manufactureand planting for the new crop should be finished by the middle ofMarch. A deal of sugar is lost by delay in each branch of the fieldlabour. In the West Indies the planters set the canes out widely, leaving plenty of space for the development of the roots, and theratoons serve up to from five to twenty years. In the Philippinesthe setting of cane points is renewed each year, with few exceptions, and the planting is comparatively close. 

Bulacan sugar-land, being more exhausted than Pampanga land, willnot admit of such close planting, hence Bulacan land can only findnourishment for 14, 300 points per acre, whilst Pampanga land takes17, 800 points on average computation. 

In Negros, current sugar is raised from new lands (among the best) andfrom lands which are hardly considered suitable for cane-planting. Goodlands are called "new" for three crops in Negros, and during thatperiod the planting is close, to choke the cane and prevent it becomingaqueous by too rapid development. 

In the Northern Philippines "clayed" sugar (Spanish, _Azúcar de pilon_)is made. The _massecuite_, when drawn from the pans, is turned intoearthenware conic pots containing about 150 lb. Weight. When the masshas set, the pot is placed over a jar (Tagalog, _oya_) into which themolasses drains. In six months, if allowed to remain over the jar, it will drain about 20 per cent, of its original weight, but it isusually sold before that time, if prices are favourable. 

The molasses is sold to the distilleries for making Alcohol, [131] whilst there is a certain demand for it for mixing with thedrinking-water given to Philippine ponies, although this custom isnow falling into disuse, in Manila at least, because molasses isnever given to the American imported horses. 

From nine tests which I made with steam machinery, of small capacity, in different places in the northern provinces, without interferingwith the customary system of manipulating the cane or the adjustmentof the mill rolls, I found the--

 Average juice extraction to be 56. 37% Average moisture in the megass on leaving the mill 23. 27% Average amount of dry megass [132] 20. 36% 100. 00%

The average density of juice in the cane worked off as above was 103/4° Beaumé. 

In Negros the process is very different. The juice is evaporatedin the pan-battery to a higher point of concentration, so that themolasses becomes incorporated with the saccharine grain. It is thenturned out into a wooden trough, about 8 feet long by 4 feet wide, and stirred about with shovels, until it has cooled so far as to beunable to form into a solid mass, or lumps. When quite cold, the fewlumps visible are pounded, and the whole is packed in grass bags(_bayones_). Sugar packed in this way is deliverable to shippers, whereas "clayed" sugar can only be sold to the assorters and packers(_farderos_), who sun-dry it on mats and then bag it after making upthe colour and quality to exporter's sample (_vide_ p. 173). 

The Labour system in the Northern Philippines is quite distinctfrom that adopted in the South. The plantations in the North areworked on the co-operative principle (_sistema de inquilinos_). Thelandowner divides his estate into tenements (_aparcerias_), each tenant(_aparcero_) being provided with a buffalo and agricultural implementsto work up the plot, plant, and attend to the cane-growth as if itwere his own property. Wherever the native goes to work he carries theindispensable bowie-knife (Tagálog, _guloc_; Spanish, _bolo_). Whenthe cutting-season arrives, one tenant at a time brings in his caneto the mill, and when the sugar is worked off, usually one-third, but often as much as one-half of the output, according to arrangement, belongs to the tenant. The tenant provides the hands required for theoperations of cane-crushing and sugar-making; the cost of machineryand factory establishment is for the account of the landowner, whoalso has to take the entire risk of typhoons, inundations, drought, locusts, [133] etc. 

During the year, whilst the cane is maturing, the tenants receiveadvances against their estimated share, some even beyond the realvalue, so that, in nearly every case, the full crop remains in thehands of the estate-owner. In the general working of the plantationhired day-labour is not required, the tenants, in fact, beingregarded, in every sense, as servants of the owner, who employs themfor whatever service he may need. Interest at 10 to 12 per cent. Perannum is charged upon the advances made in money, rice, stuffs, etc. , during the year; and on taking over the tenant's share of output, as against these advances, a rebate on current price of the sugar isoften agreed to. 

In the South, plantations are worked on the daily-wages system, (_sistema de jornal_), and the labourer will frequently exact hispay for several weeks in advance. Great vigilance is requisite, and on estates exceeding certain dimensions it is often necessary tosubdivide the management, apportioning it off to overseers, or limitedpartners, called "Axas. " Both on European and native owners' estatesthese _axas_ were often Spaniards. The _axas'_ interest varies ondifferent properties, but, generally speaking, he is either creditedwith one-third of the product and supplied with necessary capital, or he receives two-thirds of the yield of the land under his care andfinds his own working capital for its tilth, whilst the sunk capital inland, machinery, sheds, stores, etc. , is for the account of the owner. 

In 1877 a British company--the "Yengarie"--was started with a largecapital for the purpose of acquiring cane-juice all over the Colonyand extracting from it highly-refined sugar. The works, fitted withvacuum-pans and all the latest improvements connected with this classof apparatus, were established at Mandaloyan, about three miles fromManila up the Pasig River. From certain parts of Luzon Island thejuice was to be conveyed to the factory in tubes, and the promoter, who visited Cebú Island, proposed to send schooners there fitted withtanks, to bring the defecated liquid to Mandaloyan. The project wasan entire failure from the beginning (for the ordinary shareholdersat least), and in 1880 the machinery plant was being realized andthe company wound up. 

The classification of sugar in the South differs from that in theNorth. In the former market it is ranked as Nos. 0, 1, 2, 3 Superiorand Current. For the American market these qualities are blended, to make up what is called "Assorted Sugar, " in the proportionof one-eighth of No. 1, two-eighths of No. 2, and five-eighthsof No. 3. In the North the quality is determined on the Dutchstandard. The New York and London markets fix the prices, which arecabled daily to the foreign merchants in Manila. 

From a series of estimates compiled by me I find that to produce7, 000 to 10, 000 piculs, the cost laid down in Yloilo would be, say, P2. 00 per picul (P32. 00 per ton); the smaller the output the largeris the prime cost, and _vice-versa. _

Fortunes have been made in this Colony in cane-sugar, and until theend of 1883 sugar-planting paid the capitalist and left something tothe borrowing planter; now it pays only interest on capital. Fromthe year 1884 the subsidized beet-root sugar manufacturers on thecontinent of Europe turned out such enormous quantities of this articlethat the total yield of sugar exceeded the world's requirements. Theconsequence was that the cane-sugar manufacture declined almost atthe same ratio as that of beet-root advanced, as will be seen fromthe subjoined figures:--

 Tons. 

 The world's production in 1880; cane sugar 3, 285, 714 The world's production in 1880; beet sugar 1, 443, 349 ========= 4, 729, 063

 Tons. The world's production in 1887, cane sugar 2, 333, 004 The world's production in 1887, beet sugar 2, 492, 610 ========= 4, 825, 614

 Tons. Beet sugar Increase 1, 049, 261 Cane sugar Decrease 952, 710

 The world's output was Increased 96, 551

Since the above date, however, the output of Beet Sugar has becomeabout double that of Cane Sugar, as will be seen from the followingfigures, viz. :--

 World's Production. Season of 1899-1900. Season of 1900-1901. Tons. Tons. 

 Cane sugar 2, 867, 041 3, 425, 022 Beet sugar 5, 607, 944 6, 096, 858 ========= ========= 8, 474, 985 9, 521, 880

On estates already established at old prices, cane-sugar productionpays an interest on capital, but the capitalist is not necessarily theplanter and nominal owner, as has been explained. Since the Americanoccupation the cost of labour, living, material, live-stock, and allthat the planter or his estate need, has increased so enormously thatthe colonist should ponder well before opening up a new estate forcane-growing in world-wide competition. For figures of Sugar Shipments_vide_ Chap, xxxi. , "Trade Statistics. "

_Rice_ (_Oryza_) being the staple food of the Filipinos, it iscultivated more or less largely in every province of the Colony. Itsmarket value fluctuates considerably according to the stocks inhand and the season of the year. It appears to be the only branchof agriculture in which the lower classes of natives take a visiblepleasure and which they understand thoroughly. In 1897 about 80, 000tons were raised. 

The natives measure and sell rice (Tagálog, _bigas_) and paddy(Tagálog, _palay_) by the caban and its fractions; the caban drymeasure is as follows, viz:--

4 Apatans = 1 Chupa; 8 Chupas = 1 Ganta; 25 Gantas = 1 Caban, the equivalent of which in English measure is thus, viz:--

 1 Atapan = . 16875 of a pint. 1 Chupa = . 675 of a pint. 1 Ganta = 2 quarts, 1 2/5 pints. 1 Caban = 16 gallons, 3 quarts, 1 pint. 

Rice of foreign importation is weighed and quoted by the picul of133 1/3 lbs. Avoirdupois, subdivided as follows, viz. :--

16 Taels = 1 Catty; 10 Catties = 1 Chinanta; 10 Chinantas = 1 Picul. 

Thirty years ago rice was exported from the Philippines, but now noteven sufficient is produced for home consumption, hence this commodityis imported in large quantities from Siam, Lower Burmah, and CochinChina to supply the deficiency. In 1897 nearly 65, 000 tons of ricewere brought from those countries, and since the American occupationthe annual receipts of foreign rice have increased to fivefold. Sual(Pangasinán), on the Gulf of Lingayen, was, thirty-five years ago, a port of importance, whence rice was shipped to China (_vide_p. 261). This falling off of rice-production did not, however, imply a loss to the population in Spanish times when imported ricewas sold cheaply, because, in many provinces, land formerly used forrice-growing was turned to better account for raising other cropswhich paid better in a fairly good market. 

The natives everywhere continue to employ the primitive method oftreating rice-paddy for domestic and local use. The grain is generallyhusked by them in a large mortar hewn from a block of _molave_, or other hardwood, in which it is beaten by a pestle. Sometimestwo or three men or women with wooden pestles work at the samemortar. This mortar is termed, in Tagálog dialect, _Luzon_, the namegiven to the largest island of the group. However, I have seen inthe towns of Candava (Pampanga), Pagsanján (La Laguna), near Calambain the same province, in Naig (Cavite), in Camarines Province, anda few other places, an attempt to improve upon the current systemby employing an ingenious wooden mechanical apparatus worked bybuffaloes. It consisted of a vertical shaft on which was keyed abevel-wheel revolving horizontally and geared into a bevel pinionfixed upon a horizontal shaft. In this shaft were adjusted pins, which, at each revolution, caught the corresponding pins in verticalsliding columns. These columns (five or six)--being thereby raisedand allowed to fall of their own weight when the raising-pins hadpassed on--acted as pounders, or pestles, in the mortars placed belowthem. Subsequently, notable progress was made in Camarines Provinceby Spaniards, who, in 1888, employed steam power, whilst in Pagsanján(La Laguna) animal motive power was substituted by that of steam. Also, near Calamba, in the same province, water power was eventually employedto advantage. In Negros, near the village of Candaguit, there wasone small rice-machinery plant worked by steam power, brought by aSpaniard from Valencia in Spain. Presumably it was not a success, as it remained only a short time in use. 

Finally the Manila-Dagúpan Railway gave a great stimulus tothe rice-husking and pearling industry, which was taken up byforeigners. There are now important rice steam-power mills establishedat Calumpit, Gerona, Moncada, Bayambang, and other places along theline from Calumpit towards Dagúpan, which supply large quantities ofcleaned rice to Manila and other provinces, where it is invariablymore highly appreciated than the imported article. Also, at NuevaCáceres (Camarines), in 1896, a large steam-power rice mill was beingworked by Don Manuel Pardo, who had a steamer specially constructedin Hong-Kong for the transport of his output to the provincial markets. 

The average yield of cleaned rice from the paddy is 50 per cent. , whilst no special use is found for the remaining 50 per cent. Of coarsepaddy-bran. The fine bran, almost dust (called in Tagálog _Tiki Tiki_), serves, however, for several purposes on the farm. The rice grainwhich is broken in the husking is known as _Pináua_ in Tagálog. 

The customary charge for husking and winnowing a caban of paddy is12 1/2 cents, so that as two cabans of paddy give one caban of rice, the cost of this labour would be 25 cents per caban of rice. 

The average amount of rice consumed by a working man per day isestimated at four chupas, or, say, close upon eight cabans per annum, which, on the old reckoning--that is to say in Spanish times, takingan average price of 1 peso per caban of paddy = 2 pesos per cabanof rice, plus 25 cents for cleaning = 2. 25 pesos per caban of cleanrice--amounts to 18 pesos per annum. A native's further necessitiesare fish, an occasional piece of buffalo, betel-nut, tobacco, sixyards of cotton print-stuff, and payment of taxes, all of which(including rice) amounted to say P50 in the year, so that a manearning 20 cents per day during 300 days lived well, provided he hadno unforeseen misfortunes. Cock-fighting and gambling of course upsetthe calculation. 

There are, it is said, over 20 different kinds of rice-paddy. Theseare comprised in two common groups--the one is called _Macan_ rice(Spanish, _Arroz de Semillero_) which is raised on alluvial soilon the lowlands capable of being flooded conveniently with water, and the other has the general denomination (in Luzon Is. ) of _Paga_or _Dumali_ (Spanish, _Arroz de Secano_) and is cultivated on highlands and slopes where inundation is impracticable. 

The _Macan_, or low-land rice, is much the finer quality, the grainbeing usually very white, although _Macan_ rice is to be foundcontaining up to 25 per cent. Of red grain, known in Tagálog as_Tangi_, or _Malagcquit_. The white grain is that most esteemed. Theyield of grain varies according to the quality of the soil. In thenorth of Bulacan Province the average crop of _Macan_ rice may betaken at 80 cabans of grain for one caban of seed. In the south ofthe same province the return reaches only one-half of that. In theeast of Pampanga Province, in the neighbourhood of Aráyat, Magálang, and Candava villages, the yield is still higher, giving, in a goodyear, as much as 100 cabans for one of seed. In Negros a return of50 cabans to one may be taken as a fair average. 

_Paga_ rice always shows a large proportion of red grain, and thereturn is, at the most, half that of _Macan_ yield, but whilst rarelymore than one crop per annum is obtained from low-lands (_Macan_rice)--taking the average throughout the Islands--in most places upto three crops of _Paga_ rice can be obtained. 

Besides the ordinary agricultural risks to which rice cultivation isexposed, a special danger often presents itself. The _Paga_ rice isfrequently attacked by flies (Tagálog, _Alutangia_), which suck theflower just before seeding, and the person in charge of the plantationhas to stroll in the evenings and mornings among the setting to whiskoff these insects with a bunch of straws on the end of a stick, orcatch them with a net to save the grain. Both _Macan_ and _Paga_are sometimes damaged by an insect, known in Ilocos Province as_Talibatab_, which eats through the stalk of the plant before maturity, causing the head, or flower, to droop over and wither, but this doesnot happen every season. 

To plant _Macan_ rice the grain or seed is sown in the month of Juneon a piece of land called the "seeding-plot, " where, in six weeks, it attains a height of about one foot, and, provided the rains havenot failed, it is then pulled up by the roots and transplanted, stemby stem, in the flooded fields. Each field is embanked with earth(Tagálog, _pilápil_) so that the water shall not run off, and justbefore the setting is commenced, the plough is passed for the lasttime. Then men, women, and children go into the inundated fieldswith their bundles of rice-plant and stick the stalks in the softmud one by one. It would seem a tedious operation, but the nativesare so used to it that they quickly cover a large field. In fourmonths from the transplanting the rice is ripe, but as at the end ofNovember there is still a risk of rain falling, the harvest is usuallycommenced at the end of December, after the grain has hardened andthe dry season has fairly set in. If, at such an abnormal period, therains were to return (and such a thing has been known), the sheaves, which are heaped for about a month to dry, would be greatly exposedto mildew owing to the damp atmosphere. After the heaping--at theend of January--the paddy, still in the straw, is made into stacks(Tagálog, _Mandalá_). In six weeks more the grain is separated fromthe straw, and this operation has to be concluded before the nextwet season begins--say about the end of April. On the Pacific coast(Camarines and Albay), where the seasons are reversed (_vide_ p. 22), rice is planted out in September and reaped in February. 

The separation of the grain is effected in several ways. Some beatit out with their feet, others flail it, whilst in Cavite Provinceit is a common practice to spread the sheaves in a circular enclosurewithin which a number of ponies and foals are trotted. 

In Negros Island there is what is termed _Ami_ rice--a small cropwhich spontaneously rises in succession to the regular crop afterthe first ploughing. 

It seldom happens that a "seeding-plot" has to be allowed to run toseed for want of rain for transplanting, but in such an event it issaid to yield at the most tenfold. 

Nothing in Nature is more lovely than a valley of green half-ripenedrice-paddy, surrounded by verdant hills. Rice harvest-time is a livelyone among the poor tenants in Luzon, who, as a rule, are practicallythe landowner's partners working for half the crop, against which theyreceive advances during the year. Therefore, cost of labour may betaken at 50 per cent. Plus 10 per cent. Stolen from the owner's share. 

Paddy-planting is not a lucrative commercial undertaking, and fewtake it up on a large scale. None of the large millers employingsteam power are, at the same time, grain cultivators. There is thisadvantage about the business, that the grower is less likely to beconfronted with the labour difficulty, for the work of planting outand gathering in the crop is, to the native and his family, a congenialoccupation. Rice-cultivation is, indeed, such a poor business for thecapitalist that perhaps a fortune has never been made in that soleoccupation, but it gives a sufficient return to the actual tillerof his own land. The native woman is often quite as clever as herhusband in managing the estate hands, for her tongue is usually aseffective as his rattan. I venture to say there are not six whitemen living who, without Philippine wives, have made fortunes solelyin agriculture in these Islands. 

CHAPTER XVII

Manila Hemp--Coffee--Tobacco

_Hemp_ (_Musa textilis_)--referred to by some scientificwriters as _M. Troglodytarum_--is a wild species of the plantain(_M. Paradisiaca_) found growing in many parts of the PhilippineIslands. It so closely resembles the _M. Paradisiaca, _ which bearsthe well-known and agreeable fruit--the edible banana, that onlyconnoisseurs can perceive the difference in the density of colour andsize of the green leaves--those of the hemp-plant being of a somewhatdarker hue, and shorter. The fibre of a number of species of _Musa_is used for weaving, cordage, etc. , in tropical countries. 

This herbaceous plant seems to thrive best on an inclined plane, for nearly all the wild hemp which I have seen has been found onmountain slopes, even far away down the ravines. Although requiring aconsiderable amount of moisture, hemp will not thrive in swampy land, and to attain any great height it must be well shaded by other treesmore capable of bearing the sun's rays. A great depth of soil is notindispensable for its development, as it is to be seen flourishingin its natural state on the slopes of volcanic formation. In AlbayProvince it grows on the declivities of the Mayon Volcano. 

The hemp-tree in the Philippines reaches an average height of 10feet. It is an endogenous plant, the stem of which is enclosed inlayers of half-round petioles. The hemp-fibre is extracted from thesepetioles, which, when cut down, are separated into strips, five to sixinches wide, and drawn under a knife attached at one end by a hinge toa block of wood, whilst the other end is suspended to the extremityof a flexible stick. The bow tends to raise the knife, and a cord, attached to the same end of the knife, and a treadle are so arrangedthat by a movement of the foot the operator can bring the knife towork on the hemp petiole with the pressure he chooses. The bast isdrawn through between the knife and the block, the operator twistingthe fibre, at each pull, around a stick of wood or his arm, whilst theparenchymatous pulp remains on the other side of the knife. There isno use for the pulp. The knife should be without teeth or indentations, but nearly everywhere in Capis Province I have seen it with a slightlyserrated edge. The fibre is then spread out to dry, and afterwardstightly packed in bales with iron or rattan hoops for shipment. 

A finer fibre than the ordinary hemp is sometimes obtained insmall quantities from the specially-selected edges of the petiole, and this material is used by the natives for weaving. The quantityprocurable is limited, and the difficulty in obtaining it consistsin the frequent breakage of the fibre whilst being drawn, due toits comparative fragility. Its commercial value is about doublethat of ordinary first-class cordage hemp. The stuff made from thisfine fibre (in Bicol dialect, _Lúpis_) suits admirably for ladies'dresses. Ordinary hemp fibre is used for the manufacture of coarsenative stuff, known in Manila as _Sinamay_, much worn by the poorerclasses of natives; large quantities of it come from Yloilo. In PanayIsland a kind of texture called _Husi_ is made of a mixture of finehemp (_lúpis_) and pine-apple leaf fibre. Sometimes this fabric ispalmed off on foreigners as pure _piña_ stuff, but a connoisseurcan easily detect the hemp filament by the touch of the material, there being in the hemp-fibre, as in horsehair, a certain amount ofstiffness and a tendency to spring back which, when compressed into aball in the hand, prevents the stuff from retaining that shape. _Piña_fibre is soft and yielding. 

Many attempts have been made to draw the hemp fibre by machinery, but in spite of all strenuous efforts, no one has hitherto succeededin introducing into the hemp districts a satisfactory mechanicalapparatus. If the entire length of fibre in a strip of bast couldbear the strain of full tension, instead of having to wind itaround a cylinder (which would take the place of the operator'shand and stick under the present system), then a machine could becontrived to accomplish the work. Machines with cylinders to reducethe tension have been constructed, the result being admirable sofar as the extraction of the fibre is concerned, but the cylinderupon which the fibre coiled, as it came from under the knife, alwaysdiscoloured the material. A trial was made with a glass cylinder, but the same inconvenience was experienced. On another occasion thecylinder was dispensed with, and a reciprocating-motion clutch drewthe bast, running to and fro the whole length of the fibre frame, the fibre being gripped by a pair of steel parallel bars on itspassage in one or two places, as might be necessary, to lessen thetension. These steel bars, however, always left a transversal blackline on the filament, and diminished its marketable value. What isdesired is a machine which could be worked by one man and turn outat least as much clean fibre as the old apparatus could with twomen. Also that the whole appliance should be portable by one man. 

In 1886 the most perfect mechanical contrivance hitherto brought outwas tried in Manila by its Spanish inventor, Don Abelardo Cuesta;it worked to the satisfaction of those who saw it, but the savingof manual labour was so inconsiderable that the greater bulk of hempshipped is still extracted by the primitive process. 

In September, 1905, Fray Mateo Atienza, of the Franciscan Order, exhibited in Manila a hemp-fibre-drawing machine of his own invention, the practical worth of which has yet to be ascertained. It is allegedthat this machine, manipulated by one man, can, in a given time, turnout 104 per cent. More clean fibre than the old-fashioned apparatusworked by two men. 

_Musa textilis_ has been planted in British India as an experiment, with unsatisfactory result, evidently owing to a want of knowledgeof the essential conditions of the fibre-extraction. One report[134] says--

 "The first trial at extracting the fibre failed on account of our having no proper machine to _bruise_ the stems. We extemporized a two-roller mill; but as it had no cog-gearing to cause both rollers to turn together, the only one on which the handle or crank was fixed turned, with, the result of grinding the stems to pulp instead of simply _bruising_ them. "

In the Philippines one is careful _not_ to bruise the stems, as thiswould weaken the fibre and discolour it. 

Another statement from British India shows that Manila hemp requiresa very special treatment. It runs thus:--

 "The mode of extraction was the same as practised in the locality with _Ambadi_ (brown hemp) and _sunn_ hemp, with the exception that the stems were, in the first place, passed through a sugar-cane mill which got rid of sap averaging 50 per cent. Of the whole. The stems were next rotted in water for 10 to 12 days, and afterwards washed by hand and sun-dried. The out-turn of fibre was 1 3/4 lbs. Per 100 lbs. Of fresh stem, a percentage considerably higher than the average shown in the Saidápet experiments; it was however of bad colour and defective in strength. "

If treated in the same manner in the Philippines, a similar bad resultwould ensue; the pressure of mill rollers would discolour the fibre, and the soaking with 48 per cent. Of pulp, before being sun-dried, would weaken it. 

Dr. Ure, in his "Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines, " p. 1, thus describes Manila Hemp:--

 "A species of fibre obtained in the Philippine Islands in abundance. Some authorities refer these fibres to the palm-tree known as the _Abacá_ or _Anisa textilis_. There seem indeed to be several well-known varieties of fibre included under this name, some so fine that they are used in the most delicate and costly textures, mixed with fibres of the pine-apple, forming _piña_ muslins and textures equal to the best muslins of Bengal. [135]

 "Of the coarser fibres, mats, cordage and sail-cloth are made. M. Duchesne states that the well-known fibrous manufactures of Manila have led to the manufacture of the fibres themselves, at Paris, into many articles of furniture and dress. Their brilliancy and strength give remarkable fitness for bonnets, tapestry, carpets, network, hammocks, etc. The only manufactured articles exported from the Philippine Islands, enumerated by Thomas de Comyn, Madrid, 1820 (translated by Walton), besides a few tanned buffalo-hides and skins, are 8, 000 to 12, 000 pieces of light sail-cloth and 200, 000 lbs. Of assorted _Abacá_ cordage. "

Manila-hemp rope is very durable; it is equally applicable tocables and to ships' standing and running rigging, but wanting inflexibility. [136]

Hemp-growing, with ample capital, appears to be the most lucrativeand least troublesome of all agricultural enterprises in stapleexport produce in the Colony, whilst it is quite independent of theseasons. The plant is neither affected by disease nor do insectsattack it, and the only ordinary risks appear to be hurricanes, drought, insufficient weeding, and the ravages of the wild boar. 

Planted in virgin soil, each shoot occupies, at first, a space of20 English square feet. In the course of time, this regularity ofdistribution disappears as the original plant is felled and thesuckers come up anywhere, spontaneously, from its root. The plantrequires three years to arrive at cutting maturity, or four years ifraised from the seed; most planters, however, transplant the six-monthsuckers, instead of the seed, when forming a new plantation. The stemshould be cut for fibre-drawing at the flowering maturity; in no caseshould it be allowed to bear fruit, as the fibre is thereby weakened, and there is sometimes even a waste of material in the drawing, as the accumulation of fibre with the sap at the knife is greater. 

The average weight of dry fibre extracted from one plant equals10 ounces, or say 2 per cent, of the total weight of the stem andpetioles; but as in practice there is a certain loss of petioles, by cutting out of maturity, whilst others are allowed to rot throughnegligence, the average output from a carefully-managed estate doesnot exceed 3-60 cwt. Per acre, or say 4 piculs per caban of land. 

The length of the _bast_, ready for manipulation at the knife, averages in Albay 6 feet 6 inches. 

The weight of moisture in the wet fibre, immediately it is drawnfrom the bast, averages 56 per cent. To sun-dry the fibre thoroughly, an exposure of five hours is necessary. 

The first petioles forming the outer covering, and the slender centralstem itself around which they cluster, are thrown away. Due to theinefficient method of fibre-drawing, or rather the want of mechanicalappliances to effect the same, the waste of fibre probably amountsto as much as 30 per cent. Of the whole contained in the bast. 

In sugar-cane planting, the poorer the soil is the wider the cane isplanted, whilst the hemp-plant is set out at greater space on virginland than on old, worked land, the reason being that the hemp-plantin rich soil throws out a great number of shoots from the same root, which require nourishment and serve for replanting. If space werenot left for their development, the main stem would flower beforeit had reached its full height and circumference, whereas sugar-caneis purposely choked in virgin soil to check its running too high anddispersing the saccharine matter whilst becoming ligneous. 

A great advantage to the colonist, in starting hemp-growing in virginforest-land, consists in the clearance requiring to be only partial, whilst newly opened up land is preferable, as on it the young plantswill sometimes throw up as many as thirty suckers. The largestforest-trees are intentionally left to shade the plants and youngshoots, so that only light rooting is imperatively necessary. Incane-planting, quite the reverse is the case, ploughing and sunshinebeing needful. 

The great drawback to the beginner with limited capital is theimpossibility of recouping himself for his labour and recoveringprofit on outlay before three years at least. After that period therisk is small, drought being the chief calamity to be feared. Theplants being set out on high land are extremely seldom inundated, anda conflagration could not spread far amongst green leaves and sappypetioles. There is no special cropping season as there is in the caseof sugar-cane, which, if neglected, brings a total loss of crop; theplants naturally do not all mature at precisely the same time, and thefibre-extraction can be performed with little precipitation, and moreor less all the year round, although the dry season is preferable forthe sun-bleaching. If, at times, the stage of maturity be overlooked, it only represents a percentage of loss, whilst a whole plantationof ripe sugar-cane must all be cut with the least possible delay. Noploughing is necessary, although the plant thrives better when weedingis carefully attended to; no costly machinery has to be purchasedand either left to the mercy of inexperienced hands or placed underthe care of highly-paid Europeans, whilst there are few agriculturalimplements and no live-stock to be maintained for field labour. 

The hemp-fibre, when dry, runs a greater risk of fire than sugar, but upon the whole, the comparative advantages of hemp cultivationover sugar-cane planting appear to be very great. 

Hemp-fibre is classified by the large provincial dealers and Manilafirms as of first, second, and third qualities. The dealers, or_acopiadores_, in treating with the small native collectors, ortheir own workpeople, take delivery of hemp under two classes only, viz. :--first quality (_corriente_) and second quality (_colorada_), the former being the whiter, with a beautiful silky gloss. 

The difficulties with which the European hemp-cultivator has tocontend all centre to the same origin--the indolence of the native;hence there is a continual struggle between capitalist and labourerin the endeavour to counterbalance the native's inconstancy andantipathy to systematic work. Left to himself, the native cuts theplant at any period of its maturity. When he is hard pressed for apeso or two he strips a few petioles, leaving them for days exposedto the rain and atmosphere to soften and render easier the drawingof the fibre, in which putrefaction has commenced. The result isprejudicial to the dealer and the plantation owner, because thefibre discolours. Then he passes the bast under a _toothed_ knife, which is easy to work, and goes down to the village with his bundle ofdiscoloured coarse fibre with a certain amount of dried sap on it toincrease the weight. He chooses night-time for the delivery, so thatthe _acopiador_ may be deceived in the colour upon which depends theselection of quality, and in order that the fibre, absorbing the dew, may weigh heavier. These are the tricks of the trade well known tothe native. The large dealers and plantation owners use every effortto enforce the use of knives without teeth, so that the fibre may befine, perfectly clean and white, to rate as first-class; the nativeopposes this on the ground that he loses in weight, whilst he is toodull to appreciate his gain in higher value. For instance, presumingthe first quality to be quoted in Manila at a certain figure per piculand the third quality at two pesos less, even though the first-classbasis price remained firm, the third-class price would fall as thepercentage of third-class quality in the supplies went on increasing. 

Here and there are to be found hemp-plants which give a whiter fibrethan others, whilst some assert that there are three or four kinds ofhemp-plant; but in general all will yield commercial first-class hemp(_Abacá corriente_), and if the native could be coerced to cut theplant at maturity--draw the fibre under a toothless knife during thesame day of stripping the petioles--lodge the fibre as drawn on a cleanplace, and sun-dry it on the first opportunity, then (the proprietorsand dealers positively assert) the output of third-quality need notexceed 5 to 6 per cent. Of the whole produced. In short, the questionof quality in _Abacá_ has vastly less relation to the species of theplant than to the care taken in its extraction and manipulation. 

The Chinese very actively collect parcels of hemp from the smallestclass of native owners, but they also enter into contracts whichbring discredit to the reputation of a province as a hemp-producingdistrict. For a small sum in cash a Chinaman acquires from a nativethe right to work his plantation during a short period. Having noproprietary interest at stake, and looking only to his immediategain, he indiscriminately strips plants, regardless of maturity, and the property reverts to the small owner in a sorely dilapidatedcondition. The market result is that, although the fibre drawn may bewhite, it is weak, therefore dealings with the Chinese require specialscrutiny. Under the native system each labourer on an "estate" (calledin Albay Province _laté_) is remunerated by receiving one-half of allthe fibre he draws; the other half belongs to the _laté_ owner. Theshare corresponding to the labourer is almost invariably deliveredat the same time to the employer, who purchases it at the currentlocal value--often at much less. 

In sugar-planting, as no sugar can be hoped for until the fixedgrinding-season of the year, planters have to advance to theirworkpeople during the whole twelve months in Luzon, under the_aparcero_ system. If, after so advancing during six or eight months, he loses half or more of his crop by natural causes, he stands a poorchance of recovering his advances of that year. There is no such riskin the case of hemp; when a man wants money he can work for it, andbring in his bundle of fibre and receive his half-share value. Thefew foreigners engaged in hemp-planting usually employ wage labour. 

In Manila the export-houses estimate the prices of second and thirdqualities by a rebate from first-class quality price. These ratesnecessarily fluctuate. When the deliveries of second and thirdqualities go on increasing in their proportion to the quantity offirst-class sent to the market, the rebate for lower qualities onthe basis price (first-class) is consequently augmented. If the totalsupplies to Manila began to show an extraordinarily large proportionateincrease of lower qualities, these differences of prices would be madewider, and in this manner indirect pressure is brought to bear upon theprovincial shippers to send as much first-class quality as possible. 

The labour of young plant-setting in Albay Province in Spanish timeswas calculated at 3 pesos per 1, 000 plants; the cost of shoots 2 feethigh, for planting out, was from 50 cents to one peso per 100. However, as proprietors were frequently cheated by natives who, having agreedto plant out the land, did not dig holes sufficiently deep, or setplants without roots, it became customary in Luzon to pay 10 pesosper 100 live plants, to be counted at the time of full growth, orsay in three years, in lieu of paying for shoots and labour at theprices stated above. The contractor, of course, lived on the estate. 

In virgin soil, 2, 500 plants would be set in one _pisoson_ of land(_vide_ Albay land measure), or say 720 to each acre. 

A hemp-press employing 60 men and boys should turn out 230 bales perday. Freight by mail steamer to Manila in the year 1890 from Albayports beyond the San Bernardino Straits, was 50 cents per bale;from ports west of the Straits, 37 1/2 cents per bale. 

In the extraction of the fibre the natives work in couples; one manstrips the bast, whilst his companion draws it under the knife. A fairweek's work for a couple, including selection of the mature plantsand felling, would be about 300 lbs. However, the labourer is notable to give his entire attention to fibre-drawing, for occasionallya day has to be spent in weeding and brushwood clearance, but hishalf-share interest covers this duty. 

The finest quality of hemp is produced in the Islands of Leyte andMarinduque, and in the Province of Sorsogón, especially Gúbat, inLuzon Island. 

Previous to the year 1825, the quantity of hemp produced in theseIslands was insignificant; in 1840 it is said to have exceeded 8, 500tons. The _average annual_ shipment of hemp during the 20 yearspreceding the American occupation, i. E. , 1879-98, was 72, 815 tons, produced (annual average over that period) approximately as follows, viz. :--in Albay and Sorsogón, 32, 000 tons; in Leyte, 16, 000 tons; inSámar, 9, 000 tons; in Camarines, 4, 500 tons; in Mindanao, 4, 000 tons;in Cebú, 2, 500 tons; in all the other districts together, 4, 815 tons. 

Albay Province is still the leading hemp district in the Islands. Asmall quantity of low-quality hemp is produced in Cápis Province(Panay Is. ); collections are also made along the south-east coast ofNegros Island from Dumaguete northwards and in the district of Maúban[137] on the Pacific coast of Tayabas Province (Luzon Is). For figuresof Hemp Shipments, _vide_ Chap. Xxxi. , "Trade Statistics. "

The highest Manila quotation for first-quality hemp (_corriente_)during the years 1882 to 1896 inclusive was P17. 21 1/2 per picul, and the lowest in the same period P6. 00 per picul (16 piculs = 1 ton;2 piculs = 1 bale), whilst specially selected lots from Sorsogón andMarinduque fetched a certain advance on these figures. 

 _Albay Province (local) Land Measure_

 1 Topon = 16 square Brazas = 53. 776 English square yards. 312 1/2 Topones = 1 Pisoson = 5, 000 square Brazas. 312 1/2 Topones = 1/2 of Quiñon = 2 1/2 Cabanes = 3. 472 acres. 

During the decade prior to the commercial depression of 1884, enormoussums of money were lent by foreign firms and wealthy hemp-staplers tothe small producers against deliveries to be effected. But experienceproved that lending to native producers was a bad business, for, on delivery of the produce, they expected to be again paid the fullvalue and pass over the sums long due. Hence, capital which mighthave been employed to the mutual advantage of all concerned, waspartially withheld, and the natives complained then, as they do now, that there is no money. 

Fortunately for the Philippines, the fibre known as Manila hemp is aspeciality of the Colony, and the prospect of over-production, almostannihilating profits to producers--as in the sugar colonies--isat present remote, although the competition with other fibre issevere. The chief fibre-producing countries, besides this colony, are New Zealand, Mauritius, East Indies, Italy, Russia, North America(sisal) and Mexico (henequen). 

In 1881 the _Abacá_ plants presented to the Saigon Botanical Gardenswere flourishing during the management of Mons. Coroy, but happily forthis Colony the experiment, which was to precede the introductionof "Manila Hemp" into French Cochin China, was abandoned, theplants having been removed by that gentleman's successor. In 1890"Manila Hemp" was cultivated in British North Borneo by the LabukPlanting Company, Limited, and the fibre raised on their estates wassatisfactorily reported on by the Rope Works in Hong-Kong. 

In view of the present scarcity of live-stock, hemp, which needsno buffalo tillage, would seem to be the most hopeful crop ofthe future. It will probably advance as fast as sugar cultivationis receding, and command a good remunerative price. Moreover, asalready explained, not being distinctly a season crop as sugar is, nor requiring expensive machinery to produce it, its cultivation isthe most recommendable to American colonists. 

_Coffee_ _(Coffea arabica)_ planting was commenced in the Colonyearly in the last century. Up to 1889 plantation-owners in theProvince of Batangas assured me that the trees possessed by theirgrandfathers were still flourishing, whilst it is well knownthat in many coffee-producing colonies the tree bears profitablyonly up to the twenty-fifth year, and at the thirtieth year it isquite exhausted. Unless something be done to revive this branch ofagriculture it seems as if coffee would soon cease to be an articleof export from these Islands. In the year 1891 the crops in Luzonbegan to fall off very considerably, in a small measure due to thetrees having lost their vigour, but chiefly owing to the ravagesof a worm in the stems. In 1892-93 the best and oldest-establishedplantations were almost annihilated. Nothing could be done to stopthe scourge, and several of the wealthiest coffee-owners around Lipa, personally known to me, ploughed up their land and started sugar-canegrowing in place of coffee. In 1883 7, 451 tons of coffee were shipped, whilst in 1903 the total export did not reach four tons. 

The best Philippine Coffee comes from the Provinces of Batangas, La Laguna and Cavite (Luzon Is. ), and includes a large proportion of_caracolillo_, which is the nearest shape to the Mocha bean and themost esteemed. The temperate mountain regions of Benguet, Bontoc, and Lepanto (N. W. Luzon) also yield good coffee. 

The most inferior Philippine coffee is produced in Mindanao Island, and is sent up to Manila sometimes containing a quantity of rottenbeans. It consequently always fetches a lower price than Manila (i. E. , Luzon) coffee, which is highly prized in the market. 

MANILA QUOTATIONS FOR THE TWO QUALITIES

Average Prices throughout the Years

Per Picul of 133 1/3 Eng. Lbs. 

Manila (Luzon) Coffee 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1890 1891 P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. 

 10. 25 12. 00 12. 68 12. 00 12. 17 26. 14 21. 47 31. 00 30. 50

Mindanao Coffee 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1890 1891 P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. P. Cts. 9. 30 10. 00 12. 00 9. 87 9. 56 19. 50 20. 34 25. 80 24. 40 _nom. _

Quotations later than 1891 would serve no practical purpose in theabove table of comparison, as, due to the extremely small quantityproduced, almost fancy prices have ruled since that date. In 1896, for instance, the market price ran up to P35 per picul, whilst somesmall parcels exchanged hands at a figure so capriciously high thatit cannot be taken as a quotation. For figures of Coffee Shipments, _vide_ Chap, xxxi. , "Trade Statistics. "

I investigated the system of coffee-growing and trading in all theLuzon districts, and found it impossible to draw up a correct generalestimate showing the nett cost laid down in Manila market. The mannerof acquiring the produce and the conditions of purchase varied sogreatly, and were subject to so many peculiar local circumstances, that only an approximate computation could be arrived at. 

Some of the provincial collectors had plantations of their own; othershad not, whilst none of them depended entirely upon the produce oftheir own trees for fulfilling the contracts in the capital. 

Coffee was a much more fluctuating concern than hemp, as thepurchase-rate (although perhaps low) was determined out of seasonseveral months before it was seen how the market would stand for thesale of that coffee; in hemp transactions (there being practically noseason for hemp) the purchase-money need only be paid on delivery ofthe produce by the labourer at rates proportionate to Manila prices, unless the dealer be simply a speculator, in which case, havingcontracted in Manila to deliver at a price, he must advance to securedeliveries to fulfil his contract. Therefore, in coffee, a provincialcollector might lose something on the total year's transactions or hemight make an enormous profit, if he worked with his own capital. Ifhe borrowed the capital from Manila dealers--middlemen--as was oftenthe case, then he might make a fortune for his Manila friends, or hemight lose another year's interest on the borrowed funds. 

In Cavite Province districts there was another way of negotiatingcoffee speculations. The dealer with capital advanced at, say, 6 or 7pesos per picul "on joint account up to Manila. " The planter then boundhimself to deliver so many piculs of coffee of the next gathering, and the difference between the advance rate and the sale price inManila was shared between the two, after the capitalist had deductedthe charges for transport, packing, commission in Manila, etc. Allthe risk was, of course, on the part of the capitalist, for if thecrop failed the small planter had no means of refunding the advance. 

On a carefully-managed plantation, a caban of land (8, 000 squareSpanish yards) was calculated to yield 10. 40 piculs (= 12 1/2cwt. ) of clean coffee, or, say, 9 cwt. Per acre. The selling valueof a plantation, in full growth, was about P250 per caban, or, say, P180 per acre. After 1896 this land value was merely nominal. 

The trees begin to give marketable coffee in the fourth year ofgrowth, and flourish best in hilly districts and on highlands, wherethe roots can be kept dry, and where the average temperature doesnot exceed 70° Fahr. _Caracolillo_ is found in greater quantities onthe highest declivities facing east, where the morning sun evaporatesthe superfluous moisture of the previous night's dew. 

In the Province of Cavite there appeared to be very little system inthe culture of the coffee-tree. Little care was taken in the selectionof shading-trees, and pruning was much neglected. Nevertheless, very fine coffee was brought from the neighbourhood of Indan, Silan, Alfonso, and Amadeo. The Batangas bean had the best reputation inManila; hence the Indan product was sometimes brought to that marketand sold as Batangas coffee. 

In Batangas the coffee-plant is usually shaded by a tree called_Madrecacao_ (_Gliricidia maculata_)--Tagálog, _Galedupa pungam_. Onstarting a plantation this tree is placed in rows, each trunk occupyingone Spanish yard, and when it has attained two or three feet in heightthe coffee-shoot is planted at each angle. Between the third andeighth years of growth every alternate shading-tree and coffee-plantis removed, as more space for development becomes necessary. Thecoffee-plants are pruned from time to time, and on no account shouldthe branches be allowed to hang over and meet. Around the wealthy townof Lipa some of the many coffee-estates were extremely well kept up, with avenues crossing the plantations in different directions. 

At the end of eight years, more or less, according to how thequality of soil and the situation have influenced the development, there would remain, say, about 2, 400 plants in each caban of land, or 1, 728 plants per acre. Comparing this with the yield per acre, each tree would therefore give 9. 33 ounces of marketable coffee, whilst in Peru, where the coffee-tree is planted at an elevation of5, 000 to 6, 000 feet above sea-level, each tree is said to yield onepound weight of beans. 

In the Philippines the fresh ripe berries, when thoroughly sun-dried, lose an average weight of 52 per cent. Moisture. 

The sun-dried berries ready for pounding (husking) give an averageof 33. 70 of their weight in marketable coffee-beans. 

It takes _eight_ cabanes measure (_vide_ p. 276) of fresh-picked ripeberries to turn out _one_ picul weight of clean beans. 

Owing to the fact that one year in every five gives a short crop, due either to the nature of the plant or to climatic variations, it pays better to collect coffee from the very small growers ratherthan sink capital in large estates on the _aparcero_ system (q. V. ). 

The coffee-plant imperatively requires shade and moisture, andover-pruning is prejudicial. If allowed to run to its natural heightit would grow up to 15 to 25 feet high, but it is usually keptat 7 to 10 feet. The leaves are evergreen, very shining, oblong, leathery, and much resemble those of the common laurel. The flowersare small, and cluster in the axils of the leaves. They are somewhatsimilar to the Spanish jasmine, and being snow-white, the effectof a coffee plantation in bloom is delightful, whilst the odour isfragrant. The fruit, when ripe, is of a dark scarlet colour, and theordinary coffee-berry contains two semi-elliptic seeds of a horny orcartilaginous nature glued together and enveloped in a coriaceousmembrane; when this is removed each seed is found covered with asilver-grey pellicle. 

The _Caracolillo_ coffee-berry contains only one seed, with a furrowin the direction of the long axis, which gives it the appearance ofbeing a geminous seed with an inclination to open out on one side. 

In Arabia Felix, where coffee was first planted in the 15th century, and its cultivation is still extensive, the collection of the fruitis effected by spreading cloths under the trees, from which, on beingviolently shaken, the ripe berries fall, and are then placed uponmats to dry, after which the beans are pressed under a heavy roller. 

In the Philippines, women and children--sometimes men--go into theplantations with baskets and pick the berries. The fruit is thenheaped, and, in a few days, washed, so that a great portion of thepulp is got rid of. Then the berries are dried and pounded in a mortarto separate the inner membrane and pellicle; these are winnowed fromthe clean bean, which constitutes the coffee of commerce and is sentin bags to Manila for sale. 

The Philippine plantations give only one crop yearly, whilst in theWest Indies beans of unequal ripeness are to be found during eightmonths of the twelve, and in Brazil there are three annual gatherings. 

The seed of the _Tobacco-plant_ (_Nicotiana tabacum_) was among themany novelties introduced into the Philippines from Mexico by Spanishmissionaries, soon after the possession of the Colony by the Spaniardswas an accomplished fact. From this Colony it is said to have beentaken in the 16th or 17th century into the south of China, whereits use was so much abused that the sale of this so-called noxiousarticle was, for a long time, prohibited under penalty of death. 

During the first two centuries of Spanish dominion but little directattention was paid to the tobacco question by the Government, who onlynominally held, but did not assert, the exclusive right of traffic inthis article. At length, in the year 1781, during the Gov. -Generalshipof José Basco y Vargas (a naval officer), the cultivation and saleof tobacco was formally decreed a State monopoly, which lasted upto the end of the year 1882. In the meantime, it became an importantitem of public revenue. In 1882 the profits of the Tobacco Monopolyamounted to half the Colony's Budget expenditure. 

A few years before that date a foreign company offered to guarantee theBudget (then about P15, 000, 000), in exchange for the Tobacco Monopoly, but the proposal was not entertained, although in the same year theTreasury deficit amounted to P2, 000, 000. 

By Royal Decree of July 1, 1844, a contract was entered into withthe firm of O'Shea & Co. , renting to them the Monopoly, but it wassuddenly rescinded. The annual profits from tobacco to the Governmentat that date were about P2, 500, 000. 

 GOVERNMENT PROFIT

 1840 P2, 123, 505 1845 2, 570, 679 1850 3, 036, 611 1855 3, 721, 168 1859 4, 932, 463 1860 over 5, 000, 000 1869 5, 230, 581

A bale of tobacco contains 4, 000 leaves in 40 bundles (_manos_), of 100 leaves each. 

The classification of the deliveries depended on the districts wherethe crop was raised and the length of the leaf. 

The tobacco trade being also a Government concern in Spain, thisColony was required to supply the Peninsula State Factories with90, 000 quintals (of 100 Span, lbs. ) of tobacco-leaf per annum. 

Government Monopoly was in force in Luzon Island only. The tobaccodistricts of that island were Cagayán Valley (which comprises LaIsabela), La Union, El Abra, Ilocos Sur y Norte and Nueva Ecija. In noother part of Luzon was tobacco-planting allowed, except for a shortperiod on the Caraballo range, inhabited by undomesticated mountaintribes, upon whom prohibition would have been difficult to enforce. In1842 the Igorrotes were allowed to plant, and, in the year 1853, the Government collection from this source amounted to 25, 000 balesof excellent quality. The total population of these districts was, in 1882 (the last year of Monopoly), about 785, 000. 

The Visayas Islands were never under the Monopoly system. The nativesthere were free to raise tobacco or other crops on their land. It wasnot until 1840 that tobacco-planting attracted general attention inVisayas. Government factories or collecting-centres were establishedthere for classifying and storing such tobacco as the Visayos caredto bring in for sale to the State, but they were at liberty to selltheir produce privately or in the public markets. They also disposedof large quantities by contraband to the Luzon Island Provinces. [138]

Antique Province never yielded more tobacco than could be consumedlocally. In 1841 the Antique tobacco crop was valued at P80, 000. But, in the hope of obtaining higher prices, the enthusiastic ProvincialGovernor, Manuel Iturriaga, encouraged the growers, in 1843, tosend a trial parcel to the Government collectors; it was, however, unclassed and rejected. 

Mindoro, Lucban, and Marinduque Islands produced tobacco about sixtyyears ago, and in 1846 the Government established a collecting-centrein Mindoro; but the abuses and cruelty of the officials towards thenatives, to force them to bring in their crops, almost extinguishedthis class of husbandry. 

During the period of Monopoly in the Luzon districts, theproduction was very carefully regulated by the Home Government, byenactments revised from time to time, called "General Instructionsfor the Direction, Administration and Control of the GovernmentMonopolies. " [139] Compulsory labour was authorized, and those nativesin the northern provinces of Luzon Island who wished to till the land(the property of the State)--for title-deeds were almost unknown andnever applied for by the natives--were compelled to give preference totobacco. In fact, no other crops were allowed to be raised. Moreover, they were not permitted peacefully to indulge their indolent nature--toscrape up the earth and plant when and where they liked for a meresubsistence. Each family was coerced into contracting with theGovernment to raise 4, 000 plants per annum, subject to a fine in theevent of failure. The planter had to deliver into the State storesall the tobacco of his crop--not a single leaf could he reserve forhis private consumption. 

Lands left uncultivated could be appropriated by the Government, whoput their own nominees to work them, and he who had come to considerhimself owner, by mere undisturbed possession, lost the usufruct andall other rights for three years. His right to the land, in fact, was not freehold, but tenure by villein socage. 

Emigrants were sent north from the west coast Provinces of North andSouth Ilocos. The first time I went up to Cagayán about 200 emigrantfamilies were taken on board our vessel at North Ilocos, _en route_for the tobacco districts, and appeared to be as happy as othernatives in general. They were well supplied with food and clothing, and comfortably lodged on their arrival at the Port of Aparri. 

In the Government Regulations referred to, the old law of CharlesIII. , which enacted that a native could not be responsible at lawfor a debt exceeding P5, was revived, and those emigrants who haddebts were only required to liquidate them out of their earnings inthe tobacco district up to that legal maximum value. 

As soon as the native growers were settled on their lands theircondition was by no means an enviable one. A Nueva Ecija landownerand tobacco-grower, in a letter to _El Liberal_ (Madrid) in 1880, depicts the situation in the following terms:--The planter, hesays, was only allowed to smoke tobacco of his own crop inside theaërating-sheds which were usually erected on the fields under tilth. Ifhe happened to be caught by a carabineer only a few steps outside theshed with a cigar in his mouth he was fined 2 pesos--if a cigarette, 50 cents--and adding to these sums the costs of the conviction, a cigar of his own crop came to cost him P7. 37 1/2, and a cigaretteP1. 87 1/2. The fines in Nueva Ecija amounted to an annual average ofP7, 000 on a population of 170, 000. From sunrise to sunset the nativegrower was subject to domiciliary search for concealed tobacco--histrunks, furniture, and every nook and corner of his dwelling wereransacked. He and all his family--wife and daughters--were personallyexamined: and often an irate husband, father, or brother, goaded toindignation by the indecent humiliation of his kinswoman, would layhands on his bowie-knife and bring matters to a bloody crisis withhis wanton persecutors. .. The leaves were carefully selected, andonly such as came under classification were paid for. The rejectedbundles were not returned to the grower, but burnt--a despairingsacrifice to the toiler! The _Cabezas de Barangay_ (_vide_ p. 223)had, under penalty of arrest and hard labour, to see that the familiesfulfilled their onerous contract. Corporal punishment, imprisonment, and amercement resulted; of frequent occurrence were those fearfulscenes which culminated in riots such as those of Ilocos in 1807 and1814, when many Spaniards fell victims to the natives' resentment oftheir oppression. 

Palpable injustice, too, was imposed by the Government with respectto the payments. The Treasury paid loyally for many years, but asgeneration succeeded generation, and the native growers' familiescame to feel themselves attached to the soil they cultivated, theTreasury, reposing on the security of this constancy, no longerkept to the compact. The officials failed to pay with punctualityto the growers the contracted value of the deliveries to the Statestores. They required exactitude from the native--the Government setthe example of remissness. The consequence was appalling. Instead ofmoney Treasury notes were given them, and speculators of the lowesttype used to scour the tobacco-growing districts to buy up this paperat an enormous discount. The misery of the natives was so distressing, the distrust of the Government so radicate, and the want of means ofexistence so urgent, that they were wont to yield their claims for aninsignificant relative specie value. The speculators held the bonds forrealization some day; the total amount due by the Government at onetime exceeded P1, 500, 000. Once the Treasury was so hard-pressed forfunds that the tobacco ready in Manila for shipment to Spain had tobe sold on the spot and the 90, 000 quintals could not be sent--hencepurchases of Philippine tobacco had to be made by tender in Londonfor the Spanish Government cigar factories. 

At length, during the government of General Domingo Moriones (1877-80), it was resolved to listen to the overwhelming complaints from theNorth, and pay up to date in coin. But, to do this, Spain, always ina state of chronic insolvency, had to resort to an abominable measureof disloyalty. The funds of the Deposit Bank (_Caja de Depósitos_)were arbitrarily appropriated, and the deposit-notes, bearing 8 percent. Interest per annum, held by private persons, most of whom wereGovernment clerks, etc. , were dishonoured at due date. This gave riseto great clamour on the part of those individuals whose term of servicehad ceased (_cesantes_), and who, on their return to Spain, naturallywished to take their accumulated savings with them. The Gov. -Generalhad no other recourse open to him but to reinstate them in their oldpositions, on his own responsibility, pending the financial crisisand the receipt of instructions from the Government at Madrid. 

For a long time the question of abolishing the Monopoly hadbeen debated, and by Royal Order of May 20, 1879, a commissionwas appointed to inquire into the convenience of farming out thetobacco traffic. The natives were firmly opposed to it; they dreadedthe prospect of the provinces being overrun by a band of licensedpersecutors, and of the two evils they preferred State to privateMonopoly. Warm discussions arose for and against it through the mediumof the Manila newspapers. The "Consejo de Filipinas, " in Madrid, had given a favourable report dated May 12, 1879, and published inthe _Gaceta de Madrid_ of July 13, 1879. The clergy defeated theproposal by the Corporations of Friars jointly presenting a Memorialagainst it--and it was thenceforth abandoned. The Tobacco Monopolywas the largest source of public revenue, hence the doubt as to thepolicy of free trade and the delay in granting it. There existed apossibility of the Treasury sustaining an immense and irretrievableloss, for a return to Monopoly, after free trade had been allowed, could not for a moment be thought of. It was then a safe income tothe Government, and it was feared by many that the industry, by freelabour, would considerably fall off. 

As already stated, the Government Monopoly ceased on December 31, 1882, when the tobacco cultivation and trade were handed over toprivate enterprise. At that date there were five Government Cigar andCigarette Factories, viz. :--Malabon, Arroceros, Meisig, El Fortin, and Cavite, giving employment to about 20, 000 operatives. 

Up to within a year of the abolition of Monopoly, a very good smokeablecigar could be purchased in the _estancos_ [140] from one half-pennyand upwards, but as soon as the free trade project was definitelydecided upon, the Government factories, in order to work off theirold stocks of inferior leaf, filled the _estancos_ with cigars ofthe worst quality. 

The Colonial Treasurer-General at the time of this reform entertainedvery sanguine hopes respecting the rush which would be made for theGovernment brands, and the general public were led to believe thata scarcity of manufactured tobacco would, for some months, at least, follow the establishment of free trade in this article. With this ideain view, Government stocks sold at auction aroused competition andfetched unusually high prices at the close of 1882 and the first monthof the following year, in some cases as much as 23/- per cwt. Beingrealized over the upset prices. However, the Treasurer-General wascarried too far in his expectations. He was unfortunately induced tohold a large amount of Government manufactured tobacco in anticipationof high offers, the result being an immense loss to the Treasury, as only a part was placed, with difficulty, at low prices, and theremainder shipped to Spain. In January, 1883, the stock of tobacco inGovernment hands amounted to about 100 tons of 1881 crop, besides thewhole crop of 1882. Little by little the upset prices had to be loweredto draw buyers. The tobacco shipped during the first six months of theyear 1883 was limited to that sold by auction out of the Governmentstocks, for the Government found themselves in a dilemma with theirstores of this article, and the free export only commenced half a yearafter free production was granted. On December 29, 1883, a Governmentsale by auction was announced at 50 per cent. Reduction on theiralready low prices, but the demand was still very meagre. Finally, in the course of 1884, the Government got rid of the bulk of theirstock, the balance being shipped to the mother country. The colonialauthorities continued to pay the ancient tobacco-tribute to Spain, and the first contract, with this object, was made during that yearwith a private company for the supply of about 2, 750 tons. 

During the first year of Free Trade, cigar and cigarette factories wererapidly started in Manila and the provinces, but up to 1897 only someeight or ten factories had improved the quality of the manufacturedarticle, whilst prices rose so considerably that the general publicprobably lost by the reform. Cigars, like those sold in the _estancos_in 1881, could never again be got so good for the same price, but athigher prices much better brands were offered. 

A small tax on the cigar and tobacco-leaf trade, officially announcedin August, 1883, had the beneficial effect of causing the closure ofsome of the very small manufactories, and reduced the probability ofa large over-supply of an almost worthless article. 

Export-houses continued to make large shipments of leaf-tobacco andcigars until the foreign markets were glutted with Philippine tobaccoin 1883, and in the following years the export somewhat decreased. Forfigures of Tobacco Leaf and Cigar Shipments, _vide_ Chap, xxxi. , "Trade Statistics. "

As to the relative quality of Philippine tobacco, there are verydivided opinions. Decidedly the best Manila cigars cannot comparewith those made from the famous leaf of the Vuelta de Abajo (Cuba), and in the European markets they have very justly failed to meet withthe same favourable reception as the Cuban cigars generally. 

During my first journey up the Cagayán River, I was told that someyears ago the Government made earnest efforts to improve the quality ofthe plant by the introduction of seed from Cuba, but unfortunately itbecame mixed up with that usually planted in the Philippine provinces, and the object in view failed completely. On my renewed visit to thetobacco districts, immediately after the abolition of monopoly, theimportance of properly manipulating the green leaf did not appear tobe thoroughly appreciated. The exact degree of fermentation was notascertained with the skill and perseverance necessary to turn out awell-prepared article. Some piles which I tested were over-heated(taking the Java system as my standard), whilst larger quantitieshad been aërated so long in the shed, after cutting, that they hadlost their finest aroma. 

There are many risks in tobacco-leaf trading. The leaf, during itsgrowth, is exposed to perforation by a worm which, if not brushed offevery morning, may spread over the whole field. Through the indolenceof the native cultivator this misfortune happens so frequently thatrarely does the Cagayán Valley tobacco contain (in the total crop ofthe season) more than 10 per cent. Of perfect, undamaged leaves. Inthe aërating-sheds another kind of worm appears in the leaf; and, again, after the leaves are baled or the cigars boxed, an insectdrills little holes through them--locally, it is said to be "picado. "

Often in the dry season (the winter months) the tobacco-leaf, for want of a little moisture, matures narrow, thick and gummy, and contains an excess of nicotine, in which case it can only beused after several years' storage. Too much rain entirely spoilsthe leaf. Another obstacle to Philippine cigar manufacture is theincreasing universal demand for cigars with light-coloured wrappers, for which hardly two per cent. Of the Philippine leaf is suitable inworld competition, whilst the operative cannot handle with economy thedelicate light-coloured Sumatra wrapper. The difficulties of transportare so great that it costs more to bring the finest tobacco-leaf fromthe field to the Manila factory than it would to send it from Manilato Europe in large parcels. The labour question is also an importantconsideration, for it takes several years of daily practice for aFilipino to turn out a first-class marketable cigar; the most skilfuloperatives can earn up to P50 a month. 

The best quality of Philippine tobacco is produced in the northernprovinces of Luzon Island, the choicest selections coming from Cagayánand La Isabela. The Provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Ilocos Sur y Norte, La Union, Nueva Ecija, and even Pampanga, yield tobacco. 

In the Visayas, tobacco is cultivated in Panay Island and on the eastcoast of Negros Island (district of Escalante) and Cebú Island--also toa limited extent in Mindanao. The Visaya leaf generally is inferiorin quality, particularly that of Yloilo Province, some of which, in fact, is such rubbish that it is difficult to understand how aprofit can be expected from its cultivation. The Escalante (Negros, E. Coast) and the Barili (Cebú W. Coast) tobacco seemed to me to bethe fullest flavoured and most agreeable leaf in all the Visayas. 

A tobacco plantation is about as pretty as a cabbage-field. 

In 1883 a company, styled The General Philippine Tobacco Company("Compañia General de Tabacos de Filipinas"), formed in Spain andfinancially supported by French capitalists, was established inthis Colony with a capital of £3, 000, 000. It gave great impulseto the trade by soon starting with five factories and purchasingfour estates ("San Antonio, " "Santa Isabel, " "San Luis, " and "LaConcepcion"), with buying-agents in every tobacco district. Up to1898 the baled tobacco-leaf trade was chiefly in the hands of thiscompany. Little by little the company launched out into other branchesof produce-purchasing, and lost considerable sums of money in theprovinces in its unsuccessful attempt to compete with the shrewdforeign merchants, but it is still a good going concern. 

 PRICES AND WEIGHTS OF SOME OF THE BEST CIGARS MANUFACTURED IN MANILA PACKED IN BOXES READY FOR USE OR SHIPMENT. 

 Per Thousand. In Boxes of Per Thousand. In Boxes of lbs. Pesos lbs. Pesos

 30 500 10 17 45 50 30 200 25 17 40 50 17 150 25 12 30 50 25 125 25 16 24 50 23 70 25 12 20 100 17 60 50 16 18 100 18 50 50 4 1/2 13 100

Cigars and cigarettes are now offered for sale in every town, village, and hamlet of the Islands, and their manufacture for the immense homeconsumption (which, of cigars, is about one-third of the whole output), and to supply the demand for export, constitutes an important branchof trade, giving employment to thousands of operatives. 

CHAPTER XVIII

Sundry Forest and Farm ProduceMaize--Cacao--Coprah, Etc. 

Maize (_Zea mays_), or "Indian Corn, " forms the staple article offood in lieu of rice in a limited number of districts, particularlyin the South, although as a rule this latter cereal is preferred. 

Many agriculturists alternate their crops with that of maize, which, itis said, does not impoverish the land to any appreciable extent. Thereis no great demand for this grain, and it is generally cultivatedrather as an article for consumption in the grower's household thanfor trade. Planted in good land it gives about 200-fold, and two cropsin the year = 400-fold per annum; but the setting out of one caban ofmaize grain occupies five times the surface required for the plantingof the same measure of rice grain. An ordinary caban of land is 8, 000square Spanish yards (_vide_ Land Measure, p. 271), and this superficiederives its denomination from the fact that it is the average areaoccupied by the planting out of one caban measure of rice grain. Themaize caban of land is quite a special measure, and is equal to 5 ricecabans. Estimating, therefore, the average yield of rice-paddy to be50 cabanes measure per ordinary caban of land, the same superficie, were it suitable for maize-raising, would give one-fifth of 400-foldper annum = 80 cabanes measure of maize per rice caban of land. 

The current price of maize, taking the average in several provinces, is rarely above that of paddy for the same measure, whilst it is oftenlower, according to the demand, which is influenced by the custom ofthe natives in the vicinity where it is offered for sale. 

It is eaten after being pulverized between stone or hardwood slabs withthe surfaces set horizontally, the upper one being caused to revolveon the lower one, which is stationary. In many village market-placesone sees heads of maize roasted and exposed for sale. This is ofa special quality, grown in alluvial soil--the intervals of riverswhich overflow at certain seasons of the year. Three crops per annumare obtainable on land of this kind, so that the supply is constantall the year round. Before the American occupation, the price of theraw maize-heads to the market-sellers was about 60 cuartos per 100, which they retailed out roasted at one cuarto each (3 1/2 cuartosequal about one penny); the profit was therefore proportionatelylarge when local festivities created a demand. 

The _Cacao-tree_--(_Theobroma cacao_, or "Food of the gods, " as Linnæuscalled it)--a native of Central America, flourishes in these Islandsin the hot and damp districts. 

It is said to have been imported into the Philippines towards the endof the 17th century from Mexico, where it has been in very ancientuse. Gaspar de San Agustin records the following [141]:--"In the year1670 a navigator, Pedro Brabo de Lagunas, brought from Acapulco a potcontaining a cacao-plant which he gave to his brother, Bartolomé Brabo, a priest in Camarines, from whom it was stolen by a Lipa native, Juan del Aguila, who hid it and took care of it, and from it waspropagated all the original Philippine stock. "

Outside the tropics the tree will grow in some places, but gives nofruit. The Philippine quality is very good, and compares favourablywith that of other countries, the best being produced between latitudes11° and 12° N. 

The cultivation of cacao is an extremely risky and delicate business, as, often when the planter's hopes are about to be realized, a slightstorm will throw down the almost-ripened fruit in a day. A diseasesometimes attacks the roots and spreads through a plantation. Itwould be imprudent, therefore, to devote one's time exclusively tothe cultivation of this product at the risk of almost instantaneousruin. Usually, the Philippine agriculturist rightly regards cacaoonly as a useful adjunct to his other crops. In the aspect of a cacaoplantation there is nothing specially attractive. The tree itselfis not pretty. The natives who grow the fruit usually make their ownchocolate at home by roasting the beans over a slow fire, and afterseparating them from their husks (like almond-skins), they poundthem with wet sugar, etc. , into a paste, using a kind of rolling-pinon a concave block of wood. The roasted beans should be made intochocolate at once, as by exposure to the air they lose flavour. Smallquantities of cacao are sent to Spain, but the consumption in theColony, when made into chocolate [142] by adding sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, etc. , to counteract the natural bitterness of the bean, is considerable. In making the paste, a large quantity of sugar isadded, varying from one-third of its weight to equal parts, whilstone pod of vanilla is sufficient for 1 1/2 lbs. Of cacao. Chocolateis often adulterated with roasted rice and _Pili_ nuts. The roasted_Pili_ nut alone has a very agreeable almond taste. As a beverage, chocolate is in great favour with the Spaniards and half-castes andthe better class of natives. In every household of any pretensionsthe afternoon caller is invited to "merendar con chocolate, " whichcorresponds to the English "5 o'clock tea. "

The cacao-beans or kernels lie in a fruit something like a gherkin, about 5 inches long and 3 inches in diameter, and of a dark reddishcolour when ripe. The tree bears its fruit on the main branches, oron the trunk itself, but never on twigs or thin branches. The fruitcontains from 15 to 25 beans, in regular rows, with pulpy divisionsbetween them like a water-melon. The kernels are about the size, shape, and colour of almonds, obtuse at one end, and contain a fattyor oily matter to the extent of one-half their weight. In order to make"soluble cocoa" as sold in Europe this fatty substance is extracted. 

The beans are planted out at short distances in orchards, or in thegarden surrounding the owner's dwelling. The tree, in this Colony, does not attain a great height--usually up to 10 feet--whereas in itsnatural soil it grows up to 30 feet at least. Like coffee, it bearsfruit in the fourth year, and reaches maturity in the sixth year. Thefair annual yield of a tree, if not damaged by storms or insects, would be about three pints measure of beans, which always find a readysale. The tree is most delicate; a slight laceration of the root, or stagnant water near it, may kill it; it needs a moisture-ladensultry air, which, however, must not exceed 75° Fahr. 

If all went well with the crop, large profits might accrue to thecacao-planter, but it rarely happens (perhaps never) during the sixmonths of fruit-ripening that losses are not sustained by hurricanes, disease in the tree, the depredations of parrots, monkeys, rats, and other vermin, etc. Practically speaking, cacao-planting shouldonly be undertaken in this Colony by agriculturists who have sparecapital and can afford to lose a crop one year to make up for it inthe next. The venture pays handsomely in fortunate seasons, but itis not the line of planting to be taken up by hand-to-mouth colonistswho must seek immediate returns, nor as a sole occupation. 

_Castor Oil_ is obtained in a few places from the seeds of the _PalmaChristi_ or _Ricinus communis_, but the plant is not cultivated, and the oil has not yet become an article of current trade. 

_Gogo_ (_Entada pursætha_), sometimes called _Bayogo_ in Tagálog, is a useful forest product in general demand, on sale at everymarket-place and native general shop. It is a fibrous bark, takenin strips of 3 or 4 feet long. It looks exactly like cocoa-nut coir, except that its colour is a little lighter and brighter. It is usedfor cleansing the hair, for which purpose a handful is put to soakin a basin of water overnight, and the next morning it will saponifywhen rubbed between the hands. The soap which issues therefrom is thenrubbed in the hair at the time of bathing. It is in common use amongthe natives of both sexes and many Europeans. An infusion of _Gogo_ isa purgative. If placed dry in the _tinaja_ jars (Tagálog, _Tapayan_), containing cacao-beans, the insects will not attack the beans. 

_Camote_ (_Convolvulus batatas_) is the sweet potato or Yam, thefoliage of which quickly spreads out like a carpet over the soil andforms tubers, like the common potato. It is a favourite article offood among the natives, and in nearly every island it is also foundwild. In kitchen-gardens it is planted like the potato, the tuber beingcut in pieces. Sometimes it is dried (Tagálog, _Pacúmbong camote_). Itis also preserved whole in molasses (Tagálog, _Palúbog na camote_). 

_Gabi_ (_Caladium_) is another kind of esculent root, palatable tothe natives, similar to the turnip, and throws up stalks from 1 to 3feet high, at the end of which is an almost round leaf, dark green, from 3 to 5 inches diameter at maturity. 

_Potatoes_ are grown in Cebú Island, but they are rarely any largerthan walnuts. With very special care a larger size has been raisedin Negros Island; also potatoes of excellent flavour and of a pinkishcolour are cultivated in the district of Benguet; in Manila there isa certain demand for this last kind. 

_Mani_ (_Arachis hypogæa_), commonly called the "Pea-nut, " is acreeping plant, which grows wild in many places. It is much cultivated, however, partly for the sake of the nut or fruit, but principallyfor the leaves and stalks, which, when dried, even months old, serveas an excellent and nutritious fodder for ponies. It contains a largequantity of oil, and in some districts it is preferred to the fresh-cut_zacate_ grass, with which the ponies and cattle are fed in Manila. 

The Philippine pea-nut is about as large as that seen in England. In1904 the American Bureau of Agriculture brought to the Islands forseed a quantity of New Orleans pea-nuts two to three times larger. 

_Areca Palm_ (_Areca calechu_) (Tagálog, _Bonga_), the nut of whichis used to make up the chewing betel when split into slices aboutone-eighth of an inch thick. This is one of the most beautifulpalms. The nuts cluster on stalks under the tuft of leaves atthe top of the tall slender stem. It is said that one tree willproduce, according to age, situation, and culture, from 200 to 800nuts yearly. The nut itself is enveloped in a fibrous shell, likethe cocoa-nut. In Europe a favourite dentifrice is prepared fromthe areca-nut. 

_Buyo_ (_Piper betle_) (Tagálog, _Igmô_), is cultivated with muchcare in every province, as its leaf, when coated with lime made fromoyster-shells and folded up, is used to coil round the areca-nut, the whole forming the _buyo_ (betel), which the natives of theseIslands, as in British India, are in the habit of chewing. To thechew a quid of tobacco is sometimes added. A native can go a greatnumber of hours without food if he has his betel; it is said to bestomachical. After many years of habit in chewing this nut and leafit becomes almost a necessity, as is the case with opium, and it isbelieved that its use cannot, with safety, be suddenly abandoned. Tothe newly-arrived European, it is very displeasing to have to conversewith a native betel-eater, whose teeth and lips appear to be smearedwith blood. The _buyo_ plant is set out on raised beds and trained(like hops) straight up on sticks, on which it grows to a height ofabout 6 feet. The leaf is of a bright green colour, and only slightlypointed. In all market-places, including those of Manila, there isa great sale of this leaf, which is brought fresh every day. 

_Cocoanut_ (_Cocos nucifera_) plantations pay very well, and there is acertain demand for the fruit for export to China, besides the constantlocal sales in the _tianguis_. [143] _Niog_ is the Tagálog name forthe cocoanut palm. Some tap the tree by making an incision in theflowering (or fruit-bearing) stalk, under which a bamboo vessel, calleda _bombon_, is hung to receive the sap. This liquid, known as _tuba_, is a favourite beverage among the natives. As many as four stalks ofthe same trunk can be so drained simultaneously without injury to thetree. In the bottom of the _bombon_ is placed about as much as a desertspoonful of pulverized _Tongo_ bark (_Rhizophora longissima_) to give astronger taste and bright colour to the _tuba_. The incision--renewedeach time the _bombon_ is replaced--is made with a very sharp knife, to which a keen edge is given by rubbing it on wood (_Erythrina_)covered with a paste of ashes and oil. The sap-drawing of a stalkcontinues incessantly for about two months, when the stalk ceases toyield and dries up. The _bombons_ containing the liquid are removed, empty ones being put in their place every twelve hours, about sunriseand sunset, and the seller hastens round to his clients with themorning and evening draught, concluding his trade at the market-placeor other known centres of sale. If the _tuba_ is allowed to ferment, it is not so palatable, and becomes an intoxicating drink. From thefermented juice the distilleries manufacture a spirituous liquor, known locally as cocoa-wine. The trees set apart for _tuba_ extractiondo not produce nuts, as the fruit-forming elements are taken away. 

The man who gets down the _tuba_ has to climb the first tree, on thetrunk of which notches are cut to place his toes in. From under thetuft of leaves two bamboos are fastened, leading to the next nearesttree, and so on around the group which is thus connected. The bottombamboo serves as a bridge, and the top one as a handrail. Occasionallya man falls from the top of a trunk 70 or 80 feet high, and breaks hisneck. The occupation of _tuba_ drawing is one of the most dangerous. 

When the tree is allowed to produce fruit, instead of yielding _tuba_, the nuts are collected about every four months. They are broughtdown either by a sickle-shaped knife lashed on to the end of a longpole, or by climbing the tree with the knife in hand. When they arecollected for oil-extraction, they are carted on a kind of sleigh, [144] unless there be a river or creek providing a water-way, in whichlatter case they are tied together, stalk to stalk, and floated ina compact mass, like a raft, upon which the man in charge stands. 

The water or milk found inside a cocoanut is very refreshing to thetraveller, and has this advantage over fresh water, that it servesto quench the thirst of a person who is perspiring, or whose bloodis highly heated, without doing him any harm. 

Well-to-do owners of cocoanut-palm plantations usually farm out tothe poorer people the right to extract the _tuba_, allotting to eachfamily a certain number of trees. Others allow the trees to bear fruit, and although the returns are, theoretically, not so good, it pays theowner about the same, as he is less exposed to robbery, being ablemore closely to watch his own interests. The trees bear fruit in thefifth year, but, meanwhile, care must be taken to defend them fromthe browsing of cattle. If they survive that period they will livefor a century. At seven years' growth the cocoanut palm-tree seldomfails to yield an unvarying average crop of a score of large nuts, giving a nett profit of about one peso per annum. 

The cocoanut is largely used for culinary purposes in the Islands. Itis an ingredient in the native "curry" (of no resemblance to Indiancurry), and is preserved in several ways, the most common being the_Bocayo_, a sort of cocoanut toffee, and the _Matamis na macapuno_, which is the soft, immature nut preserved in molasses. 

In the Provinces of Tayabas, La Laguna, E. Batangas and district of LaInfanta, the cocoanut-palm is extensively cultivated, solely for thepurpose of extracting the oil from the nut. The cocoanut-oil factoriesare very rough, primitive establishments, usually consisting of eightor ten posts supporting a nipa palm-leaf roof, and closed in at allsides with split bamboos. The nuts are heaped for a while to dry andconcentrate the oil in the fruit. Then they are chopped, more or less, in half. A man sits on a board with his feet on a treadle, from which arope is passed over, and works to and fro a cylindrical block, in theend of which is fixed an iron scraper. He picks up the half-nuts oneat a time, and on applying them to the scraper in motion, the whitefruit, or pith, falls out into a vessel underneath. These scrapingsare then pressed between huge blocks of wood to express the oil, andthe mass is afterwards put into cast-iron cauldrons, of Chinese make, with water, which is allowed to simmer and draw out the remainingfatty particles, which are skimmed off the surface. When cold, itis sent off to market in small, straight-sided kegs, on ponies whichcarry two kegs--one slung on each side. The average estimated yield ofthe cocoanuts, by the native process, is as follows, viz. :--250 largenuts give one cwt. Of dried coprah, yielding, say, 10 gallons of oil. 

Small quantities of Cocoanut Oil (Tagálog, _Languis ng niog_)are shipped from the Philippines, but in the Colony itself it isan important article of consumption. Every dwelling, rich or poor, consumes a certain amount of this oil nightly for lighting. For thispurpose it is poured into a glass half full of water, on which itfloats, and a wick, made of pith, called _tinsin_, introduced bythe Chinese, is suspended in the centre of the oil by a strip oftin. As the oil is consumed, the wick is lowered by slightly bendingthe tin downwards. There are few dwelling-houses, or huts, without alight of some kind burning during the whole night in expectation ofa possible earthquake, and the vast majority use cocoanut oil becauseof the economy. 

It is also in use for cooking in some out-of-the-way places, andis not unpalatable when quite fresh. It is largely employed as alubricant for machinery, for which purpose, however, it is veryinferior. Occasionally it finds a medicinal application, and thenatives commonly use it as hair-oil. In Europe, cocoa-nut oil isa white solid, and is used in the manufacture of soap and candles;in the tropics it is seldom seen otherwise than in a liquid state, as it fuses a little above 70° Fahr. 

It is only in the last few years that Coprah has acquired importance asan article of export. There are large cocoanut plantations on all theprincipal islands, whence supplies are furnished to meet the foreigndemand, which is likely to increase considerably. 

For figures of _Coprah_ Shipments, _vide_ Chap. Xxxi. , "TradeStatistics. "

Uses are also found for the hard Shell of the nut (Tagálog, _Baoo_). Innative dwellings these shells serve the poor for cups (_tabo _) and avariety of other useful domestic utensils, whilst by all classes theyare converted into ladles with wooden handles. Also, when carbonized, the shell gives a black, used for dyeing straw hats. 

Very little use is made of the Coir (Tagálog, _Bunot_), or outerfibrous skin, which in other countries serves for the manufactureof cocoanut matting, coarse brushes, hawsers, etc. It is said thatcoir rots in fresh water, whereas salt water strengthens it. Itwould therefore be unsuitable for running rigging, but for ships'cables it cannot be surpassed in its qualities of lightness andelasticity. As it floats on water, it ought to be of great valueon ships, whilst of late years its employment in the manufacture oflight ocean telegraph cables has been seriously considered, showing, as it does, an advantage over other materials by taking a convex curveto the water surface--an important condition in cable-laying. [145]The Spaniards call this product _Banote_. In this Colony it oftenserves for cleaning floors and ships' decks, when the nut is cut intotwo equal parts across the grain of the coir covering, and with ita very high polish can be put on to hardwoods. 

The stem of the Cocoanut Palm is attacked by a very large beetlewith a single horn at the top of its head. It bores through the barkand slightly injures the tree, but I never heard that any had diedin consequence. In some countries this insect is described as therhinoceros beetle, and is said to belong to the _Dynastidæ_ species. 

In the Philippines, the poorest soil seems to give nourishment to thecocoanut-palm; indeed, it thrives best on, or near, the sea-shore, as close to the sea as where the beach is fringed by the surf at hightide. The common cocoanut-palm attains a height of about sixty feet, but there is also a dwarf palm with the stem sometimes no tallerthan four feet at full growth, which also bears fruit, although lessplentifully. A grove of these is a pretty sight. 

Sir Emerson Tennent, referring to these trees in Ceylon, is reportedto have stated [146] that the cocoanut-palm "acts as a conductorin protecting houses from lightning. As many as 500 of these treeswere struck in a single _pattoo_ near Pattalam during a successionof thunderstorms in April 1859. "--_Colombo Observer_. 

_Nipa Palm_ (_Nipa fruticans_) is found in mangrove swamps and floodedmarshy lands. It has the appearance of a gigantic fern, and thrivesbest in those lands which are covered by the sea at high tide. In thesame manner as the cocoanut-palm, the sap is extracted by incision madein the fruit-bearing stalk, and is used for distilling a liquid knownas nipa wine, which, however, should properly be termed a spirit. Theleaves, which are very long, and about three to five inches wide, are of immense value in the country for thatched roofs. Nipa is notto be found everywhere; one may go many miles without seeing it, indistricts devoid of marshes and swampy lowlands. In El Abra district(Luzon Is. ) nipa is said to be unknown. In such places, anothermaterial supplies its want for thatching, viz. :--

_Cogon_ (_Saccharum koenigii_), a sort of tall jungle grass with avery sharp edge, plentifully abundant precisely where nipa cannot beexpected to grow. I have ridden through cogon five feet high, but afair average would be about three to four feet. It has simply to becut and sun-dried and is ready for roof thatching. 

The _Cotton-tree_ (_Gossypium herbaceum_, Linn. ?), (Tagálog, _Bulac_), is found growing in an uncultivated state in many islandsof the Archipelago. Long-staple cotton was formerly extensivelycultivated in the Province of Ilocos Norte, whence, many years ago, large quantities of good cotton-stuffs were exported. This industrystill exists. The cultivation of this staple was, however, discouragedby the local governors, in order to urge the planting of tobacco forthe Government supplies. It has since become difficult to revive thecotton production, although an essay, in pamphlet form (for whicha prize was awarded in Madrid), was gratuitously distributed overthe Colony in 1888 with that object. Nevertheless, cotton spinningand weaving are still carried on, on a reduced scale, in the Ilocosprovinces (Luzon west coast). 

Wild cotton is practically useless for spinning, as the staple isextremely short, but perhaps by hybridization and careful attention itsculture might become valuable to the Colony. The pod is elliptical, and the cotton which bursts from it at maturity is snow-white. Itis used for stuffing pillows and mattresses. It was a common thing, before the American occupation, to see (wild) cotton-trees plantedalong the highroad to serve as telegraph-posts; by the time the seedis fully ripe, every leaf has fallen, and nothing but the burstingpods remain hanging to the branches. 

The _Buri Palm_ is a handsome species, of tall growth, with fan-likeleaves. Its juice serves as a beverage resembling _tuba_. The trunkyields a sago flour. The leaves are beaten on boulder stones to extracta fibre for rope-making, of great strength and in constant demand. 

The _Ditá Tree_, said to be of the family of the _Apocynese_ andknown to botanists as _Alstonia scholaris_, is possibly a species ofcinchona. The pulverized bark has a bitter taste like quinine, andis successfully used by the natives to allay fever. A Manila chemistonce extracted from the bark a substance which he called _ditaïne_, the yield of crystallizable alkaloid being 2 per cent. 

_Palma Brava_ (_Coripha minor_) (Tagálog, _Banga_), [147] is a speciesof palm, the trunk of which is of great local value. It is immenselystrong, and will resist the action of water for years. These trees areemployed as piles for quay and pier making--for bridges, stockades, and in any works where strength, elasticity, and resistance to waterare required in combination. When split, a fibrous pith is foundin the centre much resembling cocoanut coir, but the ligneous shellof the stem still retains its qualities of strength and flexibility, and is used for vehicle-shafts, coolies' carrying-poles, and a varietyof other purposes. 

_Bambusa_ (_Bambusa arundinacea_) is a graminifolious plant--one of themost charmingly picturesque and useful adornments of Nature bestowedexuberantly on the Philippine Islands. It grows in thick tufts inthe woods and on the banks of rivers. Its uses are innumerable, andit has not only become one of the articles of primary necessity tothe native, but of incalculable value to all in the Colony. 

There are many kinds of bamboos, distinct in formation and size. TheTagálog generic name for knotted bamboo is _Cauáyan_; the Spanishname is _Caña espina_. The most common species grows to a height ofabout 60 feet, with a diameter varying up to eight inches, and is ofwonderful strength, due to its round shape and the regularity of itsjoints. Each joint is strengthened by a web inside. It is singularlyflexible, light, elastic, and of matchless floating power. The fibreis tough, but being perfectly straight, it is easy to split. It has asmooth glazed surface, a perfectly straight grain, and when split onany surface, it takes a high polish by simple friction. Three cutswith the bowie-knife are sufficient to hew down the largest bambooof this kind, and the green leaves, in case of extreme necessity, serve for horses' fodder. 

There is another variety also hollow, but not so large as that justdescribed. It is covered with a natural varnish as hard as steel. Itis also used for native cabin-building and many other purposes. 

A third species, seldom found more than five inches in diameter, ismuch more solid, having no cavity in the centre divided by webs. Itcannot be applied to so many purposes as the first, but where greatstrength is required it is incomparable. 

When the bamboo-plant is cultivated with the view of rendering itannually productive, the shoots are pruned in the dry season at aheight of about seven feet from the ground. In the following wetseason, out of the clump germinate a number of young shoots, which, in the course of six or eight months, will have reached their normalheight, and will be fit for cutting when required. Bamboo should befelled in the dry season before the sap begins to ascend by capillaryattraction. If cut out of season it is prematurely consumed by grub(_gojo_), but this is not much heeded when wanted in haste. 

The northern native builds his hut entirely of bamboo with nipapalm-leaf or cogon thatching; in the Province of Yloilo I have seenhundreds of huts made entirely of bamboo, including the roofing. Tomake bamboo roofing, the hollow canes are split longitudinally, and, after the webbed joints inside have been cut away, they are laid onthe bamboo frame-work, and fit into each other, the one convexly, the next one concavely, and so on alternately. In frame-work, nojoiner's skill is needed; two-thirds of the bamboo are notched out onone side, and the other third is bent to rectangle. A rural bungalowcan be erected in a week. When Don Manuel Montuno, the late Governorof Mórong, came with his suite to stay at my up-country bungalow fora shooting expedition, I had a wing added in three days, perfectlyroofed and finished. 

No nails are ever used, the whole being bound with _bejuco_. The wallsof the cabin are made by splitting the bamboo, and, after removingthe webbed joints, each half is beaten out flat. Even in houses ofcertain pretensions I have often seen split-bamboo flooring, which ishighly effective, as it is always clean and takes a beautiful polishwhen rubbed over a few times with plantain-leaves. In the parishchurch of Las Piñas, near Manila, there was an organ made of bamboo, of excellent tone, extant up to the year of the Revolution. 

When the poor village native wants to put up his house he callsa _bayanin_, and his neighbours assemble to give him a hand. Thebowie-knife is the only indispensable tool. One cuts the bamboo tolengths, another splits it, a third fits it for making the frame-work, another threads the dried nipa-leaves for the roofing, and thus amodest _bahay_ is erected in a week. The most practicable dwellingis the bamboo and nipa house, the only serious drawback being therisk of fire. 

Rafts, furniture of all kinds, scaffolding, spoons, carts, baskets, sledges, fishing-traps, fleams, water-pipes, hats, dry and liquidmeasures, cups, fencing, canoe-fittings, bridges, carrying-poles forany purpose, pitchforks, and a thousand other articles are made ofthis unexcelled material. Here it serves all the purposes to which theosier is applied in Europe. It floats in water, serves for fuel, andropes made of it are immensely strong. Bamboo salad is prepared fromthe very young shoots, cut as soon as they sprout from the root. Thevalue of bamboo in Manila varies according to the season of the yearand length of the bamboo, the diameter of course being proportionate. 

_Bojo_ (Tagálog, _Buho_) is a kind of cane, somewhat resembling thebamboo in appearance only. It has very few knots; is brittle, perfectlysmooth on the outer and inner surfaces--hollow, and grows to about25 feet high by 2 inches diameter, and is not nearly so useful asthe bamboo. It is used for making light fences, musical instruments, fishing-rods, inner walls of huts, fishing-traps, torches, etc. 

_Bejuco_, or Rattan-cane, belonging to the _Calamus_ family(Tagálog, _Hiantoc_, also _Dit-án_), is a forest product commonlyfound in lengths of, say, 100 feet, with a maximum diameter ofhalf-an-inch. It is of enormous strength and pliancy. Its uses areinnumerable. When split longitudinally it takes the place of ropefor lashing anything together; indeed, it is just as useful in theregions of its native habitat as cordage is in Europe. It serves forfurniture and bedstead-making, and it is a substitute for nails andbolts. Hemp-bales, sugar-bags, parcels of all kinds are tied up withit, and hats are made of it. The ring through a buffalo's nose ismade of whole rattan, to which is often attached a split strip fora guiding-rein. Every joint in a native's hut, his canoe, his fence, his cart, woodwork of any kind--indeed, everything to be made fast, from a bundle of sticks to a broken-down carriage, is lashed togetherwith this split material, which must, when so employed, be bent withthe shiny skin outside, otherwise it will infallibly snap. The demandfor this article is very large. 

_Bush-rope_ (_Calamus maximus_) (Tagálog, _Palásan_) is also a forestproduct, growing to lengths of about 100 feet, with a maximum diameterof one inch and a quarter. It is immensely strong. It is used for raftcables for crossing rivers, stays for bamboo suspension-bridges, and afew other purposes. It is sometimes found with knots as far apart as 30feet. It is a species quite distinct from the _Walking-stick Palasan_(_Calamus gracilis_) (Tagálog, _Tabola_) the appreciated feature ofwhich is the proximity of the knots. I have before me a specimen 34inches long with 26 knots. 

_Gum Mastic_ (_Almáciga_) is an article of minor importance in thePhilippine exports, the supply being very limited. It is said thatlarge quantities exist; but as it is only procurable in almostinaccessible mountainous and uncivilized districts, first-handcollectors in the provinces, principally Chinese, have to dependupon the services and goodwill of unsubdued tribes. It is chieflyobtained by barter, and is not a trade which can be worked upsystematically. The exports of this product fluctuate considerablyin consequence. For figures of _Gum Mastic_ shipments, _vide_ Chap, xxxi. , "Trade Statistics. "

_Gutta-percha_ was formerly a more important article of trade in theseIslands until the Chinese drove it out of the market by adulteration. Alittle is shipped from Zamboanga. 

_Wax_ (Tagálog, _patquit_) and cinnamon are to be found in much thesame way as gum mastic. There is a large consumption of wax in theIslands for candles used at the numerous religious feasts. The cinnamonis very inferior in quality. It is abundant in Mindanao Island, but, like gum mastic, it can only be procured in small quantities, dependingon the caprice or necessities of the mountain-tribes. Going along theseashore in Zamboanga Province, on one occasion, I met a mountaineercarrying a bundle of cinnamon to Zamboanga Port--many miles distant--tosell the bark to the Chinese at [Peso}8 per picul. I bought his load, the half of which I sent to Spain, requesting a friend there tosatisfy my curiosity by procuring a quotation for the sample in theBarcelona market. He reported that the quality was so low that onlya nominal price could be quoted, and that it stood nowhere comparedwith the carefully cultivated Ceylon product. 

_Edible Bird's Nest_ (_Collocalia troglodytes--Coll. Nodificaesculenta_ Bonap. ) is an article of trade with the Chinese, who readilypurchase it at high prices. It is made by a kind of sea-swallow, andin appearance resembles vermicelli, variegated with blood-colouredspots. The nests are found in high cliffs by the sea, and the nativesengaged in their collection reach them by climbing up bush-ropeor bamboos with the branch-knots left on to support themselves withtheir toes. It is a very dangerous occupation, as the nests are alwaysbuilt high in almost inaccessible places. The Filipino risks his lifein collecting them, whilst the Chinaman does the safe and profitablebusiness of trading in the article. In the Philippines the collectionbegins in December, and the birds deprived of their nests have thento build a second nest for laying their eggs. These second nests aregathered about the end of January, and so on up to about the fourthcollection. Each successive nest decreases in commercial value, andthe last one is hardly worth the risk of taking. Even though theremight be venturesome collectors who would dislodge the last nests, the wet season fortunately sets in and prevents their being reached, hence the bird is at length able to continue propagation. Bird's-nestsoup is a delicacy in great demand in China. 

These nests are chiefly found in the Calamities group of islands, particularly in Busuanga Island. The Sulu Archipelago and PalaúanIsland also furnish a small quantity of edible birds'-nests. 

_Balate_, or Trepang, is a species of sea-slug, for which the nativesfind a ready sale to the Chinese at good prices. The fish is preservedby being gutted, cooked, and sun-dried, and has a shrimp taste. Itis found in greatest quantities off the Calamianes and Palaúan Islands. 

_Sapan-wood_ (_Caesalpina sappan_) (Tagálog, _Sibucao_, or _Sápang_), of an inferior quality compared with the Pernambuco wood, is aPhilippine product found in most of the large islands. It is a short, unattractive tree, with epigeous branches spreading out in a stragglingmanner. The leaves are small and sparse. The wood is hard, heavy, crooked, and full of knots. It sinks in water, and is susceptibleof a fine polish. It is whitish when fresh cut, but assumes a deepred colour on exposure to the air. The only valuable portion is theheart of the branch, from which is taken a dye known in the trade as"false crimson, " to distinguish it from the more permanent cochinealdye. The whole of the colouring-matter can be extracted with boilingwater. It is usually shipped from Manila and Yloilo as dunnage, a small quantity coming also from Cebú. For figures of _Sapan-wood_shipments, _vide_ Chap, xxxi. , "Trade Statistics. "

The _Saps_ of certain Philippine trees serve to give a polishedcoating to the smoothed surface of other woods. The kind which Ihave experimented with most successfully is that of the _Ipil_ tree(_Eperna decandria_). This gives a glazed covering very similar toJapan-ware varnish. It takes better to the wood in a cold climate thanin the tropics. I have tried it both in the Philippines and in Europe. 

_Dye Saps_ are also numerous--for instance, that of the species_Marsedenia_, called in Bicol dialect _Payanguit_ and _Aringuit_, with which hemp can be dyed blue; the juice of the skin of a root, known in Bicol as _Morinda_, is used for dyeing hemp red; the sapof the _Talisay_ tree (_Terminalia mauritiana_) gives a black dye, and that of the _Calumpit_ tree (_Terminalia edulis_) is a goodstraw-coloured dye. 

_Hardwoods_. --These Islands are remarkably rich in valuabletimber-trees. For some of the details which I will give of theproperties and applicability of the varieties in general demand, I am indebted to Mr. H.  G. Brown (of H.  G. Brown & Co. Limited, [148] steam saw-mill proprietors in Tayabas Province), admitted tobe the most experienced person in this branch of Philippine trade. 

_Aranga_ (_Homalium_) gives logs up to 75 feet long by 24 inchessquare. It is specially used for sea piling and all kinds of marinework which is subject to the attacks of sea-worm (_Teredo navalis_). 

_Acle_ (_Mimosa acle)_ gives logs up to 32 feet by 28 inches square. Itis strong, tenacious, and durable, whilst it has the specialityof being difficult to burn, and is much used in house-building; itpolishes well, and is much prized by the natives. It is supposed tobe identical with the _Payengadu_ of Burmah. 

_Anagap_ (_Pithecolobium montanum_, Benth. ) gives logs up to 18 feetlong by 16 inches square. It is sometimes used for house furnitureand fittings and for other purposes where a light durable wood iswanted and is not exposed to sun and rain. 

_Apiton_ (_Dipterocarpus griffithi_, Miq. ) gives logs up to 70 feetlong by 24 inches square. It contains a gum of which incense is made, is light when seasoned, works well, and will serve for furniture andgeneral joiner's purposes. 

_Antipolo_ (_Artocarpus incisa_) is much esteemed for vessels' outsideplanking, keels, etc. It is light, very strong, resists sea-worm(_Teredo navalis_) entirely, and effects of climate. It does not warpwhen once seasoned, and is a most valuable wood. 

_Anobing_ (_Artocarpus ovata)_ is said to resist damp as well as_Molave_ does, but it is not appreciated as a good hardwood. It isplentiful, especially in the district of Laguna de Bay. 

_Betis_ (_Azaola--Payena betis?_) gives logs up to 65 feet long by20 inches square. It is proof against sea-worm, is used for salt orfresh water piling, piers, wharves, etc. ; also for keels and many otherparts of ship-building, and where a first-class wood is indispensablynecessary. It is somewhat scarce. 

_Batitinan_ (_Lagerstroemia batitinan_) gives logs up to 40 feet longby 18 inches square. Is very strong, tough, and elastic; generallyused for ships' outside planking above water. It stands the climatewell when properly seasoned; is a wood of the first quality, and canbe used for any purpose except those involving interment in the groundor exposure to ravages of sea-worm. This wood is very much strongerthan Teak, and could be used to advantage in its place for almostall purposes. It makes a good substitute for Black Walnut in furniture. 

_Banaba_ (_Munchaustia speciosa--Lagerstremis speciosa?_)--a strongand useful wood much used in house- and ship-building; it is thoroughlyreliable when seasoned, otherwise it shrinks and warps considerably. 

_Bansalague_ (_Mimusops elengi_, Linn. ) gives logs up to 45 feet longby 18 inches square. It seems to be known in Europe as bullet-treewood. It can be driven like a bolt, and from this fact and itsdurability it is frequently used for treenails in ship-buildingin Manila, etc. It is also used for axe and other tool-handles, belaying-pins, etc. , and on account of its compact, close grain itis admirably adapted for turning purposes; it lasts well in the ground. 

_Bancal_ (_Nauclea gluberrima)_ gives logs up to 24 feet long by16 inches square. This wood is of a yellow colour and very easy towork. It is used for general joiner's work in house-building, etc. 

_Cedar_ (_Cedrela odorata_), of the same natural order as Mahogany(Linn. ), gives logs up to 40 feet long by 35 inches square, andis used principally for cigar-boxes. In the Colony it is known as_Calantás_. It makes very handsome inside house-fittings. 

_Camagon_ or _Mabolo_ (a variety of _Diospyros philoshantera_) isprocured in roughly rounded logs of 9 feet and upwards in length, by up to 12 inches in diameter. It is a close-grained, brittle wood, and takes a good polish; its colour is black with yellow streaks, and it is used for furniture-making. It might be termed the PhilippineCoromandel wood, and is sometimes referred to as "false ebony. "

_Dúngon_ (a variety of _Herculia ambiformis--Sterculia cymbiformis_, Blanco) grows up to 50 feet long, giving logs up to 20 inchessquare. It is sometimes called _Ironwood_, is very hard and durable, and specially strong in resisting great transverse pressure, or carrying such weight as a heavy roof. It is used for keels onaccount of its great strength--it does not resist the sea-worm; it isapplied to all purposes in Manila where more than ordinary strengthis required when _Molave_ cannot be procured in sufficiently greatlengths and _Ipil_ is unattainable. 

_Dinglas_ (_Decandria--Bucida comintana_) gives logs up to 30 feetby 16 inches square--occasionally even larger sizes. This will alsoserve as a substitute for Black Walnut in furniture; it is very strong, hard, and durable. 

_Ebony_ (_Diospyros nigra_) is also found in very limited quantities. 

_Guijo_ (_Dipterocarpus guijo_) gives logs up to 75 feet long by 24inches square--is very strong, tough and elastic. In Manila this woodis invariably used for carriage wheels and shafts. In Hong-Kong itis used, amongst other purposes, for wharf-decks or flooring. 

_Ipil_ (_Eperna decandria_) gives logs up to 50 feet long by 26 inchessquare. It has all the good qualities of _Molave_, except resistance tosea-worm (in which respect it is the same as Teak), and may be as muchrelied on for duration under ground; for sleepers it equals _Molave_. 

_Lanete_ (_Anaser laneti_) gives logs up to 25 feet long by 18 inchessquare. It is useful for sculpture, musical instruments, decoration, turning, and cabinet purposes. 

_Laúan_ (_Dipterocarpus thurifera_) is obtained in sizes the same as_Guijo_. It is a light, useful wood, and easily worked. It is saidthat the outside planks of the old Philippine-Mexican galleons wereof this wood because it did not split with shot. 

_Molave_ (_Vitex geniculata_) (Tagalog, _Molauin_), gives logs up to 35feet long by 24 inches square. It resists sea-worm (_Teredo navalis_), white ants (_Termes_), and action of climate, and consequentlyis specially valuable for work on the surface of or under ground, and generally for all purposes where an extra strong and durablewood is required. Often growing crooked, it is commonly used (whereproduced and in adjacent countries) for frames of vessels. Owing toits imperviousness to ligniperdous insects and climate, it cannotpossibly be surpassed for such purposes as railway-sleepers. This woodis practically everlasting, and is deservedly called by the natives, "Queen of the Woods. " It pays better to sell _Molave_ in baulks orlogs, rather than sawn to specification, because this tree has thegreat defect of being subject to heart-cup. 

Mr. Thomas Laslett, in his work on timber, [149] says, in reference to_Molave_, "It can be recommended to notice as being fit to supplementany of the hardwoods in present use for constructive purposes. " Fromthe same work I have extracted the following record of experimentsmade by Mr. Laslett with this wood:--

 TENSILE EXPERIMENTS. --AVERAGE OF FIVE SPECIMENS

 Dimensions of each piece. 2'' × 2'' × 30'' Specific gravity. 1021. 6 Weight the piece broke with. 31, 248 lbs. Direct cohesion one square inch. 7, 812

 TRANSVERSE EXPERIMENTS. --AVERAGE OF THREE SPECIMENS

 _Deflections_. Total weight required to break each piece. 1. 25 lbs. Specific gravity. . 166 Weight reduced to specific gravity 1, 000. 5. 166 Weight required to break one square inch. 1, 243. 3 lbs. 

 With the apparatus weighing 390 lbs. 1013 After the weight was removed 1231 At the crisis of breaking. 310. 83

 N. B. --It breaks on test with a scarf-like fracture. 

_Mangachapuy_ (_Dipterocarpus mangachapuy--Vatica apteranthera_) giveslogs up to 55 feet long by 20 inches square. It is very elastic andwithstands the climate, when seasoned, as well as Teak. It is usedin Manila for masts and decks of vessels and for all work exposed tosun and rain. It is much esteemed and in great demand by those whoknow its good qualities. 

_Macasin_ can be used for interior house work and floors. It issomewhat inferior to _Banaba_, but supplies its place when _Banaba_is scarce. It can be got in greater length and square than _Banaba_. 

_Malatapay_ (a variety of _Diospyros philoshantera_), veined blackand red. It resembles _Camagon_. 

_Mancono_ is a very hard wood found in Mindanao Island; it is classedas a species of lignum-vitæ. 

_Narra_ (_Pterocarpus palidus santalinus_) gives logs up to 35 feetlong by 26 inches square. It is the Mahogany of the Philippines, inasmuch as it is always employed in Manila in the manufacture offurniture, for notwithstanding its somewhat open grain, it polisheswell, and is prettily marked. There is a variety of shades in differentlogs varying from straw colour to blood-red, the former being morecommon; all are, however, equally esteemed. It is a first-rate woodfor general purposes. In the London market it is classed with the_Padouk_ of Burmah. 

_Palo Maria de Playa_ (_P. Polyandria--Calophyllum inophyllum_)(Tagálog, _Dangcalán_), is greatly appreciated for crooks and curves, but as a rule cannot be found of suitable dimensions for largevessels. It is better than _Molave_ for this purpose, for, due tothe absence of acrid juices, iron bolts do not corrode in it. It isexceedingly tough and not so heavy as _Molave_. 

_Supa_ (_Sindora wallichii_, Benth. ) gives logs up to 40 feet longby 28 inches square. It produces an oil, and is a strong wood forgeneral purposes, polishes well and can be used advantageously forhouse decorations and furniture. 

_Tíndalo_ (_Eperna rhomboidea_) is about the same as _Acle_ inits principal features, but not notable for resisting fire. It isuseful for general purposes, and in particular for decorations andfurniture. It is somewhat brittle, and takes a high polish. 

_Yacal_ (_Dipterocarpus plagatus_) gives logs up to 50 feet long by22 inches square. It is proof against white ants, has great strengthand tenacity, and is much valued in Manila for house-building, etc. 

Natives employed in the felling of timber often become very expertin the selection and appreciation of the standing trunks. 

The approximate order of resistance of the best woods, estimatedby their practical employment and not by theoretical comparativeexperiments, would be as follows, viz. :--

 HARDWOOD STRAINS

 Tensile Strain. Transverse Strain. 

 1 Dúngon. 8 Acle. 1 Molave. 8 Banaba. 2 Yacal. 9 Narra. 2 Camagon. 9 Yacal. 3 Ipil. 10 Tíndalo. 3 Ipil. 10 Mangachapuy. 4 Mangachapuy. 11 Molave. 4 Acle. 11 Laúan. 5 Guijo. 12 Laúan. 5 Dúngon. 12 Guijo. 6 Banaba. 13 Cedar. 6 Tíndalo. 13 Cedar. 7 Camagon. 14 Lanete. 7 Narra. 14 Lanete. 

The hardwoods of the Philippines, suitable for building andtrade requirements as described above, are those in general useonly. Altogether about fifty kinds exist, but whilst some arescarce, others do not yield squared logs of sufficient sizes to beof marketable value. Amongst these are the _Quercus concentrica_(Tagálog, _Alayan_), a sort of oak; the _Gimbernatia calamansanay_(Tagálog, _Calamansanay_); the _Cyrtocarpa quinquestyla_ (Tagálog, _Amaguís_), and others. 

To carry on successfully a timber trade in this Colony, with abilityto fulfil contracts, it is necessary to employ large capital. Firstly, to ensure supplies by the cutters, the trader must advance them sumsamounting in the total to thousands of pesos, a large percentage ofwhich he can only nominally recover by placing them against futureprofits; secondly, he must own several sailing-ships, built on amodel suited to this class of business. Several Europeans have lostthe little money they had by having to freight unsuitable craft fortransport to the place of delivery, and by only advancing to thenative fellers just when they wanted logs brought down to the beach, instead of keeping them constantly under advance. With sufficientcapital, however, a handsome profit is to be realized in this lineof business, if it is not killed by too much new legislation. 

So far Philippine woods have not met in London with the appreciationdue to their excellent qualities, possibly because they are notsufficiently well known. In China, however, they are in great demand, in spite of the competition from Borneo (Kúdat and Sandákan) andAustralian shippers. Since the American occupation, large shipmentsof Oregon Pine have been made to the Colony: how this wood will standthe climate is not yet ascertainable. 

_Fruits_. --There are few really choice, luscious fruits in thePhilippines which can compare with the finest European species. Nothingin this Colony can equal our grape, peach, cherry, or strawberry. 

The _Mango_ (_Manguifera indica--Pentandrie_, Linn. ) ranks first inthese Islands. It is oblong--oval-shaped--flattened slightly on bothsides, about five inches long, and of a yellow colour when ripe. Itis very delicious, succulent, and has a large stone in the centrefrom which fibres run at angles. To cut it, the knife must be presseddown from the thick end, otherwise it will come in contact with thefibres. Philippine mangoes are far superior to any others grown in theEast. This fruit has a slight flavour of turpentine, and, as to smell, Manuel Blanco [150] doubts whether it more resembles bugs, onions, or tar. The trees are very large and majestic--the leaves are darkgreen, and the whole appearance strikingly noble. Great care is neededto rear the fruit. The natives cut notches in the trunk, and from thetime the tree begins to flower until the fruit is half matured, theylight fires on the ground under its branches, as the smoke is said tohasten the development. The tree begins to bear fruit at ten years old. 

The first mangoes of the season are forced, and even picked beforethey are ripe, so that they may more quickly turn yellow. They arebrought to the Manila market in February, and fetch as much as 20cents each. The natural ripening time is from the end of March. Inthe height of the season they can be bought for two dollars perhundred. Epicures eat as many as ten to a dozen a day, as thisfruit is considered harmless to healthy persons. Mango jelly is alsoappreciated by Europeans as well as natives. Luzon and Cebú Islandsappear to produce more mangoes than the rest of the Archipelago. Frommy eight mango-trees in Mórong district I got annually two pickings, and one year three pickings from two trees. 

There are other species of mango-tree of the genus _Terebinthaceae_, viz. :--_Manguifera anisodora, M. Altissima, M. Rostrata_ and_M. Sinnata_. 

The _Banana_ or _Plantain_ (_Musa paradisiaca_) is plentifulall over the Islands at all seasons. It grows wild, and is alsolargely cultivated. It is the fruit of an herbaceous endogenousplant of the natural order _Musaceae_. It is said that the specificname _paradisiaca_ is derived, either from a supposition that theplantain was the forbidden fruit of Eden [151], or from an Arabiclegend that Adam and Eve made their first aprons of the leaves ofthis tree, which grow to a length of five to six feet, with a widthof 12 to 14 inches. Some 10 to 12 distinct varieties of bananas arecommonly to be seen, whilst it is asserted that there are over 50sorts differing slightly from each other. The Tagálog generic namefor this tree and fruit is _Ságuing_. The species known in Tagálogdialect as _Lacatan_ and _Bongúlan_, of a golden or orange tingewhen the skin is removed and possessing a slight pineapple flavour, are the choicest. The _Tóndoc_ is also a very fine class. The stemof the banana-plantain is cut down after fruiting, and the treeis propagated by suckers. [152] Renewal of the tree from the seedis only necessary every 12 to 18 years. The fruit is borne in longclusters on strong stalks which bend over towards the earth. As thesuckers do not all rise simultaneously, the stages of growth of theyoung fruit-bearing trees vary, so that there is a constant supplyall the year round. Moreover, it is customary to cut down, and hangup in the house, the stalk sustaining the fruit before it is ripe, so that each fruit can be eaten as it matures. The glossy leavesof the banana-plantain are exceedingly beautiful. They are used forpolishing hardwood floors; they serve as a substitute for plates atthe _tiánguis_ and for wrapping-paper at the small native and Chinesegrocers' shops. In rural places if a _carromata_ driver cannot finda leather horse-collar, he improvises one of banana-leaf. 

The _Papaw_ tree (_Carica. Papaya_) flourishes wild--a prolificgrowth--attains a height of 20 to 25 feet, and is very picturesque. Theleaves emerge in a cluster from the top of the stem, and are about20 to 30 inches long. They can be used as a substitute for soap forwashing linen. The foliage has the peculiar property of making meator poultry tender if hung up in the branches. The fruit is of a richolive green, and remains so almost to maturity, when it quickly turnsyellow. Both in shape and flavour it is something like a melon, and, although more insipid, it is refreshing in this climate. Containing aquantity of pepsine, it is often recommended by doctors as a dessertfor persons with weak digestive organs. 

Besides these fruits, there are _Pómelo_ oranges, about four timesthe size of the largest European orange; ordinary-sized _Oranges_of three sorts; _Citron; Jack fruit_ (_Anona muricata, _ Linn. , ormore probably _Artocarpus integrifolia_) (Tagálog, _Nangca); CustardApples (Anona squamosa, _ Linn. ) (Tagálog, _Atis_); _Bread-fruit_(_Artocarpus camansi)_ (Tagálog, _Dalangian_ or _Dalamian_); _Lomboy_(_Calyptrantes jambolana--Icosandrie_, Linn. ), which looks like adamson; _Santol_ (_Sandoricum ternatum--Decandrie_, Linn. ), deliciousprepared in syrup; _Condol_, (_Monoecia syngenesia--Cucurbitapepo aspera_), a kind of white pumpkin for preserving; _Limes_(Tagálog, _Limonsuangi_); small green _Limes_ (Tagálog, _Calamánsi_)for preserving; another kind called _Lucban_; a diminutive _Mango_(_Manguifera altissima_) (Tagálog, _Paho_), which is brined and thenput in vinegar; _Pomegranates_ (_Punica granatum_); a very inferiorspecies of wild _Strawberry_; _Chico_ (_Achras sapota--Hexandrie_, Linn. ), the _Chico sapoti_ of Mexico, extremely sweet, the size andcolour of a small potato; _Lanson_ (_Lansium domesticum_), a curiouskind of fruit of an agreeable sweet and acid flavour combined. Thepericarp is impregnated with a white viscous fluid, which adheresvery tenaciously to the fingers. When the inner membrane is removedthe edible portion is exhibited in three divisions, each of whichenvelops a very bitter stone. It is abundant in La Laguna. 

_Guavas_ (_Psidium pyriferum guyava_, Linn. ) (Tagálog, _Bayabas_) ofvery fine quality, from which jelly is made, are found wild in greatabundance. They are so plentiful on waste lands that I have neverseen them cultivated. The peel is an excellent astringent. _Lemons_[153] of two kinds are grown--sometimes as many as a dozen of the smallspecies, about the size of a walnut, may be seen hanging at one timeon a tree only 18 inches high; a well-known small species is called_Dayap_ in Tagálog. _Mangosteens_, the delicate fruit of the StraitsSettlements, are found in the islands of Mindanao and Sulu. In MindanaoIsland, on the neck of land forming the western extremity, the _Durien_thrives. It is about as large as a pineapple, white inside, and whenripe it opens out in three or four places. It is very delicious eating, but has a fetid smell. The seeds, as large as beans, are good to eatwhen roasted. The tree bears fruit about every 20 years. 

_Pineapples_ (_Bromelia ananas_, Linn. ) are abundant in the SouthernIslands, where they are cultivated exclusively for the sake of theleaves, the delicate fibres of which are used to manufacture the fine, costly texture known as _Piña_ (q. V. ). This fruit, which is not sofine as the Singapore and Cuban species, is in little demand in thePhilippines, as it is justly considered dangerous to eat much of it. 

_Grape_ acclimatization has been attempted in the Philippines, butwith very mediocre results. Cebú seems to be the island most suitablefor vine culture, but the specimens of fruit produced can bear nocomparison with the European. In Naga (Cebú Is. ) I have eaten green_Figs_ grown in the orchard of a friend's house. 

_Tamarinds_ (_Tamarindus indica_, Linn. ) (Tagálog, _Sampáloc_)are never planted for the sake of the fruit. The tree grows wild, and the fruit resembles a bean. Picked whilst green, it is used bythe natives to impart a flavour to certain fish sauces. When allowedto ripen fully, the fruit-pod takes a light-brown colour--is brittle, and cracks all over under a slight pressure of the fingers. The wholeof the ripe fruit can then be drawn out by pulling the bean-stalk. Theripe tamarind appears to be little appreciated by any one, and it isextremely seldom seen, even in the form of a preserve, in a nativedwelling. Containing, as it does, a large quantity of tannin, it issometimes used by the Manila apothecaries, and I once heard that asmall parcel was being collected for shipment to Italy. 

The _Mabolo_ (_Diospyros discolor_) (Tagálog, _Mabolo_, also _Talang_)is a fruit of great external beauty and exquisite aroma. It isabout the size of a large peach, the pubescent skin being of a finered colour, but it is not very good eating. _Chillies_ (_Capsicumminimum_, Blanco), _Ginger_ (_Zingiber officinale_, Linn. ), _Capsicums_(_Capsicum tetragonum_, Mill), _Capers_ (_Capparris mariana_) and_Vanilla_ are found in a wild state. _Sago_ is produced in smallquantities in Mindoro Island, where the sago-plant flourishes. Thepith is cut out, washed, sun-dried, and then pounded. The demand forthis nutritious article is very limited. In 1904 I found the _Cassava_plant growing near the south coast of Mindanao Island. 

There are many other kinds of orchard and wild fruits of comparativelyinferior quality, chiefly used by the natives to make preserves. Thereis also a large variety of tuberose and other vegetable products, never eaten by Europeans, such as the favourite _Síncamas_(_Decandria--Pachyrhizus angulatus_), resembling a small turnip. Thenatives have a taste for many fruits plucked half ripe. 

The _Flowers_ of these Islands are too numerous for their descriptionto come within the scope of this work. To the reader who seeksan exhaustive treatise on the Botany of the Philippines, I wouldrecommend Manuel Blanco's "Flora de Filipinas, " [154] from which Ihave taken the following brief notes. 

 _Philippine Flowers_ _According to Manuel Blanco_

 Orders. Genera. Species. Varieties. Sub-varieties. 

Dicotyledones 126 842 2, 571 349 5Monocotyledones 26 325 1, 425 270 25Acotyledones 3 56 483 11 --

 155 1, 223 4, 479 630 30

Some of the most curious and beautiful botanical specimens, notalready described in the preceding pages, are the following, viz. :--

_Arum (?) divaricatum_, Linn. (Tagálog, _Gabigabihán_). --A delicatebulb. Common in Pasig and Manila. 

_Amaryllis atamasco_, Blanco (Tagálog, _Bácong_). --A bulb. Grows to3 feet. Beautiful large red flower. Blooms in February. 

_Agave americana_ (Tagálog, _Magui_). --It is one of a large varietyof Aloes. (Mexican origin?)

_Asplendium nidus. _--The beautiful Nest-fern. 

_Bignonia quadripinnata_, Blanco (Tagálog, _Pinca-Pincahán_). --Acurious flower. 

_Clerodendron longiflorum_, D. C. --An extremely beautiful and delicatewhite flower. 

_Cactus pitajaya_, Blanco (Tagálog, _Flor de Caliz_). --Gives a grand, showy flower. 

_Caryota urens_, Linn (Tagálog, _Taquipan_). --A beautiful palm. Growsto 22 feet. The fruit, when tender, is masticated like the _Arecacatechu_. 

_Caryota onusta_, Blanco (Tagálog, _Cáuong_). --A fine palm. Gives asweet juice which turns into good vinegar. The trunk gives a Sago, called by the natives _Yoro_. The ripe seeds are a deadly poison. Aninfusion of the seeds in water is so caustic that it has been used tothrow on to Moro pirates and thieves; wherever it touches the bodyit burns so terribly that none can suffer it or cure it. Sometimesit is thrown into the rivers to stupefy the fish, which then floatand can be caught with the hand. When _unripe_ the seeds are madeinto a preserve. The seeds have also medicinal properties. 

_Cryptogamia_. --Nine families of very luxuriant ferns. 

_Cryptogamia_. --_Boletus sanguineus_ (Tagálog, _Culapô_). --A curiousblood-red Fungus. 

_Dillenia Reifferscheidia_ (Tagálog, _Catmon_). --A very singular, showy flower. 

_Exocarpus ceramica_, D. C. --A curious Cactus. 

_Euphorbia tirucalli_, Linn. --A curious Cactus. 

_Erythrina carnea_, Blanco (Tagálog, _Dapdap_). --Grows to 20feet. Gives a lovely red flower. 

_Hibiscus syriacus_, Linn. (Several varieties of Hibiscus. )

_Hibiscus abelmoschus_, Linn. 

_Mimosa pudica_, Linn. --_Mimosa asperata_, Blanco (Tagálog, _Mahíhin_). --The "Sensitive Plant, " so called because at the leastcontact with anything it closes up all the little petals formingthe leaf. It is one of the most curious plants in the Islands. Ithas a small red flower. Grows only a few inches from the ground, among the grass. 

_Mimosa tenuifolia_, Blanco. --The "Sensitive Tree, " which has thesame property of closing the leaf on contact. 

_Mimosa scutifera_, Blanco. --A tree with seed-pods hanging downlike curls. 

_Momordica sphoeroidea_, Blanco (Tagálog, _Buyoc-buyoc_). --Climbs hightrees. The fruit is eaten when cooked. Soap is obtained from the roots. 

_Nelumbium speciosum_, Wild (Tagálog, _Baino_; Igorrote, _Sucao_). --Anaquatic plant found in the Lake of Bay and other places. Beautifulpink or red flower. The natives eat the roots and seeds. 

_Passiflora laurifolia_, Linn. --A curious Passion-flower, quitedifferent to the European species. 

_Pancratium zeylanicum_ (Tagálog, _Catongal_). --A bulb giving a verypeculiar flower. 

_Pinus toeda_. --The only kind of Pine known here. To be found in themountains of Mancayan (Lepanto) and Benguet. 

_Spathodea luzonica_, Blanco (Tagálog, _Tue_). --Grows to 15 feet. Givesa gorgeous white flower. Common on the sea-shores. The wood is usedfor making guitars and clogs. 

 _Philippine Orchids_ _The principal Orders_

 ** Natural crosses or hybrids--rare and valuable. 

 Genera. Species. Aerides Augustiarium Lawrenciæ Marginatum Quinquevulnerum Roebelinii Sanderianum Bulbophyllum Dearei Cymbidium Pendulum Pendulum atro purpureum Cypripedium Lævigatum Boxallii Stonei Argus Dendrobium Anosmum Aurem philippinense Crumenatum Erythroxanthum Dearei Macrophyllum Superbum Superbum giganteum Platycanlon Taurinum Gramatophyllum Measuresianum Multiflorum Multiflorum tigrinum Speciosum Phalænopsis Amabalis **Casta **Intermedia **Intermedia brymeriana **Intermedia portei **Intermedia lencorrhoda Luddemaniana ochracia Schilleriana Rosea Sanderiana Sanderiana punctata Stuartiana Stuartiana bella Stuartiana nobilis Stuartiana punctatissima Schilleriana vestalis Veitchiana Veitchiana brachyodon Platyclinis or Cobbiana Dendrochilum Filiformis Glumacea Uncata Renanthera Storiei Saccolabeum Violaccum Blumei Blumei majus Sarcochilus Unguiculatus Vanda Sanderiana Sanderiana albata Sanderiana labello viridi Batemanii Lamellata boxallii

The generic name for Orchid in Tagálog is _Dapo_. 

_Some interesting facts relating to Philippine Botany_

Sweet-smelling _Flowers_ are very rare. Of the few, the most popularin Manila is the _Sampaguita_ (probably a corruption of the Spanishname _Santa Paquita_), which is sold made up in necklet form on cotton. 

Looking on to the Pasig River at Manila in the early morning, one often sees large masses of floating verdure of a small-cabbageappearance. This aquatic plant is the _Pistia stratiotes_, Linn. , (Tagálog, _Quiapo_). 

The firewood in common use as fuel, in great demand, and known as_Raja de Tangal_, is the _Rhizophora longissima_. It is also usefulfor fencing, roof-framing, etc. Another well-known firewood is the_Rhizophora gynnorhiza_ (Tagálog, _Bacaúan_). _Langary_ is also usedas firewood of an inferior quality. They are swamp-trees. 

The species _Pteclobyum_ gives the "Locust-bean, " as sold atevery little sweetmeat shop in London. This tree (when raisedon or transplanted to highlands) may be called the friend of thecoffee-plant, for it opens its leaves in the sunshine to shade it andcloses them when rain is about to fall, so that the coffee-plant maybe refreshed by the water. Also, at night, it closes its leaves togive the coffee-plant the benefit of the dew. Another peculiar featureis that the branches lopped off for household fuel can, when barked, be used at once, without needing to be dried or seasoned. Its naturalhabitat is the mangrove swamp, and the trunk and root give market fuel. 

_Colot-colotán_, or _Manquit_, is the Tagálog name given to the_Chrysopogon aciculatus_, Trin. (Spanish, _Amor seco_)--the littleparticles like pointed grass-seeds which stick to one's trousers orskirt when crossing an uncultivated field and can only be removed bypicking them out one by one. 

The Tagálog affix _aso_, to the name of a botanical specimen, means _pseudo_, i. E. Not the genuine species; v. G. , _Síncamas_is the _Decandria--Pachyrhizus angulatus_ (_vide_ p. 321), whereas_Sincamas-aso_ is the _D. --Pachyrhizus montanus_. 

Many places take their names from trees and plants, v. G. :--

 Antipolo (Rizal) a tree. Bauang (Batangas) garlic. Bulacan (Bulacan) a tree. Cápas (Pangasinán) the cotton-tree (Igorrote dialect). Camagon Is. A tree. Cabuyao (Laguna) a tree. Calumpit (Bulacan) a tree. Culasi (Antique) a tree. Iba (Zambales) a plant. Lucbang (Tayabas) a small lime. Lipa (Batangas) nettle. Quiapo (Manila suburb) an aquatic plant. Sampáloc (Manila suburb) the tamarind-tree. Salomague (Ilocos) the tamarind-tree. (Igorrote dialect). Tabaco (Albay) the tobacco-plant. Taal (Batangas) a tree (same as _Ipil_). Talisay (Batangas) a tree. 

_Medicinal Herbs, Roots, Leaves, and Barks_ abound everywhere. Natureprovides ample remedies for dysenteric, strumatic, scorbutic, andmany other diseases. An extensive work on the subject was compiled byIgnacio de Mercado, the son of a Spanish Creole father and Tagálogmother, born in 1648 at Parañaque, seven miles from Manila. He wasparish priest in Lipa in 1674, and subsequently held several otherincumbencies up to his death, which took place in Bauang (Batangas)on March 29, 1698. His MS. Passed from the pharmacy of one religiouscorporation to another to be copied, and for over a century afterthe British occupation of Manila (1762-63) it was supposed to belost. Finally, in 1876, it was discovered by Don Domingo Vidal y Soler, who gave it to the Augustine friars for publication, but I am notaware that it was ever printed. According to Manuel Blanco, Ignaciode Mercado's MS. Describes 483 medicinal specimens, and attachedto the description are 171 coloured sketches of medicinal plants, leaves, woods, and barks, and also 35 coloured sketches of plants, etc. , without any description of their medicinal properties. The onlyone of these remedies which I have had occasion to test on myselfis _Tagulaúay Oil_, extracted from the leaves of the plant called inTagálog _Tangantangan_. It is an excellent styptic. 

_Ylang-Ylang_ (_Anona odoratissima_, Blanco; _Cananga odorata_, Hook) and _Champaca_ (_Michelia champaca_, Linn. ) yield odoriferousessential oils, and these fine perfumes are, especially the former, exported to foreign countries. The export of _Ylang-Ylang_ in theyears 1902 and 1903 amounted to 3, 949 and 5, 942 gallons respectively. 

CHAPTER XIX

Mineral ProductsCoal--Gold--Iron--Copper--Sulphur, Etc. 

Owing to the scarcity of manufacturing industries in this Colony, the consumption of _Coal_ is very limited, and up to 1889 it hardlyexceeded 25, 000 tons per annum. In 1892 nearly double that quantityfound a market. In 1896 the coal imported from Newcastle (New SouthWales) alone amounted to 65, 782 tons; in 1897 to 89, 798 tons. A smallproportion of this is employed in the forges, foundries, and a fewsteam-power factories, most of them situated around Manila, but byfar the greater demand is for coaling steam-ships. Since the Americanoccupation the increase of steam-shipping and the establishmentof ice-plants all over the Colony have raised the consumption ofcoal. Wood fuel is still so abundant in rural districts that coalwill probably not be in general request for the steam sugar-millsfor many years to come. 

Australia, Great Britain, and Japan supply coal to this Colony;in 1892 Borneo traders sent several cargoes of inferior product toManila; nevertheless, local capital has been expended from time totime in endeavours to work up the home deposits. 

Philippine coal is more correctly speaking highly carbonized ligniteof the Tertiary age, and analogous to Japanese coal. Batan Island, off the south-east coast of Luzon Island, is said to have the finestlignite beds in the Archipelago. 

The island of Cebú contains large deposits of lignite. The minesof Compostela are estimated to be very rich in quantity and ofmedium quality. The late owner, Isaac Conui, for want of capital, was unable to develop them fully. Transport by buffalo-carts fromthe mines to the coast was very deficient and costly, and Conui, who was frequently my guest in Manila in 1883, unsuccessfullysought to raise capital for constructing a line of railway from thecollieries to Compostela village (east coast). They were then takenup by a Spaniard, with whom the Spanish Government made contractsfor coaling the gunboats. A tram line was laid down to the pits, butthere was a great lack of promptitude in deliveries, and I heard ofships lying off the coaling-wharf for several hours waiting to _start_coaling. The enterprise has by no means given an adequate return forthe over P100, 000 invested in it up to the year 1897. The coal-mine ofDanao, on the same coast, has not been more prosperous. When I visitedit in 1896 it had not yielded a cent of nett profit. In 1904 I madethe acquaintance, in Cebú Island, of a holder of P47, 000 interestin this enterprise. He told me that he had got no return for hismoney in it. He had spent P1, 000 himself to have the mine inspectedand reported on. He sent the report to his co-partners in Manila, and heard no more about it until he went to the capital, where helearnt that the Managing Director had resigned, and no one knew whowas his successor, what had become of his report, or anything definiterelating to the concern. 

Anthracite has been found in Cebú, [155] and satisfactory trials havebeen made with it, mixed with British bituminous coal. Perhaps volcanicaction may account for the volatile bituminous oils and gases havingbeen driven off the original deposits. The first coal-pits were sunkin Cebú in the Valle de Masanga, but the poor commercial results ledto their abandonment about the year 1860. There are also extensiveunworked coal deposits a few miles from the west coast village ofAsturias, which I visited in 1896 with a planter friend, EugenioAlonso, who was endeavouring to form a coal-mining syndicate. The_Revista Minera_ (a Madrid mining journal) referred in 1886 to thecoal of the Alpacó Mountain, in the district of Naga (Cebú Is. ) asbeing pure, dry, of easy combustion, carrying a strong flame, andalmost free from sulphur pyrites. Cebú coal is said to be of betterquality and cleaner than the Labuan and Australian products, but itsheating powers being less, it is less serviceable for long sea voyages. 

The coal-mines in the hills around the Cumansi Valley, about eightmiles from the Cebú coast (Danao) have been worked for years withoutfinancial success. The quality is reported excellent. Indeed, in several of the larger islands of the Colony there are outcropindications of workable coal, unobtainable for want of transportfacilities. 

In the Province of Albay, the Súgod Collieries were started by acompany formed in the year 1874. There were some fifteen partners, each of whom subscribed a capital of P14, 300. One of these partners, Ceferino de Arámburu, told me that for a while the result was sogood that a Manila banking firm offered to take over the concernfrom the shareholders at a premium of 20 per cent. Upon the originalcapital. About 4, 000 tons of coal were extracted, most of which wasgiven away as samples, in the hope of large contracts resulting fromthe trials, although it is said that the consumption was too rapid, and that it had to be mixed with Cardiff coal. Seven pits were sunk, and the concern lingered on until the year 1881, when its workingwas relinquished. The failure was attributed to the shallowness ofthe pits, which were only 30 metres deep, whilst it was supposed thatif the excavation had been continued before these pits were flooded, shale and limestone strata could have been removed, exposing a stillmore valuable seam, in which case it might have been worth whileproviding pumping-machinery. The cost of extraction and delivery onthe coast was estimated at 75 cents of a peso per ton, whilst Cardiffcoal in Manila was worth, at the time, about eight pesos per ton, and the Australian product ranged usually at one to one and a halfpesos below that figure, port tax unpaid. 

In January, 1898, "The Philippine Mining and Development Company, Limited, " was formed in Hong-Kong with a capital of $1, 600, 000(Mex. ) in 160, 000 $10 shares for the development of Philippinecoal deposits and other industries, under the management of aScotch merchant of long standing and good repute in Manila (sincedeceased). The Spanish-American conflict which arose four monthslater impeded active operations by the company. 

In May, 1902, a company styled "Minas de Carbon de Batan" wasconstituted to purchase from and exploit the coal-mines of Messrs. GilHermanos, situated in the Island of Batan, Sorsogón Province. Thepurchase price was fixed at P500, 000, and the company's capital atP1, 000, 000 divided into 5, 000 equal shares. Hopeful reports were madeon the property by an American, a Spanish, and a Japanese miningengineer respectively. When I interviewed the Managing Director ofthe company, in Manila, two years after its formation, no dividendhad yet been paid to the shareholders. 

 _Comparative Analyses of Coal_

Source. Fixed Carbon. Volatile matter. Water. Ash. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Cardiff 83. 00 8. 60 4. 50 3. 90Australia 71. 45 16. 25 2. 90 9. 40Cebú 57. 94 31. 75 9. 23 1. 08Rock Spring, Wyo. 56. 50 34. 50 6. 25 2. 75Cebú 51. 96 37. 56 7. 80 2. 68Cebú 49. 50 35. 03 11. 18 3. 62

I do not know that any capitalist has ever received an adequate returnfor his investment in Philippine coal-mining. 

From the earliest period of the Spanish occupation of these Islands, attention has been given to _Gold-seeking_. 

It is recorded that in the year 1572 Captain Juan Salcedo (Legaspi'sgrandson) went to inspect the mines of Paracale, (Camarines); and inthe same district the village of Mambulao has long enjoyed fame forthe gold-washing in its vicinity. 

In the time of Governor Pedro de Arandia (1754-59), a certain FranciscoEstorgo obtained licence to work these Paracale mines, and five veinsare said to have been struck. The first was in the Lipa Mountain, where the mine was called "San Nicolás de Tolentino"; the second, in the Dobójan Mountain, was called "Nuestra Señora de la Soledad dePuerta Vaga"; the third, in Lipara, was named "Mina de las Animas";the fourth, in the territory of San Antonio, took the name of "SanFrancisco, " and the fifth, in the Minapa Mountains, was named "NuestraSeñora de los Dolores, " all in the district of Paracale, near thevillage of Mambulao. The conditions of Estorgo's licence were, thatone-fifth (_real quinto_) of the output should belong to the King;that Estorgo was authorized to construct, arm, and garrison a fortfor his own defence against anticipated attacks from Mahometans, and that he should have the title of Castellano, or guardian ofthe fort. It was found necessary to establish the smelting-worksin Mambulao, so he obtained a licence to erect another fort thereon the same conditions, and this fort was named "San Cárlos. " In ashort time the whole enterprise came to grief. Estorgo's neighbours, instigated by native legal pettifoggers in Manila, raised endlesslawsuits against him; his means were exhausted, and apparatus beingwanted to work the mines, he had to abandon them. 

About the same time, the gold-mines of Pangotcotan and Acupan (Benguetdistrict) were worked to advantage by Mexicans, but how much metal waswon cannot be ascertained. The extensive old workings show how eagerlythe precious metal was sought in the past. The Spanish Governmentgranted only concessions for gold-mining, the title remaining in theCrown. Morga relates (1609) that the Crown royalty of one-tenth (_vide_p. 53) of the gold extracted amounted to P10, 000 annually. Accordingto Centeno, the total production of gold in all the Islands in 1876did not not exceed P3, 600. 

During the Government of Alonso Fajardo de Tua (1618-24) it came tothe knowledge of the Spaniards that half-caste Igorrote-Chinese inthe north of Luzon peacefully worked gold-deposits and traded in theproduct. Therefore Francisco Carreño de Valdés, a military officercommanding the Provinces of Pangasinán and Ilocos, obtained permissionfrom the Governor to make a raid upon these Igorrote-Chinese andappropriate their treasure-yielding territory. After a seven days'march the Spanish gold-seekers and troops arrived at the deposits, where they took up their quarters without resistance. The natives heldaloof whilst mutual offers of peace were made. When the Spaniardsthought they were in secure possession of the neighbourhood, thenatives attacked and slaughtered a number of them. The commander of thedistrict and the leader of the native troops were among the slain. Thenthey removed the camp to a safer place; but provisions ran short andthe wet season set in, so the survivors marched back to the coast withthe resolution to renew their attempt to possess the spoil in thefollowing year. In the ensuing dry season they returned and erecteda fort, whence detachments of soldiers scoured the neighbourhood todisperse the Igorrote-Chinese, but the prospectors do not appear tohave procured much gold. 

Many years ago a Spanish company was formed to work a gold-mine nearthe mountain of Malaguit, in the Province of Camarines Norte, but itproved unsuccessful. 

At the beginning of last century a company was founded, under theauspices of the late Queen Christina of Spain (great-grandmother ofthe present King Alfonso XIII. ), which was also an utter failure. Iwas told that the company had spacious offices established in Manila, whence occasionally the employees went up to the mines, situated nearthe Caraballo Mountain, as if they were going to a picnic. When theyarrived there, all denoted activity--for the feast; but the miningwork they did was quite insignificant compared with the squanderedfunds, hence the disaster of the concern. 

The coast of Surigao (north-east extremity of Mindanao Is. ) has beenknown for centuries to have gold-deposits. A few years ago it wasfound in sufficiently large quantities near the surface to attract theattention of capitalists. A sample of the washings was given to me, but gold extraction was never taken up in an organized way in thatdistrict. A friend of mine, a French merchant in Manila, told me in1886 that for a long time he received monthly remittances of 4 1/2to 5 1/2 lbs. Of alluvial gold from the Surigao coast, extracted bythe natives on their own account. In the same district a Spaniardattempted to organize labour for systematic gold-washing, but thefriars so influenced the natives against him that he could only havecontinued his project at the risk of his life, therefore he gave it up. 

In an independent way, the natives obtain gold from earth-washings inmany districts, particularly in the unsubdued regions of Luzon Island, where it is quite a common occupation. The product is bartered on thespot to the Chinese ambulant traders for other commodities. Severaltimes, whilst deer-stalking near the river, a few miles past Montalbán(Rizal), I have fallen in with natives washing the sand from the riverbed in search of gold, and they have shown me some of their findings, which they preserve in quills. 

In other places in Luzon Island gold is procured in very smallquantities by washing the earth from the bottoms of pits dug from 20 to25 feet deep and 3 feet wide. The extraction of gold from auriferousrock is also known to the natives. The rock is broken by a stone onan anvil of the same material. Then the broken pieces are crushedbetween roughly-hewn stone rollers put in motion by buffaloes, the pulverized ore being washed to separate the particles of theprecious metal. I should hardly think the yield was of much account, as the people engaged in its extraction seemed to be miserably poor. 

Gold probably exists in all the largest islands of the Archipelago, but in a dispersed form; for the fact is, that after centuries ofsearch, large pockets or veins of it have never been traced to definedlocalities, and, so far as discoveries up to the present demonstrate, this Colony cannot be considered rich in auriferous deposits. Untilthe contrary has been proved, I venture to submit the theory thatevery gold-bearing reef in these Islands, accessible to man, has beendisintegrated by volcanic action ages ago. 

In 1887 a Belgian correspondent wrote to me inquiring about a companywhich, he stated, had been formed for working a Philippine mine ofArgentiferous Lead. On investigation I learnt that the mines referredto were situated at Acsúbing, near the village of Consolacion, and atPanoypoy, close to the village of Talamban in Cebú Island. They becamethe property of a Frenchman [156] about the beginning of 1885, and sofar no shipment had been made, although the samples sent to Europe weresaid to have yielded an almost incredibly enormous amount of gold (!), besides being rich in galena (sulphide of lead) and silver. I went toCebú Island in June, 1887, and called on the owner in Mandaue withthe object of visiting these extraordinary mines; but they were notbeing worked for want of funds, and he left for Europe the same year, the enterprise being finally abandoned. 

In 1893 "The Philippines Mineral Syndicate" was formed in Londonto work scientifically the historical Mambulao Gold Mines alreadyreferred to. One pound shares were offered in these Islands andsubscribed to by all classes, from the British Consul at that timedown to native commercial clerks. Mr. James Hilton, a mining engineer, had reported favourably on the prospects. After the usual gold-miningperiod of disappointment had passed away, an eccentric old gentlemanwas sent out as an expert to revive the whole concern and set itupon a prosperous basis. I had many conversations with him in Manilabefore he went to Mambulao, where he soon died. Heavy machinery cameout from Europe, and a well-known Manila resident, not a miningengineer, but an all-round smart man, was sent to Mambulao, and, due to his ability, active operations commenced. This most recentearnest venture in Philippine gold-mining has not, however, so farproved to be a Golconda to the shareholders. 

That there is gold in Mindoro Island is evident from the fact thatthe Minguianes, a wild tribe, wear gold jewellery made by themselves, and come down to the coast villages to barter with this metal, forthey do not understand trading with the coin medium. 

As a general rule, failure in most Philippine mining speculationswas chiefly due to the unwillingness of the native to co-operate withEuropean capitalists in search of quick fortunes for themselves. Thenative rustic did not seek and would not submit to constant organizedand methodical labour at a daily wage, to be paid periodically whenhe had finished his work. The only class whom one could employ in theneighbourhood of the mines was migratory and half-subjected, whilstthere was no legislation whatever in force regulating the relationsbetween workers and capitalists. Some suggested the employment ofChinese, but the obstacles to this proposal have been pointed outin Chap. Viii. It is very doubtful whether much profitable miningwill ever be done in this Colony without Chinese labour. Again, thewretched state of the public highways obliged the few enterprisingcapitalists to spend their money on the construction of roads whichhad already been paid for in taxes. 

It is calculated that in the working of mines in the Philippines, asmuch as P1, 300, 000 was spent from the beginning of the last centuryup to 1876, without the least satisfactory result. 

A Spanish writer [157] asserts that on the coasts of Taal and Bauan, in the Province of Batangas, there were many traces of old gold-mines, and remarks: "We are already scared in this enlightened century atthe number who have spent their silver and their health in excavatingmines in the Philippines, only to undeceive themselves, and findtheir miserable greed punished. "

Still Gold-seeking continues, and the hope of many an American to-dayis centred in the possibility of finding the smile of fortune in theBenguet and other districts now being scoured by prospectors. 

Iron-mines, situated a few miles from Manila, were worked aboutthe middle of the 18th century by Government, but the result beingdisastrous, a concession of working rights was put up to publicauction, and adjudicated to a certain Francisco Salgado, who engagedto pay annually to the State P20, 500 in gold and 125 tons of iron. Theconcern was an entire failure, chiefly owing to the usual transportdifficulty. Salgado afterwards discovered an iron mine in a placecalled Santa Inés, near Bosoboso, in the district of Mórong, andobtained a concession to work it. The ore is said to have yielded 75per cent. Of pure metal. The greatest obstacle which Salgado had tocontend with was the indolence of the natives, but eventually thiswas overcome by employing Chinese in their stead. All went well for atime, until the success which attended the undertaking awoke envy inthe capital. Salgado found it desirable to erect his smelting-furnaceson the banks of the Bosoboso River to obtain a good water supply. Forthis a special permission had to be solicited of the Gov. -General, so the opportunity was taken to induce this authority to put a stopto the whole concern on the ground that the Chinese workmen werenot Christians! Salgado was ordered to send these Chinese to theAlcayceria in Binondo (Manila), and ship them thence to China at hisown expense. Moreover, on the pretext that the iron supplied to theRoyal Stores had been worked by infidels, the Government refusedto pay for the deliveries, and Salgado became a ruined victim ofreligious fanaticism. 

The old parish priest of Angat, in Bulacan Province, once gave methe whole history of the rich iron-mines existing a few miles fromthat town. It appears that at about the beginning of last century, two Englishmen made vain efforts to work these mines. They erectedexpensive machinery (which has since disappeared piece by piece), and engaged all the headmen around, at fixed salaries, to performthe simple duty of guaranteeing a certain number of men each to workthere daily. The headmen were very smart at receiving their pay, some of them having the audacity to ask for it in advance; yet thenumber of miners diminished, little by little, and no reasonable termscould induce them to resume work. The priest related that, after theEnglishmen had spent a fortune of about £40, 000, and seeing no result, in despair they hired a canoe, telling the native in charge to paddleout to sea, where they blew their brains out with pistols. 

Afterwards a Spaniard, who had made money during years of office asChief Judge and Governor of the Bulacan Province, thought he could, by virtue of the influence of his late position, command the servicesof all the labourers he might require to work the mine. It was a vainhope; he lost all his savings, and became so reduced in circumstancesthat for a long time he was a pauper, accepting charity in the parishconvents of the province. 

The Angat iron-mines undoubtedly yield a very rich ore--it is stated upto 85 per cent. Of metal. Up to the Revolution they were still workedon a small scale. In 1885, at the foot of these ferruginous hills, Isaw a rough kind of smelting-furnace and foundry in a dilapidated shed, where the points of ploughshares were being made. These were deliveredat a fixed minimum price to a Chinaman who went to Binondo (Manila) tosell them to the Chinese ironmongers. In Malolos (Bulacan) I met one ofthe partners in this little business--a Spanish half-caste--who told methat it paid well in proportion to the trifling outlay of capital. Ifthe natives chose to bring in mineral they were paid for it; whenthey did not come, the works and expenses were temporarily stopped. 

In Baliuag, a few miles from Angat, where I have stayed a scoreof times, I observed, at the threshold of several houses, slabs ofiron about 8 feet long by 2 feet wide and 5 inches thick. I inquiredabout the origin of this novelty, and several respectable natives, whom I had known for years, could only inform me that their eldershad told them about the foreigners who worked the Angat mines, andthat the iron in question came from there. Appearing to belong to noone in particular, the slabs had been appropriated. 

Copper is extracted in small quantities by both the wild tribes ofthe North and the Mahometans of the South, who manufacture utensilsof this metal for their own use. In the North, half-worked copperis obtained from the Igorrotes, but the attempt of a company--the_Compañia Cantabro-Filipina_, established in the middle of lastcentury--to exploit the copper deposits in Mancayan, in the districtof Lepanto, has hardly been more successful than all other miningspeculations undertaken on a large scale in this Colony. 

Marble exists in large beds in the Province of Bataan, which is thewest-coast boundary of Manila Bay, and also in the Island of Romblon, but, under the circumstances explained, no one cared to risk capitalin opening quarries. In 1888 surface (boulder) marble was being cutnear Montalbán (Rizal) under contract with the Dominican friars tosupply them with it for their church in Manila. It was of a motleywhitish colour, polished well, and a sample of it sent by me to amarble-importer in London was reported on favourably. 

Granite is not found in these Islands, and there is a general wantof hard stone for building purposes. Some is procurable at Angono, up the Lake of Bay, and it is from here that the stone was broughtby the Spaniards for the Manila Port Works. Granite is brought overfrom Hong-Kong when needed for works of any importance, such as thenew Government House in Manila City, in course of construction whenthe Spaniards evacuated the Islands. For ordinary building operationsthere is a material--a kind of marl-stone called _Adobe_--so softwhen quarried that it can be cut out in small blocks with a hand-saw, but it hardens considerably on exposure to the air. 

Gypsum deposits occur in a small island opposite to the town ofCulasi (Antique) on the west coast of Panay, called Marilisan. Thesuperincumbent marl has been removed in several places where regularworkings were carried on for years by natives, and shiploads of itwere sent to Manila until the Spanish Government prohibited its freeextraction and export. 

Sulphur exists in many islands, sometimes pure, in unlimitedquantities, and often mixed with copper, iron, and arsenic. Thecrater peak of the Taal Volcano in the Bómbon Lake burst in 1749(_vide_ p. 18), and from that date, until the eruption of 1754, sulphur was extracted by the natives. These deposits were againworked in 1780, and during a few years following. Bowring states[158] that a well-known naturalist once offered a good sum of moneyfor the monopoly of working the sulphur mines in the Taal district. 

Mineral oil was discovered some 12 years ago in the mountains of CebúIsland, a few miles from the west-coast town of Toledo. A drill-boringwas made, and I was shown a sample of the crude _Oil_. An Irishman wasthen conducting the experimental works. Subsequently a British engineervisited the place, and reported favourably on the prospects. In 1896I was again at the borings. Some small machinery had been erected forworking the drills. A Dutch mining engineer was in charge of the work, which was being financed by a small British syndicate; but so fara continuous flow had not been obtained, and it was still doubtfulwhether a well had been struck or not. The Dutchman was succeededby an American, who, when the Spanish-American War was on the pointof breaking out, had to quit the place, and the enterprise has sinceremained in suspense. 

There is a tendency, in most new and unexplored countries, tosee visionary wealth in unpenetrated regions--to cast the eye ofimagination into the forest depths and the bowels of the earth, andbecome fascinated with the belief that Nature has laid vast treasurestherein; and the veil of mystery constitutes a tradition until it isrent by scientific investigation. 

CHAPTER XX

Domestic Live-stock--Ponies, Buffaloes, Etc. 

The Phillipine pony is not an indigenous animal. It is said to haveoriginated from the small Andalusian horse and the Chinese mare. I haveridden more than 500 Philippine ponies, and, in general, I have foundthem swift, strong, and elegant animals when well cared for. Geldingsare rarely met with. Before the American occupation ponies rangedin value from P25 to P150 for a sound animal. Unfortunately, prices of everything have risen since 1898, and, moreover, a fatalhorse-disease, called "surra, " unknown in the Islands before thatperiod, has considerably reduced the stock of ponies. Due to thesecauses, ponies cost to-day about three times the former prices. 

The importation of Spanish and Australian horses resulted in failure, because green grass (_zacate_)--the fodder of Philippine ponies--wasnot the diet they had been accustomed to. Amateur enthusiastsconstantly urged the Spanish authorities to take measures for theimprovement of the breed, and in 1888 the acting Gov. -General Moltósent a commission to British India to purchase breeding-horsesand mares. A number of fine animals was brought to Manila, but thesucceeding Gov. -General, Weyler, disapproved of the transaction, andthe stock was sold to the public. Two stallions and two mares fetchedtogether P2, 600, the prices of the others ranging about P700 each. 

Pony-races took place at Santa Mesa (Manila) every spring. Theywere organized by "the Manila Jockey Club, " usually patronized bythe Gov. -General of the day, and the great meet lasted three days, when prizes were awarded to the winners. Ponies which had won racesin Manila fetched from P300 to P1, 000. The new racecourse is at Pasay. 

In Cebú also there were pony races every autumn on the racecoursefacing the _Cotta_ and the Government House. 

Since 1898 the American authorities have imported thousands of horsesfrom the United States for the public service, and American dealershave brought quantities of them from Australia and the United Statesfor private sale. All their fodder, however, has to be procured fromAmerica in pressed bales, as they cannot thrive on the food of thecountry. It is thought, however, that a plant, called _Teosinte_, which is now being cultivated, will be suitable for horse-fodder whenthe animals become thoroughly acclimatized. 

The ordinary native has no notion of the proper treatment of ponies, his idea being, generally, that this highly nervous animal can bemanaged by brute force and the infliction of heavy punishment. Sights, as painful as they are ridiculous, are often the result of thiserror. Unfortunately, the lower-class native feels little attachmentto any animal but the Buffalo, or _Carabao_, as it is called here, and the family pig. 

Buffaloes six years old are considered in the prime of lifefor beginning work, and will continue at hard labour, when wellpastured and bathed, for another six years. At 12 years of age acarefully worked buffalo will still serve for light labour for aboutfive years. It is an amphibious animal, and if left to itself itwould pass quite one-third of its life in water or mud, whilst itis indispensable to allow it to bathe every day. When grazing nearflooded land it will roam into the water up to its neck and immerseits head for two minutes at a time, searching for vegetable foodbelow the surface. Whilst undisturbed in the field it is usuallyaccompanied by five or six white herons, which follow in its trailin perfect security and feed on the worms and insects brought to thesurface by its foot-prints. It seems also to enjoy the attentions ofa small black bird, which hops about on its back and head to cleanseits skin and ears of vermin. It is curious to watch this bird flyingtowards the buffalo, which raises its head to receive it. 

The rustic and the buffalo are familiar companions, and seem tounderstand each other perfectly well. There is a certain affinitybetween them in many ways. When a peasant is owner of the animal heworks, he treats it almost like one of the family. It is very powerful, docile, slow in its movements, and easy to train. Many times I haveseen a buffalo ridden and guided by a piece of split rattan attachedto a rattan-ring in its nostril by a child three years of age. Itknows the voices of the family to which it belongs, and will approachor stand still when called by any one of them. It is not of greatendurance, and cannot support hard work in the sun for more than acouple of hours without rest and bathing if water be near. Europeanscannot manage this animal, and very few attempt it; it requires thepatience, the voice, and the peculiar movement of the native. 

Altogether the buffalo may be considered the most useful animal inthe Philippines. It serves for carting, ploughing, carrying loadson its back, and almost all labour of the kind where great strengthis required for a short time. A peasant possessed of a bowie-knife, a buffalo, and good health, need not seek far to make an independentliving. I owe a certain gratitude to buffaloes, for more than once theyhave pulled my carriage out of the mud in the provinces, where horsescould get along no farther. Finally, buffalo-meat is an acceptablearticle of food when nothing better can be got; by natives it ismuch relished. Its flesh, like that of deer and oxen, is sometimescut into thin slices and sun-dried, to make what is called in thePhilippines _Tapa_, in Cuba _Tasajo_, and in Spain _Cecina_. 

In the Visayas Islands oxen are used as draught-animals as frequentlyas buffaloes, --sometimes even for carriages. 

Wild buffaloes are met with, and, when young, they are easilytamed. Buffalo-hunting, as a sport, is a very dangerous diversion, andrarely indulged in, as death or victory must come to the infuriatedbeast or the chaser. A good hunting-ground is Nueva Ecija, near theCaraballo de Baler Mountain. 

The domesticated buffalo is subject to a bronchial disease called_garrotillo_; it rarely recovers from a serious sprain, and morerarely still from a broken leg. In 1887-88, an epidemic disease, previously unknown, appeared among the cattle, and several thousandsof them died. From the autopsy of some diseased buffaloes, it wasseen that the inside had become converted into blood. Agriculturistssuffered great losses. In the poor neighbourhood of Antipolo alone, 1, 410 head of cattle died within four months, according to a reportwhich the Governor of Mórong showed to me. An old acquaintance of minein Bulacan Province lost 85 per cent. Of his live-stock in the season, whilst the remainder were more or less affected. 

As a consequence of the Revolution (1896-98) and the War ofIndependence (1899-1901) the stock of buffaloes was considerablyreduced, many thousands of these useful animals having been stolenfrom their owners by the belligerents, only to slay them or work themto death. When peace dawned again on the Colony, rinderpest commencedto make ravages in the buffalo herds, which are now reduced to amere fraction of what they were in 1896. The consequences of theselosses in live-stock are referred to in Chap. Xxxi. Before the wars, a buffalo could be got for P10 in places, such as hemp districts, where ploughing is seldom necessary, whilst in the sugar-yieldingIsland of Negros P30 was about the lowest price for an average trainedanimal. The present value is from P125 to P250. 

In all my travels in this Colony I have seen only five _Donkeys_, which were imported simply as curiosities. 

Mules have been imported into the Islands by the American authoritiesfor the public service. If sold they would fetch about P300 each. Theyare the most satisfactory draught-animals ever introduced and, butfor the fear of the new disease "surra, " might take the place ofbuffaloes in agriculture. 

Sheep do not thrive in this climate. They are brought from Shanghai, and, as a rule, they languish and die in a few months. Oxen, goats, dogs, cats, pigs, monkeys, fowls, ducks, turkeys, and geese areamong the ordinary domestic live-stock. Both the dogs and the catsare of very poor species, and the European breeds are eagerly soughtfor. The better class of natives have learned to appreciate the higherinstincts of the European dog. Many Chinese dogs with long, straighthair, pointed nose, small eyes, and black tongues are brought overfrom Hong-Kong. All thoroughbred Philippine cats have a twist intheir tails, and are not nearly so fine as the European race. 

Natives do not particularly relish mutton or goat's flesh, whichthey say is heating to the blood. I have found stewed monkey verygood food, but the natives only eat it on very rare occasions, solely as a cure for cutaneous diseases. No flesh, fish or poultryhas the same flavour here as in Europe; sometimes, indeed, the meatof native oxen sold in Manila has a repulsive taste when the animalhas been quickly fattened for the market on a particular herb, whichit eats readily. Neither can it be procured so tender as in a coldclimate. If kept in an ice-chest it loses flavour; if hung up incool air it becomes flabby and decomposes. However, the cold-storageestablished by the American authorities and private firms, since1898, has greatly contributed to improve the supply of tender meat, and meat shipments are regularly received from Australia and America. 

The seas are teeming with fish, and there are swarms of sharks, whose victims are numerous, whilst crocodiles are found in most ofthe deep rivers and large swamps in uncultivated tracts. The _Taclobo_sea-shell is sometimes found weighing up to about 180 lbs. Fresh-waterfish is almost flavourless and little appreciated. 

In all the rice-paddy fields, small fish called _Dalág_ (_Ophiocephalusvagus_), are caught by the natives, for food, with cane nets, orrod and line, when the fields are flooded. Where this piscatorialphenomenon exists in the dry season no one has been able satisfactorilyto explain. 

The only beast of prey known in the Philippines is the wild cat, and the only wild animal to be feared is the buffalo. 

Both the jungles and the villages abound with insects and reptilia, such as lizards, snakes, iguanas, frogs, and other batrachian species, land-crabs, centipedes [159], tarantulas, scorpions, huge spiders, hornets, common beetles, queen-beetles (_elator noctilucus_) andothers of the vaginopennous order, red ants (_formica smaragdina_), etc. Ants are the most common nuisance, and food cannot be left onthe table a couple of hours without a hundred or so of them comingto feed. For this reason sideboards and food-cupboards are madewith legs to stand in basins of water. There are many species ofants, from the size of a pin's head to half an inch long. On theforest-trees a bag of a thin whitish membrane, full of young ants, is sometimes seen hanging, and the traveller, for his own comfort, should be careful not to disturb it. 

Boa-Constrictors are also found, but they are rare, and I have neverseen one in freedom. They are the most harmless of all snakes inthe Philippines. Sometimes the Visayos keep them in their houses, in cages, as pets. Small _Pythons_ are common. The snakes most tobe dreaded are called by the natives _Alupong_ and _Daghong-palay_(Tagálog dialect). Their bite is fatal if not cauterized at once. Thelatter is met with in the deep mud of rice-fields and amongst the tallrice-blades, hence its name. Stagnant waters are nearly everywhereinfested with _Leeches_. In the trees in dense forests there is alsoa diminutive species of leech which jumps into one's eyes. 

In the houses and huts in Manila, and in most low-lying places, mosquitoes are troublesome, but thanks to an inoffensive kind oflizard with a disproportionately big ugly head called the _chacon_, and the small house-newt, one is tolerably free from crawlinginsects. _Newts_ are quite harmless to persons, and are ratherencouraged than otherwise. If one attempts to catch a newt by itstail it shakes it off and runs away, leaving it behind. Rats and miceare numerous. There are myriads of cockroaches; but happily fleas, house-flies, and bugs are scarce. In the wet-season evenings thecroaking of frogs in the pools and swamps causes an incessant din. 

In the dry-season evenings certain trees are illuminated by swarmsof fire-flies, which assemble and flicker around the foliage as domoths around the flame of a candle. The effect of their darting inand out like so many bright sparks between the branches is very pretty. 

There are many very beautiful _Moths_ and _Butterflies_. In 1897 Ibrought home about 300 specimens of Philippine butterflies for theHon. Walter Rothschild. 

The _White Ant_ (_termes_), known here as _Anay_, is by far themost formidable insect in its destructive powers. It is also commonin China. Here it eats through most woods, but there are some rareexceptions, such as Molave, Ipil, Yacal, etc. If white ants earnestlytake possession of the woodwork of a building not constructed ofthe finest timber, it is a hopeless case. I have seen deal-woodpacking-cases, which have come from Europe, so eaten away that theycould not be lifted without falling to pieces. Merchants' warehouseshave had to be pulled down and rebuilt owing to the depredations ofthis insect, as, even if the building itself were not in danger, noone would care to risk the storage of goods inside. The destructioncaused by _anay_ is possibly exaggerated, but there is no doubt thatmany traders have lost considerable sums through having had to realize, at any price, wares into which this insect had penetrated. 

Bats are to be seen in this Colony, measuring up to 5 feet fromtip to tip of their wings. They are caught for the value of theirbeautiful soft skins, which generally find a sale to Europeansreturning home. Bat-shooting is a good pastime, and a novelty toEuropeans. Small Bats frequently fly into the houses in the evening. 

Deer and _Wild Boars_ are plentiful, and afford good sport to thehuntsman. In Mórong district--in Negros Island--and in Rizal Province, on and in the vicinity of the estate which I purchased--I have hadsome good runs. Monkeys, too, abound in many of the forests. In allthe islands there is enjoyment awaiting the sportsman. Pheasants, snipe, a dozen varieties of wild pigeons, woodcock, jungle-fowl(_gallus bankiva_), wild ducks, water-fowl, etc. Are common, whilstthere are also turtle-doves, _calaos_ (_buceros hydrocorax_), hawks, cranes, herons, crows, parrots, cockatoos, kingfishers, parroquets, and many others peculiar to the Archipelago which I will leave toornithologists to describe. [160] One curious species of pigeon(_calanas nicobarina_) is called in Spanish _Paloma de puñalada_because of the crimson feathers on its breast, which look exactly as ifthey were blood-stained from a dagger-stab. [161] In 1898 I saw somespecimens of this pigeon in the Hamburg Zoological Gardens. Thereare several birds of gorgeous plumage, such as the _oropendolo_(Spanish name). 

It is a curious fact that these Islands have no singing birds. 

The _Locust Plague_ is one of the great risks the planter has torun. In 1851 the Government imported some _Martins_ from China withthe hope of exterminating the locusts. When the birds arrived inthe port of Manila they were right royally received by a body oftroops. A band of music accompanied them with great ceremony to SantaMesa, where they were set at liberty, and the public were forbiddento destroy them under severe penalties. At that date there werecountless millions of locusts among the crops. These winged insects(Tagálog, _balang_) come in swarms of millions at a time, and howto exterminate them is a problem. I have seen a mass of locusts sodense that a row of large trees the other side of them could not bedistinguished. Sailing along the Antique coast one evening, I observed, on the fertile shore, a large brown-coloured plateau. For the moment Ithought it was a tract of land which had been cleared by fire, but onnearing it I noticed that myriads of locusts had settled on severalfields. We put in quite close to them and I fired off a revolver, the noise of which caused them to move off slowly in a cloud. Whenlocusts settle on cultivated lands, miles of crops are often ruinedin a night by the foliage being consumed, and at daybreak only fieldsof stalks are to be seen. In the daytime, when the locusts are aboutto attack a planted field, the natives rush out with their tin cans, which serve as drums, bamboo clappers, red flags, etc. , to scarethem off, whilst others light fires in open spaces with damp fuel toraise smoke. Another effective method adopted to drive them away is tofire off small mortars, such as the natives use at provincial feasts, as these insects are sensitive to the least noise. 

The body of a locust is similar in appearance to a largegrasshopper. The females are of a dark brown colour, and the males ofa light reddish-brown. The female extends the extremity of her bodyin the form of an augur, with which she pierces the earth to the depthof an inch, there to deposit her eggs. In two or three weeks the eggshatch. Every few days the females lay eggs, if allowed to settle. Thenewly-born insects, having no wings until they are about ten daysold, cannot be driven off, and in the meantime they make great havocamong the crops, where it is difficult to extinguish them. The methodemployed to get rid of them is to place a barrier, such as sheets ofcorrugated iron roofing, at one side of a field, dig a pit in front ofthe barrier, and send a number of men to beat round the three sidesof the field until the young locusts jump in heaps into the pit. Ihave heard planters say that they have succeeded, in this way, indestroying as much as 20 tons of locusts in one season. I do not knowthe maximum distance that locusts can fly in one continuous journey, but they have been known to travel as much as 60 miles across thesea. Millions of unwinged locusts (called _lucton_) have been seenfloating down river streams, whilst, however, the winged insect cannotresist the heavy rains which accompany a hurricane. 

It is said that the food passes through the body of a locust asfast as it eats, and that its natural death is due either to want ofnourishment, or to a small worm which forms in the body and consumesit. It is also supposed that the female dies after laying a certainnumber of eggs. Excepting the damage to vegetation, locusts areperfectly harmless insects, and native children catch them to playwith; also, when fried, they serve as food for the poorest classes--infact, I was assured, on good authority, that in a certain village inTayabas Province, where the peasants considered locusts a dainty dish, payment was offered to the parish priest for him to say Mass and prayfor the continuance of the luxury. In former times, before there wereso many agriculturists interested in their destruction, these insectshave been known to devastate the Colony during six consecutive years. 

In the mud of stagnant waters, a kind of beetle, called in Visayadialect _Tanga_, is found, and much relished as an article of food. Inthe dry season, as much as fifty cents a dozen is paid for them in Molo(Yloilo) by well-to-do natives. Many other insects, highly repugnantto the European, are a _bonne bouche_ for the natives. 

CHAPTER XXI

Manila Under Spanish Rule

Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is situated on the Island ofLuzon at the mouth and on the left (south) bank of the Pasig River, at N. Lat. 14° 36' by E. Long. 120° 52'. It is a fortified city, being encircled by bastioned and battlemented walls, which werebuilt in the time of Governor Gomez Perez Dasmariñas, about theyear 1590. It is said that the labour employed was Chinese. Thesewalls measure about two miles and a quarter long, and bore mountedold-fashioned cannon. The fortifications are of stone, and their solidconstruction may rank as a _chef d'oeuvre_ of the 16th century. Theearthquake of 1880 caused an arch of one of the entrances to fall in, and elsewhere cracks are perceptible. These defects were never madegood. The city is surrounded by water--to the north the Pasig River, to the west the sea, and the moats all around. These moats are pavedat the bottom, and sluices--perhaps not in good working order at thepresent day--are provided for filling them with water from the river. 

The demolition of the walls and moats was frequently debated bycommissions specially appointed from Spain--the last in October, 1887. It is said that a commission once recommended the cleansing ofthe moats, which were half full of mud, stagnant water, and vegetableputrid matter, but the authorities hesitated to disturb the deposit, for fear of fetid odours producing fever or other endemic disease. 

These city defences, although quite useless in modern warfare witha foreign Power, as was proved in 1898, might any day have beenserviceable as a refuge for Europeans in the event of a serious revoltof the natives or Chinese. The garrison consisted of one Europeanand several native regiments. 

There are eight drawbridge entrances to the Citadel [162] whereinwere some Government Offices, branch Post and Telegraph Offices, the Custom-house (temporarily removed to Binondo since May 4, 1887, during the construction of the new harbour), Colleges, Convents, Monasteries, a Prison, numerous Barracks, a Mint, a Military Hospital, an Academy of Arts, a University, a statue of Charles IV. Situatedin a pretty square, a fine Town Hall, a Meteorological Observatory, of which the director was a Jesuit priest, an Artillery Dépôt, aCathedral and 11 churches. [163] The little trade done in the citywas exclusively retail. In the month of April or May, 1603, a greatfire destroyed one-third of the city, the property consumed beingvalued at P1, 000, 000. 

Manila City was a lifeless capital, with narrow streets all running atright angles with each other, of sombre, monastic aspect. It had nopopular cafés, no opera-house or theatre; indeed absolutely no placeof recreation. Only the numerous religious processions relieved theuniformity of city life. The whole (walled) city and its environmentsseem to have been built solely with a view to self-defence. Since1887 it had been somewhat embellished by gardens in the public squares. 

Besides the churches of the walled city, those of the suburbs are ofgreat historical interest. In the Plaza de Santa Cruz is establishedthe _Monte de Piedad_, or Public Pawnshop--a fine building--erectedunder the auspices of Archbishop Pedro Payo. 

The great trading-centre is the Island of Binondo, on the right (north)bank of the Pasig River, where the foreign houses are established. Onthe city side of the river, where there was little commerce andno export or import trade whatever, a harbour was in course ofconstruction, without the least hope of its ever being completed bythe Spaniards. All the sea-wall visible of these works was carriedaway by a typhoon on September 29, 1890. To defray the cost of makingthis harbour, a special duty (not included in the Budget) of one percent. On exports, two per cent. On imports, 10 cents per ton on vessels(besides the usual tonnage dues of eight cents per register ton), and afishing-craft tax were collected since June, 1880. For eighteen years'dues-collection of several millions of pesos only a scrap of sea-wallwas to be seen beyond the river in 1898, of no use to trade or toany one. In 1882 fourteen huge iron barges for the transport of stonefrom Angono for the harbour were constructed by an English engineer, Mr. W.  S. Richardson, under contract with the Port Works, for P82, 000. 

The Port of Manila was officially held to extend for 27 mileswestward from the mouth of the Pasig River. This tortuous river, about 14 miles long, flows from the Laguna de Bay. 

The anchorage of the port was in the bay, two to two and a half milessouth-west from the red light at the river-entrance, in about sixfathoms. There was no special locality reserved for warships. 

Ships at the anchorage communicated with the shore by their ownboats or steam-launch, and the loading and discharging of vessels waschiefly effected in the bay, one to three miles off the river mouth, by means of lighters called _cascoes_. 

Manila Bay has a circumference of 120 nautical miles, and is far toolarge to afford adequate protection to ships. The country around itis flat in character and has really nothing attractive. 

On October 20, 1882, a typhoon drove 11 ships and one steamer ashorefrom their anchorage, besides dismasting another and causing threemore to collide. When a typhoon is approaching vessels have to runto Cavite for shelter. 

The entrance to the bay is divided into two passages by the smallIsland of Corregidor, on which was a lighthouse showing a revolvingbright light, visible 20 miles off. Here was also a signal-station, communicating by a semaphore with a telegraph station on the oppositeLuzon coast, and thence by wire with Manila. North of CorregidorIsland is situated the once important harbour of Marivéles. [164]

The entrance to the Pasig River is between two moles, which run outwestward respectively from the citadel on the south bank and from thebusiness suburb of Binondo on the north bank. At the outer extremityof the northern mole was a lighthouse, showing a fixed red light, visible eight miles. 

Vessels drawing up to 13 feet could enter the river. In the middle of1887 a few electric lights were established along the quays from theriver mouth to the first bridge, and one light also on that bridge, so that steamers could enter the river after sunset if desired. Thewharfage is wholly occupied by steamers and sailing-craft tradingwithin the Archipelago. The tides are very irregular. The rise andfall at springs may be taken to be five feet. 

Up to 1887 ships needing repairs had to go to Hong-Kong, but in thatyear a patent slip was established at Cañacao Bay, near Cavite, sevenmiles southward from the Manila Bay anchorage. The working capacityof the hydraulic hauling power of the slip was 2, 000 tons. 

At Cavite, close by Cañacao, there was a Government Arsenal and asmall slip, having a hauling power of about 500 tons. 

Up to the year 1893 the streets of Manila City and suburbs werebadly lighted--petroleum lamps, and sometimes cocoanut oil, beingused. (The paving was perhaps more defective than the lighting. ) In1892 an Electric Light Company was formed, with a share capital ofP500, 000 (P350, 000 paid up) for illuminating the city and suburbs andprivate lighting. Under the contract with the Municipality the companyreceived a grant of P60, 000, and the concern was in full working orderthe following year. The poorest working class of Manila--fishermen, canoemen, day labourers, etc. --live principally in the ward of Tondo, where dwellings with thatched roofs were allowed to be constructed. Inthe wet season the part of this ward nearest to the city was simplya mass of pollution. The only drainage was a ditch cut around themud-plots on which the huts were erected. Many of these huts hadpools of stagnant water under them for months, hence it was therethat the mortality from fever was at its maximum ratio in the dryseason when evaporation commenced. Half the shore side of Tondohas been many times devastated by conflagrations and by hurricanes, locally termed _báguios_. 

Binondo presents an aspect of great activity during the day. The importand export trade is still largely in the hands of British merchants, and the retail traffic is, to a great extent, monopolized by theChinese. Their tiny shops, grouped together in rows, form bazaars. Ateach counter sits a Chinaman, casting up accounts, with the ancient_abacus_ [165] still serving him for practical reckoning. Anotheris ready at the counter to strike the bargain, whilst a third craftyCelestial lounges about the entrance to tout for custom, with a marginon his prices for haggling which is high or low according to whetherthe intending purchaser be American, European, half-caste, or native. 

There is hardly a street without Chinese dealers, but their principalcentre is the _Rosario_, whilst the finest American and Europeanshops are to be found in the _Escolta_. [166]

In 1881 a great fire occurred in the _Escolta_, and since thenthe class of property in that important thoroughfare has been muchimproved. In October, 1885, a second serious fire took place in thisstreet, and on the site of the ruins there now stands a fine block ofbuildings formerly occupied by the Central Post Office and TelegraphStation, and a row of good shops in European style. 

During the working hours were to be seen hundreds of smart Chinesecoolies, half-naked, running in all directions with loads, or drivingcarts, whilst the natives dreamily sauntered along the streets, following their numerous occupations with enviable tranquillity. In thedoorways here and there were native women squatting on the flag-stones, picking lice from each other's heads, and serving a purchaserbetween-times with cigars, betel-nut, and food, when occasion offered. 

Certain small handicrafts are almost entirely taken up by the Chinese, such as boot-making, furniture-making, small smith's-work andcasting, tin-working, tanning, dyeing, etc. , whilst the natives areoccupied as silversmiths, engravers, saddlers, water-colour painters, furniture-polishers, bookbinders, etc. A few years ago the apothecarieswere almost exclusively Germans; now the profession is shared withnatives, half-castes, and one British firm. 

The thoroughfares were crowded with carriages during the whole daydrawn by pretty native ponies. The public conveyance regulations inSpanish times were excellent. The rates for hiring were very moderate, and were calculated by the time engaged. Incivility of drivers wasa thing almost unknown. Their patience was astonishing. They would, if required, wait for the fare for hours together in a drenching rainwithout a murmur. Having engaged a vehicle (in Manila or elsewhere)it is usual to guide the driver by calling out to him each turn he hasto take. Thus, if he be required to go to the right--_mano_ (hand)is the word used; if to the left--_silla_ (saddle) is shouted. Thiscustom originated in the days before natives were intrusted to drive, when a postilion rode the left (saddle) pony, and guided his right(hand) animal with a short rein. 

Through the city and suburbs ran lines of tramway with cars drawnby ponies, and (from October 20, 1888 until 1905) a steam tramwayoperated as far as Malabon. 

Fortunately, Easter week brought two days of rest every year forthe ponies, namely, Holy Thursday and Good Friday. As in Spain also, with certain exceptions, such as doctors, urgent Government service, etc. , vehicles were not permitted in the streets and highways on thosedays. Soldiers passing through the streets on service carried theirguns with the muzzles pointing to the ground. The church bells weretolled with muffled hammers; hence, the vibration of the metal beingchecked, the peal sounded like the beating of so many tin cans. Theshops were closed, and, so far as was practicable, every outwardappearance of care for worldly concerns was extinguished, whilst it wascustomary for the large majority of the population--natives as well asEuropeans--who went through the streets to be attired in black. On GoodFriday afternoon there was an imposing religious procession throughthe city and suburbs. On the following Saturday morning (_Sábado deGloria_), there was a lively scene after the celebration of Mass. In ahundred portals and alleys, public and private vehicles were awaitingthe peal of the unmuffled church bells. The instant this was heardthere was a rush in all directions--the clanking of a thousand ponies'feet; the rumbling sound of hundreds of carriages. The mingled shoutsof the natives and the Chinese coolies showed with what bated anxietyand forced subjection material interest and the affairs of this lifehad been held in check and made subservient to higher thoughts. 

An official computation in the year 1885 stated the average numberof vehicles which passed through the main street of the city (_CalleReal_) _per day_ to be 950; through the _Escolta_, the principalstreet of Binondo, 5, 000; and across the bridge, connecting Binondowith Manila City (where the river is 350 feet wide), 6, 000. 

Sir John Bowring, in the account of his short visit to Manila in 1858, says he was informed on good authority that the average number ofvehicles passing daily at that date through the _Escolta_ amounted to915; across the bridge, between Binondo and Manila, 1, 256; so thatapparently in 27 years the number of vehicles in use had increasedby about five to one. 

The Pasig River is navigable by steam-launches andspecially-constructed steamers of light draught, which go up the wholedistance into the Laguna de Bay. The river is crossed at Manila andsuburbs by three bridges, the chief of which is the _Puente de España. _[167]

In the suburbs there were four Theatres, in none of which a dramaticcompany of any note would consent to perform. In one (the _TeatroFilipino_) the performance could be partly seen from the street;another (the _Teatro de Tondo_) was situated in a dirty thoroughfarein a low quarter; the third (the _Teatro del Principe_) usually gavean entertainment in dialect for the amusement of the natives; and thefourth (the _Teatro Zorrilla_), located in Tondo, was built to serveas theatre or circus without any regard to its acoustic properties;hence only one-third of the audience could hear the dialogue. Therewas a permanent Spanish Comedy Company (on tour at times in Yloiloand Cebú), and occasionally a troupe of foreign strolling players, a circus, a concert, or an Italian Opera Company came to Manila toentertain the public for a few weeks. 

In 1880 there used to be a kind of tent-theatre, called the _Carrillo_where performances were given without any pretence to histrionicart or stage regulations. The scenes were highly ridiculous, andthe gravest spectator could not suppress laughter at the exaggeratedattitudes and comic display of the native performers. The public hadfull licence to call to the actors and criticize them in loud voices_séance tenante_--often to join in the choruses and make themselvesquite at home during the whole spectacle. About a year afterwardsthe _Carrillo_ was suppressed. The first Spaniards who systematicallytaught the Filipinos European histrionics were Ramon Cubero and hiswife, Elisea Raguer (both very popular in their day), whose daughtermarried the Philippine actor and dramatic author José Carvajal. Theold-fashioned native play was the "_Moro Moro_, " which continued infull vogue, in the provinces, up to the end of Spanish dominion. [168]

In the suburb of Paco there was a bull-ring, which did not generallyattract the _élite_, as a bull-fight there was simply a burlesqueupon this national sport as seen in Spain. I have witnessed a Manila_espada_ hang on to the tail of his victim, and a _banderillero_ meetthe rush of the bull with a vault over his head, amidst hoots from theshady class of audience who formed the _habitués_ of the Manila ring. 

The Civil Governor of the Province had full arbitrary power to enforcethe regulations relating to public performances, but it was seldom heimposed a fine. The programme had to be sanctioned by authority beforeit was published, and it could neither be added to nor any part ofit omitted, without special licence. The performance was given underthe censorship of the Corregidor or his delegate, whose duty it wasto guard the interests of the public, and to see that the spectacledid not outrage morality. 

The ostensible purpose of every annual feast all over the Colonywas to render homage to the local patron Saint and give thanks formercies received in the past year. Every town, village, and suburbwas supposed to be specially cared for by its patron Saint, and whencircumstances permitted it there was a religious procession, whichwas intended to impress on the minds of the faithful the virtue ofthe intercessors by ocular demonstration. Vast sums of money wereexpended from time to time in adornment of the images, the adorationof which seemed to be tinctured with pantheistic feeling, as if thesesymbols were part of the Divine essence. 

Among the suburban feasts of Manila, that of Binondo was particularlystriking. It took place in the month of October. An imposingilluminated procession, headed by the clergy, guarded by troops, andfollowed up by hundreds of native men, women and children carryingcandles, promenaded the principal streets of the vicinity. But thereligious feeling of the truly devoted was shocked by one ridiculousfeature--the mob of native men, dressed in gowns and head-wreaths, in representation of the Jews who persecuted our Saviour, rushingabout the streets in tawdry attire before and after the ceremony insuch apparent ignorance of the real intention that it annulled thesublimity of the whole function. 

All Saints' Day--November 1--brought a large income to the priests inthe most frequented parish churches. This is one of the days on whichsouls can be got out of Purgatory. The faithful flocked in mobs to thepopular shrines, where an effort was made to place a lighted wax candleat the foot of the altar, and on bended knee to invoke the Saints' aidon behalf of their departed relatives and friends. But the crowd wasso great that the pious were not permitted this consolation for morethan two or three minutes. Sacristans made them move on, to leave roomfor new-comers, and their candles were then extinguished and collectedin heaps, Chinese infidel coolies being sometimes employed to carryaway the spoil to the parish priest's store. The wax was afterwardssold to dealers. One church is said to have collected on November 1, 1887, as much as 40 cwts. , valued at P37 per cwt. This day was apublic holiday, and in the afternoon and evening it was the customto visit the last resting-places, to leave a token of remembrance onthe tombs of the lamented. 

The Asylum for Lepers, at Dalumbayan, in the ward of Santa Cruz, wasalso visited the same day, and whilst many naturally went there tosee their afflicted relations and friends, others, of morbid tastes, satisfied their curiosity. This Asylum, subsidized by Governmentto the extent of P500 per annum, was, in the time of the Spaniards, under the care of Franciscan friars. 

In January or February the Chinese celebrate their New Year, andsuspend work during a week or ten days. The authorities did notpermit them to revel in fun to the extent they would have done intheir own country; nevertheless, Chinese music, gongs, and crackerswere indulged in, in the quarters most thickly populated by this race. 

The natives generally have an unbounded passion for cock-fighting, and in the year 1779 it occurred to the Government that a profitablerevenue might be derived from a tax on this sport. Thenceforth itwas only permitted under a long code of regulations on Sundays andfeast days, and in places officially designated for the "meet" ofthe combatants. In Manila alone the permission to meet was extendedto Thursdays. The cock-pit is called the _Gallera_, and the tax wasfarmed out to the highest bidding contractor, who undertook to paya fixed annual sum to the Government, making the best he could forhimself out of the gross proceeds from entrance-fees and sub-lettingrents in excess of that amount. In like manner the Government farmedout the taxes on horses, vehicles, sale of opium, slaughter of animalsfor consumption, bridge-tolls, etc. , and, until 1888, the marketdues. Gambling licences also brought a good revenue, but it wouldhave been as impossible to suppress cock-fighting in the Islands asgambling in England. [169]

The Spanish laws relating to the cock-pit were very strict, andwere specially decreed on March 21, 1861. It was enacted that themaximum amount to be staked by one person on one contest should be 50pesos. That each cock should wear only one metal spur. That the fightshould be held to be terminated on the death of one or both cocks, or when one of them retreated. However, the decree contained in all ahundred clauses too tedious to enumerate. Cock-fighting is discussedamong the natives with the same enthusiasm as horse-racing is inEngland. The majority of sportsmen rear cocks for several years, bestowing upon them as much tender care as a mother would on herinfant. When the hope of the connoisseur has arrived at the age ofdiscretion and valour, it is put forward in open combat, perhapsto perish in the first encounter. And the patient native goes ontraining others. 

Within twenty minutes' drive from Manila, at Nagtájan, on theright bank of the Pasig River, there was a good European club (sinceremoved to Ermita), of which the members were chiefly English-speakingmerchants and employees. The entrance-fee was [Pesos]30; the monthlysubscription was [Pesos]5, and [Pesos]1 per month extra for the useof a fairly good library. 

The principal hotel--the "Hotel de Oriente"--was opened in Binondoin January, 1889, in a large two-storeyed building, with 83 roomsfor the public service, and stabling for 25 horses. It was thefirst building specially erected in the Colony for an hotel. Theaccommodation and board were good. It ranked with the best hotelsin the East. [In 1903 the building was purchased by the (American)Insular Government for public offices. ] In Manila City and Binondothere were several other Spanish hotels where the board was tolerable, but the lodging and service abominable. There was a telephone systemestablished throughout the city and its environs. 

The press was represented by five dailies--_El Diario de Manila, La Oceania Española_, three evening papers, _El Comercio, La Voz deEspaña_, and (from March 3, 1889) _La Correspondencia de Manila_--alsoa bi-weekly, _La Opinion_. Some good articles appeared at timesin the three dailies first mentioned, but as newspapers strictlyso-called, the information in all was remarkably scant, due to thestrict censorship exercised jointly by a priest and a layman. Therewas also a purely official organ--the _Gaceta de Manila_. 

The first news-sheet published in Manila appears to have been the_Filántropo_, in the year 1822, which existed only a few years. Othersfollowed and failed in a short time. The first Manila daily paper wasthe _Estrella_, which started in 1846 and lasted three years. Sincethen several dailies have seen the light for a brief period. The_Diario de Manila_, started in 1848, was the oldest newspaper ofthose existing at the end of the Spanish regime. 

In Spain journalism began in the 17th century by the publication, at irregular intervals, of sheets called "_Relaciones_. " The firstSpanish newspaper, correctly so called, was established in the 18thcentury. Seventy-eight years ago there was only one regular periodicaljournal in Madrid. After the Peninsula War, a step was made towardspolitical journalism. This led to such an abuse of the pen that in1824 all, except the _Gaceta de Madrid_, the _Gaceta de Bayona_, the_Diario_, and a few non-political papers were suppressed. Madrid hasnow scores of newspapers, of which half a dozen are very readable. The_Correspondencia de España_, founded by the late Marquis de SantaAna as a Montpensier organ, used to afford me great amusement inMadrid. It contained columns of most extraordinary events in shortparagraphs (_gacetillas_), and became highly popular, hundreds ofpersons eagerly waiting to secure a copy. In a subsequent issue, afew days later, many of the paragraphs in the same columns were merelycorrections of the statements previously published, but so ingeniouslyinterposed that the hoax took the public for a long time. Newspapersfrom Spain were not publicly exposed for sale in Manila; those whichwere seen came from friends or by private subscription, whilst manywere proscribed as inculcating ideas dangerously liberal. 

There was a botanical garden, rather neglected, although it cost theColony about P8, 600 per annum. The stock of specimens was scanty, and the grounds were deserted by the general public. It was at leastuseful in one sense--that bouquets were supplied at once to purchasersat cheap rates, from 25 cents and upwards. 

In the environs of Manila there are several pleasant drives andpromenades, the most popular one being the _Luneta_, where a militaryband frequently played after sunset. The Gov. -General's palace [170]and the residences of the foreign European population and well-to-donatives and Spaniards were in the suburbs of the city outside thecommercial quarter. Some of these private villas were extremelyattractive, and commodiously designed for the climate, but littleattention was paid until quite the latter days to architectural beauty. 

Very few of the best private residences have more than one storeyabove the ground-floor. The ground-floor is either uninhabited orused for lodging the native servants, or as a coach-house, on accountof the damp. From the vestibule main entrance (_zaguan_) one passesto the upper floor, which constitutes the house proper, where thefamily resides. It is usually divided into a spacious hall (_caida_), leading from the staircase to the dining and reception-rooms; onone or two sides of these apartments are the dormitories and otherprivate rooms. The kitchen is often a separate building, connectedwith the house by a roofed passage; and by the side of the kitchen, on the same level, is a yard called the _azotea_--here the bath-roomis erected. The most modern houses have corrugated-iron roofs. Theground-floor exterior walls are of stone or brick, and the whole of theupper storey is of wood, with sliding windows all around. Instead ofglass, opaque oyster-shells (Tagálog, _cápis_) are employed to admitthe light whilst obstructing the sun's rays. Formerly the walls up tothe roof were of stone, but since the last great earthquake of 1880the use of wood from the first storey upwards has been rigorouslyenforced in the capital and suburbs for public safety. Iron roofsare very hot, and there are still some few comfortable, spacious, and cool suburban residences with tile roof or with the primitivecogon-grass or nipa palm-leaf thatching, very conducive to comfortalthough more liable to catch fire. 

In Spanish times there were no white burglars, and the main entranceof a dwelling-house was invariably left open until the familyretired for the night. Mosquitoes abound in Manila, coming from thenumerous malarious creeks which traverse the wards, and few personscan sleep without a curtain. To be at one's ease, a daily bath isindispensable. The heat from 12 to 4 p. M. Is oppressive from Marchto May, and most persons who have no afternoon occupation, sleep the_siesta_ from 1 to 3 o'clock. The conventional lunch-hour all overthe Colony is noon precisely, and dinner at about 8 o'clock. Thevisiting hours are from 5 to 7 in the evening, and _réunions_ andmusical _soirées_ from 9. Society was far less divided here thanin the British-Asiatic Colonies. There was not the same rigid linedrawn as in British India between the official, non-official, andnative. Spaniards of the best families in the capital endeavoured, with varying success, to europeanize the people of the country, andmany of them exchanged visits with half-breeds, and at times withwealthy pure natives. Spanish hospitality in the Philippines was farmore marked than in Europe, and educated foreigners were generallyreceived with great courtesy. 

Since the year 1884 the city and suburbs are well supplied withgood drinking-water, which is one of the most praiseworthy modernimprovements undertaken by the Spanish Government. To provide forthis beneficial work, a Spanish philanthropist, named Carriedo--alate commander of an Acapulco galleon--left a sum of money in the18th century, in order that the capital and accumulated interest mightone day defray the expense. The water supply (brought from Santólan, near Mariquina), being more than sufficient for general requirements, the city and suburbs were, little by little, adorned with severalpublic fountains. Although Manila lies low the climate is healthy, and during several years of personal observation I found the averagemaximum and minimum temperature at noon in the shade to be 98° and 75°Fahr. Respectively. The climate of Manila may be generally summed up asfollows, viz. :--December, January, and February, a delightful spring;March, April, and May, an oppressive heat; June, July, August, andSeptember, heavy rains and more tolerable heat; October and November, doubtful--sometimes very wet, sometimes fairly dry. Briefly, as toclimate, it is a pleasant place to reside in. 

In 1593 Manila already had a coat-of-arms, with the title of "_MuyInsigne y siempre leal Ciudad_" and in the beginning of the 17thcentury King Philip III. Conferred upon it the title of "_La muy nobleCiudad _"; hence it was lately styled "_La muy noble y siempre lealCiudad_" (the very noble and always loyal city). 

According to Gironnière, [171] the civilized population of this Colonyin 1845 was as follows, namely:--

 Europeans (including 500 Friars) 4, 050 Spanish-native half-breeds 8, 584 Spanish-native-Chinese half-breeds. 180, 000 Chinese 9, 901 Pure natives 3, 304, 742

 Total civilized population 3, 507, 277

In the last Spanish census, taken in 1876, the total number ofinhabitants, including Europeans and Chinese, was shown to be a littleunder 6, 200, 000, but a fixed figure cannot be relied upon because itwas impossible to estimate exactly the number of unsubdued savagesand mountaineers, who paid no taxes. The increase of native populationwas rated at about two per cent, per annum, except in the Negrito orAeta tribes, which are known to be decreasing. 

In Manila City and wards it is calculated there were in 1896 about340, 000 inhabitants, of which the ratio of classes was approximatelythe following, namely:--

 Per cent. Pure natives 68. 00 Chinese half-breeds 16. 65 Chinese 12. 25 Spaniards and Creoles 1. 65 Spanish half-breeds 1. 30 Foreigners (other than Chinese) 0. 15

 100. 00

The walled city alone contained a population of about 16, 000 souls. 

Typhoons affect Manila more or less severely about once a year, nearly always between April and middle of December, and sometimescause immense destruction to property. Roofs of houses are carriedaway; the wooden upper-storey frontages are blown out; ships are tornfrom their moorings; small craft laden with merchandise are wrecked, and the inhabitants flee from the streets to make fast their premises, and await in intense anxiety the conclusion of the tempest. A hurricaneof this description desolated Manila in October, 1882, and, at the sametime, the wind was accompanied by torrents of rain, which did greatdamage to the interiors of the residences, warehouses, and offices. Asmall house, entirely made of wood, was blown completely over, and thenatives who had taken refuge on the ground-floor were left, without amoment's notice, with the sky for a roof. Two Chinamen, who thought totake advantage of the occasion and economically possess themselves ofgalvanized-iron roofing, had their heads nearly severed by sheets ofthis material flying through the air, and their dead bodies were pickedup in the _Rosario_ the next morning. I was busy with the servantsall that day in my house, in the unsuccessful attempt to fasten thewindows and doors. Part of the kitchen was carried away; water camein everywhere; and I had to wait patiently, with an umbrella over me, until the storm ceased. The last similarly destructive hurricane, affecting Manila, occurred on September 26, 1905. 

Manila is also in constant danger of destruction from earthquakes. Themost serious one within the last century occurred in June, 1863. The shock lasted half a minute, and the falling _débris_ ofthe upheaved buildings caused 400 deaths, whilst 2, 000 persons werewounded. The total loss of property on that occasion was estimated atP 8, 000, 000. Official returns show that 46 public edifices were throwndown; 28 were nearly destroyed; 570 private buildings were wrecked, and 528 were almost demolished. Simultaneously, an earthquake occurredin Cavite--the port and arsenal south-west of Manila--destroyingseveral public buildings. In 1898 many of the ruins caused by thisearthquake were still left undisturbed within the City of Manila. In1863 the best buildings had heavy tiled roofs, and many continued so, in spite of the severe lesson, until after the shock of 1880, whengalvanized corrugated iron came into general use for roofing, and, in fact, no one in Manila or Binondo now builds a house without it. 

In 1880 no lives were lost, but the damage to house property wasconsiderable. The only person who suffered physically from thiscalamity was an Englishman, Mr. Parker, whose arm was so severelyinjured that it was found necessary to amputate it. 

Prior to 1863 the most serious earthquakes recorded happened inNovember, 1610; November, 1645; August, 1658; in 1675; in 1699; in1796, and in 1852. Consequent on the shock of 1645, all the publicbuildings were destroyed excepting one monastery and two churches, some 600 persons were killed, and the Gov. -General was extricatedfrom the ruins of his palace. 

 [172]According to the Jesuit Father Faura, Director of the Manila Observatory, the following slight quakes occurred in 1881, viz. :--3 in July, 7 in August, 10 in September, and 3 in October. Earth-tremors almost imperceptible are so frequent in these Islands that one hardly heeds them after a few months' residence. 

In a cosmopolitan city like Manila--the temporary home of somany different races--it was interesting to observe the variedwearing-apparel in vogue. The majority of the Spaniards wore theEuropean costume; the British generally dressed in white drill, withthe coat buttoned up to the neck, and finished off with a narrowcollar of the same material. The Chinese always preserved their ownpeculiar national dress--the most rational of all--with the pig-tailcoiled into a chignon. The pure natives and many half-breeds worethe shirt outside the trousers. It was usually white, with a longstiff front, and cut European fashion; but often it was made ofan extremely fine yellow-tinted expensive material, called _piña_(_vide_ p. 283). Some few of the native _jeunesse dorée_ of Maniladonned the European dress, much to their apparent discomfort. Theofficial attire of the headman of a Manila ward and his subordinateswas a shirt with the tail outside the trousers, like other nativesor half-breeds, but over which was worn the official distinction ofa short Eton jacket, reaching to the hips. All this is now changing, with a tendency to imitate the Americans. 

A native woman wore, as she does now, a flowing skirt of gaycolours--bright red, green, and white being the common choice. Thelength of train, and whether the garment be of cotton, silk, orsatin, depends on her means. Corsets are not yet the fashion, but achemisette, which just covers her breast, and a starched neckcloth(_pañuelo_) of _piña_ or _husi_ stuff are in common use. The _pañuelo_is square, and, being folded triangularly, it hangs in a point down theback and stands very high up at the neck, in the 17th century style, whilst the other two points are brooched where they meet at the top ofthe chemisette _décolletée_. To this chemisette are added immenselywide short sleeves. Her hair is brushed back from the forehead, without a parting, and coiled into a tight, flat chignon. In herhand she carries a fan, without which she would feel lost. Nativewomen have an extravagant desire to possess jewellery--even if theynever wear it. The head is covered with a white mantle of very thinmaterial, sometimes figured, but more often this and the neckclothare embroidered--a work in which they excel. Finally, her nakedfeet are partly enveloped in _chinelas_--a kind of slipper, flat, like a shoe-sole with no heel, but just enough upper in front to putfour toes inside. Altogether, the appearance of a Philippine woman ofwell-to-do family dressed on a gala day is curious, sometimes pretty, but, in any case, admirably suited to the climate. 

Since 1898 American example, the great demand for _piña_ muslin, atany price, by American ladies, and the scarcity of this texture, dueto the plants having been abandoned during the wars, have necessarilybrought about certain modifications in female attire. 

There is something very picturesque in the simple costume of a peasantwoman going to market. She has no flowing gown, but a short skirt, enveloped in a _tápis_, generally of cotton. It is simply a rectangularpiece of stuff; as a rule, all blue, red, or black. It is tucked inat the waist, drawn very tightly around the loins, and hangs overthe skirt a little below the knees, the open edges being at the back. 

At times the better class wear the more becoming short skirt and_tápis_ of silk or satin, with gold-lace embroidered _chinelas_. Thisdress is elegant, and adds a charm to the wearer. 

The _tápi_ is smaller. It is not used in the street; it is a sortof _négligé_ apparel worn in the house only, or for going to thebath. The poorest classes go to the river-side to bathe in it. It isdrawn all around from the waist downwards. 

The _patadiong_ is more commonly worn by the Visaya than the northernwoman. It is somewhat like the _tápis_, but is drawn round the waistfrom the back, the open edges meeting, more or less, at the front. InLuzon Island the old women generally prefer this to the _tápis_. 

On feast days and special occasions, or for dances, the young womenwho can afford it sport the gaudy flowing gown of bright particolouredstriped silk or satin, known as the _saya suelta_, with the traincut in a peculiar fashion unknown in Europe. 

The figure of a peasant woman is erect and stately, due to her habitfrom infancy of carrying jars of water, baskets of orchard produce, etc. , on her head with a pad of coiled cloth. The characteristicbearing of both sexes, when walking, consists in swinging the arms(but more often the right arm only) to and fro far more rapidly thanthe stride, so that it gives them the appearance of paddling. 

A "first class" Manila funeral, before the American advent, wasa whimsical display of pompous ignorance worth seeing once. Therewas a hideous bier with rude relics of barbarism in the shape ofpaltry adornments. A native driver, with a tall "chimney pot" hat, full of salaried mournfulness, drove the white team. The bier washeaded by a band of music playing a lively march, and followed bya line of carriages containing the relations and friends of thedeceased. The burial was almost invariably within twenty-four hoursof the decease--sometimes within six hours. 

There is nothing in Manila which instantly impresses one as strikinglynational, whether it be in artistic handicraft, music, painting, sculpture, or even diversions. The peculiar traditional customs ofan Eastern people--their native dress, their characteristic habits, constitute--by their originality and variation, the only charm tothe ordinary European traveller. The Manila middle-class native, in particular, possesses none of this. He is but a vivid contrastto his vivacious Spanish model, a striking departure from his ownpicturesque aboriginal state, and an unsuccessful imitator of thegrace and easy manners of his Western tutor. In short, he is neitherone thing nor the other in its true representation compared with thegenial, genuine, and natural type to be found in the provinces. 

Many years' residence in Manila, or in any one particular locality ofthe Archipelago, will not enable either the alien or the native to forma just opinion of the physical, social, or economic conditions of theColony; they can only be understood after extensive travelling throughand around the Islands. Nor will three or four tours suffice for theintelligent inquirer, because first impressions often lead to falseconclusions; information obtained through one source must needs beverified by another; the danger of mistaking isolated cases for generalrules has to be avoided, and, lastly, the native does not reveal to thefirst-time traveller the intricacies of Philippine life. Furthermore, the traveller in any official capacity is necessarily the leastinformed person concerning the real thought and aspirations of theFilipino or true Philippine life; his position debars him from theopportunity of investigating these things. 

It would be beyond the scope of this work to take the reader mentallythrough the thousand or more miles of lovely scenery, and into thehomes of the unsophisticated classes who still preserve, unalloyed, many of their natural characteristics and customs. But within half aday's journey from the capital there are many places of historicalinterest, among which, on account of its revived popularity sincethe American advent, may be mentioned Los Baños, on the south shoreof the Laguna de Bay. 

Los Baños (the baths) owes its origin to the hot springs flowing fromthe volcanic Maquíling Mountain, which have been known to the nativesfrom time immemorial when the place was called Maynit, which signifies"hot. "

At the close of the 16th century these mineral waters attracted theattention of Martyr Saint Pedro Bautista (_vide_ p. 64), who senta brother of his Order to establish a hospital for the natives. Thebrother went there, but shortly returned to Manila and died. So thematter remained in abeyance for years. Subsequently a certain FrayDiego de Santa Maria, an expert in medicine and the healing art, wassent there to test the waters. He found they contained propertieshighly beneficial in curing rheumatism and certain other maladies, so thenceforth many natives and Spaniards went there to seek bodilyrelief. But there was no convenient abode for the visitors; noarrangements for taking the baths, and the Government did nothing. AFranciscan friar was appointed chaplain to the sick visitors, buthis very incommodious residence was inadequate for the lodging ofpatients, and, for want of funds, the priest abandoned the projectof establishing a hospital, and returned to Manila. In 1604 theGov. -General, Pedro Bravo de Acuña, gave his attention to thisplace, and consented to the establishment of a hospital, church, and convent. The hospital was constructed of bamboo and other lightmaterial, and dedicated to Our Lady of Holy Waters. 

Fray Diego de Santa Maria was appointed to the vicarage and the chargeof the hospital. The whole was supported by gifts from the many sickpersons who went there, but the greatest difficulty was to procurefood. Several natives made donations of lands, with the produce ofwhich the hospital was to be maintained. These gifts, however, provedinsufficient. The priests then solicited permission from the villagersof Pila (on the lake shore near Santa Cruz) to pasture cattle on thetongue of land on the opposite coast called Jalajala, which belongedto them. With their consent a cattle-ranche was established there;subsequently, a building was erected, and the place was in time knownas the _Estancia de Jalajala_. Then the permission was asked for andobtained from the Pila natives to plant cocoanut palms, fruit-trees, and vegetables. Later on the Austin and Franciscan friars quarrelledabout the right of dominion over the place and district called Maynit, but eventually the former gave way and ceded their alleged rights inperpetuity to the Franciscans. 

In 1640 Los Baños (formerly a dependency of Bay, under the Austinfriars) was constituted a "town. " The Franciscans continued tobeg one concession after another, until at length, in 1671, stonebuildings were commenced--a church, convent, hospital, bathing-pond, vapour-house, etc. , being constructed. Natives and Europeans flocked innumbers to these baths, and it is said that people even came from Indiato be cured. The property lent and belonging to the establishment, the accumulated funds, and the live-stock had all increased so much invalue that the Government appointed an administrator. Thenceforth theplace declined; its popularity vanished; the administrator managedmatters so particularly for his own benefit that food again becamescarce, and the priest was paid only 10 pesos per month as salary. InJalajala a large house was built; the land was put under regularcultivation; tenants were admitted; but when the property was declareda royal demesne the Pila inhabitants protested, and nominally regainedpossession of the lent property. But the administrator re-openedand contested the question in the law-courts, and, pending theseproceedings, Jalajala was rented from the Government. During thislong process of legal entanglements the property had several timesbeen transferred to one and another until the last holder regardedit as his private estate. 

At the beginning of last century Jalajala came into the possession ofM. Paul de la Gironnière, from whom it passed to another Frenchman, at whose death a third Frenchman, M. Jules Daillard, became owner. Onhis decease it became the property of an English Bank, from whom it waspurchased by the Franciscan friars, in 1897, for the sum of P. 50, 000, and re-sold by them to a Belgian firm in 1900. 

The bathing establishment was gradually falling into decay, untilits complete ruin was brought about by a fire, which left only theremnant of walls. The priest continued there as nominal chaplainwith his salary of 10 pesos per month and an allowance of rice. Theestablishment was not restored until the Government of DomingoMoriones (1877-80). A vapour bath-house and residence were built, but the hospital was left unfinished, and it was rotting away fromneglect when the Spaniards evacuated the Islands. 

The portion of the Hospital of Los Baños which remained intact, andthe house attached thereto, which the natives called "the palace, "served to accommodate invalids who went to take the cure. These bathsshould only be taken in the dry season--December to May. 

Besides the convent and church the town simply consisted of a row ofdingy bungalows on either side of the highroad, with a group of thesame on the mountain side. Since the American advent the place hasbeen much improved and extended. 

On his way from Manila to Los Baños the traveller will pass (onthe left bank of the Pasig River) the ruins of _Guadalupe Church_, which mark the site of a great massacre of Chinese during theirrevolt in 1603 (_vide_ p. 114). The following legend of this oncebeautiful and popular church was given to me by the Recoleto friarsat the convent of the Church of La Soledad, in Cavite:--During theconstruction of the world-famed _Escorial_, by order of Philip II. , the architect's nephew, who was employed by his uncle on the work, killed a man. The King pardoned him on condition that he be banishedto the Philippines. He therefore came to Manila, took holy orders, and designed and superintended the building of Guadalupe Church, from the scaffolding of which he fell, and having been caught by theneck in a rope suspended from the timbers he was hanged. 

During the wars of the Rebellion and Independence this ancient buildingwas destroyed, only the shot-riddled and battered outer walls remainingin 1905. 

CHAPTER XXII

The Tagálog Rebellion of 1896-98First Period

After the Napoleonic wars in Spain, the "Junta Suprema Centraldel Reino" convened the famous "Córtes de Cádiz" by decree datedSeptember 12, 1809. This _junta_ was succeeded by another--"ElSupremo Consejo de la Regencia"--when the _Córtes_ passed the firstSuffrage Bill known in Spain on January 29, 1810. These _Córtes_assembled deputies from all the Colonies--Cuba, Venezuela, Chile, Guatemala, Santa Fé, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, etc. ; in fact, all those dependencies which constituted the four Viceroyalties andthe eight Captain-Generalships of the day. The Philippine deputy, Ventura de los Reyes, signed the Act of Constitution of 1812. In 1820the _Córtes_ again admitted this Colony's representatives, amongstwhom were Vicente Posadas, Eulalio Ramirez, Anselmo Jorge Fajárdos, Roberto Pimental, Esteban Marqués, José Florentino, Manuel Saezde Vismanos, José Azcárraga, and nine others. They also took partin the parliamentary debates of 1822 and 1823. The Constitution wasshortly afterwards suspended, but on the demise of Ferdinand VII. ThePhilippine deputies, Brigadier Garcia Gamba and the half-breed JuanFrancisco Lecáros, sat in Parliament. Again, and for the last time, Philippine members figured in the _Córtes_ of the Isabella II. Regency;then, on the opening of Parliament in 1837, their exclusion, as well asthe government of the Ultramarine Provinces by special laws, was voted. 

The friars, hitherto regarded by the majority of Filipinos as theirprotectors and friendly intermediaries between the people and the civilrulers, had set their faces against the above radical innovations, foreseeing in them a death-blow to their own preponderance. Indeed, the "friar question" only came into existence after the year 1812. 

In 1868 Queen Isabella II. Was deposed, and the succeeding ProvisionalGovernment (1868-70), founded on Republican principles, caused anAssembly of Reformists to be established in Manila. The members ofthis _Junta General de Reformas_ were five Filipinos, namely, RamonCalderon, Bonifacio Saez de Vismanos, Lorenzo Calvo, Gabriel GonzalezEsquibel, and Joaquin Pardo de Tavera; eleven civilian Spaniards, namely, Joaquin J. Inchausti, Tomàs Balbas y Castro, Felino Gil, Antonio Ayala, with seven others and five Spanish friars, namely, Father Fonseca, Father Domingo Trecera, Rector of the University, (Dominicans), one Austin, one Recoleto and one Franciscan friar. This_junta_ had the power to vote reforms for the Colony, subject to theratification of the Home Government. But monastic influence prevailed;the reforms voted were never carried into effect, and long beforethe Bourbon restoration took place (1874) the Philippine Assembly hadceased to exist. But it was impossible for the mother country, whichhad spontaneously given the Filipinos a taste of political equality, again to yoke them to the old tutelage without demur. Alternatepolitical progress and retrogression in the Peninsula cast their reflexon this Colony, but the first sparks of liberty had been gratuitouslystruck which neither reaction in the Peninsula nor persecution in theColony itself could totally extinguish. No Filipino, at that period, dreamed of absolute independence, but the few who had been taught bytheir masters to hope for equal laws, agitated for their promulgationand became a thorn in the side of the Monastic Orders. Only as theireyes were spontaneously opened to liberty by the Spaniards themselvesdid they feel the want of it. 

The Cavite Rising of 1872 (_vide_ p. 106), which the PhilippineGovernment unwisely treated as an important political movement andmercilessly avenged itself by executions and banishment of many of thebest Manila families, was neither forgotten nor forgiven. To me, as aforeigner, scores of representative provincial natives did not hesitateto open their hearts in private on the subject. The Government lostconsiderably by its uncalled-for severity on this occasion. The nativesregarded it as a sign of apprehension, and a proof of the intentionto rule with an iron rod. The Government played into the hands ofthe Spanish clergy, and all the friars gained by strengthening theirmonopoly of the incumbencies they lost in moral prestige. Thinking menreally pitied the Government, which became more and more the instrumentof the ecclesiastics. Since then, serious ideas of a revolution to beaccomplished one day took root in the minds of influential Filipinosthroughout the provinces adjacent to Manila. _La Solidaridad_, aPhilippine organ, founded in Madrid by Marcelo Hilario del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, Eduardo Leyte and Antonio Luna for the furtherance ofPhilippine interests was proscribed, but copies entered the Islandsclandestinely. In the villages, secret societies were formed which thepriests chose to call "Freemasonry"; and on the ground that all vowswhich could not be explained at the confessional were anti-christian, the Archbishop gave strict injunctions to the friars to ferret outthe so-called Freemasons. Denunciations by hundreds quickly followed, for the priests willingly availed themselves of this licence to get ridof anti-clericals and others who had displeased them. In the town ofMalolos (which in 1898 became the seat of the Revolutionary Congress)Father Moïses Santos caused all the members of the Town Council tobe banished, and when I last dined with him in his convent, he toldme he had cleared out a few more and had his eye on others. Fromother villages, notably in the provinces around the capital, thepriests had their victims escorted up to Manila and consigned tothe Gov. -General, who issued the deportation orders without trialor sentence, the recommendation of the all-powerful _padre_ beingsufficient warrant. Thus hundreds of families were deprived of fathersand brothers without warning or apparent justification;--but it takesa great deal to rouse the patient native to action. Then in 1895 camethe Marahui campaign in Mindanao (_vide_ p. 144). In order to peoplethe territory around Lake Lanao, conquered from the _Moros_, it wasproposed to invite families to migrate there from the other islands, and notifications to this effect were issued to all the provincialgovernors. At first it was put to the people in the smooth form of aproposal. None volunteered to go, because they could not see why theyshould give up what they had to go and waste their lives on a tractof virgin soil with the very likely chance of a daily attack from the_Moros_. Peremptory orders followed, requiring the governors to send up"emigrants" for the Ylígan district. This caused a great commotion inthe provinces, and large numbers of natives abandoned their homes toevade anticipated violence. I have no proof as to who originated thisscheme, but there is the significant fact that the _orders_ were issuedonly to the authorities of those provinces supposed to be affected bythe secret societies. Under the then existing system, the governorscould not act in a case like this without the co-operation of theparish priests; hence during the years 1895 and 1896 a systematiccourse of official sacerdotal tyranny was initiated which, beingtoo much even for the patient Filipino, was the immediate cause ofthe members of the _Katipunan_ secret society hastening their plansfor open rebellion, the plot of which was prematurely discovered onThursday, August 20, 1896. The rebellion in Cuba was calling for allthe resources in men and material that Spain could send there. Thetotal number of European troops dispersed over these Islands didnot exceed 1, 500 well armed and well officered, of which about 700were in Manila. The native auxiliaries amounted to about 6, 000. Theimpression was gaining ground that the Spaniards would be beatenout of Cuba; but whilst this idea gave the Tagálogs moral courage toattempt the same in these Islands, so far as one could then foresee, Spain's reverse in the Antilles and the consequent evacuation wouldhave permitted her to pour troops into Manila, causing the natives'last chance to vanish indefinitely. 

Several months before the outbreak, the _Katipunan_ sent a deputationto Japan to present a petition to the Mikado, praying him to annexthe Philippines. This petition, said to have been signed by 5, 000Filipinos, was received by the Japanese Government, who forwardedit to the Spanish Government; hence the names of 5, 000 disaffectedpersons were known to the Philippine authorities, who did not findit politic to raise the storm by immediate arrests. 

The so-called "Freemasonry" which had so long puzzled and irritatedthe friars, turned out, therefore, to be the _Katipunan_, which simplymeans the "League. " [173] The leaguers, on being sworn in, accepted the"blood compact" (vide p. 28), taking from an incision on the leg or armthe blood with which to inscribe the roll of fraternity. The cicatriceserved also as a mark of mutual recognition, so that the object andplans of the leaguers should never be discussed with others. The dramawas to have opened with a general slaughter of Spaniards on the nightof August 20, but, just in the nick of time, a woman sought confessionof Father Mariano Gil (formerly parish priest of Bigaá, Bulacan), then the parish priest of Tondo, a suburb of Manila, and opened theway for a leaguer, whose heart had failed him, to disclose the plot oncondition of receiving full pardon. With this promise he made a cleanbreast of everything, and without an hour's delay the civil guardwas on the track of the alleged prime movers. Three hundred supposeddisaffected persons were seized in Manila and the Provinces of Pampangaand Bulacan within a few hours, and, large numbers being broughtin daily, the prisons were soon crowded to excess. The implacableArchbishop Bernardino Nozaleda advocated extermination by fire andsword and wholesale executions. Gov. -General Ramon Blanco hesitated totake the offensive, pending the arrival of reinforcements which werecalled for. He informed the Home Government that the rising was of nogreat importance, but that he required 1, 000 more troops to be sentat once. The reply from Madrid was that they were sending 2, 000 men, 2, 000, 000 cartridges, 6, 000 Remington rifles, and the gunboats _Islade Cuba_ and _Isla de Luzon_. Each steamer brought a contingent oftroops, so that General Blanco had a total of about 10, 000 Spanishregulars by the end of November. Spain's best men had been draftedoff to Cuba, and these were chiefly raw levies who had all to learnin the art of warfare. 

Meanwhile, the rebellion had assumed alarming proportions. Among thefirst to be seized were many of the richest and most prominent men inthe Colony--the cream of Manila society. There was intense excitementin the capital as their names gradually leaked out, for many of themwere well known to us personally or by repute. No one who possessedwealth was safe. An opulent Chinese half-caste, Don Pedro P. Rojas, who was popularly spoken of as the prime supporter of the rebellion, was a guest at Government House two days before the hour fixed forthe general slaughter. It cost him a fortune to be allowed to leavethe Islands. He took his passage for Europe in the _Isla de Panay_, together with Dr. Rizal, but very prudently left that steamer atSingapore and went on in the French mail to Marseilles and thence toParis, where he was still residing in 1905. No _documentary_ evidencecould be produced against him, and on June 1, 1897, the well-knownpolitician, Romero Robledo, undertook his defence in the _Córtes_, inMadrid, in a brilliant speech which had no effect on his parliamentarycolleagues. For the Spaniards, indeed, the personal character of PedroP. Rojas was a matter of no moment. The Manila court-martial, out ofwhose jurisdiction Rojas had escaped, held his estates, covering over70, 000 acres, under embargo, caused his numerous steam cane-mills to besmashed, and his beautiful estate-house to be burnt, whilst his 14, 000head of cattle disappeared. Subsequently the military court exoneratedPedro P. Rojas in a decree which stated "that all those persons whomade accusations against him have unreservedly retracted them, and thatthey were only extracted from such persons by the tortures employed bythe Spanish officials; that the supposed introduction of arms into theColony through an estate owned by Pedro P. Rojas is purely fantastical, and that the only arms possessed by the rebels were those taken by themin combat from the Spanish soldiers. " [174] But his second cousin, Francisco L. Rojas, a shipowner, contrabandist, and merchant, wasnot so fortunate. He was also one of the first seized, and his trialwas pending until General Blanco left the Islands. During this periodRojas' wife besought the General to release him, but he could not doso without incurring public censure, in view of the real or fictitiouscondemnatory evidence brought against him by the court-martial. Thechief accusation was that of importing arms for the rebellion. Iteven became a current topic, for a few weeks, that some Germanmerchants had made a contract with Rojas to sell him the arms, butthe Spanish authorities had sufficient good sense, on this occasion, not to be guided by public outcry. When General Polavieja arrived, Francisco L. Rojas' fate became a certainty, and he was executed as atraitor. The departure of Pedro P. Rojas and the serenity of GeneralBlanco aroused great indignation among the civilian Spaniards whoclamoured for active measures. A week passed before it was apparentto the public that he had taken any military action. Meanwhile, hewas urged in vain by his advisers to proclaim martial law. The presscensor would not allow the newspapers to allude to the conspirators as"rebels, " but as "brigands" (_tulisanes_). The authorities were anxiousto stifle the notion of rebellion, and to treat the whole movementas a marauding affair. On August 23 the leading newspaper publisheda patriotic appeal to the Spaniards to go _en masse_ the next day tothe Gov. -General to concert measures for public safety. They closedtheir shops and offices, and assembled before Government House; butthe General refused to receive them, and ordered the newspaper to paya fine of P500, which sum was at once raised in the streets and cafés. 

On August 26, 1, 000 rebels made a raid on Coloocan, four miles outsidethe capital. They killed a few Chinese, and seized others to place themin the van of their fighting men. The armed crowd was kept at bay by aposse of civil guards, until they learnt that a cavalry reinforcementwas on the way from Manila. Then the rebels, under cover of darkness, fled towards the river, and were lost sight of. The next morning Iwatched the troopers cross over the _Puente de España_. There wasmud up to the ponies' bellies, for they had scoured the district allaround. The hubbub was tremendous among the habitual saunterers onthe _Escolta_--the Rialto of Manila. For the next few days everySpaniard one met had some startling news to tell, until, by theend of the week, a reaction set in, and amidst jokes and _copitas_of spirits, the idea that the Coloocan affair was the prelude to arebellion was utterly ridiculed. The Gov. -General still refused toproclaim martial law, considering such a grave measure unnecessary, when suddenly the whole city was filled with amazement by the newsof a far more serious attack near Manila. 

About 4 a. M. On Sunday, August 30, the rebels concentrated at thevillage of San Juan del Monte, distant half an hour on horseback fromthe city gates. They endeavoured to seize the powder magazine. OneSpanish artilleryman was killed and several of the defenders were badlywounded whilst engaged in dropping ammunition from window openings intoa stream which runs close by. Cavalry and infantry reinforcements wereat once sent out, and the first battle was fought at the entrance tothe village of San Juan del Monte. The rebels made a hard stand thistime under the leadership of Sancho Valenzuela (a hemp-rope maker ina fairly good way of business), but he showed no military skill andchiefly directed his men by frantic shouts from the window of a woodenhouse. Naturally, as soon as they had to retreat, Valenzuela and histhree companions were taken prisoners. The rebels left about 80 deadon the field and fled towards the Pasig River, which they tried tocross. Their passage was at first cut off by gunboats, which firedvolleys into the retreating mob and drove them higher up the bank, where there was some hand-to-hand fighting. Over a hundred managedto get into canoes with the hope of reaching the Lake of Bay; but, as they passed up the river, the civil guard, lying in ambush onthe opposite shore, fired upon them, and in the consequent confusionevery canoe was upset. The loss to the rebels in the river and on thebank was reckoned at about 50. The whole of that day the road to SanJuan del Monte was occupied by troops, and no civilian was allowedto pass. At 3 p. M. The same day martial law was proclaimed in Manilaand seven other Luzon provinces. 

The next morning at sunrise I rode out to the battlefield with thecorrespondent of the _Ejército Español_ (Madrid). The rebel slain hadnot yet been removed. We came across them everywhere--in the fields andin the gutters of the highroad. Old men and youths had joined in thescrimmage and, with one exception, every corpse we saw was attired inthe usual working dress. This one exception we found literally upsidedown with his head stuck in the mud of a paddy-field. Our attentionwas drawn to him (and possibly the Spaniards' bullets, too) by hisbright red baggy zouave trousers. We rode into the village, whichwas absolutely deserted by its native inhabitants, and stopped atthe estate-house of the friars where the Spanish officers lodged. The_padre_ looked extremely anxious, and the officers advised us not togo the road we intended, as rebel parties were known to be lurkingthere. The military advice being practically a command, we took thehighroad to Sampáloc on our way back to the city. 

In the meantime the city drawbridges, which had probably not beenraised since 1852 (_vide_ p. 343, footnote), were put into workingorder--the bushes which had been left to flourish around the approacheswere cut down, and the Spanish civilians were called upon to formvolunteer cavalry and infantry corps. So far the rebel leaders hadissued no proclamation. It was not generally known what their aimswere--whether they sought independence, reforms, extermination ofSpaniards or Europeans generally. The attitude of the thoroughbrednative non-combatants was glum silence born of fear. The half-castes, who had long vaunted their superior birth to the native, foundthemselves between two stools. If the natives were going to succeedin the battle, they (the half-castes) would want to be the peacefulwire-pullers after the storm. On the other hand, they had so longstriven to be regarded as on a social equality with the Spaniardsthat they could not now abstain from espousing their cause against therebels without exciting suspicion. Therefore, in the course of a fewdays, the half-castes resident in the capital came forward to enlistas volunteers. But no one imagined, at that time, how widespread wasthe _Katipunan_ league. To the profound surprise of the Spaniards itwas discovered, later on, that many of the half-caste volunteers wererebels in disguise, bearing the "blood compact" mark, and presumablyonly waiting to see which way the chances of war would turn to jointhe winning side. 

Under sentence of the court-martial established on August 30, thefour rebel leaders in the battle of San Juan del Monte were executedon September 4, on the Campo de Bagumbayan, facing the fashionableLuneta Esplanade, by the seashore. Three sides of a square wereformed by 1, 500 Spanish and half-caste volunteers and 500 regulartroops. Escorted by two Austin and two Franciscan friars, the condemnedmen walked to the execution-ground from the chapel within the walledcity, where they had been confined since the sentence was passed. Theywere perfectly self-composed. They arrived on the ground pinioned;their sentence was read to them and Valenzuela was unpinioned fora minute to sign some document at a table. When he was again tiedup, all four were made to kneel on the ground in a row facing theopen sea-beach side of the square. Then amidst profound silence, anofficer, at the head of 16 Spanish soldiers, walked round the threesides of the square, halting at each corner to pronounce publiclythe formula--"In the name of the King! Whosoever shall raise hisvoice to crave clemency for the condemned shall suffer death. " The 16soldiers filed off in fours and stood about five yards behind eachculprit. As the officer lowered his sword the volley was fired, andall but Valenzuela sank down and rolled over dead. It was the mostimpressive sight I had witnessed for years. The bullets, which hadpassed clean through Valenzuela's body, threw up the gravel in frontof him. He remained kneeling erect half a minute, and then graduallysank on his side. He was still alive, and four more shots, fired closeto his head, scattered his brains over the grass. Conveyances werein readiness to carry off the corpses, and the spectators quittedthe mournful scene in silence. This was the first execution, whichwas followed by four others in Manila and one in Cavite in GeneralBlanco's time, and scores more subsequently. 

Up the river the rebels were increasing daily, and at Pasig a thousandof them threatened the civil guard, compelling that small force and theparish priest to take refuge in the belfry tower. On the river-islandof Pandácan, just opposite to the European Club at Nagtájan, a crowdof armed natives, about 400 strong, attacked the village, sacked thechurch, and drove the parish priest up the belfry tower. In this plightthe _padre_ was seen to wave a handkerchief, and so drew the attentionof the guards stationed higher up the river. Aid was sent to him atonce; the insurgents were repulsed with great loss, but one Europeansergeant was killed, and several native soldiers wounded. The rebellionhad spread to the northern province of Nueva Ecija, where the Governorand all the Europeans who fled to the Government House in San Isidrowere besieged for a day (September 8) and only saved from captureby the timely arrival from Manila of 500 troops, who outflanked theinsurgents and dispersed them with great slaughter. In Bulacan theflying column under Major Lopez Arteaga had a score of combats withthe rebels, who were everywhere routed. Spaniards and creoles weremaltreated wherever they were found. A young creole named Chofré, well known in Manila, went out to Mariquina to take photographic viewswith a foreign half-caste friend of his named Augustus Morris. Whenthey saw the rebels they ran into a hut, which was set fire to. Morris(who was not distinguishable as a foreigner) tried to escape and wasshot, whilst Chofré was burnt to death. From Maragondón a Spanish ladywas brought to Manila raving mad. At 23, _Calle Cabildo_ (Manila), the house of a friend of mine, I several times saw a Spanish ladywho had lost her reason in Mariquina, an hour's drive from Manila. 

Crowds of peaceful natives swarmed into the walled city from thesuburbs. The Gov. -General himself abandoned his riverside residenceat Malacañan, and came with his staff to _Calle Potenciana_. Duringthe first four months quite 5, 000 Chinese, besides a large numberof Spanish and half-caste families, fled to Hong-Kong. The passportsystem was revived; that is to say, no one could leave Manila for theother islands or abroad without presenting himself personally at theCivil Governor's office to have his _cédula personal_ viséd. 

The seditious tendency of a certain Andrés Bonifacio, a warehouse-manin the employ of a commercial firm in Manila, having come to theknowledge of the Spaniards, he was prematurely constrained to seeksafety in Cavite Province which, thenceforth, became the most importantcentre of the rebellion. Simultaneously Emilio Aguinaldo [175] ralliedhis fighting-men, and for a short while these two organizers operatedconjointly, Bonifacio being nominally the supreme chief. From thebeginning, however, there was discord between the two leaders as tothe plan of campaign to be adopted. Bonifacio advocated barbarouspersecution and extermination of the Europeans, whilst Aguinaldoinsisted that he was fighting for a cause for which he sought thesympathy and moral support of friends of liberty all the world over andthat this could never be obtained if they conducted themselves likesavages. Consequent on this disagreement as to the _modus operandi_, Bonifacio and Aguinaldo became rivals, each seeking the suppressionof the other. Aguinaldo himself explains [176] that Bonifaciohaving condemned him to death, he retaliated in like manner, and thecontending factions met at Naig. Leaving his armed followers outside, Aguinaldo alone entered the house where Bonifacio was surrounded byhis counsellors, for he simply wished to have an understanding withhis rival. Bonifacio, however, so abusively confirmed his intentionto cut short Aguinaldo's career that the latter withdrew, and orderedhis men to seize Bonifacio, who was forthwith executed, by Aguinaldo'sorder, for the prosperity of the cause and the good of his country. 

Bonifacio's followers were few, and, from this moment, EmilioAguinaldo gradually rose from obscurity to prominence. Born at Cauit[177] (Cavite) on March 22, 1869, of poor parents, he started lifein the service of the incumbent of San Francisco de Malabon. Lateron he went to Manila, where, through the influence of a relative, employed in a humble capacity in the capital, he was admittedinto the College of San Juan de Letran under the auspices of theDominican friars. Subsequently he became a schoolmaster at Silan(Cavite), and at the age of twenty-six years he was again in hisnative town as petty-governor (Municipal Captain). He is a manof small frame with slightly webbed eyes, betraying the Chineseblood in his veins, and a protruding lower lip and prominent chinindicative of resolve. Towards me his manner was remarkably placidand unassuming, and his whole bearing denoted the very antithesis ofthe dashing warrior. Throughout his career he has shown himself to bepossessed of natural politeness, and ever ready with the soft answerthat turneth away wrath. He understands Spanish perfectly well, butdoes not speak it very fluently. Aguinaldo's explanation to me of theinitial acts of rebellion was as follows:--He had reason to know that, in consequence of something having leaked out in Manila regardingthe immature plans of the conspirators, he was a marked man, so heresolved to face the situation boldly. He had then been petty-governorof his town (Cauit) sixteen months, and in that official capacity hesummoned the local detachment of the civil guard to the Town Hall, having previously arranged his plan of action with the town guards(_cuadrilleros_). Aguinaldo then spoke aside to the sergeant, to whomhe proposed the surrender of their arms. As he quite anticipated, hisdemand was refused, so he gave the agreed signal to his _cuadrilleros_, who immediately surrounded the guards and disarmed them. ThereuponAguinaldo and his companions, being armed, fled at once to the nextpost of the civil guard and seized their weapons also. With thissmall equipment he and his party escaped into the interior of theprovince, towards Silan, situated at the base of the Sungay [178]Mountain, where the numerous ravines in the slopes running towardsthe Lake Bómbon (popularly known as the Lake of Taal) afforded asafe retreat to the rebels. Hundreds of natives soon joined him, for the secret of Aguinaldo's influence was the widespread popularbelief in his possession of the _anting-anting_ (_vide_ p. 237);his continuous successes, in the first operations, strengthened thisbelief; indeed, he seemed to have the lucky star of a De Wet withoutthe military genius. 

On August 31, 1896, eleven days after the plot was discovered inManila, he issued his _pronunciamiento_ simultaneously at hisbirthplace, at Novaleta, and at San Francisco de Malabon. Thisdocument, however, is of little historic value, for, instead ofsetting forth the aims of the revolutionists, it is simply a wildexhortation to the people, in general vague terms, to take arms andfree themselves from oppression. In San Francisco de Malabon Aguinaldorallied his forces prior to their march to Imus, [179] their greatstrategic point. The village itself, situated in the centre of a large, well-watered plain, surrounded by planted land, was nothing--a merecollection of wooden or bamboo-and-thatch dwellings. The distancefrom Manila would be about 16 miles by land, with good roads leadingto the bay shore towns. The people were very poor, being tenantsor dependents of the friars; hence the only building of importancewas the friars' estate-house, which was really a fortress in theestimation of the natives. This residence was situated in the middleof a compound surrounded by massive high walls, and to it some 17friars fled on the first alarm. For the rebels, therefore, Imushad a double value--the so-called fortress and the capture of thepriests. After a siege which lasted long enough for General Blanco tohave sent troops against them, the rebels captured Imus estate-houseon September 1, and erected barricades there. Thirteen of the priestsfell into their hands. They cut trenches and threw up earthworks inseveral of the main roads of the province, and strengthened theirposition at Novaleta. Marauding parties were sent out everywhereto steal the crops and live-stock, which were conveyed in largequantities to Imus. Some of the captured priests were treated mostbarbarously. One was cut up piecemeal; another was saturated withpetroleum and set on fire, and a third was bathed in oil and friedon a bamboo spit run through the length of his body. There was a_Requiem_ Mass for this event. During the first few months of therising many such atrocities were committed by the insurgents. TheNaig outrage caused a great sensation in the capital. The lieutenanthad been killed, and the ferocious band of rebels seized his widowand daughter eleven years old. The child was ravished to death, and they were just digging a pit to bury the mother alive when shewas rescued and brought to Manila in the steam-launch _Mariposa_raving mad, disguised as a native woman. Aguinaldo, personally, was humanely inclined, for at his headquarters he held captive oneSpanish trooper, an army lieutenant, a Spanish planter, a friar, andtwo Spanish ladies, all of whom were fairly well treated. The priestwas allowed to read his missal, the lieutenant and trooper were madeblacksmiths, and the planter had to try his hand at tailoring. 

The insurgents occupied Parañaque and Las Piñas on the outskirtsof Manila, and when General Blanco had 5, 000 fresh troops at hisdisposal he still refrained from attacking the rebels in theirpositions. Military men, in conversation with me, excused thisinaction on the ground that, to rout the rebels completely withouthaving sufficient troops to garrison the places taken and to formflying columns to prevent the insurgents fleeing to the mountainfastnesses, would only require them to do the work over again whenthey reappeared. So General Blanco went on waiting in the hope thatmore troops would arrive with which to inflict such a crushing defeaton the rebels as would ensure a lasting peace. The rebels were inpossession of Imus for several months. Three weeks after they took it, artillery was slowly carried over to Cavite, which is connected withthe mainland by a narrow isthmus, so the rebels hastened to constructa long line of trenches immediately to the south of this (_vide_ map), whereby communication with the heart of the province was effectuallycut off. Not only did their mile and a half of trenches and stockadecheck any advance into the interior from the isthmus, but it servedas a rallying-point whence Cavite itself was menaced. The Spaniards, therefore, forced to take the offensive to save Cavite falling intorebel hands, made an attack on the Novaleta defences with Spanishtroops and loyal native auxiliaries on November 10. The next day theSpaniards were repulsed at Binacayan with the loss of one-third ofthe 73rd Native Regiment and 60 Spanish troops, with 50 of both corpswounded. The intention to carry artillery towards Imus was abandonedand the Spaniards fell back on Dalahican, about a mile north of therebel trenches of Novaleta, where they established a camp at which Ispent a whole day. They had four large guns and two bronze mortars;in the trench adjoining the camp they had one gun. The troops numbered3, 500 Spaniards under the command of General Rios. The 73rd NativeRegiment survivors had quarters there, but they were constantly engagedin making sorties on the road leading to Manila. No further attemptwas made in General Blanco's time to dislodge the rebels from theirsplendidly-constructed trenches, which, however, could easily havebeen shelled from the sea side. 

A number of supposed promoters of the rebellion filled the Caviteprison, and I went over to witness the execution of 13 of them onSeptember 12. I knew two or three of them by sight. One was a Chinesehalf-caste, the son of a rich Chinaman then living. The father washeld to be a respectable man of coolie origin, but the son, longbefore the rebellion, had a worthless reputation. 

In the Provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan, north of Manila, the rebelmob, under the command of a native of Cabiao (Nueva Ecija) namedLlaneras, was about 3, 000 strong. To oppose this Major Lopez Arteagahad a flying column of 500 men, and between the contending partiesthere were repeated encounters with no definite result. Whenever therebels were beaten off and pursued they fled to their strongholdsof San Mateo (Manila, now Rizal) and Angat (Bulacan). The Spaniardsmade an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge the enemy at Angat, whilstat San Mateo, where they were supposed to be 5, 000 strong, they wereleft undisturbed. The rebels attacked Calumpit (Bulacan), pillagedseveral houses, decapitated an Englishman's cook, and drove the civilguard and the parish priest up the belfry tower. On the other sideof the river, Llaneras visited the rice-mills of an Anglo-Americanfirm, took some refreshment, and assured the manager, Mr. Scott, that the rebels had not the least intention to interfere with anyforeigners (as distinguished from Spaniards), against whom they hadno complaint whatever. 

At length a plan of campaign was prepared, and expeditionary forceswere to march in two directions through the disaffected provinces southof Manila, and combine, according to circumstances, when the bulk ofthe rebels could be driven together. One division operated from thelake town of Viñan, whilst General Jaramillo took his troops round toBatangas Province and worked northwards. Before the lake forces hadgone very far they met with a reverse at the hands of the rebels inthe neighbourhood of Carmona, but rallied and pushed on towards therebel quarters near Silan, where the enemy was apparently concentratingfor a great struggle. The combined columns under General Jaramillo atlength opened the attack. A pitched battle was fought, and no quarterwas given on either side. This fierce contest lasted a whole day, and the Spaniards were forced to retire with considerable loss. Thecombined operations accomplished nothing decisive, and served onlyto check an advance on the capital by the rebels, who were alreadyin practical possession of the whole of Cavite province exceptingthe port, arsenal, and isthmus of Cavite. 

In Manila the volunteers mounted guard whilst the regulars went tothe front. For a while the volunteers were allowed to make domiciliarysearch, and they did very much as they liked. Domiciliary search wasso much abused that it had to be forbidden, for the volunteers tookto entering any house they chose, and roughly examined the persons ofnatives to see if they had the _Katipunan_ brand. Crowds of suspectswere brought into Manila, and shiploads of them were sent away inlocal steamers to the Caroline Islands and Mindanao, whilst everymail-steamer carried batches of them _en route_ for Fernando Po. OnOctober 1 the s. S. _Manila_ sailed with 300 Filipinos for ChafarinasIslands, Ceuta, and other African penal settlements. In the localsteamers many of them died on the way. The ordinary prisons were morethan full, and about 600 suspects were confined in the dungeons of FortSantiago at the mouth of the Pasig River, where a frightful tragedyoccurred. The dungeons were over-crowded; the river-water filtered inthrough the crevices in the ancient masonry; the Spanish sergeant onduty threw his rug over the only light- and ventilating-shaft, and ina couple of days carts were seen by many citizens carrying away thedead, calculated to number 70. Provincial governors and parish priestsseemed to regard it as a duty to supply the capital with batches of"suspects" from their localities. In Vigan, where nothing had occurred, many of the heads of the best families and moneyed men were arrestedand brought to Manila in a steamer. They were bound hand and foot, and carried like packages of merchandise in the hold. I happened tobe on the quay when the steamer discharged her living freight withchains and hooks to haul up and swing out the bodies like bales ofhemp. From Nueva Cáceres (Camarines), the Abellas and several otherrich families and native priests were seized and shipped off. Poorold Manuel Abella, like scores of others, was tortured in Bilibidprison and finally shot. He was a notary, unfortunately possessed of afine estate coveted by an impecunious Spaniard, who denounced Abella, and was rewarded by being appointed "Administrator" of his property, out of which he so enriched himself that he was able, in a few months, to return to Spain in a good financial position. A friend of mine, a native planter of Balayán, was imprisoned for months, and thensent back to his town declared innocent. He had been a marked mansince 1895, just after his son Quintin, a law student, had had alittle altercation with his clerical professors in Manila. Thousandsof peaceful natives were treated with unjustifiable ferocity. The oldtorture-chamber on the ground-floor of the convent of Baliuag (Bulacan)is still shown to visitors. The court-martial, established underthe presidency of a colonel, little by little practised systematicextortion, for, within three months of the outbreak, hundreds of therichest natives and half-castes in Manila were imprisoned for a fewdays and released _conditionally_. From the lips of my late friend, Telesforo Chuidian, a wealthy Chinese half-caste, known to all Manilasociety, I heard of the squalid misery and privations to which he andothers of his class were subjected, but the complete list would filla page. Some were even re-arrested for the same nefarious purpose, and the daily papers published their names on each occasion. ArchbishopNozaleda and Gov. -General Blanco were at variance from the beginning ofthe revolt, and in accordance with historical precedent it could onlyend in one way, namely, that the clerical party advised the CánovasMinistry to recall the General and appoint in his stead another whowould be obedient to the friars. 

General Blanco was not sufficiently sanguinary for the monks. As astrategist he had refused, at the outset, to undertake with 1, 500European troops a task which was only accomplished by his successorwith 28, 000 men. But the priests thought they knew better, and Blancoleft for Spain in December, 1896. The relative positions of the partiesat this crisis stood as follows:--The rebels were in possession ofthe whole of the Province of Cavite excepting the city and arsenal ofCavite and the isthmus connecting that city with the mainland. Theywere well fortified at Imus with trenches and stockades extendingfrom the estate-house fort in several directions, defended by anarmy of 6, 000 to 7, 000 men. Their artillery was most primitive, however, consisting only of a few small guns called _lantacas_, some new guns of small calibre roughly cast out of the church bells, and iron waterpipes of large diameter converted into _mitrailleuse_mortars. They were strongly entrenched behind a mile and a half ofstrategically constructed earthworks defending the town of Novaleta, which they held. They were supposed to have at least 20, 000 menin occupation there. Including San Francisco de Malabon, Silan, Perez Dasmariñas, and the several other places they held, theirtotal force in the whole province was estimated at 35, 000 men. Aboutone-fifth of that number was armed with rifles (chiefly Maüsers), theremainder carrying bowie-knives and bamboo lances. The bowie-knife wasirresistible by the Spaniards when the native came to close-quarterfighting. The rebels had ample supplies of rice, buffaloes, etc. , stolen from the non-combatant natives. To my personal knowledgethey had daily communication with Manila, and knew everything thatwas going on there and the public feeling in the capital. They hadfailed in the attempt to seize the town of Santa Cruz (La Laguna), where they killed one Spaniard and then retreated. Loyal natives inViñan organized volunteer forces to keep them out of that town. ThoseManila volunteers known as the _Guerrilla á muerte_ battalion, witha few regulars, frequently patrolled the lake coast in steam-launchesfrom Manila, and kept the rebels from occupying that district. Northof Manila the rebellion reached no farther than Bulacan and PampangaProvinces, where Llaneras's flying column, together with the rebelsin the mountain fastnesses of Angat and San Mateo, amounted toabout 10, 000 men. Llaneras notified the Manila-Dagúpan (English)Railway officials that they were to cease carrying loyal troops ontheir line; but as those orders were not heeded, a train was wreckedon November 19 about 20 miles up from the capital. The locomotiveand five carriages were smashed, the permanent-way was somewhatdamaged, five individuals were wounded, and the total loss sustainedwas estimated at P40, 000. In the last week of November the friars'estate-house at Malinta, some five miles north of Manila, was inflames; we could see the blaze from the bay. The slightest reverseto Spanish arms always drew a further crowd of rebels into the field. 

The total European force when General Blanco left was about 10, 000men. In Cavite Province the Spaniards held only the camp of Dalahican, and the city and arsenal of Cavite with the isthmus. The total numberof suspects shipped away was about 1, 000. I was informed by my friendthe Secretary of the Military Court that 4, 377 individuals wereawaiting trial by court-martial. The possibility of the insurgentsever being able to enter the capital was never believed in by thelarge majority of Europeans, although from a month after the outbreakthe rebels continued to hold posts within a couple of hours' marchfrom the old walls. The natives, however, were led to expect that therebels would make an attempt to occupy the city on Saint Andrew's Day(the patron-saint day of Manila, _vide_ p. 50). The British Consuland a few British merchants were of opinion that a raid on thecapital was imminent, and I, among others, was invited by letter, dated Manila, November 16, 1896, and written under the authority ofH. B. M. 's Consul, to attend a meeting on the 18th of that month at theoffices of a British establishment to concert measures for escape insuch a contingency. In spite of these fears, business was carried onwithout the least apparent interruption. 

When General Blanco reached Spain he quietly lodged at the Hotel deRoma in Madrid, and then took a private residence. Out of courtesyhe was offered a position in the _Cuarto Militar_, which he declinedto accept. For several months he remained under a political cloud, charged with incompetency to quell the Philippine Rebellion. But thereis something to be said in justification of Blanco's inaction. He wasimportuned from the beginning by the relentless Archbishop and manyleading civilians to take the offensive and start a war _à outrance_with an inadequate number of European soldiers. His 6, 000 nativeauxiliaries (as it proved later on) could not be relied upon in a_civil_ war. Against the foreign invader, with Spanish prestige stillhigh, they would have made good loyal fighting-material. Blanco wasno novice in civil wars. I remember his career during the previoustwenty-five years. With his 700 European troops he parried off theattacks of the first armed mobs in the Province of Manila (now Rizal), and defended the city and the approaches to the capital. Five hundredEuropean troops had to be left, here and there, in Visayas for theordinary defence. Before the balance of 300 could be embarked in halfa dozen places in the south and landed in Manila, the whole Provinceof Cavite was in arms. He could not leave the defence of the cityentirely in the hands of untrained and undrilled volunteers and marchthe whole of his European regular troops into another province. Asevere reverse, on the first encounter, might have proved fatalto Spanish sovereignty. Blanco had the enormous disadvantage (onemust live there to appreciate it) of the wet season, and the rebelsunderstood this. He had, therefore, to damp the movement by feigningto attach to it as little importance as possible. Lastly, Blanco wasa man of moderate and humane tendencies; a colonial governor of thelate Martinez Campos school, whose policy is--when all honourablepeaceful means are exhausted, use force. 

The Cánovas party was broken up by the assassination of the PrimeMinister on August 8, 1897. This ministry was followed by theprovisional Azcárraga Cabinet, which, at the end of six weeks, wassuperseded by the Liberal party under the leadership of PráxedesSagasta, who, to temporize with America, recalled the inflexibleGeneral Weyler from Cuba, and on October 9 appointed General RamonBlanco, Marquis de Peña Plata, to take the command there. 

General Camilo Polavieja (Marquis de Polavieja) arrived in Manila inDecember, 1896, as the successor of Blanco and the chosen _Messiah_of the friars. He had made a great name in Cuba as an _energetic_military leader, which, in Spanish colonies, always implied a tingeof wanton cruelty. In Spain he was regarded as the right arm of theultra-clericals and a possible supporter of Carlism. He was accompaniedby General Lachambre, whose acquaintance I made in Havana. In thesame steamer with General Polavieja came 500 troops, whilst anothersteamer simultaneously brought 1, 500. Polavieja, therefore, on landing, had about 12, 000 European troops and 6, 000 native auxiliaries; buteach steamer brought fresh supplies until the total European landforces amounted to 28, 000. By this time, however, the 6, 000 nativetroops were very considerably reduced by desertion, and the remaindercould hardly be relied upon. But Polavieja started his campaign withthe immense advantage of having the _whole_ of the dry season beforehim. General Lachambre, as Deputy Commander of the forces, at once tookthe field against the rebels in Cavite Province. It would be tediousto relate in detail the numerous encounters with the enemy over thisarea. Battles were fought at Naig, Maragondón, Perez Dasmariñas, Nasugbú, Taal, Bacoor, Novaleta, and other places. Imus, which inManila was popularly supposed to be a fortress of relative magnitude, whence the rebels would dispute every inch of ground, was attackedby a large force of loyal troops. On their approach the rebels setfire to the village and fled. Very few remained to meet the Spaniards, and as these few tried to escape across the paddy-fields and down theriver they were picked off by sharp-shooters. It was a victory for theSpaniards, inasmuch as their demonstration of force scared the rebelsinto evacuation. But it was necessary to take Silan, which the rebelshastened to strengthen, closely followed up by the Spaniards. Theplace was well defended by earthworks and natural parapets, andfor several hours the issue of the contest was doubtful. The rebelsfought bravely, leaping from boulder to boulder to meet the foe. Inevery close-quarter combat the bowie-knife had a terrible effect, andthe loyal troops had suffered heavily when a column of Spaniards wasmarched round to the rear of the rebels' principal parapet. They werelowered down with ropes on to a rising ground facing this parapet, andpoured in a continuous rifle fire until the rebels had to evacuate it, and the general rout commenced with great slaughter to the insurgents, who dispersed in all directions. Their last stronghold south of Manilahaving been taken, they broke up into small detachments, which werechased and beaten wherever they made a stand. The Spaniards sufferedgreat losses, but they gained their point, for the rebels, unableto hold any one place against this onslaught, were driven up to theLaguna Province and endeavoured unsuccessfully to hold the town ofSanta Cruz. It is interesting to remark, in order to show what therebel aim at that time really was, that they entered here with thecry of "Long live Spain; Death to the Friars!" After three months'hard fighting, General Lachambre was proclaimed the Liberator of Caviteand the adjoining districts, for, by the middle of March, 1897, everyrebel contingent of any importance in that locality had been dispersed. 

Like every other Spanish general in supreme command abroad, Polaviejahad his enemies in Spain. The organs of the Liberal party attacked himunsparingly. Polavieja, as everybody knew, was the chosen executiveof the friars, whose only care was to secure their own position. Hewas dubbed the "General Cristiano. " He was their ideal, and workedhand-in-hand with them. He cabled for more troops to be sent withwhich to garrison the reconquered districts and have his army corpsfree to stamp out the rebellion, which was confined to the NorthernProvinces. Cuba, which had already drained the Peninsula of over200, 000 men, still required fresh levies to replace the sick andwounded, and Polavieja's demand was refused. Immediately afterthis he cabled that his physical ailments compelled him to resignthe commandership-in-chief, and begged the Government to appoint asuccessor. The Madrid journals hostile to him thereupon indirectlyattributed to him a lie, and questioned whether his resignation wasdue to ill-health or his resentment of the refusal to send out moretroops. Still urging his resignation, General Fernando Primo de Riverawas gazetted to succeed him, and Polavieja embarked at Manila for Spainon April 15, 1897. General Lachambre, as the hero of Cavite, followedto receive the applause which was everywhere showered upon him inSpain. As to Polavieja's merits, public opinion was very much divided, and as soon as it was known that he was on the way, a controversy wasstarted in the Madrid press as to how he ought to be received. _ElImparcial_ maintained that he was worthy of being honoured as a 19thcentury conquering hero. This gave rise to a volley of abuse on theother side, who raked up all his antecedents and supposed tendencies, and openly denounced him as a dangerous politician and the supporterof theocratic absolutism. According to _El Liberal_ of May 11, SeñorOrdax Avecilla, of the Red Cross Society, stated in his speech atthe Madrid Mercantile Club, "If he (the General) thought of becomingdictator, he would fall from the heights of his glory to the Hadesof nonentity. " His enemies persistently insinuated that he was reallyreturning to Spain to support the clericals actively. But perhaps thebitterest satire was levelled against him in _El Pais_ of May 10, which, in an article headed "The Great Farce, " said: "Do you knowwho is coming? Cyrus, King of Persia; Alexander, King of Macedonia;Cæsar Augustus; Scipio the African; Gonzalo de Córdova; Napoleon, theGreat Napoleon, conqueror of worlds. What? Oh, unfortunate people, do you not know? Polavieja is coming, the incomparable Polavieja, crowned with laurels, commanding a fleet laden to the brim with richtrophies; it is Polavieja, gentlemen, who returns, discoverer of newworlds, to lay at the feet of Isabella the Catholic his conqueringsword; it is Polavieja who returns after having cast into obscuritythe glories of Hernan Cortés; Polavieja, who has widened the nationalmap, and brings new territories to the realm--new thrones to hisqueen. What can the people be thinking of that they remain thus insilence? Applaud, imbeciles! It is Narvaez who is resuscitated. Nowwe have another master!" No Spanish general who had arrived atPolavieja's position would find it possible to be absolutely neutralin politics, but to compare him with Narvaez, the military dictator, proved in a few days' time to be the grossest absurdity. On May13 Polavieja arrived in Barcelona physically broken, half blind, and with evident traces of a disordered liver. His detractors weresilent; an enthusiastic crowd welcomed him for his achievements. Hehad broken the neck of the rebellion, but by what means? Altogether, apart from the circumstances of legitimate warfare, in which probablyneither party was more merciful than the other, he initiated a systemof striking terror into the non-combatant population by barbaroustortures and wholesale executions. On February 6, 1897, in oneprison alone (Bilibid) there were 1, 266 suspects, most of whom werebrought in by the volunteers, for the forces in the field gave littlequarter and rarely made prisoners. The functions of the volunteers, organized originally for the defence of the city and suburbs, becameso elastic that, night after night, they made men and women comeout of their houses for inspection conducted most indecorously. Themen were escorted to the prisons from pure caprice, and subjected toexcessive maltreatment. Many of them were liberated in the course of afew days, declared innocent, but maimed for life and for ever unableto get a living. Some of these victims were well known to everybodyin Manila; for instance, Dr. Zamora, Bonifacio Arévalo the dentist, Antonio Rivero (who died under torture), and others. The only apparentobject in all this was to disseminate broadcast living examples ofSpanish vengeance, in order to overawe the populace. Under GeneralBlanco's administration such acts had been distinctly prohibited onthe representation of General Cárlos Roca. 

Polavieja's rule brought the brilliant career of the notable Filipino, Dr. José Rizal y Mercado, to a fatal end. Born in Calamba (La Laguna), three hours' journey from Manila, on June 19, 1861, he was destinedto become the idol of his countrymen, and consequently the victim ofthe friars and General Polavieja. Often have I, together with the oldnative parish priest, Father Leoncio Lopez, spent an hour with José'sfather, Francisco Mercado, and heard the old man descant, with pride, on the intellectual progress of his son at the Jesuits' school inManila. Before he was fourteen years of age he wrote a melodrama inverse entitled _Junto al Pasig_ ("Beside the Pasig River"), which wasperformed in public and well received. But young José yearned to setout on a wider field of learning. His ambition was to go to Europe, and at the age of twenty-one he went to Spain, studied medicine, and entered the Madrid University, where he graduated as Doctor ofMedicine and Philosophy. He subsequently continued his studies inParis, Brussels, London, and at several seats of learning in Germany, where he obtained another degree, notwithstanding the fact that he hadthe difficulty of a foreign language to contend with. As happened tomany of his _confrères_ in the German Universities, a career of studyhad simultaneously opened his eyes to a clearer conception of therights of humanity. Thrown among companions of socialistic tendencies, his belief in and loyalty to the monarchical rule of his country wereyet unshaken by the influence of such environment; he was destinedonly to become a disturbing element, and a would-be reformer of thattime-worn institution which rendered secular government in his nativeland a farce. To give him a party name, he became an anti-clerical, strictly in a political and lawful sense. He was a Roman Catholic, buthis sole aim, outside his own profession, was to save his country fromthe baneful influence of the Spanish friars who there held the Civiland Military Government under their tutelage. He sought to place hiscountry on a level of material and moral prosperity with others, and heknew that the first step in that direction was to secure the expulsionof the Monastic Orders. He sympathized with that movement which, duringhis childhood, culminated in the Cavite Conspiracy (_vide_ p. 106). Helooked profoundly into the causes of his country's unhappiness, and topromote their knowledge, in a popular form, he wrote and published inGermany, in the Spanish language, a book entitled "Noli me tángere. " Itis a censorious satirical novel, of no great literary merit, but itserved the author's purpose to expose the inner life, the arrogance, and the despotism of the friars in their relations with the natives. Onhis return to the Islands, a year after the publication of this work, we met at the house of a mutual friend and conversed on the subject of"Noli me tángere, " a copy of which he lent to me. 

As an oculist Rizal performed some very clever operations, but hehad another mission--one which brought upon him all the odium of theclerical party, but which as quickly raised him in popular esteem innative circles. He led a party in his own town who dared to disputethe legality of the Dominican Order's possession of a large tract ofagricultural land. He called upon the Order to show their title-deeds, but was met with a contemptuous refusal. At length prudence dictateda return to Europe. I often recall the farewell lunch we had togetherat the Restaurant de Paris, in the _Escolta_. During his absence hisown relations and the chief families in his town became the objectsof persecution. They were driven from the lands they cultivated andrented from the Religious Order, without compensation for improvements, and Spaniards took their holdings. In 1890 Rizal saw with his own eyes, and perhaps with envy, the growing prosperity of Japan; but the ideaof annexation to that country was distasteful to him, as he fearedthe Japanese might prove to be rather harsh masters. On his return toEurope he contributed many brilliant articles to _La Solidaridad_, theMadrid-Philippine organ mentioned on p. 363; but, disgusted with hisfailure to awaken in Spain a sympathetic interest in his own country'smisfortunes, he left that field of work and re-visited London, where hefound encouragement and very material assistance from an old friend ofmine, a distinguished Filipino. Rizal's financial resources were nonetoo plentiful, and he himself was anxious for a position of productiveactivity. It was proposed that he should establish himself in Londonas a doctor, but with his mind always bent on the concerns of hiscountry he again took to literary work. He edited a new edition ofDr. Antonio de Morga's work on the Philippines [180] (the originalwas published in Mexico in 1609), with notes, and wrote a new book inthe form of romance, entitled "El Filibusterismo, " [181] the purposeof which was to show how the Filipinos were goaded into outlawry. 

About this time two priests, C---- and C----, who had seceded fromthe Roman Catholic Church, called upon my Philippine friend to urgehim to take an interest in their projected evangelical work in theIslands. They even proposed to establish a new Church there and appointa hierarchy--an extremely risky venture indeed. My friend was askedto nominate some Filipino for the archbishopric. It was put beforeRizal, but he declined the honour on the ground that the acceptanceof such an office would sorely offend his mother. Finally, in 1893, a Pampanga Filipino, named C----, came on the scene and proposed tofurnish Rizal with ample funds for the establishment of a Philippinecollege in Hong-Kong. Rizal accepted the offer and set out for thatcolony, where he waited in vain for the money. For a while he hesitatedbetween following the medical profession in Hong-Kong and returningto Manila. Mutual friends of ours urged him not to risk a re-entryinto the Islands; nevertheless, communications passed between himand the Gov. -General through the Spanish Consul, and nothing couldinduce him to keep out of the lion's mouth. Rizal avowed that he hadbeen given to understand that he could return to the Islands withoutfear for his personal safety and liberty. He arrived in Manila and wasarrested. His luggage was searched in the Custom-house, and a numberof those seditious proclamations referred to at p. 204 were found, it was alleged, in his trunks. It is contrary to all common sense toconceive that a sane man, who had entertained the least doubt as tohis personal liberty, would bring with him, into a public department ofscrutiny, documentary evidence of his own culpability. He was arraignedbefore the supreme authority, in whose presence he defended himselfright nobly. The clerical party wanted his blood, but Gov. -GeneralDespujols would not yield. Rizal was either guilty or innocent, and should have been fully acquitted or condemned; but to meet thematter half way he was banished to Dapítan, a town on the north shoreof Mindanao Island. I saw the bungalow, situated at the extremity ofa pretty little horse-shoe bay, where he lived nearly four years inbondage. His bright intelligence, his sociability, and his scientificattainments had won him the respect and admiration of both the civiland religious local authorities. He had such a well-justified goodrepute as an oculist that many travelled across the seas to seek hisaid. The Cuban insurrection being in full operation, it opened theway for a new and interesting period in Rizal's life. Reading betweenthe lines of the letters he was allowed to send to his friends, therewas evidence of his being weighed down with _ennui_ from inactivity, and his friends in Europe took the opportunity of bringing pressureon the Madrid Government to liberate him. In a house which I visitin London there were frequent consultations as to how this could beeffected. In the end it was agreed to organize a bogus "Society forthe Liberation of Prisoners in the Far East. " A few ladies met at thehouse mentioned, and one of them, Miss A----, having been appointedsecretary, she was sent to Madrid to present a petition from the"Society" to the Prime Minister, Cánovas del Castillo, praying forthe liberation of Rizal in exchange for his professional servicesin the Spanish army operating in Cuba, where army doctors were muchneeded. Hints were deftly thrown out about the "Society's" relationswith other European capitals, and the foreign lady-secretary playedher part so adroitly that the Prime Minister pictured to himselfambassadorial intervention and foreign complications if he did notgrant the prayer of what he imagined to be an influential society withpotential ramifications. The Colonial Minister opposed the petition;the War Minister, being Philippine born, declined to act on his ownresponsibility for obvious reasons. Repeated discussions took placebetween the Crown advisers, to whom, at length, the Prime Ministerdisclosed his fears, and finally the Gov. -General of the Philippines, Don Ramon Blanco, was authorized to liberate Rizal, on the termsmentioned, if he saw no objection. As my Philippine friend, who wentfrom London to Madrid about the matter, remarked to the War Minister, "Rizal is loyal; he will do his duty; but if he did not, one more orless in the rebel camp--what matters?" The Gov. -General willinglyacted on the powers received from the Home Government, and Rizal'sconditional freedom dated from July 28, 1896. The governor of Dapítanwas instructed to ask Rizal if he wished to go to Cuba as an armydoctor, and the reply being in the affirmative, he was conducted onboard the steamer for Manila, calling on the way at Cebú, where crowdsof natives and half-castes went on board to congratulate him. He hadbecome the idol of the people in his exile; his ideas were _then_the reflection of all Philippine aims and ambitions; the very name ofRizal raised their hopes to the highest pitch. Most fantastic reportswere circulated concerning him. Deeds in Europe, almost amountingto miracles, were attributed to his genius, and became current talkamong the natives when they spoke _sotto voce_ of Rizal's power andinfluence. He was looked up to as the future regenerator of his race, capable of moving armies and navies for the cause of liberty. Theirvery reverence was his condemnation in the eyes of the priests. 

There were no inter-island cables in those days, and the arrivalof Rizal in the port of Manila was a surprise to the friars. Theyexpostulated with General Blanco. They openly upbraided him forhaving set free the soul of disaffection; but the general would notrelinquish his intention, explaining, very logically, that if Rizalwere the soul of rebellion he was now about to depart. The friars wereeager for Rival's blood, and the parish priest of Tondo arrangeda revolt of the _caudrilleros_ (guards) of that suburb, hopingthereby to convince General Blanco that the rebellion was in fullcry, consequent on his folly. No doubt, by this trick of the friars, many civilian Spaniards were deceived into an honest belief in theineptitude of the Gov. -General. In a state of frenzy a body of them, headed by Father Mariano Gil, marched to the palace of Malacañan todemand an explanation of General Blanco. The gates were closed by orderof the captain of the guard. When the general learnt what the howlingoutside signified he mounted his horse, and, at the head of his guards, met the excited crowd and ordered them to quit the precincts of thepalace, or he would put them out by force. The abashed priest [182]thereupon withdrew with his companions, but from that day the occultpower of the friars was put in motion to bring about the recall ofGeneral Blanco. In the meantime Rizal had been detained in the Spanishcruiser _Castilla_ lying in the bay. Thence he was transferred to themail-steamer _Isla de Panay_ bound to Barcelona. He carried with himletters of recommendation to the Ministers of War and the Colonies, courteously sent to him by General Blanco with the following letterto himself:--

(_Translation_. )

_Manila_, _30th August_, 1896. 

_Dr. Jose Rizal_. 

_My Dear Sir_, --

Enclosed I send you two letters, for the Ministers of War and theColonies respectively, which I believe will ensure to you a goodreception. I cannot doubt that you will show me respect in yourrelations with the Government, and by your future conduct, not onlyon account of your word pledged, but because passing events must makeit clear to you how certain proceedings, due to extravagant notionscan only produce hatred, ruin, tears and bloodshed. That you may behappy is the desire of Yours, etc. , _Ramon Blanco_. 

He had as travelling companion Don Pedro P. Rojas, already referredto, and had he chosen he could have left the steamer at Singapore asRojas did. Not a few of us who saw the vessel leave wished him "Godspeed. " But the clerical party were eager for his extermination. Hewas a thorn in the side of monastic sway; he had committed no crime, but he was the friars' arch-enemy and _bête noire_. Again the layauthorities had to yield to the monks. Dr. Rizal was cabled for toanswer certain accusations; hence on his landing in the Peninsula hewas incarcerated in the celebrated fortress of Montjuich (the scene ofso many horrors), pending his re-shipment by the returning steamer. Hereached Manila as a State prisoner in the _Colon_, isolated from allbut his jailors. It was materially impossible for him to have takenany part in the rebellion, whatever his sympathies may have been. Yet, once more, the wheel of fortune turned against him. Coincidentally theparish priest of Mórong was murdered at the altar whilst celebratingMass on Christmas Day, 1896. The importunity of the friars could beno longer resisted; this new calamity seemed to strengthen theircause. The next day Rizal was brought to trial for _sedition_ and_rebellion_, before a court-martial composed of eight captains, under the presidency of a lieutenant-colonel. No reliable testimonycould be brought against him. How could it be when, for years, he hadbeen a State prisoner in forced seclusion? He defended himself withlogical argument. But what mattered? He was condemned beforehand toignominious death as a traitor, and the decree of execution was one ofPolavieja's foulest acts. During the few days which elapsed betweensentence and death he refused to see any priest but a Jesuit, PadreFaura, his old preceptor, who hastened his own death by coming from asick bed to console the pupil he was so proud of. In his last momentshis demeanour was in accordance with his oft-quoted saying, "What isdeath to me? I have sown the seed; others are left to reap. " In hiscondemned cell he composed a beautiful poem of 14 verses ("My lastThought"), which was found by his wife and published. The followingare the first and last verses. 

_Mi Ultimo Pensamiento_. 

 Adios, Pátria adorada, region del sol querida, Perla del Mar de Oriente, nuestro perdido Eden. A dárte voy alegre la triste mústia vida, Y fuera mas brillante, mas fresca, mas florida, Tambien por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien. 

 Adios, padres y hermanos, trozos del alma mia. Amigos de la infancia en el perdido hogar. Dad gracias que descanso del fatigoso dia; Adios, dulce extrangera, mi amiga, mi alegria, Adios, queridos seres, morir es descansar. 

The woman who had long responded to his love was only too proud tobear his illustrious name, and in the sombre rays which fell from hisprison grating, the vows of matrimony were given and sanctified withthe sad certainty of widowhood on the morrow. Fortified by purity ofconscience and the rectitude of his principles, he felt no felon'sremorse, but walked with equanimity to the place of execution. About2, 000 regular and volunteer troops formed the square where he kneltfacing the seashore, on the blood-stained field of Bagumbayan. After anofficer had shouted the formula, "In the name of the King! Whosoevershall raise his voice to crave clemency for the condemned, shallsuffer death, " four bullets, fired from behind by Philippine soldiers, did their fatal work. This execution took place at 6 a. M. On December30, 1896. An immense crowd witnessed, in silent awe, this sacrificeto priestcraft. The friars, too, were present _en masse_, many ofthem smoking big cigars, jubilant over the extinction of that brightintellectual light which, alas! can never be rekindled. 

The circumstances under which Rizal, in his exile, made theacquaintance of Josephine Taufer, who became his wife, are curious. Theaccount was given to me by Mrs. Rizal's foster-father as we crossed theChina Sea together. The foster-father, who was an American resident inHong-Kong, found his eyesight gradually failing him. After exhaustingall remedies in that colony, he heard of a famous oculist in Manilanamed Rizal, a Filipino of reputed Japanese origin. Therefore, in August, 1894, he went to Manila to seek the great doctor, takingwith him a Macao servant, his daughter, and a girl whom he had adoptedfrom infancy. The Philippine Archipelago was such a _terra incognita_to the outside world that little was generally known of it save thecapital, Manila. When he reached there he learnt, to his dismay, that the renowned practitioner was a political exile who lived inan out-of-the-way place in Mindanao Island. Intent on his purpose, he took ship and found the abode of Dr. Rizal. The American had beenforsaken by his daughter in Manila, where she eventually married ayoung native who had neither craft nor fortune. The adopted daughter, therefore, was his companion to Dapítan. When they arrived at thebungalow the bright eyes of the lovely Josephine interested the doctorfar more than the sombre diseased organs of her foster-father. Theexile and the maiden, in short, fell in love with each other, and theymutually vowed never to be parted but by force. The old man's eyeswere past all cure, and in vain he urged the girl to depart with him;love dissented from the proposition, and the patient found his wayback to Manila, and thence to Hong-Kong, with his Macao servant--asadder, but a wiser man. The foster-child remained behind to sharethe hut of the political exile. When, an hour after her marriage, she became Widow Rizal, her husband's corpse, which had receivedsepulture in the cemetery, was guarded by soldiers for four days lestthe superstitious natives should snatch the body and divide it intoa thousand relics of their lamented idol. Then Josephine startedoff for the rebel camp at Imus. On her way she was often asked, "Who art thou?" but her answer, "Lo! I am thy sister, the widow ofRizal!" not only opened a passage for her, but brought low every headin silent reverence. Amidst mourning and triumph she was conducted tothe presence of the rebel commander-in-chief, Emilio Aguinaldo, whoreceived her with the respect due to the sorrowing relict of theirdeparted hero. But the formal tributes of condolence were followedby great rejoicing in the camp. She was the only free white womanwithin the rebel lines. They lauded her as though an angelic beinghad fallen from the skies; they sang her praises as if she were amodern Joan of Arc sent by heaven to lead the way to victory overthe banner of Castile. But she chose, for the time being, to follow amore womanly vocation, and, having been escorted to San Francisco deMalabon, she took up her residence in the convent to tend the woundedfor about three weeks. Then, when the battle of Perez Dasmariñas wasraging, our heroine sallied forth on horseback with a Mäuser rifleover her shoulder, and--as she stated with pride to a friend of minewho interviewed her--she had the satisfaction of shooting dead oneSpanish officer, and then retreated to her convent refuge. Again, she was present at the battle of Silan, where her heroic example ofcourage infused new life into her brother rebels. The carnage on bothsides was fearful, but in the end the rebels fell back, and there, from a spot amidst mangled corpses, rivulets of blood, and groans ofdeath, Josephine witnessed many a scene of Spanish barbarity--thebutchery of old inoffensive men and women, children caught up bythe feet and dashed against the walls, and the bayonet-charge on thehost of fugitive innocents. The rebels having been beaten everywherewhen Lachambre took the field, Josephine had to follow in theirretreat, and after Imus and Silan were taken, she, with the rest, had to flee to another province, tramping through 23 villages onthe way. She was about to play another _rôle_, being on the pointof going to Manila to organize a convoy of arms and munitions, whenshe heard that certain Spaniards were plotting against her life. Soshe sought an interview with the Gov. -General, who asked her if shehad been in the rebel camp at Imus. She replied fearlessly in theaffirmative, and, relying on the security from violence affordedby her sex and foreign nationality, there passed between her andthe Gov. -General quite an amusing and piquant colloquy. "What didyou go to Imus for?" inquired the General. "What did you go therefor?" rejoined Josephine. "To fight, " said the General. "So did I, "answered Josephine. "Will you leave Manila?" asked the General. "Whyshould I?" queried Josephine. "Well, " said the General, "the priestswill not leave you alone if you stay here, and they will bring falseevidence against you. I have no power to overrule theirs. " "Thenwhat is the use of the Gov. -General?" pursued our heroine; but theGeneral dismissed the discussion, which was becoming embarrassing, and resumed it a few days later by calling upon her emphatically toquit the Colony. At this second interview the General fumed and raged, and our heroine too stamped her little foot, and, woman-like, avowed"she did not care for him; she was not afraid of him. " It was temerityborn of inexperience, for one word of command from the General couldhave sent her the way many others had gone, to an unrevealed fate. Thusmatters waxed hot between her defiance and his forbearance, untilvisions of torture--thumb-screws and bastinado--passed so vividlybefore her eyes that she yielded, as individual force must, to thecollective power which rules supreme, and reluctantly consented toleave the fair Philippine shores in May, 1897, in the s. S. _Yuensang_, for a safer resting-place on the British soil of Hong-Kong. 

The execution of Dr. Rizal was a most impolitic act. It sent intothe field his brother Pasciano with a large following, who eventuallysucceeded in driving every Spaniard out of their native province ofLa Laguna. They also seized the lake gunboats, took an entire Spanishgarrison prisoner, and captured a large quantity of stores. Pascianorose to the rank of general before the rebellion ended. [183]

General Fernando Primo de Rivera, Marquis de Estella, arrived inManila, as the successor of General Camilo Polavieja, in the springof 1897. He knew the country and the people he was called upon topacify, having been Gov. -General there from April, 1880, to March, 1883. A few days after his arrival he issued a proclamation offeringan amnesty to all who would lay down their arms within a prescribedperiod. Many responded to this appeal, for the crushing defeat ofthe rebels in Cavite Province, accompanied by the ruthless severityof the soldiery during the last Captain-Generalcy, had damped theardour of thousands of would-be insurgents. The rebellion was thenconfined to the north of Manila, but, since Aguinaldo had evacuatedCavite and joined forces with Llaneras, the movement was carried farbeyond the Provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga. Armed mobs had risenin Pangasinán, Zambales, Ilocos, Nueva Ecija, and Tárlac. Manyvillages were entirely reduced to ashes by them; crops of youngrice too unripe to be useful to anybody were wantonly destroyed;pillage and devastation were resorted to everywhere to coerce thepeaceful inhabitants to join in the movement. On the other hand, thenerves of the priests were so highly strung that they suspected everynative, and, by persistently launching false accusations against theirparishioners, they literally made rebels. Hence at Candon (Ilocos Sur), a town of importance on the north-west coast of Luzon, five influentialresidents were simply goaded into rebellion by the frenzied actionof the friars subordinate to the Bishop of Vigan, Father José Héviade Campomanes. These residents then killed the parish priest, andwithout arms fled for safety to the mountain ravines. A few monthsbefore, at the commencement of the rebellion, this same Austin friar, Father Rafael Redondo, had ignominiously treated his own and othernative curates by having them stripped naked and tied down to benches, where he beat them with the prickly tail of the ray-fish to extortconfessions relating to conspiracy. In San Fernando de la Union thenative priests Adriano Garcés, Mariano Gaerlan, and Mariano Dacanayawere tortured with a hot iron applied to their bodies to force aconfession that they were freemasons. The rebels attacked Bayambang(Pangasinán), drove out the Spanish garrison, seized the churchand convent in which they had fortified themselves, made prisonerthe Spanish priest, burnt the Government stores, Court-house, andSpanish residences, but carefully avoided all interference with theBritish-owned steam rice-mill and paddy warehouses. Troops were sentagainst them by special train from Tárlac, and they were beaten outof the place with a loss of about 100 individuals; but they carriedoff their clerical prisoner. General Monet operated in the northagainst the rebels with Spanish and native auxiliary forces. Heattacked the armed mobs in Zambales Province, where encounters ofminor importance took place almost daily, with no decisive victoryfor either party. He showed no mercy and took no prisoners; histroops shot down or bayoneted rebels, non-combatants, women andchildren indiscriminately. Tillage was carried on at the risk ofone's life, for men found going out to their lands were seized asspies and treated with the utmost severity as possible sympathizerswith the rebels. He carried this war of extermination up to Ilocos, where, little by little, his forces deserted him. His auxiliarieswent over to the rebels in groups. Even a few Spaniards passed tothe other side, and after a protracted struggle which brought noadvantage to the Government, he left garrisons in several placesand returned to Manila. In Aliaga (Nueva Ecija) the Spaniards hadno greater success. The rebels assembled there in crowds, augmentedby the fugitive mobs from Pangasinán, and took possession of thetown. The Spaniards, under General Nuñez, attacked them on two sides, and there was fought one of the most desperate battles of the north. Itlasted about six hours: the slaughter on both sides was appalling. Thesite was strewn with corpses, and as the rebels were about to retreatGeneral Nuñez advanced to cut them off, but was so severely woundedthat he had to relinquish the command on the field. But the flight ofthe insurgents was too far advanced to rally them, and they retiredsouth towards Pampanga. 

In Tayabas the officiousness of the Governor almost brought him toan untimely end. Two well-known inhabitants of Pagsanján (La Laguna)were accused of conspiracy, and, without proof, court-martialledand executed. The Governor went to witness the scene, and returningthe next day with his official suite, he was waylaid near Lucbangby a rebel party, who killed one of the officers and wounded theGovernor. Filipinos returning to Manila were imprisoned without trial, tortured, and shipped back to Hong-Kong as deck passengers. The wetseason had fully set in, making warfare in the provinces exceedinglydifficult for the raw Spanish recruits who arrived to take the placeof the dead, wounded, and diseased. Spain was so hard pressed byCuban affairs that the majority of these last levies were mere boys, ignorant of the use of arms, ill clad, badly fed, and with months ofpay in arrear. Under these conditions they were barely a match forthe sturdy Islanders, over mountains, through streams, mud-pools, and paddy-fields. The military hospitals were full; the Spaniardswere as far off extinguishing the _Katipunan_ as the rebels werefrom being able to subvert Spanish sovereignty. The rebels held onlytwo impregnable places, namely Angat and San Mateo, but whilst theycarried on an interminable guerilla warfare they as carefully avoideda pitched battle. The Gov. -General, then, had resort to another edict, dated July 2, 1897, which read thus:--

 _Edict_

 Don Fernando Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte, Marquis de Estella, Governor and Captain-General of the Philippines, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army. 

 Whereas the unlimited amplitude given to my former edicts by some authorities who are still according the benefits of the amnesty to those who present themselves after the expiration of the conceded time, imperatively calls for a most absolute and positive declaration that there is a limit to clemency and pardon, otherwise the indefinite postponement of the application of the law may be interpreted as a sign of debility; and

 Whereas our generosity has been fully appreciated by many who have shown signs of repentance by resuming their legal status, whilst there are others who abuse our excessive benevolence by maintaining their rebellious attitude, and encroach on our patience to prolong the resistance; and

 Whereas it is expedient to abolish the spectacle of a few groups, always vanquished whilst committing all sorts of felonies under the protection of a fictitious political flag, maintaining a state of uneasiness and corruption;

 Now, therefore, the authorities must adopt every possible means of repression, and I, as General-in-Chief of the Army, Order and Command

 _Article_ 1. --All persons having contracted responsibilities up to date on account of the present rebellion who fail to report themselves to the authorities or military commanders before the 10th of July will be pursued and treated as guilty. 

 _Article_ 2. --Commanding generals in the field, military and civil governors in districts where the rebels exist, will prohibit all inhabitants from leaving the villages and towns, unless under absolute necessity for agricultural purposes, or taking care of rural properties or other works. Those comprised in the latter class will be provided by the municipal captains with a special pass, in which will be noted the period of absence, the place to be visited, and the road to be taken, always provided that all persons absenting themselves from the villages without carrying such passes, and all who, having them, deviate from the time, road, or place indicated, will be treated as rebels. 

 _Article 3. _--After the 10th instant all persons will be required to prove their identity by the personal document (_cédula personal_), together with the pass above-mentioned, and neither the amnesty passes already granted nor any other document will have any legal validity. 

 All who contravene these orders will be tried by court-martial. 

 _Fernando Primo de Rivera_. 

The indiscreetness of this measure was soon evident. It irritatedthe well-disposed inhabitants, from whom fees were exacted by theGov. -General's venal subordinates; the rigorous application of theedict drove many to the enemy's camp, and the rebels responded tothis document by issuing the following Exhortation in Tagálog dialect, bearing the pseudonym of "Malabar. " It was extensively circulated inJuly, 1897, but bears no date. The Spanish authorities made strenuousbut unsuccessful efforts to confiscate it. It is an interestingdocument because (1) It admits how little territory the _Katipunan_itself considered under its dominion. (2) It sets forth the sum totalof the rebels' demands at that period. (3) It admits their impotenceto vanquish the loyal forces in open battle. 

 To the Brave Sons of the Philippines

 The Spaniards have occupied the towns of Cavite Province because we found it convenient to evacuate them. We must change our tactics as circumstances dictate. 

 We have proved it to be a bad policy to be fortified in one place awaiting the enemy's attack. We must take the offensive when we get the chance, adopting the Cuban plan of ambush and guerilla warfare. In this way we can, for an indefinite period, defy Spain, exhaust her resources, and oblige her to surrender from poverty, for it must be remembered that the very Spanish newspapers admit that each soldier costs a dollar a day, and adding to this his passage money, clothing and equipment, the total amounts to a considerable sum. Considering that Spanish credit abroad is exhausted, that her young men, to avoid conscription, are emigrating to France and elsewhere in large numbers, Spain must of necessity yield in the end. You already know that Polavieja resigned because the Government were unable to send him the further 20, 000 men demanded. The Cubans, with their guerilla system, avoiding encounters unfavourable to themselves, have succeeded in wearying the Spaniards, who are dying of fever in large numbers. Following this system, it would be quite feasible to extend the action of the _Katipunan_ to Ilocos, Pangasinán, Cagayán, and other provinces, because our brothers in these places, sorely tyrannized by the Spaniards, are prepared to unite with us. 

 The Provinces of Zambales, Tárlac, Tayabas, etc. , are already under the _Katipunan_ Government, and to complete our success, the revolutionary movement should become general, for the ends which we all so ardently desire, namely:

 (1) Expulsion of the friars and restitution to the townships of the lands which the friars have appropriated, dividing the incumbencies held by them, as well as the episcopal sees equally between Peninsular and Insular secular priests. 

 (2) Spain must concede to us, as she has to Cuba, Parliamentary representation, freedom of the Press, toleration of all religious sects, laws common with hers, and administrative and economic autonomy. 

 (3) Equality in treatment and pay between Peninsular and Insular civil servants. 

 (4) Restitution of all lands appropriated by the friars to the townships, or to the original owners, or in default of finding such owners, the State is to put them up to public auction in small lots of a value within the reach of all and payable within four years, the same as the present State lands. 

 (5) Abolition of the Government authorities' power to banish citizens, as well as all unjust measures against Filipinos; legal equality for all persons, whether Peninsular or Insular, under the Civil as well as the Penal Code. 

 The war must be prolonged to give the greatest signs of vitality possible, so that Spain may be compelled to grant our demands, otherwise she will consider us an effete race and curtail, rather than extend, our rights. 

 _Malabar_. 

Shortly after this Emilio Aguinaldo, the recognized leader of therebels, issued a _Manifiesto_ in somewhat ambiguous terms which mightimply a demand for independence. In this document he says:--

 We aspire to the glory of obtaining the liberty, _independence_, and honour of the country. .. . We aspire to a Government representing all the live forces of the country, in which the most able, the most worthy in virtue and talent, may take part without distinction of birth, fortune, or race. We desire that no monk, or friar, shall sully the soil of any part of the Archipelago, nor that there shall exist any convent, etc. , etc. 

Every month brought to light fresh public exhortations, edicts, andproclamations from one side or the other, of which I have numerousprinted copies before me now. About this time the famous Philippinepainter, Juan Luna (_vide_ p. 195), was released after six months'imprisonment as a suspect. He left Manila _en route_ for Madrid inthe Spanish mail-steamer _Covadonga_ in the first week of July andreturned to Manila the next year (November 1898). 

In the field there were no great victories to record, for the rebelsconfined themselves exclusively to harassing the Spanish forcesand then retreating to the mountains. To all appearances trade inManila and throughout the Islands was little affected by the war, and as a matter of fact, the total exports showed a fair averagewhen compared with previous years. The sugar production was, however, slightly less than in 1896, owing to a scarcity of hands, because, inthe ploughing season, the young labourers in Negros were drafted offto military service. Total imports somewhat increased, notwithstandingthe imposition of a special 6 per cent. _ad valorem_ tax. 

But the probability of an early pacification of the Islands wasremote. By the unscrupulous abuse of their functions the volunteerswere obliging the well-intentioned natives to forsake their allegiance, and General Primo de Rivera was constrained to issue a decree, datedAugust 6, forbidding all persons in military service to plunder, or intimidate, or commit acts of violence on persons, or in theirhouses, or ravish women, under penalty of death. In the same monththe General commissioned a Filipino, Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno, tonegotiate terms of capitulation with the rebels. By dint of bribes andliberal expenditure of money (_vide_ Paterno's own letter at p. 410)Paterno induced the minor chiefs in arms to accept, in principle, the proposal of peace on the basis of reforms and money. Paterno wasappointed by the Gov. -General sole mediator in the discussion of theterms to be made with Emilio Aguinaldo, and the General's privatesecretary, Don Niceto Mayoral, was granted special powers to arrangewith Paterno the details of the proposed treaty. From Paterno's lipsI have the following account of the negotiations:--

On August 4, 1897, he started on a series of difficult journeysinto the rebel camps to negotiate severally with the chiefs, who, one after the other, stoutly refused to capitulate. On August 9 heinterviewed Aguinaldo at Biac-na-bató, situated in the mountains, abouta mile north of San Miguel de Mayumo (Bulacan). Aguinaldo withheld hisdecision until Paterno could report to him the definite opinions of hisgenerals. Thereupon Paterno returned to the rebel chiefs, some of whomstill tenaciously held out, whilst others were willing to capitulate, subject to Aguinaldo's approval. Paterno's mission was daily becomingmore perilous, for the irreconcilable leaders regarded him as anevil genius sent to sow discord in the camp. After many delays theprincipal warriors assembled at Biac-na-bató on October 31 and held agreat meeting, which Paterno, who is a fluent speaker, attended andharangued his audience in eloquent phrases, but to no purpose. Hisposition was now a somewhat critical one. Several of the chiefs assumedsuch a defiant attitude that but for the clement nature of Aguinaldo, Paterno might never have returned to tell the tale. They clamorouslyinsisted on their resolution to fight. Then Paterno adroitly broughtmatters to a crisis in a bold peroration which changed the wholescene. "Capitulate, " he exclaimed, "or get hence and vanquish theenemy! Is victory to be gained in this hiding-place?" Piqued bythis fearless challenge, General Natividad immediately salliedforth with his troops and encountered the Spaniards for the lasttime. His dead body was brought into the camp, and, in the shades ofnight, with sombre lights flickering around them, in the presence ofNatividad's bleeding corpse, again Paterno exhorted them to reflect onthe prospects in the field and the offer of capitulation. Impressedby the lugubrious scene, Aguinaldo yielded, and the next day peacenegotiations were opened. But other difficulties intervened. Aguinaldohaving heard that a subordinate chief was conspiring to force his handto capitulate, abruptly cast aside the papers, declaring that he wouldnever brook coercion. The deadlock lasted a whole day, but at lengthAguinaldo signed conditions, which Paterno conveyed to General Primode Rivera at San Fernando (Pampanga). The willingness to capitulatewas by no means unanimous. Paterno was forewarned that on his routea party of 500 Irreconcilables were waiting to intercept and murderhim, so to evade them he had to hide in a wood. Fifteen minutes' delaywould have cost him his life. Even a Spanish colonel for some occultreason sought to frustrate the peace negotiations by falsely reportingto General Primo de Rivera that Paterno was inciting the rebels towarfare. But the General believed in Paterno's good faith, althoughhe declared the terms proposed unacceptable, and in like manner threeother amended proposals were rejected, until finally the fifth documentwas accepted as tantamount to a Protocol of Peace to serve as a basisfor the treaty. Here ends Paterno's verbal declaration. 

The Protocol was signed in duplicate by Emilio Aguinaldo of the onepart, and Pedro A. Paterno, as Peacemaker, of the other part. Onecopy was archived in the office of the _Gobierno General_ in Manila, [184] and the other was remitted to the Home Government with a despatchfrom the Gov. -General. 

After many consultations and much deliberation it was decided ata Cabinet meeting to approve unreservedly of the negotiations, and to that effect a cablegram was sent to General Primo de Riverafully empowering him to conclude a treaty of peace on the basisof the Protocol. Meanwhile, it soon became evident that therewere three distinct interests at stake, namely, those of Spainand the Spanish people, those of the friars, and the claims of therebels. Consequently the traditional feud between the Archbishop ofManila and the Captain-General was revived. 

General Primo de Rivera in his despatch urged the Madrid Government togrant certain reforms, in any case, which could not fail to affect thehitherto independent position of the friars in governmental affairs. Healso drew the attention of the Government to the defencelesscondition of the capital in the event of a foreign attack (_vide_Senate speeches reported in the _Diario de las Sesiones_, Madrid, 1899 and 1900). The friars were exceedingly wroth, and combined todefeat the General's efforts to come to an understanding with therebels. They secretly paid natives to simulate the _Katipunan_ inthe provinces, and the plot only came to light when these unfortunatedupes fell into the hands of the military authorities and confessedwhat had happened. Nevertheless, the General pursued the negotiationswith Paterno as intermediary. Aguinaldo's original demand was for atotal indemnity of P3, 000, 000, but, in the course of the negotiationsalluded to, it was finally reduced to P1, 700, 000, inclusive of P800, 000to be paid to Aguinaldo on his retirement from the Colony. 

The terms of the Protocol of Peace having been mutually agreed upon, a treaty, known as the _Pacto de Biac-na-bató_, [185] is alleged tohave been signed at Biac-na-bató on December 14, 1897, between EmilioAguinaldo and others of the one part, and Pedro A. Paterno, as attorneyfor the Captain-General, acting in the name of the Spanish Government, of the other part. Under this treaty the rebels undertook to deliver uptheir arms and ammunition of all kinds to the Spaniards; to evacuatethe places held by them; to conclude an armistice for three years forthe application and development of the _reforms to be introduced_by the other part, and not to conspire against Spanish sovereigntyin the Islands, nor aid or abet any movement calculated to counteractthose reforms. Emilio Aguinaldo and 34 other leaders undertook to quitthe Philippine Islands and not return thereto until so authorized bythe Spanish Government, in consideration whereof the above-mentionedP800, 000 was to be paid as follows:--P400, 000 in a draft on Hong-Kongto be delivered to Aguinaldo on his leaving Biac-na-bató [This draftwas, in fact, delivered to him]; P200, 000 payable to Aguinaldo as soonas he should send a telegram to the revolutionary general in commandat Biac-na-bató, ordering him to hand over the rebels' arms to theCaptain-General's appointed commissioner [This telegram was sent], and the final P200, 000 immediately after the singing of the _Te Deum_which would signify an official recognition of peace. 

_It was further alleged_ that on behalf of the Spanish Governmentmany radical reforms and conditions were agreed to (outside theTreaty of Biac-na-bató), almost amounting to a total compliancewith the demands of the rebels. But no evidence whatever has beenadduced to confirm this allegation. Indeed it is a remarkable factthat neither in the Madrid parliamentary papers (to copies of whichI have referred), nor in the numerous rebel proclamations and edicts, nor in the published correspondence of Pedro A. Paterno, is even thefull text of the treaty given. It is singular that the rebels shouldhave abstained from publishing to the world those precise terms whichthey say were accepted and not fulfilled by the Spanish Government, which denies their existence. 

Whatever reforms might have been promised would have been purelygovernmental matters which required no mediator for their execution;but as to the money payments to be made, Paterno was to receive themfrom the Government and distribute them. An Agreement to this effectwas, therefore, signed by General Primo de Rivera and Pedro A. Paternoin the following terms, viz. :--

 In the peace proposals presented by the sole mediator, Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno, in the name and on behalf of the rebels in arms, and in the Peace Protocol which was agreed to and submitted to His Majesty's Government, _which approved of the same_, there exists a principal clause relating to the sums of money which were to be handed over to the rebels and their families as indemnity for the loss of their goods consequent on the war, which sums amounted to a total of P1, 700, 000, which the mediator, Señor Paterno, was to distribute absolutely at his discretion, but the payment of the said sum will have to be subject to the conditions proposed by the representative of the Government, H. E. The General-in-Chief of this Army. These conditions were agreed to be as follows, viz. :--

 (1) For the rebels in arms a draft for the sum of P400, 000 will be handed to Señor Paterno, payable in Hong-Kong, as well as two cheques for P200, 000 each, payable only on the condition of the Agreement being fulfilled on the other part. (2) For the families of those who were not rebels in arms, or engaged in rebellion, but who have likewise suffered the evils of war, the balance of the sum offered shall be paid in three equal instalments, the last to be paid six months after the date on which the _Te Deum_ shall be sung, assuming the peace to become an accomplished fact. Peace shall be held to be effectively concluded if, during the interval of these instalment periods, no party of armed rebels, with recognized leader, shall exist, and if no secret society shall have been discovered as existing here or abroad with the proved object of conspiracy by those who benefit by these payments. The representative of the rebels, Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno, and the representative of the Government, the Captain-General Don Fernando Primo de Rivera, agree to the above conditions, in witness whereof each representative now signs four copies of the same tenour and effect, one being for the Government, another for the archives of the Captain-Generalcy, and one copy each for the said representatives. 

 [186]Done in Manila on the 15th of December, 1897. 

 _Fernando Primo de Rivera_, _The General-in-Chief. _ _Pedro A. Paterno_, _The Mediator. _

In the course of a few days a military deputation was sent by theGov. -General, under the leadership of Lieut. -Colonel Primo de Rivera, to meet Aguinaldo and his 34 companions-in-arms at a place agreedupon in the Province of Pangasinán. They had a repast together, and Aguinaldo called for cheers for Spain, in which all heartilyjoined. Thence they proceeded in vehicles to Sual to await the arrivalof the s. S. _Uranus_, in which they embarked for Hong-Kong on Monday, December 27, 1897. Armed rebel troops were stationed at several placesall along the route to Sual, ready to avenge any act of treachery, whilst two Spanish generals were held as hostages at the rebel campat Biac-na-bató until Aguinaldo cabled his safe arrival in Hong-Kong. 

Aguinaldo had very rightly stipulated that a Spanish officer of highrank should accompany him and his followers to Hong-Kong as a guaranteeagainst foul play. The Gov. -General, therefore, sent with them histwo nephews, Lieut. -Colonel Primo de Rivera and Captain CelestinoEspinosa, and Major Antonio Pezzi. Aguinaldo and eight other chiefs, namely, Gregorio H. Del Pilar, Wenceslao Vinegra, Vito Belarmino, Mariano Llaneras, Antonio Montenegro, Luis Viola, Manuel Fino, andEscolástico Viola, stayed at the Hong-Kong Hotel, whilst the remaindertook up their abode elsewhere in the city. Aguinaldo cashed his draftfor P400, 000, but as to the other two instalments of the P800, 000, the Spanish Government defaulted. 

There was great rejoicing in Manila, in Madrid, and in several Spanishcities, and fêtes were organized to celebrate the conclusion ofpeace. In Manila particularly, amidst the pealing of bells and strainsof music, unfeigned enthusiasm and joy were everywhere evident. It wasa tremendous relief after sixteen months of persecution, butchery, torture, and pecuniary losses. General Primo de Rivera receivedthe thanks of the Government, whilst the Queen-Regent bestowed onhim the Grand Cross of San Fernando, with the pension of 10, 000pesetas (nominal value £400). But no one in Spain and few in Manilaas yet could foresee how the fulfilment of the Agreement would bebungled. According to a letter of Pedro A. Paterno, dated March 7, 1898, published in _El Liberal_ of Madrid on June 17, 1898, it wouldappear that (up to the former date) the Spanish Government had failedto make any payment to Paterno on account of the P900, 000, balance ofindemnity, for distribution according to Clause (2) of the Agreementset forth on the preceding page. The letter says:--

 As a matter of justice, I ought to have received the two instalments, amounting to P600, 000. Why is this obligation not carried out, and why has General Primo de Rivera not followed my advice by arresting Yocson and his followers from the 5th of last February? I have my conscience clear respecting the risings in Zambales and Pangasinán Provinces and those about to take place in La Laguna and Tayabas. 

Whatever were the means employed, the rebellion was disorganized for awhile, but the Spanish authorities had not the tact to follow up this_coup_ by temperate and conciliatory measures towards their waveringquondam foes. Persons who had been implicated in the rebellionwere re-arrested on trivial trumped-up charges and imprisoned, whilst others were openly treated as seditious suspects. The priestsstarted a furious campaign of persecution, and sought, by all mannerof intrigue, to destroy the compact, which they feared would operateagainst themselves. More executions took place. Instead of the expectedgeneral amnesty, only a few special pardons were granted. 

There had been over two months of nominal peace; the rebels haddelivered up their arms, and there was nothing to indicate anintention to violate their undertakings. Primo de Rivera, whobelieved the rebellion to be fast on the wane, shipped back toSpain 7, 000 troops. The Madrid Government at once appointed to vacantbishoprics two friars of the Orders obnoxious to the people, and it isinconceivable that such a step would have been so speedily taken ifthere were any truth in the rebels' pretension that the expulsion ofthe friars had been promised to them. Rafael Comenge, the Presidentof the Military Club, was rewarded with the Grand Cross of MilitaryMerit for the famous speech which he had delivered at the Club. Itwas generally lauded by Spaniards, whilst it filled all classes ofnatives with indignation. Here are some extracts from this oration:--

 You arrive in time; the cannibals of the forest are still there; the wild beast hides in his lair (_bravo_); the hour has come to finish with the savages; wild beasts should be exterminated; weeds should be extirpated. (_Great applause_. ) Destruction is the purport of war; its civilizing virtue acts like the hot iron on a cancer, destroying the corrupt tendons in order to arrive at perfect health. No pardon! (_Very good, very good_. ) Destroy! Kill! Do not pardon, for this prerogative belongs to the monarch, not to the army. . . . From that historical, honoured, and old land Spain, which we all love with delirious joy, no words of peace come before this treason, but words of vigour and of justice, which, according to public opinion, is better in quality than in quantity. (_Frantic applause, several times repeated, which drowned the voice of the orator_. ) Soldiers! you are the right arm of Spain. Execute; exterminate if it be necessary. Amputate the diseased member to save the body; cut off the dry branches which impede the circulation of the sap, in order that the tree may again bring forth leaves and flowers. (_Señor Peñaranda interposed, shouting, "That is the way to speak!" Frantic applause_. )

Thirty thousand pesos were subscribed at the Military Club for thebenefit of General Primo de Rivera. Admiral Patricio Montojo, who hadco-operated against the rebels by firing a few shots at them when theyoccupied the coast towns of Cavite Province and transporting troopsto and from Manila, was the recipient of a sword of honour on March17, 1898. It was presented to him, on behalf of the Military Club, by Señor Comenge (who escaped from Manila as soon as the Americansentered the port) as a "perpetual remembrance of the triumph of ourships off the coast of Cavite, " although no deed of glory on thepart of the fleet, during the period of the rebellion, had come tothe knowledge of the general public. 

The reforms alluded to in the treaty made with the rebel chiefs werea subject of daily conversation; but when the _Diario de Manila _published an article on March 17, demanding autonomy for the Islandsand urging the immediate application of those reforms, GeneralPrimo de Rivera suspended the publication of the newspaper. Somewere inquisitive enough to ask, Has a treaty been signed or a trickbeen played upon the rebels? The treatment of the people was far frombeing in harmony with the spirit of a treaty of peace. 

The expatriated ex-rebels became alarmed by the non-receipt of theindemnity instalment and the news from their homes. A committee ofFilipinos, styled _La Junta Patriótica, _ was formed in Hong-Kong. Theywere in frequent communication with their friends in the Islands. Theseed of discontent was again germinating under the duplicity of theSpanish lay and clerical authorities. Thousands were ready to takethe field again, but their chiefs were absent, their arms surrendered, and the rebellion disorganized. Here and there roving parties appeared, but having no recognized leaders, their existence did not invalidatethe treaty. The Spaniards, indeed, feigned to regard them onlyas a remnant of the rebels who had joined the pre-existing brigandbands. The volunteers were committing outrages which might have driventhe people again into open revolt, and General Primo de Rivera had, at least, the sagacity to recognize the evil which was apparent toeverybody. The volunteers and guerilla battalions were consequentlydisbanded, not a day too soon for the tranquillity of the city. OnMarch 25, the tragedy of the _Calle de Camba _took place. This streetlies just off the _Calle de San Fernando _in Binondo, a few hundredyards from the river. In a house frequented by seafaring men a largenumber of Visayan sailors had assembled and were, naturally, discussingthe topics of the day with the warmth of expression and phraseologypeculiar to their race, when a passer-by, who overheard the talk, informed the police. The civil guard at once raided the premises, accused these sailors of conspiracy, and, without waiting for proofor refutation, shot down all who could not escape. The victims of thisoutrage numbered over 70. The news dismayed the native population. Thefact could no longer be doubted that a reign of terrorism and revengehad been initiated with impunity, under the assumption that therebellion was broken for many a year to come. How the particulars ofthis crime were related by the survivors to their fellow-islanders wecannot know, but it is a coincidental fact that only now the flame ofrebellion spread to the southern Island of Cebú. For over a generationthe Cebuános around Talisay, Minglanilla, and Talambau had sustaineda dispute with the friars respecting land-tenure. From time to timeprocurators of the Law Court secretly took up the Cebuános' cause, and one of them, Florencio Gonzalez, was cast into prison and slowlydone to death. This event, which happened almost coincidentally withthe _Calle de Camba_ tragedy, excited the Cebuános to the utmostdegree. Nine days after that unfortunate episode, on April 3, 1898, a party of about 5, 000 disaffected natives made a raid on the city ofCebú. The leaders were armed with rifles, but the rank-and-file carriedonly bowie-knives. About 4 p. M. All the forces which could be musteredin the city went out against the rebels, who overwhelmed the loyalists, cutting some to pieces, whilst the remainder hastened back to thecity in great disorder. But, instead of following up their victory, the half-resolute rioters camped near Guadalupe for the night. At5 a. M. On April 4 they marched upon the city. Peaceful inhabitantsfled before the motley, yelling crowd of men, women and childrenwho swarmed into the streets, armed with bowie-knives and sticks, demanding food and other trifles. The terrified Spanish volunteers, after their defeat, took refuge in the _Cotta de San Pedro _(theFort), where the Governor, General Montero, joined them, and orderedall foreigners to do the same. Later on the foreigners were permittedto return to their residences. Amidst the confusion which prevailed, the flight of peaceful citizens, the street-fighting, and the moans ofthe dying, the rebels helped themselves freely to all they wanted. Themob of both sexes told the townspeople that they (the rioters) hadnothing to fear, as _anting-anting _wafers (q. V. ) had been servedout to them. The rebels had cut the Cebú-Tuburan telegraph-wires(_vide_ p. 267), but in the meantime three small coasting steamershad been despatched to Yloilo, Ylígan, and another port to demandreinforcements. The next day, at sunrise, the rebels attemptedto reach the Fort, but were fired upon from the Governor's house, which is situated in front of it, compelling them to withdraw alongthe shore road, where the gunboat _Maria Cristina _opened fire onthem. The rebels then retreated to the Chinese quarter of Lutao, around the Cathedral and the Santo Nino Church. The Spaniards remainedunder cover whilst the mob held possession of the whole city except theFort, Government House, the College, the churches, and the foreignershouses. During the whole day there was an incessant fusillade, therebels' chief stronghold being the Recoleto Convent. Groups of themwere all over the place, plundering the shops and Spanish houses andoffices. On April 5 a small force of Spanish regulars, volunteers, and sailors made a sortie and fired on the insurgents in Lutao fromlong range. They soon retired, however, as the Fort was in danger ofbeing attacked from another side. The same afternoon the steamer sentto Ylígan for troops returned with 240 on board. During the night theSpanish troops ventured into the open and shots were exchanged. OnApril 6 the _Venus_ arrived with 50 soldiers from Yloilo and was atonce sent on to Bojol Island in search of rice and cattle, which weredifficult to procure as that island was also in revolt. Native womenwere not interfered with by either party, nor were the foreigners, many of whom took refuge at the British Consulate. The rebels wishedto advance from Lutao, but were kept back by the fire from the gunboat_Maria Cristina_. The Spanish troops did not care to venture past ablock of buildings in which were the offices and stores of a Britishfirm. On April 7 the merchant steamer _Churruca_ arrived with troops, and in a couple of hours was followed by the cruiser _Don Juan deAustria_, also bringing reinforcements under the command of GeneralTejeiro (a former Governor of Cebú Is. ). The total fresh troopsamounted to about 500 men of the 73rd Native Regiment and Spanish_cazadores_. Whilst these troops were landing, many of the rebelshastened out of the city towards San Nicolás. General Montero andthe Spanish refugees then emerged from the _cotta_. After GeneralTejeiro had strategically deployed his troops, a squad of them, crossing the General Loño Square (now called _Plaza de Rizal_)drove the rebels before them and dislodged them from the vicinityof the Recoleto Convent. At the same time the rebels were attackedat the _mestizo_ quarter called the Parian and at Tiniago, whencethey had to retreat, with severe loss, towards San Nicolás, whichpractically adjoins Cebú and is only separated therefrom by a narrowriver. Simultaneously, the _Don Juan de Austria_ threw a shell intothe corner house of the (chiefly Chinese) shopping-quarter, Lutao, which killed several Chinese and set fire to the house. The flames, however, did not catch the adjoining property, so the troops burst openthe doors, poured petroleum on the goods found therein, and causedthe fire to extend until the whole quarter was, as I saw it, a massof charred ruins with only the stone walls remaining. To completethe destruction of Lutao, once a busy bazaar, situated in that partof the city immediately facing the sea, another bomb was thrown intothe centre. The troops then marched to San Nicolás, and a third shellfired at the retreating enemy entered and completely destroyed a largeprivate residence. An attempt was made to procure supplies from thelittle Island of Magtan, which lies only half a mile off the coastof Cebú, but the expedition had to return without having been ableto effect a landing at the capital town of Opon, which had risen inrebellion. On April 8 the loyal troops continued their pursuit of therebels, who suffered severe losses at San Nicolás and Pili, on the roadsouth of Cebú city. The corpses collected in the suburbs were cartedinto the city, where, together with those lying about the streets, they were piled into heaps, partly covered with petroleum-bathed logs, and ignited. The stench was very offensive for some hours, especiallyfrom a huge burning pile topped with a dead white horse in the GeneralLoño Square. Practically the whole of the east coast of the islandhad risen against the Spaniards, but the rebels were careful not tointerfere with foreigners when they could distinguish them as such. Alarge force of insurgents made another stand at Labangan, where theywere almost annihilated; it is estimated they left quite a thousanddead on the field. The loyal troops followed up the insurgents towardsthe mountain region, whilst the _Don Juan de Austria_ cruised downthe coast with the intention of bombarding any town which might be inrebel hands. The material losses in Cebú amounted to about P1, 725, 000in Lutao, represented by house property of Chinese and half-castesand their cash and stock-in-trade. The "Compañia General de Tabacos"lost about P30, 000 in cash in addition to the damage done to theiroffices and property. Rich natives and Chinese lost large sums ofmoney, the total of which cannot be ascertained. From the RecoletoConvent P19, 000 in cash were stolen, and there, as well as in many ofthe Spanish residences, everything valuable and easily removable wascarried off; but whether all this pillage was committed by the rebelsalone must ever remain a mystery. The only foreigner who lost his lifewas my late Italian friend Signor Stancampiano, who is supposed to havedied of shock, for when I last saw him he was hopelessly ill. As usual, a considerable number of well-known residents of the city were arrestedand charged with being the prime movers in these doleful events. 

Upon the hills on the west coast of Cebú, near Toledo town, some American friends of mine experienced a series of thrillingadventures. Mr. And Mrs. Wilson, mother and son, to whom I am indebtedfor their generous hospitality, resided on a large sugar-estate atCalumampao, of which Mr. Wilson was part owner. They were, naturally, in ignorance of what had taken place in Cebú City. The rebellion spreadto their district, and many of the natives on and about the estate wereeager to join in the movement. Mr. Wilson did his utmost to point outto them the futility of the attempt, but they indulged in all sorts ofsuperstitions about the invulnerability of their chief, Claudio, andthe charm attached to a red flag he carried, and they were determinedto take their chance with him. On April 19 an insurgent force came onto the plantation, compelled the labourers to join their standard, andcoolly quartered themselves in the out-buildings and warehouses. Theydid no harm to the Wilsons, but they kidnapped a Spanish gentleman wholived close by, and shot him, in spite of Mr. Wilson's entreaties tospare his life. The insurgents moved off, taking with them the estatehands, and in a couple of days a company of Spanish soldiers, under thecommand of Captain Suarez, arrived at the estate-house. The officerwas very affable, and Mr. And Mrs. Wilson treated him as hospitablyas they did all their friends and European passers-by. Naturallythe conversation fell on the all-absorbing topic of the day and theobject of his mission. After he and his men had been well refreshedthey started down the hill to meet some cavalry reinforcements, and, as the Wilsons watched their departure, to their astonishment theysaw Claudio, at the head of 200 rebels, rushing down the hill withthe red flag floating in the air. Simultaneously a body of Spanishhorse approached through the valley; Claudio and his followers, caughtbetween the Spanish cavalry and infantry, retreated to a storehousein the valley. The result was that some 40 rebels were killed, others taken prisoners, and the remainder escaped into the plantedfields. Every leader was killed, and every peaceful native whom theSpaniards met on their way was unmercifully treated. Mr. Wilson wasthen asked to go on board a Spanish vessel, and when he complied hewas charged with being in league with the rebels. He was allowed toreturn to shore to fetch his mother--a highly-educated, genial oldlady--and when they both went on board they found there two Englishmenas prisoners. Their guest of a few days previous treated them mostshamefully. When they were well on the voyage to Cebú the prisonerswere allowed to be on the upper deck, and Mrs. Wilson was permittedto use an armchair. The soldiers insulted them, and, leaning theirbacks against Mrs. Wilson's chair, some sang ribald songs, whilstothers debated whether their captives would be shot on the beach orat the _Cotta_ in Cebú. Sometimes they would draw their swords andlook viciously towards them. At last, after a series of intimidations, they reached Cebú, where, after being detained on board several hours, they were all taken before the Governor and the Chief Justice, andwere only saved from further miseries through the intercession ofthe American Vice-Consul, who, by the way, was an Englishman. Warhad just been declared between America and Spain (April 23, 1898), and the estate had to be left to the mercy of the rebels, whilst myfriends took passage to Singapore on the _Gulf of Martaban_. 

All immediate danger having now been dispelled, the Spaniards solacedthemselves with the sweets of revenge. A Spanish functionary (whowith his wife and brother's family were well known to me for severalyears) caused the soldiers to raid private houses, and bring outnative families by force into the public square, or conduct them tothe cemetery on the Guadalupe road, where they were shot in batcheswithout inquiry and cremated. The heartrending scenes and wailingof the people failed to turn their persecutor from his purpose, save in one case--that of a colleague, who, wearing his chain ofoffice, stepped forward and successfully begged for his life. A lowestimate of this official's victims is 200. The motive for his awfulcrime was greed, for he formally confiscated his victims' goods andshipped them off daily in schooners to Yloilo. His ill-gotten gainswould have been greater but for the action of the Governor, who, fearing that retribution might fall on his own head as the highestauthority, ordered his guilty subordinate to appear before him, andin the presence of Filipinos he reprimanded him, boxed his ears, and commanded him to quit the island within a given period underpain of death. The Governor's indignation was evidently feigned, for he very shortly availed himself of an altogether novel meansof terrorism. Sedition was smouldering throughout the island, butafter the events of April the Spaniards seemed too daunted to takethe field against the Cebuános. The Christian Governor, therefore, took into his service a Mindanao Mahometan, Rajahmudah Datto Mandi, andhis band of about 100 Sámal Moros to overrun the island and punish thenatives. This chief, with his warriors, had been called from Zamboanga(Mindanao Is. ) to Yloilo by General Rios, who immediately commissionedhim to Cebú in the month of July, 1898. On his arrival there he at oncestarted his campaign under the auspices of the Governor, who grantedhim full liberty to dispose of the lives and property of the Cebuánosto his heart's content, and as proof of the accomplishment of his gorymission he brought in and presented to his patron the ears which hehad cut off the Cebuános. North of Cebú City he and his retainers madea fresh start, slaying the people, burning villages, and devastatingthe standing crops. Having accomplished his task within three monthsDatto Mandi withdrew with all his men, except two who wished tosettle at Pardo. He could not persuade them to leave, and after hisdeparture they were cut to pieces by the Cebuános. Pending positivecorroboration I was very sceptical about this strange narrative; but, being in Mindanao Island six years afterwards, I went to visit DattoMandi, who most readily confirmed all the above particulars, andpresented me with his portrait. Prior to the American advent, DattoMandi, _protégé_ as well as protector of the Spaniards, exercised asort of feudal dominion over the services and the sundry cherishedbelongings of his people. Speaking of him as I myself found him, hewas extremely affable and hospitable. The invitation to Datto Mandiwas perhaps the most singular event of this period, and goes to showwith what desperate fear the Spaniards retained their hold on theisland up to the evacuation, which took place on December 26, 1898. 

In the provinces north of Manila the rebellion was again in fullvigour, and, all trust in Spanish good faith was irrevocably lost. TheSpanish quarters at Subig (Zambales) and Apalit (Pampanga) wereattacked and looted in the first week of March. The new movement borea more serious aspect than that under Aguinaldo and his colleagues, who, at least, were men of certain intelligence, inspired by a wishto secure reforms, whereas their successors in revolt were of farless mental capacity, seeking, apparently, only retaliation for thecruelties inflicted on the people. It is possible, too, that thepremium of P800, 000 per 35 rebel chiefs inflamed the imaginations ofthe new leaders, who were too ignorant to appreciate the promisedreforms linked with the same bargain. During the month of Februarythe permanent-way of the Manila-Dagúpan Railway had been three timestorn up to prevent the transport of loyal troops. At the same timethe villages around were looted and burnt. Early in March the rebels, under the chief leadership of Yocson, of Malolos, attacked and killedthe garrisons and the priests in the north of Pangasinán and Zambales, excepting six soldiers who managed to escape. [187] Some of thegarrison troops were murdered after surrender. The telegraph-linebetween Lingayen (Pangasinán) and a place a few miles from Bolinao(Zambales) was cut down and removed. A lineman was sent out to repairit under escort of civil guards, who were forced by the rebels toretire. On March 7, about 2 a. M. , the Eastern Extension TelegraphCompany's cable-station at Bolinao was besieged by rebels. The villagewas held by about 400 armed natives, who had killed one native andtwo European soldiers on the way. The lighthouse-keeper and theInspector of Forests safely reached Santa Cruz, 40 miles south, ina boat. The other civilian Spaniards and priests escaped in anotherboat, but were pursued and captured by the insurgents, who killedtwo of the civilians and brought the European women and friars intothe village as prisoners at 4. 30 the same afternoon. Eight soldiershad taken refuge in the cable-station, and at 6 a. M. A message wassent to the British staff requiring them to turn out the soldiers orquit the premises themselves. They refused to take either course, anddeclared their neutrality. A similar message was sent several times, with the same result. By 4 p. M. The soldiers had fortified the stationas well as they could, and the rebels attacked, but were repulsedwith a few shots. Nothing happened during the night, but the next day(March 8) another message was sent to the British staff urging them towithdraw as the rebels would renew the assault at 10 a. M. The staffagain refused to comply. Then it appears that the rebels delayedtheir attack until the arrival of their chief, hourly expected. Anultimatum was at length received at the station, to the effect thatif all arms were given up they would spare the soldiers' lives. Theyalso demanded the surrender of the two rebels held prisoners by thesesoldiers. At this stage one of the company's staff, who were allowedto go and come as they pleased, volunteered to interview the rebels;but matters could not be arranged, as the Spanish corporal (a pluckyyouth of twenty years of age) in the station refused to surrenderanything at any price. Still parleying was continued, and on March 11one of the company's staff again visited the rebel camp to state thatif the regular bi-monthly steamer failed to arrive on the morrow thecorporal would surrender arms. Then the rebel chief proposed that thecorporal should meet him half-way between the company's office and therebel camp, the rebel pledging his word of honour that no harm shouldbefall the corporal. The corporal, however, could not do this, as itwould have been contrary to the Spanish military code to capitulateon his own authority, but he confirmed his willingness to surrenderarms if no steamer arrived the next day, and the company's employeereturned to the camp to notify this resolution. But in a few minuteshe observed a commotion among the insurgents; some one had descrieda warship approaching, and the native canoes were very busy makingready for escape or attack. The British delegate, therefore, hastenedback to the station, and at 3 p. M. A Spanish gunboat arrived, totheir immense relief, and landed 107 marines. Heavy firing continuedall that afternoon, inflicting great loss on the rebels, whilst theSpaniards lost one soldier. On March 12 a Spanish cruiser anchoredoff the Bay of Bolinao; also a merchant steamer put into port bringingthe Company's Manila Superintendent with apparatus for communicatingwith Hong-Kong in case the station were demolished. The next dayH. M. S. _Edgar_ entered, and Bolinao was again perfectly safe. 

In consequence of this threatened attack on the cable-station thecable was detached from Bolinao and carried on to Manila in thefollowing month (_vide_ p. 267). 

As soon as the news reached Manila that Bolinao was menaced, GeneralMonet proceeded north with 1, 000 men, whilst 3, 000 more followed byrailway as far as they could reach. On the way the General had fiveengagements with the enemy, between Lingayen (Pangasinán) and Bolinao, where he arrived on the night of March 14, having routed the insurgentseverywhere with great loss to them. On the Spanish side one lieutenantand one soldier were killed. After leaving a garrison of 300 men inBolinao, General Monet returned to Manila in the Spanish cruiser thenext day. 

On March 31 Father Moïses Santos, who had caused all the members of theTown Council of Malolos to be banished in 1895, was assassinated. Hehad been appointed Vicar of the Augustine Order and was returning toMalolos station, en route for Manila, in a buggy which stuck fast ina mud-pool (the same in which I have found myself several times), where he was stabbed to death. His body was recovered and taken byspecial train to Manila, where it was interred with great pomp inthe Church of St. Augustine. He was 44 years of age, and had been 19years in the Colony (_vide_ p. 364). 

In April, 1898, the Home Government recalled General Primo de Rivera, appointing in his stead General Basilio Augusti, who had never beforeheld chief command in the Islands. Primo de Rivera was no doubtanxious to be relieved of a position which he could not well continueto hold, with dignity to himself, after the Madrid Government hadshelved his recommendations for reforms. His subsequent speeches inthe Senate incline one to draw this conclusion. The Colonial Minister, Segismundo Moret (who became Prime Minister in 1905), warmly supportedthe proposed reforms, but monastic influences were brought to bearwhich Práxedes Sagasta had not the moral courage to resist. 

Don Pedro A. Paterno, the peacemaker, was sorely disappointed, too, that the Government had failed to remunerate him for his services. Hisposition will be best understood from the subjoined translation ofthe letter which he addressed to a high authority on the subject. Theoriginal document was read in public session of Congress in Madridon June 16, 1898, by the Deputy Señor Muro. 

 _Manila_, _23rd of February_, 1898. 

 _My Esteemed Friend_, --

 As it appears that, at last, one is thinking of giving me something for the services rendered by me, and as, according to you, the recompense is going to be a title of Castile, I wish to speak frankly, in secret, on the subject. I do not wish to fall into ridicule, because in such a material and mercantile place as Manila a title without rent-roll, or grandeur, or anything of the nature of an employment, or Cross of Maria Christina, or rewards such as have been showered broadcast by three Captain-Generals would, in Philippine circles, make me appear as the gullible boy and the laughing-stock of my fellows. To express my private opinion, I aspire, above all, to the preservation of my name and prestige, and if I were asked to renounce them for a childish prize, even though it be called a title of Castile, despised by serious statesmen in Europe, I think I should be obliged to refuse it. But I am willing to meet half-way the state of Spanish society in the Philippines, and as I belong to the family of the _Maguinoó_ Paterno, I must express myself in another way. That title of Castile might become the cherished ideal in the Philippines if it were valued as I desire. 

 In the first place, it _must not be less than that of Duke_, because the natives have obeyed me as the _Great Maguinoó_, or Prince of Luzon, and the ex-revolutionists call me the arbiter of their destinies. 

 The reward from Spain must not be less than the Philippine public already award to me. 

 In the second place, the reward, to be accepted by me with dignity and preservation of prestige, must be presented to me in the sense that it is for the general welfare of the Philippines as implied in the title of _Grandee of Spain of the First Class_ with the consequent right to a seat in the Senate to defend the interests of the Colony, seeing that we have no Members of Parliament, and parliamentary representation is anxiously desired. 

 I can show that I possess an income of P25, 000 and more, if necessary. 

 In the third place, it must be in the nature of a gift and not a purchase, that is to say, the patent of nobility must be a free gift. 

 In the fourth place, it must be valued in dollars, so that the reward may not be held in contempt by the public, who know my liberality when I pay, with splendid generosity, sea voyages, river and land journeys for myself and for my emissaries, or when I distribute with abundant profusion pecuniary and material recompenses _to buy over the wills of and unite all the insurgent chiefs to bring them to surrender to Spain_. Up to the present, I have not received a cent from the revolutionists or from the Spanish Government to cover these expenses. 

 It is notorious that I have worked so grandly that no one can now ask me to sink into insignificance. 

 The recent concessions made by the Spanish Government have been seen by the Philippine public. The grade of Captain-General was given for subjecting a few Moslem chiefs of Mindanao; promotions and grand crosses with pensions have been awarded, and I, who have put an end to the war at a stroke, saving Spain many millions of dollars--I, who, amidst inundations and hurricanes have assaulted and conquered the barracks and military posts of the enemy, causing them to lay down their arms to Spain without bloodshed, and at my command surrender all their chiefs and revolutionary Government with their brigades and companies, I think I have good right to ask Spain, if she wishes to show herself a mother to me, to give me as much as she has given to other sons for lesser services. 

 To conclude, for family reasons, _ I want a title of Castile, that of Prince or Duke, if possible, and to be a Grandee of the first class_, free of nobility patent fees and the sum of P---- once for all. 

 I think that the title of Castile, or Spain's reward, if it reaches me without the mentioned formalities, will be an object of ridicule, and Spain ought not to expose me to this, because I wish to serve her always, in the present and in the future. 

 I also recommend you very strongly to procure for my brother Maximino Molo Agustin Paterno y Debera Ignacio the title of Count or a Grand Cross free of duties, for he has not only rendered great services to the nation, but he has continually sustained the prestige of Spain with the natives. 

 I am, etc. , etc. , _Pedro A. Paterno_. 

 N. B. --1. I told you verbally that if my merits did not reach two millimetres, it is the friend's duty to amplify them and extend them and make others see them as if they were so many metres, especially as they have _no equal_. 

 Prince of Limasaba is the first title of Castile conceded to a native of the Philippines. He was the first king of the Island of Limasaba in the time of Maghallanes, according to Father José Fernandez Cuevas, of the Company of Jesus, in his "Spain and Catholicism in the Far East, " folio 2 (years 1519 to 1595). In Spain, in modern times, Prince of Peace, Prince of Vergara, etc. 

 2. And 3. Verbally I mentioned _one million_ of dollars, and that Parliament should meet sometimes for the Philippines and for extraordinary reasons. Take note that out of the 25, 000 men sent here by Spain on account of the insurrection, statistics show 6, 000 struck off the effective list in the first six months and many millions of dollars expenses. The little present, or the Christmas-box (_mi Aguinaldo_) is of no mean worth. 

Some biographical notes of Don Pedro A. Paterno, with most of whichhe furnished me himself, may be interesting at this stage. 

His Excellency Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno belongs to the class ofFilipinos--the Chinese half-caste--remarkable in this Colony for thatcomparative intellectual activity of which Don Pedro himself is one ofthe brightest living examples. In the early decades of last centurya Chinaman, called Molo, carried on a prosperous trade in the _Calledel Rosario_, in the Manila district of Binondo. His Philippine wife, whose family name was Yamson, carried in her veins the "blue blood, "as we should say in Europe, of Luzonia. She was the direct descendantof the Great _Maguinoó_, or Prince of Luzon, a title hereditary, according to tradition. Three sons were the issue of this marriage, one of whom, Maximino Molo, was the father of Pedro. Averse to indolentpleasure during his father's lifetime, Maximino, with his own scantbut independent resources, started active life with a canoe and abarge, conveying goods out as far as Corregidor Island to secure thefirst dealings with the ships entering the port. In this traffiche made money so fast that he opened an office, and subsequentlya store of his own, in the _Escolta_. His transactions attainedlarge proportions, and by the time this kind of trade in the baybecame obsolete, he was already one of the most respected middlemenoperating between the foreign houses and provincial producers. HisChristian name was abbreviated to Máximo; and so proverbial were hisplacidity and solicitude for others that his friends affectionatelynicknamed him Paterno (paternal), which henceforth became the adoptedcognomen of the family. His unbounded generosity won for him theadmiration of all his race, who graciously recognized him as their_Maguinoó_. Sympathetic in the ambitions and in the distress of hisown people, he was, nevertheless, always loyal to Spanish authority;but whether his fortune awakened Spanish cupidity, or his influencewith the masses excited the friars' jealousy, the fact is that in 1872he was banished to the Ladrone Islands, accused of having taken partin the rising of Cavite. Ten years afterwards he was again in Manila, where I had the pleasure of his acquaintance, and on his decease, which took place July 26, 1900, he left considerable wealth. 

Born in 1857, Pedro A. Paterno, at the early age of 14 years, wassent for his education to Spain, where he resided 11 years. Thepreparatory period over, he entered the University of Salamanca, andlater on that of Madrid, where, under the protection and tutelage ofthe Marquis de Heredia, he was introduced into aristocratic circles, in which he became a great favourite. Amongst his college companionswas the Marquis de Mina. At one time it was proposed that he shouldwed the daughter of the Marchioness de Montolibar, a suggestion whichhe disregarded because his heart already inclined towards the Filipinawho is now his wife. 

His assistance to the Home Government was of no mean importance. In1882 he supported the abolition of the Government Tobacco Monopoly. In1893 he again rendered valuable service to the State, in considerationof which he was awarded the Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic, withthe distinction of "Excellency. " In 1895 the oft-discussed questionof the title of nobility he was to receive was revived. After thePeace of Biac-na-bató he fully expected that the usual Spanish customwould have been followed of conceding a title to the Peacemaker. Theprecedents for such an act, in modern times, are the titles givento Manuel Godoy (1795) and to General Espartero [188] (1840), whobecame respectively Prince of Peace and Prince of Vergara for similarservices rendered to the Crown. A dukedom, Paterno believes, wouldhave been his reward if the revolution had definitely terminated withthe retirement of Emilio Aguinaldo from the Islands in 1897. 

A man of versatile gifts, Pedro A. Paterno has made his mark inliterature with works too numerous to mention; he is a fluent orator, a talented musician, and the composer of the argument of an opera, _Sangdugong Panaguinip_ ("The Dreamed Alliance"). As a brilliantconversationalist and well-versed political economist he has fewrivals in his country. A lover of the picturesque and of a natureinclined to revel in scenes of aesthetic splendour, his dream ofone day wearing a coronet was nurtured by no vulgar veneration foraristocracy, but by a desire for a recognized social position enablinghim, by his prestige, to draw his fellow-men from the sordid pleasureof mere wealth-accumulation towards the sentimental, imaginativeideals of true nobility. In 1904 Pedro A. Paterno was the editor andproprietor of the newspaper _La Patria_, the mission of which was (1)to support the American dominion as a _fait accompli_, (2) to urgethe fulfilment of the promise of eventual Philippine home rule, (3)to sustain a feeling of gratitude towards Spain, whence the Filipinosderived their civilization, and (4) to support Roman Catholic unity, on the ground that unity is strength. 

In the second week of April, 1898, General Primo de Rivera left Manilafor Spain, on the arrival of his successor in the Captain-Generalcy, General Basilio Augusti, in the s. S. _Isla de Mindanao_. [189] Somedays before General Primo de Rivera's departure the American Consulat Manila had received despatches from his Government to prepareto quit the Islands, as war was imminent between Spain and theUnited States. He was further instructed to hand over his consulatearchives to the British Consul, who would take charge of Americaninterests. But without the concurrence of the Spanish authorities noofficial transfer could be made from one consulate to the other, andthe General professed ignorance of the existing relations between hiscountry and America. He cabled to Madrid for information, but managedto delay matters until his successor assumed office, when the transferwas duly made. Consul Oscar F. Williams was in no way molested. Hepassed to and fro in the city without the least insult being offeredhim by any Spaniard. The Gov. -General courteously proposed to senda large bodyguard to his consulate, but it was not necessary. Yet, as soon as Consul Williams closed his office and went on board thes. S. _Esmeralda_, the American Consulate escutcheon was painted out, and the notice boards outside the doors were kicked about the streets. 

General Primo de Rivera was so well aware of the strained relationsbetween Spain and America, that the s. S. _Leon XIII. _, in which hetravelled from Manila to Barcelona, was armed as a cruiser, with two4-inch Hontoria guns mounted aft of the funnel and two Nordenfeldtsin the bows. This steamer, crowded with refugee Spanish families, some of whom slept on the saloon floors, made its first stoppage atSingapore on April 17. At the next port of call General Primo de Riveralearnt that the United States of America had presented an ultimatumto his Government. Before he reached Barcelona, in the third week ofMay, war between the two countries had already broken out (April 23, 1898). There were riots in Madrid; martial law was proclaimed; theParliamentary Session was suspended; a strict censorship of the presswas established; the great disaster to Spanish arms in Philippinewaters had taken place; the Prime Minister Sagasta had intimatedhis willingness to resign, and Primo de Rivera entered Madrid whenit was too late to save the Philippine Islands for Spain, even hadthe rebel version of the implied reforms under the alleged Treaty ofBiac-na-bató been fulfilled to the letter. 

The leaders of the principal political parties were hastily summonedto the palace to consult separately with the Queen-Regent on thesituation, and they were unanimously of opinion that the Prime Ministerwho had accepted war should carry them through the crisis. Spain wasapparently more concerned about the salvation of the Antilles thanof her Far Eastern Colony. 

The friars, fully alive to their moral responsibility towards thenation for the loss of the Philippines, were, nevertheless, desirousof finding a champion of their cause in the political arena, and DeputyUria was willing to accept this onerous task. The Bishop-elect of PortoRico (an Austin friar) was a fellow-passenger with General Primo deRivera. According to _El Liberal_ of June 3, 1898, when he arrivedin Madrid he went with the Procurator of his Order to interview theColonial Minister, Señor Romero Girón, on the prospects of DeputyUria's proposed debate when Congress should meet again. The Ministerpointed out to them the attendant difficulties, and referred them tothe Prime Minister. They immediately went to Señor Sagasta's residence, where they were promptly given to understand that _if any one couldbe found to defend them, there might well be others who would opposethem_, so their champion withdrew. 

When, months later, Parliament was re-opened, the Minister of Wardenied in Congress that the Treaty of Biac-na-bató had ever existed, [190] and in support of his contention he cited a cablegram whichthe Gov. -General Primo de Rivera is alleged to have sent to thePrime Minister Sagasta. It was published in the _Gaceta de Madrid_of December 16, 1897, and reads as follows:--

 _(Translation)_

 _Manila_, 12th of December, 1897

 To the President of the Council of Ministers, from the Governor-General

 At the expiration of the time allowed and announced in the _Gazette_ of November 28, after which rigorous and active war measures would be taken against the rebels, a deputation from the enemy came to me on behalf of the brothers Aguinaldo, Llaneras, and the so-called Republican Government, offering to surrender themselves, their followers, and their arms, _on the sole conditions of their lives being spared and that they should receive means with which to emigrate_. It appears to me, and to the general officers of this army, that this surrender is the result of the successive combats by which we have held the positions taken in Mórong, Paray, Minuyan, and Arayat, and the enthusiasm displayed by the resolute volunteers in the provinces outside Tagálog sphere. I feel sure of being able to take Biac-na-bató, as well as all the other points occupied by the rebels, but I am not so certain of being able to secure the persons of the chiefs of the rebellion with their followers. The war would then be carried on by roving parties who, from their hiding-places in the forests and mountains, might appear from time to time, and although of little importance, they would sustain the rebellion. 

 The generals agree with me that the peace will save the honour of Spain and the army, but in view of the importance of the event I consider it necessary to solicit the approval of the Government. 

 If the Government should accept the proposals, I will bring them to an issue at once, but I so far distrust them that I cannot be sure of anything until I have the men and the arms in my possession. In any case, it is now the unanimous opinion that the situation is saved. 

 _Primo de Rivera_. 

 _(Translation of reply)_

 _Madrid_, 13th of December, 1897

 President of the Council of Ministers to the Governor-General, Manila

 Colonial Ministry Code. H. M. The Queen has perused with great satisfaction your Excellency's telegram, and commands me to congratulate you in the name of the nation. In view of the opinion of your Excellency and the generals under your orders that _the honour of the army is saved_, the Government fully authorizes your Excellency to accept the surrender of the rebel chiefs and their Government on the terms specified in your telegram. Please advise the surrender as soon as possible in order to give due and solemn publicity to the event. Receive my sincere congratulations and those of the Government. 

 _Sagasta_. 

At the period of the above despatches the Peninsular and the Insularauthorities were living in a fool's paradise with respect to Philippineaffairs. Had it been officially admitted that those reforms which theclerical party so persistently opposed, but which the home legislatorswere willing to concede, had been granted to the rebels as a conditionof peace, "the honour of the army" would have suffered in Spanishpublic opinion. Hence, the Spaniards' conception of national dignityimposed on the Government the necessity of representing the rebelchiefs as repentant, begging for their lives, and craving the meansof existence in exile as the result of Spanish military valour. 

But abroad, where the ministerial denial, mentioned on p. 414, waspublished by the foreign press, Aguinaldo was universally spoken ofas having been "bought off. "

A wiser government would have learnt a lesson from a sixteen-months'rebellion and have afterwards removed its causes, if only to ensurethe mother country's sovereignty. The probability of the Filipinosbeing able to subvert Spanish rule by their own unaided efforts wasindeed remote, but a review of Spanish colonial history ought tohave suggested to the legislators that that extraneous assistance tosedition which promoted emancipation in the former Spanish-Americanterritories might one day be extended to the Filipinos. 

The publication of the above documents, however, did little to calmthe anger of the Madrid politicians who maintained that Spanishdominion in the Philippines could only be peacefully assured by acertain measure of reform in consonance with the natives' aspirations. 

Months afterwards, when Spanish sovereignty in the Archipelagowas drawing to a close, the Conde de las Almenas opened a furiousdebate in the Senate, charging all the Colonial Govs. -General withincompetency, but its only immediate effect was to widen the breachbetween political parties. 

CHAPTER XXIII

The Tagálog Rebellion of 1896-98Second PeriodAmerican Intervention

The prelude to the American occupation of Manila was the demand madeon Spain by the Government of the United States of America to evacuatethe Island of Cuba. 

Generations of Spanish misrule in that Island had produced a recurrenceof the many attempts to throw off the sovereignty of Spain. InFebruary, 1895, the flag of insurrection was again unfurled, and atBaira a proclamation, claiming independence, was issued at the instanceof one of Cuba's most intelligent patriots--Marti. This civil leader, however, died a natural death a few months afterwards, but the chiefcommand of the insurgents in the field was continued by the mulattoAntonio Maceo. The rebellion was assuming a serious aspect when GeneralMartinez Campos, who had been instrumental in duping the Cubans in1878 by the Treaty of Zanjón, was again sent out as Captain-Generalof the Island. But the Cubans refused to be caught a second time inthe same trap. Martinez Campos' theme of "political action combinedwith military force" held no weight. During his mild _régime_ theinsurrection increased rapidly, and in one encounter he himself wasvery near falling a prisoner. In eight months he was relieved of hispost, and General Weyler, Marquis de Teneriffe, who had a reputationfor severity, succeeded him in command. He was a man of the Duke ofAlba type--the ideal of the traditional Spanish Colonial party whorecognized no colonists' rights, and regarded concessions of libertyto the colonies as maternal dispensations to be hoped for only, but never demanded. Antonio Cánovas, the ultra-Conservative PrimeMinister, had declared that so long as an armed rebel remained inthe field he would not grant reforms, so the prospect of a settlementof the disputes between the Government and the governed was hopelessduring that administration. The duration of the civil war had seriouslyprejudiced American trade interests; the pursuance of a conflict underthe conditions imposed by General Weyler, who caused all non-combatantIslanders to be "concentrated" in places where they were left tostarve, aroused the just indignation of America and Europe alike. Thehand of the assassin brought the Cánovas Ministry to an end on August8, 1897; General Weyler was recalled six weeks later, and the UnitedStates Government, which had so repeatedly protested against theindefinite and wanton waste of lives and fortune in Cuba, dictated toSpain a limit to its continuance. After a Conservative interregnumof six weeks under the leadership of General Marcelo Azárraga, Práxedes Sagasta came into power at the head of a Liberal ministryand with a Cuban autonomy bill in his portfolio. The newly-appointedGov. -General, Ramon Blanco, Marquis de Peña Plata, ex-Gov. -Generalof the Philippines (_vide_ p. 377)--a more noble and compassionateman than his predecessor--unsuccessfully essayed the policy ofcoercing the rebels in arms whilst cajoling peaceful autonomists andseparatists with the long-talked-of self-government. Nevertheless, the separatist movement had in no way abated when the Autonomy Bill waspromulgated, and an insular Cuban Government was formed on January 1, 1898. In the meantime the incident of the blowing-up of the Americanwarship _Maine_, the cause of which has not yet been made clear tothe satisfaction of the world, had further incensed the war partyin the United States. [191] Autonomy had come too late; examined indetail it was but another form of Spanish dominion, open to almostsimilar abuses; it was not the will of the people, and it failedto bring peace. The thousands "concentrated" under Weyler's rulestill formed a moribund mass of squalid misery which Spain was stillunable or unwilling to relieve. America's offer to alleviate theirwretchedness materially was received with suspicion, hemmed in withconditions, and not openly rejected for the want of physical power todo so. Three months of insular government and over 200, 000 Spanishtroops had effected practically nothing; the prospect of peace washopeless, and the United States of America formally called upon Spainto evacuate the Island. Spain argued the point; America insisted onthe course dictated, and sent an ultimatum to Madrid on April 20, 1898, to be accepted or otherwise within three days. The ministersPolo de Bernabé and General Woodford withdrew from Washington andMadrid respectively, and war broke out between the United States andSpain on Saturday, April 23, 1898. 

In anticipation of hostilities an American fleet had concentrated atHong-Kong. On April 23 Major-General Black, the officer administeringthe Colony, issued a proclamation of neutrality, and Commodore Deweywithdrew his fleet from British waters to Mirs Bay, [192] at thattime within Chinese jurisdiction. 

It was known in Manila that the hostile squadron was on the way tothe Philippine capital. Submarine mines were laid, or said to havebeen laid, for some old cable was purchased for the purpose from thetelegraph-ship _Sherard Osborn _when the submarine cable was removedfrom Bolinao and carried on to Manila. Admiral Patricio Montojo wentwith four ships to await the arrival of the enemy off Subig (Zambales)on the west coast of Luzon. Subig is a fine natural harbour, butwith precipitous shores just as Nature has made it. For years the"project" had existed to carry a State railway there from Manila, andmake Subig the principal Government Naval Station and Arsenal insteadof Cavite. But personal interests and the sloth of the Governmentcombined to frustrate the plan. Under the pressing circumstancesthe military authorities pretended to be doing something there, and sent up a commission. Admiral Montojo expected to find batteriesof artillery mounted and 14 torpedoes in readiness, but absolutelynothing had been done, so he at once returned to Manila Bay, andprepared to meet the adversary off Cavite. In Cavite there were twobatteries, with three guns between them, but at the last moment twodefective guns were put ashore there from the _Don Juan de Austria_and two similar pieces from the _Castilla_. 

In Hong-Kong there was great agitation among the members of thePhilippine Patriotic League (_Junta Patriotica_) and the rebel chiefsexiled under the alleged Treaty of Biac-na-bató. The League hadpresented to several European Governments, through its own agents, a sort of _Memorandum_, to which no official recognition could begiven. The leaguers were now anxious to co-operate with the Americansin compelling the Spaniards to evacuate the Archipelago. An influentialAmerican in Hong-Kong accepted the honorary post of treasurer of thePatriotic League Fund, but quarrels over the spoil resulted in GeneralAguinaldo being obliged by one of his ex-ministers to pay him hisshare, amounting to several thousands of Mexican dollars. Under thesecircumstances General Aguinaldo and his suite proceeded to Singapore, travelling _incognito_, so as to avoid any undue interference, and Aguinaldo took the opportunity to explain in certain officialquarters the existing conditions in the Philippines. The rebel generalopportunely arrived in Singapore at or about the time of the outbreakof American-Spanish hostilities. Certain American authorities inthe Far East were desirous of utilizing Aguinaldo's services andprestige with the armed natives to control them and prevent reprisalswhen the American forces should appear before Manila. It was hopedthat, in this way, the lives of many Spaniards in the Islands wouldbe spared. Indeed, it eventually resulted so, for Aguinaldo, withadmirable tact, restrained any impolitic movement on the part of hisfollowers during the American operations against the Spaniards. Onlyone who had lived in the Islands could adequately appreciate theunbounded confidence some 20, 000 armed natives must have had inAguinaldo to have refrained, at his bidding, from retaliating ontheir old masters. According to _El Liberal _newspaper of Madrid, dated June 28, 1898 (which quotes from _El Dia_), the aspirationsof the Revolutionary Party would appear to have been, at that date, as follows, viz. :--

 1. Philippine Independence to be proclaimed. 

 2. A Federal Republic to be established by vote of the rebels; pending the taking of this vote Aguinaldo was to appoint the members of that Government. 

 3. The Federal Republic to recognize a temporary intervention of American and European Administrative Commissions. 

 4. An American Protectorate to be recognized on the same terms as those fixed for Cuba. 

 5. Philippine ports to be opened to all the world. 

 6. Precautionary measures to be adopted against the influx of Chinese. 

 7. The existing judicial system to be reformed. 

 8. Liberty of the press and right of assembly to be proclaimed. 

 9. Ample tolerance of all religions and sects, but abolition and expulsion of all monastic Orders. 

 10. Measures to be adopted for working up the natural resources of the Archipelago. 

 11. The wealth of the country to be developed by the construction of highroads and railways. 

 12. The obstacles operating against the development of enterprises and employment of foreign capital to be removed. 

 13. The new Government to preserve public order and check all reprisals against the Spaniards. 

 14. Spanish officials to be transported to another safe and healthy island until there should be an opportunity for their return to Spain. 

From Singapore, General Emilio Aguinaldo returned with his suite toHong-Kong, where instructions had been given apparently favouringhis plans for co-operation in the Islands. Consequent on this, General Aguinaldo and his staff made preparations for proceeding toManila in an American warship when it should be deemed opportune todo so. About the same time the Philippine Patriotic League issued aproclamation which is too long to reproduce here, as it covers eightfolios of print. This document sets forth that whereas the Treaty ofBiac-na-bató had not been fulfilled by the Spanish Government, theRevolutionists considered themselves absolved therefrom, and morallyfree again to take the offensive in open warfare for the security oftheir rights and liberty. But this document does not quote any of thetext of the above alleged treaty. Proclamations and exhortations tothe rebels were issued with such frequency that it would be tediousto cite them all, but the following is a fair example:--

 _(Translation of Full Text)_

 _Philippine Patriots_:--

 A nation which has nothing good can give nothing. It is evident we cannot depend on Spain to obtain the welfare we all desire. A country like Spain, where social evolution is at the mercy of monks and tyrants, can only communicate to us its own instincts of calumny, infamy, inquisitorial proceedings, avarice, secret police, false pretences, humiliation, deprivation of liberties, slavery, and moral and material decay which characterize its history. Spain will need much time to shake off the parasites which have grown upon and cling to her; she has no self-dependence so long as her nationality is composed of inquisitorial monks, ambitious soldiers, demoralized civil servants, and a populace bred to support this state of things in silence. It is therefore useless to expect anything from Spain. 

 During three and a half centuries Spain's policy has been a delusion. Is there a conflict between Spain and England or Holland? Then the friars come and relate to us preposterous absurdities of the miracles of Saint Francis and of the Image of the Virgin of the Rosary, whilst Simon de Anda calls the Pampango natives his brothers so long as they fight to save the Spanish flag falling into the hands of English or Dutch _savages!_ Is the foreign invasion ended? Then the friars, through their salaried agents in the press, reward us with epithets such as monkey, buffalo, etc. Is there another conflict imminent between Germany and Spain? Then the friars call the natives Spaniards and the military officers own us as their sons and they dub us brave soldiers. Is the conflict finished? Then we are again overgrown boys, beings of inferior race and incapable of being civilized. Is there now to be a struggle with Americans? Then General Augusti, who is the living symbol of Spanish authority, who ought to be the most prudent of the prudent, the most cultivated of the cultivated, points at America as a nation composed of all social excrescences; the friars and their enslaved Spaniards want again to cajole and cheat us with offers of participation in public affairs, recognition of the military grades of ex-rebel chiefs, and other twaddle degrading to those who would listen to it. In fact, they have called into their councils the sons of the country, whilst they exclusively carry out their own ideas, and reserve to themselves the right to set aside all the resolutions at a stroke. They offer to enrol in their ranks the insurgents of yesterday, so that they can have them all shot on the morrow of the present difficulty. What irrision! Do you want another trick exposed? Now that Spain is in danger of losing the Philippines, the executioners of the other day--the everlasting tyrants--tell us that America will sell the Islands to England. No, America has its past and its present. America will preserve a clear intelligence; she is not dominated by friars and tyrants like Spain; she is liberal; she has liberated her slaves against the will of the Spaniards who were, for the most part, their owners. A country is known by its national character; review its past history and it is easy to understand the calumny launched against the Americans. But even though we became English, should we not gain by it? The English have conceded self-government to many of their colonies, and not of the frail delusive sort that Spain granted to Cuba. In the English colonies there are liberties which Spain never yielded to hers in America or the Philippines. 

 Our country is very rich, and as a last resource we can buy it from the Americans. Do not be deceived by the Spaniards! Help the Americans, who promise us our liberty. Do not fall into the error of taking Spain to be a civilized country. Europe and America consider her the most barbarous of the century. There the weakest is the most persecuted. In no country to-day but Spain is the Inquisition tolerated. It is proved by the tortures imposed on the prisoners of Montjuich, of the Philippines, and of Cuba. Spain did not fulfil the agreement entered into with Maximo Gomez at Zanjón, nor that made with Aguinaldo at Biac-na-bató. Spain is a nation always more ready to promise than to perform. But ask for friars, soldiers, and State dependents to come and devour our wealth, and instantly you will get them. Spain has nothing else to give, and God grant she will keep what she has. Spain will flatter you under the present circumstances, but do not be deceived. Submit every fawning offer to your conscience. Remember the executions of the innocents, the tortures and atrocities which have been the means of covering with decorations the breasts of those who took the blood of your fathers, brothers, relations and friends. Providence will aid the Americans in their triumph, for the war is a just one for the nation elected to lead us to the goal of our liberty. Do not rail against the designs of Providence; it would be suicidal. Aid the Americans!

 _(Anonymous. )_

On the other side, far richer in poetic imagination and religiousfervour, is the Allocution of the Archbishop of Madrid-Alcalá publishedin Madrid on the day hostilities commenced. The following extractwill suffice to show how the religious sentiment of the people wasindirectly appealed to to convince them that Spain was defending anoble cause. 

 _Very Beloved Sons_:--

 The cursed hunger for gold and the unquenchable thirst for power have combined to tarnish that flag which the Great Queen Isabella raised, by the hand of Columbus, in the West Indies. With justice trodden under foot, the voice of the Pope unheeded, and the intervention of the nations despised with arrogance, every road to the counsels of peace has been barred and the horrors of war have become a necessity. Let Heaven be witness that we are not the authors of this disaster, and let the responsibility before God be on that vain people whose dogma seems to be that money is the God of the world. .. . There, ploughing the seas, go our soldiers and our sailors. Have no fear, let no one weep, unless, indeed, it be for fear of arriving too late for the fray. Go, braves, to fight with the blessing of the Fatherland. With you goes all Spain, from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, from Irun to Tarifa. With what envy do We contemplate you weighing anchor to leave our shores! Oh! why does juvenility, or decrepitude, or duty deprive us of the joy of taking part in your enterprise? But no! with you goes our Spanish heart. .. . May the Immaculate Virgin, whose scapulary hangs around your necks and whose blessed image floats on your flags, protect you under her mantle in the moment of danger, deliver you from all evil, and shower blessings upon you! May Saint James, patron of Spain, and the martyr Nicodemus and Saint Telmo and Saint Raymond and the King Saint Ferdinand go before you and ever march in the vanguard wherever you may go and make you invulnerable to the bullets of the enemy, so that you may return victorious to tread once more this noble soil and kiss the cheek of the weeping mother who bore you!. .. We, who cannot go to take part in the battles, will hold and brandish the arms of prayer, like Moses who prayed on the mountain, whilst Joshua slew his ferocious enemies in the valley. .. . God has triumph in His hand and will give it to whom He pleases. He gave it to Spain in Covadonga, in Las Navas, in El Salado, in the river of Seville, on the plain of Granada, and in a thousand battles which overflow the pages of history. O Lord, give it us now! Let the nations see that against the right of might there is the might of right!

 To all beloved sons, from our heart We have pleasure in sending you our pastoral benediction, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen. 

 Given in our palace in Madrid on the 23rd of April, 1898. 

 _José Ma_ _Archbishop-bishop of Madrid-Alcalá_. 

This Allocution calls to mind Spain's last struggle with Mexico. Wasit a battle of the saints? The Spaniards relied on Santa Isabel;the Mexicans appealed to Santa Guadalupe, and the latter came outvictorious. 

In Manila, as the critical day approached, Gov. -General Augusti issuedhis general order as to special military service and his proclamationto the Philippine people. The latter is couched in vituperative anderroneously prophetic language, but both can be better appreciatedfrom the following translated texts:--

 _Special Military Service_

 Whereas it is necessary to adopt every possible means for the defence of this territory and to render assistance to the army and the fleet in the approaching operations against the United States of North America, I order:

 1. It is hereby declared that a state of war exists. 

 2. All public functionaries of the State and the municipalities, not exceeding 50 years of age and not physically unfit, are obliged to take up arms in defence of the country and serve whenever they are required. They will proceed, at once, to their offices and lodge their names and serve under their present chiefs. 

 3. All Spaniards and sons of Spaniards (although not born in the Peninsula) above the age of 20 and not more than 50, living in the Provinces, are also hereby required to take up arms. 

 4. All those not comprised in the foregoing are at liberty to serve as Volunteers. 

 (_a_) All native Spaniards who are not employed in the public offices. 

 (_b_) All those who are under 20 and more than 50 years of age, and who are strong enough to endure the fatigue of a campaign. 

 (_c_) All foreigners (except North Americans) who are domiciled in Manila or in the capitals of the Provinces. 

 5. The General Sub-Inspector will organize these Volunteers, and distribute them as required for defensive purposes. 

 6. Public functionaries will receive their orders for military service from their respective administrative chiefs. 

 7. From this date no one capable of bearing arms is allowed to leave these Islands. This prohibition does not apply to those who are seriously ill. 

 _Proclamation_

 _Spaniards_:--

 Between Spain and the United States of North America hostilities have broken out. 

 The moment has arrived to prove to the world that we possess the spirit to conquer those who, pretending to be loyal friends, take advantage of our misfortunes and abuse our hospitality, using means which civilized nations consider unworthy and disreputable. 

 The North American people, composed of all the social excrescences, have exhausted our patience and provoked war with their perfidious machinations, with their acts of treachery, with their outrages against the law of nations and international treaties. 

 The struggle will be short and decisive. The God of Victories will give us one as brilliant and complete as the righteousness and justice of our cause demand. Spain, which counts upon the sympathies of all the nations, will emerge triumphantly from this new test, humiliating and blasting the adventurers from those States that, without cohesion and without a history, offer to humanity only infamous traditions and the sorry spectacle of Chambers in which appear united insolence and defamation, cowardice and cynicism. 

 A squadron manned by foreigners, possessing neither instruction nor discipline, is preparing to come to this Archipelago with the blackguardly intention of robbing us of all that means life, honour, and liberty. Pretending to be inspired by a courage of which they are incapable, the North American seamen undertake as an enterprise capable of realization the substitution of Protestanism for the Catholic religion you profess, to treat you as tribes refractory to civilization, to take possession of your riches as if they were unacquainted with the rights of property, and to kidnap those persons whom they consider useful to man their ships or to be serviceable in agricultural or industrial labour. 

 Vain designs! Ridiculous boastings!

 Your indomitable bravery will suffice to frustrate the attempt to carry out their plans. You will not allow the faith you profess to be made a mockery of, with impious hands placed on the temple of the true God, the images you adore to be thrown down by unbelief. The aggressors shall not profane the tombs of your fathers, they shall not gratify their lustful passions at the cost of your wives' and daughters' honour, or appropriate the property that your industry has accumulated as a provision for your old age. No, they shall not perpetrate any of the crimes inspired by their wickedness and covetousness, because your valour and your patriotism will suffice to punish and abase the people who, claiming to be civilized and polished, have exterminated the natives of North America instead of bringing to them the life of civilization and of progress. 

 Filipinos, prepare for the struggle, and united under the glorious Spanish banner, which is ever bedecked with laurels, let us fight with the conviction that victory will reward our efforts; against the shouts of our enemies let us resist with Christian decision and the patriotic cry of "Viva España!

 _Manila_, _23rd of April_, 1898. 

 Your General, _Basilio Augusti y Davila_. 

The volunteers and guerilla battalions which had been so recentlydisbanded by General Primo de Rivera, because they terrorized thepeaceful inhabitants, were now publicly thanked and praised for theirpast services and called upon again to serve their country. The Mayorof Manila issued his own proclamation, exhorting the inhabitantsto help the Spaniards against the Americans. Archbishop Nozaledaalso made his appeal to the people, assuring them that four Spanishbattleships were on their way out (although, as a matter of fact, only one existed, namely, the _Pelayo_ 8, 500 tons, built in 1887), and that from direct communication with the Almighty he had learnt thatthe most Christian Spain would be victorious in the next engagement. 

There was a general stampede of those who could get away; numbersof families fled up the Pasig River towards the Lake of Bay. Theapproaches to Manila from the north were held by the rebels; CaviteProvince threw off the cloak of pacification and sent fresh levies toinvest the highroads leading from the south to the capital. GeneralAugusti's wife and children, who had been conducted for safety toMacabebe (Lower Pampanga), were kidnapped by the rebels. All Americans(about 25), except one family, took refuge on board foreign ships inthe bay. The one exception was a Mr. Johnson, who had been travellingthrough the Islands with a cinematograph show, and he refused to removehis wife, who had just given birth. The well-known s. S. _Esmeralda_took on board a crowd of passengers for Hong-Kong at fancy rates ofpassage. Refugees offered as much as four times the usual passage-moneyfor a saloon berth, and deck-passengers were willing to pay threetimes the normal rate. The Chinese were leaving the Islands byhundreds by any available opportunity, for they had just as much tofear from the loyal as the rebel faction. The rich Chinese were robbedand the labouring class were pressed into service fit for beasts ofburden. Despised by the Spaniards and hated by the natives, their liveswere not safe anywhere. Foreign families of neutral nationality soughtmore tranquil asylum far beyond the suburbs or on ships lying in theharbour. Two days before the Americans arrived a native regiment wassuspected of disaffection. The Spanish officers therefore picked outsix corporals and shot them forthwith, threatening to do the sameon the morrow if the ringleaders were not handed over. During thenight the whole regiment went over to the rebels with their riflesand accoutrements. No intelligent European foreigner entertained anydoubt as to the result of the coming contest, but the general fear(which happily proved to be unfounded) was that it would be followedby an indiscriminate massacre of the Spaniards. 

There were warships of several nations in the bay, and the Spanishfleet was moored off Cavite awaiting the arrival of the adversary'ssquadron. The Spanish men-of-war, which were always painted white, hadtheir colour changed to dark grey like the American ships. All coastlights were extinguished. The Island of Corregidor and Funta Restingawere hastily supplied with a few 6-inch guns from the _Castilla_. PuntaGorda, Punta Larisi, the rock El Fraile, and Caballo Island had toybatteries compared with the American armament. 

The American men-of-war left Mirs Bay (opposite to Hong-Kong Island)on April 27, under the command of Commodore Dewey, and on the way madea reconnaissance at Subig, but finding no opponent there, they steamedon to Manila. With all lights put out the American ships entered thebay, passing Corregidor Island at 3 a. M. On Sunday, May 1, 1898. The_Olympia_, with Commodore Dewey aboard, led the way. The defenders ofCorregidor Island [193] were apparently slumbering, for the _Olympia_had already passed when a solitary cannon-shot was heard and respondedto. Then a shot or two were fired from the rock El Fraile and fromthe battery of Punta Sangley. The American squadron kept its coursein line of battle; the Spanish ships, under the command of AdmiralMontojo, who was on board the _Reina Cristina_, cleared for action, and the opposing fleets took up positions off the north of Cavite(_vide_ plan of Cavite). 

After an intimation of "no surrender" from the Spaniards, by acannon-shot fired from the Fort of Santiago towards the approachingUnited States fleet, the American ships opened fire, to which theSpanish fleet responded with a furious broadside; but being badlydirected it did very little damage. The _Don Antonio de Ulloa_discharged a broadside at the enemy's ships with almost no effect, and simultaneously the drums were beaten, whilst the officers andcrews shouted "Long live the King, Queen, and Spain!" Firing on bothsides then became general. The well-aimed shots of the Americans werebeginning to tell forcibly against the Spaniards. The _Don Juan deAustria_ advanced towards the _Olympia_ and was met with a showerof shot and shell, obliging her to turn back. The _Reina Cristina_, seeing the failure of the _Don Juan de Austria_, steamed full-speedtowards the _Olympia_, intending to engage her at short range, but a perfect hurricane of projectiles from the _Olympia_ made herretreat with her decks strewn with the dead and dying. The _Baltimore_had one gun put out of action by the Hontoria guns of Punta Sangley, whilst half a dozen men were slightly injured. The _Boston_ also wasslightly damaged, but further than that the American ships sufferedlittle or nothing. By 7. 30 a. M. The Spanish flagship _Reina Cristina_was in flames, so a boat was lowered to transfer the Admiral and hisstaff to the _Isla de Cuba_. The captain of the _Reina Cristina_, Don Luis Cadarso, although mortally wounded, heroically commandedhis men up to the moment of death. By 8 a. M. The Spanish ships weredecidedly crippled, and the American squadron withdrew to anotherpart of the bay, where, behind a number of foreign war and merchantships, they had left two supply transports, from which they took freshammunition. Meantime the little Spanish gunboats _General Lezo, Marquésdel Duero, Manila, Velasco_, and _Argos_, which were quite unfit foraction, ran ashore at Cavite Viejo. The three shore-batteries of FortSantiago, the Luneta battlement, and Fort San Antonio Abad (Malate)respectively continued ineffectual firing towards the American fleetuntil the Commodore sent a message telling them to cease fire or hewould shell the city. At 11 a. M. The Americans returned in line ofbattle, and opened fire on the Spanish ships which still had theirflags flying, and cannonaded and silenced the forts at Punta Sangleyand Cañacao. These operations lasted about one hour. Of the Spanishships the _Castillo_, and _Reina Cristina_ were burnt; the _Don Juande Austria_ was blown up, and the _Don Antonio de Ulloa_, pierced allover with shot, sank after the action, and about half of her crewwhich had survived the battle were drowned. Only the two cruisers_Isla de Cuba_ and _Isla de Luzon_ remained in fighting condition, but the position was so hopeless that Admiral Montojo ordered themto run aground in the Bay of Bacoor. 

The Americans then opened fire on the Arsenal and Fort of Cavite, which had not a single gun left in place. Soon a Spanish officer, named Lostoa, signalled for a truce to save the women, children, andwounded. An American officer met him and replied that having destroyedthe fleet the American mission was ended for the present, and agreedto suspend firing provided the shore-batteries at the river-mouthwere silent. General Augusti was consulted as to this condition, andagreed to it. The mail-steamer _Isla de Mindanao_ was aground off LasPiñas, and being armed as a cruiser the Americans fired on her andshe was soon ablaze. There was still another parley with referenceto Cavite. The Americans demanded the surrender of the Arsenal, theAdmiral, and the surviving crews of the destroyed fleet. As GeneralPeña declined to surrender Cavite, the Americans gave the Spaniardstwo hours to evacuate, under the threat of bombarding Manila if thedemand were not complied with. Again the answer was negative, andfive hours were allowed so that General Peña could consult with theCaptain-General. General Augusti having authorized the evacuation, inless than two hours Cavite and the whole isthmus, including San Roque, Caridad, Estanzuela, and Dalahican, were under American control. Allthe Spanish families returned to Manila by land. The next day (May 2)the _débris_was cleared away from Cavite and the environs, and thedwellings were cleansed and put in order for indefinite militaryoccupation. 

The evacuation of Corregidor Island was demanded by the Americans, and the 100 men composing the garrison were allowed to depart inboats for Naig on the west coast of Cavite. Their commander, however, surrendered himself prisoner, and went on board the _Baltimore_ withhis family. He was at once offered (but wisely refused) his liberty, and later on he was put ashore at Balanga (Bataan). 

On the Spanish side the losses in men and officers amounted to about400 killed. It was a decisive victory for the Americans; the entireSpanish fleet in Philippine waters was destroyed, excepting a few smallgunboats stationed about the southern islands. [194] After a 15 months'cruise one of these--the _Callao_--steamed into Manila Bay on May12 in complete ignorance of what had happened. The Americans fired awarning shot, and ordered her to lower her flag. With little hesitationshe did so, in view of the immensely superior force displayed. Thevessel became a prize, and the commander a prisoner of war. But hewas shortly offered his liberty on parole, which he unfortunatelyaccepted, for the Spaniards in Manila had so lost their heads thatthey accused him of cowardice in not having fought the whole Americansquadron! He was actually court-martialled and condemned to death, but afterwards reprieved. 

The Spaniards exhibited great bravery in the battle of Cavite, andman for man they proved themselves to be in no way inferior to theiropponents. Considering the wretched condition of their old-fashionedships and armament compared with the splendid modern equipment whichthe Americans brought, no other result could have been expected. TheAmerican losses were seven men wounded, none killed, and only slightdamage to one vessel. 

Long before sunset Admiral Montojo and his surviving officers foundtheir way to Manila. [195] In the evening the Admiral serenelypassed the hours in his suburban villa, whilst the Americans were inpossession of the Port of Manila, and the stars and stripes floatedover the town and arsenal of Cavite, and the forts of Cañacao and PuntaSangley. So little did the people and the ignorant Spanish priestsunderstand how a modern military occupation was conducted that whenCommodore Dewey landed his marines a deputation of friars and nunsmet him to humbly crave clemency for the vanquished. The entry of theAmerican squadron, without opposition, into the Bay of Manila, wasa great surprise to the inhabitants of the capital. Whilst the womenand children were driven off to the suburbs of the city and near-lyingvillages, male Spaniards, from the highest to the lowest--merchants, State dependents, Spanish troops, and even those native auxiliarieswho still remained loyal hastened to assure the Gov. -General that"the enemy should not land in Manila without passing over their deadbodies. " Subsequent facts, however, proved these pompous vows tobe merely a figure of speech. From the city walls, the terraces ofhouses, the church towers, and every available height, thousands ofcurious sightseers witnessed the brave defence and the complete defeatof the Spaniards. As the American fleet advanced in line of battle aSpanish transport was scuttled at the mouth of the Pasig River to barthe entrance. All the small steamers and sailing-craft in the rivermoved up as near as possible to the _Puente de España_. The obsoleteguns on the Luneta battlement fired a few solitary shots without theleast effect; the Fort of Santiago, defending the Pasig River entrance, was almost silent, although guns, said to be over a century old, hadbeen hastily mounted there, notwithstanding the fact that the colonel, who was instructed to have the rust chipped off these ancient piecesof artillery, committed suicide in despair. Not a single torpedo hadbeen brought into action by the Spaniards. There were several in stockat Cavite Arsenal, but, when wanted, each had an important piecemissing, so they were unserviceable. About 4. 30 p. M. The Americanships changed their position, and moved towards Manila City. Aformal demand was made on the Gov. -General Augusti to surrender thecapital. The British Consul, who had received instructions to lookafter American interests pending hostilities, served as the mediumof communication between the representatives of the conflictingparties. The Consuls had an interview with the Captain-General, who, after a brief consultation with his colleagues, gave the customarySpanish reply to the effect that he would resist to the last drop ofblood in his veins. Frequent intercourse took place between the SpanishGov. -General and the American Commodore through the intermediary of theBritish Consul. The same afternoon another British, another French, and another German man-of-war entered the Bay. Rear-Admiral Dewey(for he had just been promoted in rank) declared the port blockaded. 

On May 2 he demanded to be put in possession of the telegraph-station, and on this being refused he ordered the cable connecting Luzon withHong-Kong to be cut. The Spanish authorities had just time before thismeasure was taken to report the bare facts to Madrid by cable. Thenews produced immense consternation in the Spanish capital. The wholecity was instantly in uproar. Mobs of people filled the streets, wildly denouncing the incapability of a Government which could leadthem to such disaster. The newspaper offices were thronged. Specialsupplements were issued as quickly as possible. The cafés, clubs, and other public meeting-places were besieged. General Borbon droveout in a carriage from which he harangued the populace, and was, in consequence, sent to a fortress for three months. There was anattempt at holding a mass meeting in the _Puerta del Sol_, but thesurging crowd started down the _Calle de Sevilla_ and the _Carrerade San Gerónimo_ shouting, "Long live Weyler!" "To the house ofWeyler!" They reached his residence, and after a series of frantic_vivas_ for the army, navy, etc. , they called on General Weylerto appear at the balcony. But being himself in somewhat strainedrelations with the existing Government, he did not think it prudentto show himself. Then some one having set up the cry of "Down withthe whole Government!" which was responded to with frenzied applause, the rioters set out for Sagasta's house, returning by the _Carrera deSan Gerónimo_. At that moment the mounted civil guard met and chargedthe crowd. Many were trodden under foot, and arrests were made. TheCivil Governor, Señor Aguilera, followed up in his carriage, and whenthe military police had dispersed the general mass, leaving only hereand there a group, the Civil Governor stepped out of his carriage andaddressed them. His words were hissed from the balcony of a club, and it was already past midnight when the first outburst of publicindignation and despair had exhausted itself. On May 2 the _Heraldo_of Madrid, calmly reviewing the naval disaster, commented as follows:--

 It was no caprice of the fortune of war. From the very first cannon-shot our fragile ships were at the mercy of the formidable hostile squadron; were condemned to fall one after the other under the fire of the American batteries; they were powerless to strike, and were defended only by the valour and breasts of their sailors. What has been gained by the illusion that Manila was fortified? What has been gained by the intimation that the broad and beautiful bay on whose bosom the Spanish Fleet perished yesterday had been rendered inaccessible? What use was made of the famous Island of Corregidor? What was done with its guns? Where were the torpedoes? Where were those defensive preparations concerning which we were requested to keep silence?

Several merchant vessels were seized in and about Manila Bay, andsupplies from seawards were cut off from the city, which was quite atthe mercy of Admiral Dewey, who could have bombarded it and forcedsurrender the same day. But it was not easy to foresee what mightfollow. Admiral Dewey had full discretion to act as circumstances mightseem to guide him, but it was evident that whatever the surrender ofthe Captain-General of the Archipelago might theoretically imply, a military occupation of Manila was far from being tantamount topossession of the Islands. Hemmed in everywhere on land by theinsurgent forces which now occupied and collected taxes in severalLuzon provinces, the Spaniards could have been shelled out of thecapital and forced to capitulate, or driven to extermination by thethousands of armed natives thirsting for their blood. The Americanshad, consequently, a third party to consider. The natives' anxietyto oust the Spaniards was far stronger than their wish to be underAmerican, or indeed any foreign, control. But whilst a certain sectionof the common people was perfectly indifferent about such matters, others, wavering at the critical moment between their oppositionto the Spaniards and repulsion of the foreign invader, whoever hemight be, proclaimed their intention to cast in their lot with theformer. Lastly, there was Aguinaldo's old rebel party, which ralliedto the one cry "Independence. " "Nothing succeeds like success, " andif the rebel version of the alleged Treaty of Biac-na-bató had beenfulfilled in the spirit, no doubt Aguinaldo would have been unanimouslyrevered as a great reformer. But the relinquishment of the strifeby the leaders, the money transaction, and the immediate renewal ofSpanish severities, together created an impression in the minds ofthe rebel rank-and-file that, in some way, their general welfare hadbeen sacrificed to personal interest. It was doubtful, therefore, how Aguinaldo would be received on his return to the Islands. Withthe object of investigating the feelings of the old rebel party, the leader José Alejandrino and two other rebels accompanied theAmerican expedition to Cavite, where they disembarked. Several dayspassed in convincing the rebels of Aguinaldo's good faith in allthat had occurred, and in the meantime Aguinaldo himself arrived onMay 19 with 12 other rebel leaders in the American despatch-boat_Hugh McCulloch_. It yet remained doubtful whether he still heldthe confidence of the rank-and-file; but when he at length landedat Cavite, his old companions-in-arms, and many more, rallied tohis standard with the greatest enthusiasm. The rebels at that datewere computed to number 30, 000, and Aguinaldo, on taking the command, declared himself Dictator. Aguinaldo was, naturally, at that period, on the most amicable terms with Admiral Dewey, who allowed him to havetwo modern field-pieces, 500 rifles, and 200, 000 rounds of ammunition, enjoining on him the strict observance of his engagement to repressreprisals against the Spaniards. 

To prepare the natives for the arrival of the Americans, EmilioAguinaldo sent over in advance of the American Fleet the followingexhortation:--

 _Compatriots_:--

 Divine Providence is about to place independence within our reach, in a manner most acceptable to a free and independent people. 

 The Americans, not for mercenary motives but for the sake of humanity, in response to the woes of the persecuted, have thought fit to extend their protecting arm to our beloved country, now that they have been obliged to sever their relations with Spain on account of the tyranny practised in Cuba, to the great prejudice of the large commercial interests which the Americans have there. An American squadron is at this moment preparing to sail for the Philippines. We, your brothers, fear you may be induced to fire on the Americans. No, brothers, never make this mistake. Rather blow out your own brains than treat with enmity those who are your liberators. 

 Your natural enemies, your executioners, the authors of your misery and your woe, are the Spaniards who rule you. Raise against these your weapons and your hatred. Understand well, against the Spaniards; never against the Americans. Do not heed the Governor-General's decree, calling you to arms, even though it cost you your lives. Die rather than be ungrateful to our American liberators. The Governor-General calls you to arms. Why? To defend your Spanish tyrants? To defend those who have despised you and in public speeches called for your extermination--those who have treated you little better than savages? No! no! a thousand times, no!

 Glance at history and you will see that in all Spain's wars undertaken in the Far East, Philippine blood has been sacrificed; we were sent to fight for the French in Cochin China over a matter which in no way concerned us; we were forced by Simon de Anda to spill our blood against the English, who, in any case, would have been better rulers than the Spaniards; every year our sons are taken away to be sacrificed in Mindanao and Sulu against those who, we are led to believe, are our enemies when, in reality, they are our brothers, fighting, like us, for their liberty. After such a sacrifice of blood against the English, the Annamites, the Mindanaos, etc. , what reward or thanks have we received from the Spanish Government? Obscurity, poverty, the slaughter of our dear ones. Enough, brothers, of this Spanish tutelage!

 Note that the Americans will attack by sea and prevent any reinforcements coming from Spain, therefore the insurgents must attack by land. 

 You will, probably, have more than sufficient arms, because the Americans, having arms, will find means to help us. Wherever you see the American flag, there flock in numbers. They are our redeemers. 

 Our unworthy names are nothing, but we all invoke the name of the greatest patriot our country has seen, certain in the hope that his spirit will be with us and guide us to victory, our immortal _José Rizal_. 

Cavite being occupied by the American forces, foreign Manila residentswere permitted to take refuge there, for no one could tell when theSpaniards would be forced to capitulate, or what might happen if theydid. Meantime the rebels had cut off, to a considerable extent, butnot entirely, supplies of food to the capital, which was, however, well stored; and at no time during the three and a half months'siege was there a danger of famine among the civilian population, although prices of commodities gradually advanced to about doublethe normal rates. Even the hotels in the city only charged doubleprices. The Spanish troops fared far worse; their condition becamemore and more deplorable. All were badly and insufficiently fed, asmuch from disorganized commissariat arrangements as from actual wantof supplies. The latest arrivals of youthful raw recruits particularlyfelt the pangs of hunger, and as the swarming rebels took one outpostafter another from its emaciated defenders and raided the adjacentprovinces, the Spanish prisoners in their hands (soldiers, friars, and civil servants) reached the figure of thousands. Among them wasBrig. -General Garcia Peña (lately in command of Cavite), a colonel, several other officers, a civil governor, etc. , and some hundredsof volunteers. 

Of the neutral warships in the bay, Germany had sent the largestnumber, and the actions of their commanders caused much anxiety tothe blockading forces. In the city the German Consul made littlesecret of his sympathies for Spain, and was in frequent consultationwith the Captain-General. German and Spanish officers fraternizedfreely in the streets and cafés. On May 18 a German steamer, withcargo and provisions, was reported outside Manila Bay, but her entryinto the port was forbidden by the Americans. Later on the commanderof a German man-of-war and his staff were received and fêted by theCaptain-General. These German officers were invited to a picnic at SanJuan del Monte accompanied by several general and other high Spanishmilitary officers. The German commander's post-prandial oration atthe feast was much commented upon, for he is said to have declared(presumably on his own responsibility) that so long as William II wasEmperor of Germany the Philippines should never come under Americansway. The party then rode back to Manila, watched by the rebels, whowere too wise to intercept them and so jeopardize their own cause bycreating international complications. There is little doubt that theattitude taken up by the Germans nurtured the hope entertained bySpaniards all over the world, that at the last hour some politicalentanglement between the other Powers might operate beneficially forSpain's interests. 

The city and commercial suburb of Binondo wore their usual aspect, although trade was almost at a standstill. The undisguised sympathiesof Great Britain for America revived the long dormant feeling ofdistrust and ill-will towards the British residents, which now becameso marked that the Captain-General issued a proclamation commanding duerespect to be paid to neutral foreigners. Even this did not preventa Spanish officer spitting in the face of an Englishman. Indeed, at any time, there was far more danger to all civilian classes fromthe Spanish soldiery than from the rebels, who were strictly enjoinedby Admiral Dewey not to attempt to enter the city. Had they done so, certainly their choicest prize would have been the Archbishop Nozaleda, who, well aware of this, escaped, long before the capitulation ofthe city, to Shanghai on board the German warship _Darmstadt_. 

The volunteers, too, were constantly giving trouble to the Spanishauthorities, from whom they demanded their pay, and once when thiswas refused they threatened to seize the stores. 

Although trade in and with Manila had been more or less suspended, and at intervals absolutely so, since the great naval engagement, justa few profited by the circumstances of war. One British firm there, figuratively speaking, "coined" money. They were able frequently torun a steamer, well known in Chinese waters (in which I have travelledmyself), between Manila and Hong-Kong carrying refugees, who werewilling to pay abnormally high rates of passage. In ordinary timesfares ranged from P50 saloon accommodation to P8 a deck passage. On onetrip, for instance, this steamer, with the cabins filled at P125 each, carried 1, 200 deck passengers (no food) at P20, and 30 deck passengers(with food) at P30. Their unsold cargoes on the way in steamers whenManila was blockaded came in for enormously advanced prices. Shiploadsof produce which planters and native middlemen were glad to convertinto pesos at panic rates were picked up "dirt cheap, " leavingrich profits to the buyers. When steamers could not leave Manila, aBritisher, Mr. B----, walked for several days under the tropical sunto embark for Yloilo with trade news, and steamers were run at highwar rates in and out of Borneo, Hong-Kong, and the Philippine southernports. One British firm obtained a special licence to run a steamerbetween Hong-Kong and the port of Dagúpan, hitherto closed to foreigntraffic. These were, naturally, the exceptions, for, upon the whole, the dislocation and stoppage of trade entailed very serious lossesto the general body of merchants. A few days after the bombardment ofCavite the natives refused to accept the notes of the _Banco EspañolFilipino_ (the Spanish bank), and a run was made on the bank to convertthem into silver. However, the managers of the Hong-Kong and ShanghaiBanking Corporation, and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, andChina, came to the rescue of the _Banco Español-Filipino_ and agreedto honour the paper issue in order to check the scare. The threebanks thereupon opened their doors and satisfied the note-holders, ordinary business being, meanwhile, suspended. 

Aguinaldo had not only been busy organizing his forces, but had, inseveral engagements with the Spaniards, driven them back with loss, made prisoners, and replenished his own armouries. He then assumedthe _Dictatorship_ and issued the following proclamation:--

 _Filipinos_:--

 The Great North American nation, example of true liberty, and, as such, the friend of freedom for our country oppressed and subjugated by the tyranny and despotism of its rulers, has come to offer its inhabitants protection as decisive as it is disinterested, regarding our unfortunate country as _gifted with sufficient civilization and aptitude for self-government_. In order to justify this high conception formed of us by the great American nation, we ought to abstain from all acts which would destroy that opinion, such as pillage, robbery and every kind of outrage against persons or property. So as to avoid international conflicts during the period of our campaign I order as follows:--

 _Article_ 1. --The lives and properties of all foreigners shall be respected, including in this denomination the Chinese and all Spaniards who have not directly or indirectly contributed to the bearing of arms against us. 

 _Article_ 2. --Those of the enemy who shall surrender their arms shall be, in like manner, respected. 

 _Article_ 3. --Medical establishments and ambulances shall also be respected as well as the persons and effects connected therewith, provided they show no hostility. 

 _Article_ 4. --Persons disobeying the above three articles shall be summarily tried and executed if their disobedience should lead to assassination, incendiarism, robbery or rape. 

 Given at Cavite, May 24, 1898. 

 _Emilio Aguinaldo_. 

On June 8, at 5 p. M. , a Philippine deputation, headed by Dr. Santos, waited on the American Consul-General in Singapore and delivered tohim a congratulatory address on the American successes in the warwith Spain. In reply to this address, the Consul-General made somepleasing remarks which were received with vociferous cheers by theFilipinos for the President of the United States and all sympathizerswith their welfare. At the close of the reception a band of Philippinemusicians played a selection of graceful airs of their native isles. 

With his despatch No. 229, dated Singapore, June 9, the Consul-Generalsent press reports of these proceedings to the Secretary of State inWashington, who replied as follows [196]:--

 No. 87. 

 _Department of State_, _Washington, July_ 20, 1898. 

 _Sir_, --

 Your No. 229 of the 9th ultimo, inclosing printed copies of a report from the _Straits Times_ of the same day . .. With a view to its communication to the Press, has been received and considered. By Department's telegram of the 17th of June you were instructed to avoid unauthorized negotiations with the Philippine insurgents. The reasons for this instruction were conveyed to you in my No. 78 of the 16th of June, by which the President's views on the subject of your relations with General Aguinaldo were fully expressed. The extract now communicated by you from the _Straits Times_ of the 9th of June, has occasioned a feeling of disquietude and a doubt as to whether some of your acts may not have borne a significance and produced an impression which this Government would be compelled to regret. The address presented to you by the 25 or 30 Filipinos who gathered about the consulate discloses an understanding on their part that the object of Admiral Dewey was to support the cause of General Aguinaldo, and that the ultimate object of our action is to secure the independence of the Philippines "under the protection of the United States. " Your address does not repel this implication, and it moreover represents that General Aguinaldo was "sought out by you, " whereas it had been the understanding of the Department that you received him only upon the request of a British subject . .. Who formerly lived in the Philippines. Your further reference to General Aguinaldo as "the man for the occasion" and to your "bringing about" the "arrangement" between "General Aguinaldo and Admiral Dewey which has resulted so happily" also represents the matter in a light which causes apprehension lest your action may have laid the ground of future misunderstandings and complications. For these reasons the Department has not caused the article to be given to the Press, lest it might seem thereby to lend a sanction to views, the expression of which it had not authorized. 

 Respectfully yours, _William R. Day_. 

During the first few weeks following the Cavite naval battle nothingremarkable occurred between the belligerents. The British Consuland Vice-Consul were indefatigable in the services they renderedas intermediaries between Admiral Dewey and General Augusti. TheAmerican fleet was well supplied with coal from British vessels. TheManila-Dagúpan Railway was in working order, and bringing suppliesinto the city. The Spanish authorities issued a decree regulating theprice of meat and other commodities. American vessels made occasionaltrips outside the Bay, and brought in captive sailing-vessels. Neutralpassenger-steamers were allowed to take away refugees other thanSpanish subjects. The rebels outside Manila were very active in thework of burning and pillaging churches and other property. Streamsof smoke were daily seen rising from the valleys. In the outskirtsof the city, skirmishes between Spanish troops and rebels were offrequent occurrence. The Spaniards still managed to preserve routesof communication with the country districts, although, little bylittle, the rebels were closing in upon them. Aguinaldo and hissubordinate leaders were making strenuous efforts effectually to cutoff all supplies to the city, with the view of co-operating with theAmericans to starve the Spaniards into capitulation. The hospitals inthe capital were crowded with wounded soldiers, brought in at greatrisk from the rural districts. Spanish soldiers sauntered about thecity and Binondo--sad spectacles of emaciation in which body and soulwere only kept together by small doles of rice and dried fish. Thevolunteers who had enlisted on the conditions of pay, food, andclothing, raised an unheeded cry of protest, and threatened revolt, whilst the officers whiled away the time in the cafés with resignedindifference. The Archbishop issued his Pastoral Letter, in which hetold the natives that if the foreigners obtained possession of theIslands there would be an end to all they most dearly cherished. Theiraltars would be desecrated; the churches would become temples ofheresy; Christian morality would be banished, and vice would becomerampant. He reminded them (with the proviso "circumstances permitting")that he had appointed June 17 as the day on which the consecrationof these Islands to the "Heart of Jesus" would be solemnly confirmed. 

To draw the remnant of loyalty to his side, the Gov. -General instituteda reformed "Consulting Assembly" composed of 15 half-castes andnatives, under the nominal presidency of Pedro A. Paterno, themediator in the Biac-na-bató negotiations. Señor Paterno, whosesympathy for Spain was still unalienated, issued a _Manifiesto_of which the following is a translation (published in _El Comercio_of Manila on June 2, 1898):--

 _Filipinos: Beloved Brethren_. 

 I love our country as none other does. I want it to be great, free, and happy, and to shape its own destinies according to its desires and aspirations. Therefore, I respect all the vital forces in it at the cost of my life and my fortune. A long time ago I risked my existence for the rights and liberties of the Philippine people, who were sorely agitated, by bringing the majority together, and directing the salvation of their interests based on liberty and justice. My ideas are neither strange nor new; they are the _result of study and political experience, _ and not recently conceived under the existing circumstances. I desire, with all the vehemence of my soul, to see my country strong and great--its honour and dignity respected and in the enjoyment of the greatest happiness. But however great our efforts may be we need an ally. Let us imitate the example of the Great Powers; they cannot exist alone, however strong and great they may be. They need help, and the union of strength increases their power. Russia seeks France; Germany seeks Italy and Austria. Unhappy is the Power that isolates itself! And what better ally can we have than Spain, a nation with which we are united for nearly four centuries in religion, laws, morals, and customs, understanding full well her virtues and her defects? The evil days of Spanish colonization are over, and by dint of experience and the sacrifice of blood Spain has understood that we are already of age, and require reforms in our territory such as the formation of Philippine Militia, which gives us the force of arms, and the Consulting Assembly, which gives us the power of speech, participation in the higher public employments, and the ability to control the peaceful development and progress of society. Spain is at war with the United States; we neither know that nation nor its language. The Americans will endeavour by all imaginable means to induce us to help them against Spain. And then, alas! they, the all-powerful, will absorb us and reward our treachery to Spain by betraying us, making us slaves and imposing upon us all the evils of a new colonization. On the other hand, by helping Spain, if we die, we do so in the fulfilment of our duty; if we live, we shall obtain the triumph of our aspirations without the dangers and risks of a civil war. We shall not die! No! Under the flag which shields us and our garrisons, fighting with faith, decision, and ardour, as a country does which yearns to be free and great, the enemy will disappear like the wave which washes the seashore. Let us hope to obtain from Spain all the good that the American stranger can offer to us. Let us help our old ally, our old friend Spain, and realize, with her, more quickly our aspirations. These are they:--With the greatest decentralization possible consistent with national unity, the organization and attributions of public powers must be based on three principles:--(1) Spanish sovereignty. (2) Local representation. (3) Colonial Government responsibility. Three institutions correspond to these three principles, viz. : (1) The institution of the General Government of the Philippines. (2) The Insular Deputation or Philippine Assembly. (3) The Governative Council. In this way the rights of the Government and those of the Colony are harmonized. Let us shun the policy of suspicion and doubt. With these firm and solid guarantees let us establish civil and political liberty. The Assembly, representing the will of the people, deliberates and resolves as one would treat one's own affairs in private life, and thus constitutes the legislative power of the Archipelago. Its resolution will be put into practice with all fidelity by the executive power in its character of responsible government. There are only Spaniards in the Archipelago; we are all Filipinos and all European Spaniards. Such is _the programme of the party who want home rule for the Philippines--ever Spanish!_ Thus shall we see the destinies of this country guided under the orange and red flag. Thus will my beloved country be governed, without detriment to the integrity of Spain. Finally, under Spain our future is clear, and with all certainty we shall be free and rule. Under the Americans our future is cloudy; we shall certainly be sold and lose our unity; some provinces will become English, others German, others French, others Russian or Chinese. Let us struggle, therefore, side by side with Spain, we who love the Philippines united and free. Long live Spain!

 _Pedro Alejandro Paterno_. _Manila_, _31st of May_, 1898. 

This _Manifiesto_ was replied to a week later by the rebel party, who published a Refutation, of which the following is a translation:--

 _Refutation_ of the _Manifiesto_ of Señor Paterno. 

 "Actions speak louder than words. "

 A better phrase, or idea, could not be found with which to reply to the _Manifiesto_ of Don Pedro A. Paterno, published in _El Comercio_ of the 2nd instant, than the epigraph which heads these lines. 

 Señor Paterno begins by saying that he loves his country as none other does; he wants it to be great, free, and happy, and to shape its own destinies according to its own desires and aspirations. _Would to God such beautiful language represented the truth_, for it is just what we wish and what we have, long ago, been aiming at, at the risk of our lives and property, as proved by our actions and our arguments, especially since the middle of the glorious year of 1896, the period in which we commenced the conquest, by force of arms, of our most cherished liberties. May Señor Paterno forgive us if we cite a little of the history of this movement, so that he may see that neither are we ungrateful, nor are we acting with precipitation, but as a logical and undeniable consequence of the vile conduct and bad faith of the Spanish Government. 

 For over 300 years the country slumbered in ignorance of all that referred to its rights and political liberties. It was resigned to the Spanish governmental system of spoliation, and no one thought of reforms. But when the Revolution of September, 1868, broke out in Spain and overthrew the throne of Isabella II. , the first revolutionary leaders, inspired by ideas of humanity and justice, caused an Assembly of Reformists to be established here, one of the members of which, if we remember rightly, was Don Máximo Molo Paterno, father of Don Pedro. The Assembly agreed to and proposed good and appropriate reforms, amongst which was that relating to the incumbencies which were monopolized by the friars. What did the Spanish Government do with these reforms? What did the friars do? Ah! though it may appear cruel to Señor Paterno, historical facts oblige us to remind him that the Government, in agreement with the friars, engineered the military rising of the City of Cavite in January, 1872, and at the instigation of its authors and accomplices, sentenced the secular priests Father José Burgos, Father Jacinto Zamora, Father Mariano Gomez, parish priests of Manila, Santa Cruz (suburb), and Bacoor (Cavite) respectively, to be garotted. Moreover, another secular priest, Father Agustin, the Philippine lawyers and landed proprietors, Don Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, Don Antonio Regidor, Don Pedro Carrillo, Don José Basa, and others, amongst whom was Don Maximo Molo Paterno, the father of Don Pedro, were banished to the Ladrone Islands. This virtuous grand old man (Don Máximo Paterno) did indeed (and we proclaim it with pride) make sacrifices of health and fortune for the advancement of the liberties of his native country. From the year 1872 the Spanish Government carried on a persistent persecution of all the Philippine reformers by unjust imprisonment and banishment. In 1888 the authorities went so far as to prosecute 700 representative men of the suburbs of Manila, simply for having presented a petition of rights and aspirations to the Gov. -General Don Emilio Terrero. There is not a single insalubrious island or gloomy corner in the country which has not been the forced home of some banished Filipino. No one was sure of his personal liberty; none were safe in their homes, and if three or four Filipinos met together for an innocent purpose, they were spied, arrested, and banished. Calumny has brought about enough banishments to Fernando Po, Chafarinas Islands, Ceuta, and other African and Spanish places to demonstrate the bad faith, cruelty, and injustice of the Spanish Government with respect to the Philippine people. This virile, intelligent people received the supreme decree of reforms with joy and enthusiasm, sharing the feelings of those who felt in their souls the flame of liberty. This people worked, through legitimate channels, to advance its ideal, inspired by the purest loyalty to Spain. How did the Spanish Government fulfil, on its part, the decree spontaneously issued in 1868? By prosecuting and banishing the reformists, and employing a system of terror to damp the courage of the Filipinos. Vain, ridiculous fallacy!--for it ought to have known better after three centuries of rule of that country of intelligence, birthplace of Rizal, Luna, Rosario and other living examples of Philippine energy. The Filipinos, lovers of their liberty and independence, had no other recourse open to them than an appeal to arms, to bring force against force, terror against terror, death for death, resolute and sworn to practise the system of fire and blood, until they should attain for the whole Philippine Archipelago absolute freedom from the ignominious sovereignty of Spain. Now let us continue our comments on the _Manifiesto_. 

 Señor Paterno says that a long time ago he risked his existence for the rights and liberties of the Philippine people, even at the cost of his health and his fortune. We, however, do not see how he put into practice such magnificent ideas, for what we do know is that Señor Paterno passed his younger days in Madrid, where, by dint of lavish expenditure, he was very well treated by the foremost men in Spanish politics, without gaining from Spain anything whereby the Philippine people were made free and happy during that long period of his brilliant existence. On the contrary, the very epoch of the persecutions narrated above coincided with the period of Don Pedro A. Paterno's brilliant position and easy life in Madrid, where, because he published a collection of poems under the title of "Sampaguitas, " he became distinguished by the nickname of _Sampaguitero_. We know, also, that Señor Paterno came back to this, his native soil, appointed director of a Philippine Library and Museum not yet established, without salary, but with the decoration of the Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic. This was no gain to us, no distinction to him, seeing that the same decoration was given to the Chinaman Palanca and two others, without their leaving their homes to obtain them. 

 How are we then to understand those generous sacrifices of health and fortune for the cause of Philippine liberty? Perhaps he refers to the recently created Philippine Militia and Consulting Assembly. Well, admitting for argument sake, that with such Militia and Consulting Assembly the liberty and happiness of the Philippines were assured (a doubtful hypothesis, Señor Paterno), this happiness is not due to Señor Paterno's efforts, but simply to the circumstances. Spain is at war with North America, and now offers us this sugar-plum to draw us to her side to defend her against invasion. 

 We ask you again, Señor Paterno, where are those sacrifices?

 We do not see them, although we seek them with the light of impartiality, for, as the splendour of justice shines on our flag, we should not fail to do this even for our greatest enemies, amongst whom we do not count you. 

 Do you allude to the Peace of Biac-na-bató? If so, we ask, what have you done with that peace to which we subscribed in good faith, and which you and General Primo de Rivera together have stupidly and scandalously torn into shreds? You have, indeed, bungled the amnesty when many of the banished are, up to now, suffering the miseries of their sad and unjust fate. 

 You have put off the promised reforms which, even yet, have not come. 

 You have delayed the payment of the P400, 000 for the second and third instalments of the agreed sum. 

 You have not delivered into the hands of our chief, Don Emilio Aguinaldo, the money as agreed upon. 

 Ah! You thought that when we had surrendered to you our arms and our garrisoned strongholds--when our forces were dispersed and we were absent--you could turn back to the Government of iniquity without reflecting that Divine Providence could permit, in the hour of great injustice, her emissary Don Emilio Aguinaldo to return resolved to chastise energetically the immoral and impotent Spanish Government. 

 Then comes Señor Paterno, telling us that however great our efforts may be in the cause of liberty, we cannot live without an ally, and that we can find no better alliance than the sovereignty of Spain. Frankly, we must say that this is inconceivably incompatible with Señor Paterno's clear intelligence. How do you understand an alliance with sovereignty? How can you imagine a people great, free and happy under the sovereignty of Spain? Señor Paterno cites, as examples, the alliances between Russia and France, Germany and Italy and Austria, but, so far, we do not know that Russia is the sovereign power of the French, nor the Germans that of the Italians and Austrians. Señor Paterno further says that by helping Spain in the war with the United States, if we die, we do so in the fulfilment of our duty; if we live, we shall obtain the triumph of our aspirations without the dangers and risks of a civil war. Know, Señor Paterno, and let all know, that in less than six days' operations in several provinces we have already taken 1, 500 prisoners, amongst whom is the Brigadier-General Garcia Peña, one Colonel, several Lieutenant-Colonels, Majors and officers, besides the Governor of the Province of Bulacan, his wife and all the civil service staff of that province. We also have about 500 Philippine volunteers as prisoners, of whom 10 have died and 40 are wounded, whilst among the European prisoners there is only one wounded. This goes to prove that the Europeans were too cowardly to defend the sovereignty of Spain in these Islands, therefore we do not understand the appeal you make to the Filipinos to defend Spain as a duty, when the Spaniards themselves are heedless of that which ought to be a more rigorous and strict obligation with them, seeing that they defend their own possession which brings them so much lucre and profit. This does not say much for the duty when the favoured ones themselves forget it and trample upon it. To die to-day for cowardly Spain! This implies not only want of dignity and delicate feeling, but also gross stupidity in weaving a sovereignty of frightened Spaniards over the heads of brave Filipinos. It is astonishing that in the face of such an eloquent example of impotence there should still be a Filipino who defends the sovereignty of Spain. 

 Remember, Señor Paterno, that we make war without the help of any one, not even the North Americans; but no! we have the help of God, who is the eternal ally of the great and just causes such as that which we defend against Spain--our own beloved _independence_!!!

 Señor Paterno concludes by explaining his political and administrative principles on the basis of Spanish sovereignty, but, as we have charged that sovereignty with cowardice and immorality, we dismiss this detail. 

 To conclude, we will draw the attention of Señor Paterno to two things, viz. :

 1. That he _commits an injustice in imputing to the North Americans the intention of taking possession of these Islands_ as soon as we have conquered the Spaniards, for, besides having no grounds on which to make such an allegation against a nation distinguished for its humanity like the Federal Republic, there is the fact that _its own constitution prohibits the absorption of territory outside America, _in accordance with that principle laid down by the immortal Monroe, of America for the Americans. There is, moreover, the historical antecedent that the independence of South America, once under Spanish dominion, is largely due to the protection of the United States; and

 2. That Señor Paterno should reflect on the fact that the Spaniards would never have allowed him to publish his _Manifiesto_ had it not been for the existence and attitude of our Dictator, Don Emilio Aguinaldo. This ought to serve Señor Paterno as further proof of the cowardice of the Spaniards, who, notwithstanding all that has been shown, insist on creating discord by provoking civil war: on their heads will fall the responsibilities of the moment and of the historical past. 

 _Cavite_, _9th of June_, 1898. 

 _The Revolutionists_. 

The feeling against Don Pedro A. Paterno in the rebel camp was verystrong for the time being, because of his supposed complicity in thealleged Biac-na-bató fraud. 

The rebels stopped all the traffic on the Tondo-Malabon steam tramwayline, and shortly afterwards the Manila-Dagúpan railway trains hadtemporarily to cease running. 

On June 10, 1898, General Monet received, through a Chinaman, a message from the Gov. -General to hasten to Manila with allthe force he could bring. Monet had been so long in the northernprovinces unsuccessfully trying to hold them against the rebelsthat his fate was, for a time, despaired of in the capital. Hemmedin on all sides by the enemy, concentration of all his detachmentsfor general retreat was impossible. The forces spread over Tárlac, North Pangasinán and Nueva Ecija had to be left to their fate; theirjunction was quite impracticable, for, surrounded everywhere bythe enemy, each group was then only just able to defend itself, andsubsequently most of them fell prisoners. With only 600 fighting men, escorting 80 wounded, General Monet set out on his terrible southwardmarch amidst recurring scenes of woe and despair. At every few milesbetween San Fernando and Macabebe his progress was hampered by anever-increasing terror-stricken, weeping crowd of European womenand children who besought him not to let them fall into the handsof a revengeful enemy. In the course of his march at most anotherhundred fighting men, a few of whom were natives, were able to join theretreating column. Their ammunition was scarce; they had no artillerywaggons; every _carromata_ (gig) of the districts traversed had beenseized by the enemy. Near San Fernando his passage was disputed, but he entered the town, nevertheless, and evacuated it immediatelyafter, having secured only 12 carts for the transport of the sickand the wounded and what little remained of the war-material. Thegreatest difficulty was how to feed the swelling mob of refugees. At6 a. M. On June 14 a start was made for Santo Tomás, but they wereso fiercely attacked on the road that, for the moment, annihilationseemed inevitable. Concentrated between Apálit, Santo Tomás, Bacolor, and Mexico the rebel forces were estimated at 9, 000 well-armed men, between whom Monet's column had to pass or die. The sobs of thechildren, the lamentations of the women, the invocation of the saintsby the helpless were drowned in the united yelling of half-starvedtroopers in their almost superhuman struggle for existence. Fortunatelythe best order possible, under such distressing circumstances, wasmaintained by the splendid officers supporting Monet. They were menpersonally known to many of us years before. Lieut. -Colonel Dujiolscommanded the vanguard; the rearguard was under Major Roberto White;the refugee families were in charge of Lieut. -Colonel Oyarzábal, allunder the superior orders of Colonel Perez Escotado. At length theycut their way through to Apálit, where the railway station servedthem as a stronghold, which they were able to defend whilst foodwas served out and some attention could be bestowed on the sick andwounded. On leaving Apálit a group of rebels approached the columnwith a white flag saying they were friendly Macabebes, but when theywere close enough they opened fire. Nearly the whole town turned outagainst the fugitives, and Monet had to hasten the march by deployinghis troops to keep the road clear. Understanding well that Monet wasacting only on the defensive to cover his retreat, the rebels sent himan audacious message offering to spare the lives of his people if hewould surrender their arms. The general's reply was in the negative, adding that if he once reached Santo Tomás not a stick or stone ofit would he leave to mark its site. This defiant answer nonplussedthe rebels, who had private interests to consider. To save theirproperty they sent another message to General Monet, assuring himthat he would not be further molested; and to guarantee their promisethey sent him the son of a headman as hostage, whose life they saidhe could take if they broke their word. That night was, therefore, passed, without attack, at Mandaling, around which outposts wereestablished and trenches occupied. The following day the retreatingcolumn and the refugees reached Macabebe safely, [197] but what becameof their leader at this crisis we must leave to future historians toexplain. Some nine months afterwards the acts of two generals wereinquired into by a court of honour in Spain; one of them was disgraced, [198] and the other, who was accused of having abandoned his wholeparty to escape alone in disguise, was acquitted. 

General Augusti's wife and family were chivalrously escortedfrom Macabebe, where they were quite safe, by a loyal Philippinevolunteer named Blanco (the son of a planter in Pampanga), who wasafterwards promoted to effective rank of colonel in Spain. They wereconducted from the Hagonoy marshes to the Bay of Manila and foundgenerous protection from the Americans, who allowed them to quit theIslands. The Spanish garrisons in the whole of La Laguna and Pampangahad surrendered to the rebels, who were in practical possession oftwo-thirds of Luzon Island. General Augusti was personally inclinedto capitulate, but was dissuaded from doing so by his officers. 

Several American generals arrived with reinforcements, more were_en route_, and about the middle of July the Commander-in-Chief, Maj. -General Wesley Merritt, reached the Islands and remainedthere until the end of the following month, that is to say, forabout 10 or 12 days after the Spanish surrender and the Americanmilitary occupation of Manila were accomplished facts. On the wayout from San Francisco to Manila some American ships called at theLadrone Islands and brought the Spanish garrison of about 40 menprisoners. The surrender of the capital had been again demandedand refused, for the Spaniards were far from being starved out, andthe American commander had strictly forbidden Aguinaldo to make anattack on the city. Aguinaldo, however, had been wonderfully activeelsewhere. In several engagements the Spaniards were completelyrouted, and in one encounter the rebel party took over 350 prisoners, including 28 officers; in another, 250 prisoners and four guns; and 150Spaniards who fled to Cavite Viejo church were quietly starved intosurrender. Amongst the prisoners were several provincial governors, one of whom attempted to commit suicide. At Bacoor a hotly-contestedbattle was fought which lasted about nine hours. The Spaniards weresurprised very early one morning, and by the afternoon they wereforced to retreat along the Cavite-Manila road to Las Piñas. TheSpanish loss amounted approximately to 250 troops wounded, 300 dead, and 35 officers wounded or dead. The rebels are said to have lost morethan double this number, but whatever may have been the sacrifice, the victory was theirs. The Spaniards would probably have comebetter out of this combat but for the fact that a native regiment, hitherto loyal, suddenly murdered their officers and went over tothe rebels. The Spaniards undoubtedly suffered much from unexpectedmutinies of native auxiliaries and volunteers at critical moments, whilst in no case did rebels pass over to the Spanish side. [199]They were not long left in possession of Las Piñas, where a subsequentattack in overwhelming numbers drove the survivors still nearer tothe capital. 

Long before the capitulation of Manila the rebels were as well armedas they could wish from three sources, --that is to say, the Americans, the Spanish arms seized in warfare, and consignments from China. Theyalso made good use of their field-pieces, and ever and anon thebooming of cannon was heard in the streets of Manila. The Spaniards, hard pressed on all sides, seemed determined to make their last standin the old citadel. The British banks shipped away their specie toChina, and the British community, whose members were never united asto the course they should adopt for general safety, was much relievedwhen several steamers were allowed, by the mutual consent of AdmiralDewey and General Augusti, to lie in the bay to take foreigners onboard in case of bombardment. Emilio Aguinaldo, on his return to theIslands, had declared himself Dictator. The Dictatorial Governmentadministered the provinces as they were conquered from the Spaniards, collected taxes, and enacted laws. In a month's time the managementof these rural districts had so far assumed shape that Aguinaldoconvened deputies therefrom and summoned a Congress on June 18. Hechanged the name of Dictatorial to Revolutionary Government, and onJune 23 proclaimed the Constitution of that provisional government, of which the statutes are as follows:--

 _(Translation)_

 _Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy_, President of the Philippine Revolutionary Government and Commander-in-Chief of its army

 This Government, desirous of demonstrating to the Philippine people that one of its objects is to abolish with a firm hand the inveterate vices of Spanish administration, substituting a more simple and expeditious system of public administration for that superfluity of civil service and ponderous, tardy and ostentatious official routine, I hereby declare as follows, viz:--

CHAPTER I

 Chapter I Of the Revolutionary Government

 _Article_ 1. --The Dictatorial Government shall be henceforth called the Revolutionary Government, whose object is to struggle for the independence of the Philippines, until all nations, including Spain, shall expressly recognize it, and to prepare the country for the establishment of a real Republic. The Dictator shall be henceforth styled the President of the Revolutionary Government. 

 _Article_ 2. --Four Government Secretaryships are created: (1) of Foreign Affairs, Navy and Trade; (2) of War and Public Works; (3) of Police, Public Order, Justice, Public Education and Health; (4) of Finance, Agriculture, and Manufactures. The Government has power to increase the number of secretaryships when experience has shown that the above distribution of public offices is insufficient to meet public requirements. 

 _Article_ 3. --Each Secretary shall assist the President in the administration of affairs concerning his particular branch. The Secretary at the head of each respective department shall not be responsible for the Presidential Decrees, but shall sign the same to give them authenticity. But if it should appear that the decree has been issued on the proposal of the Secretary of the corresponding branch, then the Secretary shall be jointly responsible with the President. 

 _Article_ 4. --The Secretaryship of Foreign Affairs shall be divided into three centres, one of Diplomacy, one of Navy, and another of Trade. The first centre shall study and execute all affairs which concern the direction of diplomatic negotiations with other Powers and the correspondence of this Government connected therewith. The second shall study all that relates to the formation and organization of our Navy, and the fitting out of whatever expeditions the circumstances of the Revolution may require; and the third shall attend to all matters concerning home and foreign trade and the preliminary work in connection with the Treaties of Commerce to be made with other nations. 

 _Article_ 5. --The Secretaryship of War shall be divided into two centres, the one exclusively of War and the other exclusively of Public Works. The first centre shall be divided into four sections, one of Campaign, one of Military Justice, one of Military Administration, and the other of Military Health. 

 The Campaign section shall draw up and attend to all matters concerning the service and enlistment of the Revolutionary Militia, the direction of campaigns, the making of plans, fortifications, and the editing of the announcements of battles, the study of military tactics for the Army, and organization of the respective staffs, artillery, and cavalry corps, and all other matters concerning campaigns and military operations. 

 The section of Military Justice shall attend to all matters concerning courts-martial and military sentences, the appointment of judges and assistant judges in all military-judicial affairs. The military administrator shall take charge of the commissariat department and all Army equipment, and the Military Health department shall take charge of matters concerning the health and salubrity of the Militia. 

 _Article_ 6. --The other secretaryships shall be divided into so many centres corresponding to their functions, and each centre shall be sub-divided into sections as the nature and importance of the work requires. 

 _Article_ 7. --The Secretary of each department shall inspect and watch over the work therein and be responsible to the President of the Government. At the head of each section there shall be a director, and in each section there shall be an official in charge assisted by the necessary staff. 

 _Article_ 8. --The President shall have the sole right to appoint the secretaries, and in agreement with them he shall appoint all the staff subordinate to the respective departments. Nevertheless, in the election of individuals favouritism must be avoided on the understanding that the good name of the Fatherland and the triumph of the Revolution need the services of the most really capable persons. 

 _Article_ 9. --The secretaries can take part in the sessions of the Revolutionary Congress, whenever they have a motion to present in the name of the President, or on the interpellation of any deputy, but when the question under debate, or the motion on which they have been summoned is put to the vote, they shall retire and not take part in that voting. 

 _Article_ 10. --The President of the Government is the personification of the Philippine people, and as such he cannot be held responsible for any act whilst he holds that position. His position is irrevocable until the Revolution shall triumph, unless extraordinary circumstances should compel him to tender his resignation to Congress, in which case only Congress shall elect whomsoever is esteemed most fit. 

CHAPTER 2

 Chapter II Of the Revolutionary Congress

 _Article_ 11. --The Revolutionary Congress is the assembly of those deputies from the Philippine provinces, elected in due form, as prescribed in the Decree of the 18th inst. Nevertheless, if any province could not elect deputies because the majority of its towns had not yet been able to free themselves from Spanish dominion, the Government can nominate provisional deputies chosen from the persons of highest consideration by reason of their education and social position up to the number fixed by the said Decree, always provided that such persons shall have been born or have resided for a long time in the provinces to be represented. 

 _Article_ 12. --When the deputies shall have met in the town and in the building to be provided by the Revolutionary Government the preliminary act shall be the election by majority of votes of a commission of five persons who shall examine the documents accrediting the personality of each person, and another commission of three persons who shall examine the documents exhibited by the first commission of five. 

 _Article_ 13. --The next day the said deputies shall again meet and the two commissions shall read their respective reports on the validity of the said documents, all doubts on the same to be resolved by an absolute majority of votes. They shall then at once proceed to the election, by absolute majority, of a president, a vice-president, and two secretaries, to be chosen from among the same deputies, after which the Congress shall be held to be constituted, and notice of the same shall be given to the Government. 

 _Article_ 14. --The meeting-place of Congress is sacred and inviolable, and no armed force can enter therein except on the summons of the President of the Congress for the purpose of restoring order, should the same have been disturbed by those who know not how to honour themselves and their solemn functions. 

 _Article_ 15. --The powers of Congress are:--To look after the general interests of the Philippine people and the fulfilment of the revolutionary laws; to discuss and vote laws; to discuss and approve, before ratification, all treaties and loans to examine and approve the accounts of the general expenses which shall be presented annually by the Finance Secretary and to fix the extraordinary taxes, and others which, in future, may be imposed. 

 _Article_ 16. --The voice of Congress shall also be heard in all matters of grave importance the resolution of which will admit of delay, but the President of the Government can resolve questions of an urgent character, rendering an account of his acts to Congress by means of a message. 

 _Article_ 17. --Any Deputy can present a bill in Congress, and any Secretary can do so by order of the President of the Government. 

 _Article_ 18. --The sessions of Congress shall be public, and only in cases where reserve is necessary shall secret sessions be held. 

 _Article_ 19. --The order of debate and parliamentary usages shall be determined by instructions to be formulated by Congress. The President shall lead the debate, but shall not vote, unless there fail to be a majority, in which case he shall give his casting vote. 

 _Article_ 20. --The President of the Government cannot, in any manner, impede the meeting of Congress, nor interfere with the sessions of the same. 

 _Article_ 21. --Congress shall appoint a permanent judicial commission, to be presided over by the Vice-President, assisted by one of the Secretaries and composed of these persons and seven assessors, elected by majority of votes, from among the deputies. This commission shall revise the sentences given in criminal cases by the provincial councils, and shall judge and sentence, without right of further appeal, cases brought against the Government Secretaries, Provincial Chiefs and Provincial Councillors. 

 _Article_ 22. --In the office of the Secretary to Congress there shall be a Book of Honour, in which shall be noted the great services rendered to the Fatherland and esteemed as such by Congress. Any Filipino, military or civil, can solicit of Congress inscription in the said book on producing the documents which prove the praiseworthy acts performed by him for the good of the Fatherland since the present Revolution began. For extraordinary services which may, in future, be rendered, the Government will propose the inscription, the proposal being accompanied by the necessary justification. 

 _Article_ 23. --Congress shall determine, on the proposal of the Government, the money rewards to be paid, once for all, to the families of those who were victims to duty and patriotism in the execution of heroic acts. 

 _Article_ 24. --The resolutions of Congress shall not be binding until they have received the sanction of the President of the Government. When the said President shall consider any resolution undesirable, or impracticable, or pernicious, he shall state his reasons to Congress for opposing its execution, and if Congress still insist on the resolution the said President can outvote it on his own responsibility. 

CHAPTER III

 Chapter III Of Military Justice

 _Article_ 25. --When any commandant of a detachment shall receive notice of an individual in the service having committed a fault or having performed any act reputed to be a military misdemeanour, he shall inform the Commandant of the District of the same, and this officer shall appoint a judge and secretary to constitute a Court of Inquiry in the form prescribed in the instructions dated 20th instant. If the accused held the rank of lieutenant, or a higher one, the same Commandant shall be the judge, and if the Commandant himself were the accused the Superior Commandant of the Province shall appoint as judge an officer of a higher rank, and if there were none such the same Commandant of the Province shall open the inquiry. The judge shall always hold the rank of chief. 

 _Article_ 26. --When the Court of Inquiry has finished its labours, the Superior Commandant shall appoint three assistant judges of equal or superior rank to the judge, and a Court-Martial shall be composed of the three assistant judges, the judge, the assessor, and the president. The Commandant of the District shall be the judge if the accused held the rank of sergeant, or a lower one, and the Superior Commandant shall be judge if the accused held the rank of lieutenant, or a higher one. This court shall pass sentence in the same form as the Provincial Courts, but the sentence can be appealed against before the Superior Council of War. 

 _Article 27_. --The Superior Council of War shall be composed of six assistant judges, who shall hold the minimum rank of Brigadier-General, and the War Office adviser. If the number of generals residing in the capital of the Revolutionary Government be insufficient, the number shall be made up by deputies to be appointed on commission by Congress. The President of this Council shall be the general of the highest rank amongst them, and if there were more than one of the same rank, one shall be elected by themselves by majority of votes. 

 _Article 28_. --The Superior Council shall judge and sentence, without right of further appeal, Superior Commandants, Commandants of Districts, and all officers who hold rank of Commandant, or a higher one. 

 _Article 29_. --Military misdemeanours are the following:--

 (1) Violation of the immunity due to foreigners, both as to their persons and their goods, and violation of the privileges appertaining to sanitary establishments and ambulances, as well as the persons and effects in, or belonging to, one or the other, and persons employed in the service of the same so long as they commit no hostile act. (2) Want of respect for the lives, money, and jewellery of the enemy who surrenders his arms, and for prisoners of war. (3) The entry of Filipinos into the service of the enemy as spies, or to discover war secrets, make plans of the revolutionists' positions and fortifications, or present themselves to parley without proving their mission or their individuality. (4) Violation of the immunity due to those who come with this mission, duly accredited, in the form prescribed by international law. 

 The following persons also commit military misdemeanours:--

 (1) Those who endeavour to break up the union of the revolutionists, fomenting rivalry between the chiefs, and forming divisions and armed bands. (2) Those who collect taxes without being duly authorized by Government, or misappropriate public funds. (3) Those who, being armed, surrender to the enemy or commit any act of cowardice before the same; and (4) Those who sequester any person who has done no harm to the Revolution, or violate women, or assassinate, or seriously wound any undefended persons, or commit robbery or arson. 

 _Article_ 30. --Those who commit any of the above-named misdemeanours shall be considered declared enemies of the Revolution and shall be punished on the highest scale of punishment provided for in the Spanish Penal Code. If the misdemeanour be not provided for in the said code, the culprit shall be confined until the Revolution has triumphed, unless his crime shall have caused an irreparable injury which, in the opinion of the court, would justify the imposition of capital punishment. 

 Additional Clauses

 _Article_ 31. --The Government shall establish abroad a Revolutionary Committee, composed of an indefinite number of the most competent persons in the Philippine Archipelago. This Committee shall be divided into three sections, viz. :--Of diplomacy; of the navy; and of the army. The diplomatic section shall negotiate with the foreign cabinets the recognition of belligerency and Philippine independence. The naval section shall be intrusted with the study and organization of a Philippine navy and prepare the expeditions which the circumstances of the Revolution may require. The army section shall study military tactics and the best form of organizing staff, artillery and engineer corps, and all that is necessary to put the Philippine army on a footing of modern advancement. 

 _Article_ 32. --The Government shall dictate the necessary instructions for the execution of the present decree. 

 _Article_ 33. --All decrees of the Dictatorial Government which may be in opposition to the present one are hereby rescinded. 

 Given at Cavite, June 23, 1898. 

 _Emilio Aguinaldo_. 

The Promulgation of the Constitution of the Revolutionary Governmentwas accompanied by a Message from Emilio Aguinaldo, of which thefollowing is a translation:--

 _Message of the President of the Philippine Revolution_

 It is an established fact that a political Revolution, judiciously carried out, is the violent means employed by nations to recover the sovereignty which naturally belongs to them, when the same has been usurped and trodden under foot by tyrannical and arbitrary government. Therefore, the Philippine Revolution cannot be more justifiable than it is, because the country has only resorted to it after having exhausted all peaceful means which reason and experience dictated. 

 The old Kings of Castile were obliged to regard the Philippines as a sister nation united to Spain by a perfect similarity of aims and interests, so much so that in the Constitution of 1812, promulgated at Cádiz, as a consequence of the Spanish War of Independence, these Islands were represented in the Spanish Parliament. But the monastic communities, always unconditionally propped up by the Spanish Government, stepped in to oppose the sacred obligation, and the Philippine Islands were excluded from the Spanish Constitution, and the country placed at the mercy of the discretional or arbitrary powers of the Gov. -General. 

 Under these circumstances the country clamoured for justice, and demanded of the Peninsular Government the recognition and restitution of its secular rights, through reforms which should gradually assimilate it to Spain. But its voice was soon stifled, and its children were rewarded for their abnegation by punishment, martyrdom and death. The religious corporations, whose interests were always at variance with those of the Filipinos and identified with the Spanish Government, ridiculed these pretensions, calmly and persistently replying that liberty in Spain had only been gained by the sacrifice of blood. 

 What other channel, then, was open to the country through which to insist upon the recovery of its lawful rights? No other remedy remained but the application of force, and convinced of this, it had recourse to revolution. 

 Now its demands are no longer limited to assimilation with the Spanish Constitution. It asks for a definite separation therefrom; it struggles for its independence, with the certainty that the time has arrived when it is able and ought to rule itself. 

 Hence, it has constituted a Revolutionary Government, based on wise and just laws, suited to the abnormal circumstances it is passing through, preparatory to the founding of a real Republic. Accepting Right as the only standard of its acts, Justice as its sole aim, and honourable Labour as its sole means, it calls upon all Filipinos, without distinction of birth, and invites them to unite firmly with the object of forming a noble society, not by bloodshed, nor by pompous titles, but by labour and the personal merit of each one; a free society where no egoism shall exist--where no personal politics shall overflow and crush, nor envy nor partiality debase, nor vain boasting nor charlatanry throw it into ridicule. 

 Nothing else could be expected from a country which has proved by its long suffering and courage in tribulation and danger, and industry and studiousness in peace, that it is not made for slavery. That country is destined to become great; to become one of the most solid instruments of Providence for ruling the destinies of humanity. That country has resources and energy sufficient to free itself from the ruin and abasement into which the Spanish Government has drawn it, and to claim a modest, though worthy, place in the concert of free nations. 

 Given at Cavite, June 23, 1898. 

 _Emilio Aguinaldo_. 

These public documents were supplemented by the issue, on June 27, of "Instructions, " signed by Emilio Aguinaldo, which, as they relatesolely to working details of the Revolutionary Government offices, are of minor interest to the general reader. 

Since June 30 the rebels were in possession of Coloocan (the first, station--beyond Manila--on the Manila-Dagúpan Railway) and the Manilasuburbs of Santa Cruz and Tondo. The rebels purchased four vessels inSingapore and armed them, but, later on, Admiral Dewey forbade them tofly their flag pending the ultimate settlement of the whole Philippineproblem. They also took possession of the waterworks of Santólan(near San Juan del Monte), but did not cut off the water-supply to thecapital. Dissensions arose in the rebel camp between Emilio Aguinaldoand the leaders Yocson and Sandico. Yocson was the chief who carriedon the war in the northern provinces during the absence of Aguinaldoand his companions (_vide_ pp. 399, 407). The Americans had no lessdifficulty in dealing with the natives than with the Spaniards. Therewere frequent altercations between individual rebels and Americansoldiers which, in one case at least, near Cavite, resulted veryseriously. The rebels were irritated because they consideredthemselves slighted, and that their importance as a factor in thehostilities was not duly recognized; in reality, there was nothingfor them to do in co-operation with the Americans, who at any timecould have brought matters to a crisis without them (by shelling thecity) but for considerations of humanity. Aguinaldo's enemies werenaturally the Spaniards, and he kept his forces actively employed inharassing them in the outlying districts; his troops had just gaineda great victory in Dagúpan (Pangasinán), where, on July 22, the wholeSpanish garrison and a number of civilian Spaniards had to capitulatein due written form. But experience had taught him that any day anattempt might be made to create a rival faction. Such a contingencyhad been actually provided for in Article 29 of the Statutes of theRevolutionary Government already cited. Presumably with a view tomaintaining his prestige and keeping his individuality well beforethe people, he was constantly issuing edicts and proclamations. He waswise enough to understand the proverbs, "_L'union fait la force_, " and"A house divided against itself shall surely fall. " Not the least ofhis talents was that of being able to keep united a force of 30, 000 to40, 000 Filipinos for any object. His proclamation of the Constitutionof the Revolutionary Government on June 23 implied a declaration ofindependence. He really sought to draw the American authorities intoa recognition of it; but he did not seem to see, what others saw, theinopportunity of their doing so at that stage of America's relationswith Spain. The generals were not the arbiters of the _political_situation. Then Aguinaldo adopted a course quite independently ofthe Great Power which had undertaken the solution of the Philippinequestion, and addressed a Memorandum to the foreign Governments, with acopy of an Act of Independence. The result was altogether negative; nota single Power chose to embarrass America, at that critical period, bya recognition of Aguinaldo's party. The Memorandum read as follows:--

 (_Translation_)

 _To the Powers_:--

 The Revolutionary Government of the Philippines, on being constituted, explained, by means of a message of the 23rd June last, the real causes of the Philippine Revolution, and went on to show that this popular movement is the result of those laws which regulate the life of a nation ardently desiring progress, and the attainment of perfection by the only possible road of liberty. 

 The Revolution, at the present moment, is predominant in the provinces of Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro, Tayabas, La Laguna, Mórong, Bulacan, Bataán, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tárlac, Pangasinán, La Union, La Infanta, and Zambales, and is besieging the capital, Manila. In these provinces the most perfect order and tranquillity reign; they are administered by the authorities elected by themselves in conformity with the decrees of the 18th and 23rd of June last. 

 Moreover, the Revolution has about 9, 000 prisoners of war, who are treated with the same consideration observed by cultured nations, agreeably with the sentiments of humanity, and a regular organized army of more than 30, 000 men fully equipped on a war footing. 

 Under these circumstances the representatives of the townships comprised within the provinces above mentioned, interpreting the popular will of those who have elected them, have proclaimed the Independence of the Philippines, and requested the Revolutionary Government to petition and solicit of the foreign Powers an acknowledgment of their belligerency and independence, under the conviction that the Philippine nation has arrived at that state in which it can and ought to govern itself. As a consequence, the annexed document has been signed by the said representatives. Wherefore the undersigned, using the faculties reserved to him as President of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines, and in the name and representation of the Philippine nation, implores the protection of all the Powers of the civilized world, and beseeches them formally to recognize the belligerency, the Revolutionary Government, and the Independence of the Philippines, because these Powers are the bulwarks designated by Providence to maintain the equilibrium amongst nations by sustaining the weak and _restraining the ambitions of the more powerful_, in order that the most faultless justice may illuminate and render effective indefinitely the progress of humanity. 

 Given under my hand and seal in Bacoor, in the Province of Cavite, this 6th day of August 1898. 

 _Emilio Aguinaldo_, _The President of the Revolutionary Government. _

The accompanying Act of Independence, dated August 1, 1898, and couchedin the flowery language of the preceding edicts and proclamations, was signed by those Filipinos who had been appointed local presidentsof the townships in the provinces referred to. The allusion to "theambitions of the more powerful" could well be understood to signifyan invitation to intervene in and counteract America's projects, whichmight, hereafter, clash with the Aguinaldo party's aspirations. At thesame time a group of agitators, financed by the priests in and out ofthe Islands, was straining every nerve to disseminate false reportsand create discord between the rebels and the Americans, in the hopeof frustrating their coalition. But, even then, with a hostile hostbefore Manila, and the city inevitably doomed to fall, the fate ofSpanish sovereignty depended more on politicians than on warriors. 

In the absence of a Spanish Ambassador at Washington the French andAustro-Hungarian Governments had accepted, conjointly, the protectionof Spanish subjects and interests in the United States on terms setforth in the French Ambassador's letter to the Secretary of State inWashington, dated April 22, 1898. In August the city of Santiago deCuba was beleaguered by the Americans under General Shafter; the fortshad been destroyed by Admirals Schley and Sampson; General Linares, in command there, had been wounded and placed _hors de combat_; thelarge force of Spanish troops within the walls was well armed andmunitioned, but being half-starved, the _morale_ of the rank-and-filewas at a low ebb, and General Toral, who succeeded General Linares, capitulated. The final blow to Spanish power and hopes in Cuba was thedestruction of Admiral Cervera's fleet outside the port of Santiago deCuba. Cuba was lost to Spain. No material advantage could then possiblyaccrue to any of the parties by a prolongation of hostilities, and onJuly 22 the Spanish Government addressed a Message to the Presidentof the United States (Mr. William McKinley) to inquire on what termspeace might be re-established between the two countries. In reply tothis inquiry the U. S. Secretary of State sent a despatch, dated July30, conveying an outline of the terms to be stipulated. The FrenchAmbassador at Washington, M. Jules Cambon, having been speciallyappointed "plenipotentiary to negotiate and sign, " by decree of theQueen-Regent of Spain, dated August 11, 1898, peace negotiations wereentered into, and a Protocol was signed by him and the U. S. Secretaryof State, Mr. William R. Day, for their respective Governments at4. 25 p. M. On August 12, 1898. It is interesting to note the exacthour and date, in view of subsequent events. 

 Protocol of Peace

 _The English Text_ [200]

 _Article_ 1. --Spain will relinquish all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba. 

 _Article_ 2. --Spain will cede to the United States the Island of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and also an island in the Ladrones to be selected by the United States. 

 _Article_ 3. --_The United States will occupy and hold the city, bay, and harbour of Manila, pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace which shall determine the control, disposition, and government of the Philippines_. 

 _Article_ 4. --Spain will immediately evacuate Cuba, Porto Rico, and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies; and to this end each Government will, within ten days after the signing of this protocol, appoint Commissioners, and the Commissioners so appointed shall, within 30 days after the signing of this protocol, meet at Havana for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the aforesaid evacuation of Cuba and the adjacent Spanish islands; and each Government will, within ten days after the signing of this protocol, also appoint other Commissioners, who shall, within 30 days after the signing of this protocol, meet at San Juan, in Porto Rico, for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the aforesaid evacuation of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies. 

 _Article_ 5. --The United States and Spain will each appoint not more than five Commissioners to treat of peace, and the Commissioners so appointed shall meet at Paris not later than October 1, 1898, and proceed to the negotiation and conclusion of a treaty of peace, which treaty shall be subject to ratification according to the respective constitutional forms of the two countries. 

 _Article_ 6. --Upon the conclusion and signing of this protocol, hostilities between the two countries shall be suspended, and notice to that effect shall be given as soon as possible by each Government to the commanders of its military and naval forces. 

 Done at Washington in duplicate, in English and in French, by the undersigned, who have hereunto set their hands and seals, the 12th day of August, 1898. 

 _William R. Day_. _Jules Cambon_. 

For a month before the Protocol was signed the relations betweenSpaniards and Americans were verging towards a crisis. The respectiveland forces were ever on the point of precipitating the end. GeneralF.  V. Greene had his brigade encamped along the Cavite-Manila road, about 2 1/2 miles from the Spanish fort at Malate, with outposts thrownforward to protect the camp. The rebel lines were situated nearerto Manila, between the Americans and Spaniards. On July 28 GeneralGreene took possession of a line, from the road already occupied byhis forces, in front of the rebels' advanced position, to be ready tostart operations for the reduction of Manila. The American soldiersworked for three days at making trenches, almost unmolested by theSpaniards, who had a strong line of breastworks not more than 1, 000yards in front. No Americans were killed or wounded whilst so working. 

On July 31, at 11 p. M. , the Spaniards opened a furious infantryand artillery fire upon the American lines and kept it up for twohours. Fort San Antonio Abad (Malate) with five guns, Blockhouse No. 14with two guns, and connecting infantry trenches, concentrated fireupon the American breastworks, which caused considerable annoyanceto the Americans. The night was pitch-dark, it rained in torrents, there was mud and water everywhere, and the ground was too flatto drain. The 10th Pennsylvania Regiment and four guns of the UtahBatteries occupied the American line, with two batteries of the 3rdFoot Artillery in reserve. The last was brought up under a heavy fire, and taking up a position on the right, silenced the Spaniards, whowere pouring in a flanking fire. The whole camp was under arms, andammunition and reinforcements were sent. The regiments were standingexpectantly in the rain. The 1st California was ordered forward, the bugle sounded the advance, the whole camp cheered, and the menwere delighted at the idea of meeting the enemy. Over a flat groundthe American troops advanced under a heavy Spanish fire of shell andMaüser rifles, but they were steady and checked the Spaniards' attack. 

General Greene went forward to the trenches, firing was exchanged, andthe wounded were being brought back from the front in _carromatas_. Thecontending parties were separated by bamboo thickets and swamp. TheAmericans lost that night 10 killed and 30 wounded. The Spanishloss was much heavier. Most of the Americans killed were shot in thehead. The Maüser bullet has great penetrating power, but does not killwell; in fact it often makes a small wound which hardly bleeds. Aspointed out at p. 369, four Maüser bullets passed right through SanchoValenzuela at his execution and left him still alive. Captain Hobbs, of the 3rd Artillery, was shot through the thigh at night, and onlythe next morning saw the nature of the wound. 

During the following week the Spaniards made three more night-attacks, the total killed and wounded Americans amounting to 10 men. TheAmerican soldiers were not allowed to return the fire, unless theSpaniards were evidently about to rush the breastworks. There wassome grumbling in the camp. The Spaniards, however, got tired offiring to so little purpose, and after the third night there wassilence. Meanwhile, in the daytime the Americans went on strengtheningtheir line without being molested. 

On August 7 Admiral Dewey and General Merritt sent a joint noteto the Captain-General in Manila, giving him 48 hours to removewomen and children, as, at any time after that, the city might bebombarded. The Captain-General replied thanking the Admiral andGeneral for their kind consideration, but pointed out that he had noships, and to send the women and children inland would be to placethem at the mercy of the rebels. On the expiration of the 48 hours'notice, i. E. , at noon on August 9, another joint note was addressedto General Augusti, pointing out the hopelessness of his holding outand formally demanding the surrender of the city, so that life andproperty of defenceless persons might be spared. The Captain-Generalreplied requesting the American commanders to apply to Madrid; butthis proposal being rejected, the correspondence ceased. 

On August 11 a Council of War was held between Generals Merritt, Anderson, McArthur, and Greene, and the plan of combined attackarranged between General Merritt and Admiral Dewey was explained. Forsome hours a storm prevented the landing of more American troopswith supplies, but these were later on landed at Parañaque when theweather cleared up, and were hurriedly sent on to the camp, wherepreparations were being made for the assault on the city. 

Whilst the Protocol was being signed in Washington the American troopswere entrenched about 350 yards from the Spaniards, who were preparedto make their last stand at the Fort San Antonio Abad (Malate). Fromthe morning of that day there were apparent signs of an intendedsortie by the Spaniards, and, in view of this, the rebels marchedtowards the American lines, but were requested to withdraw. Indeed, the native forces were only too anxious to co-operate with the Americantroops, or at least, to have the semblance of doing so, in order tojustify their claim to enter the beleaguered city as allies of theinvaders. General Merritt, however, discouraged any such alliance, and issued precise orders to his subordinate officers to avoid, as much as possible, all negotiation with the Aguinaldo party. 

Why the Spaniards were still holding the city of Manila at this dateis perhaps best understood by the Americans. To the casual observerit would have appeared expedient to have made the possession ofManila a _fait accompli_ before the Protocol of Peace was signed. TheAmericans had a large and powerful fleet in Manila Bay; they werein possession of Cavite, the arsenal and forts, and they had a largearmy under Maj. -General Merritt and his staff. General Augusti was, for weeks previous, personally disposed to surrender, and only refusedto do so as a matter of form, hence the same means as were finallyemployed could apparently have brought about the same result at anearlier date. [201] The only hope the Spaniards could entertain was apossible benefit to be derived from international complication. Fromthe tone of several of the Captain-General's despatches, publishedin Madrid, one may deduce that capitulation to a recognized Powerwould have relieved him of the tremendous anxiety as to what wouldbefall the city if the rebels did enter. It is known that, before thebombardment, Admiral Dewey and his colleagues had given the humaneand considerate assurance that the city should not be left to themercy of the revolutionary forces. 

The next day, Saturday, August 13, the Americans again demanded thesurrender of the city within an hour, which was refused, accordingto Spanish custom. Without the slenderest hope of holding the cityagainst the invaders, the Spaniards preconcerted a human sacrifice, [202] under the fallacious impression that the salvation of theirhonour demanded it, and operations commenced at 9. 45 a. M. The shipspresent at the attack were the _Olympia_ (flagship), _Monterey, Raleigh, McCulloch, Petrel, Charleston, Baltimore, Boston_, and_Concord_, with the little gunboat _Rápido_, and the captured (Spanish)gunboat _Callao_, and the armed steam-launch _Barceló_. The _Concord_watched the Fort Santiago at the Pasig River entrance. The Americancommanders confined the bombardment to the forts and trenches situatedto the south of the city. The whole of the walled city and the tradingquarter of Binondo were undamaged. The fighting-line was led by the_Olympia_, which sent 4-inch shells in the direction of the fort atMalate (San Antonio de Abad). A heavy shower of rain made it difficultto get the range, and every shell fell short. The _Petrel_ then tookup position and shelled the fort with varying result, followed bythe _Raleigh_. The _Rápido_ and the _Callao_, being of light draught, were able to lie close in shore and pour in a raking fire from theirsmall-calibre guns with considerable effect. The distance between theships and the fort was about 3, 500 yards, and, as soon as this wascorrectly ascertained, the projectiles had a telling effect on theenemy's battery and earthworks. The _Olympia_ hurled about 70 5-inchshells and 16 8-inch shells, and the _Petrel_ and the _Raleigh_about the same number each. There was rather a heavy wash in thebay for the little _Callao_ and the _Barceló_, but they were all thetime capering about, pouring a hail of small shell whenever they hada chance. The Spaniards at Malate returned the fire and struck the_Callao_ without doing any damage. The transport _Zafiro_ lay betweenthe fighting-line and the shore, having on board General Merritt, hisstaff, and a volunteer regiment. The transport _Kwonghoi_ was also inreadiness with a landing-party of troops on board. In another steamerwere the correspondents of the London _Times_ and _New York Herald_, and the special artists of the _Century Magazine_ and the _Herald_. Thefield artillery took no part in the operations. The shelling of theFort San Antonio Abad from the ships lasted until about 11 a. M. , whenthe general signal was given to cease firing. One shell, from Malate, reached the American camp. The firing from the ships had caused theSpaniards to fall back. General Greene then ordered the 1st Coloradoto advance. Two companies deployed over a swamp and went along thebeach under cover of the Utah Battery. Two other companies advanced incolumn towards the Spanish entrenchments with colours flying and bandsof music playing lively tunes. The first and second companies firedvolleys to cover the advance of the other columns. They crossed thelittle creek, near Malate, in front of the fort; then, by rushes, theyreached the fort, which they entered, followed by the other troops, only to find it deserted. The Spaniards had retreated to a breastworkat the rear of the fort, where they kept up a desultory fire at theColorado troops, killing one man and wounding several. Fort San AntonioAbad was now in possession of the 1st Colorado under Lieut. -ColonelMcCoy, who climbed up the flagstaff, hauled down the Spanish flag, andhoisted the Stars and Stripes amidst cheers from the army and fleet. 

Four companies of the 1st Colorado advanced across the fields, enteredthe Spanish trenches, crossed the bridge, and moved up the road, the Spaniards still keeping up an ineffective fire from long range. 

The 3rd Colorado came up with a band of music, and then the wholeregiment deployed in skirmishing order and maintained a continual riflefire until they halted on the Luneta Esplanade. The band took up aposition in an old Spanish trench and played as the troops filed pastalong the beach. The Spaniards were gradually falling back on the city, and the rebels who were located near the Spanish lines continued theattack; but the Americans gave them the order to cease firing, whichthey would not heed. The Americans thereupon turned their guns uponthe rebels, who showed an inclination to fight. Neither, however, cared to fire the first shot; so the rebels, taking another road, drove the Spaniards, in confusion, as far as Ermita, when EmilioAguinaldo ordered his men to cease firing as they were just outsidethe city walls. The rebel commander had received strict orders notto let his forces enter Manila. The American troops then developedthe attack, the Spaniards making, at first, a stubborn resistance, apparently for appearance' sake, for the fight soon ended when theSpaniards in the city hoisted the white flag on a bastion of the oldwalls. Orders were then given to cease firing, and by one o'clock theterms of capitulation were being negotiated. General F.  V. Greene thensent an order to the troops for the rear regiments to muster on theLuneta Esplanade, and there half the American army waited in silentexpectation. The Spanish entrenchments extended out from the citywalls in different directions as far as three miles. The defenders wereabout 2, 500 in number, composed of Spanish regular troops, volunteers, and native auxiliaries; about the same number of troops being in thehospitals inside the city. The opponent force amounted to about 15, 000rebels and 10, 000 Americans ashore and afloat. The attacking guns threwheavier shot and had a longer range than the Spanish artillery. TheAmericans were also better marksmen than the Spaniards. They were, moreover, better fed and in a superior condition generally. TheAmericans were buoyed up with the moral certainty of gaining aneasy victory, whereas the wearied Spaniards had long ago despairedof reinforcements coming to their aid; hence their defence in thishopeless struggle was merely nominal for "the honour of the country. "

For some time after the white flag was hoisted there wasstreet-fighting between the rebels and the loyals. The rattleof musketry was heard all round the outskirts. The rebels hadtaken 300 to 400 Spanish prisoners and seized a large quantityof stores. General Basilio Augusti, who was personally averse touseless bloodshed, relinquished his command of the Colony about aweek prior to the capitulation. Just before the attack on the cityhe went on board a German steam-launch which was waiting for himand was conveyed to the German cruiser _Kaiserin Augusta_, whichat once steamed out of the bay northwards. General Fermin Jaúdenesremained as acting-Captain-General. [203] Brig. -General of Volunteersand Insp. -General Charles A. Whittier and Lieutenant Brumby thenwent ashore in the Belgian Consul's launch, and on landing theywere met by an interpreter, Cárlos Casademunt, and two officers, who accompanied them to the house of the acting-Captain-General, with whom the draft terms of capitulation were agreed upon. In hisevidence before the Peace Commission at Paris, General Whittier said:"I think the Captain-General was much frightened. He reported in greattrepidation that the insurgents were coming into the city, and I saidthat I knew that that was impossible because such precautions had beentaken as rendered it so. "His fear and solicitude about the nativesentering the city when I received the surrender of Manila were almostpainful to witness. " Lieutenant Brumby returned to Admiral Dewey toreport, and again went ashore with General Merritt. In the meantimeGeneral Jaúdenes had taken refuge in the sacristy of a church whichwas filled with women and children, presumably with the wise object ofkeeping clear of the unrestrained mobs fighting in the suburbs. Forsome time the Spanish officers refused to reveal his whereabouts, but eventually he and General Merritt met, and on August 14 theterms of the Capitulation were signed between General Nicolás de laPeña y Cuellas and Colonels Jose Maria Olaguer Tellin and Cárlos Reyy Rich, as Commissioners for Spain, and Generals F. V. Greene andCharles A. Whittier, Colonel Crowder, and Captain Lamberton, U. S. N. , as Commissioners for the United States. The most important conditionsembodied in the Capitulation are as follows, viz. :

 1. The surrender of the Philippine Archipelago. 

 2. Officers to be allowed to retain their swords and personal effects, but not their horses. 

 3. Officers to be prisoners of war on parole. 

 4. The troops to be prisoners of war and to deposit their arms at a place to be appointed by General Merritt. 

 5. All necessary supplies for their maintenance to be provided from the public Treasury funds, and after they are exhausted, by the United States. 

 6. All public property to be surrendered. 

 7. The disposal of the troops to be negotiated, later on, by the United States and Spanish Governments. 

 8. Arms to be returned to the troops at General Merritt's discretion. 

The Capitulation having been signed, Lieutenant Brumby immediately wentto Fort Santiago with two signalmen from the _Olympia_ and loweredthe Spanish flag, which had been flying there all day. Many Spanishofficers and a general crowd from the streets stood around, and as hedrew near to the flagstaff he was hissed by the onlookers. When theorange-and-red banner was actually replaced by the Stars and Stripes, many in the crowd shed tears. The symbol of Spanish sovereignty haddisappeared for ever. The attitude of the mob was not reassuring, soLieutenant Brumby asked an infantry officer who was present to bringhis detachment as a guard. A company of infantry happened to be comingalong, and presented arms, whilst the band, playing "The Star-spangledBanner, " enlivened this dramatic ceremony. Whilst this was going on theSpaniards hoisted the Spanish flag on the transport _Cebú_ and broughtit down to the mouth of the Pasig River, where they set fire to it. Aparty of American marines boarded her, hauled down the Spanish flag, and tried to save the hull, but it was too far consumed. The Spaniardsalso destroyed barges and other Government property lying in the river. 

In the official reports furnished by Generals T.  M. Anderson andA. McArthur and published in America, the total casualties on theAmerican side are stated to be as follows, viz. :--On August 13, fivekilled and 43 wounded. Previous to this in the trenches there were14 killed and 60 wounded, making a total of 122. 

The approximate number of European Spanish troops in the Archipelagoduring the year 1898 would stand thus:--

 Total of troops under Gen. Primo de Rivera in January, 1898, say 25, 000 Shipped back to Spain by Gen. Primo de Rivera after Aguinaldo's withdrawal to Hong-Kong (_vide_ p. 400) 7, 000

 At the date of the Capitulation of Manila

 Prisoners (regular troops) in hands of the rebels 8, 000 Detachments in the Luzon Provinces (subsequently surrendered to, or killed by, the rebels) 1, 000 Killed or mortally wounded in general combat 1, 000 Wounded and diseased in Manila hospitals 2, 600 Approximate total in Visayas and Mindanao Island (General Rios' jurisdiction) 3, 000 Approximate total of able-bodied troops in Manila, prisoners of war (to America), up to December 10, 1898 2, 400

 25, 000

General F.  V. Greene marched his troops down the _Calzada_ andentered the walled city, where he massed his forces. Sentinelswere placed at all the city gates; some rebels got inside the city, but were disarmed and sent out again. At 7 p. M. The American troopstook up their quarters in public buildings, porches, and even on thestreets, for they were tired out. One might have imagined it to be agreat British festival, for the streets were bedecked everywhere withthe British colours displayed by the Chinese who were under Britishprotection. That night General Merritt, General Greene and the staffofficers were served at dinner by the late Captain-General's servantsin the Town Hall (_Plaza de la Catedral_), the splendid marble entranceof which became temporarily a dépôt for captured arms, ammunition, and accoutrements of war. 

No hostile feeling was shown by Spaniards of any class. The inhabitantsof the city looked remarkably well after the 105 days' siege. Tradewas absolutely at a standstill, and American troops were drafted outof the walled city to occupy the commercial quarter of Binondo onthe opposite side of the river. The government of the city was atonce taken over by Maj. -General Wesley Merritt, appointments beingmade by him to the principal departments as follows, viz. :--

By General Order dated August 15, Brig. -General T. M. Anderson becameCommandant of the Cavite district, the garrison of which would beincreased on the arrival of the transports on the way. Brig. -GeneralArthur McArthur became Military Commandant of the walled city of Manilaand Provost-Marshal of the city of Manila, including all the suburbs, his barracks and staff-quarters to be within the walled city. TheCommandant was to take over the offices, staff, and functions of thelate Civil Governor. Colonel Ovenshine became Deputy Provost-Marshalof the walled city south of the river; Colonel James S. Smith wasappointed Deputy Provost-Marshal of Binondo and all districts situatednorth of the river. 

By General Order dated August 16, Brig. -General F. V. Greene becameTreasurer-General; Brig. -General of Volunteers C. A. Whittier wasnominated Commissioner of Customs. 

By General Order dated August 15, it was provided that within 10 days acomplete list should be sent to Washington of all public establishmentsand properties of every description, including horses; that all privateproperty, including horses, would be respected, and that lodging forthe prisoners of war would be provided by the Military Commandantof the city in the public buildings and barracks not required forthe American troops. Colonel C. M. C. Reeve was appointed Chief ofPolice, with the 13th Regiment of Volunteer Minnesota Infantry forthis service. 

On August 16 a notice was placarded outside the General Post Officeto the effect that, as all the Spanish staff had refused to work forthe Americans, the local and provincial correspondence could not beattended to. This was, however, soon remedied. 

In an order issued on August 22 it was enacted that all natives andall Spanish soldiers were to be disarmed before they were admittedinto the walled city. The insurgent troops were included in the abovecategory, but their arms were restored to them on their leaving thecity. An exception was made in favour of the insurgent officers, from the grade of lieutenant upwards, who were permitted to enterand leave Manila with their swords and revolvers. 

On August 25 a provisional agreement was entered into between theAmerican authorities and Emilio Aguinaldo, to remain in force pendingthe result of the Paris Peace Commission, whereby their respectivespheres were defined. The Americans retained jurisdiction over ManilaCity, Binondo, the right bank of the Pasig River up to the Calzadade Iris and thence to Malacañan, which was included. The remainingdistricts were necessarily in the hands of the rebels, there beingno recognized independent government in Luzon other than the Americanmilitary occupation of the capital and environs. 

Towards the end of August, the American Commander-in-Chief, Maj. -General Wesley Merritt, quitted the Islands in order to giveevidence before the Peace Commission at Paris, after having appointedGeneral E.  S. Otis to be the first Military Governor of Manila. 

The British Consul, Mr. E.  A. Rawson Walker, who had rendered suchexcellent service to both the contending parties, died of dysenteryin the month of August, and was buried at Paco cemetery. 

Philippine refugees returned to the Islands in large numbers, butthe American authorities notified the Consul in Hong-Kong that onlythose Chinese who could prove to his satisfaction previous residencein Manila would be allowed to return there. 

Trading operations were resumed immediately after the capitulation, and the first shipment of cigars made after that date was a parcelof 140, 000 exported to Singapore in the first week of Septemberand consigned to the _Tabaqueria Universal_. Business in Manila, little by little, resumed its usual aspect. The old Spanish newspaperscontinued to be published, and some of them, especially _El Comercio_, were enterprising enough to print alternate columns of English andSpanish, and, occasionally, a few advertisements in very amusingbroken English. Two rebel organs, _La Independencia_ and _La RepúblicaFilipina_, soon appeared. They were shortly followed by a numberof periodicals of minor importance, such as _El Soldado Español, LaRestauracion_ (a Carlist organ), _Thé Kon Leche, El Cometa_ and _ElMotin_ (satirical papers) and two American papers, viz. , _The ManilaAmerican_ and _The Manila Times_. Liberty of the press was such anovelty in Manila that _La Voz Española_ over-stepped the bounds ofprudence and started a press campaign against the Americans. Delgado, the editor, after repeated warnings from the Provost-Marshal, was atlength arrested. The paper was suppressed for abusing the Americansfrom the President downwards, and publishing matter calculated toincite the Spanish inhabitants to riot. The capital was seethingwith opposition to the new conditions; many were arrested, but fewlamented the incarceration, for the prison was the porch which led tofame, and through it all who were ambitious to rise from obscurityhad to pass. Moreover, imprisonment (for mere trifles) was such acommonplace event in Spanish times that no native lost caste by theexperience of it, unless it were for a heinous crime which shockedhis fellows. Meanwhile, in the public ways and the cafés and saloons, altercations between the three parties, Spanish, native, and American, were of frequent occurrence. 

For some weeks before the capitulation there had been a certain amountof friction between the American soldiery and the rebels, who resentedbeing held in check by the American authorities. Emilio Aguinaldo hadhis headquarters at Bacoor, on the Cavite coast, situated betweentwo divisions of the American army, one at Cavite and the other atManila, and within easy shelling distance from the American fleet. Forobvious reasons he decided to remove his centre of operations, for it was becoming doubtful how long peace between the two partieswould continue. The rebels had been sorely disappointed that theywere not allowed to enter Manila with the Americans, or even before, for since the first few months of the rebellion they had pictured tothemselves the delights of a free raid on the city. Aguinaldo thereforeremoved his headquarters to a place three miles north of Manila, butGeneral Otis requested him to go farther away from the capital. Ashe hesitated to do so the General sent him an ultimatum on September13 ordering him to evacuate that place by the afternoon of the 15th, so during the night of the 14th Aguinaldo moved on with his troops toMalolos. From this town, situate about 20 miles from Manila, he couldbetter unite and control the rebel factions here and there over thenorthern provinces; he could, moreover, either make use of the lineof railway or cut off the connection with Manila, or he could divertsupplies from the rich rice districts and Pangasinán ports, whilstthe almost impregnable mountains were of easy access in case of need. 

Aguinaldo declared Malolos to be the provisional capital of hisRevolutionary Government, and convened a Congress to meet there onSeptember 15 in the church of Barasoain. [204] Fifty-four deputiesresponded to the summons, and in conformity with Aguinaldo'sproclamation of June 23 they proceeded to elect a President ofCongress, Vice-President, Secretaries, etc. The result of the votingwas a remarkable event of the revolution. Don Pedro A. Paterno waselected President of Congress! The man whom the revolutionists had, less than four months before, so satirically admonished for hisleaning towards Spanish sovereignty, was chosen to guide the politicaldestinies of this budding democracy and preside over their republicanlegislative body! Deputies Benito Legarda and Ocampo were chosento be Vice-President and Secretary respectively. Congress votedfor Aguinaldo a salary of P50, 000 and P25, 000 for representationexpenses. These figures were afterwards reversed, i. E. , P25, 000salary, and P50, 000 for expenses; but Aguinaldo, who never showed anydesire for personal gain, was quite willing to set aside the vote. Adecree in Congress, dated September 21, imposed compulsory militaryservice on every able-bodied Philippine male over 18 years of age, except those holding office under the Revolutionary Government. Atan early session of Congress Deputy Tomas del Rosario made a longspeech advocating Church Disestablishment. [205]

The night before Congress met to announce the election of President, etc. , an attempt was made to poison Emilio Aguinaldo. Dinner wasabout to be served to him; the soup was in the tureen, when one ofthe three Spanish prisoners who were allowed to be about the kitchentasted the soup in a manner to arouse suspicion. The steward at oncetook a spoonful of it and fell dead on the spot. The three prisonersin question, as well as 11 Franciscan friars, were consequently placedin close confinement. At the next sitting of Congress the incidentwas mentioned and it was resolved to go _en masse_ to congratulateAguinaldo on his lucky escape. At 5 p. M. The same day a _Te Deum_was sung in Malolos Church anent this occurrence. 

On October 1 the _Ratification of Philippine Independence_ wasproclaimed at Malolos with imposing ceremony. From 6 a. M. The Manila(Tondo) railway-station was besieged by the crowd of sightseers ontheir way to the insurgent capital (Malolos), which was _en fête_ andgaily decorated with flags for the triumphal entry of General EmilioAguinaldo, who walked to the Congress House attired in a dress suit, with Don Pedro A. Paterno on his right and Don Benito Legarda on hisleft, followed by other representative men of the Revolutionary Party, amidst the vociferous acclamations of the people and the strains ofmusic. After the formal proclamation was issued the function terminatedwith a banquet given to 200 insurgent notabilities. This day wasdeclared by the Malolos Congress to be a public holiday in perpetuity. 

By virtue of Article 3 of the Protocol of Peace the Americans werein possession of the city, bay, and harbour of Manila pending theconclusion of a treaty of peace. The terms of peace were referred toa Spanish-American Commission, which met in Paris on October 1, fivecommissioners and a secretary being appointed by each of the HighContracting Parties. The representatives of the United States werethe Hon. William R. Day, of Ohio, ex-Secretary of State, Presidentof the American Commission; Senator Cushman K. Davis, of Minnesota;Senator William P. Frye, of Maine; Senator George Gray, of Delaware;and the Hon. Whitelaw Reid, of New York, ex-Minister Plenipotentiaryof the United States in France, assisted by the Secretary and Counselto their Commission, Mr. John Bassett Moore, an eminent professorof international law. The Spanish Commissioners were Don EugenioMontero Rios, Knight of the Golden Fleece, President of the Senate, ex-Cabinet Minister, etc. , President of the Spanish Commission;Senator Don Buenaventura Abarzuza, ex-Ambassador, ex-Minister, etc. ; Don José de Garnica y Diaz, a lawyer; Don Wenceslao Ramirez deVilla-Urrutia, Knight of the Orders of Isabella the Catholic and ofCharles III. , etc. , Minister Plenipotentiary to the Belgian Court;and General Don Rafael Cerero y Saenz, assisted by the Secretaryto their Commission, Don Emilio de Ojeda, Minister Plenipotentiaryto the Court of Morocco. The conferences were held in a suite ofapartments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, placed at theirdisposal by M. Delcassé. Among other questions to be agreed uponand embodied in the treaty was the future of the Philippines. ForWashington officials these Islands really constituted a _terraincognita_. Maj. -General Merritt and a number of other officials wentto Paris to give evidence before the Commission. At their request, conveyed to me through the American Embassy, I also proceeded toParis in October and expressed my views before the Commissioners, whoexamined me on the whole question. The Cuban debts and the future ofthe Philippines were really the knotty points in the entire debate. TheSpanish Commissioners argued (1) that the single article in theProtocol relating to the Philippines did not imply a relinquishmentof Spanish sovereignty over those Islands, but only a temporaryoccupation of the city, bay, and harbour of Manila by the Americanspending the conclusion of a treaty of peace. (2) That the attack onManila, its capitulation, and all acts of force consequent thereon, committed _after_ the Protocol was signed, were unlawful because theProtocol stipulated an immediate cessation of hostilities; thereforethe Commissioners claimed indemnity for those acts, a restorationto the _status quo ante_, and "the immediate delivery of the place(Manila) to the Spanish Government" (_vide_ Annex to Protocol No. 12of the Paris Peace Commission conference of November 3). 

The American Commissioners replied: (1) "It is the contention on thepart of the United States that this article leaves to the determinationof the treaty of peace the entire subject of the future government andsovereignty of the Philippines necessarily embodied in the terms usedin the Protocol. " (2) It is erroneous to suggest "that the ultimatedemands of the United States in respect of the Philippines wereembodied in the Protocol. " (3) That there was no cable communicationwith Manila, hence the American commanders could not possibly have beeninformed of the terms of the Protocol on the day of its signature. TheSpanish Commissioners, nevertheless, tenaciously persisting in theircontention, brought matters to the verge of a resumption of hostilitieswhen the American Commissioners presented what was practically anultimatum, in which they claimed an absolute cession of the Islands, offering, however, to pay to Spain $20, 000, 000 gold, to agree, for aterm of years, to admit Spanish ships and merchandise into the Islandson the same terms as American ships and merchandise, and to mutuallywaive all claims for indemnity--(_vide_ Annex to Protocol No. 15 ofthe Paris Peace Commission conference of November 21). 

For a few days the Spaniards still held out, and to appease publicfeeling in the Peninsula a fleet under Admiral Cámara was despatched, ostensibly to the Philippines. It was probably never intended thatthe fleet should go beyond Port Said, for on its arrival there it wasordered to return, the official explanation to the indignant Spanishpublic being that America was preparing to seize the Archipelago byforce, if necessary, and send a fleet to Spanish waters under thecommand of Admiral Watson. Sagasta's Government had not the leastintention of letting matters go so far as that, but it suited theSpanish Cabinet, already extremely unpopular, to make an appearance ofresistance. Moreover, Señor Sagasta had personal motives for wishingto protract the negotiations, the examination of which would leadone too far away from the present subject into Spanish politics. 

At the next conference of the Commission the demands of the Americanswere reluctantly conceded, and the form in which the treaty was tobe drafted was finally settled. The sitting of the Commission wasterminated by the reading of a strongly-worded protest by SeñorMontero Rios in which the Spanish Commissioner declared that theyhad been compelled to yield to brute force and abuse of internationallaw against which they vehemently protested. The secretaries of therespective Commissions were then instructed to draw up the document ofthe Treaty of Peace, which was signed at 9 p. M. On Saturday, December10, 1898, in the Grand Gallery of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs inParis. The expenses of the Spanish Commission amounted to £8, 400. Adelay of six months was agreed upon for the ratification by the twoGovernments of the treaty, the text of which is given at the end ofthis chapter. America undertook to establish equal duties on Spanishand American goods for a period of ten years; but it subsequentlytranspired that this was no special boon to Spain, seeing that Americadeclared shortly after the signing of the treaty that there would beno preferential tariff, and that merchandise of all nations couldenter the Islands at the same rate of duty and on equal terms withAmerica. The clauses of the treaty relating to the Philippines metwith determined opposition in the United States, where politicianswere divided into three parties advocating respectively annexation, protection, and abandonment of the Islands to the natives. 

At the closing conferences of the Commission several additionalclauses to the treaty were proposed by the one party and the other andrejected. Among the most singular are the following:--The Spaniardsproposed that America should pay annually to the descendants ofChristopher Columbus $7, 400 to be charged to the treasuries of PortoRico and Manila. The Americans proposed that Spain should concedeto them the right to land telegraph-cables in the Canary Islands, or on any territory owned by Spain on the coast of Africa, or inthe Peninsula, in consideration of a cash payment of one milliongold dollars. 

We must now go back to September to follow the thread of eventswhich intervened from that period and during the 71 days' sitting ofthe Peace Commission in Paris. My old acquaintance Felipe Agoncillowas sent to Washington in September by Emilio Aguinaldo to solicitpermission from the American Government to represent the rebels'cause on the Paris Commission, or, failing this, to be allowed tostate their case. The Government, however, refused to recognizehim officially, so he proceeded to Paris. Having unsuccessfullyendeavoured to be heard before the Commission, he drew up a protest induplicate, handing a copy to the Spanish and another to the AmericanCommissioners. The purport of this document was that whereas theAmericans had supplied the Filipinos with war-material and arms to gaintheir independence and not to fight against Spain in the interestsof America, and whereas America now insisted on claiming possessionof the Archipelago, he protested, in the name of Emilio Aguinaldo, against what he considered a defraudment of his just rights. Hismission led to nothing, so he returned to Washington to watch eventsfor Aguinaldo. After the treaty was signed in Paris he was receivedat the White House, where an opportunity was afforded him of statingthe Filipinos' views; but he did not take full advantage of it, andreturned to Paris, where I met him in July, 1900, holding the positionof "High Commissioner for the Philippine Republic. " His policy was, then, "absolute independence, free of all foreign control. " In 1904we met again in Hong-Kong, where he was established as a lawyer. 

In this interval, too, matters in Manila remained _in statu quo_so far as the American occupation was concerned. General E. S. Otiswas still in supreme command in succession to General Merritt, and reinforcements were arriving from America to strengthen theposition. General Otis's able administration wrought a wonderful changein the city. The weary, forlorn look of those who had great interestsat stake gradually wore off; business was as brisk as in the old times, and the Custom-house was being worked with a promptitude hithertounknown in the Islands. There were no more sleepless nights, fearingan attack from the dreaded rebel or the volunteer. The large majorityof foreign (including Spanish) and half-caste Manila merchants showeda higher appreciation of American protection than of the prospectof sovereign independence under a Philippine Republic. On the otherhand, the drunken brawls of the American soldiers in the cafes, drinking-shops, and the open streets constituted a novelty in theColony. Drinking "saloons" and bars monopolized quite a fifth ofthe stores in the principal shopping street, _La Escolta_, wheresuch unruliness obtained, to the detriment of American prestige, that happily the Government decided to exclude those establishmentsaltogether from that important thoroughfare, which has since entirelyregained its respectable reputation. The innovation was all the moreunfortunate because of the extremely bad impression it made on thenatives and Spaniards, who are remarkably abstemious. It must alsohave been the cause of a large percentage of the sickness of theAmerican troops (wrongly attributed to climate), for it is well knownthat inebriety in the Philippines is the road to death. With threedistinct classes of soldiers in Manila--the Americans, the rebels, and the Spanish prisoners--each living in suspense, awaiting eventswith divergent interests, there were naturally frequent disputesand collisions, sometimes of a serious nature, which needed greatvigilance to suppress. 

The German trading community observed that, due to the strange conductof the commanders of the German fleet, who showed such partialitytowards the Spaniards up to the capitulation of Manila, the nativestreated them with marked reticence. The Germans therefore addresseda more than ample letter of apology on the subject to the newspaper_La Independencia_ (October 17). 

As revolutionary steamers were again cruising in Philippine waters, all vessels formerly flying the Spanish flag were hastily placed on theAmerican register to secure the protection of the Stars and Stripes, and ex-Consul Oscar F. Williams was deputed to attend to these andother matters connected with the shipping trade of the port. 

It was yet theoretically possible that the Archipelago might revertto Spain; hence pending the deliberations of the Peace Commission, no movement was made on the part of the Americans to overthrowthe _de facto_ Spanish Government still subsisting in the southernislands. General Fermin Jáudenes, the vanquished Commander-in-Chiefof the Spanish forces in Manila (Sub-Inspector until General Augustileft), was liberated on parole in the capital until the first weekof October, when the American Government allowed him to returnto Spain. He left in the s. S. _Esmeralda_ for Hong-Kong on October15. Meanwhile, a month before, the Spanish Government appointed GeneralDiego de los Rios Gov. -General of the Philippines, with residence atYloilo. Spaniards of all classes were at least personally safe inManila under American protection. All who could reach the capitaldid so, for Spanish sway in the provinces was practically at anend. Aguinaldo therefore directed his attention both to matters ofgovernment in Luzon and to the control of the southern islands. 

Neither the Filipinos nor the Spaniards could foresee that theevacuation by the Spaniards of _all_ the Islands would be insisted uponby the American Commissioners in Paris. Moreover, it was no easy taskfor Aguinaldo to maintain his own personal prestige (an indispensablecondition in all revolutions), carry out his own plans of government, and keep together, in inactivity, a large half-disciplined fightingforce. Three weeks after the capitulation of Manila, Aguinaldo sentseveral small vessels to the Island of Panay, carrying Luzon rebels toeffect a landing and stir up rebellion in Visayas. He was anxious tosecure all the territory he could before the conditions of peace shouldbe settled in Paris, in the hope that actual possession would influencethe final issue. General Rios was therefore compelled to enter on anew campaign, assisted by the small gunboats which had remained southsince hostilities commenced north in May. Spanish troops were sentto Singapore _en route_for Yloilo, and then a question arose betweenMadrid and Washington as to whether they could be allowed to proceedto their destination under the peace Protocol. The Tagálog rebelslanded in the province of Antique (Panay Is. ), and a few natives of thelocality joined them. They were shortly met by the Spanish troops, andsevere fighting took place in the neighbourhood of Bugáson, where therebels were ultimately routed with great loss of men and impedimenta. 

The survivors fled to their vessels and landed elsewhere on the samecoast. In several places on the Island the flag of rebellion had beenunfurled, and General Rios' troops showed them no quarter. At theend of six weeks the rebels had been beaten in numerous encounters, without the least apparent chance of gaining their objective point--theseizure of Yloilo. In the Concepcion district (East Panay) the rebelchief Perfecto Poblado took the command, but gained no victory withhis following of 4, 000 men. So far, what was happening in the Islands, other than Luzon, did not officially concern the Americans. 

About this time, in Manila, there was by no means that _ententecordiale_ which should have existed between the rebels and theAmericans, supposing them to be real allies. In reality, it was only inthe minds of the insurgents that there existed an alliance, which theAmericans could not, with good grace, have frankly repudiated, seeingthat General T.  M. Anderson was frequently soliciting Aguinaldo'sassistance and co-operation. [206] Aguinaldo was naturally uneasy aboutthe possible prospect of a protracted struggle with the Spaniards, if the Islands should revert to them; he was none the less irritatedbecause his repeated edicts and proclamations of independence receivedno recognition from the Americans. General Anderson had already stated, in his reply (July 22) to a letter from Aguinaldo, that he had noauthority to recognize Aguinaldo's assumption of dictatorship. Thenative swaggering soldiery, with the air of conquerors, were everready to rush to arms on the most trivial pretext, and became agrowing menace to the peaceful inhabitants. Therefore, on October 25, Aguinaldo was again ordered to withdraw his troops still farther, to distances varying from five to eight miles off Manila, and hereluctantly complied. When this order was sent to him his forcesin the neighbourhood of Manila were estimated to be as follows:--AtColoocan, 3, 000 men, with two guns trained on Binondo; Santa Mesa, 380; Pasig, 400; Paco, Santa Ana, Pandácan, and Pasay, 400 to 500each; south of Malate, 1, 200, and at Santólan waterworks (on whichthe supply of potable water to the capital depended), 380. 

In Panay Island General Rios published an edict offering considerablereforms, but the flame of rebellion was too widespread for it tohave any effect. The Island of Cebú also was in revolt; the harshmeasures of General Montero effected nothing to Spain's advantage, whilst that miserable system of treating suspects as proved culpritscreated rebels. Neither did the _Moro_ raid on the Cebuános, referredto at p. 406, serve to break their spirit; more than half the villagesdefied Spanish authority, refused to pay taxes, and forced the friarsto take refuge in Cebú City, which was, so far, safe. Those who wereable took passage to ports outside the Archipelago. In Leyte Islandthere were risings of minor importance, instigated by Tagálogs, andchiefly directed against the friars, who were everywhere obnoxiousto the people. At Catbalogan (Sámar Is. ) an armed mob attacked theSpaniards, who fled to the house of an American. General Rios had notsufficient troops to dominate several islands covering such a largearea. He was so hard pressed in Panay alone that, even if he had hadample means of transport, he could neither divide his forces nor affordto spend time in carrying them from one island to another. Towardsthe end of October he ran short of ammunition, but, opportunely, the Spanish mail-steamer _Buenos Aires_ brought him a supply withwhich he could continue the struggle. Fresh Tagálog expeditions weremeanwhile sent south, and coerced or persuaded the Panay people torise in greater force than ever, until, finally, General Rios had tofall back on Yloilo. By the middle of November practically the wholeisland, except the towns of Yloilo, Molo, Jaro and La Paz, was underrebel dominion. In December General Rios held only the town and portof Yloilo. He had ordered the bridge of Manduriao to be destroyed, soas to establish a dividing line between him and the rebels who wereentrenched on the opposite bank of the river, neither party beingwilling to make a bold onslaught on the other, although frequentskirmishing took place. On receipt of the news of the conclusion ofthe Treaty of Paris, General Rios proposed to the rebels a mutualcessation of hostilities, on the ground that no advantage couldaccrue to either party by a further sacrifice of blood and munitionsof war, seeing that within a few days he was going to evacuate thetown and embark his troops, and that, so far as he was concerned, they could then take his place without opposition. But the rebels, presumably interpreting his humane suggestion as a sign of weakness, continued to fire on the Spanish troops. 

The small detachments and garrisons in Negros Island had been unableto resist the tide of revolt; the west coast of that island wasover-run by the rebels under the leadership of Aniceto Lacson andJuan Araneta (a much respected planter of Bago, personally known tome), and the local Spanish Governor, Don Isidro Castro, was forced tocapitulate, in due written form, at Bacólod, on November 6, with histroops and all the Spanish civil and military employees. By December1 it was evident that, although Spanish empire in Visayas had beendefinitely broken, there was absolute discord among the (southern)rebels themselves. They split up into rival factions, each one wantingto set up a government of its own. The American Peace Commissionershad made their formal demand for the cession of all the Islands, and it was clear to the Spanish Government that General Rios wouldsooner or later have to evacuate under the treaty. It was useless, therefore, to continue to shed European blood and waste treasure inthose regions. In the first week of December the Madrid Governmentordered General Rios to suspend hostilities and retire to MindanaoIsland with his troops, pending arrangements for their return tothe Peninsula. General Rios replied to this order, saying that hewould make the necessary preparations. Meanwhile, on December 11, the rebels approached the fortifications around Yloilo town, and theSpaniards kept up an almost continuous fusillade. Before daybreak onDecember 14 the rebels, armed with bowie-knives, attacked the Spanishentrenchments in great force and drove the Spaniards back from theirfirst to their second redoubt. The Spaniards rallied, turned their fourfield-pieces on the enemy, and opened a raking artillery and rifle firewhich mowed down the rebels, who retired in great disorder, leavingabout 500 dead and wounded. The Spaniards, who were well protectedbehind their stockades, had 6 dead and 17 wounded. Notwithstandingtheir severe repulse, the rebels again fired on the Spaniards untilsome female relations of their General Araneta and others went out tothe rebel lines and harangued and expostulated with the leaders, andso put them to shame with their tongues that thenceforth the rebelsceased to molest the Spaniards. General Rios then took measures forevacution. On December 23, 1898, he formally handed over Yloilo to themayor of the town in the presence of his staff, the naval commanders, and the foreign consuls, and requested the German Vice-Consul to lookafter Spanish interests. On the following day the Spanish troops, numbering between five and six hundred, and several civilians wereembarked in perfect order, without any unfortunate incident occurring, on board the s. S. _Isla de Luzon, _ which sailed for Zamboanga, therallying-place of the Spaniards, whilst some small steamers went toother places to bring the officials to the same centre. 

Before leaving Yloilo, after many tedious delays respecting theconditions, an exchange of prisoners was effected with the rebels, who at the outset were inclined to be unduly exacting. 

The rebels at once took possession of Yloilo, but a controllingAmerican force arrived in the roadstead on December 27, under thecommand of General Miller, and was afterwards reinforced up to atotal strength of about 3, 000 troops. 

The Caroline Islands (which were not ceded under the Treaty ofParis) were provisioned for three months, and the Spanish troops inCebú Island and Ylígan (Mindanao Is. ) had been already ordered toconcentrate and prepare for embarkation on the same day for Zamboanga(Mindanao Is. ), where the bulk of them remained until they could bebrought back to Spain on the terms of the treaty of peace. In a fewdays General Rios left Zamboanga in the s. S. _Leon XIII. _ for Manila, and remained there until June 3, 1899, to endeavour to negotiatethe liberation of the Spanish prisoners detained by Aguinaldo. Theywere kept under guard in the mountain districts, far away from thecapital, in groups miles distant from each other. No one outsidethe rebel camp could ever ascertain the exact number of prisoners, which was kept secret. The strenuous efforts made by the Spaniardsto secure their release are fully referred to in Chap. Xxvi. 

During this period of evacuation the natives in Balábac Islandassassinated all the male Europeans resident there, the SpanishGovernor, a lieutenant, and a doctor being among the victims. TheEuropean women were held in captivity for awhile, notwithstandingthe peaceful endeavours to obtain their release, supported by theDatto Harun Narrasid, Sultan of Paragua and ex-Sultan of Sulu (_vide_p. 142). The place was then attacked by an armed force, without result, but eventually the natives allowed the women to be taken away. 

Some of the Spanish soldiers and the civil servants concentrated inZamboanga were carried direct to the Peninsula, _viá_ the Straitsof Balábac, in the steamers _Buenos Aires, Isla de Luzon_, and_Cachemir_, and from Manila many of them returned to their country inthe s. S. _Leon XIII_. In conformity with the Treaty of Paris (Art. 5), little by little all the Spanish troops, temporarily prisoners ofthe United States in Manila, were repatriated. 

The Philippine Republican Congress at Malolos had now (December 26, 1898) adjourned in great confusion. The deputies could not agree uponthe terms of a Republican Constitution. They were already dividedinto two distinct parties, the Pacificos and the Irreconcilables. Thelatter were headed by a certain Apolinario Mabini (_vide_ p. 546), a lawyer hitherto unknown, and a notorious opponent of Aguinaldountil he decided to take the field against the Americans. The Cabinethaving resigned, Aguinaldo prudently left Malolos on a visit to PedroA. Paterno, at Santa Ana, on the Pasig River. 

At the end of the year 1898, after 327 years of sovereignty, all thatremained to Spain of her once splendid Far Eastern colonial possessionswere the Caroline, the Pelew, and the Ladrone Islands (_vide_ p. 39), minus the Island of Guam. Under the treaty of peace, signed in Paris, the Americans became nominal owners of the evacuated territories, but they were only in real possession, by force of arms, of Caviteand Manila. The rest of the Archipelago, excepting Mindanao and theSulu Sultanate, was virtually and forcibly held by the natives inrevolt. At the close of 1898 the Americans and the rebels had becomerival parties, and the differences between them foreboded eitherfrightful bloodshed or the humiliation of the one or the other. 

 Treaty of Peace

 concluded between the United States of America and Spain, signed in Paris on December 10, 1898, and ratified in Washington on February 6, 1899. The original documents (in duplicate) are drawn up in Spanish and in English respectively. 

 _The English Text_} [207]

 _Article_ 1. --Spain relinquishes all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba. And as the Island is, upon its evacuation by Spain, to be occupied by the United States, the United States will, so long as such occupation shall last, assume and discharge the obligations that may under international law result from the fact of its occupation, for the protection of life and property. 

 _Article_ 2. --Spain cedes to the United States the Island of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the Island of Guam in the Marianas or Ladrones. 

 _Article_ 3. --Spain cedes to the United States the archipelago known as the Philippine Islands, and comprehending the islands lying within the following line: A line running from W. To E. Along or near the 20th parallel of N. Latitude, and through the middle of the navigable channel of Bachi, from the 118th to the 127th degree meridian of longitude E. Of Greenwich, thence along the 127th degree meridian of longitude E. Of Greenwich to the parallel of 4° 45' N. Latitude, thence along the parallel of 4° 45' N. Latitude to its intersection with the meridian of longitude 119° 35' E. Of Greenwich, thence along the meridian of longitude 119° 35' E. Of Greenwich to the parallel of latitude 7° 40' N. , thence along the parallel of latitude of 7° 40' N. To its intersection with the 116th degree meridian of longitude E. Of Greenwich, thence by a direct line to the intersection of the 10th degree parallel of N. Latitude with the 118th degree meridian of longitude E. Of Greenwich, and thence along the 118th degree meridian of longitude E. Of Greenwich to the point of beginning. 

 The United States will pay to Spain the sum of $. 20, 000, 000 within three months after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty. 

 _Article_ 4. --The United States will, for the term of 10 years from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, admit Spanish ships and merchandise to the ports of the Philippine Islands on the same terms as ships and merchandise of the United States. 

 _Article_ 5. --The United States will, upon the signature of the present treaty, send back to Spain, at its own cost, the Spanish soldiers taken as prisoners of war on the capture of Manila by the American forces. The arms of the soldiers in question shall be restored to them. 

 Spain will, upon the exchange of the ratification of the present treaty, proceed to evacuate the Philippines, as well as the Island of Guam, on terms similiar to those agreed upon by the Commissioners appointed to arrange for the evacuation of Porto Rico and other islands in the West Indies, under the Protocol of August 12, 1898, which is to continue in force till its provisions are completely executed. 

 The time within which the evacuation of the Philippine Islands and Guam shall be completed shall be fixed by the two Governments. Stands of colours, uncaptured war-vessels, small arms, guns of all calibres, with their carriages and accessories, powder, ammunition, live-stock, and materials and supplies of all kinds, belonging to the land and naval forces of Spain in the Philippines and Guam, remain the property of Spain. Pieces of heavy ordnance, exclusive of field artillery, in the fortifications and coast defences, shall remain in their emplacements for the term of six months, to be reckoned from the exchange of ratifications of the treaty; and the United States may, in the meantime, purchase such material from Spain, if a satisfactory agreement between the two Governments on the subject shall be reached. 

 _Article_ 6. --Spain will, upon the signature of the present treaty, release all prisoners of war, and all persons detained or imprisoned for political offences in connection with the insurrections in Cuba and the Philippines and the war with the United States. 

 Reciprocally, the United States will release all persons made prisoners of war by the American forces, and will undertake to obtain the release of all Spanish prisoners in the hands of the insurgents in Cuba and the Philippines. 

 The Government of the United States will at its own cost return to Spain and the Government of Spain will at its own cost return to the United States, Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines, according to the situation of their respective homes, prisoners released or caused to be released by them, respectively, under this article. 

 _Article_ 7. --The United States and Spain mutually relinquish all claims for indemnity, national and individual, of every kind, of either Government, or of its citizens or subjects, against the other Government, that may have arisen since the beginning of the late insurrection in Cuba and prior to the exchange of ratifications of the present treaty, including all claims for indemnity for the cost of the war. 

 The United States will adjudicate and settle the claims of its citizens against Spain relinquished in this article. 

 _Article_ 8. --In conformity with the provisions of Articles 1, 2 and 3 of this treaty, Spain relinquishes in Cuba, and cedes in Porto Rico and other islands in the West Indies, in the Island of Guam, and in the Philippine Archipelago, all the buildings, wharves, barracks, forts, structures, public highways and other immovable property which, in conformity with law, belong to the public domain, and as such belong to the Crown of Spain. 

 And it is hereby declared that the relinquishment or cession, as the case may be, to which the preceding paragraph refers, cannot in any respect impair the property or rights which by law belong to the peaceful possession of property of all kinds, of provinces, municipalities, public or private establishments, ecclesiastical or civic bodies, or any other associations having legal capacity to acquire and possess property in the aforesaid territories renounced or ceded, or of private individuals, of whatsoever nationality such individuals may be. 

 The aforesaid relinquishment or cession, as the case may be, includes all documents exclusively referring to the sovereignty relinquished or ceded that may exist in the archives of the Peninsula. Where any document in such archives only in part relates to said sovereignty, a copy of such part will be furnished whenever it shall be requested. Like rules shall be reciprocally observed in favour of Spain in respect of documents in the archives of the islands above referred to. 

 In the aforesaid relinquishment or cession, as the case may be, are also included such rights as the Crown of Spain and its authorities possess in respect of the official archives and records, executive as well as judicial, in the islands above referred to, which relate to the said islands or the rights and property of their inhabitants. Such archives and records shall be carefully preserved, and private persons shall without distinction have the right to require, in accordance with law, authenticated copies of the contracts, wills and other instruments forming part of notarial protocols or files, or which may be contained in the executive or judicial archives, be the latter in Spain or in the islands aforesaid. 

 _Article_ 9. --Spanish subjects, natives of the Peninsula, residing in the territory over which Spain by the present treaty relinquishes or cedes her sovereignty, may remain in such territory, or may remove therefrom, retaining in either event all their rights of property, including the right to sell or dispose of such property or of its proceeds; and they shall also have the right to carry on their industry, commerce and professions, being subject in respect thereof to such laws as are applicable to other foreigners. In case they remain in the territory they may preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain by making before a court of record, within a year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty, a declaration of their decision to preserve such allegiance; in default of which declaration they shall be held to have renounced it and to have adopted the nationality of the territory in which they may reside. 

 The civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of the territories hereby ceded to the United States shall be determined by the Congress. 

 _Article_ 10. --The inhabitants of the territories over which Spain relinquishes or cedes her sovereignty shall be secured in the free exercise of their religion. 

 _Article_ 11. --The Spaniards residing in the territories over which Spain by this treaty cedes or relinquishes her sovereignty shall be subject in matters civil as well as criminal to the jurisdiction of the courts of the country wherein they reside, pursuant to the ordinary laws governing the same; and they shall have the right to appear before such courts, and to pursue the same course as citizens of the country to which the courts belong. 

 _Article_ 12. --Judicial proceedings pending at the time of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty in the territories over which Spain relinquishes or cedes her sovereignty shall be determined according to the following rules: (1) Judgements rendered either in civil suits between private individuals, or in criminal matters, before the date mentioned, and with respect to which there is no recourse, or right of review under the Spanish law, shall be deemed to be final, and shall be executed in due form by competent authority in the territory within which such judgements shall be carried out: (2) Civil suits between private individuals which may on the date mentioned be undetermined shall be prosecuted to judgement before the court in which they may then be pending or in the court that may be substituted therefor: (3) Criminal actions pending on the date mentioned before the Supreme Court of Spain, against citizens of the territory which by this treaty ceases to be Spanish, shall continue under its jurisdiction until final judgement; but, such judgement having been rendered, the execution thereof shall be committed to the competent authority of the place in which the case arose. 

 _Article_ 13. --The rights of property secured by copyrights and patents acquired by Spaniards in the Island of Cuba and in Porto Rico, the Philippines and other ceded territories, at the time of the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, shall continue to be respected. Spanish scientific, literary and artistic works, not subversive of public order in the territories in question, shall continue to be admitted free of duty into such territories, for the period of ten years, to be reckoned from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty. 

 _Article_ 14. --Spain will have the power to establish Consular officers in the ports and places of the territories, the sovereignty over which has been either relinquished or ceded by the present treaty. 

 _Article_ 15. --The Government of each country will, for the term of ten years, accord to the merchant vessels of the other country the same treatment in respect of all port charges, including entrance and clearance dues, light dues, and tonnage duties, as it accords to its own merchant vessels, not engaged in the coastwise trade. This article may at any time be terminated on six months' notice given by either Government to the other. 

 _Article_ 16. --It is understood that any obligations assumed in this treaty by the United States with respect to Cuba are limited to the time of its occupancy thereof; but it will, upon the termination of such occupancy, advise any Government established in the Island to assume the same obligations. 

 _Article_ 17. --The present treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by Her Majesty the Queen-Regent of Spain; and the ratifications shall be exchanged at Washington within six months from the date hereof, or earlier if possible. 

 In faith whereof, we, the respective Plenipotentiaries, have signed this treaty and have hereunto affixed our seals. 

 Done in duplicate at Paris, the 10th day of December, in the year of our Lord 1898. 

 _William R. Day_. _Cushman K. Davis_. _William P. Frye_. _Geo. Gray_. _Whitelaw Reid_. _Eugenio Montero Rios_. _B. De Abarzuza_. _J. De Garnica_. _W. R. De Villa-Urrutia_. _Rafael Cerero_. 

Two years afterwards a supplementary treaty was made between theUnited States and Spain, whereby the Islands of Cagayán de Joló, Sibutu, and other islets not comprised in the demarcation set forthin the Treaty of Paris, were ceded to the United States for the sumof $100, 000 gold. These small islands had, apparently, been overlookedwhen the Treaty of Paris was concluded. 

CHAPTER XXIV

An Outline of the War of Independence, Period 1899-1901

"I speak not of forcible annexation because that is not to bethought of, and under our code of morality that would be criminalaggression. "--_President McKinley's Message to Congress_; _December_, 1897. 

"The Philippines are ours as much as Louisiana by purchase, or Texasor Alaska. "--_President McKinley's Speech to the 10th PennsylvaniaRegiment; August_ 28, 1899. 

_Ignorance_ of the world's ways, beyond the Philippine shores, was the cause of the Aguinaldo party's first disappointment. Ascore of pamphlets has been published to show how thoroughly theFilipinos believed America's mission to these Islands to be solelyprompted by a compassionate desire to aid them in their strugglefor immediate sovereign independence. Laudatory and congratulatoryspeeches, uttered in British colonies, in the presence of Americanofficials, and hope-inspiring expressions which fell from their lipsbefore Aguinaldo's return to Cavite from exile, strengthened thatconviction. Sympathetic avowals and grandiloquent phrases, such as"for the sake of humanity, " and "the cause of civilization, " which wereso freely bandied about at the time by unauthorized Americans, drewAguinaldo into the error of believing that some sort of bond reallyexisted between the United States and the Philippine RevolutionaryParty. In truth, there was no agreement between America and theFilipinos. There was no American plenipotentiary empowered to makeany political compact with the Islanders. At that date there wasneither a Philippine policy nor any fixed programme regarding thefuture disposal of the Islands, and whatever naval, military, or otherofficers might have said to Aguinaldo was said on their own privateresponsibility, and could in no way affect the action of the AmericanGovernment. Without any training in or natural bent for diplomacy, Aguinaldo had not the faintest idea of what foreign "protection"signified. He thought that after the capture of Manila the Americanswould sail away and leave the Filipinos to themselves, and onlyreappear if any other Power interfered with their native government. 

Admiral Dewey had a double task to perform. He had to destroy theSpanish fleet, and to co-operate in the taking of Manila. In thedestruction of the fleet the attitude of the natives was of littleconcern to him. In the taking of the capital it was important to knowwhat part the natives would play. It was certain they would not beplacid spectators of the struggle, wherever Aguinaldo might be. Ifthey _must_ enter into it, it was desirable to have them led by one whocould control them and repress excesses. It would have been better forthe Americans if, pending the issue with the Spaniards, no third partyhad existed; but, as it did exist, both contending nations were anxiousfor its goodwill or its control. Therefore Admiral Dewey's recognitionof Aguinaldo as a factor in the hostilities was nothing more norless than a legitimate stratagem to facilitate his operations againstthe Spaniards. Dewey simply neutralized a possible adverse force byadmissible military artifice, and Aguinaldo was too ingenuous to seethat he was being outwitted. The fighting section of the Filipinoswas intensely irritated at not having been allowed to enter and sackthe capital. They had looked forward to it as the crowning act ofvictory. The general mass of the christianized Islanders hoped thatPhilippine independence would immediately follow the capitulationof Manila, although, in the capital itself, natives of positionand property evinced little enthusiasm for the insurgents' triumph, whilst some inwardly doubted it. In September a native lawyer, FelipeAgoncillo, was sent to Washington to lay the Filipinos' case before thePresident in the hope of gaining his personal support of their claims(_vide_ p. 472). The first fear was that the Colony might revert toSpain, but that idea was soon dispelled by the news of the stipulationsof the Treaty of Paris. Simultaneously Aguinaldo's revolutionary armywas being pushed farther and farther away from the capital, and itwas evident, from the mood of his fighting-men, that if the Americansremained in possession of the Colony, hostilities, sooner or later, must break out. The Americans officially ignored the Aguinaldo party asa factor in public affairs, but they were not unaware of the warlikepreparations being made. Secret anti-American meetings were held atplaces called clubs, where it was agreed to attack simultaneouslythe Americans inside and outside the capital. General Pio del Pilarslept in the city every night, ready to give the rocket-signal forrevolt. Natives between 18 and 40 years of age were being recruitedfor military service, according to a Malolos Government decreedated September 21, 1898. In every smithy and factory bowie-kniveswere being forged with all speed, and 10, 000 men were already armedwith them. General E. S. Otis was willing to confer with Aguinaldo, and six sessions were held, the last taking place on January 29, sixdays before the outbreak. Nothing resulted from these conferences, theAmericans alleging that Aguinaldo would make no definite statement ofhis people's aims, whilst the Filipinos declare that their intentionswere so well understood by the American general that he would listento nothing short of unconditional submission. 

The following manifesto, dated January 5, signed by Emilio Aguinaldo, clearly shows the attitude of the Revolutionary Party at this period:--

 _To My Brethren the Filipinos, and to All the Respected Consuls and Other Foreigners_:--

 General Otis styles himself Military Governor of these Islands, and I protest one and a thousand times and with all the energy of my soul against such authority. I proclaim solemnly that I have not recognized either in Singapore or in Hong-Kong or in the Philippines, by word or in writing, the sovereignty of America over this beloved soil. On the contrary, I say that I returned to these Islands on an American warship on the 19th of May last for the express purpose of making war on the Spaniards to regain our liberty and independence. I stated this in my proclamation of the 24th of May last, and I published it in my Manifesto addressed to the Philippine people on the 12th of June. Lastly, all this was confirmed by the American General Merritt himself, predecessor of General Otis, in his Manifesto to the Philippine people some days before he demanded the surrender of Manila from the Spanish General Jaúdenes. In that Manifesto it is distinctly stated that the naval and field forces of the United States had come to give us our liberty, by subverting the bad Spanish Government. And I hereby protest against this unexpected act of the United States claiming sovereignty over these Islands. My relations with the American authorities prove undeniably that the United States did not bring me over here from Hong-Kong to make war on the Spaniards for their benefit, but for the purpose of our own liberty and independence. . . . 

 _Emilio Aguinaldo_. 

Aguinaldo having been successively Dictator and President of theRevolutionary Government (_vide_ p. 448), now assumed the new title ofPresident of the _Philippine Republic_, the Articles of Constitutionof which (drawn up by his Prime Minister Apolinario Mabini) weredated January 21, 1899, and promulgated by him on the followingday. In due course the news came that the date of voting in theSenate for or against the retention of the Islands was fixed. TheAmericans already in the Colony were practically unanimous in theirdesire for its retention, and every effort was made by them to thatend. The question of the treaty ratification was warmly discussedin Washington. A week before the vote was taken it was doubtfulwhether the necessary two-thirds majority could be obtained. It wasa remarkable coincidence that just when the Republican Party wasstraining every nerve to secure the two or three wavering votes, thefirst shots were exchanged between a native and an American outpostin the suburbs of the capital. Each side accuses the other of havingprecipitated hostilities. However that may be, this event took placeprecisely at a date when the news of it in Washington served to securethe votes of the hesitating senators in favour of retention. [208]The provocative demeanour of the insurgents at the outposts wassuch that a rupture was inevitable sooner or later, and if a Senatevote of abandonment had come simultaneously with insurrection, thesituation would have been extremely complicated; it would have beendifficult for the Oriental not to have believed that the invaderwas nervously beating a retreat. The Nebraska Regiment was at SantaMesa, guarding its front. Americans were frequently insulted, calledcowards, and openly menaced by the insurgents. In the evening ofSaturday, February 4, 1899, an insurgent officer came with a detailof men and attempted to force his way past the sentinel on the SanJuan bridge. About nine o'clock a large body of rebels advanced onthe South Dakota Regiment's outposts, and to avoid the necessityof firing, for obvious reasons, the picquets fell back. For severalnights a certain insurgent lieutenant had tried to pass the Nebraskalines. At length he approached a sentinel, who called "halt" threetimes without response, and then shot the lieutenant dead. Severalinsurgents then fired and retreated; rockets were at once sent up bythe Filipinos, and firing started all along the line, from Caloocanto Santa Mesa. By ten o'clock the Filipinos concentrated at Caloocan, Santa Mesa, and Gagalanging, whence they opened a simultaneous, butineffectual, fusillade, supplemented by two siege guns at Balichalicand a skirmishing attack from Pandacan and Paco. Desperate fightingcontinued throughout the night; the Filipinos, driven back from everypost with heavy loss, rallied the next morning at Paco, where theyoccupied the parish church, to which many non-combatant refugeeshad fled. The American warships, co-operating with their batteries, poured a terrific fire on the church, and kept up a continuous attackon the insurgent position at Caloocan, where General Aguinaldo was incommand. At daylight the Americans made a general advance towards Pacoand Santa Ana. At the former place the Filipinos resisted desperately;the church, sheltering refugees and insurgents, was completelydemolished; [209] the Filipinos' loss amounted to about 4, 000 killedand wounded, whilst the Americans lost about 175 killed and wounded. Itis estimated that the approximate number of troops engaged in thisencounter was 13, 000 Americans and 20, 000 Filipinos. The insurgentsat Santa Ana, the survivors of the Paco defeat, and the force whichhad to abandon the Santólan water-works, where they left behind thema howitzer, all concentrated at Caloocan. The insurgent and Americanlines formed a semicircle some 15 miles in extent, making it impossibleto give a comprehensive description of the numerous small engagements. 

Immediately the news of the rupture reached Washington the PhilippineEnvoy, Felipe Agoncillo, fled to Montreal, Canada, in a greathurry, leaving his luggage behind. No one was troubling him, andthere was not the least need for such a precipitate flight from acountry where civilized international usages obtain. On February 5an engagement took place at Gagalanging, where the natives collectedin the hundreds of bungalows around that village awaiting the advanceof the Oregon Regiment. Amongst the spectators was the German PrinceLudwig von Löwenstein. The Americans continued advancing and firing, when suddenly the prince ran across an open space and took shelter ina hut which he must have known would be attacked by the Oregons. Theorder was given to fire into the native dwellings giving cover tothe insurgents, and the prince's dead body was subsequently foundperforated by a bullet. In his pocket he carried a pass issued byAguinaldo conceding to the bearer permission to go anywhere withinthe insurgent lines, and stating that he was a sympathizer with theircause. It was noticed that the prince several times deliberately threwhimself into danger. No one could ascertain exactly in what capacityhe found himself near the fighting-line. Less than two years previouslyhe had married the daughter of an English earl, and the popular beliefwas that, for private reasons, he intentionally courted death. 

The rebels were repulsed at every point with great loss. Lines of smokefrom the burning villages marked the direction taken by the Americansadvancing under the leadership of Generals Otis, Wheaton, Hale, and Hall. An immense amount of impedimenta in the shape of pontoons, telegraph posts and wires, ammunition, and provisions followed theinfantry in perfect order. On the line taken by the troops manynative householders hoisted white flags to indicate their peacefulintentions. Ambulances were frequently seen coming in with the woundedAmericans and Filipinos, and among them was brought the chief of anIgorrote tribe with a broken thigh. His tribe, who had been persuadedby Aguinaldo to bring their bows and arrows to co-operate with him, were placed in the front and suffered great slaughter. In hospitalthe Igorrote chief spoke with much bitterness of how he had beendeceived, and vowed vengeance against the Tagálogs. The next dayat Caloocan the rebels made a determined stand, but were driven outof the place by 10-inch shells fired from the _Monadnock_ over theAmerican lines. General Hall occupied Santólan and the pumping-stationthere and repelled the repeated attacks made on his column. GeneralMcArthur with a flying column cleared the surrounding district of theenemy, but owing to the roughness of the country he was unable topursue them. Aguinaldo was therefore able to escape north with hisarmy, reinforced by native troops who had been trained in Spanishservice. There was also a concentration of about 2, 500 natives fromthe southern Luzon provinces. The insurgents had cut trenches atalmost every mile along the route north. In the several skirmisheswhich took place on March 25 the Americans lost one captain and 25 menkilled and eight officers and 142 men wounded. The next day there wassome hard fighting around Polo and Novaliches, where the insurgentsheld out for six hours against General McArthur's three brigades ofcavalry and artillery. After the defeat at Paco, Aguinaldo movedon to the town of Malabon, which was shelled; the enemy thereforeimmediately evacuated that place in great confusion, after settingfire to the buildings. Over 1, 000 men, women, and children hastenedacross the low, swampy lands carrying their household goods and theirfighting-cocks; it was indeed a curious spectacle. General Wheaton'sbrigade captured Malinta, and the insurgents fled panic-stricken afterhaving suffered severely. The American loss was small in numbers, but Colonel Egbert, of the 22nd Infantry, was mortally wounded whilstleading a charge. As he lay on the litter in the midst of the fightGeneral Wheaton cheered him with the words, "Nobly done, Egbert!" towhich the dying colonel replied, "Good-bye, General; I'm done; I'mtoo old, " and at once expired. 

In March the natives tried to burn down one of the busiest Manilasuburbs. At 8 o'clock one evening they set fire to the Chinesequarters in Santa Cruz, and the breeze rapidly wafted the flames. Theconflagration lasted four hours. The English Fire-Brigade turned outto quench it. Hundreds of Chinese laden with chattels hurried to andfro about the streets; natives rushed hither and thither franticallytrying to keep the fire going whilst the whites were endeavouringto extinguish it; and with the confusion of European and Orientaltongues the place was a perfect pandemonium. General Hughes wasat the head of the police, but the surging mob pressed forward andcut the hose five times. With fixed bayonets the troops partiallysucceeded in holding back the swelling crowd. The electric wires gotout of working order, and the city was lighted only by the glare ofthe flaming buildings. Bullets were flying in all directions aboutTondo and Binondo. The intense excitement was intentionally sustainedby batches of natives who rushed hither and thither with hideousyells to inspire a feeling of terror. Many families, fearing that theinsurgents had broken through the American lines and entered the city_en masse_, frantically fled from the hotels and houses. Incessantbugle-calls from the natives added to the commotion, and thousandsof Chinese crowded into the Chinese Consulate. Finally the rioterswere driven back, and a cordon of troops assured the safety of thecapital. Sharp engagements simultaneously took place at the Chinesecemetery and at San Pedro Macatí. Bands of insurgents were arrestedin Tondo. A group of 60 was captured escorting two cartloads of armsand ammunition to a house. Business was almost entirely suspended, and a general order was issued by the Military Governor commandingall civilians to remain in their houses after 7 p. M. This hour wasgradually extended to 8 o'clock, then 9 o'clock, and finally tomidnight, as circumstances permitted. An edict was posted up fixingthe penalties for incendiarism. During two days smoke hovered aroundthe neighbourhood, and the appearance of Manila from the bay was thatof a smouldering city. 

In the fighting up country, one of the greatest difficulties for theAmericans was that the insurgents would not concentrate and have adecisive contest. They would fire a few volleys from cover and retreatto other cover, repeating these harassing, but inconclusive, tacticsover many miles of ground. On their march the Americans had to fighta hidden foe who slipped from trench to trench, or found safety inthe woods. Sometimes a trenchful of the enemy would fire a volley andhalf of them disappear through gullies leading to other cover. Thenext point of importance to be reached was Malalos, and on the waysome thirty villages had to be passed. Besides the volleys deliveredby hidden insurgents all along the line, a hard-fought battle tookplace on March 28 under the personal direction of General Aguinaldo, who concentrated about 5, 000 men near Marilao. Aguinaldo directedthe movements without appearing on the field; indeed it is doubtfulwhether, during this war, he ever led his troops into action. GeneralMcArthur's division had halted at Meycauayan the previous night, and in the morning advanced north in conjunction with General Hale'sbrigade, which took the right, whilst General Otis led his troopsto the left of the railroad, General Wheaton's brigade being held inreserve. After a three-mile march these forces fell in with the enemy, who opened fire from trenches and thickets; but General Otis's troopscharged them gallantly and drove them back across the river. There theinsurgents rallied, relying upon the splendid trenches which they haddug. The battle raged for three hours, the combatants being finallywithin fifty yards of each other. Eventually the American artillerycame into play, when the advanced works of the insurgent defences wereliterally pulverized and the general rout of the enemy began. Theyretreated to their second stronghold of bamboo thickets, pursued by the1st South Dakota Infantry, which made a brilliant charge in the open, under a galling fire, with a loss of three lieutenants and seven menkilled on the field and about a score wounded. The insurgents, however, were completely defeated and scattered, leaving 85 dead counted inthe trenches and thickets, and a hundred prisoners in the hands ofthe Americans. Before abandoning Marílao the insurgents burnt the townto the ground and continued their hurried flight to Malolos. They hadplenty of time to rally, for the Americans found great difficulty inbringing their artillery across the river at Guiguinto. It had to bedrawn over the railway bridge by hand whilst the mules swam acrossto the northern bank, all being, at the same time, under a desultoryfire from the enemy. The resistance of the Filipinos to the passage ofthe river at Guiguinto was so stubborn that the Americans lost about70 killed and wounded. At 6 a. M. The Americans started the advancetowards Malolos in the same order taken for the march to Marilao, General Hale's brigade taking the right and General Otis's the leftof the railroad. Several skirmishes took place on the way and GeneralWheaton brought his reserves forward into the general advance. AtBocaue the river presented the same difficulties for artillerytransport as were experienced at Guiguinto, except that the enemy wasnowhere to be seen. Bigaá was reached and not an armed native was insight, all having apparently concentrated in the insurgent capital, Malolos. The American casualties that day, due solely to the morningskirmishes, amounted to four killed and thirty wounded. 

It is apparent, from the official despatches, that at this timethe American generals seriously believed the Aguinaldo party wouldacknowledge its defeat and make peace if Malolos, the revolutionaryseat of government, fell. All that was going on in Manila was wellknown to the insurgents in the field, as the news was brought tothem daily by runners who were able to enter the city during daylightwithout interference. On March 30 General McArthur's division resumedthe advance and brought up the baggage trains, after having repairedthe several bridges damaged by the enemy. The environs of Malolos werereconnoitred up to within a mile of the town, and the dead bodiesof insurgent soldiers were seen scattered here and there. Groups ofhundreds of non-combatants were hurrying off from the beleagueredinsurgent capital. General Otis's brigade pushed forward withoutany encounter with the enemy, but General Hale's column, whichcontinued to take the right side of the railway, was fired uponfrom the woods, the total casualties that day being five killed and43 wounded. At 7 a. M. (March 31) the Americans opened the combinedattack on Malolos. General McArthur directed the operations fromthe railway embankment, and half an hour's artillery fire dislodgedthe enemy from their cover. The columns advanced cautiously towardsthe town in anticipation of a fierce resistance and, it was hoped, a fight to the finish. General Otis marched on direct: General Haleexecuted a flanking movement to the east; General Wheaton's brigadeswere held in reserve, and a halt of half an hour was made preparatoryto the final assault. The scouts then returned and reported that theinsurgents had abandoned their capital! It was a disappointment tothe Americans who had looked forward to inflicting a decisive andcrushing defeat on the enemy. The first troops to enter the townwere the 20th Kansas Regiment, under Colonel Funston. The natives, in the wildest confusion, scampered off, after firing a few partingshots at the approaching forces, and the Americans, with a totalloss of 15 killed and wounded, were in undisputed possession of theinsurgent capital. Aguinaldo had prudently evacuated it two daysbefore with his main army, going in the direction of Calumpit. Onlyone battalion had been left behind to burn the town on the approachof the Americans. Aguinaldo's headquarters, the parish church, and a few hundred yards of railway were already destroyed whenthe Americans occupied the place, still partly in flames. Somefew hundreds of Chinese were the only inhabitants remaining inMalolos. The value of the food-stuffs captured in this place wasestimated at P1, 500, 000. Simultaneously, General Hall's brigadeoperated five to seven miles north of Manila and drove the insurgentsout of Mariquina, San Mateo, and the environs of the Montalbán Riverwith a loss of 20 men wounded and Lieutenant Gregg killed. It was nowevident that Aguinaldo had no intention to come to close quarters andbring matters to a crisis by pitched battles. His policy was apparentlyto harry the Americans by keeping them constantly on the move againstguerilla parties, in the hope that a long and wearisome campaign wouldend in the Americans abandoning the Islands in disgust, leaving theFilipinos to their own desired independence. Aguinaldo had moved onto Calumpit with his main army with the intention of establishinghis Government there. On the American side, active preparations weremade to dislodge him. Small gunboats were fitted out for operatingon the Rio Grande de Pampanga, and an armoured train was prepared foruse farther north. From Parañaque, on the bay shore south of Manila, the insurgents fired on the monitor _Monadnock_, but a few shots fromthis vessel silenced the shore battery. In several places, within 10to 15 miles of the capital, armed groups of insurgents concentrated, but Aguinaldo moved on towards Baliuag, in the province of Bulacan, so as to be within easy reach of the hill district of Angat in caseof defeat. 

A few days after the capture of Malolos, General Otis issued aproclamation to the Filipinos, in the hope that by drawing off publicsympathy from the insurgent cause it would dwindle away. The termsof this document were as follows, viz. :--

 (1) The supremacy of the United States must and will be enforced throughout every part of the Archipelago. Those who resist can accomplish nothing except their own ruin. 

 (2) The most ample liberty of self-government will be granted which is reconcilable with the maintenance of a wise, just, stable, effective, and economical administration, and compatible with the sovereign and international rights and obligations of the United States. 

 (3) The civil rights of the Filipinos will be guaranteed and protected, religious freedom will be assured, and all will have equal standing before the law. 

 (4) Honour, justice, and friendship forbid the exploitation of the people of the Islands. The purpose of the American Government is the welfare and advancement of the Filipino people. 

 (5) The American Government guarantees an honest and effective civil service, in which, to the fullest extent practicable, natives shall be employed. 

 (6) The collection and application of taxes and revenues will be put on a sound and honest economical basis. Public funds will be raised justly and collected honestly, and will be applied only in defraying the proper expenses of the establishment and maintenance of the Philippine Government, and such general improvements as public interests demand. Local funds collected for local purposes shall not be diverted to other ends. With such a prudent and honest fiscal administration it is believed that the needs of the Government will, in a short time, become compatible with a considerable reduction of taxation. 

 (7) The pure, speedy, and effective administration of justice, whereby the evils of delay, corruption, and exploitation will be effectually eradicated. 

 (8) The construction of roads, railways, and other means of communication and transportation, and other public works of manifest advantage to the people will be promoted. 

 (9) Domestic and foreign trade, commerce, agriculture, and other industrial pursuits, and the general development of the country and interest of the inhabitants will be the constant objects of the solicitude and fostering care of the Government. 

 (10) Effective provision will be made for the establishment of elementary schools, in which the children of the people shall be educated, and appropriate facilities will also be provided for their higher education. 

 (11) Reforms in all departments of the Government, all branches of the public service, and all corporations closely touching the common life of the people must be undertaken without delay, and effected conformably with right and justice in such a way as to satisfy the well-founded demands and the highest sentiments and aspirations of the Philippine people. 

The above proclamation, no doubt, embodies the programme of whatthe American Government desired to carry out at the time of itspublication. 

The Americans resumed the aggressive against the insurgents, andan expedition of 1, 509 men and two mountain-guns was fitted outunder the command of General Lawton to proceed up the Pasig Riverinto the Lake of Bay in order to capture Santa Cruz at the easternextremity. The expedition presented a curious sight; it comprised 15native barges or "cascoes" towed by seven tugs. Some of the craftran aground at Napíndan, the entrance to the lake, and delayed thelittle flotilla until daylight. The barges ahead had to wait for thevessels lagging behind. Then a mist came over the shore, and there wasanother halt. A couple of miles off an insurgent steamer was sighted, but it passed on. Finally Santa Cruz was reached; 200 sharpshooterswere landed under cover of the launch guns, and fighting continuedall the afternoon until nightfall. Early in the morning the town wasattacked, the church situated in the centre was captured, and theAmerican loss was only six men wounded; the insurgents were drivenfar away, leaving 68 dead on the field, and a large number of wounded, whilst hundreds were taken prisoners. 

On April 12, at the request of the Spanish General Rios, [210] thegunboat _Yorktown_ was despatched to Baler, on the east coast of Luzon, to endeavour to rescue a party of 80 Spanish soldiers, three officers, and two priests who were holding out against 400 insurgents. Thesenatives, who were all armed with Maüser rifles, laid in ambush, and surprised the landing-party under Lieutenant Gilmore. The wholeparty was captured by the insurgents, who were afterwards ordered torelease them all. General Aguinaldo was always as humanely disposedas the circumstances of war would permit, and, at the request of thecommissioners for the liberation of the Spanish prisoners, he gavethis little band of 83 heroes and two priests their liberty undera decree so characteristic of Philippine imitative genius in itspompous allusion to the Spanish glorious past that it is well worthrecording. [211]

General Lawton asserted that 100, 000 men would be required to conquerthe Philippines, but they were never sent, because there was alwaysan influential group of optimists who expected an early collapseof the insurgent movement. General Otis sent frequent cablegrams toWashington expressing his belief that the war would soon come to anend. However, in April, 1899, 14, 000 regular troops were despatchedto the Islands to reinforce the Volunteer regiments. It was a wisemeasure taken not too soon, for it was clear that a certain amountof discontent had manifested itself among the Volunteers. Moreover, the whole management of the Philippine problem was much hampered byan anti-annexation movement in America which did not fail to have itsinfluence on the Volunteers, many of whom were anxious to return homeif they could. Senator Hoar and his partisans persistently opposed theretention of the Islands, claiming that it was contrary to the spiritof the American Constitution to impose a government upon a peopleagainst its will. American sentiment was indeed becoming more and moreopposed to expansion of territorial possession beyond the continent, in view of the unsatisfactory operations in the Philippines--a feelingwhich was, however, greatly counterbalanced by a recognition of thepolitical necessity of finishing an unpleasant task already begun, for the sake of national dignity. 

About this time the Philippine envoy, Felipe Agoncillo, was in Parisas president of a _junta_ of his compatriots. Some of the memberswere of opinion that they ought to negotiate for peace directly withthe American Secretary of State, but Agoncillo so tenaciously opposedanything short of sovereign Philippine independence that some of themembers withdrew and returned to the Islands. A year later I foundAgoncillo of exactly the same intransigent persuasion. 

At the end of April the Americans suffered a severe reverse at Guingua(Bulacan), where Major Bell, with 40 cavalrymen, came across a strongoutpost from which the enemy fired, killing one and wounding fivemen. With great difficulty the dead and wounded were carried back underfire, and it was found that the enemy occupied a big trench encirclingthree sides of a paddy-field bordering on a wood. As the Americansretreated, the insurgents crept up, aided by a mist, to within shortrange and fired another volley. Major Bell sent for reinforcements, and a battalion of infantry was soon on the scene, but their advancewas checked by the continuous firing from the trenches. Artillerywas on the way, but the insurgents were not disposed to chargethe Americans, who lay for two hours under cover of a rice-fieldembankment in a broiling hot sun. One man died of sunstroke. Finallya second battalion of infantry arrived under the command of ColonelStotsenberg, who was very popular with his men. He was received withcheers, and immediately ordered a charge against the enemy in thetrenches; but whilst leading the attack he was shot in the breast, and died immediately. Within short range of the trenches LieutenantSisson fell, shot through the heart. By this time the artillery hadarrived, and shelled the trenches. The insurgents, however, held theirposition well for a time, until the infantry was close up to them, when, following their usual tactics, they ran off to another trench amile or so away. The total American losses that day were two officersand four privates killed, and three officers and 40 men wounded. 

Spanish prisoners released by the Filipinos declared that theinsurgents had 50, 000 rifles and 200 pieces of artillery capturedfrom the Spaniards, ample ammunition manufactured at two largefactories up country, and occasional fresh supplies of war-materialshipped from China by Chinese, European, and American merchants. Thepreparations made to dislodge Aguinaldo and his main army, entrenchedand sheltered by fortifications at Calumpit, were now completed, and General McArthur's division steadily advanced. The flower of theinsurgent army was there, well armed and supplied with artilleryand shrapnel shell. Commanded by General Antonio Luna, they wereevidently prepared to make at Calumpit the bold stand which wasexpected of them at Malolos. The transport difficulties were verygreat, and as General McArthur approached, every foot of ground wasdisputed by the enemy. Bridges had been broken down, and the guns hadto be hauled through jungle and woods under a scorching sun. Manybuffaloes succumbed to the fatigue, and hundreds of Chinamen wereemployed to do their work. The Bagbag River was reached, but it hadto be crossed, and the passage cost the Americans six men killed and28 wounded. The Bagbag River was well fortified, and the Americanshad to attack its defenders from an open space. There were trenchesat every approach; enormous pieces of rock had been dislodged andhauled down towards the breastworks of the trenches to form cover. Thearmoured train, pushed along the railway by Chinamen, then came intoaction, and its quick-firing guns opened the assault on the enemy'sposition. Six-pounders were also brought into play; the insurgents weregradually receding; artillery was wheeled up to the river bank and aregular bombardment of the bridge ensued. The trenches were shelled, and the insurgents were firing their guns in the direction of thearmoured train, but they failed to get the range. Meantime, a companyof the Kansas Regiment made a bold charge across a paddy-field andfound shelter in a ditch, whence they kept up a constant fire to divertthe enemy's attention whilst Colonel Eunston, the commander of theregiment, with a lieutenant and four men, crept along the girders ofthe bridge. The enemy, however, got the range and bullets were flyingall around them, so they slid down the bridge-supports, dropped intothe river, and swam to the opposite shore. Scrambling up the bank, revolvers in hand, they reached the trenches just as the insurgentswere hurriedly evacuating them. Indeed, the Filipinos' defence of theirtrenches was extremely feeble during the whole battle. On the otherhand, for the first time, the insurgents ventured out into the openagainst the Americans. General Antonio Luna, the Commander-in-Chief, could be seen galloping furiously along the lines exhorting his men tohold their ground, and he succeeded in deploying them into an extendedline of battle to receive the enemy's onslaught. The insurgents keptup a desultory fire whilst the troops forded the river, and then theywere pursued and driven off to the outskirts of the town. The flamesrising from several buildings appeared to indicate an intention on thepart of the insurgents to abandon their stronghold. Simultaneously, Generals Hale and Wheaton were coming forward with their columns, each having had some hard fighting on the way. The junction of forceswas effected; a fierce fire was poured into the trenches; General Haleand his men made a dash across a stream, up to their waists in water;the Utah men followed with their batteries, cheering and draggingtheir field-pieces with desperate energy to the opposite bank; theenemy gave way, and the armoured train crossed the bridge. The totalAmerican loss that day did not exceed nine in killed and wounded, whilst the insurgent losses were at least 70. During the night theengineers repaired the Bagbag bridge for the rest of the troops topass, and fighting was resumed at six o'clock in the morning. Thedeserted trenches were occupied by the Americans to pick off anyinsurgents who might venture out into the open. A general assault bythe combined columns was then made on the town, which was captured, whilst the bulk of the insurgents fled in great confusion towards thehills. The few who lingered in the trenches in the northern suburbsof the town were shelled out of them by the American artillery placednear the church, and the survivors decamped, hotly pursued for somedistance by cavalry. So great was the slaughter that the insurgents'total losses are unknown. The trenches were choked with dead bodies, and piles of them were found in many places. When nightfall cameand the Americans were resting in Calumpit after their two days'hard fighting, the whole district was illuminated for miles aroundby the flames from the burning villages and groups of huts, whilstthe snapping of the burning bamboos echoed through the stillness likevolleys of rifle-shots. 

Aguinaldo and his Government had hastened north towards Tárlac, andon April 28 he instructed General Antonio Luna to discuss terms ofpeace. Ostensibly with this object the general sent Colonel ManuelArgüelles with his aide-de-camp and an orderly to the American camp atApálit (Pampanga). These men were seen coming down the railway-trackcarrying a white flag. An officer was sent out to meet them, andafter handing their credentials to him they were forthwith conductedto General Wheaton's headquarters. General Wheaton sent them onto General McArthur, the chief commander of the Northern Division, and General McArthur commissioned Major Mallory to escort them toGeneral Otis in Manila. They explained that they were empowered to askfor an armistice for a few days as it was proposed to summon theirCongress for May 1 to discuss the question of peace or war. GeneralOtis replied that he did not recognize the Philippine Republic, andthat there would be no cessation of hostilities until his only termswere complied with, namely, unconditional surrender. The negotiationswere resumed the next day, and Argüelles seemed personally inclinedto meet the American view of the situation; but as his powers werelimited to asking for an armistice, he and his companions returned tothe insurgent camp with General Otis's negative answer. On his returnto the camp Colonel Argüelles was accused of being an "Americanista"in favour of surrender, for which offence a court-martial passedsentence upon him of expulsion from the insurgent army and 12 years'imprisonment. Whatever Argüelles' personal conviction may have beenmatters little, but in the light of subsequent events and consideringthe impetuous, intransigent character of General Antonio Luna, it isprobable that Argüelles was really only sent as a spy. 

On May 5 General McArthur's division advanced to Pampanga Province, and Santo Tomás and San Fernando were taken without loss. A portion ofthe latter place had been burnt by the retreating insurgents, and thetownspeople fled leaving their household goods behind them. GeneralsHale and Lawton were following up, and on the way Baliuag (Bulacan)was occupied and immense stores of foodstuffs were seized from theinsurgents and private owners. The booty consisted of about 150, 000bushels of rice and over 250 tons of sugar. In other places on theway large deposits of food fell into American hands. The men of theNebraska Regiment considered they had had sufficient hard work for thepresent in long marching, continual fighting, and outpost duty. Theytherefore petitioned General McArthur to relieve them temporarilyfrom duty to recuperate their strength. There was no doubting theirbravery, of which they had given ample proof; they had simply reachedthe limit of physical endurance. The hospitals were already full ofsoldiers suffering as much from sunstroke as from wounds receivedin battle. Consequently some of the regular regiments who had beendoing guard duty in the capital were despatched to the front. In thefollowing July the Nebraska Volunteer Regiment was one of those sentback to the United States. 

On May 19 another party of insurgent officers presented themselvesto the military authorities alleging that they had fullerpowers than Argüelles possessed and were prepared to make peaceproposals. Everything was discussed over again; but as General Otis'sunalterable demand for unconditional surrender was already well known, one can only conclude that the insurgent commissioners were also spiessent to gauge the power and feeling of the Americans, for they promisedto return within three weeks and then disappeared indefinitely. 

On May 22 more peace commissioners were sent by Aguinaldo. They werereceived by the Schurman Commission of Inquest, who communicated tothem a scheme of government which they had had under considerationin agreement with President McKinley. The proposed plan embodiedthe appointment of a Gov. -General, who would nominate a Cabinet toact with him. The President of the United States was to appoint thejudges. The Cabinet members and the judges might be all Americans, orall Filipinos, or both. Moreover, there was to be an Advisory Councilelected by popular vote. This liberal scheme was, however, abandoned, as its proposal seemed to have no effect in bringing the war to anend, and the negotiations terminated with the Commissioners and theinsurgent delegates lunching together on board the U. S. Battleship_Oregon_, whilst the blood of both parties continued to flow onthe battlefield. 

General Lawton's brigade was still operating in the Provinces ofBulacan and north of Manila (now called Rizal). The fighting was sosevere and the exposure to sun so disastrous that about the beginningof June he had to send back to Manila 500 wounded and heat-strickenmen. It was found impossible to follow up the ever-retreatinginsurgents, who again escaped still farther north. Along the ManilaBay shore detachments of insurgents passed from time to time, drivingwomen and children before them, so that the Americans would not care tofire on them. Some, however, were picked off from the warships when theinsurgents omitted their precautionary measure. It was impossible to"round up" the enemy and bring him into a combat to the finish. Hismovements were so alert that he would fight, vanish in a trice, conceal his arms and uniform, and mingle with the Americans with anair of perfect innocence. With wonderful dexterity he would change fromsoldier to civilian, lounging one day in the market-place and the nextday fall into the insurgent ranks. These tactics, which led to nothingwhatever in a purely military sense, were evidently adopted in the vainhope of wearying the Americans into an abandonment of their enterprise. 

In the middle of June General Lawton's brigade operated to the southof Manila and in the Cavite province, where the natives gave battleat the Zapote River, famous for a great Spanish defeat during therebellion. The insurgents were under cover the whole time, and theirassembled thousands could hardly be seen by the attacking columns. Theywere also in great force and strongly entrenched near Las Piñas and atBacoor. [212] From the former place they worked one large and two smallguns with much effect, firing canister loaded with nails. One canistershattered the legs of a private. American infantry, skirmishing alongthe beach, came across a posse of insurgents who at once retreated, pursued by the Americans until the latter found themselves surroundedon three sides by hidden sharpshooters, who poured in a raking fireupon them. The skirmishers withdrew, but were rallied by GeneralLawton and other officers, who themselves picked off some of theenemy with rifle-shots. Encouraged by this example, the skirmishers, with one cry, suddenly rushed towards the insurgents, scattering themin all directions, and safely reached the main body of the brigadewith their wounded comrades. 

The only bridge across the Zapote River was strongly defended bythe insurgents, who had trenches forming two sides of an angle. Bynoon their battery was silenced, and the Americans then attemptedto ford the river, whilst others went knee-deep in mire across thepaddy-mud flats. Then a deep stream was the only boundary betweenthe contending parties. The Filipinos were hardly visible, beingunder shelter of thickets, whilst the Americans were wading throughmud under a broiling sun for over two hours to reach them, keepingup a constant fusillade. The whole time there was an incessant dinfrom a thousand rifles and the roar of cannon from the gunboats whichbombarded the enemy's position near Las Piñas and Bacoor. The strainon the Americans was tremendous when the insurgents made a flankingmovement and fired upon them as they were floundering in the mud. The14th Infantry eventually swam across the Zapote River, and under coverof artillery charged the insurgents, who retreated into the woods. TheFilipinos displayed a rare intelligence in the construction of theirdefences near the Zapote River and its neighbourhood, and but for theemployment of artillery their dislodgement therefrom would have beenextremely difficult. After the battle was over General Lawton declaredthat it was the toughest contest they had yet undertaken in this war. 

At Perez Dasmariñas, in the east of Cavite Province, a battalion ofinfantry narrowly escaped annihilation. News had been brought to theAmerican camp that the insurgents had evacuated that town, and thatthe native mayor was disposed to make a formal surrender of it to theAmericans. The battalion forthwith went there to take possession, butbefore reaching the place the enemy closed in on all sides, and a heavyfire was mutually sustained for four hours. The Americans had only justsaved themselves from destruction by a desperate bayonet-charge whenthey were rescued by General Wheaton, who arrived with reinforcements. 

Three months of warfare had wrought dissension in the insurgentcamp. Organization was Aguinaldo's peculiar talent, without theexercise of which the movement would have failed at the outset. Butthe value of this gift was not fully appreciated by his people. Acertain section of the fighting masses had far greater admirationfor Antonio Luna's visible prowess than for the unseen astutenessof Aguinaldo's manoeuvres. It was characteristic of the Filipinos tosplit into factions, but the encouragement given to General AntonioLuna's aspiration to supersede his supreme chief was unfortunate, forAguinaldo was not the man to tolerate a rival. He had rid himself ofAndrés Bonifacio (_vide_ p. 371) in 1896, and now another disturberof that unity which is strength had to be disposed of. The pointof dispute between these two men was of public knowledge. It hasalready been shown how fully cognizant Antonio Luna was of theproposals made to the Americans for an armistice, for the expresspurpose of taking the vote of the Revolutionary Congress, for peaceor war, on May 1. Aguinaldo was no longer a military dictator, butPresident of the so-called Philippine Republic (_vide_ p. 486), bywhose will he was disposed loyally to abide. Antonio Luna's elasticconscience urged him to duplicity; he pretended to submit to the willof the majority, expressed through the Congress, with the reservedintention of carrying on the war at all hazards, as military dictator, if the vote were for peace. Congress met, and during the debate onthe momentous question--peace or war--the hitherto compact group ofintransigents weakened. No agreement could be arrived at in the firstsession. There was, however, a strong tendency to accept Americansovereignty. Luna feared that Aguinaldo's acceptance of the voteof the majority (if a division were taken) might deprive him of theopportunity of rising to supreme eminence. Luna's violence at thistime was intolerable, up to the point of smacking deputy F. B. In theface. His attempted coercion of the will of others brought about hisown downfall. His impetuosity called forth the expression, "He isa fanatic who will lead us to a precipice. " In his imagination, allwho did not conform to his dominant will were conspirators againsthim. Hence, at Cavite (Aguinaldo's native province), he disarmed allthe troops of that locality, and substituted Ilocanos of his ownprovince, whilst he vented his ferocity in numerous executions ofTagálogs. Had he lived he would probably have created a tribal feudbetween Ilocanos and Tagálogs. 

On June 3, 1899, accompanied by his aide-de-camp, Captain Roman, andan escort, Luna entered the official residence of President Aguinaldoat Cabanatúan (Nueva Ecija). The guard, composed of a company ofCavite men from Canit (Aguinaldo's native town), under the commandof Captain Pedro Janolino, saluted him on his entry. As Luna andRoman ascended the staircase to seek Aguinaldo a revolver-shot washeard. Luna rushed down the stairs in a furious rage and insultedCaptain Janolino in the presence of his troops. This was too muchfor Janolino, who drew a dagger and thrust it violently into Luna'shead. In the scuffle Luna was knocked down and shot several times. Hewas able to reach the roadway, and, after shouting "Cowards!" felldown dead. In the meantime, whilst Captain Roman was running towardsa house he was shot dead by a bullet in his breast. The InsurgentGovernment passed a vote of regret at the occurrence, and the twoofficers were buried with military honours. As subsequent eventsproved, Aguinaldo had no personal wish to give up the struggle, orto influence a peace vote, but to execute the will of the people, as expressed through the revolutionary congressmen. 

The situation was becoming so serious for the Americans that a call for25, 000 more volunteers was earnestly discussed at Washington. It wasthought that the levy should be made at once, believing that GeneralOtis really required them, but that he was reluctant to admit anunder-estimate of the enemy's strength. The insurgents, finding theywere not followed up (the rainy season was commencing), were beginningto take the offensive with greater boldness, attacking the Americansin the rear. The War Department, however, hesitated to make the levyowing to the friction which existed between the volunteers and theregulars, but the case was so urgent that at the end of June it wasdecided to raise the total forces in the Philippines to 40, 000 men. 

On June 12, the anniversary of the proclamation at Cavite ofPhilippine Independence, Aguinaldo, from his northern retreat, issueda _Manifiesto_ to his countrymen reminding them of the importanceof that event. This document, abundant in grandiloquent phrases, is too lengthy for full citation here, but the following paragraphin it is interesting as a recognition that, after all, there was abright side to Spanish dominion:--

 Filipinas! Beloved daughter of the ardent sun of the tropics, commended by Providence to the care of noble Spain, be thou not ungrateful; acknowledge her, salute her who warmed thee with the breath of her own culture and civility. Thou hast longed for independence, and thine emancipation from Spain has come; but preserve in thine heart the remembrance of the more than three centuries which thou hast lived with her usages, her language, and her customs. It is true she sought to crush thine aspiration for independence, just as a loving mother resists the lifelong separation from the daughter of her bosom; it only proved the excess of affection, the love Spain feels for thee. But thou, Filipinas, flower of the ocean, delicate flower of the East, still weak, scarce eight months weaned from thy mother's breast, hast dared to brave a great and powerful nation such as is the United States, with thy little army barely disciplined and shaped. Ah, beloved brethren, all this is true; and still we say we will be slaves to none, nor let ourselves be duped by gentle words. 

Certainly Aguinaldo could not have been the author of the abovecomposition published in his name. 

By the middle of July the censorship of Press cablegrams from Manilahad become so rigid that the public in America and Europe could getvery little reliable telegraphic news of what was going on in theIslands. The American newspaper correspondents therefore signed a"round robin" setting forth their complaints to General Otis, who tooklittle heed of it. It was well known that the hospitals were crowdedwith American soldiers, a great many of whom were suffering solely fromtheir persistence in habits contracted at home which were incompatiblewith good health in a tropical climate. Many volunteers, wearied of thewar, were urging to be sent back to the States, and there was a markedlack of cordiality between the volunteer and the regular regiments. Inthe field the former might well compare with the smartest and thebravest men who ever carried arms; off active service there was adifference between them and the disciplined regulars perceptible toany civilian. The natives particularly resented the volunteers' habitof entering their dwellings and tampering, in a free and easy manner, with their goods and the modesty of their women. They were speciallydisgusted with the coloured regiments, whose conduct was such thatthe authorities saw the desirability of shipping them all back to theUnited States as soon as other troops were available to replace them, for their lawlessness was bringing discredit on the nation. 

In July an expedition was sent up the Laguna de Bay, and the towns onthe south shore were successively captured as far as Calamba, whichwas occupied on the 26th of the month. Early in the same month theinter-island merchant steamer _Saturnus_, on its regular voyage to thenorth-west coast of Luzon ports, put in at San Fernando de la Union todischarge cargo for that place, which was held by the insurgents. Thevessel was flying the American flag. Part of the cargo had beendischarged and preparations were being made to receive freight onboard, when the insurgents seized the vessel, carried off the thousandsof pesos and other property on board, poured petroleum on the woodwork, and hauled down the American flag. The American gunboat _Pampanga_, patrolling this coast, seeing there was something irregular, hove toand endeavoured to get a tow-line over the _Saturnus_, but was beatenoff by the insurgents' fire from shore. The insurgents then broughtfield-pieces into action and shelled the _Saturnus_, setting her onfire. The vessel became a wreck and sank near the beach. Subsequentlya gunboat was sent to San Fernando de la Union to shell the town. 

When the wet season had fully set in, operations of importance werenecessarily suspended. Skirmishes and small encounters occurred inmany places where the contending parties chanced to meet, but nofurther remarkable military event happened in this year of 1899 untilthe north-east monsoon brought a cessation of the deluging rains. 

Notwithstanding General Otis's oft-repeated intimation of"unconditional surrender" as the sole terms of peace, in OctoberGeneral Aguinaldo sent General Alejandrino from his new seat ofgovernment in Tárlac to General Otis with fresh proposals, butthe letter was returned unopened. At that time Aguinaldo's armywas estimated at 12, 000 men. The insurgents had taken many Americanprisoners, some of whom were released a few days afterwards, and, inOctober, Aguinaldo issued a decree voluntarily granting liberty to allAmericans held captive by his people. This resolution, proclaimed asan act of grace, was really owing to the scarcity of food, and for thesame reason Aguinaldo simultaneously disbanded a portion of his army. 

In the month of December General Lawton led his brigade to the districtof Montalbán and San Mateo, a few miles north of Manila, to attack theinsurgents. The agreed plan was to make a flanking movement againstthe enemy on the San Mateo River and a frontal attack immediately theenemy was engaged. The frontal attack was being personally directedby the general, who stood on the high bank of the river. CaptainBreckinridge, the general's aide-de-camp, had just been hit in thegroin, and General Lawton went to speak to him before he was carriedaway on a litter. Whilst so engaged, the general threw up his handsand fell without uttering a word. He had been shot through the heart, and died instantly. His body was carried to Manila for public burial, and the insurgents were as jubilant as the Americans were grievedover this sad occurrence. The date was fixed for the interment withmilitary pomp, and immense crowds came out to witness the imposingprocession. Some Filipinos, expecting the cortege would pass througha certain street, deposited a bomb in the house of an old woman, unknown to her, but fortunately for her and all concerned, it wasnot on the route taken. In memory of the late lamented general thepresent five-peso bank notes bear his vignette. 

In 1900 the war of independence began to wane. In January, General Joseph Wheeler left Manila to assume command of the lateGeneral Lawton's brigade, and overran the Laguna de Bay south shoretowns. Viñan was taken on January 1, but as no garrison was left there, the insurgents re-entered the town when the Americans passed on. Thearmed natives were, in reality, playing a game of hide-and-seek, with no tangible result to themselves further than feeding at theexpense of the townspeople. Aguinaldo was still roaming about centralLuzon, but, one by one, his generals either surrendered or werecaptured. Among these was General Rizal, captured in January. Inthis month a plot to blow up the foreign consuls was opportunelyfrustrated. The Chinese General Paua, Aguinaldo's brother-in-law, surrendered in March and found shopkeeping in Binondo a less riskybusiness than generalship. In the same month the Manila-DagúpanRailway was handed over to the company's management, after havingbeen used for war purposes. General Montenegro surrendered in April, and a fortnight afterwards Don Pedro A. Paterno, late President ofthe Insurgent Congress, was captured at Antomoc (Beuguet district);Generals Garcia and Dumangtay were captured; five officers and twocompanies of insurgents surrendered in May; and in the same month oneGabriel Cayaban, of Pangasinán Province, was sentenced to five years'hard labour and a fine of 2, 000 pesos for conspiring with guerillasto raise riot. It cannot be said that the insurgents in the field hadadvanced one step towards the attainment of their object. Manila wassimultaneously full of conspirators cogitating over murderous plotsagainst the Americans, and a band of them was arrested in the monthof May. The insurgent movement was so far disorganized that it wasdeemed opportune to entrust natives with police duties, and in Junea Philippine cavalry corps was created. Captain Lara, of the nativepolice, took Generals Pio del Pilar and Salvador Estrella prisoners, but was himself assassinated on August 4. General Maximino Hizon [213]was captured at Mexico (Pampanga), and on June 21 the Military Governorpublished an amnesty proclamation, granting pardon and liberty toall who should declare their allegiance to the United States withinninety days. All who had surrendered and some who were capturedtook the required oath, and others were coming in. Pio del Pilar wasamong those who accepted the amnesty a week after its promulgation, but he was again arrested, September 6, for conspiracy. The AmnestyProclamation was met by a counter-proclamation issued by Aguinaldo, dated August 3, 1900, in which he urged a continuance of the war, and offered rewards for arms. He promised to liberate all prisonersof war who might fall into insurgent hands, on surrender of theirarms and ammunition. He would give them money to return to theirlines and for petty expenses _en route_. He would pay 80 pesos forevery American rifle brought in by a prisoner, and 20 pesos for anyrifle voluntarily brought to a Philippine officer, but the deserterwould not be allowed to enter the insurgent ranks. 

On June 28 there was an attempted rising in Manila, and Don PedroA. Paterno was placed under closer guard. In July the insurgents wereactive in the neighbourhood of Vigan (Ilocos). About 40 volunteerinfantry and 60 cavalry went out from Narvican to attack them, andcame across a strongly-entrenched position held by about 300 riflemenand 1, 000 men armed with bowie-knives. A sharp fight ensued, but theAmericans, overwhelmed by the mass, had to retreat to Narvican. Theinsurgents lost about a hundred men, whilst the American loss was onelieutenant and four men killed, nine wounded and four missing. Aboutthe same time, the insurgents driven back from the Laguna de Bayshore occupied Taal (Batangas), where, under the leadership ofMiguel Malvar, a small battle was fought in the streets on July 12and the town was burnt; a troop of cavalry was added to the policeforce this month, and there was no lack of Filipinos willing toco-operate with Americans for a salary. The backbone of insurgencyhaving been broken, the dollar proved to be a mightier factor thanthe sword in the process of pacification. Compared with former times, the ex-insurgents found in the lucrative employments offered to themby the Americans a veritable El Dorado, for never before had theyseen such a flow of cash. The country had been ravaged; the immensestores collected by the revolutionists had been seized; non-combatantpartisans of the insurgent cause were wearied of paying heavy taxesfor so little result; treasure was hidden; fields lay fallow, and forwant of food Aguinaldo had had partially to disband his army. He toldme himself that on one occasion they were so hard pressed for foodthat they had to live for three days on whatever they could find inthe mountains. There were but two courses open to the majority of theex-soldiers--brigandage or service under their new masters. Some chosethe former, with results which will be hereafter referred to; others, more disposed towards civil life, were allured by the abundance ofsilver pesos, which made a final conquest where shot and shell hadfailed. Still, there were thousands incognizant of the olive-branchextended to them, and military operations had to be continued evenwithin a day's journey from the capital. A request had to be madefor more cavalry to be sent to the Islands, and the proportion ofthis branch of the service to infantry was gradually increased, for"rounding up" insurgents who refused to give battle was exhaustingwork for white foot-soldiers in the tropics. In the course of fourmonths nearly all the infantry in the small towns was replaced bycavalry. In this same month (July) American cavalry successfullysecured the Laguna de Bay south shore towns which the insurgents hadre-taken on the departure of the infantry sent there in January. Manywell-to-do proprietors in these towns (some known to me for 20 years), especially in Viñan, complained to me of what they considered aninjustice inflicted on them. The American troops came and drove outthe insurgents, or caused them to decamp on their approach; but, asthey left no garrisons, the insurgents re-entered and the townspeoplehad to feed them under duress. Then, when the American forces returnedsix months afterwards, to the great relief of the inhabitants, andleft garrisons, many of these townspeople, on a charge of having givensuccour to the insurgents, were imprisoned with the only consolationthat, after all, a couple of months' incarceration by the Americanswas preferable to the death which awaited them at the hands of theinsurgents if they had refused them food. The same thing occurred inother islands, notably in Sámar and in Cebú, where the people werepersecuted for giving aid to the armed natives on whose mercy theirlives depended. This measure was an unfortunate mistake, because italienated the good feeling of those who simply desired peace with theruling power, whether it were American or native. There were thousandsof persons--as there would be anywhere in the world--quite incapableof taking up arms in defence of an absent party which gave them noprotection, yet naturally anxious to save their lives by payment ifneed be. [214]

On July 19 a proclamation was issued forbidding the possessionof firearms without licence. On August 7 the curfew ordinance wasextended to 11 p. M. , and again, in the following month, to midnight. InSeptember there was another serious outbreak up the Laguna de Bay, where two or three hundred insurgents, led by a French half-caste, General Cailles, [215] attacked Los Baños, and about the same timethe insurgents north of Manila cut the railroad between Malolos andGuiguinto. Cailles was driven out of Los Baños, but hundreds moreinsurgents joined him, and a furious battle was fought at Siniloan, on September 17, between 800 insurgents and a company of the 15thInfantry, who drove the enemy into the mountains. 

In November Aguinaldo, who was camping in the province of Nueva Ecija, issued another of his numerous exhortations, in consequence of whichthere was renewed activity amongst the roaming bands of adventurersall over the provinces north of the capital. The insurgent chiefadvocated an aggressive war, and in the same month it was decided tosend more American troops to Manila. 

Many of the riff-raff had been inadvertently enrolled in the nativepolice force, and received heavy sentences for theft, blackmail, andviolent abuse of their functions. Indeed it took nearly a couple ofyears to weed out the disreputable members of this body. The totalarmy forces in the Islands amounted to about 70, 000 men, and at theend of 1900 it was decided to send back the volunteer corps to Americaearly in the following year, for, at this period, General Aguinaldo hadbecome a wanderer with a following which could no longer be called anarmy, and an early collapse of the revolutionary party in the fieldwas an anticipated event. 

From September 1, 1900, the legislative power of the militarygovernment was transferred to a civil government, Governor W.  H. Taftbeing the President of the Philippine Commission, whilst Maj. -GeneralMcArthur continued in his capacity of Commander-in-Chief to carryon the war against the insurgents, which culminated in the captureof General Emilio Aguinaldo on March 23, 1901. This important eventaccelerated the close of the War of Independence. On January 14 GeneralEmilio Aguinaldo had his headquarters at Palánan (Isabela), on thebank of a river which empties itself into Palánan Bay, situated aboutsix miles distant from the town, on the east coast of Luzon. Being inwant of reinforcements, he sent a member of his staff with messages tothat effect to several of his subordinate generals. The fellow turnedtraitor, and carried the despatches to an American lieutenant, who senthim on to Colonel Frederick Funston at San Isidro (Nueva Ecija). Thedespatches disclosed the fact that General Emilio Aguinaldo requestedhis cousin, General Baldomero Aguinaldo, to send him, as soon aspossible, 400 armed men. With General McArthur's approval, ColonelFunston proceeded to carry out a plan which he had conceived for thecapture of General Emilio Aguinaldo. An expedition was made up of fourTagálog deserters from Aguinaldo's army, 78 Macabebe scouts (_vide_p. 446, footnote), and four American officers, besides Colonel Funstonhimself. Twenty of the scouts were dressed in insurgent uniforms, and the remaining natives in common working-clothes. Ten of themcarried Spanish rifles, ten others had Krag-Jörgensen rifles, whichthey were to feign to have captured from American troops, and thefive Americans were disguised as private soldiers. The party was thencarried round the north and east coasts of Luzon, and put ashore in theneighbourhood of Baler by the gunboat _Vicksburg_, which approached thecoast without lights, and then waited off Palánan Bay. The expeditionwas nominally commanded by an insurgent deserter, Hilario Placido, [216] whilst three other deserters posed as officers, the Americansplaying the _role_ of prisoners captured by the party. Before settingout for Casigúran, some 20 miles away, a messenger was sent on tothe native headman of that town to tell him that reinforcements forAguinaldo were on their way, and would require food and lodging, whichwere forthwith furnished by the headman to these 87 individuals. Somemonths previously some papers had been captured bearing the signatureand seal of the insurgent general Lacuna, and this enabled the partyto send on a letter in advance to Emilio Aguinaldo, ostensibly in thename of Lacuna, announcing the arrival of the reinforcements furnishedin response to his request of January 14. This letter was accompaniedby another one from the pseudo-chief of the expedition, stating thaton the way they had captured five American soldiers and ten Kragrifles. A request was also made for food, which he explained had runshort. Emilio Aguinaldo, therefore, sent Negritos to meet them on theway with a supply of rice. In the morning of March 23 they were nearPalánan. The Macabebe scouts were sent in advance of the _soi-disant_five American prisoners, and when they entered the town Aguinaldo'sbodyguard of 50 men was drawn up in parade to receive them. Thenative pseudo-officers marched into the camp, and were welcomed byAguinaldo; but they shortly afterwards took temporary leave of him, and coming outside ordered their Macabebe troops to form up. Just atthe moment the five supposed prisoners were conducted towards the campthe Macabebes poured three murderous volleys into Aguinaldo's troops, two of whom were killed and 18 wounded. On the other side only oneMacabebe was slightly wounded. The Americans witnessed the effect ofthe first volley, and, together with the natives posing as officers, rushed into Aguinaldo's headquarters. Aguinaldo, Colonel Villa, andone civilian were taken prisoners, whilst other insurgent officersjumped from the window into the river and escaped. The expedition, after resting a day and a half at the camp, escorted their prisonersto Palánan Bay, where they were all taken on board the gunboat_Vicksburg_, which reached Manila on March 27. 

The closing scene in Emilio Aguinaldo's military career was aremarkable performance of consummate skill, but unworthy of recordin the annals of military glory. 

The War of Independence, which lasted until the next year, was atriumph of science over personal valour about equally balanced. Itwas a necessary sacrifice of the few for the good of the many. Nopermanent peace could have been ever hoped for so long as the Islandersentertained the belief that they could any day eject the invadersby force. 

The American citizens naturally rejoiced over the bare fact, brieflycabled without ghastly details, that the Philippine generalissimo hadfallen prisoner, because it portended the peace which all desired. Indeference to public opinion, the President promoted Colonel Funstonof the volunteers to the rank of Brig. -General in the regular army. 

Emilio Aguinaldo was first taken before General McArthur and thenescorted to prison in _Calle de Anda_, in the walled city. On April 1, 1901, he took the oath of allegiance in the following form, viz. :--

 I, Emilio Aguinaldo, hereby renounce all allegiance to any and all so-called revolutionary governments in the Philippine Islands and recognize and accept the supreme authority of the United States of America therein; I do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to that Government; that I will at all times conduct myself as a faithful and law-abiding citizen of the said Islands, and will not, either directly or indirectly, hold correspondence with or give intelligence to an enemy of the United States, nor will I abet, harbour or protect such enemy; that I impose upon myself these voluntary obligations without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion, so help me God. 

After signing this declaration he was a free man. For a while heresided at Malacañan, on the north bank of the Pasig River, where onenight a pirogue full of assassins came to seek the life of the man whohad failed. But his lucky star followed him, and he removed to Paco andagain to Ermita (suburbs of Manila) and finally to his native town ofCauit (Cavite), where I was his guest. He was living there in modestretirement with his mother and his two good-looking young nieces, whoserved us at table. The house is large and comparatively imposing asa provincial residence, being formed of two good substantial housesconnected by a bridge-passage. The whole is enclosed by a low brickwall, topped by iron railings painted flaming red. In front there is agarden and a spacious compound at the back. In the large drawing-roomthere is a ceiling fresco representing a Filipina descending a flightof steps from a column to which the chains, now severed, held hercaptive. On the steps lies the Spanish flag with a broken staff, and in her hand she holds on high the Philippine flag of freedom. 

In conversation with him he stated that he and his companions returnedto the Islands in May, 1898, with many assurances that America wassimply going to aid them to gain their independence. He added thatwhen he landed at Cavite he had no arms, and the Americans allowedhim to take them from the Spanish arsenal. Then they turned him out, and he moved his headquarters to Bacoor, where his troops numberedbetween 30, 000 and 35, 000 men. He said he could easily have takenManila then, but that he was begged not to do so as the Americanswere waiting for more troops and they wished to make the victory ajoint one. He confessed he had bought experience very dearly. But heprofited by that experience when, at Cavite, the Belgian Consul andPrince Löwenstein came four times to make proposals to him in favourof Germany. The first time, he said, he received them and demandedtheir credentials as authorized agents for Germany, but, as theycould not produce any, he declined to have any further intercoursewith them. Referring to the first period of the rebellion, Aguinaldoadmitted that the prospect of ejecting the Spaniards from the Islandswas very doubtful. 

Immediately Aguinaldo had fallen captive, all kinds of extravagant anderroneous versions were current as to how it had happened. Thousandsinsisted that he must have voluntarily surrendered, for how could hehave been caught when he had the _anting-anting_? (_vide_ p. 237). Asthe ball of conjecture went on rolling, some added to this thathis voluntary surrender must have been for a money consideration, and there were still others who furnished a further inducement--hisfear of revenge from the late Antonio Luna's party!

Although Aguinaldo gave no proof of being a brilliant warrior, as an organizer he had no rival capable of keeping 30, 000 or moreFilipinos united by sentiment for any one purpose. He trusted nocomrade implicitly, and for a long time his officers had to leavetheir side-arms in an antechamber before entering his apartment. Hehad, moreover, the adroitness to extirpate that rivalry which alonedestroys all united effort. But the world makes no allowance for thegeneral who fails. To-day he is left entirely alone, pitied by some, shunned by a few, and almost forgotten by the large majority. He isindeed worthy of respect for his humanity in the conduct of the war, and of some pity in his present peculiar position. Many of his latesubordinates now occupy good and high-salaried posts. Members of theGovernment of which he was President have espoused American doctrineand enjoy high social positions and fat emoluments. Aguinaldo'sscholarship is too meagre for an elevated position, and his dignityand self-respect too great for an inferior one. 

CHAPTER XXV

The Philippine Republic in the Central and Southern Islands

So interwoven were the circumstances of General Aguinaldo's Governmentin Luzon Island with the events of the period between the naval battleof Cavite and the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, that they forman integral and inseparable whole in historical continuity. In theother Islands, however, which followed the revolutionary movement, with more or less adherence to the supreme leadership of Aguinaldo, thelocal incidents severally constitute little histories in themselves, each such island having practically set up its own government withonly the barest thread of administrative intercommunication. 

The smaller islands, adjacent to Luzon, cannot be justly included inthis category, because their local rule, which naturally succeeded thewithdrawal of Spanish administration, was nothing more than a divideddomination of self-constituted chiefs whose freebooting exploits, in one instance, had to be suppressed at the sacrifice of bloodshed, and, in another, to succumb to the apathy of the people. 

In _Yloilo_, on December 23, 1898, General Diego de los Rios, in thepresence of his staff, the naval commanders and the foreign consuls, formally surrendered the town to the native mayor, prior to hisevacuation of Panay Island on the following day. On December 27an American military force (finally about 3, 000 strong) arrived inthe roadstead in transports under the command of General Miller inco-operation with two American warships, afterwards supplemented bytwo others. The Spanish troops having departed, the Filipinos who hadassumed control of public affairs made their formal entry into Yloiloto the strains of music and the waving of banners and constituteda government whose effective jurisdiction does not appear to haveextended beyond the town and a day's march therefrom. On January 17an election was held, Raymundo Melliza, [217] an excellent man, beingchosen president for the term of two years. Business was resumed;sugar was being brought from Negros Island, and ships were laden withproduce. During the civil administration, which lasted for seven weeks, the absorbing topic was the demand made by General Miller for thesurrender of the town. General Miller's force had been despatched toYloilo waters, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, simply to makea demonstration in view of possible anarchy resulting from the Spanishevacuation. The ratification of that Treaty by a two-thirds Senatemajority was not an accomplished fact until February 6 following. Therewas no certainty that the Senate would confirm the acquisition ofthe Islands, and in the interval it was not politic to pass from aformal demand for the surrender of Yloilo to open hostilities forits possession. These matters of political exigency were undoubtedlybeyond the comprehension of the Ylongos. They attributed to fear thefact that a large fighting-force remained inactive within sight of thetown, whereas General Miller was merely awaiting instructions fromthe capital which the Manila authorities, in turn, were delaying, pending the decision in Washington. Intervening circumstances, however, precipitated military action. On the night of February 4hostilities had broken out between Aguinaldo's troops and the Americanforces. Insurgent emissaries had brought Aguinaldo's messages tothe Ylongos to hold the town against the invaders, and on February 7General Miller received orders from Maj. -General Otis to take Yloiloby force if necessary. General Miller thereupon renewed his demand forthe surrender of the place, coupled this time with a declaration thathe would bombard it if his demand were refused. Later on he notifiedthe consular body that the bombardment would commence on the 12th ofthe month. During the seven weeks of native government, petty theftswere frequent; an armed insurgent would enter a store and carry offthe article selected by him without paying for it; but there was noriotous open violence committed against the townspeople or foreigntraders. The squabbles between the armed natives and their leaders, however, were several times on the point of producing bloodshed. 

According to ex-insurgent General Pablo Araneta, the insurgent army, at the time, in Panay Island was as follows, viz. [218]:--

 Under the leadership of Stationed at Tagálogs Visayos

 Fulion Yloilo 250 150 Ananias Diócno Yloilo 400 -- Pablo Araneta Yloilo 250 -- Martin Delgado Yloilo -- 150 Pablo Araneta Molo -- 100 Silvestre Silvio Antique 150 -- Detachment of Diócno's forces Cápiz 200 --

 Total all armed with guns 1, 250 400

The commander-in-chief of the whole army of 1, 650 men was MartinDelgado. The Tagálog contingent was under the leadership of AnaniasDiócno, a native of Taal, whose severity in his Cápiz and Yloilocampaigns has left a lasting remembrance. The headquarters of theVisayos was in the parish-house (_convento_), whilst the Tagálogs werelocated in the Fine Arts Institute. Their stipulated remuneration was4 pesos a month and food, but as they had received only 1 peso permonth on account, and moreover claimed a rise in pay to 5 pesos, theVisayos, on February 3, assembled on the central _plaza_ of the townand menaced their general officers, who were quartered together in acorner house over a barber's shop. They yelled out to their leadersthat if they did not give them their pay they would kill them all, sack the town, and then burn it. Thereupon the generals hastenedround the town to procure funds, and appeased the Visayos with adistribution of 1, 800 pesos. The Tagálogs then broke out in muchthe same way, and were likewise restrained by a payment on accountof arrears due. But thenceforth the insurgent troops became quiteuncontrollable and insolent to their officers. The fact that whiteofficers should have solicited their permission to come ashore unarmedcould only be interpreted by the Oriental, soldier or civilian, in away highly detrimental to the white man's prestige. The Americans'good and honest intentions were only equalled by their nescienceof the Malay character. The officers came ashore; the townsfolkmarvelled, and the fighting-men, convinced of their own invincibility, disdainfully left them unmolested. After the insurgent generals haddoled out their pay, the men went round to the shops and bragginglyavowed that it was lucky for the shopkeepers that they had got money, otherwise they would have looted their goods. The Chinese shut uptheir shops from the beginning of the troubles, leaving only a holein the closed door to do a little business, as they were in constantfear for the safety of their lives and their stocks. A great manyfamilies packed up their belongings and went over to Negros Island insmall schooners. The little passenger-steamers plying between Yloiloand Negros were running as usual, crowded to the brim, and flying thePhilippine flag without interruption from the Americans. Amongst thebetter classes opinions on the situation were much divided. The bestPhilippine and Spanish families expressed their astonishment thatthe Americans made no attempt to take the town immediately after theSpanish evacuation. There were foreign merchants anxious to delaythe American investment because, meanwhile, they were doing a brisktrade, and there were others longing to see the town in the handsof any civilized and responsible Power. Delegates from one partyor the other, including the native civil government, went off inboats almost daily to parley with General Miller in the roadstead, each with a different line of real or sophistic argument. The bestnative families, the foreigners of all classes--those who desired aspeedy entry of the Americans and those who sought to delay it--wereagreed as to the needlessness and the mistaken policy of announcinga bombardment. Yloilo is a straggling, open town. The well-to-dopeople asked, "Why bombard?" There were no fortifications or anythingto destroy but their house property. Plans were voluntarily offeredshowing how and at which points a midnight landing of 400 or 500 troopscould be secretly effected for a sunrise surprise which would havecleared the town in an hour of every armed insurgent. The officersashore declared they were ready; and as to the men, they were simplylonging for the fray, but the word of command rested with GeneralMiller. 

In the evening of February 10 the native civil government held anextraordinary session in the Town Hall to discuss the course to beadopted in view of the announced bombardment. The public, Filipinosand foreigners, were invited to this meeting to take part in the debateif they wished, Raymundo Melliza, Victorino Mapa, Martin Delgado, andPablo Araneta, being amongst those who were present. It was proposed toburn the town. Melliza vehemently protested against such a barbarousact, and asked why they should destroy their own property? Whatcould they gain by pillage and flames? [219] But a certain V----and his party clamoured for the destruction of the place, and beingsupported by an influential lawyer (native of another province) andby one of the insurgent generals, Melliza exclaimed, "If you insiston plunder and devastation, I shall retire altogether, " whereupona tremendous hubbub ensued, in the midst of which Melliza withdrewand went over to Guimarás Island. But there were touches of humourin the speeches, especially when a fire-eating demagogue gravelyproposed to surround an American warship with canoes and seize her;and again when Quintin Salas declared that the Americans would haveto pass over his corpse before the town surrendered! Incendiariesand thieves were in overwhelming majority at the meeting; naturally(to the common people in these Islands) an invitation to despoil, lay waste and slay, bolstered up by apparent authority, found a readyresponse, especially among the Tagálog mercenaries who had no localattachment here. The instigators of this barbarity sought no shareof the spoils; they had no property interests in Yloilo, but theywere jealous of those who had. The animosity of Jaro and Molo againstYloilo had existed for years, the formers' townspeople being enviousof the prosperous development of Yloilo (once a mere fishing-village), which obscured the significance of the episcopal city of Jaro anddetracted from the social importance of the rich Chinese half-casteresidential town of Molo. [220] Chiefly from these towns came theadvocates of anarchy, whose hearts swelled with fiendish delight atthe prospect of witnessing the utter ruin and humiliation of theirrivals in municipal prestige. Yloilo, from that moment, was abandonedto the armed rabble, who raided the small shops for petroleum to throwon to the woodwork of the houses prior to the coming onslaught. Thebombardment having been announced for the 12th, they reckoned on afull day for burning and sacking the town. But early in the morningof the 11th the steam-launch _Pitt_, whilst reconnoitring the harbour, was fired upon; the launch replied and withdrew. Natives were observedto be busy digging a trench and hastening to and from the _cotta_at the harbour entrance; there was every indication of their warlikeintentions. Therefore suddenly, at 9 o'clock that morning, withoutfurther notification, the Americans opened fire. The natives in the_cotta_ fled along the quayway towards the centre of the town undera shower of bullets hurled from the quick-firing guns. The attackon Yloilo was hardly a bombardment proper; shells were intentionallythrown over the houses as a warning and burst in suburban open spaces, but comparatively few buildings were damaged by the missiles. Inthe meantime, from early morn, the native soldiery, followed by ariff-raff mob, rushed hither and thither, throwing firebrands on to thepetroleum-washed houses, looting stores, and cutting down whomsoeverchecked them in their wild career. The Chinese barricaded themselves, but the flames devoured their well-stocked bazaars; panic-strickentownsfolk ran helter-skelter, escaping from the yelling bands ofbloodthirsty looters. Europeans, revolver in hand, guarded theirproperties against the murderous rabble; an acquaintance of mine washastening to the bank to deposit P3, 000 when he was met by the leaderS----, who demanded his money or his life; one foreign business housewas defended by 15 armed Europeans, whilst others threw out handfulsof pesos to stay the work of the _pétroleur_. The German Vice-Consul, an old friend of mine, went mad at the sight of his total loss;a Swiss merchant, my friend for over 20 years, had his fine cornerpremises burnt down to the stone walls, and is now in comparativepoverty. Even Spanish half-castes were menaced and contemptuouslycalled _Cachilas_ [221]; and the women escaped for their lives onboard the schooners in the harbour. Half the town was blazing, andthe despairing cries of some, the yells of exultant joy of others, mingled with the booming of the invaders' cannon. 

Two British warships lying in the roadstead sent boats ashore toreceive British subjects, and landed a party of marines, who madegallant efforts to save foreign property. A few British subjects were, however, unable to get away from the town on account of the prematureattack of the Americans, which took place on the 11th instead ofFebruary 12, as previously announced. 

The American assault on the town, which lasted until 1 o'clock inthe afternoon, was immediately followed up by the landing of about1, 000 volunteers, and General Miller found that the prognosticationsof the townspeople were perfectly just, for the insurgents fled inall directions. There was not a fighting-man left in the town. Someof them continued their hurried flight as far as Santa Barbara andJaniuay. It was evident that a sudden night-landing, without a wordabout bombardment, would have been just as effective, and wouldhave prevented much misery and loss of life and property. Indeed, the arrival of the American volunteers under these distressingcircumstances produced a fresh commotion in Yloilo. Without anywarrant private premises were entered, and property saved from thenatives' grasp vanished before the eyes of the owners. Finally orderwas restored through the energetic intervention of American officials, who stationed sentinels here and there to protect what still remainedof the townspeople's goods. In due course indemnity claims wereforwarded to the military authorities, who rejected them all. 

The insurgents still lingered outside the town on the road to Jaro, andGeneral Miller marched his troops, in battle array, against them. Acouple of miles out of the town, in the neighbourhood of La Paz, the entrenched enemy was routed after a slight skirmish. The boomingof cannon was heard in Yloilo for some hours as the American troopscontinued their march to Jaro, only molested by a few occasionalshots from the enemy in ambush. The rebel chief Fulion and another, Quintin Salas, held out for a short while, gradually beating a retreatbefore the advancing column. The Tagálogs, once under the command ofthe semi-civilized Diócno, disappeared in all directions, and finallyescaped from the province in small parties in canoes or as best theycould. The handful of braves who still thought fit to resist decidedto make a stand at Santa Bárbara, but on the arrival of the Americantroops they dispersed like chaff before the wind. General Miller thenrelinquished the pursuit and returned to Yloilo to await reinforcementsfor a campaign through the Island. In the meantime military governmentwas established in Yloilo, the town was policed, trade resumed itsnormal aspect, the insurgents in the Island gradually increased, but the Philippine Republic in Panay was no more. It was clear toall the most sober-minded and best-educated Ylongos that Aguinaldo'sgovernment was a failure in Panay at least. The hope of agreement onany policy was remote from its very initiation. Visayos of position, with property and interests at stake, were convinced that absoluteindependence without any control or protection from some establishedPower was premature and doomed to disaster. Visayan jealousy of Tagálogpredominance had also its influence, but the ruling factor was theTagálog troops' dictatorial air and brutal conduct, which destroyedthe theory of fraternal unity. Self-government at this stage wouldhave certainly led to civil war. 

Reinforcements arrived from Manila and the Americans enteredupon the pacification of the Island, which needed two years forits accomplishment. The full record of the Panay campaign wouldbe a monotonous recital of scores of petty encounters of analogouscharacter. Pablo Araneta, in co-operation with a Spanish deserter namedMariano Perez, met the Americans several times, and gave better proofof his generalship in retreat than in advance. He operated only in theprovince of Yloilo, and at Sambang, near Pavía, his party was severelydefeated and the "general" fled. Quintin Salas, over whose dead body, he himself declared, the Americans would have to pass before Yloilosurrendered, appeared and disappeared, from time to time, aroundDumangas. There was an encounter at Potian with Jolandoni which endedbadly for his party. The native priests not only sympathized withthe insurgents, but took an active part in their operations. FatherSantiago Pamplona, afterwards ecclesiastical-governor of the Visayas(Aglipayan), held a command under Martin Delgado. Father Agustin Piña, the parish priest of Molo and the active adviser in the operationsaround Pavía--Jaro district, was caught by the Americans and diedof "water-cure. " [222] The firebrand Pascual Macbanua was killedat Pototan; and finally came the most decisive engagement at MonteSingit, between Janiuay and Lambunao. The insurgent generalissimo, Martin Delgado, took the field in person; but after a bold stand, witha slight loss on the American side, the insurgents were completelyrouted and their leader fled. Pablo Araneta, tired of generalshipwithout glory, surrendered to the Americans on December 31, 1899. Thewar still continued for another year, Martin Delgado being one ofthe last to declare his defeat. Early in December, 1900, overturesfor peace were made to General Miller, the delegates on the insurgentside being Pablo Araneta, Jovito Yusay, and Father Silvestre Apura, whilst Captain Noble represented the Americans. Martin Delgado and hisco-leaders soon surrendered. There was no question of conditions butthat of convincing the natives of the futility of further resistanceand the benefits to them of peace under American rule. With this endin view, delegates went in commission to the several districts. PabloAraneta, Father Silvestre Apura, Father Práxedes Magálon and NicolásRoses visited the district of Concepcion (East Panay) in January 1901and obtained the submission of the people there. Peace was at lengthagreed upon; but the Filipinos were not disposed silently to drawthe veil over the past without glamour and pomp, even in the hourof defeat. Therefore, on February 2, 1901, in agreement between theparties, the remnant of the little Panay army made a formal surrender, marching under triumphal arches into the episcopal city of Jaroto stack their arms, between lines of American troops drawn up oneither side of their passage, to the strains of peaceful melody, whilst the banners of the Stars and Stripes floated victoriouslyin the sultry air. Jaro was crowded with visitors to witness thisinteresting ceremonial. The booths did a bustling trade; the wholecity was _en féte, _ and the vanquished heroes, far from evincinghumiliation, mingled with the mob and seemed as merry as though theoccasion were the marriage-feast of the headman's daughter. 

But to complete the picture of peace some finishing-strokes were yetneedful. Antique Province was still in arms, and a native commissioncomposed of Pablo Araneta, Father Silvestre Apura, Father PráxedesMagálon, Victorino Mapa, Cornelio Melliza, and Martin Delgado proceededthere, and succeeded in concluding peace for the Americans at theend of February, 1901. 

The Visayan chief who defied the American invader was no stoutpatriot who leaves his plough to fight for cherished liberty, andcheerfully returns to it when the struggle ends. The leaders of thelittle Panay army and their civilian colleagues had to be compensatedfor their acceptance of American rule. Aguinaldo was captured duringthe month following the Peace of Panay; the war was coming to an end, and Governor W.  H. Taft made his provincial tour to inaugurate civilgovernment in the pacified Islands. Martin T. Delgado, the very man whohad inflicted such calamities upon the Yloilo people, was appointed, on April 11, to be their first provincial Civil Governor at a salary of$3, 000 gold per annum, and held that office until March, 1904. JovitoYusay was given the provincial government secretaryship with a yearlystipend of $1, 800 gold; Pablo Araneta was rewarded with the post ofPresident of the Board of Health at an annual salary of $1, 500 gold, and Victorino Mapa was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court with anannual emolument of $7, 000 gold. In March, 1904, Raymundo Melliza, ex-president of the native civil government, already referred to asthe advocate of social order, succeeded Delgado in the civil governmentof the Yloilo province by popular vote. 

Yloilo, formerly the second port of the Philippines, is situated onthe right bank of the creek. From the creek point to the square aresheds used for sugar-storing, with, here and there, a commercial orgovernment office between. The most modern thoroughfares are tracedwith regularity, and there are many good houses. In the square is thechurch, which at a distance might be mistaken for a sugar-store, theruins of the Town Hall, the convent, and a few small, fairly well-builthouses of stone and wood, whilst all one side was once covered by afine new block of buildings of brick, stone and wood, with iron roofs. 

The _Calle Real_ or High Street is a winding road, which leads throughthe town into the country. The houses are indescribable--they are ofall styles. Without any pretence at architectural adornment, some arehigh, others low; some stand back with several feet of pavement beforethem, others come forward and oblige one to walk in the road. Hereand there is a gap, then a row of dingy hovels. This is the retailtrading-quarter and the centre for the Chinese. Going from the squarethe creek runs along at the back of the right-hand-side houses;turning off by the left-hand-side thoroughfares, which cannot becalled streets, there is a number of roughly-built houses and a fewgood ones dispersed in all directions, with vacant, neglected plotsbetween. At the extreme end of the _Calle Real_ is the GovernmentHouse, built of wood and stone, of good style and in a fair condition, with quite the appearance of an official residence. Before it is asemicircular garden, and in front of this there is a round fenced-inplot, in the middle of which stands a flag-staff. Just past theGovernment House there is a bridge crossing the Jaro River, whichempties itself into the creek of Yloilo, and this creek is connectedwith that of Otong. [223]

Yloilo lies low, and is always hot. Quite one-third of the shippingand wholesale business quarter stands on land reclaimed from theswamp by filling up with earth and rubble. The opposite side ofthe creek, facing the shipping-quarter, is a low marshy waste, occasionally converted into a swamp at certain tides. The creekforms the harbour of Yloilo, which is just as Nature made it, exceptthat there is a roughly-constructed quayway on the left-hand shoreon entering. Only vessels of light draft can enter; large vesselsanchor in the roadstead, which is the channel between Yloilo harbourand Guimarás Island. 

The general aspect of Yloilo and its environs is most depressing. InSpanish times no public conveyances were to be seen plying for hirein the streets, and there is still no public place of amusement. TheMunicipality was first established by Royal Order dated June 7, 1889. 

Evidences of the havoc of 1899 are still visible at every turn inYloilo in the shape of old stone walls, charred remains, batteredhouses, vacant spaces, etc. On the other hand, there are manyinnovations since American administration superseded the nativecivil government. The _plaza_, till then a dreary open space, isnow a pleasant shady promenade; electric lighting, an ice-factory, four hotels, one American, one English, and three Philippine clubs, large public schools, an improved quayway, a commodious Custom-house, a great increase of harbour traffic, a superabundance of lawyers'and pawnbrokers' sign-boards, and public vehicles plying for hire areamong the novelties which strike one who knew Yloilo in days goneby. The Press is poorly represented by three daily and one weeklynewspapers. Taken as a whole Yloilo still remains one of the mostcharmless spots in the Archipelago. 

The people of _Negros Island_ were in the free enjoyment of localindependence since November 6, 1898, the day on which the SpanishGovernor, D. Isidro Castro y Cinceros, together with all hisofficial colleagues, capitulated to the revolutionists under theleadership of Aniceto Lacson, Leandro Lacson, Juan Araneta, NicolásGales, Simon Lizares, Julio Diaz, and José Montilla. Simultaneouslywith the prosecution of the Panay Island campaign General Milleropened negotiations for the submission of Negros Island toAmerican sovereignty. At that time the government of the Islandwas being peacefully administered to the satisfaction of the Negrosrevolutionists, at least, under the constitution proclaimed by them, and presided over by their ex-commander-in-chief, Aniceto Lacson. [224]General Miller therefore commissioned two Filipinos, Esteban de laRama and Pedro Regalado, [225] to proceed to Negros and negotiateterms of surrender to the Americans. For the moment nothing furtherwas demanded than a recognition of American supremacy, and it wasnot proposed to subvert their local organization or depose theirpresident. Aniceto Lacson accepted these terms, and General Millerformally appointed him Governor of the Island in March, 1899. Itis evident, therefore, that no union existed between the localgovernment of Negros and Aguinaldo's Republic in Luzon. In fact, when the Tagálog fighting-men, who were everywhere defeated in Panay, made their escape to Negros and raised the cry of insurrection againstthe Americans, Lacson was constrained to appeal to General Miller tosend over troops to quell the movement. Thereupon Colonel Smith wasdeputed to take troops over to Negros to pursue the common enemy, whilst, in perfect accord with the native governor Lacson, he actedas military governor of the Island. The great cordillera which runsthrough the centre of the Island from north to south forms a sortof natural barrier between the people of Occidental and OrientalNegros. There are trails, but there are no transversal highroadsfrom one coast to the other, and the inhabitants on each side liveas separated in their interests, and, to a certain degree, in theirhabits, as though they were living in different islands. The peopleon the eastern side have always strongly opposed anything approachinggovernmental cohesion with the other side. Moreover, for many yearspast, the south-eastern district of Negros Island has been affected bysporadic apparitions of riotous religious monomaniacs called _Santones_(_vide_ p. 189). These conditions, therefore, favoured the nefariouswork of the cunning Tagálog and Panay refugees, who found plentyof plastic material in the Negros inhabitants for the fruitfuldissemination of the wildest and most fantastic notions anent thehorrors awaiting them in the new Anglo-Saxon domination. They found nosympathy with the native government of Occidental Negros, which was asmuch their enemy as the American troops sent to pursue them, but theyentertained the hope that by raising riot in Negros they would draw offtroops from Panay, and so favour the movement in that Island. Armedgroups rose everywhere against the Americans and the establishedgovernment. In the south-east the notorious Papa Isio appeared as a_Santon_, preached idolatry, and drew to his standard a large band ofruffians as skilled as himself in villainous devices. Insurgency, inthe true sense of the word, did not exist in Negros; opposition to theAmerican domination was merely a pretext to harass, plunder, and extortfunds from the planters and property-owners. The disaffected peopleincreased so largely in numbers that Colonel Smith was obliged to callfor reinforcements, and the disturbances only came to an end when itwas known that the Panay people had formally laid down their arms inFebruary, 1901. Shortly afterwards Governor W. H. Taft visited NegrosIsland; the quasi-autonomous government of that region was modifiedin conformity with the general plan of provincial civil governments, and on August 9, 1901, Leandro Locsin (Ylongo by birth) succeeded tothe civil governorship, with a salary of $2, 500 gold, by popular vote. 

Notwithstanding the severities imposed on the Cebuános during thelast eight months of Spanish rule, the Spaniards were able to evacuate_Cebú Island_ without menace or untoward event. For several months theGovernor, General Montero, had held in prison, between life and death, a number of Filipinos of the best families, amongst whom was JulioLlorente, who afterwards became President of Cebú and subsequentlya magistrate of the Supreme Court of Manila. General Montero madea compact with a young Philippine lawyer, Sergio Osmeña (afterwardsacting-Governor of Cebú) that in exchange for two Spaniards held ashostages in the interior he would release Llorente. Osmeña procured theliberty of the Spaniards, but it was only on the eve of his departurethat Montero permitted the prison doors to be opened. 

On December 26, 1898, a chartered merchant steamer called at Cebúto transport the retiring Spaniards to Zamboanga, the place ofconcentration designated by General Rios. The farewell was sadly brief, and almost in silence the Governor handed over the government propertyto a most worthy and loyal Cebúano, Pablo Mejía, who was my esteemedfriend for many years. The Governor even offered Mejía about 40 rifles;but Mejía, a lover of order, wrongly believing that a long periodof tranquillity was about to set in, declined to accept them. Andwithout any manifestation of regret on the part of the governed, the last vestige of Spanish authority vanished from the city which, 333 years before, was the capital of the Philippine Islands. 

On the day following the departure of the Spaniards the Cebuánosestablished a provincial government in agreement with the _Katipunan_party of Luzon, General Aguinaldo's direct representative beingLuis Flores, the chief leader of the armed Cebuános, to whom PabloMejía handed over all that he had received from the ex-governorMontero. From its establishment up to the last day of its existence, this government used the seal and stamps of the Philippine Republic, and was constituted as follows, viz. :--

 _Provincial Council_

 President and Commander-in-Chief Luis Flores. Vice-President Julio Llorente. Commissioner of Police Gen. Arcadio Maxílom. Treasurer-General Pablo Mejía. Minister of Justice Miguel Logarta. Secretary to the Council Leoncio Alburo. 

 _Military Department_

 Chief-of-Staff Gen. Juan Clímaco. Military Administrator Arsenio Clímaco. (Half-caste Chinese and cousins. )

 _Municipal Council (Junta Popular)_

 Mayor Julio Llorente. Councillors Several citizens elected by popular vote. 

The above constitution was in conformity with a decree of GeneralAguinaldo dated June 18, 1898, and countersigned by ApolinarioMabini. Local representatives of the provincial government wereappointed throughout the Island for the collection of taxes and themaintenance of order, and the system worked fairly smoothly untilthe arrival of the Americans in Cebú City, February 21, 1899. On thatdate the American gunboat _Petrel_ and a large steam-launch suddenlyappeared in Cebú harbour. The United States Vice-Consul seems to havebeen the only person who had received prior advice of their intendedarrival. The commander of the _Petrel_ sent a message ashore sayingthat he desired an interview with the government representativesand that he demanded the surrender of the city, and gave 14 hoursto the people to consider his demands; but, as a matter of fact, the negotiations lasted about 24 hours, during which time a councilof Filipinos was hurriedly called to decide upon the course theprovincial government should adopt. Very divergent and extreme viewswere expressed; Pablo Mejía, supported by Julio Llorente and FatherJulià, advocated an acceptance of the inevitable under protest, whilst General Gabino Sepúlveda declared that he would spill hislast drop of blood before the Americans should take possession ofthe city. But, in the end, Sepúlveda reserved his blood for a betteroccasion, and eventually accepted employment under the Americans asprosecuting attorney in Bojol Island. Pablo Mejía's advice was actedupon, and in the name of the Cebuános, Luis Flores, the President ofthe Council, signed a protest [226] which was handed to the commanderof the _Petrel_ by Pablo Mejía and Julio Llorente in the presenceof the United States Vice-Consul. The commander of the _Petrel_forthwith landed 40 marines, who marched to the _Cotta de San Pedro_(the fortress) and hoisted the American flag there in the presence ofarmed Filipinos who looked on in silence. The marines then returned totheir vessel, which remained inactive anchored off the _cotta_, pendingthe arrival of reinforcements which were sent to Cebú under the commandof Colonel Hamer. The provincial government was permitted to continueits functions and use its official seal, and during five months therewas no manifest anti-American movement. During this period the Americancommander of the troops adopted tactics similar to those employed byGeneral E.  S. Otis in Manila against Aguinaldo prior to the outbreakin February, 1899. Little by little the Americans required the armedFilipinos to retire farther and farther away from the capital. Thispractical isolation disgusted the several chiefs, who therefore agreedto open the campaign against the invaders. Every act of the provincialcouncillors was closely watched and discussed by the Cebuános, amongstwhom an intransigent faction secretly charged Mejía and Llorente withbeing lukewarm in their protection of Philippine interests and undulyfavourable to American dominion. Their death was decreed, and Mejía wasassassinated as he was passing to his house from that of a neighboura few yards off. Luis Flores had already resigned public office, and Llorente was, at this time, his successor in the presidency ofthe Council. Fortunately for him, whilst the murderers were plottingagainst his life he was called to Manila by General E.  S. Otis, two weeks after Mejía's death, to become a magistrate in the SupremeCourt. Segundo Singson (afterwards chief judge of the Court of FirstInstance) then assumed the presidency of the provincial council. 

On July 24, 1899, Juan Clímaco and Arcadio Maxílom, chafing at thediminution of their influence in public affairs, suddenly disappearedinto the interior and met at Pardo, where the military revolutionarycentre was established. Aguinaldo's emissary, Pantaleon E. DelRosario, Melquiades Lasala, a Cebuáno of Bogó (known as Dading), Andrés Jayme, Lorega, and an Ilocano named Mateo Luga who had servedin the Spanish army, led contingents under the supreme command of theinsurgent General Arcadio Maxilom. In the interior they establisheda fairly well-organized military government. The Island was dividedinto districts; there was little interference with personal liberty;taxes for the maintenance of the struggle were collected in the form ofcontribution according to the means of the donor; agriculture was notaltogether abandoned, and for over two years the insurgents held outagainst American rule. The brain of the movement was centred in JuanClímaco, whilst Mateo Luga exhibited the best fighting qualities. Inthe meantime American troops were drafted to the coast towns ofTubúran, Bogó, Cármen, etc. There were several severe engagements withslaughter on both sides, notably at Monte Súdlon and Compostela. Fivewhite men joined the insurgent leader Luga, one being an Englishmercenary trooper, two sailors, and two soldiers; the last two weregiven up at the close of hostilities; one of them was pardoned, andthe other was executed in the _cotta_ for rape committed at Mandaue. 

The co-existence of an American military administration in Cebú Cityconducting a war throughout the Island, and a Philippine provincialgovernment with nominal administrative powers over the same region, but in strong sympathy with the insurgent cause, was no longercompatible. Moreover, outside the city the provincial government wasunable to enforce its decrees amongst the people, who recognizedsolely the martial-law of the insurgents to whom they had to paytaxes. The Americans therefore abolished the provincial council, which was not grieved at its dissolution, because it was alreadyaccused by the people of being pro-American. Philippine views of thesituation were expressed in a newspaper, _El Nuevo Dia_, founded by alawyer, Rafael Palma, and edited conjointly by Jayme Veyra (afterwardsa candidate for the Leyte Island governorship) and an intelligentyoung lawyer, Sergio Osmeña, already mentioned at p. 521. This organ, the type and style of which favourably compared with any journalever produced in these Islands, passed through many vicissitudes;it was alternately suppressed and revived, whilst its editors werethreatened with imprisonment in the _cotta_ and deportation toGuam. Meanwhile the Americans made strenuous efforts to secure theco-operation of the Filipinos in municipal administration, but thepeople refused to vote. Leading citizens, cited to appear beforethe American authorities, persistently declined to take any part ina dual _régime_. The electors were then ordered, under penalties, to attend the polling, but out of the hundreds who responded to thecall only about 60 could be coerced into voting. Finally a packedmunicipal council was formed, but one of its members, a man hithertohighly respected by all, was assassinated, and his colleagues wentin fear of their lives. 

The war in Panay Island having terminated on February 2, 1901, by the general surrender at Jaro (_vide_ p. 518), General Hugheswent to Sámar Island, where he failed to restore peace, and thencehe proceeded to Cebú in the month of August at the head of 2, 000troops. A vigorous policy of devastation was adopted. Towns, villagesand crops were laid waste; Pardo, the insurgent military centre, was totally destroyed; peaceful natives who had compulsorily paidtribute to the insurgents at whose mercy they were obliged to live, were treated as enemies; their homes and means of livelihood weredemolished, and little distinction was made between the warrior andthe victim of the war. Desolation stared the people in the face, and within a few weeks the native provincial governor proposedthat terms of peace should be discussed. The insurgent chief Loregasurrendered on October 22; Mateo Luga and Arcadio Maxílom submittedfive days afterwards and at the end of the month a general cessationof hostilities followed. A neutral zone was agreed upon, extendingfrom Mandaue to Sógod, and there the three peace commissioners onbehalf of the Americans, namely Miguel Logarta, Pedro Rodriguez, and Arsenio Clímaco met the insurgent chiefs Juan Clímaco and ArcadioMaxilom. As a result, peace was signed, and the document includes thefollowing significant words, viz. : "putting the Philippine people ina condition to prove their aptitude for self-government as the basisof a future independent life. " The signatories of this document on thepart of the Filipinos were Pantaleon E. Del Rosario, Melquiades Lasalaand Andrés Jayme. After the peace, Mateo Luga and P.  E. Del Rosarioaccepted employment under the Americans, the former as Inspector ofConstabulary and the latter as Sheriff of Cebú. A few months later, the Americans, acting on information received, proceeded to Tubúranon the government launch _Philadelphia_, arrested Arcadio Maxílom andhis two brothers, and seized the arms which they had secreted on theirproperty. On the launch, one of the Maxíloms unsuccessfully attemptedto murder the Americans and was immediately executed, whilst Arcadioand his other brother jumped overboard; but Arcadio being unable toswim, was picked up, brought to trial at Cebú, and acquitted. Thusended the career of General Arcadio Maxílom, whom in 1904 I foundliving in retirement, almost a hermit's life, broken in spirit andbody and worried by numerous lawsuits pending against him. 

On April 17, 1901, Governor W. H. Taft went to Cebú accompanied by aFilipino, H. Pardo de Tavera, whose views were diametrically opposedto those of the Cebuáno majority. Governor Taft established civilgovernment there, although the law of _habeas corpus_ had to besuspended because the war was still raging throughout the Islandoutside the capital. The provincial government as establishedby Governor Taft comprises a provincial board composed of threemembers, namely the Philippine Provincial Governor, the AmericanSupervisor, and the American Treasurer: hence the Americans are inpermanent majority and practically rule the Island. The executiveof this body is the provincial governor and his staff. The firstprovincial governor appointed by Governor Taft was Julio Llorente, who resigned the magistracy in Manila and returned to Cebú to takeup his new office until the elections took place in January, 1902, when, by popular vote, Juan Clímaco, the ex-insurgent chief, becameprovincial governor, and on the expiration of his term in January, 1904, he was re-elected for another two years. 

There is no noteworthy change in the aspect of Cebú since the Americanoccupation. It is a regularly-built city, with hundreds of good houses, many relatively imposing public buildings, monuments, churches, andinteresting edifices. It is a cathedral city and bishop's see, full ofhistorical remininscences, and has still a very pleasant appearance, notwithstanding its partial destruction and the many remainingruins caused by the bombardment by the Spanish warship _Don Juan deAustria_ in April 1838, (_vide_ p. 403). Of special interest are theCathedral, the Church of _Santo Nino_, or the "Holy Child of Cebú"(_vide_ p. 183), the Chapels of the Paul Fathers and of the Jesuits, and the _Cotta de San Pedro_ (fortress). Also, just outside the cityproper is the Church of _San Nicolás_. Up to about the year 1876 theJesuits had a fine church of their own, but the friars, jealous ofits having become the most popular place of worship, caused it to bedestroyed. Until a few years ago the quarter known as the, _Parian_was the flourishing centre of the half-caste traders. There was also abusy street of Chinese general shops and native ready-made clothiers inthe _Lutao_ district, a thoroughfare which ran along the seashore fromthe south of the city proper towards San Nicolás; it was completelydestroyed by the bombardment of 1898, and many of the shopkeepers haveerected new premises in the principal shopping street, called _Calle dela Infanta_. Again, in 1905, a disastrous fire in the business quarterof the city caused damage to the estimated extent of $500, 000 gold. 

There is a little colony of foreign merchants in Cebú, which formerlyranked as the third port of the Archipelago, but now stands second inimportance to Manila (_vide_ Trade Statistics, Chap. Xxxi. ). Severalvice-consulates are established here, and in Spanish times it wasthe residence of the military governor of Visayas as well as of thegovernor of the Island and his staff of officials. In 1886 a SupremeCourt was inaugurated in Cebú. This city, which was the capital ofthe Colony from 1565 to 1571, had a municipality up to the time ofGov. -General Pedro de Arándia (1754-59). It was then abolished becausethere was only one Spaniard capable of being a city councillor. Onealderman who had served--Juan Sebastian de Espina--could neitherread nor write, and the mayor himself had been deprived of officefor having tried to extort money from a Chinaman by putting his headin the stocks. By Royal Order dated June 7, 1889, and put into forceby the Gov. -General's Decree of January 31, 1890, the municipalitywas re-established. The president was the governor of the Island, supported by an _Alcalde_ and 13 officials. For the government ofthe Island under the Spanish _regime, vide_ Chap. Xiii. 

The municipality at present existing is that established by theTaft Commission. The Press, in the days of the Spaniards, was poorlyrepresented by a little news-sheet, styled the _Boletin de Cebú_. Thereare now two periodicals of little or no interest. 

There are two large cemeteries at Guadalupe and Mabolo. In 1887 ashooting-butts was established at the end of the Guadalupe road, and the annual pony-races take place in January. On the Mabolo roadthere is a Leper Hospital, and the ruins of a partly well-built jailwhich was never completed. 

Cebú is a port of entry open to foreign trade, with a Custom-houseestablished since the year 1863. The channel for vessels is marked bybuoys, and there are two lighthouses at the north and two at the southentrance to the port. The environs are pretty, with Magtan Island(on which Maghallanes was killed) in front and a range of hills inthe background. There are excellent roads for riding and driving afew miles out of the city. The climate is very healthy for Europeans;the low ranges of mountains running north to south of the Island aresparsely wooded, some being quite bare of trees, and the atmosphere iscomparatively dry. The cactus is very common all over the Island, andmiles of it are seen growing in the hedges. About an hour and a half'sdrive from Cebú City there is the little town of Naga, the environsof which are extremely pretty. From the top of Makdoc Mountain, at the back of the town, there is a splendid view of the Pandan Valley. 

The Cebuános are the most sociable of the Visaya population, whilstthe women are the best-looking of all the Filipinas of pure Orientaldescent. 

Of all places in the Philippines Cebú will please the conchologist. Anold native named Legaspi once had a splendid shell collection, which hefreely exhibited to foreigners. At one time he had a _Gloria Maris_, which he sold for $150, and some Russian naval officers are saidto have offered him $5, 000 for a part of his collection. At certainseasons of the year the _Euplectella speciosa_, Gray, or Venus baskets, locally known as _Regaderas_, can be obtained in quantities; they arefound in the Cebú waters. The _Eup. Spec_, is the skeleton secretion ofan insect of the Porifera division. The basket is a series of gracefulfretted spirals. Also fine _Piña_ stuffs can be purchased here. 

The population of Cebú City was 9, 629 in 1888; 10, 972 in 1896; and18, 330 in 1903. The inhabitants of the whole Island numbered 417, 543in 1876; 518, 032 in 1888; 595, 726 in 1896; and 653, 727 in 1903. 

In March, 1899, an American armed force was detailed from Cebú Cityto _Bojol Island_ to demand the surrender of the native provincialgovernment established there since the Spanish evacuation. Interpretersfrom Cebú were sent ashore, and after hearing their explanation of theAmericans demands the native president in council resolved to yieldpeacefully. A volunteer regiment was then sent ashore, positions wereoccupied, and all went smoothly on the surface until the Islanders'powers of endurance were exhausted after 22 months of alleged harshtreatment imposed upon them by the troops. In January, 1901, the cryof rebellion was raised by one Pedro Sanson, whose band of Bojolanos, augmented by levies from Leyte, Sámar, and Panay Islands numberedabout 2, 000. Expeditions were sent out against them, and the lukewarmsympathy of the Islanders was turned to general indignation against theAmericans by the alleged wanton destruction of a whole town by fire, byorder of a captain of volunteers. Practically the whole Island becamecovertly anti-American. Having finished his campaign in Cebú Island inOctober, 1901, General Hughes carried his troops over to Bojol Island, where measures of repression were adopted similar to those which hadbeen so effective in reducing the Cebuános to submission. A largenumber of small towns and villages within the range of militaryoperations were entirely destroyed. The once pretty little townof Lauang was left a complete ruin, and many landmarks of a formerprogressive civilization have disappeared for ever. Nevertheless, theinsurgents refused to yield until a decree was issued to the effectthat if the leaders did not surrender by December 27 the invaderswould burn down the town of Tagbiláran. In this town, formerly theseat of the native provincial government, Pedro Sanson and most of hisofficers had all their property and worldly possessions; and in viewof the beggary which awaited them if they held out any longer, theyaccepted terms of peace from Pantaleon E. Del Rosario, who went up tothe mountains and acted as negotiator between General Hughes and theinsurgent chiefs who finally surrendered. The Filipino, Aniceto Clarin, appointed provincial governor on April 20, 1901, continued in office;Pedro Sanson quietly resumed his occupation of dealer in hemp, etc. , and thenceforth peace and poverty reigned in the Island. 

In _Cottabato_ (Mindanao Is. ), the attempt to establish a local nativegovernment ended in tragic failure. In January, 1899, a Spanishgunboat silently entered the port without the customary whistlingand firing of salute. It brought a despatch to the Governor from thenominal acting-Gov. -General Rios, who, coming from Yloilo, called atZamboanga before proceeding to Manila, to receive on board a number ofSpanish refugees. One of the crew of the gunboat also brought a privatecommunication from the Jesuit Superior in Zamboanga to the Jesuitmissionary Father Suarez. The official despatch notified the Governorthat the Treaty of Paris had been signed, and consequently he was toevacuate Cottabato immediately. The private communication told thesame tale to the missionary, with an inquiry from the Jesuit Superioras to whether he could continue his mission after the withdrawal ofthe Spanish Governor, and whether it would be of any advantage to doso. The Governor informed the missionary of his intended departure, and the missionary replied negatively to his superior in Zamboanga. TheGovernor then called Roman Vilo, his confidential christian nativeassistant, and told him that he and all who had been loyal to theSpanish Government and faithful in their service could take passageto Zamboanga. Vilo, however, for himself and his family, declinedthe offer on the ground that all his interests were in and aboutCottabato, where he possessed real estate. The Governor then had theMoro-Chinese half-caste Datto Piang called, and in the presence ofVilo the former was appointed chief of the Moro people and the lattergovernor of the christian population. After making a short speech, exhorting the two chiefs, in benevolent phrases, to live in peaceand act mutually for the common good, the Governor, accompanied bythe Jesuit missionaries and others who were desirous of leaving theplace, went to Zamboanga on the gunboat. 

When, after the lapse of some weeks, Datto Piang felt sure thatthe Spaniards would never be again in authority at Cottabato, hebegged Vilo to let him have twenty rifles to defend himself against arival. The christian governor agreed to this, and week by week DattoPiang's demands grew until, at length, all the rifles in the possessionof the Christians passed to the Moros. But there still remained somecannons, and Datto Piang, having represented the necessity of makingwar on another chief up the Cottabato River, Vilo was persuaded tolend them to him. Piang had them placed in _vintas_ (war-junks) andVilo, with several friends, went down to the river-side to witnessthe departure of the supposed armed expedition. Suddenly Piang, hisson-in-law Datto Ali and this man's brother, Datto Djimbangan, at thehead of a large party of armed Moros, fell upon and slaughtered theChristians. Vilo's head was cut off and the savage Mahometans made araid on the town, looting all but the shops of the Chinese who were inleague, or accord, with their half-countryman Piang. The Christians whowere unable to escape were either massacred or carried off as slavesinto the interior, with the loot. Datto Djimbangan caused the Christianwomen to be stripped naked and marched through the streets, whilst heand his companions made their selections for themselves, leaving theremainder for their followers. Amongst the captives were a father andtwo sons. In October, 1899, the Americans sent a gunboat to Cottabato, and the wife of this captive, mother of his two boys, represented herplight to the commander, who forthwith sent for Piang and ordered himimmediately to send a message to the individual holding the captivesto release them and hand them over to the messenger, who would conductthem back to Cottabato. Piang, without a moment's hesitation, offeredto comply, and sent a _vinta_ up the river with the required order, but at the same time he secretly sent another emissary overland withcontrary instructions. The land messenger, as was expected, arrivedfirst, and when the _vinta_ party reached the place of captivity, Piang's people expressed their regret that they could not oblige theparty because they had just cut off the captives' heads. In 1904 amember of the victims' family was a teacher in the Jesuits' CatholicSchool in Zamboanga. Datto Piang, who owes his position and influenceover the Moros to the protection of the late great Datto Utto (_vide_p. 143) is the father-in-law of the terrible Datto Ali whose continualdepredations and defiance made Cottabato the centre of that unabatedconflict for the Americans described in Chapter xxix. 

In the belief that the Zamboangueños were loyally disposed towardsSpain, the Spaniards, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, chose_Zamboanga_ (Mindanao Is. ) as their point of concentration of all theSpanish troops and civil servants in the southern islands. At that timeGeneral Jaramillo was Gov. -General of Mindanao Island and commander ofthe forces in Zamboanga; but on the arrival there, December 27, 1898, of the ex-governor of Cebu, General Montero, with his co-refugees, General Jaramillo transferred his command to him and left for Manilawith General Rios, who had come from Yloilo to Zamboanga to receiverefugee passengers for the capital. Before his departure Jaramillohad led the Zamboangueño Christians to believe that the war withAmerica was, at every turn, a triumphant success for Spanish arms;fictitious printed telegrams were circulated announcing Spanishvictories everywhere, and one of the most extravagant reported thatGeneral Weyler had landed on American soil at Key West with an army of80, 000 Spanish troops. The motive of this harmless ruse was to bolsterup Spanish prestige and thereby avoid bloodshed. During several monthsno trading or mail-steamer came, and the Zamboangueños were practicallycut off from the rest of the world. Military preparations were madefor the feigned purpose of resisting a possible attack on the placeby the Americans, who were described to the people as cannibals andferocious monsters more terrible than the dreaded Moros. Naturallythe real object of the military preparations was the Spaniards'justifiable endeavour to be ready to defend themselves against openrebellion when the true situation should ooze out. Nor was theirmisrepresentation of the Americans mere spiteful calumny; the Spaniardswere in great jeopardy, and they instinctively wished to destroy anyfeeling of welcome which the natives might have for the new-comersfor fear it might operate against themselves at the supreme moment ofdanger. Indeed, each party--native and Spanish--was seeking to outwitthe other; hence, when the Zamboangueños were promised a supply of armsfor the ostensible purpose of resisting invasion, they pretended toco-operate heartily with the Spaniards' defensive measures, with thesecret design of dispossessing the Spaniards of their arms in order touse them against them. The Zamboangueños therefore became so persistentin their demand upon Montero to fulfil his predecessor's promisethat at last he had frankly to confess that peace had been signedbetween Spain and America, whereby the Islands were surrendered to theUnited States, and that very shortly the Spaniards would evacuate theArchipelago. But the conflicting versions of the situation, publishedseverally by Jaramillo and Montero, sorely puzzled the natives. TheSpaniards were still in undisturbed possession of Zamboanga for overfour months after Montero's arrival, notwithstanding the fact thatthe American warship _Boston_ called at the port and left the sameday and that an officer came ashore without the least objectionor consternation on the part of the Spaniards. The orange-and-redflag still floated over the Fortress del Pilar, and, so far as theZamboangueños could ascertain, it looked as if the Spaniards weregoing to remain. They therefore clamoured more loudly than ever forthe distribution of arms, which this time Montero positively refused, for the Spaniards had never for a moment been deceived as to the realintentions of the Zamboangueños. On the other hand, by this time, their inoffensive delusion of the people had lost its virtue, andnatives and Spaniards thenceforth became open enemies. After thevisit of the _Boston_ the fighting population, no longer able toconceal their disappointment, threw off the mask, quitted the town, cut off the water-supply which came from the mountains, in collusionwith the mutinied crews seized the firearms on board the Spanishgunboats lying in the harbour, and prepared for war against theirold masters. The Spaniards immediately compelled the non-combatanttownspeople and the Chinese to throw up earthworks for mountingartillery and dig trenches for defence against the rebels. The gunboat_Alava_ co-operated by firing shells into the rebel camp situatedjust outside the town. The rebels made two unsuccessful assaults, and in the second attack General Montero was mortally wounded by arifle-shot. On May 23 the S. S. _Leon XIII. _ arrived; the Spaniardssilently embarked for Manila with their dying general, who succumbedduring the voyage, and Zamboanga, one-fourth of which the defendershad destroyed by fire, was occupied by the rebels. During the siegethe Filipinos, true to their instincts, had split up into two rivalfactions headed by Vicente Alvarez and Isidoro Midel respectively, and in the interval between the first and second assault on the townthese party chiefs had fought out their own quarrel, Midel claiming tohave been the victor. Nevertheless, the popular favourite was VicenteAlvarez, known as the _Tamagun Datto_ (high chief), who became thechosen president of the Zamboanga revolutionary government establishedimmediately after the Spanish evacuation. Party spirit ran high;life was held in little esteem; a lifeless body found on the highwaystartled no one; assassination was an occurrence of small moment;cattle-shooting was practised for amusement, and the five-and-a-halfmonths' essay of christian Philippine autonomy was so signalized byjealous self-interest, bitter rivalry, rapacity, and bloodshed as tomake one doubt whether the christian Zamboangueño is one whit superiorto his Mahometan neighbour in moral character. 

The arrival of an American expedition in the waters of Zamboangaon November 15, 1899, produced a sanguinary crisis in these factionfeuds. Vicente Alvarez at once took measures to oppose the invaders'landing, whilst his rival, Isidoro Midel, resolved to side withthe Americans. _Divide et impera. _ The want of unity amongst thenatives themselves was a great help to the Americans' plans. By thistime there appeared a third aspirant to local fame in the person ofMelanio Sanson, a native marine engineer, until recently in the Spanishservice, who pretended to co-operate with Alvarez, styling himselfcolonel of artillery in charge of the guns abandoned by his formermasters. Each of these three individuals sought to rid himself of histwo rivals. On the night of November 15 Isidoro Midel ended MelanioSanson's rivalry for ever, and the Americans took peaceful possessionof the town the next day. Subsequently Midel arranged a transferto the Americans of the artillery which had, during the conflict, been under Sanson's control. Vicente Alvarez immediately fled toMercedes, and thence to Basilan Island, where, aided by Datto PedroCuevas, he organized a brigand band, crossed over to Mindanao Islandagain, and made a raid on Oriquieta. Chased from place to place byAmerican troops, he was finally captured and sent to Bilibid prisonin Manila, but was subsequently pardoned on his taking the oath ofallegiance, and sent back to Zamboanga, where he earns his livingpeacefully. Meanwhile, Isidoro Midel had been further rewarded for hisservices to the Americans with the office of municipal president, whichhe held for about 16 months in defiance of public opinion. The feelingwhich prompted public opposition to Midel's appointment was at leastas much anti-American as it was dislike for the nominee. In March, 1901, municipal elections were held, and Mariano Arquiza succeeded, by popular vote, to the presidency, which he held for two years. Someweeks before Arquiza vacated office two American miners were murderedby the natives a few miles up the province. The murderers, when caught, sought to justify their deed by alleging that a municipal councillornamed Eduardo Alvarez (no relation to the Vicente Alvarez alreadymentioned) had persuaded them that the miners were secretly engaged inpoisoning the local wells. The whole municipal council was thereforecited to appear before the American Governor, who severely reprimandedAlvarez, whereupon this man withdrew from the audience-chamber, andhis fellow-councillors volunteered such information against him thatthe Governor instantly issued a warrant for his apprehension. But thenative police who went to his house to execute the warrant let himescape on horseback to the mountains, where he organized a band ofoutlaws and lived for about four months by robbery and violence. Underthese circumstances the American Governor summarily dismissed MarianoArquiza from the municipal presidency in the spring of 1903, and, muchto the public chagrin, re-appointed Midel to the vacancy. The offer of$1, 000 for the capture of Eduardo Alvarez spurred Midel into furtheractivity, and under his direction the bandit was discovered hidingin a canoe in a swamp. On the approach of his pursuers the outlawthrew up his hands in sign of surrender, which was responded to bya volley of gunshots, for it was Alvarez's corpse which was wantedin Zamboanga. Isidoro Midel is an interesting character, apparentlyabout forty-eight years of age. Brought up as a Roman Catholic, heassured me that he was a Protestant, with the strongest sympathy, however, for the Aglipayan movement (_vide_ Chap. Xxx. ). 

Another interesting man, closely associated with recent events inZamboanga, is the Mahometan Spanish-Moro half-caste Datto Mandi, the_Rajahmudah_ or heir-apparent to the _Manguiguin_ or Sultan of Mindanao(_vide_ p. 131). Born about the year 1860, he and his tribe of Sámalslived on friendly terms with the Spaniards, who in 1887 sent him anda number of his people to the Philippine Exhibition held in Madrid inthat year. His exploits in aid of the Spaniards in Cebú are recorded atpage 406. He speaks Spanish fluently, and can just write his name. Heis very affable and hospitable to visitors. The whole family professesthe Mahometan religion. He has a beautiful daughter Gafas (whichin Moro language signifies "cotton, " and in Spanish "spectacles"), who attended the American School. His young son Facundo also goes tothe American School, and his other son Pelayo went to the CatholicSchool in Zamboanga before he was sent to Manila. I was much struckwith the intelligence of this handsome boy Pelayo. In the stirringevents which immediately followed the Spanish evacuation, Datto Mandiremained neutral, his old antagonism to Alvarez being counterpoised bythe conviction that a Zamboanga republic must end in a fiasco. He atonce accepted the new situation under American dominion, and is headmanof the Sámal tribal ward of Magay, a suburb of Zamboanga. He told mein 1904 that he held under his control 9, 600 persons, from 1, 700 ofwhom he collected capitation tax for the American authorities. Atthe instance of the Americans, Datto Mandi issued a proclamationto his tribe, dated April 19, 1900, abolishing their traditionalcustom of slavery. His position is not at all an easy one, and itneeds much tact to maintain an even balance of goodwill between hisSámal subordinates and his American superiors. But Datto Mandi had agrievance which rankled in his breast. In the year 1868 the SpanishGovernment conceded to a christian native family named Fuentebellasome 600 acres of land at Buluan, about 40 miles up the Zamboangacoast, which in time they converted into a prosperous plantation wellstocked with cattle. During the anarchy which succeeded the Spanishevacuation, a band of about 600 Moros raided the property, murderedseven of the christian residents, and stole all they could possiblycarry away from the plantation and well-furnished estate-house. WhenDatto Mandi heard of it he went there in person and rescued thewomen held in captivity and brought them to Zamboanga, where theylived in perfect security under his protection until the Americanadvent. Then, in return for his kindness, these women accused the_Datto_ of having been the instigator of the crime, or, at least, a participator in the proceeds thereof, in the hope that, throughthe Americans, they would be able to exact an indemnity. The _Datto_was mulcted in the sum of 5, 000 pesos, although he declared to me thatneither before nor after the crime was he in any way concerned in it;and this was the honest belief of many American officials in Zamboanga. 

In January, 1905, Datto Mandi's daughter was married at a little towna few miles from Yligan (north Mindanao). Several American officerswere present on the occasion, accompanied by a Spanish half-castewho acted as their interpreter. The assembled guests were havinga merry time when suddenly the festivities were interrupted by theintrusion of a _juramentado_ Moro fanatic, who sprang forward withhis _campilán_ and at one blow almost severed the interpreter's headfrom his body. Then he turned his attention to the other natives, mortally wounded two, and cut gashes in several others before he felldead from the revolver-shots fired by the American officers. Afterthe dead and wounded were carried away and the pools of blood weremopped up, the wedding ceremony was proceeded with and the hymenealfestival was resumed without further untoward incident. 

Zamboanga is a clean, pleasant town, and what was left of itafter the Spanish evacution is well built, with many substantialhouses and public offices, a church administered by the Jesuits, one large and one small jetty, a pretty esplanade facing the sea, and other open spaces. A canal running through the town adds toits picturesqueness. At the eastern extremity is the old fortress, called the _Fuerza del Pilar_, a fine historical monument remindingone of the Spaniards' many vicissitudes in this region, alluded toin the preceding pages. Many of the natives concerned, or alleged tohave been concerned, in the Cavite Rising of 1872 (_vide_ p. 106)were confined in this fortress. They overcame their jailors andobtained possession of the guns and ammunition. The Spaniards wereconsequently in great straits, for possibly their existence dependedon which side the townspeople took. The Zamboangueños, however, helpedthe Spaniards against the revolted convicts, who were finally subdued;and as a reward for this proof of loyalty Zamboanga received the titleof _Muy leal y valiente Villa_ (very loyal and heroic town). Many yearsago a Moro attack was made on Zamboanga, and the Christian nativesjoined with the Spaniards in repelling it. It would have gone ratherbadly with them if they had not done so, for a Philippine Christianwas just as good fish for the Moro net as a Spaniard. However, theirco-operation was gratefully acknowledged by declaring the Zamboangueñosto be Spaniards of the first class. 

I have never been able to discern clearly what material advantagethis brought them, although I have discussed the question on thespot. The disadvantage of this pompous distinction to the town arosefrom the ridiculous popular notion that whereas Spaniards in Spainare all cavaliers, they too, as Spaniards of the first water, ought toregard work as a degradation. Hence they are a remarkably indolent andeffete community, and on landing from a ship there is seldom a porterto be seen to carry one's luggage. Their speech is a dialect called_Chabucano_--a mixture of very corrupt Spanish and native tongues. 

The environment of Zamboanga is very beautiful, with islands to thesouth and mountain scenery on the land sides. The climate is healthy, and with the frequent delightful breezes wafted across the CelebesSea is not at all oppressive for a tropical region, and is coolerthan Manila, which is 425 miles north. 

The people of _Sámar Island_ for a long time tenaciously opposedthe American occupation, under several leaders, notably VicenteLucban and his right-hand man, Guevara; but neither here, nor in_Marinduque Island_ can it be said that native civil government wasestablished. In the latter Island the insurgent chief was the titularColonel Abad, who overran the villages with about 150 followersarmed with rifles. In 1901 Abad surrendered, and hostilities, withreal political aim, definitely ended in these Islands thirteen monthsafter the capture of Aguinaldo in Luzon. Although in Sámar Island thewar was, as elsewhere, a succession of petty encounters, there wereincidents in its prosecution which attracted much public attentionfrom time to time. At the town of Balangiga, on September 28, 1901, the local headman and the native parish priest conspired with about450 armed natives to attack the American camp. The garrison stationedthere was Company "C, " 9th Infantry. The headman had represented tothe Americans that he was busy with an important capture of about 90brigands, and on this pretext some 45 cut-throats were brought intothe town and lodged in the church. Three officers of the garrison werequartered in the parish-house, and whilst the rank-and-file were atbreakfast in a bamboo building, some distance away from their quarterswhere they had left their weapons, another 45 supposed brigands wereled through the town to the church, but naturally the soldiers tooklittle notice of this expected event. The town is surrounded on oneside by the open valley and on three sides by almost perpendicularmountains, with defiles between them leading to the interior of theIsland. As soon as the last batch of supposed brigands was broughtin, the church bells were rung as a signal for a mob of natives, armed with bowie-knives, to creep silently through the defiles on twosides. The troopers were just then suddenly alarmed by the noise of aconflict in the parish-house. The 90 so-called brigands having beenpassed through from the church into this house, fired at the threeofficers and then killed them with their bowie-knives. Simultaneouslythe soldiers' quarters were attacked. Whilst the troops made a rushforward to secure their weapons they were intercepted by an armedcrowd, through which a small party of Americans finally cut theirway and beat off the howling mob, which had already slaughtered manysoldiers, set fire to the quarters, and possessed themselves of over50 rifles and several thousand rounds of ammunition. A large numberof hostile natives, including the headman, were killed; 28 Americanseffected their escape, but the loss amounted to three officers andabout 70 men killed and several more men wounded. General Hughes, incommand of the Visayas District, was operating in Cebú Island at thetime of this disaster. Public excitement was intense when the newsof this serious reverse was published. The general who was sent toSámar to pursue the insurgents, or bandits, is alleged to have issued, in a moment of uncontrollable wrath, an order to "slay all over tenyears and make Sámar a howling wilderness. " Consequently a greatcry of public protest was raised, and the general and his executiveofficer in the affair were cited before a court-martial in April, 1902; but the court having found that the general was justified inthe measures he took, both officers were acquitted. Since the captureof Lucban (April 27, 1902), lawless agitation has been persistentlyrife all over the Island of Sámar; but this is the work of brigands(_vide_ p. 551) and has no political signification. 

CHAPTER XXVI

The Spanish Prisoners

Extreme interest was naturally taken by all Europeans in the miserablefate of the thousands of Spanish soldiers and civilians who had falleninto the rebels hands up to the capitulation of Manila. [227] Heldcaptive in groups at different places in the Island of Luzon, many ofthem passed a wretched existence, with bad food, scant clothing, anddeprived of every pleasure in life beyond the hope of one day seeingtheir native land. Many of them died, either from natural causes orthe effect of their privations (some of starvation in Tayabas), oras a result of brutal treatment. A minority of them received as goodtreatment as possible under the circumstances. The fate of the majoritydepended chiefly upon the temperament of the native commander of thedistrict. There were semi-savage native chiefs, and there were others, like Aguinaldo himself, with humane instincts. Amongst the former, for instance, there was Major Francisco Braganza, who, on February28, 1900, in Camarines Sur, ordered one hundred and three Spanishsoldiers to be tied up to trees and cut and stabbed to death withbowie-knifes and their bodies stripped and left without burial. Hewas tried by court-martial and sentenced to be hanged, September 26, 1901, and the sentence was carried out at Nueva Cáceres (CamarinesSur) on November 15 following. Many prisoners managed to escape, nodoubt with the aid or connivance of natives, until Aguinaldo issued adecree, dated Malolos, November 5, 1898, imposing a penalty of twentyyears' imprisonment on whomsoever should give such aid. Aguinaldotold me he was personally inclined to liberate these prisoners, or, at least, those civilians accustomed to an easy office life who, if they went free, would have had no inclination whatever to fight, but would have done their best to embark for Spain. The few who mighthave broken their _parole_ would have been easily caught again "forthe last time in their lives, " and the women and children were anobstacle to military operations. Indeed, from time to time, Aguinaldodid liberate small groups of civilians, amongst whom were some ofmy old friends whom I afterwards met in Spain. Aguinaldo's PrimeMinister, Apolinario Mabini (_vide_ p. 546), was, however, stronglyin favour of retaining the Spaniards as hostages until the SpanishGovernment should officially recognize the Philippine Republic. Itwill be clearly seen from the negotiations entered into between therespective parties that this recognition was the condition whichthe rebels most pertinaciously insisted upon, whilst the Spaniards'offers of millions of dollars were always met by much larger demands, which practically implied a refusal to treat on a money basis. Thefacts in the negotiations certainly support Aguinaldo's statementto me that the rebels never sought money, but political advantage, by the retention of the prisoners. 

The intense excitement in Spain over the prisoners' doom called intoexistence meetings, liberation societies, frequent discussions inand out of Parliament, and continual protests against the apparentMinisterial lethargy. In reality, the Spanish Government, fearful ofa rupture with America, could take no official action in the matter, further than appeal, indirectly, to the generosity of the captors, andremind America of her undertaking under Article 6 of the treaty. InJanuary, 1899, the Colonial Minister cabled to several people inManila, begging them to use their influence--but they themselveswere already in the rebel camp. No form of compensation in money orarmament for the captives' liberty could be officially made withoutinvolving Spain in a _casus belli_ with America. Recognition of aPhilippine Republic would have been in direct opposition to the spiritof the treaty of peace. In September, 1898, the Superiors of theregular clergy in Manila appealed to Rome; the Vatican communicatedwith President McKinley, and the President sent an inquiry toMaj. -General E.  S. Otis concerning the captive friars. GeneralOtis, after investigation, reported that these prisoners were fairlywell treated. In the following month, whilst the Treaty of Paris wasunder discussion, the Spanish Government appealed to the United StatesGovernment to aid them in the rescue of the prisoners, and orders to doso were transmitted to General Otis. The Filipinos and the Americanswere ostensibly on good terms at that period, and General Otissuggested to Aguinaldo that the friars and civilian Spaniards should beset free. On the subject of this request, Aguinaldo replied to GeneralOtis by letter dated Malolos, November 3, 1898, as follows, viz:--"ThePhilippine people wish to retain the Spanish civil functionaries inorder to obtain the liberty of the Filipinos who are banished andunder arrest, and the friars in order to obtain from the Vatican arecognition of the rights of the Philippine secular clergy. .. . It isnot hatred or vengeance which inspires the Filipinos to retain theSpanish civil and religious functionaries, but political expediency, and the tranquillity of the Philippine people demands this measure. "

At this date there were hundreds of Philippine prisoners held bythe Spanish Government in different places, some of them underworse conditions than the Spanish prisoners. For instance, 218 weredeported to the fever-stricken colony of Fernando Po, and only 94 ofthem came out alive. The treaty of peace was still being discussed, and on its conclusion, Article 6 stipulated a release of "all personsdetained or imprisoned for political offences in connection withthe insurrections in Cuba and the Philippines, " and that the UnitedStates would "undertake to obtain the release of all Spanish prisonersin the hands of the insurgents"; but there was no proviso that therelease of the Philippine prisoners should depend on that of theSpanish prisoners, and after the treaty was signed, Spain showed noparticular haste immediately to carry out her undertaking to returnthe Philippine prisoners to their islands. 

When General Diego de los Rios evacuated the Visayas Islands andbrought his Spanish troops to Manila, _en route_ for Spain, January, 1899, he himself remained in Manila as a Spanish Government Agentto obtain the release of the prisoners. For the special purpose, bycourtesy of the American authorities, he held a kind of semi-officialposition; but he did not care to risk his person withinthe rebel lines. A Spanish merchant, Don Antonio Fuset, president ofthe Spanish Club, undertook the negotiations, and succeeded in inducingApolinario Mabini to issue a decree signed by Aguinaldo and himself, dated January 22, 1899, giving liberty to all invalid civiliansand soldiers. Simultaneously the Spanish Press in Manila was abusingAguinaldo and his officers, calling them monkeys and using epithetswhich brought down their vengeance on the captives themselves. 

The outbreak of the War of Independence (February 4, 1899)precluded direct American intervention in favour of the Spanishprisoners. General Rios, whose importance was being overshadowed bySeñor Fuset's productive activity, cabled to Madrid that he wouldattend to the matter himself. But the didactic tone of his lettersto Aguinaldo was not conducive to a happy result, and having franklyconfessed his failure, the general made an appeal to the consuls andforeign merchants to exercise conjointly their influence. A letterof appeal from them was therefore drawn up and confided for deliveryin the insurgent camp to my late friend Baron Du Marais. [228] Thischivalrous gentleman, well known as the personification of integrityand honour, had resided many years in the Islands and spoke Tagálogfluently. On reaching the insurgent camp he was imprisoned on thecharge of being a spy, but was shortly afterwards released, and onhis way back to the capital he was waylaid by the natives, who foullymurdered him. Señor Fuset then resumed his labours, and, as a resultof his appeal to the generosity of his countrymen, he was able toset out for Boac and Batangas in the little steamer _Castellano_ tocarry supplies to the prisoners detained in those localities. On hisjourney he distributed to them 500 cotton suits, 290 pairs of shoes, 100 pairs of _alpargatas_ (a sort of hempen shoe or sandal made inSpain), 14, 375 packets of cigarettes, and P1, 287. Several subsequentexpeditions carried supplies to the prisoners, the total amount ofmaterial aid furnished to them, in goods and money, being estimatedat P60, 000. 

After five months of fruitless effort General Diego de los Riosleft Manila for Spain on June 3, 1899, and was succeeded by GeneralNicolás Jaramillo as the negotiator representing Spain. Moreover, it was desirable to recall General Rios, whose cablegrams commentingon the Americans' military operations were making him a _persona nongrata_ in official circles. 

With the requisite passes procured from Aguinaldo, two Spanish envoys, Señores Toral and Rio, and the Filipino Enrique Marcaida set out forthe insurgent seat of government, which was then at Tárlac. On theirarrival there (June 23) Aguinaldo appointed three commissioners tomeet them. At the first meeting the Filipinos agreed to liberateall except the friars, because these might raise trouble. At thenext meeting they offered liberty to all on the following terms, impossible of acceptance by the Spanish commissioners, viz. :--

(1) Spain is to recognize the Independence of the Philippines andrepudiate the cession of the Islands to America. 

(2) After the recognition and repudiation stipulated in Clause 1, thePhilippine Republic will liberate all the prisoners, without exception, and will pay their expenses back to Spain. If Spain cannot possiblyaccede to the conditions of Clause 1, the Philippine Republic willaccept, in lieu thereof, arms, munitions and provisions, or theirmoney equivalent. 

(3) The Spanish Government is to exchange the receipts given formoney subscribed to the Philippine loan for the certificates of thatloan. [229]

The Filipinos declined to say what sum they would consider anequivalent, as per Clause 2, and invited the Spaniards to make anoffer. The Spaniards then proposed P1, 000, 000. 

On June 29, at the third conference, the Filipinos refused to acceptless than P6, 000, 000. This demand stupefied the Spaniards, who saidthey would return to consult General Jaramillo; but they were reluctantto leave the matter unsettled, and a last conference was held the nextday, when the Spaniards raised their offer to P2, 000, 000. The Filipinosthen reduced their demand to P3, 000, 000, which the Spaniards objectedto; but they were successful in obtaining the liberty of the Balergarrison and 22 invalids, with all of whom they returned to Manila(_vide_ Baler garrison, p. 494). 

On July 5 a decree was issued from Tárlac, signed by Emilio Aguinaldoand countersigned by his minister, Pedro A. Paterno, to the effect thatall invalid prisoners would be at liberty to embark at certain portsdesignated, if vessels were sent for them flying only the Spanishflag and a white one bearing the Red Cross. Difficulties, however, arose with the American authorities which impeded the execution ofthis plan. General Jaramillo was preparing to send his commissionersagain to Tárlac when he received a cablegram from Madrid telling himto suspend further overtures to the insurgents because internationalcomplications were threatened. It appears that America objected tothe proposal to pay to the insurgents a large sum of money. 

On August 9 General Jaramillo wished to send the Spanish warship_General Alava_, or a Spanish merchant vessel with the Red Crossflag, to San Fernando de la Union with provisions for the prisoners, but General E.  S. Otis objected to the proposed proceeding on theground that it would compromise the dignity of America. But GeneralJaramillo still persisted in his project, and after a lapse of threedays he again addressed a note on the subject to General E. S. Otis, from whom he received another negative reply. On September 5 GeneralJaramillo informed General Otis that the prisoners were concentrated inthe ports named in the insurgents' decree, and solicited permission tosend a vessel flying the Red Cross flag to receive them. Three daysafterwards General Otis replied that a recognition of Aguinaldo'spretension to designate certain ports for the Spaniards' embarkationwould be not only humiliating but ridiculous. Furthermore, he wasexpecting reinforcements shortly, with which peace would be assuredand all the ports re-opened, and then America would co-operate forthe liberty of the prisoners. General Jaramillo replied to thiscommunication by addressing to General Otis a lengthy philosophicalepistle on the principles involved in the question, but as GeneralOtis did not care to continue the correspondence, General Jaramillosought to bring pressure on him by notifying him that the s. S. _P. DeSatrústegui_ would be detained 48 hours in order to learn his decisionas to whether that vessel could call for the prisoners. As GeneralOtis did not reply within the prescribed period General Jaramillowent to see him personally and ineffectually opened his heart to himin very energetic terms, which General Otis complacently toleratedbut persisted in his negative resolution, and the interview endedwith the suggestion that General Jaramillo should obtain Aguinaldo'sconsent for a vessel carrying the American flag to enter the portsand bring away the prisoners. 

About this time an incident occurred which, but for the graciousnessof General Otis, might have operated very adversely to the interestsof those concerned. In September, 1899, a Spanish lady arrived inManila saying that she was the representative of a Society of BarcelonaLadies formed to negotiate the liberation of the prisoners. She broughtwith her a petition addressed to Aguinaldo, said to bear about 3, 000signatures. But unfortunately the document contained so many offensiveallusions to the Americans that General Jaramillo declined to beassociated with it in any way. No obstacle was placed in the way ofthe lady if she wished to present her petition privately to Aguinaldo;but, apparently out of spite, she had a large number of copies printedand published broadcast in Manila. General Jaramillo felt it his dutyto apologize to General Otis and repudiate all connexion with thisoffensive proceeding, which General Otis very affably excused as aneccentricity not worthy of serious notice. 

On September 29 the Spanish commissioners, Toral and Rio, again startedfor the insurgent capital, Tárlac. The proposal for vessels to enterthe ports under the American flag was rejected by Aguinaldo's advisers, Pedro A. Paterno and Felipe Buencamino, and negotiations were resumedon the money indemnity basis. The Aguinaldo party had already had soreexperience of the worth of an agreement made with Spanish officials, and during the discussion they raised the question of the validity oftheir powers and the guarantee for their proposed undertakings. Thereal difficulty was that America might object to Spain officiallymaking any compact whatsoever which must necessarily involve arecognition of the Philippine Republic; and even as it was, therenewed suggestion of a payment of millions of dollars was a secretnegotiation. The Spanish commissioners started by proposing thatAguinaldo should give up 80 per cent. Of the prisoners on certainconditions _to be agreed upon thereafter_, and retain the 20 percent. As guarantee for the fulfilment of these hypothetical terms;moreover, even the 20 per cent. Were to be concentrated at a place tobe _mutually agreed upon, _ etc. The artfulness of the commissioners'scheme was too apparent for Paterno and Buencamino to accept it. Thecommissioners then presented the Insurgent Government with a voluminousphilosophical dissertation on the subject, whilst the Filipinos soughtbrief facts and tangible conditions. The Filipinos then offered toaddress a note to the Spanish Consul in Manila to the effect thatthe prisoners who were infirm would be delivered at certain portsas already stated, and that he could send ships for them on certainterms. Still the commissioners lingered in Tárlac, and on October 23the Filipinos made the following proposals, which were practicallyan intimation to close the debate. 

1. Recognition of the Philippine Republic as soon as the difficultieswith America should be overcome. 

2. The payment of seven millions of pesos. 

These conditions having been rejected by the commissioners, Aguinaldo'sadvisers drew up a document stating the reasons why the negotiationshad fallen through, with special reference to the insufficiency ofthe commissioners' powers and the inadmissibility of their attitudein desiring to treat with Aguinaldo individually instead of withhis Government, for which reasons the Philippine Republic formallydeclared its resolution definitely to cease all negotiations with theSpanish commissioners, preferring to deal directly with the SpanishGovernment. Not satisfied with this formal intimation the commissionersasked that the conditions of the liberation already granted sinceJanuary to the invalid prisoners should be modified, and that theyshould be handed over to them--the very persons already declared tobe insufficiently authorized. In response to this importunity therequisite passports were immediately sent to the commissioners toenable them to quit the Philippine Republic's seat of government andterritory forthwith. 

Apart from the moral aspect of the case, and regarded only inthe light of a business transaction, it does not appear that theFilipinos were ever offered a solid guarantee for the fulfilment ofany of the proposed conditions. But the insuperable difficulty wasSpain's inability to comply with the Filipinos' essential conditionof recognition of the Philippine Republic. 

Finally, in the prosecution of the War of Independence, the Americantroops drove the insurgents so hard, capturing town after town, thatthey were constrained to abandon the custody of the Spanish survivors, who flocked in groups to the American posts, and eventually embarkedfor their native land. On May 20, 1900, the Spanish Commission receiveda letter from the insurgent General Trias stating that orders hadbeen issued to liberate all the prisoners. 

In due course the Spanish warships sunk at the Battle of Cavite wereraised by the Americans, and the dead bodies of Spain's defenders onthat memorable day were handed over to a Spanish Commission. The sameorganization also took charge of the bodies recovered from Baler (eastcoast of Luzon), and after a _Requiem_ mass was said at the Cathedralthese mortal remains were conducted with appropriate solemnity onboard the s. S. _Isla de Panay_, which left Manila for Barcelona onFebruary 14, 1904. 

CHAPTER XXVII

End of the War of Independence and After

In the month of May, 1901, the prisons were overflowing with capturedinsurgents, and the military authorities found an ostensible reasonfor liberating a number of them. A General Order was issued that to"signalize the recent surrender of General Manuel Tinio [230] andother prominent leaders, " one thousand prisoners of war would bereleased on taking the oath of allegiance. The flame of organizedinsurrection was almost extinguished, but there still remained somedangerous embers. Bands of armed natives wandered through the provincesunder the name of insurgents, and on July 31, 1901, one of Aguinaldo'ssubordinate generals, named Miguel Malvar, a native of Santo Tomás(Batangas) issued a manifesto from the "Slopes of the Maquiling"(Laguna Province), announcing that he had assumed the position ofSupreme Chief. Before the war he had little to lose, but fishingin troubled waters and gulling the people with _anting-anting_ andthe "signs in the clouds" proved to be a profitable occupation tomany. An expedition was sent against him, and he was utterly routedin an engagement which took place near his native town. After MiguelMalvar surrendered (April 16, 1902) and Vicente Lucban was capturedin Sámar (April 27, 1902), the war (officially termed "insurrection")actually terminated, and was formally declared ended on the publicationof President Roosevelt's Peace Proclamation and Amnesty grant, datedJuly 4, 1902. A sedition law was passed under which every disturberof the public peace would be thenceforth arraigned, and all acts ofviolence, pillage, etc. , would come under the common laws affectingthose crimes. In short, insurgency ceased to be a valid plea; if itexisted in fact, officially it had become a dead letter. Those whostill lingered in the penumbra between belligerence and brigandagewere thenceforth treated as common outlaws whose acts bore no politicalsignificance whatever. The notorious "General" San Miguel, for a longtime the terror of Rizal Province, was given no quarter, but shot onthe field at Corral-na-bató in March, 1903. One of the famous bandits, claiming to be an insurgent, was Faustino Guillermo, who made laws, levied tribute, issued army commissions, divided the country up intomilitary departments, and defied the Government until his stratagemto induce the constabulary to desert brought about his own capture inthe Bosoboso Mountain (Mórong) in June, 1903. A mass of papers seizedrevealed his pretension to be a patriotic saviour of his people, butit is difficult indeed to follow the reasoning of a man who starts onthat line by sacking his own countrymen's villages. Another interestingindividual was Artemio Ricarte, formerly a primary schoolmaster. In1899 he led a column under Aguinaldo, and was subsequently hisgeneral specially commissioned to raise revolt inside the capital;but the attempt failed, and many arrests followed. During the war hewas captured by the Americans, to whom he refused to take the oathof allegiance and was deported to Guam. In Washington it was decidedto release the political prisoners on that island, and Ricarte andMabini were brought back to Manila. As Ricarte still refused to takethe oath, he was banished, and went to Hong-Kong in February, 1903. Inthe following December he returned to Manila disguised as a seaman, and stole ashore in the crowd of stevedore labourers. Assuming theludicrous title of the "Viper, " he established what he called the"triumvirate" government in the provinces, and declared war on theAmericans. His operations in this direction were mostly limited tosending crackbrained letters to the Civil Governor in Manila from his"camp in the sky, " but his perturbation of the rural districts had tobe suppressed. At length, after a long search, he was taken prisonerat the cockpit in Marivéles in May, 1904. He and his confederates werebrought to trial on the two counts of carrying arms without licenceand sedition, the revelations of the "triumvirate, " which were comicalin the extreme, affording much amusement to the reading public. Thejudgement of the court on Ricarte was six years' imprisonment and afine of $6, 000. 

Apolinario Mabini, Ricarte's companion in exile, was one of the mostconspicuous figures in the War of Independence. Of poor parentage, he was born at Tanaúan (Batangas) in May, 1864, and having finishedhis studies in Manila he took up the law as a profession, living inobscurity until the Rebellion, during which he became the recognizedleader of the Irreconcilables and Prime Minister in the MalolosGovernment. In the political sphere he was the soul of the insurgentmovement, the ruling power behind the presidency of Aguinaldo. Itwas he who drafted the Constitution of the Philippine Republic, datedJanuary 21, 1899 (_vide_ p. 486). Taken prisoner by the Americans inDecember, 1899, he was imprisoned on his refusal to subscribe to theoath of allegiance. On August 1, 1900, he was granted leave to appearbefore the Philippine Commission, presided over by Mr. W. H. Taft. Hedesired to show that, according to his lights, he was not stubbornlyholding out against reason. As Mabini was not permitted to discussabstract matters, and Mr. Taft reiterated the intention to establishAmerican sovereignty in the Islands, their views were at variance, and Mabini was deported to Guam, but allowed the privilege of takinghis son there as his companion in exile. On his return to Manila inFebruary, 1903, he reluctantly took the required oath and was permittedto remain in the capital. Suffering from paralysis for years previous, his mental energy, as a chronic invalid, was amazing. Three monthsafter his return to the metropolis he was seized with cholera, towhich he succumbed on May 13, 1903, at the early age of thirty-nine, tothe great regret of his countrymen and of his many European admirers. 

The Irreconcilables, even at the present day, persist in qualifyingas legitimate warfare that condition of provincial perturbationwhich the Americans and the Federal Party hold to be outlawryand brigandage. Hence the most desperate leaders and their bandsof cut-throats are, in the Irreconcilables' phraseology, merelyinsurgents still protesting against American dominion. As lateas February, 1902, an attempt was made to revive the war in LeyteIsland. At that date a certain Florentino Peñaranda, styling himselfthe Insurrectionary Political-Military Chief, issued a proclamationin his island addressed "in particular to those who are serving underthe Americans. " This document, the preamble of which is indited inlofty language, carrying the reader mentally all round North andSouth America, Abyssinia and Europe, terminates with a concession ofpardon to all who repent their delinquency in serving the Americans, and an invitation to Filipinos and foreigners to join his standard. Ithad little immediate effect, but it may have given an impulse to thebrigandage which was subsequently carried on so ferociously under anotorious, wary ruffian named Tumayo. Thousands, too long accustomedto a lawless, emotional existence to settle down to prosaic civillife, went to swell the ranks of brigands, but it would exceed thelimits of this work to refer to the over 15, 000 expeditions madeto suppress them. Brigandage (_vide_ p. 235) has been rife in theIslands for a century and a half, and will probably continue to existuntil a network of railways in each large island makes it almostimpossible. But brigandage in Spanish times was very mild comparedwith what it is now. Such a thing as a common highwayman was almostunknown. The brigands of that period--the _Tulisánes_ of the northand the _Pulajánes_ of the south--went in parties who took days toconcoct a plan for attacking a country residence, or a homestead, forrobbery and murder. The assault was almost invariably made at night, and the marauders lived in the mountains, avoiding the highroads andthe well-known tracks. The traveller might then go about the Islandsfor years without ever seeing a brigand; now that they have increasedso enormously since the war, there is not business enough for themin the old way, and they infest the highways and villages. One effectof the revolution has been to diminish greatly the awe with which thenative regarded the European before they had crossed swords in regularwarfare. Again, since 1898, the fact that here and there a white manmade common cause with outlaws has had a detrimental effect on thewhite man's prestige, and the new caste of bandits which has comeinto existence is far more audacious than its predecessor. Formerlythe outlaws had only bowie-knives and a few fowling-pieces; now theyhave an ample supply of rifles. Hence, since the American advent, the single traveller and his servant journey at great risk in theso-called civilized provinces, especially if the traveller hasAnglo-Saxon features. Parties of three or four, well armed, arefairly safe. Fierce fights with outlaws are of common occurrence;a full record of brigand depredations would fill a volume, and onecan only here refer to a few remarkable cases. 

Early in 1904 a Spanish planter of many years' standing, namedAmechazurra, and his brother-in-law, Joaquin Guaso, were kidnappedand held for ransom. When the sum was carried to the brigands'haunt, Guaso was found with his wrists broken and severely torturedwith bowie-knife cuts and lance-thrusts. Having no power to use hishands, his black beard was full of white maggots. In this state hewas delivered to his rescuers and died the next day. Since the closeof the war up to the present day the provinces of Batangas and Cavite, less than a day's journey from the capital, have not ceased to be in adeplorable condition of lawlessness. The principal leaders, Montalónand Felizardo, [231] were formerly officers under the command of theinsurgent General Manuel Trias, who surrendered to the Americansand afterwards accepted office as Civil Governor of the Provinceof Cavite. In this capacity he made many unsuccessful attempts tocapture his former colleagues, but owing to his failure to restoretranquillity to the province he resigned his governorship in 1903. TheMontalón and Felizardo bands, well armed, constantly overran the twoadjoining provinces to murder the people, pillage their homes, andset fire to the villages. They bore an inveterate hatred towards allwho accepted American dominion, and specially detested their formerchief Trias, who, since his return from the St. Louis Exhibition, has shown a very pro-American tendency. The history of their crimescovers a period of five years. Felizardo was remarkable for hisaudacity, his fine horsemanship, and his expert marksmanship. Duringan attack on Parañaque, mounted on a beautiful pony stolen from therace-track of Pasay, he rode swiftly past a constabulary sentinel, who shot at him and missed him, whilst Felizardo, from his seat in thesaddle, shot the sentinel dead. The evening before the day GovernorTaft intended to sail for the United States, on his retirement fromthe governorship, Montalón hanged two constabulary men at a placewithin sight of Manila. In December, 1904, all this district wasso infested with cut-throats that Manuel Trias, although no longeran official, offered to organize and lead a party of 300 volunteersagainst them. On January 24, 1905, the same bandits, Felizardo andMontalón, at the head of about 300 of their class, including twoAmerican negroes, raided Trias's native town of San Francisco deMalabón, murdered an American surgeon and one constabulary private, and seriously wounded three more. They looted the municipal treasuryof 2, 000 pesos and 25 carbines, and carried off Trias's wife and twochildren, presumably to hold them for ransom. The chief object ofthe attack was to murder Trias, their arch-enemy, but he was awayfrom home at the time. On his return he set out in pursuit of theband at the head of the native constabulary. The outlaws had about160 small firearms, and during the chase several fierce fights tookplace. Being hunted from place to place incessantly, they eventuallyreleased Trias's wife and children so as to facilitate their ownescape. Constabulary was insufficient to cope with the marauders, and regular troops had to be sent to these provinces. In February, 1905, a posse of 25 Moro fighting-men was brought up from Siassi(Tápul group) to hunt down the brigands. Launches patrolled theBay of Manila with constabulary on board to intercept the passageof brigands from one province to another, for lawlessness was, moreor less, constantly rife in several of the Luzon provinces and halfa dozen other islands for years after the end of the war. From 1902onwards, half the provinces of Albay, Bulacan, Bataán, Cavite, IlocosSur, and the islands of Camaguín, Sámar, Leyte, Negros, Cebú, etc. , have been infested, at different times, with brigands, or latter-dayinsurgents, as the different parties choose to call them. The regulartroops, the constabulary, and other armed forces combined were unableto exterminate brigandage. The system of "concentration" circuits, which had given such adverse results during the Rebellion (_vide_p. 392), was revived in the provinces of Batangas and Cavite, obligingthe waverers between submission and recalcitration to accept a definedlegal or illegal status. Consequently many of the common people went toswell the roving bands of outlaws, whilst those who had a greater lovefor home, or property at stake, remained within the prescribed limits, in discontented, sullen compliance with the inevitable. The systeminterrupted the people's usual occupations, retarded agriculture, and produced general dissatisfaction. The Insular Government thenhad recourse to an extreme measure which practically implied theimposition of compulsory military service on every male American, foreign, or native inhabitant between the ages of eighteen to fiftyyears, with the exception of certain professions specified in thePhilippine Commission Act No. 1309, dated March 22, 1905. Under thislaw the native mayor of a town can compel any able-bodied American(not exempted under the Act) to give five days a month service inhunting down brigands, under a maximum penalty of P100 fine and threemonths' imprisonment. And, subject to the same penalty for refusal, any proprietor or tenant (white, coloured, or native) residing in anymunicipality, or ward, must report, within 24 hours, to the municipalauthority, the name, residence, and description of _any_ person (notbeing a resident) to whom he gave assistance or lodging. In no colonywhere the value of the white man's prestige is appreciated would sucha law have been promulgated. 

The proceedings of the constabulary in the disturbed provinceshaving been publicly impugned in a long series of articles andreports published in the Manila newspaper _El Renacimiento, _ theeditors of that public organ were brought to trial on a charge oflibel in July, 1905. The substance of the published allegationswas that peaceable citizens were molested in their homes and werecoerced into performing constabulary and military duties by becomingunwilling brigand-hunters. Among other witnesses who appeared at thetrial was Emilio Aguinaldo, who testified that he had been forced toleave his home and present himself to a constabulary officer, who, he affirmed, bullied and insulted him because he refused to leave hisdaily occupations and risk his life in brigand-hunting. In view ofthe peculiar position of Aguinaldo as a fallen foe, perhaps it wouldhave been better not to have disturbed him in his peaceful life asa law-abiding citizen, lest the world should misconstrue the intention. 

Confined to Pangasinán and La Union provinces, there is an organizationknown as the "Guards of Honour. " Its recruits are very numerous, their chief vocation being cattle-stealing and filching other people'sgoods without unnecessary violence. It is feared they may extend theiroperations to other branches of perversity. The society is said tobe a continuation of the _Guardia de Honor_ created by the Spaniardsand stimulated by the friars in Pangasinán as a check on the rebelsduring the events of 1896-98. At the American advent they continuedto operate independently against the insurgents, whom they harassedvery considerably during the flight northwards from Tárlac. It wasto escape the vengeance of this party that Aguinaldo's Secretary ofState (according to his verbal statement to me) allowed himself tofall prisoner to the Americans. 

The _Pulajanes_ of Sámar seem to be as much in possession of thatIsland as the Americans themselves, and its history, from therevolution up to date, is a lugubrious repetition of bloodshed, pillage, and incendiarism. The deeds of the notorious Vicente Lucbanwere condoned under the Amnesty of 1902, but the marauding organizationis maintained and revived by brigands of the first water. Everymove of the government troops is known to the _pulajanes_. The spy, stationed at a pass, after shouting the news of the enemy's approachto the next spy, darts into the jungle, and so on all along the line, in most orderly fashion, until the main column is advised. In July, 1904, they slaughtered half the inhabitants of the little coast villageof Taviran, mutilated their corpses, and then set out for the town ofSanta Elena, which was burnt to the ground. In December of that yearover a thousand _pulajanes_ besieged the town of Taft (formerly Tubig), held by a detachment of native scouts, whilst another party, hiddenin the mountains, fell like an avalanche upon a squad of 43 scouts, led by an American lieutenant, on their way to the town of Dolores, and in ten minutes killed the officer and 37 of his men. After thismournful victory the brigands went to reinforce their comrades atTaft, swelling their forces _en route_, so that the besiegers of Taftamounted to a total of about 2, 000 men. About the same time some 400_pulajanes_ were met by a few hundred so-called native volunteers, who, instead of fighting, joined forces and attacked a scout detachmentwhilst crossing a river. Twenty of the scouts were cut to pieces andmutilated, whilst thirteen more died of their wounds. 

Communication in the Island is extremely difficult; the maintenance oftelegraph-lines is impossible through a hostile country, and messagessent by natives are often intercepted, or, as sometimes happens, the messengers, to save their lives, naturally make common causewith the bandits whom they meet on the way. The hemp-growers andcoast-trading population, who have no sympathy with the brigands, are indeed obliged, for their own security, to give them passivesupport. Hundreds in the coast villages who are too poor to give, haveto flee into hiding and live like animals in dread of constabularyand _pulajanes_ alike. Between "insurgency" and "brigandage, " in thisIsland, there was never a very wide difference, and when General Allen, the Chief of the Constabulary, took the field in person in December, 1904, he had reason to believe that the notorious ex-insurgent ColonelGuevara was the moving spirit in the lawlessness. Guevara, who hadbeen disappointed at not securing the civil governorship of theIsland, was suddenly seized and confined at Catbalogan jail to awaithis trial. The Sámar _pulajanes_ are organized like regular troops, with their generals and officers, but they are deluded by a sort ofmystic religious teaching under the guidance of a native pope. InJanuary, 1905, the town of Balangiga (_vide_ p. 536), so sadly famousin the history of Sámar on account of the massacre of American troopsduring the war, became a _pulaján_ recruiting station. A raid upon theplace resulted in the capture of twenty chiefs, gorgeously uniformed, with gaudy _anting-anting _amulets on their breasts to protect themfrom American bullets. At this time the regimental Camp Connell, atCalbáyoc, was so depleted of troops that less than a hundred men wereleft to defend it. Situated on a pretty site, the camp consists of twolines of wooden buildings running along the shore for about a mile. Atone extremity is the hospital and at the other the quartermaster'sdépôt. It has no defences whatever, and as I rode along the centralavenue of beautiful palms, after meeting the ladies at a ball, Ipictured to myself the chapter of horror which a determined attackmight one day add to the doleful annals of dark Sámar. 

Matters became so serious that in March, 1905, the divisionalcommander, General Corbin, joined General Allen in the operationsin this Island. Full of tragedy is the record of this region, andamongst its numerous heroes was a Captain Hendryx. In 1902, whilstout with a detachment of constabulary, he was attacked, defeated, andreported killed. He was seen to drop and roll into a gully. But fourdays later there wandered back to the camp a man half dead with hungerand covered with festering wounds, some so infected that, but for theapplication of tobacco, gangrene would have set in. It was CaptainHendryx. Delirious for a while, he finally recovered and resumed hisduties. A couple of years afterwards he was shipwrecked going roundthe coast on the _Masbate_. For days he and the ship-master alonebattled with the stormy waves, a howling wind ahead, and a murderousrabble on the coast waiting for their blood. On the verge of deaththey reached a desolate spot whence the poor captain saved his bodyfrom destruction, but with prostrate nerves, rendering him quite unfitfor further service. And the carnage in the Sámar jungles, which hascaused many a sorrow in the homeland, continues to the present daywith unabated ferocity. By nature a lovely island, picturesque inthe extreme, there is a gloom in its loveliness. The friendly nativehas fled for his life; the patches of lowland once planted with sweetpotatoes or rows of hemp-trees, are merging into jungle for want ofthe tiller's hand. The voice of an unseen man gives one a shudder, lest it be that of a fanatic lurking in the _cogon_ grass to seek hisfellow's blood. Near the coast, half-burnt bamboos show where villagesonce stood; bleached human bones mark the sites of human conflict, whilst decay and mournful silence impress one with the desolation ofthis fertile land. The narrow navigable channel separating Sámar fromLeyte Island is one of the most delightful bits of tropical scenery. 

The Constabulary Service Reports for 1903 and 1904 show that inthe former period there were 357 engagements between brigand bandsand the constabulary (exclusive of the army operations), and in thelatter period 235 similar engagements. More than 5, 000 expeditionswere undertaken against the outlaws in each year; 1, 185 outlawswere killed in 1903, and 431 in 1904, 2, 722 were wounded or capturedin 1903, and 1, 503 in 1904; 3, 446 arms of all sorts were seized in1903, and 994 in 1904. The constabulary losses in killed, wounded, died of wounds and disease, and deserted were 223 in 1904. In CaviteProvince alone, with a population of 134, 779, there were, in 1903, over 400 expeditions, resulting in 20 brigands killed, 23 wounded, and 253 captured. At this date brigandage is one of the greatestdeterrents to the prosperous development of the Islands. 

The Adjutant-General's Report issued in Washington in December, 1901, gives some interesting figures relating to the Army, for the War ofIndependence period, i. E. , from February 4, 1899, to June 30, 1901. Thetotal number of troops sent to the Islands was as follows, viz. :--

 Officers. Men. 

 Regular Army 1, 342 60, 933 Volunteers 2, 135 47, 867 3, 477 108, 800

Some were returning from, whilst others were going to the Islands;the largest number in the Islands at any one time (year 1900) wasabout 70, 000 men. 

The total casualties in the above period were as follows, viz. :--

 Officers. Men. Total. 

 Dead (all causes) 115 3, 384 3, 499 Wounded 170 2, 609 2, 779 285 5, 993 6, 278

In the same period the following arms were taken from the insurgents(captured and surrendered):--

 Revolvers 868 Rifles 15, 693 Cannon 122 Bowie-knives 3, 516

The _Insurgent Navy, _ consisting of four small steamers purchased inSingapore and a few steam-launches, dwindled away to nothing. The"Admiral, " who lived on shore at Gagalangin (near Manila), escapedto Hong-Kong, but returned to Manila, surrendered, and took the oathof allegiance on March 3, 1905. 

_Sedition_, in its more virulent and active forms, having beenfrustrated by the authorities since the conclusion of the war, theIrreconcilables conceived the idea of inflaming the passions of thepeople through the medium of the native drama. How the seditiousdramatists could have ever hoped to succeed in the capital itself, in public theatres, before the eyes of the Americans, is one of thosemysteries which the closest student of native philosophy must failto solve. 

The most notable of these plays were _Hindi aco patay_ ("I am notdead"), _Ualang sugat_ ("There is no wound"), _Dabas ng pilac_ ("Powerof Silver"), and _Cahapon, Ngayon at Bucas_ ("Yesterday, to-day, andto-morrow"). In each case there was an extra last scene not on theprogramme. Secret police and American spectators besieged the stage, and after a free fight, a cracking of heads, and a riotous scufflethe curtain dropped (if there were anything left of it) on a generalpanic of the innocent and the arrest of the guilty. The latter werebrought to trial, and their careers cut short by process of law. 

The simple plot of _Hindi aco patay_ is as follows, viz. :--_Maímbot_(personifying America) is establishing dominion over the Islands, assisted by his son _Macamcám_ (American Government), and _Katuíran_(Reason, Right, and Justice) is called upon to condemn the conductof a renegade Filipino who has accepted America's dominion, andthereby become an outcast among his own people and even his ownfamily. There is to be a wedding, but, before it takes place, afuneral cortége passes the house of _Karangalan_ (the bride) withthe body of _Tangulan_ (the fighting patriot). _Maímbot_ (America)exclaims, "Go, bury that man, that Karangalan and her mother may seehim no more. " _Tangulan_, however, rising from his coffin, tells them, "They must not be married, for I am not dead. " And as he cries _Hindiaco patay, _ "I am not dead, " a radiant sun appears, rising abovethe mountain peaks, simultaneously with the red flag of Philippineliberty. Then _Katuíran_ (Reason, Right, and Justice) declares that"Independence has returned, " and goes on to explain that the newinsurrection having discouraged America in her attempt to enslave thepeople, she will await a better opportunity. The flag of PhilippineIndependence is then waved to salute the sun which has shone uponthe Filipinos to regenerate them and cast away their bondage. 

The theme of _Cahapon, ngayon at Bucas_ is somewhat similar--a protestagainst American rule, a threat to rise and expel it, a call to arms, and a final triumph of the Revolution. About the same time (May, 1903) a seditious play entitled _Cadena de Oro_ ("The golden chain")was produced in Batangas, and its author was prosecuted. It must, however, be pointed out that there are also many excellent playswritten in Tagalog, with liberty to produce them, one of the bestnative dramatists being Don Pedro A. Paterno. 

There will probably be for a long time to come a certain amount ofdisaffection and a class of wire-pullers, men of property, chieflyhalf-castes, constantly in the background, urging the masses forwardto their own destruction. Lucrative employments have satisfied theambition of so many educated Filipinos who must find a living, thatthe same principle--a creation of material interest--might perhaps beadvantageously extended to the uneducated classes. All the malcontentscannot become State dependents, but they might easily be helped toacquire an interest in the soil. The native who has his patch ofsettled land with _unassailable title_ would be loth to risk his allfor the chimerical advantages of insurrection. The native boor whohas worked land for years on sufferance, without title, exposed toeviction by a more cunning individual clever enough to follow thetortuous path which leads to land settlement with absolute title, falls an easy prey to the instigator of rebellion. These illiteratepeople need more than a liberal land law--they need to be taken inhand like children and placed upon the parcelled-out State landswith indisputable titles thereto. And if American enterprise werefostered and encouraged in the neighbourhood of their holdings, good example might root them to the soil and convert the _boloman_into the industrious husbandman. 

The poorest native who cannot sow for himself must necessarilyfeed on what his neighbour reaps, and hunger compels him to becomea wandering criminal. It is not difficult partially to account forthe greater number in this condition to-day as compared with Spanishtimes. In those days there was what the natives termed _cayinin_. Itwas a temporary clearance of a patch of State land on which thenative would raise a crop one, two, or more seasons. Having no legalright to the soil he tilled, and consequently no attachment to it, he would move on to other virgin land and repeat the operation. Inmaking the clearance the squatter had no respect for State property, and the damage which he did in indiscriminate destruction of valuabletimber by fire was not inconsiderable. The law did not countenance the_cayinin_, but serious measures were seldom taken to prevent it. Thelocal or municipal headmen refrained from interference because, havingno interest whatever in public lands, they did not care, as landowners, to go out of their way to create a bad feeling against themselveswhich might one day have fatal consequences. Although no one wouldfor a moment suggest a revival of the system, there is the undeniablefact that in Spanish times thousands of natives lived for years in thisway, and if they had been summarily evicted, or prosecuted by a forestbureau, necessity would have driven them into brigandage. High wages, government service, and public works are no remedy; on the contrary, if the people are thereby attracted to the towns, what will become ofthe true source of Philippine wealth, which is agriculture? Even inindustrial England the cry of "Back to the soil" has been lately raisedby an eminent Englishman known by name to every educated American. 

CHAPTER XXVIII

Modern Manila

Commanding the entrance to Manila Bay there is the Island ofCorregidor, situated 27 miles south-west of the city, towards whichthe traveller glances in vain, expecting to descry something of amodern fortress, bristling with artillery of the latest type which, if there, might hold the only channels leading to the capital againsta hostile fleet. The anchorage for steamers is still half a mile to amile and a half away from the Pasig River, but the new artificial port, commenced by the Spaniards, is being actively brought to completionby the Americans, so that the day may come when the ocean travellerwill be able to walk from the steamer down a gangway to a quay andland on the south, or Walled City, side of the capital. 

In the city and beautiful suburbs of Manila many changes and someimprovements have been effected since 1898. After cleansing thecity to a certain extent, embellishment was commenced, and lastly, works of general public utility were undertaken. Public spaces werelaid out as lawns with walks around them; the old botanical-gardensenclosure was removed and the site converted into a delightfulpromenade; the Luneta Esplanade, --the joy of the Manila élite whoseek the sea-breezes on foot or driving--was reformed, the field ofBagumbayan, which recalls so many sad historical reminiscences since1872, was drained; breaches were made in the city walls to facilitatethe entry of American vehicles; new thoroughfares were opened; an ironbridge, commenced by the Spaniards, was completed; a new Town Hall, asplendidly-equipped Government Laboratory, a Government Civil Hospital, and a Government Printing Office were built; an immense ice-factorywas erected on the south side of the river to meet the Americandemand for that luxury [232]; also a large refrigerated-meat store, chiefly for army supply, was constructed, meat, poultry, vegetables, and other foodstuffs having to be imported on account of the dearthof beef and tilth cattle due to rinderpest. Fresh meat for privateconsumption (i. E. , exclusive of army and navy) is imported intoManila to the value of about $700, 000 gold per annum. Reforms of moreurgent public necessity were then introduced. Existing market-placeswere improved, new ones were opened in Tondo and the Walled City;an excellent slaughter-house was established; the Bridge of Spainwas widened; a splendidly-equipped fire-engine and brigade service, with 150 fire-alarm boxes about the city and suburbs, was organizedand is doing admirable work; roads in the distant suburbs were put ingood condition, and the reform which all Manila was looking forwardto, namely, the repair of the roads and pavements in the _Escolta_, the _Rosario_, and other principal thoroughfares in the heart of thebusiness quarter of Binondo, was postponed for six years. Up to themiddle of 1904 they were in a deplorable condition. The sensation, whilst in a gig, of rattling over the uneven stone blocks was as ifthe whole vehicle might at any moment be shattered into a hundredfragments. The improvement has come at last, and these streets arenow almost of a billiard-table smoothness. The General Post Officehas been removed from the congested thoroughfare of the _Escolta_to a more commodious site. Electric tramcars, in supersession ofhorse-traction, run through the city and suburbs since April 10, 1905. Electric lighting, initiated in Spanish times, is now ingeneral use, and electric fans--a poor substitute for the punkah--workhorizontally from the ceilings of many shops, offices, hotels, andprivate houses. In the residential environs of the city many acresof ground have been covered with new houses; the once respectablequarter of Sampaloc [233] has lost its good name since it becamethe favourite haunt of Asiatic and white prostitutes who were nottolerated in Spanish times. On the other hand, the suburbs of Ermitaand Malate, which are practically a continuation of Manila alongthe seashore from the Luneta Esplanade, are becoming more and morethe fashionable residential centre. About Sampaloc there is a littlecolony of Japanese shopkeepers, and another group of Japanese fishermeninhabits Tondo. The Japanese have their Consulate in Manila since theAmerican advent, their suburban Buddhist temple was inaugurated inSan Roque on April 22, 1905, and in the same year there was a smallJapanese banking-house in the suburb of Santa Cruz. 

The Bilíbid Jail has been reformed almost beyond recognitionas the old Spanish prison. A great wall runs through the centre, dividing the long-term from the short-term prisoners. In the centreis the sentry-box, and from this and all along the top of the wallevery movement of the prisoners can be watched by the soldier onguard. Nevertheless, a batch of convicts occasionally breaks jail, and those who are not shot down escape. Gangs of them are draftedoff for road-making in the provinces, where, on rare occasions, a few have been able to escape and rejoin the brigands. In March, 1905, a squad of 42 convicts working in Albay Province made a dashfor freedom, and 40 of them got away. 

With the liberty accorded them under the new dominion the Filipinoshave their freemason lodges and numerous _casinos_. [234] There areAmerican clubs for all classes of society--the "Army and Navy, " the"University, " the "United States, " a dozen other smaller socialmeeting-houses, and societies with quaint denominations such as"Knights of Pythias, " "Haymakers, " "Red Cloud Tribe, " "Knights ofthe Golden Eagle, " etc. Other nationalities have their clubs too; the_Cercle Français_ is now located in _Calle Alcalá_; the English Club, which was formerly at Nagtájan on the river-bank, has been removedto Ermita on the seashore, and under the new _régime_ the Chinesehave their club-house, opened in 1904, in _Calle Dasmariñas_, wherea reception was given to the Gov. -General and the élite of Manilasociety. The entertainment was very sumptuous, the chief attractionsbeing the fantastic decorations, the gorgeous "joss house" to a deadhero, and the chapel in honour of the Virgin del Pilar. 

Several new theatres have been opened, the leading one being the_National_, now called the "Grand Opera House"; comedy is played atthe _Paz_; the _Zorrilla_ (of former times) is fairly well-built, but its acoustic properties are extremely defective, and the otherplayhouses are, more properly speaking, large booths, such as the_Libertad_, the _Taft_, the _Variedades_, and the _Rizal_. In thelast two very amusing Tagálog plays are performed in dialect. Thereis one large music-hall, and a number of cinematograph shows combinedwith variety entertainments. 

There are numerous second- and third-rate hotels in the city andsuburbs. The old "Fonda Lala, " which existed for many years in the_Plaza del Conde_, Binondo, as the leading hotel in Spanish days, is now converted into a large bazaar, called the "Siglo XX. , " andits successor, the "Hotel de Oriente, " was purchased by the InsularGovernment for use as public offices. The old days of comfortablehackney-carriages in hundreds about the Manila streets, at 50 centsMex. An hour, are gone for ever. One may now search hours for one, and, if found, have to pay four or five times the old tariff. Besidesthe fact that everything costs more, the scarcity is due to _Surra_(_vide_ p. 336), which has enormously reduced the pony stock. Thereare occasionally sales of American horses, and it is now one of thenovelties to see them driven in carriages, and American ladies ridingstraddle-legged on tall hacks. In Spanish days no European gentlemanor lady could be seen in a _carromata_ [235] (gig) about Manila; nowthis vehicle is in general use for both sexes of all classes. Bicycleswere known in the Islands ten years ago, but soon fell into disuseon account of the bad roads; however, this means of locomotion isfast reviving. 

The Press is represented by a large number of American, Spanish anddialect newspapers. These last were not permitted in Spanish times. 

Innumerable laundries, barbers' shops, Indian and Japanese bazaars, shoe-black stalls, tailors' shops, book-shops, restaurants, smallhotels, sweetmeat stalls, newspaper kiosks, American drinking-bars, etc. , have much altered the appearance of the city. The Filipino, who formerly drank nothing but water, now quaffs his iced keg-beeror cocktail with great gusto, but civilization has not yet made him adrunkard. American drinking-shops, or "saloons, " as they call them, areall over the place, except in certain streets in Binondo, where theyhave been prohibited, as a public nuisance, since April 1, 1901. Itwas ascertained at the time of the American occupation that there were2, 206 native shops in Manila where drinks were sold, yet no nativewas ever seen drunk. This number was compulsorily reduced to 400 fora native population of about 190, 000, whilst the number of "saloons"on February 1, 1900, was 224 for about 5, 000 Americans (exclusive ofsoldiers, who presumably would not be about the drinking-bars whilstthe war was on). But "saloon" licences are a large source of revenueto the municipality, the cost being from $1, 200 gold downwards perannum. A "saloon, " however, cannot now be established in defianceof the general wishes of the neighbours. There is a law (similarin spirit to the proposed Option Law in England) compelling theintending "saloon" keeper to advertise in several papers for severaldays his intention to open such a place, so that the public may havean opportunity of opposing that intention if they desire to do so. 

The American advent has abolished the peaceful solitude of theWalled City where, in Spanish days, dwelt the friar in secludedsanctity--where dignitaries and officials were separated by a riverfrom the bubbling world of money-makers. An avalanche of drinking-bars, toilet-saloons, restaurants, livery stables, and other cateringconcerns has invaded the ancient abodes of men who made Philippinehistory. The very names of the city streets remind one of so manyepisodes in the Islands' progress towards civilization that to-dayone is led to pause in pensive silence before the escutcheon above thedoor of what was once a noble residence, to read below a wall-placard, "Horses and buggies for hire. The best turn-out in the city. TelephoneNo. ----. " This levelling spirit is gradually converting the historicWalled City into a busy retail trading-centre. For a long time thequestion of demolishing the city walls has been debated. Surely thosewho advocate the destruction of this fine historical monument cannotbe of that class of Americans whose delight is to travel thousandsof miles, at great expense, only to glance at antiquities not moreinteresting, in the possession of others, and who would fain transportShakespeare's house bodily to American soil. The moat surrounding theWalled City is already being filled up, but posterity will be gratefulfor the preservation of those ancient bulwarks--landmarks of a decadentbut once glorious civilization. Most of the Spanish feast-days havebeen abolished, including the St. Andrew's day (_vide_ Li-ma-hong, p. 50), and the following have been officially substituted, viz. :--

 New Year's Day January 1 Washington's birthday February 22 Holy Thursday -- -- Good Friday -- -- Decoration Day May 31 Independence Day July 4 Occupation Day August 13 Thanksgiving Day November 24 Christmas Day December 25 Rizal Day December 30

Manila was formerly the capital of the province of that name, aswell as the Philippine metropolis. Since the American occupation thecity and suburbs form a kind of federal zone; what was once ManilaProvince is now known as Rizal Province, and with it is incorporatedthat territory formerly designated Mórong District, the capital townof this newly-created province being Pasig. 

The Municipal Board of Manila is composed of five persons, namelya Philippine mayor and one Philippine and three American members, who are practically all nominees of the Insular Government. Theemolument of the mayor and of each member is $4, 500. The Board, assisted by a staff of 20 persons, native and American, has thecontrol of the ten following departments, viz. :--Police, Fire, Law, Police Courts, Justice of the Peace Courts, Public Works, Assessmentsand Collections, Deeds Register, City Schools, and Sheriff's Officeconnected with the government of the federal zone of Manila. 

Manila is the seat of the Insular Government, which comprises (1) thePhilippine Commission (Legislative), composed of eight members, of whomfive (including the president) are Americans and three are Filipinos;(2) the Civil Commission (Executive), the president of which holds thedual office of President of the Philippine Commission and Gov. -General, whilst the four secretaries of Interior, Finance and Justice, PublicInstruction, and Commerce and Police are those same Americans whohold office as members of the Philippine Commission. The PhilippineCommission is empowered to pass statutes, subject to ratificationby Congress, the enacting clause being, _By authority of the UnitedStates, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission_. The InsularGovernment communicates with the Washington Government through theDepartment of the Secretary of State for War. 

Up to the end of 1904 the chief authority in these Islands was styledthe "Civil Governor. " Thenceforth, by special Act of Congress, thetitle was changed to that of "Governor-General. "

The Emoluments of the Members of the Insular Government, the Chiefs ofDepartments, and the principal officers are as follows, viz. [236]:--

 $ goldPresident of the Philippine and Civil Commissions 20, 000Four American Members of the Philippine Commission, _ex-officio_ Members of the Civil Commission each 15, 500Three Philippine Members of the Philippine Commission each 5, 000

_Departments_

Architecture Bureau Chief 4, 000Archives, Patents, Copyright and Trade Marks Chief 3, 000Agriculture Bureau Chief 4, 000Audit Office Auditor 7, 000Bilibid Prison Warden 3, 000[237] Civil Service Board Chief Examiner 4, 000Court of First Instance, Manila each Judge 5, 500Court of First Instance, provincial Judge $4, 500 to 5, 000Court of Land Registration Judge 5, 000Court of Customs Appeal Judge 4, 500Civil Hospital Chief Physician 3, 000Civil Sanatorium (Benguet) Chief Physician 2, 400Constabulary Executive Officer 5, 500Coast Guard and Transport Office Chief (Navy pay) --Cold Storage and Ice-Plant Superintendent 3, 600Customs and Immigration Collector of Customs 7, 000Engineering Department Consulting Engineer 5, 000Ethnological Survey Chief 3, 500Education Department Gen. Superintendent 6, 000Forestry Bureau Chief 3, 000Laboratories (Gov. ) Superintendent 6, 000Manila Port Works Chief (Army pay) --Mining Bureau Chief 3, 000Non-Christian Tribes Bureau -- --_Official Gazette, The_ Editor 1, 800Purchasing Agent -- 4, 500Public Lands Office Chief 3, 200Public Health Commissioner 3, 500Public Printing Office Public Printer 4, 000Post Office Director 6, 000Public Lands Chief 3, 200Supreme Court Chief Justice [238] 7, 500Supreme Court each associate Judge 7, 000Treasury Office Treasurer 7, 000Weather Bureau Director 2, 500

The total cost of the Civil Service for the year 1903 amounted to8, 014, 098. 77 pesos (_vide_ "Official Gazette, " Vol. II. , No. 8, dated February 4, 1904), equal to $4, 007, 049. 38 gold. 

At the time of the American occupation (1898) the Government wasnecessarily military, the first governor being Maj. -General ElwellS. Otis up to May 5, 1900, when he returned to America and wasimmediately succeeded by Maj. -General Arthur McArthur. On January 20, 1899, during General Otis's governorship, a Commission of Inquestwas appointed under the presidency of Dr. Jacob Gould Schurmanknown as the Schurman Commission, which arrived in Manila on May 2to investigate the state of affairs in the Islands. The Commissionwas instructed to "endeavour, without interference with the militaryauthorities of the United States now in control in the Philippines, to ascertain what amelioration in the condition of the inhabitantsand what improvements in public order may be practicable. " The othermembers of the Commission were Rear-Admiral George Dewey, CharlesDenby, Maj. -General Elwell S. Otis, and Dean C. Worcester. AdmiralDewey, however, was soon relieved of his obligation to remain onthe Commission, and sailed from Manila on May 19 on the _Olympia_for New York, _via_ Europe. The commissioners' inquiries intoeverything concerning the Islands, during their few months' sojourn, are embodied in a published report, dated December 20, 1900. [239]The War of Independence was being waged during the whole time, andmilitary government, with full administrative powers, continued, as heretofore, until September 1, 1900. In the meantime theWashington Government resolved that military rule in the Islandsshould be superseded by civil government. The pacified provinces, and those in conditions considered fit for civil administration, were to be so established, and pending the conclusion of the war andthe subsidence of brigandage, the remainder of the Archipelago wasto be administered as military districts. With this end in view, on March 16, 1900, Judge William H. Taft [240] was commissionedto the Islands and sailed from San Francisco (Cal. ) with his fourcolleagues, on April 15, for Manila, where he arrived on June 3. Inthe three months' interval, pending the assumption of legislativepower, the Taft Commission was solely occupied in investigatingconditions. To each commissioner certain subjects were assigned; forexample, Mr. Taft took up the Civil Service, Public Lands, and theFriar questions. Each commissioner held a kind of Court of Inquiry, before which voluntary evidence was taken. This testimony, later on, appeared in print, and its perusal shows how difficult indeed it musthave been for the Commission to have distinguished the true fromthe false, the valuable from the trivial. It was the beginning ofthe end of military rule in the Islands. "The days of the Empire, "as the military still designate that period, were numbered, and yetnot without regret by several native communities, as evidenced by thefact that they sent petitions to the authorities in Manila againstthe change to civil government. Many law-abiding natives explained tome that the feature in military rule which particularly pleased themwas its prompt action--such a contrast to the only civil governmentof which they had had any experience. About two years later, in 1903, Lieut. -Gen. Miles, Commander-in-Chief of the U. S. Army, made a tour inthe Islands and drew up a report on the conduct of military operations, charging military officers with the grossest cruelty to the natives. ASenate Commission of Inquest was appointed, but it was quite impossibleto prove anything conclusively on unimpeachable evidence; the generalretired from his command without the blessing of his comrades, andthe matter was abated. 

The Philippine Commission commenced its functions as the legislativebody, with limitary executive powers in addition, on September 1, 1900, the military governor continuing as the Chief Executive untilJuly 4, 1901. Up to that date the civil executive authority in theorganized provinces was vested in the military governor. From thatdate Maj. -General Adna R. Chaffee relieved Maj. -General McArthur in thesole capacity of commander-in-chief of the military division, the fullexecutive civil power having been transferred to the Civil Commission, and thenceforth the Insular Government became constituted as it is atpresent. Governor Taft pursued his investigations until February, 1901, when he started on a provincial tour, heard opinions, and tenderedthe hand of peace. Municipalities united at certain centres to meethim; the rich vied with each other to regale him royally; the crowdflocked in from all parts to greet him; the women smiled in theirgala dresses; the men were obsequiousness itself; delicate viandswere placed before him, and, like every other intelligent travellerin these Islands, he was charmed by that distinguishing trait of theLuzon Islanders--that hospitality which has no parity elsewhere, and for which words cannot be found adequately to describe it tothe reader. As Governor Taft himself said truly, "When a Filipinowho has a house says it is yours, he turns out his family and putsyou in. " [241] Governor Taft's reception was only that which hadbeen accorded to many a personage before his day, travelling in astyle befitting his rank. He returned to Manila, captivated by thefascinating side of Philippine character: the reverse side he couldnever know by personal experience, and the natives secured in him achampion of their cause--"Philippines for the Filipinos. " The mainobject of his official progress was to collect information for newlegislation anent the municipalities. Civil government was rapidlyestablished in all the provinces which were peaceful and otherwisesuitable for it. The War of Independence was drawing to a close(April, 1902), and meanwhile Governor Taft made tours to Negros, Cebú, and other islands to explain and inaugurate the new _régime_based on President McKinley's Instructions to the Taft Commission, dated April 7, 1900. Governor Taft's administration was signalizedby his complacency towards the natives, his frequent utterancesfavourable to their aspirations, and his discouragement of thoseAmericans who sought to make quick fortunes and be gone. But therewere other Americans than these, and his favourite theme, "Philippinesfor the Filipinos, " aroused unconcealed dissatisfaction among themany immigrants, especially the ex-volunteers, who not unnaturallyconsidered they had won a right to exploit, within reasonable bounds, the "new possession" gained by conquest. Adverse critics contended thathe unduly protected the Filipino to the prejudice of the white man'sinterest. Frank and unfettered encouragement of American enterprisewould surely have helped the professed policy of the State, whichwas to lead the Filipinos to habits of industry; and how could thishave been more easily accomplished than by individual example? Onthe other hand, the Filipinos, in conformity, regarded him as theirpatron: many were unconsciously drawn to submission by the suavityof his rule, whilst his courtesy towards the vanquished served asthe keynote to his countrymen to moderate their antipathy for thenative and remove the social barriers to a better understanding. And, in effect, his example did serve to promote a _rapprochement_ betweenthe conquerors and the conquered. 

Appointed to the Secretaryship of War, ex-Governor Taft left thePhilippines in January, 1904, to take up his new office, and wassucceeded in the presidency of the Philippine and Civil Commissionsby Mr. Luke E. Wright. [242] On his way back to the United Statesex-Governor Taft was entertained by the Emperor of Japan, and on hisarrival in his native city of Cincinnati (Ohio) he made a remarkablespeech on the subject of the Philippines, the published reports ofwhich contain the following significant passage:--"The Filipinoselected the provincial governor and we appointed the treasurer. Wewent there to teach the Filipinos honesty, and we appointed Americantreasurers on the theory that the Americans could not steal. Never, never have I suffered the humiliation that came to me when seventeenof our disbursing officers, treasurers, were found defaulters! Theyare now in Bilíbid prison serving out their twenty-five years. "

Since then the Manila Press has recorded many cases of breach ofpublic trust by those who were sent to teach the Islanders how torule themselves (_vide_ p. 493). The financial loss arising frommalfeasance on the part of any civil servant is made good to theTreasury by a Guarantee Society, which gives a bond in each case, whilst it takes years to recover the consequent loss of prestigeto the State. The obvious remedy for this state of things wouldbe the establishment in America of a Colonial Civil Service intowhich only youths would be admitted for training in the severaldepartments. Progressive emolument, with the prospect of a long, permanent career and a pension at the end of it would be inducementsto efficiency and moral stability. 

The Philippine Civil Service is open to all United States citizensand Filipinos between the ages of 18 and 40 years in accordance withPhilippine Commission Act No. 5, known as the "Civil Service Act, "passed September 19, 1900. The service is divided into "classified"and "unclassified. " The former division is strictly subject to theprovisions of the above Act; the latter indicates the positions whichmay be filled by appointment without subjection to the provisions ofthe said Act. The Act declares its purpose to be "the establishmentand maintenance of an efficient and honest civil service in thePhilippine Islands. " American soldiers who have less than six monthsto serve can apply for permission to be examined for the civilservice. The Act does not include examination for civil positionsin the Military Division of the Islands, but the Civil Service Boardis empowered to hold such examinations to fill vacancies as they mayoccur in the nine military departments which employ civilians. Generalexaminations, some in English only, others in Spanish only, or both, are held every Monday, and special examinations which include thosefor scientific, professional, and technical positions are taken onspecified dates. The commencing salaries of the positions offered rangefrom $1, 200 downwards. Medical attendance is furnished gratis, andthe minimum working time is six and a half hours per day, except fromApril 1 until June 15--the hottest weather--when the minimum workingday is five hours. American women are employed in the Post Office. 

The Civil Commission is located in the Walled City in the buildingwhich was formerly the Town Hall, a new Town Hall having been builtoutside the walls. Occasionally, when public interest is much arousedon the subject of a proposed measure, the Commission announcesthat a public conference will be held for the expression of opinionthereon. A few persons state their views before the Commissioners, who rebut them _séance tenante_, and the measure, as proposed, usually becomes law, unless outside agitation and popular clamourinduce the Commissioners to modify it. At times the proceedings havebeen enlivened by sparkling humour. A worthy and patriotic Filipinoonce gravely prefaced his speech thus:--"I rise to speak, inspiredby Divine Right"--but he had to wait until the roars of laughterhad subsided. When the "Sedition Act" was being discussed, a lessworthy auditor declared assassination of the Chief of a State to bemerely a political offence. He expected to go to prison and pose asa martyr-patriot, but the Commission very rightly damped his ambitionby declaring him to be a fool irresponsible for his acts. 

Philippine Commission Acts are passed with great rapidity, amendedand re-amended, sometimes several times, to the bewilderment of thepublic. Out of 862 Acts passed up to the end of 1903, 686 of themwere amended (some five times) and on 782 no public discussion wasallowed. The "Internal Revenue Law of 1904" had not been in force ninemonths when it was amended (March, 1905) by another law. By PhilippineCommission Acts Nos. 127 and 128 the limits of the Surigao and Misámisprovinces were defined and afterwards upset by Act No. 787. The policyof the Americans anent the Philippines was continually shifting duringthe first five years of their occupation, and only since ex-GovernorTaft became Secretary of War does it seem to have assumed a somewhatmore stable character. 

The Archipelago is divided into 41 provinces (exclusive of the MoroProvince, _vide_ p. 577), all under civil rule, in accordance withCongress Act of July 1, 1902, and War Office Order of July 4, 1902, whereby the remainder of military government ceased. In June, 1904, nearly all the above 41 provinces had native governors with salariesranging from $3, 000 gold downwards. In most of these provinces thenative governor and two American officials of about equal rank, such asthe Treasurer and the Supervisor, form a Provincial Council, but themember who disagrees with the vote of the other two can appeal to theGov. -General. After the War of Independence several insurgent chiefswere appointed to provincial governments; for instance, Cailles in LaLaguna, Trias in Cavite, Clímaco in Cebú, etc. For obvious reasons thesystem is advantageous. Juan Cailles, Governor of La Laguna, is theson of a Frenchman who married a native in one of the French coloniesand then settled in these Islands. For some time Juan Cailles wasregistered at the French Consulate as a French citizen. As commander ofthe insurgents of La Laguna and Tayabas during the War of Independence, he maintained strict discipline in his troops, and energetically drewthe line between legitimate warfare and common freebooting. 

The provincial governor may be either elected or appointed by theCivil Commission. If he be a Filipino, he is usually elected by voteof the vice-presidents (ex-mayors) and municipal councillors of theprovince. The mayor of a municipality is styled "Presidente. " Everymale over twenty-three years of age who pays taxes amounting to 30pesos, or who possesses 500 pesos' value of goods is eligible forelection by vote of the townspeople. He holds office for two years, but can be re-elected for a consecutive term. The municipalities areof four classes according to their importance, the mayor's salarybeing as follows, viz. : First class, 1, 200 pesos; second class, 1, 000pesos; third class, 800 pesos; and fourth class, 600 pesos. Provincialjustices of the peace are paid by litigants' fees only. For municipalimprovements, or other urgent necessity, the Insular Government, from time to time, grants loans to municipalities, repayable withinterest. In some cases two or more towns have been wisely mergedinto one municipality: for instance, Cauit, Salinas, and Novaleta(Cavite) go together; Baliuag, Bustos, and San Rafael (Bulacan) formone; Barasoain and Malolos (Bulacan) are united; as are also Taaland Lemery (Batangas). By Philippine Commission Act No. 719 the 51municipalities of Yloilo Province were reduced to 17. 

Malolos is the new capital of Bulacan Province, and the two formerprovinces of Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur are now one, under thename of Ambos Camarines. In the dependent wards of towns (_barrios_)the municipal police are practically the only official representatives;the post of lieutenant (_teniente de barrio_) is gratis and onerous, and few care to take it. 

The _Guardia Civil_ or Rural Guard of Spanish times has beensuperseded by the _Philippine Constabulary_ under the supreme andindependent command of a cavalry captain (U. S. A. ) holding local rankof Brig. -General. In the private opinion of many regular army officers, this force ought to be under the control of the Division Commander. Theofficers are American, European, and Philippine. The privates areFilipinos, and the whole force is about 7, 000 strong. The functionof this body is to maintain order in rural districts. For some timethere were cases of batches of the rank-and-file passing over to thebrigands whom they were sent to disperse or capture. However, thisdisturbing element has been gradually eliminated, and the PhilippineConstabulary has since performed very useful service. Nevertheless, many educated natives desire its improvement or suppression, onaccount of the alleged abuse of functions to the prejudice of peacefulinhabitants (_vide_ p. 550). 

Co-operating with municipal police and the Philippine Constabularythere is an organized Secret Police Service. It is a heterogeneousband of many nationalities, including Asiatics, which, as an_executive_ force to investigate crimes known to have been committed, renders good service; as an _initiative_ force, with power, with orwithout authority, to molest peaceful citizens in quest of imaginarymisdemeanours, in order to justify the necessity of its employment, it is an unwelcome institution to all, especially the lower-middleand common classes, amongst whom it can operate with greater impunity. 

Not unfrequently when a European nation acquires a new tropicalpossession, the imaginative mind discovers therein unbounded wealthwhich the eye cannot see, hidden stores of gold procurable only bymanual labour, and fortune-making possibilities awaiting whosoeverhas the courage to reveal them. The propagation of these fallaciousnotions always allures to the new territory a crowd of ne'er-do-wells, amongst the _bonâ fide_ workers, who ultimately become loafers preyingupon the generosity of the toilers. This class was not wanting inthe Philippines; some had followed the army; others who had finishedtheir term of voluntary military service elected to remain in thevisionary El Dorado. Some surreptitiously opened drinking-shanties;others exploited feminine frailty or eked out an existence bybeggarly imposition, and it was stated by a provincial governor that, to his knowledge, at one time, there were 80 of this class in hisprovince. [243] The number of undesirables was so great that it becamenecessary for the Insular Government to pass a Vagrant Act, underwhich the loafer could be arrested and disposed of. The Act declaresvagrancy to be a misdemeanour, and provides penalties therefor; butit has always been interpreted in a generous spirit of pity for thedelinquent, to whom the option of a free passage home or imprisonmentwas given, generally resulting in his quitting the Islands. Thismeasure, which brought honour to its devisers and relief to society, was, in a few instances, abused by those who feigned to be vagrantsin order to secure the passage home, but these were judiciously dealtwith by a regulation imposing upon them a short period of previoustraining in stone-breaking to fit them for active life in the homeland. 

The following General Order was issued by the Division Commander inJanuary, 1905, viz. :--

 It is reported by the Civil Governor that in several places in Luzon there have gathered numbers of dishonourably discharged men from the army who are a hindrance to progress and good order. The Division Commander desires that in future no dishonourably discharged soldiers be allowed to remain in the Islands, where their presence is very undesirable. It is therefore directed that, in acting on cases where the sentence is dishonourable discharge without confinement, the dishonourable discharge be made to take effect after arrival in San Francisco, where the men so discharged should be sent by first transport. 

The Philippine Archipelago is a military division under the supremecommand of a Maj. -General. The commanders, since the taking of Manila(1898), have been successively Maj. -Generals Merritt, Otis, McArthur, Chaffee, Davis, Wade, Corbin, and Wood. 

The Division is administratively subdivided into three departments, namely Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the two former being commandedby Brig. -Generals and the last by a Maj. -General. 

The _Department of Luzon_, headquarters at Manila, includes thefollowing principal islands, viz. Luzon, Catanduanes, Romblon, Masbate, Marinduque, Mindoro, Sibuyán, Polillo, Ticao, Tablas, Lúcbang, and Búrias. 

The _Department of Visayas_, headquarters at Yloilo, embraces theislands of Cebú, Negros, Panay, Leyte, Sámar, and Bojol. 

The _Department of Mindanao_, headquarters at Zamboanga, includesall the remaining islands of the Philippine Archipelago. 

 STATEMENT OF ARMY STRENGTH IN THE PHILIPPINES ON JUNE 30, 1904 [244]

 Present Absent Present and Absent Officers. Troops. Officers. Troops. Officers. Troops. 

General Officers 5 0 0 0 5 0Gen. Staff Officers 45 0 4 0 49 0Non-Com Officers at posts 0 109 0 0 0 109Medical Department 93 919 10 0 103 919[245]Contract Surgeons 63 0 22 0 85 0[245]Contract Dental Surgeons 17 0 0 0 17 0Engineers 25 395 1 7 26 402Signal Corps 7 353 2 1 9 354Ordnance Corps 2 49 0 2 2 51Officers temporarily in the Division 33 0 0 0 33 0Total Cavalry 172 2, 903 27 32 199 2, 935Total Artillery 9 293 3 0 12 293Total Infantry 356 7, 020 78 70 434 7, 090

Total American Forces 827 12, 041 147 112 974 12, 153Philippine Scouts 77 4, 565 23 413 100 4, 978

Total Strength 904 16, 606 170 525 1, 074 17, 131

Besides the American troops, there is a voluntary enlistmentof Filipinos, forming the Philippine Scout Corps, a body of ruralpolice supplementary to the constabulary, commanded by a major and 100American first and second lieutenants. Until recently the troops werestationed over the Islands in 98 camps and garrison towns, as follows, viz. :--In the Department of Luzon 76, Visayas 8, and Mindanao 14;but this number is now considered unnecessarily large and is beingreduced to effect economy. 

The Army, Navy, and Philippine Scouts expenses are entirely defrayedby the United States Treasury. A military prison is established inthe little Island of Malahi, in the Laguna de Bay, whence the escapeof a prisoner is signalled by three shots from a cannon, and whoevercaptures him receives a $30-reward. As the original notice to thiseffect required the recovery of the prisoner "alive or dead, " two armednatives went in pursuit of an American soldier. To be quite sure oftheir prey they adopted the safe course of killing him first. Such anunexpected interpretation of the notice as the grim spectacle of anAmerican's head was naturally repugnant to the authorities, and the"alive or dead" condition was thenceforth expunged. 

CHAPTER XXIX

The Land of the Moros"Allah Akbar!"

The Military Department of Mindanao comprises the large island ofthat name and the adjacent insular territories inhabited chiefly byMahometans, called by the Christians _Moros_ (_vide_ p. 129, et seq. ). 

The natural features of these southern islands are, in general, similar to those of the other large islands of the Archipelago, but being peopled by races (exclusive of the settlers) of differenthabits, customs, religions, and languages, some aggressively savageand warlike, others more or less tractable, but all semi-civilized, the social aspect is so distinct from that of the islands inhabitedby the Christian Filipinos as almost to appear like another quarterof the tropical globe. 

Early in the year 1899 General John C. Bates was appointed to thecommand of the Mahometan islands. In Mindanao Island there was nosupreme chieftain with whom to treat for the gradual introductionof civilization and American methods, the whole territory beingparcelled out and ruled by petty Sultans, _Dattos_ or chiefs, in separate independence. In the Lake Lanao district, for instance, there is at least one _Datto_ for every 50 men. The only individual whohad any pretence to general control of the Mahometan population wasHadji [246] Mohammad Jamalul Kiram, the Sultan of Sulu [247] (_vide_p. 141). Therefore, in August, 1899, General Bates and this pettyprince made an agreement which was ratified by Congress on February1 following, on the recommendation of the Schurman Commission (_vide_p. 562), and thenceforth came into force. The principal conditions ofthis convention were: (1) The Sultan's dignity and certain monopolyrights were recognized under American suzerainty. (2) An annual pensionof 3, 000 pesos was secured to him, and annual salaries ranging from180 to 900 pesos were to be paid to eight of his _Dattos_ and onepriest. (3) A Moro accused of crime was to be tried by a Moro judge, the maximum penalty for murder being fixed at 105 pesos (equal toabout ten guineas), which was a fair price in this region, from theMoro point of view, for life here is held very cheap. (4) AbscondingAmericans or Sulus were to be mutually surrendered. (5) The Americanswere (_a_) to protect the Sultan against encroachments by foreignersor European nations; (_b_) not to take arms against the Sulus withoutconsulting the Sultan; (_c_) not to transfer their dominion over Jolóto others except in agreement with the Sultan; (_d_) to be at libertyto occupy any place in the Sultan's domains without trespassing onlands about the royal residence, except as a military necessity ofwar with a foreign Power; (_e_) not to interfere with the Mahometanreligion, or its rites, or its customs; (_f_) not to travel aboutSulu Island without the permission of the Sultan, who would provide anescort. (6) The American flag was to be used on land and at sea. (7)The Sulus were to be free to carry their native arms. (8) The Sultanwas at liberty to collect tribute everywhere in his domains, and tohave the right of direct intercourse with the American Gov. -General. 

In consideration of the above, the Sultan undertook to maintain orderbetween his _Dattos_, to repress internecine warfare, and graduallyto abolish slavery throughout his jurisdiction. 

Apparently the Sultan entered into the agreement much in the spiritof Mr. Micawber, who signed the I. O. U. 's and thanked God hisdebts were paid. The ruler of Sulu was not over-willing and farless able to give effect to its conditions, his power being morenominal than real in his own possessions, and in Mindanao almost_nil_. Nevertheless, it was a politic measure on the Americans'part, because its non-fulfilment opened the way for the adoption, with every appearance of justification, of more direct and coerciveintervention in the affairs of this region. General Bates wassucceeded by other generals in the command of this district, withoutany very visible progress towards definite pacification and subjectionto civilization. The military posts on the coasts, evacuated by theSpaniards, were occupied by American troops and new ones were created, but every attempt to establish law and order beyond their limits, onthe white man's system, was wasted effort. When the Spanish-AmericanWar broke out, the Spanish military authorities were on the pointof maturing a plan for the final conquest of Mindanao. Due to thepersistent activity of my old friend General González Parrado, theyhad already achieved much in the Lake Lanao district, through theMarahui campaign. On the evacuation of the Spaniards the unrestrainedpetty chiefs were like lions released from captivity. Blood-shed, oppression, extortion, and all the instinctive habits of the shrewdsavage were again rife. A preconcerted plan of campaign brings littledefinite result; it never culminates in the attainment of any finalissue, for, on the native side, there is neither union of tribes norany combined organized attempt at even guerilla warfare, hence thedestruction of a _cotta_ or the decimation of a clan has no immediateand lasting moral effect on the neighbouring warlike tribe. Life ischeap among them; a Moro thinks no more about lopping off another'shead than he does about pulling a cocoanut from the palm-tree. Thechief abhors the white man because he interferes with the chief'sliving by the labour of his tribe, and the tribesman himself istoo ignorant even to contemplate emancipation. Subservience to thebidding of the wily _Datto_, poverty, squalidity, and tribal warfarefor bravado or interest seem as natural to the Moro as the sight ofthe rising sun. Hence, when the Americans resolved to change all thisand marched into the tribal territories for the purpose, the war-gongsrallied the fighting-men to resist the dreaded foe, unconscious ofhis mission of liberty under the star-spangled banner. The sorrowsor the joys of one tribe are no concern of the other; thus there wasseldom, if ever, any large combination of forces, and the Americansmight be fighting hard in the Taraca country, or around the LanaoLake, whilst the neighbouring clan silently and doggedly awaited itsturn for hostilities. The signal for the fray would be the defiantreply of a chief to the Americans' message demanding submission, or avoluntary throwing down of the gauntlet to the invader, for the Morois valiant, and knows no cringing cowardice before the enemy. Troopswould be despatched to the _cotta_, or fortress, of the recalcitrantruler, whence the _lantaca_ cannon would come into action, whilst thesurging mob of warriors would open fire in squads, or rush forwardin a body, _bárong_ or kris in hand, only to be mown down, or put toflight and the _cotta_ razed to the ground. A detailed account of themilitary operations in these islands would be but a tedious recital ofcontinuous struggles with the irresistible white man. In Mindanao, theMalanao tribes, occupying the northern regions around the Lake Lanaodistricts, seem to have offered the most tenacious resistance. OnApril 5, 1902, a fierce encounter with the Bacólod tribes endedwith their fort being destroyed, 120 Moros killed, and 11 Americanswounded. In the following month the bloody battle of Bayan broughtsuch disastrous results to the natives that they willingly acceptedpeace for the time being. In the Taraca River engagement, 10 _cottas_were destroyed, 250 Moros were killed, 52 were taken prisoners, andthe booty amounted to 36 cannon and 60 rifles. The Moros possessed alarge number of Remington rifles, looted from the Spaniards, on whomthey had often made surprise raids. The Bacólod and the Taraca tribes, although frequently defeated, gave much trouble long after the otherdistricts had been forced into submission. 

One of the most exciting expeditions was that of Lieutenant Forsyth, who went out reconnoitring with 15 men, marching from Párang-PárangCamp northwards. Moros came to meet him on the way to warn him not toadvance, but Forsyth bravely pushed on until his party, surroundedby hundreds of hostile natives, was almost all destroyed. Forsythand his fellow-survivors fled into an unknown region, where theylost themselves, and all would have perished had they not beenbefriended by a _Datto_ who enabled them to get back. Then Colonel(now Brig. -General) F.  D. Baldwin set out from Malábang Camp inMay, attacked and captured the _cottas_ of the Datto of Binadáyanand the Sultan of Bayan on Lake Lanao, and gained a signal victoryover them with a loss of seven killed and 44 wounded. LieutenantForsyth's horses and rifles were recovered, and the Moros sufferedso severely in this engagement that it was hardly thought they wouldrise again. In consequence of this humiliation of the great Sultanof Bayan, many minor Lake _Dattos_ voluntarily cultivated friendlyrelations with the Americans. Even among the recalcitrant chiefs therewas a lull in their previous activity until they suddenly swept downon the American troops twelve times in succession, killing four andwounding 12 of them. The whole Lanao Lake district was in a fermentwhen, on September 28, 1902, Captain John J. Pershing was detachedfrom Baldwin's force to lead another expedition against them "composedof a battalion of the 7th Infantry, a troop of the 15th Cavalry, andtwo platoons of the 25th Field Artillery. " [248] Pershing inflictedsuch a crushing defeat on the Macui Moros, destroying many of theirstrongholds, one Sultan and a large number of his warriors, that hewas hailed with delight as the pacifier of Mindanao. The expeditionreturned with a total loss of only two Americans wounded, and afterPershing's heroic exploit, not only was it in the mouth of every one, "there is peace in Mindanao, " but in the Report of the Secretary ofWar for 1902, p. 19, there is a paragraph beginning thus:--"_Now thatthe insurrection has been disposed of_ we shall be able to turn ourattention, not merely to the slave trade, but to the already existingslavery among the Moros. " But peace was by no means assured, andagain Captain J.  J. Pershing distinguished himself as the successfulleader of an expedition in the Marahui district. Starting from CampVicars [249] on April 5, 1903, with 150 men, Maxim guns, mortars, andartillery, his instructions were to "explore" the north and west coastof Lake Lanao, but to overcome any opposition offered. It was quiteexpected that his progress would be challenged, hence the warlikepreparations. Arrived at Súgud, the Moros kept up a constant firefrom the hills on the American front. On the high ridge running downto the lake the Bacólod fort was clearly seen flying the battle flagsof defiance. On the battlements there was a yelling crowd of Morosbeating their gongs, rushing to and fro, flourishing their weapons, and firing their _lantaca_ cannon towards the Americans; but therange was too great to have any effect. The artillery was brought intoaction, forcing many of the Moros to try their fortunes in the open;but again and again they were repulsed, and by nightfall the Bacólodridge was occupied by the troops. The next morning the mortars werebrought into play, and shells were dropped into the fort during allthat day and night. On the third day Captain Pershing decided to stormthe fort; bridges were constructed across the ravines, Maxim gunspoured shot through the loopholes, and finally an assault party of10 men rushed across the bridge and climbed the parapet, where theywere met by the Moros, with whom they had a desperate hand-to-handfight. It was a fine display of American pluck. The attacking partywas quickly supported by more troops, who either killed or capturedthe defenders. Finally all the combustible portion of the fort wasburnt to the ground, 12 cannon were captured, and about 60 Moroswere slain. The demolition of Bacólod fort was a great surprise tothe Moros, who had considered it impregnable, whilst the defeat ofthe savage Sultan (the _Panandungan_) destroyed for ever his formerunlimited prestige among the tribe. The force was then divided, andbefore the troops reached camp again there were several smaller fights, including the bombardment of Calahui _cotta_. The distance traversed bythis expedition was about 80 miles, the American losses being one mankilled and two officers and 14 men wounded. For this signal victory theWar Department cabled its thanks to Captain J.  J. Pershing on May 11. 

As to the management of the Moros, Captain J.  J. Pershing expressesthe following just opinion, viz. :--"As far as is consistent withadvancement, a government by a Sultan, or a _Datto_, as the case maybe, should be disturbed as little as possible; that is, the peopleshould be managed through the _Dattos_ themselves, " etc. [250]

The last general in command of the District of Mindanao, prior to thepresent constitution of the Moro Province, was Brig. -General SamuelSumner, who, just before his departure therefrom, wrote as follows, viz. :--"Murder and robbery will take place as long as we are in thecountry, at least for years to come. The Moro is a savage, and has noidea of law and order _as we understand it_. _Anarchy_ practicallyprevails throughout the region. To take power and control away fromthe Sultans and _Dattos_ until we can inaugurate and put in force abetter government would add to the confusion already existing. " [251]

The instructions of the President of the United States to thePhilippine Commission, dated April 7, 1900, direct as follows, viz. :--"In dealing with the uncivilized tribes of the Islands theCommission shall adopt the same course followed by Congress inpermitting the tribes of our North American Indians to maintaintheir tribal organizations and government, and under which many ofthose tribes are now living in peace and contentment, surrounded bya civilization to which they are unable or unwilling to conform. "

From the American point of view, but not from the Moro way of lookingat things, an apparent state of anarchy prevailed everywhere; but theSultans and the _Dattos_ took very good care not to tolerate what, in Europe, one would term anarchy, tending to subvert the localrule. There is no written code of Moro justice. If a Moro stole abuffalo from another, and the case were brought before the judge, this functionary and the local chief would, by custom, expect to makesome profit for themselves out of the dispute. The thief would haveto pay a fine to the headman or go into slavery, but having no moneyhe would have to steal it to purchase his freedom. The buffalo beingthe object of dispute would be confiscated, and to be even with thedefendant for the loss of the buffalo, the plantiff would lop offthe defendant's head if he were a man of means and could afford topay 105 pesos fine for his revenge. 

The real difficulty was, and still is, that there is no Sultan, or _Datto_, of very extended authority to lay hold of and subdue, and whose defeat or surrender would entail the submission of a wholedistrict or tribe. The work of subjection has to be performed piecemealamong the hundreds of _Dattos_, each of whom, by established custom, can only act for himself and his own retainers, for every _Datto_ wouldresent, at the risk of his life, any dictation from another. All thisis extremely irritating to the white commander, who would prefer tobring matters to a definite crisis by one or more decisive contests, impossible of realization, however, in Mindanao or Sulu Islands. 

Such was the condition of affairs in the southern extremity ofthe Archipelago when it was decided to appoint a Maj. -General tocommand it and create a semi-independent government for its localadministration. Maj. -General Leonard Wood [252] was happily chosen forthis arduous and delicate task, and on July 25, 1903, he took up hisappointment, holding it for about two years, when he was transferredto Manila to command the Division in succession to Maj. -General HenryC. Corbin. 

This region, now called the _Moro Province_, was established underPhilippine Commission Act No. 787 of June 1, 1903 (which came intoeffect on July 15 following), and includes all Mindanao [253] exceptthe larger portion of Misámis Province and all Surigao Province(N. And E. ), which are under civil government, [254] the Joló (Sulu)Archipelago, the Tawi Tawi group, and all the islands south of Lat. 8°N. , excepting therefrom Palaúan (Parágua) and Balábac Islands andthe islands immediately adjacent thereto, but including the Islandof Cagayán de Joló. The seat of government is at Zamboanga, theheadquarters of the military district, whose commander (Maj. -GeneralWood) acted in the dual capacity (but not _ex-officio_) of militarycommander and President of the Legislative Council of the MoroProvince, which was organized September 2, 1903, and is composed asfollows, viz. :--

 Legislative Council Emolument

 President, the Provincial Governor $6, 000 gold (if he be a civilian). [255] Provincial Secretary Not exceeding Provincial Treasurer $4, 000 gold Provincial Attorney Provincial Superintendent of Schools Provincial Engineer

The Council has power to enact laws "by authority of and subject toannulment or amendment by the Philippine Commission, " and four membersof the six constitute a quorum for legislative action. The ProvincialGovernor is responsible, and must report from time to time to theGov. -General of the Philippines. The province is sub-divided intofive governmental districts, and one sub-district under governorsand lieut. -governor respectively. [256]

 Districts Emolument of Governor

 Zamboanga (including Basilan Is. ) Joló (sulu) (including Tawi Tawi group) Lanao (including Ylígan and Lake Lanao) Not exceeding $3, 500 Cottabato (including Polloc) gold if he be a civilian. Davao (including Cátil)

 Dapítan (a sub-district of Zamboanga) Not exceeding $2, 000 gold, if he be a civilian. 

Each district is controlled by a District Council composed of thegovernor, the secretary, and the treasurer. At present all the districtgovernors are army officers. 

Section 15 of the above Act No. 787 provides that governors andsecretaries of districts must learn and pass an examination in thedialects of their localities within 18 months after taking office, or be subject to dismissal. 

Under Philippine Commission Act No. 82, entitled "The Municipal Code, "amended in its application to the Moro Province by the LegislativeCouncil of the Moro Province Act No. 35, of January 27, 1904, theMoro districts and sub-districts are furthermore sub-divided in thefollowing manner, viz. :--

_Municipalities_ are established in the district or sub-districtcapital towns, and wherever there is a population sufficiently largeand enlightened to be entitled to municipal rights. [257] A president(mayor), vice-president, or councillor must be between twenty-sixand sixty-five years of age, and must intelligently speak, read, andwrite Spanish, English, or the principal local dialect. Ecclesiastics, soldiers in active service, and persons receiving emolument frompublic funds are debarred from these offices. Every municipal officermust give a bond with two or more sureties equal to at least halfof the amount of annual funds which will probably pass through hishands. The maximum salary of a president (mayor) is P1, 200, and thatof municipal secretary P600. Certain other officers are also paid, but the vice-presidency and councillorships are honorary posts. Aperson elected to office by the people is not permitted to decline it, except for certain reasons defined in the code, subject to a maximumpenalty of six months' imprisonment. The mayor's symbol of office isa cane with a silver knob, plated ferrule, and black cord and tassels. 

Natives whose habits and social condition will not yet permit theirinclusion in a municipality are segregated into _Tribal Wards_ [258](Legislative Council Act No. 39, of February 19, 1904). The headmanis generally the chief recognized by his race or people as such, and is immediately responsible to the district governor by whomhe is appointed. His annual salary ranges from P240 to P1, 800, andhis badge of office is a baldric of red leather with a metal disc, bearing an impression of the Moro Province seal. He and his advisorycouncil perform the usual municipal functions on a minor scale, andare permitted to "conform to the local customs of the inhabitants, unless such customs are contrary to law or repugnant to the usagesor moral sense of civilized peoples. "

A Tribal Ward is furthermore divided into _Tribal Ward Districts_. Thedistrict headman is the deputy of the tribal ward headman to whom heis immediately responsible. His annual salary ranges from P96 to P600, and his badge of office is a baldric of yellow canvas with a metaldisc as mentioned above. The tribal ward headman's district deputiestogether constitute the police force of the whole ward. Tribal wardheadmen and their district deputies are not required to give bond. Atany time, on certain conditions, a member of a tribal ward can applyfor full citizenship in a municipality. In short, the governmentalsystem adopted is intended to raise the native progressively fromsavagery to municipal life. 

The sources of _Revenue_ are briefly as follows, viz:--

_Provincial. _--Property tax (7/8 per cent. Of assessed value), industrial, cédula (poll tax of 1 peso for each male over 18 years), stamps, court fees, fines, sales of supplies to municipalities, and forestry collection. 

_Municipal. _--Ownership and transfer of cattle, rents and profits, licences, fines and carts. 

_Customs Revenues_ in the five ports of entry, viz. :--Joló, Zamboanga, Cottabato, Siassi, and Bongao. 

The Summary of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904, stands thus:--

 Revenue

 Provincial Taxes and Forestry payments P114, 713. 66 Customs Revenue 222, 664. 39 ---------- P337, 378. 05

 Expenditure

 Provincial P174, 361. 70 Appropriated for Public Works 26, 181. 76 Customs Expenses 53, 170. 62 Balance available 83, 663. 97 ---------- P337, 378. 05

The maintenance of the Constabulary Force, Post Office Department, and Courts of First Instance in this Province is an Insular Governmentcharge. 

The revenue collected within the province (including the customsreceipts) is spent therein. No remittance of funds is made to theInsular Treasury, but provincial accounts are subject to InsularGovernment audit, and have to be rendered to Manila. 

The troops assigned to this command are as follows, viz. [259]:--

Armed Forces in the Moro Province. Present and Absent. Officers. Troops. 

Regular troops [260] 236 3, 766Contract and Dental Surgeons and attached Staff 25 --Total American forces 261 3, 766Native troops 11 543

Total Strength, Military District 272 4, 309Philippine Constabulary (Moro and Christian mixed) under Civil Government orders 22 530 --- ----- 294 4, 839

On General Wood's recommendation, the Bates Agreement (_vide_p. 571) was rescinded on the ground that it was an obstacle togood government. In truth, the Sultan of Sulu was probably quiteas unable as he was unwilling to carry out its provisions. However, under Philippine Commission Act No. 1259 (amended by Act No. 1320 ofApril 12, 1905), certain small annual money allowances are made tothe present Sultan of Sulu and his principal advisers. 

In Mindanao, trouble again arose on the east shore of Lake Lanao, and an expedition was organized to march against the Taracas, whowere, however, only temporarily subdued. Defiant messages were sentby the _Dattos_, and General Wood decided to conduct operations inperson. According to private information given to me by officersin Mindanao some months after the battle, immense slaughter wasinflicted on this tribe, whose _cottas_ were annihilated, and they wereutterly crushed for the time being. About the beginning of 1904 thedepredations of the Moros in the upper valley of the Cottabato Riverwere revolting beyond all toleration. Cottabato town was pillaged underthe leadership of Datto Ali and of his brother, Datto Djimbangan. InMarch an expedition invested the Serenaya territory in the Cottabatodistrict and operated from the 4th to the 14th of that month withoutany American casualties. Datto Ali's fort at Kudarangan was taken anddestroyed. [261] This formidable stronghold is described by GeneralWood thus:--"It was larger than twenty of the largest _cottas_ of theLake region or Sulu, and would have easily held a garrison of four orfive thousand men. It was well located, well built, well armed, andamply supplied with ammunition. There were embrasures for 120 piecesof artillery. Eighty-five pieces were captured, among them many largecannon of from 3 inches to 5 1/2 inches calibre. The other pieces inthe work, small _lantacas_, were carried off or thrown into the river"(_vide_ First Annual Report of the Moro Province). 

Datto Ali thenceforth became a fugitive with some 60 armed followersand about a hundred others whom he pressed into his service ascarriers. After the battle, Datto Djimbangan, Ali's brother, wastaken unawares at his ranche by a detachment of American troops. Hewas conducted as a prisoner to Cottabato, and in February, 1905, hewas transferred to the Zamboanga jail to await his trial for seditionand rebellion. Again the Taracas ventured on a series of attacks onthe American military posts in the locality. A body of troops wasdespatched there in March, and after ten days' operations this tribewas routed and dispersed, the American casualties being two men killed, one drowned, 10 wounded, and one officer slightly wounded. On May8 a party of 39 men and two officers, reconnoitring about Simbalan, up the Cottabato Valley, was attacked, 13 men being killed, two takenprisoners, six wounded, and the two officers killed. It would appearthat the guides were conducting the party safely, when a lieutenantinsisted on taking another route and landed his troops in a plateaucovered with _cogon_ (pampas-grass) about eight feet high. On emergingfrom this they all got into a stream, where the Moros suddenly fellupon them. The punitive Simpetan Expedition immediately set out forthat district and successfully operated from the 13th to the 28thof May without any American casualties. Datto Ali, who was againon the warpath, is the son-in-law of old Datto Piang, the terrorof the neighbourhood in his younger days and also just after theevacuation by the Spaniards. Ali declared that he would not yield tothe Americans one iota of his independence, or liberate his slaves, andswore vengeance on all who went in his pursuit. Being the hereditary_Datto_, the inhabitants of the valley generally sympathized with him, at least passively. In the latter half of 1904, constant endeavourwas made to effect the capture of this chieftain, whilst old DattoPiang, the son of a Chinaman with a keen eye to business, suppliedthe Americans with baggage-carriers at a peso a day per man for thetroops sent to hunt down his refractory son-in-law. Active operationswere sustained against him, and from the military posts of Malábang(formerly a Moro slave-market) and Párang-Párang on the Illana Baycoast there were continually small punitive parties scouring thedistrict here and there. At the former camp I was the guest of thegenial Colonel Philip Reade, in command of the 23rd Infantry, whenLieutenant C.  R. Lewis was brought in wounded from a Cottabato Riversortie. Colonel Reade, whose regiment had had about the roughestwork of any in the Island, had certainly inspired his men with thenever-know-when-you-are-beaten spirit, for the report of a reverseset them all longing to be the chosen ones for the next party. Butup to July, 1905, Datto Ali had been able to elude capture, althoughGeneral Wood personally conducted operations against him a year before, establishing his headquarters at Cabacsalan, near the Lake Ligusan. 

The most ferocious and arrogant Mindanao tribes occupy regions withineasy access of the coast. Perhaps their character is due to theirhaving led more adventurous lives by land and sea for generations, plundering the tribes of the interior and making slave raids intheir _vintas_ on the northern islands and christian native coastsettlements. In the centre of the Island and around the mountainousregion of the Apo the tribes are more peaceful and submissive, withoutdesire or means for warfare. Many of the Bagobo tribe (which I havetwice visited), in the neighbourhood of Davao, have come down tosettle in villages under American protection, paying only an occasionalvisit to their tribal territory to make a human sacrifice. 

In Basílan Island, a dependency of Zamboanga, about 13 miles distant, Datto Pedro Cuevas accepted the new situation, and under his influencepeace was assured among the large Moro population of that island. Thehistory of this man's career bristles with stirring episodes. Born in1845, of Tagálog parentage, he started life as a Cavite highwayman, but was captured and deported to the agricultural colony of SanRamón, near Zamboanga, where he, with other convicts, attacked andkilled three of the European overseers, and Cuevas escaped to BasílanIsland. After innumerable difficulties, involving the conquest of ascore of villages, he gained the control of a large number of YacanMoros and became a sort of chief. Some years afterwards the Morosorganized an attack on the Christians at Zamboanga and Isabela deBasílan, and Cuevas offered to save the Spaniards on condition ofreceiving a full pardon. Two Spaniards were accordingly sent ashostages to Cuevas' camp, and after Isabela was freed of the enemyhe came to see the Spanish governor. There were several Spaniardspresent at the interview, and it is related that one of them letslip a phrase implying doubt as to Cuevas' worthiness for pardon, whereupon the undaunted chief remarked, "Sir, I thought I had won myliberty, seeing that, but for me, you would not be alive to accordit. " Thenceforth he was always a reliable ally of the Spaniards againstMoro incursions. In 1882 Cuevas was opposed by an arrogant Sulu chief, Datto Calun, who challenged him to single combat, and Cuevas havingslain his adversary, the tribe of the vanquished warrior, admiringthe conqueror's valour, proclaimed him their _Datto_, which title wasacknowledged by Datto Aliudi, the claimant to the Sulu Sultanate. OnJuly 6, 1904, his graceful daughter Urang was married, with Mahometanrites, to a twenty-one-year-old Spanish half-caste, Ramón Laracoechea, who was introduced to me by his father, a very pleasant Vizcayan, resident in the Island since 1876. Educated in Manila, the son speaksEnglish, Spanish, Yacano and Joloáno. The festivities lasted forseveral days, some Americans being among the invited guests. Shortlyafter this event the _Datto_, at the age of fifty-nine years, endedhis adventurous career in this world, regretted by all. In expectationof the demise of Datto Cuevas, which was anticipated months before, there were three aspirants to the coming vacant dattoship in thepersons of the son-in-law, Ramón, Cuevas' nephew, and an American ofhumble origin and scant education who had married a Zamboangueña woman. 

In Sulu Island social conditions were most deplorable. Under the BatesAgreement the Moros became turbulent, and even attempted to take Jolótown by assault. In August, 1903, General Wood went there, and the_Dattos_ having been invited to meet him, quite a crowd of them came, accompanied by about 600 fighting-men in a splendid fleet of armed_vintas_ (war-canoes). Precautions had to be taken against possibletreachery, and a company of troops was brought into the town inreadiness for any event. The object of the meeting was to discuss therespective limits of the _Dattos'_ spheres, but owing to the haughty, insolent tone of the chiefs, nothing definite was arrived at. Whenthey were invited to state their claims, they arrogantly replied, "We have no information to give. You say you are going to defineour limits--well, what have you to tell us? We come to listen, notto talk. " Some chiefs, however, feigned to offer their submission, and all was apparently quiet for a time. 

Major Hugh L. Scott (14th Cavalry) was then appointed (in September) tothe government of that district. The Sultan being too weak to controlhis subordinates, many of them rallied their men and independentlydefied all interference with their old mode of living and rule. TheSultan, not unnaturally, was averse to ceding his sovereign rights toany one, and he and his _Dattos_ obstructed, as far as they could, theAmericans' endeavours to better the conditions of the people. Everyfew days a _juramentado_ (_vide_ pp. 146, 150) would enter the townand attack a white man with his _bárong_ in broad daylight. Therewas nothing furtive in his movements, no hiding under cover to takehis victim unawares, but a straight, bold frontal attack. _Bárong_in hand, a Moro once chased a soldier though the street, upstairs intoa billiard-room, and down the other steps, where he was shot dead bya sentinel. At another time a _juramentado_ obtained access into thetown by crawling through a drain-pipe, and chased two soldiers untilhe was killed. Many Americans were wounded in the streets of Joló, but the aggressors were always pursued to death. Petty hostilities, attacks and counter-attacks, the sallies of punitive parties to avengesome violence committed, and the necessity for every individual inthe town, civil or military, being armed and always alert, made lifethere one of continual excitement and emotion. 

In November, 1903, the attitude of the _Dattos_ became verymenacing. Datto Andong actually cut a trench just outside the walledtown of Joló as a base of operations against the Americans. It wasevident that an important rising of chiefs was contemplated. MajorScott having called upon the biggest chief, Panglima [262] Hassan, to present himself and account for the murder of an American surveyparty, he came with a large force, estimated at about 4, 000, wellarmed, as far as the town walls. He said he wanted to enter thetown with a suite of only 700 armed men, including his subordinate_Dattos_. Finally Major Scott agreed to his entry with 70 warriors, but still the position was threatening with Hassan's army in thevicinity. During the interview Panglima Hassan appeared quite friendly;indeed, whilst he and the major were riding together, the chief, perceiving that his host was unarmed, gallantly remarked, "As you arewithout arms I will relinquish mine also, " and at once took off his_bárong_ and handed it to his attendant. In the meantime Major Scotthad sent a request to General Wood for more troops, but the general, who had only just finished his Taraca operations, replied that hewould come to Joló himself. Almost simultaneously with his arrival inZamboanga the general had the satisfaction to receive a message fromthe Taraca _Datto_ offering his submission, and asking to be judgedaccording to the Koran. On General Wood's arrival with troops in Jolóa demand was made on Panglima Hassan to surrender. After protractednegotiations and many insolent messages from Hassan, the generalled his troops down to Lake Seite, where an engagement took place, leaving 60 dead Moros on the field. Panglima Hassan, pursued fromplace to place, lost many warriors at every halt, the total beingestimated at 400 to 500. _Cottas_ were razed to the ground, and thenotorious Panglima Hassan himself was captured on November 14, with aloss, so far, of one soldier killed and five wounded on the Americanside. Panglima Hassan was being escorted into Joló town by MajorScott and other officers when suddenly the chief, pointing towardsa native-built house, begged the major to save his family. Moved bycompassion and influenced by Hassan's previous friendly attitude, themajor generously consented, and as they all approached the entrance, in an instant out rushed the "family"--a mob of armed Moros, whoattacked the officers whilst the Panglima made his escape. Poor MajorScott was so badly cut about on his hands that he had to go intohospital for four months, and I noticed that he had had one left-handfinger and two right-hand half-fingers amputated. Unable to handleany kind of weapon, in March, 1904, he led his troops against thecunning _Datto_, who sent out a large body of fighting-men to meethim. After several attacks were repelled, Panglima Hassan took toflight, his followers all the time decreasing in numbers until, withonly 80 men, the chief sought refuge in his _cotta_ at Pang-Pang, the strongest fortress in the Island. Breaches were made in it, andHassan fled for his life on a swift pony, with only two retainers, to the crater of an extinct volcano, which was quickly surroundedby the Americans. Each time a head appeared above the crater edge avolley was fired, but the wounded chief still bravely held out andhit some soldiers before he died, riddled by bullets, on March 4. 

Again, in May, 1905, Datto Pala, of Sulu Island, with a largefollowing, threatened Joló town, and General Wood personally ledthe expedition against this chief. Eight miles from Maybun the Moroshad dug pits and placed wires to impede the Americans' advance, but, notwithstanding these obstacles, the enemy was vigorously attackedand surrounded near the Maybun Lake, three miles from the town. Afterseveral days' desperate fighting the _cotta_ of Lumbo was captured, and the _Datto_ and his men were vanquished, the losses being aboutseven Americans killed, about 20 wounded, and over 250 Moros killed. 

In June, 1904, Datto Ambutong had a dispute with another about thepossession of some property, and on Major Scott being appealed toin the matter, he ordered Ambutong to appear before him in Jolófor a _bichâra_ (judicial inquiry). The _Datto_, in a sulky mood, at first refused to come, but on further pressure he changed hismind. Early in the morning of the appointed day a friendly chief, Datto Timbang, came into town with four retainers, all armed, tosee the Governor. Major Scott, whose guest I was, kindly invited meto the interview, during which it transpired that Datto Timbang hadheard Ambutong declare he would come to the _bichâra_, but he wouldnot leave it without taking heads. Datto Timbang added that he toodesired to attend the _bichâra_ with his bodyguard, resolved to slayAmbutong if he observed any threatening move on his part. The majormade no objection, and at the appointed hour four of us--my gallanthost, Major Barbour, Captain Charles and myself--went to the _bichâra_at the Governor's office in town. The Governor (i. E. , the major) satat his desk, and we other three took seats just behind him. Beforeus were the Datto Ambutong, his opponent in the question at issue, and, a yard off him, the friendly Datto Timbang and his followers, each with his hand on his _bárong_, ready to cut down Ambutong at astroke if need be. Whilst the case was being heard, Hadji Butu, theSultan's Prime Minister, and Sultan Tattarassa, of Parágua Island, the latter afflicted with _locomotor ataxy_, came in, saluted us all, and took seats. The business ended, Datto Ambutong rose from hisstool, gave his hand to the major, and then walked to the back ofhim to salute us. I thought I should like to handle the beautiful_bárong_ which was to have served him in taking heads. The _Datto_complaisantly allowed me to draw it from the sheath and pass it roundto my friends. Sharp as a razor, it was the finest weapon of the classI had ever touched. The handle was of carved ivory and Camagon wood(_vide_ p. 314), the whole instrument being valued at quite $100. DattoTimbang was watching, and the occasion was not a propitious one fortaking christian blood. 

The following translation of a letter which Major Hugh L. Scottcourteously gave me will serve to illustrate how lightly human lifeis appreciated by the Moro. 

 This letter from your son, His Highness Datto Mohammed Dahiatul Kalbi, to my father, the Governor of Sulu, Major Scott, and to my younger brother, Sali. 

 I want to inform you that at 7 o'clock in the morning of Saturday, we had a fight with Tallu. I have taken his head, but if you will allow it, I will bury it, if my father will let me do that, because he is an Islam and I would commit an offence. It scared my wife very much when she looked at the head in my house. Those that are dead were Sadalani, Namla, Muhamad, and Salui. Beyond that I have not investigated. 

 With greetings to my father and to my younger brother, I beg you, my younger brother, to let me bury the head, if my father does not feel bad about it. If our father should not believe that the head is there, come to our house and see yourself, so to be sure. I would not soil the faith my father has in me. To close I herewith send the kris of Orang Kaya Tallu. The end of the pen. Sunday, February 23, 1904. 

Whilst I was in Zamboanga in June, 1904, Datto Pedro Cuevas, ofBasílan Island, sent a message over to say that there would be nomore trouble with certain pirates who had been caught, as he had cutoff their heads. 

It would fill a volume to recount the legends of the sharks nearCagayán de Joló which wreck ships; the Moro who heard the voice ofAllah rising from a floating cocoanut to urge him to denounce theSultan's evil ways; the new prophet who could point at any objectand make it disappear, and a hundred other superstitious extravagances. 

Joló (_vide_ p. 149), one of the prettiest places on earth, hasbeen improved since the American occupation. Apart from the manynew buildings erected for military convenience, there is now a finejetty with a tramway, a landing-stage for small vessels, a boys'and a girls' school, some new residences, etc. The municipalityis under the presidency of a military officer, and the clean, orderly aspect of the town is evidence of Anglo-Saxon energy inits administration. In 1904 there was only one drinking-saloon, kept by a Bohemian-born American, who paid $6, 000 a year for hismonopoly licence. Much to the disgust of the military, a society ofwell-intentioned temperance ladies in America procured the prohibitionof alcohol-selling in military canteens and Post Exchanges. Theeastern extremity of Joló is appropriated for military purposes, and on the rising ground is situated the stabling for the cavalryhorses. There is a large military hospital, well appointed, and aclub-house for whites, overlooking the picturesque harbour. Outsidethe town walls towards the west the dwellings of natives, chiefly fromother islands in their origin, extend about a mile as far as Tulay, where the Sultan has a residence. On the way one passes through thelittle square, in the centre of which stands a monument erected tocommemorate the landing here of Gov. -General Corcuera, April 17, 1638. During my last visit to Joló I called upon His Highness theSultan at Tulay, accompanied by the civil interpreter, Mr. J. Schück, whose late father I had known many years before. [263] Tulay signifies_bridge_ in Tagálog, and probably this place derives its name from thebridge spanning the rivulet, which forms a natural division betweenthis village and the Joló ex-mural western suburb. Just across thebridge, in most unattractive surroundings, stands a roofed rough pileof wooden planks--the residence of the Sultan. At a few paces tothe left of it one sees another gloomy structure, smaller and morecheerless than the royal abode--it is the domicile of Hadji Butu, the Sultan's Prime Minister. 

Passing through the ground-floor, which serves as a vestibule andstorehouse for nondescript rubbish, I was met by several armed Moroswho conducted me up a dark staircase, the lid of which, at the top, was raised to admit me to the royal presence. His Highness, theMajasari Hadji Mohammad Jamalul Kiram, reclining on a cane-bottomedsofa, graciously smiled, and extending his hand towards me, motionedto me to take the chair in front of him, whilst Mr. Schück sat onthe sofa beside the Sultan. His Highness is about thirty-six yearsof age, short, thick set, wearing a slight moustache and his haircropped very close. With a cotton _sárong_ around his loins, thenakedness of his body down to the waist was only covered by _jábul_(_vide_ p. 146) thrown loosely over him. Having explained that Iwas desirous of paying my respects to the son of the great Sultanwhose hospitality I had enjoyed years ago at Maybun, I was offereda cigar and the conversation commenced. Just at that moment camethe Prime Minister, who spoke a little English, and at the back ofme, facing the Sultan, stood his trusted warriors in semi-circle, attired in fantastic garments and armed to the teeth. From time totime a dependent would come, bend the knee on the royal footstool andpresent the _buyo_ box, or a message, or whatever His Highness calledfor. The footstool attracted my curiosity, and my eye was fixed onit for a while until I could decipher the lettering, which was upsidedown. At last I made it out--"Van Houten's Cocoa. " The audience-chamberneeds no minute description; it can be all summed up in bare boards, boxes, bundles, weapons, dirt, a dilapidated writing-desk, a coupleof old chairs, and the Sultan's sofa-seat. Of course the Sultanhad a grievance. The Americans, he said, had appropriated hispearl-fisheries, his tribute-money, and other sources of valuableincome; they were diverting the taxes payable to him into their owncoffers, with detriment to his estate and his dignity as a ruler. [264]The questions in dispute and his position generally were, he added, to be discussed between him and the Insular Government in Manila in thefollowing month. Naturally, the study of the man and his surroundingsinterested me far more than conversation on a subject which was notmy business. Speaking with warmth, at every gesture the _jábul_ wouldslide down to his waist, exposing his bare breast, so that perhapsI saw more of the _Majasari_ than is the privilege of most Europeanvisitors. On leave-taking His Highness graciously presented me witha handsome Moro dress-sword and a betel-cutter set in a solid silverhandle, and, in return, I sent him my portrait from Manila. 

Exactly a month after my visit, the Sultan, accompanied by MajorScott, the Governor and Commander of Joló, came and made a short stayin Manila, where he was conducted around town and to the presence ofthe authorities. Many valuable presents were officially made to him, together with P5, 000 pocket-money to console him for the postponement_sine die_ of the "settlement" question. Driving round in wagonettes, his retinue saw the sights of the capital and made their purchases, but the Sultan himself was strictly guarded from pressmen and otherswho might give local publicity to his claims. 

America's policy with regard to the Sultan of Sulu and all otherSultans and _Dattos_, as expounded to me by the best Americanauthorities, is as clear as crystal. They wish all these pettypotentates were elsewhere; but as that cannot be, they must be shornof all power, princely dignity being out of harmony with Americaninstitutions. Nevertheless, they can call themselves what they likeamong their own people, provided that in their relations with theGovernment of the Islands they are to be simple citizens with dominionover their own personal property, but not over that of others. Thereis to be no sovereign power, great or small, other than American, and tribal wards are to supersede dattoships. The _Dattos_ are morenumerous than Continental barons, and of varying grades, from thePanglima Hassan type, possessor of fortresses, commander of 5, 000men, down to the titular lord of four score acres who lounges in thevillage, in filthy raiment, closely followed by two juveniles, theone carrying his bright metal _buyo_ box, in case he needs a quid, and the other the bearer of the _bárong_, lest he must assert hisdignity by force. America has decreed that from these and all theircompeers the Philippines are to be preserved. 

In November, 1903, the District Governor of Zamboanga summonedthe Manguiguin, or Sultan of Mindanao (_vide_ p. 131), and all the_Dattos_ in his district to attend a durbar. The aged Sultan veryreluctantly responded to the call, and, accompanied by his PrimeMinister, Datto Ducalat, and a large retinue, the royal party camein about 250 armed _vintas_. When they were within a few milesof the port they sent a message to ask if they would be allowed tosalute with their _lantacas_, and the reply being in the affirmative, they entered the harbour with great _éclat_, amidst the booming of ahundred cannon. Interpreters put off to meet them and escorted themto the landing-stage, where the District Governor waited to receivethem. The Sultan wore a gorgeous turban, a royal _sárong_ workedin thread of gold, and shoes with similar adornments. On landing, the old prince, trembling from top to toe, with despairing glanceclutched the arm of the Governor for protection. Never before hadhe seen the great city of Zamboanga; he was overcome and terrifiedby its comparative grandeur, and possibly by the imposing figure ofthe six-foot Governor himself. The police had to be called out torestrain the mobs who watched his arrival. On the other hand, as theSultans, the _Dattos_ and their suites together numbered about 600, and from other places by land about 400 more had come, all armed, many of the townspeople, with traditional dread, shut themselvesup in their houses, believing that such a vast assemblage of Morosmight, at any moment, commence a general massacre. It is well knownthat the question of public security did engage the attention of theAmerican authorities, for the gathering was indeed a formidable one, and at the moment General Wood was in Sulu Island, leading his troopsagainst Panglima Hassan. All the available forces were thereforeheld in readiness to meet any emergency. With faltering footsteps andshaking like an aspen leaf, the Manguiguin, followed by his _Dattos_, approached the double lines of soldiers with fixed bayonets stationedon the quay. There was a pause; the Sultan, who in his youthful dayshad known no fear, now realized the folly of walking into the jawsof death. But the Governor assured him, through the interpreters, that he was doing him the greatest honour that could be rendered toany prince or to the great president of the greatest republic. Onlyhalf convinced and full of suspicion, the Sultan walked on in a daze, as though he were going to his last doom. Having emerged safely fromthis peril, the great durbar was held, and lasted some hours. This wasfollowed by a reception at the Army and Navy Club, where a throne waserected under a canopy for the Sultan, with seats of honour aroundit for the chief _Dattos_. The reception over, the royal party wasconducted to where waggons and teams awaited them to take them to asuburb at the foothills of the great sierra. The Governor purposelyhad the biggest American horses and the largest vehicles broughtout to make an impression. The Sultan point blank refused to enterthe waggon. He had run the gauntlet through rows of pointed steel, and now new horrors awaited him. Perfectly bewildered at the sightof such enormous animals, he turned piteously to his Prime Ministerand invited him to lead the way. "I will follow your Highness, " theminister discreetly replied, but the muscular Governor, Captain JohnP. Finley, ended the palaver by gently lifting the Sultan into thevehicle, whilst he himself immediately entered it, and the timorousPrime Minister and suite summoned up courage to follow. During thedrive the Governor gave the word to the teamsters to detach theforecarriages on reaching the foothills and let the teams go. Tothe great amazement of the Moro chiefs, the waggons suddenly becamestationary, whilst the released horses galloped on ahead! The Sultanand his suite glanced at each other speechless with fright. Surelynow their last day had come! So this was the trick treacherouslyprepared for them to segregate them from their fighting-men! Butthe teams were caught again, and the waggons brought them safelyback to the sight of the port and the _vintas_. Allah had turned thehearts of the great white men and rescued his chosen people in thehour of imminent danger. The durbar was continued day by day untilevery point had been discussed. Meanwhile the Sultan and suite dailyreturned to their _vintas_ afloat to eat, drink, and sleep, whilstin the town of Zamboanga the christian natives quaked, and crowdsof Moros perambulated the streets in rich and picturesque costumes, varying in design according to the usage of their tribes. Before thedeparture of the royal visitor the troops were formed up, militaryevolutions were performed with clockwork precision, and volley aftervolley was fired in the air. The Sultan declared he could never receivethe Governor with such splendour, but he wanted him to promise toreturn his visit. It was not politic, however, to agree to do so. Andthe Sultan and his people left, passing once more through lines oftroops with bayonets fixed, this time with a firmer step than whenthey landed, thanking the Great Prophet for their happy deliverancefrom what had appeared to them a dreamland of dreadful novelty. 

The Manguiguin of Mindanao was indeed "a man of sorrows and acquaintedwith grief, " for in the days of his decrepitude he was jilted by thewidow of Utto (_vide_ p. 143), the once celebrated Cottabato _Datto_, the idol of the Christian-haters. 

Education is one of the chief concerns of the Moro ProvinceGovernment. The efforts of the _School Department_, up to June 30, 1904, will be understood from the following official statistics, viz. [265]:--

Teachers employed--15 Americans, 50 Christian Filipinos, and nineMahometan Filipinos. 

41 Schools were established. 

2, 114 Children were on the school rolls. 

1, 342 Christian children attended on average. 

240 Moro children attended on average. 

P46, 898. 17 were expended in the School Department, of which P28, 355. 09were disbursed in Zamboanga District. 

Besides the public schools, the Jesuits are permitted to continuetheir excellent work of civilization and education in their ownschools wherever they have a mission established. 

According to Moro custom the fruit of a man's labour belongs tothe _Datto_ who gives the man a subsistence. The Americans areteaching the man that the fruit of his labour is his own, and, forthat purpose, market-places are established at many centres on thecoast with the hope of inculcating free-labour notions, so that theseller can get cash for his goods and keep it. I visited three ofthese markets on the south coast of Mindanao, and also the one incourse of construction at Zamboanga (ward of Magay), where GovernorJohn P. Finley was putting his heart and soul into his scheme forcreating an important Moro Exchange. By Legislative Council ActNo. 55, the sum of P1, 850 was appropriated for its construction, and the Governor had succeeded in persuading the Moros themselvesto contribute P1, 300 towards its completion. The Moros are urged tocome in their produce-laden _vintas_ and occupy the stalls erectedfor them in the large commodious market-shed, which has accommodationfor carts and cattle if need be. Boats of less than 15 tons gross arefree of tax, licence, or documents (Phil. Com. Act No. 1354, of June15, 1905). Whenever any trouble arises up the coast the Governor'sofficial _vinta_ is despatched, manned by Moros, under the commandof the Governor's messenger, Hadji Nuño, a parvenu _Datto_ whose namereveals his Spanish origin. 

Everything within the powers of the Legislative Council of theMoro Province seems to have been done to introduce law, order, andadministrative uniformity, constrain violence, propagate knowledgeand set the inhabitants on the path of morality and prosperity. Theresult of a century's labour, at the present rate of development, might, however, be achieved in a decade if the Insular Government hadauthority from Washington to relax the rigidity of the "Philippines forthe Filipinos" doctrine in the special case of the Moro Province. Itis true the Moros are as much Filipinos as the rest of the Philippineinhabitants, but it will be generations before they can know how toenjoy their birthright without the example of energetic white men whoare, naturally, unwilling to come and philanthropically devote theirlives to "pulling the chestnuts out of the fire" for the Moro. Theywant to reap some material advantage for themselves. Gen. Leonard Wood, in his First Annual Report of the Moro Province, remarks:--"What isneeded to develop this portion of the world is a suitable class ofsettlers, bringing with them knowledge of modern agricultural methods, enterprise and some capital. .. . If he (the Moro) could see the results. .. It is believed that his ambition would be stimulated and that hisdevelopment would be comparatively rapid. In short, a scattering ofgood agriculturists throughout the province would be of inestimablevalue to the people. At the present time such a class of settlersis _not_ coming, and it is not believed they will come until muchmore liberal inducements are offered them, especially in the way ofobtaining land by settlement. Our standing among the people of theseIslands has been much injured by the presence of a large and toughclass of so-called Americans whose energies have been principallyextended in the construction, maintenance and patronage of rum shops, which outnumber other American business establishments. "

The American who would go to Mindanao to settle on 40 acres of landcould not be of the class desired. [266] A maximum of 1, 000 acres toan individual settler and 10, 000 acres to a company of not less thanfive persons, would produce a rapid and beneficial development ofMindanao and push on its civilization by giant strides. There wouldbe little fear of the natives' rights being unduly encroached upon bywhites if, in addition to the Homestead Law conditions, the periodof application for land were limited to two or three years from thepromulgation of the law, with solid guarantees to prevent a flood ofbogus applications from land-grabbers. The Treasurer, in his FirstAnnual Report of the Moro Province, says:--"It is not reasonable toexpect, under present conditions, any systematic effort on their(the Moros') part to cultivate the soil, as they know, as well asthe powers that be, that they have no assurance that the land theywill improve to-day will be theirs to-morrow. They have title to notone foot of land, and no guarantee from the Government that presentimprovements will be theirs when they are finally settled by theformer. A liberal _land law_ will also bring an influx of settlersand capital. .. . It will not only make this province the richest partof the Philippine Islands and the State the beneficiary, but it willremove the necessity for the soldier in the field. No other legislationis going to improve financial conditions here to any extent. There isno doubt the Government land unsettled and untouched in this provinceamounts to 90 per cent. Of all the tillable land, and equals in areaand excels in richness that of all the tillable land of Luzon. "

The District of Davao is far more developed agriculturally than theother four. Planters whom I know personally are opening up land andproducing large quantities of hemp, giving employment to Bagobosand others, but without any certainty about the possession of theland. Inexhaustible forests of fine timber remain undisturbed, and are left to decay in the ordinary course of nature, whilstshiploads of Oregon pine arrive for public works. My attendance atthe public conferences on the timber-felling question, before thePhilippine Commission in Manila, did not help me to appreciate thepolicy underlying the Insular Government's apparent reluctance tostimulate the development of the timber industry; indeed, it is noteasy to follow the working of the "Philippines for the Filipinos"policy in several details. 

In 1904 General Wood recommended to the Philippine Commission theincorporation of the present provinces of Misámis and Surigao inthe Moro Province, seeing that the people of those provinces andthe Moro Province belong to the same races and have identicalinterests. As it is, the hill tribes of Misámis find themselvesbetween two jurisdictions, and have to pass nearly a hundred milesthrough the Moro Province to reach the sea coast--an anomaly whichwill no doubt be rectified by including the whole Island of Mindanaoin the Moro Province. 

The American Government's abstinence from proselytism in dealingwith the Moros is more likely to succeed than Spain's well-meant"policy of attraction" adopted in the last years of her rule, forwhatever progress this system made was counterbalanced by the futileendeavour to induce the Mahometans to change their religion. Underthe wise administration set in progress by General Leonard Wood thereis a hopeful future for Moroland. 

CHAPTER XXX

The Spanish Friars, After 1898

The Aglipayan Schism. Education. Politics. Population. 

With the American dominion came free cult. No public money isdisbursed for the support of any religious creed. No restraint isplaced upon the practice of any religion exercised with due regardto morality. Proselytism in public schools is declared illegal. [267]The prolonged discussion of the friars' position and claims encouragedthem to hope that out of the labyrinthine negotiations might emergetheir restoration to the Philippine parishes. For a while, therefore, hundreds of them remained in Manila, others anxiously watched thecourse of events from their refuges in the neighbouring British andPortuguese colonies, and the unpopular Archbishop Bernardino Nozaledaonly formally resigned the archbishopric of Manila years after hehad left it. Having prudently retired from the Colony during theRebellion, he returned to it on the American occupation, and resumedhis archiepiscopal functions until the end of 1899. Preliminarynegotiations in Church matters were facilitated by the fact of theMilitary Governor of the Islands at the time being a Roman Catholic, an American army chaplain acting as chief intermediary between the layand ecclesiastical authorities. The common people were quite unable, atthe outset, to comprehend that under American law a friar could be intheir midst without a shred of civil power or jurisdiction. There wereFilipinos of all classes, some in sympathy with the American cause, who were as loud in their denunciation of the proposed return of thefriars as the most intransigent insurgents. They thought of them mostin their lay capacity of _de facto_ Government agents all over theIslands. It cannot be said that the parish priests originally soughtto discharge civil functions; they did so, at first, only by orderof their superiors, who were the _de facto_ rulers in the capital, and afterwards by direct initiative of the lay authorities, becausethe Spanish Government was too poor to employ civil officials. Whattheir functions were is explained in Chapter xii. The complaints of thepeople against the friars constituted the leading theme of Dr. Rizal'swritings, notably his "Noli me tángere, " and the expulsion of the fourobnoxious Religious Orders is claimed to have been one of the mostimportant reforms verbally promised in connexion with the allegedTreaty of Biac-na-bató. The allegation of the prelates and othermembers of the regular clergy who gave evidence before the AmericanCivil Commission in 1900, to the effect that the _Katipunan Society_members invaded the parishes only to murder the friars and rob thechurches, should be weighed against the fact that two hundred thousandFilipinos were ready to leave glowing life for grim death to ridthe country of monastic rule. The townspeople, apparently apathetic, were afraid to express their opinion of the friars until they werebacked up by the physical force of the _Katipunan_ legions. It wasthe conflict of material interests and the friars' censorship whichcreated the breach between the vicar and the people. The immoralityof the friars was not general and by no means the chief ground, if any, for hostility against them; the frailties of the few simplyweakened the prestige of all and broke the pedestal of their moralsuperiority. My own investigations convinced me that the friars'incontinence was generally regarded with indifference by the people;concubinage being so common among the Filipinos themselves it didnot shock them in the pastor's case. Moreover, women were proud ofthe paternity of their children begotten in their relationship tothe friars. 

When, on the American occupation, the friar question could be freelydiscussed, hot disputes at once ensued between the friar party andthe Philippine clergy, supported by the people. In the meantime, anApostolic Delegate, Monsignor P.  L. Chapelle, [268] was appointed bythe Pope, in agreement with the American Government, to endeavour toadjust the friar problem. The details to be considered were manifold, but the questions which most interested the public were the returnof the friars to the parishes and the settlement of their propertyclaims. Monsignor Chapelle so vigorously espoused the cause of thefriars that he appeared to be more their advocate than an independentjudge in the controversy. Many friars, anxious to quit the Islands, were dissuaded from doing so by this prelate. [269] He arrived inManila on January 2, 1900, and, without having made any personalinvestigations in the provinces, by the 16th of April he deemedhimself competent to declare that "the accusations adduced againstthem (the Religious Orders) are the merest pretexts of shrewd andanti-American Filipino politicians. " [270] As a matter of fact, nothing anti-American, or American, had any connexion with thesubject. The struggle to expel the friars from these Islands wasinitiated years before the Americans contemplated intervention inPhilippine affairs. Open rebellion was started against the friarstwenty months before the Battle of Cavite. Nozaleda and Chapellewished to appoint friars to the provincial benefices, whilst protestsagainst this proposal were coming from nearly every Christian quarterof the Colony. The Filipinos desired to have the whole administrationof the Church in their own hands and, if possible, to see everyfriar leave the Archipelago. The representative Philippine clergywere Dr. Mariano Sevilla, Father Rojas, Father Changco, and FatherSingson. The great champions of the national cause were the first two, who stoutly opposed Nozaleda's schemes. Fierce discussions arosebetween the parties; Father Sevilla and party defied Nozaleda tomake the appointments he desired, and then sent a cablegram to thePope to the following effect:--"Archbishop and Apostolic Delegatewant to appoint friars to the Philippine benefices. The Philippinepeople strongly oppose. Schism imminent. " Father Sevilla couldnot be wheedled into agreeing to Nozaleda's and Chapelle's plans, so he was sent to prison for two months in the _Calle de Anda_, Manila, and deportation to the Island of Guam was menacingly hintedat. When the reply came from Rome, disapproving of the action of thetwo prelates, Father Sevilla was released from prison. Nevertheless, Nozaleda's wrath was unappeased. He then proposed that the beneficesshould be shared between Filipinos and friars, whilst Father Sevillainsisted on the absolute deposition of the friars. At this time therewere 472 members of the four confraternities in the Islands, mostlyin Manila. [271] At a meeting of the Philippine clergy the expulsionof the friars was proposed and supported by a majority; but FatherSevilla vetoed the resolution, and his ruling was obeyed. Moreover, he agreed that the friars should hold some benefices in and near Manilaand the ecclesiastical-educational employments in the colleges. "We, "said Father Sevilla, "are for the Church; let them continue their workof education; it is not our function. " Nozaleda then made advancestowards Father Sevilla, and endeavoured to cajole him by the offer ofan appointment, which he repeatedly refused. Rome, for the time being, had overruled the question of the benefices contrary to Nozaleda'swish. For the moment there was nothing further for the Philippineclergy to defend, but in their general interests Father Sevilla, their spokesman, elected to remain in an independent position untilafter the retirement of Monsignor Chapelle, when Father Sevilla becameparish priest of Hagonoy (Bulacan). 

The outcome of the controversy respecting the benefices was that thefriars could be sent to those parishes where the people were willing toreceive them, without danger of giving rise to public disorder. Thiswas in accordance with President McKinley's Instructions to the TaftCommission dated April 7, 1900, [272] which says: "No form of religionand no minister of religion shall be forced upon any community orupon any citizen of the Islands. "

Archbishop Nozaleda left for Spain, but did not relinquish hisarchbishopric until June, 1903. [273] In his absence his office wasadministered by Father Martin Garcia Alcocér, the Spanish bishopof Cebú, whilst the bishopric of Cebú was left in charge of apopular Chinese half-caste secular priest, Father Singson, [274] whosubsequently became vicar of Cebú on the appointment of an Americanprelate, Father Hendrichs, to the bishopric. 

In the matter of the _Friars' lands_, it was apparently impossibleto arrive at any settlement with the friars themselves. The purchaseof their estates was recommended by the Insular Government, and theCongress at Washington favourably entertained that proposal. In manyplaces the tenants refused to pay rent to the friars, who then putforward the extraordinary suggestion that the Government should sendan armed force to coerce the tenants. The Government at once refusedto do this, pointing out that the ordinary courts were open to themthe same as to all citizens. Truly the friars found themselves in adilemma. By the rules of their Order they could not sue in a court oflaw; but under the Spanish Government, which was always subservientto their will, they had been able to obtain redress by force. Underthe American Government these immunities and privileges ceased. 

In 1902 the Civil Governor of the Philippines, Mr. W.  H. Taft, visitedthe United States, and on May 9 in that year he was commissionedby his Government to visit Rome on his way back to the Islands inorder to negotiate the question of the friars' lands with the HolySee. The instructions issued to him by the Secretary of War containthe following paragraphs, namely [275]:--

One of the controlling principles of our Government is the completeseparation of Church and State, with the entire freedom of eachfrom any control or interference by the other. This principle isimperative wherever American jurisdiction extends, and no modificationor shading thereof can be a subject of discussion. . . . By reason ofthe separation, the Religious Orders can no longer perform, in behalfof the State, the duties in relation to public instruction and publiccharities formerly resting upon them. . . . They find themselves theobject of such hostility on the part of their tenantry against themas landlords, and on the part of the people of the parishes againstthem as representatives of the former Government, that they are nolonger capable of serving any useful purpose for the Church. No rentscan be collected from the populous communities occupying their lands, unless it be by the intervention of the civil government with armedforce. Speaking generally, for several years past the friars, formerlyinstalled over the parishes, have been unable to remain at their posts, and are collected in Manila with the vain hope of returning. Theywill not be voluntarily accepted again by the people, and cannot berestored to their positions except by forcible intervention on thepart of the civil government, which the principles of our Governmentforbid. .. . It is for the interest of the Church, as well as for theState, that the landed proprietorship of the Religious Orders in thePhilippine Islands should cease, and that if the Church wishes. .. Tocontinue its ministration among the people of the Islands. .. It shouldseek other agents therefor. It is the wish of our Government, incase Congress shall grant authority, that the titles of the ReligiousOrders to the large tracts of agricultural lands which they now holdshall be extinguished, but that full and fair compensation shall bemade therefor. It is not, however, deemed to be for the interestsof the people of the Philippine Islands that. .. A fund should therebybe created to be used for the attempted restoration of the friars tothe parishes from which they are now separated, with the consequentdisturbance of law and order. Your errand will not be, in any senseor degree, diplomatic in its nature; but will be purely a businessmatter of negotiation by you, as Governor of the Philippines, for thepurchase of property from the owners thereof, and the settlement ofland titles. "

Governor Taft arrived in Rome in June, 1902, in the pontificateof His Holiness Leo XIII. , whose Secretary of State was CardinalM. Rampolla. In Governor Taft's address to His Holiness, the followinginteresting passage occurs: "On behalf of the Philippine Government, itis proposed to buy the lands of the Religious Orders with the hope thatthe funds thus furnished may lead to their withdrawal from the Islands, and, if necessary, a substitution therefor, as parish priests, ofother priests whose presence would not be dangerous to public order. "

In the document dated June 22, in reply to Governor Taft's addressto His Holiness, Cardinal Rampolla says: "As to the Spanish religiousin particular belonging to the Orders mentioned in the instructions, not even they should be denied to return to those parishes where thepeople are disposed to receive them without disturbance of publicorder . . . The Holy See will not neglect to promote, at the sametime, the better ecclesiastical education and training of the nativeclergy, in order to put them in the way, according to their fitness, of _taking gradually_ the place of the Religious Orders in thedischarge of the pastoral functions. The Holy See likewise recognizesthat in order to reconcile more fully the feelings of the Filipinosto the religious possessing landed estates, _the sale of the same isconducive thereto_. The Holy See declares it is disposed to furnish thenew Apostolic Delegate, who is to be sent to the Philippine Islands, with necessary and opportune instructions in order to treat amicablythis affair in understanding with the American Government and theparties interested. "

In the same document the Holy See asked for indemnity for "the acts ofvandalism perpetrated by the insurgents in the destruction of churchesand the appropriation of sacred vestments, " and also for the damagecaused by the occupation by the American Government of "episcopalpalaces, seminaries, convents, rectories, and other buildings intendedfor worship. " The Holy See further claimed "the right and the libertyof administering the pious trusts of ecclesiastical origin, or ofCatholic foundation, which do not owe their existence to the civilpower exclusively"; also "suitable provisions for religious teachingin the public schools, especially the primary. "

Governor Taft, in his reply to the Holy See, dated July 3, expressedregret at the suggested appointment of a new Apostolic Delegate, and sought to bring the Holy See to a definite contract. For thesettlement of the friars' land question he proposed "a tribunalof arbitration to be composed of five members--two to be appointedby His Holiness, two to be appointed by the Philippine Government, and one, the fifth, to be selected by an indifferent person, likethe Governor-General of India"; the expenses to be defrayed whollyby the Philippine Government, and the tribunal to meet in the Cityof Manila not later than January 1, 1903. He further proposed thatthe lands should be valued in Mexican dollars, and be paid for inthree cash instalments of three, six, and nine months after thereport of the award and the delivery of the deeds. Furthermore, that"the payments ought to be made to the person designated by the HolySee to receive the same, " on the condition that "no money shall bepaid for the lands to be purchased until proper conveyances for theland shall have been made to the Philippine Government. " Anothercondition was "that all the members of the four Religious Ordersof Dominicans, Agustinians, Recoletos, and Franciscans now in theIslands shall withdraw therefrom after two years from the date ofthe first payment. An exception is made in favour of any member ofthose Orders who has been able to avoid hostility of the people andto carry on his duties as parish priest, in his parish outside Manila, from August, 1898, to date of this agreement, " because "it is certainthat such a priest is popular with the people. " Governor Taft adds:"Nothing will calm the fears of the people. .. . Except the definiteknowledge . .. That the Spanish friars of the four Orders are to leavethe Islands at a definite time, and are not to return to the parishes. "

Cardinal Rampolla replied on July 9 to Governor Taft's communicationof July 3, which covered his proposed contract and enclosed a counterproject of convention, explaining as follows:--"The Holy See cannotaccept the proposition of the Philippine Government to recall from theArchipelago in a fixed time all the religious of Spanish nationality. .. And to prevent their return in the future. In effect, such ameasure . .. Would be contrary to the positive rights guaranteed bythe Treaty of Paris, and would put, consequently, the Holy See inconflict with Spain . .. Such a measure would be, in the eyes of theFilipinos and of the entire Catholic world, the explicit confirmationof all the accusations brought against the said religious by theirenemies, accusations of which . .. The evident exaggeration cannotbe disputed. If the American Government, respecting, as it does, individual rights, does not dare to interdict the Philippine soilto the Spanish religious . .. How could the Pope do it? The Holy See, in accord with the diocesan authorities, will not permit the returnof the Spanish religious . .. In the parishes where their presencewould provoke troubles. "

The Holy See's counter-proposal was cabled to the Secretary of War, who, in his reply dated July 14, which was tantamount to a rejection ofit, remarked: "The lay Catholic population and the parish priests ofnative and non-Spanish blood are practically a unit in desiring bothto expel the friars and to confiscate their lands . .. This proposedconfiscation, without compensation for the Church lands, was one of thefundamental policies of the Insurgent Government under Aguinaldo. " Asan alternative, the Secretary of War accepted the proposal of the HolySee to send a new Apostolic Delegate, with necessary instructions tonegotiate the affair amicably. Therefore, in transmitting this replyto Cardinal Rampolla on July 15, Gov. Taft closed the negotiationsby stating: "I have the honour to request . .. That the negotiationsconcerning the various subjects touched upon in the proposals andcounter-proposals be continued in Manila between the Apostolic Delegateand myself, on the broad lines indicated in this correspondence. .. . Imuch regret that we cannot now reach a more precise agreement. .. . "

The receipt of this last communication was courteously acknowledgedby Cardinal M. Rampolla on July 18, 1902, and Gov. Taft then continuedhis journey to the Philippines. [276]

Monsignor Chapelle's mission had entirely failed to achieve itspurpose, and he retired from the Islands on the appointment of thenew Apostolic Delegate, Monsignor Giovanni Battista Guidi. Boraon April 27, 1852, this prelate was a man of great culture and adistinguished linguist, who had travelled considerably. From Rome heproceeded to Washington, and, with the United States _exequatur_, he entered Manila on November 18, 1902, and died there on June 26, 1904. During his mission the conditions of the friars' land settlementwere embodied in a contract dated December 28, 1903, whereby theUnited States undertook to pay, within six months from date, the sumof $7, 227, 000 gold in exchange for the title-deeds and conveyances ofall the rural lands belonging to the three corporations possessingsuch--namely, the Dominicans, Agustinians, and Recoletos. [277]To cover this purchase, bonds were issued in America for $7, 000, 000bearing 4 per cent, interest per annum; but, as the bonds obtaineda premium on the money market, the total amount realized on theissue was $7, 530, 370. It remained, therefore, with the corporationsthemselves to deliver the title-deeds, but on personal inquiry ofthe Gov. -General in the month of July following I learnt that up tothat date they had only partially fulfilled this condition. This, however, concerns them more than it does the American Government, which is ready to pay for value received. The approximate extent ofthe friars' lands is as follows [278]:--

 Province. Acres. 

 Cavite. 121, 747 Some held for centuries. None less than one generation. La Laguna 62, 172 Rizal 50, 145 Bulacan 39, 441 Rizal (Mórong) 4, 940 Bataán 1, 000 Cebú 16, 413 Cagayán 49, 400 Gov't. Grant to Austin friars, Sept. 25, 1880. Mindoro 58, 455 Gov't. Grant to Recoleto friars in 1894. ------- Total 403, 713

The purchase negotiations became all the more complicated because, from 1893 onwards, the Religious Orders had sold some of their landsto speculators who undertook to form companies to work them; however, the friars were the largest stockholders in these concerns. 

As the lands become State property they will be offered to the tenantsat the time being at cost price, payable in long terms with moderateinterest. The annual compounded sum will be only a trifle more thanthe rent hitherto paid. [279]

As Governor Taft stated before the United States Senate, it would beimpolitic to allow the tenants to possess the lands without payment, because such a plan would be promotive of socialistic ideas. Thefriars' land referred to does not include their urban property in andaround Manila, which, with the buildings thereon, they are allowedto retain for the maintenance of those members of their Orders whostill hope to remain in the Islands. In July, 1904, there were about350 friars in the Islands, including the Recoletos in Cavite and thefew who were amicably received by the people in provincial parishes, exclusively in their sacerdotal capacity. At this period, at least, the Filipinos were not unanimous in rejecting friars as parishpriests. Bishop Hendrichs, of Cebú, told me that he had received adeputation of natives from Bojol Island, begging him to appoint friarsto their parishes. In May, 1903, the _Centro Católico_, a body of layFilipinos, well enough educated to understand the new position of theclergy, addressed a memorial to the Papal delegate, Monsignor Guidi, expressing their earnest desire for the retention of the friars. Inthe localities where their presence is desired their influence overthe people is great. Their return to such parishes is well worthconsidering. Their ability to restrain the natives extravagances issuperior to that of any lay authority, and it is obvious that, underthe new conditions of government, they could never again produce aconflict like that of the past. 

The administrator of the archbishopric of Manila, Father Martin GarciaAlcocér, retired to Spain (October 25, 1903) on the appointment ofthe present American Archbishop, Monsignor Jeremiah J. Harty, whoarrived in the capital in January, 1904. He is a man of pleasingcountenance, commanding presence, and an impressive orator. Since1898 churches and chapels of many denominations and creeds have beenopened in the Islands. Natives join them from various motives, for itwould be venturesome to assert that they are all moved by religiousconviction. In Zamboanga I had the pleasure of meeting an enthusiasticpropagandist, who assured me with pride that he had drawn quite anumber of christian natives from their old belief. His sincerity ofpurpose enlisted my admiration, but his explanation of the advantagesaccruing to his neophytes was too recondite for my understanding. 

The limpid purity of purpose in the lofty ideal of uplifting allhumanity, so characteristic of the Roman Catholic Church in Europe, was unfortunately obscured in the latter days of Spanish dominion inthese Islands by the multifarious devices to convert the Church into amoney-making channel. If the true religious spirit ever pervaded theprovincial Filipino's mind, it was quickly impaired in his struggleto resist the pastor's greed, unless he yielded to it and developedinto a fanatic or a monomaniac. [280]

Astute Filipinos, of quicker discernment than their fellows, did notfail to perceive the material advantages to be reaped from a religioussystem, quite apart from the religion itself, in the power of unionand its pecuniary potentiality. As a result thereof there came intoexistence, at the close of Spanish rule, the _Philippine IndependentChurch_, more popularly known as the _Aglipayan Church_. Some eight ornine years before the Philippine Rebellion a young Filipino went toSpain, where he imbibed the socialistic, almost anarchical, views ofsuch political extremists as Lerroux and Blasco-Ybañez. By nature ofa revolutionary spirit, the doctrines of these politicians fascinatedhim so far as to convert him into an intransigent opponent of Spanishrule in his native country. In 1891 he went to London, where thecircumstance of the visit of the two priests alluded to at p. 383was related to him. He saw in their suggestion a powerful factor forundermining the supremacy of the friars. The young Filipino ponderedseriously over it, and when the events of 1898 created the opportunity, he returned to the Islands impressed with the belief that independencecould only be gained by union, and that a pseudo-religious organizationwas a good medium for that union. 

The antecedents and the subsequent career of the initiator of thePhilippine Independent Church would not lead one to suppose that therewas more religion in him than there was in the scheme itself. Theprinciple involved was purely that of independence; the incidence ofits development being in this case pseudo-religious, with the viewof substituting the Filipino for the alien in his possession of swayover the Filipinos' minds, for a purpose. The initiator of the scheme, not being himself a gownsman, was naturally constrained to delegateits execution to a priest, whilst he organized another union, undera different title, which finally brought incarceration to himselfand disaster to his successor. 

Gregorio Aglípay, the head of the Philippine Independent, or Aglipayan, Church, was born at Bátac, in the province of Ilocos Norte, on May7, 1860, of poor parents, who owned a patch of tobacco land on whichyoung Gregorio worked. Together with his father, he was led to prisonat the age of sixteen for not having planted the obligatory minimumof 4, 000 plants (_vide_ p. 294). On his release he left field-workand went to Manila, where he took his first lessons at the houseof a Philippine lawyer, Julian Cárpio. Two years afterwards, whilstworking in a menial capacity, he attended the school of San Juan deLetran. Through a poor relation he was recommended to the notice ofthe Dominican friars, under whose patronage he entered Saint Thomas'sUniversity, where he graduated in philosophy and arts. Then he returnedto his province, entered the seminary, and became a sub-deacon of thediocese of Nueva Segovia. In 1889 he was ordained a priest in Manila, Canon Sanchez Luna being his sponsor, and he said his first mass in thechurch of Santa Cruz. Although the friars had frequently admonishedhim for his liberal tendencies, he was appointed coadjutor curateof several provincial parishes, and was acting in that capacity atVictoria (Tárlac) when the rebellion of 1896 broke out. About thattime he received a warning from a native priest in another parishthat the Spaniards would certainly arrest him on suspicion of beingin sympathy with the rebels. In fear of his life he escaped to Manila, where he found a staunch friend in Canon Sanchez Luna, who allowed himto stay at his house on the pretext of illness. Canon Luna, who was aSpaniard, obtained from Gov. -General Blanco papers in favour of Aglípayto ensure his safety back to Victoria. Aglípay then left the capital, making use of the safe-conduct pass to go straight to the rebel camp, where, with the title of chaplain to General Tinio's forces, he waspresent at several engagements and enjoyed the friendship of GeneralEmilio Aguinaldo. The Malolos Government appointed him Vicar-General, and after the War of Independence broke out he assumed command ofa large body of insurgents in the mountain region of his nativeprovince. In 1899 he proclaimed himself chief of the PhilippineIndependent Church, whereupon the Archbishop publicly excommunicatedhim. Later on he voluntarily presented himself to the militaryauthorities, and obtained pardon under the amnesty proclamation. 

Dr. Mariano Sevilla and several other most enlightened Philippinepriests were in friendly relation with Aglípay for some time, buteventually various circumstances contributed to alienate them fromhis cause. In his overtures towards those whose co-operation he soughtthere was a notable want of frankness and a disposition to treat themwith that diplomatic reserve compatible only with negotiations betweentwo adverse parties. His association with the lay initiator of thescheme, unrevealed at the outset, incidentally came to their knowledgewith surprise and disapproval. Judging, too, from the well-knowntenets of the initiator's associates, there was a suspicion lest theproposed Philippine Independent Church were really only a detail ina more comprehensive plan involving absolute separation from foreigncontrol in any shape. Again, he hesitated openly to declare his viewswith respect to the relations with Rome. Conscience here seemedto play a lesser part than expediency. The millions in the worldwho conscientiously disclaim the supremacy of the Pope, at leastopenly avow it. In the present case the question of submission to, or rebellion against, the Apostolic successor was quite subordinateto the material success of the plans for independence. It is difficultto see in all this the evidence of religious conviction. 

Dr. Sevilla had been requested to proceed to Rome to submit to theHoly Father the aspirations of the Philippine people with respect toChurch matters, and he consented to do so, provided the movement didnot in any way affect their absolute submission to the Holy See, andthat the Philippine Church should remain a Catholic Apostolic Church, with the sole difference that its administration should be confidedto the Filipinos instead of to foreigners, if that reform met withthe approval of his Holiness. [281]

Only at this stage did Aglípay admit that he sought independenceof Rome; thereupon the Philippine clergy of distinction abandonedall thought of participation in the new movement, or of any actionwhich implied dictation to the Holy See. Nevertheless, two nativepriests were commissioned to go to Rome to seek the Pope's sanctionfor the establishment of an exclusively Philippine hierarchy underthe supreme authority of the Pope. But His Holiness immediatelydismissed the delegates with a _non possumus_. The petition to HisHoliness was apparently only the prelude to the ultimate design torepudiate the white man's control in matters ecclesiastical, andpossibly more beyond. 

Gregorio Aglípay then openly threw off allegiance to the Pope, went toManila, and in the suburb of Tondo proclaimed himself _Obispo Máximo_(_Pontifex Maximus_) of his new Church. 

His sect at once found many followers in the provinces of Rizal, Bulacan and Ilocos, and eventually spread more or less over the otherchristian provinces. The movement is strongest in Ilocos, where severalparishes, indeed, have no other priest than an Aglipayan. This districtis part of the bishopric of Nueva Segovia, now administered by theAmerican Bishop Dougherty. As to the number of Aglipayan adherents, noreliable figures are procurable from any source, but it is certain theyamount to thousands. I found Aglipayans as far south as Zamboanga. Justa few priests ordained in the Roman Catholic Church have joined theschismatic cause. One of these repented and offered his submissionto the administrator of the archbishopric (Father Martin Alcocér), who pardoned his frailty and received him again into the Church. Noperiod of preparation was necessary, at least in the beginning, forthe ordination of an Aglipayan priest. He might have been a domesticservant, an artisan, or a loafer shortly before; hence many would-beconverts refused to join when they saw their own or their friends'retainers suddenly elevated to the priesthood. At Ylígan (MindanaoIs. ) an American official arrested a man, tonsured and robed asa priest in an Aglipayan procession, on a charge of homicide. In1904 they had not half a dozen well-built churches of their own, butmat-sheds for their meetings were to be seen in many towns. In the year1903 these sectarians made repeated raids on Roman Catholic property, and attempted to gain possession of the churches by force. Riotsensued, religion seemed to be forgotten by both parties in the _mélée_, and several were given time for reflection in prison. In April, 1904, at Talisay and Minglanilla (Cebú Is. ), they succeeded in occupyingthe churches and property claimed by the friars, and refused to vacatethem. In the following month an Aglipayan priest, Bonifacio Purganan, was fined $25 for having taken forcible possession of the Chapel ofPeñafrancia (Paco suburb of Manila). In the province of Yloilo theAglipayans were forcibly ejected from the church of La Paz. In 1904they entered a claim on the novel plea that, as many churches hadbeen subscribed to or partially erected at their expense before theyseceded from the Catholic Church, they were entitled to a restitutionof their donations. The Catholics were anxious to have the contentiondecided in a formal and definite manner, and the case was heard at theCourt of Guagua (Pampanga). The decision was against the sectarians, on the ground that what had been once given for a specific purposecould not be restored to the donor, or its application diverted fromthe original channel, notwithstanding any subsequent change in theviews of the donor. It was probably in consequence of these disputesthat in January, 1905, the Secretary of War approved of a proposedAct of the Insular Government conferring authority upon the SupremeCourt of these Islands to hear cases relating to Church propertyclaims and pronounce a final decision thereon. 

Up to the middle of 1904 the particular doctrines of the PhilippineIndependent Church were not yet defined, and the Aglipayans professedto follow the Roman ritual. It was intended, however, to introducereforms of fundamental importance. For two days and a half Itravelled in company with the titular Aglipayan ecclesiasticalgovernor of the Visayas, from whom I learnt much concerning theopinions of his sect. It appears that many are opposed to celibacy ofthe clergy and auricular confession. My companion himself rejectedthe biblical account of the Creation, the doctrine of original sin, hereditary responsibility, the deity of Christ, and the need for theAtonement. His conception of the relations between God and mankindwas a curious admixture of Darwinism and Rationalism; everythingbeyond the scope of human reasoning had but a slender hold on his mind. 

It is most probable that the majority of Aglipayans have given nothought as to the possible application of the power of union in thisparticular form, and that their adhesion to the movement is merely anatural reaction following the suppression of sacerdotal tyranny--anextravagant sense of untrammelled thought which time may modify bysober reflection when it is generally seen that the clergy of theRoman Catholic Church henceforth strictly limit themselves to theexercise of their proper functions. With the hope of re-establishingpeace and conformity in the Church, His Holiness Pope Pius X. Sentto the Islands his new Apostolic Delegate, Monsignor Ambrose Agius, who reached Manila on February 6, 1905. [282]

It is doubtful whether the native parish priest, bereft of thewhite man's control, would have sufficient firmness of character toovercome his own frailties and lead his flock in the true path. Under aPhilippine hierarchy there would be a danger of the natives revertingto paganism and fetichism. There have been many indications of thattendency from years back up to the present. Only a minority of nativeChristians seem to have grasped the true spirit of Christianity. Allthat appeals to the eye in the rites and ceremonies impressesthem--the glamour and pomp of the procession attract them; they arevery fervent in outward observances, but ever prone to stray towardsthe idolatrous. A pretended apparition of the Blessed Virgin is an oldprofitable trick of the natives, practised as recently as December, 1904, in the village of Namacpacan (Ilocos), where a woman, whodeclared the Virgin had appeared to her in the _form_ of the ImmaculateConception and cured her bad leg, made a small fortune in conjunctionwith a native priest. In May, 1904, a small party of fanatics was seenon the Manila seashore going through some pseudo-religious antics, the chief feature of which was a sea-bath. Profiting by the libertyof cult now existing, it is alleged that the spirits of the departedhave made known their presence to certain Filipinos. A native mediumhas been found, and the pranks which the spirits are said to playon those who believe in them have been practised, with all theirorthodox frolic, on certain converts to the system. Tables dancejigs, mysterious messages are received, and the conjuring celestialsmanifest their power by displacing household articles. The _Coloram_sect of the southern Luzon provinces has, it is estimated, over50, 000 adherents whose worship is a jumble of perverted Christianmysticism and idolatry. The _Baibailanes_ of Negros are not entirelypagans; there is just a glimmer of Christian precept mingled in theirbelief, whilst the scores of religious monomaniacs and saint-hawkerswho appear from time to time present only a burlesque imitation ofchristian doctrine. 

Great progress has been made in the direction of _Education_. [283]Schools of different grades have been established throughout theArchipelago, and the well-intentioned efforts of the Government havebeen responded to by the natives with an astonishing alacrity. SinceSeptember 3, 1900, night-schools have also been opened for studentsto attend after their day's work. The natives exhibit great readinessto learn, many of them having already attained a very high standard--afact which I had the opportunity of verifying through the courtesy ofDr. David P. Barrows, the able General Superintendent of Education, andhis efficient staff. Both the higher schools and the night-schools arewell attended. A special eagerness to learn English is very apparent, and they acquire the language quickly up to a certain point. InSeptember, 1903, [284] out of the 934 towns in the Islands, 338 weresupplied with American teachers, the total number of teachers in theArchipelago being 691 Americans and 2, 496 Filipinos. The night-schoolswere attended by 8, 595 scholars. The percentage of school-children whofrequented the day-schools was as follows: In Manila, 10 per cent. ;in Nueva Vizcaya Province, 77 per cent. (the highest); and in ParáguaIsland, 5 per cent. (the lowest). The average attendance throughout theprovinces was 13 per cent. Of the total population of school-children. 

Education has received the greatest solicitude of the InsularGovernment; and Dr. Barrows informed me that at the end of June, 1904, there were 865 American teachers in the Islands (including about200 female teachers), 4, 000 Philippine teachers of both sexes, and aschool attendance throughout the Colony of 227, 600 children. For theyoungest children there are now seven kindergarten schools in Manila, and more applications for admission than can be satisfied. 

The _Normal School_, situated in the Manila suburb of Ermita, is asplendidly-equipped establishment, organized in the year 1901 witha branch for training Filipinos to become teachers in the publicschools. The buildings are four of those (including the main structure)which served for the Philippine Exhibition some years ago. Theycontain an assembly hall, fourteen class-rooms, two laboratories, store-rooms, and the principal's office. In the same suburb, closeto the school, there is a dormitory for the accommodation of fortygirl boarders coming from the provinces. The school is open to bothsexes on equal terms, subject to the presentation of a certificateof character and a preliminary examination to ascertain if they canunderstand written and spoken English and intelligibly express theirthoughts in that language. The training covers four years, with thefollowing syllabus, viz. :--

 Algebra. Arithmetic. Botany. Drawing. English. General History. Geography. Music. Nature-study. Philippine History. Physics. Physiology and Hygiene. Professional Training. United States History. Zoology. 

The training-class for children ranging from five to eleven yearsserves a double purpose by enabling student-teachers to put intopractice the theory of professional training under supervision. Forthe training of youths who intend to follow a trade, there is a branch_School of Arts and Trades_ equipped with class-rooms, workshops, mechanical and architectural drawing-rooms, and the allied branchesof industry. The subjects taught are:--

 Architectural Drawing. Blacksmithing. Cabinet-making. Carpentry. Cooking. Machine-shop Practice. Mathematics. Mechanical Drawing. Plumbing. Steam Engineering. Stenography. Telegraphy. Tinsmithing. Typewriting. Wood-carving. 

There is also a night-class for those working in the daytime whodesire to extend their theoretical knowledge. 

The _Nautical School_ (_vide_ p. 195), established in Spanish times, is continued with certain reforms, additions having been made to theequipment. American naval officers have undertaken its superintendencefrom time to time, and it is now under the direction of a civiliangraduate of the United States Naval Academy. The instruction rangesfrom history and geography to practical seamanship, with all theintermediate scientific subjects. Graduates of this school obtainthird-mate's certificates, and many of them are actually navigatingin the waters of the Archipelago. 

A course of study in _Vocal Music_ is also offered to Normal Schoolstudents, and this may possibly lead to the first discovery of a finePhilippine musical voice. 

There is also a _Public School for Chinese_ situated in the _Callede la Asuncion_, in the business quarter of Binondo (Manila). 

In the _Saint Thomas's University_ (_vide_ p. 194) there are fewchanges. The diplomas now issued to students in Law and Medicineare only honorific. With or without this diploma a student must passan examination at the centres established by the Americans for thefaculties of Law and Medicine before he can practise, and the sameobligation applies to Americans who may arrive, otherwise qualified, in the Islands. Practical instruction in the healing art, or "walkingthe hospitals, " as it is called in England, is given at the _SanJuan de Dios Hospital_ as heretofore. The theoretical tuition inthese faculties is furnished at the _College of San José_. Besidesthe Government schools, there are many others continuing the Spanishsystem, such as the _Colegio de San Juan de Dios_, where, besidesthe usual subjects taught, the syllabus is as follows:--

 Commerce. Drawing. Japanese Language. Modelling in Plaster. Piano, Violin. Sketching from Nature. Stenography. Typewriting. Watercolouring. And preparation for the B. A. Examination. 

The _Seminario Central de San Javier_, under Jesuit superintendence, is really intended for students proposing to enter the Church. Many, however, follow the course of study and enter civil life. In thelarge provincial towns there are Spanish schools, and at Dagúpan the_Colegio Instituto_ follows the same curriculum as that establishedin the Manila _College of San Juan de Letran_. In Spanish times Jarowas the educational centre of the Visayas Islands. Since the Americanadvent Yloilo has superseded Jaro in that respect, and a large schoolis about to be erected on 75 acres of land given by several generousdonors for the purpose. The system of education is uniform throughoutthe Islands, where schools of all grades are established, and othersare in course of foundation in every municipality. Including aboutP1, 000, 000 disbursed annually for the schools by the municipalities, the cost of Education is about 20 per cent, of the total revenue--asum out of all proportion to the taxpayers' ability to contribute. 

According to the Philippine Commission Act No. 1123, of April, 1904, the official language will be English from January 1, 1906. It willbe used in court proceedings, and no person will be eligible forGovernment service who does not know that language. 

In general the popular desire for education is verypronounced. American opinion as to the capability of the Filipinosto attain a high degree of learning and _maintain_ it seems muchdivided, for many return to America and publicly express pessimisticviews on this point. In daily conversation with young middle-classFilipinos one can readily see that the ambition of the majority islimited to the acquisition of sufficient English to qualify them forGovernment employment or commercial occupations. The industries ofthe Islands are relatively insignificant. The true source of theirwealth is agriculture. In most, not to say all, tropical countries, the educated native shuns manual labour, and with this tendencydominant in the Filipino, it is difficult to foresee what may happenas education advances. The history of the world shows that nationalprosperity has first come from industrial development, with thedesire and the need for education following as a natural sequence. Tohave free intercourse with the outside world it is necessary toknow a European language. This is recognized even in Japan, where, notwithstanding its independent nationality, half the best-educatedclasses speak some European tongue. If the majority of the Filipinoshad understood Spanish at the period of the American advent, it mightbe a matter of regret that this language was not officially preservedon account of the superior beauty of all Latin languages; but suchwas not the case. Millions still only speak the many dialects; andto carry out the present system of education a common speech-mediumbecomes a necessity. However, generations will pass away before nativeidiom will cease to be the vulgar tongue, and the engrafted speechanything more than the official and polite language of the betterclasses. The old belief of colonizing nations that European languageand European dress alone impart civilization to the Oriental is anexploded theory. The Asiatic can be more easily moulded and subjectedto the ways and the will of the white man by treating with him in hisnative language. It is difficult to gain his entire confidence throughthe medium of a foreign tongue. The Spanish friars understood thisthoroughly. It is a deplorable fact that the common people of Asiagenerally acquire only the bad qualities of the European concurrentlywith his language, lose many of their own natural characteristics, which are often charmingly simple, and become morally perverted. 

The best native servants are those who can only speak theirmother-tongue. In times past the rustic who came to speak Spanishwas loth to follow the plough. If an English farm labourer shouldlearn Spanish, perhaps he would be equally loth. One may thereforeassume that if the common people should come to acquire the Englishlanguage, agricultural coolie labour would become a necessity. In1903 one hundred Philippine youths were sent, at Government expense, to various schools in America for a four-years' course of tuition. Itis to be hoped that they will return to their homes impressed withthe dignity of labour and be more anxious to develop the naturalresources of the country than to live at the expense of the taxpayers. 

Since the Rebellion, and especially since the American advent, a great number of Filipinos have migrated to the adjacent Britishcolonies, China, Japan, America, and Europe. There is a small colonyof rich Filipinos in Paris, and about 50 or 60 (principally students)in England. They have no nationality, and are officially described as"Filipinos under the protection of the United States. " When the Treatyof Paris was being negotiated, the Spanish Commissioners wished to havethe option of nationality conceded to all persons hitherto under thedominion of Spain in the ceded colonies; but the American Commissionersrejected the proposal, which might have placed their country in thepeculiar position of administering a colony of foreigners. 

In 1904 the Government sent selected groups of the different Philippinewild and semi-civilized races to the St. Louis Exhibition, wherethey were on view for several months; also a Philippine Commission, composed of educated Filipinos, was sent, at public expense, toSt. Louis and several cities in America, including Washington, where the President received and entertained its members. Many ofthe members of this Commission were chosen from what is calledthe _Federal Party_. In the old days politics played no part inPhilippine life. The people were either anti-friar or conformists tothe _status quo_. The Revolution, however, brought into existenceseveral distinct parties, and developed the natural disintegratingtendency of the Filipinos to split up into factions on any matter ofcommon concern. The Spanish reform party, led by Pedro A. Paterno, collapsed when all hope was irretrievably lost, and its leader passedover to Aguinaldo's party of sovereign independence. To-day thereis practically only one organized party--the Federal--because thereis no legislative assembly or authorized channel for the legitimateexpression of opposite views. The Federal Party, which is almostentirely anti-clerical, comprises all those who unreservedly endorseand accept American dominion and legislation. They are colloquiallyalluded to as "Americanistas. " Through the tempting offers of civilservice positions with emoluments large as compared with timesgone by, many leading men have been attracted to this party, thesmarter half-caste predominating over the pure Oriental in the higheremployments. There are other groups, however, which may be calledparties in embryo, awaiting the opportunity for free discussion inthe coining _Philippine Assembly_. [285] Present indications point tothe _Nationalists_ as the largest of these coming opposition parties, its present programme being autonomy under American protection. Themajority of those who clamour for "independence" [I am not referringto the masses, but to those who have thought the matter out in theirown fashion] do not really understand what they are asking for, forit generally results from a close discussion of the subject that theyare, in fact, seeking autonomy _dependent_ on American protection, with little idea of what the Powers understand by Protection. Ina conversation which I had with the leader of the Nationalists, Iinquired, "What do you understand by independence?" His reply was, "Just a thread of connexion with the United States to keep us frombeing the prey of other nations!" Other parties will, no doubt, beformed; and there will probably be, for some time yet, a small groupof _Irreconcilables_ affiliated with those abroad who cannot returnhome whilst they refuse to take the oath of allegiance prescribed inthe United States President's peace and amnesty proclamation, datedJuly 4, 1902. The Irreconcilables claim real sovereign independence forthe Filipinos; they would wish the Americans to abandon the Islands ascompletely as if they had never occupied them at all. It is doubtfulwhether entire severance from American or European control would lasta year, because some other Power, Asiatic or European, would seizethe Colony. Sovereign independence would be but a fleeting visionwithout a navy superior in all respects to that of any second-ratenaval Power, for if all the fighting-men of the Islands were armed tothe teeth they could not effectively resist a simultaneous bombardmentof their ports; nor could they, as inhabitants of an archipelago, become united in action or opinion, because their inter-communicationwould be cut off. When this is explained to them, there are those whoadmit the insuperable difficulty, and suggest, as a compromise, thatAmerica's position towards them should be merely that of the policeman, standing by ready to interfere if danger threatens them! This is thenaïve definition of the relation which they (the Irreconcilables)term "Protection. "

However, the cry for "independence" has considerably abated since theSecretary of War, Mr. W.  H. Taft, visited Manila in August, 1905, and publicly announced that America intended to retain the Islandsfor an indefinitely long period. Before America relinquishes her holdon the Colony (if ever) generations may pass away, and naturally theIrreconcilable, will disappear with the present one. 

That the Filipinos would, if ever they obtain their independence, eventhough it were a century hence, manage their country on the patternset them by their tutors of to-day, is beyond all imagination. "We wantthem to learn to think as we do, " an American minister is reported tohave said at a public meeting held in Washington in May, 1905. Thelaudable aim of America to convert the Filipino into an American inaction and sentiment will probably never be realized. 

Why the Philippines should continue to be governed by a Commissionis not clear to the foreign investigator. Collective governmentis inconsonant with the traditions and instincts of these Asiaticpeople, who would intuitively fear and obey the arbitrary mandate of aparamount chief, whether he be called Nawab, Sultan, or Governor. Evenas it is, the people have, in fact, looked more to the one man, the Mr. Taft or the Mr. Wright as the case may be, than they have tothe Commission for the attainment of their hopes, and were there anuncontrolled native government, it would undoubtedly end in becominga one-man rule, whatever its title might be. The difficulty in makingthe change does not lie in the choice of the man, because one mosteminently fitted for personal rule in the name of the United Statesof America (assisted by a Council) is in the Islands just now. 

The Philippine Assembly, which is, conditionally, to be concededto the Islanders in 1907, will be a Congress of deputies elected bypopular vote; the Philippine Commission, more or less as at presentconstituted, will be practically the Senate or controlling UpperHouse. The Filipinos will have no power to make laws, but simply topropose them, because any bill emanating from the popular assemblycan be rejected by the Upper House with an American majority. ThePhilippine Assembly will be, in reality, a School of Legislature totrain politicians for the possible future concession of completeself-government. In connexion with the public schools a course ofinstruction in political economy prepares youths for the properexercise of the right of suffrage on their attaining twenty-threeyears of age. The studies include the Congress Law of July 1, 1902;President McKinley's Instruction to the Civil Commission of April 7, 1900; Government of the United States, Colonial Government in EuropeanStates, and Parliamentary Law. 

The question of the Filipinos' capacity for _self-government_ has beenfrequently debated since the Rebellion of 1896. A quarter of a centuryago the necessary 500 or 600 Filipinos, half-caste in the majority, could have been found with all the requisite qualifications for theformation of an intelligent oligarchy. The Constitution drawn up byApolinario Mabini, and proclaimed by the Malolos Insurgent Government(January 22, 1899), was a fair proof of intellectual achievement. Butthat is not sufficient; the working of it would probably have been assuccessful as the Government of Hayti, because the Philippine characteris deficient in disinterested thought for the common good. There isno lack of able Filipinos quite competent to enact laws and dictateto the people what they are to do; but if things are to be reversedand the elected assembly is to be composed of deputies holding the_people's_ mandates, there will be plenty to do between now and March, 1907, in educating the electors to the point of intelligently using thefranchise, uninfluenced by the _caciques_, who have hitherto dominatedall public acts. According to the census of 1903, there were 1, 137, 776illiterate males of the voting age. In any case, independently ofits legislative function, the Philippine Assembly will be a usefulchannel for free speech. It will lead to the open discussion of thegeneral policy, the rural police, the trade regulations, the taxes, the desirability of maintaining superfluous expensive bureaux, thelavish (Manila) municipal non-productive outlay, and ruinous projectsof no public utility, such as the construction of the Benguet road, [286] etc. 

The Act providing for a Philippine Assembly stipulates that theelected deputies shall not be less than 50 and not more than 100to represent the civilized portion of the following population, viz. [287]:--Civilized, 6, 987, 686; wild, 647, 740; total, 7, 635, 426. Themost numerous civilized races are the Visayos (about 2, 602, 000)and the Tagálogs (about 1, 664, 000). 

_Population of Manila_ (_Approximate Sub-divisions_) [288]

Race. Pop. Race. Pop. Race. Pop. 

Filipinos 189, 915 Americans 3, 700 Other Europeans 1, 000Chinese 21, 500 Spaniards 2, 500 Other Nationalities 1, 313

Total in the Census of 1903 . .. 219, 928

(Exclusive of the Army and Navy. )

The divisions of the Municipality of Manila stand in the followingorder of proportion of population, viz. :--

 1. Tondo (most). 2. Santa Cruz. 3. San Nicolás. 4. Sampaloc. 5. Binondo. 6. Ermita. 7. Intramuros (i. E. , Walled City). 8. Quiapo. 9. Malate. 10. San Miguel. 11. Paco. 12. Santa Ana. 13. Pandácan (least). 

The total number of towns in the Archipelago is 934. 

_Populations of 40 Provincial Towns of the 934 Existing in the Islands_

(_Exclusive of Their Dependent Suburbs, Districts, and Wards_) [289]

 Town. Civilized Pop. 

 Bacólod 5, 678 Dagupan 3, 327 San José de Buenavista 3, 636 Batangas 1, 610 Ilagán 1, 904 Balanga 4, 403 Ilígan (or Ylígan) 2, 872 San Fernando (La Union) 1, 142 Balinag 1, 278 Imus 1, 930 Báguio 270 Jaro 7, 169 San Fernando (Pampanga) 1, 950 Biñan (or Viñan) 1, 173 Joló (Walled City) 541 Cabanatúan 1, 894 S. Isidro 3, 814 Cápiz 7, 186 Lipa 4, 078 Tabaco 4, 456 Calamba 2, 597 Lingayen 2, 838 Taal 2, 658 Calbayoc 4, 430 Olongapó 1, 121 Taclóban 4, 899 Cebú 18, 330 Majayjay 1, 680 Tárlac 3, 491 Cottabato 931 Molo 8, 551 Tuguegarao 3, 421 Daet 2, 569 Puerta Princesa 382 Vigan 5, 749 Davao 1, 010 Santa Cruz (Laguna) 4, 009 Yloilo 19, 054 Dapítan 1, 768 Zamboanga 3, 281

_Civilized Population, Classified by Birth_

_According to the Census of 1903_

 Born in the Philippine Islands 6, 931, 548 Born in China 41, 035 Born in United States 8, 135 Born in Spain 3, 888 Born in Japan 921 Born in Great Britain 667 Born in Germany 368 Born in East Indies 241 Born in France 121 Born in Other countries of Europe 487 Born in All other countries 275

 6, 987, 686

The regulations affecting Chinese immigration are explained atp. 633. Other foreigners are permitted to enter the Philippines(conditionally), but all are required to pay an entrance fee (I hadto pay $5. 30 Mex. ) before embarking (abroad) for a Philippine port, and make a declaration of 19 items, [290] of which the followingare the most interesting to the traveller:--(1) Sex; (2) whethermarried or single; (3) who paid the passage-money; (4) whetherin possession of $30 upward or less; (5) whether ever in prison;(6) whether a polygamist. The master or an officer of the vesselcarrying the passenger is required to make oath before the UnitedStates Consul at the port of embarkation that he has made a "personalexamination" of his passenger, and does not believe him (or her) tobe either an idiot, or insane person, or a pauper, or suffering froma loathsome disease, or an ex-convict, or guilty of infamous crimeinvolving moral turpitude, or a polygamist, etc. The ship's doctorhas to state on oath that he has also made a "personal examination"of the passenger. If the vessel safely arrives in port, say Manila, she will be boarded by a numerous staff of Customs' officials. In themeantime the passenger will have been supplied with declaration-formsand a printed notice, stating that an "Act provides a fine of notexceeding $2, 000 or imprisonment at hard labour, for not more thanfive years, or both, for offering a gratuity to an officer of theCustoms in consideration of any illegal act in connexion with theexamination of baggage. " The baggage-declaration must be ready for theofficers, and, at intervals during an hour and a half, he (or she)has to sign six different declarations as to whether he (or she)brings fire-arms. The baggage is then taken to the Custom-house ina steam-launch for examination, which is not unduly rigid. Under aPhilippine Commission Act, dated October 15, 1901, the Collector ofCustoms, or his deputy, may, at his will, also require the passengerto take an oath of allegiance in such terms that, in the event ofwar between the passenger's country and America, he who takes theoath would necessarily have to forfeit his claim for protectionfrom his own country, unless he violated that oath. No foreigneris permitted to land if he comes "under a contract expressed, orimplied, to perform labour in the Philippine Islands. " In 1903 thisprohibition to foreigners was disputed by a British bank-clerk whoarrived in Manila for a foreign bank. The case was carried to court, with the result that the prohibition was maintained in principle, although the foreigner in question was permitted to remain in theIslands as an act of grace. But in February, 1905, a singular caseoccurred, exactly the reverse of the one just mentioned. A youngEnglishman who had been brought out to Manila on a four years'agreement, after four or five months of irregular conduct towards thefirm employing him, presented himself to the Collector of Customs(as Immigration Agent), informed against himself, and begged to bedeported from the Colony. The incentive for this strange proceedingwas to secure the informer's reward of $1, 000. It was probably thefirst case in Philippine history of a person voluntarily seekingcompulsory expulsion from the Islands. The Government, acting on theinformation, shipped him off to Hong-Kong, the nearest British port, in the following month, with a through passage to Europe. 

Since the American advent the _Administration of Justice_ has beengreatly accelerated, and Municipal Court cases, which in Spanish timeswould have caused more worry to the parties than they were worth, or, for the same reason, would have been settled out of court violently, are now despatched at the same speed as in the London Police Courts. Onthe other hand, quick despatch rather feeds the native's innate lovefor litigation, so that an agglomeration of lawsuits is still oneof the Government's undesirable but inevitable burdens. There is acomplaint that the fines imposed in petty cases are excessive, andattention was drawn to this by the Municipality of Manila. [291] Afterstating that the fines imposed on 2, 185 persons averaged $5 per capita, and that they had to go to prison for non-payment, the Municipalityadds: "It shows an excessive rigour on the part of the judges in theimposition of fines, a rigour which ought to be modified, inasmuchas the majority of the persons accused before the Court are extremelypoor and ignorant of the ordinances and the laws for the violation ofwhich they are so severely punished. " Sentences of imprisonment andfines for high crimes are justly severe. During the governorship ofMr. W.  H. Taft, 17 American provincial treasurers were each condemnedto 25 years' imprisonment for embezzlement of public funds. InFebruary, 1905, an army major, found guilty of misappropriation ofpublic moneys, had his sentence computed at 60 years, which termthe court reduced to 40 years' hard labour. The penalties imposed onsome rioters at Vigan in April, 1904, were death for two, 40 years'imprisonment and $10, 000 fine each for twelve, 30 years' imprisonmentfor thirty-one, and 10 years' imprisonment for twenty-five. 

The American law commonly spoken of in the Philippines as the"Law of Divorce" is nothing more than judicial separation in itslocal application, as it does not annul the marriage and the partiescannot marry again as a consequence of the action. The same could beobtained under the Spanish law called the _Siete Partídas_, with theonly difference that before the _decree nisi_ was made absolute theparties might have had to wait for years, and even appeal to Home. 

On May 26, 1900, the Military Governor authorized the solemnizationof marriages by any judge of a court inferior to the Supreme Court, a justice of the peace, or a minister of any denomination. For thefirst time in the history of the Islands, _habeas corpus_ proceedingswere heard before the Supreme Court on May 19, 1900. Besides thelower courts established in many provincial centres, sessions areheld in circuit, each usually comprising two or three provinces. Theprovinces are grouped into 16 judicial districts, in each of whichthere is a Court of First Instance; and there is, moreover, oneadditional "Court of First Instance at large. " The Chief Justice ofthe Supreme Court, some of his assistant judges, several provincialjudges, the Attorney-General, and many other high legal functionaries, are Filipinos. The provincial justices of the peace are also natives, and necessarily so because their office requires an intimate knowledgeof native character and dialect. Their reward is the local prestigewhich they enjoy and the litigants' fees, and happily their servicesare not in daily request. At times the findings of these localluminaries are somewhat quaint, and have to be overruled by the moreenlightened judicial authorities in the superior courts. Manila andall the judicial centres are amply supplied with American lawyers whohave come to establish themselves in the Islands, where the customobtains for professional men to advertise in the daily newspapers. Sofar there has been only one American lady lawyer, who, in 1904, heldthe position of Assistant-Attorney in the Attorney-General's office. 

CHAPTER XXXI

Trade and Agriculture Since the American Advent

During the year 1898 there were those who enriched themselvesenormously as a consequence of the American advent, but thestaple trade of the Colony was generally disrupted by the abnormalcircumstances of the period; therefore it would serve no practicalpurpose to present the figures for that year for comparison with theresults obtained in the years following that of the Treaty of Paris. 

The tables at the end of this chapter show the increase or decrease inthe various branches of export and import trade. Regarded as a whole, the volume of business has increased since the American occupation--towhat extent will be apparent on reference to the table of "Total Importand Export Values" at p. 639. When the American army of occupationentered the Islands, and was subsequently increased to about 70, 000troops, occupying some 600 posts about the Archipelago, there camein their wake a number of enterprising business men, who establishedwhat were termed trading companies. Their transactions hardly affectedthe prosperity of the Colony one way or the other. For this class oftrader times were brisk; their dealings almost exclusively relatedto the supply of commodities to the temporary floating populationof Americans, with such profitable results that, although many ofthem withdrew little by little when, at the close of the War ofIndependence, the troops were gradually reduced to some 16, 000 men, occupying about 100 posts, others had accumulated sufficient capitalto continue business in the more normal time which followed. Thosewere halcyon days for the old-established retailers as well as thenew-comers; but, as Governor W.  H. Taft pointed out in his reportto the Civil Commission dated December 23, 1903, [292] "The naturalhostility of the American business men, growing out of the war, wasnot neutralized by a desire and an effort to win the patronage andgoodwill of the Filipinos. The American business men controlled much ofthe advertising in the American papers, and the newspapers naturallyreflected the opinion of their advertisers and subscribers in theadvocacy of most unconciliatory measures for the native Filipino, and in decrying all efforts of the Government to teach Filipinoshow to govern by associating the more intelligent of them in theGovernment. .. . The American business man in the Islands has really, up to this time, done very little to make or influence trade. Hehas kept close to the American patronage, and has not extended hisefforts to an expansion of trade among the Filipinos. .. . There area few Americans who have pursued a different policy with respect tothe Filipinos to their profit. "

Governor Taft's comments were only intended to impress upon thepermanent American traders, for their own good, the necessityof creating a new _clientèle_ which they had neglected. The warfinished, the wave of temporarily abnormal prosperity graduallyreceded with the withdrawal of the troops in excess of requirements;the palmy days of the retailer had vanished, and all Manila began tocomplain of "depression" in trade. The true condition of the Colonybecame more apparent to them in their own slack time, and for want ofreflection some began to attribute it to a want of foresight in theInsular Government. Industry is in its infancy in the Philippines, which is essentially an agricultural colony. The product of the soilis the backbone of its wealth. The true causes of the depressionwere not within the control of the Insular Government or of anyruling factor. Five years of warfare and its sequence--the banditcommunity--had devastated the provinces. The peaceful pursuits of thehusbandman had been nearly everywhere interrupted thereby; his herdsof buffaloes had been decimated in some places, in others annihilated;his apparatus or machinery and farm buildings were destroyed, nowby the common exigencies of war, now by the wantonness of the armedfactions. The remnant of the buffaloes was attacked by rinderpest, or _epizootia_, as the Filipino calls this disease, and in someprovinces up to 90 per cent. Were lost. Some of my old friendsassured me that, due to these two causes, they had lost every headof cattle they once possessed. Laudable effort was immediately madeby the Insular Government to remedy the evil, for so great was themortality that many agricultural districts were poverty-stricken, thousands of acres lying fallow for want of beasts for tillage andtransport. Washington responded to the appeal for help, and a measurewas passed establishing the Congressional Relief Fund, under whichthe sum of $3, 000, 000 was authorized to be expended to ameliorate thesituation. By Philippine Commission Act No. 738, $100, 000 of thisfund were appropriated for preliminary expenses in the purchase ofbuffaloes. Under the supervision of the Insular Purchasing-Agent acontract was entered into with a Shanghai firm for the supply of 10, 000head of inoculated buffaloes to be delivered in Manila, at the rateof 500 per month, at the price of P85 per head. An agent was sent toShanghai with powers to reject unsuitable beasts before inoculation, and the Government undertook to remunerate the contractors at the rateof P40 for every animal which succumbed to the operation. The loss onthis process was so great that a new contract was entered into with thesame firm to deliver in Manila temporarily immunized buffaloes at therate of P79 per head. On their arrival the animals were inspected, andthose apparently fit were herded on the Island of Masbate for furtherobservation before disposing of them to the planters. The attemptwas a failure. Rinderpest, or some other incomprehensible disease, affected and decimated the imported herds. From beginning to end theinevitable wastage was so considerable that up to November 20, 1903, only 1, 805 buffaloes (costing P118, 805) were purchased, out of which1, 370 were delivered alive, and of this number 429 died whilst underobservation; therefore, whereas the price of the 1, 805 averagedP65 per head, the cost exceeded P126 per head when distributedover the surviving 941, which were sold at less than cost price, although in private dealings buffaloes were fetching P125 to P250per head (_vide_ Buffaloes p. 337, et seq. ). Veterinary surgeons andinoculators were commissioned to visit the buffaloes privately ownedin the planting-districts, the Government undertaking to indemnifythe owners for loss arising from the compulsory inoculation; but thishas not sufficed to stamp out the disease, which is still prevalent. 

Another calamity, common in British India, but unknown in theseIslands before the American advent, is _Surra_, a glandular diseaseaffecting horses and ponies, which has made fatal ravages in the ponystock--to the extent, it is estimated, of 60 per cent. The pony whichfully recovers from this disease is an exceptional animal. Again, the mortality among the field hands, as a consequence of the war, was supplemented by an outbreak of _Cholera morbus_ (_vide_ p. 197), a disease which recurs periodically in these Islands, and which was, on the occasion following the war, of unusually long duration. Togetherwith these misfortunes, a visitation of myriads of locusts (_vide_p. 341) and drought completed the devastation. 

Consequent on the total loss of capital invested in live-stock, andthe fear of rinderpest felt by the minority who have the wherewithalto replace their lost herds, there is an inclination among theagriculturists to raise those crops which need little or no animallabour. Hence sugar-cane and rice-paddy are being partially abandoned, whilst all who possess hemp or cocoanut plantations are directingtheir special attention to these branches of land-produce. Due to thesecircumstances, the increased cost of labour and living in the Islandssince the American advent, the want of a duty-free entry for Philippinesugar into the United States, the prospective loss of the Japanesemarket, [293] the ever-accumulating capital indebtedness, and theneed of costly machinery, it is possible to believe that sugar will, in time, cease to be one of the leading staple products of the Islands. 

With regard to the duty levied in the United States on Philippinesugar imports, shippers in these Islands point out how little itwould affect either the United States' revenue or the sugar trade ifthe duty were remitted in view of the extremely small proportion ofPhilippine sugar to the total consumption in America. For instance, taking the average of the five years 1899-1903, the proportion was. 313 per cent. , so that if in consequence of the remission of dutythis Philippine industry were stimulated to the extent of being ableto ship to America threefold, it would not amount to 1 per cent, of the total consumption in that country. 

At the close of the 1903 sugar season the planters were more deeplyin debt than at any previous period in their history. In 1904 themanager of an Yloilo firm (whom I have known from his boyhood)showed me statistics proving the deplorable financial position ofthe sugar-growers, and informed me that his firm had stopped furtheradvances and closed down on twelve of the largest estates working onborrowed capital, because of the hopelessness of eventual liquidationin full. For the same reasons other financiers have closed theircoffers to the sugar-planters. 

Another object of the grant called the Congressional Relief Fund wasto alleviate the distress prevailing in several Luzon provinces, particularly Batangas, on account of the scarcity of rice, due, in a great measure, to the causes already explained. Prices of theimported article had already reached double the normal value in formertimes, and the Government most opportunely intervened to check theoperations of a syndicate which sought to take undue advantage ofthe prevailing misery. Under Philippine Commission Acts Nos. 495, 786 and 797, appropriations were made for the purchase of rice fordistribution in those provinces where the speculator's ambition hadrun up the selling-price to an excessive rate. Hitherto the chiefsupplying-market had been the French East Indies, but the syndicatereferred to contrived to close that source to the Government, which, however, succeeded in procuring deliveries from other places. Thetotal amount distributed was 11, 164 tons, costing P1, 081, 722. About22 tons of this amount was given to the indigent class, the restbeing delivered at cost price, either in cash or in payment for theextermination of locusts, or for labour in road-making and other publicworks. The merchant class contended that this act of the Government, which deprived them of anticipated large profits, was an interferencein private enterprise--a point on which the impartial reader mustform his own conclusions. To obviate a recurrence of the necessityfor State aid, the Insular Government passed an Act urging the peopleto hasten the paddy-planting. The proclamation embodying this Actpermitted the temporary use of municipal lands, the seed suppliedto be repaid after the crop. It is said that some of the localnative councils, misunderstanding the spirit of the proclamation, made its non-observance a criminal offence, and incarcerated manyof the supposed offenders; but they were promptly released by theAmerican authorities. 

Under the circumstances set forth, the cultivation of rice in theIslands has fallen off considerably, to what extent may be partiallygathered from a glance at the enormous imports of this cereal, whichin the year 1901~ were 167, 951 tons; in 1902, 285, 473 tons; in 1903, 329, 055 tons (one-third of the value of the total imports in thatyear); and in 1904, 261, 553 tons. The large increase of wages andtaxes and the high cost of living since the American advent (rice in1904 cost about double the old price) have reduced the former marginsof profit on sugar and rice almost to the vanishing-point. 

If all the land in use now, or until recently, for paddy-raising weresuitable for the cultivation of such crops as hemp, tobacco, cocoanuts, etc. , for which there is a steady demand abroad, the abandonment ofrice for another produce which would yield enough to enable one topurchase rice, and even leave a margin of profit, would be rather anadvantage than otherwise. But this is not the case, and naturally anative holds on to the land he possesses in the neighbourhood, wherehe was perhaps born, rather than go on a peregrination in searchof new lands, with the risk of semi-starvation during the dilatoryprocess of procuring title-deeds for them when found. 

Fortunately for the Filipinos, "Manila hemp" being a specialityof this region as a fibre of unrivalled quality and utility, therecannot be foreseen any difficulty in obtaining a price for it whichwill compensate the producer to-day as well as it did in formertimes. Seeing that buffaloes can be dispensed with in the cultivationof hemp and coprah, which, moreover, are products requiring noexpensive and complicated machinery and are free of duty into theUnited States, they are becoming the favourite crops of the future. 

In 1905 there was considerable agitation in favour of establishing aGovernment Agricultural Bank, which would lend money to the planters, taking a first mortgage on the borrower's lands as guarantee. Inconnexion with this scheme, the question was raised whether theGovernment could, in justice, collect revenue from the people who hadno voice at all in the Government, and then lend it out to supportprivate enterprise. Moreover, without a law against usury (so common inthe Islands) there would be little to prevent a man borrowing from thebank at, say, 6 per cent. --up to the mortgage value of his estate--tolend it out to others at 60 per cent. A few millions of dollars, subscribed by private capitalists and loaned out to the planters, would enormously benefit the agricultural development of the Colony;and if native wealthy men would demonstrate their confidence in theresult by subscribing one-tenth of the necessary amount, perhapsAmericans would be induced to complete the scheme. The foreign banksestablished in the Islands are not agricultural, but exchange banks, and any American-Philippine Agricultural Bank which may be establishedneed have little reason to fear competition with foreign firms whoremember the house of Russell & Sturgis (_vide_ p. 255) and alsohave their own more recent experiences. Philippine rural land is adoubtful security for loans, there being no free market in it. 

Between the years 1902 and 1904 the Insular Government confiscated thearable lands of many planters throughout the Islands for delinquencyin taxes. The properties were put up to auction; some of themfound purchasers, but the bulk of them remained in the ownership ofthe Government, which could neither sell them nor make any use ofthem. Therefore an Act was passed in February, 1905, restoring totheir original owners those lands not already sold, on condition ofthe overdue taxes being paid within the year. In one province of Luzonthe confiscated lots amounted to about one-half of all the cultivatedland and one-third of the rural land-assessment in that province. The$2, 400, 000 gold spent on the Benguet road (_vide_ p. 615) would havebeen better employed in promoting agriculture. 

Up to 1898 Spain was the most important market for Philippine tobacco, but since that country lost her colonies she has no longer anypatriotic interest in dealing with any particular tobacco-producingcountry. The entry of Philippine tobacco into the United States ischecked by a Customs duty, respecting which there is, at present, a very lively contest between the tobacco-shippers in the Islands andthe Tobacco Trust in America, the former clamouring for, and the latteragainst, the reduction or abolition of the tariff. It is simply a clashof trade interests; but, with regard to the broad principles involved, it would appear that, so long as America holds these Islands withoutthe consent of its inhabitants, it is only just that she should do allin her power to create a free outlet for the Islands' produce. If thisArchipelago should eventually acquire sovereign independence, America'smoral obligations towards it would cease, and the mutual relationswould then be only those ordinarily subsisting between two nations. 

By Philippine Commission Act dated April 30, 1902, a Bureau ofAgriculture was organized. The chief of this department is assistedby experts in soil, farm-management, plant-culture, breeding, animalindustry, seed and fibres, an assistant agrostologist, and a tropicalagriculturist. Shortly after its organization, 18, 250 packages offield and garden seeds were sent to 730 individuals for experimentin different parts of the Colony, with very encouraging results. Thework of this department is experimental and investigative, with aview to the improvement of agriculture in all its branches. 

In Spanish times agricultural land was free of taxation. Now it pays atax not exceeding . 87 per cent. Of the assessed value. The rate variesin different districts, according to local circumstances. For instance, in 1904 it was . 87 per cent. In Baliuag (Bulacan) and in Viñan (LaLaguna), and . 68 per cent. In San Miguel de Mayumo (Bulacan). This taxis subdivided in its application to provincial and municipal generalexpenses and educational disbursements. The people make no demurat paying a tax on land-produce; but they complain of the system oftaxation of capital generally, and particularly of its application tolands lying fallow for the causes already explained. The approximateyield of the land-tax in the fiscal year of 1905 was P2, 000, 000; itwas then proposed to suspend the levy of this tax for three years inview of the agricultural depression. 

The Manila Port Works (_vide_ p. 344), commenced in Spanish times, arenow being carried on more vigorously under contract with the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Company. Within the breakwater a thirty-foot deepharbour, measuring about 400 acres, is being dredged, the mud raisedtherefrom being thrown on to 168 acres of reclaimed land which is toform the new frontage. Also a new channel entrance to the Pasig Riveris to be maintained at a depth of 18 feet. The Americans maintainthat there will be no finer harbour in the Far East when the work iscompleted. The reclaimed acreage will be covered with warehouses andwharves, enabling vessels to load and discharge at all seasons insteadof lying idle for weeks in the typhoon season and bad weather, as theyoften do now. With these enlarged shipping facilities, freights toand from Manila must become lower, to the advantage of all concernedin import and export trade. The cost of these improvements up tocompletion is estimated at about one million sterling. 

The port of Siassi (Tapul group), which was opened in recent years bythe Spaniards, was discontinued (June 1, 1902) by the Americans, whoopened the new coastwise ports of Cape Melville, Puerta Princesa, andBongao (October 15, 1903) in order to assist the scheme for preventingsmuggling between these extreme southern islands and Borneo. Hithertothere had been some excuse for this surreptitious trade, becauseinter-island vessels, trading from the other entry-ports, seldom, if ever, visited these out-of-the-way regions. In February, 1903, appropriations of $350, 000 and $150, 000 were made for harbour works inCebú and Yloilo respectively, although in the latter port no increasedfacility for the entry of vessels into the harbour was apparent up toJune, 1904. Zamboanga, the trade of which was almost nominal up to theyear 1898, is now an active shipping centre of growing importance, where efforts are being made to foster direct trade with foreigneastern ports. An imposing Custom-house is to be erected on the newspacious jetty already built under American auspices. Arrangementshave also been made for the Hong-Kong-Australia Steamship Company tomake Zamboanga a port of call. Here, as in all the chief ports of theArchipelago, greater advantages for trade have been afforded by theadministration, and one is struck with the appearance of activity andbriskness as compared with former times. These changes are largelyowing to the national character of the new rulers, for one can enterany official department, in any branch of public service, from thatof the Gov. -General downwards, to procure information or clear up alittle question "while you wait, " and, if necessary, interview thechief of the department. The tedious, dilatory time and money-wasting"come later on" procedure of times gone by no longer obtains. 

What is still most needed to give a stimulus to agriculture and thegeneral material development of the Islands is the conversion ofhundreds of miles of existing highways and mud-tracks into good hardroads, so as to facilitate communication between the planting-districtsand the ports. The corallaceous stone abounding in the Islands isworthless for road-making, because it pulverizes in the course of onewet season, and, unfortunately, what little hard stone exists lieschiefly in inaccessible places--hence its extraction and transportwould be more costly than the supply of an equal quantity of brokengranite brought over in sailing-ships from the Chinese coast, whereit is procurable at little over the quarryman's labour. From the daysof the Romans the most successful colonizing nations have regardedroad-making as a work of primary importance and a civilizing factor. 

Among the many existing projects, there is one for the constructionof railroads (1) from Manila (or some point on the existing railway)northward through the rich tobacco-growing valleys of Isabela andCagayán, as far as the port of Aparri, at the mouth of the CagayánRiver--distance, 260 miles; (2) from Dagúpan (Pangasinán) to Laoag(Ilocos Norte), through 168 miles of comparatively well-populatedcountry; (3) from San Fabian (Pangasinán) to Báguio (Benguet), 55miles; and three other lines in Luzon Island and one in each of theislands of Negros, Panay, Cebú, Leyte, and Sámar. A railway line fromManila to Batangas, _via_ Calamba (a distance of about 70 miles), andthence on to Albay Province, was under consideration for many yearsprior to the American advent; but the poor financial result of the only(120 miles) line in the Colony has not served to stimulate furtherenterprise in this direction, except an endeavour of that same companyto recuperate by feeder branches, two of which are built, and another(narrow gauge) is in course of construction from Manila to Antipolo, _via_ Pasig and Mariquina (_vide_ Railways, p. 265). 

Since February, 1905, a Congress Act, known as the "Cooper Bill, "offers certain inducements to railway companies. It authorizes theInsular Government to guarantee 4 per cent, annual interest on railwayundertakings, provided that the total of such contingent liabilityshall not exceed $1, 200, 000--that is to say, 4 per cent, could beguaranteed on a maximum capital of $30, 000, 000. The Insular Governmentis further empowered under this Act to admit, at its discretion, theentry of railway material free of duty. As yet, no railway constructionhas been started by American capitalists. Projects _ad infinitum_ mightbe suggested for the development of trade and traffic--for instance, aship-canal connecting the Laguna de Bay with the Pacific Ocean; anotherfrom Laguimanoc to Atimonan (Tayabas); an artificial entry-port inNegros Island, connected by railway with two-thirds of the coast, etc. 

Up to the present the bulk of the export and import trade is handledby Europeans, who, together with native capitalists, own the mostconsiderable commercial and industrial productive "going concerns"in the Islands. In 1904 there were one important and severalsmaller American trading-firms (exclusive of shopkeepers) in thecapital, and a few American planters and successful prospectors inthe provinces. There are hundreds of Americans about the Islands, searching for minerals and other natural products with more hopefulprospects than tangible results. It is perhaps due to the disturbedcondition of the Islands and the "Philippines for the Filipinos"policy that the anticipated flow of private American capital hasnot yet been seen, although there is evidently a desire in thisdirection. There is, at least, no lack of the American enterprisingspirit, and, since the close of the War of Independence, severaljoint-stock companies have started with considerable cash capital, principally for the exploitation of the agricultural, forestal, andmineral wealth of the Islands. Whatever the return on capital maybe, concerns of this kind, which operate at the natural productivesources, are obviously as beneficial to the Colony as trading can bein Manila--the emporium of wealth produced elsewhere. 

There are, besides, many minor concerns with American capital, established only for the purpose of selling to the inhabitants goodswhich are not an essential need, and therefore not contributing tothe development of the Colony. 

The tonnage entered in Philippine ports shows a rapid annual increasein five years. Many new lines of steamers make Manila a port of call, exclusive of the army transports, carrying Government supplies, and in 1905 there was a regular goods and passenger traffic betweenHong-Kong and Zamboanga. Still, the greater part of the freightbetween the Philippines and the Atlantic ports is carried in foreignbottoms. The shipping-returns for the year 1903 would appear to showthat over 85 per cent, of the exports from the Islands to America, and about the same proportion of the imports from that country(exclusive of Government stores brought in army transports) wereborne in foreign vessels. The carrying-trade figures for 1904 were78. 41 per cent, in British bottoms; 6. 69 per cent, in Spanish, and 6. 65 per cent, in American vessels. The desire to dispossessthe foreigners of the carrying monopoly is not surprising, but itis thought that immediately-operative legislation to that end wouldbe impracticable. The latest legislation on the subject confines thecarrying-trade between the Islands and the United States to Americanbottoms from July 1, 1906. It is alleged that the success of the newregulations which may (or may not, for want of American vessels)come into force on that date will depend on the freights charged;it is believed that exorbitant outward rates would divert the hempcargoes into other channels, and a large rise in inward freightswould facilitate European competition in manufactured goods. Anyconsiderable rise in freights to America would tend to counterbalancethe benefits which the Filipinos hope to derive from the free entryof sugar and tobacco into American ports. The text of the ShippingLaw, dated April 15, 1904, reads thus; "On and after July 1, 1906, nomerchandise shall be transported by sea, under penalty of forfeiturethereof, between ports of the United States and ports or places ofthe Philippine Archipelago, directly, or _via_ a foreign port, orfor any part of the voyage in any other than a vessel of the UnitedStates. No foreign vessel shall transport passengers between ports ofthe United States and ports or places in the Philippine Archipelago, either directly, or _via_ a foreign port, under a penalty of $200for each passenger so transported and landed. "

The expenses of the Civil Government are met through the insularrevenues (the Congressional Relief Fund being an extraordinaryexception). The largest income is derived from the Customs'receipts, which in 1904 amounted to about $8, 750, 000, equal to abouttwo-thirds of the insular treasury revenue (as distinguished from themunicipal). The total _Revenue and Expenditure_ in the fiscal year1903 (from all sources, including municipal taxes expended in therespective localities, but exclusive of the Congressional Relief Fund)stood thus:--

Total Revenue $14, 640, 988Total Expenditure $15, 105, 374Excess of Expenditure over Revenue 464, 386 ========== ========== 15, 105, 374 15, 105, 374

In 1903, therefore, Government cost the inhabitants the equivalentof about 46 per cent, of the exports' value, against 45 per cent, inSpanish times, taking the relative averages of 1890-94. The presentabnormal pecuniary embarrassment of the people is chiefly due to thecauses already explained, and perhaps partly so to the fact that theP30, 000, 000 to P40, 000, 000 formerly in circulation had two to threetimes the local purchasing value that pesos have to-day. 

The "Cooper Bill, " already referred to, authorizes the InsularGovernment to issue bonds for General Public Works up to a total of$5, 000, 000, for a term of 30 years, at 4 1/2 per cent, interest perannum; and the municipalities to raise loans for municipal improvementsup to a sum not exceeding 5 per cent. Of the valuation of the realestate of the municipalities, at 5 per cent. Interest per annum. Forthe purchase of the friars' lands a loan of $7, 000, 000 exists, bearinginterest at 4 per cent. Per annum, the possible interest liabilityon the total of these items amounting to about $2, 000, 000 per annum. 

On November 15, 1901, the high Customs tariff then in force was reducedby about 25 per cent. On the total average, bringing the average dutiesto about 17 per cent. _ad valorem_, but this was again amended by thenew tariff laws of May 3, 1905. Opium is still one of the imports, but under a recent law its introduction is to be gradually restrictedby tariff until March 1, 1908, from which date it will be unlawful toimport this drug, except by the Government for medicinal purposes only. 

On August 1, 1904, a new scheme of additional taxation came intoforce under the "Internal Revenue Law of 1904. " This tax having beenonly partially imposed during the first six months, the full yieldcannot yet be ascertained, but at the present rate(P5, 280, 970. 96, partial yield for the fiscal year 1905) it will probably produce atthe annual rate of $4, 250, 000 gold, which, however, is not entirelyextra taxation, taking into account the old taxes repealed underArt. XVII. , sec. 244. The theory of the new scheme was that itmight permit of a lower Customs tariff schedule. The new taxes areimposed on distilled spirits, fermented liquors, manufactured tobacco, matches, banks and bankers, insurance companies, forestry products, valid mining concessions granted prior to April 11, 1899, business, manufactures, occupations, licences, and stamps on specified objects(Art. II. , sec. 25). Of the taxes accruing to the Insular Treasuryunder the above law, 10 per cent. Is set apart for the benefitof the several provincial governments, apportioned _pro rata_ totheir respective populations as shown by the census of 1903; 15 percent. For the several municipal governments, provided that of thissum one-third shall be utilized solely for the maintenance of freepublic primary schools and expenditure appertaining thereto. In theaforesaid distribution Manila City ranks as a municipality and aprovince, and receives apportionment under this law on the basis of25 per cent. (Art. XVII. , sec. 150). 

From the first announcement of the projected law up to its promulgationthe public clamoured loudly against it. For months the publicorgans, issued in Spanish and dialect, persistently denounced it as aharbinger of ruin to the Colony. Chambers of Commerce, corporations andprivate firms, foreign and native, at meetings specially convened todiscuss the new law, predicted a collapse of Philippine industry andcommerce. At a public conference, held before the Civil Commission onJune 24, 1904, it was stated that one distillery alone would have topay a yearly tax of P744, 000, and that a certain cigar-factory wouldbe required to pay annually P557, 425. Petitions against the cominglaw were sent by all the representative trading-bodies to the InsularGovernment praying for its withdrawal. When the Commissioners retiredto their hill-station at Báguio (Benguet) they were followed up byprotests against the measure, but it became law under PhilippineCommission Act No. 1189. Since the imposition of this tax therehas been a general complaint throughout the civilized provinces ofdepression in the internal trade, but to what extent it is justifiedthere is no available precise data on which to form an estimate. 

As already stated, the American occupation brought about a rapidrise in the price of everything, not of necessity or in obedienceto the law of supply and demand, but because it was the pleasureof the Americans voluntarily to enhance established values. To thesurprise of the Filipinos, the new-comers preferred to pay wagesat hitherto unheard-of rates, whilst the soldiers lavishly paid ingold for silver-peso value (say, at least, double), of their ownvolition--an innovation in which the obliging native complacentlyacquiesced, until it dawned upon him that he might demand anything hechose. The soldiers so frequently threw away copper coin given them inchange as valueless, that many natives discontinued to offer it. Itfollowed that everybody was reluctantly compelled to pay the higherprice which the American spontaneously elected to give. Labour, food, house-rent, and all the necessaries of life rose enormously. [294]The Colony soon became converted from a cheap into an expensive placeof residence. Living there to-day costs at least three times whatit did in Spanish times. Urban property and lands were assessed atvalues far beyond those at which the owners truly estimated them. Upto 1904 it was not at all uncommon to find the rent of a house raisedto five times that of 1898. Retailers had to raise their prices;trading-firms were obliged to increase their clerks' emoluments, and in every direction revenue and expenditure thenceforth ranged onan enhanced scale. It is remarkable that, whilst pains were taken bythe new-comers to force up prices, many of them were simultaneouslycomplaining of expensive living! Governor W.  H. Taft, with an annualemolument of $20, 000 gold, declared before the United States Senatethat the Gov. -General's palace at Malacañan was too expensive a placefor him to reside in. The lighting of the establishment cost him $125gold a month, and his servants' wages amounted to $250 monthly. Headded that he would rather pay his own rent than meet the expensesof the Malacañan residence. [295]

Two and a half years later General Leonard Wood reported:

"There has been a great increase in the cost of living and in wagesin this (Moro) as in other provinces--an increase which has not beenaccompanied either by improved methods or increased production. Thecause of the increase can be traced, in most cases, to the _foolishlyhigh prices paid_ by army officials for labour. " [296]

Wages steadily advanced as a natural consequence of the higher costof living, and, under the guidance of a native demagogue, the workingclasses, for the first time in Philippine history, collectively beganto grumble at the idea of labour-pay having a limit. It was one ofthe abuses of that liberty of speech suddenly acquired under the newdominion. On February 2, 1902, this person organized the malcontentsunder the title of a "Labour Union, " of which he became the firstpresident. The subscription was 20 cents of a peso per week. Thelegality of peacefully relinquishing work when the worker felt soinclined was not impugned; but when the strikers sought to coerceviolently their fellow-men, the law justly interfered and imprisonedtheir leader. The presidency of the so-called "Labour Union" wasthenceforth (September following) carried on by a half-caste, giftedwith great power of organization and fluent oratory. He prepared theby-laws of the association, and fixed the monthly subscription at onepeso per man and one peseta (one-fifth of a peso) per woman. About100, 000 members were enrolled in the union, the ostensible aim ofwhich was the defence of the working man's interests. It is difficultto discern what those interests were which needed protection; theposition of the labouring class was the very reverse of that existingin Europe; the demand for labourers, at any reasonable wage, exceededthe supply. The idea of a Filipino philanthropically devoting hislife to the welfare of the masses was beyond the conception of all whounderstood the Philippine character. At the end of about eight months, notwithstanding the enormous assets from subscriptions, the "LabourUnion" became insolvent, with a deficit of 1, 000 or more pesos. Wherethe assets had gone needed investigation. In the meantime the leader, posing as mediator between the Insular Government and certain notoriousoutlaws, had endeavoured to negotiate with Governor W.  H. Taft fortheir surrender, on the condition of full pardon. The Government, atlength, becoming suspicious of his intentions and the full measure ofhis sympathy for these individuals, caused the leader to be arrested onMay 29, 1903, on the allegations of "founding, directing, and presidingover an illegal association known as 'The Democratic Labour Union, '"irregularities connected with the foundation and administration ofthe same, sedition, confederacy with brigands, and other minor counts. 

It was clear to every thinking man, American or European, that thecontrol of such a formidable body was a menace to peace. The accusedwas brought to trial on the chief allegations, and in September, 1903, he was sentenced to four years and two months' imprisonment, but appealed against the sentence to the Supreme Court. Lateron he was tried on the other counts, and, although the publicprosecution failed, it served the useful purpose of dissolving aleague the scope of which was shrouded in obscurity, at a periodwhen the political atmosphere was still clouded by aspirations ofimpossible and undesirable realization. I followed the course ofthe trial daily, and I interviewed the accused at his house a weekbefore it ended. Three hundred documents were read at the trial, and160 witnesses were brought against him. To endeavour to establisha case of conspiracy against him, another individual was producedas his colleague. The first accused was defended by an Americanadvocate with such fervid eloquence, apparently inspired by earnestconviction of his client's innocence, that those who had to decide hisfate acquitted him of the charge of conspiracy on May 11, 1904. Thedefendant's verbal explanation to me of the "Labour Union" led me tothe conclusion that its abolition would benefit the community. 

The abnormal rise in wages had the bad effect of inducing thenatives to leave their pastoral pursuits to flock into the towns. Thelabour question is still a difficult problem, for it is the habitof the Filipino to discontinue work when he has a surplus in hispocket. Private employers complain of scarcity and the unreliabilityof the unskilled labourer. Undoubtedly the majority of them wouldwelcome the return of Chinese coolies, whose entry into the Islands isprohibited by the Insular Government, in agreement with the desire ofthe Filipinos, who know full well that the industrious Chinaman wouldlower wages and force the Filipinos into activity for an existence. 

Consul-General Wildman, of Hong-Kong, in his report for 1900 to theState Department, Washington, said: "There has been, during the pastyear, quite an investment of Hong-Kong capital in Manila; but itis the general opinion that _no investment in mines or agriculture_in the Islands _will be of any great value until the introduction ofChinese labour_ is not only _permitted_ but _encouraged_. "

Section IV. Of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1902 provides that everyChinese labourer rightfully in any insular territory of the UnitedStates (Hawaii excepted), at the time of the passage of this Act, shall obtain, within one year thereafter, a certificate of residence, and upon failure to obtain such certificate he shall be deported;and the Philippine Commission is authorized and required to make allregulations necessary for the enforcement of this section in thePhilippine Islands. No restriction is placed upon their movementfrom one island to another of the Philippines, but they cannot gofrom the Philippines to America. 

The regulations established by the Insular Government (Act of March27, 1903) in conformity with the above-cited Act are as follows: TheChinese can leave the Islands and return thereto within a year. Theymust obtain a certificate of departure and be photographed. Tore-enter the Islands they must procure a certificate of departure atthe place of embarkation (usually China) for the Philippines. Thus, during the year ending June 30, 1902, 10, 158 Chinese entered Manila, and 11, 432 left it with return certificates. Chinese resident in theIslands must be registered. The first banishment for contraventionof this regulation took place on January 6, 1905. 

For a long time there was a big contraband business done in Chinese. Acoolie would pay as much as 400 pesos premium to find himself where hecould earn up to 100 pesos per month. The contraband agent in Chinawas an ex-Custom-house officer. The Manila agent was in the Customsservice, and the colleagues on the China side were high officials. Whenthe conspiracy was discovered the agent in China came to Manila toanswer the charge, and was at once arrested. A prosecution was enteredupon; but after a protracted trial, the proceedings were quashed, for reasons which need not be discussed. The Exclusion Act is sorigidly upheld that in the case of a Chinese merchant who died inthe Islands leaving a fortune of about 200, 000 pesos, his (Chinese)executor was refused permission to reside temporarily in the Colonyfor the sole purpose of winding up the deceased's affairs. 

The social position of the Chinese permitted to remain in theIslands has changed since the American advent. In former times, whenthe highest authorities frowned upon the Chinese community, it wasnecessary to propitiate them with bags of silver pesos. There was noChinese consul in those days; but Chino Cárlos Palanca was practicallythe protector and dictator of his countrymen during the last decade ofSpanish rule, and, if a cloud descended upon them from high quarters, he used to pass the word round for a dollar levy to dissipate it. InFebruary, 1900, Chino Palanca was made a mandarin of the first class, and when his spirit passed away to the abode of his ancestors hisbody was followed to interment by an immense sympathetic crowd ofCelestials. This pompous funeral was one of the great social events ofthe year. Now there is a Chinese consul in Manila whose relations tohis people are very different from those between Europeans and theirconsuls. The Chinese consul paternally tells his countrymen what theyare to do, and they do it with filial submission. He has given themto understand that they occupy a higher position than that formerlyaccorded to the Chinese in this Colony (_vide_ Chinese, Chapter viii). 

On my first visit to Manila alter the American occupation I was struckto see Chinese in the streets wearing the pigtail down their backs, and dressed in nicely-cut semi-European patrol-jacket costumes of clothor washing-stuffs, with straw or felt "trilby" hats. Now, too, theymix freely among the whites in public places with an air of socialequality, and occupy stall seats in the theatre, which they wouldnot have dared to enter in pre-American times. The Chinese Chamberof Commerce is also of recent foundation, and its status is so farrecognized by the Americans that it was invited to express an opinionon the Internal Revenue Bill, already referred to, before it becamelaw. The number of Chinese in the whole Archipelago is estimatedat about 41, 000. When an enterprising American introduced a largenumber of jinrikishas, intending to establish that well-known systemof locomotion here, the Chinese Consulate very shortly put its vetoon the employment of Chinese runners. The few natives who ran thembecame objects of ridicule. The first person who used a jinrikisha inManila, with Chinese in livery, was a European consul. Other whites, unaccustomed to these vehicles, took to beating the runners--a thingnever seen or heard of in Japan or in colonies where they are used inthousands. The natural result was that the 'rikisha man bolted and the'rikisha tilted backwards, to the discomfort of the fool riding init. The attempted innovation failed, and the vehicles were sent outof the Colony. 

Apart from the labour question, if the Chinese were allowed a freeentry they would perpetuate the smartest pure Oriental mixed classin the Islands. On the other hand, if their exclusion should remainin force beyond the present generation it will have a marked adverseeffect on the activity of the people (_vide_ pp. 182, 411). 

At the period of the American occupation the _Currency_ of theIslands was the Mexican and Spanish-Philippine peso, of a valueconstantly fluctuating between 49 and 37 cents. Gold (_vide_ tableat p. 647). The shifty character of the silver basis created such anuncertainty in trade and investment transactions that the Governmentresolved to place the currency on a gold standard. Between January 1and October 5, 1902, the Insular Treasury lost $956, 750. 37 1/2 from thefall of silver. A difficulty to be confronted was the impossibilityof ascertaining even the approximate total amount of silver currentin the Islands. Opinions varied from P30, 000, 000 upwards. [297]Pending the solution of the money problem, ineffectual attempts weremade to fix the relative values by the publication of an officialratio between gold dollar and silver peso once a quarter; but asit never agreed with the commercial quotation many days running, the announcement of the official ratio was altered to once in tendays. Seeing that ten days or more elapsed before the current ratiocould be communicated to certain remote points, the complications inthe official accounts were most embarrassing. Congress Act of July1, 1902, authorized the coinage of subsidiary silver, but did notdetermine the unit of value or provide for the issue of either coin orpaper money to take the place of the Mexican and Spanish-Philippinepesos in circulation, so that it was quite inoperative. Finally, Congress Act of March 2, 1903, provided that the new standard shouldbe a peso equal in value to half a United States gold dollar. Themaximum amount authorized to be coined was 75, 000, 000 silver pesos, each containing 416 grains of silver, nine-tenths fine. The peso wasto be legal tender for all debts, public and private, in the Islands, and was to be issued when the Insular Government should have 500, 000pesos ready for circulation. The peso is officially alluded to as"Philippine currency, " whilst the popular term, "Conant, " derivesits name from a gentleman, Mr. Charles Conant, in whose report, datedNovember 25, 1901, this coin was suggested. He visited the Islands, immortalized his name, and modestly retired. 

The "Philippine currency, " or "peso Conant, " is guaranteed by theUnited States Treasury to be equal to 50 cents of a gold dollar. Thesix subsidiary coins are 50, 20, and 10 cents silver, 5 cents nickel, and 1 and 1/2 cent bronze, equivalent to a sterling value of oneshilling to one farthing. This new coinage, designed by a Filipino, wasissued to the public at the end of July, 1903. The inaugurating issueconsisted of 17, 881, 650 silver pesos, in pesos and subsidiary coins, to be supplemented thereafter by the re-coinage of the Mexican andPhilippine pesos as they found their way into the Treasury. For publicconvenience, silver certificates, or Treasury Notes, were issued, exchangeable for "Conant" silver pesos, to the extent of 6, 000, 000pesos' worth in 10-peso notes; another 6, 000, 000 pesos in 5-peso notes, and 3, 000, 000 pesos in 2-peso notes, these last bearing a vignetteof the Philippine patriot, the late Dr. José Rizal. On December 23, 1903, the Governor reported that "not till January 1, 1904, can theMexican coin be demonetized and denied as legal tender value. " Aproclamation, dated January 28, 1904, was issued by the InsularTreasury in Spanish and Tagalog to the effect (1) that after October 1, 1904, the Government would only accept Mexican or Philippine pesos atthe value of their silver contents, and (2) that after December 31, 1904, a tax would be levied on all deposits made at the banks of theabove-mentioned coinage. Notwithstanding the publication of numerousofficial circulars urging the use of the new peso, the Mexican andSpanish-Philippine dollars remained in free circulation during thefirst six months of 1904, although rent and certain other paymentswere reckoned in "Conant" and current accounts at banks were kept inthe new currency, unless otherwise agreed. Naturally, as long as theseller was willing to accept Mexican for his goods, the buyer was onlytoo pleased to pay in that medium, because if, for instance, he had topay 10 Mexican dollars, and only had "Conant" in his pocket, he couldcall at any of the hundred exchange shops about town, change his 10"Conant" into Mexican at a 5 to 20 per cent. Premium, settle his bill, and reserve the premium. Almost any Far Eastern fractional coins servedas subsidiary coins to the Mexican or Spanish-Philippine peso, andduring nine or ten months there were no less than three currenciesin use--namely, United States, Mexican (with Spanish-Philippine), and "Conant. " It was not practicable to deny a legal-tender valueto so much Mexican, and Spanish-Philippine coin in circulation. Theretailer was required to exhibit in his shop a card, supplied by themunicipality, indicating the exchange-rate of the day, and declaring inSpanish, English, and Tagálog as follows: "Our prices are in Americancurrency. We accept Philippine currency at the rate of. .. "; but thereckoning in small-value transactions was so bewildering that, inpractice, he would accept any coinage the purchaser chose to give himat face value. From August 1, 1904, when the "Internal Revenue Law"(_vide_ p. 630) came into operation, merchants' and bankers' accountsand all large transactions were settled on the new-currency basis. Manyretailers followed the lead, and the acceptance of the new mediumthenceforth greatly increased. Still, for several months, provincialnatives were loth to part with their old coin at a discount, or, asthey plainly put it, lose 10 to 20 per cent. Of their cash capitalat a stroke. The Insular Treasurer therefore issued another circularin December, 1904, stating that whosoever engaged in business shouldmake use of the old coinage in trade transactions after December 31, 1904, without special licence, would be condemned to pay not onlythat licence, but a heavy fine, or be _sent to prison_; and thatall written agreements made after October, 1904, involving a paymentin old currency, would pay a tax of 1 per cent. Per month from thesaid date of December, 1904. Nevertheless, further pressure had to beexercised by the Civil Governor, who, in a circular dated January 7, 1905, stated that "it is hereby ordered that the Insular Treasurerand all provincial treasurers in the Philippine Islands shall, on andafter this date and until February 1, 1905, purchase Spanish-Filipinocurrency, Mexican currency, Chinese subsidiary silver coins, and allforeign copper coins now circulating in the Philippine Islands at_one peso_, Philippine currency, for _one peso and twenty centavos_, local currency. "

As late as March, 1905, there was still a considerable amount of oldcoinage in private hands, but practically the new medium was definitelyestablished. The total number of "Conant" pesos in circulation inthe Islands, in the middle of May, 1905, was 29, 715, 720 (all mintedin America), and "Conant" paper, P10, 150, 000. 

From the time of the American occupation up to May, 1902, the twoforeign banks--the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation andthe Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China (_vide_ Banks, p. 258)--were the only depositaries for the Insular Treasury, outsidethe Treasury itself. In the meantime, two important American banksestablished themselves in the Islands--namely, the "Guaranty TrustCompany, " and the "International Banking Corporation. " On May 15, 1902, the "Guaranty Trust Company" was appointed a depositary forPhilippine funds both in Manila and in the United States; and on June21 following the "International Banking Corporation" was likewiseappointed a depositary for the Insular Treasury, each being under abond of $2, 000, 000. These two banks also act as fiscal agents to theUnited States in the Philippines. [298]

In 1904 the position of the "Banco Español-Filipino" (_vide_ p. 258)was officially discussed. This bank, the oldest established in Manila, holds a charter from the Spanish Government, the validity of which wasrecognized. The Insular Government sought to reduce the amount of itspaper currency, which was alleged to be three times the amount of itscash capital. Meanwhile, the notes in circulation, representing theold Philippine medium, ceased to be legal tender, and were exchangedfor "Conant" peso-value notes at the current rate of exchange. 

For a short period there existed an establishment entitled the"American Bank, " which did not prosper and was placed in liquidationon May 18, 1905, by order of the Gov. -General, pursuant to PhilippineCommission Act No. 52 as amended by Act No. 556. 

In February, 1909, the terms of Article 4 of the Treaty of Paris(_vide_ p. 479) will lapse, leaving America a freer hand to determinethe commercial future of the Philippines. It remains to be seenwhether the "Philippines for the Filipinos" policy, promoted by thefirst Civil Governor, or the "Equal opportunities for all" doctrine, propounded by the first Gov. -General, will be the one then adoptedby America. Present indications point to the former merging into thelatter, almost of necessity, if it is desired to encourage Americancapitalists to invest in the Islands. The advocate of the formerpolicy is the present responsible minister for Philippine affairs, whilst, on this work going to press, the propounder of the latterdoctrine has been justly rewarded, for his honest efforts to governwell, with the appointment of first American Ambassador to Japan. 

Trade Statistics

Total Import and Export Values (exclusive of Silver and Gold)

Period. Imports. Exports. Total Import Excess Excess and of Imports. Of Exports. Export Trade. AnnualAverage. Gold $. Gold $. Gold $. Gold $. Gold $. 

1880-84 19, 500, 274 20, 838, 325 40, 338, 599 -- 1, 338, 0511885-89 15, 789, 165 20, 991, 265 36, 780, 430 -- 5, 202, 1001890-94 15, 827, 694 19, 751, 293 35, 578, 987 -- 3, 923, 599

Year. 1899 13, 113, 010 12, 306, 912 25, 479, 922 746, 098 --1900 20, 601, 436 19, 751, 068 40, 352, 504 850, 368 --1901 30, 279, 406 23, 214, 948 53, 494, 354 7, 064, 458 --1902 32, 141, 842 23, 927, 679 56, 069, 521 8, 214, 163 --1903 32, 971, 882 33, 121, 780 66, 093, 662 -- 149, 898

Great Britain and the United States are the most important foreignmarkets for Philippine hemp, the distribution of shipments in 1850and in five recent years having been as follows:--

Hemp Shipments To United States, United Kingdom, and Other Countries

Year. To United States. To Great Britain. To Other Countries. Total. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. 

1850 7, 387 1, 092 323 8, 8021899 26, 713 21, 511 26, 808 75, 0921900 20, 304 46, 419 22, 715 89, 4381901 30, 336 82, 190 11, 731 124, 2571902 60, 384 44, 813 6, 303 111, 5001903 69, 912 59, 189 8, 651 137, 752

Hemp Shipments

 Year. Total. Tons. 

 1850 8, 802 1855 14, 936 1860 24, 812 1865 24, 862 1870 30, 535 1875 32, 864 1880 49, 934 1885 52, 141 1890 63, 269 1895 104, 040 1896 95, 736 1897 112, 755 1898 99, 076 1899 75, 092 1900 89, 438 1901 124, 257 1902 111, 500 1903 137, 752

Total Chief Exports from the Philippine Islands

 1885. 1886. 1887. 1888. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. 1893. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Sugar

Manila 65, 678 84, 204 83, 469 91, 628 92, 856 48, 071 73, 296 67, 996 107, 003Cebú 28, 195 18, 140 17, 815 16, 694 11, 862 3, 455 8, 762 18, 388 16, 962Yloilo 109, 609 83, 456 77, 847 76, 997 114, 207 96, 000 85, 104 165, 407 137, 716

Total 203, 482 185, 800 179, 131 185, 319 218, 925 147, 526 167, 162 251, 791 261, 681

Hemp

Manila 43, 927 39, 268 56, 709 71, 881 59, 455 56, 201 68, 256 87, 778 70, 174Cebú 8, 214 7, 192 7, 663 11, 298 11, 616 7, 068 11, 087 11, 035 10, 010

Total 52, 141 46, 460 64, 372 82, 679 71, 071 63, 269 79, 343 98, 813 80, 184

Sapan-wood

Manila 2, 911 1, 885 962 750 574 1, 385 880 1, 574 3, 332Yloiloand Cebú 1, 100 2, 943 4, 260 5, 853 4, 018 1, 415 3, 317 2, 207 1, 586

Total 4, 011 4, 828 5, 222 6, 603 4, 592 2, 800 4, 197 8, 841 4, 918

Coprah

tons -- -- -- -- -- 4, 653 17, 875 22, 439 11, 519

Shipped from Manila only. 

 1885. 1886. 1887. 1888. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. 1893. Coffee tons 5, 209 7, 337 4, 998 6, 702 5, 841 4, 796 2, 869 1, 326 307Cigars thousands 114, 821 102, 717 99, 562 109, 109 121, 674 109, 636 97, 740 137, 059 137, 458Tobacco-Leaf tons 6, 799 6, 039 4, 841 10, 229 10, 161 8, 952 9, 803 12, 714 11, 534Buffalo-Hides tons 632 666 566 1, 888 755 394 272 327 --Indigo tons 84 64 111 232 221 19 89 278 --Gum Mastic tons 195 205 404 330 490 188 303 136 --Cordage tons 265 187 175 124 94 196 149 100 --M. O. P. Shell tons 10 8 13 12 23 31 18 10 --

Total Chief Exports from the Philippine Islands--continued

 1894. 1895. 1896. 1897. 1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. 1903. 1858. Under American Occupation. According Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. To Sir John Bowring. Sugar

Manila 94, 656 107, 221 97, 705 57, 382 5, 041 27, 473 5, 567 421 368Cebú 10, 198 13, 335 7, 701 15, 257 12, 363 3, 731 8, 283 4, 595 6, 202Yloilo 88, 533 110, 527 124, 648 130, 542 71, 982 36, 312 45, 070 97, 129 81, 308

Total 193, 387 231, 083 230, 054 203, 181 89, 386 67, 536 58, 920 102, 145 88, 378 34, 821

Hemp

Manila 82, 693 93, 595 83, 172 102, 721 -- -- -- -- --Cebú 16, 804 10, 445 12, 564 10, 034 -- -- -- -- --

Total 99, 497 104, 040 95, 736 112, 755 75, 092 89, 438 124, 257 111, 500 137, 752 25, 781

Sapanwood

Manila 1, 292 1, 619 898 1, 022 No quantities stated in theYloilo Office Returns since 1898. & Cebú 1, 633 694 2, 743 3, 165

Total 2, 925 2, 313 3, 551 4, 187 Included in Table of 4, 201 Total Export Values, p. 639. Coprah

tons 33, 265 37, 104 37, 970 50, 714 15, 906 65, 355 32, 655 59, 287 83, 411

Shipped from Manila only. 

Coffee tons 309 194 89 136 34 13 30 7 4 1, 560Cigars thousands 137, 877 164, 430 183, 667 156, 916 No quantities officially stated. 85, 142Tobacco-Leaf tons 9, 545 10, 368 10, 986 15, 836 6, 272 9, 834 7, 764 9, 016 8, 593 4, 106Buffalo-Hides tons 398 467 397 728 -- -- -- -- -- 402Indigo tons 72 27 23 33 114 5 8 247 40 36Gum Mastic tons 189 275 172 223 No quantities officially stated. Cordage tons 170 198 194 239M. O. P. Shell tons 54 79 13 42

Total Export of Sugar from the Phillipine Islands During 18 Years

 1885. 1886. 1887. 1888. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. 1893. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. 

Manila

Dry 47, 542 62, 594 62, 167 63, 890 -- 33, 233 50, 342 51, 718 72, 007Wet 18, 136 21, 610 21, 302 27, 738 -- 14, 838 22, 954 16, 278 34, 996

Total 65, 678 84, 204 83, 469 91, 628 92, 856 48, 071 73, 296 67, 996 107, 003

Cebú

Dry 23, 676 15, 190 12, 765 13, 094 -- 3, 145 7, 562 17, 488 16, 712Wet 4, 519 2, 950 5, 050 3, 600 -- 310 1, 200 900 250

Total 23, 195 18, 140 17, 815 16, 694 11, 862 3, 455 8, 762 18, 388 16, 962

Yliolo

Dry 102, 369 81, 201 71, 722 72, 882 -- 87, 966 82, 515 160, 050 135, 191Wet 7, 240 2, 255 6, 125 4, 115 -- 8, 034 2, 589 5, 357 2, 525

Total 109, 609 83, 456 77, 847 76, 997 114, 207 96, 000 85, 104 165, 407 137, 716

Grand Total 203, 482 185, 800 179, 131 185, 319 213, 925 147, 526 167, 162 251, 791 261, 631

Total Export of Sugar from the Phillipine Islands During 18Years--continued

 1894. 1895. 1896. 1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. 1902. 1903. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Under American OccupationManila

Dry 65, 189 81, 502 77, 676 46, 345Wet 18, 136 21, 610 21, 302 27, 738 5, 041 27, 473 5, 567 421 868

Total 94, 656 107, 221 97, 703 57, 382 5, 041 27, 473 5, 567 421 868

Cebú

Dry 10, 198 13, 085 7, 484 15, 137Wet -- 250 217 120 12, 363 3, 751 8, 283 4, 595 6, 202

Total 10, 198 13, 335 7, 701 15, 257 12, 363 3, 751 8, 283 4, 595 6, 202

Yliolo

Dry -- -- 123, 720 129, 174Wet -- -- 928 1, 368 71, 982 36, 312 45, 070 97, 129 81, 308

Total 88, 533 110, 527 124, 648 130, 542 71, 982 36, 312 45, 070 97, 129 81, 308

Grand Total 193, 387 231, 083 230, 054 203, 181 89, 386 67, 536 58, 920 102, 145 88, 378

_N. B. _--The total export of sugar in the year 1861 was 53, 114 tons. 

Trade Statistics

Tobacco and Cigar Shipments Before American Occupation

 Year. Cigars. Leaf. Year. Cigars. Leaf. Thousands. Tons. Thousands. Tons. UnderMonopoly 1880 82, 783 8, 657 1889 121, 674 10, 161 1881 89, 502 7, 027 1890 109, 636 8, 952 1882 103, 597 6, 195 1891 97, 740 9, 803 1883 190, 079 7, 267 1892 137, 059 12, 714 1884 125, 091 7, 181 1893 137, 458 11, 534 1885 114, 821 6, 799 1894 137, 877 9, 545 1886 102, 717 6, 039 1895 164, 430 10, 368 1887 99, 562 4, 841 1896 183, 667 10, 986 1888 109, 109 10, 229 1897 156, 916 15, 836

Tobacco-leaf Shipments Since American Occupation

 1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. 1903. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. 

 6, 272 9, 834 7, 764 9, 016 8, 593

Cigar Shipments Since American Occupation

The official returns do not state the quantities shipped

 United States. British Empire. [299] Other Countries. Total Year. Value. Value. Value. Value. Gold $. Gold $. Gold $. Gold $. 

 1899 3, 405 430, 013 512, 281 945, 699 1900 5, 662 937, 872 214, 883 1, 158, 417 1901 908 1, 604, 470 227, 071 1, 832, 449 1902 11, 006 813, 083 164, 429 988, 518 1903 1, 900 757, 783 201, 672 961, 355

Coprah Shipments

 Year. Manila. Cebú. Total. Tons. Tons. Tons. 

 1890 4, 653 -- 4, 653 1891 -- -- 17, 875 1892 -- -- 22, 439 1893 11, 519 -- 11, 519 1894 32, 045 1, 220 33, 265 1895 34, 332 2, 772 37, 104 1896 34, 895 3, 075 37, 970 1897 47, 814 2, 900 50, 714 1899 13, 356 2, 378 15, 906 1900 62, 469 2, 886 65, 355 1901 30, 347 2, 308 32, 655 1902 41, 816 17, 471 59, 287 1903 69, 189 14, 222 83, 411

Coprah Shipment Values

 United States. British Empire. Other Countries. Year. Total Value Gold $. Gold $. Gold $. Gold $. 

 1899 -- 72, 095 654, 558 726, 653 1900 4, 450 246, 243 2, 931, 788 3, 182, 481 1901 -- 91, 793 1, 520, 045 1, 611, 838 1902 9, 057 531, 421 2, 161, 247 2, 701, 725 1903 9, 354 311, 606 3, 498, 833 3, 819, 793

Cocoanut-oil Shipment Values

1893 1894 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903Value Value Value Value Value Value ValueGold $. Gold $. Gold $. Gold $. Gold $. Gold $. Gold $. 

10, 336 33, 333 None 105 20 346 81

It will be observed that with the increase of coprah shipment, the export of cocoanut-oil has decreased. 

_Sapan-wood Shipments Before American Occupation_

 Year. Tons. 

 1880 5, 527 1881 4, 253 1882 5, 003 1883 2, 924 1884 2, 868 1885 4, 011 1886 4, 828 1887 5, 222 1888 6, 603 1889 4, 592 1890 2, 800 1891 4, 197 1892 3, 841 1893 4, 918 1894 2, 925 1895 2, 313 1896 3, 551 1897 4, 187

The official returns, since 1898, do not state the _quantities_of sapan-wood shipments. 

Gum-mastic Shipments

 Year. Tons. 

 1880 431 1881 440 1882 339 1883 235 1884 245 1885 195 1886 205 1887 404 1888 330 1889 490 1890 188 1891 303 1892 136 1894 189 1895 275 1896 172 1897 223

The official figures of _quantity_ are not procurable since 1897. The_values_ of the shipments are as follows:--In 1901, $154, 801; in 1902, $189, 193; in 1903, $143, 093. 

Coffee Shipments

 Year. Tons. 

 1856 437 1858 1, 560 1865 2, 350 1871 3, 335 1880 5, 059 1881 5, 383 1882 5, 052 1883 7, 451 1884 7, 252 1885 5, 209 1886 7, 337 1887 4, 998 1888 6, 702 1889 5, 841 1890 4, 796 1891 2, 869 1892 1, 326 1893 307 1894 309 1895 194 1896 89 1897 136 1899 34 1900 13 1901 30 1902 7 1903 4

Gold and Silver Imports and Exports Since American Occupation

 Year Imports Exports Gold. Silver. Gold. Silver. Gold $. Gold $. Gold $. Gold $. 

 1899 109, 965 1, 141, 392 3, 487, 050 939, 756 1900 71, 058 2, 830, 263 593, 143 3, 147, 946 1901 751, 909 6, 269, 613 857, 563 637, 844 1902 3, 110 4, 226, 924 314, 295 4, 173, 776 1903 50, 730 1, 403, 475 63, 540 7, 494, 347

Tonnage Entered in Philippine Ports Since American Occupation

 Year. Steamers. Net Tonnage. Sailing-ships Net Tonnage. 

 1899 1, 562 767, 605 313 58, 980 1900 2, 969 1, 278, 740 3, 252 147, 153 1901 3, 649 1, 630, 176 6, 333 208, 092 1902 3, 744 1, 819, 547 7, 222 242, 669 1903 4, 679 2, 343, 904 6, 111 251, 116

Exchange Fluctuations (Of the Peso or Mexican Dollar). 

 Sight on London. Year. Highest. Lowest. 

 1869 4/5-1/4 4/1-3/4 1879 3/11 3/9 1880 3/11-3/4 3/9-3/4 1881 4/1-1/2 3/11 1882 4/1 3/11-1/2 1883 4/0-1/4 3/9-1/2 1884 3/9-1/4 3/7-3/4 1885 3/10-1/4 3/8-1/2 1886 3/9-3/4 3/7-1/2 1887 3/8-1/2 3/3 1888 3/6-3/4 3/2-3/4 1889 3/6-1/4 3/3 1890 3/10-1/2 3/2-1/4 1892 3/3-3/4 3/- 1897 2/2 1/2-3/4 1898 2/0-5/8 1/9-1/2 1899 2/05/16 1/11-3/8 1900 2/0-7/8 1/11-7/8 1901 2/0-1/2 1/10-5/16 1902 1/10-13/16 1/6-1/4 1903 1/11-5/16 1/6-11/16 1904 Local Currency 1/11-9/16 1/9-11/16 "Conant" Peso 2/0-13/16 2/0-3/16

Proportionate Table of Exports (Exclusive of Gold and Silver)Years 1899-1903

Year 1899United States ==================British Empire ===================Spain ======Other Countries ==========================

Year 1900United States ====================British Empire =======================================Spain ========Other Countries =======================================

Year 1901United States ======================British Empire ====================================================Spain =======Other Countries ===============================

Year 1902United States ===================================================British Empire =======================================Spain =====Other Countries ==================================

Year 1903United States =========================================================British Empire =============================================Spain ======Other Countries =====================================

Proportionate Table of Imports (Exclusive of Gold, Silver, andU. S. Govt. Supplies) Years 1899-1903

Year 1899United States =======British Empire ==================Spain ============Other Countries ==================================================

Year 1900United States ===========British Empire ==================================Spain ==========Other Countries ============================================================

Year 1901United States =================British Empire ========================================Spain =========Other Countries ====================================================================

Year 1902United States ===================British Empire ================================Spain ==============Other Countries ====================================================================

Year 1903United States =================British Empire ================================Spain ==========Other Countries ====================================================================

Proportionate Table of Hemp, Coprah, and Sugar Exports, and RiceImports in the Years 1899-1903

Hemp. 1899 ===================1900 ======================1901 ===============================1902 ===========================1903 ===================================

Coprah. 1899 =========1900 ========================================1901 ====================1902 ==================================1903 ==============================================

Sugar. 1899 ==========================================1900 ================================1901 ============================1902 ===================================================1903 ===========================================

Rice (Import). 1899 ===================1900 ======================1901 ==========================1902 ===========================================1903 ====================================================

Chronological Table of Leading Events

1494 Treaty of Tordesillas (June 7). 1519 Maghallanes' expedition sailed, resulting in discovery of the Philippines. 1521 Death of Hernando Maghallanes (April 27). 1522 Elcano completed his voyage round the world (Sept. 6). 1542 The Villalobos expedition sailed from Mexico (Nov. 1). 1545-63 Council of Trent (Dec, 1545, to Dec, 1563). Decrees published in 1564. 1564 The Legaspi expedition sailed from Mexico (Nov. 21). 1565 Miguel de Legaspi landed in Cebú. ---- Austin friars' first arrival. ---- The image of "The Holy Child" was found on Cebú shore. ---- Cebú became the capital of the Philippines. 1571 Manila became the capital of the Philippines. 1572 Death of Miguel de Legaspi (Aug. 20). 1574 Li-ma-hong, the Chinese corsair, attacked Manila (Nov. ). 1576 Death of Juan Salcedo, Legaspi's grandson (March 11). 1577 Franciscan friars' first arrival. 1578 Parish church at Manila was raised to the dignity of a cathedral. 1580 The _Alcayceria_ (for Chinese) was established in Binondo (Manila). 1581 Dominican friars' first arrival. ---- Domingo Salazár, first Bishop of Manila, took possession. 1587 Alonso Sanchez's mission to King Philip II. Consequent reforms. 1590 The walls of Manila City were built about this year. 1593 Japanese Emperor demanded the surrender of the Islands. ---- First mission of friars from Manila to Japan. 1596 First expedition went to subdue the Mindanao natives. 1598 Ignacio de Santibañez, first Archbishop of Manila, took possession. 1603 Chinese mandarins came to see the "Mount of Gold" in Cavite. ---- Massacre of Chinese; about 24, 000 slain or captured. 1604 Los Baños hospital, church, and convent were established. 1606 Recoleto friars' first arrival. 1613 The Spanish victory (over the Dutch) of Playa Honda. 1616 Earliest recorded eruption of the Mayon Volcano. 1622 Rebellion in Bojol Island led by Dagóhoy. 1626 The image of "The Virgin of Antipolo" was first brought to Manila. ---- A Spanish colony was founded in Formosa Island. 1638 Corcuera's expedition against the Moros landed in Sulu Island. 1640 Foundation of the sultanate of Mindanao. ---- Separation of Spain and Portugal. 1640 Spain made an unsuccessful attempt to capture Macao. 1641 Earliest recorded eruption of the Taal Volcano. 1642 Attempts to proselytize Japan ceased. 1645 Saint Thomas' College was raised to the status of a university. 1649 Rebellion of "King" Málong and "Count" Gumapos. 1660 Massacre of Chinese. 1662 Koxinga, a Chinese adventurer, threatened invasion. ---- Great Massacre of Chinese in Manila. 1669 The "Letter of Anathema" was publicly read for the first time. 1684 Spanish Prime Minister Valenzuela was banished to Cavite. 1700 First admission of natives into the Religious Orders. 1718 The "Letter of Anathema" was publicly read for the last time. 1719 Friars in open riot incited the populace to rebellion. 1751 Sultan Muhamad Alimudin was imprisoned in Manila. 1754 Taal Volcano eruption destroyed Taal, Tanañan, Sala, Lipa, etc. ---- First regular military organization. ---- Treaty with Sultan Muhamad Alimudin (March 3). 1755 Banishment of 2, 070 Chinese from Manila. 1762-63 British occupation of Manila. 1762 Rebellion in Ilocos Province led by Diego de Silan. 1763 Sultan Muhamad Alimudin was restored to his throne by the British. 1768 Expulsion of the Jesuits ordered (R. Decree, 1768; Papal Brief, 1769). 1770 Expulsion of the Jesuits was effectuated. ---- Simon de Anda y Salazár became Gov. -General by appointment. 1776 Death of Simon de Anda y Salazár (Oct. 30). 1781 Government Tobacco Monopoly was established. 1785 The _Real Compañia de Filipinas_ was founded (March 10). 1810 Philippine deputies were first admitted to the Spanish Parliament. 1811 The last State galleon left Manila for Mexico. 1815 The last State galleon left Acapulco (Mexico) for Manila. 1819 Secession of Mexico from the Spanish Crown. 1820 Massacre of foreigners in Manila and Cavite (Oct. 9). 1822 First Manila news-sheet (_El Filántropo_) was published. 1823 Rebellion of Andrés Novales (June). 1830 The first Philippine bank was opened about this year. 1831 Zamboanga port was opened to foreign trade. 1834 Manila port was unrestrictedly opened to foreign trade. 1835 Rebellion in Cavite led by Feliciano Páran. 1837 Philippine deputies were excluded from the Spanish Parliament. 1841 Apolinario de la Cruz declared himself "King of the Tagálogs. "1843 Chinese shops were first allowed to trade on equal terms. 1844 Claveria's expedition against the Moros. ---- Foreigners were excluded from the interior of the Islands. ---- The office of Trading-Governor was abolished. 1851 Urbiztondo's expedition against the Moros. 1852 Manila City thenceforth remained open day and night. ---- The _Banco Español-Filipino_ was instituted. 1854 Rebellion of Cuesta. 1855 Yloilo port was opened to foreign trade. 1857 The Manila mint was established. 1859 Return of the Jesuits to the Philippines. 1801 Dr. José Rizal, the Philippine patriot, was born (June 19). 1863 Manila City and Cathedral damaged by earthquake; 2, 000 victims. ---- Cebú port was opened to foreign trade. 1868-70 The Assembly of Reformists in Manila. 1869 General Emilio Aguinaldo was born (March 22). 1870 Rebellion in Cavite led by Camerino. 1872 The Cavite Conspiracy (Jan. ). 1875 Failure of Russell & Sturgis. 1876 Malcampo's expedition against the Moros. Joló annexed. 1877 England and Germany recognized Spain's rights in Sulu. 1880 The last destructive earthquake affecting Manila. ---- The Hong-Kong-Manila submarine cable was laid (_via_ Bolinao). 1883 Tobacco free planting was thenceforth permitted (Jan. 1). ---- Tobacco free export was thenceforth permitted (July 1). 1884 The "Carriedo" endowment water-supply for Manila was established. ---- Tribute and Poll Tax were abolished and _Cédula personal_ introduced. 1886 Petition to the Crown asking for the expulsion of the Chinese. ---- The office of Judge-Governor was abolished. ---- Investiture in Manila of Sultan Harun Narrasid (Sept. 24). ---- Capuchin friars' first arrival. 1887 Terrero's expedition against the Moro Datto Utto. ---- Colonel Juan Arolas' victory in Sulu Island. Capture of Maybun (April 16). ---- Philippine Exhibition was held in Madrid. 1890 Municipalities in the christian provinces were created. 1891 The first Philippine railway was opened to traffic. 1895 The Marahui campaign against the Moros of Mindanao Island. ---- Benedictine friars' first arrival. 1896 The Tagálog Rebellion opened (August 20). ---- First battle of the Rebellion (San Juan del Monte, Aug. 30). ---- Gov. -General Ramon Blanco was recalled to Spain (Dec). ---- Gov. -General Polavieja arrived in Manila (Dec). ---- Dr. José Rizal, the Philippine patriot, was executed (Dec. 30). 1897 Gov. -General Polavieja left Manila for Spain (April 15). ---- Gov. -General Primo de Rivera returned to Manila (April). ---- First issue of the first Philippine Loan (July 15). ---- Treaty of Biac-na-bató is alleged to have been signed (Dec. 14). ---- General Emilio Aguinaldo went into exile under treaty (Dec. 27). ---- Tremendous tidal wave on Leyte Island. Life and property destroyed. 1898 Tragedy of the _Calle de Camba_, Manila (March 23). ---- Rebel rising in Cebú Island (April 3). ---- Gov. -General Primo de Rivera left Manila for Spain (April). ---- Gov. -General Basilio Augusti arrived in Manila (April). ---- The Spanish-American War began (April 23). ---- Battle of Cavite. The Spanish fleet destroyed (May 1). ---- General Emilio Aguinaldo returned from exile to Cavite (May 19). ---- General Emilio Aguinaldo assumed the Dictature (May 24). ---- Constitution of the Revolutionary Government promulgated (June 23). ---- Revolutionists' appeal to the Powers for recognition (Aug. 6). ---- Spanish-American Protocol of Peace signed in Washington (Aug. 12). ---- American occupation of Manila (Aug. 13). ---- Capitulation of Manila to the Americans (Aug. 14). ---- Malolos (Bulacan) became the Revolutionary capital (Sept. 15). ---- American and Spanish peace commissioners met in Paris (Oct. 1). 1898 Capitulation of the Spaniards in Negros island to the rebels (Nov. 6). ---- Treaty of Peace between America and Spain (Paris, Dec. 10). ---- Evacuation of Panay Island by the Spaniards (Dec. 24). ---- Evacuation of Cebú Island by the Spaniards (Dec. 26). 1899 Evacuation of Cottabato by the Spaniards (Jan). ---- Constitution of the Philippine Republic was promulgated (Jan. 22). ---- The War of Independence began (Feb. 4). ---- Bombardment of Yloilo (Feb. 11). ---- American occupation of Cebú City (Feb. 22). ---- American occupation of Bojol Island (March). ---- Malolos, the revolutionary capital, was captured (March 31). ---- The Schurman Commission appointed (Jan. 20); in Manila (May 2). ---- Evacuation of Zamboanga by the Spaniards (May 23). ---- Violent death of General Antonio Luna (June 3). ---- The Ladrone, Caroline, and Pelew Is. (minus Guam) sold to Germany (June). ---- The Aglipayan schism began. ---- The Bates agreement with the Sultan of Sulu (Aug. ). ---- American occupation of Zamboanga (Nov. 16). ---- Death of General Lawton (Dec). 1900 Monsignor P.  L. Chapelle, papal delegate, arrived in Manila (Jan. 2). ---- The Taft Commission appointed (Mar. 16); in Manila (June 3). ---- The Philippine Commission became the legislative body (Sept. 1). 1901 General surrender of the Panay insurgent army (Feb. 2). ---- Capture of General Emilio Aguinaldo (Mar. 23). ---- General Emilio Aguinaldo swore allegiance to America (April 1). ---- The Philippine Commission assumed full (civil) executive power (July 4). ---- General surrender of Cebuáno chiefs (Oct. ). ---- General surrender of Bojoláno chiefs (Dec). 1902 Capture of V. Lucban, the last recognized insurgent chief (April 27). ---- Mr. W.  H. Taft in Rome to negotiate purchase of friars' lands (June). ---- Civil rule throughout the Islands decreed (Congress Act, July 1). ---- War of Independence ended (actually, April 27; officially, July 4). ---- President Roosevelt's peace proclamation and amnesty grant (July 4). ---- Military rule (remainder of) declared ended (War Office Order, July 4). ---- Monsignor G.  B. Guidi, papal delegate, arrived in Manila (Nov. 18). 1903 Apolinario Mabini died in Manila (May 13). ---- "The Democratic Labour Union" prosecution (May). ---- Moro Province constituted (Phil. Com. Act No. 787, June 1). ---- Archbishop Nozaleda relinquished the archbishopric of Manila (June). ---- The Philippine peso ("Conant") issued to the public (July). ---- Moro Province Legislative Council organized (Sept. 2). 1904 Monsignor J.  J. Harty, Archbishop of Manila, arrived (Jan. ). ---- Mr. W.  H. Taft, appointed Secretary of War, left Manila (Jan. ). ---- Mr. Luke E. Wright succeeded Mr. Taft as Civil Governor (Jan. ). ---- Greatest inundation of Manila suburbs within living memory (July 11). ---- The "Internal Revenue Law of 1904" in operation (Aug. 1). 1905 Monsignor Ambrogio Agius, papal delegate, arrived in Manila (Feb. 6). ---- The Philippine Assembly to be convened in 1907 proclaimed (March 28). ---- _El Renacimiento_ prosecution for alleged libel (July). ------1906 English became the official language (Jan. 1; Phil. Com. Act No. 1123). 

Index

Acle (wood), 313

Acuña, Gov. -General Bravo de, 74

Adasaolan, the Moro chief, 129

Aetas tribe, the, 37, 120, 145, 163

Agaña (Guam Is. ), 41

Agius, Monsignor Ambrogio, papal legate, 607

Aglípay, Gregorio, career of, 603; heads the Independent Church, 604;throws off allegiance to Rome, 605

Agno River, 14

Agoncillo, Felipe, 472, 485, 495

Agriculture, 269; proposed Bank of, 624; the Bureau of, 625

Aguinaldo, Emilio, 370; claims independence, 394; goes into exile, 399;goes to Singapore, 419; returns to Hong-Kong, 421; becomes Dictator, 436; becomes President of The Revolutionary Government, 469; triumphalentry into Malolos of, 470; capture of, 507; swears allegianceto America, 509; home of, 510; as witness in _El Renacimiento_prosecution, 550. _Vide_ War of Independence

Agusan River, 14

Albinos, 128

_Alcayceria, _the, 110

Alcocér, Father Martin Garcia, 597, 602

_Alférez Real, _50

Alva, Francisco, 31

Alcalde-Governors, 212

_Alcalde Mayor, _213

_Alguacil_, 226

Ali, Datto, 529, 580-2

Allocution of the Archbishop of Madrid, 423

Alvarez, Vicente, the _Tamagun Datto_, 532

Ambutong, Datto, 585

_Amor seco_, 324

Anagap (wood), 313

Anathema, the Letter of, 82

Anda y Salazár, Simon de, usurps gov. -generalship, 91; offers rewardsfor British heads, 95; rewards to, 99; character of, 99; becomesGov. -General, 99; death of, 100

Andrew, Saint, patron of Manila, 50, 560

Animals, 336 _et seq. _

Anobing (wood), 313

Anson, Admiral, 246

_Anting-anting_, the, 237

Antipolo, Virgin of, 184

Antipolo (wood), 313

Antwerp, the Treaty of, 72

_Aparcero_ (labour) system, 274

Apiton (wood), 313

Araudia, Gov. -General Pedro de, 61, 80, 138

Araneta, General Pablo, 514, 517

Araneta, Juan, 520

Aranga (wood), 313

Archbishopric created, 56

Areca-nut, 303

Army, the (under Spain) 53, 77; pay of, 53, 230; statistics of, 229-30; the first barracks, 231; Halberdier Guard, 232; strength of, at the outbreak of the Rebellion, 364; in 1898, 466; (under America)strength of, during War of Independence, 553; arms captured by, 553;strength of, in 1904, 569; general officers' pay, 569; privates' pay, 569; the three departments of, 569; scout corps; military prison, 570

Arolas, Colonel Juan, captures Maybun, 144; death of, 144 (footnote)

Artists, native, 196

_Asiento_ Contract, the, 257

Assembly of Reformists, the, 362

_Asuan_ (evil spirit), 181

Athenæum, the, 194

Augusti, General Basilio, succeeds Gen. Primo de Rivera, 413; issuesa call to arms, 424; issues a proclamation against Americans, 425;quits Manila before the American occupation, 464

Austin friars, 55

Axa, 274

Ayala, Antonio de, 367 (footnote)

Azcárraga, General Marcelo, 105 (footnote)

Bacoor town, rebel headquarters, 499

Badiao destroyed, 16

Bagobos, the Moro tribe of, 145

_Bagsacay_ weapon, 147

_Baibailanes_, sect of the, 608

Balábac Island, 160; slaughter of Spaniards in, 478

Balambangan, slaughter of British at, 139

Balangiga, slaughter of Americans at, 536

Balanguigui Island, Corcuera's victory in, 139

Balate (trepang), 312

Baler garrison captives, 494

Balugas tribe, the, 163

Bamboos, 308

Banaba (wood), 313

Banana fruit, 317

Bancal (wood), 314

_Banco Español-Filipino_, the, 258; run on the, 435, 638

Bandits, notorious, 238-9, 546-9, 582, _Vide_ Brigands

Banks, foreign and Philippine, 258, 638; American, 637

Bansalague (wood), 314

Barangay chiefs, 189, 222-3, 225 (footnote)

Barasoain town, 469 (footnote), 567

Barbosa, Duarte de, 28

_Barong_ weapon, 147

Barracks, the first, 231

Basa, José M. , 106; biographical note of, 108 (footnote)

Basan tribe, the, 128

Batac tribe, the, 158 (footnote;

Bates Agreement, the, 571

Batitínan (wood), 313

Bató Lake, 15

Bats, 340

Battle-- of Playa Honda, 75; of Saint Juan del Monte, 368; ofBinacayan, 373; of Cavite, 427; of Paco, 487; of Marilao, 490

Bautista, Ambrosio Rianzares, 106

Bautista, Fray Pedro, martyr-saint, 64

Bay Lake, 15

Bayabos, the Moro tribe of, 145

Bejuco (rattan), 310

Benguet Road, the, 615 (footnote)

Berenguer y Marquina, Gov-General, 80

Beri-beri disease, 197

Betel, 303

Betis (wood), 313

Biac-na-bató, the alleged Treaty of, 396, 414 (footnote)

Bicol River, 14, 37

_Bigaycaya_, the, 178

Bilibíd jail, 557

Binacayan, Battle of, 373

Birds, 341

Birds'-nests, edible, 311

Bishop of Manila, the first, 51, 56

Blanco, Gov. -General Ramon, 377

Blood Compact, the, 28, 369

Boar, 340

Boayan Lake, 15

_Bocayo_, 305

Bojo, 310

Bojol Island, rebellion in, 101; American occupation of, 528; PedroSanson, the insurgent leader in, 528

_Boleta_ shipping-warrant, the, 244

Bombon Lake, 15

Bongso, Rajah, 130

Bonifacio, Andrés, 370

Borneo Island, Spanish relations with, 29, 165

Botanical specimens, 321

Braganza, Duke of, 81

Braganza, Major, execution of the rebel, 537

Brewery, the first Philippine, 264

Bridge of Spain, 349

Brigands-- the _tulisán_; the _pulaján_, 235, 547 _et seq. _; hauntsof, 238; the _remontado_, 205; "Guards of Honour, " 550. _Vide_ Bandits

British North Borneo Co. , 141

British-- corsairs, 54; occupation of Manila by, 87

Bronchial affections, 197

Brunei, Sultanate of, 29, 141, 157, 165

Budgets, 227 _et seq. _; of 1757, 251, 629

Buffaloes, 337; rinderpest epidemic, 338, 621; efforts of Governmentto replace the stocks of, 622

Buffalo hides, shipments of, 640

Buhi Lake, 15

Bull-ring, 350

Buluan Lake, 15

Bureaux of the Insular Government, 561

Burgos, Dr. Jose, 106; executed, 107

Buri palm, 308

Bush-rope, 310

Bustamente Bustillo, Gov. -General, murder of, 60

Bustos, 92-4

Butler, John B. , 257

Butterflies, 340

Butuan River, 14

Buyo, 303

_Cabeza de barangay, _189, 222-3

Cable service, 267-8

Cacao, 301; cultivation of, 302

Cachil Corralat, King, 133

Cachila or Castila, 169, 515 (footnote)

Cagayán, river of, 14; lake of, 15

Cagaaua destroyed, 16

Cagsaysay, Our Lady of, 18, 19, 184

"_Cahapon, ngayon at Bucas_, " the seditious play of, 554

_Caida_, 353

_Caidas_, 224

Cailles, General Juan, 507; as provincial governor, 507

_Caja de comunidad_, 217

Calderon, Rita, 139

Calinga tribe, the, 125

_Calle de Camba_ tragedy, the, 401

Camagón (wood), 314

Camaguin Volcano, 16

Camerino, the rebel, 106, 397 (footnote)

Camote, 303

_Campilán_ weapon, 147

Campo de Bagumbayan, 369

Canga-Argüelles, Felipe, 143, 158, 161

Canlaúan Volcano, 16

Cánovas Ministry, 378, 384, 417

Capers, 321

_Capitán municipal_, 225

Capsicums, 321

Captives, the Spanish, 537; why detained, 539; Baron Du Maraismurdered, 540; the captors' terms of release, 541

Capture of Manila-- attempted by Li-ma-hong, 47; threatened by JapaneseEmperor, 64; threatened by the Dutch, 75; threatened by Koxinga, 76;by the British, 87; by the Americans, 464

Caraballo, Juan, 29

_Carabaos_ (buffaloes), 337

Caroline Islands, the discovery of, 41, 43; seized by Germany, 44;governor of, murdered, 45; sold to Germany, 46

Carrillo Theatre, the, 349

_Carromata_, 559 (footnote)

Carrying-trade, the inter-island, 262; regulated by the Shipping Lawof 1904, 628-9, 647

Cartagena, Juan de, 26

_Casa Misericordia_ loan office, 247

Cassava, 321

Castila or Cachila, 169, 515 (footnote)

Castor-oil, 302

_Catapúsan_, the, 179 (footnote)

Cathedral of Manila, the, 55

_Catipad_, 177

Cauit, 371 (footnote)

Cavite the conspiracy of 1872, 106, 363; fort of, 233-4; executionsin 1896, 374

_Cayinin_, the, 555

Cebú, discovery of, 27; Legaspi in, 34; the "Holy Child" of, 183;the patron saint of, 183; the port of, 261; rising in, 402 _et seq_. ;executions of rebels in, 405; native government in the Island of, 521;American occupation of the City of, 523; General Hughes' expeditionto, 525; the City of, 526

Cedar (wood), 314

_Cédula personal_, the, 224

Census, the, 355, 615-6

_Centro Catálico, El_, 602

Chabucano dialect, the, 535

Chaffee, Maj. -General A.  R. , 563

Chambers of Commerce, 261

Chamorro dialect, the, 40

Champaca, 325

_Chapdiki_, 351 (footnote)

Chapelle, Monsignor P.  L. , papal legate, 595 and footnote

Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, the, 258, 435, 637

Chillies, 321

Chinese, the, 54, 109; slaughter of the Moluccas expedition leaderby, 73; revolt of, 77; banishment of, 111; restrictions on, 111; asimmigrants, 112; taxes first levied on, 112; social position of, underSpanish rule, 113; riots of, 114; mandarins come to seek the "Mount ofGold" in Cavite, 114; Saint Francis' victory over, 115; massacre by, 115; massacre of, 77, 93, 115; as traders, 117, 263; Guilds of, 117;patron saint of, 118; population of, 118; _Macao_, 118; _Sangley_, 118; _Suya_, 118; secret societies, 119; Exclusion Act, 119, 633;before the Spanish advent, 166; Club, 558; social position of, underAmerican rule, 634; future probable effect of the exclusion of, 635

Chocolate, 301

Cholera epidemic, 116, 197

Church-- relations of, to the State, 50; Dominican friars, 51(footnote); first bishop of Manila, 51, 56; tithes to, 55; Austinfriars, 55; Mendicant friars, 55; friars' term of residence, 55; ManilaCathedral, 55; the Inquisition, 55, 59, 82; archbishopric created, 56;indulgences granted, 56; relics in cathedral, 57; excommunications, 58, 67, 604; archbishop banished, 58; quarrels with the State authorities, 57-8, 99, 209-10; Chap. Vii; the martyrs of Japan, 66-9; the HighHost is stolen, 82; Letter of Anathema, 82; the Hierarchy, 206;revenue and expenditure of the, 207, 209; position of the regularclergy after 1898, 594; Archbishop Nozaleda, 594, 597; Father MartínGarcia Alcocér, 597, 602; attitude of the native clergy towards the, after 1898, 596; Monsignor P.  L. Chapelle, 595; Monsignor G.  B. Guidi, 601; Monsignor A. Agius, 607; the friars'-7lands question, 597-601;the Aglipayan Schism, 604. _Vide_ Friars; Religious Orders

Church, the Philippine Independent. _Vide_ Independent

Cigars, 299; shipments of, 644

Cinnamon, 311

Civil--governor, duties of the Spanish, 215; his position, 216; guard(constabulary), the, 231; the title of Civil Governor, 561; Service, the, 565; Commission, the, 560, 565; rule established, 566

Claudio, Juan, 81

Claveria, expedition against the Moros by, 139

Clergy, the native, capacity of, 607. _Vide_ Church; Friars

Clímaco, Arsenio, 522, 525

Clímaco, General Juan, 522

Climate, 22; of the south, 157

Clubs, 558

Coal, 326, comparative analyses, 328

Cock-fighting, 351

Cocoanuts, 304

Cocoanut-oil, 305; export values of, 645

Coffee, 289; _caracolillo_, 289; where grown, 289; dealing, 290;cultivation, 291; statistics, 291; shipments of, 646

Cogon-grass, 307

Coir, 305

_Colerin_ disease, 197

_Coloram_, sect of the, 608

Comenge, Rafael, inflammatory speech of, 400

_Compañia General de Tabacos_, 299

_Compañia Guipuzcoana de Caracas_, 252

_Conant_ peso, the, 635-7

Concentration circuits, 391, 549

Congressional Relief Fund, the, 621, 623

_Consulado_ trading-ring, the, 244

Constabulary statistics (Spanish), 231; (American), 550, 553, 567

Contentions, State and Church, 58

Convent of Santa Clara, 81

Convicts, corps of, 231; in Bilibid jail, 557

Cooper Bill, the, 627, 629

Copper, 334

Coprah, 305; shipments of, 645

Corcuera, Gov. -General Hurtado de, 58, 79, 81; in Sulu, 131

Cordage, shipments of, 640

Cornish, Admiral, 87

Corregidor Island, 345 (footnote), 556

Corsairs, British, 54

_Cotta de San Pedro_ (Cebú), 402

Cottabato, meaning of, 142 (footnote); Spanish evacuation of, 529;native rule in, 529; slaughter of Christians in, 530; Americanintervention at, 530

Cotton-tree, 307

Council of Trent, the, 605 (footnote)

Count--of Albay, 105; of La Union, 124; of Manila, 139; of Lizárraga, 210

Courts of Justice, cost of the Spanish, 234; American, 618

Criminal law procedure, Spanish-Philippine, 241

Cruz, Apolinario de la, "King of the Tagálogs, " 105

_Cuadrillero_ guard, the, 224

Cuba, America liberates, 417

_Cubang-aso_, 166 (footnote)

_Cueva del Inglés_, the, 21

Cuevas, Datto Pedro, career of, 582; his death, 583; his justice, 586

Currency, the, under Spain, 244, 259; under America, 635-7

Custom-houses, 261, 467, 626

Customs duty, the first levied, 53; under America, 629-30

"_Dabas ng pilac_, " the seditious play of, 554

Dagóhoy's rebellion, 101

Dalahican camp, 374

Danao River, 15

Dancing, the _balítao_, the _comítan_, 180

Dasmariñas, Gov. -General Perez, 56, 78

_Datto_. _Vide_ Moros

Dayfusama, Emperor of Japan, 69

Death-rate, 198

Deer, 340

Delgado, General Martin, 513-14, 517-18

Demarcation of Spanish and Portuguese spheres by papal bull, 25

Democratic Labour Union, the, 632

Departments of the Insular Government, 561

Descent of Filipinos, theory of the, 120

Despujols, Gov. -General, 383

Dewey, Admiral George, 419, 427, 430, 432

_Diario de Manila, El_, founded 352, suspended, 401

Diaz, Julio, 520

_Diezmos prediales_, 55

Dilao village, 63

_Dimas alang_, 389

Dimasangcay, King of Mindanao, 129

Dinagat Island, 27

Dinglas (wood), 314

Diócno, Ananias, 513, 516

_Directorcillo_, 222

Disciplinary (convict) corps, 231

Discovery of the Philippines, 24 _et seq_. 

Diseases, the prevalent, 197

Dità (quinine), 308

Divisions of the Colony under Spain, 213

Djimbangan, Datto, 530, 580

Dollars, Mexican, first introduced, 244

Doll-saints, 188

Dominican friars, 51 (footnote)

Donkeys, 388

Dowries for native women, 53

Draper, Brig. -General, 87-91

Duarte de Barbosa, 28

Du Marais, Baron, 540 (footnote)

Dúngon (wood), 314

Dutch, naval battles with the, 72 _et seq. _

Dwelling-houses, 353

Dye saps, 312

Earthquakes, 23, 356

Ebony (wood), 314

_Eco de Filipinas, _ the seditious organ, 106

Education, under Spain, school-teachers, 192; State aid for, 193;the Athenæum syllabus, 194; the Santa Isabel College curriculum, 194;girls' schools, 194; St. Thomas' University, 194; the Nautical School, 195; the provincial student, 195; in agriculture, 228; under America, 608; the Normal School syllabus, 609; the Nautical School, 609; theSchool for Chinese, 610; University and remaining Spanish schools, 610; the English language for Orientals, 611; in agriculture, 625

Egbert, Colonel, death of, 489

Elcano, Juan Sebastian, 29; voyage round the world of, 30; reward to, 31; death of, 31

"_El Filibusterismo_, " 383

_El Nuevo Dia_ newspaper, 524

Emoluments of Spanish officials, 214; of American officials, 561

_Encomiendas_, 211

Espinosa, Gonzalo Gomez de, 29, 31

Exchange fluctuations, 647

Exclusion, of foreigners in general, 258; of Chinese in particular, 111, 119, 633-5

Excommunications, 58, 67, 604

Executions of monks in Japan, 66, 69

Exhortations and proclamations, rebel and insurgent, definition ofdemands, 392; claim of independence, 394, 421, 433, 436, 454, 486, 502

Expenditure and revenue, under Spain, 227 _et seq. _, 251; curiousitems of, 229; under America, 629

Exports, duty first levied on, 53; table of values of, 639; ofproduce, 639-46

Fajardo de Tua, Gov. -General, 70, 75; kills his wife, 80

_Fallas_ tax, 224

"Family Compact, " the, 72, 87

Family names, 179

Farranda Kiemon, the Japanese Ambassador, 64-5

Federal party, the, 547

Felizardo, Cornelio, the famous bandit, 548 (footnote), 549

Field of Bagumbayan, 369

"_Filibusterismo, El_, " 383

Filipino, the, meaning of the term, 120 (footnote), 165; theory ofthe descent of, 163 _et seq. _; meaning of the term "Tagálog, " 164; atthe St. Louis Exhibition, 165; character of, 167; characteristics of, 168-71; notion of sleep of, 169; "Castila!" 169; hospitality of, 172, 563; good qualities of, 173-4, 176; female activity, 173; aversion todiscipline, 175; bravery of, 175; troops in Tonquin, 175; physiognomyof, 177; marriages of, 177-9; minors' rights, 178; widows of, 178;family names of, 179; mixed marriages of, 181; belief in evil spirits, 181; conception of religion of, 189, 607-8; penance, 188; talent of, 196; as artists, 196; as politicians, 547; the "Irreconcilables, "547, 553, 613; capacity for self-government of, 614

Firewoods, 324

Fish, 339

Flowers, 321

Flores, Luis, 522-3

_Fondos locales_, 217. _Vide_ Government. 

Forests, inspection of, 228; produce of, 307 _et seq. _

Formosa Island, Spanish colony in, 76

Fort of Ylígan, 77, 231; of Zamboanga, 77, 133 (footnote), 233; ofSampanilla (Mindanao Is. ), 131; of Joló, 150; of Labo and Taytay(Palaúan Is. ), 231; of Cavite, 233-4; of Cebú, 402; of Santiago(Manila), 427, 430; of San Antonio Abad (Malate), 463

Fortification of Manila, 54, 231, 343 (footnote)

Fowls, 341

"Frailuno, " the term, 603 (footnote)

Francis of Tears, Saint, 183

Free trade penalties, Spanish, 250

Freemasonry, 363, 365 (footnote)

Friars, the Spanish, the Mendicant Order of, 55; term of residenceof, 55; in open riot, 61; attitude of, during the British occupation(1762-3), 91-3, 96; fighting, 116, 133; as parish priests, 202; theseveral Orders of, 207; as traders, 250; position of, after 1898, 594; causes of the anti-friar feeling, 595; attitude of the nativeclergy towards, 596; number of, at the time of the rebellion (1896), 596; position of, after 1898, determined, 597; the question of thereal estate of, 597, _et seq. _; America's negotiations with Rome, 598-600; acreage of real estate of, 601; the term "frailuno, " 603(footnote). _Vide_ Church; Religious Orders

Fruits, 317 et seq. 

_Fuerza del Pilar_, 133 (footnote)

_Funcion votiva de San Andrés_, 50

Funston, Colonel, 491, 496; captures Aguinaldo, 507; reward to, 509

Fuset, Antonio, 539

Gabi, 303

Gaddanes tribe, the, 122

Gales, Nicolas, 520

Galleons, to and from Mexico, 243; officers' pay, 243; royal dues, 249

_Gigantes, Paseo de los_, 134 (footnote)

Gilolo Island, 32

Ginger, 321

_Gobernadorcillo_, 221

Gogo, 302

Goiti, Martin de, 35, 37

Gold, mining, 328 et seq. ; coin, 259; imports and exports of, after1898, 647

Gomez, Father Mariano, executed, 107

González Parrado, General, 145, 150, 572

Government, under Spain, 211 _et seq. _; cost of, 214, _et seq. _, 629;of towns, 221 _et seq. _; under America, 560 _et seq. _, 576; cost of, 629; provincial, 566-7, 578-9

Governor-General, the, Legaspi, Miguel de, 33-4, 36; Lavezares, Guidode, 35 (footnote), 47; Zabálburu, Domingo, 42; powers of, 54; PerezDasmariñas, 56, 73; Corcuera, Hurtado de, 58, 79, 131; quarrels of, with the clergy, 58; Lara, Manrique de, 59; Salcedo, Diego, 59; Leon, Manuel de, 60; Nargas, Juan de, 60; Bustamente Bustillo murdered, 60; Torralba, José, 60, 79, 80; Arandia, Pedro de, 61, 80; Moriones, Domingo, 62; Raon, José, 62, 99; Fajardo de Tua, 70, 75, 80; Bravo deAcuña, 74; Silva, Juan de, 74; Silva, Fernando de, 76; Vargas, Juan, 79; peculations of, 79, 80, 212, 220-1; Berenguer y Marquina, 80; LaTorre, Francisco, 97; Obando, José de, 134; Jovellar, Joaquin, 211;Despujols, 383; Primo de Rivera, Fernando, 124, 211, 389, 391, 399, 408; Blanco, Ramon, 377; Polavieja, Camilo, 378-9; Augusti, Basilio, 413, 424-5, 464; Weyler 417-8, 431

Grants of land, 54, 211, 592

Grapes, 320

Guadalupe church, legend of, 361

Guaranty Trust Company, 637

"Guards of Honour, " the, 550

Guava fruit, 320

Guidi, Monsignor G.  B. , papal legate, 601

Guijo (wood), 314

Guillermo, Faustino, the bandit, 546

Gum mastic, 311; shipments of, 646

Gumapos, "Count, " 103

Gutta-percha, 311

Gypsum, 334

_Hadji_, title of, 571 (footnote). 

Halberdiers (Bodyguard), 232

Hale, General, 488, 490-1, 497-8

Hall, General, 488, 492

Hamabar, King, 28

Harbour-masters, Spanish, 234

Hardwoods, 312; relative strengths of, 317

Harun Narrasid, Sultan, 141, 142 (footnote)

Harty, Monsignor, J.  J. , 602

Headhunters, the, 124-5

Hemp, 281; various uses of, 282; extraction of, 282; experimentsin British India, 283; statistics of, 284; cultivation of, 285;qualities of, 285; labour difficulties, 286; shipments of, 639

Hendryx, Captain, the sad fate of, 552

Heredia, Pedro de, 74

Hierarchy, the, 206

High Host stolen, the, 82

_Hindi aco patay_, the seditious play of, 554

Hindoos, the, 128

"Historical Manifest, " the, 136

Histrionic art, 349

"Holy Child" of Cebú, the, 183

Homestead Law, the, 592 (footnote)

Hong-Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. , the 240, 258, 435, 637

Horses, 336

Hospitals, 54

Hughes, General, 489, 525, 528

Hurricanes, 355

Husi, 282

Ibanac tribe, the, 123

Identity document, the, 224

Igorrote tribe, the, 123

Igorrote-Chinese tribe, the, 126

Illiterates, 192, 615

Ilocos rebellion, 100

Imbog, the Moro, 129

Imports, table of values of, 639; proportionate table of Rice, 650

Imus, 372 (footnote)

Indemnity to British for Manila, 89

Independent Church, the Philippine, initiation of, 603; severancefrom Rome of, 605; conflicts between Catholics and Schismatics of, 606; doctrine of, 607

Indigo, shipments of, 640-1

Indulgences granted, 56

Industries, native, 264, 347

Inquisition, the, 55, 59, 82

Insanity, 198

Insects, 339; edible, 342

Insular Government. _Vide_ Government

Intellectuals, 192

International Banking Corp. , 637

Ipil (wood), 314

Iron, 332

Irreconcilables, the, 547, 553; demands of, 613

_Islas, del Poniente_, 28; _del Oriente_, 28; _Philipina_, 32; _delos Pintados_, 34 (footnote)

Islands, the chief, 13; ancient names of, 13

Itavis tribe, the, 123

_Jábul_ dress, 147

Jalajala, 360

Japan--the Ambassador Farranda Kiemon, 64-5; Taycosama, Emperor of, 65; Catholic missions to, 64-70, 164 (footnote); the martyrs of, 66, 69, 71; Dayfusama, Emperor of, 69; Xogusama, Emperor of, 69;To-Kogunsama, Emperor of, 70

Japanese, the, 63, 164; pre-Spanish immigration of, 166; industry of, 166; in Vigan, Malalos, Taal and Pagsanján, 166; expulsion of the, 164 (footnote); under American rule, 557

Jaramillo, General Nicolás, during the Rebellion, 374; in Zamboanga, 530; as agent for the liberation of Spanish prisoners, 540

Jaro, the See of, 515 (footnote)

Jesuits, rivalry with friars, 58; in Nagasaki, 65-7; expulsion of, 99, 206; number of, in the Islands in 1896, 206 (footnote)

_Jinrikisha_, the, 635

Joló, capture of, 139; annexation of, 140; town of, 149, 587; port of, 262; American occupation of, 571

Jomonjol Island, 27

Journalism, 106, 352, 363, 382, 412, 468, 524, 550

Jovellar, Gov. --General Joaquin, 211

Judicial statistics, Spanish, 234; American, 561, 618-19

Judicial Governors, 212

_Junta pátriotica_, the, 419

Jurado _v. _ the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. , 240

_Juramentado_, the, 146, 148, 150, 583; runs ámok, 152

Justice, of the peace, first appointed, 56; in municipalities, 225, 619; administration of, 618; provincial courts of, 619

Kalbi, Datto, 586

_Katipunan_ League, the, 364, 365 (footnote), 595; demands of the, 393

Kiemon Farranda, 64-5

"King of the Tagálogs, " 105

Koxinga, threatened invasion by, 76

Kudarangan, Sultan of, 143; vanquished by General Wood, 581; cotta of, 580 (footnote), 581

Labo fort, 231

Labour, problem, 225, 286, 332-3, 611, 631; on sugar estates, 274;"The Democratic Labour Union, " 632; Consul-General Wildman quoted, 633

Lacandola, Rajah, 35-7, 51; descendants of, 35 (footnote)

Lachambre, General, 379

Lacson, Aniceto, 520

Ladrone Islands, discovery of, 27; sighted, 34; visited, 40

Laguna de Bay, 15

Lakes, 15

Lamurrec Island, King of, 42

Lanao Lake, 15

Land, grants of, 54; tenure of, 270; measure of, 271; the HomesteadLaw, 592 (footnote); problem, 555, 592-3, 624-5

Lanete (wood), 314

_La Patria_ newspaper, 412

Lara, Gov. -General Manrique de, 59

Latitude of the Islands, 13

La Torre, Gov. -General, 97

Laúan (wood), 314

Lavezares, Guido de, 35 (footnote), 47

Law Spanish lawsuits, 56, 239; Spanish criminal law procedure, 241-2;under American rule, 618-9

Lawton, General, 493, 498-500; death of, 504

Leeches, 340

Legaspi, the expedition of, 33; in Cebú, 34; death of, 36

Leon, Gov. -General Manuel de, 60

Lepers, 70, 197, 351

Letter of Anathema, 82

_Leyes de Indias_, 51

Leyte Is. , rebellion in, 102; insurgency in, 547

Ligusan Lake, 15

Li-ma-hong, the Chinese corsair, 47

Limasaba, Prince of, 410

Lipa destroyed, 18

Lizares, Simon, 520

Llaneras, General, 374

Llorente, Julio, 521-2, 524

Loaisa expedition, the, 31

Loan, the first Philippine, 541 (footnote)

Local funds, 217

Locust bean, 324

Locusts, 341

Logarta, Miguel, 522, 525

Loney, Nicholas, 255

Longitude of the Islands, 13

Los Baños, 359

Losa, Diego de, 67

Löwenstein, Prince Ludwig von, 488, 510

Lucban, Vicente, 535; capture of, 545

Luga, Mateo, 525

Luna, General Antonio, 496-8; on the battlefield, 496; death of, 501

Luneta Esplanade, the, 353

Lung diseases, 197

Lúpis, 282

Lutao (Cebú) destroyed, 403

Mabini, Apolinario, 478, 486, 546

Mabolo fruit, 320

Macabebe, the, 446 (footnote)

_Macao_ (Chinese), 118

_Macacus radiata_, 177

Macao, the colony of, 81 (footnote); Spanish attempt to capture, 81

Macasin (wood), 316

Maceo, Antonio, 417

Macui, the Moro tribe of, 145

Madrecacao tree, 291

_Maestre del Campo_, 48 (footnote)

Magellan Straits discovered, 27

Maghallanes, Hernando de, 24; discovers the Straits of Magellan andLadrone Islands, 27; reaches Cebú Island, 27; death of, 28; monumentsto, 28

Maghayin, Bartolomé, 37

Magtan Island, 28, 403

Maguindanao Lake, 15

Maguinoó, the, 409, 411

Mahamad Alimudin, Sultan, 92, 98; vicissitudes of, 134-9

Mahometans, chap. X. _Vide_ Moros

Mail service, 262

_Maine_, American warship, 418 (footnote)

Maize, 300

Malábang fort, 131

Malahi military prison, 570

Malanao Moros, 145

Malatana tribe, the, 46

Malatapay (wood), 316

Malhou Island, 27

Malinao destroyed, 16

Malolos, Father Moïses Santos murdered at, 408; becomes the insurgentcapital, 469; Revolutionary congress convened at, 469; becomes thenew capital of Bulacan Province, 567

Malong's rebellion, "King, " 103

Malvar, General Miguel, in Taal, 505; defeat and surrender of, 545

Mancono (wood), 316

Mandi, Rajahmudah Datto, in Cebú, 407; at home, 533; his daughter'smarriage, 534

Mangachapuy (wood), 316

Mango fruit, 317

Manguiancs tribe, the, 128

Manguiguin, the, 131; visits Zamboanga, 589

Mani, 303

Manila Province, 212 (footnote), 560

Manila, proclaimed capital, 36; City Council of, 36; the city walls andfosse of, 54, 231, 343 (footnote); opened to foreigners, 256; publicbuildings, 344; port works, 344; the Bay of, 345; the public lightingof, 346; the business quarter of, 347; _La Escolta_, 347, 557; Easterweek in, 348; vehicle traffic in, 348; theatres, 349, 558; bull-ring, 350; hotels, 352, 558; the Press, 352, 468, 559; botanical gardens, 353; Luneta Esplanade, 353; dwelling-houses, 353; society in, 354;population of, 355, 615-6; climate of, 354; earthquakes affecting, 356; dress in, 357; after 1898, 556; refrigerated meat-stores, 556;innovations in, 557; Bilíbid jail, 557; clubs, theatres, hotels, 558;drinking "Saloons, " 559; new feast-days, 560; the municipality of, 560; as seat of Insular Government, 560; the Federal zone of, 560

Manobos, the Moro tribe of, 145

Marahui campaign, the, 144

Marble, 334

Marivéles, 345 (footnote)

Marriages, 177-81, 618

Marti, the Cuban patriot, 417

Martin, Gerónimo, 51

Martyrs, the, of Japan, 66-71; Philippine, 107

Massacre of Chinese, 93, 115-6; of other foreigners, 116

_Matamis na macapano_, 305

Matienza, Dr. Sancho, 26

Maxilom, General Arcadio, 524-6

Mayon Volcano, 16; eruption of in 1897, 17

McArthur, Maj. -General A. , in the War of Independence, 489-91, 496-8; 563

Medicinal herbs, 324

Mejia, Pablo, 522; assassinated, 523

Melliza, Raymundo, 511, 514

Mendicant friars, 55

Mendoza, Father Agustin, 106

Mendoza, Luis de, 26

Merritt, General Wesley, 463, 466, 467

_Mestizo_, the, 176; character of, 182

Middlemen, 263

Midel, Isidoro, 532

Military departments, the, 569. _Vide_ Army

Military service, Spanish, 231. _Vide_ Army

Miller, General, 511 _et seq. _

Mineral oil, 335

Mineral products, 326 _et seq. _

Miraculous saints, 187

Mirs Bay, 419 (footnote), 427

Mixed races, 176, marriages of, 181

Mohammad Jamalul Kiram, Sultan, 141, 587-8

Molasses, 273

Molave (wood) 315

Moluccas Islands, tragic end of the Philippine expedition to, 73;abandonment of the, 77

Money, under Spain, 244, 259; lending, 255-6, 269; 246 (footnote)624; under America, 635-7. 

Monks, the. _Vide_ Religious Orders; Friars

Monsoon region, 23

Montalón, Julian, the famous bandit, 549

Montera, General, in Cebú, 402, 521; in Zamboanga, 530 _et seq. _

Montilla, José, 520

Montojo, Admiral Patricio, sword of honour presented to, 400; 419, 428, 429 (footnote)

Montoya, Gabriel, 37

Moraga, Fray Hernando de, 78

Moriones, Gov. -General Domingo, 62

_Moro Moro_, 349

Moro Province, the, 576 _et seq. _; constitution of, 577; sub-divisionof, under Spanish rule, 577 (footnote); municipalities, tribal wardsand districts of, 578-9; finances of, 579; armed forces in, 580;America's policy in, 588, 591, 593; education in, 591

Moros, the, Brunei Sultanate, 29, 141, 157, 165; Dimasangeay, Kingof Mindanao, 129; Adasaolan, the chief, 129; Bongso, Rajah, 130;Rodriguez's expedition against, 130; the Manguiguin of Mindanao, 131, 589; Corcuera's expedition against, 131; Cachil Corralat, King, 133; friars take the field against, 133; Gastambide's expeditionagainst, 137; Claveria's and Urbiztondo's expeditions against, 139;slaughter of British at Balambangan by, 139; Corcuera's victory over, in Balanguigui Island, 139; population of, 140; Malcampo's expeditionagainst, 140; agreement with the British North Borneo Co. , 141;Harun Narrasid, Sultan, 141-2; Mohammad Jamalul Kiram, Sultan, 141, 587-8; Terrero's expedition against, 143; Arolas' expedition against, 144; Blanco's expedition against; Marahui campaign, 144; Spanishoccupation of Lake Lanao, 145; Buille's (the last Spanish punitive)expedition against, 145; the chief tribes of, 145; dress of, 146-7, 154; physique of, 146; character, arts, weapons, trade of, 147; the_pandita_, the _datto_, customs of, 148, 155-6; slavery among the, 151; pensions to the, 139, 140, 151, 571, 580; the _juramentado_, 146, 148, 150, 152, 583; as divers, 155; Ali, Datto, 529, 580-2; Djimbangan, Datto, 530, 580; the _Tamagun Datto_, 532; American occupation of Joló, 571; Bates' agreement with the Sultan of Sulu, 571; engagements withwarlike _dattos_, 573-4, 581, 584-5; Lieut. Forsyth's expedition, 573; Gen. Baldwin's and Capt. Pershing's expeditions against, 574;Gen. Wood's expeditions against, 580-1, 584; Gen. Wood's victory atKudarangan, 581; Major Hugh L. Scott's expedition, 584-5; capture ofPanglima Hassan, 584; Hassan escapes and Major Scott vanquishes him, 585; a _bichâra_ with Datto Ambutong, 585. _Vide_ Sulu

Morong district, 212 (footnote), 560

Mother-of-pearl shell, shipments of, 640

Moths, 340

"Mount of Gold, " the, in Cavite, 114

Mountains, heights of, 13

Mules, 338

Municipal government, under Spain, 225; under America, 567. _Vide_Government

Music, natives' passion for, 190

Nagasaki, the Jesuits in, 65-7

Names, of islands, the ancient, 13; of places, obsolete, 13, 129, 131, 560, 567; of families, 179

_Nao de Acapulco_, the, 243, 249

Nargas, Gov. -General Juan de, 60

Narra (wood), 316

Natives, the civilized. _Vide_ Filipino

Naujan Lake, 15

Navarrete, Luis de, 67

Navy, statistics of the Spanish, 233-4; the insurgent, 553

Negrito tribe, the, 120, 163

Negros Island, the development of, 255; Spaniards capitulate to therebels in, 520; native government in, 520

Newspapers, 106, 352, 363, 382, 412, 468, 524, 550

Nipa palm, 307

_Noli me tóngere_, 382

Notaries' offices, 54

Novales, Andrés, rebellion of, 104

Nozaleda, Archbishop, 594, 597 (footnote)

_Nuevo Dia, El_, newspaper, 524

Obando, Gov. -General José de, 134

_Obras Pias_, the, 245, 252

Occupation of Manila, by the British, 87; agreed indemnity to Britishin, 89; by the Americans, 464

Officers' pay, Spanish, 280. _Vide_ Army

Oil, mineral, 335

Onayans, the Moro tribe of, 145

Opium, restrictions on the use of, 630

Orchids, 323

_Oriente, Islas del_, 28

Origin of Filipinos, 120. _Vide_ Filipino

Osmeña, Sergio, 521, 524

Otis, General E.  S. , in the War of Independence, 488, 490-4, 497, 502-3; 563

Otong, 519 (footnote)

Our Lady of Cagsaysay, 18, 19

Outlaws, 236 _et seq. _, 517

_Pacto de sangre_, the, 28, 369

Pagbuaya, Prince, 34

Paguian Goan, the Princess, 129

Paguian Tindig, the Moro, 129

Palásan, 310

Palaúan Island, Spanish colonization of, 157; across the, 158, 160;produce of, 160; concession to Canga-Argüelles in, 161 (footnote)

Palma brava, 308

Palma, Rafael, 524

Palmero family, the, 105

Palo Maria de playa (wood), 316

_Paloma de puñalada_, 341

Panay Island, the war in, 511-18; Araneta, General Pablo, 514, 517;peace concluded, 518

_Pandita_, 148, 155-6

Pansipit River, 15, 37

Pangasinán, revolt in, 103

_Panguingui_, 351 (footnote)

Papal legate, Maillard de Touruon, 84-5; Chapelle, P.  L. , 595; Guidi, G.  B. , 601; Agius, Ambrogio, 607

Papaw fruit, 318

Páran, Feliciano, revolt of, 105

Parágua Island, 157. _Vide_ Palaúan

_Parian_, the, 110

Paris Peace Commission. _Vide_ Peace of Paris

Parrado, General González, 145, 150, 572

_Paseo de los gigantes_, 134 (footnote)

_Paseo del Real Pendon_, 50

Pasig River, 15

Paterno, Maximo, 106; biographical note of, 411

Paterno, Pedro A. , 106, 394; negotiates peace, 395; claims a title, 409; biographical note of, 411; pro-Spanish manifesto of, 489; becomesPresident of the Revolutionary Congress, 469; capture of, 504; inprison, 505; intervenes in the Spanish captives negotiations, 542;as playwright, 554

_Patria, La_, newspaper, 412

Patriarch Maillard de Tournon, 84-5

Peace of Paris, of 1763, 96; of 1898, 470 _et seq. _; concluded, 472;text of the treaty, 478; ratified, 487 (footnote)

Peculations, of governors, 79-80, 212, 220-21; of other officials, 564

Pelew Islands, 41; the people of, 42

Peñaranda, Florentino, 547

Penitentiaries, 54; statistics of Spanish, 285; of San Ramon, 238

Perez Dasmariñas, Gov. -General, 56, 73

Perfumes, 325

Peso, the first introduced, 244; the Spanish-Philippine, 259; the"Conant, " 635-7

Petty-governors, 221

Philippine Assembly, the, 612, 614-5

Philippine Commission, the, 560; as legislative body, 563

Philippine Islands named, 32

"Philippines for the Filipinos, " doctrine of the, 564

Piang, Datto, 529, 581

Piernavieja, Father, 203

Pilar, General Pio del, 485; capture of, 305

_Piña_ (stuff), 282

Pindan, Bernabé, 37

Pineapple, 320

_Pintados, Islas de los_, 34 (footnote)

Piracy, Moro, 132

Playa Honda, Battle of, 75

Poblete, Archbishop, 59

Polavieja, Gov. -General Camilo, 378-9

Poll-tax, 224

_Poniente, Islas del_, 28

Ponies, 336; the _surra_ epidemic, 622

Pontoon bridge, the, 349

Population, of Chinese, 118; of Moros, 140, 355, 615-6; of Visayos, of Tagalogs, in Manila, 615; of 40 provincial towns, 616; classifiedby birth, 616

Portugal and Spain, united, 72; separated, 81

Posadillo, Governor of the Carolines, murdered, 45

Potatoes, 303

Press, the, 106, 352, 363, 382, 412, 468, 524, 550, 559

_Principalia_, 222-3

Prisoners, the Spanish, 537; why detained, 539; Baron du Maraismurdered, 540; the captors' terms of release, 541

Prohibition on trade, Spain's, 248-50

Protocol of Peace, with rebels, 396; between America and Spain, 459

Provincial Government, under Spain, 213, 225; under America, 567. _Vide_ Government. 

Public Works, under Spain, 218

Pudtli, Ranee, 143

_Puente de Barcas_, 98

Puerta Princesa, 157-8

_Pulajan_, the, 235, 547, 551

Quesada, Gaspar de, 26-7

_Quiapo_, 324

Quinine, 308

Rada, Martin, 51

Railway, the first, 265; in project, 627

Rain, 22

Rajah Lacandola, 35-7, 51

Rajah Soliman, 35, 51

_Rajahmudah_, the, 131

Rama, Esteban de la, 520

Raon, Gov. -General José, 62, 99

Rattan-cane, 310

_Real Compañia de Filipinas_, the 252

_Real quinto_, the, 53

_Real situado_, the, 244

Rebellion of 1896, the Tagalog--362; acts conducive to, 364; the_Katipanan_ League, 364-5; arrests of citizens, 366; Pedro P. Rojas'case, 366; F.  L. Rojas executed, 367; first overt act of, 367; Battleof San Juan del Monte, 368; first executions of rebels in Manila, 369;in Cavite, 374; Bonifacio Andrés and Emilio Aguinaldo, 370; rebelscapture Imus, 372; Spanish defeat at Binacayan, 373; Spaniards atDalahican, 374; rebel General Llaneras, 374; Gov. -General Ramon Blanco, 377; definition of demands, 392; claim of independence, 394; treatyof Biac-na-bató, 396, 414 (footnote); Rafael Comenge's inflammatoryspeech, 400; the _Calle de Camba_ tragedy, 401; rising in Cebú, 402, _et seq. _; execution of rebels in Cebú, 405; American intervention, 417; the rebels' aspirations, 420; rebels attack the Spaniards inPanay Island, 475; Spanish Governor of Negros Island capitulates, 476

Rebellion, of Diego de Silan, in llocos, 100; of Dagóhoy, in BojolIsland, 101; in Leyte Island, Sámar Island, and Surigao, 102; of "King"Málong and of Sumoroy, 103; of Andrés Novales, 104; of Apolinario dela Cruz, 105; of Feliciano Páran, 105, 396 (footnote); in Tayabas, 105;of Camerino, 106, 397 (footnote); of Cuesta, 106; in Negros Island, 106

Regalado, Pedro, 520

Regidor, Dr. Antonio M. , biographical note of, 108 (footnote)

_Regium exequatur_, the, 85

Relics in cathedral, 57

Religion, fanaticism in, 187-9, 521, 602; shrines, 187; coercion in, 189 (footnote); freedom in, 594 and footnote; infidel tendency in, 607-8

Religious Orders, the, 199; power and influence of, 200; opinions forand against, 201; function of the _regium morum_, 201; social originof, 201; as parish priests, 202; frailties of, 203; persecution by, 205; the hierarchy, 206; outcry against, 207; dates of foundationand arrival of, 207; revenues of, 207, 209; emoluments of, 207;training-colleges in Spain for, 209; jealousy and rivalry between, 209. _Vide_ Friars; Church

_Remontado_, the, 174, 205

_Renacimiento, El_, prosecution of, 550

Reptiles, 339

Revenue and expenditure, under Spain, 227 _et seq. _, 251; curiousitems of, 229; under America, 629. 

Revolts in provinces. _Vide_ Rebellion

Revolutionary Government, the, 448; statutes of, 448-54; President'smessage to, 454; appeal to the Powers by, 457; Malolos becomesthe capital of, 469; first Congress of, convened at Malolos, 469;ratification of Philippine independence by, 470

Ricarte, Artemio, 546

Riccio, Vittorio, 76

Rice, measures of, 276; machinery for husking of, 277; _tiki-tiki_, 277; _Macan_ and _Paga_, yield of, 278; planting of, 279; trade in, 281

Rio de la Plata, 26

Rio Grande, de la Pampanga, 14; de Mindanao, 15

Rios, General Diego de los, 374, 474 _et seq. _, 494 (footnote);evacuates Panay, 477, 511; as agent for the liberation of Spanishprisoners, 539

Rivalry of Church and State, 57-8. _Vide_ Church. 

Rivera, General Primo de, attempts to subdue the Igorrotes, 124;reappointed Gov. -General to suppress the Rebellion of 1896, 211, 389;edict of concentration by, 391; reward to, for closing first periodof the Rebellion, 399; recalled to Spain, 408

Rivers, 14, 23

Rizal, Dr. Jose, 366, 381 _et . Seq. _; "My last Thought, " poem by, 386;the widow of, 386; public subscription to monument of, 389 (footnote);"_Dimas alang_, " 389 (footnote)

Rizal Province, 212 (footnote), 560

Roads, under Spain, 218; under America, 627

Rodas, Miguel de, 31

Rodriguez, Estevan, 131

Rojas, Pedro P. , biographical note of, 366 (footnote)

Rojo, Archbishop-Governor, 62, 88, 97

Rosario, Pantaleon E. Del, 524-5, 528

Russell & Sturgis, 255, 257

Sabas, Colonel, 107

Sago, 321

Sala destroyed, 18

Salas, Quintin, 516-7

Salaries, of Spanish officials, 214; of municipal officers, 560;of American officials, 561; of mayors, 567

Salazar, Domingo, Bishop of Manila, 51, 56

Salcedo, Gov. -General Diego, 59

Salcedo, Juan, 35, 51, 212 (footnote)

Samales, the Moro tribe of, 145

Samar Island, rebellion in, 102; insurgency in, 535; slaughter ofAmericans in, 536; _pulajanes_ in, 551

_Sampaguita_, 323

San Juan del Monte, Battle of, 368

San Miguel, the bandit, 546

Sanchez, Alonso, 52

_Sanctorum_ tax, 53

_Sangdugong Panaguinip_, 412

_Sangley_ (Chinese), 118

Sanitation, 198

Sanson, Melanio, 582

Sanson, Pedro, 528

Santa Clara Convent, 81

San Victores, Fray Diego de, 39

_Santo Officio_, 59

_Santones_, 189, 521

Santos, Father Moïses, murdered, 408

Sapan-wood, 312; shipments of, 646

Saps of trees, 312

Schools. _Vide_ Education. 

Schück, Captain, 587 (footnote)

Schurman Commission, the, 498, 562

Scott, Major Hugh L. , 583-6, 588

Scout corps, 570

Sculpture, 196

Seasons, 22

Secret Police Service, 567

Sedition, 553; seditious plays, 554; law passed, 545

Separation of Spain and Portugal, 81

Serrano, Juan R. , 26, 28

Sevilla, Dr. Mariano, 596-7, 604-5

Sheep, 338

Shipping Law of 1904, the, 620

Shrines, 187

Siao (Moluccas), King of, 73-4

_Sibucao_, 312

Sibuguey, the Prince of, 131

Siguey shells, 243

Silan, Diego de, rebellion of, 100

Silva, Geromino de, 76

Silva, Gov. -General Fernando de, 76

Silva, Gov. -General Juan de, 74

Silver, imports and exports of, 647

_Simbilin_ weapon, 147

_Sinamnay_ stuff, 282

Singson, Father, 597

Sioco, 48

_Situado_, the _real_, 244

Slavery, 54, 55 (footnote), 191; among Moros, 151

Small-pox, 197

Smugglers, in Mexico, 247, 260, 262, 626

Snakes, 339

Soldiers in olden times, 231

_Solidaridud, La_, the seditionary organ, 363, 382

Soliman, Rajah, 35, 51

Solis River, 26

Somangalit, Cristóbal, 37

Spiritualists, 608

Saint Lazarus, Archipelago of, 28

State and Church feuds, 58

Statistics of trade, 639-50

Steamships introduced, 132

Stone, 334

Stotsenberg, Colonel, death of, 495

Sual port, 261

Subsidy, the Mexican, 244

Subuános, the Moro tribe of, 145-6, 155

Sugar-cane, yield of, 271; cultivation of, 272; sugar-extraction from, 278; molasses yield, 273; sugar-blends, 275; world's production ofsugar, 275

Sugar, the duty on, in America, 623; shipments of, 642-3

Sulphur, 21, 334

Sultan Mahamad Alimudin, 134; treaty with, 138

Sulu, the Sultan of, 140; the present Sultan, 141, 587-8; visitsManila, 588; pension to him and chiefs, 151, 571, 580; titles of, 151; dress of, 153; across Sulu to Maybun, 153; produce of Sulu, 153;official reception by, 154; the Sultanas of, 154. _Vide_ Moros

Sumoroy's rebellion, 103

Supa (wood), 316

Supreme Court, abolished, 56; re-established, 57; of Cebú, 57

Surigao, revolt in, 102

_Surra_, the disease, 622

_Suya_(Chinese), 118

Taal, volcano of, 17; town of, destroyed, 18-20, 166

Taft Commission, the, 562-3

Taft, William II. , biographical note of, 562 (footnote); his policyin the Islands, 564; appointed Secretary of War, 564; 613

Tagalog, meaning of the term, 164; character of, 171; hospitalityof, 172

Tagalog rebellion, the, 362 _et seq. _ _Vide_ Rebellion of 1896

Tagbanúas tribe, the, 158; dress, customs, country of, 159

Taguban tribe, the, 146

Taguima, 129 (footnote)

Tamarind, 320

Tanaúan destroyed, 18

Tancad, the bandit, 239

_Tanga_ (edible insect), 342

Tattarassa, Sultan, 142 (footnote), 585

Taxation, of land, 625, 629; the Internal Revenue Law of 1904, 630

Taxes under Spain, 217, 224, 228

Tayabas rebellion, 105

Taycosama, Emperor of Japan, 65

Taytay fort, 231

Telegraph service, 267

Temperature, 22; of Illana Hay coast (Mindanao Is. ), 157; of Zamboanga, 535

Teng-teng, Datto, 139

Theatres, 349, 558

_Tiangui_, 304 (footnote)

Tidal wave, 23

_Tiki-tiki_, 277

Timbang, Datto, 585

Timber, 312; relative strengths of, 317

_Tinaja_, 273 (footnote)

Tindalo (wood), 316

Tindig, Paguian, the Moro, 129

Tinguian tribe, the, 126

Tinio, General Manuel, 545 (footnote)

Tiruraya tribe, the, 146

Tithes to the Church, 55

Tobacco, 292; under monopoly, 293; free trade in, 296; risks oftrade in, 298; qualities and districts, 298; cigar values, 299;_Compañia General de Tabacos_, 299; the duty on, in America, 625;shipments of, 644

To-Kogunsama, Emperor of Japan, 70

Tonnage, 628, 647

Tordesillas, Treaty of, 25 (footnote)

Torralba, acting Gov. -General, 60; impeachment of, 79; dies abeggar, 80

Torres, Fray Juan de, 116

Tournon, Mons. Maillard de, 84

Town Hall, 217, 226

Trade (under Spain), the early history of, 243 _et seq. _; theMexican subsidy, 244; the _Consulado_ trading-ring, 244; the _boleta_shipping-warrant, 244; the galleons, 245; the _Obras Pias_, 245; lossesof treasure, 246; prohibitions on, 248; penalties on free-traders, 250; the budget in 1757, 251; Spanish company failures, 252; the _RealCompañia de Filipinas_, 252; the _Compañia Guipuzcoana de Caracas_, 252; foreign traders admitted, 255; Russell & Sturgis, 255; NicholasLoney, 255; Manila port opened to foreign trade, 256; first foreigntraders, 257; Banks, 258; the _Compañia General de Tabacos_, 299 (underAmerica), 620; effect of the war on, 621; the carrying-trade, 628;American traders, 628; proportion of tonnage, 628; total tonnage, 647;the new currency, 635-7; Banks, 637-8; statistical tables, 639-50;produce shipments, 639-46; gold and silver exports and imports, 647; exchange fluctuations, 647; proportionate table of imports andexports, 648-50

Trading Governors, 212

Tragedy of the _Calle de Camba_, 401

Travellers, regulations affecting alien, 617

Treaties made with rebels, 396 (footnote)

Treaty of Paris (1898), text of the, 478 _et seq. _

Treaty, of Tordesillas, 25 (footnote), 253; of Antwerp, 72, 253;of the "Family Compact, " 72, 87; of Paris (1703), 96; with SultanMahamad Alimudin, 138; of Utrecht and the Asiento Contract, 257;of Malacañan, 396 (footnote); of Biac-na-bató, 396, 414 (footnote);of Navotas, 397 (footnote); of Paris (1898), 472, 478

Tree-saps, 312

Trent, Council of, the, 605 (footnote)

Trepang (_balate_), 312

Trias, General Manuel, 544, 548-9

_Tribunal_, 217, 226

Tribute, 53, 224

Tuba (beverage), 304

_Talisan_, the, 235, 547; outrages by, 236, 239, 548-9

Tupas, King of Cebú, 35

Typhoons, 355

"_Ualang sugat_, " the seditious play of, 554

Union of Spain and Portugal, 72

Urbiztondo, expedition against Moros by, 139

Urdaneta, Andrés de, 31, 33, 35

Utrecht, the Peace of, 257

Utto, Datto, 142

Vagrant Act, the, 568

Valenzuela, Prime Minister, banished, 83

Valenzuela, Sancho, 368; execution of, 369

Vanilla, 321

Vargas, Gov. -General Juan, impeachment of, 79

Vegetable produce, 321

Veteran civil guard, 231

Vicars, Camp, 574 (footnote)

Villa Corta, 94, 96, 98

Villalobos expedition, the, 32

Villa Fernandina, 48

Vilo, Roman, 529

Virgin of Antipolo, 267

Visayo, characteristics of the, 172

Volcano, Mayou, 16; Taal, 17

Volcano Island discovered, 32

War, the Spanish-American, 117; allocution of the Archbishop ofMadrid, 423; General Augusti's call to arms, 424; General Augusti'sproclamation, 425; volunteers reorganized, 426; the Battle of Cavite, 427; Cavite occupied, 429; Spain makes peace overtures, 458; text ofthe Protocol of Peace, 459; Americans attack Manila, 462; surrenderof the city, 464; capitulation signed, 465

War of Independence, the, 484; the Philippine Republic, 486;opening shot and Battle of Paco, 487; fight at Coloocan, 487;fight at Gagalanging, 488; the Igorrote contingent, 488; Malabonand Malinta captured, 489; death of Col. Egbert, 489; Santa Cruz(Manila) in flames, 489; Battle of Marilao, 490; Malolos captured, 491; insurgent retreat to Calumpit, 492; American proclamation ofintentions, 492; Santa Cruz (La Laguna) captured, 494; Lieut. Gilmore'sexpedition to Baler captured, 494; American reverse at Gingua, 495;crossing the Bagbag River, 496; Calumpit captured, 496; burning ofS. S. _Saturnus_, 503; death of Gen. Lawton, 504; fight at Narvican, 505; capture of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, 507; American occupation ofYloilo, 511-6 --of Cebú, 523--of Bojol Island, 528--of Zamboanga, 532; capture of Vicente Lucban, 545

Water-cure, 517 (footnote)

Wax, 311

Weyler, General, 417-8, 431

Wheaton, General, 488-91, 497

White ants, 340

Wild boar, 340

Wild tribes, the, percentage of in the population, 120

Wood, General Leonard, biographical note of, 576 (footnote); victoryof, at Kudarangan, 581; captures Panglima Hassan, 584

Woods, 312; relative strengths of, 317

Wright, Governor Luke E. , biographical note of, 564

Xogusama, Emperor of Japan, 69

Yacal (wood), 316

Ylang-Ylang, 325

Ylígan fort, 77, 231

Yloilo, the port of, 261; native government in, 511; Gen. Miller'sexpedition to, 511; the Panay insurgent army, 512; panic in, 513;incendiarism and looting in, 515; bombardment of, 516; surrendersof insurgent leaders, 517; general surrender at Jaro, 518; the townof, 518

Zabálburu, Gov. -General Domingo, 42

_Zaguan_, 353

Zamboanga, the fort of, 77, 133, 233; the port of, 261-2; criticalposition of the Spaniards at, 531; anarchy in, 532; American occupationof, 532; the town of, 535

Zamora, Father Jacinto, executed, 107

Zobel, Jacobo, 367 (footnote)

Printed and Bound by Hazell, Watson and Viney, LD London and Aylesbury

NOTES

[1] "Historia General de Philipinas, " Chap. I. , Part I. , Vol. I. , by Juan de la Concepcion published in 14 vols. , Manila, 1788. 

[2] "No es necessario calificar el derecho á tales reinos ó dominios, especialmente entre vasallos de reyes tan justos y Cathólicos y tanobedientes hijos de la suprema autoridad apostólica con cuia facultadhan ocupado estas regiones. "--_Ibid. _

[3] "Dominium a possessione coepisse dicitur. "--_Law maxim_. 

[4] In September, 1890, a lawsuit was still pending between theDominican Corporation and a number of native residents in Calamba(Laguna) who disputed the Dominicans' claim to lands in that vicinityso long as the Corporation were unable to exhibit their title. For thisimplied monastic indiscriminate acquisition of real estate severalof the best native families (some of them personally known to me)were banished to the Island of Mindoro. 

[5] According to the Spanish Hydrographic Map, it is 8, 813 feet:the Pajal and Montano Expedition (1880) made it 10, 270 feet; theSchadenberg and Koch Expedition (1882) computed it at 10, 827 feet. 

[6] _Vide_ pamphlet published immediately after the event by FatherFrancisco Aragoneses, P. P. Of Cagsaua, begging alms for the victims. 

[7] "Hist. De la Prov. De Batangas, " por D. Pedro Andrés de Castroy Amadés. Inedited MS. In the Bauan Convent, Batangas. 

[8] MS. Exhaustive report of the eruptions of Taal Volcano in1749 and 1754, dated December 22, 1754, compiled by Fray FranciscoVencuchillo. Preserved in the archives of the Corporation of SaintAugustine in Manila. 

[9] Still it appears that all classes were willing to risk their livesto save their property. They were not forcibly detained in that plight. 

[10] "Hist. De la Prov. De Batangas, " por Don Pedro Andrés de Castroy Amadés. Inedited MS. In the Bauan Convent, Province of Batangas. 

[11] "Hist. De Filipinas, " by Dr. Gaspar de San Agustin, 2 vols. Firstpart published in Madrid, 1698, the second part yet inedited andpreserved in the archives of the Corporation of Saint Augustinein Manila. 

[12] P. P. Of Taal from 1572 to 1575. 

[13] In the same archives of the Saint Augustine Corporation in Manilaan eruption in 1641 is recorded. 

[14] During the previous century jealousy had run so high betweenSpain and Portugal with regard to their respective colonization andtrading rights, that the question of demarcation had to be settled bythe Pope Alexander VI. , who issued a bull dated May 4, 1493, dividingthe world into two hemispheres, and decreeing that all heathen landsdiscovered in the Western half, from the meridian 100 leagues W. OfCape Verd Island, should belong to the Spaniards; in the Eastern halfto the Portuguese. The bull was adopted by both nations in the Treatyof Tordesillas (June 7, 1494). It gave rise to many passionate debates, as the Spaniards wrongly insisted that the Philippines and the Moluccascame within the division allotted to them by Pontifical donation. 

[15] Probably so called from the enormous number of _patos_ (ducks)found there. 

[16] The Visayos, inhabiting the central group of the Archipelago, tattooed themselves; a cutaneous disease also disfigured the majority;hence for many years their islands were called by the Spaniards _Islasde los pintados_. 

[17] Legaspi and Guido Lavezares, under oath, made promises of rewardsto the Lacandola family and a remission of tribute in perpetuity, but they were not fulfilled. In the following century--year 1660--itappears that the descendants of the Rajah Lacandola still upheld theSpanish authority, and having become sorely impoverished thereby, the heir of the family petitioned the Governor (Sabiniano Manrique deLara) to make good the honour of his first predecessors. Eventuallythe Lacandolas were exempted from the payment of tribute and poll-taxfor ever, as recompense for the filching of their domains. 

In 1884, when the fiscal reforms were introduced which abolished thetribute and established in lieu thereof a document of personal identity(_cedula personal_), for which a tax was levied, the last vestige ofprivilege disappeared. 

Descendants of Lacandola are still to be met with in several villagesnear Manila. They do not seem to have materially profited by theirtranscendent ancestry--one of them I found serving as a waiter in aFrench restaurant in the capital in 1885. 

[18] _Velas_, Spanish for sails. 

[19] _Ladrones_, Spanish for thieves. 

[20] Mr. Doane is reported to have died in Honolulu about June, 1890

[21] Guido de Lavezares deposed a Sultan in Borneo in order toaid another to the throne, and even asked permission of King PhilipII. To conquer China, which of course was not conceded to him. _Vide_also the history of the destruction of the Aztec (Mexican) and Incas(Peruvian) dynasties by the Spaniards, in W.  H. Prescott's "Conquestof Mexico" and "Conquest of Peru. "

[22] _Maestre de Campo_ (obsolete grade) about equivalent to the modernGeneral of Brigade. This officer was practically the military governor. 

[23] According to Juan de la Concepcion, in his "Hist. Gen. DePhilipinas, " Vol. I. , p. 431, Li-ma-hong made his escape by cuttinga canal for his ships to pass through, but this would appear to behighly improbable under the circumstances. 

[24] Some authors assert that only Soliman rebelled. 

[25] Domingo Salazar, the first Bishop of Manila, took possession in1581. He and one companion were the only Dominicans in the Islandsuntil 1587. 

[26] Bondage in the Philippines was apparently not so necessary forthe interests of the Church as it was in Cuba, where a commission offriars, appointed soon after the discovery of the Island, to deliberateon the policy of partially permitting slavery there, reported "thatthe Indians would not labour without compulsion and that, unless theylaboured, they could not be brought into communication with the whites, nor be converted to Christianity. " _Vide_ W.  H. Prescott's Hist. Ofthe Conquest of Mexico, " tom. II. , Chap, i. , p. 104, ed. 1878. 

[27] "Hist. Gen. De Philipinas, " by Juan de la Concepcion, Vol. III. , Chap, ix. , p. 365, published at Manila, 1788. 

[28] "Long live the Church, " "Long live our King Philip V. "

[29] Now the suburb of Paco. Between 1606 and 1608, owing to a risingof the Japanese settlers, their dwellings in Dilao were sacked andthe settlement burnt. 

[30] Portugal was forcibly annexed to the Spanish Crown from 1581to 1640. 

[31] Philip II. 's persecution of religious apostates during the"Wars of the Flanders" was due as much to the fact that Protestantismwas becoming a political force, threatening Spain's dominion, as toCatholic sentiment. 

[32] Religious intolerance in Spain was confirmed in 1822 by the NewPenal Code of that date; the text reads thus: "Todo él que conspirasedirectamente y de hecho á establecer otra religion en las Españas, ó áque la Nacion Española deje de profesar la religion Apostolica Romanaes traidor y sufrirá la pena de muerte. " Articulo 227 del Código Penalpresentado á las Cortes en 22 de Abril de 1821 y sancionado en 1822. "

[33] "Hist. Gen. De Philipinas, " by Juan de la Concepeion Vol. III. , Chap. Viii. 

[34] This hospital was rebuilt with a legacy left by the Gov. -GeneralDon Manuel de Leon in 1677. It was afterwards subsidized by theGovernment, and was under the care of the Franciscan friars up tothe close of the Spanish dominion. 

[35] From this date the Molucca Islands were definitely evacuated andabandoned by the Spaniards, although as many men and as much materialand money had been employed in garrisons and conveyance of subsidiesthere as in the whole Philippine Colony up to that period. 

[36] "Hist. Gen. De Philipinas, " by Juan de la Concepcion, Vol. VII. , p. 48, published at Manila, 1788. 

[37] Macao is held by the Portuguese since 1557. During the Unionof Spain and Portugal (1581-1640), the Dutch made two unsuccessfulattempts to seize it (1622 and 1627). This colony was the greatEuropean-Chinese emporium prior to Hong-Kong (1841), and paid crownrent to China up to 1848. 

[38] Zúñiga's History, Vol II. , Chap xii. , English translation, published in London, 1814. 

[39] Crónica de los P. P. Dominicos, Vol. IV. , pp. 637 to 650, edition of Rivadenayra, published in Madrid. 

[40] This money constituted the Manila merchants' specie remittancesfrom Acapulco, together with the Mexican subsidy to support theadministration of this Colony, which was merely a dependency of Mexicoup to the second decade of last century (_vide_ Chap. Xv. ). 

[41] Vicissitudes of Sultan Mahamad Alimudin (_vide_ Chap. X. ). 

[42] So tenacious was the opposition of the Austin friars, both inManila and the provinces, that the British appear to have regardedthem as their special foes. 

From the archives of Bauan Convent, Province of Batangas, I have takenthe following notes, viz. :--The Austin friars lost P 238, 000 and 15convents. Six of their estates were despoiled. The troops killed were300 Spaniards, 500 Pampanga natives, and 300 Tagálog natives. Besidesthe Austin friars from the galleon _Trinidad_, who were made prisonersand shipped to Bombay, 10 of their Order were killed in battle and19 were captured and exiled to India and Europe. 

[43] The prominent men in this movement were the brothers Palmero, maternal uncles of the well-known Spanish soldier-politician, GeneralMarcelo Azcárraga. 

Born in 1832 in Manila, General Marcelo Azcárraga was the son ofJosé Azcárraga, a Biscayan Spaniard, and his creole wife Dr. MariaPalmero. José Azcárraga was a bookseller, established in the_Escolta_ (Binondo), in a building (burnt down in October, 1885) onthe site where stood the General Post Office up to June, 1904. Inthe fire of 1885 the first MS. Of the first edition of this workwas consumed, and had to be re-written. José Azcárraga had severalsons and daughters. His second son, Marcelo, first studied law atSt. Thomas' University, and then entered the Nautical School, wherehe gained the first prize in mathematics. Sent to Spain to continuehis studies, he entered the Military School, and in three years' timeobtained the rank of Captain. For his services against the O'Donnellrevolutionary movement (1854) in Madrid, he was promoted to Major. Atthe age of twenty-three he obtained the Cross of San Fernando (withpension). Having served Spain with distinction in several importantmissions to Mexico, Cuba, and Sto. Domingo, he returned to Cuba andespoused the daughter of the great banker, Fesser, who gave him afortune of £20, 000 on the day of his marriage. In the year of IsabellaII. 's deposition (1868) he returned to Spain, promoted the Bourbonrestoration, and became Lieut. -General on the proclamation of AlfonsoXII. (1875). He then became successively M. P. , Senator by election, and life Senator. He was Minister of War under Cánovas del Castillo, on whose assassination (Aug. 8, 1897) he became Prime Minister ofthe Interim Government specially charged to keep order until afterthe unpopular marriage of the Princess of Asturias. After severalMinisterial changes he again took the leadership of the Government, was lately President of the Senate, and on his retirement, at the ageof seventy-two, he received the _Toison de Oro_ (Golden Fleece)--themost elevated Order in Spain. On his mother's side he descends from thePhilippine creole family of the Conde de Lizárraga, and is uncle to theConde de Albay, better known in Philippine society as Señor Govantes. 

[44] It was practically a secret branch of the _Junta General deReformas_ authorized to discuss reforms, and created by the ColonialMinister Becerra during the governor-generalship of General La Torrein the time of the Provisional Government in Spain which succeededthe deposed Queen Isabella II. 

[45] He was the grandfather of one of the most conspicuous survivinggenerals of the Tagálog Rebellion (1896) and the War of Independence(1899). 

[46] José Maria Basa was the son of Matias Basa, a builder andcontractor by trade, who made a contract with the Spanish Governmentto fill up the stream which branched from the Pasig River and crossedthe _Escolta_ (Manila), where now stands the street called _Callede San Jacinto_. In consideration of this work he was permitted tobuild houses on the reclaimed land, provided he made a thoroughfarewhere the former bed of the rivulet existed. This undertaking madehis fortune. His son, José Maria, had several trading schemes, the most prosperous of which was his distillery at Trozo (Manila), which brought him large profits, and was a flourishing concernin 1872. On being amnestied, he established himself in Hong-Kong, where he is still living with his family in easy circumstances andhighly respected. His unbounded hospitality to all who know him, andespecially to his countrymen, has justly earned for him in Hong-Kongthe title of the "Father of the Filipinos. "

Dr. Antonio Maria Regidor y Jurado, a young lawyer, was arrestedand banished to the Ladrone Islands, whence he afterwards escaped toHong-Kong in a foreign vessel, disguised as a priest. From that Colonyhe found his way to France, where he intended to settle, but eventuallyestablished himself in London, where he still holds a high positionas a Spanish consulting lawyer. By his marriage with an Irish lady, he has a son and several charming daughters, his well-appointed homebeing the rendezvous of all the best class of Filipinos who visitthe British metropolis. 

[47] "Hist. Gen. De Philipinas, " by Juan de la Concepcion, Vol. IV. , p. 53. Published in Manila, 1788. 

[48] Ibid. , Vol. V. , p. 429. 

[49] About two per thousand of the resident Chinese were _not_originally coolies. 

[50] General Wong Yung Ho, accompanied by a Chinese Justice of theHigh Court, visited Australia in the middle of the year 1887. In anewspaper of that Colony, it was reported that after these personshad been courteously entertained and shown the local institutions andindustries, they had the effrontery to protest against the State Laws, and asked for a repeal of the "poll tax"--considered there the onlycheck upon a Chinese coolie inundation!

[51] Just before the naval engagement of Playa Honda between Dutchand Spanish ships (_vide_ p. 75) the Dutch intercepted Chinese junkson the way to Manila, bringing, amongst their cargoes of food, asmany as 12, 000 capons. 

[52] Since about the year 1885, this system, which entailed severelosses, gradually fell into disuse, and business on _cash terms_became more general. 

[53] In old writings, laws, and documents, and in ordinary parlance upto the evacuation by the Spaniards in 1898, the inhabitants of theseIslands (civilized or uncivilized) were almost invariably referredto as _Indios, Indigenas, Naturales, Mestizos, Españoles-Filipinos_, etc. , the term "Filipino" being seldom used. The Revolution of 1896generalized the appellation "Filipino" now in common use. 

Throughout this work, "Filipino" is taken as the substantive and"Philippine" as the adjective, that being the correct English form. 

The Americans, however, use "Filipino" both substantively andadjectivally. 

[54] For an exhaustive treatise on this subject thereader is recommended to peruse A.  R. Wallace's "The MalayArchipelago. " Published in London, 1869. 

[55] The _Ibanacs_ are the ordinary domesticated natives inhabitingthe extreme north of Luzon and the banks of the Rio Grande de Cagayánfor some miles up. Some of them have almost black skins. I found themvery manageable. 

[56] According to Father Pedro Murillo, the ancient name of Basílanwas Taguima, so called from a river there of that name. 

[57] Mahometanism appears to have been introduced into the Islandsof Borneo and Mindanao by Arabian missionary prophets. 

[58] It was called the _Fuerza del Pilar_, and is now the AmericanMoro Province military headquarters and head quartermaster's officeand dépòt. The image of Our Lady in a niche in the north wall is muchrevered by Catholics. 

[59] _Paseo de los gigantes_, the custom still existing in Spain ofintroducing giant figures into popular festivities, reminding one ofGuy Fawkes. 

[60] The Sultan complained that he had not been treated in Manilawith dignity equal to his rank and quality, and that he had constantlybeen under guard of soldiers in his residence (this was explained tobe a guard-of-honour). 

[61] Cholera has considerably reduced the population. In 1902 thisdisease carried off about 10 per cent. 

[62] Brûnei signifies, in pure Malay, the _whole_ of Borneo Island. 

[63] The Sultan told me years afterwards that his uncle's nomination bythe Spaniards troubled him very little, as he was always recognizedby his people as their sovereign. In the end intrigues were madeagainst Datto Harun Narrasid, who agreed to accept his nephew's vassalsultanate of Parágua, where he died, and was succeeded by his son, Sultan Tattarassa, whom I met in Joló in 1904. 

[64] Cottabato is derived from _Cotta_, a fort, and _Bató_, stone. 

[65] By Royal Order of June, 1890, Brig. -General Arolas was appointedGovernor of Mindanao. He died in Valencia (Spain) May, 1899. 

[66] According to Sonnerat, Sulu Island produced elephants!--_vide_"Voyages aux Indes et à la Chine, " Vol. III. , Chap. X. I have notseen the above statement confirmed in any writing. Certainly thereis no such animal in these islands at the present day. 

[67] This building was destroyed by Colonel Arolas, April 15, 1887(_vide_ p. 144). 

[68] A few outposts had recently been established by Royal Decree. Theywere all under the command of a captain, _vide_ Chap. Xiii. 

[69] There is another tribe in Palaúan Island called _Batacs_, with Papuan noses, curly hair, and very dark skin. Their origin isa mystery. 

[70] Alfred Marche calls this the _Tragulus ranchil_, and says it isalso to be found in Malacca, Cochin China, and Pulo Condor (_vide_"Luçon et Palaouan, " par A. Marche. Paris, 1887). 

[71] By Royal Order of August 20, 1888, a concession of 12, 000to 14, 000 hectares of land in Palaúan was granted to FelipeCanga-Argüelles y Villalba, ex-Governor of Puerta Princesa, for theterm of 20 years. 

He could work mines, cut timber, and till the land so conceded underthe law called "Ley de Colonias Agrícolas, " of September 4, 1884, which was little more than an extension to the Philippines of thePeninsula forest and agricultural law of June 3, 1868 (_vide Gaceta deMadrid_ of September 29, 1888). It appears, however, from the ColonialMinister's despatch No. 515, to the Gov. -General of the Colony, datedMay 24, 1890, that the concessionaire had endeavoured to associatehimself with foreigners for the working of the concession. I myself hadreceived from him several letters on the subject. The wording of thedespatch shows that suspicion was entertained of an eventual intentionto declare territorial independence in Palaúan. The Government, wishing to avoid the possibility of embroilment with a foreign nation, unfortunately felt constrained to impose such restrictions upon theconcessionaire as to render his enterprise valueless. 

[72] We have several modern instances of similar volcanic disturbancescreating and demolishing land surface, on an infinitely lesserscale--e. G. , the disappearance of Krakatoa and the entire town andbusy port of Anger in 1883; the eruption which swallowed up the wholeinhabited Japanese island Torii Shima; the appearance of an entirelynew island, Nii Shima (about lat. 25° N. ), within the past twelvemonths; and, within the historical period, the apparition of theKurile Islands. 

[73] _Vide_ Chap. V. By way of retaliation for the expulsion of Spanishmissionaries from Japan in the l7th century, all the male Japaneseabove ten years of age were ordered to leave their settlements up theLake. Under this order over 20, 000 of them were expelled from theColony. There was a Japanese temple existing (though not in use assuch) in the suburbs of Manila up to last century, when Gov. -GeneralNorzagaray (1857-60) had it destroyed. 

[74] The Spaniards must have been quite cognisant of these rites, seeing that the Moorish invasion of Spain lasted nearly eightcenturies, namely from the year 711 up to 1492--only a couple ofdecades before Legaspi's generation. 

[75] Based on this tradition, Don José Carvajal has written a veryinteresting play entitled _Ligaya_. It was produced at the NationalTheatre, Manila, in 1904. 

[76] Possibly the people of Tondo (Manila) learnt from the Chinesethe art of preparing that canine delicacy called _Cúbang-aso_. 

[77] Consequent on the American advent, wages steadily roseproportionately to the increased cost of everything. But when, later on, wages far exceeded the native's needs, he demanded moreand actually went on strike to obtain it!

[78] With regard to this characteristic among the Chinese, Sir JohnBowring (late Governor of Hong-Kong) affirms that the Chinese respecttheir writings and traditions, whilst they do not believe a lie tobe a fault, and in some of their classical works it is especiallyrecommended, in order to cheat and confuse foreign intruders (_vide_"A Visit to the Philippine Islands, " by Sir John Bowring, LL. D. , F. R. S. Manila, 1876 Spanish edition, p. 176). 

[79] See the Army Regulations for the advantages granted to militarymen who married Philippine-born women (_vide_also p. 53). 

[80] _Catapúsan_ signifies in native dialect the gathering of friends, which terminates the festival connected with any event or ceremony, whether it be a wedding, a funeral, a baptism, or an election oflocal authorities, etc. The festivities after a burial last ninedays, and on the last day of wailing, drinking, praying, and eating, the meeting is called the _Catapúsan_. 

[81] "Historia de Nuestra Señora La Virgen de Antipolo, " byM. Romero. Published in Manila, 1886. 

[82] He became a prelate twenty-one years afterwards, having beenordained Bishop of Nueva Segovia in 1671. 

[83] A decree issued by Don Juan de Ozaeta, a magistrate of the SupremeCourt, in his general visit of inspection to the provinces, dated May26, 1696, enacts the following, viz. :--"That Chinese half-castes andheadmen shall be compelled to go to church and attend Divine Service, and act according to the customs established in the villages. " Thepenalty for an infraction of this mandate by a male was "20 lashes inthe public highway and two months' labour in the Royal Rope Walk (inTaal), or in the Galleys of Cavite. " If the delinquent was a female, the chastisement was "one month of public penance in the church. " The_Alcalde_ or Governor of the Province who did not promptly inflictthe punishment was to be mulcted in the sum of "P200, to be paid tothe Royal Treasury. "

[84] _Diario de Manila_, Saturday, July 28, 1888. 

[85] _Vide p. _ 54. According to Concepcion, there were headmen at thetime of the Conquest who had as many as 300 slaves, and as a propertythey ranked next in value to gold (_vide_ "Hist. Gen. De Philipinas, "by Juan de la Concepcion, published in Manila in 1788, in 14 volumes). 

[86] _Vide_ "Recopilacion de las Leyes de Indias, " Ley V. Xiii. , lib. I. 

[87] Referring to Leprosy, the _Charity Record_, London, December15, 1898, says:--"Reliable estimates place the number of lepers inIndia, China, and Japan at 1, 000, 000. About 500, 000 probably wouldbe a correct estimate for India only, although the official numberis less, owing to the many who from being hidden, or homeless, orfrom other causes, escape enumeration. "

[88] Navarrete's "Coleccion de los Viajes y Descubrimientos, " tom. II. , Nos. 12, 18. Madrid, 1825. 

[89] In the turbulent ages, centuries ago, it was not an uncommonthing for a prince or nobleman to secure his domain against seizureor conquest by transferring it nominally to the Pope, from whom hethenceforth held it as a papal fief. 

[90] Under the Spanish Government, the See of Manila comprised theprovinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Zambales, Cavite, La Laguna, Bataán, Island of Mindoro, and part of Tárlac. The other part of Tárlac was inthe See of Nueva Segovia, which had (in 1896) ecclesiastical controlover 997, 629 Christians and 172, 383 pagans. The See of Jaro is theone most recently created (1867). 

[91] The Royal Decree setting forth the execution of this Brief wasprinted in Madrid in 1773. This politic-religious Order was banishedfrom Portugal and Spain in 1767. In Madrid, on the night of March 31, the Royal Edict was read to the members of the Company of Jesus, whowere allowed time to pack up their most necessary chattels and leavefor the coast, where they were hurriedly embarked for Rome. The sameOrder was suppressed for ever in France in 1764. 

[92] At the date of the Tagálog Rebellion (1896) the Jesuits in theIslands were as follows: In Manila, 24 priests, 25 lay brothers, and13 teachers; in Mindanao, 62 priests and 43 lay brothers, making atotal of 167 individuals. They were not allowed to possess real estate. 

[93] _Vide_ "Catálogo de los Religiosos de N. S. P. SanAgustin. " Published in Manila, 1864. 

[94] The Augustinian Order was founded in the 4th century; theFranciscan in 1210 and confirmed by Papal Bull in 1223; the Dominicanin 1261; the Recoleto in 1602; the Benedictine in 530; the Capuchinin 1209 and the Paulist in 1625. 

[95] For any further expense this might incur, 3 per cent, was deductedfrom the parish priests' emoluments. 

[96] "Recopilacion de las Leyes de Indias. "--Ley 46, tit. 14, lib. 1°, forbids priests and members of any religious body to take part inmatters of Civil Government. 

[97] In the early days of Mexican conquest, the conquered land wasapportioned to the warriors under the name of _Repartimentos_, butsuch divisions included the absolute possession of the natives asslaves (_vide_ "La vida y escritos del P. Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, Obispo de Chiapa, " by Antonio Maria Fabié, Colonial Minister in theCánovas Cabinet of 1890 Madrid). 

[98] Juan Salcedo, Legaspi's grandson (_vide_ Chaps. Ii. And iv. ) wasrewarded with several _Encomiendas_ in the Ilocos provinces, on thewest coast of Luzon, where he levied a tribute on the natives whomhe subdued. 

[99] Changed afterwards to Manila Province; now called Rizal Province(Mórong district incorporated therein) since the American occupation. 

[100] "Noticias de Filipinas, " by Don Eusebio Mazorca. IneditedMS. Dated 1840, in the Archives of Bauan Convent, Province of Batangas. 

[101] The text reads thus:--"Para ser jefe de Provincia en estas Islasno se requiere carrera, conocimientos ni servicios determinados, todosson aptos y admisibles. .. . Es cosa bastante comun ver á un peluqueroó lacayo de un gobernador, á un marinero y á un desertor transformadode repente en Alcalde-Mayor, sub-delegado y Capitan á guerra de unaprovincia populosa, sin otro consejero que su rudo entendimiento, ni mas guia que sus pasiones. " Tomás de Comyn was an employee ofthe "_Real Compañia de Filipinas_" (q. V. ), and subsequently SpanishConsul-General in Lisbon. 

[102] Transferred to Bais in January, 1889, in consequence of therise of brigandage in the S. E. Of Negros Island. 

The brigands, under the leadership of a native named Camartin andanother, who declared themselves prophets, plundered the plantersalong that coast, and committed such notorious crimes that troops hadto be despatched there under the command of the famous Lieut. -ColonelVilla-Abrille. The Gov. -General Valeriano Weyler went to the VisayasIslands and personally directed the operations. 

[103] From January 1, 1889, the Government Financial year was madeconcurrent with the year of the Calendar. 

[104] The text reads thus:--"Cada Jefe de Provincia es un verdaderoSultan y cuando acaba su administracion solo se habla en la Capitalde los miles de pesos que sacó _limpios_ de su alcaldia. "--"Noticiasde Filipinas, " by Don Eusebio Mazorca. Inedited MS. Dated 1840. Inthe archives of Bauan Convent, Province of Batangas. 

[105] The text reads thus:--"Cobrando el Alcalde en palay el tributo, solo abona al indio dos reales plata por caban; introduce en cajasreales su importe en metalico y vende despues el palay en seis, ocho y a veces mas reales fuertes plata cada caban y le resulta conesta sencilla operacion un doscientos ó trescientos por ciento deganancia. .. . Ahora recientito está acusado el Ministro Interventor deZamboanga por el Gobernador de aquella plaza de habérse utilizado aquelde 15, 000 á 16, 000 pesos solo con el trocatinte de la medida. .. . Secuenta al mismo interventor á que me refiero 50, 000 á 60, 000 pesoscuando el sueldo de su empleo--oficial 2° de la Contaduria--es de540 pesos al año. "--_Ibid_. 

[106] The Audit Office was suppressed and revived, and again suppressedon January 1, 1889. 

[107] There was also a tenth class _gratis_ for the clergy, armyand navy forces, and convicts, and a "_privileged_" class _gratis_for petty-governors and their wives, Barangay chiefs and their wives, and Barangay chiefs' assistants, called "primogénito" (primogénitomeans first born--perhaps it was anticipated that he Would "assist"his father in his gratuitous government service). 

[108] This was not included in Army Estimates, but in CivilGovernment. Officers from Captain (inclusive) upwards "In expectationof Service" and "In excess of Active Service requirements, " receivedonly four-fifths of ordinary pay. 

[109] In 1888 the "King's Regiment" was divided into two regiments, under new denominations, viz. :--"Castillo, No. 1" (April 3), and"España, No. 1" (June 18). 

[110] This gentleman is at present residing in the county of Essex, England. 

[111] Under British law, a litigant is not allowed to bring andconduct an action _in formá pauperis_ until it is proved that he isnot worth £5 after his debts are paid; and, moreover, he must obtaina certificate from a barrister that he has _good cause of action_. 

[112] According to Zúñiga ("Hist. De Philipinas"), the ancientinhabitants of Luzon Island had a kind of shell-money--the _Siguey_shell. _Siguey_ shells are so plentiful at the present day that theyare used by children to play at _Sunca_. 

[113] _Situado_ is not literally "Subsidy, " but it was tantamountto that. 

[114] The values of shipments by law established were little regarded. 

[115] The _Obras Pias_ (i. E. , Pious Works) funds were legaciesleft exclusively by Spaniards, chiefly pious persons, for separatebeneficent objects. Two-thirds of the capital were to be lent atinterest, to stimulate trade abroad, and one-third was to be a reserveagainst possible losses. When the accumulated interest on the originalcapital had reached a certain amount, it was to be applied to thepayment of masses for the repose of the donors' souls. 

The peculations of the Gov. -General Pedro Manuel de Arandia (1754-59)permitted him to amass a fortune of a quarter of a million pesos inless than five years' service, which sum he left to pious works. On thesecession of Mexico (in 1819) the Government took over the _Obras Pias_funds, to control their administration. There is reason to believethat many of the donations were the fruits of the corrupt practicesof high officials, the legacies being for their benefit hereafter. 

The funds were severally administered by the four boards of SanFrancisco, Santo Domingo, the Recoletos and Santa Isabel, controlledby one general board of management. In 1850 the Spanish Government, in the exercise of its right (_Real patronato_) to intervene in allecclesiastical administrative affairs, ordered these funds to betransferred to a banking establishment entitled the "Banco Españolde Isabel II. , " more generally known as the "Banco Español-Filipino"(q. V. ). The _Obras Pias_ funds constituted the original capital ofthis bank. The board, presided over by the Archbishop, still continuedto control the manipulation of these funds by the bank, the incomederived from the original capital having to be paid out in accordancewith the wills of the several founders of the fund. Up to the closeof Spanish rule, money was lent out of this fund on mortgages in andnear Manila, at six per cent. Interest per annum. 

[116] It happened at this date that the dues, etc. , equalled 17 percent. On the anticipated 1, 000, 000 pesos, but they were not computedby percentage. The Royal Dues were a fixed sum since about the year1625, so that when the legal value of the shipments was much less, the dues and other expenses represented a much higher percentage. Thecharges were as follows, viz. :--

 Royal Dues. P160, 000 Port Dues at Acapulco. 2, 000 Disbursements paid in Manila on the ship's departure. 7, 500 Port and Anchorage Dues on arrival in Philippines. 500

 P170, 000

[117] "La Libertad del comercio de Filipinas, " by Manuel Azcárraga. 

[118] Mr. John B. Butler, who was born in 1800, resided many yearsin Manila, and married a native wife. He died on October 4, 1855, inLondon, whence his mortal remains were brought to Manila in 1860, atthe instance of his widow, and interred in Saint Augustine's Church, near an altar on the left side of the nave. The site is marked by amarble inscribed slab. 

[119] The Peace of Utrecht, signed in 1713, settled the succession ofPhilip, the French Dauphin, to the Spanish throne, whilst among theconcessions which England gained for herself under this treaty was aconvention with Spain, known as the _Asiento_ contract. This gave theBritish the right to send one shipload of merchandise yearly to theSpanish colonies of America. Nevertheless, many ships went instead ofone. An armed contest ensued (1739-42), and although the Spaniardslost several galleons in naval combats undertaken by Admiral Vernonand Commodore Anson, the British losses were not inconsiderable. 

So prejudicial to the vital interests of Spain was the abuse ofthe ceded right held to be that the earliest efforts of the firstnew Cabinet under Ferdinand VI. Were engaged in a revision of thecommercial differences between that country and England. Englandwas persuaded to relinquish the _Asiento_ contract in exchange foradvantages of greater consideration in another direction. 

About a century ago England took over from Spain Nootka Sound, a station on the Pacific coast, where a nourishing fur trade wascarried on by British settlers. The cession was accorded under a solemnpromise not to trade thence with the Spanish colonies of South America. 

[120] For example: _vide_ "Memoria leida por el Secretario de la Cámarade Comercio de Manila, Don F. De P. Rodoreda, en 28 de Marzo de 1890, "p. 6 (published in Manila by Diaz Puertas y Compañia). 

It remarks: "Jurado Mercantil--El expediente siguió la penosaperigrinacion de nuestro pesado y complicado engranaje administrativoy llevaba ya muy cerca de dos años empleados en solo recorrer dos delos muchos Centros consultivos á que debía ser sometido, etc. "

[121] The following is an extract from the text of the preamble toa Decree, dated March 19, 1886, relative to the organization of thePhilippine Exhibition held in Madrid, signed by the Colonial Minister, Don German Gamazo:

"Con él se logrará que la gran masa de numerario que sale dela Metrópoli para adquirir en paises extranjeros algodon, azúcar, cacao, tabaco y otros productos vaya á nuestras posesiones de Oceania_donde comerciantes extranjeros los acaparan con daño evidente delos intereses materiales del pais. "_

[122] (1) The "Hong-Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, "incorporated in 1867. Position on June 30, 1905: Capital all paid up, $10, 000, 000 (Mex. ): sterling reserve, £1, 000, 000; silver reserve, $8, 500, 000 (Mex. ); reserve liability of proprietors, $10, 000, 000(Mex. ). (2) The "Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, "incorporated in 1853. Position on December 31, 1904: Capital allpaid up, £800, 000; reserve fund, £875, 000; reserve liability ofproprietors, £800, 000. 

[123] "Banco Español-Filipino. " Position on June 30, 1905: Capital, P1, 500, 000; reserve fund, P900, 000. It has a branch in Yloilo. 

[124] Chop dollars are those defaced by private Chinese marks. 

[125] Yloilo had its "Gremio de Comerciantes" (Board of Trade), constituted by Philippine General-Government Decree of September 5, 1884, and Manila had Chamber of Commerce. Since the Revolution Yloilohas also a Chamber of Commerce, and Manila several of differentnationalities. 

[126] _Vide Board of Trade Journal_ (British) for February and April, 1891. 

[127] Manila to Yap, 1, 160 miles. Yap to Ponapé, 1, 270 miles. Ponapéto Apra, 880 miles. 

[128] "Vd cuidado de regatear, " was the invitation to haggle. 

[129] Weaving was taught to the natives by a Spanish priest aboutthe year 1595. 

[130] The extra delay was quite a year, and the cause having becomecommon talk among the natives in the neighbourhood, many of themsuggested that an evil spirit prevented the foundations of the bridgebeing built. They proposed to propitiate him by throwing live childreninto the river; consequently many mothers migrated with their infantsuntil they heard that the difficulty was overcome. 

[131] The sale of Alcohol was a Government monopoly until1862. Molasses is sold by the _Tinaja_, an earthenware jar measuring19 inches in height and 17 1/2 inches at the maximum diameter; itcontains 16 _gantas_ (liquid measure) = say 11 gallons. 

[132] British patents for paper-making from sugar-cane fibre weregranted to Berry in 1838, Johnson in 1855, Jullion in 1855, Ruck andTouche (conjointly) in 1856, and Hook in 1857. 

[133] Since about the year 1885 a weed has been observed to germinatespontaneously around the roots of the sugar-cane in the LagunaProvince. The natives have given it the name of _Bulaclac ng tubo_(Sugar-cane flower). It destroys the saccharine properties of thecane. The bitter juice of this weed has been found to be a usefulpalliative for certain diseases. 

[134] Extract from a letter dated September 29, 1885, fromH. Strachan, Esq. , Superintendent, Government Experimental Farm, Hyderabad, Sindh--and Extract from a letter dated February 13, 1886, from A. Stormont, Esq. , Superintendent, Government Experimental Farm, Khandesh (_vide_ "The Tropical Agriculturist, " Colombo, June 1, 1886, p. 876 _et seq_. ). 

[135] The extremely fine muslin of delicate texture known in thePhilippines as _Piña_ is made _exclusively_ of pine-apple _leaf_fibre. When these fibres are woven together with the slender filamentdrawn from the edges of the hemp petiole, the manufactured articleis called _Husi_. 

[136] A British patent for Manila hemp-paper was granted to Newtonin 1852. 

[137] A large proportion of the product sent from Maúban to Manilaas marketable hemp is really a wild hemp-fibre locally known by thename of _Alinsanay_. It is a worthless, brittle filament which hasall the external appearance of marketable hemp. A sample of it brokeas easily as silk thread between my fingers. Its maximum strength iscalculated to be one-fourth of hemp fibre. 

[138] _Vide_ Instructions _re_ Contraband from the TreasurySuperintendent, Juan Manuel de la Matta, to the "Intendente de Visayas"in 1843. 

[139] _Instruccion General para la Direccion, Administracion yIntervencion de las Rentas Estancadas_, 1849. 

[140] Licensed depôts for the sale of monopolized goods. 

[141] "Hist. De Filipinas, " by Gaspar de San Agustin. MS. In theConvento de San Agustin, Manila. The date of the introduction ofcacao into these Islands is confirmed by Juan de la Concepcion in his"Hist. General de Philipinas, " Vol. IX. P. 150. Published in 14 vols. , Manila, 1788. 

[142] The word chocolate is derived from the Mexican word_chocolatl_. The Mexicans, at the time of the conquest, usedcacao-beans as money. The grandees of the Aztec Court ate chocolatemade of the ground bean mixed with Indian corn and rocou (_vide_W.  H. Prescott's "Hist. Of the Conquest of Mexico"). 

Chocolate was first used in Spain in 1520; in Italy in 1606; inEngland in 1657, and in Germany in 1700. 

[143] _Tiangui_, from the Mexican word _Tianguez_, signifies "smallmarket. "

[144] Spanish, _Carroza_; Tagálog, _Hila_ or _Parágus_; Visaya, _Cángas_ or _Dagandan_. 

[145] British patents for papermaking from cocoanut fibre were grantedto Newton in 1852, and to Holt and Forster in 1854. A process formaking paper from the cocoanut kernel was patented by Draper in 1854. 

[146] _Vide The Tropical Agriculturist_, Colombo, August 2, 1886. 

[147] Not to be confounded with _Bangá_, --Tagálog for a terra-cottawater-pot. 

[148] This company was formed in Hong-Kong and incorporated May 16, 1889, with a capital of P300, 000 divided into 6, 000 P50 shares, to takeover and work the prosperous business of Mr. H.  G. Brown. Its successcontinued under the three years' able management of Mr. Brown. Duringthat period it paid an average yearly dividend of 8-1/3%, and in1890 its shares were freely dealt in on the Hong-Kong market at 50%premium. On the retirement of Mr. Brown in March, 1891, the companygradually dwindled down to a complete wreck in 1894. It is still(year 1905) in liquidation. 

[149] "Timber and Timber Trees, " by Thomas Laslett (Timber Inspectorto the Admiralty). London, 1875. 

[150] The same writer also makes the following interesting remark:--"Ytal vez de aquí viene el olor (brea) como empireumatico muy notable delos excrementos en este tiempo!" _Vide_ "Flora de Filipinos, " by FatherManuel Blanco, Vol. I. , p. 228. Published in Manila in 4 vols. , 1879. 

[151] Clavigero's "Storia Antica del Messico. "

[152] British patents for paper-making from banana fibre were grantedto Berry in 1838; Lilly in 1854; Jullion in 1855; Burke in 1855;and Hook in 1857. In these Islands a cloth is woven from this fibre. 

[153] To express juice from the small species of lemon, the fruitshould be cut from the stalk end downwards. If cut otherwise thejuice will not flow freely. 

[154] "Flora de Filipinas, " by Father Manuel Blanco. Published inManila by the Augustine Order in 4 vols. , 1879. 

[155] For more ample details _vide_ "Rápida descripcion de la Islade Cebú, " by Enrique Abella y Casariega. Published by Royal Order inMadrid, 1886. 

[156] Monsieur Jean Labedan, who had been the original proprietor ofthe "Restaurant de Paris" in La Escolta, Manila. 

[157] "Hist. De la Provincia de Batangas, " por D. Pedro Andrés deCastro y Amadés, 1790. Inedited MS. In the archives of Bauan Convent(Batangas). 

[158] "A Visit to the Philippine Islands, " by Sir John Bowring, Spanish translation, p. 67. Manila, 1876. 

[159] An effective cure for a centipede bite is a plaster of garlicmashed until the juice flows. The plaster must be renewed every hour. 

[160] A good dish can be made of the rice-birds, known locally as_Maya_ (_Munia oryzivora_, Bonap. ; _Estrelda amandava_, Gray) andthe _Bato-Bató_ and _Punay_ pigeons (_Ptilinopus roseicollis_, Gray). 

[161] According to Edouard Verreux, cited by Paul de la Gironnièrein his "Aventures d'un gentilhomme Breton aux Iles Philippines, "p. 394 (Paris 1857), there were at that date 172 classified birds inthis Archipelago. 

[162] The city walls were undoubtedly a great safeguard for theSpaniards against the frequent threats of the Mindanao and Sulu pirateswho ventured into the Bay of Manila up to within 58 years ago. Also, for more than a century, they were any day subject to hostilities fromthe Portuguese, whilst the aggressive foreign policy of the mothercountry during the 17th century exposed them to reprisals by the Dutchfleets, which in 1643 threatened the city of Manila. Formerly thedrawbridges were raised, and the city was closed and under sentinelsfrom 11 o'clock p. M. Until 4 o'clock a. M. It continued so until 1852, when, in consequence of the earthquake of that year, it was decreedthat the city should thenceforth remain open night and day. Thewalled city was officially styled the _Plaza de Manila_, its lastSpanish military governor being General Rizzo, who left for Europe inDecember, 1898. The most modern drawbridge entrance was the _Puertade Isabel II_, (1861), facing the Pasig River. 

[163] The Cathedral has been destroyed four times by fire andearthquake, and rebuilt by successive archbishops. 

[164] _Marivéles_. --Much historical interest is attached to thisplace. It was the chief port of the _Jurisdiction of Marivéles_under the old territorial division which comprised the island nowcalled Corregidor. Marivéles is now included in the Province of Bataán. 

The first Spanish missionary who attempted to domesticate the nativesof the Marivéles coast was stoned by them, and died in Manilain consequence. An insubordinate Archbishop was once banished toMarivéles. Through the narrow channel between this port and CorregidorIsland, known as _Boca chica_, came swarms of Asiatic trading-junksevery spring for over two centuries. Forming the extreme point ofManila Bay, here was naturally the watchguard for the safety of thecapital. It was the point whence could be descried the movements offoreign enemies--Dutch, British, Mahometan, Chinese, etc. ; it was thelast refuge for ships about to venture from the Islands to foreignparts. Yet, with all these antecedents, it is, to-day, one of thepoorest and most primitive villages of the Colony. From its aspectone could almost imagine it to be at the furthermost extremity ofthe Archipelago. Its ancient name was _Camaya_, and how it came tobe called Marivéles is accounted for in the following interestinglegend:--About the beginning of the 17th century one of the Mexicangalleons brought to Manila a family named Vélez, whose daughter wascalled Maria. When she was 17 years of age this girl took the veilin Santa Clara Convent (_vide_ p. 81), and there responded to theattentions of a Franciscan monk, who fell so desperately in lovewith her that they determined to elope to Camaya and wait there forthe galleon which was to leave for Mexico in the following July. Thegirl, disguised in a monk's habit, fled from her convent, and thelovers arrived safely in Camaya in a hired canoe, tired out after thesea-passage under a scorching sun. The next day they went out to meetthe galleon, which, however, had delayed her sailing. In the meantimethe elopement had caused great scandal in Manila. A proclamation waspublished by the town-crier calling upon the inhabitants to giveup the culprits, under severe penalties for disobedience. Nothingresulted, until the matter oozed out through a native who was awareof their departure. Then an alderman of the city set out in a prahuin pursuit of the amorous fugitives, accompanied by a notary and adozen arquebusiers. After searching in vain all over the island nowcalled Corregidor, they went to Camaya, and there found the young lady, Maria, on the beach in a most pitiable condition, with her dress tornto shreds, and by her side the holy friar, wearied and bleeding fromthe wounds he had received whilst fighting with the savage nativeswho disputed his possession of the fair maiden. The search-partyfound there a canoe, in which the friar was conveyed to Manila incustody, whilst the girl was taken charge of by the alderman in theprahu. From Manila the sinful priest was sent to teach religion andmorality to the Visaya tribes; the romantic nun was sent back to theCity of Mexico to suffer perpetual reclusion in a convent. 

From these events, it is said, arose the names of _Corregidor_(Alderman) Island, which lies between the rocks known as _Fraile_(Friar) and _Monja_ (Nun), whilst the lovers' refuge thenceforth tookthe name of _Marivéles_ (Maria Vélez). 

Ships arriving from foreign or Philippine infected ports werequarantined off Marivéles, under Spanish regulations. During thegreat cholera epidemic of 1882 a Lazaretto was established here. 

[165] The _abacus_ consists of a frame with a number of parallelwires on which counting-beads are strung. It is in common use in China. 

[166] _Escolta_ (meaning Escort), the principal thoroughfare in thebusiness quarter (Binondo), is said to have been so named during theBritish occupation (1762-63), when the British Commander-in-Chiefpassed through it daily with his escort. 

[167] On the site of this last bridge the _Puente de Barcas_ (PontoonBridge) existed from 1632 to 1863, when it was destroyed by the greatearthquake of that year. The new stone bridge was opened in 1875, and called the _Puente de España_. 

[168] The burthen of a native play in the provinces was almostinvariably founded on the contests between the Mahometans of theSouth and the Christian natives under Spanish dominion. 

The Spaniards, in attaching the denomination of _Moros_ to theMahometans of Sulu, associated them in name with the MahometanMoors who held sway over a large part of Hispania for over sevencenturies (711-1492). A "_Moro Moro"_ performance is usually adrama--occasionally a melodrama--in which the native actors, clad inall the glittering finery of Mahometan nobility and Christian chivalry, assemble in battle array before the Mahometan princesses, to settletheir disputes under the combined inspirations of love and religiouspersuasion. The princesses, one after the other, pining under thedictates of the heart in defiance of their creed, leave their fateto be sealed by the outcome of deadly combat between the contendingfactions. Armed to the teeth, the cavaliers of the respective partiesmarch to and fro, haranguing each other in monotonous tones. After along-winded, wearisome challenge, they brandish their weapons and meetin a series of single combats which merge in a general _mêlée_ as theprinces are vanquished and the hand of the disputed enchantress is won. 

The dialogue is in the idiom of the district where the performanceis given, and the whole play (lasting from four to six nights) isbrief compared with Chinese melodrama, which often extends to a monthof nights. 

Judged from the standard of European histrionism, the plot is weakfrom the sameness and repetition of the theme. The declamationis unnatural, and void of vigour and emphasis. The same tone ismaintained from beginning to end, whether it be in expression ofexpostulatory defiance, love, joy, or despair. But the masses wereintensely amused; thus the full object was achieved. They seemednever to tire of gazing at the situations created and applaudingvociferously the feigned defeat of their traditional arch-foes. 

[169] The favourite game of the Tagálogs is _Panguingui_--of theChinese _Chapdiki_. 

[170] The Government House, located in the city, which was thrown downin the earthquake of 1863, has not been rebuilt. Its reconstructionwas only commenced by the Spaniards in 1895. The Gov. -Generaltherefore resided after 1863 at his suburban palace at Malacañan, on the river-side. 

[171] "Aventures d'un gentilhomme Breton aux Iles Philippines, "par Paul de la Gironnière. Paris, 1875. 

[172] _Vide_ "Terremotos de Nueva Vizcaya en 1881, " by Enrique Abellay Casariega Published in Madrid. 

[173] The _Katipunan League_ and _Freemasonry_ were not identicalinstitutions. There were many Freemasons who were leaguers, butnot _because_ they were Freemasons, as also there were thousandsof leaguers who knew nothing of Freemasonry. There is little doubtthat Freemasonry suggested the bare idea of that other secret societycalled _Katipunan_, whose signs and symbols were of masonic design, but whose aims were totally different. It is probable, too, that theliberty which Freemasons enjoyed to meet in secret session was takenadvantage of by the leaguers. There were risings in the Islandslong before the introduction of Freemasonry. This secret societywas introduced into the Colony a little before the year 1850. In1893 the first lodges of the Spanish Grand Orient were opened, and there were never more than 16 lodges of this Order up to theevacuation by the Spaniards. Each lodge had about 30 members, or, say, a total of 500. The Spanish deputy, Dr. Miguel Morayta, in hisspeech in the Spanish Congress in April, 1904, stated that GeneralRamon Blanco's reply to Father Mariano Gil (the discoverer of the_Katipunan_) was that the identity of Freemasonry with _Katipunan_"existed only in the brains of the friars and fanatical Spaniards. "

[174] By intermarriage and blood relationship Don Pedro P. Rojas isallied with several of the best Manila families. His grandfather, Don Domingo Rojas, a prominent citizen in his time, having become avictim of intrigue, was confined in the Fortress of Santiago, undersentence of death. The day prior to that fixed for his execution, hewas visited by a friend, and the next morning when the executionerentered his cell, Don Domingo was found in a dying condition, apparently from the effect of poison. Don Domingo had a son José anda daughter Marguerita. On their father's death, they and José's son, the present Don Pedro P. Rojas, went to Spain, where Doña Margueritaespoused a Spaniard, Don Antonio de Ayala, and Don José obtained fromthe Spanish Government a declaration stating that whereas Don Domingohad been unjustly condemned to capital punishment, the Gov. -Generalwas ordered to refund, out of his own pocket, to the Rojas familythe costs of the trial. The Rojas and Ayala families then returnedto the Philippines, where Don Antonio de Ayala made a considerablefortune in business and had two daughters, one of whom, Doña Cármen, married Don Pedro P. Rojas, and the other wedded Don Jacobo Zobel, anapothecary of large means and of German descent. Don Pedro P. Rojas, who was born in 1848, has two sons and two daughters. The threefamilies belonged to the _élite_ of Manila society, whilst the Rojasand the Ayalas acquired a just reputation both for their enterprisingspirit, which largely benefited the Colony, and for their charitablephilanthropy towards all classes. 

[175] _Aguinaldo_ is the Spanish for Christmas-box. 

[176] Part of a conversation which I had with Emilio Aguinaldo athis house at Cauit (Cavite Viejo) on July 26, 1904. 

[177] _Cauit_ signifies, in Tagálog, Fish-hook. 

[178] _Sungay_ signifies, in Tagálog, Deer. 

[179] _Imus_. The history of this place is interesting. In the 18thcentury a banished Spaniard of distinguished family settled thereand supplied water to the natives for irrigation purposes. Some yearsafterwards, on the death of his wife, this gentleman returned to Spainand left the place in charge of a friar, Francisco de Santiago. Asthe owner never claimed the property, it fell definitely intothe possession of the friars. A church was erected there at thepeople's expense. Later on the friar in charge extorted from thenatives material and labour, without payment, for the building ofa manor-house, but he was poisoned soon after it was finished. Hissuccessor was still bolder, and allowed escaped criminals to takesanctuary in his church to show his superiority to the civil law. Afterinnumerable disputes and troubles with the natives, it developedinto a fine property, comprising 27, 500 acres of arable land, whichthe Recoletos claimed as theirs and rented it out to the natives. Itspossession was the cause of the important risings of Páran and Camerino(_vide_ pp. 105, 106) and many other minor disturbances. 

[180] "Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, " por el Dr. Antonio de Morga, anotada por José Rizal. Published in Paris by Garnier frères, 1890. 

[181] "El Filibusterismo (continuacion del 'Noli metángere'). " Published in Ghent by F. Meyer-Van Loo, 1891. 

[182] Father Mariano Gil died in Spain in the spring of 1904. 

[183] Rizal's brother and sister were keeping (in 1904) the "_DimasAlang_" restaurant, 62, _Calle Sacristia_, Binondo (Manila). It isso named after the pseudonym under which their distinguished brotheroften wrote patriotic articles. 

One of the ten annual official holidays, or feast days, appointed bythe Civil Commission is "Rizal Day, " December 30. 

The P2 banknote of the new Philippine currency bears a vignette ofDr. Rizal. 

The Manila Province of Spanish times is now called Rizal Province andwith it is incorporated what was formerly the Mórong District. Probablyone-third of the towns of the colony have either a _Plaza de Rizal_, or a _Calle de Rizal_; it is about as general as the _Piazza diVittorio Emanuele_ throughout Italy. 

A public subscription was open for about three years to defraythe cost of a Rizal monument to be erected on the Luneta Esplanade(Ins. Gov. Act No. 243). By March 7, 1905, a total of P103, 753. 89had been collected, including the sum of P30, 000 voted by the InsularGovernment. 

One is led to wonder what _róle_ in Philippine affairs Rizal wouldhave assumed had he outlived the rebellion. 

[184] It is alleged that this copy was removed from the archivesabout April, 1898, for the defence of a certain general in Madrid. 

[185] _Biac-na-bató _signifies, in Tagalog, Split Stone. 

This was the third time, during the 19th century, that the SpanishGov. -General had been constrained to conclude a treaty with nativerebels. In 1835 a certain Feliciano Paran raised the standard ofrevolt against the friars' claim to the Imus estate (Cavite), andafter many fruitless attempts to suppress him, and much bloodshed, the _Treaty of Malacañan_ was signed by the rebel chief and theGov. -General. Paran was then appointed Colonel of Militia with themonthly pay of P50. He lived peacefully in _Calle San Marcelino_, Manila, until a fresh outbreak (led by another) occurred, when theSpaniards made this a pretext to seize Paran and deport him to theLadrone Islands (_vide_ p. 105). 

In 1870, during the command of General La Torre, a certainCamerino held the Province of Cavite for a long time against theSpaniards. Camerino's plan was to remain in ambush whilst therank-and-file of the Spaniards advanced, and then pick off theofficers. So many of them were killed that influence was broughtto bear on the General, who consented to sign the _Treaty ofNavotas_. Camerino was appointed Colonel of Militia and lived in Trozo(Manila) until the Cavite rising in 1872, when he and six others wereexecuted for their past deeds (_vide_ p. 106). 

[186] The original of the above document was read in public sessionof Congress in Madrid, on June 16, 1898, by the Deputy Señor Muro. 

[187] _Vide_ Pedro A. Paterno's allusion to this at p. 399. 

[188] Manuel Godoy, of obscure family, was originally a common soldierin the Guards. He became field-marshal, Duke of Alcudía, Grandee ofSpain, Councillor of State, and Cavalier of the Golden Fleece. For hisintervention in the Peace of Basilea he received the title of Principede la Paz. Baldomero Espartero was a successful general, who broughtthe first Carlist war to a close and concluded the Treaty of Vergara(1839), for which (in 1840) he was granted the titles of Duque de laVictoria and Principe de Vergara. 

[189] This steamer came into Manila flying the French ensign, andpainted to resemble one of the Russian Volunteer Fleet, to avoidcapture on the way. 

[190] The precise terms of the treaty or agreement made betweenthe representative of the Philippine Government and the rebelchiefs are hitherto enveloped in mystery; but even though all thepersonal testimony referred to in this chapter were impugned, thereis convincing circumstantial evidence that Emilio Aguinaldo andhis followers received a very considerable amount of money from thePhilippine Treasury _conditionally_. In the Suit No. 6 of 1899 in theSupreme Court of Hong-Kong, T. Sandico and others _versus_ R. Wildman(all the original filed documents of which I have examined), swornevidence was given to show that $200, 000 Mexican of the sum receivedby Aguinaldo was deposited in his name in the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China. It is not feasible to suppose that this sum waspaid to or accepted by Aguinaldo _unconditionally_. 

[191] On February 15, 1898, the U. S. Man-of-war _Maine_, whilst lyingin the harbour of Havana, was, accidentally or intentionally, blownup, causing the death of 266 of her crew. Public opinion in Americaattributed the disaster to Spanish malice. The Spaniards indignantlyrepudiated this charge and invited an official inquest. Again, at theConference of December 6, 1898, the Spanish Commissioners of the PeaceCommission at Paris proposed an additional article to the treaty "toappoint an International Commission to be entrusted with investigatingthe causes of, and responsibility for, the _Maine_ catastrophe, "but the proposal was rejected by the American Commissioners. 

[192] Mirs Bay has _since_ become British, being included in theextended Kowloon Concession on the mainland of China oppositeHong-Kong. 

[193] The distance from Corregidor Island to Manila City is 27 miles. 

[194] In July, 1904, I saw five rusty hulls--remnant of the Spanishfleet--afloat in Cavite harbour. 

[195] Admiral Patricio Montojo, born in 1831, entered the navy at theage of 14. After the Battle of Cavite he left for Europe in October, 1898, and was committed to prison, March 3, 1899, pending the trialby court-martial which condemned him to compulsory retirement fromthe service. He died in 1902, aged 71 years. 

[196] _Vide_ Senate Document No. 62, Part II. , 55th Congress, 3rdSession, pp. 350-6. Published by the Government Printing Office, Washington, 1899. 

[197] The _Macabebes_ who came so conspicuously into prominenceduring the Rebellion of 1896 are the inhabitants of the town ofMacabebe and its dependent wards, situated in Lower Pampanga, nearthe Hagonoy River. They are the only Filipinos who have persistentlyand systematically opposed the revolutionary faction of their own freewill, without bribe or extraneous influence. No one seems to be able toexplain exactly why they should have adopted this course. They aidedthe Spaniards against the rebels, and also the Americans against theinsurgents. All I have been able to learn of them in the locality isthat they keep exclusively to themselves, and have little sympathyfor, and no cordial intercourse with, the natives of other towns, either in their own province or elsewhere. A generation ago theMacabebes had a bad reputation for their petty piratical depredationsaround the north shore of Manila Bay and the several mouths of theHagonoy River, and it is possible that their exclusiveness resultsfrom their consciousness of having been shunned by the more reputableinhabitants. The total population of Macabebe is about 14, 000. 

[198] The finding of the court says: "Pasará á la seccion de reservadel Estado Mayor General del Ejército con incapacidad para obtenerdestinos y sin figurar en la escala de los de dicha categoria. " Signedby Canuto Garcia de Polavieja, dated April 28, 1899, and publishedin the _Gaceta de Madrid_. 

[199] It seems almost incredible that, even at this crisis, theSpaniards still counted on native auxiliaries to fight against theirown kith and kin. 

[200] _Vide_ Senate Document No. 62, Part II. , 55th Congress, 3rd Session, p. 282. Published by the Government Printing Office, Washington, 1899. 

[201] Captain T. Bentley Mott, A. D. C to General Merritt, writing in_Scribner's Magazine_ (December, 1898) says: "Neither the fleet northe army was, at this time, ready for a general engagement. The armydid not have, all told, enough ammunition for more than _one day_of hard fighting, and only a part of this was in the camp. " AdmiralDewey had then been in possession of Manila bay and port three monthsand 12 days. 

[202] _Vide_ Senate Document No. 62, Part II. , 55th Congress, 3rdSession, p. 491. 

[203] "The Spanish Commander-in-Chief fled from the city shortlybefore it was attacked. " Senate Document 62, Part II. , 55th Congress, 3rd Session, p. 146. 

[204] Barasoain is another parish, but it is only separated fromMalolos by a bridged river. It is only five minutes' walk from MalolosChurch to Barasoain Church. Since the American advent the two parisheshave been united. 

[205] For want of space I am obliged to omit the summary of all thedebates in the Revolutionary Congress of 1898, printed reports ofwhich I have before me. 

[206] _Vide_ Senate Document No. 62, Part II. , 55th Congress, 3rd Session, p. 371. Published by the Government Printing Office, Washington, 1899. 

[207] _Vide_ Senate Document No. 62, Part I. Of the 55th Congress, 3rdSession. Published by the Government Printing Office, Washington, 1899. 

[208] The Treaty was ratified by the Senate by 57 votes to 27 onFebruary 6, 1899. 

[209] The Paco church was an ancient, imposing building; to-day thereis not a stone left to show that it ever existed, and the plot isperfectly bare. 

[210] General Diego de los Rios was remaining in Manila to negotiatewith the insurgents the liberation of the Spanish prisoners (_vide_p. 477). 

[211] The decree says:--"Seeing that the Spanish garrison in Baler, consisting of a handful of men, isolated, without hope of succour, is, by its valour and constant heroism worthy of universal admiration, and in view of its defence, comparable only with the legendary valourof the sons of the Cid and of Pelayo, I render homage to militaryvirtues, and, interpreting the sentiments of the Philippine Republic, on the proposal of my Secretary of War, and in agreement with myCouncil of State, I hereby decree as follows, viz. :--That the saidforces shall no longer be considered our prisoners, but our friends, and consequently the necessary passes shall be furnished them enablingthem to return to their country. Given in Tárlac on the 30th of June, 1899. The President of the Republic, --_Emilio Aguinaldo_. "

[212] After the war I visited this former insurgent stronghold. Ofthe ancient church three walls and a quarter of the roof were leftstanding. There was nothing inside but shrubs, which had grown up to3 feet high. In front of the church ruins stood an ironical emblemof the insurgents' power in the shape of an antiquated Spanishcannon on carriage, with the nozzle broken off. Judging from thenumerous newly-erected dwellings in this little town, I surmise thatthree-fourths of it must have been destroyed during the war. 

[213] A Chinese half-caste Pampango. I knew him intimately as aplanter. He was deported to and died a prisoner in the Island of Guamin 1901. 

[214] In 1905 one of the wealthiest men in the Colony was arrested andbrought to trial on the charge of having paid, or caused to be paid, the sum of P 20 to an outlaw in Batangas Province. After putting theaccused to a deal of expense and annoyance, the Government suddenlywithdrew from the case, leaving the public in doubt as to the justiceor injustice of the arraignment. 

[215] A very intelligent man who was appointed Civil Governor of LaLaguna Province when the war terminated. 

[216] Early in 1905 the Court of Nueva Ecija passed sentence ofimprisonment for life on this man for murder. 

[217] Raymundo Melliza, a Visayan lawyer, who afterwards becameProvincial Governor of Yloilo, is the son of Cornelio Melliza, of Molo, a man much respected both by natives and foreigners. 

[218] A verbal statement made to me by ex-insurgent General PabloAraneta, which I took down in writing at the time of the interview. 

[219] When I asked ex-General Pablo Araneta the same question henaïvely explained to me that it was thought if the Americans cameashore and found the town in ruins they would relinquish theirundertaking!

[220] The See of Jaro was created in 1867. The town was already richwith its trade in _piña_ and _jusi_ (_vide_ p. 283, footnote). Up to1876 Yloilo town was merely a group of houses built for commercialconvenience. 

[221] _Vide_ p. 169. _Castila_ in the North; _Cachila_ in the South;signifying European, and said to be derived from the Spaniards'war-cry of _Viva Castilla!_

[222] "Water-cure" was a method adopted by the Americans. Water waspoured down the throat of the victim until the stomach was distended tothe full; then it was pressed out again and the operation repeated. Thepretext for this mode of torture was to extort confession; but itwas quite inefficacious; because the victim was usually disposed tosay anything, true or false, for his own salvation. The "water-cure"operation, in vogue for awhile all over the Islands, proved fatal inmany cases. It is now a penal offence (Phil. Com. Act 619, Sec. 2). 

[223] Otong in olden times was a place of importance when the galleonsput in there on their way to and from Mexico, taking the longer routein order to avoid the strong currents of the San Bernardino Straits. 

Under the old territorial division, the Jurisdiction of Otongcomprised all Panay Island (except a strip of land all along thenorth coast--formerly Panay Province, now called Cápis) and a pointhere and there on the almost unexplored Negros coast. Galleons weresometimes built at Otong, which was on several occasions attacked bythe Dutch. Yloilo at that time was an insignificant fishing-village. 

[224] A half-caste Chinese family of large means and local influence. 

[225] Esteban de la Rama is of the family of the late Isidro de laRama, a well-known prosperous and enterprising Yloilo merchant. PedroRegalado, personally known to me, is the son of my late friend JoséRegalado, at one time a wealthy middleman, who, however, lost hisfortune in adverse speculations. Pedro Regalado and I were, at onetime, together in Hong-Kong, where he learnt English. On the entryof the American troops into Yloilo he was imprisoned on a chargeof disaffection, but shortly released and appointed a governmentinterpreter. 

[226] The protest contained the following significant clauses, viz:(1) "Ceder á tal exigencia en vista de la superioridad de las armasAmericanas. (2) No tener poder, ni la provincia ni todos los habitantesjuntos, de ejecutar actas como esta, prohibidas por el Presidente dela República, Señor Emilio Aguinaldo. "--Extracts taken by myself fromthe official copy of the protest. 

[227] The approximate number of prisoners was as follows, viz:--

 Military Officers (including Gen. Leopoldo Garcia Peña) 200 Military Regular troops 8, 000 Civil Servants and private Civilians and families 560 Ecclesiastics and Nuns (including Bishop Hévia Campomanes, of the diocese of Nueva Segovia 400

 Total in long captivity, about 9, 160

 Taken prisoners and released voluntarily, or through personal influences, or escaped from the camps--about 1, 840

 Approximate Grand Total 11, 000

[228] Baron Honoré Fréderic Adhemar Bourgeois du Marais, a Frenchman ofnoble birth and noble sentiments, was the son of Viscount Bourgeois duMarais. Born at Bourg Port, in the Algerian province of Constantina, in 1882 he left Europe with a party of gentlemen colonists in thes. S. _Nouvelle Bretagne_, intending to settle in Port Breton, inAustralasia. The vessel having put into Manila, she was detainedfor debt, but escaped from port in the teeth of a hurricane. ASpanish gunboat went in pursuit and brought her back, and Baron DuMarais decided to remain in the Philippines. For several years hewas associated with his countryman M. Daillard in the developmentof the Jalajala Estate (_vide_ p. 360). On M. Daillard's deceasehe became the representative of the "Compañia Tabacalera" at theirvast estate of Santa Lucia (Tárlac), which prospered under his ablemanagement. His wonderful tact in the handling of natives secured theirattachment to him. After fifteen years' absence from home he went toEurope to recruit his health, returning to the Islands in November, 1898. After the ill-fated mission of humanity referred to above, hisbody lay hidden in the jungle for nearly two years, until November, 1900, when it was discovered and brought to Manila for intermentat the Paco cemetery. The funeral, which took place on November 25, was one of the most imposing ceremonies of the kind ever witnessed inManila. Monsignor Chapelle officiated at the _Requiem_ mass celebratedat the Cathedral in the presence of the chief American authorities, the French and Spanish Consuls-General and representatives of theforeign residents, Chambers of Commerce, the Army and Navy, the Clubs, the Press, and every important collectivity. The cortége was, moreover, escorted by a large body of troops to the last resting-place of thisgallant hero. 

[229] By Royal Decree of June, 1897, a _Philippine Loan_ wasauthorized, secured on Custom-house revenue and general guarantee ofSpain. The Loan was for 200 millions of pesetas in hypothecary bondsof the Philippine Treasury, bearing 6 per cent, interest, redeemableat par in 40 years. 

 Series A. 250, 000 Bonds of 500 pts. = 125 millions Series B. 750, 000 Bonds of 100 pts. = 75 millions

First issue of 100 millions A at 92 per cent. Was made on July 15, 1897. 

[230] Born at Aliaga (Nueva Ecija) June 17, 1877, he raised a troopof rebels in his native town and joined General Llaneras. Appointedcolonel in June, 1897, he was one of the chiefs who retired toHong-Kong after the alleged Treaty of Biac-na-bató. He returned tothe Islands with Aguinaldo, and became a general officer at the ageof twenty-three years. 

[231] At one time Cornelio Felizardo had an American in his gang. Thisdegenerate, Luis A. Unselt, was fortunately captured and sentenced, on April 6, 1904, to twenty-five years' imprisonment as a deserterfrom the constabulary and bandit. 

Previous to this event, the piracy of Johnston and Hermann in thesouthern islands caused much sensation at the time. 

In September, 1905, it was rumoured that, in order to escape capture, Cornelio Felizardo had committed suicide. 

One can judge of the ferocity of these men by Clause 3 of what JulianMontalón calls his Law No. 9. Dated April 10, 1904, it says:--

 "The Filipino who serves the American Government as scout, constabulary or secret-service man, who does not sympathize with his native country, shall, if caught, immediately suffer the penalty of having the tendons of his feet cut, and the fingers of both hands crushed. "

There were many cases of cutting off the lips; two victims of thisatrocity were brought to Manila in 1905, during _El Renacimiento_trial (_vide_ p. 550). 

[232] This establishment was put up for sale by tender in 1904. Theprospectus stated as follows:--

 Revenue for one year gold $332, 194. 17 Disbursements for one year 198, 338. 93

 Profit $133, 855. 24

Reserve price one million dollars gold. Conditions of paymentone-third cash, and two-thirds in three annual payments with six percent. Interest per annum guaranteed by mortgage on the building andplant or other acceptable security. It was not stated whether thesale included a monopoly of army supply. 

[233] _Sampaloc_ signifies _Tamarind_ in Tagálog. 

[234] The first Philippine club was opened on November 6, 1898. 

[235] The _carromata_ is a two-wheeled spring vehicle with a lightroof to keep off the sun and rain. In Spanish times it was commonlyused by the natives in Manila and by all classes in the provinces, being a light, strong, and useful conveyance. 

[236] _Vide_ "Official Roster of the Officers and Employees in theCivil Service in the Philippine Islands. " Manila, Bureau of PublicPrinting, 1904. 

[237] Independent Offices, i. E. , not under control of a CivilCommission Secretary. 

[238] Under the "Cooper Bill, " which came into operation on March 20, 1905, the Insular Government was authorized to increase the salariesof the Chief Justice and the associated judges to $10, 500 and $10, 000gold respectively. Under the same Act, judges of First Instance canbe called upon to serve in the Supreme Court when needed to form aquorum, for which service they are allowed ten pesos per day besidestheir travelling expenses from and to the place of their permanentappointments. By Philippine Commission Act No. 1, 314, the salariesof the Chief Justice and associate judges were fixed at $10, 000 each. 

[239] "Report of the Philippine Commission, 1900. " Published by theGovernment Printing Office, Washington, 1901. 

[240] Mr. William H. Taft, the first Civil Governor of the Philippines, was born at Cincinnati (Ohio) on September 15, 1857. His father wasa jurist of repute, diplomat, and member of the Cabinet. After hispreparatory schooling in his native town, W. H. Taft graduated atYale University in 1878, studied law at Cincinnati and was calledto the bar in 1880. Since then he held several legal appointmentsup to the year 1900, when he became a district judge, which post heresigned on being commissioned to the Philippine Islands. 

[241] _Vide_ Senate Document No. 331, Part I. , 57th Congress, 1st Session. 

[242] Mr. Luke E. Wright, the second Civil Governor and firstGov. -General of the Philippines, was born in Tennessee in 1847, theson of Judge Archibald Wright. At the age of sixteen he took arms inthe Confederate interest in the War of Secession. Called to the barin 1868, he became a partner in his father's firm and held severalimportant legal appointments. At the age of twenty-four he becameAttorney-General, and held this post for eight years. A Democrat inpolitics, he is a strong character, as generous and courteous as heis personally courageous. 

[243] "Should we wish the Filipino people to judge of Americans by thedrunken, truculent American loafers who infest the small towns of theIslands, living on the fruits of the labour of Filipino women, and whogive us more trouble than any other element in the Islands? Should wewish the Filipino people to judge of American standards of honestyby reading the humiliating list of American official and unofficialdefaulters in these Islands?"--_Extract from Governor W.  H. Taft'sspeech at the Union Reading College, Manila, in 1903, quoted in_"Population of the Philippines, " _Bulletin I, p. 9. Published by theBureau of the Census, 1904_. 

[244] From a statement kindly furnished to me by the Adjutant-General, Colonel W.  A. Simpson (Manila). 

[245] A "contract" Surgeon or Dental Surgeon is a civilian who comesto the Islands on a three-years' contract. He is only temporarily anArmy officer. 

General Officers' pay is as follows; viz. :--

 Lieut. -General, Active Service $11, 000; retired $8, 250 gold. Maj. -General, Active Service $7, 500; retired $5, 625 gold. Brig. -General, Active Service $5, 500; retired $4, 125 gold. 

The monthly pay of a private serving in the Islands is $15. 60 gold. 

[246] _Hadji_ signifies Knight, a title which any Mahometan can assumeafter having made the pilgrimage to Mecca. 

[247] The Americans occupied and the Spaniards evacuated Joló on May20, 1899. 

[248] _Vide_ Report of the Secretary of War for 1902, p. 18. 

[249] Camp Vicars is said to have an elevation of 2, 000 feet abovethe sea. Lake Lanao is reputed to be 1, 500 feet above sea-level. 

[250] _Vide_ Captain J.  J. Pershing's Report to the Adjutant-Generalin Manila, dated Camp Vicars, Mindanao, May 15, 1903. 

[251] _Vide_ Brig. -General Sumner's Report to the Adjutant-Generalin Manila, dated Zamboanga, Mindanao, June 13, 1903. 

[252] Maj. -General Leonard Wood, born October 9, 1860, was a doctorof medicine by profession. On the outbreak of war with Spain hewas appointed Colonel of the First Volunteer Cavalry in Cuba, withMr. Roosevelt (now the United States President) as Lieut. -Colonel. Atthe close of the war he was promoted to Brig. -General, and on December13, 1899, received the appointment of Military Governor of Cuba, which he held until the government of that island was transferred toSeñor Palma Estrada, the first President of the Cuban Republic. Tohis brilliant reputation for statesmanship gained in the Antilles, General Wood has now added the fame of a successful organizer of theSouthern Philippines. Beloved by his subordinates, his large-heartedgeniality wins him the admiration of all who know him, and even therespect of the savage whom he had to coerce. 

[253] _Mindanao_, the name of this southern island, signifies "Manof the Lake. "

[254] The limits and area of that portion of the Island under civilgovernment are defined in Philippine Commission Acts Nos. 127 and 128, amended by Act No. 787. It is approximately all that land north of 8°N. Lat. And east of 123° 34' E. Long. 

[255] Under the above-cited Act No. 787, any military officer, from thecommander of the district downwards, holding concurrent civil officein the province receives his army pay, plus 20 per cent, of the sameas remuneration for his civil service. The combined emolument of amajor-general as military commander and provincial governor would, therefore, be $9, 000 gold. 

[256] Under Spanish rule the Moro country was divided thus:--Sevendistricts, namely, Zamboanga, Misámis, Surigao, Davao, Cottabato, Basílan, and Lanao, all under the Gov. -General of Mindanao. Joló wasruled independently of Mindanao under another governor. 

[257] Up to June 30, 1904, there was a total of 12 municipalitiesorganized. 

[258] Philippine Commission Act No. 787, Section 13, Clause II, provides that the Moro Government is to "vest in their local or triberulers as nearly as possible the same authority over the people asthey now exercise. " Clause L: "To enact laws for the abolition ofslavery, and the suppression of all slave-hunting and slave trade. "

[259] From a statement kindly furnished to me by the Military andProvincial Governor, Maj. -General Leonard Wood, June, 1904. 

[260] At Malábang about 500, at Párang-Párang 205, and at Joló 744. 

[261] _Kudarangan Cotta _was situated on the north bank of the RioGrande. Datto Piang's fort stands at the junction of this river and theBacat River. Fort Reina Regente, established in this neighbourhood, was the most inland Spanish stronghold in Mindanao, and was at oneperiod in Spanish times garrisoned by 800 to 1, 000 convict troops(_disciplinarios_). 

[262] _Panglima_ signifies General, or Chief of Warriors. 

[263] The father of Mr. J. Schück was a German sea captain, who gotinto trouble with the Spaniards because he traded directly with theSultan of Sulu. His ship and all he possessed were seized, and CaptainSchück decided to settle in the Island under the protection of theSultan. He took a Mora wife, became a very prosperous planter, and theSpaniards were eventually only too glad to cultivate his friendship. Hedied in 1887, leaving three sons; one is the gentleman mentioned above, another is the military interpreter, and the third manages the fineproperty and trading interests of the family. Mr. J. Schück's twosisters-in-law are Moras. 

[264] _Vide_ Legislative Council Act No. 51, relative to the PearlFisheries, in which the Sultan claims hereditary right. Also "AnnualReport of Maj. -General George W. Davis, 1903, " containing ColonelW.  M. Wallace's report to the Adjutant-General to the effect thatat Cagayán de Joló, on May 21, 1903, he gave instructions that theSultan's emissaries were not to be allowed to collect the customaryP5 per capita of tribute. 

[265] _Vide_ Report of the Moro Province for the fiscal year endingJune 30, 1904. 

[266] Under the _Homestead Law_, 39. 54 acres of Government landmay be acquired by any citizen of the Philippine Islands or of theUnited States, and 2, 530 acres by a corporation. The grant or saleof such land is subject to occupancy and cultivation of the acreagefor a period of not less than five years, and during that period thepurchaser or grantee cannot alienate or encumber the land or the titlethereto. Six consecutive months' absence from the land, during theabove period of five years, cancels the grant. The land granted underthis Act cannot be seized for debt contracted prior to the grant. Manyapplications have already been made for land under this Act. 

[267] "No teacher or other person shall teach or criticize the doctrineof any Church, religious sect, or denomination, or shall attempt toinfluence the pupils for or against any Church or religious sect inany public school established under this Act. If any teacher shallintentionally violate this section, he or she shall, after due hearing, be dismissed from the public service. _Provided, however_, that itshall be lawful for the priest, or minister of any church establishedin the town where a public school is situated . .. To teach religionfor one half an hour three times a week in the school building tothose public school pupils whose parents or guardians desire it, "etc. --Section 16 of the Public School Act, No. 74. 

[268] Placido Louis Chapelle, Archbishop of New Orleans, was bornin France in 1842, and, at the age of seventeen years, emigrated toAmerica, where he entered the priesthood. In 1894 he received themitre of Santa Fé, and in 1897 that of New Orleans. In 1898 he wasappointed Apostolic Delegate to Cuba, Porto Rico, and the PhilippineIslands. His mission ended, he returned to New Orleans, where he diedof yellow fever in August, 1905. 

[269] _Vide_ Senate Document No. 190, p. 62, 56th Congress, 2ndSession. 

[270] _Ibid_. , p. 221. 

[271] At the outbreak of the Rebellion (1896) the total number offriars of the four Orders of Dominicans, Agustinians, Recoletos, and Franciscans in these Islands was 1, 105, of whom about 40 werekilled by the rebels. There were, moreover, 86 Jesuit priests, 81Jesuit lay brothers and teachers, 10 Benedictines, and 49 Paulists;but all these were outside the "friar question. "

[272] _Vide_ Senate Document No. 190, p. 2, 56th Congress, 2nd Session. 

[273] Bernardino Nozaleda, a native of Asturias, Spain, of rusticparentage, was originally a professor in Manila, where he becameArchbishop in 1889. In 1903 he was nominated for the archbishopric ofValencia, Spain, but the citizens absolutely refused to receive him, because of evil report concerning him. 

[274] In May, 1904, Father Singson was appointed by His HolinessDomestic Prelate of the Pope, with the title of Monsignore. 

[275] Report of the Secretary of War for 1902, p. 234. Publishedin Washington. 

[276] I was in Italy during the whole of the negotiations. The Italianclerical press alluded to the outcome as a diplomatic victory forthe Vatican. 

[277] The Franciscan Order is not allowed by its rules to possess anyproperty. It therefore had no agricultural lands, and no other propertythan dwelling-houses for members, two convents, and two infirmaries. 

[278] _Vide_ Senate Document No. 112, p. 27, 56th Congress, 2ndSession; and Senate Document No. 331, p. 180 of Part I. , 57th Congress, 1st Session. Published by the Government Printing Office, Washington. 

[279] _Vide_ speech of Gov. -General (then styled Civil Governor)Luke E. Wright on assuming office on February 1, 1904. Reported inthe _Manila Official Gazette_, Vol. II. , No. 5, dated February 3, 1904. 

[280] This condition was termed "frailuno. " In its application to theEuropean it simply denoted "partisan of the regular clergy. " Itspopular signification when applied to the native was a totalrelinquishment of, or incapacity for, independent appreciation ofthe friars' dicta in mundane matters. 

[281] Since the Treaty of Paris (1898) the Spanish friars areforeigners in these Islands. The Philippine clergy oppose a foreignmonopoly of their Church. They declare themselves competent toundertake the cure of souls, and claim the fulfilment of the Councilof Trent decrees which prohibit the regular clergy to hold benefices, except on two conditions, viz. :--(1) as missionaries to non-Christians, (2) as temporary parish priests in christian communities wherequalified secular clergy cannot be found to take their places. Thecrux of the whole question is the competency or incompetency ofthe Philippine clergy. The Aglipayans allege that Pope Leo XIII. , in the last years of his pontificate, issued a bull declaring theFilipinos to be incompetent for the cure of souls. They strongly resentthis. Whether the bull exists or not, the unfitness of the Philippineclergy to take the place of the regular clergy was suggested by theHoly See in 1902 (_vide_ p. 599). 

The Council of Trent was the 18th oecumenical council of the Church, assembled at Trent, a town in the Austrian Tyrol, and sat, withcertain interruptions, from December 13, 1545, until December 4, 1563. Nearly every point of doubt or dispute within the CatholicChurch was discussed at this Council. Its decrees were confirmed andpublished by Pope Pius IV. In 1564 by papal decree, being a briefsummary of the doctrines known as the Profession of the TridentineFaith, commonly called also the Creed of Pius IV. 

[282] Monsignor Ambrogio Agius, born on September 17, 1856, of a distinguished Maltese family, entered on his novitiate atthe Benedictine Monastery of Ramsgate, England, on September 8, 1871. Having finished his studies of philosophy and theology in Rome, he was ordained as priest on October 16, 1881, in the Cathedral ofSanto Scolastico at Subiaco. He then returned to England, but in1895 he was called to Rome, where for nine years he held severalecclesiastical offices. His ability was observed by Pope Leo XIII. , and by his successor Pius X. , who raised Ambrogio Agius to the dignityof titular Archbishop of Palmyra and appointed him Apostolic Delegateto the Philippine Islands in the year 1904, in succession to the lateMonsignor Giovanni Guidi. 

[283] The Census Report of 1903 shows the Civilized male populationtwenty-one years of age and over to be as follows: of SuperiorEducation 50, 140, Literate 489, 609, and Illiterate 1, 137, 776. 

[284] _Vide Official Gazette_, Vol. II. , No. 4, dated January 27, 1904. 

[285] Under the Act of Congress which authorized the taking ofthe census, dated July 1, 1902. It is provided (Section (6) that aPhilippine Assembly shall be created two years after the publication ofthe Census Report. This publication, complete in four volumes, havingbeen issued on March 27, 1905, the following day the Gov. -General atManila notified by proclamation that "in case a condition of generaland complete peace, with recognition of the authority of the UnitedStates, shall have continued in the territory of these Islands, notinhabited by Moros or non-christian tribes, and such facts shall havebeen certified to the President by the Philippine Commission, thePresident, upon being satisfied thereof, shall direct the PhilippineCommission to call, and the Commission shall call, a general electionfor the choice of delegates to a popular assembly of the people ofthe said territory in the Philippine Islands, which shall be known asthe _Philippine Assembly_, and which provides also that after the saidAssembly shall have been convened and organized, all the legislativepower heretofore conferred on the Philippine Commission in thatpart of these Islands not inhabited by Moros or other non-christiantribes shall be vested in a Legislature consisting of two Houses--thePhilippine Commission and the Philippine Assembly. In witness whereof(etc. , etc. ) this 28th day of March, 1905. "

[286] At Báguio, in the mountain region of the Benguet district, at analtitude of about 5, 000 feet, the Insular Government has establisheda health-resort for the recreation of the members of the CivilCommission. The air is pure, and the temperature so low (max. 78°, min. 46° Fahr. ) that pine-forests exist in the neighbourhood, andpotatoes (which are well known all over the Islands for many yearspast) are cultivated there. The distance from Manila to Báguio, ina straight line, would be about 130 miles. By this route--that isto say, by railway to Dagúpan, 120 miles, and then by the 55-mileroad (opened in the spring of 1905)--the travelling distance is 175miles. The new road runs through a country half uninhabited, and leadsto (commercially) nowhere. The amount originally appropriated for themaking of this 55-mile road was $75, 000 gold (Philippine CommissionAct No. 61). Up to January, 1905, $2, 400, 000 gold had been expendedon its construction. It is curious to note that this sum includes$366, 260 gold taken from the Congressional Relief Fund (_vide_p. 621). A further appropriation of $17, 500 gold has been made for itsimprovement, with the prospect of large sums being yet needed for thisundertaking, which is of no benefit whatever to the Filipinos. Theyneed no sanatorium, and Europeans have lived in the Islands, up to 30years, without one. The word _Báguio_ in Tagálog signifies Hurricane. 

[287] _Vide_ "Population of the Philippines, " Bulletin 1, published bythe Department of Commerce and Labour. Bureau of the Census, 1904, Washington. Census taken in 1903 under the direction of GeneralJ.  P. Sanger, U. S. Army. 

[288] There are four separate official returns, each showing differentfigures. 

[289] _Vide_ "Population of the Philippines, " Bulletin 1, publishedby the Department of Commerce and Labour. Bureau of the Census, 1904, Washington. 

[290] Under the provisions of Articles XII. , XIII. And XIV. , Immigration Regulations for the Philippine Islands of June 7, 1899. 

[291] _Vide_, Report of the Municipal Board of Manila for the fiscalyear ending June 30, 1904, p. 32. 

[292] Report on the Commerce of the Philippine Islands, prepared inthe Bureau of Insular Affairs, War Department, Washington, 1903. 

[293] The Japanese Government is making an effort to produce canesugar in Formosa sufficient for Japan's consumption. 

[294] "Ever since the occupation of these Islands by the American army, four years ago, the price of labour has steadily increased. .. . It isneedless to say that every industry will be profoundly affected bythis. " _Vide_ Notes in "Monthly Summary of Commerce of the PhilippineIslands, " May, 1903. Prepared in the Bureau of Insular Affairs, War Department, Washington. 

[295] _Vide_ statement of Governor W.  H. Taft before the U. S. Senate, January 31, 1902, in Senate Document No. 331, Part I. , 57th Congress, 1st Session, p. 258. 

[296] _Vide_ Report of the Moro Province for the fiscal year endingJune 30, 1904, p. 27. 

[297] In the years 1888-97 the circulation of Mexican andSpanish-Philippine dollars (pesos) was computed at about 36, 000, 000. 

[298] The "International Banking Corporation": Capital paid up, £820, 000; reserve fund, £820, 000. The "Guaranty Trust Company":Capital, reserves, and undivided profits, about $7, 500, 000 gold. 

[299] Shipments to Hong-Kong are often goods in transit for UnitedStates.