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Title: A Visit to the Philippine Islands
Author: John Bowring
Release Date: August 26, 2014 [EBook #46695]
Language: English
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A VISIT
TO
THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
BY
SIR JOHN BOWRING, LL.D., F.R.S.,
LATE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG, H.R.M.'S PLENIPOTENTIARY IN CHINA,
HONORARY MEMBER OF THE SOCIEDAD ECONOMICA
DE LAS FILIPINAS, ETC. ETC.
LONDON:
SMITH, ELDER & CO., 65, CORNHILL.
M.DCCC.LIX.
[The right of Translation is reserved.]
PREFACE.
The Philippine Islands are but imperfectly known. Though my visit was
a short one, I enjoyed many advantages, from immediate and constant
intercourse with the various authorities and the most friendly
reception by the natives of every class.
The information I sought was invariably communicated with courtesy
and readiness; and by this publication something will, I hope, be
contributed to the store of useful knowledge.
The mighty "tide of tendency" is giving more and more importance to
the Oriental world. Its resources, as they become better known, will be
more rapidly developed. They are promising fields, which will encourage
and reward adventure; inviting receptacles for the superfluities of
European wealth, activity, and intelligence, whose streams will flow
back upon their sources with ever-augmenting contributions. Commerce
will complete the work in peace and prosperity, which conquest began
in perturbation and peril. Whatever clouds may hang over portions
of the globe, there is a brighter dawning, a wider sunrise, over
the whole; and the flights of time, and the explorings of space,
are alike helping the "infinite progression" of good.
J. B.
CONTENTS.
CHAP. PAGE
I. Manila and Neighbourhood 1
II. Visit to La Laguna and Tayabas 30
III. History 44
IV. Geography, Climate, etc. 71
V. Government, Administration, etc. 87
VI. Population 105
VII. Manners and Superstitions of the People 144
VIII. Population--Races 165
IX. Administration of Justice 186
X. Army and Navy 191
XI. Public Instruction 194
XII. Ecclesiastical Authority 199
XIII. Languages 215
XIV. Native Produce 234
XV. Vegetables 244
XVI. Animals 272
XVII. Minerals 277
XVIII. Manufactures 282
XIX. Popular Proverbs 286
XX. Commerce 292
XXI. Finance, Taxation, etc. 320
XXII. Taxes 326
XXIII. Opening the New Ports of Iloilo, Sual and
Zamboanga 330
XXIV. Zamboanga 341
XXV. Iloilo and Panay 354
XXVI. Sual 425
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Group of Natives (Frontispiece.)
Hot Springs at Tivi (Title-page.)
Plan of Manila 10
View from my Window to face page 16
Lavanderos, or Washerwomen ,, 24
Waterfall of the Botocan 30
Village of Majajay to face page 36
Travelling by Palkee ,, 38
Crater of the Volcano at Taal 71
Indian Funeral to face page 122
Girls Bathing 134
A Gallera, or Cock-pit to face page 152
Lake of Taal, with Volcano ,, 164
Chart of Zamboanga 341
Chart of Port Iloilo and Panay 354
Chart of Port of Sual 425
Indian Song of the Philippines to face page 434
A VISIT
TO THE
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
CHAPTER I.
MANILA AND NEIGHBOURHOOD.
Three hundred and forty years ago, the Portuguese navigator Fernando de
Magalhães, more generally known by his Spanish designation Magellanes,
proposed to Carlos I. an expedition of discovery in the Eastern
seas. The conditions of the contract were signed at Zaragoza, and,
with a fleet of six vessels, the largest of which was only 130 tons
burden, and the whole number of the crews two hundred and thirty-four
men, Magalhães passed the straits which bear his name in November,
1520; in the middle of March of the following year he discovered
the Mariana Islands, and a few days afterwards landed on the eastern
coast of the island of Mindanao, where he was well received by the
native population. He afterwards visited the island of Zebu, where,
notwithstanding a menaced resistance from more than two thousand
armed men, he succeeded in conciliating the king and his court,
who were not only baptized into the Catholic faith, but recognised
the supreme sovereignty of the crown of Spain, and took the oaths of
subjection and vassalage. The king being engaged in hostilities with
his neighbours, Magalhães took part therein, and died in Mactan, on
the 26th April, 1521, in consequence of the wounds he received. This
disaster was followed by the murder of all the leading persons of
the expedition, who, being invited to a feast by their new ally,
were treacherously assassinated. Guillen de Porceleto alone escaped
of the twenty-six guests who formed the company. Three of the fleet
had been lost before they reached the Philippines; one only returned
to Spain--the Vitoria--the first that had ever made the voyage round
the world, and the Spanish king conferred on her commander, Elcano,
a Biscayan, an escutcheon bearing a globe, with the inscription,
"Primus circumdedit me." A second expedition, also composed of six
vessels and a trader, left Spain in 1524. The whole fleet miserably
perished in storms and contests with the Portuguese in the Moluccas,
and the trader alone returned to the Spanish possessions in New Spain.
About one hundred and twenty of the expedition landed in Tidore,
where they built themselves a fortress, and were relieved by a third
fleet sent by Hernan Cortes, in 1528, to prosecute the discoveries
of which Magalhães had had the initiative. This third adventure was
as disastrous as those which had preceded it. It consisted of three
ships and one hundred and ten men, bearing large supplies and costly
presents. They took possession of the Marianas (Ladrone Islands) in the
name of the king of Spain, reached Mindanao and other of the southern
islands, failed twice in the attempt to reach New Spain, and finally
were all victims of the climate and of the hostility of the Portuguese.
But the Spanish court determined to persevere, and the Viceroy
(Mendoza) of New Spain was ordered to prepare a fourth expedition,
which was to avoid the Molucca Islands, where so many misfortunes had
attended the Spaniards. The fleet consisted of three ships and two
traders, and the commander was Villalobos. He reached the Archipelago,
and gave to the islands the name of the Philippines, in honour of
the Prince of Asturias, afterwards Philip the Second. Contrary winds
(in spite of the royal prohibition) drove them into the Moluccas,
where they were ill received by the Portuguese, and ordered to return
to Spain. Villalobos died in Amboyna, where he was attended by the
famous missionary, St. Francisco Xavier. Death swept away many of the
Spaniards, and the few who remained were removed from the Moluccas
in Portuguese vessels.
A fifth expedition on a larger scale was ordered by Philip the
Second to "conquer, pacify, and people" the islands which bore
his name. They consisted of five ships and four hundred seamen and
soldiers, and sailed from La Natividad (Mexico) in 1564, under the
orders of Legaspi, who was nominated Governor of the Philippines,
with ample powers. He reached Tandaya in February, 1565, proceeded
to Cabalian, where the heir of the native king aided his views. In
Bojol, he secured the aid and allegiance of the petty sovereigns
of the island, and afterwards fixed himself on the island of Zebu,
which for some time was the central seat of Spanish authority. [1]
Manila was founded in 1581.
Illness and the despotism of the doctors, who ordered me to throw off
the cares of my colonial government and to undertake a sea voyage of
six or seven weeks' duration, induced me to avail myself of one of the
many courtesies and kindnesses for which I am indebted to the naval
commander-in-chief, Sir Michael Seymour, and to accept his friendly
offer of a steamer to convey me whither I might desire. The relations
of China with the Eastern Spanish Archipelago are not unimportant, and
were likely to be extended in consequence of the stipulations of Lord
Elgin's Tientsin Treaty. Moreover, the slowly advancing commercial
liberalism of the Spaniards has opened three additional ports to
foreign trade, of which, till lately, Manila had the monopoly. I
decided, therefore, after calling at the capital in order to obtain
the facilities with which I doubted not the courtesy of my friend
Don Francisco Norzagaray, the Captain-General of the Philippines,
would favour me, to visit Zamboanga, Iloilo, and Sual. I had already
experienced many attentions from him in connection with the government
of Hong Kong. It will be seen that my anticipations were more than
responded to by the Governor, and as I enjoyed rare advantages in
obtaining the information I sought, I feel encouraged to record the
impressions I received, and to give publicity to those facts which
I gathered together in the course of my inquiries, assisted by such
publications as have been accessible to me.
Sir Michael Seymour placed her Majesty's ship Magicienne at my
disposal. The selection was in all respects admirable. Nothing that
foresight could suggest or care provide was wanting to my comfort,
and I owe a great deal to Captain Vansittart, whose urbanities and
attentions were followed up by all his officers and men. We left Hong
Kong on the 29th of November, 1858. The China seas are, perhaps, the
most tempestuous in the world, and the voyage to Manila is frequently
a very disagreeable one. So it proved to us. The wild cross waves,
breaking upon the bows, tossed us about with great violence; and
damage to furniture, destruction of glass and earthenware, and much
personal inconvenience, were among the varieties which accompanied us.
But on the fifth day we sighted the lighthouse at the entrance of the
magnificent harbour of Manila, and some hours' steaming brought us
to an anchorage at about a mile distant from the city. There began
the attentions which were associated with the whole of our visit to
these beautiful regions. The Magicienne was visited by the various
authorities, and arrangements were made for my landing and conveyance
to the palace of the Governor-General. Through the capital runs a river
(the Pasig), up which we rowed, till we reached, on the left bank,
a handsome flight of steps, near the fortifications and close to
the column which has been erected to the memory of Magellanes, the
discoverer of, or, at all events, the founder of Spanish authority
in, these islands. This illustrious name arrested our attention. The
memorial is not worthy of that great reputation. It is a somewhat
rude column of stone, crowned with a bronze armillary sphere,
and decorated midway with golden dolphins and anchors wreathed in
laurels: it stands upon a pedestal of marble, bearing the name of
the honoured navigator, and is surrounded by an iron railing. It
was originally intended to be erected in the island of Zebu, but,
after a correspondence of several years with the Court of Madrid,
the present site was chosen by royal authority in 1847. There was
a very handsome display of cavalry and infantry, and a fine band of
music played "God save the Queen." Several carriages and four were
in waiting to escort our party to the government palace, where I was
most cordially received by the captain-general and the ladies of his
family. A fine suite of apartments had been prepared for my occupation,
and servants, under the orders of a major-domo, were ordered to attend
to our requirements, while one of the Governor's aides-de-camp was
constantly at hand to aid us.
Though the name of Manila is given to the capital of the Philippine
Islands, it is only the fort and garrison occupied by the authorities
to which the designation was originally applied. Manila is on the
left bank of the river, while, on the right, the district of Binondo
is the site inhabited by almost all the merchants, and in which their
business is conducted and their warehouses built. The palace fills
one side of a public plaza in the fortress, the cathedral another of
the same locality, resembling the squares of London, but with the
advantage of having its centre adorned by the glorious vegetation
of the tropics, whose leaves present all varieties of colour, from
the brightest yellow to the deepest green, and whose flowers are
remarkable for their splendour and beauty. There is a statue of
Charles the Fourth in the centre of the garden.
The most populous and prosperous province of the Philippines takes
its name from the fortification [2] of Manila; and the port of Manila
is among the best known and most frequented of the harbours of the
Eastern world. The capital is renowned for the splendour of its
religious processions; for the excellence of its cheroots, which,
to the east of the Cape of Good Hope, are generally preferred to the
cigars of the Havana; while the less honourable characteristics of
the people are known to be a universal love of gambling, which is
exhibited among the Indian races by a passion for cock-fighting, an
amusement made a productive source of revenue to the State. Artists
usually introduce a Philippine Indian with a game-cock under his arm,
to which he seems as much attached as a Bedouin Arab to his horse. It
is said that many a time an Indian has allowed his wife and children
to perish in the flames when his house has taken fire, but never was
known to fail in securing his favourite gallo from danger.
On anchoring off the city, Captain Vansittart despatched one of his
lieutenants, accompanied by my private secretary, to the British
consulate, in order to announce our arrival, and to offer any
facilities for consular communication with the Magicienne. They had
some difficulty in discovering the consulate, which has no flag-staff,
nor flag, nor other designation. The Consul was gone to his ferme
modèle, where he principally passes his time among outcast Indians,
in an almost inaccessible place, at some distance from Manila. The
Vice-Consul said it was too hot for him to come on board, though during
a great part of the day we were receiving the representatives of the
highest authorities of Manila. The Consul wrote (I am bound to do him
this justice) that it would "put him out" of his routine of habit and
economy if he were expected to fête and entertain with formality "his
Excellency the Plenipotentiary and Governor of Hong Kong." I hastened
to assure the Consul that my presence should cause him no expense,
but that the absence of anything which becomingly represented consular
authority on the arrival of one of Her Majesty's large ships of war
could hardly be passed unnoticed by the commander of that vessel.
Crowds of visitors honoured our arrival; among them the archbishop
and the principal ecclesiastical dignitaries; deputations from the
civilians, army and navy, and the various heads of departments, who
invited us to visit their establishments, exhibited in their personal
attentions the characteristics of ancient Castilian courtesy. A
report had spread among the officers that I was a veteran warrior
who had served in the Peninsular campaign, and helped to liberate
Spain from the yoke of the French invaders. I had to explain that,
though witness to many of the events of that exciting time, and in
that romantic land, I was a peaceful spectator, and not a busy actor
there. The bay of Manila, one of the finest in the world, and the river
Pasig which flows into it, were, no doubt, the great recommendations
of the position chosen for the capital of the Philippines. During
the four months of March, April, May, and June, the heat and dust
are very oppressive, and the mosquitos a fearful annoyance. To these
months succeed heavy rains, but on the whole the climate is good,
and the general mortality not great. The average temperature through
the year is 81° 97' Fahrenheit.
The quarantine station is at Cavite, a town of considerable importance
on the southern side of the harbour. It has a large manufacturing
establishment of cigars, and gives its name to the surrounding
province, which has about 57,000 inhabitants, among whom are about
7,000 mestizos (mixed race). From its adjacency to the capital, the
numerical proportion of persons paying tribute is larger than in any
other province.
The city, which is surrounded by ramparts, consists of seventeen
streets, spacious and crossing at right angles. As there is little
business in this part of the capital (the trade being carried on on
the other side of the river), few people are seen in the streets, and
the general character of the place is dull and monotonous, and forms
a remarkable contrast to the activity and crowding of the commercial
quarters. The cathedral, begun in 1654, and completed in 1672, is 240
feet in length and 60 in breadth. It boasts of its fourteen bells,
which have little repose; and of the carvings of the fifty-two
seats which are set apart for the aristocracy. The archiepiscopal
palace, though sufficiently large, did not appear to me to have any
architectural beauty. The apartments are furnished with simplicity,
and though the archbishop is privileged, like the governor, to appear
in some state, it was only on the occasion of religious ceremonies that
I observed anything like display. His reception of me was that of a
courteous old gentleman. He was dressed with great simplicity, and our
conversation was confined to inquiries connected with ecclesiastical
administration. He had been a barefooted Augustin friar (Recoleto),
and was raised to the archiepiscopal dignity in 1846.
The palacio in which I was so kindly accommodated was originally built
by an opulent but unfortunate protégé of one of the captains-general;
it was reconstructed in 1690 by Governor Gongora. It fills a
considerable space, and on the south-west side has a beautiful view
of the bay and the surrounding headlands. There is a handsome Hall
of Audience, and many of the departments of the government have their
principal offices within its walls. The patio forms a pretty garden,
and is crowded with tropical plants. It has two principal stone
staircases, one leading to the private apartments, and the other to
the public offices. Like all the houses at Manila, it has for windows
sliding frames fitted with concha, or plates of semi-transparent
oysters, which admit an imperfect light, but are impervious to the
sunbeams. I do not recollect to have seen any glass windows in the
Philippines. Many of the apartments are large and well furnished, but
not, as often in England, over-crowded with superfluities. The courtesy
of the Governor provided every day at his table seats for two officers
of the Magicienne at dinner, after retiring from which there was a
tertulia, or evening reception, where the notabilities of the capital
afforded me many opportunities for enjoying that agreeable and lively
conversation in which Spanish ladies excel. A few mestizos are among
the visitors. Nothing, however, is seen but the Parisian costume;
no vestiges of the recollections of my youth--the velo, the saya,
and the basquiña; nor the tortoiseshell combs, high towering over the
beautiful black cabellera; the fan alone remains, then, as now, the
dexterously displayed weapon of womanhood. After a few complimentary
salutations, most of the gentlemen gather round the card-tables.
The Calzada, a broad road a little beyond the walls of the fortress,
is to Manila what Hyde Park is to London, the Champs Elysées to Paris,
and the Meidan to Calcutta. It is the gathering place of the opulent
classes, and from five o'clock P.M. to the nightfall is crowded with
carriages, equestrians and pedestrians, whose mutual salutations
seem principally to occupy their attention: the taking off hats
and the responses to greetings and recognitions are sufficiently
wearisome. Twice a week a band of music plays on a raised way near
the extremity of the patio. Soon after sunset there is a sudden and
general stoppage. Every one uncovers his head; it is the time of the
oracion announced by the church bells: universal silence prevails
for a few minutes, after which the promenades are resumed. There is a
good deal of solemnity in the instant and accordant suspension of all
locomotion, and it reminded me of the prostration of the Mussulmans
when the voice of the Muezzim calls, "To prayer, to prayer." A fine
evening walk which is found on the esplanade of the fortifications,
is only frequented on Sundays. It has an extensive view of the harbour
and the river, and its freedom from the dust and dirt of the Calzada
gives it an additional recommendation; but fashion despotically decides
all such matters, and the crowds will assemble where everybody expects
to meet with everybody. In visiting the fine scenery of the rivers,
roads, and villages in the neighbourhood of Manila, we seldom met
with a carriage, or a traveller seeking to enjoy these beauties. And
in a harbour so magnificent as that of Manila one would expect to see
skiffs and pleasure-boats without number, and yachts and other craft
ministering to the enjoyment and adding to the variety of life; but
there are none. Nobody seems to like sporting with the elements. There
are no yacht regattas on the sea, as there are no horseraces on the
shore. I have heard the life of Manila called intolerably monotonous;
in my short stay it appeared to me full of interest and animation,
but I was perhaps privileged. The city is certainly not lively,
and the Spaniard is generally grave, but he is warm-hearted and
hospitable, and must not be studied at a distance, nor condemned
with precipitancy. He is, no doubt, susceptible and pundonoroso, but
is rich in noble qualities. Confined as is the population of Manila
within the fortification walls, the neighbouring country is full of
attractions. To me the villages, the beautiful tropical vegetation,
the banks of the rivers, and the streams adorned with scenery so
picturesque and pleasing, were more inviting than the gaiety of
the public parade. Every day afforded some variety, and most of the
pueblos have their characteristic distinctions. Malate is filled with
public offices, and women employed in ornamenting slippers with gold
and silver embroidery. Santa Ana is a favourite Villagiatura for
the merchants and opulent inhabitants. Near Paco is the cemetery,
"where dwell the multitude," in which are interred the remains of
many of the once distinguished who have ceased to be. Guadalupe
is illustrious for its miraculous image, and Paco for that of the
Saviour. The Lake of Arroceros (as its name implies) is one of the
principal gathering places for boats loaded with rice; near it, too,
are large manufactories of paper cigars. Sampaloc is the paradise
of washermen and washerwomen. La Ermita and other villages are
remarkable for their bordadoras, who produce those exquisite piña
handkerchiefs for which such large sums are paid. Pasay is renowned
for its cultivation of the betel. Almost every house has a garden with
its bamboos, plantains and cocoa-nut trees, and some with a greater
variety of fruits. Nature has decorated them with spontaneous flowers,
which hang from the branches or the fences, or creep up around the
simple dwellings of the Indians. Edifices of superior construction
are generally the abodes of the mestizos, or of the gobernadorcillos
belonging to the different pueblos.
Philip the Third gave armorial bearings to the capital, and conferred
on it the title of the "Very Noble City of Manila" (La mui noble
Ciudad), and attached the dignity of Excellency to the Ayuntamiento
(municipality).
During my stay at Manila, every afternoon, at five or six o'clock,
the Governor-General called for me in my apartments, and escorted by
cavalry lancers we were conveyed in a carriage and four to different
parts of the neighbourhood, the rides lasting from one to two hours. We
seldom took the same road, and thus visited not only nearly all the
villages in the vicinity, but passed through much beautiful country in
which the attention was constantly arrested by the groups of graceful
bamboos, the tall cocoa-nut trees, the large-leafed plantains, the
sugar-cane, the papaya, the green paddy fields (in which many people
were fishing--and who knows, when the fields are dry, what becomes
of the fish, for they never fail to appear again when irrigation has
taken place?), and that wonderful variety and magnificence of tropical
vegetation,--leaves and flowers so rich and gorgeous, on which one
is never tired to gaze. Much of the river scenery is such as a Claude
would revel in, and high indeed would be the artist's merit who could
give perpetuity to such colouring. And then the sunset skies--such as
are never seen in temperate zones,--so grand, so glowing, and at times
so awful! Almost every pueblo has some dwellings larger and better
than the rest, occupied by the native authorities or the mixed races
(mostly, however, of Chinese descent), who link the Indian to the
European population. The first floor of the house is generally raised
from the ground and reached by a ladder. Bamboos form the scaffolding,
the floors, and principal wood-work; the nipa palm makes the walls and
covers the roof. A few mats, a table, a rude chair or two, some pots
and crockery, pictures of saints, a lamp, and some trifling utensils,
comprise the domestic belongings, and while the children are crawling
about the house or garden, and the women engaged in household cares,
the master will most probably be seen with his game-cock under his
arm, or meditating on the prowess of the gallo while in attendance
on the gallinas.
------
FIGURE
VIEW FROM MY WINDOW SAN MIGUEL.
------
The better class of houses in Manila are usually rectangular, having
a court in the centre, round which are shops, warehouses, stables
and other offices, the families occupying the first floor. Towards
the street there is a corridor which communicates with the various
apartments, and generally a gallery in the interior looking into
the patio (court). The rooms have all sliding windows, whose small
panes admit the light of day through semi-transparent oyster-shells:
there are also Venetians, to help the ventilation and to exclude the
sun. The kitchen is generally separated from the dwelling. A large
cistern in the patio holds the water which is conveyed from the roofs
in the rainy season, and the platform of the cistern is generally
covered with jars of flowering plants or fruits. The first and only
floor is built on piles, as the fear of earthquakes prevents the
erection of elevated houses. The roofing is ordinarily of red tiles.
The apartments, as suited to a tropical climate, are large, and
many European fashions have been introduced: the walls covered with
painted paper, many lamps hung from the ceiling, Chinese screens,
porcelain jars with natural or artificial flowers, mirrors, tables,
sofas, chairs, such as are seen in European capitals; but the large
rooms have not the appearance of being crowded with superfluous
furniture. Carpets are rare--fire-places rarer.
Among Europeans the habits of European life are slightly modified by
the climate; but it appeared to me among the Spaniards there were more
of the characteristics of old Spain than would now be found in the
Peninsula itself. In my youth I often heard it said--and it was said
with truth--that neither Don Quixote nor Gil Blas were pictures of the
past alone, but that they were faithful portraits of the Spain which
I saw around me. Spain had then assuredly not been Europeanized; but
fifty years--fifty years of increased and increasing intercourse with
the rest of the world--have blotted out the ancient nationality, and
European modes, usages and opinions, have pervaded and permeated all
the upper and middling classes of Spanish society--nay, have descended
deep and spread far among the people, except those of the remote and
rural districts. There is little now to distinguish the aristocratical
and high-bred Spaniard from his equals in other lands. In the somewhat
lower grades, however, and among the whole body of clergy, the impress
of the past is preserved with little change. Strangers of foreign
nations, principally English and Americans, have brought with them
conveniences and luxuries which have been to some extent adopted by
the opulent Spaniards of Manila; and the honourable, hospitable and
liberal spirit which is found among the great merchants of the East,
has given them "name and fame" among Spanish colonists and native
cultivators. Generally speaking, I found a kind and generous urbanity
prevailing,--friendly intercourse where that intercourse had been
sought,--the lines of demarcation and separation between ranks and
classes less marked and impassable than in most Oriental countries. I
have seen at the same table Spaniard, mestizo and Indian--priest,
civilian and soldier. No doubt a common religion forms a common bond;
but to him who has observed the alienations and repulsions of caste in
many parts of the Eastern world--caste, the great social curse--the
blending and free intercourse of man with man in the Philippines is
a contrast well worth admiring. M. Mallat's enthusiasm is unbounded
in speaking of Manila. "Enchanting city!" he exclaims; "in thee
are goodness, cordiality, a sweet, open, noble hospitality,--the
generosity which makes our neighbour's house our own;--in thee the
difference of fortune and hierarchy disappears. Unknown to thee is
etiquette. O Manila! a warm heart can never forget thy inhabitants,
whose memory will be eternal for those who have known them."
De Mas' description of the Manila mode of life is this:--"They rise
early, and take chocolate and tea (which is here called cha); breakfast
composed of two or three dishes and a dessert at ten; dinner at from
two to three; siesta (sleep) till five to six; horses harnessed, and
an hour's ride to the pasco; returning from which, tea, with bread
and biscuits and sweets, sometimes homewards, sometimes in visit
to a neighbour; the evening passes as it may (cards frequently);
homewards for bed at 11 P.M.; the bed a fine mat, with mosquito
curtains drawn around; one narrow and one long pillow, called an
abrazador (embracer), which serves as a resting-place for the arms or
the legs. It is a Chinese and a convenient appliance. No sheets--men
sleep in their stockings, shirts, and loose trousers (pajamas); the
ladies in garments something similar. They say 'people must always
be ready to escape into the street in case of an earthquake.'" I
certainly know of an instance where a European lady was awfully
perplexed when summoned to a sudden flight in the darkness, and felt
that her toilette required adjustment before she could hurry forth.
Many of the pueblos which form the suburbs of Manila are very
populous. Passing through Binondo we reach Tondo, which gives its
name to the district, and has 31,000 inhabitants. These pueblos
have their Indian gobernadorcillos. Their best houses are of European
construction, occupied by Spaniards or mestizos, but these form a small
proportion of the whole compared with the Indian Cabánas. Tondo is one
of the principal sources for the supply of milk, butter, and cheese
to the capital; it has a small manufacturing industry of silk and
cotton tissues, but most of the women are engaged in the manipulation
of cigars in the great establishments of Binondo. Santa Cruz has a
population of about 11,000 inhabitants, many of them merchants, and
there are a great number of mechanics in the pueblo. Near it is the
burying-place of the Chinese, or, as they are called by the Spaniards,
the Sangleyes infieles.
Santa Cruz is a favourite name in the Philippines. There are in
the island of Luzon no less than four pueblos, each with a large
population, called Santa Cruz, and several besides in others of
the Philippines. It is the name of one of the islands, of several
headlands, and of various other localities, and has been carried by
the Spaniards into every region where they have established their
dominion. So fond are they of the titles they find in their Calendar,
that in the Philippines there are no less than sixteen places called
St. John and twelve which bear the name of St. Joseph; Jesus, Santa
Maria, Santa Ana, Santa Caterina, Santa Barbara, and many other saints,
have given their titles to various localities, often superseding the
ancient Indian names. Santa Ana is a pretty village, with about 5,500
souls. It is surrounded with cultivated lands, which, being irrigated
by fertilizing streams, are productive, and give their wonted charm to
the landscape--palms, mangoes, bamboos, sugar plantations, and various
fruit and forest trees on every side. The district is principally
devoted to agriculture. A few European houses, with their pretty
gardens, contrast well with the huts of the Indian. Its climate has
the reputation of salubrity.
There is a considerable demand for horses in the capital. The
importation of the larger races from Australia has not been
successful. They were less suited to the climate than the ponies which
are now almost universally employed. The Filipinos never give pure
water to their horses, but invariably mix it with miel (honey), the
saccharine matter of the caña dulce, and I was informed that no horse
would drink water unless it was so sweetened. This, of course, is the
result of "education." The value of horses, as compared with their
cost in the remoter islands, is double or treble in the capital. In
fact, nothing more distinctly proves the disadvantages of imperfect
communication than the extraordinary difference of prices for the
same articles in various parts of the Archipelago, even in parts
which trade with one another. There have been examples of famine in
a maritime district while there has been a superfluity of food in
adjacent islands. No doubt the monsoons are a great impediment to
regular intercourse, as they cannot be mastered by ordinary shipping;
but steam has come to our aid, when commercial necessities demanded
new powers and appliances, and no regions are likely to benefit by
it more than those of the tropics.
The associations and recollections of my youth were revived in the
hospitable entertainment of my most excellent host and the courteous
and graceful ladies of his family. Nearly fifty years before I had
been well acquainted with the Spanish peninsula--in the time of its
sufferings for fidelity, and its struggles for freedom, and I found
in Manila some of the veterans of the past, to whom the "Guerra de
Independencia" was of all topics the dearest; and it was pleasant to
compare the tablets of our various memories, as to persons, places
and events. Of the actors we had known in those interesting scenes,
scarcely any now remain--none, perhaps, of those who occupied the
highest position, and played the most prominent parts; but their
names still served as links to unite us in sympathizing thoughts and
feelings, and having had the advantage of an early acquaintance with
Spanish, all that I had forgotten was again remembered, and I found
myself nearly as much at home as in former times when wandering among
the mountains of Biscay, dancing on the banks of the Guadalquivir,
or turning over the dusty tomes at Alcalá de Henares. [3]
There was a village festival at Sampaloc (the Indian name for
tamarinds), to which we were invited. Bright illuminations adorned
the houses, triumphal arches the streets; everywhere music and gaiety
and bright faces. There were several balls at the houses of the more
opulent mestizos or Indians, and we joined the joyous assemblies. The
rooms were crowded with Indian youths and maidens. Parisian fashions
have not invaded these villages--there were no crinolines--these
are confined to the capital; but in their native garments there was
no small variety--the many-coloured gowns of home manufacture--the
richly embroidered kerchiefs of piña--earrings and necklaces, and
other adornings; and then a vivacity strongly contrasted with the
characteristic indolence of the Indian races. Tables were covered
with refreshments--coffee, tea, wines, fruits, cakes and sweetmeats;
and there seemed just as much of flirting and coquetry as ever marked
the scenes of higher civilization. To the Europeans great attentions
were paid, and their presence was deemed a great honour. Our young
midshipmen were among the busiest and liveliest of the throng,
and even made their way, without the aid of language, to the good
graces of the Zagalas. Sampaloc, inhabited principally by Indians
employed as washermen and women, is sometimes called the Pueblo de
los Lavanderos. The festivities continued to the matinal hours.
In 1855 the Captain-General (Crespo) caused sundry statistical returns
to be published, which throw much light upon the social condition
of the Philippine Islands, and afford such valuable materials for
comparison with the official data of other countries, that I shall
extract from them various results which appear worthy of attention.
The city of Manila contains 11 churches, with 3 convents, 363
private houses; and the other edifices, amounting in all to 88,
consist of public buildings and premises appropriated to various
objects. Of the private houses, 57 are occupied by their owners, and
189 are let to private tenants, while 117 are rented for corporate or
public purposes. The population of the city in 1855 was 8,618 souls,
as follows:--
---------------------+--------+----------+-------
---- | Males. | Females. | Total.
---------------------+--------+----------+-------
European Spaniards | 503 | 87 | 590
Native ditto | 575 | 798 | 1,373
Indians and Mestizos | 3,830 | 2,493 | 6,323
Chinese | 525 | 7[4] | 532
+--------+----------+-------
Total | 5,433 | 3,385 | 8,818
---------------------+--------+----------+-------
Far different are the proportions in another part of the capital,
the Binondo district, on the other side of the river:--
---------------------+--------+-----------+-------
---- | Males. | Females. | Total.
---------------------+--------+-----------+-------
European Spaniards | 67 | 52 | 219
Native ditto | 569 | 608 | 1,177
Foreigners | 85 | 11 | 96
Indians and Mestizos | 10,317 | 10,685 | 21,002
Chinese | 5,055 | 8[5] | 5,063
+--------+-----------+-------
Total | 16,193 | 11,364 | 27,557
---------------------+--------+-----------+-------
Of these, one male and two females (Indian) were more than 100
years old.
The proportion of births and deaths in Manila is thus given:--
----------------------+--------------+--------------+-------------
---- | Spaniards. | Natives. | Total.
----------------------+--------------+--------------+-------------
Births | 4·38 per ct. | 4·96 per ct. | 4·83 per ct.
Deaths | 1·68 ,, | 2·72 ,, | 2·48 ,,
+--------------+--------------+-------------
Excess of Births over | | |
Deaths | 2·70 per ct. | 2·24 per ct. | 2·35 per ct.
----------------------+--------------+--------------+-------------
In Binondo the returns are much less favourable:--
Births 5·12
Deaths 4·77
0·35
The statistical commissioners state these discrepancies to be
inexplicable; but attribute it in part to the stationary character
of the population of the city, and the many fluctuations which take
place in the commercial movements of Binondo.
Binondo is really the most important and most opulent pueblo of the
Philippines, and is the real commercial capital: two-thirds of the
houses are substantially built of stone, brick and tiles, and about
one-third are Indian wooden houses covered with the nipa palm. The
place is full of business and activity. An average was lately taken
of the carriages daily passing the principal thoroughfares. Over
the Puente Grande (great bridge) their number was 1,256; through
the largest square, Plaza de S. Gabriel, 979; and through the main
street, 915. On the Calzada, which is the great promenade of the
capital, 499 carriages were counted--these represent the aristocracy
of Manila. There are eight public bridges, and a suspension bridge
has lately been constructed as a private speculation, on which a fee
is levied for all passengers.
Binondo has some tolerably good wharfage on the bank of the Pasig,
and is well supplied with warehouses for foreign commerce. That
for the reception of tobacco is very extensive, and the size of the
edifice where the state cigars are manufactured may be judged of from
the fact that nine thousand females are therein habitually employed.
The Puente Grande (which unites Manila with Binondo) was originally
built of wood upon foundations of masonry, with seven arches of
different sizes, at various distances. Two of the arches were destroyed
by the earthquake of 1824, since which period it has been repaired
and restored. It is 457 feet in length and 24 feet in width. The
views on all sides from the bridge are fine, whether of the wharves,
warehouses, and busy population on the right bank of the river, or
the fortifications, churches, convents, and public walks on the left.
The population of Manila and its suburbs is about 150,000.
The tobacco manufactories of Manila, being the most remarkable of
the "public shows," have been frequently described. The chattering
and bustling of the thousands of women, which the constantly exerted
authority of the female superintendents wholly failed to control, would
have been distracting enough from the manipulation of the tobacco leaf,
even had their tongues been tied, but their tongues were not tied,
and they filled the place with noise. This was strangely contrasted
with the absolute silence which prevailed in the rooms solely occupied
by men. Most of the girls, whose numbers fluctuate from eight to ten
thousand, are unmarried, and many seemed to be only ten or eleven
years old. Some of them inhabit pueblos at a considerable distance
from Manila, and form quite a procession either in proceeding to or
returning from their employment. As we passed through the different
apartments specimens were given us of the results of their labours,
and on leaving the establishment beautiful bouquets of flowers were
placed in our hands. We were accompanied throughout by the superior
officers of the administration, explaining to us all the details with
the most perfect Castilian courtesy. Of the working people I do not
believe one in a hundred understood Spanish.
The river Pasig is the principal channel of communication with the
interior. It passes between the commercial districts and the fortress
of Manila. Its average breadth is about 350 feet, and it is navigable
for about ten miles, with various depths of from 3 to 25 feet. It is
crossed by three bridges, one of which is a suspension bridge. The
daily average movement of boats, barges, and rafts passing with
cargo under the principal bridge, was 277, escorted by 487 men and
121 women (not including passengers). The whole number of vessels
belonging to the Philippines was, in 1852 (the last return I possess),
4,053, representing 81,752 tons, and navigated by 30,485 seamen. Of
these, 1,532 vessels, of 74,148 tons, having 17,133 seamen, belong
to the province of Manila alone, representing three-eighths of the
ships, seven-eighths of the tonnage, and seventeen-thirtieths of the
mercantile marine. The value of the coasting trade in 1852 is stated to
have been about four and a-half millions of dollars, half this value
being in abacá (Manila hemp), sugar and rice being the next articles
in importance. The province of Albay, the most southern of Luzon,
is represented by the largest money value, being about one-fourth of
the whole. On an average of five years, from 1850 to 1854, the coasting
trade is stated to have been of the value of 4,156,459 dollars, but the
returns are very imperfect, and do not include all the provinces. The
statistical commission reports that on an examination of all the
documents and facts accessible to them, in 1855, the coasting trade
might be fairly estimated at 7,200,459 dollars.
At a distance of about three miles from Binondo, on the right bank
of the Pasig, is the country house of the captain-general, where he
is accustomed to pass some weeks of the most oppressive season of
the year: it has a nice garden, a convenient moveable bath, which
is lowered into the river, an aviary, and a small collection of
quadrupeds, among which I made acquaintance with a chimpanzee, who,
soon after, died of a pulmonary complaint.
CHAPTER II.
VISIT TO LA LAGUNA AND TAYABAS.
Having arranged for a visit to the Laguna and the surrounding
hills, whose beautiful scenery has given to the island of Luzon
a widely-spread celebrity, we started accompanied by the Alcalde
Mayor, De la Herran, Colonel Trasierra, an aide-de-camp of the
Governor, appointed to be my special guide and guardian, my kind
friend and gentlemanly companion Captain Vansittart, and some other
gentlemen. The inhabitants of the Laguna are called by the Indians of
Manila Tagasilañgan, or Orientals. As we reached the various villages,
the Principalia, or native authorities, came out to meet us, and
musical bands escorted us into and out of all the pueblos. We found
the Indian villages decorated with coloured flags and embroidered
kerchiefs, and the firing of guns announced our arrival. The roads
were prettily decorated with bamboos and flowers, and everything
proclaimed a hearty, however simple welcome. The thick and many-tinted
foliage of the mango--the tall bamboos shaking their feathery heads
aloft--the cocoa-nut loftier still--the areca and the nipa palms--the
plantains, whose huge green leaves give such richness to a tropical
landscape--the bread-fruit, the papaya, and the bright-coloured
wild-flowers, which stray at will over banks and branches--the
river every now and then visible, with its canoes and cottages,
and Indian men, women, and children scattered along its banks. Over
an excellent road, we passed through Santa Ana to Taguig, where a
bamboo bridge had been somewhat precipitately erected to facilitate
our passage over the stream: the first carriage got over in safety;
with the second the bridge broke down, and some delay was experienced
in repairing the disaster, and enabling the other carriages to come
forward. Taguig is a pretty village, with thermal baths, and about
4,000 inhabitants; its fish is said to be particularly fine. Near it
is Pateros, which no doubt takes its name from the enormous quantity
of artificially hatched ducks (patos) which are bred there, and which
are seen in incredible numbers on the banks of the river. They are
fed by small shell-fish found abundantly in the neighbouring lake,
and which are brought in boats to the paterias on the banks of the
Pasig. This duck-raising is called Itig by the Indians. Each pateria
is separated from its neighbour by a bamboo enclosure on the river,
and at sunset the ducks withdraw from the water to adjacent buildings,
where they deposit their eggs during the night, and in the morning
return in long procession to the river. The eggs being collected
are placed in large receptacles containing warm paddy husks, which
are kept at the same temperature; the whole is covered with cloth,
and they are removed by their owners as fast as they are hatched. We
saw hundreds of the ducklings running about in shallow bamboo baskets,
waiting to be transferred to the banks of the river. The friar at Pasig
came out from his convent to receive us. It is a populous pueblo,
containing more than 22,000 souls. There is a school for Indian
women. It has stone quarries worked for consumption in Manila, but
the stone is soft and brittle. The neighbourhood is adorned with
gardens. Our host the friar had prepared for us in the convent a
collation, which was served with much neatness and attention, and
with cordial hospitality. Having reached the limits of his alcadia,
the kind magistrate and his attendants left us, and we entered a
falua (felucca) provided for us by the Intendente de Marina, with
a goodly number of rowers, and furnished with a carpet, cushions,
curtains, and other comfortable appliances. In this we started for
the Laguna, heralded by a band of musicians. The rowers stand erect,
and at every stroke of the oar fling themselves back upon their seats;
they thus give a great impulse to the boat; the exertion appears very
laborious, yet their work was done with admirable good-humour, and
when they were drenched with rain there was not a murmur. In the lake
(which is called Bay) is an island, between which and the main land
is a deep and dangerous channel named Quinabatasan, through which
we passed. The stream rushes by with great rapidity, and vessels are
often lost in the passage. The banks are covered with fine fruit trees,
and the hills rise grandly on all sides. Our destination was Santa
Cruz, and long before we arrived a pilot boat had been despatched in
order to herald our coming. The sun had set, but we perceived, as we
approached, that the streets were illuminated, and we heard the wonted
Indian music in the distance. Reaching the river, we were conducted
to a gaily-lighted and decorated raft, which landed us,--and a suite
of carriages, in one of which was the Alcalde, who had come from his
Cabacera, or head quarters, to take charge of us,--conducted the party
to a handsome house belonging to an opulent Indian, where we found,
in the course of preparation, a very handsome dinner or supper,
and all the notables of the locality, the priest, as a matter of
course, among them, assembled to welcome the strangers. We passed
a theatre, which appeared hastily erected and grotesquely adorned,
where, as we were informed, it was intended to exhibit an Indian
play in the Tagál language, for our edification and amusement. I was
too unwell to attend, but I heard there was much talk on the stage
(unintelligible, of course, to our party), and brandishing of swords,
and frowns and fierce fighting, and genii hunting women into wild
forests, and kings and queens gaily dressed. The stage was open from
the street to the multitude, of whom many thousands were reported to
be present, showing great interest and excitement. I was told that
some of the actors had been imported from Manila. The hospitality
of our host was super-abundant, and his table crowded not only with
native but with many European luxuries. He was dressed as an Indian,
and exhibited his wardrobe with some pride. He himself served us
at his own table, and looked and moved about as if he were greatly
honoured by the service. His name, which I gratefully record, is
Valentin Valenzuela, and his brother has reached the distinction of
being an ordained priest.
Santa Cruz has a population of about 10,000 souls. Many of its
inhabitants are said to be opulent. The church is handsome; the
roads in the neighbourhood broad and in good repair. There is much
game in the adjacent forests, but there is not much devotion to
the chase. Almost every variety of tropical produce grows in the
vicinity. Wild honey is collected by the natives of the interior, and
stuffs of cotton and abacá are woven for domestic use. The house to
which we were invited was well furnished, but with the usual adornings
of saints' images and vessels for holy water. In the evening the Tagála
ladies of the town and neighbourhood were invited to a ball, and the
day was closed with the accustomed light-heartedness and festivity:
the bolero and the jota seemed the favourite attractions. Dance and
music are the Indians' delight, and very many of the evenings we passed
in the Philippines were devoted to these enjoyments. Next morning
the carriages of the Alcalde, drawn by the pretty little ponies of
Luzon, conducted us to the casa real at Pagsanjan, the seat of the
government, or Cabacera, of the province, where we met with the usual
warm reception from our escort Señor Tafalla, the Alcalde. Pagsanjan
has about 5,000 inhabitants, being less populous than Biñan and other
pueblos in the province. Hospitality was here, as everywhere, the order
of the day and of the night, all the more to be valued as there are no
inns out of the capital, and no places of reception for travellers;
but he who is recommended to the authorities and patronized by the
friars will find nothing wanting for his accommodation and comfort,
and will rather be surprised at the superfluities of good living than
struck with the absence of anything necessary. I have been sometimes
amazed when the stores of the convent furnished wines which had been
kept from twenty to twenty-five years; and to say that the cigars and
chocolate provided by the good friars would satisfy the most critical
of critics, is only to do justice to the gifts and the givers.
We made an excursion to the pretty village of Lumbang, having,
as customary, been escorted to the banks of the river, which forms
the limit of the pueblo, by the mounted principalia of Pagsanjan. The
current was strong, but a barge awaited us and conveyed us to the front
of the convent on the other side, where the principal ecclesiastic,
a friar, conducted us to the reception rooms. We walked through the
pueblo, whose inhabitants amount to 5,000 Indians, occupying one
long broad street, where many coloured handkerchiefs and garments
were hung out as flags from the windows, which were crowded with
spectators. We returned to the Cabacera, where we slept. Early in
the morning we took our departure from Pagsanjan.
We next advanced into the more elevated regions, growing more wild
and wonderful in their beauties. As we proceeded the roads became
worse and worse, and our horses had some difficulty in dragging the
carriages through the deep mud. We had often to ask for assistance
from the Indians to extricate us from the ruts, and they came to our
aid with patient and persevering cheerfulness. When the main road was
absolutely impassable, we deviated into the forest, and the Indians,
with large knives--their constant companions--chopped down the impeding
bushes and branches, and made for us a practicable way. After some
hours' journey we arrived at Majayjay, and between files of Indians,
with their flags and music, were escorted to the convent, whence the
good Franciscan friar Maximo Rico came to meet us, and led us up the
wide staircase to the vast apartments above. The pueblo has about
8,500 inhabitants; the climate is humid, and its effects are seen
in the magnificent vegetation which surrounds the place. The church
and convent are by far the most remarkable of its edifices. Here
we are surrounded by mountain scenery, and the forest trees present
beautiful and various pictures. In addition to leaves, flowers and
fruits of novel shapes and colours, the grotesque forms which the
trunks and branches of tropical trees assume, as if encouraged to
indulge in a thousand odd caprices, are among the characteristics
of these regions. The native population availed themselves of the
rude and rugged character of the region to offer a long resistance
to the Spaniards on their first invasion, and its traditional means
of defence were reported to be so great that the treasures of Manila
were ordered to be transported thither on the landing of the English
in 1762. Fortunately, say the Spanish historians, the arrangement
was not carried out, as the English had taken their measures for the
seizure of the spoils, and it was found the locality could not have
been defended against them.
We were now about to ascend the mountains, and were obliged to abandon
our carriages. Palanquins, in which we had to stretch ourselves at
full length, borne each by eight bearers, and relays of an equal
number, were provided for our accommodation. The Alcalde of the
adjacent province of Tayabas had come down to Majayjay to invite us
into his district, where, he said, the people were on the tiptoe of
expectation, had made arrangements for our reception, and would be
sadly disappointed if we failed to visit Lucban. We could not resist
the kind urgency of his representations, and deposited ourselves
in the palanquins, which had been got ready for us, and were indeed
well rewarded. The paths through the mountains are such as have been
made by the torrents, and are frequently almost impassable from
the masses of rock brought down by the rushing waters. Sometimes
we had to turn back from the selected road, and choose another less
impracticable. In some places the mud was so deep that our bearers
were immersed far above their knees, and nothing but long practice
and the assistance of their companions could have enabled them to
extricate themselves or us from so disagreeable a condition. But
cheerfulness and buoyancy of spirits, exclamations of encouragement,
loud laughter, and a general and brotherly co-operation surmounted
every difficulty. Around us all was solitude, all silence, but the
hum of the bees and the shrieks of the birds; deep ravines below,
covered with forest trees, which no axe of the woodman would ever
disturb; heights above still more difficult to explore, crowned with
arboreous glories; brooks and rivulets noisily descending to larger
streams, and then making their quiet way to the ocean receptacle. At
last we reached a plain on the top of a mountain, where two grandly
adorned litters, with a great number of bearers, were waiting, and we
were welcomed by a gathering of graceful young women, all on ponies,
which they managed with admirable agility. They were clad in the gayest
dresses. The Alcalde called them his Amazonas; and a pretty spokeswoman
informed us, in very pure Castilian, that they were come to escort us
to Lucban, which was about a league distant. The welcome was as novel
as it was unexpected. I observed the Tagálas mounted indifferently
on the off or near side of their horses. Excellent equestrians were
they; and they galloped and caracolled to the right and the left, and
flirted with their embellished whips. A band of music headed us; and
the Indian houses which we passed bore the accustomed demonstrations
of welcome. The roads had even a greater number of decorations--arches
of ornamented bamboos on both sides of the way, and firing of guns
announcing our approach. The Amazonas wore bonnets adorned with ribands
and flowers,--all had kerchiefs of embroidered piña on their shoulders,
and variously coloured skirts and gowns of native manufacture added
to the picturesque effect. So they gambolled along--before, behind,
or at our sides where the roads permitted it--and seemed quite at ease
in all their movements. The convent was, as usual, our destination; the
presiding friar--quite a man of the world--cordial, amusing, even witty
in his colloquies. He had most hospitably provided for our advent. All
the principal people were invited to dinner. Many a joke went round,
to which the friar contributed more than his share. Talking of the
fair (if Indian girls can be so called), Captain Vansittart said he
had thirty unmarried officers on board the Magicienne.
"A bargain," exclaimed the friar; "send them hither,--I will find
pretty wives for all of them."
"But you must convert them first."
"Ay! that is my part of the bargain."
"And you will get the marriage fees."
"Do you think I forgot that?"
After dinner, or supper, as it was called, the Amazonas who had
escorted us in the morning, accompanied by many more, were introduced;
the tables were cleared away; and when I left the hall for my bedroom,
the dancing was going on in full energy.
Newspapers and books were lying about the rooms of the convent. The
friar had more curiosity than most of his order: conversation with
him was not without interest and instruction.
We returned by a different road to Majayjay, for the purpose of
visiting a splendid waterfall, where the descent of the river is
reported to be 300 feet. We approached on a ledge of rock as near as
we could to the cataract, the roar of which was awful; but the quantity
of mist and steam, which soon soaked our garments, obscured the vision
and made it impossible for us to form any estimate of the depth of
the fall. It is surrounded by characteristic scenery--mountains and
woods--which we had no time to explore, and of which the natives
could give us only an imperfect account: they knew there were deer,
wild boars, buffaloes, and other game, but none had penetrated the
wilder regions. A traveller now and then had scrambled over the rocks
from the foot to the top of the waterfall
We returned to Majayjay again to be welcomed and entertained by our
hosts at the convent with the wonted hospitality; and taking leave
of our Alcalde, we proceeded to Santa Cruz, where, embarking in our
felucca, we coasted along the lake and landed at Calamba, a pueblo of
about 4,000 inhabitants; carriages were waiting to convey us to Biñan,
stopping a short time at Santa Rosa, where the Dominican friars, who
are the proprietors of large estates in the neighbourhood, invited us
as usual to their convent. We tarried there but a short time. The roads
are generally good on the borders of the Laguna, and we reached Biñan
before sunset, the Indians having in the main street formed themselves
in procession as we passed along. Flags, branches of flowering forest
trees, and other devices, were displayed. First we passed between files
of youths, then of maidens; and through a triumphal arch we reached
the handsome dwelling of a rich mestizo, whom we found decorated with
a Spanish order, which had been granted to his father before him. He
spoke English, having been educated at Calcutta, and his house--a very
large one--gave abundant evidence that he had not studied in vain the
arts of domestic civilization. The furniture, the beds, the tables,
the cookery, were all in good taste, and the obvious sincerity of
the kind reception added to its agreeableness. Great crowds were
gathered together in the square which fronts the house of Don José
Alberto. Indians brought their game-cocks to be admired, but we did
not encourage the display of their warlike virtues. There was much
firing of guns, and a pyrotechnic display when the sun had gone down,
and a large fire balloon, bearing the inscription, "The people of
Biñan to their illustrious visitors," was successfully inflated, and
soaring aloft, was lost sight of in the distance, but was expected to
tell the tale of our arrival to the Magicienne in Manila Bay. Biñan
is a place of some importance. In it many rich mestizos and Indians
dwell. It has more than 10,000 inhabitants. Large estates there are
possessed by the Dominican friars, and the principal of them was
among our earliest visitors. There, as elsewhere, the principalia,
having conducted us to our head-quarters, came in a body to present
their respects, the gobernadorcillo, who usually speaks Spanish, being
the organ of the rest. Inquiries about the locality, thanks for the
honours done us, were the commonplaces of our intercourse, but the
natives were always pleased when "the strangers from afar" seemed to
take an interest in their concerns. Nowhere did we see any marks of
poverty; nowhere was there any crowding, or rudeness, or annoyance, in
any shape. Actors and spectators seemed equally pleased; in fact, our
presence only gave them another holiday, making but a small addition
to their regular and appointed festivals. Biñan is divided by a river,
and is about a mile from the Laguna. Its streets are of considerable
width, and the neighbouring roads excellent. Generally the houses have
gardens attached to them; some on a large scale. They are abundant
in fruits of great variety. Rice is largely cultivated, as the river
with its confluents affords ample means of irrigation. The lands are
usually rented from the Dominicans, and the large extent of some of
the properties assists economical cultivation. Until the lands are
brought into productiveness, little rent is demanded, and when they
become productive the friars have the reputation of being liberal
landlords and allowing their tenants to reap large profits. It is said
they are satisfied with one-tenth of the gross produce. A tenant is
seldom disturbed in possession if his rent be regularly paid. Much
land is held by associations or companies known by the title of
Casamahanes. There is an active trade between Biñan and Manila.
Greatly gratified with all we had seen, we again embarked and crossed
the Laguna to Pasig. Descending by that charming river, we reached
Manila in the afternoon.
CHAPTER III.
HISTORY.
A few sketches of the personal history of some of the captains-general
of Manila will be an apt illustration of the general character of the
government, which, with some remarkable exceptions, appears to have
been of a mild and paternal character; while the Indians exhibit,
when not severely dealt with, much meekness and docility, and a
generally willing obedience. The subjugation of the wild tribes of
the interior has not made the progress which might have been fairly
looked for; but the military and naval forces at the disposal of the
captain-general have always been small when the extent of his authority
is considered. In fact, many conquests have had to be abandoned from
inadequacy of strength to maintain them. The ecclesiastical influences,
which have been established among the idolatrous tribes, are weak when
they come in contact with any of the forms of Mahomedanism, as in the
island of Mindanao, where the fanaticism of Mussulman faith is quite
as strong as that among the Catholics themselves. Misunderstandings
between the Church and State could hardly be avoided where each has
asserted a predominant power, and such misunderstandings have often
led to the effusion of blood and the dislocation of government. Mutual
jealousies exist to the present hour, and as the friars, in what
they deem the interests of the people, are sometimes hostile to the
views of the civil authority, that authority has frequently a right
to complain of being thwarted, or feebly aided, by the local clergy.
While shortly recording the names of the captains-general to whom
the government of the Philippines has been confided, I will select
a few episodes from the history of the islands, which will show the
character of the administration, and assist the better understanding
of the position of the people.
Miguel Lope de Legaspi, a Biscayan, upon whom the title of Conqueror
of the Philippines has been conferred, was the first governor, and
was nominated in 1565. He took possession of Manila in 1571, and died,
it is said, of disgust and disappointment the following year. The city
was invaded by Chinese pirates during the government of his successor
Guido de Lavezares, who repulsed them, and received high honours from
his sovereign, Philip II. Francisco de Saude founded in Camarines the
city of Nueva Caceres, to which he gave the name of the place of his
birth. He was a man of great ambition, who deposed one and enthroned
another sultan of Borneo, and modestly asked from the king of Spain
authority to conquer China, but was recommended to be less ambitious,
and to keep peace with surrounding nations. Rinquillo de Peñarosa
rescued Cagayan from a Japanese pirate, and founded New Segovia and
Arévalo in Panay; his nephew succeeded him, and in doing honour to
his memory set the Church of St. Augustin on fire; it spread to the
city, of which a large part was destroyed. In 1589, during the rule of
Santiago de Vera, the only two ships which carried on the trade with
New Spain were destroyed by a hurricane in the port of Cavite. The
next governor, Gomez Perez Dasmariñas, sent to Japan the missionaries
who were afterwards put to death; he headed an expedition to Moluco,
but on leaving the port of Mariveles his galley was separated from the
rest of the fleet; the Chinese crew rose, murdered him, and fled in
his vessel to Cochin China. His son Luis followed him as governor. A
Franciscan friar, who had accompanied the unfortunate expedition of
his father, informed him that he would find, as he did, his patent of
appointment in a box which the Chinese had landed in the province of
Ilocos, and his title was in consequence recognised. Francisco Tello
de Guzman, who entered upon the government in 1596, was unfortunate
in his attempts to subdue the natives of Mindanao, as was one of his
captains, who had been sent to drive away the Dutch from Mariveles.
In the year 1603 three mandarins arrived in Manila from China. They
said that a Chinaman, whom they brought as a prisoner, had assured the
Emperor that the island of Cavite was of gold, that the Chinaman had
staked his life upon his veracity, and that they had come to learn the
truth of his story. They soon after left, having been conducted by the
governor to examine Cavite for themselves. A report speedily spread
that an invasion of the Philippines by a Chinese army of 100,000 was
in contemplation, and a Chinese called Eng Kang, who was supposed to
be a great friend of the Europeans, was charged with a portion of the
defences. A number of Japanese, the avowed enemies of the Chinese,
were admitted to the confidence of the governor, and communicated to
the Chinese the information that the government suspected a plot. A
plot there was, and it was said the Chinese determined on a rising,
and a general massacre of the Spaniards on the vespers of St. Francis'
day. A Philippine woman, who was living with a Chinaman, denounced the
project to the curate of Quiapo, who advised the governor. A number
of the conspirators were assembled at a half-league's distance from
Manila, and Eng Kang was sent with some Spaniards to put down the
movement. The attempt failed, and Eng Kang was afterwards discovered to
have been one of the principal promoters of the insurrection. In the
evening the Chinese attacked Quiapo and Tondo, murdering many of the
natives. They were met by a body of 130 Spaniards, nearly all of whom
perished, and their heads were sent to Parian, which the insurgents
captured, and besieged the city of Manila from Dilao. The danger led
to great exertions on the part of the Spaniards, the ecclesiastics
taking a very active part. The Chinese endeavoured to scale the walls,
but were repulsed. The monks declared that St. Francis had appeared in
person to encourage them. The Chinese withdrew to their positions, but
the Spaniards sallied out from the citadel, burnt and destroyed Parian,
and pursued the flying Chinese to Cabuyao. New reinforcements arrived,
and the flight of the Chinese continued as far as the province of
Batangas, where they were again attacked and dispersed. It is said that
of 24,000 revolted Chinese only one hundred escaped, who were reserved
for the galleys. About 2,000 Chinese were left, who had not involved
themselves in the movement. Eng Kang was decapitated, and his head
exposed in an iron cage. It was three years after this insurrection
that the Court of Madrid had the first knowledge of its existence.
Pedro de Acuña, after the suppression of this revolt, conquered
Ternate, and carried away the king, but died suddenly, in 1606,
after governing four years. Cristobal Tellez, during his short rule,
destroyed a settlement of the Japanese in Dilao. Juan de Silva brought
with him, in 1609, reinforcements of European troops, and in the
seventh year of his government, made great preparations for attacking
the Dutch, but died after a short illness. In 1618, Alonzo Fajardo came
to the Philippines, with conciliatory orders as regarded the natives,
and was popular among them. He punished a revolt in Buhol, sent an
unsuccessful mission to Japan, and in a fit of jealousy killed his
wife. Suspecting her infidelity, he surprised her at night in a house,
where she had been accustomed to give rendezvous to her paramour, and
found her in a dress which left no doubt of her crime. The governor
called in a priest, commanded him to administer the sacrament, and,
spite of the prayers of the ecclesiastic, he put her to death by a stab
from his own dagger. This was in 1622. Melancholy took possession of
him, and he died in 1624. Two interim governors followed. Juan Niño
de Tabera arrived in 1626. He brought with him 600 troops, drove the
Dutch from their holds, and sent Olaso, a soldier, celebrated for his
deeds in Flanders, against the Jolo Indians; but Olaso failed utterly,
and returned to Manila upon his discomfiture.
A strange event took place in 1630. The holy sacrament had been stolen
in a glass vase, from the cathedral. A general supplication (rogativa)
was ordered; the archbishop issued from his palace barefooted, his
head covered with ashes, and a rope round his neck, wandering about
to discover where the vase was concealed. All attempts having failed,
so heavy were the penitences, and so intolerable the grief of the holy
man, that he sank under the calamity, and a fierce contest between
the ecclesiastical and civil functionaries was the consequence of
his death.
In 1635 there was a large arrival of rich converted Japanese,
who fled from the fierce persecutions to which the Christians had
been subjected in Japan; but a great many Catholic missionaries
hastened to that country, in order to be honoured with the crown of
martyrdom. Another remarkable ecclesiastical quarrel took place at this
time. A commissary, lately arrived from Europe, ordered that all the
friars with beards should be charged with the missions to China and
Japan; and all the shorn friars should remain in the Philippines. The
archbishop opposed this, as the Pope's bulls had no regulations about
beards. Fierce debates were also excited by the exercise of the right
of asylum to criminals, having committed offences, either against the
military or the civil authority. The archbishop excommunicated--the
commandant of artillery rebelled. The archbishop fined him--the
vicar apostolic confirmed the sentence. The Audiencia annulled the
proceedings--the Bishop of Camarines was called on as the arbiter,
and absolved the commandant. Appeals followed, and one of the parties
was accused of slandering the Most Holy Father. The Jesuits took part
against the archbishop, who called all the monks together, and they
fined the Jesuits 4,000 dollars. The governor defended the Jesuits,
and required the revocation of the sentence in six hours. The quarrel
did not end here: but there was a final compromise, each party making
some concessions to the other.
The disasters which followed the insurrection of Eng Kang did not
prevent the influx of Chinese into the islands, and especially
into the province of Laguna, where another outbreak, in which it
is said 30,000 Chinese took part, occurred in 1639. They divided
themselves into guerrillas, who devastated the country; but were
subdued in the following year, seven thousand having surrendered at
discretion. Spanish historians say that the hatred of the Indians to
the Chinese awaked them from their habitual apathy, and that in the
destruction of the intruders they exhibited infinite zeal and activity.
In the struggles between the natives and the Spaniards, even the
missionaries were not always safe, and the Spaniards were often
betrayed by those in whom they placed the greatest confidence. The
heavy exactions and gabelles inflicted on the Indians under Fajardo
led to a rising in Palopag, when the Jesuit curate was killed and the
convent and church sacked. The movement spread through several of the
islands, and many of the prisoners were delivered in Caraga to the
keeping of an Indian, called Dabao, who so well fulfilled his mission,
that when the governor came to the fortress, to claim the captives,
Dabao seized and beheaded his Excellency, and, with the aid of the
prisoners, destroyed most of the Spaniards in the neighbourhood,
including the priests; so that only six, among whom was an Augustine
barefooted friar, escaped, and fled to the capital. Reinforcements
having arrived from Manila, the Indians surrendered, being promised
a general pardon. "The promise," says the Spanish historian, "was not
kept; but the leaders of the insurrection were hanged, and multitudes
of the Indians sent to prison." The governor-general "did not approve
of this violation of a promise made in the king's name," but ordered
the punishment of the Spanish chiefs, and the release of such natives
as remained in prison.
In 1645, for two months there was a succession of fearful
earthquakes. In Cagayan a mountain was overturned, and a whole town
engulfed at its foot. Torrents of water and mud burst forth in many
places. All the public buildings in the capital were destroyed,
except the convent and the church of the Augustines, and that of the
Jesuits. Six hundred persons were buried in Manila under the ruins of
their houses, and 3,000 altogether are said to have lost their lives.
De Lara was distinguished for his religious sentiments. On his arrival
in 1653 he refused to land till the archbishop had preceded him
and consecrated the ground on which he was to tread. He celebrated a
jubilee under the authority of the Pope, by which the country was to be
purified from "the crimes, censures, and excommunications" with which,
for so many years, it had been afflicted. The archbishop, from an
elevated platform in Manila, blessed the islands and their inhabitants
in the presence of an immense concourse of people. Reconciliations,
confessions, restitutions followed these "days of sanctity;" but
the benedictions seem to have produced little benefit, as they
were followed by earthquakes, tempests, insurrections, unpunished
piracies, and, in the words of a Spanish writer, "a web of anxieties
and calamities." Missionaries were sent to convert the Mahomedans,
but they were put to death, and many professed converts turned
traitors. Kung Sing, the piratical chief, who had conquered Formosa,
and who had 1,000 junks and 100,000 men under his orders, had sent
an envoy to Manila demanding the subjection of the islands to his
authority or threatening immediate invasion. The threat created a
general alarm: the Chinese were all ordered to quit the country;
they revolted, and almost all were murdered. "It is wonderful," says
De Mas, "that any Chinamen should have come to the Philippines after
the repeated slaughters" of their countrymen at different periods,
though it is certain they have often brought down the thunderbolt
on their own heads. De Lara, having been accused of corruption,
was fined 60,000 dollars, pardoned, and returned to Spain, where he
became an ecclesiastic, and died in Malaga, his native city.
The "religiosity," to use a Spanish word, of De Lara was followed
by a very different temper in his successor, Salcedo, a Belgian
by birth, nominated in 1663. He quarrelled with the priests, fined
and condemned to banishment the archbishop, kept him standing while
waiting for an audience, insulted him when he had obtained it; and on
the death of the archbishop a few months afterwards, there were royal
fiestas, while the services De Profundis, in honour of the dead, were
prohibited as incompatible with the civil festivities. The Inquisition
interfered in the progress of time, and its agents, assisted by an
old woman servant, who held the keys, entered the palace, found the
Governor asleep, put irons upon him, and carried him a prisoner to the
Augustine convent. They next shipped him off to be tried by the Holy
Office in Mexico, but he died on his way thither. The King of Spain
cancelled and condemned the proceedings, confiscated the property of
those who had been concerned in them, and directed all that had been
seized belonging to Salcedo to be restored to his heirs.
Manuel de Leon, in 1669, obtained great reputation among the
ecclesiastics. He governed for eight years and left all his property
to obras pias. His predecessor, Manuel de la Peña Bonifaz (nominated
provisionally), had refused to surrender his authority. He was declared
an intruder, his goods were confiscated, and his arrest was ordered,
but he sought refuge in the convent of the Recoletos, where he died. A
quarrel took place between the competitors for the provisional
government--the one appointed enjoyed his authority only for six
months. He was, on his death, succeeded by his competitor, who was
displaced by Juan de Vargas Hurtado in 1678. Great misunderstandings
between the clergy and the civilians took place about this time. The
governor was excommunicated, having been ordered on every holiday to
appear in the cathedral and in the churches of Parcan and Binondo,
barefooted and with a rope round his neck. Refusing to submit to such a
degradation, he lived a solitary life, excluded from all intercourse,
on the banks of the river, until he obtained permission to embark
for New Spain; he died broken-hearted on the voyage.
It must be remembered, in looking over the ancient records of the
Philippines, that the sole historians are the monks, and that their
applause or condemnation can hardly be deemed a disinterested
or equitable judgment. Hurtado is accused by them of many acts
of despotism: they say that, in order to accomplish his objects,
he menaced the friars with starvation, and by guards, prevented
food reaching the convents; that he interfered with the election of
ecclesiastics, persecuted and ordered the imprisonment of Bonifaz, his
immediate predecessor (provisionally appointed), who fled to a convent
of Recoletos (barefooted Augustines), and was protected by them. The
Jesuits denied his claim to protection, but during the controversy
Bonifaz died, and the records remain to exhibit another specimen of
the bitterness of the odium theologicum and of the unity and harmony
of which the Church of Rome sometimes boasts as the results of her
infallibility. The archbishop was at this time quarrelling with the
civil tribunals, to which he addressed his mandamus, and answered
their recalcitrancy by reminding them that all secular authority
was subordinate to ecclesiastical. The archbishop was placed under
arrest and ordered to be banished by the Audiencia. He was conveyed by
force in his pontifical robes to the vessel which transported him to
Pangasinan. The Dominicans, to whose order the archbishop belonged,
launched their excommunications and censures, and troops were sent
to the convent to prevent the ringing of bells and the alarm and
gathering of the people. The provincial, who had taken the active
part in resistance, was, with other friars, ordered to be banished
to Spain. When about to be removed, the dean commanded the soldiers
present to kiss the provincial's feet and do him all honour while he
poured out his benedictions on the recalcitrant friars. In the midst
of all this confusion a new governor (Curuzcalegui) arrived, in 1684,
who took part with the clergy, and declared himself in favour of the
banished archbishop, and condemned his judges to banishment. One of
them fled to the Jesuit's College, a sanctuary, but was seized by
the troops. This by no means settled the quarrel, the following out
of which is too complicated and too uninteresting to invite further
scrutiny here.
In 1687 the King of Spain sent out a commissioner to inquire into the
troubles that reigned in the Philippines. The Pope had taken up the
cause of the more violent of the clergy, and Pardo (the archbishop),
thus encouraged in his intemperance, declared the churches of the
Jesuits desecrated in which the bodies of the civilians had been
buried, who had adjudicated against the monks. Their remains were
disinterred, but most of the judges who had defended the rights of
the State against the ecclesiastical invasions were dead before
the commissioner arrived; and, happily for the public peace, the
turbulent prelate himself died in 1689. Curuzcalegui also died in
1689. After a short provisional interregnum (during which Valenzuela,
the Spanish minister, who had been banished to the Philippines by
Charles II., on his return homeward, was killed by the kick of a
horse in Mexico), Fausto Cruzat y Gongora, was in 1690 invested
with the government. His rule is most remarkable for its financial
prosperity. It lasted for eleven years, for his successor, Domingo
de Zubalburo, though nominated in 1694, did not arrive till 1701. He
improved the harbour, but was dismissed by the King of Spain in
consequence of his having admitted a Papal Legate à latere without
requiring the presentation of his credentials. The Audiencia demanded
them, and the Legate replied he was surprised at their venturing to
question his powers. He frightened the people by this assumption,
and proceeded to found a college in the name of St. Clement. The
king was so exasperated that he ordered the college to be demolished,
fined the Oidores (judges) a thousand dollars, and removed the dean
from his office. Martin de Ursua y Arrimendi arrived in 1709, and died
much regretted in 1715; he checked the influx of the Chinese, and thus
conciliated popular prejudices. The interim governor, Jose Torralba,
was accused of peculation to the amount of 700,000 dollars. He was
called on by royal order to reimburse and find security for 40,000
dollars; but failing was sent to prison in fetters. He was ordered
afterwards to be sent to Spain, but agreed to pay 120,000 dollars. He
had not the money, and died a beggar. Fernando Bustillo (Bustamente)
landed in 1717. He spent large sums in useless embassies, and lived
ostentatiously and expensively. He set about financial reforms, and
imprisoned many persons indebted to the State. He seized some of the
principal inhabitants of the capital, menaced the judges, who fled to
the convents for protection. The governor took Torralba into favour,
releasing him from prison, and using him to undermine the authority
of the Audiencia, by investing him with its powers. He ordered that
on the discharge of a piece of artillery, all the Spaniards should
repair to the palace: he arrested the archbishop, the chapter of the
cathedral, several prelates and ecclesiastics, when a tumult followed;
crowds rushed to the palace; they killed the governor and his son, who
had hurried thither to defend his father. Francisco de la Cuesta was
called upon to take charge of the government. The remaining children
of Bustillo were sent to Mexico, and the Audiencia made a report of
what had taken place to the king, who appointed Toribio José Cosio
y Campo, and directed the punishment of those who had caused the
former governor's death; but under the influence of a Franciscan monk,
Cosio was induced to consent to various delays, so that nothing was
done in the matter, and the government in 1729 was transferred to
Fernando Valdes y Tamon, who reformed the military exercises, sent
an expedition to conquer the island of Palaos, failed in the attempt,
and was succeeded by a Fleming, Gaspar de la Torre, in 1739. He dealt
so severely with the fiscal Arroyo as to cause his death. He was
disliked, became morose and solitary, and died in 1745. The bishop
elect of Ilocos, father John Arrechedera, was the next governor,
and the Sultan of Jolo, who desired to be baptized, visited him in
Manila. The archbishop, to whom the matter was referred, declared
that the Sultan had been received into the bosom of the Church by the
Dominican friars of Panogui. The Marquis of Obando took possession of
the government in 1750. The archbishop, whom he displaced, had received
orders from the Spanish Cabinet to expel the Chinese from the islands;
but whether from the honest conviction that the execution of the order
would be pernicious to the permanent interests of the Philippines--in
which judgment he was perfectly right--or (as the natives avow) from
an unwarrantable affection for the Chinese, he, on various pretexts,
delayed the publication of the royal mandate. Obando involved himself
in quarrels with the Mussulman inhabitants of Mindanao, for which he
had made no adequate preparation. He determined to restore the Sultan
of Jolo, but on reaching Zamboanga he proceeded against the Sultan
for unfaithfulness (infidencia), sent him to Manila, and caused him
to be put into prison. The Mahomedans revolted. Obando desired to
take the command against them. The Audiencia objected to the exposure
of the person of the governor. The expedition failed, and disorders
increased. He left the government in a most unsatisfactory state,
and died on his way homewards. Pedro Manuel de Arandia assumed the
government in 1754. He had some successes against the Mahomedans
(or Moors, as they are generally called by Spanish writers). He
intended to restore the Sultan of Jolo, but he involved himself in
quarrels with the clergy, and his proceedings were disapproved by
the Spanish Court. His unpopularity led to a fixed melancholy, under
whose influences he died in 1759. Though he left his property for
charitable purposes, the fact of its amounting to 250,000 dollars is
urged as evidence of the corrupt character of his administration. The
Bishop of Zebu, followed by the Archbishop of Manila, Manuel Royo,
held the government provisionally on the death of Arandia. It was Royo
who surrendered Manila, and transferred the island to the British
in 1762. [6] He was made a prisoner, and died in prison in 1764,
of grief and shame it was said. Simon de Anda y Salazar, one of the
judges of the Royal Audiencia, was charged with the government during
the possession of the capital by the English, and established his
authority in Pampanga, where he maintained himself till the arrival of
Francisco de la Torre, who was provisionally appointed by the Crown,
and who, through Anda, received back Manila from the British. José
Raon took possession of the government in 1766.
The Sultan of Jolo, replaced on his throne by the English, caused
great molestations to the island of Mindanao, against Raon, who
was unable to protect his countrymen. The expulsion of the Jesuits
having been determined on, the secret purpose was communicated to
the Governor. He was accused of having divulged, and of concealing a
writing-desk supposed to contain important documents. He was ordered
to be imprisoned in his own house, where he died.
One of the monkish historians gives the following account of the
manner in which the rebellious Indians were disposed of:--"Arza, with
the efficacious aid of the Augustin fathers, and of the faithful (who
were many), went to Vigan, and repeated what he had done in Cagallan;
for he hanged more than a hundred, and among them Doña Gabriela,
the wife of Silang, a mestiza of malas mañas (bad tricks), not less
valiant than her husband, the notary, and a great many cabecillas
(heads of groups of families), who fled to the mountains of Alva; as
to the rest of the rabble of this revolted crew, he was satisfied with
giving them each two hundred lashes, while exposed on the pillory. He
sent 3,000 Ilocos triumphant and rich with booty to Pangasinan. This
was in 1763." [7]
After the capture of Manila by the British, they were naturally
suspected and accused of fomenting and encouraging the many
insurrections which followed that event. The impetuous and despotic
character of Anda, who assumed the governorship of the islands, had
made him many enemies, and he seems to have considered all opposition
to his arbitrary measures as evidence of treacherous confederation
with the English. No doubt their presence was welcomed, especially by
the Mussulman population of the southern islands, as affording them
some hopes of relief from Spanish oppression; but even the Philippine
historians do justice to the British authorities, and state that they
punished the piratical acts of their allies, without distinction of
persons. The Spaniards, however, encouraged Tenteng, a Mahomedan dato
(chieftain), to attack the British, whose garrison, in Balambangan,
was reduced by sickness from 400 men to seventy-five infantry and
twenty-eight artillery. But it was, says De Mas, "solely in expectation
of booty." From the woods in the night they stole down on the English
while they were asleep, set fire to the houses, and murdered all
but six of the garrison, who escaped in a boat with the English
commandant; they then hoisted the white flag, and did not spare the
life of a single Englishman left on shore. The Mahomedans seized much
spoil in arms and money. The Sultan of Jolo and the datos, fearing the
vengeance of the English, disclaimed all participation in the affair;
but on Tenteng's reaching Jolo, and delivering up his plunder to the
authorities, they, "thinking there were now arms and money enough to
resist both Spaniards and English," declared Tenteng to be a hero,
and well deserving of his country. A few months afterwards, a British
ship of war appeared, and obtained such reparation as the case allowed.
Anda had won so much credit for resisting the English, that he
was rewarded by his sovereign with many honours, made Councillor of
Castile, and returned as governor to Manila, in 1770. He imprisoned his
predecessor, many of the judges, the government secretary, a colonel,
and other persons. He sent some to Spain, and banished others from the
capital. He involved himself in ecclesiastical quarrels, met with many
vexations, and retired to the estate of the Recoleto friars, where
he died in 1766. De Mas says, in reference to this period:--"For
more than two centuries, the Philippines had been for the crown
of Spain a hotbed of so many disputes, anxieties, and expenses,
that the abandonment of the colony was again and again proposed by
the ministers; but the Catholic monarchs could never consent to the
perdition of all the souls that had been conquered, and which it was
still hoped to conquer, in these regions." After a short interregnum
temporarily filled by Pedro Sarrio, José Basco arrived in 1778. He
established the tobacco monopoly, sent off to Europe three judges,
and compelled other functionaries to quit the capital, but, after two
years' occupation of the gubernatorial seat, he returned to Spain,
and obtained other employment from the crown. Pedro Sarrio was again
invested with the temporary authority. Felix Berenguer de Marquina
arrived in 1788, and ruled six years. He was accused of corruption, but
absolved by the king. Rafael Maria de Aguilar was nominated in 1793.
In 1800 the governor-general having consulted the assessor on
the conduct to be observed towards the Mussulman pirates who had
entered the port of Manila, received a reply which is somewhat
grandiloquent:--"It is time all the royal wishes should be fulfilled,
and that these islands cease to be tributaries to a vile and
despicable Mahomedan. Let him feel the direful visitations of a
nation, whose reputation has been so often offended and outraged,
but which has tolerated and concealed its wrongs the better to
inflict its vengeance; let the crown be cleansed from the tarnish,
which in this port, and in the sight of so many European nations,
it has received from the low rabble (canalla). The repeated disasters
of the Indians appear to have rendered Spaniards insensible; yet is
there a man who, having witnessed the desolation, murders, ruin of
families, has not his soul moved with a desire of revenge against
the desolator and destroyer? Were they our wives, sons, fathers,
brothers, with what clamour should we call on the authorities to
punish the criminal, and to restore our freedom.... Justice, pity,
the obligation of your consciences, upon which the royal conscience
reposes, all plead together.... Eternal memory for him who shall
release us from the yoke which has oppressed us for ages!"
A treaty was concluded between the government of Manila and the Sultan
of Mindanao in 1805. The Sultan's minister of state was a Mexican
deserter; the ambassador of the Spaniards a Mexican convict. He was,
in truth, hardly dealt with, for, after making the treaty, he was
ordered to fulfil the term of his transportation.
In 1811, a conspiracy broke out in Ilocos, where a new god was
proclaimed by the Indians, under the name of Lungao. There was a
hierarchy of priests appointed in his honour. They made their first
attempts to convert the idolaters in Cagayan, and to engage them to
take part against the Spaniards. The Catholic missionaries were the
special object of their dislike, but the information which these
ecclesiastics gave to the authorities enabled them to suppress the
rebellion and to punish the leaders.
The cholera invaded Manila in 1819. A massacre of foreigners and
Chinese was the consequence, who were accused (especially the English)
of poisoning the wells. Robberies and other excesses followed the
murders. The Host was paraded in vain through the streets. The carnage
ceased when no more victims were to be found, but Spanish persons
and property were respected.
Under the government of Martinez, in 1823, a rising took, place,
headed by Novales, a Manilaman in the Spanish service. As many as 800
of the troops joined the movement. They took possession of the palace,
murdered the king's lieutenant, and, according to all appearances,
would have overthrown the government, had there been any organization
or unity of purpose. But a few courageous men gathered around them
numbers faithful to the king and the royalist party. Soldiers arrived;
the insurgents faltered; the inconstant people began to distrust
the revolutionary leaders, and Novales was left with one piece of
artillery, and about 300 to 400 followers. Overpowered, he fled, but
was compelled to surrender. He was brought to a drumhead court-martial,
declared he had no accomplices, but was the sole seducer of the troops,
and was shot with one of his sergeants the same day. Amnesty was
proclaimed, after twenty non-commissioned officers had been executed.
A serious insurrection broke out in Tayabas during the short rule of
Oraa (1841-43). The Spaniards say it was the work of a Tagál called
Apolinano, lay-brother of the convent of Lucban, not twenty years
old, who established a brotherhood (Cofradia) exclusively confined
to the native Indians. The object does not seem to have been known,
but the meetings of the Cofrades excited alarms and suspicions. The
archbishop called on the captain-general to put down the assemblies,
which in some places had sought legalization from the authorities. The
arrest of Apolinano was ordered, upon which he fled to the mountains,
where he was joined by 3,000 Indians, and it was reported in Manila
that he had raised the cry of rebellion in Igsavan. On this the Alcalde
mayor, accompanied by two Franciscan friars, a few troops, and two
small pieces of artillery, marched upon the denounced rebels. They
fired upon the Spaniards and killed the Alcalde. On the news reaching
the capital, a force of about 800 men was collected. It is said the
positions held by Apolinano were impregnable, but he had not kept the
promises he had made to the Indians, that sundry miracles were to be
wrought in their favour. Only a few advanced to meet the Spaniards,
and many of these were killed and the rest took to flight. Almost
without loss on their own side, the Spaniards left above 240 Indians
dead on the field, and shot 200 whom they made prisoners. Apolinano,
in endeavouring to cross a river, was seized by two of his own people,
bound, and delivered over to the authorities. He was accused of
aspiring to be King of the Tagálos. He averred that the objects of
his Cofradia were purely and simply religious. He was shot on the 4th
of November, 1841. De Mas says he knew him, and that he was a quiet,
sober, unobtrusive young man, exhibiting nothing of the hero or the
adventurer. He performed menial services at the convent of Lucban;
and as far as I can discover, the main ground of suspicion was, that
he admitted no Spaniards or Mestizos into his religious fraternity;
but that so many lives should have been sacrificed to a mere suspicion
is a sad story.'
Between 1806 and 1844 no less than fourteen governors followed
one another. Among them Narciso Claveria (1844-49) is entitled
to notice. He added the island of Balanguingui to the Spanish
possessions. One of his declarations obtained for him great
applause--that "he had left Spain torn by civil dissensions, but that
he should make no distinctions between his countrymen on the ground of
political differences, but forget all title except that of Español y
Caballero (Spaniard and gentleman)." Since that time Ramon Montero has
been their Governor ad interim, viz., in 1853, 1854, and 1856. The
Marquis of Novaliches took possession of the government in 1854,
but held it only for about eight months. Don Manuel Crespo arrived
in November, 1854, and the present Governor-General, Don Fernando de
Norzagaray, on the 9th of March, 1857.
It is worthy of note that during the period in which there have been
seventy-eight governors, there have been only twenty-two archbishops;
the average period of the civil holding being four years--that of
the ecclesiastical, eleven and a-half years.
CHAPTER IV.
GEOGRAPHY--CLIMATE, ETC.
The generally accepted theory as to the formation of the Philippines
is, that they all formed part of a vast primitive continent, which was
broken up by some great convulsion of nature, and that these islands
are the scattered fragments of that continent. Buzeta supposes that
from Luzon the other islands were detached. [8]
The Indians have a tradition that the earth was borne on the shoulders
of a giant, who, getting tired of his heavy burden, tumbled it into
the ocean, leaving nothing above the waters but the mountains, which
became islands for the salvation of the human race.
I do not propose to give a detailed geographical description of
the Philippine Islands. Buzeta's two octavo volumes will furnish
the most accurate particulars with which I am acquainted as to the
various localities. The facts which I collected in the course of my
personal observation refer specially to the islands of Luzon, Panay,
and Mindanao. The more general information has been derived from
Spanish authorities on the spot, or has been found in Spanish books
which I have consulted. I cannot presume to consider the present
volume as complete or exhaustive, but it will contribute something
to augment that knowledge which is already possessed.
The extent of the Philippine Archipelago is about 300 leagues from
north to south, and 180 leagues from east to west. The islands of
which it is composed are innumerable, most of the larger ones having
some Spanish or mestizo population. A range of irregular mountains
runs through the centre of the whole. Those known by the name of the
Caraballos, in Luzon, are occupied by unsubdued races of idolatrous
Indians, and extend for nearly sixty leagues. Several large rivers
have their sources in the Caraballos. At the top of Mount Cabunian,
whose ascent is very difficult, there is a tomb worshipped by the
pagan Igorrotes. There are large lakes in several of the islands, and
during the rainy season some of them become enormously extended. These
inundations are naturally favourable to the vegetable productions by
fertilizing vast tracts of land. Mindanao, which means "Men of the
lake," has its Indian name from the abundance of its inward waters,
in the same way that La Laguna has been adopted by the Spaniards as
the designation of the province bordering on the Lake of Bay. In this
latter district are many mineral and thermal springs, which have given
to one of its pueblos the name of Los Baños (the baths). One of them
issues from the source at a temperature of 67° of Reaumur. They are
much visited by the inhabitants of Manila. There are boiling springs
in the pueblo of Mainit.
The climate of the Philippines is little distinguished from that
which characterizes many other tropical regions of the East. It is
described in a Spanish proverb as--
Seis meses de polvo,
Seis meses de lodo,
Seis meses de todo.
"Six months of dust, six months of mud, six months of
everything;"--though it may generally be stated that the rainy season
lasts one half, and the dry season the other half of the year. There
are, however, as the distich says, many months of uncertainty, in which
humidity invades the ordinary time of drought, and drought that of
humidity. But from June to November the country is inundated, the roads
are for the most part impassable, and travelling in the interior is
difficult and disagreeable. Even in the month of December, in several
districts of Luzon, we found, as before mentioned, places in which
carriages are necessarily abandoned, the palanquin bearers being up
to their thighs in mud; and other places in which we were compelled
to open a new way through the woods. The heat is too oppressive to
allow much active exertion in the middle of the day, and the siesta is
generally resorted to from 1 to 3 o'clock P.M., before and after which
time visits are paid and business transacted. The pleasant evening
time is, however, that of social enjoyment, and the principal people
have their tertulias, to which guests are welcomed from half-past 8
o'clock to about 11 o'clock P.M.
The variations of the thermometer rarely exceed 10° of Reaumur, the
maximum heat being from 28° to 29°, the minimum 18° to 19°. Winter
garments are scarcely ever required.
The difference between the longest and shortest day is 1h. 47m. 12s. On
the 20th June, in Manila, the sun rises at 5h. 33m. 12s., and sets
at 6h. 26m. 48s.; on the 20th December, it rises at 6h. 26m. 48s.,
and sets at 5h. 33m. 12s.
The minimum fall of rain in Manila is 84 inches, the maximum
114. Hailstorms are rare. There is no mountain sufficiently high to be
"snow-capped;" the highest, Banaho, is between 6,000 and 7,000 feet
above the level of the sea.
Like other tropical climates, the Philippines are visited by
the usual calamities gathered by the wild elements round that
line which is deemed the girdle of the world. Violent hurricanes
produce fearful devastations; typhoons cover the coasts with wrecks;
inundations of rivers and excessive rains destroy the earth's produce,
while long-continued droughts are equally fatal to the labours and
the hopes of husbandry. Earthquakes shake the land, overturn the
strongest edifices and sport destructively with the power of man;
volcanic mountains inundate the earth with their torrents of burning
lava. Clouds of locusts sometimes devour all that is green upon the
surface of the ground; and epidemic diseases carry away multitudes
of the human race. The ravages caused by accidental fires are often
most calamitous, as the greater part of the houses are constructed of
inflammable materials. When such a disaster occurs, it spreads with
wonderful rapidity, and, there being no adequate means of extinction,
a whole population is often rendered houseless.
During the change of the monsoons especially, the storms are often
terrific, accompanied by very violent rains, fierce lightning and
loud thunder. If in the night, the darkness thickens. Many lose their
lives by lightning strokes, and houses are frequently carried away
by the vehemence of the torrents.
Bagyo is the Indian name for hurricane. These violent outbreaks
are generally announced in the morning by a light smoky mist which
appears on the mountains; it gathers, and darkens, and thickens into
heavy clouds, and before day closes breaks out with its fearful and
destroying violence, raging from an hour and a half to two hours. M. de
Gentil says that in the torrid zone the clouds which bring the most
destructive tornadoes are at an elevation not exceeding 400 toises
of perpendicular height.
The largest of the volcanoes is that of Mayon in Luzon. It is in the
shape of a sugar-loaf, perfectly conical. Its base covers several
leagues in the provinces of Albay and Camarines, and it is one of
the most prominent objects and landmarks visible from the sea;
there is a constant smoke, sometimes accompanied by flames; its
subterranean sounds are often heard at a distance of many leagues. The
country in the neighbourhood is covered with sand and stone, which on
different occasions have been vomited forth from the crater. There is
a description by the Alcalde of an eruption in 1767, which lasted ten
days, during which a cone of flame, whose base was about forty feet
in diameter, ascended, and a river of lava was poured out for two
months, 120 feet in breadth. Great ruin was caused to the adjacent
villages. The lava torrent was followed about a month afterwards by
enormous outpourings of water, which either greatly widened the beds
of the existing rivers, or formed new channels in their rush towards
the sea. The town of Malinao was wholly destroyed, and a third part
of that of Casana. Many other villages suffered; forests were buried
in sand; which also overwhelmed houses and human beings. The ravages
extended over a space of six leagues.
From an eruption at Buhayan, sixty leagues from Zamboanga, in the
island of Mindanao, in 1640, large masses of stone were flung to
a distance of two leagues. The ashes fell in the Moluccas and in
Borneo. Dense darkness covered Zamboanga. Ships at sea lighted their
lamps at 8 A.M., but the light could not be seen through the clouds
of sand. The mountain whence the explosion originated disappeared,
and a lake was formed and still remains in the locality as a record of
the agitation. The waters of the lake were long white with ashes. The
noise of the eruption was heard in Manila.
About twenty leagues from Manila is the province of Batanga. In one
of the bays is an island called by the natives Binintiang Malagui,
remarkable for its beauty, for the variety of its vegetation, and
the number of animals which inhabit it. The eastern part of the
island is a mountain, whose extinct volcano is seen in the form of
a truncated cone of enormous extent, surrounded by desolation. The
flanks of the mountain have been torn by vast channels, down which the
lava-streams must have flowed. The sides are covered with ferruginous
and sulphurous pyrites and scoriæ, which make the ascent difficult. It
is most accessible on the southern side, by which we reach the mouth
of the crater, whose circumference exceeds three miles, and whose
deep and wild recesses exhibit astounding evidences of the throes
and agitations which in former times must have shaken and convulsed
this portion of the earth. A Spanish writer says it looked "like an
execrable blasphemy launched by Satan against God." There are still
some signs of its past history in the smoke which rises from the abyss;
but what characterizes the spot is the contrast between the gigantic
wrecks and ruins of nature on one side, and the extreme loveliness
and rich variety of other parts of the landscape. Descending into
the crater by the help of cords round the body, a grand platform is
reached at the depth of about 600 feet, in which are four smaller
craters, one constantly and the others occasionally emitting a white
smoke, but they cannot be approached on account of the softness and
heat of the soil. To the east is a lake from which a stream runs
round the craters over beds of sulphur, which assume the colour of
emeralds. Formerly this lake was in a state of boiling ebullition,
but is now scarcely above the natural temperature; it blackens silver
immediately. Frequent earthquakes change the character of the crater
and its neighbourhood, and every new detailed description differs from
that which preceded it. The Indians have magnificent notions of the
mineral riches buried in the bosom of the mountain, the sulphur mines
of which were advantageously worked a few years ago, when a well-known
naturalist (Lopez, now dead) offered to the Spanish government large
sums for the monopoly of the right of mining the district of Taal.
On the 21st of September, 1716, sounds like those of heavy
artillery proceeded from the Taal volcano, and the mountain seemed
to be in a state of ignition over a space of three leagues towards
Macolot. Gigantic towers of boiling water and ashes were thrown up,
the earth shook on all sides, the waters of the lake were agitated
and overran its banks: this lasted for three days. The water was
blackened, and its sulphurous smell infested the whole district. In
1754 a yet more violent eruption, lasting eight days, took place,
with terrible explosions, heavings of the earth, darkness, and such
clouds of dust and ashes that all the roofs of the houses at Manila,
at a distance of twenty leagues, were covered. Great masses of stones,
fire and smoke were thrown from the mountain. The lake boiled in
bubbles. Streams of bitumen and sulphur ran over the district of
Bong-bong. The alligators, sharks, tunnies, and all the large fish,
were destroyed in the river and flung upon the banks, impregnating
the air with stench. It is said that subterranean and atmospheric
thunders were heard at a distance of 300 leagues from the volcano,
and that the winds carried the ashes to incredible distances. In
Panay there was midday darkness. Many pueblos were wholly destroyed;
among them Sala, Janavan, Lipa, and Taal: others bearing the same
names have been since founded at a greater distance from the mountain.
Lopez gives a description of his descent into the crater. He employed
100 men for eight days to make a slope for his going down. He says
the crater is oval, two miles in diameter; that the lake within the
crater is surrounded by level and solid ground; that there was a deep
chasm which had been recently ignited: there was sulphur enough to load
many ships. He saw a cube of porphyry 20 to 25 feet square. The crater
wall is perpendicular on all sides; that on the north 1,200 feet high,
the lowest exceeding 900 feet. He says he believes the south sides to
be of porphyry. At night, midway of the descent, he saw "thousands of
millions" of jets, whose gas immediately inflamed on coming in contact
with the atmosphere, and he heard many small detonations. The waters
of the lake were impregnated with sulphuric acid, and 12 lbs. of the
water, when distilled, left a mineral residuum weighing 2 1/2 lbs.
There are many remarkable caves in the Philippines. I translate
a description of one in the province of Tondo. Two stony mountains
unite, and on their skirt is the road towards a branch of the main
river. On the left is a cave whose entrance fronts the south. The
mouth is almost covered with tangling vegetation, but it is arched,
and, being all of marble, is, particularly in the sunshine, strikingly
beautiful. You enter by a high, smooth, natural wall like the façade
of a church, over which is a cavity roofed as a chapel. The interior
pathway is flat, about four yards in breadth and six in height, though
in some places it is much loftier. The roof presents a multitude of
graceful figures, resembling pendent pineapples, which are formed
by the constant filtration and petrifaction of the water. Some
are nearly two yards in length, and seem sculptured into regular
grooves; others are in the shape of pyramids whose bases are against
the roof. Arches, which may be passed both from above and below,
are among these wonderful works. Not far from the door is a natural
staircase, mounting which you enter a large chamber, on whose right
hand is another road, which, being followed, conducts to a second
staircase, which opens on the principal communication. Suspended
on one wing are immense numbers of bats, who occupy the recesses of
the ceiling. Though there is mud in some of the paths, the ground is
generally of stone, which, on being struck, gives a hollow sound as if
there were passages below. Penetrating the cave for above 200 yards,
a loud noise is perceived coming from a clear bright river, by the
side of which the cave is continued under a semicircular roof. The
great cave has many smaller vaults and projections of a grotesque and
Gothic character. The course of the stream is from the north-west to
the south-east.
The destructive ravages and changes produced by earthquakes are
nowhere more remarkable than in the Philippines. They have overturned
mountains, they have filled up valleys, they have desolated extensive
plains; they have opened passages for the sea into the interior,
and from the lakes into the sea There are many traditional stories
of these territorial revolutions, but of late disasters the records
are trustworthy. That of 1796 was sadly calamitous. In 1824 many
churches in Manila were destroyed, together with the principal bridge,
the barracks, great numbers of private houses; and a chasm opened of
nearly four miles in length. The inhabitants all fled into the fields,
and the six vessels in the port were wrecked. The number of victims was
never ascertained. In 1828, during another earthquake, the vibration of
the lamps was found to describe an arch of four and a half feet; the
huge corner-stones of the principal gate of the city were displaced;
the great bells were set ringing. It lasted between two and three
minutes, rent the walls of several churches and other buildings,
but was not accompanied by subterranean noises, as is usually the case.
There are too few occasions on which scientific observations have been
made on the subject of earthquakes, which take men by surprise and
ordinarily create so much alarm as to prevent accurate and authentic
details. A gentleman who had established various pendulums in Manila
for the purpose of measuring the inclination of the angles and the
course of the agitation, states that, in the slight earthquakes
of 20th and 23rd June, 1857, the thermometer being at 88°, the
direction of the first shock was from N.N.E. to S.S.E., the duration
14 seconds, and the oscillation of the pendulum 1 1/2 degrees; time,
2h. 0m. 40s. P.M.: 20th June. Second shock from N.E. to S.W.; duration,
26 seconds; oscillation of pendulum, 2 degrees; time, 2h. 47m. P.M.:
20th June. Third shock S.W. to N.; duration of the shock, 15 seconds;
greatest oscillation, 6 degrees, but slight movements continued
for a minute, and the oscillations were observed from 2 degrees to
three-quarters of a degree; time, 5 P.M.: 23rd June.
Earthquakes have produced great changes in the geography of the
Philippines. In that of 1627, one of the most elevated of the mountains
of Cagayan disappeared. In 1675, in the island of Mindanao, a passage
was opened to the sea, and a vast plain was emerged. Successive
earthquakes have brought upon Luzon a series of calamities.
Endemic diseases are rare in the Philippines. Intermittent fevers
and chronic dysentery are among the most dangerous disorders. There
have been two invasions of cholera, in 1820 and 1842. Elephantiasis,
leprosy, and St. Anthony's fire are the scourges of the Indians; and
the wilder races of the interior suffer from a variety of cutaneous
complaints. The biri biri is common and fatal. Venereal diseases are
widely spread, but easily cured. Among the Indians, vegetables alone
are used as medicaments. Chinese quack-doctors have much influence. In
the removal of some of the tropical pests, no European can compete
with the natives. They cure the itch with great dexterity, and are
said to have remedies for pulmonary phthisis. Their plasters are very
efficacious in external applications. They never employ the lancet
or the leech. Surgical science is, of course, unknown.
There have been generally in the Philippines a few successful medical
practitioners from Europe. Foreigners are allowed to exercise their
profession, having previously obtained the authority of the Spanish
Government; but the natives seldom look beyond their own simple mode
of dealing with the common diseases of the islands; and in those
parts where there is little or no Spanish population, no one is to
be found to whom a surgical operation could safely be intrusted. The
vegetable world furnishes a great variety of medicinal herbs, which
the instinct or the experience of the Indian has turned to account,
and which are, probably, on the whole, as efficacious as the more
potent mineral remedies employed by European science. Quinine, opium,
mercury, and arsenic, are the wonder-workers in the field of Oriental
disease, and their early and proper application generally arrests
the progress of malady.
I found practising in the island of Panay Dr. Lefevre, whom I had
known in Egypt more than twenty years before, and who was one of the
courageous men who boldly grappled with the current superstitions
respecting the contagious character of the Oriental plague, and the
delusions as to the efficacy of quarantine regulations, so really
useless, costly, and vexatious. He placed in my hand some observations
which he had published at Bombay in 1840, where vessels from the Red
Sea were subjected to sanatory visitations. He asserts that plague is
only generated at particular seasons, in certain definable conditions
of the atmosphere, and when miasma is created by the decomposition of
decaying matter; that endemic plague is unknown in countries where
proper attention is paid to hygienic precautions; that severe cold
or intense heat equally arrests the progress of the plague; that the
epoch of its ravages is always one when damp and exposed animal and
vegetable substances emit the greatest amount of noxious gases; and
that plague has never been known to originate or to spread where the
air is in a state of purity. I was glad to rediscuss the matter with
him after so long an added experience, and to find he had been more
and more confirmed in his former conclusions by prolonged residence
in the tropics, where endemic and epidemic diseases partake of the
pestilential character, though they do not assume the forms, of the
Levant plague. Dr. Lefevre affirms that quarantines have done nothing
whatever to lessen the dangers or check the ravages of the plague,
but much to encourage its propagation. He complains of the deafness and
incredulity of those whom the examination of a "thousand indisputable
facts" will not convince, and he thus concludes:--"If I had not with
peculiar attention studied the plague in the midst of an epidemic,
and without any more precautions than if the danger was nothing--if,
subsequent to the terrible visitation of 1835 in Egypt, I had not
been frequently a witness to the scourge--if, finally, since that
epoch I had not given myself up, with all the warmth of passion,
to the constant study of this malady, to the perusal of histories
of the plagues which have ravaged the world, and to the examination
of all sorts of objections--I should not have dared to emit such a
decided opinion--an opinion respecting the soundness of which I do
not entertain the slightest doubt."
One cannot but be struck, in reference to the geographical character
of these islands, with the awful serenity and magnificent beauty of
their primeval forests, so seldom penetrated, and in their recesses
hitherto inaccessible to the foot of man. There is nothing to disturb
their silence but the hum of insects, the song of birds, the noises
of wild animals, the rustling of the leaves, or the fall of decayed
branches. It seems as if vegetation revelled in undisturbed and
uncontrolled luxuriance. Creeping plants wander from tree to tree;
lovely orchids hang themselves from trunks and boughs. One asks, why
is so much sweetness, so much glory, wasted? But is it wasted? To the
Creator the contemplation of his works, even where unmarked by human
eye, must be complacent; and these half-concealed, half-developed
treasures, are but reserved storehouses for man to explore; they will
furnish supplies to awaken the curiosity and gratify the inquiry
of successive ages. Rove where he may--explore as he will--tax his
intellect with research, his imagination with inventions--there is,
there will be, an infinite field around and above him, inexhaustible
through countless generations.
CHAPTER V.
GOVERNMENT--ADMINISTRATION, ETC.
The Administration of the Philippine Archipelago has for its head
and chief a captain and governor-general, who resides in Manila, the
capital of the islands, and who is not permitted to quit them without
the authority of the sovereign of Spain. Next to the government of
Cuba, it is the most important and the most lucrative post at the
disposal of the Cabinet of Madrid, and has unfortunately been generally
one of the prizes wrested from the unsuccessful, and seized by the
predominant, political party. It was rather a melancholy employment
for me to look over the collection of portraits of captains-general,
and many vacant frames waiting for future occupants, which ornament the
walls of the handsome apartments in which I dwelt at the palace. Since
1835 there have been five provisional and eleven formal appointments to
the governor-generalship. Some of these only held their authority for
a few months, being superseded by ministerial changes at Madrid. Of
other high functionaries, I observe that there have been only two
archbishops since 1830, while it is understood that the service of
heads of departments is assured for ten years. To the public interests
the mischiefs which are the results of so uncertain a hold of the
supreme authority are incalculable. The frequent and sudden removals
and nominations are, indeed, little consistent with the principles
of monarchical and hereditary government, however accordant with the
republican institutions of the Western world; and among the causes
of the slow development of the immense resources of these beautiful
islands, the fluctuation of the superintending rule is assuredly one
of the most prominent.
The titles of the captain-general occupy a page, and embrace the
usual attributes of government, with the exception of authority over
the fleet, which is subject to the Ministry of Marine in Spain, and
a somewhat limited jurisdiction in ecclesiastical matters, which is a
consequence of the exclusive establishment of the Roman Catholic faith.
The lieutenant-governor, who takes the place of the captain-general
in case of his death, is called the Segundo Cabo, or second head.
The Philippine Islands are divided into provinces, subject either to
politico-military governors or alcaldes mayores, who are generally
civilians.
When the government is military, an assistant lieutenant-governor, who
must have graduated as a lawyer, exercises the preliminary jurisdiction
(de primera instancia), but the alcaldes hold that jurisdiction in
their own persons. Both dispose in their provinces of the military
authority, and have the controlling direction of the collection
of the revenues, under responsibility to the General Administrator
of Tributes.
The provinces are divided into pueblos (towns or villages), over
each of which a native Indian or mestizo, called a gobernadorcillo
(diminutive of governor) is placed. He is assisted in the discharge
of his functions by native lieutenants and alguacils, whose number
depends upon the extent of the population. This body, which, when
gathered together, is called the principalia of the pueblo, settles
all minor matters of police and civil questions between the natives
as to rights of persons and property. In districts where the Chinese
or their descendants are sufficiently numerous (they are known by the
name of Sangleyes), they are allowed, under special authority of the
government, to select principalia from their own body, independently
of Indian jurisdiction. These principalia are really popularly chosen
municipalities, and they are specially charged to assist the clergy
in all matters connected with public worship and ecclesiastical
authority. They determine questions up to the amount of two taels of
gold, or forty-four silver dollars. They collect evidence in criminal
cases, which is submitted to the provincial chief; they assist in
the collection of the royal revenues, circulate the ordinances of
the government among the people, and are authorized to levy a small
but defined contribution in support of their dignity.
Besides these, there are in every pueblo certain functionaries who are
called Cabezas (heads) de Barangay. A barangay is a collection of the
chiefs of families, or persons paying tribute, generally amounting
to forty or fifty. They are under the special charge of the cabeza,
who must dwell among them, and, under bond, collect the tribute
due to the State. He is required to settle misunderstandings and to
maintain peace and order, to apportion the various charges among the
members of the barangay, and to collect the taxes for payment to the
gobernadorcillo, or to the functionary appointed for the purpose. The
cabezas are also considered the procuradores, or law advisers, of
these little communities.
In ancient times there is little doubt that the office was
hereditary; and there are yet localities where the hereditary right is
maintained; but it is generally elective: and when a vacancy occurs,
the gobernadorcillo in council, with the other cabezas, presents a
name for the approval of the superior authority, and the same steps
are taken when the increase of population requires a new cabeza to be
nominated. The cabezas, their wives and first-born, who are required to
assist in the collection of the tribute, are exempted from its payment.
In some provinces the cabezas are only chosen for three years;
after which they form part of the principalia, and take the title
of Don. I remember, in one locality, that the principalia who came
to pay their respects consisted of more than seventy persons. The
government complains of the number who, under this state of things,
are exempted from taxation, and I understand some measures are in
contemplation for limiting the extent of the privileges.
The elections of the gobernadorcillo are annual, and take place on
the 1st of April. An extraordinary excitement generally prevails,
the post (a really important, popular, and influential one) being
an object of much ambition. Three names are selected, one of whom
must have already served as gobernadorcillo, for submission to the
superior authority, on or before the 15th of May, and the chosen
gobernadorcillo enters on his functions on the 1st of June. There is,
however, some alteration of dates, where, as in the tobacco districts,
the period of election interferes with harvest time.
The head of the province ordinarily presides over the elections, to
which the principal ecclesiastic is also invited. In case of their
absence, any native-born Spaniard may be nominated by the principal
authority to preside.
There are thirteen electors for each pueblo--the gobernadorcillo and
twelve inhabitants--half of whom must have been gobernadorcillos
or cabezas, and the other half be in the actual exercise of those
functions; they must also have some well-recognized means of existence:
domestic servants to the authorities are excluded; as also those who
have been punished as criminals.
It is further required that the gobernadorcillo be a native
Indian or mestizo, an inhabitant of the locality where he serves,
and above twenty-five years old; having passed the subordinate
offices of lieutenant or cabeza, having his accounts in order,
holding no land from the community, and no monopoly (estanco)
from the government. Similar recommendations are insisted on
for the first lieutenant and the principal (native) magistrates
appointed for the settlement of questions regarding seed-sowing,
police, and cattle. These magistrates must have enjoyed the rank
of gobernadorcillo. As regards the minor officers of justice and
their attendants, a list is to be made out by the gobernadorcillo
before quitting office, which is to be presented to the authority
presiding over the elections, and having heard the clergyman (cura)
and the committee of election, the president approves the list for
transmission to the supreme authority; but if he finds discordance
and irreconcilable opinions between the parties before him, he is
authorized himself to recommend the officers for nomination.
All the proceedings are the subjects of record, and to be signed by
the president, the curate (if present), the electors, and the public
notary, and to be remitted to the supreme authority, except in the
provinces adjacent to the capital. The president may attach to the
record any observations of his own connected with the returns. A
decree of 1850 required the general adoption of the system which has
been described, and which appears to me well worthy of note, showing
how many valuable elements of good government are to be found in the
popular institutions of the Philippine Indians.
The Chinese of the capital may elect Christian converts of their
own body, under the presidency of the alcalde mayor of Manila,
to the offices of gobernadorcillo, first lieutenant, and principal
alguacil (bailiff). The dependent subordinate officers of justice
are called bilangos, and are appointed by the gobernadorcillo on his
election. The recovery of the tribute or taxes from the Chinese is
not left to their principalia, but is effected by the alcalde mayor
or superior chief. An officer is appointed to classify the Chinese,
and apportion the quota of their contributions according to the wealth
of the payer, who is charged for what is called a patente industrial.
The gobernadorcillos and officers of justice are entitled to sit
in the presence of the provincial chiefs, who are to require the
parochial clergy to treat them with due honour and regard.
M. Mallat, whose Geographical History of the Philippines was published
in 1846, remarks that, of all colonies founded by Europeans, these
regions are perhaps the least known, and the most worthy of being
known. The number of islands which compose the archipelago,--their
vast extent and boundless variety,--the teeming population of many of
them,--the character of the climate,--the wonderful fertility of the
soil,--the inexhaustible riches of hill, valley, and plain,--all offer
to cultivation and its civilizing influences abundant rewards. But as
regards the "industrious habits" of the natives, I cannot place that
consideration, as M. Mallat does, among the elements of hope. It is
the want of these "industrious habits," among four or five millions
of inhabitants, which has left the Philippines in a position so
little advanced.
Java under the government of the Dutch, and Cuba subjected to the
Spanish rule, present, no doubt, far more favourable pictures than
do the Philippines; but many of the difficulties which surround the
captain-general of Manila,--difficulties both religious and social,--do
not embarrass the governor of Batavia; the island of Java, the most
productive of Netherlands India, being peculiarly free from these
difficulties; and it cannot be said that Sumatra and Borneo are even
on a level with the more advanced of the Philippine Islands.
To the character of the original conquest and of the earlier government
of the Philippines may be traced many of the impediments which now
stand in the way of improvement. In America and the West Indies all
the brutality of military conquerors was exhibited, and the possession
and plunder of new territories were encouraged by the Spanish court,
and were the main object of the Spanish invader. But far different
was the policy adopted in the Philippines, where only a small body of
soldiers was accompanied by zealous missionaries, whose purpose was
rather to convert and christianize the Indians than to pillage and
destroy them. These friars gradually obtained a paramount influence
over the Indians. The interests of trade have ever been the predominant
consideration among Dutch colonizers, and among British adventurers
the commercial element has always been intimately associated with
the desire for territorial occupation. To the Spaniards it must be
conceded that the religious purpose--be its value what it may--has
never been abandoned or forgotten. Ecclesiastical jurisdiction and
authority are interwoven in the Philippines with the machinery of
government and the daily concerns of life.
And such ecclesiastical action has been comparatively little interfered
with in the Philippines. The development which mental emancipation
has given to many Protestant countries and their dependencies has
reached few Catholic colonies; nor is that emancipation, indeed,
consistent with the more rigid discipline and doctrines of Rome. But
in the case of the most prosperous instances of colonization by the
British, the native races have either wholly disappeared or are in
progress of extinction, while the infusion of Spanish and foreign
blood into the colonies of Spain has not only allowed the increase
of the indigenous population, but has been insufficient to change
or do more than slightly modify their national characters. It has
undoubtedly been the boast of the Catholics that Francis de Xavier
and his followers won more for the Roman Church in the East than
Luther or Calvin ever tore away from it in the West; but the value
of the conquests, contrasted with that of the losses and sacrifices,
if fairly estimated, would hardly be deemed unsatisfactory to the
Protestant cause.
No doubt the great remoteness of the Philippines from Europe, the
difficulties and infrequency of communication, gave to the local
authorities more of independent action than would otherwise have
been allowed to them; and in case of the death of the governor,
the archbishop was generally the functionary who filled his place;
his adjacency to the government, and frequent direction of it,
naturally led to the strengthening of his own authority and that of
all ecclesiastics dependent upon him.
In the earlier periods of Eastern colonization, too, the Portuguese,
jealous of all European intercourse but their own with nations east
of the Cape, did all in their power to prevent any other than the
Lusitanian flag from being seen in Oriental waters. But as regards
missionary objects their views were to some extent concurrent with
those of the Spanish priests, and their proceedings were in harmony
with those of the Spaniards, especially in so far as both received
their direction from the Pontiff at Rome. It ought not, however, to be
forgotten that whatever may have been the progress of Christianity in
the Philippines, the persecutions, disasters, discomfiture, and death
of so many professing Christians in Japan, are probably attributable
to the ill-guided zeal of the Portuguese preachers of the Gospel in
these still remoter regions. It is well for the interests of truth, as
most assuredly it is for the interests of commerce and civilization,
that a more temperate and tolerant spirit has for the last century
been associated with the progress of European influence in the East.
The comparatively small number of Spanish settlers in the Philippines
would not allow them, even if such had been their purpose, which
it does not appear to have been, unnecessarily to interfere with
the usages of the Indians, or their forms of administration and
government, except in so far as their conversion to Christianity
compelled the observance of the Christian rites; and the friars
willingly accommodated their action to the social habits of the people,
respecting, as to this hour are respected, most of the patriarchal
forms of administration and government which had existed among them
from immemorial time.
There have been speculations--and M. Mallat is among the sanguine
anticipators of such an advent--that in process of time the Philippines
may become the dominant political power of the Eastern world,
subjecting to its paramount influence the Netherlands Archipelago,
the Pacific, Australia, and even China and Japan, and that Manila is
destined to be the great emporium for the eastern and south-eastern
world. M. Mallat even goes further, and says: "Manila might easily
become the centre of the exports and imports of the entire globe." It
must be contented with a less brilliant futurity. Certainly its
commercial relations might be greatly extended, and the Spanish
archipelago be much elevated in value and in influence; but in the
vast development of commercial relations in the Oriental world, the
Philippines must be contented with a moderate though a considerable
share of benefit, even under the best administration and the adoption
of the wisest policy.
Tropical regions fail to attract permanent settlers from the West. The
foreign merchant comes to realize what he deems an adequate fortune,
and to withdraw; the superior public functionary is among, or above,
but never of, the people. What must be looked to is the popular
element. Of what are the millions composed, and how can the millions
be turned to account? There is no reason to apprehend that these
millions will aspire to political power or sovereignty. Their pristine
habits would permit of no general organization. The various races and
clans would never unite in a national object, or recognize one native
chief. All that is found of order and government among them is local;
except through and for their masters, the different islands have little
or no intercourse with one another. The Tagál and the Bisayan have
no common sympathies. Dissatisfaction might produce disorder, which,
if not controlled, would lead to anarchy, but not to good government.
The Philippines are free from the curse of slavery. Time will settle
the controversy as to whether the labour of the freeman can, in
the long run, be brought into competition with that of the slave,
especially in the tropics; but that the great tide of tendency
flows towards the abolition of slavery, that civilizing opinion
and enlightened Christian legislation must sweep the ignominy away,
is a conviction which possesses the minds of all who see "progress"
in the world.
As it is, the Philippines have made, and continue to make, large
contributions to the mother country, generally in excess of the
stipulated amount which is called the situado. Spain, in her extreme
embarrassment, has frequently called on the Philippines to come to
her aid, and it is to the credit of the successive governors-general
that, whatever may have been the financial disorders at home,
the dependants upon the Manila treasury have had little motive for
complaint, and while the Peninsula was engaged in perilous struggles
for her independence, and even her existence as a nation, the public
tranquillity of her island colonies was, on the whole, satisfactorily
maintained, and interruptions to the ordinary march of affairs of
short endurance.
There would seem to be no legislation defining the powers of the
viceroy, or captain-general; but whenever any important matter is
under discussion, it is found that reference must be made to Madrid,
and that the supreme rule of this vast archipelago is in the leading
strings of the Spanish Cabinet, impotent to correct any great abuses,
or to introduce any important reforms. The captain-general should
be invested with a large amount of power, subject, of course, to a
personal responsibility as to its becoming exercise. As he must, if
properly selected, know more, being present, than strangers who are
absent, his government should be trusted on account of that superior
knowledge. Well does the Castilian proverb say, "Mas sabe el loco en
su casa que el cuerdo en la agena"--"The fool knows more about his
own house than the sage about the house of another." He should be
liberally paid, that the motives for corruption be diminished. He
should be surrounded by a council composed of the best qualified
advisers. Many objects would necessarily occupy the attention of
such a body, and it would naturally have to create becoming local
machinery and to furnish the materials for improved administration,
such as surveys and statistics of the land and population, which would
lead to a more satisfactory distribution of provinces, districts and
pueblos. A simple code of civil and criminal law would be a great
blessing, and should be grounded, in so far as the real interests of
justice will allow, upon the customs and habits of the people, while
employing, when compatible with those interests, the administrative
local machinery in use among the natives.
Nothing would be more beneficial to the interests of Manila than
the establishment of an efficient board of works, with provincial
ramifications, to whose attention the facilitating communications
should be specially recommended. The cost and difficulty of transport
are among the principal impediments to the development of the resources
of the islands, and the tardy progress of the few works which are
undertaken is discouraging to those who suggest, and disappointing
to those who expect to benefit by them. In many of the provinces
the bridges are in miserable condition, and the roads frequently
impassable. Even in the populous island of Panay delays the most
costly and annoying interfere with the transport of produce to the
capital and naturally impede the development of commerce. There
is, no doubt, a great want of directing talent and of that special
knowledge which modern science is able to furnish. The construction
of bridges being generally left to the rude artists who are employed
by the Spanish functionaries, or to the direction of the friars, with
whom the stare super antiquas vias is the generally received maxim,
it is not wonderful that there should be so many examples of rude,
unsafe and unsightly constructions. Moreover, estimates have to be
sent to the capital of all the proposed outlay, and it is hardly to
be expected but that sad evidence should be found--as elsewhere--of
short-sighted and very costly economy. The expense, too, almost
invariably exceeds the estimates--a pretty general scandal; then the
work is arrested, and sometimes wholly abandoned. Funds there are none,
and neither policy nor patriotism will provide them. Even when strongly
impelled, the Indian moves slowly; self-action for the promotion of
the public good he has none. There is no pressure from without to
force improvements upon the authorities, and hence little is to be
hoped for as to improvement except from direct administrative action.
I can hardly pass over unnoticed M. de la Gironière's romantic
book, [9] as it was the subject of frequent conversations in the
Philippines. No doubt he has dwelt there twenty years; but in the
experience of those who have lived there more than twice twenty I
found little confirmation of the strange stories which are crowded
into his strange volume. He was a resident of the Philippines at the
time of my visit, and I believe still lives on the property of which
he was formerly--but I was told is no longer--the possessor. [10]
I did not visit his "Paradise," but had some agreeable intercourse
with a French gentleman who is now in charge. I did not find any of
that extraordinary savagery with which M. de la Gironière represents
himself to be surrounded; and the answer to the inquiries I made of
the neighbouring authorities as to the correctness of his pictures
of Indian character was generally a shrug and a smile and a reference
to my own experience. But M. de la Gironière may have aspired to the
honour of a Bernardin de St. Pierre or a Defoe, and have thought a
few fanciful and tragic decorations would add to the interest of his
personal drama. "All the world's a stage," and as a player thereon
M. de la Gironière perhaps felt himself authorized in the indulgence
of some latitude of description, especially when his chosen "stage"
was one meant to exhibit the wonders of travel.
As to M. de la Gironière's marvellous encounters and miraculous escapes
from man and beast; his presence at feasts where among the delicacies
were human brains, steeped by young girls in the juice of sugar-cane,
of which he did not drink, but his servant did; his discoveries
of native hands in "savory" pots prepared for food; his narratives
where the rude Indians tell elaborate tales in the lackadaisy style
of a fantastic novel; his vast possessions; his incredible influence
over ferocious bandits and cruel savages;--all this must be taken
at its value. I confess I have seen with some surprise, in M. de
la Gironière's book, two "testimonies" from M. Dumont d'Urville
and Admiral La Place, in which, among other matters, they give
an account of the hatching of eggs by men specially engaged for
this purpose. [11] They saw, as any one may, in the villages on the
Pasig River, prodigious quantities of ducks and ducklings, and were
"puzzled" to find how such multitudes could be produced; but they
learnt the wonderful feat was accomplished by "lazy Tagál Indians,"
who lay themselves down upon the eggs, which are placed in ashes. The
patient incubators eat, drink, smoke, and chew their betel, and while
they take care not to injure the fragile shells, they carefully remove
the ducklings as they are brought into being (pp. 358 and 362). Now it
may well be asked who takes care when the lazy Tagáls are asleep; and,
if our worthy witnesses had reflected for a moment, they would have
known that, if all the inhabitants were employed in no other office
than that of egg-hatching, they would be hardly sufficient to incubate
the "prodigious" numbers of ducklings which disport on the banks of
the Pasig. The incubation is really produced by placing warm paddy
husks under and over the eggs; they are deposited in frames; a canvas
covering is spread over the husks; the art is to keep up the needful
temperature; and one man is sufficient to the care of a large number
of frames, from which he releases the ducklings as they are hatched,
and conveys them in little flocks to the water-side. The communities
are separated from one another by bamboo fences, but there is scarcely
a cottage with a river frontage which has not its patero (or duckery).
CHAPTER VI.
POPULATION.
In the last generation a wonderful sensation was produced by the
propagation of the great Malthusian discovery--the irresistible,
indisputable, inexorable truth--that the productive powers of the soil
were less and less able to compete with the consuming demands of the
human race; that while population was increasing with the rapidity of
a swift geometrical progression, the means of providing food lagged
with the feebleness of a slow arithmetical advance more and more
behind; that the seats at nature's table--rich and abundant though
it was--were being abundantly filled, and that there was no room
for superfluous and uninvited guests; in a word, to use the adopted
formula, that population was pressing more and more upon subsistence,
and that the results must be increasing want, augmenting misery,
and a train of calamities boundless as the catalogue of the infinite
forms of mortal wretchedness.
How often, when threading through the thousand islands of the
Philippine Archipelago, did the shadow of Malthus and the visions of
his philosophy present themselves to my thoughts. Of those unnumbered,
sea-surrounded regions, how many there are that have never been trodden
by European foot, how few that have been thoroughly explored, and fewer
still that are now inhabited by any civilized or foreign race! And
yet they are covered with beautiful and spontaneous vegetable riches
above, and bear countless treasures of mineral wealth below; their
powers of production are boundless; they have the varieties of climate
which mountains, valleys and plains afford--rains to water--suns to
ripen--rivers to conduct--harbours for shipment--every recommendation
to attract adventure and to reward industry; a population of only
five or six millions, when ten times that number might be supplied
to satiety, and enabled to provide for millions upon millions more
out of the superfluities of their means.
To what a narrow field of observation must the mind have been confined
that felt alarm at a discovery, in itself of so little importance,
when brought into the vast sphere of the world's geography! Though
the human race has been increasing at a rapid and almost immeasurable
rate, it will be probably found that famines, and plagues, and wars,
and those calamitous visitations which were deemed the redressers
of the balance--the restorers of the due proportions between man's
wants and man's supplies--were far more disastrous in ancient than
in modern times, if the smaller number of then existing human beings
be taken into consideration.
The nobler and higher axiom is that "progress" is the law of
Providence, which never fails, while the race of man proceeds in
ever-augmenting numbers, to provide ample means for their maintenance
and happiness. Neither land nor sea is exhausted nor in process
of exhaustion. What myriads of acres, whether in cold, temperate,
or tropical climes, remain to be appropriated! what still greater
amount to be improved by cultivation! And while in the more densely
peopled parts of the world outlets may be required for those who are
ill at ease and born to no inheritance but labour, how wonderfully
are locomotive facilities increased, so that the embarrassment to
ambulatory man is less to discover a fit place for his domicile, than
to select one amid the many which offer themselves to his choice! If
the poverty-struck Irish could emigrate in such multitudes to American
or Australian regions, far greater are the facilities possessed by
those better conditioned labouring masses of Europe who are still
heavily pressed by the competition of neighbours more fortunate
than themselves.
It is a matter of surprise that the Spanish colonies should not have
attracted a greater number of Spaniards to settle in them; but the
national spirit of the Iberian peninsula has ceased to be ambulatory
or adventurous. Spain itself is thinly peopled, and offers great
resources to its satisfied peasantry. "God," they say, "has given
everything to Spain which He had to give. Our land is an Eden--why
should we desert it?" Yet Spain, backward, inert and unenergetic,
as she has proved herself to be in the rivalry of active nations,
has taken her part in the proud history of human advancement. The more
enterprising invaders of Gothic or Anglo-Saxon blood have frequently
extirpated the indigenous races of the remote countries in which they
have settled. One wave of emigration has followed another; commerce
and cultivation have created a demand for, and provided a supply of,
the intrusive visitors. But Spain has never furnished such numbers
as to dislodge the aboriginal tribes. Her colonists have been always
accompanied by large bodies of ecclesiastics, bent upon bringing "the
heathen" into the Christian fold. These missionaries have no doubt
often stood between the cupidity of the conqueror and the weakness of
the conquered. They have preserved, by protecting the Indian clans,
and it may be doubted whether ultimately the permanent interests
of man will not have been served by influences, whose beneficial
consequences may remain when the most prominent evils connected with
those influences may be greatly modified or wholly pass away.
My observations and my reflections, then, lead to this
conclusion--that, whatever exceptional cases there may be, the great
tide of advancement rolls forward in ever-growing strength;--that
the course of the Divine government is
From seeming evil still educing good,
And BETTER thence again, and BETTER still,
In infinite progression;--
that the human family, taken as a whole, is constantly improving;--that
every generation is wiser and better than that which preceded it;--that
the savage and least improvable races will continue to be supplanted or
absorbed by those of a higher intelligence;--that the semi-civilized
will only be perpetuated by contact with a greater civilization,
which will raise them in the scale of humanity. A middle race,
such as China contributes in the shape of emigrating millions,
is wonderfully advancing the work of civilization. The process
is everywhere visible in the remoter Eastern world. The mestizo
descendants of Chinese fathers and Indian mothers form incomparably
the most promising portion of the Philippine population. In Siam,
Burmah, Cochin China, profitable employments are mainly absorbed by
Chinese settlers. In Netherlands India they are almost invariably
prosperous. To them Sumatra, Borneo, and the other islands, must look,
and not to the indigenous peoples, for any considerable development
of their resources. In our Straits Archipelago they have superseded
the Klings in all the most beneficial fields of labour, as the Klings
had previously superseded the less industrious Malays. The progress
of the higher capabilities, and the depression of the lower, may be
traced in the extinction of so many rude languages and the spread of
those which represent civilization in its most advanced stages. It may
be foretold, I think, without presumption, that in some future time
the number of tongues spoken on the face of the globe will be reduced
to a very small amount. In the course of a century many a local idiom
utterly perishes, and is invariably replaced by one of more extensive
range and greater utility. When it is remembered that the written
language of China is understood by one-third of the human race;
that probably more than one-tenth of mankind have an acquaintance
with spoken English--the language which has far more widely planted
roots, and more extensive ramifications, than any other; when the
daily decay of the provincial dialects of France, Germany, Spain, and
Italy is watched, good ground will be discovered for the anticipation
that many of the existing instruments for oral communication will be
extinguished, the number of dead languages will be much augmented,
and of living proportionally decreased.
I know not on what authority M. Mallat estimated, in 1846, the
population of the Philippines at 7,000,000,--an augmentation, he says,
of more than 50 per cent from 1816, when he states the population to
have been 4,600,000. He says that it quadrupled itself from 1774 to
1816. He attributes the enormous increase from the later period to
the introduction of vaccination and the general tranquillity of the
country; but the correctness of the data may well be doubted.
The Christian population of the Philippines is stated by Father Juan
Fernandez to be--
------------------------------------+---------+-----------
---- |Pueblos. | Souls.
------------------------------------+---------+-----------
Under the Archbishopric of Manila | 185 | 135,000
,, Bishopric of New Segovia | 132 | 745,000
,, Bishopric of New Caceres | 104 | 480,000
,, Bishopric of Zebu | 306 | 1,200,000
+---------+-----------
In all | 727 | 3,560,000
------------------------------------+---------+-----------
The population of the Philippines is generally supposed to be about
four millions; but, as the Indians who dwell in the interior of several
of the islands--those especially who occupy the unexplored forest and
mountainous districts--cannot be included in any official census, any
calculations can only be deemed approximative. The returns furnished
by the government to the Guia de Foresteros for the year 1858 give
the following results:--
Provinces. Natives Mestizos Total Births. Deaths. Marriages.
paying and Chinese Population.
tribute. Tributaries.
Manila 86,250 25,418 276,059 11,346 9,251 1,956
Bulacan 91,551 12,119 214,261 8,789 5,172 1,542
Pampanga 79,912 9,631 170,849 9,101 4,407 2,237
Nueva Ecija 40,949 ... 74,698 5,963 2,547 1,176
Bataan 17,473 3,176 42,332 1,941 1,171 347
Cavite 41,471 6,943 56,832 8,867 2,619 868
Batangas 115,359 3,063 247,676 11,133 6,270 1,956
Moron 20,288 1,964 43,010 1,900 1,508 553
La Laguna 65,177 1,866 132,264 5,935 4,295 1,553
Zambales 28,023 149 31,116 2,320 1,191 635
Mindoro 7,335 ... 15,135 734 645 191
Pangasinan 97,786 1,551 272,427 9,172 6,368 2,756
La Union 39,044 117 45,657 3,894 1,526 1,165
Ilocos Sur 77,974 2,293 179,407 7,305 3,647 1,801
Ilocos Norte 70,305 16 140,226 6,189 3,695 1,536
Cagayan 27,784 71 54,457 2,443 1,489 638
Abra 8,009 200 36,737 782 354 407
Nueva Biscaya 6,116 ... 19,754 452 387 131
La Isabela 14,112 ... 26,372 1,040 757 265
Camarines 78,012 125 209,696 6,273 3,456 1,770
Albay 103,928 990 204,840 7,458 6,722 1,099
Tayabas 44,940 154 102,210 3,049 2,124 949
Burias 470 ... 525 17 12 1
Masbate of Ticao 5,421 27 10,992 249 103 55
Zebu 81,457 4,267 267,540 12,653 3,740 2,374
Negros 24,522 394 113,379 4,499 2,688 804
Calamianes 4,003 ... 17,964 730 279 172
Bohol 64,760 692 175,686 5,924 2,476 1,452
Samar 61,586 437 117,866 6,161 3,437 1,863
Leite 66,371 790 134,493 5,582 2,168 1,387
Antique 25,567 42 77,639 4,810 1,708 664
Iloilo 174,884 1,442 527,970 17,675 9,231 3,697
Capiz 66,614 8 143,713 9,810 4,199 1,187
Surigao 13,801 148 18,848 944 525 181
Misamis 23,729 266 46,517 2,155 845 396
Zamboanga 3,871 16 10,191 429 956 55
Basilan 167 4 447 43 71
Bislig 4,686 21 12,718 394 143 112
Davao 304 ... 800 21 9 18
Romblon 3,517 ... 17,068 892 375 149
--------- ------ --------- ------- ------- ------
Totals 1,787,528 78,400 4,290,371 184,074 102,466 40,093
Proportion of natives to mixed races 96.00 per cent.
Proportion of natives (paying tribute) to
population 29.00 per cent.
Proportion of mixed races to population 1.75 per cent.
Proportion of births to population 4.00 per cent.
Proportion of deaths to population 2.33 per cent.
Proportion of marriages to population .90 per cent.
Proportion of births to deaths 64.00 to 36.00 per cent.
Proportion of births to marriages 2.70 per cent.
Imperfect returns are given from Corregidor and Pulo Caballo, 370
inhabitants in all: From Benguet, 6,803, of whom 4,639 are pagans,
and 15 Christian tributaries: From Cayan, 17,035, the whole population,
of which 10,861 tributaries.
The number of European Spaniards settled in the Philippines bears a
very small proportion to that of the mixed races. There are 670 males
and 119 females in the capital (Manila and Binondo). Of these there
are 114 friars, all living in Manila, eight ecclesiastics, forty-six
merchants, fourteen medical practitioners, and the majority of the
others military and civil functionaries. But in none of the islands
does the proportion of Spaniards approach that which is found in
the capital. Probably the whole number of European Spaniards in the
islands does not amount to two thousand.
There are ninety-six foreigners established in Binondo--eighty-five
males and eleven females (none in Manila proper). Of these fifty
are merchants or merchants' assistants. There are twenty-two British
subjects, fifteen French, fifteen South Americans, eleven citizens
of the United States, nine Germans, and nine Swiss.
Independently of European Spaniards, there are many families
which call themselves hijos del pays (children of the country),
descendants of Spanish settlers, who avoid mingling with native
Indian blood. They have the reputation of being more susceptible than
are even the old Castilians in matters of etiquette, and among them
are many who have received a European education. They are generally
candidates for public employment, but are said to be less steady,
and more addicted to play and to pleasure, than their progenitors;
but they are eminently hospitable. They dress in European style when
they appear in public, but at home both men and women use the loose
and more convenient Indian costume. They complain, on their part,
that barriers are raised between them and their countrymen from the
Peninsula; in a word, that the spirit of caste exercises its separating
and alienating influences in the Philippines, as elsewhere.
The mestizos, or mixed races, form a numerous and influential portion
of the Filipinos; the number settled in the islands of women of
European birth is small, and generally speaking they are the wives
of the higher Spanish functionaries and of superior officers in the
army and navy, whose term of service is generally limited. Though
the daughters of families of pure Spanish blood generally marry in
the colony and keep up a good deal of exclusiveness and caste, it
is seldom that the highest society is without a large proportion of
mestiza ladies, children of Spanish fathers and native mothers. The
great majority of the merchants and landed proprietors belong to this
class, and most of the subordinate offices of government are filled
by them. There are very many descendants of Chinese by native women;
but the paternal type seems so to absorb the maternal, that the
children for whole generations bear the strongly marked character
which distinguishes the genuine native of the flowery land, even
through a succession of Indian mothers. I shall have occasion to
speak of a visit I made to a district (Molo, near Iloilo), which
in former times had been the seat of a large Chinese colony, where
the Chinese race had disappeared centuries ago, but the Chinese
physiognomy, and the Chinese character, had left their unmistakable
traces in the whole population. I found nowhere among the natives a
people so industrious, so persevering, so economical, and, generally,
so prosperous. Almost every house had a loom, and it is the place
where the best of the piña fabrics are woven. We were invited to a
ball at which the principal native ladies were present, and I had to
answer a discurso delivered in excellent Castilian by the leading
personage. I was informed that the young women were remarkable for
their chastity, and that an erring sister obtained no forgiveness
among them. Their parents object to their learning Spanish lest it
should be an instrument of seduction. Of the mestizos of Chinese
or Mongolian descent, De Mas says:--"They are called Sangley, which
means Chinese merchant or traveller. They inherit the industrious and
speculative spirit of their forefathers. Most of them have acquired
riches and lands, and the largest part of the retail trade is in their
hands. They form the middle class of the Filipinos. Their prosperity
and better education produce the natural results, and their moral and
intellectual character is far superior to that of the Indians. They are
luxuriously dressed, are more elegant and handsome than the Indians;
some of their women are decidedly beautiful. But they preserve most of
the habits of the Indians, whom they exceed in attention to religious
duties because they are superior in intelligence. This race is likely
to increase in numbers and in influence, and, in consequence of the
large importation of Chinamen, to augment in the localities of their
settlements at a greater rate than the Indian population." [12]
There can be no doubt that the predominance of the characteristics of
the father over those of the mother has improved, through successive
generations, the general character of the race of mestizo Chinese. They
are more active and enterprising, more prudent and persevering, more
devoted to trade and commerce, than the Indios. They all preserve the
black hair, which is characteristic of China, "the black-haired" being
one of the national names by which the people of the "middle kingdom"
are fond of designating themselves. The slanting position of the eyes,
forming an angle over the nose, the beardless chin, the long and
delicate fingers (in conformity with Chinese usage they frequently
allow the middle nail of the left hand to grow to a great length),
their fondness for dress and ornament, distinguish them. They exercise
great influence over the Indians, who believe them to be masters
of the art of money-getting. The children of a Spanish mestizo by
a Chinese mestiza, are called Torna atras, "going back;" those of a
Chinese mestizo by an Indian woman are considered as Chinese and not
Indian half-castes. The mingling of Chinese blood is observable in
all the town populations. The number of mestizos of European descent
is trifling compared with those of Chinese origin. Their houses are
invariably better furnished than those of the natives. Many of them
adopt the European costume, but where they retain the native dress it
is finer in quality, gayer in colours, and richer in ornament. Like
the natives, they wear their shirts over the trousers, but the shirt
is of piña or sinamay fastened with buttons of valuable stones;
and a gold chain is seldom wanting, suspended round the neck. The
men commonly wear European hats, shoes and stockings, and the sexes
exhibit no small amount of dandyism and coquetry.
The great mass of the indigenous population of the Philippine Islands
may be divided into two principal races--the Tagálos occupying
the north, and the Bisáyos the south. Of these, all who inhabit
the towns and villages profess Christianity, and are much under
the influence of the regular clergy, who administer the religious
ordinances in the various provinces, which are, for the most part,
submitted to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of different orders of
brotherhood. There are a few instances of the Indians being invested
with the full rights of priesthood, though they generally reach
no higher post than that of assistants to the friars. At the great
ceremony which I attended of the Purisima Conception at Manila, an
Indian was chosen to deliver the sermon of the day; it was, as usual,
redolent with laudations of the Virgin, and about equal to the average
style of flowery Spanish preaching. But as we recede from the towns,
religious ordinances are neglected, and in the centre and mountainous
parts of the islands Christianity ceases to be the profession of the
inhabitants; the friars deplore their ignorant and abandoned state,
and occupy themselves in the endeavour to bring them into their
fold, and to enforce the payment of that tributo from which they,
as well as the government, derive their revenues. If this be paid,
if the services of the Church be duly performed, confession made,
fit co-operation given to the religious processions and festivals
(which are the native holidays), matters go on well between the clergy
and the people. I found many of the friars objects of affection and
reverence, and deservedly so, as guardians and restorers of the family
peace, encouragers of the children in their studies, and otherwise
associating their efforts with the well-being of the community;
but removed, as the ecclesiastics frequently are, from the control
of public opinion, there is often scandal, and good ground for it.
Father Zuñiga opines that the Philippines were originally colonized by
the inhabitants of America; but he fails altogether in the proofs he
seeks in the analogy of languages. The number of Malayan words in Tagal
and Bisayan is greater than any to be traced to American dialects;
and here I may remark, by the way, that there is no topic on which so
much absurdity has been committed to the press as on the derivation
and affinity of languages--a subject in which Spanish authority is
seldom of much value. El Señor Erro, for example, in his book on the
antiquity of the Bascuence, gives a description and picture of a jar
found in a well in Guipuscoa, which had on it the words "Gott erbarme
dein armes Würmchen!" This he reports to be a Biscayan inscription
in honour of the priestesses of the sun anterior to the introduction
of Christianity, and he doubts not that the vase (a piece of coarse
modern German pottery) was used in the sacred services of the temple!
De Mas supposes that the Indians employed alphabetical writing anterior
to the arrival of the Spanish, and gives five alphabets as used in
different provinces, but having some resemblance to one another. I
doubt alike the antiquity and authenticity of the records; but give
a specimen which he says is a contract upon Chinese paper for a sale
of land in Bulacan, dated 1652.
My own inquiries led to no discoveries of old records, or written
traditions, or inscriptions of remote times, associated with Indian
history. There is sufficient evidence that some rude authority
existed--that there were masters and slaves--that the land was
partially cultivated and the sea explored by labourers and fishermen,
leading necessarily to a recognition of some rights of property--that
there were wars between hostile tribes, which had their leaders and
their laws. The early records of the missionaries give the names
of some of the chiefs, and detail the character of the authority
exercised by the ruling few over the subject many. They say that
gold would procure the emancipation of a slave and his reception
among the Mahaldicas, or privileged class. Prisoners of war, debtors,
and criminals, were held in bonds. The daughter of a Mahaldica could
be obtained in marriage, where the lover was unable to pay her money
value, by vassalage to her father for a certain number of years. If
a man of one tribe married the woman of another, the children were
equally, or as nearly as possible, divided among the two tribes to
which the parents belonged. Property was partitioned among the sons
at the father's death, the elder enjoying no rights over the younger.
Local superstitions prevailed as to rocks, trees, and rivers. They
worshipped the sun and moon; a blue bird called tigmamanoquin; a stag
named meylupa, "lord of the soil;" and the crocodile, to which they
gave the title of nono, or "grandfather." A demon named Osuang was
supposed to torment children, to cause pains in childbirth, to live
on human flesh, and to have his presence announced by the tictic,
a bird of evil augury. Naked men brandished swords from the roof and
other parts of the choza to frighten the fiend away, or the pregnant
woman was removed from the neighbourhood of the tictic. The Manacolam
was a monster enveloped in flames, which could only be extinguished by
the ordure of a human being, whose death would immediately follow. The
Silagan seized and tore out the liver of persons clad in white. The
Magtatangal deposited his head and entrails in the evening in some
secret place, wandered about doing mischief in the night, and resumed
his "deposit" at break of day. So strange and wild are the fancies of
credulity! Sacrifices were offered in deprecation of menaced evils,
or in compliment to visitors, by female priestesses called Catalona,
who distributed pieces of the sacrificed animal. There were many
witches and sorcerers, exercising various functions, one of whom,
the Manyisalat, was the love inspirer and the confidant of youths
and maidens.
On entering a forest the Indian supplicated the demons not to molest
him. The crackling of wood, the sight of a snake in a cottage newly
built, were deemed presages of evil. In the house of a fisherman it
was deemed improper to speak of a forest, in that of a huntsman of
the sea. A pregnant woman was not allowed to cut her hair, lest her
child should he horn hairless.
The price paid for a woman given in marriage was regulated by the
position of the parties. The mother had a claim, as well as the nurse
who had had charge of the childhood of the bride. Whatever expense
the daughter had caused to the father he was entitled to recover from
the bridegroom. Among opulent families there was a traditional price,
such as the father or grandfather had paid for their wives. If the
bride had no living parents, her price was paid to herself. Three days
before the marriage the roof of the parental dwelling was extended,
and an apartment, called a palapala, added for the wedding festival;
the guests brought their presents to the bride, and, whatever the
value, it was expected that when, on future occasions, the relations
of hosts and guests were changed, an offering of not less value should
be given. Among the ceremonies it was required that the lovers should
eat from the same plate and drink from the same cup. Mutual pledges
and promises of affection were given, and the catalona pronounced
a benediction. Sad scenes of drunkenness and scandal are said to
have followed the ceremony in the after festivities, which lasted
three days. In the northern islands only one wife was allowed, but
any number of handmaids and slaves; in the south, where, no doubt,
Islamism was not without its influence, any number of legitimate
wives was permitted: circumcision was also practised.
Hired mourners, as well as the members of the family, were
gathered round the corpse, and sang hymns proclaiming the virtues
of the dead. The body was washed, perfumed, dressed and sometimes
embalmed. The poor were speedily buried in the silong over which their
huts were constructed. The rich were kept for several days, laid out
in a coffin made of a solid trunk, the mouth covered with gold-leaf,
and the place of sepulture any favourite spot which the deceased
might have selected; if on the bank of a river, the passage of boats
was interdicted for some time, lest the dead should interfere with
the concerns of the living, and a guard had charge of the tomb, near
which the garments, usual food and arms of the departed were placed
in a separate box--in the case of a woman, her loom and instruments
of labour. Where a chief of distinction was interred, a building was
erected, in which two goats, two deer, and two pigs were imprisoned
and a fettered slave belonging to the deceased, who was ordered to
accompany his master to the other world, and died a miserable death
of starvation. It was supposed on the third day after the interment
that the dead man visited his family: a vase of water was placed
at the door, that he might wash and free himself from the dirt of
the grave; a wax light was left burning through the day; mats were
spread and covered with ashes, that the footmarks of the dead might
be traced; and the door was opened at the accustomed time of meals,
and a splendid repast laid out for the expected visitor. No doubt
it was disposed of by the attendants in the same way as other costly
sacrifices. The Indians of the north put on black, those of the south
white, mourning robes.
In the administration of justice the elders were consulted, but there
was no code of laws, and the missionaries affirm that the arbitrators
of quarrels were generally but too well paid for their awards. Murder
committed by a slave was punished with death--committed by a person
of rank, was indemnified by payments to the injured family. When a
robbery took place, all the suspected persons were ordered to bring
a load of grass; these loads were mixed in a heap, and if the stolen
article was found it was restored to the owner, and no inquiry made
as to the bringer of the bundle in which it was concealed. If this
method failed, they flung all the suspected into a river, and held
him to be guilty who came first to the surface, on the theory that
remorse would not allow him to keep his breath. Many are said to have
been drowned in order to escape the ignominy of rising out of the
water. They sometimes placed candles of equal length in the hands
of all the accused, and he was held to be guilty whose candle first
went out. Another mode was to gather the accused round a light, and he
towards whom the flames turned was condemned as the criminal. Adultery
was condoned for by fine to the wronged persons.
Gold was used by weight as the medium of exchange, but there was no
coined or stamped currency. The largest weight was called a gael, but
it represented a dollar and a quarter in silver, nearly corresponding
to the Chinese ounce or tael; a gael consisted of two tinga, a tinga
of two sapaha; [13] a sapaha was divided into sangraga, a very small
bean, which was the minimum weight. Accounts were kept by heaps of
stones of different sizes. Their measures were the dipa (brace = 6
feet), the dancal (palm), tumuro (span), sangdamac (breadth of the
hand), sangdati (breadth of the finger). Thus, as among many rude
nations (the vestiges are still to be traced in the phraseology of
civilization) every man carried with him his standard of mensuration.
Time was reckoned by suns and moons, in the Philippines as in
China. In Chinese the same words designate day and sun, moon and month,
harvest and year. The morning was called "cock-crowing," the evening
"sun-leaving."
No Indian passed another without a salutation and a bending of the
left knee. An inferior entering the house of a superior crouched
down until ordered to rise. Earrings were worn by women and sometimes
by men; the chiefs had coloured turbans, scarlet if they had killed
an enemy, striped if they had killed seven or more. Peace was made
by the mingling blood with wine, and each drank of the blood of the
other. This was the most solemn of their oaths.
Chastity seems to have been unknown, though a price was always exacted
for a woman's favours.
Many Mahomedan superstitions and usages had found their way to the
interior, and among them the rite of circumcision.
All the Indians are born with a circular dark spot on the buttock,
of the size of a shilling; as their skins darken the mark extends,
becomes lighter in colour, and in age is scarcely distinguishable.
There is a tradition that the Indians were formerly in the habit
of punishing an unpopular person by a penalty which they called
Cobacolo, and which was inflicted on any who had misled them by false
counsels. The whole population assembled, went to the house of the
offender, every one bearing a cudgel; some surrounded the house to
prevent escape, and others entered and, by blows, drove the victim to
the balcony, from whence he was compelled to leap, and he was then
chased out of the neighbourhood, after which the house was razed to
the ground, and all that it contained destroyed. The tradition is
preserved in many popular proverbs and phrases, in which the Cobacolo
is used as a menace to evil-doers.
Among the most celebrated books on the Philippines are the "Cronicas
Franciscanas," by Fr. Gaspar de S. Agustin, an Augustine monk of
Madrid, who lived forty years among the Indians, and from whose
descriptions I have made a few selections; but there are remarkable
contrarieties of opinion among different writers. Their fields
of observation are different, and natural temperament has much to
do with the judgment formed. Our friar does not give the natives a
favourable character. According to him they are generally "inconstant,
distrustful, malicious, sleepy, idle, timid, and fond of travelling
by rivers, lakes, and seas."
"They are great consumers of fish, which are found in immense
abundance. After rains the fields and marshes and ponds are filled
with them. Fish two palms long are often pulled up from among the
paddy. As the waters dry up, the fish retreat to any muddy recess, and
the Indians catch them with their hands, or kill them with sticks." I
have seen many Indians fishing in the paddy grounds, and what becomes
of the fish in the times of drought, when no "muddy recesses" are
to be found, it is hard to say, but where there is water fish may
invariably be sought for with success.
"They eat three meals a day, consisting principally of rice, the sweet
potato, and a small quantity of fish or meat; the daily cost of the
whole being half a rial" (= 3d. sterling). "As labourers they get
half a rial in addition to their food. They willingly borrow money,
which they do not repay, and he who will not encourage ingratitude must
show them no favour; to exact a promise is to ensure a falsehood. They
are the ingrates described in the 36th Psalm. They never shut the
door they have opened; they return nothing to its place; they never
do the work they have been paid for beforehand, yet they do not fail
to ask for an advance: the carpenter must have money to buy wood;
the washerman to get soap; and they even practise their devices upon
the parish priest! They have the art of blundering about everything;
they fold all garments the wrong way; turn a shirt inside out, always
present the back where the front should be." The father is somewhat
severe, and of my own experience I can say there was at least about as
much chance in such matters of the Indians doing right as wrong. Alava
said of the Indians that their brains were in their hands.
The padre continues:--"They are envious, ill-bred, and
impertinent. They will even ask a padre, 'Whence do you come? where
are you going?' If you are reading a letter, they will look over your
shoulders, though not able to read themselves; and if two people are
talking in secret, the Indians will come near, though not understanding
a word." Grave charges these. "They enter houses, and even convents,
without leave, and seem to make themselves at home in a manner to
excite wonderment and anger; even when the padre is asleep, they make
a great noise in trampling the floor, though in their own houses they
walk with as much care as if treading among eggs. They use no chairs
at home, but absolutely wear out those of the convents by sitting
and lounging on them, particularly in the balconies, where they can
get a look at the women."
These extracts are as characteristic of the monk as of the
Indian. "They care nothing for dog, cat, horse nor cow; the game-cock
is their great concern; him they visit at dawn; him they caress through
the day; they will contemplate him with eyes fixed for half an hour
at a time: the passion never decays; many of them think of nothing
else. The government patronizes cock-fights. Last year they produced
40,000 dollars" (in 1859, 86,000 dollars); "sad resource this for so
many tears, crimes, and punishments! What quarrels, what lawsuits, what
appeals! And in their gambling they pass the night till sunrise. The
chief of the Barangay (clan) loses the tribute-money he has collected;
his doom is the prison, or a flight to the mountains. They hate to
live in houses or convents where they would be placed beyond even the
odour of women. They take care of their own plates, and exhibit in
their dwellings some possessed before the arrival of the Spaniards,
but in convents and houses they break plates enough to ruin their
masters. This is because of their stupidity, or that they are
thinking of their beloved, or of anything but what ought to occupy
their thoughts; and if they let fall a dish, it is passed over by
the Spaniards, or they are only called 'brute! animal! savage!' In
their own house, however, the breaking a piece of earthenware would be
followed with a good number of cane blows, and this is of more efficacy
than all Cicero's Philippics (sic in orig.) They cannot be trusted
with a sword, mirror, glass, gun, watch, nor any delicate thing;
they are sure to spoil it. You may confide to them a bamboo, a stick,
a piece of timber, a palm-branch, and to a few of them a ploughshare.
"They are bold and insolent in making unreasonable requests, careless
of the when or the how. They remind me in their petitions of what
happened to Sancho Panza in the island of Barataria, when troubled
with that impertinent and intrusive rustic Michael Turra. For their
four eggs they want a hundred dollars. I never see an Indian coming
towards me with a gift--something worthless, of course, and of no
use to himself--flowers or fruits, but I exclaim, in the words of
Laocoon to the Trojans" (grandiloquent friar!) "'Timeo Danaos dona
ferentes.' The Bishop of Troya, Don Francisco Gines Barrientes, a most
circumspect prelate, told me that an Indian brought him a handkerchief
of Guava fruit and asked him for the loan of fifty dollars. And when
the Lord Marquis de Villasierra, Don Fernando de Valenzuela, was in
the castle of Cavite, an Indian gave him a cock, for which the Marquis
ordered him to be paid six times its value, and the Indian said he
expected eighty cavans of rice, and this, too, was in the time of
scarcity, when every cavan was worth two dollars. It matters little,
however, for they are just as well pleased when they fail as when
they succeed, for they do not value anything given them by a Spaniard,
not even by a priest! In selling they will ask thirty and accept six;
they take the chance of cheating, and, knowing the great goodness
(la suma bondad) of the Spanish character, they do not apprehend any
expression of anger in consequence of an absurd pretension."
The friar thus describes a negotiation between an Indian peasant
and a merchant:--"The peasant has two or three hundredweight of
indigo for sale; he does not come alone, but with his relations,
friends, and sometimes the women, for the indigo belongs to several
who form the suite of the seller. Every offer has to be communicated
to the party, who are crouched in a circle round the negotiator;
the offer being discussed, they agree to the reduction of a dollar
in the price--the buyer requires three; this matter being settled,
another discussion begins; some of the indigo is damp and dirty,
and an allowance must be made, and thus the negotiation goes on
harassing and never-ending, so that very few Spaniards will tolerate
such impertinence and importunity, and the conference ends by a
dry inquiry, 'Will you? yes! or no!' If no, the Indians are angrily
ordered into the street, but the more patient mestizos and Chinese
make the Indians their guests, feed them and lodge them, and get these
commodities on their own terms, in Chinese style, for the Indian is
very stupid in trading matters." And then the father gives abundant
evidence of their simplicity. "In fine, the Indian prefers the rial
of a Chinese to the dollar of a Spaniard." Who can wonder, then,
at the prosperous condition of the Chinese in the Philippines? "The
Indians show great indifference to danger: they will not move out
of the way of a restive horse, nor, if in a small boat, give place
to a large one. In the river, if they see crocodiles approaching,
they take no notice and adopt no precautions. The Koran says that
every one has his fate written in the marks on his forehead; so
think the Indians, not that they have read the Koran, but because
of their own folly, which exposes them to daily misfortunes." "They
are very credulous among themselves, yet believe nothing but what is
unfavourable about the Spaniards. It is evident that the act of faith
is supernatural when they acknowledge the divine mysteries taught
by the Spaniards. In other matters they believe in nothing which is
adverse to their interests. They do not object to rob Spaniards, not
even the ministers of religion. Of this we have irresistible evidence,
so that there can be no doubt, and we can only regret that no remedy
can be found."
The Augustine provincial friar of Ilocos, reporting on the insurrection
of 1807 in that province, says:--"Here, as elsewhere, there are
abundance of robbers and pilferers; it is of no use to bring them to
Manila, they should be punished in the locality; but they can be no
more extirpated than can the rats and mice. Indeed there is an Indian
proverb which says:--'Robbers and rats will disappear together.'" I
cannot endorse the friar's indiscriminating censures, for I have heard
extraordinary evidences of extraordinary integrity. The Alcalde of
Cagayan told me that, though he had frequently left uncounted dollars
in the care of the Indians, he had never discovered a single fraud.
One would suppose that the rich and potent friars were tolerably
well protected against the Indians, yet one of them writes:--"The
Indians do not now employ lances and arrows against our ministry, but
papers, pens, tales, jokes and calumnies. So much have they been taught
politics in Manila that now in all the pueblos are obscure scribblers,
pettifoggers, pretenders, who are clever enough in writing memorials on
stamped paper, to be presented to the Royal Audiencia. So if the parish
priest reprove or punish them for their evil and scandalous lives, they
meet together, drink wine, and fill a folio paper with their crosses,
and march off to Manila, to the tribunal which they deem the most
impressionable, from whence great vexations are caused to the poor
parish priest. And much courage is required to bear this species of
martyrdom, which is sufficiently common in the Indies."--(Abbé Amodea.)
I do not know how lately there have been perquisitions against
witches, but in the middle of the last century I find the record of
a most diligent pursuit and rigorous punishment against the witches
of Pampanga. The proceedings were superintended by a friar named
Theodore of the Mother of God, who made a special report to the Mexican
Inquisition. He says:--"There are witches in every pueblo, and in some
they form a third part of the population. These slaves of the devil
are divided into sundry classes: lamias, who suck the blood of infants;
striges, who are wanderers on the face of the earth; sagas, who dwell
in houses, and convey to the devil all the information he requires;
larvas, who devote themselves to carnal delights; temures, who prepare
love filtres; but all unite to do mischief to the human race."
Of the credulity of the Indians there is no end of examples. In 1832,
when the Santa Ana arrived with 250 soldiers, a report spread like
wild-fire that the King of Spain had ordered all the children of the
Indians to be collected, that their blood might be spilt upon the
Spanish mines to make them more productive. The women fled to their
homes, seized their children, and sought an asylum in the houses
of the Spanish ladies in Manila. The men armed themselves with
spears, and rushed tumultuously through the streets. The agitation
was appeased with some difficulty. What any man reputed as a sage
among the Indians avers, acquires immediate authority, and is not
to be controlled by the influence of the priests; the words "Vica
ng maruning," meaning "The wise say so," is the ready answer to all
impugners. "God preserve us," says the friar, "from Indian sages! for
the Indians are proud, and will not obey the priest, nor the friar,
nor the chaplain, unless obliged by fear, and they are not always
afraid, though they feel thoroughly convinced of the superiority of
the Spaniard, and are governed in spite of themselves. They imitate the
Spaniard in all that is evil--his love of dress, his swearing habits,
addiction to gaming, and all the vicious practices of the zaramullos
(fops or busy-bodies); but Spanish courtesy and urbanity and good
education they neither study nor copy; but revels and drunken bouts,
and riotous weddings and burial excesses and tyrannical acts of all
sorts they have inherited from their ancestors, and still preserve,
so that they have Spanish vices added to their own."
They show much deference to everything that is aristocratic
among themselves. The jacket-wearing principalia are treated with
great deference, and their rank religiously respected. First, the
gobernadorcillo; then the ex-gobernadorcillos, who are called passed
captains, in order of seniority; then the acting lieutenant, who must
be the head of a barangay; then the heads of barangays according to
age; then passed lieutenants, and so on; and their rank is recognized
by the adjacent communities.
Bathing is universal, men and women in the same place. The men wear
pantaloons, the women cover themselves with a garment which they throw
off when they enter the water. No scandal is caused by the habit,
and several attempts of the Spanish authorities to interfere with
the ancient usage have failed.
The Indians embrace by touching noses; but lip-kissing often
accompanies the act. When the nostril is contracted (as in the act
of smelling), and the Indian looks towards a person at a distance,
it is deemed an invitation to a closer embrace. Strange stories are
told of the exquisite sense of smell possessed by the Indians; that by
it they can distinguish the dresses of their masters and mistresses,
and lovers ascertain the state of each other's affections. Inner
garments are interchanged which are supposed to be impregnated with
the passions of the owners. In disregard of the monks, the Indians
secretly circumcise their children. The banian-tree (Balete, Ficus
Indica) is held sacred. They burn incense under it, which they obtain
from the friars under various pretences. How strangely are the rites
of idolatry mingled with Christian observances! This is not the case
alone in the Philippines. One of Dr. Gutzlaff's renowned converts
in Hong Kong used to say that to please the missionary he had added
another god--the Christian's God--to those he worshipped before;
and I have known of secret visits to heathen temples on the part of
Chinese professing Christians, when they were about to enter upon
any important undertaking. "There is no driving out of them," says
the padre, "the cursed belief that the spirits of their ancestors are
in the woods and among the roots of bamboos, and that they can bring
good or evil upon them. They will offer sacrifices to them; and all
our books and all our preachings have failed to remove the impressions
left by any old man whom they choose to call 'a sage.'" "The curates,"
says De Mas, "profess to believe that these superstitions are passing
away; no doubt the Indian conceals them as much as he can from his
father confessor, but I have on many occasions convinced myself of
their existence and influence." Who, indeed, knowing anything of
the credulity of the less instructed classes, and not these alone,
among ourselves, can wonder at the state of "the religious mind" of
the Philippine Indian? And so little are the priests themselves wholly
free from infirmity, that a Philippine curate, Mallares, committed and
caused to be committed no less than fifty-seven assassinations in the
town of Magalan, believing that he should thus save his mother from
being bewitched. Mallares was executed in 1840; and in his report
the fiscal expresses his horror of "the incredible and barbarous
prodigality of bloodshed by this monster."
"The Indian knows no medium," again to quote from the father. "Ask for
tepid water, he will bring it boiling; say it is too hot, and you will
get it quite cold. He lives in a circle of extremes. He rejoices if you
lose patience and give him a beating, for he goes and boasts of having
put his master into a passion. To irritate the Indian, you must take no
notice of his short-comings. The sagacious men among them say that the
Indian and the cane (for his correction) always grow together. They
have another proverb: 'The Spaniard is fire, and the Indian snow,
and the snow puts out the fire.'" One of the padres reports that his
servant-boy said to him: "You are a new comer, and are too indulgent:
if I do amiss you ought to chastise me. Don't you know the proverb,
'The Indian and the cane grow together?'" "They blaspheme and abuse
God when their prayers are not granted, and use language which would
indeed be horrible were it not known how thoughtless they are, and how
impossible it is for them to conform themselves to the Divine will."
They are fond of religious dramas, especially of one in Tagál
representing the passion and death of Christ; but these religious
representations and gatherings give rise to scandal and abuse, and
the birth of many illegitimate children. The priests have generally
prohibited these exhibitions at night, and sometimes disperse them,
whip in hand; at other times the singers are denounced, and get
flogged for their pains--or pleasures.
It is amusing to read the contradictory opinions of the friars
respecting their flocks. One says:--"Their confessions are false;
they never own to any but three sins: first, that they have neglected
church-going; second, that they eat meat during Lent; and third, that
they have sworn profanely." Another reports--"No Spaniard can be more
devout and fervid than the Indians of Manila in their confessions. They
obey the instructions they receive, and I have the same good account
from many padres of many Indians in the provinces." No doubt the
ecclesiastical statistics would be curious, if obtainable. In Lilio,
the curate reports that of 1,300 persons paying tribute in 1840,
600 never confessed, and "this pueblo is not of the most remiss." In
Vigan, of 30,000 inhabitants, the attendance at church did not exceed
from 500 to 800 (De Mas), except on the yearly festival of the Virgin,
patroness of the pueblo. Father Agustin's indignation is vehemently
expressed as regards confession:--"The infernal Macchiavel Satan has
taught them a policy as good for their bodies as bad for their souls,
which is that they own their errors and crimes to one another, and
conceal them, however excessive, from the spiritual father, from the
Spanish alcalde, notwithstanding their personal quarrels, and, as they
call them, murder-enmities; so that there is among them no greater
offence than to tell the padre or the alcalde what has happened in
the pueblo, which they say is mabibig, the most abominable of sins;
indeed, the only offence which they hold to be sin."
The friars speak in general more favourably of the women than of the
men. They are more devout, more submissive, more willing to listen
to their ghostly fathers, one of whom says:--"Did all mankind hang
upon a single peg, and that peg were wanted by an Indian for his
hat, he would sacrifice all mankind. They have no fear of death, but
this is an infinite mercy of the Divine Being, who knows how fragile
they are; they talk about death, even in the presence of the dying,
without any concern. If condemned to the scaffold, they exhibit equal
indifference, and smoke their cigar with wonted tranquillity. Their
answer to the attendant priest is invariably, 'I know I am going
to die. I cannot help it. I have been wicked--it was the will of
God,--it was my fate,' But the approach of death neither interferes
with their sleep nor their meals." "The tree must bear its fruit,"
he continues. "God in his wisdom has made many races of men, as He
has made many varieties of flowers, and at last I reconciled myself to
seeing the Indians do everything differently from what we should do,
and keeping this in view, I could mould them like wax to my purpose."
As a general result I have not found among these Indian races any one
distinguished for intellectual superiority. A few were not backward in
their knowledge of the mechanical arts; one or two examples there were
of genius as sculptors; a universal love and devotion to the musical
art, and some appreciation even of the merits of European composers;
but, it must be added, little or nothing is done to develop such
capacities as the Indians possess; the field of public instruction is
narrowed alike by religious and official influences, and the social
tone of the opulent classes, to which alone the Indian can look up,
is greatly below that of the Spanish peninsula. Literature is little
cultivated: the public newspapers are more occupied with the lives of
saints, and preparation for, or accounts of, religious fiestas, than
with the most stirring events of the political world. The Spaniards
have never been celebrated for very busy inquiries, or very active
virtues; but it is to be hoped that the mañana, to which everything
is referred, will at last become an hoy dia.
It has been said of the Indian that he is more of a quadruped than a
biped. His hands are large, and the toes of his feet pliant, being
exercised in climbing trees, and divers other active functions. He
is almost amphibious, passing much of his time in the water. He
is insensible alike to the burning sun and the drenching rain. The
impressions made upon him are transitory, and he retains a feeble
memory of passing or past events. Ask him his age, he will not
be able to answer: who were his ancestors? he neither knows nor
cares. He receives no favours and cannot, therefore, be ungrateful;
has little ambition, and therefore little disquiet; few wants, and
hence is neither jealous nor envious; does not concern himself with the
affairs of his neighbour, nor indeed does he pay much regard to his
own. His master vice is idleness, which is his felicity. The labour
that necessity demands he gives grudgingly. His health is generally
good, and when deranged he satisfies himself with the use of herbs,
of whose astringent or laxative powers he has had experience. He uses
no soap to wash, no razor to shave; the river is his bathing-place,
and he pulls out the hairs in his face with the assistance of a sharp
shell; he wants no clock to tell him of the flight of time--no table,
nor chairs, nor plates, nor cutlery, to assist him at his meals;
a hacha, or large knife, and bag are generally hung at his waist;
he thinks no music equal to the crowing of his cock, and holds a shoe
to be as superfluous as a glove or a neck-collar.
I certainly have not discovered among the Indians that enduring
"à tout jamais" horror of foreigners upon which M. Mallat dwells,
and which he represents as specially and properly directed against
Englishmen. On the contrary, I found many Englishmen settled in
the Philippines objects of great confidence and affection; and I
have heard mestizos and Indians say that they put greater trust
in English commercial probity than in that of any other nation. I
have witnessed the cordiality with which the old Spanish proverb,
"Paz con Ynglaterra y con todo el mundo guerra," has been quoted in
large assemblies of the Filipinos. And assuredly there is no nation
which has contributed more than England to the prosperity of the
Spanish archipelago. Evidence enough will be found in the course of
this narrative of the kindness shown to Englishmen.
It has been said that the Spaniards have very discreetly and
successfully used the "divide et impera" among the Indian races as
a means of preserving their own authority. There is little sympathy,
it is true, between the remoter races; but that their separation and
aberration form a part of the Spanish policy may be disproved by the
fact that in Binondo nearly one-third of the resident inhabitants
are Indians from distant provinces.
The numerical power of the Spaniards is small, that of the armed
natives great, were there among them a disposition to rebel against
their rulers: I believe there is little of such disposition. Lately
the Tagál soldiers have been called into active service in a foreign
country (Cochin China), and involved in a quarrel where the Spanish
interest is not very discernible. No complaints have been made of
their conduct, though they have been exposed to much privation.
There is a pretty custom among the peasantry of the interior. Little
bamboo frames are seen either supported by a post, or projecting from
a window of the choza, on which is to be found, covered with plantain
leaves, a supply of food, or fruits, provided from the Indian's garden,
which invariably surrounds his dwelling. Any passing traveller supplies
himself, paying nothing if he be poor, but otherwise leaving such
compensation as he may deem proper. No sort of reproach attaches
to the person who, without the means of payment, partakes of the
proffered bounty. These hospitable receptacles are most common in
the least peopled localities, and reminded me of the water and the
lamp which I have found in the tombs of sainted Mussulmans, who had
themselves discharged, or required their followers thus to discharge,
the claims of humanity, and in the arid desert provided these grateful,
silent, and touching welcomes to the thirsty and weary traveller.
The tact or talent of imitation is strong among the Indians,
and facilitated the efforts of the friars, but very various and
contradictory reports are found of their aptitudes. Those of Pampanga,
Cagayan, Pangasinan, Ilocos, and Zebu are reported to be valiant,
generous, laborious, and frequently exhibiting artistical taste. I
found the love and the practice of music universal, and saw some
remarkable specimens of sculptural ability, but of painting nothing
Indian was ever presented to my attention, and the examples of
persevering dedication to any sort of labour were few indeed. As
servants, the Tagáls are in all respects inferior to the Chinese;
as soldiers, the officers generally reported of them favourably. The
Indians settled in Manila are said to be the worst of their races:
no doubt great cities are the recipients of the dregs of a people,
but they attract at the same time the highest order of merit. The
courtesies which we received as their guests seemed boundless; no
effort too great to do us honour: something, indeed much, could not
but be attributed to the guidance of the priests and the presence
of the authorities, but there were a thousand marks of spontaneous
kindness, such as no external influence could have commanded.
CHAPTER VII.
MANNERS AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE PEOPLE.
Far more than the fair portion of domestic and social cares falls
upon the Indian female, and she has far less than her becoming
share of enjoyments. Barbarous practices are frequently associated
with parturition. The Mabuting hilot, the good midwife, is called
in. If the birth be delayed, witches are supposed to be the cause,
and their dispersion is effected by the explosion of gunpowder from
a bamboo cane close to the head of the sufferer. The new-born infant
is laid on a mat or pillow and exposed to the air, to facilitate the
escape of evil influences from the body, which is brought about by
burning three wax tapers placed on the two cheeks and chin of the
babe, often to its great peril. These practices are to some extent
checked and controlled by the priests, who provide where they can
for the baptism and registration of the infant.
The patriarchal custom of serving in the house of the father in
order to obtain the hand and heart of the daughter, is by no means
abolished in the Philippines; nor is the yet more intimate intercourse
of plighted lovers, which is reported to be still in usage in the
ruder parts of Wales, and with the same perilous consequences to
the feebler sex. The domestication of the lover in the house of
his intended father-in-law leads to the birth of great numbers of
illegitimate children, to frequent violations of vows and promises,
to domestic quarrels and much misery. The influence of the friars
is generally employed for the protection of the frail one. They are
opposed both by duty and interest to these irregularities, matrimonial
fees being among the most productive contributions to their revenues.
I find one of the priests giving the following instructions to
the Indians as to marriage:--"It is not right," he says, "to marry
heedlessly, nor to hurry the sacred ceremony as if it were to be
got rid of as soon as possible. Let the parties consult the padre,
who will learn if they are really disposed to marry. You Indians say
the male naturally runs after the female and obtains her consent
(an Indian proverb); but this is not decorous; the proper mode of
courting is for the priest to say, 'Will you be the spouse of ----,
according to the arrangements of our holy mother Church?' This is first
to be asked of the woman, and then an inquiry is to be made of the man
whether he will have the woman, and the ancient and immodest usages of
past times must then be abandoned." In the same spirit is the common
saying of the Indians, "Savangmatovir ang ihinahatol nang mañga padre"
(The counsels of the padre are always right). And again--"There is
no Christian road but through the Roman Catholic Church."
F. de los Santos says there is no instance of a Tagála woman making
advances in the way of marriage, nor of a father or mother looking out
a bridegroom for their daughter; that it would be a great affront were
any girl to seek the favour of the person whom she wished to be her
mother-in-law in order to win the son. No woman was ever heard to say,
"Manciganguin mo aco" (Make me thy daughter-in-law).
The same friar asserts that the Indians have learnt the meaning
which the Europeans attach to "horns," and that the corresponding
Tagál word sungayan (horned animal) cannot be used indiscreetly
without giving great offence. He is very angry with the nonsense
(boberias and disparates) which he says the natives address to their
children. A mother will call her babe father, and mother, and aunt,
and even king and queen, sir and madam, with other extravagant and
unbecoming outbreaks of affection, which he reproves as altogether
blameworthy and intolerable.
Though there is some variety in the houses of the Indians, according
to their opulence, they preserve a common character, having bamboo
floors, nipa roofs, and wooden pillars to support them. A speculation
was entered into near Manila to provide more comfortable domestic
accommodation for the natives by introducing imported improvements;
but the houses were unoccupied, and the adventure proved a losing
one. I have seen handsome lamps suspended from the roofs, and pictures
hung upon the walls, of some of the Indian dwellings; while among
the mestizos many aspire to all the decorations of Spanish luxury,
competing with the richest among the European settlers. But religious
ornaments are never forgotten, such as images and pictures of the
Virgin and her child, vessels for holy water and crucifixes.
The beds of the Indians are merely mats on which the whole family
repose indiscriminately. Here they smoke their cigars, chew their
betel, and fall asleep. The domestic utensils are "a mortar for
grinding rice, bamboos for all purposes, cup and spoons of the
cocoa-nut shell, pots and kettles, a knife called a goloc, a bench
against the wall, a stool which serves for a table, a Chinese basin
for oil, a clay lamp, some cotton wicks, torches of the resin-cane,
an image of the Virgin, a crucifix, mats, a jar of betel leaves,
some areca nuts and lime ready for use, and sometimes a flute or
guitar."--(Buzeta.)
The Indians have a very vague idea of distance. Tahanan and
Bitañgan are the names given to places of rest between different
localities. Instead of the Spanish word league, they say "taval," which
is the distance an ordinary burthen can be carried without stoppage.
The forty days' labour which is exacted every year from the Indians is
called atag or bayani. This is in addition to the tributo of a dollar
and one-third; but exemption from the atag may be obtained by the
payment of three dollars. The tribute is called bovis or buvis. "Buvis
aco sa balañgay ni covan' (I am tributary to such and such a balangay).
A curious illustration of the passion for gaming, so general among
the Filipinos, is given by the statistical commission, in the report
on Binondo. Among the not prohibited games is that called by the
natives Panguingui. It is played with six packs of cards, and five
or six persons make a party. This game is most popular among all
classes. The authorities prohibit its being played during the hours
of labour, but it is permitted from twelve to two P.M., and from
sunset to ten P.M., on ordinary days, and there is no restriction on
festival days. The commission determined to visit without notice the
different tables where the game was played; they found on an average
200 tables occupied, but there were 39 ready for play unoccupied.
Players at the 200 tables, 867 men and 313 women.
Spectators at the 200 tables, 405 men and 353 women.
This did not include the tables in private houses, to which the
commission had no access. It is to be presumed that these visits took
place during the authorised hour of play, but this is not stated by
the commission.
Though games of hazard are prohibited to the multitude, the great game
of the lottery is monthly played for the profit of the government
and the perdition of the people. Its existence and its temptations
encourage that gambling passion which is one of the greatest plagues of
the Filipinos. The newspapers are constantly occupied with long lists
of persons condemned to heavy fines and imprisonments for indulging
in what may be called the besetting sin of the Indians, from which,
however, neither mestizos, Chinese nor Europeans are by any means free.
But the passion for play is most strikingly and universally exhibited
in the cock-fights, so characteristic that I can scarcely avoid
entering upon some details.
A writer on the Philippines, after showing the antiquity of
cock-fighting, and tracing its history through most of the civilized
nations of the world, thus concludes:--"In Spain there is a notable
affection for cock-fights, and great is the care with which the birds
are trained to the combat. In America this amusement is a dominant
passion, and the Filipinos are not a whit behind the Americans. Nay,
here the passion is a delirium, and no law can check the number or the
duration of the fights, accompanied by slaughter of the combatants,
which may be well called perfidious" (i.e. in violation of protecting
regulations). "In other places they sharpen the spurs of the cocks. In
the Philippines they are armed with razors, and chance more than skill
decides the contest. Every day countless numbers perish, but the race
is not diminished. There is hardly a locality which has not more cocks
than human inhabitants. On the Puente Grande of Manila, at between
four and five A.M., hundreds and hundreds of 'the shrill clarions' are
heard on all sides, and from vast distances; it is a string of signals
passed from mouth to mouth, from the port of Bangui, in North Ilocos,
to Manog, the southernmost point of Albay. There are cocks in every
house, at every corner, at the foot of every tree, along the quays
and shores, on the prows of every coasting ship, and, as if the living
were not enough, they are sculptured, they are painted and charcoaled
(not artistically) on every wall for public admiration, and public
admiration recognizes the portraiture, though the information is not
placed there--as by the painter of old--to announce, 'This is a cock.'"
The following is a translation of an advertisement from a Manila
newspaper:--"Principal Cock-fight of Tondo.--The subscriber informs the
public that on all cock-fighting days a great crowd from all parts,
nearly half of them Chinese, attend, so that on a single day there
are from 90 to 100 combats, and this not only from the convenience of
the place, which is made of tiles, but because the doubloons (onzas)
which circulate there are honest doubloons (son de recibo).--Dalmacio
Oligario."
It is considered a discourtesy to touch an Indian's game-cock,
and permission is always asked to examine a favourite bird. He is
the object of many a caress; he eats, crows, and sleeps in the arms
of his master; and, whatever else may be forgotten, the cock is in
continual remembrance. I have found him celebrated in verse in terms
the most affectionate. A cock that has been frequently victorious
is subjected to the most minute criticism, in order to discover by
external marks what may serve to characterize his merits. The scales
of his legs are counted, their form and distribution, the bent of the
rings on the spurs, and whether the two spurs resemble each other;
the shape of the toes and their nails, the number and colours of the
wing-feathers (eleven being the favourite quantity); white eyes are
preferred to chesnut; a short comb falling over the eye and beak is a
recommendation. Cocks of different colours bear different names--white,
puti; red, pula; white with black spots, talisain; red body and black
tail and wings, bulic or taguiguin; black, casilien, or maitin; black
and white, binabay; ash-colour, abuen; black and white, having black
legs, tagaguin; and many others. The wild cock is called labuyo.
Of cock-fighting I translate Buzeta's description:--"The Indians have
an inveterate passion for the sport, which occupies the first place in
their amusements. The cock is the first object of their care, their
general companion, which accompanies them even to the church-door,
and is fastened to a bamboo plug outside, when they enter for the
service of the mass. For no money will they dispose of a favourite
bird. Some possess as many as half-a-dozen of these inappreciable
treasures, for whose service they seem principally to live.
"Every pueblo has its gallera, or amphitheatre, for the cock-fights,
from which the government draws a considerable revenue. The galleras
are large buildings constructed of palm-trunks, bamboo, and nipa
leaves, consisting of a hall, lighted from windows in the roof. In the
centre is a stage, raised about five feet high, surrounded by bamboo
galleries, which are reached by the spectators, who pay according to
the adjacency and convenience of the seats. The gallera is generally
crowded. The Indian enters with his cock under his arm; he caresses the
favourite, places him on the ground, lifts him up again, smooths his
feathers, talks to him, blows his cigar-smoke over him, and, pressing
him to his breast, tells him to fight bravely. The cock generally crows
aloud in defiance and in pride. His rival appears, a sharpened spur,
or rather two-edged knife, or razor, is fastened to the natural spur
of the bird, and after being for some time presented to each other
the sign of combat is given, which is carried on with extraordinary
excitement, until an alguacil announces that the betting is closed. The
announcement is followed by universal silence. The owners of the
cocks withdraw at another signal, and the combatants contemplate
each other, their feathers agitated and erect; they bend their necks,
shake their heads, and spring upon one another; the fight continues
until one is mortally wounded and falls. The conqueror springs upon
him, and crows in token of victory; but it is not unusual for the
wounded cock to rise and turn upon his victor. If the victor should
fly (as is sometimes the case), he is condemned to ignominious death;
his feathers are plucked, and he is suspended almost naked on the
outside of the gallera. The wounds of the living bird are staunched by
an infusion of tobacco leaves in cocoa-nut wine. He becomes from that
hour a favourite to be betted on, and if disabled for future frays,
he is carefully provided for by his master. There are cock-doctors
and receiving-houses devoted to the healing of their wounds.
"In the neighbourhood of the gallera are stalls, where wines,
sweetmeats, chocolate, and other refreshments, are sold, prepared by
Indians and Chinese. A whole day is devoted to the combat, and even
the charms of the siesta are forgotten, and the Indian often returns
to his home after sunset a wretched and a ruined man."
The Indians were sometimes desirous that we should witness the
exhibition, and brought their favourite cocks to be admired; but I
had little curiosity to witness such a display, picturesque as it
was no doubt--more picturesque than humane.
Don Ildefonso de Aragon passes this severe judgment upon the
sport:--"Perpetual idlers," the Indians, "they go from cockpit to
cockpit, those universities of every vice, which the owners think
themselves privileged to keep constantly open and accessible; hence
they come forth consummate masters of roguery, jugglery, frauds, ready
for acts of violence in private and in public, in town and in country."
Kite-flying (introduced by the Chinese, among whom it is an amusement
both for young and old, and who have made their kites musical by
day and illuminated by night) is popular in the Philippines, as are
fire-balloons and other pyrotechnic displays.
Except on suitable occasions, the Indian is sober and economical,
but he makes great efforts at display when desirous of honouring
his guests. On two or three occasions we sat down to meals, which
a gastronomer would scarcely have ventured to criticise; a variety
of wines, health-drinking, and even speech-making, music and firing
of guns, accompanying the festivity. Smoking never fails to form a
part of the entertainment; pure cigars of various sizes, and paper
cigarritos, being always at hand. St. Andrew's day, kept in celebration
of the delivery of the Philippines from piratical Chinese, is one of
great rejoicing.
In religious ceremonies the Indian takes a busy part, and lends a
very active co-operation. When they take place after sunset, crowds
attend with burning tapers. Gun-firing, music and illuminations
are the general accompaniments of the great fiestas. I have more
than once mentioned the universality of the musical passion, which
is easily trained to excellent performances. An Indian, we heard,
was not selected to the band unless he could play for eight hours
without cessation. The national music of Spain is generally studied,
and, in honour to us, in some places they learnt our "God save the
Queen!" We were not hypercritical upon the first attempts, but such
tributes from a race, that only sought to do our sovereign, our
country, and ourselves all honour, could not but greatly gratify us.
When at Guimbal (Iloilo), we were waited on at table wholly by Indian
female children, prettily dressed; whose bright eyes expressed extreme
curiosity, and whose anxiety to understand and to administer to every
wish was very charming. They were much pleased to exhibit the various
garments they wore of the piña cloth. I remarked one who went to the
friar, and whispered in his ear, "But where are the golden garments
of the general?" meaning me, and the padre had to explain to the
children that "golden garments" were only worn on State occasions,
which did not seem satisfactory, as the occasion of our arrival in the
pueblo was one of unprecedented excitement and display. They crowded
round me, however, and looked into my face, and expressed admiration
at my long soft hair. Their associating finery with rank reminded me
of a visit once paid me by a young Abyssinian prince, who was taken
up the narrow staircase by some mistake of the servants, and who (his
interpreter told me) afterwards said to him, "You told me I was to
see a great man--had ever a great man so small a staircase?" At his
next visit, he was conducted through the principal portals up the
wide marble steps of the house in which I lived, and he expressed
extreme satisfaction, and said, "Ah! this is as it should be."
A few of the Indians reach the dignity of the priesthood, but they
are generally asistentes to the friars. I have heard from the lips
of Indian priests as pure Castilian as that spoken in Madrid.
"I have observed," says Father Diaz, "that the word of an Indian is
more to be trusted when he uses one of the ancient forms of speech,
such as 'totoo nang totoo' (it is as true as truth, or, it is truly
true), than when called on to take a solemn oath in the name of God
or of the cross." A youth always seeks to get the promise of his
sweetheart made according to the old Tagál usage, and it is held as
the best security of veracity in all the relations of life.
Many of the padres complain that, notwithstanding all the religious
instruction given, the taint of idolatry still exists among the
converted Indians. There is a sort of worship of ancestors which
is seen in many forms. They attach to the word nono (forefather) the
same spiritual meaning which the Chinese give to Kwei. These nonos are
often addressed in prayer, in order to bring down blessings or to avert
calamities. If an Indian gather a flower or fruit, he silently asks
leave of the nono. Certain spots, woods and rivers, he never passes
without an invocation to these departed genii. Pardon is asked for
short-comings or actions of doubtful character. There is a disease
called pamoao which is attributed to the influence of the nonos,
to whom petitions and sacrifices are offered to obtain relief. These
idolatries, says one of the friars, are so deeply rooted and so widely
spread as to demand the utmost vigilance for their extirpation.
So, again, they have their native devil, in the shape of a little black
old man, a wild horse, or monster. As a protection against this fiend,
however, they apply to their rosary, which certainly affords evidence
that he is an orthodox demon of whom the padres cannot fairly complain.
Witches and witchery are called in to discover thieves and to
unbewitch bewitched persons; but scapularies and saints, especially
St. Anthony of Padua, are auxiliaries in undoing the mischiefs menaced
or done. The cauldrons of the weird sisters in Macbeth would find
counterparts among the people of the Philippine Islands, but there
must be a mingling of Christian texts and Catholic superstitions to
complete the identity. One author says these incantations are used for
the attainment of riches, beautiful wives, success in battle, escape
from justice, and other objects of desire. Father Ortiz will have it
that the secrets of these supernatural influences are treasured up in
various manuscript works "which ought to be burned." Their preservation
and publication (if they exist) would be more serviceable, because
more instructive, to mankind.
Indian women are seldom seen without some religious ornaments. They
have rosaries of corals or pearl beads, medals of copper or gold,
having figures of Our Lady of Mexico or Guadalupe. The scapulary
is generally found hanging by the rosary. Many of the Indians are
associated in the Cofradias, whose different emblems they preserve
with great veneration; such as St. Augustine's string, St. Francis'
cord, St. Thomas's belt; but they also hang upon their children's
necks crocodiles' teeth as a preservative against disease.
The ancient Indian name for God was Bathala, to whom they attributed
the creation of the world. Remnants of the old idolatry remain among
the people, and the names of some of the idols are preserved. A few
phrases are still retained, especially in the remoter parts, as,
for example, "Magpabathala ca" (Let the will of Bathala be done),
and the priests have been generally willing to recognize the name as
not objectionable in substitution for Dios. The Tagál word adopted for
idolatry is Pagaanito, but to the worship of images they give the term
Anito. I find among the records reference to an idol called Lacambui,
probably the god of eating, as the Spaniards call him Abogado de
la Garganta (the throat-advocate). The idol Lacanpate was the god
of the harvest, and was equally male and female; "an hermaphrodite
devil," he is called by one of the friars. Linga was the god who cured
diseases. Lachan bacor protected the growing crops. Aman Sinaya was the
fisherman's god, and was appealed to when the nets were cast. Ama ni
Caable was the protector of huntsmen. An ill-famed idol named Tumano
was believed to wander about at night among human habitations; the
Indians threw ashes upon him, and calling out, "Iri, iri," he fled,
being "a cowardly devil." Mancucutor was the patron of a particular
class of Indians, but the traditions are very obscure.
There is a bird called by the natives Tigmamanoquin, and if, when they
are going to a festival, this bird flies from the right to the left,
it is considered of auspicious augury, but disastrous if it fly from
the left to the right. The bird (I know not its classical name) is
never killed by the Indians, but if caught it is set free with the
words, "Hayona tigmamanoquin, lunchan mo nang halinging" (Be gone,
bird! and sing sweetly for me).
The Indians believe that a guardian angel is born at the birth of
every Christian child, to whose special care through life the infant
is confided. In some parts this angel is called Catotobo, in others
Tagatanor. But the Tagáls habitually employ the Castilian words
angel and angeles in the Catholic sense. I remember to have heard
a clever Dutchman say that Java was well governed by knowing how to
use properly two Arabic words--Islam (faith), which was never to be
interfered with; and Kismet (fate), under whose influence Mussulmans
cheerfully submit to their destiny. The Santa Iglesia madre is the
charm by which the Philippines are ruled.
The Indian women are generally cleanly in their persons, using the
bath very frequently, and constantly cleaning and brightening their
black and abundant hair, which they are fond of perfuming and tying
in a knot behind, called the pusód, which is kept together by a small
comb and gilded needles, and is adorned with a fragrant flower. They
are proud of their small foot, which the Chinese call golden lily,
and which has a slipper, often embroidered with gold or silver,
just supported by the toes. Their walk is graceful and somewhat
coquettish; they smoke, eat betel, and are rather given to display
a languid, liquid eye, for which they have an Indian expression,
"Mapuñgay na mata."
The dress of the Filipinos is simple enough. It consists of a shirt
worn outside a pair of pantaloons; but the shirt is sometimes of
considerable value, woven of the piña, handsomely embroidered, and
of various colours, bright red being predominant. I asked an opulent
Indian to show me his wardrobe, and he brought out twenty-five shirts,
exhibiting them with great pride; there were among them some which
may have been worth a hundred dollars each. It is difficult to fix a
limit to the money value of the more exquisite specimens of weaving and
embroidery. A small pocket handkerchief sent to the Queen of Spain is
said to have cost five hundred dollars. One or two doubloons (onzas) of
gold are asked for the pañuelos (kerchiefs) usually sold in the shops
of the capital. The finest qualities are woven in the neighbourhood of
Iloilo. The loom is of the rudest and simplest construction; one woman
throws the shuttle, another looks after the threads. The cloth is sent
to Manila to be embroidered. The women wear gowns of the fabrics of
the country, into which, of late, the silks of China and the coloured
yarns of Lancashire have been introduced. The better-conditioned wear
an embroidered shawl or kerchief of piña. This is the representative
of female vanity or ambition. When we passed through the towns and
villages of the interior, a handsomely adorned piña handkerchief was
the flag that often welcomed us from the windows of the native huts,
and sometimes the children bore them about and waved them before us
in the processions with which they were wont to show their pleasure
at our presence.
The dress of the Indians is nearly the same throughout the islands; the
pantaloons of cotton or silk, white or striped with various colours,
girded round the waist with a kerchief, whose folds serve for pockets,
and a shirt over the pantaloons of cotton. Sinamay (a native cloth),
or piña for the more opulent, is universally employed. Straw hat or
kerchief round the head; but the favourite covering is a huge circular
cap like a large inverted punch-bowl, made generally of bamboo,
but sometimes of tortoise-shell, and having a metal spike or other
ornament at the top; it is fitted to the head by an internal frame,
and fastened by a ribbon under the chin. This salacot is used by many
as a protection against sun and rain; it appeared to me too heavy to
be convenient.
Among the Indian women the opulent wear costly embroidered garments
of piña, and many of them possess valuable jewels, and are decorated
on occasions of festivity with earrings, necklaces and bracelets
of pearls, diamonds and other precious stones. A few of them speak
Spanish, and during our visits became the interpreters for the others,
as the Indian women generally took a part in the graceful but simple
ceremonials which marked our progress; sometimes forming a line
through the towns and villages, and waving many-coloured flags
over us as we passed, escorted by the native bands of music. In
some families the garments which were worn a century ago are still
preserved. Many of the petty authorities are the hereditary possessors
of local rank, and on grand occasions make displays of the costumes of
their forefathers. There is some variety in the mode of dressing the
hair. The Tagálas clean it with lemon juice, and employ cocoa-nut oil
made fragrant by infusions of odoriferous flowers. They clean their
hands with pumice-stone. In many parts the thumbnail of the right hand
is allowed by both sexes to grow to a great length, which assists
playing on the guitar, and divers domestic operations. The under
garments of the women are tightened at the waist, and their camisas
have long and wide sleeves, which are turned back upon the arms, and
embroidered in more or less costly taste. They all chew the areca,
and, as age advances, they blacken their eyebrows and wear false hair
like their patrician mistresses. They sometimes paint their nails
with vermilion, and to be entitled a Castila, which means European,
is recognized as a great compliment.
Rice is the ordinary food of the Indians. It is boiled for half an
hour, and then called canin. The capsicum, or chile, is used for a
condiment. They eat three meals a day, out of a large dish, helping
themselves with their fingers, and sometimes using a plantain leaf
for a plate. They also have sauces round the central dish, into which
they dip the canin. They introduce the thumb first into the mouth,
and very dexterously employ the fingers to push forward the food. The
luxuries of the native are pretty nearly reduced to the cigar and
the betel-nut. Indeed these can scarcely be called luxuries; they are
more necessary to him than his simple food, which consists generally
of boiled rice, sometimes flavoured with fish or vegetables, and his
sweetmeat the sugar-cane. As he obtains his cigarritos at the estanco
for less than two cuertos a dozen, and can make them, or buy them from
a contrabandista, at not even half that price, and as the cost of the
areca is extremely small, his wants and his enjoyments are easily and
cheaply supplied. His garments are few and economical, and such as in
most parts of the islands are supplied by the rude family loom; but
the source of his ruin is in his gallo and his passion for play, to
which nine-tenths of the miseries of the Indian are to be traced. Out
of his embarrassments the Chinaman makes his profit, buying the labour
of the indebted and extorting its maximum with coarse and often cruel
tyranny. The Chinese have a proverb that the Indian must be led with
rice in the left hand of his master and a bamboo in the right.
There is in some of the islands abundance of deer and wild boars; they
are killed by arrows of two kinds--one barbed with a clove from the
wild palm, shot direct; another with an iron head, shot upwards and
falling down upon the animal. The Indians make a dry venison (called
tapa) of the flesh and send it to the Manila market. Much wild fowl
is found in the forest, especially of the gallinaceous species. The
Bisayan caves are frequented by the swallows which produce the edible
bird's-nests, and which are collected by the natives for exportation
to China.
Multitudes of Indians get their living by the fisheries. The fish
most esteemed is the sabalo, which is only found in the Taal Lake,
whose water is fresh and flows into the sea. In the centre of the
lake is an island, with its always burning volcano. At the season
when the sabalo quit the lake for the sea, an estocade of bamboos is
erected across the river, the top of which does not reach the surface
of the water; three or four yards below, another estocade is placed,
raised five or six feet above the surface, and the two estocades are
united by a bamboo platform. The fish leap over the first barrier,
and fall on the platform, where they are caught: some of them are
as large as salmon. The Bay Lake is celebrated for the curbina, an
excellent fish. By the banks of the river enormous nets are seen,
which are sunk and raised by a machinery of bamboo, and the devices
employed for the capture of fish are various and singular. In the
Bisayans the Indians make faggots, which they kindle, and, walking
on the banks with a spear in their right hand, the fish approach the
light and are harpooned and flung upon the shore. I understand the
sea-slug, which the Indians call balate, is thus captured. It is a
well-known delicacy among the Chinese. Turtle are caught by watching
their approach (the watcher being concealed) and simply turning them on
their backs when they are at a certain distance from the water. Native
divers bring up the mother-of-pearl oyster, but the pearl fishery
is not of much importance. These divers also discover the enormous
shell-fish which serve as receptacles for holy water in the churches.
CHAPTER VIII.
POPULATION--RACES.
Though the far greater number of the pagan Indians, as they are called
by the Spaniards, belong to the same races as those who inhabit the
towns, there are many exceptional cases. Independent and separated
from the pagans, there are numerous Mahomedans, especially in the
island of Mindanao, of which only a small tract along the coast has
been subjected by the Spaniards; these, whom the Spaniards designate
as Moros, a name to which traditional and national associations attach
great abhorrence, are probably of Malayan descent. There, as in every
region where missionaries have sought to undermine or depreciate the
authority of the Koran, the attempt has wholly failed. I saw some of
these people at Zamboanga, and found them familiar with the Arabic
formula of Islamism, and that many of their names, such as Abdallah,
Fatima, and others, were such as are common to the Mussulmans. They
are understood to be in amity with the Spaniards, who have treaties
with the reigning Sultan; but I found no evidence of their recognition
of Spanish authority.
The enmity between the Mahomedan races (Moros) and the Spaniards may
be deemed hereditary. The answer given by the Rajah Soliman of Tondo
to Legaspi, the first governor of the Philippines, who solicited his
friendship, is characteristic:--"Not until the sun is cut in two,
not until I seek the hatred instead of the love of woman, will I be
the friend of a Castila" (Spaniard).
Living in the remotest mountainous regions of Mindanao, never, I
believe, explored by European adventurers, there is a race in the
very lowest stages of barbarism, I cannot say of civilization, for
of that they present no trace. They are said to wear no garments,
to build no houses, to dress no food. They wander in the forest,
whose wild fruits they gather by day, and sleep among the branches
of the trees by night. They have no form of government, no chief,
no religious rites or usages. I saw one of the race who was brought
for sale as any wild animal might have been to the governor of
Zamboanga. He refused to purchase, but retained the lad, who was
apparently of about eight or nine years of age. At Iloilo, he was
waiting, with other native servants, at table, and he appeared to
me the most sprightly and intelligent of the whole--bright-eyed,
and watching eagerly every sign and mandate of his master. He was
very dark-coloured, almost black; his hair disposed to be woolly; he
had neither the high cheeks nor the thick lips of the African negro,
but resembled many specimens I have seen of the Madagascar people. I
was informed that the whole tribe--but the word is not appropriate,
for they are not gregarious--are of very small stature; that they avoid
all intercourse with other races, collect nothing, barter nothing, and,
in fact, want nothing. I had once occasion to examine in the prison of
Kandy (Ceylon) one of the real "wild men of the woods" of that island,
who had been convicted for murder; the moral sense was so unawakened,
that it was obvious no idea of wrong was associated with the act,
and the judge most properly did not consider, him a responsible being
on whom he could inflict the penalties of the law. There was little
resemblance between the Filipino and the Cingalese in any external
characteristic. Ethnological science would be greatly advanced if
directed to the special study of the barbarous aboriginal races of whom
specimens yet remain, but of which so many have wholly disappeared,
who can have had no intercourse with each other. I believe there
are more varieties of the human family than have hitherto been
recognized by physiologists, amongst whom no affinity of language
will be found. The theories current as to the derivation of the many
varieties of the human race from a few primitive types will not bear
examination. Civilization and education will modify the character
of the skull, and the differences between the crania of the same
people are so great as to defy any general law of classification. The
farther back we are enabled to go, the greater will be the distinction
of types and tongues; and it will be seen that the progress of time
and commerce and knowledge and colonization, has annihilated many an
independent idiom, as it has destroyed many an aboriginal race.
Against the wilder savages who inhabit the forests and mountains
of the interior, expeditions are not unfrequently directed by the
government, especially when there has been any molestation to the
native Christian population. Their chiefs are subjected to various
punishments, and possession is taken of their villages and strongholds;
but these are not always permanently held, from the insufficiency of
military force to retain them. But it is clear that these rude tribes
must ultimately be extinguished by the extension of cultivation and
the pressure of a higher civilization.
De Mas lays down as a principle that the Igorrotes of Luzon are
heathens of the same race as the converted Indians, but in a savage
state. The Aetas, or Negritos, are a separate race, not indigenous, but
the descendants of invaders and conquerors. He had many opportunities
of intercourse with them, and speaks favourably of his reception among
them. The men had no other covering than a belt of bark fibres, the
women a sort of petticoat of the same texture. Unmarried girls wore
a species of collar made from the leaves of a mountain palm, whose
ends met between their naked breasts. The females played on a rude
guitar, the case being a piece of bamboo, with three strings from the
roots of a tree, and which they tuned by tightening or loosening with
their left hand. When it rained, they covered themselves with large
palm-leaves, which they also used as shelter from the sun. He says
they resisted all attempts upon their chastity. They brought wax,
honey and deer, and sought for tobacco and rice in exchange. For
money they cared not. The mode of showing respect is to offer water
to the superior--no son can accept it from, but must hand it to, his
father. They exhibit much fear of the evil spirits that are in the
forests, but all information they gave was at secondhand. They had
not seen the spirits, but others had, and there was no doubt about
that. The friars report them to be short lived--their age seldom
exceeding forty years. Father Mozo says: "They have their localities,
in which they group themselves and which they unwillingly leave:
fixed abodes they have none, but shift from place to place within a
circumference of four to five leagues. They drive four rough sticks
into the ground, surround them with the flexible branches of the ylib,
fling down some palm-leaves, bring in a piece of wood for a pillow,
and have their house and bed ready. The game killed by one belongs
to all--the head and neck being thrown to the dogs. The community
ordinarily consists of twenty to twenty-five persons, who select the
most courageous of their number as chief. In the summer they locate
themselves on the banks of rivers, but during the rainy and windy
seasons they confine themselves to their rude huts. If a death take
place, they bury the corpse, but flee from the locality, lest others be
summoned away. When they seek wild honey in the woods, the finder of
a swarm marks the tree where the bees are, and the property is deemed
his own until he has time to return and remove the comb. A fire is
lighted at the foot of the tree--the smoke drives away the bees--the
Indian mounts, bearing a broad palm-leaf folded in the shape of a vase,
into which he turns the honey-comb, ties it over, and descends. All
his wants are supplied when, in addition to his matches for fire,
his bow and arrows, and his rude cutlass, he has a small supply of
tobacco for his luxury. If food be scarce, he drinks hot water and ties
a cord tightly round his body; he eats also of a root called sucbao,
but in the warm weather indigenous fruits are never wanting." After
a string of quotations from the classics, illustrating the pains,
penalties and passions of civilized existence, with the serenity,
stupidity and satisfaction of these children of nature, the padre says:
"Finally, in admiration of their manner of life, if they were but
enlightened by our holy faith--if they only suffered what they suffer
for the sake of God--I verily believe they would not be paralleled by
the austerest monk of the Thebaïd. True it is they commit the sin of
divorce--true it is that a slip before marriage is seldom heard of;
but they are cruel, they are murderers!" Such is the consistency of
ecclesiastical judgment.
There are many speculations as to the origin of the darker, or
black races, who now occupy the northern and central mountainous and
little visited regions, and from whom one of the islands, Negros,
takes its name. They principally dwell in the wilder part of the
provinces of Ilocos South, Pangasinan, Cagayan, and Nueva Ecija. They
are of small stature, have somewhat flattened noses, curled hair,
are agile, have no other dress than a covering of bark over their
genitals, are dexterous hunters, have no fixed dwellings, but sleep
wherever sunset finds them. Their whole property consists of their
bow, a bamboo quiver and arrows, a strip of skin of the wild boar, and
the girdle, which the Spaniards call the tapa rabo (tail cover). The
Negritos are held to be the aboriginal inhabitants of the islands,
which were invaded by those now called Indios, who much resemble,
though they are a great improvement on, the Malayan race. The Negritos
retired into the wilder districts as the Tagáls advanced, but between
the two races there exists a great intensity of hatred. The Negritos
are the savages of the Philippines, and are divided into many tribes,
and it is said every grade between cannibalism and the civilization of
the Indian is found among them. They generally live on the wild fruits
and vegetables which grow spontaneously, though some cultivate rice,
and attend to the irrigation of their fields. Some make iron weapons,
and the Itaneg, according to the friars, only want conversion to be in
all respects equal to the Indios. This race has a mixture of Chinese
blood, the Ifugaos of that of the Japanese. The ruder savages ornament
their cabins with the skulls of their enemies. The Apayos live in
comfortable houses, and employ for floors polished planks instead of
the interwoven bamboos of the Tagáls. They carry on a trade in wax,
cocoa and tobacco, and deck their dwellings with China earthenware. The
Isinay Negritos profess Christianity. In the island of Luzon there are
estimated to be 200,000 heathens, in that of Mindanao 800,000 idolators
and Mussulmans. But it is impossible to follow out the mixed races in
all their ramifications and peculiarities. Among the characteristics
of the wilder races is the separation of the toes, which enables them
to pick up even minute objects, so if they let anything fall they use
foot or hand with equal facility; they will descend head downwards
the rigging of a ship, holding on with their feet; the great toe is
much more separated from the others than in the white races. Their
sense of smelling is exquisite, and they profess, without the aid of
language, to discover the state of the affections from the breath.
Though they have a pantheon of gods and goddesses (for most of their
divinities have wives), they have no temples, and no rites of public
worship. They consult soothsayers (usually old women) in their diseases
and difficulties; and there are sacrifices, outpouring and mingling
of blood, libations of fermented liquors, violent gesticulations,
and invocations to Cambunian (God), the moon, and the stars, and the
ceremonials end with eating and drinking to excess. They sacrifice a
pig to pacify the Deity when it thunders, and adore the rainbow after
the storm. Before a journey they kindle a fire, and if the smoke do not
blow in the direction they intend to take they delay their project. The
flight of birds is watched as an important augury, and the appearance
of a snake as a warning against some approaching calamity.
The mountain tribes are subject to no common ruler, but have their
separate chieftains, called barnaas, to whom a certain number of
dependants is assigned. On the death of a barnaas, the intestines are
extracted, examined and burnt, for the purpose of ascertaining by the
arts of divination the future destiny of the tribe. The body is placed
in a chair, relations and friends are invited, and a great festivity
of eating and drinking provided from the flocks and rice-fields
of the deceased, with shouts and songs celebrating the virtues of
departed barnaas. The banquet closes with all species of excesses,
and both sexes remain drunk, exhausted or asleep on the ground about
the corpse. It is said that the flesh of the departed is distributed
among the guests, and Buzeta avers that such a case lately occurred
at Tagudin (Ilocos South); but as he attributes it to the poverty
of the deceased who had not left behind wherewithal to provide for
the festival, the carnal distribution could hardly have been deemed
an honour. The stories of the cannibalism of the natives must be
received with distrust, there being a great disposition to represent
them as worse savages than they really are. The arms of a warrior are
gathered together after his death, and his family will not part with
them. A vessel into which wine has been poured is placed at the foot
of the trophies, in order that it may imbibe the virtue and valour
of the departed, and obtain his auspices.
In case of the murder of an individual, the whole of the tribe unite
to revenge his death. Prisoners taken in war are made slaves, and sell
for from ten to twenty-five dollars each. Old men are bought, upon whom
to try the poisonous powers or sharpness of their weapons. Adultery
and the third offence of robbery are punished with death. Polygamy
is not allowed, but there is no difficulty about divorce.
A great variety of languages is to be found among the wild people
of the interior; not only are dialects of the various tribes
unintelligible to each other, but sometimes a language is confined to
a single family group. Where there has been no intercourse there is
no similitude. Words are necessary to man, and language is created by
that necessity. Hence the farther the study of idioms is pursued back
into antiquity, the greater will their number be found. Civilization
has destroyed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of idioms, and is still
carrying on the work by diminishing the number of languages in which
man holds intercourse with man. It is no bold prophecy to aver that
in the course of centuries the number of separate tongues will be
reduced to a small amount. In France, the French; in Italy, the Tuscan;
in Spain, the Castilian; in Germany, the Saxon; in Great Britain,
the English;--are becoming the predominant languages of the people,
and have been gradually superseding the multitude of idioms which
were used only a few generations ago. Adelung recorded the names of
nearly 4,000 spoken and existing languages, but a list of those which
time has extinguished would be far more extensive.
That such large portions of the islands should be held by independent
tribes, whether heathen or Mahomedan, is not to be wondered at when
the geographical character of the country is considered. Many of
their retreats are inaccessible to beasts of burden; the valleys are
intolerably hot; the mountains unsheltered and cold. There is also
much ignorance as to the localities, and the Spaniards are subject to
be surprised from unknown ambushes in passes and ravines. The forests,
through which the natives glide like rabbits, are often impenetrable
to Europeans. No attempts have succeeded in enticing the "idolaters"
down to the plains from these woods and mountains, to be tutored, taxed
and tormented. Yet it is a subject of complaint that these barbarians
interfere, as no doubt they do, with the royal monopoly of tobacco,
which they manage to smuggle into the provinces. "Fiscal officers
and troops," says De Mas, "are stationed to prevent these abuses,
but these protectors practise so many extortions on the Indians,
and cause so much of discontent, that commissions of inquiry become
needful, and the difficulties remain unsolved." In some places the
idolaters molest "the peaceful Christian population," and make the
roads dangerous to travellers. De Mas has gathered information from
various sources, and from him I shall select a few particulars; but it
appears to me there is too much generalization as to the unsubjugated
tribes, who are to be found in various stages of civilization and
barbarism. The Tinguianes of Ilocos cultivate extensive rice-fields,
have large herds of cattle and horses, and carry on a considerable
trade with the adjacent Christian population. The Chinese type is said
to be traceable in this race. The women wear a number of bracelets,
covering the arm from the wrist to the elbow. The heaviest Tinguian
curse is, "May you die while asleep," which is equivalent to saying,
"May your death-bed be uncelebrated." It is a term of contempt for
an Indian to say to another, "Malubha ang Caitiman mo"--Great is thy
blackness (negregura, Sp.). The Indians call Africans Pogot.
There are many Albinos in the Philippines. They are called by the
natives Sons of the Sun; some are white, some are spotted, and others
have stripes on their skins. They are generally of small intellectual
capacity.
Buzeta gives the following ethnological table, descriptive of the
physical characteristics of the various races of the Philippines:--
PURE INDIANS. MESTIZOS. NEGRITOS.
Size Handsome, middle, The same. Handsome, small
sometimes tall. and thin.
Skin Copper or quince Lighter, Dark copper.
colour, fine. somewhat
yellow.
Body Slight, Heavy. Slight and agile.
well-formed,
strong.
Hair Black, even, thick, Less thick. Black, curly, but
harsh. less so than the
Africans.
Head Medium or small, Generally Small and
round, and flat large. rounder.
behind.
Forehead Open, often narrow. Open. Narrow.
Eyes Black, brilliant. Less uniform. Large,
penetrating,
brilliant.
Eyebrows Thick and arched. Less arched.
Eyelids Long. Very long.
Nose Medium, generally Thicker. Medium, slightly
flat. flat.
Mouth Large, medium Larger. Medium.
sometimes.
Lips Medium. Thicker. Medium, rounder.
Teeth White, regular, Strong and Long, very
strong. large. strong.
Upper Ordinary size. High, salient. Ordinary.
Mandible
Lower Ordinary and Strong, open. Well-formed.
Mandible strong.
Breast Wide; woman's hard Firm but Firm but narrow.
and firm. narrow.
Carriage Graceful, elegant. Graceful. Easy and
careless.
Buttocks Broad and hard. Broad, hard. Broad, hard.
Muscles Small. Small. Small.
Thighs Small. Small. Small.
Feet Small. Small. Small and
well-formed.
Flesh Hard. Hard. Hard.
Hair (body) Lightly spread. None. Little.
Beard None. Little. Little.
Genitals Small. Small. Small.
The Altaban Indians have an idol whom they call Cubiga, whose wife is
Bujas. The Gaddans give the name of Amanolay, meaning Creator of Man,
to the object of their worship, and his goddess is Dalingay. There
are no temples nor public rites, but appeals to the superior spirits
in cases of urgency are generally directed by the female priest or
sorceress, who sprinkles the idol with the blood of a buffalo, fowl
or guinea-pig, offers libations, while the Indians lift up their hands
exclaiming, "Siggam Cabunian! Siggam Bulamaiag! Siggam aggen!" (O thou
God! O thou beautiful moon! O thou star!) A brush is then dipped in
palm wine, which is sprinkled over the attendants. (This is surely
an imitation of Catholic aspersions.) A general carousing follows.
The priests give many examples of what they call Indian ignorance and
stupidity, but these examples generally amount only to a disclaimer
of all knowledge respecting the mysteries of creation, the origin
and future destiny of man, the nature of religious obligations, and
the dogmas of the Catholic faith. It may be doubted whether the mere
habitual repetition of certain formulas affords more satisfactory
evidence of Christian advancement than the openly avowed ignorance
of these heathen races.
If an Indian is murdered by one of a neighbouring tribe, and the
offence not condoned by some arranged payment, it is deemed an
obligation on the part of the injured to retaliate by killing one of
the offending tribe.
The popular amusement is dancing; they form themselves into a circle,
stretching out their hands, using their feet alternately, leaping on
one and lifting the other behind; so they move round and round with
loud cries to the sounds of cylindrical drums struck by both hands.
The skulls of animals are frequently used for the decoration of
the houses of the Indians. Galvey says he counted in one dwelling,
in Capangar, 405 heads of buffaloes and bullocks, and more than a
thousand of pigs, causing an intolerable stench.
They use the bark of the Uplay in cases of intermittent fever, and have
much knowledge of the curative qualities of certain herbs; they apply
hot iron to counteract severe local pain, so that the flesh becomes
cauterized; but they almost invariably have recourse to amulets or
charms, and sacrifice fowls and animals, which are distributed among
the attendants on the sick persons.
Padre Mozo says of the Italons (Luzon) that he has seen them, after
murdering an enemy, drink his blood, cut up the lungs, the back of
the head, the entrails, and other parts of the body, which they eat
raw, avowing that it gave them courage and spirit in war. The skulls
are kept in their houses to be exhibited on great occasions. This
custom is probably of Bornean origin, for Father Quarteron, the vicar
apostolic of that island, told me that he once fell in with a large
number of savages who were carrying in procession the human skulls
with which their houses were generally adorned, and which they called
"giving an airing to their enemies." The teeth are inserted in the
handles of their hangers. After enumerating many more of the barbarous
customs of the islands, the good friar Mozo exclaims:--"Fancy our
troubles and labours in rescuing such barbarians from the power
of the devil!" They sacrifice as many victims as they find fingers
opened after death. If the hand be closed, none. They suffer much
from cutaneous diseases. The Busaos paint their arms with flowers,
and to carry ornaments bore their ears, which are sometimes stretched
down to their shoulders. The Ifugaos wear on a necklace pieces of
cane denoting the number of enemies they have killed. Galvey says
he counted twenty-three worn by one man who fell in an affray with
Spanish troops. This tribe frequently attacks travellers in the
mountains for the sake of their skulls. The missionaries represent
them as the fiercest enemies of Christians. Some of the monks speak
of horrible confessions made by Igorrote women after their conversion
to Christianity, of their intercourse with monkeys in the woods, and
the Padre Lorenzo indulges in long details on the subject, declaring,
moreover, that a creature was once brought to him for baptism which
"filled him with suspicion." De Mas reports that a child with long
arms, covered with soft hair, and much resembling a monkey, was
exhibited by his mother in Viyan, and taught to ask for alms.
De Mas recommends that the Spanish Government should buy the
saleable portion of the Mahomedan and pagan tribes, convert them,
and employ them in the cultivation of land; and he gives statistics
to show that there would be an accumulation of 120 per cent., while
their removal would set the Indians together by the ears, who would
destroy one another, and relieve the islands from the plague of their
presence. This would seem a new chapter in the history of slave-trade
experiments. He calculates that there are more than a million pagans
and Mahomedans in the islands. Galvey's "Diary of an Expedition to
Benguet in January, 1829," and another to Bacun in December, 1831,
are histories of personal adventures, many of a perilous character,
in which many lives were lost, and many habitations destroyed. They
are interesting as exhibiting the difficulties of subjugating these
mountain races. Galvey conducted several other expeditions, and died
in 1839.
There are few facts of more interest, in connection with the changes
that are going on in the Oriental world, than the outpouring of the
surplus Chinese population into almost every region eastwards of
Bengal; and in Calcutta itself there is now a considerable body of
Chinese, mostly shoemakers, many of whom have acquired considerable
wealth, and they are banded together in that strong gregarious bond
of nationality which accompanies them wherever they go, and which
is not broken, scarcely even influenced, by the circumstances that
surround them. In the islands of the Philippines they have obtained
almost a monopoly of the retail trade, and the indolent habits of
the natives cannot at all compete with these industrious, frugal,
and persevering intruders. Hence they are objects of great dislike
to the natives; but, as their generally peaceful demeanour and
obedience to the laws give no hold to their enemies, their numbers,
their wealth, their importance increase from year to year. Yet they
are but birds of passage, who return home to be succeeded by others
of their race. They never bring their wives, but take to themselves
wives or hand-maidens from the native tribes. Legitimate marriage,
however, necessitates the profession of Christianity, and many of
them care little for the public avowal of subjection to the Church
of Rome. They are allowed no temple to celebrate Buddhist rites,
but have cemeteries specially appropriated to them. They pay a fixed
contribution, which is regulated by the rank they hold as merchants,
traders, shopkeepers, artisans, servants, &c. Whole streets in Manila
are occupied by them, and wherever we went we found them the most
laborious, the most prosperous of the working classes. Thousands upon
thousands of Chinamen arrive, and are scattered over the islands, but
not a single Chinese woman accompanies them from their native country.
In the year 1857, 4,232 Chinamen landed in the port of Manila alone,
and 2,592 left for China.
Of the extraordinary unwillingness of the women of China to emigrate,
no more remarkable evidence can be found than in the statistics of
the capital of the Philippines. In 1855, there were in the fortress
of Manila 525 Chinamen, but of females only two women and five
children. In Binondo, 5,055 Chinamen, but of females only eight, all
of whom were children. Now, when it is remembered that the Philippines
are, with a favourable monsoon, not more than three or four days' sail
from China, that there are abundance of opulent Chinese settled in the
island, that the desire of having children and perpetuating a race is
universal among the Chinese people, it may be easily conceived that
there must be an intensely popular feeling opposed to the emigration
of women.
And such is undoubtedly the fact, and it is a fact which must prove
a great barrier to successful coolie emigration. No women have been
obtainable either for the British or Spanish colonies, though the
exportation of coolies had exceeded 60,000, and except by kidnapping
and direct purchase from the procuresses or the brothels, it is
certain no woman can be induced to emigrate. This certainty ought to
be seriously weighed by the advocates of the importation of Chinese
labourers into the colonies of Great Britain. In process of time,
Hong Kong will probably furnish some voluntary female emigrants,
and the late legalization of emigration by the Canton authorities
will accelerate the advent of a result so desirable.
During five years, ending in 1855, there were for grave crimes
only fourteen committals of Chinamen in the whole of the provinces,
being an average of less than three per annum; no case of murder,
none of robbery with violence, none for rape. There were nine cases
of larceny, two of cattle-stealing, one forgery, one coining, one
incendiarism. These facts are greatly creditable to the morality of
the Chinese settlers. Petty offences are punished, as in the case of
the Indians, by their own local principalia.
A great majority of the shoemakers in the Philippines are Chinese. Of
784 in the capital, 633 are Chinamen, and 151 natives. Great
numbers are carpenters, blacksmiths, water-carriers, cooks, and daily
labourers, but a retail shopkeeping trade is the favourite pursuit. Of
late, however, many are merging into the rank of wholesale dealers
and merchants, exporting and importing large quantities of goods
on their own account, and having their subordinate agents scattered
over most of the islands. Where will not a Chinaman penetrate--what
risks will he not run--to what suffering will he not submit--what
enterprises will he not engage in--what perseverance will he not
display--if money is to be made? And, in truth, this constitutes his
value as a settler: he is economical, patient, persistent, cunning;
submissive to the laws, respectful to authority, and seeking only
freedom from molestation while he adds dollar to dollar, and when the
pile is sufficient for his wants or his ambition, he returns home,
to be succeeded by others, exhibiting the same qualities, and in
their turn to be rewarded by the same success.
When encouragement was first given to the Chinese to settle in
the Philippines, it was as agricultural labourers, and they were
not allowed to exercise any other calling. The Japanese were also
invited, of whom scarcely any are now to be found in the islands. The
reputation of the Chinese as cultivators of the land no doubt
directed the attention of the Manila authorities towards them; but
no Chinaman continues in any career if he can discover another more
profitable. Besides this, they were no favourites among the rural
population, and in their gregarious nature were far more willing
to band themselves together in groups and hwey (associations) than
to disperse themselves among the pastoral and agricultural races,
who were jealous of them as rivals and hated them as heathens. They
have created for themselves a position in the towns, and are now too
numerous and too wealthy to be disregarded or seriously oppressed. They
are mostly from the province of Fokien, and Amoy is the principal port
of their embarkation. I did not find among them a single individual
who spoke the classical language of China, though a large proportion
read the Chinese character.
When a Chinese is examined on oath, the formula of cutting off the
head of a white cock is performed by the witness, who is told that,
if he do not utter the truth, the blood of his family will, like
that of the cock, be spilt and perdition overtake them. My long
experience of the Chinese compels me to say that I believe no oath
whatever--nothing but the apprehension of punishment--affords any,
the least security against perjury. In our courts in China various
forms have at different times been used--cock beheading; the breaking
of a piece of pottery; the witness repeating imprecations on himself,
and inviting the breaking up of all his felicities if he lied;
the burning of a piece of paper inscribed with a form of oath,
and an engagement to be consumed in hell, as that paper on earth,
if he spoke not the truth;--these and other ceremonies have utterly
failed in obtaining any security for veracity. While I was governor
of Hong Kong an ordinance was passed abolishing the oath-taking, as
regards the Chinese, and punishing them severely as perjurers when
they gave false testimony. The experiment has succeeded in greatly
fortifying and encouraging the utterance of truth and in checking
obscurity and mendacity. I inquired once of an influential person in
Canton what were the ceremonies employed among themselves where they
sought security for truthful evidence. He said there was one temple
in which a promise made would be held more binding than if made in
any other locality; but he acknowledged their tribunals had no real
security for veracity. There is a Chinese proverb which says, "Puh
tah, puh chaou," meaning "Without blows, no truth;" and the torture
is constantly applied to witnesses in judicial cases. The Chinese
religiously respect their written, and generally their ceremonial,
engagements--they "lose face" if these are dishonoured. But little
disgrace attends lying, especially when undetected and unpunished, and
the art of lying is one of the best understood arts of government. Lies
to deceive barbarians are even recommended and encouraged in some of
their classical books.
CHAPTER IX.
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.
The supreme court of justice in the Philippines is the Audiencia
established in Manila, which is the tribunal of appeal from the
subordinate jurisdiction, and the consultative council of the
Governor-General in cases of gravity.
The court is composed of seven oidores, or judges. The president takes
the title of Regent. There are two government advocates, one for
criminal, the other for civil causes, and a variety of subordinate
officers. There are no less than eighty barristers, matriculated to
practise in the Audiencia.
A Tribunal de Comercio, presided over by a judge nominated by the
authorities, and assisted, under the title of Consules, by gentlemen
selected from the principal mercantile establishments of the capital,
is charged with the settlement of commercial disputes. There is a
right of appeal to the Audiencia, but scarcely any instance of its
being exercised.
There is a censorship called the Comercia permanente de censura. It
consists of four ecclesiastics and four civilians, presided over by
the civil fiscal, and its authority extends to all books imported
into or printed in the islands.
There are fourscore lawyers (abogados) in Manila. As far as my
experience goes, lawyers are the curse of colonies. I remember one
of the most intelligent of the Chinese merchants who had settled at
Singapore, after having been long established at Hong Kong, telling
me that all the disadvantages of Singapore were more than compensated
by the absence of "the profession," and all the recommendations of
Hong Kong more than counterbalanced by the presence of gentlemen
occupied in fomenting, and recompensed for fomenting, litigations and
quarrels. Many of them make large fortunes, not unfrequently at the
expense of substantial justice. A sound observer says, that in the
Philippines truth is swamped by the superfluity of law documents. The
doors opened for the protection of innocence are made entrances
for chicanery, and discussions are carried on without any regard to
the decorum which prevails in European courts. Violent invectives,
recriminations, personalities, and calumnies, are ventured upon
under the protection of professional privilege. When I compare the
equitable, prompt, sensible and inexpensive judgments of the consular
courts in China with the results of the costly, tardy, unsatisfactory
technicalities of judicial proceedings in many colonies, I would desire
a general proviso that no tribunal should be accessible in civil cases
until after an examination by a court of conciliation. The extortions
to which the Chinese are subjected, in Hong Kong, for example--and
I speak from personal knowledge--make one blush for "the squeezing"
to which, indeed, the corruption of their own mandarins have but too
much accustomed them. In the Philippines there is a great mass of
unwritten, or at least unprinted, law, emanating from different and
independent sources, often contradictory, introduced traditionally,
quoted erroneously; a farrago, in which the "Leyes de Indias," the
"Siete partidas," the "Novisima recompilacion," the Roman code,
the ancient and the royal fueros--to say nothing of proclamations,
decrees, notifications, orders, bandos--produce all the "toil and
trouble" of the witches' cauldron, stirred by the evil genii of
discord and disputation.
Games of chance (juegos de azar) are strictly prohibited in the
Philippines, but the prohibition is utterly inefficient; and, as I
have mentioned before, the Manila papers are crowded with lists of
persons fined or imprisoned for violation of the law; sometimes forty
or fifty are cited in a single newspaper. More than one captain-general
has informed me that the severity of the penalty has not checked the
universality of the offence, connived at and participated in by both
ecclesiastics and civilians.
The fines are fifty dollars for the first, and one hundred dollars
for the second, offence, and for the third, the punishment which
attaches to vagabondage--imprisonment and the chain-gang.
Billiard-tables pay a tax of six dollars per month. There is an
inferior wooden table which pays half that sum.
The criminal statistics of five years, from 1851 to 1855 present the
following total number of convictions for the graver offences. They
comprise the returns from all the provinces. Of the whole number of
criminals, more than one-half are from 20 to 29 years old; one-third
from 30 to 39; one-ninth from 40 to 49; one-twentieth from 15 to 19;
and one-forty-fifth above 50.
They consist of 467 married, 81 widowers, and 690 unmarried men.
During the said period 236 had completed the terms of their sentences,
217 had died, and 785 remained at the date of the returns.
Adultery 1 Brought forward 259
Adultery, with homicide 1 Murder, with wounding and
Prohibited arms 7 robbery 314
Abandonment of post 6 Robberies 390
Bigamy 1 Robberies, with violence 120
Drunkenness 2 Robberies of Tobacco 6
Horse and cattle stealing 21 Robberies on bodies (Dacoits) 36
Conspiracy 17 Wounding in quarrels 44
Smuggling 1 Wounding (causing death) 7
Deserters 126 Incendiarism 4
Rape 14 Incendiarism, with robbery 16
Rape and incest 4 Incest 6
Rape and robbery 6 Mutiny 7
Poisoning 2 Nonpayment of fines 3
Forging passports 13 False name 1
Fraudulent distilling 1 Parricide 2
Vagabonds 35 Resistance to military 18
Coining 1 Escape from prison 5
Carried forward 259 Total 1,238
In the city of Manila there was only one conviction for murder in
five years. The proportion of the graver offences in the different
provinces is nearly the same, except in the island of Negros, where
of forty-four criminals, twenty-eight were convicted of murder.
CHAPTER X.
ARMY AND NAVY.
The army of the Philippines, with the exception of two brigades of
artillery and a corps of engineers which are furnished by Spain,
is recruited from the Indians, and presents an appearance generally
satisfactory. They are wholly officered by Europeans.
There are nine regiments of native infantry, one of cavalry, called the
Luzon Lancers, and there is a reserve corps of officers called Cuadro
de Remplazos, from whom individuals are selected to fill up vacancies.
There is a small body of Alabarderos de servicio at the palace in
the special service of the captain-general. Their origin dates from
A.D. 1590, and their halberds and costume add to the picturesque
character of the palace and the receptions there.
There are also four companies called the Urban Militia of Manila,
composed of Spaniards, who may be called upon by the governor for
special services or in cases of emergency.
A medical board exercises a general inspection over the troops. Its
superior functionaries are European Spaniards. Hospitals in which
the military invalids are received are subject to the authority
of the medical board as far as the treatment of such invalids is
concerned. The medical board nominates an officer to each of the
regiments, who is called an Ayudante.
Of late a considerable body of native troops has been sent from Manila
to Cochin China, in order to co-operate with the French military and
marine forces in that country. They are reported to have behaved well
in a service which can have had few attractions, and in which they have
been exposed to many sufferings, in consequence of the climate and the
hostile attitude of the native inhabitants. What object the Spaniards
had in taking so important a part in this expedition to Touron remains
hitherto unexplained. Territory and harbours in Oriental regions, rich
and abundant, they hold in superfluity; and assuredly Cochin China
affords nothing very inviting to well-informed ambition; nor are the
Philippines in a condition to sacrifice their population to distant,
uncertain, perilous, and costly adventures. There is no national pride
to be flattered by Annamite conquests, and the murder of a Spanish
bishop may be considered as atoned for by the destruction of the forts
and scattering of the people, at the price, however, of the lives of
hundreds of Christians and of a heavy pecuniary outlay. France has
its purposes--frankly enough disclosed--to obtain some port, some
possession of her own, in or near the China seas. I do not think such
a step warrants distrust or jealousy on our part. The question may
be asked, whether the experiment is worth the cost? Probably not,
for France has scarcely any commercial interest in China or the
neighbouring countries; nor is her colonial system, fettered as it
always has been by protections and prohibitions, likely to create
such interest. In the remote East, France can carry on no successful
rivalry with Great Britain, the United States, Holland, or Spain, each
of which has points of geographical superiority and influence which
to France are not accessible. One condition is a sine quâ non in these
days of trading rivalry--lowness of price, associated with cheapness of
transport. France offers neither to the foreign consumer in any of the
great articles of supply: she will have high prices for her producers.
The maritime forces are under the orders of the commandant of the
station. They consist of four steamers and one brig-of-war, six
gunboats, and a considerable number of faluas (feluccas), which are
employed in the coasting service and for the suppression of piracy.
CHAPTER XI.
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
Public instruction is in an unsatisfactory state in the
Philippines--the provisions are little changed from those of the
monkish ages.
In the University of St. Thomas there are about a thousand
students. The professorships are of theology, the canon and civil
law, metaphysics and grammar; but no attention is given to the
natural sciences, to the modern languages, nor have any of the
educational reforms which have penetrated most of the colleges
of Europe and America found their way to the Philippines. In the
colegios and schools what is called philosophy, rhetoric and Latin
are the principal objects of attention. The most numerously attended
of these establishments were founded two or three centuries ago,
and pursue the same course of instruction which was adopted at
their first establishment. There are several colleges and convents
for women. That of Santa Potenciana was established under a royal
decree, dated A.D. 1589, which requires that girls (doncellas) be
received and taught to "live modestly" (honestamente), and, under
sound doctrine, to "come out" for "marriage and propagation of the
race" (hagan propagacion). There is a nautical school, of which I
heard a favourable report, and an academy of painting, which has
hitherto produced no Murillo or Velasquez. The best native works
of art which I saw were two heads of the Virgin and St. Francisco,
carved by an Indian in ivory, and which adorn the convent of Lucban,
in the province of Tayabas. The good friars attributed to them almost
miraculous virtues, and assured me that, though heavy rains preceded
and followed the processions in which the images were introduced,
a bright and beautiful sunshine accompanied them in their progress.
Among the novel objects that meet the eye in Manila, especially on
the morning of religious fiestas, are groups of veiled women, wearing
a dark mysterious costume, who visit the different churches. Their
dress is a black woollen or silken petticoat, over which is a large
shining mantilla, or veil, of a deep mulberry colour; others wear
the ancient hooded Andalusian black cloak. There are the sisterhoods
called the Colegialas de los Beaterios--religious establishments in
which young women receive their education; some supported by "pious
foundations," others by voluntary contributions. The rules of these
convents vary, as some of the nuns never quit the buildings, others
visit the churches under the guardianship of a "mother;" in some it
is permitted to the colegiala to join her family at certain seasons,
and to participate in social enjoyments at home or abroad. These pay
for their education sums varying from two to eight dollars a month,
according to the regulations of the different beaterios, which
have also their distinguishing costumes in some of the details,
such as the colour of the lining of their dress. It is said there
is scarcely a family of respectability in Manila that has not one
daughter at least in a beaterio. In that of Santa Rosa the monthly pay
is five dollars. Its inmates rise at five A.M., to chant the trisagio
(holy, holy, holy), to hear mass and engage in devotion for the first
part of the rosary till six; then to wash and dress; breakfast at
half-past six; instruction from seven to ten; dinner at half-past
eleven in the refectory; siesta and rest till half-past two P.M.;
devotion in the chapel, going through the second part of the rosary;
instruction from half-past three till half-past five; at the "oration,"
they return to the chapel, recite the third part of the rosary, and
engage in reading or meditation for half an hour; sup at eight P.M.;
enjoy themselves in the cloister or garden till nine; another prayer,
and they retire to their cells. In the beaterio of St. Sebastian of
Calumpang the inmates rise at four A.M.: the pay is five dollars;
but the general arrangements are the same as those described. In the
beaterio of Santa Catalina de Sena they are not allowed to leave the
convent. The pay is eight dollars: it has the reputation of superior
accommodation, and less economical food. The beaterio of the Jesuits
has about 900 inmates; but this number is much exceeded in Lent, when
great numbers enter to perform their spiritual exercises. The pay
is only two dollars per month; but much sewing and washing is done
within the convent for its support. When the Jesuits were expelled,
the direction of this beaterio passed to the vicar-general of the
archbishopric.
The beaterio of Pasig is solely devoted to the reception of Indian
orphans, and its founder required that they should be taught "Christian
doctrine, sewing, reading, writing, embroidery, and other instruction
becoming the sex."
There are many charitable institutions in Manila. The Jesuits,
afterwards expelled from the Philippines by Carlos II., founded several
of the most important. The Hospital of San Juan de Dios has 112 beds;
that of San José de Cavite 250, of which 104 are for soldiers, and the
rest for paupers and criminals. There is an Administracion de Obras
Pias, under the direction of the archbishop, the regent, and some of
the superior civil authorities, which lends money to the Indians to the
value of two-thirds of their landed property, one-half of their value
on plate and jewellery, and insures vessels employed in the coasting
trade. A caja de comunidad exacts half a rial (3 1/4d.) annually from
the Chinese and Indians for the payment of "schoolmasters, vaccinators,
defence of criminals, chanters, and sacristans of churches." The fund
is administered by the directing board of finance.
The history of the Hospital of St. Lazarus, under charge of the
Franciscan friars, is not without interest. It was constructed for
the use of the natives in 1578, was enlarged, and twice consumed
by fire. In the year 1632, it received 150 Christian lepers exiled
from Japan, and thence took its present name. It was demolished
by the captain-general in 1662, when the Chinese pirates menaced
the capital, as it was deemed an impediment to the defence of the
place. The inmates were removed; and another hospital was built, which
was again destroyed in 1783, in consequence of its having been useful
to the English in their invasion in 1762; but a few years afterwards
the present edifice was built on lands which belonged to the Jesuits
before the extinction of their society in the Philippines.
CHAPTER XII.
ECCLESIASTICAL AUTHORITY.
There are in the Philippines one archiepiscopal and three episcopal
sees. The metropolitan archbishopric of Manila was founded by Clement
VII. in 1595, and endowed by Philip II. with a revenue of 500,000
maravedis (= 200l. sterling). The bishopric of New Segovia was
created at the same time with a similar endowment. The see is now
(1859) vacant. The bishopric of Cebu was established in 1567, soon
after the conquest of the island by the Spaniards. Nueva Caceres has
also a bishop. The selection of candidates for these ecclesiastical
honours has been generally left to the religious brotherhood who
are most numerous in the district where there is a vacancy, and the
candidate, being approved by the sovereign of Spain, is submitted to
the Pope for confirmation. Some nominations have taken place where
the bishop elect has not been willing to quit the mother-country
for the colonies, which I was informed had caused the adoption of
a resolution not to install a bishop until he has taken possession
of his see. Most of the ecclesiastical authority is in the hands of
the friars or regular clergy. There are proportionally few secular
priests in the islands. The Dominicans and Augustine monks have large
possessions, especially in the central and southern provinces; the
Franciscans are most numerous in the northern. To the hospitality
and kindness of the friars during the whole of my journey I bear a
willing and grateful testimony. Everywhere the convents were opened
to us with cordial welcome, and I attribute much of the display of
attention on the part of the Indians to the reception we everywhere
experienced from the Spanish padres. The Dominican monks have charge
of the mission to Fokien, in China, and Tonquin.
The ecclesiastical records of the Philippines overflow with evidences
of the bitter, and sometimes bloody, controversies of the Church
with the civil authority, and with quarrels of the religious bodies
among themselves. In the year 1710 the Dominicans declared themselves
not subject to the jurisdiction of diocesan visits. One of their
resolutions says:--"The provinces hold it for evident and certain
that such visits would lead to the perdition of religious ministers,
which is the opinion that has been for many years held by grave
and zealous ecclesiastics and superior prelates who have dwelt in
the province." In 1757 the Augustine friars (calzados) were menaced
with the confiscation of their property if they denied the supreme
authority and the admission of parochial curates regularly appointed;
and they resolved that such submission "would be the ruin of their
institution and to the notable detriment of souls." In 1767 Benedict
XIV. published a bull insisting on the recognition of the metropolitan
authority, which was still resisted by the Augustines. In 1775 a
royal mandate was issued at Madrid insisting that all regular curates
be submitted to their provincial in questions de vitâ et moribus,
to the bishop, in all matters of spiritual administration, and to the
captain-general as vice-regal patron. Whether the ecclesiastical police
is better kept by the interference of the higher authorities, or by
the independent action among themselves of the different religious
orders, is a question much debated, but the substantive fact remains
that the friar has an enormous and little-controlled influence in the
locality of his cure, and that where abuses exist it is very difficult
to collect evidence, and still more so to inflict punishment in case
of his misdoings.
It cannot be denied that, in the language of Tomas de Comyn, "the
missionaries were the real conquerors of the Philippines; their arms
were not, indeed, those of the warrior, but they gave laws to millions,
and, scattered though they were, they established by unity of purpose
and of action a permanent empire over immense multitudes of men." Up
to the present hour there are probably few parishes in which the
gobernadorcillo, having received a mandate from the civil authority,
fails to consult the friar, and the efficiency and activity of the
Indian functionary in giving effect to the mandate will much depend
on the views the padre may take of the orders issued.
Religious processions are the pride and the passion of the Filipinos,
and on great festivals they bring together prodigious crowds both
as actors and spectators. The most brilliant are those which take
place after sunset, when some thousands of persons carry lighted
wax candles, and the procession is sometimes a mile long, composed
of all the military and civil authorities and of the ecclesiastical
functionaries, vying with each other in the display of their zeal and
devotion. On these occasions splendidly dressed images of the various
objects of veneration form an important part of the ceremonial. I
was assured that the jewels worn by the image of Nuestra Señora de
la Imaculada Concepcion on the day of her festival exceeded 25,000
dollars in value. Numerous bands of music accompany the show. One of
the most interesting parts of the exhibition is the number of little
girls prettily and fancifully dressed in white, who follow some of
the images of the saints or the palio of the archbishop. One of the
processions witnessed was forty minutes in passing, and of immense
length, the whole way being lined with bearers of wax lights on
both sides. There seems a rivalry among the religious orders as to
whose displays shall be the most effective and imposing. The images
are of the size of life, and clad in gorgeous garments encumbered
with ornaments. They are borne on the shoulders of their votaries,
occupying a platform, whence they are visible to the crowd. [14]
These religious ceremonials, so dear to, and so characteristic of,
the Filipinos, are called Pentacasi. Everybody seems to take a part,
whether within or without doors. All invite or are invited, and busy
hands are engaged in making sweetmeats, preparing meats, or adorning
apartments (with furniture borrowed from all sides, a favour to be
reciprocated in turn), musicians are collected, strangers are sought
for, and universal bustle pervades the locality.
"On the eve preceding the festival," says a native author, describing
what takes place in the neighbourhood of Manila, "the pueblo exhibits
all the activity of preparation. In the streets, handsome arches are
constructed of bamboo, covered with painted linen, and representing
various orders of architecture; graceful drapery is suspended over
the arch, which has sundry openings or windows, in which variegated
lanterns are placed (an art taught, no doubt, by the Chinese, who
possess it in perfection). Within the lanterns ornamented figures
are kept in perpetual movement by the heated atmosphere. Nosegays of
artificial flowers, groups of fruits, and various devices decorate
the houses, and the local musicians serenade the priests and the
authorities; while the whole population crowd the church for the
vesper service. The dalagas (girls) prepare their gayest attire to
take part in the procession, in which queens and saints and various
scriptural personages are represented by the Zagalas or females of
the leading families, in garments of velvet and gold, with all the
jewels that can be collected--not that always the costume testifies to
much classical or historical knowledge; it is, however, very gay and
gorgeous, satisfactory to the wearers, admired and applauded by the
spectators. Popular songs are sung to the music of the guitar, and the
gaieties are carried on to the midnight hour. At eight o'clock on the
following morning mass is attended, a sermon preached, a procession
follows, and all retire to their dwellings to escape the heat of the
day; but in the principal houses repasts are ready for any guests who
may call, and a considerable variety of Indian dishes are laid out
upon the table. At four P.M., the military arrive with their music,
and generally the village musicians and the church choir assemble near
the church, and welcome the many visitors who come from the capital. So
great is the crowd of carriages, that they are not allowed to pass
through the streets, but their occupiers quit them at the entrance of
the pueblo, and make their way to the hosts who have invited them. A
great number of Spanish ladies from Manila are generally seated at the
windows to witness the busy scene. Not only are the streets crowded
by the gaily dressed inhabitants, but multitudes of Indians come from
the interior to take part in the festivity. The native authorities,
preceded by music, then visit the various houses to collect the
Zagalas, who come forth in their regal robes and crowns, with a suite
of attendants. There is a great display of fireworks, rockets, and
balloons, and the procession proceeds to the church. It is a grand day
for the gallera, or cockpit, which resembles the bull-fight arena in
Spain: it is filled to suffocation with noisy and excited actors and
spectators; immense bets are laid; booths surround the place, where
food and drink are sold, and among the delicacies roasted sucking-pigs
abound. The procession usually starts at six P.M. All those who take
part bear a lighted wax-candle: first, the children of the pueblo;
then the soldiers; then the image of the Virgin, with an escort
of veiled women; then the image of the saint of the day or of the
place, the car drawn by a number of dalagas in white garments, bearing
garlands and crowns of flowers, followed by the authorities and by the
priest in his golden cope; then a military band and cavalry soldiers;
then the principal Zagala, whose queenly train is borne by eight or
ten Indian girls, in white garments, adorned with flowers. Other
Zagalas, personifying the Christian virtues, follow--Faith, Hope,
Charity, with their characteristic attributes. Sometimes there are
cars in which scenes of Scripture are exhibited by living actors;
others displaying all the fancies of devotees. The procession parades
the streets till the night is far advanced; the images are then
restored to the church, and other amusements begin. The principal
guests are invited to an open, but temporarily erected building,
handsomely curtained, and brilliantly lighted, in the centre of
which is a large table, covered with delicacies, and ornamented with
groups and pyramids of flowers. The first attentions are shown to the
ecclesiastics, and then to the other visitors, according to their rank
and position. The streets and houses being illuminated as the night
advances, the principal inhabitants gather their guests together,
and at ten P.M. there are displays of fireworks and balloons, in
which the rivalry of the pyrotechnic artists of the capital have a
fine field for exercise. Most of the pueblos around Manila have their
festival days, and in the competition for giving glory to their local
saints and patrons, they seek to outdo the capital itself. Santa Cruz,
which is an opulent and populous locality, rejoices in the protection
of St. Stanislaus, and outbids most of the rest for ostentatious show,
in which the inhabitants of Manila take an active part. The Chinese
have their day in celebrating St. Nicholas in Guadalupe. Tondo has
its distinguished festivals. Binondo is great and gorgeous on the
day of "Our Lady of the Rosary of Saint Dominic." Sampaloc claims
"Our Lady of Loreto." Santa Ana worships "Our Lady of the abandoned
ones" (de los desamparados). Pandacan has its gatherings in honour
of "The sweet name of Jesus," and its beautiful scenery adds to the
attractions of the place. St. Sebastian processionizes its silver car,
in which "Our Lady of Carmel" is conveyed in state. The suspensions
caused by the rainy months, Lent, and a few other interruptions,
are compensated by the extra ceremonials and festivities of the holy
weeks, and other seasons of Catholic gratulation. The mere list of
all these fiestas would occupy pages, and it was my good fortune to
visit the islands at a time when I had an opportunity of witnessing
many of these characteristic exhibitions.
The opulence of the individual monks, and of some of the monkish
fraternities in the islands, has often and naturally been a subject of
reproach. The revenues received by individuals are in many localities
very large, amounting in remote districts to eight or nine thousand
dollars a year, and much more, it is reported, in such populous pueblos
as Binondo. Some of these communities also possess large tracts of
land, whose management is superintended at periodical meetings held in
the capital, when friars from the different provinces, and of the same
brotherhood, are summoned to give an account of their stewardship, and
to discuss the general interests of the fraternity. The accumulations
of the friars pass to the convents at their death, but they have
little difficulty in disposing of them while living.
It has been said that the policy of the friars in the Philippines
is to conduct the Indian to heaven by a pathway of flowers. Little
molestation will he experience from his ghostly father, if he be strict
in his religious observances, pay his regular contributions to Church
and State, and exhibit those outward marks of respect and reverence
which the representatives of the Deity claim as their lawful heritage;
but there are many thorns amidst the flowers, and drawbacks, on the
heavenly road; and the time may come when higher and nobler aspirations
than those which now satisfy the poor untutored, or little tutored,
Indian, will be his rule of conduct.
The personal courtesies, the kind reception and multifarious
attentions which I received from the friars in every part of the
Philippines naturally dispose me to look upon them with a friendly
eye. I found among them men worthy of being loved and honoured, some
of considerable intellectual vigour; but literary cultivation and
scientific acquirements are rare. Occupied with their own concerns,
they are little acquainted with mundane affairs. Politics, geography,
history, have no charms for those who, even had they the disposition
for study, would, in their seclusion and remoteness, have access
to few of its appliances. Their convents are almost palatial, with
extensive courts, grounds and gardens; their revenues frequently
enormous. Though their mode of life is generally unostentatious and
simple, many of them keep handsome carriages and have the best horses
in the locality; and they are surrounded generally by a prostrate and
superstitious population, upon whose hopes and fears, thoughts and
feelings, they exercise an influence which would seem magical were
it not by their devotees deemed divine. This influence, no doubt,
is greatly due to the heroism, labours, sufferings and sacrifices
of the early missionaries, and to the admirably organized hierarchy
of the Roman Church, whose ramifications reach to the extremest
points in which any of the forms or semblances of Christianity
are to be discovered. Volumes upon volumes--the folio records of
the proceedings of the different religious orders, little known
to Protestant readers--fill the library shelves of these Catholic
establishments, which are the receptacles of their religious history.
The most extensively influential brotherhood in the Philippines is
that of the Augustines (Agostinos Calzados), who administer to the
cure of more than a million and a half of souls. The barefooted
Augustines (Agostinos Descalzos, or Recoletos) claim authority
over about one-third of this number. The Dominicans occupy the
next rank, and their congregations are scarcely less numerous than
those of the barefooted Augustines. Next come the Franciscans, who
are supposed to rank with the Dominicans in the extent of their
authority. Independently of the monastic orders and the superior
ecclesiastic authorities, there are but a small number of parochial
or secular clergy in the Philippines.
On occasions of installations under the "royal seal," the ceremonies
take place in the church of the Augustines, the oldest in Manila,
where also the regimental flags receive their benediction, and other
public civil festivals are celebrated. A convent is attached to
the church. Both the regular Augustines and the Recoletos receive
pecuniary assistance from the State. The Franciscans rank next to
the Augustines in the number of their clergy.
A source of influence possessed by the friars, and from which a great
majority of civil functionaries are excluded, is the mastery of the
native languages. All the introductory studies of ecclesiastical
aspirants are dedicated to this object. No doubt they have great
advantages from living habitually among the Indian people, with
whom they keep up the most uninterrupted intercourse, and of whose
concerns they have an intimate knowledge. One of the most obvious
means of increasing the power of the civil departments would be in
encouragement given to their functionaries for the acquirement of
the native idioms. I believe Spanish is not employed in the pulpits
anywhere beyond the capital. In many of the pueblos there is not a
single individual Indian who understands Castilian, so that the priest
is often the only link between the government and the community, and,
as society is now organized, a necessary link. It must be recollected,
too, that the different members of the religious brotherhoods are
bound together by stronger bonds and a more potent and influential
organization than any official hierarchy among civilians; and the
government can expect no co-operation from the priesthood in any
measures which tend to the diminution of ecclesiastical authority
or jurisdiction, and yet the subjection of that authority to the
State, and its limitation wherever it interferes with the public
well-being, is the great necessity and the all-important problem
to be solved in the Philippines. But here, too, the Catholic
character of the government itself presents an enormous and almost
invincible difficulty. Nothing is so dear to a Spaniard in general
as his religion; his orthodoxy is his pride and glory, and upon this
foundation the Romish Church naturally builds up a political power and
is able to intertwine its pervading influence with all the machinery
of the civil government. The Dutch have no such embarrassment in
their archipelago.
The Captain-General has had the kindness to furnish me with the latest
returns of the ecclesiastical corporations in the Philippines (dated
1859). They are these:--
--------------------------+---------+----------+--------+---------+--------
| Tribu- | Souls. | Bap- | Mar- | Deaths.
| taries. | | tisms. | riages. |
--------------------------+---------+----------+--------+---------+--------
| | | | |
Recoletos: | | | | |
Archbishopric of Manila | 29,899 | 122,842 | 5,335 | 1,166 | 3,334
Province of Zebu | 90,701 | 454,279 | 18,559 | 4,166 | 6,500
+---------+----------+--------+---------+--------
Total | 120,600 | 577,121 | 23,894 | 5,332 | 9,834
+---------+----------+--------+---------+--------
| | | | |
Franciscans: | | | | |
Archbishopric of Manila | 60,936 | 227,866 | 7,988 | 1,923 | 7,896
Bishopric of New Caceres| 72,477 | 289,012 | 9,957 | 2,505 | 7,020
Bishopric of Zebu | 57,778 | 237,583 | 9,941 | 2,260 | 4,691
+---------+----------+--------+---------+--------
Total | 191,191 | 754,461 | 27,886 | 6,688 | 19,607
+---------+----------+--------+---------+--------
| | | | |
Augustines: | | | | |
Archbishopric of Manila | 162,749 | 678,791 | 28,826 | 6,194 | 20,669
Bishopric of Ilocos | 85,574 | 357,218 | 15,775 | 4,218 | 8,383
Bishopric of Zebu | 136,642 | 607,821 | 27,049 | 4,049 | 16,361
+---------+----------+--------+---------+--------
Total | 384,965 |1,643,830 | 71,650 | 14,461 | 45,413
+---------+----------+--------+---------+--------
| | | | |
Dominicans: | | | | |
Archbishopric of Manila | 20,803 | 74,843 | 3,230 | 603 | 2,806
New Segovia | 77,314 | 352,750 | 1,374 | 3,909 | 9,216
+---------+----------+--------+---------+--------
Total | 98,117 | 427,593 | 4,604 | 4,512 | 12,022
--------------------------+---------+----------+--------+---------+--------
The Dominicans have charge of the missions to the province of
Fokien in China and Tonquin. They report in 1857:--In Fokien: 11,034
confessions and 10,476 communions, 1,973 infant and 213 adult baptisms,
284 marriages and 288 confirmations. In Eastern Tonquin: 3,283 infant
and 302 adult baptisms, 4,424 extreme unctions, 64,052 confessions,
60,167 communions and 658 marriages. In Central Tonquin: 5,776 infant
and 400 adult baptisms, 32,229 extreme unctions, 141,961 confessions,
131,438 communions and 1,532 marriages.
CHAPTER XIII.
LANGUAGES.
The Tagál and Bisayan are the most widely spread of the languages
of the Philippines, but each has such a variety of idioms that the
inhabitants of different islands and districts frequently are not
intelligible to one another, still less the indigenous races who
occupy the mountainous districts. The more remarkable divisions
are the dialects of Pampangas, Zambal, Pangasinan, Ilocos, Cagayan,
Camarines, Batanes, and Chamorro, each derived from one of the two
principal branches. But the languages of the unconverted Indians are
very various, and have little affinity. Of these I understand above
thirty distinct vocabularies exist. The connection between and the
construction of the Tagál and Bisayan will be best seen by a comparison
of the Lord's Prayer in each, with a verbal rendering of the words:--
Tagál.
Ama nanim [15] sungma [16] sa langit ca [17], sambahin [18]
Father our (to us) art in heaven thou, worshipped (be)
ang ngalan mo; mupa sa anim ang caharian mo; sundin angloob
the name thine; come to us the kingdom thine; done (be) the will
mo dito sa lupa para na sa langit; bigianmo camin ngai-on nang
thine here in earth so as in heaven; given (be) us now the
anim canin sa arao-arao [19] at patauarvin-mo camis nang animg
our rice of day day, and forgiven (be) us the our
manga-otang, para nang pagpasawat nanim sa
faults, as if pardoned (are) our those
nangagcacaoton sa anim; at huvag-mo caming
who have committed faults against us; and let not us
ipahuintulot [20] sa tocso; at yadia-mo camis sa dilan masama.
fall in temptation; and deliver us in all ill.
Bisayan.
Amahan namu nga itotat ca sa langit, ipapagdayat [21] an imong
Father our who art thou in heaven, praised be the thy
ngalun; moanhi [22] canamun an imong pagcahadi [23]; tumancun
name; come to us the thy kingdom; done (be)
an imong buot dinhi si yuta maingun sa langit; ihatag mo damsin
the thy will here in earth as in heaven; given (be) us
an canun namun sa matagarvlao, ug pauadin-mo [24] canir san
the rice our on every day, and pardoned (be) us the
mga-sala namu, maingun ginuara [24] namun san mganacasala danum;
sins our, as pardoned our those sin against us;
ngan diri imo tugotan cami maholog sa manga-panulai sa amun
not by thee permitted (be) us fall in temptations of our
manga caauai [25]; apan baricun-mo cami sa manga-maraut ngatanan.
enemies; also delivered (be) us of evil all.
The following table of numerals (extracted from De Mas) will show the
affinities between several of the idioms of the Philippines with one
another, and with the Malay language:--
-- ILOCOS. TAGÁL. BISAYAN. CAGAYAN. MALAY.
1 Meysa. isá; sang; ca. usá. tadd ay. salu; sa.
2 Dua. dalauá. duhá. dua. dua.
3 Tal. tat-ló. toló. tálu. tigga talu.
4 Eppa. ápat. upát. áppa. ámpat.
5 Lima. lima. lima. lima. lima.
6 Niném. ánim. unúm. ánnam. anam.
7 Pitó. pitó; pipito. pitó pitar. túgàu.
8 Oaló. ualo. ualó. ualu. diapan;
dalapan.
9 Siam. siam. siam. siam. sambilan.
10 Sangapulo. sampu; povo; sang napulo. mafulu. pulo; napulo.
povo.
11 Sangapulo qet labin isa. napulo ugusa. caraladay. sa blas.
maysa.
12 Sangapulo qet labin dalava. napulo ugdua. caradua. dua blas.
dua.
20 Duàpulo. daluanpú; caloháan. dua fulù. dua pulo.
dulavangpovo.
30 Talcopulo. tat lonpu. catloan. talu fulù. tiga pulo.
50 Limapulo. limanpu. caliman. lima fulu. lima pulo.
100 Sangagasùt. isam daán; usa cagatós. magattu. ratus; sarátus.
dan-sandang.
200 Dua nga gasùt. dalauan daán. dua cagatós. duagattu. dua ratus.
1,000 Sang aribo. libo; isan libo. usa ca libó. marifu. ribu; saribu.
10,000 Dua nga ribo. sampon libo. napálo calibo. mafulu rifu. lagsa.
100,000 Sang agasùt isandaán libo; usa cagatós magatu farifu. kati; sakiti.
aribo. sang yolo. calibo.
1,000,000 ......... sangañgaonúgao. ......... ......... .........
A vocabulary of the Tagal was printed in 1613 by Padre San
Buenaventura; and a folio Vocabulario by Fr. Domingo de los Santos,
in Sampaloc (Manila), 1794. This vocabulary consists of nearly 11,000
terms, the same word conveying so many meanings that the actual number
of Tagal words can scarcely exceed 3,500. The examples of distinct
interpretations of each are innumerable.
Another Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala, by "various grave and learned
persons," corrected and arranged by the Jesuit Fathers Juan de Noceda
and Pedro de San Lucar, was published in Valladolid in 1832. The editor
says he would fain have got rid of the task, but the "blind obedience"
he owed to his superior compelled him to persevere. Rules for the
accurate grammatical construction of the language cannot, he says,
be given, on account of the exceptions and counter-exceptions. The
confusion between active and passive participles is a labyrinth he
cannot explore. There are more books on the language (artes), he
avers, than on any dead or living language! He has consulted no less
than thirty-seven, among which the first place is due to the Tagál
Demosthenes (Father Francis de San José), to whose researches none have
the knowledge of adding anything valuable. He professes to have given
all the roots, but not their ramifications, which it is impossible to
follow. But the Vocabulario is greatly lauded by the "Visitador," as
"an eagle in its flight," and "a sun in its brilliancy." It is reported
to have added three thousand new words to the vocabulary. The editor
himself is modest enough, and declares he has brought only one drop
to a whole ocean. The work, which had been in many hands, occupied
Father Noceda thirty years, and he allowed no word to pass until
"twelve Indians" agreed that he had found its true meaning. He would
not take less, for had he broken his rule and diminished the numbers,
who knows, he asks, with what a small amount of authority he might
have satisfied himself? There can be no doubt that to find absolute
synonymes between languages so unlike as the Castilian and the Tagáloc
was an utterly impossible task, and that the root of a word of which
the editor is in search is often lost in the inflections, combinations
and additions, which surround and involve it, without reference to
any general principle. And after all comes the question, What is the
Tagáloc language? That of the mountains differs much from that of
the valleys; the idiom of the Comingtang from those of the Tingues.
The word Tagála, sometimes written Tagál, Tagálo, or Tagáloc, I
imagine, is derived from Taga, a native. Taga Majayjay is a native
of Majayjay. A good Christian is called Ang manga taga langit, a
native of heaven; and it is a common vituperation to say to a man,
"Taga infierno," signifying, "You must be a native of hell."
The Tagál language is not easily acquired. A Spanish proverb says there
must be un año de arte y dos di bahaque--one year of grammar and two
of bahaque. The bahaque is the native dress. The friars informed me
that it required several years of residence to enable them to preach
in Tagál; and in many of the convents intercourse is almost confined to
the native idioms, as there are few opportunities of speaking Spanish.
The blending of nouns and verbs into a single word, and the difficulty
of tracing the roots of either, is one cause of perplexity, the paucity
of words requiring many meanings for the same sound. Thus ayao means,
enough, passage of merchandise, dearness, and is a note of admiration;
baba signifies brace, beard, lungs, perchance, abscess; bobo, a net,
to melt, to frighten, to spill; alangalang, courtesy, elevation,
dignity. Hence, too, the frequent repetitions of the same word. Aboabo,
mist; alaala, to remember; ñgalañgala, palate; galagala, bitumen;
dilidili, doubt; hasahasa, a fish.
So a prodigious number of Tagál words are given to represent a verb
in its various applications, in which it is difficult to trace any
common root or shadow of resemblance. Noceda, for the verb give (dar,
Spanish) has 140 Tagál words; for (meter) put, there are forty-one
forms; for (hacer) do, one hundred and twenty-six. The age of the
moon is represented by twelve forms, in only two of which does the
Tagál word for moon occur.
It is scarcely necessary to say that a language so rude as the
Tagál could never become the channel for communicating scientific
or philosophical knowledge. Yet M. Mallat contends that it is rich,
sonorous, expressive, and, if encouraged, would soon possess a
literature worthy of a place among that of European nations!
A folio dictionary of the Bisayan and Spanish language, as spoken
in the island of Panay, was published in 1841 (Manila), having been
written by Father Alonzo de Mentrida. The Spanish and Bisayan, by
Father Julian Martin, was published in the following year.
The letters e, f, r, and z are wanting, and the only sound not
represented by our alphabet is the ñg. The Tagála Indians employ the
letter p instead of the f, which they cannot pronounce. Parancisco
for Francisco, palso for falso, pino for fino, &c. The r is totally
unutterable by the Tagálos. They convert the letter into d, and
subject themselves to much ridicule from the mistakes consequent upon
this infirmity. The z is supplanted by s, which does not convey the
Castilian sound as represented by our soft th.
In many provinces, however, of Spain, the Castilian pronunciation of z
is not adopted. There is in the Tagál no vowel sound between a and i,
such as is represented in Spanish by the letter e.
In teaching the Tagal alphabet, the word yaou, being the demonstrative
pronoun, is inserted after the letter which is followed by the vowel a,
and the letter repeated, thus:--Aa yaou (a), baba yaou (b), caca yaou
(c), dada yaou (d), gaga yaou (g), haha yaou (h), lala yaou (l), mama
yaou (m), nana yaou (n), ñgañga yaou (ñg), papa yaou (p), sasa yaou
(s), tata yaou (t), vava yaou (v). The ñg is a combination of the
Spanish ñ with g.
Nouns in Tagal have neither cases, numbers, nor genders. Verbs have
infinitive, present, preterite, past, future, and imperative tenses,
but they are not changed by the personal pronouns. Among other
singularities, it is noted that no active verb can begin with the
letter b. Some of the interjections, and they are very numerous in
the Tagaloc, are of different genders. How sad! addressed to a man,
is paetog! to a woman, paetag!
The Tagáls employ the second person singular icao, or co, in addressing
one another, but add the word po, which is a form of respect. In
addressing a woman the word po is omitted, but is expected to be used
by a female in addressing a man. The personal pronouns follow instead
of preceding both verbs and nouns, as napa aco, I say; napa suja,
it is good.
One characteristic of the language is that the passive is generally
employed instead of the active verb. A Tagal will not say "Juan
loves Maria," but "Maria is loved by Juan." Fr. de los Santos says
it is more elegant to employ the active than the passive verb, but I
observe in the religious books circulated by the friars the general
phraseology is, "It is said by God;" "it is taught by Christ," &c.
Though the Tagál is not rich in words, the same expression having
often a great variety of meanings, there is much perplexity in the
construction. The padre Verduga, however, gives a list of several
species of verbs, with modifications of nouns subjected to the rules
of European grammar.
In adopting Spanish words the Tagals frequently simplify and curtail
them; for example, for zapato (shoe) they use only pato; Lingo for
Domingo; bavay, caballo (horse). The diminutive of Maria is Mariangui;
whence Angui, the ordinary name for Mary.
In looking through the dictionary, I find in the language only
thirty-five monosyllables, viz., a, ab, an, ang, at, ay, ca [with
thirteen different meanings--a numeral (1), a personal pronoun (they),
four substantives (thing, companion, fright, abstract), one verb (to
go), and the rest sundry adjectival, adverbial, and other terms],
cay, co, con, cun, di, din, ga, ha, i, in, is, ma (with eighteen
meanings, among which are four nouns substantive, eight verbs, and
four adjectives), man, mi, mo, na, ñga, o, oy, pa (seven meanings),
po, sa, sang, si, sing, ta, ya, and yi.
Watches are rare among the Indians, and time is not denoted by the
hours of the clock, but by the ordinary events of the day. De Mas gives
no less than twenty-three different forms of language for denoting
various divisions, some longer, some shorter, of the twenty-four hours;
such as--darkness departs; dawn breaks; light advances (magumagana);
the sun about to rise (sisilang na ang arao); full day (arao na);
sun risen; hen laying; (sun) height of axe; height of spear (from
the horizon); midday; sun sinking; sun set (lungmonorna); Ave Maria
time; darkness; blackness; children's bed-time; animas ringing;
midnight near; midnight; midnight past (mababao sa hating gaby). And
the phraseology varies in different localities. As bell-ringing and
clock-striking were introduced by the Spaniards, most of the terms
now in use must have been employed before their arrival.
Repetitions of the same syllable are common both in the Tagál and
Bisayan languages. They are not necessarily indicative of a plural
form, but frequently denote sequence or continuation, as--lavay
lavay, slavery (continued work); iñgiliñgil, the growl of a dog;
ñgiñgiyao ñgiñgiyao, the purring of a cat; cococococan, a hen calling
her chickens; pocto pocto, uneven, irregular (there is a Devonshire
word, scory, having exactly the same meaning); timbon timbon, piling
up; punit punit, rags; añgao añgao, an infinite number; aling aling,
changeable; caval caval, uncertain. Some Spanish words are doubled to
avoid being confounded with native sounds; as dondon for don. These
repetitions are a necessary consequence of the small number of
primitive words.
Though the poverty of the language is remarkable, yet a great variety
of designations is found for certain objects. Rice, for example,
in the husk is palay (Malay, padi); before transplanting, botobor;
when beginning to sprout, buticas; when the ear appears, basag; in a
more advanced stage, maymota; when fully ripe in ear, boñgana; when
borne down by the wind or the weight of the ear, dayapa; early rice,
cavato; sticky rice, lagquitan; ill-formed in the grain, popong; rice
cleaned but not separated from the husks, loba; clean rice, bigas;
waste rice, binlor; ground rice, digas; roasted rice, binusa; roasted
to appear like flowers, binuladac; rice paste, pilipig; fricasseed
rice, sinaing; another sort of prepared rice, soman. There are no less
than nineteen words for varieties of the same object. And so with
verbs:--To tie, tali; to tie round, lingquis; to tie a belt, babat;
to tie the hands, gapus; to tie a person by the neck, tobong; to tie
with a noose, hasohaso; to tie round a jar, baat; to tie up a corpse,
balacas; to tie the mouth of a purse, pogong; to tie up a basket,
bilit; to tie two sticks together, pangcol; to tie up a door, gacot;
to tie up a bundle (as of sticks), bigquis; to tie up sheaves of grain,
tangcas; to tie up a living creature, niquit; to tie the planks of a
floor together, gilaguir; a temporary tie, balaguir; to tie many times
round with a knot, balaguil; tight tie, yaguis; to tie bamboos, dalin;
to tie up an article lent, pañgayla. Of these twenty-one verbs the
root of scarcely any is traceable to any noun substantive. For rice
there are no less than sixty-five words in Bisayan; for bamboo, twenty.
There are numerous names for the crocodile. Buaya conveys the idea
of its size from the egg to the full-grown animal, when he is called
buayang totoo, a true crocodile. For gold there are no less than
fifteen native designations, which denote its various qualities.
Juan de Noceda gives twenty-nine words as translations of mirar
(to look); forty-two for meter (to put); seventy-five for menear (to
move); but synonymes are with difficulty found in languages having
no affinity, especially when any abstract idea is to be conveyed.
In family relations the generic word for brother is colovong; elder
brother, cacang: if there be only three, the second is called colovong;
the third, bongso: but if there be more than three, the second is
named sumonor; the third, colovong. Twin brothers are cambal. Anac
is the generic name for son; an only son, bogtong; the first-born,
pañganay; the youngest, bongso; an adopted son, ynaanac. Magama
means father and son united; magcunaama, father and adopted son;
nagpapaama, he who falsely calls another his father; pinanamahan,
a falsely called father; maanac, father or mother of many children;
maganac, father, mother and family of children (of many); caanactilic,
the sons of two widowers; magca, brothers by adoption.
A common ironical expression is, Catalastasan mo aya a! (How very
clever!)
The Indian name for the head of a barrio, or barangay, is dato,
but the word more commonly used at present is the Castilian cabeza;
so that now the Indian generally denominates this native authority
cabeza sa balañgay. The Tagal word for the principal locality of a
district is doyo, in Castilian, cabazera.
The word cantar has been introduced for the music of the Church, but
many of the ancient Indian words have been retained, such as Pinanan
umbitanan ang patay.--They sing the death-song; dayao, the song of
victory; hune, the song of birds. The noise of the ghiko lizard is
called halotictic.
The following may serve as specimens of Tagál polysyllabic words:--
Anagnalaláqui son.
Ananababai daughter.
Cababulaánang lie.
Malanuingiolog thunder.
Pagsisisi | suffering.
Paghahanducan |
Pagsisingsiñgan finger.
Pagpapahopa peace.
Palayanglayañgan swallow.
Pañgañganyaya damage.
Sangtinacpan the world.
Solonmañgayao comet; exhalation.
Magbabaca | warrior, from baca to light.
Tagupagbaca |
Tangcastancasan faggot.
Masaquit angmangapilipis anco my head aches.
Hahampasinguita I will flog thee (thou
shalt be flogged by me).
Guiguisiñgincata I will wake thee (thou
shalt be waked by me).
Magpasavalabanhangan everlasting.
Pananangpahataya faith.
Mapagpaunbabao deceitful.
Mapagpalamara ungrateful.
Odd numbers in Tagál are called gangsal, even numbers tocol.
Affirmative, Yes! Oo; tango.
Negative, No! Di; dili; houag; dakan.
Many Malayan words are to be traced, some in their pure, others in
a corrupted form, not only in the Tagal and Bisayan, but in other
idioms of the Philippines. [26] Such are Langit, heaven; puti, white;
mata, eye; vato, stones; mura, cheap; and some others. Slightly
modified are dita for lina, language; babi, for babuy, pig; hagin
(Tag.) and hangin (Bis.) for angin, wind; masaguit for sakit, sick;
patay for mati (Mal.), mat (Pers.), dead; nagcasama for samasama,
in company; matacut for takot, fear; ulan for udian, rain; and a
few others. The Malay word tuan, meaning honourable, and generally
employed to signify the obedience and deference of the speaker to the
person addressed, is mostly used by the Tagals in an ironical sense. Ay
touan co! Honourable man indeed! "Do not tuan me," is equivalent to,
"None of your nonsense."
The monks have introduced most of the Castilian words of Greek and
Latin origin necessary for the profession of the Catholic faith,
or the celebration of its religious rites, for few of which could
any representatives be found in the aboriginal tongues.
Considering the long possession of many portions of the Philippines by
tribes professing Mahomedanism, the number of current Arabic words is
small: I heard salam, salute; malim, master; arrac, wine or spirits;
arraes for reis, captain. And among the Mussulmans of Mindanao, Islam,
koran, rassoul (prophet), bismillah, kitab, and other words immediately
connected with the profession of Islamism, were quite familiar.
The only Chinese word that I found generally in use was sampan,
a small boat, meaning literally three planks.
Many of the sounds in the Tagal are so thoroughly English that
they fell strangely on my ear. Toobig is water; and asin, salt, when
shouted out to the Indian servants at table, somewhat startled me, and
I could not immediately find out what was the excess denounced, or the
peccadillo committed. Most of the friars speak the native idioms with
fluency, never preach in any other, and living, as most of them do,
wholly surrounded by the Indian population, and rarely using their
native Spanish tongue, it is not to be wondered at that they acquire
great facility in the employment of the Indian idioms. Most of the
existing grammars and dictionaries were written by ecclesiastics to
aid in the propagation of the Christian doctrine, and small books
are printed (all on religious subjects) for the instruction of the
people. I could not discover that they have any historical records
or traditions brought down from a remote antiquity.
The more my attention has been directed to the study of the idioms
of distant countries, the more I am struck by the absurd fancies
and theories which have obtained so much currency with regard to
the derivation and affinities of languages. The Biscayans firmly
hold their Euscaran idiom to have been the tongue of Adam and Eve in
Paradise, and consequently the universal language of primitive man
and the fountain-head of all others. More than one Cambrian patriot
has claimed the same honour for the Welsh, insisting that all the
dialects of the world have been derived from the Cymri. But it would
be hard to prove that a single word has descended to the present times
from the antediluvian world. Intercourse and commerce seem the only
channels through which any portion of the language of any one nation
or tribe has passed into the vocabulary of any other. The word sack
is said to be that of the most general diffusion. A French writer
contends it was the only word preserved at the time of the Babel
confusion of languages, and it was so preserved in order that the
rights of property might be respected in the general anarchy. In the
lower numerals of remote dialects there are many seemingly strange
affinities, which may be attributed to their frequent use in trading
transactions. Savages, having no such designations of their own, have
frequently adopted the higher decimal numbers employed by civilized
nations, of which the extended use of the word lac for 10,000 is an
example. Muster, among trading nations, is, with slight variations,
the almost universally received word for pattern; so the words account,
date, and many similar. How many maritime terms are derived from the
Dutch, how many military from the French, how many locomotive from the
English! The Justinian code has impregnated all the languages of Europe
with phrases taken from the Roman law. To the Catholic missal may be
traced in the idioms of converted nations almost all their religious
phraseology. In the facilities of combination which the Greek in so
high a degree possesses science has found invaluable auxiliaries. Our
colonies are constantly adding to our stores, and happily there is not
(as in France) any repugnance to the introduction of useful, still
less of necessary words. Bentham used to say that purity of language
and poverty of language were nearly synonymous. It is well for the
interests of knowledge that the English tongue receives without
difficulty new and needful contributions to the ancient stock. The
well of pure English undefiled is not corrupted, but invigorated,
by the streams which have been poured into it from springs both
adjacent and remote. Language must progress with and accommodate
itself to the progress of knowledge, and it is well that a language
clear, defined and emphatic as our own--derived from many sources,
whence its plasticity and variety--having much monosyllabic force
and polysyllabic cadence--condensed and yet harmonious--should be
the language having now the strongest holds and the widest extension.
Among the evidences of progress which the world exhibits, not
only is the gradual extinction of the inferior by the advance of
the superior races of man a remarkable fact, but equally striking
is the disappearance of the rude and imperfect idioms, and their
supplantation by the more efficient instruments of advancement and
civilization found in the languages of the cultivated nations. The
attempts which have been made to introduce the phraseology of advanced
arts and sciences into tongues which only represent a low stage of
cultivation, have been lamentably unsuccessful. No appropriate niches
can be found in barbarian temples for the beautiful productions of
the refined genius of sculpture. The coarse garments of the savage
cannot be fitly repaired with the choice workmanship of the gifted
artisan. And few benefits can be conceived of more importance to the
well-being of the human family than that the means of oral intercourse
should be extended, and that a few widely spread languages (if not a
universal one, whose introduction may be deemed an utterly hopeless
dream) will in process of time become the efficient instrument of
communication for the whole world.
The poetry of the Tagals is in quantity of twelve syllables. They
have the Spanish asonante, but words are considered to rhyme if they
have the same vowel or the same consonant at a terminal, as thus:--
In beautiful starlight
Heaven's concave is drest,
And the clouds as they part
Make the brightness more bright.
So stick would rhyme with thing, knot with rob; and the Indian always
chant their verses when they recite them, which, indeed, is a generally
received Asiatic custom. The San tze King, or three-syllable classic,
which is the universally employed elementary book in the schools of
China, is always sung, and the verse and music naturally aid the
memory. The music of the song sung by the Tagálas to tranquillize
children, called the helehele, De Mas says, resembles that of the Arab.
I have found a few proverbs in verse, of which these are examples:--
Isda acong yaga saprap Weak men, by the helping aid
Galataliptip calapad Of the mighty, strong are made.
Caya naquiqui pagpusag
Ang cala goyo y apahap.
Aba ayá casampaga It is a very careless hen,
Nang ponay na olila Who will not stretch her pinions when
Un umumbo y pagscap na The young brood for protection fly
Valan magsopcop na ma. From storms and rains and threatening
sky.
Ycao ang caou co In going and coming on life's long
Pacacaou so tomanda y stage,
Maguinguin bata pa You may say as a certain truth,
Ang catacayac That men may travel from youth to age,
Sucat macapagcati nang dagat. But never from age to youth.
Coya ipinacataastaas. Many few make a many.
Nang domagongdong ang cagpac. The higher the flight the greater the
fall. Tolluntur in altum ut lapsu
graviore ruant.--Claud.
Note.--The chapter I had written on the language of the Philippines
was, with many others of my MSS., submerged in the Red Sea by the
Alma wreck, and much of their contents is utterly illegible; nor have
I been able, from any materials accessible to me in this country, to
present anything like a satisfactory sketch. Under the circumstances,
my short-comings will, I doubt not, be forgiven.
CHAPTER XIV.
NATIVE PRODUCE.
The Leyes de Indias emphatically recognize the wrongs and injuries
of which the Indians are constantly the victims, and seek to furnish
remedies against them: they annul dishonest contracts--they order the
authorities rigorously to punish acts of oppression--they declare
that the transactions of the Spanish settlers have frequently been
"the ruin of the Indians"--they point out the mischiefs produced by
the avarice in some cases, and inaction in others, of the mestizos,
who are commonly the go-betweens in bargains of colonists with
natives. The local ordenanzas, which are numerous and elaborate,
have for their object to assure to the Indian the fruits of his
labours--to protect him against his own imprudence and the usurious
exactions of those to whom he applies in his difficulties; they
provide against the usurpation of his lands, declare the sovereign
the rightful owner of property which there are no heirs to claim,
and insist that everywhere the Indian shall draw from the soil he
cultivates the means of comfortable subsistence: the accumulation
of properties acquired from the Indians by ecclesiastical bodies is
prohibited, notwithstanding which prohibition enormous estates are
held by the monkish fraternities. There are also arrangements for
setting apart "common lands" for general use, independently of private
estates. Many of the provisions are of so vague a character as to
insure their non-observance, and others so particular and special in
their requirements as to make their enforcement impossible. The 71st
article, for example, compels the Indians "to plant useful trees,
suited to the soil"--to sow wheat, rice, maize, vegetables, cotton,
pepper, &c., in proper localities--to maintain "every species of
appropriate cattle"--to have "fruits growing in their gardens and
orchards round their houses"--to keep "at least twelve hens and one
cock" (a very superfluous piece of legislation), and one "female
sucking pig;" they must be encouraged to manufacture cloths and
cordage; and failing in these duties for the space of two years,
they are to lose their lands, which, by public proclamation,
shall be appropriated to others. There is, in fact, no absolute
territorial right of property among the Indians. It can always be
seized and reappropriated by the Spanish authorities. Lands are held
on condition that they are cultivated. There are lands possessed
by Spaniards and by corporations of the clergy principally, which
pay a nominal rental to the crown, but the rental is so small as
to be of no account. There is no difficulty in obtaining gratuitous
concessions of territorial surface on the sole obligation of bringing
it into cultivation. Long usage and long possession have no doubt
created supposed rights, which are able to maintain themselves even
against competing private claims or the obvious requirements of public
utility. Questions arise as to what is meant by "cultivation," and
the country is full of controversies and lawsuits, of which land is
generally the subject-matter. The larger proprietors constantly speak
of the difficulty of obtaining continuous labour--of the necessity of
perpetual advances to the peasant--of the robbery of the ripe harvests
when raised. Hence they are accustomed to underlet their lands to petty
cultivators, who bring small and unsatisfactory returns to the owners
and to the market. They complain of the jealousy and ill-will of the
Indians, their intrigues and open resistance to foreign settlers, and
of the too indulgent character of the "Law of the Indies." It appears
to me that there is abundant field for advantageous agricultural
experiments, not perhaps so much in the immediate vicinity of large and
populous places, as on the vast tracts of uncared-for territory, which
demand nothing but attention and capital, perseverance and knowledge,
to render a prodigal return. No doubt the agriculturist should have
possession absolutely and irrevocably secured to him. Once installed
by the government he must be protected against all molestation of his
title. I do not believe in the invincible inertness of the Indians
when they are properly encouraged. I heard of a native in one of the
most distant villages I visited in Pinay, who had been recommended
by a friar to take to sugar-growing. He did so, and obtained five
hundred dollars for the produce which he, for the first time, took
down to Iloilo. He will get a thousand the second year; and others
were following his example. A little additional labour produces
so much that the smallest impulse gives great results, especially
where employed over a vast extent. But Indian indolence is not only
prejudicial from the little assistance it offers to agricultural
activity in preparing, sowing, watching and gathering the harvest;
it is unable to furnish any of those greater appliances which must
be considered rather of public than of private concern. Hence the
absence of facilities for irrigation, the imperfect state of the
river navigation, the rarity of canals, the badness of the roads in
so many localities. The seasons bring their floods, and the mountain
torrents create their gullies; but the water escapes into the sea,
and the labourer brings his produce, as best he may, amidst the rocks
and sand and mud which the cataracts have left behind them. I have
seen beasts of burden struggling in vain to extricate themselves,
with their loads, from the gulf into which they had fallen, and in
which they were finally abandoned by their conductors. I have been
carried to populous places in palanquins, whose bearers, sometimes
sixteen in number, were up to their thighs amidst mire, slough,
tangled roots, loose stones and fixed boulders. De Mas says that
the labourer absorbs three-fifths of the gross produce, leaving
two-fifths to the proprietor and capitalist; but the conditions of
labour are so very various that it is difficult to reach any general
conclusion, beyond the undoubted fact that neither capitalist nor
labourer receives anything like the amount of profit which, under a
better system, would be enjoyed by both; that the cost is far greater,
and the returns far smaller, than they should be; and that the common
prosperity suffers from the position of each. Whatever may be said
of the enervating effects of climate and the want of motive to give
activity to industry, it is probable that all nations, even the most
industrious and the most opulent, have passed through their stages of
indolence and inactivity. China affords an example that climate alone
is no insuperable barrier to energetic exertions in all departments
of the field of production, and that the possession of much is no
necessary check upon the desire of obtaining and enjoying more. The
value of lands is very various. De Mas says that the quiñon (of 1,000
square fathoms), in Pangasinan, sells for from 220 to 250 dollars;
in the Laguna, 250 to 300; in Ilocos Sur, 300; in the neighbourhood
of Manila, 1,000. He seems to consider sugar as, on the whole,
the most profitable investment. He gives several tables of the cost
and charges of sundry tropical productions, but the many elements
of uncertainty, the cost of raising, the vicissitudes of climate,
the attacks of insects, the fluctuations in the amount and value of
accessible labour, and all the ebbs and flows of supply and demand,
make all calculations only approximative. His apuntes, however, are
well worth consulting by those interested in detailed inquiry. He gives
as a result of rice cultivation a minimum profit of 24 per cent., a
maximum profit of 76 per cent. per annum. This would seem sufficiently
inviting, especially as the Spaniards are reported to be fonder of
agriculture than of any other pursuit, and fonder of being owners of
lands than of any other property, according to their old refrain:--
"No vessel on the sea,
But the house that's mine for me,
And all the lands around which I've been used to see." [27]
Indigo will render, according to De Mas, 100 per cent. Coffee, on the
same authority, will double its capital in four years. Cocoa returns
90 per cent. Attempts to introduce mulberry cultivation for silk have
had little success, though the specimens sent to Europe have obtained
prizes for their excellent quality. The worms require a more continuous
attention than the Indians are willing to give, and the same may be
said of those spices, nutmegs, cinnamon, and any produce which demands
unremitting care. The spontaneous productions of the Philippines do
not easily obtain the benefit of a more enlightened mode of culture.
The rights of property require thorough investigation and recognition
in a country which has not been surveyed or cadastred; where the
foreign population is migratory and uncertain; where documentary titles
are, for the most part, wanting, and appropriation of the soil has
been little controlled by the supreme authorities; where there is no
land-tax, and the religious bodies hold immense territories generally
underlet to the natives. The smallness of estates necessarily adds
to the cost of production, and it would not be easy to induce wealthy
capitalists to settle unless facilities were given for the acquisition
and cultivation of extensive properties. Such capitalists would
introduce the improvements in agricultural science which are now
wholly wanting; they would bring with them able heads and hands to
conduct, and better instruments to give practical effect to superior
knowledge. A desire is frequently expressed for the formation of
agricultural societies, but these are rather the children than the
parents of progress, and the numerous and respectable body which
already exists in Manila, the "Sociedad Economica," has not been
instrumental in introducing any very important changes. There is in
the Spanish mind too great a disposition to look to "authority" as the
source and support of all reforms; but the best service of authority
in almost all cases of productive industry is non-interference and
inaction; it is not the meddling with, but the leaving matters alone,
that is wanted; it is the removal of restrictions, the supersession
of laws which profess to patronize and protect, but whose patronage
and protection mean the sacrifice of the many to the few. Government,
no doubt, can greatly assist the public weal by the knowledge it
can collect and distribute. Nothing is more desirable than that
the rich territorial capabilities of the Philippines should be
thoroughly explored by efficient scientific inquiry. Geologists,
chemists, mechanicians, botanists, would teach us much respecting
the raw materials of these multitudinous islands, so inviting to the
explorer, and so little explored. Mountains, forests, plains, lakes,
rivers, solicit the investigation, which they could not fail to reward.
Of the indigenous productions found by the Spaniards the dry mountain
rice seems to have been the principal article cultivated by the
Indians for food, the arts of irrigation being little known, and the
mode of culture of the simplest character. The missionaries taught
the Indians to divide their lands, to improve their agriculture,
to store their harvests, and generally to meliorate their condition
by more knowledge and foresight. Maize and wheat were introduced from
America, though for a long time the use of wheaten bread was confined
to the service of the mass. There is now an adequate supply for the
wants of the consumer. Melons, water-melons and various fruits,
peas, pumpkins, onions, cucumbers, garlic and other vegetables,
soon found their way from Mexico to the church gardens, and thence
to more extensive cultivation. Coffee sprang up wild in the island
of Luzon, ungathered by the natives. Tobacco was introduced under
the patronage of the government, and is become the most important
source of revenue. Pepper and cassia grew unnoticed, but the cocoa-nut
tree and the plantain were among the most precious of the Indian's
possessions, and the areca was not less valued. Indigo was indigenous,
and the wild cotton-tree was uncared for; nor can it be other than a
subject of regret that to the present hour so inadequate an attention
has been paid to the natural production of the islands, and means so
little efficient taken for improving their quality or extending their
cultivation. At the present time there are few large estates having
the benefit of well-directed labour and sufficient capital. Of those
possessed by the religious communities little can be expected in the
way of agricultural improvement, but the cultivated lands are generally
in the hands of small native proprietors. Where the labourer is hired,
his daily pay is from a half rial to a rial and a half (3 1/2d. to
10d.), varying in the different provinces.
The quiñon is the ordinary measure of land; it is divided into 10
baletas, these into 100 loanes, which represent 31,250 Castilian
varas. Three labourers are supposed sufficient for the cultivation
of a quiñon. In 1841 the Captain-General Urbiztondo published a
decree encouraging the importation of Chinese agricultural labourers
by landed proprietors, and with a special view to the cultivation
of sugar, indigo and hemp. The decree was expected to produce a
beneficial revolution--it has been a dead letter. Imported labour,
subject to all sorts of restrictions, cannot in the long run compete
with free indigenous labour. The question is a very grave one in its
ramifications and influence on colonial interests, when they come into
the field against the free trade and the free labour of the competing
world. I doubt altogether the powers of the West Indies--dependent upon
imported and costly immigrants--to rival the rich fields of the East,
when capital and activity shall turn to account their feracious soil,
more genial climate, and more economical means of production. Progress
there is but the natural development of the elements which Providence
has allotted to them, whereas in the West India colonies everything
is forced and unnatural, purchased at an immense cost and maintained
by constant sacrifices.
CHAPTER XV.
VEGETABLES.
The money value of the tobacco grown in the Philippines is estimated at
from 4,000,000 to 5,000,000 of dollars, say 1,000,000l. sterling. Of
this nearly one half is consumed in the islands, one-quarter is
exported in the form of cheroots (which is the Oriental word for
cigars), and the remainder sent to Spain in leaves and cigars,
being estimated as an annual average contribution exceeding 800,000
dollars. The sale of tobacco is a strict government monopoly,
but the impossibility of keeping up any efficient machinery for the
protection of that monopoly is obvious even to the least observant. The
cultivator, who is bound to deliver all his produce to the government,
first takes care of himself and his neighbours, and secures the best
of his growth for his own benefit. Out of the capital of Manila
scarcely anything is smoked but the cigarro ilegitimo; and in the
capital you frequently get a hint that "the weed" is not from the
estanco real. From functionaries able to obtain the best which
the government brings to market, a present is often volunteered,
which shows that they avail themselves of something better than that
best. And in discussing the matter with the most intelligent of the
empleados, they agreed that the emancipation of the producer, the
manufacturer and the seller, and the establishment of a simple duty,
would be more productive to the revenue than the present vexatious
and inefficient system of privilege.
There has been an enormous increase in the revenues from tobacco. They
gave nett--
Annual Average.
From 1782 to 1785 260,597 dolls. 86,865 dolls.
From 1786 to 1800 (15 years) 4,950,101 dolls. 330,006 dolls.
From 1801 to 1815 (15 years) 7,228,071 dolls. 481,871 dolls.
From 1816 to 1830 (15 years) 8,403,368 dolls. 560,225 dolls.
From 1831 to 1835 (5 years) 3,707,164 dolls. 741,433 dolls.
From 1836 to 1839 (4 years) 4,990,011 dolls. 1,247,503 dolls.
Since when the produce has more than quadrupled in value.
In 1810 the deliveries were 50,000 bales (of two arrobas), of which
Gapan furnished 47,000, and Cagayan 2,000. In 1841 Cagayan furnished
170,000 bales; Gapan, 84,000; and New Biscay, 34,000. But the produce
is enormously increased; and so large is the native consumption,
of which a large proportion pays no duty, that it would not be
easy to make even an approximative estimate of the extent and value
of the whole tobacco harvest. Where the fiscal authorities are so
scattered and so corrupt;--where communications are so imperfect
and sometimes wholly interrupted;--where large tracts of territory
are in the possession of tribes unsubdued or in a state of imperfect
subjection;--where even among the more civilized Indians the rights
of property are rudely defined, and civil authority imperfectly
maintained;--where smuggling, though it may be attended with some
risk, is scarcely deemed by anybody an offence, and the very highest
functionaries themselves smoke and offer to their guests contraband
cigars, on account of their superior quality,--it may well be supposed
that lax laws, lax morals and lax practices, harmonize with each other,
and that such a state of things as exists in the Philippines must be
the necessary, the inevitable result. It is sufficient to look at the
cost of the raw material and the value of the manufactured article
to perceive what an enormous margin of profit there exists. A quintal
of tobacco will produce--
Dollars.
14 cases, each containing 1,000 cigars, whose value is,
at 6 1/2 dolls. per case 87·50
The quintal of tobacco costs 5·00 dolls.
Manufacture 5·25 dolls.
14 cases at 2 rials 3·50 dolls.
13·75
-----
Profit 73·75
Cheroots (cigars) are manufactured in two forms,--that of the Havana,
the smaller end being twisted to a point,--or cut at both ends, the
usual Manila form. They are of sundry qualities, as follows:--Largest
size, 125 to a box--1st Regalias, 1st Caballeros and Londres; second
size, 250 to a box--2nd Regalias and 1st Cortados, 2nd Caballeros,
1st Havanas (ordinary size, and such as are more commonly used,
Nos. 2 and 3 being those in most demand); 500 to a box--Nos. 2, 3, 4,
and 5 Havanas, 2 and 3 Cortados. Besides these, enormous quantities of
paper cigars (cigarillos) are consumed by the natives. They are sold
in packets of twenty-five, at 5 cuartes; thirty, at 5 1/3 cuartes;
thirty-six, at 5 5/7 cuartes.
The estanco prices for these cigars are, per box--
Dollars.
Imperiales box contains 125 cigars 3·750
Regalias and Caballeros box contains 125 cigars 3·125
1 Havanas, 1 Cortados box contains 250 cigars 3·500
2 Havanas, 2 Cortados box contains 500 cigars 4·000
3 Havanas, 3 Cortados box contains 500 cigars 3·500
4 Havanas, box contains 500 cigars 3·000
5 Havanas, box contains 500 cigars 2·500
Londres box contains 125 cigars 1·875
Upon these minimum prices biddings take place at the monthly public
auctions. So large is the demand that it is difficult to obtain any but
fresh cigars, which require to be kept for two or three years to ripen.
The collection of tobacco and the manufacture of cigars are under the
charge of an administration whose head-quarters are in Manila. The
warehouses are of immense extent, and 20,000 persons probably find
occupation in the preparation of this article of luxury, to say nothing
of those employed in its production. The provinces in which there are
establishments for the collection are Cagayan, La Isabela, New Ecija,
La Union, Abra and Cayan. The largest of the manufactures of cigars
are in Binondo (Manila) and Cavite, in the province of the same name.
Fr. Blanco thus describes the Nicotiana tabacum of the Philippines:
"It is an annual, growing to the height of a fathom, and furnishes the
tobacco for the estancos (licensed shops). Here, as everywhere else,
its quality and taste vary. General opinion prefers the tobacco of
Gapan, but that of the Pasy districts, Laglag and Lambunao, in Iloilo,
of Maasin or Leyte, is appreciated for its fine aroma; also that of
Cagayan, after being kept for some years,--for otherwise, like the
tobacco of the island of Negros, it burns the mouth. It is a narcotic,
and will subdue recent tumours. It is salutary when smoked, and even a
necessity in these regions; it disperses phlegm, protects from the bad
consequences of humidity and the morning dews, and is only injurious to
health when used in excess. Snuff relieves from headaches and disperses
gloomy humours. A small piece of smoked tobacco at the end of a stick
applied to the nose of the lizard, which is here called the chacon
(probably the ghiko), causes its instant death. A cruel practice,"
(adds the father), "for the reptile is most useful, destroying
cockroaches, centipedes, mice and other vermin; besides which its
song may cheer the timid, who believe that while that song lasts
there will be no earthquakes nor any excess of rain."--(Pp. 74-75.)
I am informed by the alcalde mayor of Cagayan that he sent last year
(1858) to Manila from that province tobacco for no less a value than
2,000,000 dollars. The quality is the best of the Philippines; it is
all forwarded in leaf to the capital. He speaks of the character of
the Indians with great admiration, and says acts of dishonesty are
very rare among them, and that property is conveyed in perfect safety
through the province. The quantity of leaf transmitted was 300,000
bales, divided into seven qualities, of which the prices paid were from
two to seven rials per quintal, leaving a large margin of profit. The
tobacco used by the natives is not subject to the estanco, and on
my inquiring as to the cost of a cigar in Cagayan, the answer was,
"Casi nada" (Almost nothing). They are not so well rolled as those of
the government, but undoubtedly the raw material is of the very best.
The demand for the important article of coffee in Australia and
California will probably hereafter be largely supplied from the
Spanish archipelago. Of the mode of cultivation, there is nothing
particularly characteristic of the Philippines. The ground having
been cleared (where on a large extent, by fire), it is fenced in,
the soil prepared, and after having been steeped in water for two
or three days, the sprouts are stuck into the holes which had been
made for their reception, and in the following year are ready for
cutting. The use of the plough largely increases the produce. The
cultivation of sugar is rapidly extending. The harvest takes place
generally from March to May. Four groups of labourers are employed:
the cutters and the carters in the field, the grinders and the boilers
in the manufactory. Improvements are gradually being introduced,
as larger capitalists and more intelligent cultivators come forward;
and the establishment of refineries now in progress will induce many
beneficial changes. Much of the clayed sugar which I saw delivered
at Manila for refining into loaves had rather the appearance of
dirty mud than of a valuable commodity. Though slowly, the work of
improvement goes on, and there could be no greater evidence of it than
the presence of a number of Chinese employed in the various stages
of the fabric. Nor do these Chinese labourers fail to bring with them
much practical knowledge. They are mostly from Fokien, a province in
which the production of sugar is great, and in which there are large
sugar refineries, mostly, however, for the manufacture of sugar-candy,
which is the form in which the Chinese usually purchase the sugar for
consumption, pounding it into powder. I visited several extensive
establishments at Chang-chow-foo, about thirty miles from Amoy,
a port whence the exportation is large.
There are several varieties of the sugar-cane. The zambales is used
principally as food; the encarnado (red), morada (purple), blanca
(white), and listada (striped), give the syrup for manufacture. The
planting of the sprouts takes place between February and May. Weeds
are removed by ploughing, and the plants ripen in ten or twelve
months. In some provinces crops are cultivated for three successive
years; in others, the soil is allowed to rest an intermediate year,
and maize or other produce grown. When cut, the canes are carried
to mills called by the natives cabayavan, to be crushed. The mills
consist of two cylindrical stones with teeth of the molave wood; a
buffalo turns the wheel and the juice is conveyed to the boilers. The
improvements of the West are being slowly introduced, and sundry
economical processes have been adopted. Increasing demand, extended
cultivation and, above all, the application of larger capitals and
greater activity, will, undoubtedly, make the Philippines one of the
great producing countries. A variety of tables have been printed,
showing that the average annual profits on coffee cultivation are
from 20 to 30 per cent.; in some provinces considerably more.
Rice being of far more general production, is estimated to give an
average yearly profit of from 12 to 20 per cent.; sesame returns an
average of about 20 per cent.; cocoa-nuts may be considered at about
equal to rice in the yearly benefits they leave, but the conditions are
so various that it may be difficult to generalize. It may, however, be
asserted with tolerable certainty, that money employed with ordinary
prudence in agricultural investments will give an interest of from
20 to 30 per cent.
The consumption of rice is universal, and the superfluity of the
harvests is taken to the Chinese markets. The varieties of rice have
been elsewhere spoken of, but they may be classed under the two general
heads of water and mountain rice. The aquatic rice is cultivated as in
Europe and America; the sowing of the dry rice usually precedes that
of the water rice, and takes place at the end of May. It is usually
broadcast on the hills, requires to be hoed and weeded, and is ripened
in from three to four months and a half. It is harvested ear by ear.
Fr. Blanco describes four species of water-cultivated (de agua),
and five of mountain-produced (secano) rice. Of the first class, the
lamuyo (Oryza sativa lamuyo) is principally cultivated, especially
in Batangas. The barbed rice (Oryza aristata) grows in Ilocos. Of
the mountain rice, that called quinanda (Oryza sativa quinanda)
is the most esteemed. The cultivation of the water rice begins
by the preparation of the seed deposits (semillero), into which,
at the beginning of the rainy season, the seed is thrown, after a
thorough impregnation of the ground with water, of which several
inches remain on the surface. Ploughing and harrowing produce a mass
of humid mud. During the growth of the seed, irrigation is continued,
and after six weeks the crops are ready for transplanting to the
rice-fields. Men generally pull up the plants, and convey them to the
fields, where women up to their knees in mire separate the plants,
and place them in holes at a regular distance of about five inches
from one another. They are left for some days to take root, when the
grounds are again irrigated. The rice grows to the height of somewhat
more than a yard, and after four months is ready for harvest. It
is a common usage to cut every ear separately with an instrument
whose Indian name is yatap. In some parts a sickle called a lilit is
used. The lilit has a crook by which a number of ears are collected,
and being grasped with the left hand, are cut by the serrated blade
of the sickle held in the right hand. The crops of aquatic rice vary
from thirty to eightyfold.
The mountain rice is sown broadcast after ploughing and harrowing,
and buffaloes are employed to trample the seed into the ground. More
care is sometimes taken, and holes made at regular distances, into
which three or four grains of rice are dropped. Careful cultivation
and great attention to the removal of weeds are said to produce
hundred-fold crops.
It is stated by Father Blanco that a third of the rice harvest has
been known to perish in consequence of the dilatory and lazy way in
which the reaping is conducted.
There is no doubt that the Philippines offer great facilities for
the cultivation of indigo, but it has been neglected and inadequate
attention paid to the manufacture. The growers state that there is
in Europe a prejudice against Manila indigo; but such prejudice can
only be the result of experience, and would be removed by greater care
on the part of the growers, manufacturers and exporters. The crops,
however, are uncertain, and often seriously damaged or destroyed
by tempestuous weather, and by invasions of caterpillars. The
seed is broadcast, sown immediately after the temperate season. It
grows rapidly, but requires to have the weeds which spring up with
it cleared away. It is ready for harvesting in the rainy months,
generally in June. The fermentation, straining, beating, cleaning,
pressing, and final preparation are carried on, not according to the
improved processes of British India, but as they were introduced by
the Spaniards. The Indians, like the Chinese, employ the dye in its
liquid state.
The consumption of the betel root is incredibly great. There are in
the city of Manila, in the courts and ground floors of the houses,
altogether 898 warehouses and shops, of which 429 (or nearly half
the whole) are devoted to the sale of the prepared betel, or to the
materials of which it is composed. There are two warehouses where the
leaf in which the areca nut is wrapped is sold wholesale; there are
105 retail shops for the same article, and there are 308 shops in
which is sold for immediate use the nut mixed with shell-lime, and
served with the buyo (leaf of the piper betel), ready for conveyance
to the mouth of the consumer, to whom it is from usage become an
article of necessity even more urgent than the rice he eats or the
water he drinks.
Of the areca, Fr. Blanco, in his Flora de Filipinas, gives the
following account:--"This species of palm, with which everybody is
acquainted, and which like its fruit is called bonga by the Indians,
grows to about the average height of the cocoa-nut tree. Its trunk is
smaller at the base than the top, very straight, with many circular
rings formed by the junction of the leaves before they fall, which
they do on growing to a certain size. The use of the nut, which is
somewhat smaller than a hen's egg, is well known. When the bonga is
wanting, the Indians employ the bark of the guava, or of the antipolo
(Artocarpus). Mixed with lime and the pepper leaf, it makes the saliva
red. The Indians apply this saliva to the navel of their children
as a cure for the colic and a protection from the effects of cold
air. When ripe, the fruit is red and, I believe, might be used as a
red dye. With copperas it makes a black dye, but inferior to that of
the aroma. The lower part of the leaves, called talupac, is very clean,
broad, white and flexible, making excellent wrappers and serving many
useful purposes. The sprouts are salted and eaten, and are agreeable
to the taste, but when cut the tree perishes."--(P. 495.)
Father Blanco says of the piper betel (Pimenta betel), whose leaves
are employed as envelopes to the areca nut and lime:--"This plant is
universally known, in consequence of the immense consumption of the
betel, or buyo, as the betel is called by the Spaniards. The betel of
Pasay, near Manila, is much esteemed; that of Banang, in Batangas,
is the best of that province, and probably superior to the betel
of Pasay. The tree prefers a somewhat sandy soil, but if too sandy,
as in Pasay, fish is used as a manure, or the rind of the Ajonjoli
(sesame), or other oleaginous fruits. The tree must be frequently
watered. The roots are renovated after a year, but if left to grow old
they produce flowers like the litlit (Piper obliquum). The fruit is
called by the natives poro. Of the Piper parvifolium, an inebriating
liquor is made. The Indians use the leaves as a preservative against
the cholera. All the species of Piper are useful against the poison of
snakes. The wound is first scarified, and either the juice or bruised
leaves of the plant applied and frequently changed. 'I was called,'
says the author of the Flora of the Antilles, 'to a negro whose
thigh had just been bitten by a snake. The poison had made frightful
progress. All the remedies of art had been employed in vain. A negro
appeared, and asked leave to apply the popular mode of cure. There
was then no hope of the recovery of the patient--human life was at
stake--I did not hesitate. In a few moments the progress of the poison
was stopped by the simple application of the Piper procumbens. On
the third application the cure was completed.'"--(Pp. 16, 17.)
Of the vegetation of the Philippines, the bamboo may be deemed the
most extensive, the most useful, and the most beautiful. The graceful
groups of Cañas (the Spanish name, the Tagál is Bocaui) are among the
most charming decorations of the island scenery, and are scattered with
great profusion and variety on the sides of the streams and rivers,
on hills and plains, and always to be found adjacent to the residence
of the native. Waving their light branches at the smallest breeze,
they give perpetual life to the landscape, while they are of daily
service to the people. The Bambus arundo grows to a great height,
and its cane is sometimes more than eight inches in diameter. In
it is sometimes found a small stone, called Tabaxir, to which the
Indians attribute miraculous healing virtues. The Bambus lumampao and
the lima are so hard that the wood is used for polishing brass. The
bamboo serves for an infinity of uses; from the food that nourishes
man or beast, to the weapons that destroy his life: for the comforts of
home; for the conveniences of travel; for the construction of bridges,
several hundred feet in length, over which heavy artillery can safely
pass; for shipping and cordage; for shelter, and for dwellings and
domestic utensils of all sorts; for vessels of every size to retain,
and tubes to convey, water and other fluids; for mats, palings, and
scaffoldings; for musical instruments, even organs for churches; for
a hundred objects of amusement; and, indeed, for all the purposes of
life the bamboo is distinguished. It is the raw material on which
the rude artist makes his experiments--roots, trunks, branches,
leaves, all are called into the field of utility. There is much
of spontaneous production, but it may be multiplied by layers and
cuttings. Some of the bamboos grow to an enormous size. That called by
the natives cauayang totoo, and by the Spaniards caña espino, reaches
the height of from forty to fifty feet, the diameter of the stalk or
trunk exceeding eight inches. One of its divisions will sometimes hold
two pecks of wheat. An infusion of this bamboo is poisonous to deer;
but its leaves are eaten by horses and cattle and its young shoots
as salad by man. The cauayang quiling (caña macho of the Spaniards)
grows to about forty feet in height, its stem being of the size of
a man's arm. From the thickness of the rind and the smallness of the
hollow, it is the strongest of the bamboos, and is used for carrying
burdens on the shoulders; a fourth part of the whole cane, of the
length of two yards, when split, will support any weight that a man
can carry. The cane has an elasticity which lightens the burden to the
bearer. The varieties of the bamboo are scarcely to be counted. The
interior of the osin gives a white substance, which is used as a cure
for urinal and eye diseases.
I once heard a remark that the Crystal Palace itself could have been
filled with specimens of various applications of the bamboo. Minus the
glass, the palace itself might have been constructed of this material
alone, and the protecting police furnished from it with garments,
hats and instruments of punishment. The living trees would fill a
conservatory with forms and colours of wondrous variety and beauty;
and if paintings and poetry, in which the bamboo takes a prominent
place, were allowed, not the walls of the Louvre could be sufficient
for the pictures and the scrolls.
The various classes of canes, rattans and others of the Calamus family,
have a great importance and value. The palasan is frequently three
hundred feet long, and in Mindanao it is said they have been found
of more than treble that length. They are used for cords and cables;
but as the fibres are susceptible of divisions, down to a very fine
thread, they are woven into delicate textures, some of which, as in
the case of hats and cigar-cases, are sold at enormous prices. If not
exposed to damp, the fibres are very enduring, and are safe from the
attacks of the weevil.
The native name for hemp is anabo, the Spanish, cañamo; but the
raw material known in commerce as Manila hemp, is called in the
Philippines by its Indian name, abacá. It is become a very important
article of export, and in the year 1858 no less than 25,000 tons were
shipped for foreign countries from Manila alone. Of this quantity
Great Britain received about one-fourth, and the greater portion of
the remainder went to the United States. Next to sugar and tobacco,
it ranks highest in the list of exported produce. It is employed
not only for cordage, but for textile fabrics. It is the fibre of
one of the plantain family--the Musa trogloditarum textoria. Dampier
says that its growth is confined to the island of Mindanao; but the
quantity there grown is, at the present time, trifling compared to the
production of Luzon, Panay, and other islands of the archipelago. The
finer qualities are in considerable demand for weaving, and these
are, of course, subjected to a more elaborate manipulation. It
readily receives red and blue dyes; the morinda and marsdenia,
native plants, being employed for the purpose. The fruit is said to
be edible, but I am not aware of ever having seen it introduced,
nor would it be likely to compete with the best of the delicious
plantains which the Philippines produce. Father Blanco says that of
these there are no less than fifty-seven varieties. The native name is
saguing. Curious traditions are connected with this fruit. The Arabs
say it was introduced into the world by Allah, when the Prophet lost
his teeth, and could no longer enjoy the date. It is sometimes called
Adam's apron, on the supposition that it was the plant whose leaves
he and Eve employed to cover their nakedness. Its use is universal,
both in its natural state and cooked in various forms.
The cultivation of Coffee might be largely extended. For that, and
indeed for every tropical produce, there is scarcely a limit to the
unappropriated lands well suited to their production. Some of the
coffee is of excellent quality, scarcely distinguishable from that
of Arabia, but the general character is less favourable.
Indeed there is an obvious contrast between the great improvements
which have taken place in the Dutch archipelago, the British colonies,
Ceylon for example, and the stagnation created by the too stationary
habits of the Indian producer. He is little attentive to the proper
selection of soil, the temperature or elevation of the ground, the
choice of the seed, the pruning of the tree, the care of the berry,
the separation of the outer coatings, and other details, which may help
to account for the comparatively small extension of coffee production,
especially considering the enormously increased demand for the article,
and the prodigious development of its cultivation in Netherlands India,
Ceylon and elsewhere.
The quality of the Cocoa is excellent, and I have nowhere tasted better
chocolate than in the Philippines, but the tree is principally planted
for the private use of its possessors. In the convents particularly,
the friars are proud of their chocolate, which is generally made
under their own superintendence, and from fruit raised in their own
grounds and gardens. A little attention is required in the selection
of soil and locality; the fruit is gathered as it ripens, and after
the removal of the cuticle simply requires to be sun-dried.
It is sown in the month of November, and the shade of the banana
is sought for its protection. The cocoa of Zebu is reported to be
equal in excellence to that of the Caracas. In the island of Negros
there is a large spontaneous production. The Indian soaks the cocoa
in sugar juice, and in many parts the beverage is taken twice a day.
The supply of Cotton is one of the most interesting of questions as
regards our manufacturing population, and I have felt surprised at
the small sagacity, the parva sapientia, which has been exhibited by
many who have devoted their attention to the matter. The expectation
that Negroland Africa will be able to fill up the anticipated vacuum
of supply is a vain hope originating in ignorance of the character
and habits of the native races, and it will end in disappointment
and vexation. The capabilities of British India are great, and the
elements of success are there; but the capabilities of China are vastly
greater, and I believe that as in two or three years China was able to
send raw silk to the value of ten millions sterling into the market,
and immediately to make up for the absence of the European supply,
so to China we may hereafter look for a boundless supply of raw
cotton; she now clothes more than three hundred and fifty millions
of her people from her own cotton-fields. The prices in China are
so nearly on a level with those of India that though they allow an
importation to the yearly value of two or three millions sterling in
the southern provinces of China, importations into the northern are
scarcely known. The quality, the modes of cultivation, of cleaning,
of packing, are all susceptible of great improvements; their interests
will make the Chinese teachable, and the Yang-tse-Kiang may be the
channel for the solution of the cotton difficulty.
There seems no sufficient reason why cotton wool should not have been
more largely exported from the Philippines. It is cheaply produced
and might follow the crops of mountain rice. There is a domestic
demand, and that seems to satisfy the grower, for cotton has almost
ceased to be an article of foreign trade. The staple is said to be
short. The plant is an annual and produces its crop in two or three
months after it is sown. It is gathered in the midday sun before the
advent of the rainy season, which destroys both shrub and seedpod.
Cocoa-nut trees (Cocos nucifera), called Nioc by the Tagals,
eminently contribute to the ornament, comfort, and prosperity of
the natives. Trunks, branches, leaves, fruit, all are turned to
account. Oil, wine and spirits are made from its juices. The bark is
employed for caulking and cables; the shell of the cocoa is wrought
and carved in many ways for spoons, cups and domestic utensils; the
burnt shell is employed for dyeing black. The trunk often forms the
frame, the leaves the cover, of the Indian houses. The fibres of the
leaves are manufactured into cloths for garments; the fibres of the
fruit into brushes. The pulp is eaten or made into sweetmeats and the
milk is esteemed for its medicinal virtues. The root, when roasted,
is used as a decoction for the cure of dysentery.
A Spanish writer says that an Indian wants nothing but his Cocal
(cocoa-nut palm garden) for his comfortable support. The tree will give
him water, wine, oil, vinegar, food, cords, cups, brushes, building
materials, black paint, soap, roofing for his house, strings for his
rosaries, tow, red dye, medicine, plaister for wounds, light, fire,
and many other necessaries. It produces fruit after seven years'
growth. The nipa palm is almost, though not quite as useful. These
spontaneous bounties of nature may not be the allies or promoters of
civilization, but they are the compensations which make savage life
tolerable and, if not of high enjoyment, not far from happy.
A very small quantity of Pepper is now grown, though it was formerly
one of the most prized productions of the islands. It is said that
the Indians destroyed all their pepper plantations in consequence of
frauds practised on them by the Manila merchants.
Attempts to introduce some of the more costly spices, such as the
Cinnamon and Nutmeg, have not been attended with success.
Fruits are abundant. There are no less than fifty-seven varieties
of the banana. The fame of the Manila mango is universal in the
East. There are many sorts of oranges, pines (ananas) in great
quantities, guavas, rose-apples, and the mangosteen is found in
Mindanao. The chico is a favourite fruit in winter, somewhat resembling
the medlar, hut I must refer those who desire more extended information
to Father Blanco's Flora, imperfect though it be.
Among the riches of the Philippine Islands, the forest trees occupy an
important place. A collection of 350 specimens was sent to the Royal
Exhibition in London in the form of square-based prisms. In the year
1858 Colonel Valdes published a report on the character and resistance
of Philippine woods for buildings (maderas de construction). The
specimens on which the experiments were made were cubes of one
centimetre and prisms of one centimetre square by one metre of
breadth. The woods were allowed one year's drying. Five experiments
were made on each, and the average results adopted.
The abbreviations employed in the following tables, which give a
synopsis of the results, are:--
E Elasticity.
F Strength of cohesion.
f Arc of flexion produced by a constant weight of 1 kilogram
hung from the centre.
n Arc at which fracture took place.
P Weight applied at the centre of the arc.
c Distance between the supporters of the wood: in some 68
centimetres, in others 60.
Section of prisms, 1 square centimetre.
Length of the same, 1 metre.
R Weight producing fracture at the bend.
T Coefficient of fracture by bending, or of maximum bend.
Resistance is estimated in the direction of the fibres
(diagonally) and perpendicularly upon them.
Scale of Resistance and Special Qualities of Woods, extracted from
the Table, pp. 266-71.
Those with an asterisk are little used for building, either on account
of their cost, scarcity, or unsuitableness for the purpose.
------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------+-------------
1. Resistance. | |
--------------------------------+----------------+----------------+ | Resistance
Pressure. | | | | to
---------------+----------------+ Tension | | 2. | action
Horizontal | Perpendicular | or | Tortion. | Elasticity. | of
with the | upon the | Cohesion. | | | water.
fibre. | fibre. | | | |
---------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+-------------
*Ebano. | *Ebano. | Pototan. | Molave. | Malatalisay. | Molave.
Alupag. | Palma-brava | Malabugat. | Bitoc. | *Malatapay. |
*Balibago. | *Camagon. | Baliti. | Malarujat. | Molave. | Tangan.
*Santol. | Camayuan. | Molave. | Yacal. | Laneti. |
Molave. | Acre. | Alupag. | Guijo. | Bitoc. | Banabà.
*Alintatao. | *Alintatao. | *Balibago. | Alupag. | Malavidondao. |
*Camagon. | Ypil. | Yacal. | *Camagon. | Ypil. |
Mangachapuy. | | | | |
Palma-brava. | Molave. | *Ebano. | Camayuan. | Tangan. |
Calamansanay. | *Santol. | Malavidondao. | Banabà. | Malabugat. | Pototan.
*Narra. | *Malatapay. | Bitoc. | *Balibago. | Malacintud. |
*Malatapay. | Alupag. | Malacintud. | Amoguis. | Guijo. |
Palma-brava. | | | | |
Baliti. | Dongon. | *Pincapincahan.| Calamansanay. | *Narra. |
Acre. | *Balibago. | Palo-Maria. | Laneti. | Yacal. |
Calantas. | *Narra. | *Manga. | Malavidondao. | *Ebano. |
Yacal. | Yacal. | Banabà. | Mangachapuy. | Calumpit. |
*Tindalo. | Baliti. | Calumpit. | *Tindalo. | Palma-brava. |
Palusapis. | Palo-Maria. | Calamansanay. | *Manga. | Calamansanay. |
Mangachapuy. | *Manga. | Palma-brava. | *Alintatao. | Bolongita. |
Dongon. | Palusapis. | Palusapis. | Ypil. | *Balibago. |
Camayuan. | Pototan. | Malarujat. | *Santol. | Palo-Maria. |
Ypil. | Panao. | Bolongita. | Palma-brava. | Sampaloc. |
Pototan. | Aninabla. | Tugan. | Bolongita. | *Camagon. |
Palo-Maria. | Guijo. | Sampaloc. | Pototan. | Dongon. |
Malacintud. | Mangachapuy. | *Santol. | Aninabla. | *Manga. | Molave.
Panao. | Calamansanay. | Panao. | *Malatapay. | Acre. |
*Manga. | Amoguis. | *Camagon. | Antipolo. | Amoguis. | Yacal.
*Pincapincahan.| Banabà. | Anonang. | Dongon. | Lauan. |
Guijo. | Anonang. | *Malatapay. | Acre. | *Alintatao. |
Palo-Maria. | | | | |
Bolongita. | Bolongita. | *Alintatao. | Malacintud. | Tanguili. |
Malavidondao. | Laneti. | Guijo. | Palo-Maria. | *Tindalo. | Guijo.
Banabà. | Malabugat. | Lauan. | *Pincapincahan.| *Pincapincahan.| Antipolo.
Calumpit. | Malvidondao. | Tanguili. | *Narra. | Panao. |
Anonang. | *Tindalo. | *Narra. | Calumpit. | Banabà. |
Malavidondao. | | | | |
Malarujat. | *Pincapincahan.| Dongon. | Sampaloc. | Palusapis. |
Aninabla. | Malacintud. | Amoguis. | *Ebano. | Malarujat. | Calantás.
Bitoc. | Bitoc. | Antipolo. | Tagan. | *Santol. | Bancal.
Amoguis. | Tangulin. | Ypil. | Tanguili. | Camayuan. |
Laneti. | *Baticulin. | Calumpit. | *Baticulin. | Aninabla. |
Malatalisay. | | | | |
Tangan. | Sampaloc. | Malatalisay. | Calantás. | Antipolo. |
Sampaloc. | Lauan. | Camayuan. | Panao. | Baneal. | Lauan.
Malabugat. | Calumpit. | Aninabia. | Malatalisay. | Alupag. | Aninabia.
Tanguili. | Malarujat. | Acre. | Baliti. | Calantás. | Narra.
Malatalisay. | Antipolo. | *Tindalo. | Lauan. | Pototan. |
Antipolo. | Bancal. | Bancal. | Bancal. | Mangachapuy. |
Lauan. | Calantas. | Laneti. | Palusapis. | *Malacatbun. |
Mangachapuy. | | | | |
Bancal. | Tangan. | Mangachapuy. | Malabugat. | *Baticulin. |
*Baticulin. | Malatalisay. | *Malacatbun. | Anonang. | Anonang. |
Calamansanay. | | | | |
*Malacatbun. | *Malacatbun. | *Baticulin. | *Malacatbun. | Baliti. |
Malacintud. | | | | |
---------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+-------------
+----+-----------------------------------------------------+------+------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| | | | | | | | W | Resistance. | | | | Resistance to |
| | | | | | | | e +---------------+-------+ | W | | tortion |
| | | | | | | | i | To pressure | | | e | +---------------+
| | | | | | | | g | by cubic | | M | i | |Co-efficient of|
| | | | | | | | h | centimetres. | | a a ( | g | S p | fracture T. |
| | | | | | | | t +-------+-------+ T | x l b | h e | t e +-------+-------+
| | | | | | | | | | | e | i l u | t l | r r | | |
| | | | | | | | o | | | n | m o i | a | e | | |
| | | | | | | | f | | | s | u w l | c s | n s | | |
| | | | | | | | | | p | i | m e d | o t | g q | | |
| | | | | | | | t | | e | o | d i | r i | t u | | |
| | | | | | | | h | W o | O r | n | e n | r c | h a | | |
| | | | | | | | e | i f | n p | c | l i g | e i | r | | |
| | | | | | | | | t | e | o o | a n s | s t | o e | | |
| | | | | | | | c | h t | t n | r h | s ) | p y | f | | |
| -- | Name, Description and Application. | f. | n. | P. | c. | R. | u | h | h d | e | t c . | o , | c | | |
| | | | | | | | b | t e | e i | s s | i o | n | e e | | A |
| | | | | | | | i | h | c | t i | c n | d 1 | l n | A s | p s |
| | | | | | | | c | e f | g u | r o | i s | i - | a t | b t | p t |
| | | | | | | | | i | r l | e n | t t | n 1 | s i | s r | l r |
| | | | | | | | d | g b | a a | n . | y r | g 0 | t m | o e | i e |
| | | | | | | | e | r r | i r | g | u | t | i e | l n | c n |
| | | | | | | | c | a e | n l | t | t c | t h | c t | u g | a g |
| | | | | | | | i | i . | y | h | o t | o | i r | t t | b t |
| | | | | | | | m | n | . | | i | F | t e | e h | l h |
| | | | | | | | e | | | o | b o | t . | y . | . | e . |
| | | | | | | | t | | | f | e n | h | | | |
| | | | | | | | r | | | | | i | | | |
| | | | | | | | e | | | | | s | | | |
| | | | | | | | . | | | | | | | | |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------+------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+----------+-------+---------+-------+-------+
| | | Cent.| Cent.| Kilo. | Cent. | Kilo. | Kilo. | Kilo. | Kilo. | Kilo. | | Kilo. | | Kilo. | Kilo. |
| 1 |Acre--Mimosa acre (Monodelphia dodecandria). | 1·6 | 13·0 | 4·78 | 68·0 | 1·10 | 1·12 | 498 | 340 | 490 | 1/1000 | 49·0 | 49,130 | 140·0 | 14·00 |
| | Abounds in the islands. Employed for buildings | | | | | | | | | | =0·001 | | | | |
| | and shipping. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 |Alintatao--Diospyros piloshantera (?) (Octandria | 1·3 | 6·3 | 6·21 | 68·0 | 1·25 | 0·91 | 598 | 300 | 728 | 1/1080 | 72·8 | 78,600 | 159·0 | 16·00 |
| | monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0·0008 | | | | |
| | Several varieties. Used for household furniture. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Luzon and Visayas. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 |Alupag Alopai--Euphoria litchi (Octandria monoginia).| 0·3 | 5·0 | 13·80 | 60·0 | 1·40 | 0·92 | 666 | 220 | 1,242 | 1/1443 | 124·2 | 179,280 | 178·2 | 17·82 |
| | Used for posts. Abounds. | | | | | | | | | | =0·0007 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 |Ambogues or Amoguis--Cyrtocarpa quinquistila | 1·4 | 9·0 | 5·06 | 68·0 | 1·40 | 0·98 | 338 | 130 | 572 | 1/1000 | 57·2 | 36,362 | 165·5 | 16·55 |
| | (Decandria pentaginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0·001 | | | | |
| | Suffers much from termites. Used for planks. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 |Aninabla or Aninapla--Mimosa conaria(?) (Monoecia | 1·2 | 7·0 | 4·83 | 68·0 | 1·15 | 0·59 | 340 | 146 | 493 | 1/1335 | 49·3 | 65,500 | 146·37| 14·64 |
| | dodecandria). | | | | | | | | | | =0·00075| | | | |
| | Used for house and boat building. Valued for | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | light weight and long duration. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 |Anonang--Cordia sebesteria (Pentandria monoginia). | 0.4 | 4.0 | 8·28 | 60·0 | 0·5 | 0·46 | 340 | 120 | 745 | 1/1942 | 74·5 | 144,700 | 64·0 | 6·40 |
| | Leaves, while growing, covered with worms. | | | | | | | | | | =0·0005 | | | | |
| | Wood used for drums and musical instruments. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 |Antipolo--Artocarpus incisa (Monoecia diandria). | 0·1 | 10·0 | 5·52 | 68·0 | 0·9 | 0·41 | 286 | 70 | 564 | 1/1390 | 56·4 | 78,608 | 115·0 | 11·50 |
| | For canoes, floors and machines. Garters are | | | | | | | | | | =0·00072| | | | |
| | made from a gum that exudes. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 |Balibago--Hibiscus tellacius (Monodelphia | 1·0 | 10·0 | 5·52 | 68·0 | 0·9 | 0·46 | 616 | 200 | 1,180 | 1/924 | 118·0 | 108,000 | 165·0 | 16·50 |
| | poliandria). | | | | | | | | | | =0·00108| | | | |
| | Cords and paper made of the bark; gunpowder | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | of the charcoal. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 |Baliti--Ficus Indica (Monoecia triandria). | 0·2 | 0·6 | 14·95 | 60·0 | 0·7 | 0·40 | 498 | 176 | 1,345 | 1/2008 | 134·5 | 270,000 | 89·1 | 8·91 |
| | Banian tree. Chopped roots used for curing | | | | | | | | | | =0·00049| | | | |
| | wounds. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 |Baticulin--Millingtonia quadripinnata (Didinamia | 0·2 | 0·1 | 2·10 | 68·0 | 0·9 | 0·42 | 186 | 100 | 215 | 1/1818 | 21·5 | 39,300 | 114·5 | 11·45 |
| | angiospermia). | | | | | | | | | | =0·00055| | | | |
| | White woods for moulds and sculpture. Lasts | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | long without decay. Abounds. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 |Banaba--Munchaustia speciosa (Poliadelphia | 0·7 | 0·7 | 5·06 | 68·0 | 1·3 | 0·65 | 348 | 126 | 904 | 1/1242 | 90·4 | 112,300 | 166·0 | 16·60 |
| | poliandria). | | | | | | | | | | =0·0008 | | | | |
| | Great tenacity; resists action of climate | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | and water. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 |Baneal--Nauclea glaberrima (Pentandria monoginia). | 1·2 | 10·5 | 4·60 | 68·0 | 0·6 |0·58 | 220 | 66 | 470 | 1/148 | 47·0 | 65,500 | 76·37| 7·64 |
| | Tenacious and enduring. Used for furniture and | | | | | | | | | | =0·00071| | | | |
| | floors, ships, casks and quays. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 |Bitoc--Mirtica (?) | 1·15 | 13·0 | 9·90 | 68·0 | 1·7 |0·71 | 338 | 100 | 1,010 | 1/700 | 101·0 | 68,250 | 216·4 | 21·64 |
| | A strong wood to resist pressure. | | | | | | | | | | =0·00148| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 |Bolonguita--Diospyros (Octandria monoginia). | 0·9 | 10·8 | 8·40 | 68·0 | 1·2 |0·90 | 360 | 120 | 858 | 1/917 | 85·8 | 78,600 | 153·0 | 15·30 |
| | Solid texture for building. Abounds. | | | | | | | | | | =0·00109| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 15 |Calamansanay--Gimbernatia calamansanay (Decandria | 1·0 | 10·0 | 8·74 | 68·0 | 1·3 |0·86 | 533 | 130 | 892 | 1/885 | 89·2 | 78,600 | 165·0 | 16·50 |
| | monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0·00113| | | | |
| | Planks for flooring and building. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 |Calantas (Native Cedar)--Cedrela odorata | 1·0 | 7·0 | 5·06 | 68·0 | 0·85 |0·40 | 470 | 60 | 517 | 1/1515 | 51·7 | 78,600 | 108·2 | 10·82 |
| | (Pentandria monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0·00066| | | | |
| | Found throughout the Philippines. Used for | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | canoes. Taratara, a variety. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 17 | Calumpit--Terminalia edulis (Decandria monoginia). | 1·0 | 11·2 | 8·68 | 68·0 | 1·0 |0·60 to| 348 | 90 | 905 | 1/87 | 90·5 | 78,600 | 127·28| 12·73 |
| | Abounds in Angol. Building. Great strength on | | | | | | 0·80 | | | | =0·00115| | | | |
| | the line of the fibres. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | |
| 18 | Camagon--Variety of the Diospyros piloshantera | 1·1 | 9·3 | 7·36 | 68·0 | 1·35 | 0·92 | 558 | 340 | 752 | 1/952 | 75·2 | 71,472 | 172·0 | 17·20 |
| | (Alintatao). | | | | | | | | | | =0·00105| | | | |
| | Beautifully veined and spotted. Easily | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| polished. Fine furniture. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 19 | Camayuan--Diospyros(?) | 1·2 | 14·8 | 8·74 | 68·0 | 1·3 | 0·94 | 434 | 340 | 493 | 1/1333 | 49·3 | 65,500 | 166·0 | 16·60 |
| | Used for building. | | | | | | | | | | =0·00075| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 20 | Dongon--Variety of Herculia ambiformis (Monoecia | 1·3 | 7·57| 6·44 | 68·0 | 1·1 | 1·02 | 435 | 200 | 658 | 1/926 | 65·8 | 60,468 | 140·0 | 14·00 |
| | adelphia). | | | | | | | | | | =0·00108| | | | |
| | Good building wood. Largely produced. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 21 | Ebano--Variety of the Sapote negro Diospyros nigra; | 0·35 | 7·5 | 1·45 | 51·6 | 1·1 | 1·91 | 688 | 470 | 1,122 | 1/862 | 112·2 | 97,400 | 114·0 | 11·40 |
| | variety of Camagon and Alintatao. | | | | | | | | | | =0·00116| | | | |
| | Bears a very fine polish. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 22 | Guijo--Dipterocarpus guijo (Poliandria monoginia). | 1·3 | 10·5 | 7·70 | 68·0 | 1·5 | 0·76 | 370 | 140 | 720 | 1/833 | 72·0 | 60,000 | 190·1 | 19·00 |
| | Shipbuilding, keels, carriage-wheels. Much | | | | | | | | | | =0·0012 | | | | |
| | esteemed and abundant. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 23 | Laneti--Anaser laneti (Pentandria monoginia). | 2·5 | 14·8 | 4·50 | 68·0 | 1·3 | 0·55 | 336 | 120 | 462 | 1/695 | 46·2 | 31,443 | 165·0 | 16·50 |
| | Elastic and suited for furniture. | | | | | | | | | | =0·00144| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 24 | Lauan or Landang--Dipterocarpus thurifera | 1·1 | 8·0 | 6·80 | 68·0 | 0·6 | 0·43 | 226 | 90 | 694 | 1/1031 | 69·4 | 71,742 | 76·4 | 7·64 |
| | (Poliandria monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0·00097| | | | |
| | Gives resin for incense. Much used formerly for | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | shipping. Not splintered by balls. Abounds. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 25 | Malacatbun--Tetracera sarmentosa (?) (Poliandria | 1·5 | 6·0 | 3·00 | 68·0 | ... | 0·63 | 146 | 60 | 306 | 1/1724 | 30·6 | 52,400 | | |
| | tetraginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0·00058| | | | |
| | Of little use. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 26 | Malacintud | 1·0 | 8·5 | 6·80 | 68·0 | 1·1 | 0·645 | 400 | 160 | 995 | 1/793 | 99·5 | 78,600 | 140·0 | 14·00 |
| | Strong wood, fit for building. | | | | | | | | | | =0·00126| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 27 | Malavidondao--Mavindalo (?) (Niota.) | 1·0 | 9·0 | 0·81 | 68·0 | 1·3 | 0·78 | 350 | 116 | 1,103 | 1/714 | 110·3 | 78,600 | 165·4 | 16·54 |
| | Ship futtocks. Strong wood. | | | | | | | | | | =0·0014 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 28 | Malatalisay--Terminalia mauritania (Decandria | 0·15 | 15·0 | 2·82 | 42·3 | 0·8 | 0·50 | 300 | 60 | 498 | 1/500 | 49·8 | 25,230 | 101·82| 10·18 |
| | monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0·002 | | | | |
| | Elastic and flexible. Shipbuilding. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 29 | Malaruhat or Maladujat--Mirtaceas (?) | 0·7 | 7·8 | 8·51 | 68·0 | 1·5 | 0·79 | 340 | 76 | 870 | 1/1300 | 87·0 | 112,300 | 191·0 | 19·10 |
| | Solid texture. Uses not mentioned. | | | | | | | | | | =0·00077| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 30 | Malatapay or Mabalo; also Talang--Diospyros | 2·0 | 12·3 | 7·25 | 68·0 | 1·15 | 0·78 | 500 | 290 | 740 | 1/500 | 74·0 | 39,300 | 146·4 | 14·64 |
| | embriopteris(Poliandria monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0·002 | | | | |
| | For furniture and building. Resembles ebony. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 31 | Malabagat | 0·7 | 8·5 | 4·00 | 68·0 | 0·5 | 0·89 | 330 | 120 | 1,430 | 1/770 | 143·0 | 112,300 | 64·0 | 6·40 |
| | Building, especially for supporting longitudinal | | | | | | | | | | =0·0013 | | | | |
| | pressure. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 32 | Manga--Mangifera Indica (Pentandria monoginia) | 0·6 | 13·0 | 0·12 | 60·0 | 1·3 | 0·58 | 380 | 166 | 910 | 1/989 | 91·0 | 90,000 | 16·4 | 1·64 |
| | Variety of Cuba mango. From value of fruit, wood | | | | | | | | | | =0·001 | | | | |
| | little used. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 33 | Mangachapuy or Guison Dilao--Dipterocarpus | 1·25 | 5·8 | 3·64 | 68·0 | 1·3 | 0·88 | 438 | 136 | 372 | 1/1700 | 37·2 | 62,887 | 165·0 | 16·50 |
| | magachapuy (Poliandria monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0·0006 | | | | |
| | For ships and houses. Fine planks for floors. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 34 | Molave--Vilex geniculata altissima (Didinamia | 1·0 | 11·0 | 12·31 | 68·0 | 2·00 |0·95 to| 600 | 290 | 1,257 | 1/625 | 125.5 | 78,600 | 254.6 | 25.460|
| | angiospermia). | | | | | | 1·02 | | | | =0.0016 | | | | |
| | Called by the natives Queen of Woods. Used for | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | all purposes. Resists action of water and of | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | lime; also attacks of insects. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 35 | Narra, or Naga, or Asang--Pterocarpus palidus | 1·73 | 7·3 | 6·20 | 68·0 | 1·00 | 0.66 | 500 | 200 | 633 | 1/833 | 63.3 | 52,400 | 127.3 | 12.730|
| | santalinus (Diadelphia dodecandria). | | | | | | | | | | =0.0012 | | | | |
| | Buildings, furniture, doors and windows. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 36 | Palo-Maria, or Bitanhol--Calophilum mophilum | 0·9 | 7·3 | 9·20 | 68·0 | 1·05 | 0.68 | 400 | 126 | 950 | 1/926 | 95.0 | 87,350 | 134.0 | 13.400|
| | (Poliadelphia poliandria). | | | | | | | | | | =0.00109| | | | |
| | Planks and shipping purposes. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 37 | Palma-brava, or Anajao--Coripha minor (Hexandria | 1·0 | 6·5 | 8·74 | 68·0 | 1·20 | 1.085 | 530 | 400 | 892 | 1/884 | 89.2 | 78,600 | 153.0 | 15.300|
| | monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0.00113| | | | |
| | Hard and enduring, especially under water. Used | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | for piles. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 38 | Palusapis--Dipterocarpus palusapis (Poliandria | 0·5 | 8·5 | 9·66 | 60·0 | 0·70 | 0.50 | 440 | 146 | 870 | 1/1243 | 87.0 | 108,000 | 89.0 | 8.900|
| | monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0.0008 | | | | |
| | Strong wood. Used for canoes. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 39 | Panao, or Balao, or Malapajo--Dipterocarpus | ... | ... | ... | 60·0 | 0·80 | 0.69 | 393 | 146 | 800 | 1/1125 | 80.0 | 90,000 | 101.8 | 10.180|
| | vernicephurus (Poliandria monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0·0012 | | | | |
| | Buildings and ships. Incision in the trunk | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | gives a fragrant resin, which, put in a hollow | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | bamboo, is used for light by the Indians. Gives | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | the talay oil, which destroys insects in wood. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Used also for varnish. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 40 | Pencapencahan--Bignonia quadripinnata (Didinamia | 0·5 | 6·0 | 10·80 | 60·0 | 1·05 | 0.46 | 378 | 106 | 972 | 1/1111 | 97.2 | 108,000 | 134.0 | 13.400|
| | angiospermia). | | | | | | | | | | =0·00144| | | | |
| | Used principally for clogs and buoys. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 41 | Pototan or Bacao--Rizophora gimaoriza (Dodecandria | 0·2 | 7·0 | 19·78 | 60·0 | 1·20 | 0.69 | 420 | 146 | 1,780 | 1/1517 | 178.0 | 270,000 | 153.0 | 15.300|
| | monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0.00065| | | | |
| | For piles, as resisting the action of water. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 42 | Sampaloc or Tamarind--Tamarindus Indica (Triandria | 1·0 | 12·0 | 8·28 | 68·0 | 0·95 | 0.62 | 320 | 90 | 846 | 1/934 | 84.6 | 78,600 | 121.0 | 12.100|
| | monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0.00107| | | | |
| | For tools and some building purposes. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 43 | Santol--Sandoricum Indicum (Decandria monoginia). | 0·5 | 7·0 | 9·00 | 60·0 | 1·20 | 0.46 | 630 | ... | 810 | 1/1323 | 81.0 | 108,000 | 153.0 | 15.300|
| | For posts and pillars; not common. | | | | | | | | | | =0.0007 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 44 | Tanguili--Dipterocarpus polispermum (Poliandria | 1·1 | 10·0 | 6·80 | 68·0 | 0·90 | 0.57 | 300 | 100 | 693 | 1/1031 | 69.3 | 71,462 | 114.56| 11.456|
| | monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0.00096| | | | |
| | Building purposes. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 45 | Tangan--Rizophora longissima (?) (Dodecandria | 1·2 | 12·8 | 8·40 | 68·0 | 0·90 | 0.65 | 330 | 60 | 658 | 1/756 | 88.5 | 65,500 | 114.56| 11.456|
| | monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0.00135| | | | |
| | Window frames, joints, &c. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 46 | Tindalo--Eperna rhomboidea (Decandria monoginia). | 1·6 | 5·5 | 4·60 | 68·0 | 1·30 | 0.89 | 450 | 106 | 470 | 1/1042 | 47.0 | 49,130 | 165.5 | 16.550|
| | For furniture; has a pleasant fragrance. | | | | | | | | | | =0.00096| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 47 | Yacal--Dipterocarpus plagatus (Poliandria | 0·8 | 10·8 | 11·50 | 68·0 | 1·30 | 1.105 | 450 | 200 | 1,174 | 1/833 | 117.4 | 98,260 | 191.0 | 19.100|
| | monoginia). | | | | | | | | | | =0.0012 | | | | |
| | Used for ship and house building. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 48 | Ypil--Eperna decandria (Decandria monoginia). | 2·0 | 13·5 | 5·50 | 68·0 | 1·20 | 1.035 | 434 | 300 | 563 | 1/714 | 56.3 | 39,300 | 153.0 | 15.300|
| | Generally for building. Abounds in Luzon. | | | | | | | | | | =0.0014 | | | | |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------+------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+----------+-------+---------+-------+-------+
CHAPTER XVI.
ANIMALS.
The buffalo is, perhaps, the most useful of Philippine
quadrupeds. Immense herds of wild buffaloes are found in the interior,
but the tamed animal is employed in the labours of the fields and
the transport of commodities, whether on its back or in waggons. His
enjoyment is to be merged in water or mud. Such is the attachment of
the mother to her young that she has been known to spring into the
river and furiously to pursue the crocodile that had robbed her of
her calf. Wild boars and deer abound.
A good deal of attention has been paid to improvement of the race of
native ponies, and their value has much increased with the increasing
demand. Till of late years the price was from forty to fifty dollars,
but the Captain-General told me that the four ponies which he was
accustomed to use in his carriage cost 500 dollars.
Though the accounts of the silent, concealed and rapid ravages of the
white ants would sometimes appear incredible, credulity respecting
them will outstrip all bounds. We had a female servant at Hong Kong
who told us she had lent her savings in hard dollars to one of her
relations, and, on claiming repayment, was informed that the white
ants had eaten the dollars, nor did the woman's simplicity doubt the
story. In the Philippines at sunset during the rains their presence
becomes intolerable. One well-authenticated fact may serve as an
illustration of the destructive powers of these insects, to whom
beautiful gauze wings have been given, as to butterflies in the
later stage of their existence, which wings drop off as they find a
resting-place. In the town of Obando, province of Bulacan, on the 18th
of March, 1838, the various objects destined for the services of the
mass, such as robes, albs, amices, the garments of the priests, &c,
were examined and placed in a trunk made of the wood called narra
(Pterocarpus palidus). On the 19th they were used in the divine
services, and in the evening were restored to the box. On the 20th
some dirt was observed near it, and on opening, every fragment of the
vestments and ornaments of every sort were found to have been reduced
to dust, except the gold and silver lace, which were tarnished with
a filthy deposit. On a thorough examination, not an ant was found in
any other part of the church, nor any vestige of the presence of these
voracious destroyers; but five days afterwards they were discovered
to have penetrated through a beam six inches thick.
Few of the larger wild animals are found in the Philippines. The
elephant must have been known in former times, as the names gadya
(elephant) and nangagadya (elephant-hunting) are preserved in
the Tagal language. Oxen, swine, buffaloes, deer, goats, sheep,
a great variety of apes and monkeys, cats, flying squirrels, dogs,
rats, mungoes and other quadrupeds, are found in various stages of
domesticity and wildness.
The great insect pests of the Philippines are the white ants (termes)
and the mosquitos. Fleas, bugs and flies are less numerous and
tormenting than in many temperate regions.
Some of the bats measure from five to six feet from the tips of
their wings.
There are incredible stories about a small black bird of the swallow
race, which is said to make its nest in the tail of wild horses. De Mas
quotes what he calls undoubtedly trustworthy authorities [28] for his
arguments. There is an immense variety of gallinaceous fowls, pigeons
and birds, whose Indian names would to European ornithologists bring
little information; among which the balicyao is celebrated for its
song; the mananayom (solitary), which always dies when captured; the
coling, easily taught to talk; numerous parrots; the calao, which has
a large transparent bill and crows like a cock; the bocuit, or bird of
seven colours, which has a singularly sweet note; the valoor, a pigeon
whose plumage is varied like that of the partridge; another called the
dundunay, which is reported to be one of the most beautiful of birds.
Snakes, lizards and other reptiles abound; spiders of enormous size,
tarantulas, &c. The guiko is very disturbing, from its noise. I
was struck with the tenacity with which this creature held, even in
the agonies of death, to a piece of timber on which it was placed;
the soles of its feet seemed to have all the power of the sucker
with which boys amuse themselves, and the animal was detached with
great difficulty.
The fire-flies illuminate the forests at night. There are some trees
to which they attach themselves in preference to others. Few objects
are more beautiful than a bush or tree lighted by these bright and
glancing stars. The brilliant creatures seem to have a wonderful
sympathy with one another, sometimes by the production of a sudden
blaze of beautiful fire, of a light and delicate green, and sometimes
by its as sudden extinction.
Of aquatic creatures the tortoise is of considerable commercial
importance. The natives, who watch the time of their coming on shore,
conceal themselves, and, when a certain number are marching inland,
run between the tortoises and the waves, turn them one after another
on their backs, and return at their leisure to remove them. The large
bivalve called by the natives taclovo, and which is used much in the
churches as the receptacle for holy water, and is seen frequently
at the entrance of houses, is captured by dropping a cord upon the
body of the animal when the shell is opened, the animal immediately
closes upon the cord, and is dragged to the surface with the greatest
ease. I am not aware of the existence of any conchological work on the
Philippines, though there is a great variety of land and water shells.
CHAPTER XVII.
MINERALS.
The Mining Laws, Reglamento de Minas, are of a liberal character and
allow concessions to be made to any person, Spaniard, Indian, mestizo,
naturalized or established foreigner, who shall discover and report
the discovery of a mine, and undertake to work it. Sundry officials
and all ecclesiastics are excluded from the privilege. The work
must be entered upon in ninety days, under certain conditions; four
months of continued suspension, or eight months of interrupted labour,
within the year bring the loss of the conceded privilege. There must
not be less than eight labourers employed. The mines are subjected
to the inspection of the mining department The mining regulations
were published by the Captain-General Claveria in January, 1846.
The gold of the Philippines is produced by washing and digging. In
several of the provinces it is found in the rivers, and natives are
engaged in washing their deposits. The most remarkable and profitable
of the gold mines worked by the Indians are those of Tulbin and
Suyuc. They break the rock with hammers, and crush it between two small
millstones, dissolving the fragments in water, by which the gold is
separated. They melt it in small shells, and it produces generally
from eight to ten dollars an ounce, but its fineness seldom exceeds
sixteen carats. It is found in quartz, but the nuggets are seldom of
any considerable size. The inhabitants of Caraga cut in the top of a
mountain a basin of considerable size, and conduct water to it through
canals made of the wild palm; they dig up the soil while the basin
is filling, which is opened suddenly, and exhibits for working any
existing stratification of gold; these operations are continued till
the pits get filled with inroads of earth, when they are abandoned;
generally, when a depth has been reached which produces the most
advantageous returns, the rush of waters conveys away much of the metal
which would otherwise be deposited and collected. Gold is also found
in the alluvial deposits which are ground between stones, thrown into
water, and the metal sinks to the bottom. The rivers of Caraballo,
Camarines, and Misamis, and the mountains of Caraga and Zebu, are the
most productive. Many Indian families support themselves by washing
the river sands, and in the times of heavy rains gold is found in the
streets of some of the pueblos when the floods have passed. There
can be no doubt of the existence of much gold in the islands, but
principally in the parts inhabited by the independent tribes.
The Sociedad Exploradora is engaged in working gold-mines and washing
auriferous sands in the province of New Ecija.
Gold dust is the instrument of exchange in the interior of Mindanao,
and is carried about in bags for the ordinary purposes of life. The
possession of California by the Spaniards for so many generations
without the development of its riches may explain their inertness
and indifference in the Philippines, notwithstanding the repeated
averments of Spanish writers that the archipelago abounds in gold.
Iron also abounds, especially in the province of Bulacan; but it may be
doubted whether it can be produced as cheaply as it may be imported,
especially while roads are in so backward a state, and carriage
charges so heavy. Many iron-works have been entered on and abandoned.
A coal-mine is being explored at Guila Guila, in the island of Zebu,
on the river Mananga, at a distance of about six miles from the town
of San Nicolas, which has nearly 20,000 inhabitants and is by far
the largest town in the island. There are reported to be strata of
coal from one to four feet in thickness. The proprietor informs me
that he expects in the course of another year to be able to deliver
coals on the coast at a moderate rate in Tangui, which is close to
the town of Falisay.
Of the various objects of speculation, mining is probably the
most attractive to the adventurer, from the high premiums which it
sometimes brings to the successful. When the risk is divided among
many shareholders, it partakes of the character of a lottery, in
which the chances are proportioned to the stakes; but where, as in
most of the mining speculations of the Philippines, the enterprises
are conducted by individuals, without adequate means to overcome
the preliminary difficulties and to support the needful outlay,
disappointment, loss, ruin and the abandonment of probably valuable
and promising undertakings are but of too frequent occurrence. I
have before me some details of the attempts made to work the copper
ores of Mancayan, in the district of Cagan (now called Lepanto), in
South Ilocos (Luzon). They have been worked in the rudest way by the
Igorrote Indians from time immemorial, and the favourable report of
the richness of the ores which were sent to Europe led to renewed but
inadequate attempts for their exploitation. A good deal of money has,
I understand, been lost, without providing the necessary machinery
for extracting the metal, or roads for its conveyance. A sample taken
from a stratum ten feet in height and seven in breadth, on the side
of a pit four yards deep, gave, as the results of an analysis, 44 per
cent. of copper, 29 of sulphur, 18 of arsenic, and 9 of iron. The
ruggedness of the rocks, the thickness of the forest jungle, the
indolence of the natives, and, probably more than these, the absence
of an intelligent direction and sufficient pecuniary resources, have
produced much discouragement. Don Antonio Hernandez says there are 280
Indian (Igorrote) families occupied in Mancayan in copper digging and
melting; that they only produce annually about 200 picos (of 137 1/2
lbs. each), which they sell at from eight to nine dollars per pico
on the spot; to the neighbouring Christian Indians at ten to twelve,
who resell them on the coast at from thirteen to sixteen dollars.
The Indians in Ilocos and Pangasinan manufacture their own domestic
utensils from the copper extracted by themselves.
Finely variegated marbles exist in the province of Bataan, and some
have been used for ornamenting the churches; but their existence has
excited little attention, and no sale was found for some large blocks
quarried by a patriotic adventurer.
I have before mentioned that there are many mineral waters in the
island--sulphurous and ferruginous--at Antipolo. In the Laguna
there is a virgin patroness, whose festival lasts eighteen days,
and immense crowds of all races come to drink the waters, and join
the processions in her honour. The inhabitants of Manila attribute
great virtues to the waters of Pagsanghan.
CHAPTER XVIII.
MANUFACTURES.
The art of weaving, or that of crossing threads so as to produce
a wearable tissue, is one of the evidences of a transition from
savage towards civilized life. In cold countries the painting the
body, or covering it with furs and skins, or bark of trees, is the
resource of a wild people; but the necessity for dress of any sort
is so little felt in tropical regions that the missionaries claim the
credit of introducing the loom, and of instructing the natives in all
the matters most conducive to their comforts. For their houses they
taught them to make lime and brick and tiles--staircases, windows and
chimneys--and better to protect themselves against rain and storms;
chairs, tables and domestic utensils followed; carriages for conveyance
of commodities; but, above all, the friars boast of the application,
and devotion, and success of the Indians in decorating the Christian
churches, building and ornamenting altars, sculpturing virgins and
saints, and generally contributing to the splendours of ecclesiastical
ceremonials.
The science of ship-building made great advances. To the canoes
(barotos is the Indian name) scooped out of a single trunk, and used
only for river navigation, succeeded well-built vessels of several
hundred tons, by which a commerce along the coast and among the
islands was established. At first the planks were the whole length of
the vessel, but European improvements have gradually been adopted,
and the ships now built in the Philippines are not distinguishable
from those of the mother country. We found many on the stocks on the
banks of the river Agno, and the Indian constructors were desirous of
looking into all the details of H. M.'s ship Magicienne, in which the
captain and officers most courteously aided them, in order to avail
themselves of any improvements which our vessel exhibited. The cost
of construction was reported to be about 15l. sterling per ton. The
Bella Bascongada, a vessel of 760 tons, built in Pangasinan, cost
54,000 dollars, or about 11,000l. sterling.
Little has been done for the introduction of improved machinery for
the manufacture of tissues, which are made of silk, cotton, abacá,
and, above all, the exquisitely fine fabrics produced from the fibre
of the pine-apple leaf, called piñas. These are worked on the simplest
looms, made of bamboos, and of a thread so fine that it is necessary
to protect it, by the use of a fine gauze, from even the agitation of
the wind. The Bisayan provinces, and especially the neighbourhood of
Iloilo, are most distinguished for the manufacture of this beautiful
tissue, which is sent to the capital for embroidery, and prices which
seem fabulous are paid for the more elaborate specimens--one or two
ounces of gold being frequently given for a small handkerchief. In
Zebu handsome cotton rugs are made, and in Panay a variety of stuffs
of sundry materials.
The Indians have the art of softening and manufacturing horn. In
metals they make chains of silver and gold of great fineness, for
which formerly there was a great demand in Mexico, but I believe
European jewellery has supplanted the Indian craftsman.
Mats are a remarkable production of the islands. Many of them are
very beautiful, of various colours, and are ornamented with gold and
silver patterns. As mattresses are never used for beds, everybody
sleeps on a mat, which in some cases, but not generally, is provided
with a sheet and a long soft pillow, which is placed between the legs
and deemed a needful appliance for comfortable repose.
Fibre-wrought hats and cigar-cases of various colours, the white,
however, being the most costly and beautiful, compete with similar
productions of the natives of Panama.
The tools and instruments employed by the Indians in manufacture are
all of the simplest and rudest character.
The alcoholic beverage called vino de nipa is largely produced in the
Philippines. It was made a monopoly as early as 1712 in the provinces
near the capital, and then produced 10,000 dollars of annual revenue;
the farm was abolished in 1780, and in 1814 the collection was
transferred to the general administration. The juice is obtained by
cutting a hole in a pulpy part of the palm, introducing a bamboo cane,
and binding the tree over the receiving vessel. The sale of the nipa
wine is a monopoly in the hands of the Government. The monopoly is much
and reasonably complained of by the Indians. Excise duties leading to
domiciliary visits, and interfering with the daily concerns of life,
have been always and in all countries deemed one of the most vexatious
and disagreeable forms of taxation. Man, whatever be his colour, is
everywhere man, and everywhere exhibits, though in different forms,
the same general dislikes and sympathies. The heavy hand of extortion
and oppression does not crush the Filipinos, but a redistribution of
the forms of taxation would be beneficial to the fiscal interest and
satisfactory to the people.
CHAPTER XIX.
POPULAR PROVERBS.
The following collection of proverbs will be found curious and
characteristic. They will serve to throw light upon the genius of
the people, and are appropriate specimens of the Tagal idiom:--
Ang mañga casalanan ang nacasisira sa calolova.--Sins are the diseases
of the soul.
Valan di dungmating na dalita t' saguit cay Job ay dili y saman
nagogolorhianan ang coniyang loob.--Job had many troubles, but they
did not affect the inner man.
Catotohin mo ang catatoro co.--Make thyself a friend of my friend.
Avatin mo angcoob mo sa quinauiuilihan niyang masama.--Separate thy
will (purpose) from him whose love has a bad object.
Houag mong pitahin ang vala.--Desire not what is not (not attainable).
At cun ano caya ang pinagpipilitanan.--They dispute about what their
dispute shall be (are determined to quarrel).
Masamang cahuy ang dinamomoñga.--Bad tree produces no fruit.
Maminsanminsan ay susulat ca at maminsanminsa y babata ca nang
sulat.--Write now and then, read now and then.
Nang anoman at maca tomama sa olo ninyo.--Don't fling up a stone,
it may fall on your own head.
Paombaychan ca at napapagal ca.--Sing a lullaby at your wedding.
Houag mo acong pangalatacan at dili aco hayop.--Don't drive me,
for I am not a beast.
Ay at linologmocan mo iyang duma?--Why seat yourself in that dirty
place?
Houag mo acong galavirin niyan osap na iyan.--Don't involve me in
that quarrel.
Hindi matimoan, ang balat nang Buaya, nang anomang tilos.--A knife
will not enter a crocodile's back.
Tiguis cang nag papacalouay.--What thou doest do quietly.
Tiñgalen mo ang balatic.--Lift up your eyes, and you will see the
stars. (Balatic, the Astilejos of the Spaniards--Castor and Pollux.)
Magguimbal ca manguiguimbal.--The drummer should beat the drum.
Houag ninyong yñgayan ang natotolog.--Wake not what is sleeping.
Hindi nag aaya ang mañga ducha.--The poor have no nurse.
Mababao na loob.--He carries his heart in his hand.
Lumaclac ca un valan ynuman.--He would suck a horse-brush rather than
not drink.
Nag babacobaco ca pala.--Listen! thou doest what thou knowest not.
Calouhalhatiang mañga gavang magagaling.--Good deeds are heavenly
doings.
Nag cacaligalig tovina ang pañgiboghoin.--Disquiet is the constant
companion of jealousy.
Papaslañgin mo iyang matologuin.--To make a sentinel of a sluggard
(dormilon, Spanish).
Ang mahabang dila tapit gupitan.--A long tongue ought to be clipped.
Ang mañga cayamanan ay pain din nang demonio sa tavo.--Riches are
the baits of the devil for man.
Ang mañga paguyac nang mañga ducha ay macadarating sa lañgit.--The
cries of the wretched will reach Heaven.
Na aalinagnagan ang langsañgan nang ilao sa bahay.--A candle in a
house will illumine a street.
Maguipag ani ca doon sa nag aani.--Reap thy rice with the reapers.
Si Adan ang nagtongtong mula sa atin.--There is no higher ancestry
than Adam.
Caylan ca maoocan nang cahunghañgan mo?--When will you cast your
fool's skin? (When will you be wise?)
Sucat parasuhan ang mañga magnanacao.--For thieves punishment and
penitence.
Papagdalitin mo iyang marunung.--Let him make a song or sing one
(to a pretender).
Caylan magcaca hapahap ang inyong ylog?--When will your river produce
a conger eel? (to a boaster.)
Ang caiclian nang bait mo ay gaano!--How short must be the shortness
of thy understanding.
Mabuti ang simbahan cung tabiñgan.--Beautiful is the church, but it
must have its curtains (mysteries).
Nang magcatulay tulay na ang balita sa maraving tavo ay siyang
ypinagcabalirbor.--Truth having passed through many (lips), becomes
so entangled and altered, that it no longer resembles truth.
Maylomalong tamis sapolot at lacas sahalimao?--What is sweeter than
honey, or stronger than a lion?
Ungmasoc lamang aco saujo.--Tell a lie to find a truth.
Houag mong ypanotnor sa maruming camay.--Trust not the disentanglement
of the threads to a man with dirty hands.
Papasaylañginmo iyang nagbabanalbanalan.--If he be so virtuous,
let him go to the wilderness (become a hermit).
Ayat sa lalandos cang naparito.--You come to the work and bring
no tools.
Houag mong guisiñgin ang natotolog.--Wake not the sleeping.
Mapagsacasacang tavo sicuan.--Trust not the deceiver who says,
"I'll do it by and by."
Houag mong ayoquin ang bavas nang catouirang justicia.--Bend not the
straight rod of justice.
Ivinavasuas ang aguipo, nang dimipaling ang apuy.--He fans the ashes
to keep up the fire.
Angpagal at ava nang Dios ang yquinayayaman co.--Labour and God's
mercy bring riches.
Pinapananaligquita sa Dios ay nagbibiñgibiñgihanca.--I tell thee to
trust in God, and thou makest thyself deaf.
Tionay mandin sa loob nang tavong mabait ang camuruhan.--An insult
is a thorn that pierces the heart of an honourable man.
Sungmusubo ang polot.--Sweets have their froth (the saccharine matter
of the sugar-cane).
Yaong nanacap pacsvarin mo sa palo.--For bravados, blows.
Ypinagbabalo balo mo saamin ang pagaayunar mo.--Thou wilt deceive by
feigning fasting (religious hypocrisy).
Ang amo ay among dati paramtan man nang mabuti.--The monkey, however
richly dressed, is but a monkey.
Aunque la mona se viste de seda, en mona se queda. (Spanish
proverb.)--Though clad in silk, the monkey is a monkey still.
Houang cang mag hamalhamalan.--Do not seem to sniffle (through the
nose) in the presence of a sniffler (i.e., do not expose the defects
of another).
Magyñgat cayo sapusang lambong.--Beware of a wild cat.
Ang magandanglalaqui huboma y mariguit--Even though naked, gentility
will show itself.
Ang tapat na capitan may pinagcacapitanan.--Let governors govern.
Valangpalay ang amalong mo.--There is no rice in thy granary (to an
empty-headed person).
Ymolos ang camay ay guinagat nang alopihan.--He struck a blow with
his hand, and got bitten by a centipede.
Dino dolobasa ang dimaalan--Making ignorance your interpreter.
Nagcapalu na mandin ang canilan pagtatacapan.--Answer with nonsense
the nonsense of others.
Anong ypinagpaparañgalanmo?--Why so jactant?--(a phrase to check
boasting).
Maalam cang magsima sa taga?--Can he make the barb to the hook? (Is
he clever?)
Mabuit ay nagpapatang patañgan finguin.--Being clever, he feigns
stupidity.
Dibabao ang lañgit sa macasalanan.--Heaven is far off from sinners.
Gagadolong lisa iyan.--Serious as the bite of a louse's egg (nit).
Hindi macacagat ang valang ñgipin.--He who has no teeth cannot bite.
Malubha angpagpap aratimo samasaman gara.--Much obstinacy in an
evil deed.
Iyang caratinanmo angy capapacasamamo.--Thy obstinacy will be thy
perdition.
Pinag cayasalanan mo ang pañginoong Dios.--A sin against a neighbour
is an offence against God.
Pinagbibiyayan an ninyo ang demonio.--To pay tribute to the devil.
Tingmitintinna ang darong magalao.--Turn lewdness to chastity.
Valan di dalita itong buhay natin.--Life is labour.
Mapaparari ang tova sa lañgit magparaling man san.--The joy of heaven
will last and be perpetuated for ever and ever, and without end.
Cayañga t may tapal may sugat din.--Where the wound is, the plaister
should be.
Houag cang omotang nang salapi.--Ask not for the money you lend.
Lubiranmo am navala ang pasilmo.--To play with the string when the
top is lost. (A phrase used when a patron refuses a favour.)
Valan cabolohan ang logor dito sa lupa.--The pleasures of earth are
not worth a hair.
Maytanim no sa mabato.--Sow not among stones.
Hungmo holangcapala aymarami panggava.--You are trifling while so
much work is to be done.
Caya aco guinguinguiyacos dito.--I scratch myself because nobody will
scratch me.
Napaguidaraan aco mya.--If I quarrel with myself, it shall be when
I am alone.
Ano t guinagasaan mo aco?--If you scold me, why with so much noise?
Ang palagay na loob malivag magolorhanang.--Excesses are rare when
the heart is at rest.
Caya co somosoyo siya y aco y tauong aba.--He must obey who is weak
and poor.
Ang pagsisi anghuli ay valang guinapapacanan di baguin ang nañgag
cacasaguit sa infierno.--Repentance is of little value when the
penitent is in the hands of the devil (hell, or the executioner). [29]
Momoal moal mañgusap.--He who speaks with a full mouth will not
be understood.
Hindi sosoco dito ang dimababa.--A short man will not knock his head
against the roof.
Paspasin mo ang buñga at hunag mong pasapan ang cahuy.--In beating
down the fruit, beat not down the tree.
Ang pagcatototo nang loob ang yguinagagaling nang lahat.--Unity of
purpose brings certainty of success.
Nañgiñgisbigsiya nanggalit.--Petrified with rage (addressed to a person
"borracho de colera," as the Spaniards say).
Aglahi si cabiri baquit mayag ang diti.--Saying No! with the lips,
and Yes! with the heart.
Houag mong angcahan ang di mo masasacopan.--Do not adventure much
until you are certain of the issue.
Some Spanish proverbs have made their way into Tagal.
Baquit siya y namong cahi ay siyang nabalantogui. Fué por lana y
bolvió trasquilado.--He went for wool, and returned shorn.
I have selected most of these proverbs, aphorisms and moral and
religious maxims from Fr. de los Santos' folio volume, and they would
have some interest if they represented the thoughts and feelings of a
civilized nation. That interest will hardly be less when the social
code of semi-barbarians is studied in these short sentences. The
influence and teachings of the priests will be found in many; others
will be deemed characteristic of local usages, and some will find
a recommendation in their grotesqueness and originality. I have
thought these examples of the language might not be without their
value to philologists.
CHAPTER XX.
COMMERCE.
To foreign nations--to our own especially--the particular interest
felt in the state of the Philippines is naturally more of a commercial
than of a political character. They must grow in trading importance;
already enough has been done to make a retrograde or even a stationary
policy untenable. Every step taken towards emancipation from the
ancient fetters which ignorance and monopoly laid upon their progress
has been so successful and so productive as to promise and almost to
ensure continuance in a course now proved to be alike beneficial to
the public treasury and to the common weal. The statistics which I
have been able to collect are often unsatisfactory and inaccurate,
but, upon the whole, may be deemed approximative to the truth,
and certainly not without value as means of comparison between the
results of that narrow-minded exclusive system which so long directed
the councils of Spain and the administration of las Indias, and the
wiser and more liberal views which make their way through the dense
darkness of the past.
The caprices and mischiefs of a privileged and protected trade and
the curses which monopolies bring with them to the general interests,
may, indeed, be well studied in the ancient legislation of Spain
as regards her colonies. One vessel only was formerly allowed to
proceed from the Philippines to Mexico; she was to be commanded
by officers of the royal navy, equipped as a ship of war, and was
subject to a variety of absurd restrictions and regulations: the
adventurers were to pay 20,000 dollars for their privilege; and no
one was allowed to adventure unless he were a vocal de consulado,
which required a residence of several years in the islands, and the
possession of property to the extent of 8,000 dollars. The privilege
often passed clandestinely, by purchase, into the hands of friars,
officials, women and other speculators--and it may well be supposed
at what prices the goods had to be invoiced. Such being the licensed
pillage in Asia, on arriving at Acapulco, in America, to which place
the cargo was necessarily consigned, 33 1/3 per cent. was imposed upon
the valuation of the Manila invoices. And on the return of the ship
similar or even more absurd conditions were exacted: she was only
allowed to bring back double the value of the cargo she conveyed;
but, as the profits were often enormous, every species of fraud was
practised to give fictitious values to the articles imported--in fact,
from the beginning to the end of the undertaking there seems to have
been a rivalry in roguery among all parties concerned.
The establishment of the Company of the Philippines, in 1785, gave
to monopoly another shape, but led to some development of colonial
industry.
It is scarcely needful to follow the history of the commerce of the
Philippines through the many changes which have produced its present
comparative prosperity--a prosperity to be measured by the amount of
emancipation which has been introduced. Had the Spanish authorities the
courage to utter the magic words "Laissez faire, laissez passer!" what
a cornucopia of blessings would be poured upon the archipelago!
But it could hardly be expected from a government constituted like the
government of Spain, that, either of its own spontaneous movement, or
by licence delegated to the Captain-General, so grand a work would be
accomplished as the establishment of free production, free commerce,
free settlement, and free education in the Philippines; and yet a step
so bold and noble would, as I fully believe, in a few years be followed
by progress and prosperity far beyond any calculations that have
been ventured on. The little that has been hazarded for the liberty
of trade, though hurriedly and imperfectly done, cannot but encourage
future efforts; and in the meantime many beneficial reforms have been
pressed upon the attention of the government with such conclusive
statistics and irresistible logic, that, if it depended on these alone,
the Philippines might hope to enter upon the early enjoyment of their
heritage of future advancement. The reform of the tariffs--the removal
of petty vexatious fiscal interferences--improvements in the navigation
of the rivers--the cleansing the harbours--lighthouse, buoys and other
appliances for the security of shipping--are among the more obvious
and immediate claims of commerce. In Manila the absence of docks for
repairing and harbouring vessels is much felt; the custom-house is on
the wrong side of the river--though it were better it should exist
on neither side; there are no means of regular postal communication
with the islands from the Peninsula; tug-steamers, life-boats, quays
and piers, seamen's houses, marine hospitals, are wanting, but their
introduction has been so strongly advocated that its advent may be
hoped for. In truth, it is pleasant to find in a country so remote and
so long under the most discouraging and retarding influences, that
inquiry, which is the pioneer and the handmaid of all improvement,
is already busily at work and will not be at work in vain.
A communication was made to the Chamber of Commerce by the
Governor-General in 1858, requesting that the merchants would point
out to him the best possible means for developing the riches of the
Philippine Islands by extending their foreign trade. The British
merchants, after expressing a general wish that the islands should
enjoy the benefits of that system of free trade and liberal commercial
policy whose "great results" are manifest to all, point out the
special grievances which demand immediate reform.
1. The present system of requiring permits for every cargo boat
employed, leads to many needless charges, vexations and delays.
2. Reform of the tariffs which press very heavily on certain articles,
for the protection of some small manufacturing interest in the
island. This is specially the case with cotton goods intended for
common use; those of the colours given by dyes produced in the island
are selected for the heaviest impost, to give encouragement to native
dyers. Many articles are estimated much beyond their real value, so
that the percentage duty becomes excessive. Lawns, for instance, are
tariffed at double their market price. Iron chains worth five dollars
per cwt. are tariffed at twelve dollars. A small quantity of white,
black, blue, purple and rose-coloured cotton twist being produced,
there is a duty of from 40 to 50 per cent., while red, yellow, green,
&c., which the natives cannot dye, are admitted duty free. These are
striking exemplifications of the workings of a protective system.
Other blue goods are prohibited because the islands produce indigo;
and for the protection of the native shoemakers (who, by the way,
are almost invariably Chinese and mere birds of passage in the
country), foreign boots and shoes pay from 40 to 50 per cent., to
the great detriment of the public health, for the country-tanned
leather will not keep out the rain and the mud, while the protective
duty encourages the Chinese settler to become a manufacturer, who
is less wanted than the agricultural labourer. In the same spirit
the tailors are protected, i.e. allowed to overcharge the consumer
to the extent of 40 to 50 per cent., the duty on imported clothes,
which goes principally to the Chinese. Foreign fruits, preserves and
liquors have to bear similar burdens, for cannot the Philippines give
confectionary and sweets enough of their own? So runs the round of
folly and miscalculation. One hundred dozen of Spanish beer entered
the Philippines in 1857, and to protect and encourage so important
an interest an excessive impost was levied on 350 pipes and nearly
100,000 bottles of beer not Spanish.
3. Then, again, the heavy differential duties in favour of Spanish
ships are a well-grounded subject of discontent and highly prejudicial
to the general interest. The levying tonnage duties upon ships entering
and departing without cargoes is a grievance of which there are just
complaints. The adjacency of so many free ports--Hong Kong, Macao
and Singapore--and the more liberal system of the Australian and
Polynesian regions, place the Philippine trade in a disadvantageous
position. Among the documents which I collected is one from a native
merchant, in which he says:--"The demonstrations of political
economists, and the practical results of free-trade legislation,
establish the fact that public credit and public prosperity are alike
benefited by the emancipation of commerce, and narrow is the view
which, looking only to the temporary defalcation of revenue from
the diminution of imports, forgets the enormous increase of all the
sources of revenue from lowering prices and extending demand." In
this way the great truths which have been silently and successfully
revolutionizing our commercial legislation are spread on all the
wings of all the winds, and will finally encircle the world in the
great bonds of brotherhood, with peace and prosperity for attendants.
By a decree of the 18th June, 1857, the restrictions on the trade in
rice and paddy were removed, and foreign grain was allowed to enter
duty free, not, only into the ports opened to foreign trade, but into
divers subordinate ports. Though the permission was then temporary,
it has now become permanent, and I found that the emancipation of these
important articles from all custom-house interference had been attended
with the best results, by regulating and assimilating prices, without
any detriment to native production. The more general the principles of
free trade the more security will there be against dearth and famine
on the one side, and superfluity and glut on the other.
Rice is sold by the cavan. Its price is ordinarily double that of
paddy. The average fluctuations are from one to two dollars.
In 1810 the import trade of the Philippines amounted to only 5,329,000
dollars, of which more than half consisted of precious metals, sent
from the Spanish colonies of America. From Europe and the United States
the trade was only 175,000 dollars. The exports were 4,795,000 dollars,
of which one-and-a-half million consisted of silver to China, and the
whole amount of exports to Europe and the United States was 250,000
dollars. The great start took place in 1834, when the monopoly of
the Philippine Company terminated, and commerce may be regarded as
progressive from that time. Of the trade with the surrounding islands,
that with Jolo, conducted principally by Chinese, is important. One of
the leading articles of export is the edible bird's-nests, of whose
collection a Spanish writer gives the following account:--"The nests
are collected twice a year; those most valued from deep and humid
caverns. Early training is needful to scale the localities where
the nests are found, and the task is always dangerous. To reach
the caves it is necessary to descend perpendicularly many hundred
feet, supported by a rope made of bamboo or junk, suspended over the
sea waves as they dash against the rocks." There is also from Jolo
a considerable exportation of tortoise-shell. Trepang (sea-slug,
Holothuria) and shark-fins are sent to the Chinese markets; also
mother-of-pearl, wax and gold dust. The voyage from Manila to Jolo
and return generally occupies seven to eight months. A trade in most
respects resembling that of Jolo is carried on between Manila and
the Moluccas. Spices are, however, added to the imports. There is a
large trade between Singapore and Manila, and with Amoy, in China,
the transactions are very important. Vessels are generally loading
from and to that port. Rice, paddy, cocoa-nut oil, sugar, fine woods,
table delicacies and a variety of minor articles, are exported; silks,
nankins, tea, vermilion, umbrellas, earthenware and a thousand smaller
matters, make up the returns.
Internal trade suffers much from the many impediments to communication
and the various shiftings to which merchandise is exposed. It is
said that in the transit from the north of Luzon to the capital there
are as many as a hundred floating rafts upon which the goods must be
carried across the different streams; at each considerable delay is
experienced, as the raft (balsa) is seldom found when and where it is
wanted. And during half the year inland conveyance is the only means
of transport, as the monsoons make the sea voyage impossible for
coasting vessels. Indeed, in the remoter islands months frequently
pass without arrivals from the capital. Some of the fairs in the
interior are largely attended by the Mahomedan and heathen natives,
who will not visit the ports or larger towns. That of Yligan (Misamis,
in Mindanao) is much visited by Moros, who bring thither for sale
paddy, cocoa, coffee, gold dust, cotton fabrics, krises and weapons
of war, with many other native articles, which they exchange mostly
for European and Chinese wares. Panaguis, in Luzon, is another market
much frequented by the Igorrote Indians. Many of the ancient river
communications have been stopped by inundations, which have given
a new direction to the stream, and by the invasion of snags, trees
and rocks from the upper regions. There is a great deal of ambulatory
petty trade in the interior; the Chinese especially are active pedlars
and factors, and make their way to buy and to sell wherever there is
a profit to be gained. They are to a great extent the pioneers of
commerce, and in this way valuable auxiliaries and co-operators by
opening new fields to be hereafter more extensively explored.
There are in Manila seven English, three American, two French, two
Swiss and one German, commercial establishments. In the new ports
there is no European house of business except at Iloilo, where there
is an English firm, of which the British vice-consul is the directing
partner.
Among the curiosities of commercial legislation is a decree of the
governor of the Philippines, dated only a few years ago, by which
it was ordered that no vessel should be allowed to introduce a cargo
from China or the East Indies unless an engagement was entered into by
the captain to bring to Manila five hundred living shrikes (mimas?),
as the bird was reported to be most useful in destroying the insects
which were at that time seriously damaging the harvests. I believe
not a single bird was ever brought. It would have been about as easy
and as reasonable to require them to import some slices of the moon,
for the catching, and the caging, and the keeping, are scarcely
within mortal capabilities, and 500 birds were the required minimum
by every ship; nor was it the least remarkable part of the decree or
requirement that they were all to be delivered gratis.
For the protection of the revenue there is an armed body called the
Carabineros de Real Hacienda. It is composed of natives under European
officers, and is charged with both land and sea service. They wear
a military uniform and a broad hat resembling a large punch-bowl,
which is, however, an admirable protection from the sun's rays.
Great Britain has a salaried consul and vice-consul in Manila and
vice-consuls in Iloilo and Sual. France has also a salaried consul
in the capital. The United States, Portugal, Belgium, Sweden and
Chili, are represented by members of commercial establishments,
who exercise consular authority in Manila. The American consul is
Mr. Charles Griswold, and few are the visitors to these islands who
have not enjoyed his hospitality and benefited by his experience.
The post-office establishments are imperfect and unsatisfactory and
the charges for the conveyance of letters heavy. There is a weekly
postal communication from the capital with the provinces in the
island of Luzon, and southwards as far as Samar and Leyte, but all the
other eastern and southern islands are left to the chances which the
coasting trade offers and are frequently many months without receiving
any news from the capital or the mother country. A regular service,
providing for the wants of these important districts, Panay especially,
with its population exceeding half a million, is greatly to be desired.
There is now a fortnightly service carried on by the steamers of
the Peninsular and Oriental Company between Manila and Hong Kong,
generally reaching forty-eight hours before the departure, and
quitting forty-eight hours after the arrival, of the steamers from
Europe. It is conducted with great regularity and the letters from
Spain arrive in about fifty days; but many days would be saved were
there a branch steamer from Malta to Alicant. For this service an
annual sum (recoverable monthly) of 120,000 dollars is paid by the
Manila government to the company. The steamers are freed from all
port charges except pilotage.
The government has published proposals for the establishment of a
steam-packet company for the service of the islands, offering 45,000
dollars annually as a State contribution, but I believe there is no
immediate prospect of the adoption of the scheme.
The Banco Español de Isabel II. is a joint-stock company, whose
capital is 400,000 dollars, in 1,000 shares of 400 dollars each. It
was established in the year 1855, and has generally paid to the
shareholders dividends at the rate of six to eight per cent. per
annum. It issues promissory notes, discounts local bills of
exchange and lends money on mortgage. The general rate of interest
in the Philippines fluctuates from six to nine per cent. The yearly
operations of the bank exceed 2,000,000 of dollars. The value of about
half-a-million of bills of exchange is usually under discount. Its
ordinary circulation does not exceed 200,000 dollars in promissory
notes and it has deposits and balances to the value of about 1,750,000
dollars. The bank has afforded considerable facilities to commerce,
and has answered one of its principal objects, that of bringing into
circulation some of the hoarded money of the natives. Most of the
foreign houses are shareholders.
The decimal system of accounts and currency was introduced into the
Philippines by a royal decree, and an end put to all the complications
of maravedis, quartos, and reales de ocho, by the simple adoption
of the dollar, divided into one hundred cents. It would be, indeed,
a wretched compliment to the population of England (let me say it
in passing) if, as certain opponents of improvement have averred,
they would never be brought to appreciate or comprehend a change to
decimal denominations which the "untutored mind" of the "wild Indian"
has already begun to adopt, using his digits as the instruments of
the new philosophy, and aided now and then probably by the simple
abacus of the Chinese shopkeeper, with whom he has much to do.
The weights and measures used in the Philippines are--
The Arroba (25 lbs. Spanish) = 25·36 English lbs.
The Quintal (100 ,, ) = 101·44 ,,
The Catty = 1·395 ,,
The Pecul of 137 catties (36 lbs. Spanish) = 139·48 ,,
Cavan = 25 gautas.
Gauta = 8 chupas.
Pie = { 12 Spanish inches.
{ 11 English inches.
Vara = { 3 pies.
{ 33 English inches.
Cavan of rice (clean) weighs 132 lbs. avoirdupois.
Cavan of paddy 103 1/2 ,,
Jar of oil 96 ,,
The following return gives the exports from Manila for the year 1858:--
EXPORTS FROM MANILA FOR 1858.
+---------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+--------+
| | | | | | |
| | |United | |Continent| Great |
| | |States, |California.| of |Britain.|
| | |Atlantic.| | Europe. | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
+---------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+--------+
|Hemp |Peculs. | 289,953 | 10,140 | 6,650 |105,633 |
|Sugar | ,, | 16,030 | 45,038 | 17,252 |315,768 |
|Sapan Wood | ,, | 10,594 | | 2,491 | 21,295 |
|Indigo |Qtls. | 503 | | 171 | 58 |
|Leaf Tobacco | ,, | | | 82,120 | |
|Cigars | M. | 4,613 | 3,416 | 209 | 8,244 |
|Coffee |Peculs. | 2,389 | 236 | 13,882 | 81 |
|Cordage | ,, | | | 2,751 | |
|Hides | ,, | 999 | | 113 | 3,619 |
|Hide Cuttings | ,, | 2,929 | | | 62 |
|Mother-of-Pearl | | | | | |
| Shell | ,, | | | 1,205 | 1,351 |
|Tortoise-Shell |Catties.| | | 260 | 1,931 |
|Grass Cloth |Pieces. | 57,224 | | 547 | |
|Gum Almasiga |Peculs. | | | 2,113 | 3,571 |
|Cowries | ,, | | | | 2,773 |
|Rice |Cavans. | | | | |
|Paddy | ,, | | | | |
|Beche de Mer |Peculs. | | | | |
|Liquid Indigo |Jars. | | | | |
|Buffalo Horns |Peculs. | | | 11 | 387 |
|Birds' Nests | ,, | | | | |
|Arrowroot | ,, | | 170 | 15 | 368 |
|Gold Dust |Taels. | | | | |
|Canes | M. | | | 11 | 610 |
|Cow Bones |Peculs. | | | | |
|Hats | M. | | | | 408 |
|Molave Logs | ,, | | | 58 | |
+---------------------+--------+---------+-----------+---------+--------+
EXPORTS FROM MANILA FOR 1858. (Continued.)
+----------------+----------+--------+----------+---------+-------+-------+
| | | | | South | | |
| | | |Singapore,| America,| | |
| |Australia.|Batavia.| and | Cape of | China.|Total. |
| | | | British | Good | | |
| | | | Islands. |Hope and | | |
| | | | | Pacific | | |
| | | | | Islands.| | |
+----------------+----------+--------+----------+---------+-------+-------+
|Hemp | | | 1,100 | | 28 |412,504|
|Sugar | 147,369 | | | 170 |15,506 |557,133|
|Sapan Wood | | 1,200 | 4,607 | |27,031 | 67,218|
|Indigo | | | | | | 732|
|Leaf Tobacco | | | | | | 82,120|
|Cigars | 18,504 | 12,552 | 24,489 | 115 |13,000 | 85,142|
|Coffee | 6,764 | 55 | | | 1,556 | 24,963|
|Cordage | 10,150 | 999 | 3,293 | | 4,606 | 21,799|
|Hides | | | | | 1,694 | 6,425|
|Hide Cuttings | | | | | 884 | 3,875|
|Mother-of-Pearl | | | | | | |
| Shell | | | | | 36 | 2,592|
|Tortoise-Shell | | | | | 314 | 2,505|
|Grass Cloth | | | 350 | | | 58,121|
|Gum Almasiga | 14 | | 1,674 | | | 7,372|
|Cowries | | | 165 | | | 2,938|
|Rice | | | | |21,361 | 21,361|
|Paddy | | | | | 1,300 | 1,300|
|Beche de Mer | | | | | 3,889 | 3,889|
|Liquid Indigo | | | | | 4,805 | 4,805|
|Buffalo Horns | | | | | | 398|
|Birds' Nests | | | | | 66 | 66|
|Arrowroot | 263 | | | | | 816|
|Gold Dust | | | | | 1,721 | 1,721|
|Canes | | | | | | 620|
|Cow Bones | | | | | 906 | 906|
|Hats | | | 120 | | 1,372 | 1,900|
|Molave Logs | | | | | 1,203 | 1,259|
+----------------+----------+--------+----------+---------+-------+-------+
In the year 1855, Don Sinibaldo de Mas, having been charged with
an official mission of inquiry into the state of these islands,
published an article on the revenues of the Philippines, addressed
to the finance minister of Spain. [30]
He begins his report by contrasting the population and commerce
of Cuba with that of the Philippines; stating that Cuba, with less
than a million of inhabitants, has a trade of 27,500,000 dollars,
while the Philippines, which he says contained, in 1850, 4,000,000
of people in a state of subjection and 1,000,000 unsubdued, had a
trade of less than 5,000,000 of dollars. He calculates the coloured
population of Cuba at 500,000; the white population of the Philippines
at from 7,000 to 8,000 persons. He deduces that, if the produce of
the Philippines were proportioned to that of Cuba, it would be of
the value of 250,000,000 dollars, and that the revenue should be
48,000,000 dollars, instead of about 9,500,000 dollars.
He avers that the soil is equal in its productive powers to any in
the world; that the quality of the produce--sugar, coffee, tobacco,
indigo, cocoa and cotton--is most excellent; that it possesses almost
a monopoly of abacá (Manila hemp); and he goes on to consider the
means of turning these natural advantages to the best account.
He altogether repudiates any extension of the existing system,
or augmentation of taxation in its present forms; and states, what
is most true, that to the development of agriculture, industry and
commerce the Philippines must look for increased prosperity.
His three proposals are:--
1. Opening new ports to foreign trade.
2. Emancipating the production, manufacture and sale of tobacco.
3. Increasing the population of the islands.
By a royal decree, dated 31st March, 1855, three additional ports were
opened to foreign trade--Zamboanga (Mindanao), Iloilo (Panay), and Sual
(Luzon). The results have not responded to anticipations. One reason is
obvious--custom-house officers, custom-house restrictions, custom-house
vexations accompanied the seemingly liberal legislation. These are
sufficient to check, if not to crush, the growth of intercourse. I
doubt if in either of the new ports the custom-house receipts cover
the costs of collection. The experiment should have been a free-trade
experiment, but the jealousies and fears of the capital were probably
influential. It ought not to have been forgotten that the new ports,
charged with all the burdens which pressed upon Manila, offered none
of its facilities, the creation of many generations--wharves and
warehouses, accomplished merchants, capital, foreign settlers, assured
consumption of imports and supply of exports; these counterbalanced
the cost of conveyance of goods to or from the capital, while, on
the other hand, the introduction of a custom-house has prejudiced
the trade which previously existed--as, for example, the call of
whalers at Zamboanga, unwilling to submit to the fiscal exactions now
introduced. But if every port in the Philippines were made free from
custom-houses a great impulse would be given to industry, commerce
and shipping; the loss to the treasury would be inconsiderable,
for the net proceeds of the customs duties is very insignificant,
while other sources of revenue would be undoubtedly increased by
the impulse given to the general prosperity. De Mas states that the
extension of the trade of Cuba from the Havana to other ports led to
an augmentation in its value from 2,000,000 to 30,000,000 dollars.
Two plans are suggested by Señor De Mas for the emancipation of
the tobacco cultivation and manufacture from the existing State
monopoly. One, the levying a heavy land tax on all lands devoted to
the produce; the other, the imposition of a duty on exportation. He
estimates that a baleta of land (1,000 brazas square) gives 1,500
plants, and 4 to 5 cwt. of tobacco, saleable at 4 to 5 dollars per
quintal. The cost of manufacturing 14,000 cigars, which represent 1
cwt., 5 1/4 dollars, and boxes for packing, 3 1/2 dollars. He says the
value of the cigars is 6 1/2 dollars per box (it is now considerably
more), in which case the profit would be 77 1/4 dollars, and proposes
a duty of 70 dollars per cwt., which is more than five times the cost
of the article. He gives satisfactory reasons for the conclusion that
cigars would be made much more economically by the peasantry than by
the government, shows that the cost of the machinery of administration
might be greatly diminished, asserts that the Indians employed at
home would be satisfied with lower gains than the wages paid by the
government, and supposes that the unoccupied houses of the natives
would be dedicated to the making of cigars as a pleasant and profitable
domestic employment. It may be doubted whether he estimates at its
full value the resistance which the indolent habits of the Indian
oppose to voluntary or spontaneous labour; but the conclusion I have
reached by not exactly the same train of reasoning is the same as
that arrived at by my friend whom I have been quoting, namely, that
the government monopoly is less productive than free cultivation,
manufacture and sale might become; that a reduction of prices would
extend demand, leave larger benefits to the treasury and confer many
advantages upon the people; and that the arguments (mostly of those
interested in the monopoly) in favour of the existing system are not
grounded on sound reasoning, nor supported by statistical facts.
The tobacco monopoly (estanco) was established in 1780 by
Governor-General Basco; it was strongly opposed by the friars, and
menaces of severe punishments were held over those who sought to
escape the obligations imposed. But to the present hour there are
said to be large plantations of tobacco which escape the vigilance
of government, and cigars are purchaseable in many of the islands at
one-fourth of the government price. The personal establishment for
the protection of the tobacco monopoly consists of nearly a thousand
officials and more than thirty revenue boats. It is, notwithstanding,
cultivated largely in provinces where the cultivation is prohibited
by law; and I find in a report from the Alcalde of Misamis (Mindanao)
the following phrase: "The idea of interfering with the growth of
tobacco for the benefit of the treasury must be abandoned, as the
territory where it is produced is not subject to Spanish authority."
Attempts were made a few years ago to encourage the planting of tobacco
in the province of Iloilo, by a company which made advances to the
Indians; but the enterprise, discouraged by the government, failed,
and I found, when I visited the locality, the warehouses abandoned
and the company dissolved. There have been many expeditions for the
destruction and confiscation of illicit tobacco; and on more than one
occasion insurrections, tumults, serious loss of life and very doubtful
results have followed these interferences. The statistical returns
show that the consumption of the State tobacco varies considerably
in the different provinces, being influenced by the greater or less
difficulty of obtaining the contraband article.
There have been divers projects for augmenting the population of the
Philippines--from China, from Switzerland, from Borneo and even from
British India. The friars have never looked with complacency on any
of these schemes. They all present elements which would not easily he
subjected to ecclesiastical influence. The Chinese would not be willing
cultivators of the soil if any other pursuit should promise greater
profits, and it is quite certain that the indolent Indian will nowhere
be able to compete with the industrious, persevering and economical
Chinese. Many suggestions have been made for the introduction of
Chinese women, with a view of attaching Chinese families to the soil;
but hitherto nothing has sufficed to conquer the abhorrence with
which a Chinese female contemplates the abandonment of her country,
nor the general resistance to such abandonment on the part of the
Chinese clans. Chinese female children have been frequently kidnapped
for conveyance to the Philippines, and some horrible circumstances
have come to the knowledge of British authorities in China, followed
by the exposure and punishment of British subjects concerned in these
cruel and barbarous deeds. An establishment of a sisterhood in China,
called that of the Sainte Enfance, has been looked to as a means of
christianizing female children, and conveying them to the Philippines;
they have collected or purchased many orphans, but small success has
attended these well-meant, but not well-directed labours. In 1855,
it was stated in an official document (De Mas, p. 26) that in 1858,
an annual entry of 2,500 children might be expected. The calculation
has been a total mistake; the establishments in China are in a state
of embarrassment and difficulty, and I am not aware that a single
Chinese female has been supplied for the suggested purpose. Any
number of orphans or abandoned children might be bought in the
great cities of China, especially from the orphan asylums; but an
increased demand would only encourage their abandonment by their
mothers. These foundling hospitals are of very doubtful utility,
and produce, probably, more misery than they cure.
The greatest impediment to the progress of the Philippines, and
the development of their immense resources, is attributable to the
miserable traditional policy of the mother country, whose jealousies
tie the hands of the governors they appoint to rule; so that the
knowledge and experience which are acquired in the locality are wholly
subjected to the ignorance and shortsightedness of the distant, but
supreme authority. Would the Spaniard but recognize the wisdom of one
of their many instructive proverbs--Mas sabe el loco en su casa que
cuerdo en la agena (the fool knows more about his own home than the
wise man of the home of another)--more confidence might be reposed in
those who are thoroughly cognizant of local circumstances and local
wants. As it is, everything has to be referred to Madrid. A long
delay is inevitable--an erroneous decision probable; circumstances are
constantly changing, and what would have been judicious to-day may be
wholly unadvisable to-morrow. Then there is the greatest unwillingness
to surrender even the shadow of authority, or any of those sources
of patronage which a government so enervate and corrupt as that of
Spain clings to as its props and protection. Again, the uncertainty
of tenure of office, which attaches to all the superior offices held
under the Spanish Government, is alike calculated to demoralize and
discourage. Before a governor has surveyed his territory and marked
out to himself a course of action, he may be superseded under one of
those multitudinous changes which grow out of the caprices of the
court or the clamour of the people. It was a melancholy employment
of mine to look round the collection of the various portraits of the
captains-general which adorned my apartment, bearing the dates of
their appointment and their supersession. Some of them only occupied
their office for a few months, and were as carelessly and recklessly
dismissed as a worthless weed is flung away. And there seemed no
expectation of any change in this respect, for there were many blank
frames made to receive the vera effigies of future excellencies. Our
colonial system is wiser, as we appoint governors for six years, and,
except under special circumstances, they are not dispossessed of their
government. Whether there may be any moral deterioration connected
with the possession of power, sufficient to counterbalance all the
benefits which are furnished by long experience and local knowledge,
may be a question for philosophy and statesmanship.
But other causes of backwardness are traceable to those very elements
of wealth and prosperity, to which these islands must look for their
future progress. A soil so feracious, a sun so bright, rains so
bountiful, require so little co-operation from the aid of man that he
becomes careless, indolent, unconcerned for the morrow. He has but to
stretch out his hand, and food drops into it. The fibre of the aloe,
which the female weaves with the simplest of looms, gives her garments;
the uprights and the floors and the substantial parts of his dwelling
are made of the bamboo, which he finds in superfluous abundance;
while the nipa palm provides roofs and sides to his hut. Wants he has
few and he cares little for luxuries. His enjoyments are in religious
processions, in music and dancing, in his gallo above all. He may take
possession without rent of any quantity of land which he is willing to
cultivate. There is a tendency, no doubt, to improvement. Cultivation
extends and good examples are not without effect.
In times of tranquillity Spain has nothing to fear for her Philippine
colonies. So long as they are unmolested by foreign invaders and
the government is carried on with mildness and prudence, there is
little to be apprehended from any internal agitation; but I doubt the
efficiency of any means of defence at the disposal of the authorities,
should a day of trouble come. The Indian regular forces might for
some time be depended on; but whether this could be anticipated of
the militia or any of the urban auxiliaries is uncertain. The number
of Spaniards is small--in most of the islands quite insignificant;
indolence and indifference characterize the indigenous races; and if,
on the one hand, they took no part in favour of intrusive strangers,
on the other, they could not be looked to for any patriotic or
energetic exertions on behalf of their Spanish rulers. They have,
indeed, no traditions of former independence--no descendants of famous
ancient chiefs or princes, to whom they look with affection, hope or
reverence. There are no fragments left of hierarchies overthrown. No
Montezumas, no Colocolos, are named in their songs, or perpetuated
in their memories. There are no ruins of great cities or temples;
in a word, no records of the remote past. There is a certain amount
of dissatisfaction among the Indians, but it is more strongly felt
against the native gobernadorcillos--the heads of barangay--the
privileged members of the local principalia--when exercising their
"petty tyrannies," than against the higher authorities, who are beyond
the hearing of their complaints. "The governor-general is in Manila
(far away); the king is in Spain (farther still); and God is in heaven
(farthest of all)." It is a natural complaint that the tribute or
capitation tax presses equally on all classes of Indians, rich or
poor. The heads of barangay, who are charged with its collection, not
unfrequently dissipate the money in gambling. One abuse has, however,
been reformed--the tribute in many provinces was formerly collected
in produce, and great were the consequent exactions practised upon
the natives, from which the treasury obtained no profit, but the petty
functionaries much. I believe the tax is now almost universally levied
in money. All Spaniards, all foreigners (excepting Chinese), and their
descendants are exempted from tribute. One of the most intelligent
of the merchants of Manila (Don Juan Bautista Marcaida) has had the
kindness to furnish me with sundry memoranda on the subject of the
capabilities of the Philippine Islands, and the means of developing
them. To his observations, the result of careful observation, much
experience and extensive reading, I attach great value. They are
imbued with some of the national prejudices of a Spanish Catholic,
in whose mind the constitution of the Romish Church is associated
with every form of authority, and who is unwilling to see in that
very constitution, and its necessary agencies, invincible impediments
to the fullest progress of intellect--to the widest extension of
agricultural, manufacturing and commercial prosperity--in a word,
to that great agitation of the popular mind, to which Protestant
nations owe their religious reforms, and their undoubted superiority
in the vast field of speculation and adventure.
He says:--"The social organization of the Philippines is the most
paternal and civilizing of any known in the world; having for its
basis the doctrines of the Gospel, and the kind and fatherly spirit
of the Laws of the Indies." It may be admitted, in reference to the
legislation of the colonies of many nations, that the Spanish code
is comparatively humane and that the influence of the Romish clergy
has been frequently and successfully excited for the protection and
benefit of conquered natives, and of imported slaves; but M. Marcaida
goes on to acknowledge and point out "the torpid and unimproving
character of the existing system," and to demand important changes
for the advancement of the public weal.
"The government moves slowly, from its complicated organization,
and from the want of adequate powers to give effect to those reforms
which are suggested by local knowledge, but which are overruled by the
unteachable ignorance, or selfish interests, or political intrigues
of the mother country."
As regards the clergy, he thinks the administration generally good,
but that the progress of time and altered circumstances necessitate
many important changes in the distribution of the ecclesiastical
authority, a new arrangement of the pueblos, a better education of the
church functionaries, a great augmentation of the number of parochial
priests (many of whom have now cures varying from 3,000 to 60,000
souls). He would have the parish clergyman both the religious and
secular instructor of his community, and for this purpose requires that
he should be becomingly and highly educated--a consummation for which
the government would have some difficulty in providing the machinery,
and for which assuredly the Church would not lend its co-operation.
"For the administration of justice, the Philippines have one supreme
and forty-two subordinate tribunals. The number is wholly insufficient
for the necessities of 5,000,000 of inhabitants scattered over 1,200
islands, and occupying so vast a territorial space." There can be no
doubt that justice is often inaccessible, that it is costly, that it
is delayed, defeated, and associated with many vexations. Spain has
never been celebrated for the integrity of its judges, or the purity
of its courts. A pleyto in the Peninsula is held to be as great a
curse as a suit in Chancery in England, with the added evil of want
of confidence in the administrators of the law. Their character would
hardly be improved at a distance of 10,000 miles from the Peninsula;
and if Spain has some difficulty in supplying herself at home with
incorruptible functionaries, that difficulty would be augmented in
her remotest possessions. There seemed to me much admirable machinery
in the traditional and still existing usages and institutions of the
natives. Much might, no doubt, be done to lessen the dilatory, costly
and troublesome character of lawsuits, by introducing more of natural
and less of technical proceedings; by facilitating the production and
examination of evidence; by the suppression of the masses of papel
sellado (documents upon stamped paper); by diminishing the cost and
simplifying the process of appeal; and, above all, by the introduction
of a code applicable to the ordinary circumstances of social life.
He thinks the attempts to conglomerate the population in towns
and cities injurious to the agricultural interests of the country;
but assuredly this agglomeration is friendly to civilization, good
government and the production of wealth, and more likely than the
dispersion of the inhabitants to provide for the introduction of
those larger farms to which the Philippines must look for any very
considerable augmentation of the produce of the land.
"The natural riches of the country are incalculable. There are immense
tracts of the most feracious soil; brooks, streams, rivers, lakes,
on all sides; mountains of minerals, metals, marbles in vast variety;
forests whose woods are adapted to all the ordinary purposes of life;
gums, roots, medicinals, dyes, fruits in great variety. In many of
the islands the cost of a sufficiency of food for a family of five
is only a cuarto, a little more than a farthing, a day. Some of
the edible roots grow to an enormous size, weighing from 50 to 70
lbs.:--gutta-percha, caoutchouc, gum-lac, gamboge, and many other
gums abound. Of fibres the number is boundless; in fact, the known
and the unknown wealth of the islands only requires fit aptitudes
for its enormous development.
"With a few legislative reforms," he concludes, "with improved
instruction of the clergy, the islands would become a paradise of
inexhaustible riches, and of a well-being approachable in no other
portion of the globe. The docility and intelligence of the natives,
their imitative virtues (wanting though they be in forethought), make
them incomparably superior to any Asiatic or African race subjected to
European authority. Where deep thought and calculation are required,
they will fail; but their natural dispositions and tendencies, and
the present state of civilization among them, give every hope and
encouragement for the future." [31]
CHAPTER XXI.
FINANCE, TAXATION, ETC.
The gross revenues of the Philippines are about 10,000,000 dollars. The
budget for 1859 is as follows:--
RECEIPTS. EXPENDITURE.
Dollars. Dollars.
Contributions and Grace and Justice 679,519·11
taxes 1,928,607·92 War 2,216,669·44
Custom-houses 600,000·00 Finance (Hacienda) 5,367,829·83
Monopolies 7,199,950·59 Marine 904,331·27
Lotteries 253,500·00 Government 272,528·62
State property 12,118·59 Remitted to and
Uncertain receipts 21,826·00 paid for Spain 1,011,850·00
Marine 1,338·00
------------- -------------
Total 10,017,341·10 Total 10,452,728·27
Thus about one-tenth of the gross revenue is received by the mother
country in the following shapes:--Salaries of Spanish consuls in the
East, 22,500 dollars; remittances to Spain and bills drawn by Spain,
680,600 dollars; tobacco and freights, 168,750 dollars; credits to
French government for advances to the imperial navy, 140,000 dollars.
Of the direct taxes, 68,026·77 dollars are paid as tribute by the
unconverted natives, 114,604·50 dollars by the mestizos (half-races),
136,208·78 dollars by the Chinese, and 1,609,757·87 dollars by the
Indians (or tribes professing Christianity).
The produce of the customs is so small, and the expenses of collection
so great--the cost of the coast and inland preventive service alone
being 265,271·99 dollars; general and provincial administrations,
between 70,000 and 80,000 dollars--that I am persuaded it would be a
sound, wise and profitable policy to abandon this source of taxation
altogether, and to declare all the ports of the Philippines free.
I have also come to the conclusion that the monopolies, which give
a gross revenue to the treasury of more than 7,000,000 dollars, are,
independently of their vicious and retardatory action upon the public
weal, far less productive than taxation upon the same articles might
be made by their emancipation from the bonds of monopoly. I leave
here out of sight the enormous amount of fraud and crime, and the
pernicious effects upon the public morals of a universal toleration
of smuggling, as well as the consideration of all the vexations,
delays, checks upon improvement, corruption of officials and the
thousand inconveniences of fiscal interference at every stage and
step; and only look at the acknowledged cost of the machinery--it
amounts to about 5,000,000 dollars--so that the net produce to the
State scarcely exceeds 2,000,000 dollars.
The whole receipt from the tobacco monopoly is 5,097,795 dollars. The
expenses for which this department is debited are (independently of
the proportion of the general charges of administration)--
Dollars. Cents.
Personal--
Collection of Tobaccos 24,604 0
Manufacture of Cigars 44,366 0
Materiel--
Collection of Tobacco 66,741 75
Manufactures of Cigars 6,888 0
Purchase of Tobacco 1,412,503 30
Paper and other charges 62,865 3
Cost of sorting Tobacco 13,200 29
Cost of manufacturing 1,171,262 73
Charges for conveyance 259,321 76
Boxes, packing, warehousing, &c. 150,000 0
--------------
3,211,752 86
So that the net rendering of this most valuable production is only
1,886,042·14 dollars, or 37 per cent. upon the gross amount, 63 per
cent. being expended on the production of the tobacco and manufacture
of the cigars. I am of opinion that from 4,000,000 to 5,000,000 dollars
might be realized with immense benefit to the public by a tax upon
cultivation, or the imposition of a simple export duty, or by a union
of both. Production would thus be largely extended, prices moderated
to the consumer and the net revenue probably more than doubled.
From the produce of the lottery, 253,500 dollars, there have to be
deducted--expenses of administration, 4,472 dollars; prizes paid,
195,000 dollars; prizes not claimed, 1,000 dollars; commission on
sales of tickets, 4,680 dollars; making in all, 205,152 dollars; so
that this fertile source of misery, disappointment, and frequently
of crime, does not produce a net income of 50,000 dollars to the
State. It may well be doubted if such a source of revenue should be
maintained. The revenue derived from cock-fights, 86,326·25 dollars,
is to some extent subject to the same condemnation, as gambling is
the foundation of both, but in the case of the galleras the produce
is paid without deduction into the treasury.
In the Bisayas palm wine has been lately made the object of a State
monopoly which produces 324,362 dollars, but is very vexatious in its
operation and much complained of by the Indians. The tax on spirituous
liquors gives 1,465,638 dollars. The opium monopoly brings 44,333·34
dollars; that of gunpowder, 21,406 dollars. Of smaller sources of
income the most remarkable are--Papal bulls, giving 58,000 dollars;
stamps, 39,600 dollars; fines, 30,550 dollars; post-office stamps,
19,490 dollars; fishery in Manila harbour, 6,500 dollars.
It is remarkable that there are no receipts from the sale or rental of
lands. Public works, roads and bridges are in charge of the locality,
while of the whole gross revenue more than seven-tenths are the
produce of monopolies.
Of the government expenditure, under the head of Grace and Justice,
the clergy receive 488,329·28 dollars, and for pious works 39,801·83;
Jesuit missions to Mindanao, 25,000. The cost of the Audiencia is
65,556; of the alcaldes and gobernadores, 53,332 dollars.
In the war department the cost of the staff is 154,148·80 dollars;
of the infantry, 857,031·17 dollars; cavalry, 52,901·73 dollars;
artillery, 192,408·71 dollars; engineers, 32,173 dollars; rations,
140,644·31 dollars; matériel, 149,727·10 dollars; transport, 112,000
dollars; special services, 216,673·89 dollars. In the finance expenses
the sum of 310,615·75 dollars appears as pensions.
The personnel of the marine department is 235,671·82 dollars; cost
of building, repairing, &c., 266,813·17 dollars; salaries, &c.,
are 155,294·98 dollars; rations, 190,740·84 dollars.
The governor-general receives, including the secretariat, 31,056
dollars; expenses, 2,500 dollars. The heaviest charge in the section of
civil services is 120,000 dollars for the mail steamers between Hong
Kong and Manila, and 35,000 dollars for the service between Spain and
Hong Kong. There is an additional charge for the post-office of 6,852
dollars. The only receipt reported on this account is for post-office
stamps, 19,490 dollars.
I have made no reference to the minor details of the incomings and
outgoings of Philippine finance. The mother country has little cause
to complain, receiving as she does a net revenue of about 5s. per head
from the Indian population. In fact, about half of the whole amount of
direct taxation goes to Spain, independently of what Spanish subjects
receive who are employed in the public service. The Philippines
happily have no debt, and, considering that the Indian pays nothing
for his lands, it cannot be said that he is heavily taxed. But that
the revenues are susceptible of immense development--that production,
agricultural and manufactured, is in a backward and unsatisfactory
state--that trade and shipping might be enormously increased--and
that great changes might be most beneficially introduced into many
branches of administration, must be obvious to the political economist
and the shrewd observer. The best evidence I can give of a grateful
remembrance of the kindnesses I received will be the frank expression
of opinions friendly to the progress and prosperity of these fertile
and improveable regions. Meliorations many and great have already made
their way; it suffices to look back upon the state of the Philippines,
"cramped, cabined and confined" as they were, and to compare them
with their present half-emancipated condition. No doubt Spain has
much to learn at home before she can be expected to communicate
commercial and political wisdom to her dependencies abroad. But she
may be animated by the experience she has had, and at last discover
that intercourse with opulent nations tends not to impoverish, but
to enrich those who encourage and extend that intercourse.
CHAPTER XXII.
TAXES.
Down to the year 1784 so unproductive were the Philippines to
the Spanish revenues, that the treasury deficit was supplied by an
annual grant of 250,000 dollars provided by the Mexican government. A
capitation tax was irregularly collected from the natives; also a
custom-house duty (almojarifango) on the small trade which existed,
and an excise (alcabala) on interior sales. Even to the beginning of
the present century the Spanish American colonies furnished the funds
for the military expenses of Manila. In 1829 the treasury became an
independent branch of administration. Increase of tribute-paying
population, the tobacco and wine monopoly, permission given to
foreigners to establish themselves as merchants in the capital,
demand for native and consumption of foreign productions, and a
general tendency towards a more liberal policy, brought about their
usual beneficial results; and, though slowly moving, the Philippines
have entered upon a career of prosperity susceptible of an enormous
extension.
The capitation tax, or tribute paid by the natives, is the foundation
of the financial system in the Philippines. It is the only direct
tax (except for special cases), makes no distinction of persons
and property, has the merit of antiquity, and is collected by a
machinery provided by the Indians themselves. Originally it was
levied in produce, but compounded for by the payment of a dollar
(eight reales), raised afterwards to a dollar and a quarter, and
finally the friars have managed to add to the amount an additional
fifty per cent., of which four-fifths are for church, and one-fifth
for commercial purposes.
The tribute is now due for every grown-up individual of a family, up
to the age of sixty; the local authorities (cabezas de barangay), their
wives and eldest or an adopted son, excepted. A cabeza is charged with
the collection of the tribute of his cabaceria, consisting generally
of about fifty persons. There are many other exceptions, such as
discharged soldiers and persons claiming exemptions on particular
grounds, to say nothing of the uncertain collections from Indians
not congregated in towns or villages, and the certain non-collections
from the wilder races. Buzeta estimates that only five per cent. of
the whole population pay the tribute. Beyond the concentrated groups
of natives there is little control; nor is the most extended of
existing influences--the ecclesiastical--at all disposed to aid the
revenue collector at the price of public discontent, especially if
the claims of the convent are recognized and the wants of the church
sufficiently provided for, which they seldom fail to be. The friar
frequently stands between the fiscal authority and the Indian debtor,
and, as his great object is to be popular with his flock, he, when
his own expectations are satisfied, is naturally a feeble supporter of
the tax collector. The friar has a large direct interest in the money
tribute, both in the sanctorum and the tithe; but the Indian has many
means of conciliating the padre and does not fail to employ them, and
the padre's influence is not only predominant, but it is perpetually
present, and in constant activity. There is a decree of 1835 allowing
the Indians to pay tribute in kind, but at rates so miserably low that
I believe there is now scarcely an instance of other than metallic
payments. The present amount levied is understood to be--
For the Government 10 rials of plate.
For the tithe 1 ,, ,, ,,
Community Fund (Caja de Comunidad) 1 ,, ,, ,,
Sanctorum (Church) 3 ,, ,, ,,
--
15 rials, or 1 7/8 dollar.
Which at 4s. 6d. per dollar makes a capitation tax of about 8s. 6d. per
head.
The Sangleys (mestizos of Chinese origin) pay 20 rials government
tribute, or 25 rials in all, being about 14s. sterling.
There are some special levies for local objects, but they are not
heavy in amount.
The Chinese have been particularly selected to be the victims of the
tax-gatherer, and, considering the general lightness of taxation,
and that the Chinese had been invited to the Philippines with every
assurance of protection, and as a most important element for the
development of the resources of the country, the decree of 1828
will appear tolerably exacting. It divides Chinese settlers into
three classes:--
Merchants who are to pay a monthly tax of 10 dollars £27 0 per annum.
Shopkeepers who are to pay a monthly tax of 4 dollars 10 16 ,, ,,
All others who have to pay a monthly tax of 2 dollars 5 8 ,, ,,
Not consenting to this, and if unmarried, they might quit the country
in six months, or pay the value of their tribute in labour, and
they were, after a delay of three months in the payment of the tax,
to be fineable at 2 rials a day. At the time of issuing the decree
there were 5,708 Chinese in the capital, of whom immediately 800 left
for China, 1,083 fled to the mountains and were kindly received and
protected by the natives, 453 were condemned to the public works,
and the rest left in such a condition of discontent and misery that
in 1831 the intendente made a strong representation to the government
in their favour, and in 1834 authority was given to modify the whole
fiscal legislation as regarded the Chinese.
The Chinese, on landing in Manila, whether as sailors or intending
settlers, are compelled to inhabit a public establishment called the
Alcaiceria de San Fernando, for which payment is exacted, and there
is a revenue resulting to the State from the profits thereof.
CHAPTER XXIII.
OPENING THE NEW PORTS OF ILOILO, SUAL AND ZAMBOANGA.
The opening of the ports of Sual, Iloilo and Zamboanga to foreign
trade, was of course intended to give development to the local
interests of the northern, central and southern portions of the
archipelago, the localities selected appearing to offer the greatest
encouragements, and on the determination of the Spanish government
being known, her Britannic Majesty's Consul at Manila recommended
the appointment of British vice-consuls at Sual and Iloilo, and
certainly no better selections could have been made than were made on
the occasion, for the most competent gentleman in each of the ports
was fixed upon.
Mr. Farren's report, which has been laid before Parliament, very
fairly represents the claims of the new ports and their dependencies;
each has its special recommendations. The population of the northern
division, comprising Pangasinan, the two Ilocos (North and South),
Abra and La Union, may be considered among the most industrious,
opulent and intelligent of the Philippines. Cagayan produces the
largest quantity of the finest quality of tobacco.
The central division, the most thickly peopled of the whole, has
long furnished Manila with a large proportion of its exports, which,
in progress of time, will, no doubt, be sent directly from the ports
of production to those of consumption; while the southern, and the
least promising at present, has every element which soil and climate
can contribute to encourage the cultivation of vast tracts hitherto
unreached by the civilizing powers of commerce and colonization.
The population in the northern division is large. In Ilocos, South and
North, there are twelve towns with from 5,000 to 8,000 inhabitants;
seven with 8,000 to 12,000; seven with from 12,000 to 20,000; and
three with from 20,000 to 33,000. In Pangasinan, nine towns with from
5,000 to 12,000; seven with from 12,000 to 20,000; and three with
from 20,000 to 26,000 inhabitants. The capital (Cabazera) of Cagayan
has above 15,000 inhabitants. The middle zone presents a still greater
number of populous places. Zebu has fourteen towns with 5,000 to 10,000
inhabitants, and nine towns of from 10,000 to 12,000; and in Iloilo
there are seven towns with from 5,000 to 10,000 inhabitants; fourteen
towns with from 10,000 to 20,000; seven with from 20,000 to 30,000;
two with from 30,000 to 40,000; and one (Haro) with 46,000 inhabitants.
These statistics for 1857 show a great increase of population since
Mr. Farren's returns and prove that the removal of restrictions
has acted most beneficially upon the common weal, imperfect as the
emancipation has been. There cannot be a doubt that more expansive
views would lead to the extension of a liberal policy, and that
mines of unexplored and undeveloped treasure are to be found in the
agricultural and commercial resources of these regions. The importance
of direct intercourse with foreign countries is increased by the
fact that, for many months of the year, the monsoons interrupt the
communication of the remoter districts with the capital. The old
spirit of monopoly not only denied to the producer the benefit of
high prices, and to the consumer the advantage of low prices, but
the trade itself necessarily fell into the hands of unenterprising
and sluggish merchants, wholly wanting in that spirit of enterprise
which is the primum mobile of commercial prosperity. For it is the
condition, curse and condemnation of monopoly, that while it narrows
the vision and cramps the intellect of the monopolist, it delivers the
great interests of commerce to the guardianship of an inferior race
of traders, excluding those higher qualities which are associated
with commercial enterprise when launched upon the wide ocean of
adventurous and persevering energy. How is the tree to reach its full
growth and expansion whose branches are continually lopped off lest
their shadows should extend, and their fruit fall for the benefit of
others than its owner?
But in reference to the beneficial changes which have been introduced,
their value has been greatly diminished by the imperfect character of
the concessions. They should have been complete; they should, while
opening the ports to foreign trade, have allowed that trade full scope
and liberty. The discussions which have taken place have, however,
been eminently useful, and the part taken in favour of commercial
freedom by Mr. Bosch and Mr. Loney, both British vice-consuls, has
been creditable to their zeal and ability. In the Philippines, the
tendency of public opinion is decidedly in the right direction. The
resistance which for so many years, or even centuries, opposed the
admission of strangers to colonial ports, no doubt was grounded upon
the theory that they would bring less of trade than they would carry
away--that they would participate in the large profits of those who
held the monopoly, but not confer upon them any corresponding or
countervailing advantages.
Mr. Farren states that, in 1855, "the British trade with the
Philippines exceeded in value that of Great Britain with several
of the States of Europe, with that of any one State or port in
Africa, was greater than the British trade with Mexico, Columbia,
or Guatemala, and nearly ranked in the second-class division of the
national trade with Asia, the total value of exports and imports
approaching three millions sterling. The export of sugar to Great
Britain and her colonies was, in 1854, 42,400 tons, that to Great
Britain alone having gradually grown upon the exports of 1852, which
was 5,061 tons, to 27,254 tons, which exceeds the exports to the
whole world in 1852. The imports of British goods and manufactures,
which was 427,020l. in value in 1845, exceeded 1,000,000l. sterling in
1853." It still progresses, and the removal of any one restriction,
the encouragement of any one capability, will add to that progress,
and infallibly augment the general prosperity.
The statistics of the island of Panay for 1857 give to the province
of Iloilo 527,970; to that of Capiz, 143,713; and to that of Antique,
77,639; making in all 749,322, or nearly three-quarters of a million
of inhabitants. The low lands of Capiz are subject to frequent
inundations. It has a fine river, whose navigation is interfered with
by a sandbank at its mouth. The province is productive, and gives two
crops of rice in the year. The harbours of Batan and of Capiz (the
cabacera) are safe for vessels of moderate size. The inhabitants of
Antique, which occupies all the western coast of Panay, are the least
industrious of the population of the island. The coast is dangerous. It
has two pueblos, Bugason and Pandan, with more than 10,000 souls. The
cabacera San José has less than half that number. The roads of the
provinces are bad and communications with Iloilo difficult. The lands
are naturally fertile, but have not been turned to much account by the
Indians. There are only forty-two mestizos in the province. There is
a small pearl and turtle fishery, and some seaslugs are caught for
the Chinese market.
Iloilo has, no doubt, been fixed on as the seat of the government,
from the facilities it offers to navigation; but it is much smaller,
less opulent and even less active than many of the towns in its
neighbourhood. The province of Iloilo is, on the whole, perhaps the
most advanced of any in the Philippines, excepting the immediate
neighbourhood of the capital. It has fine mountainous scenery, richly
adorned with forest trees, while the plains are eminently fertile. All
tropical produce appears to flourish. The manufacturing industry of
the women is characteristic, and has been referred to in other places,
especially with reference to the extreme beauty of the piña fabric. Of
the mode of preparing the fabric Mallat gives this account:--
"It is from the leaves of the pine-apple--the plant which produces
such excellent fruits--that the white and delicate threads are drawn
which are the raw material of the nipis or piña stuffs. The sprouts
of ananas are planted, which sometimes grow under the fruit to the
number of a dozen; they are torn off, and are set in a light soil,
sheltered, if possible, and they are watered as soon as planted. After
four months the crown is removed, in order to prevent the fruiting,
and that the leaves may grow broader and longer. At the age of eight
months they are an ell in length, and six fingers in breadth, when they
are torn away and stretched out on a plank, and, while held by his
foot, the Indian with a piece of broken earthenware scrapes the pulp
till the fibres appear. These are taken by the middle, and cautiously
raised from one end to the other; they are washed twice or thrice in
water, dried in the air and cleaned; they are afterwards assorted
according to their lengths and qualities. Women tie the separate
threads together in packets, and they are ready for the weaver's
use. In the weaving it is desirable to avoid either too high or too
low a temperature--too much drought, or too much humidity--and the
most delicate tissues are woven under the protection of a mosquito
net. Such is the patience of the weaver, that she sometimes produces
not more than half an inch of cloth in a day. The finest are called
pinilian, and are only made to order. Ananas are cultivated solely
for the sake of the fibre, which is sold in the market. Most of the
stuffs are very narrow; when figured with silk, they sell for about
10s. per yard. The plain, intended for embroidery, go to Manila,
where the most extravagant prices are paid for the finished work."
Mr. Vice-Consul Bosch has written an interesting report on the
capabilities of the province of Pangasinan, and of Sual, its principal
port. The circumference of coast is from fifty to sixty miles on the
south and east of the Gulf of Lingayen. The interior abounds with
facilities for water communication, and the most important river,
the Agno, enters the sea at St. Isidro, about one and a half mile
from Sual. The Agno has about seventy to eighty miles of internal
navigation, and brings produce from the adjacent provinces of La
Union and Nueva Ecija, The exports to Manila are generally made from
Sual, those for China from Dagupan. Dagupan is at the mouth of a large
estuary, but a bar prevents the entry of any large vessel. The want of
safe anchorage is the disadvantage of all the coast of the province,
with the exception of the harbour of Sual. This harbour, though small,
is safe: it is nearly circular. It would hold from twelve to fifteen
large vessels and thirty to forty coasters, and is well protected on
every side, but there is a somewhat dangerous bank within the port.
There are only about 400 houses in Sual: they are scattered on the
plain in front of the harbour, and are of wood. There are, besides,
100 Indian huts (chozas) constructed of the nipa palm. The church is
a poor, provisional edifice.
Sual is exhibiting some signs of improvement. The road to the
neighbouring province of Zambales is in progress. The allied forces in
Cochin China have been lately drawing provisions, especially cattle,
from Sual. The value of the exports from Sual, for 1858, is 670,095
dollars; the imports of foreign goods and manufactures into the three
ports of the province--Dagupan, Binmaley and Lingayen--amount to
464,116 dollars, all brought by coasting vessels, of which 75 belong
to the province. The largest pueblo of the province is San Carlos,
with 26,376 inhabitants; the second, Binmaley, with 24,911; the third,
Lingayen, with 23,063; but the population of Sual is only 3,451. Rice
and sugar are the leading articles of produce exported, but there
is at Calasiao a considerable manufacture of hats, cigar-cases, mats
and other fabrics of the various fibres of the country. There are no
large estates, nor manufactures on an extensive scale. Everything is
done by small proprietors and domestic industry. There are many places
where markets (called tiangues) are periodically held, and articles of
all sorts brought thither for sale. It is calculated that Pangasinan
could give 20,000 tons of rice for exportation, after providing for
local wants. The sugar, though it might be produced abundantly, is
carelessly prepared. Much wood is cut for ship-building and other
purposes. On the arrival of the N. E. monsoon commercial enterprise
begins and many shipments take place; the roads are passable, the
warehouses filled with goods: this lasts till the end of June or
July. Then come on the heavy rains: the vessels for the coasting trade
are laid up for the season; the rivers overflow; most of the temporary
bridges are carried away by the floods; everybody is occupied by what
the Spaniards call their "interior life;" they settle the accounts of
the past year and prepare for that which is to come, and the little
foreign trade of Sual is the only evidence of trading activity.
Labour is moderately remunerated. Taking fifty ship carpenters,
employed in one yard, the least paid had 5 rials, the highest 10 rials
per week (say 3s. to 6s.). They are also allowed two measures of rice
and a little meat or fish. A field labourer (or peon) has a rial a
day and his food. A cart with a buffalo and leader costs 1 1/2 rial
per day.
Almost all purchases are made by brokers (personeros), who, for a
commission, generally of 5 per cent., and a guarantee of 2 1/2 per
cent., collect the products of the country from the cultivators, to
whom they make advances--always in silver; and it sometimes passes
through many hands before it reaches the labouring producer.
There are few native Spaniards in Pangasinan. A good many mestizos
are devoted to commerce. In Lingayen, with 23,000 inhabitants, there
are more than 1,000 mestizos; in Binmaley, with 24,000 inhabitants,
only twenty-two mestizos: the first being a trading, the second
an agricultural, pueblo. There are few Indians who have acquired
opulence. The Chinese element has penetrated, and they obtain more
and more influence as active men of business. No Oriental race can
compete with them where patience, perseverance and economy can be
brought into play. They are not liked; but they willingly suffer
much annoyance and spread and strengthen themselves by unanimity of
purpose. In Calasiao they are said in two years to have established
nearly eighty shops, and were gradually insinuating themselves into
all profitable occupations--attending the markets both as buyers and
sellers, and establishing relations with the interior such as no native
Indian would have ever contemplated. Nor in the ordinary transactions
of life do they make the mistake of requiring extravagant profits. A
Chinaman may, indeed, ask a high price or offer a low one in his
different relations, but when he sees his way to a clear profit, he
will not let the bargain escape him. There is an increasing demand
for European merchandise, of which the Chinese are the principal
importers; and they, above all other men, are likely to open new
channels of trade. The current rate of interest is 10 per cent.;
though the church funds are lent at 6 per cent. to those whom the
clergy are disposed to favour, which indeed is the legal rate.
Mr. Bosch's return for the year 1858 shows that eight large vessels,
with 7,185 tons, and 282 coasters, with 7,780 tons, entered the port
of Sual. Only four of the former carried cargoes away, two having
gone to repair damages, and two being Spanish government steamers
for the remittal to Manila of money which amounted to 210,000 dollars.
CHAPTER XXIV.
ZAMBOANGA.
We steamed away from Manila on the 20th December. It was our first
purpose to visit Labuan, which had become of some interest to me as
Governor of Hong Kong, having been made of late the penal settlement
for a certain number of Chinese convicts. Two groups of sixty each
had been sent thither, and the Governor was desirous their number
should be increased. I do not see how the settlement can be made a
prosperous or productive one. The coals which it furnishes are not
liked by our engineers, and seldom employed if English or Welsh coals
can be obtained. A considerable quantity was reported to me as raised
and lying on the shore without demand, but I found no willingness,
either on the part of the naval authorities or of the merchants, to
purchase it. I expect both China and Japan will be in a condition to
provide this very important article on cheaper terms and of better
quality than that of Labuan, or any part of Borneo. I should have
been glad to have had an opportunity of forming an opinion, grounded
on my own observations, as to the prospects of Sarawak. I am disposed
to believe the Government has acted judiciously in refusing to buy
the colony, and to encumber the treasury with the charges which its
establishments would inevitably entail. The arguments which I have
seen put forward in its favour by the advocates of the purchase,
have certainly little weight. To represent the locality as of any
importance as a place of call between Europe and China, is to display
extraordinary geographical and commercial ignorance: it is hundreds
of miles out of the regular course, and has in itself no attraction to
induce any vessel to waste the time which must be expended in visiting
it. It has a fertile soil, which may be said of the whole circumjacent
region--of almost every island in the tropical archipelagos; but it
must depend principally on imported labour, costly and capricious in
its supply, and which must be directed by European machinery, still
more costly and uncertain, for the climate is, and will long continue,
unfriendly to the health of European settlers. The native population
is too barbarous to labour; with few wants, they have few motives
to exertion. I have had the advantage of much conversation with the
Catholic Vicar Apostolic of Borneo, whose knowledge of the natives
is probably greater than that of any other European, as he has lived
so much among them in the discharge of the duties of his mission. He
represents the different tribes as engaged in perpetual wars with one
another, each taking any opportunity of pillaging or doing mischief to
its neighbours; and our involving ourselves in the native quarrels,
by ill-judged partisanship, must lead, he thinks, to much cruelty
and injustice. He gave me many particulars of the savage practices
of which he had been an eye-witness, particularly in the displays
and processions of human heads as trophies of victory. Although
I had not an opportunity of visiting Borneo and of witnessing
there the progress that has been made under European influences,
I have had so many means of studying the character of the native
and unsubdued races in the territories of Spain and the Netherlands,
that I feel quite justified in the conclusion, that little is to be
expected from their co-operation, either as producers of tropical,
or consumers of European, articles. The great element which is
now revolutionizing these regions, is the introduction of Chinese
labour, which has received a check not easily to be surmounted in
the unfortunate outbreak at Sarawak, after the events in Canton;
but the introduction of the Chinese must be spontaneous, and not
forced. The Chinese field-labourer works unwillingly for a master
who is to receive the profits of his labour; but far different are
his feelings, his activity and perseverance, when the profits are
all to be his own. Then, indeed, he becomes a valuable settler,
from whom much is to be expected. Our new treaties--the presence
of British shipping in so many ports of China--the supersession of
the heavy junks by the square-rigged vessels of the West, which the
habit of insuring that the Chinese are now adopting cannot fail to
promote--will all assist in the transfer of the surplus population of
China to regions where their industry will find a wider scope and a
more profitable field. The adventurous spirit in China is becoming
more and more active. The tens of thousands who have emigrated to
California and Australia, and the thousands who have returned with
savings which they have deemed a sufficiency, have given an impulse to
the emigrating passion, which will act strongly and beneficially in all
countries towards which it may be directed. In process of time, and
with the co-operation of the mandarins, who are really interested in
the removal of a wretched, sometimes starving and always discontented,
social element, the difficulties attaching to the removal of females
may in time be surmounted, and the Chinese may perpetuate, what they
have never yet done, a Chinese community in the lands where they
settle. No doubt the mestizo mixture of races--the descendants of
Chinese fathers and Indian mothers--is now extensively spread, and
is a great improvement upon the pure Malay or Indian breed. The type
of the father is more strongly preserved than that of the mother;
its greater vigour has given it predominance. The Chinese mestizo
is physically a being superior to the Indian--handsomer in person,
stronger in limb, more active in intellect, more persevering in labour,
more economical in habits. The marvellous exodus of Chinese from their
country is one of the most remarkable ethnological circumstances of
modern history, and is producing and will produce extraordinary and
lasting results. I do not believe any of the other Oriental races
able to withstand the secret and widely spreading influences of
Chinese competition and superiority. Dealt with justly and fairly,
the Chinese are the most manageable of men, but they will be dangerous
where despotism drives them to despair.
On the sixth day of our voyage we arrived at Zamboanga. Indian
houses were visible through the plantain trees, and amidst the
woodlands of the coast, and a large fortification, with the yellow
and scarlet Spanish flag, advised us of our adjacency to the seat of
government. We sent on shore, and found the guns and the garrison
were not in a condition to return our salute, but we received an
early and cordial communication from the governor, Colonel Navarro,
inviting us to take up our abode at his residence, and we landed
at a convenient wooden pier, which is carried out for some distance
into the harbour. There was a small body of soldiers to meet us on
landing. In walking about we found one street wholly occupied by
Chinese shopkeepers, well supplied with European and Chinese wares;
they generally appeared contented and prosperous, and will certainly
find the means of supplying whatever the population may demand; they
will leave nothing undone which is likely to extend their trade or
augment their profits. There are about three hundred Chinese settled
in Zamboanga, mostly men of Fokien. We walked to the fortification,
and on our way met several of the Mahomedan women who had been captured
in a late fray with natives; their breasts were uncovered, and they
wore not the veils which almost invariably hide the faces of the
daughters of Islam. We learnt that these females were of the labouring
and inferior classes; but in the fortification we saw the wives and
children of the chiefs, who had been captured, and they presented the
most marvellous contrasts, between the extreme ugliness of the aged
and the real beauty of some of the young. One mother especially, who
had a child on her haunches, appeared to me singularly graceful and
pleasing. Most of the captured chiefs had been sent to Manila; but
in another part of the fortress there were some scores of prisoners,
among whom, one seemed to exercise ascendency over the rest, and
he repeated some of the formula of the Koran in Arabic words. The
Spaniards represented them as a fierce, faithless and cruel race, but
they have constantly opposed successful resistance to their invaders.
Next to Luzon, Mindanao is the largest of the Philippines. Though its
surface is 3,200 square leagues in extent, the Spaniards do not occupy
one-tenth of the whole. The number of Mahomedans (Moros) is great
in the interior, and they are the subjects of an independent Sultan,
whose capital is Selangan, and who keeps up amicable relations with the
Spanish authorities. To judge by some of their native manufactures
which I saw at Zamboanga, they are by no means to be considered
as barbarians. The inland country is mountainous, but has some
fine lakes and rivers little visited by strangers. There are many
spacious bays. Storms and earthquakes are frequent visitants. The
forests are said to be extensive, and filled with gigantic trees,
but travellers report the jungle to be impenetrable. Mines of gold,
quicksilver and sulphur are said to abound. Besides Zamboanga, the
Spaniards have settlements in Misamis, Caraga and New Guipuzcoa,
but they are reported to be unhealthy from the immense putrefaction
of decaying vegetables produced by a most feracious soil, under the
influence of a tropical sun. Beyond the Moros, and in the wildest
parts of the mountains, are coloured races in a low state of savage
existence. Mindanao was one of the earliest conquests of Magallanes
(1521). The Augustine friars were the first missionaries, and they
still retain almost a monopoly of religious instruction, but their
success among the Mahomedans has been small. Many attempts have been
made by the Spaniards to subdue the interior, but, however great
their temporary success, they have never been able long to maintain
themselves against the fanaticism of the Moros, the dangers and
difficulties of the country and the climate, while supported only by
inadequate military means. Misamis is used as a penal settlement. The
Spaniards have not penetrated far into the interior of this part of the
island, which is peopled by a race of Indians said not to be hostile,
but, being frequently at war with the more formidable Mahomedans,
they are considered by the Spaniards as affording them some protection,
their locality dividing the European settlements from the territory of
the Moors. But there is little development of agriculture or industry,
and not one inhabitant in ten of the province pays tribute. The Jesuits
had formerly much success in these regions; on their expulsion the
Recolets (barefooted Augustines) occupied their places, but it would
seem with less acceptance. The settlers and the Indians recognizing
the Spanish authority have been so frequently molested by the Moors
that their numbers are far less than they were formerly, and it is
believed the revenues are quite inadequate to pay the expenses of
the establishments; but it is said some progress is being made, and
if all impediments to commercial intercourse were removed, a great
amelioration in the condition and prospects of the natives would
result. Caraga, from which New Guipuzcoa has been lately detached,
has Surigao for its capital, and is on the north-east corner of the
island. The dominions of the Sultan of Mindanao mark the limits of the
province. A race of Indians remarkable for the whiteness of their skin,
and supposed to be of Japanese descent, called Tago-balvoys, live on
the borders of a creek in the neighbourhood of a town bearing the name
of Bisig, a station of the Recolets. Some of this race pay tribute,
and live in a state of constant hostility with the Moros. They are
advanced in civilization beyond the neighbouring tribes. Butuan, in
this province, was the last landing place of Magallanes; he planted
a cross there, and the Indians took part in the ceremonials, and
profess Christianity to the present hour. The Moros have destroyed
some of the earlier establishments of the Spaniards. There are immense
tracts of uncultivated and fertile lands. Teak is reported to abound
in the forests, which are close to the habitations of the settlers. The
orang-utan is common, and there are many varieties of apes and monkeys,
wild beasts, particularly buffaloes and deer, and several undescribed
species of quadrupeds. The Spaniards say that the province of Caraga
is the richest of the Philippines; it is certainly one of the least
explored. A Frenchman has been engaged in working the gold mines;
I know not with what success. A favourite food of the natives is
the wild honey, which is collected in considerable quantities,
and eaten with fruits and roots. The Butuan River is navigable
for boats. There are very many separate races of natives, among
whom the Mandayos are said to be handsome, and to bear marks of
European physiognomy. Some of the tribes are quite black, fierce and
ungovernable. Cinnamon and pepper are believed to be indigenous. Wax,
musk and tortoise-shell are procurable, but as the Spanish settlements
are not much beyond the coast little is done for the encouragement
of the productive powers of the interior. Gold, however, no doubt
from the facility of its transport, is not an unimportant article
of export, and the Spaniards complain that the natives attend to
nothing else, so that there is often much suffering from dearth,
and the insalubrity of the climate deters strangers from locating
themselves. This is little to be wondered at, as the attacks of pirates
are frequent and the powers of government weak. Along the coasts are
towers provided with arms and ammunition for their defence; but the
pirates frequently interrupt the communications by sea, on which the
inhabitants almost wholly depend, there being no passable roads. On
the approach of the piratical boats the natives generally abandon
their own and flee to the mountains. There are many Mahomedan tribes
who take no part in these outrages, such as the Bagobos, Cuamanes
and others. Even the mails are interrupted by the pirates, and often
delayed for days in localities where they seek shelter. All these
drawbacks notwithstanding, the number of tributaries is said to have
greatly increased, and the influence of the friars to have extended
itself. I have compared various statistical returns, and find many
contradictions and inconsistencies. [32] Some evidence that little
progress has been made is seen in the fact that in the province of
Surigao, where the census gives 18,848 Indians, there are only 148
mestizos; in that of Misamis, only 266 mestizos to 46,517 Indians; in
Zamboanga, to 10,191 Indians, 16 mestizos; Basilan, 447 Indians and 4
mestizos; Bislig, 12,718 Indians and 21 mestizos; Davao, 800 Indians,
no mestizo. This state of things assuredly proves that the island of
Mindanao, whatever be its fertility, has few attractions for strangers,
otherwise the proportion of the mixed races to the population would
be very different from what it appears to be. Father Zuñiga, who,
in 1799, published an account of the visit of General Alava, gives
many particulars of the then state of the island, and suggests many
plans for extending Spanish influence.
Zamboanga is not likely to become a port of much importance unless
it is wholly emancipated from fiscal restrictions. The introduction
of the custom-house has driven away the whalers that formerly visited
the harbours; there is little capital, and the trading establishments
are on a very small scale. The roads in the immediate neighbourhood
are in very tolerable order; the villages have the general character
of Indian pueblos; the country is rich in all the varieties of
tropical vegetation; but the interior, even close to the cabaceras,
is imperfectly known. Its produce is small in reference to the obvious
fertility of the soil. Some companies of troops arrived during our
stay at Zamboanga, and it is probable an effort is to be made to
strengthen and widen the authority of the Spanish government.
Of the arms used by the Moros the governor had a large collection,
consisting of long spears, swords of various forms, handsomely
adorned kreeses, daggers and knives displaying no small amount of
manufacturing art.
Confined as the Spaniards are to a narrow strip of land along the
coast, it may be supposed there are few conveniences for locomotion,
nevertheless a carriage was found, and a pair of horses, and harness
such as it was, and an Indian driver, and thus we managed to obtain
a very pleasant evening ride into the country, and had an opportunity
of seeing its great fertility and its varied productions, leading to
natural feelings of regret that so many of the boons of Providence
should remain unenjoyed and unimproved, accompanied with the hope that
better days may dawn. But the world is full of undeveloped treasures,
and its "Yarrows unvisited" promise a bright futurity.
There would seem to have been some increase in the population of
Zamboanga. In 1779 Zuñiga reports it to be 5,612 souls, "including
Indians, Spaniards, soldiers and convicts;" in 1818 the number
is stated to have been 8,640; in 1847, 7,190. The Guia of 1850
gives 8,618; that of 1858, 10,191, of whom 16 were mestizos, and
tribute-payers 3,871; but I do not think much reliance can be placed
on the statistical returns. The last states that the marriages were
55, the births 429, the deaths 956, which represents a fearful
mortality. In the province of Misamis for the same period the
proportion of births to deaths was 2,155 to 845.
A great value is attached to some of the canes which are found on
the island of Palawan, or Paragua, especially where they are of
variegated colours, or pure white, and without the interruption of
a knot, so as to serve for walking-sticks. I was informed that two
hundred dollars had been given for a fine specimen.
A gold-headed sticky with a silk cord and tassels, is the emblem of
authority in the Philippines.
CHAPTER XXV.
ILOILO AND PANAY.
Of the three ports lately opened to foreign commerce, Iloilo is the
most promising. The province of Iloilo is one of the most populous of
the Philippines. It contains more than half a million of inhabitants,
and though portions of the province are very thinly peopled, there is
an average exceeding 2,000 inhabitants per square league. Independently
of the pueblos which I visited, and of which some description will
be given, Cabatuan has 23,000 inhabitants, Miagao 31,000, Dumangas
25,000, Janiuay 22,000, Pototan 34,600, and several others more than
10,000 souls. The province is not only one of the most numerously
peopled, it is, perhaps, the most productive in agricultural, the
most active in manufacturing, industry, and among the best instructed
of the Philippines. [33] It has extensive and cultivated plains and
forest-covered mountains; its roads are among the best I have seen
in the archipelago. At the entrance of the channel are a number of
islands called the Seven (mortal) Sins--Los Siete Pecados. The large
island of Guimaras limits the channel on the south; it was visited
by some of our party, who returned delighted with the extensive
stalactite caverns which they explored, reaching them with some
difficulty over the rocks, through the woods and across the streams
which arrested their progress. The forests are full of game and the
river Cabatuan abounds with crocodiles. There are many rivulets and
rivers which greatly assist the cultivator, and we found a good supply
of cattle. The ponies of Iloilo are among the best in the archipelago,
and some attention is paid to the breeding of sheep. A good deal
of salt is made, and there is a considerable fishery of trepang
(sea-slug) and tortoises for the sake of the shells. But the island is
most renowned for the piña fabrics called nipas and sinamays, some of
which are of exquisite fineness and beauty; they are largely exported,
and their perfection has given them a vast reputation even in Europe.
On the arrival of the Spaniards they found the district occupied
by painted Indians, full of superstitions, which, notwithstanding
the teachings of the Augustine friars, are still found to prevail,
especially at the time of any public calamity. They are among the
best formed of the Indians, speak a dialect of the Bisayan, which
they called Hiligueyna, but in the remoter parts another idiom named
the Halayo prevails. The Augustines boast of having converted fifty
thousand families in 1566, but they were not able to induce them to
cultivate their lands and to store their surplus produce, and the
locusts having desolated the district, in the two following years more
than half the population perished of hunger. But the missionaries
made no progress among the Negritos who dwelt in the wilder parts
of the mountainous regions, and who were joined by many desiring to
escape from the authority of the invaders. These savages have not
unfrequently attacked the villages of the converted Indians, but of
late years have found it more prudent and profitable to bring down
their wax and pitch, and exchange them for rice and garments. They
have no general ruler, but each clan has its recognized head, and
it is said that, when perplexed as to choice of a successor to a
departed chief, they send deputations to the missionaries and ask
their advice and assistance to regulate their choice. Formerly the
district was frequently attacked by pirates, who committed great
ravages and destroyed several towns. In 1716 the Dutch attacked the
fortress of Iloilo, but were compelled to retire after a heavy loss
both in killed and wounded. There has been a great increase in the
population, which in 1736 numbered 67,708 souls; in 1799, 176,901;
in 1845, 277,571; and by the last census, 527,970, of whom 174,874
pay tribute. There is a small number of Spaniards--of mestizos many,
of whom the larger proportion are sangleys, the descendants of Chinese
fathers and native mothers. The increase of the population must be
great, the census in 1857 giving 17,675 births, and only 9,231 deaths.
The approach to Iloilo is by a channel between a sandbank (which has
spread nearly a mile beyond the limits given in the charts) and the
island of Guimaras. The town appears adjacent as it is approached,
but the river by which vessels enter makes a considerable bend and
passes round close to the town. We observed a large fortification, but
it had not the means of saluting us, and we were therefore exonerated
from the duty of exploding H. M.'s gunpowder; but if not in the shape
of noisy salutations, the courtesies of the Spanish authorities were
displayed in every possible way towards the officers and crew of our
frigate, for whose service and entertainment everything was done. We
were soon waited on by a gentleman from the British vice-consulate. The
vice-consul returned to Iloilo the day after our arrival. It would
indeed be well if all British functionaries possessed as much aptitude,
knowledge and disposition to be useful as we found in Mr. Loney,
to whom the commerce of the Philippines generally, and the port of
Iloilo especially, is under great obligations. To him, more than to any
other individual, the development of the trade of Panay will be due.
From the Governor of Iloilo, Colonel José Maria Carlès,
especially I experienced great kindness. He was Buffering under a
sore affliction--for affliction holds sway over every part of the
world--the loss of an only and beloved son who had preceded him
as governor of the province and was an object of so much affection
that the people earnestly implored the Captain-General to allow the
father to succeed him, which was granted. It was touching to hear the
tales of the various displays of popular sympathy and sorrow which
accompanied the death and the interment of Don Emilio Carlès, whom no
less than fifty carriages followed to his grave in Arévalo. I passed
the village more than once with the mourning father; at a time, too,
when sorely suffering from sorrows of my own, I felt the consolation
which is found in remembering and helping others to remember the
virtues of the dead. These are their best monuments, though not
written on tablets of stone.
The principalia of Molo came to invite us to a ball, and very prettily
the ball was got up. It is a most industrious locality; in ancient
times was a Chinese colony, and is now occupied by mestizos and their
descendants, most of them having a mingling of Chinese blood. The
pueblo has 16,428 inhabitants, of whom the mestizos are 1,106. It
is one of the busiest towns in the island, and everything has a
prosperous and active look. Some of the buildings have in the same
apartment many looms occupied in making the piña stuffs. The place was
gaily illuminated on occasion of the ball, and the gobernadorcillo
made an oration in Spanish to the effect that the locality had been
much honoured by our presence, and that the memory of the day would
be long preserved. Many of the mestizos keep their carriages, which
were placed at the disposal of our friends, and which fell into the
procession when music and firing of guns and muskets accompanied us
through the town. Molo is an island formed by two creeks, and entered
by bridges on both sides. I believe it is one of the few localities
served by a secular curate. It is about four miles from Iloilo, the
road being good, and many Indian houses are seen on both sides of the
way. Almost all these have their gardens growing plantains, cocoa-nuts,
bread-fruits, cocoa, betel and other vegetable productions. Sugar
planting appeared to be extending, and there are many paddy-fields
and much cultivation of maize.
The Governor and British vice-consul accompanied us in our pleasant
excursions to the interior, during which we visited some of the
most populous pueblos of the provinces. We travelled in comfortable
carriages, the friars or the gobernadorcillos providing us with relays
of horses, and the convents were generally the places appointed
for our reception, in which we invariably found most hospitable
cheer. One day it was determined to visit Janiuay, and we first
stopped at Jaro, a pueblo of more than 22,000 souls. The roads had
their usual adornings: the Indian cottages exhibited their flags,
the equestrian principalia came out to escort us, and the native
bands of music went before us when we entered and when we quitted
the populous part of the town. Jaro is deemed the most opulent place
in the island of Panay. It was founded in 1584 or 1585. Cultivation
extends to some distance around it. It boasts of its stone bridge,
more than 700 feet in length and 36 feet in breadth, the erection
of which, as well as the excellent roads by which the pueblo is
approached, are due to the munificence of a curate knighted by his
sovereign for his patriotic sacrifices. Though the country is level,
the rich vegetation on the banks of the streams and by the borders
of the highway make the scenery picturesque. The manufacture of fine
stuffs and cotton, piña and silk, is very considerable. These fabrics
are exposed for sale at a weekly market, held on Thursdays, which is
crowded by people from every part of the province, being the largest
of the Iloilo marts. From Jaro we proceeded to Santa Barbara, a pueblo
of 23,000 souls. Here we were received at the convent of the Augustine
friars, in whose hands are all the cures of Iloilo, to one of whom we
had the pleasure of giving a passage to Manila, whither he was bound
as the delegate to the annual assembly of the fraternity. Here, too,
other Augustine friars visited us, all inviting us to partake of the
hospitalities of their spacious convents. Santa Barbara is a modern
town, built in 1759, and placed under the special protection of the
saint whose name it bears. It has shared in the general prosperity
of the province: in 1820 it had no manufactures; but it has now a
weekly market for the sale of the produce of its looms, consisting
principally of cottons, sail-canvas, quilts, coverlets, &c. The
forests furnish fine timber for building and for cabinet work, and
are crowded with wild bees, whose wax and honey form a considerable
article of traffic. Excellent were the carriages and horses of the
friars. Our next resting-place was Cabatuan, somewhat larger than Santa
Barbara. Cabatuan was founded in 1732. It is on the banks of the river
Tiguin; sometimes nearly dry, and at others deluging the country with
its impetuous torrents. The numerous crocodiles make fishing unsafe;
and the navigation even of small boats is often interrupted, either
by the superfluity or insufficiency of its waters. There is a large
production of rice and of cocoa-nut oil for lighting. From Cabatuan
we went to Janiuay, which was the limit of the day's journey, and of
our visit to the interior. It is called Matagul in the ancient maps of
the province, and has about the same number of inhabitants as Santa
Barbara. The convent and church are on a slightly elevated ground,
and offer a pretty view of the pueblo and surrounding country. Many
of the women are engaged in the labours of the loom, but agriculture
is the principal industry of the neighbourhood. We had hoped to
visit the Dingle mountain, one of whose caves or grottos is said
to present the character of a temple of fantastic architecture,
adorned with rock crystal and exhibiting masses of marble and
alabaster which form its walls; another cave is formed of granite,
which abounds in the locality: but we had to return to Iloilo to
meet the principal people at a late dinner, succeeded as usual by
a ball. The Governor's house being at some distance from the town,
we were kindly accommodated at that of one of the native merchants,
conveniently situated on the quay of the river. Several of the friars,
who had been our hosts, were the guests of the merchants; and the kind
hospitality we experienced did not justify the constant expression
of courteous regrets for the inadequacy of the entertainment,
the blunders of the native servants (sometimes amusing enough),
and the contrasts between the accommodations of Europe and those
which a remote Spanish settlement in the Philippines could afford;
but there was so much of courtesy, good breeding and cordiality that
it was impossible to feel otherwise than grateful and contented, and,
after all, in this world to do all we can is to discharge every duty.
The next day we made our arrangements for visiting the different
pueblos on the coast, and, starting in our carriages soon after
daybreak, we passed through Molo and Arévalo to Oton. Arévalo has
some celebrity in the annals of the Philippines, and had a special
interest for the Governor, as here had been lately displayed
the affection of the Indians for his son, whose funeral they had
honoured with such special marks of sympathy and regret. Arévalo was
formerly the residence of the governor--built by Ronquillo in 1581,
who gave it the name of his birth-place. Molested by the Indians,
attacked by pirates and the government quite disorganized, it was
for a long time abandoned; and the seat of authority being removed
to Iloilo, Arévalo presents few signs of activity: there are about
8,000 inhabitants in this district. At Oton we saw from the Augustine
convent an interesting ceremony. It was on a Sunday; and on quitting
the church the inhabitants were summoned by beat of drum to attend
the reading of a proclamation of the government. They were all in
their holiday garments, and men, women and children formed a circle
round one of the native Indian authorities, who, in a loud voice,
read in the Bisayan tongue the document which he had been ordered
to communicate to the people. There was perfect silence during
the reading, and a quiet dispersion of the crowd. Fortifications
are erected along the coast, and a great variety of manufactures
were brought to us for examination. A good deal of English cotton
twist is sold, which forms the warp of most of the fabrics. [34]
There were rugs of silk and cotton; varieties of coloured ginghams;
tissues, in which the fibres of the abacá and the piña were mixed
with our cotton thread, whose importation is, however, confined to
the colours which the Indians are themselves not able to dye. Oton
has nearly 23,000 inhabitants. I observe the proportion of births
to deaths is as nearly four to one, and that while there are five
births to one marriage, the deaths exceed the marriages by less than
one-third, so that the increase of population must be very great. In
1818, it was less than 9,000. Tigbauan, with its 21,000 inhabitants,
was our next halting place. Its general character resembles that of
Oton. Rice is the principal agricultural production, but the women
are mostly employed in weaving stuffs, which find markets in Albay and
Camarines. We were accompanied from the Augustine convent by a friar
of Guimbal, who obviously exercised much influence over his brethren
and over the whole community. His conversation was both entertaining
and instructive. He had a good stud of horses, a handsome carriage, and
he certainly employs his large revenues with generous hospitality. Not
to repeat what has been repeated so often, the Indians, on the whole
line of our journey, made a holiday time for our reception, which
partook everywhere of the character of a public festivity. After the
principalia had accompanied us to the convents, and received their
thanks from me, and their dismissal from the Governor and the friar,
a number of little girls were introduced, to whom the service of
the table and attendance on the guests were confided. There was a
strange mixture of curiosity, fear and respect in their deportment;
but they gathered round my arm-chair; their bright black eyes looked
inquiringly into my face, and asked for orders; while one, who seemed
rather a pet of the ghostly father, put her hand into the curls of my
white hair, which she seemed to consider worthy of some admiration:
but the friar told me they were discoursing among themselves whether
it was possible I could be a general and a great man, who had no gold
about my clothes; I was not dressed half as finely as the officers
they had been accustomed to see. They were very proud of some of
the piña garments they wore, and one after another came to display
their finery. They took care to supply me with cigars, and that light
should be ready whenever the cigar was extinguished, and when we sat
down to our well-furnished repast, several of them were at hand to
remove the plates, to provide others, and to see that we were well
provided with the delicacies of the day. On our way back to Iloilo,
we learnt that the principalia of Molo were to escort us in their
carriages to our domicile; they were waiting for us in the main road,
so that we made together quite a procession. They had before invited
Captain Vansittart and the officers of the Magicienne to their ball,
and many attended, keeping up the dance to an early morning hour.
We left Iloilo the following day. The Governor and several of the
principal people, among whom was a large group of Augustine friars,
accompanied us with music to the ship. Three loud shouts of grateful
hurrah broke forth from our decks, cordially responded to by our
hosts--and so farewell! and all happiness to Iloilo.
I have sent to Sir William Hooker, for the museum of the Royal Gardens
at Kew, sixty specimens of woods grown in the northern and western
districts of the island of Panay and the province of Antique, of
which the most notable are--the molave, the most useful and compact
of the Philippine woods, and applied to all purposes of building;
bancaluag, for fine work; duñgon, for ship-building and edifices;
bago-arour, building and cabinet-work; lumati, a species of teak;
guisoc, a flexible wood for ships and houses; ipil has similar
merits; naga, resembling mahogany, used for furniture; cansalod,
planks for floors; maguilomboy, for the same purpose; duca, baslayan,
oyacya, for ship-building; tipolo, for musical instruments; lanipga,
a species of cedar used for carving and sculpture; bayog, spars for
masts and yards; bancal, for internal roofs and carving; malaguibuyo,
for flooring; ogjayan, flexible for joints, &c.; lanitan, guitars,
violins, &c.; janlaatan, furniture; lauaan, spars for shipping; basa,
in large blocks for building and shipping; talagtag, cabinet-work;
nino, the bark used for dyeing both red and yellow; bacan, spars;
panao, a medicinal wood used for sore eyes by the Indians; banate,
a fine and solid box-wood, used for billiard-maces, has been exported
to Europe; bancolinao, ebony; casla has a fruit resembling a French
bean, whose oil is used by the natives for their lamps; jaras, for
construction of houses. It will be observed that all these bear their
Indian names, which are generally applied to them by the Spaniards.
As regards the commercial position and prospects of the whole of the
central and southern islands of the Philippine Archipelago, the most
satisfactory details which have reached me are those furnished in
1857 by the Vice-Consul of Iloilo, Mr. Loney, to the Consul of Manila,
from which I extract the following information.
That portion of the Philippines called the Bisayas may be
generally described as including the whole of the islands to the
southward of Luzon, though, strictly speaking, it is understood to
comprehend only those of Samar, Leyte, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol
(with their dependencies, Tablas, Romblon, Sibuyan, &c.), and four
provinces--Misamis, Caraga, Zamboanga, and Nueva Guipuzcoa--of the
important island of Mindanao, next to Luzon the finest and largest
of the archipelago.
The administration of the revenue of the Bisayas was formerly in charge
of a separate Government Intendency (Gobierno Intendencia de Bisayas)
established in the city of Cebu; but this being abolished in 1849,
all the provinces, as regards revenue, are now equally under control
of the Superintendencia at Manila. While, however, the provinces
and districts of Luzon (with the exception of Cavite, La Isabela,
Nueva Viscaya, El Abra, San Mateo, and La Union) are presided over
by civil functionaries (alcaldes mayores), those of the Bisayas are
governed by military officers (gobernadores militares y politicos)
of the rank of captain to that of colonel, assisted in most instances
by a lieutenant-governor, a civilian, and usually a lawyer, who takes
cognizance of all ordinary civil and criminal cases.
The Bisayan group is mostly inhabited by a race resembling, in all
essential characteristics, the Tagálog, and other Malayan races of
Luzon. Their language may be called a dialect of the Tagálog, though
rather harsher in sound, and neither so copious, so refined, nor so
subjected to grammatical rules, as this latter idiom. The Bisayan
has more Malay words than have the dialects spoken in Luzon. The
natives of these islands and those of Luzon imperfectly comprehend
each other, though their languages are evidently derived from the
same parent stock.
The Bisayas furnish a hardy, seafaring race; but, as a rule, the
general tendency to indolence, attributed to the Philippine "Indian,"
applies, in a perhaps greater degree, to the inhabitants of the whole
southern group, and constitutes at present, in the absence of any
available means of coercion, one of the principal obstacles to a more
rapid extension of agriculture by the introduction of European capital.
The christianized population of the Bisayas may be estimated as
follows:--
Samar 118,000
Leyte 115,000
Romblon 16,600
Panay:--
Capiz 135,000
Iloilo 450,000
Antique 80,000
Cebu and Bohol 385,200
Negros 108,000
Calamianes 18,000
Mindanao:--
Misamis 44,500
Caraga (Surigao) 15,300
New Guipuzcoa (Bislig and Davao) 11,200
Zamboanga 12,000
---------
Total 1,508,800
This estimate does not include the unsubdued tribes inhabiting the
mountains in the interior, some idea of the number of which may be
formed from a note of those ascertained to have existed in 1849,
in the undernoted provinces:--
Misamis 66,000
Samar 25,964
Leyte (not ascertained).
Negros 8,545
Panay 13,900
Cebu 4,903
-------
Total 119,312
The largest number of unsubjected tribes (principally Mahomedan)
inhabit Mindanao, the total population of which is generally asserted
to amount to nearly one million souls.
The island of Panay, advantageously placed towards the centre of
the Bisayas group, is distant at its nearest point--that of Potol,
in lat. 11° 48´ N., long. 122° W. of Greenwich--180 miles in a
right line from Manila. Its shape is nearly triangular, and it has
a circumference of about 300 miles. It is the fifth in size of the
Philippine Islands, coming in this respect after Luzon, which has
a circumference of 1,059 miles; Mindanao, 900; Paragua, 420; and
Samar, 390; but, though smaller than the islands just named, it is,
next to Luzon, the most populous of the archipelago, if Mindanao,
with the doubtful population of independent tribes above-mentioned,
be left out of the question.
Panay is divided into the three provinces of Capiz, Antique, and
Iloilo, which together contain a population of about 665,000.
Capiz occupies the whole of the northern portion of the coast of Panay,
for a distance of seventy-seven miles.
Its limits towards the interior may be defined by a curved line,
commencing from a little to the eastward of Point Bulacan, passing
by the Pico de Arcangel, in the Siaurágan Mountains, and continued
westward to Pandan, on the coast. Its chief town is Capiz, situated
on the river of the same name. Though broken towards the southern
and western portion by an irregular series of mountain chains, the
greater part of the territory of Capiz consists of extensive low-lying
plains, which produce rice in great abundance. It possesses a few good
harbours, particularly that of Batan; and Capiz itself, situated at the
confluence of the rivers Panay and Capiz, affords secure anchorage. Its
tribute-paying population is officially reported to be 135,000 souls.
Antique takes up the western side of the island, to an extent of 84
miles--from Point Naso on the south to Pandan on the north--is of
triangular shape, and limited on the north by the province of Capiz,
on the south and east by that of Iloilo, and on the west by the
sea. Antique is very mountainous, and, being comparatively thinly
inhabited, does not at present produce much for export, especially
as the greater development of its resources is retarded by the want
of good harbours, of which it does not possess one along its whole
line of coast. At its chief town and port, San José de Buenavista,
a breakwater is in process of construction, which, if completed,
will give a great impulse to the trade of the province, by enabling
vessels to load there at all seasons of the year. At San José foreign
whaling and other vessels not unfrequently call for water and fresh
provisions. The number of its inhabitants, exclusive of the remontados
and monteses, who occupy the mountainous districts, is computed to
amount to 80,000 souls.
Iloilo extends over the south-eastern portion of the island, is also
of triangular form, bounded on the north by Capiz, on the west by
Antique, and on the south-east by the arm of the sea which separates
it from the island of Negros. This, the largest, richest and most
peopled of the three provinces, deserves more particular notice.
Iloilo, its chief town, and the residence of its governor, distant 254
miles in a direct line from Manila, and placed by Spanish hydrographers
in lat. 10° 48' W. of the meridian of San Bernardino, is situated
near the south-eastern extremity of the island, close to the sea,
on the border of the narrow channel formed by the island of Guimarás,
which lies opposite to it at a distance of two miles and a half from
the Panay shore.
The town is built principally on low, marshy ground, subject to tidal
influence, partly fronting the sea, and partly along the left bank
of a creek, or inlet, which runs towards Jaro, and after describing
a semicircle again meets the sea near Molo. Although the principal
seaport and seat of the government of the province, its population
is not so large as that of many of the towns in its vicinity. It
does not at present exceed 7,500, while Jaro, Molo and Oton, towns
in its immediate neighbourhood, possess 33,000, 15,000 and 20,000
respectively. This comparative scarcity of inhabitants is principally
owing to the want of space for further extension on the narrow tongue
of land on which the town is chiefly built. This obstacle to its
further increase should in time cease to exist, as efficient measures
are being taken to draw the population more inland; among others,
the erection of a new government house and public offices at a more
central point; the contemplated removal of the present church to a
more advantageous and open site, beyond the tongue of land alluded
to; and the convergence at this place of new and more direct roads
(now in course of construction) leading to and from the adjacent
populous towns.
Notwithstanding the drawback of limited space, the progress in size
and importance of the town has of late years been very marked, while
the European residents, who, in 1840, numbered only three, now, in
1857, amount to 31 in Iloilo, and 30 in the remaining towns of the
province. A considerable portion of this number arrived during the
past two years, and the effect of this increase of Europeans, though
their number is so small, is already visible in the construction of
new buildings, and projects for the erection of many others. The rise
in house property may be illustrated by the fact that the house in
which the vice-consulate is established--constructed of wood with a
palm-thatched roof--is subject to a rental of 33 dollars per month,
or about 80l. per annum. The value of land for building lots has also
augmented in proportion.
The population of the province is given officially as 511,066; but
there is reason to think it considerably exaggerated, and that 400,000,
or at most 450,000, would be nearer the real amount.
The harbour of Iloilo, though well protected and naturally good,
is not without inconveniences, capable, however, of being obviated
with little trouble, and, provided with one of the excellent charts
lately issued by the Comisión Hidrográfica (and, if approaching from
the north, with a pilot), large vessels may enter with safety.
The island of Guimarás, which is twenty-two miles long by three
in breadth, forms in front of Iloilo a sheltered passage, running
nearly north and south, of a width varying from two miles and a half
to six miles, with deep water and good anchorage. The entrance to
this passage from the south is a good deal narrowed by the Oton shoal
(Bajo de Oton), which stretches for a considerable distance from the
Panay shore, and contracts for about a mile in length the available
channel at this part to the breadth of about two miles. This, however,
will be no obstacle for large ships during the south-west monsoon
(especially when the channel is properly buoyed off), the passage being
perfectly clear as far as it extends; and with a contrary north-east
monsoon they can work or drag through with the tide, keeping well over
towards Guimaras, the coast of which is clear with deep water close in,
anchoring, if necessary, on the edge of the shoal, which affords good
holding-ground, and, being of soft sand, may be safely approached. The
whole of this coast, protected as it is by Guimaras, the Panay shore,
and, in a considerable degree, by the island of Negros, offers secure
anchorage in the north-east monsoon; and situated on the south-west
portion of Guimaras, the fine port of Buluanga, or Sta. Ana, of
easy access and capable of admitting vessels of the largest tonnage,
will afford shelter under almost any circumstances. The approach to
the opposite or northern entrance is generally made by the coasting
vessels through the chain of small islands (Gigantes, Pan de Azucar,
Sicógon, Apiton, &c.), called collectively the Silanga, which lie off
the north-east coast of Panay and afford an excellent refuge for a
considerable distance to the vessels engaged in the trade with Manila
and the southernmost Bisayas. But though there is good anchorage among
these islands, particularly at Pan de Azucar and Tagú, it would be
more prudent for vessels of large burden, in cases where there is no
practical acquaintance with the set of the tides and currents, to take
the outside channel between the Silanga and the island of Negros. After
passing the Calabazas rocks and Pepitas shoal and making the castle
or blockhouse of Banate (formerly erected, like many others along the
Philippine coasts, for defence against the pirates of the Sooloo Sea),
the route is due south until sighting a group of seven remarkable
rocks, called the "Seven Sins," for which a direct course should then
be made, the lead being kept going to avoid the Iguana Bank (which
is well marked off on the charts referred to), and on getting south
of the Iloilo Fort vessels of a certain tonnage may enter the creek,
or, if too large, should bring up on the east side of the fort, where
they are protected from the wind and the strength of the tides. The
depth of water on the bar at the entrance to the creek is about five
fathoms at low water; but at a short distance farther inside the water
shoals to fifteen feet at low water, and then deepens again. The rise
and fall being six feet, a vessel of 300 tons, drawing, when loaded,
sixteen to eighteen feet, can easily obtain egress with a full cargo. A
dredging machine employed to clear away the mud which has been allowed
to accumulate at the shallower parts near the entrance, would enable
ships of almost any burden to complete their cargoes inside. The
Santa Justa, a Spanish ship of 700 tons, loaded, in 1851, part of a
cargo of tobacco inside the creek, and finished her lading outside.
It should be mentioned that, the banks of the creek being of soft mud,
there is little or no risk to be apprehended from grounding. Proceeding
about a mile and a half up the creek (which varies in breadth from half
a mile to three-quarters of a mile, and affords complete protection
from wind and sea), the coasting crafts bring up at the jetties of
their respective owners, and have the great advantage of discharging
and loading at the stores without the necessity of employing boats.
Beyond this point, the creek stretches as far as Molo. Formerly the
coasting vessels used, when necessary, to go on to Molo, but the
drawbridge through which they had to pass having got out of repair,
and the present bridge (now in very bad condition) affording no means
of passage, they remain at Iloilo, to which place the Molo traders
have had to transfer their warehouses.
The export trade of Iloilo, hitherto confined to the port of Manila and
the adjacent islands, is at present chiefly carried on by four Spanish
firms resident at Iloilo and owners of the better class of native craft
sailing from this port; but to these are to be added a considerable
number of mestizos, or half-castes, principally of Chinese descent,
living at the neighbouring towns of Molo and Jaro, several of whom
are also owners of vessels, and employ considerable sums in the trade.
The principal products exported are leaf tobacco, sugar, sapan-wood,
rice in the husk (or paddy); hemp and hides, besides other articles in
lesser quantity, including horns, beche-de-mer, mother-of-pearl shell,
beeswax, canes, &c., and a considerable amount of native manufactured
goods. Leaf, or unmanufactured tobacco, is at present the article
of most importance, and the one which the Spanish traders have found
most lucrative. It is purchased by them from the small native growers,
and shipped to Manila for exclusive sale to the government, at prices
fixed by the factory appraisers, according to the size and quality of
the leaf. From Iloilo some 30,000 quintals were shipped last year for
Manila, and from Capiz 20,000, giving about 50,000 as the exportable
quantity of the leaf produced in Panay per annum.
The export of tobacco to Manila, until the year 1845, did not amount
in this province to more than 10,000 quintals per annum; but in that
year the agent of a Manila firm having raised the usual low prices
given by the Iloilo traders from 10 rials to an average of 20 to 21
rials for the three first qualities, the export, in 1847, had rapidly
reached 24,000 quintals.
The attention of the government being directed to its growing
importance, it was resolved to institute a system of "Coleccion,"
through the governor and a staff of collectors, similar to those
"Collecciones" that are established at Cagayan, La Union, and Nueva
Ecija. By this system, the purchase for, and export to, Manila by
private traders, though not positively interdicted (as is the case in
the provinces just named), was so much prejudiced and interfered with
by the unequal competition with the government (to which the private
buyers had ultimately to sell what they shipped), that the total export
from Iloilo fell during the six years from 1848 to 1853 from 25,000 to
18,900 quintals. In this latter year the coleccion was withdrawn. In
1853 a company formed at Madrid was allowed the exclusive privilege
of the manufacture and export of cigars and leaf tobacco to foreign
markets. A large and expensive stone-built factory was erected near
Iloilo, the manufacture of cigars organized, and purchases of the
leaf effected, and, latterly, the company's operations were extended
to the cultivation of the plant in different parts of the province. A
clause, however, in its charter rendered it incumbent on the company
to furnish the factories at Manila, if required, with a considerable
yearly amount both of leaf tobacco and cigars, equal, if necessary,
to the amount annually derived in the province from other sources. As a
consequence, the requirements made for the Manila factories (purposely
augmented, it is said, by the hostility of the then Intendente de
Hacienda to the company) were to such an extent as virtually to
deprive it of all power to act on its own account; and, after an
existence of nearly three years, its embarrassments were such as to
compel its extinction, with the loss of a considerable portion of the
capital originally sunk. Had the authorities at Manila favoured its
development, the result, though necessarily cramped by the defective
principle inherent in all monopolies, might have been favourable, as,
with the liberty to manufacture for, and ship to, foreign markets, it
could have afforded to give good prices, and might have extended the
culture of the tobacco plant. It is a suggestive fact in connection
with this subject that one of the Europeans formerly in the employ of
the company has since had cigars manufactured for local consumption,
which he has sold at 8 dollars per thousand, nearly, if not quite,
equal in quality to the "Imperiales" occasionally manufactured at
the factory at Manila at 25 dollars per thousand.
Since 1853, and coexistent with the company's operations, the purchase
and shipment of tobacco by private individuals have been resumed on
their original footing; and, while the amount so shipped has steadily,
though very gradually, increased, prices have maintained a slight
upward tendency. The maximum rates, however, which the local traders
can afford to pay the native growers are not high enough to bring
about a rapid extension of planting, or induce these latter to give
time and labour enough to improve the quality of a plant, the proper
culture of which requires special attention, and the application of
more capital and intelligence than they have it in their power to
bestow. The Iloilo shippers complain of the arbitrary manner in which
the classification of qualities is made at Manila, and of the fact
that, even after delivery of the tobacco at the government stores, it
is held entirely at their risk until examined, repacked and ready for
shipment to Spain. The qualities shipped at Iloilo are classed as 1st
(of which a very small quantity is produced under the present system),
2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th; and any rejected by the examiners at Manila
as under the 5th quality is retained and burnt, though no allowance
on such portion is made to the vendor. The rates given by the factory
for the above qualities are 7·75, 6·75, 5·25, 4, and 3 dollars per
quintal respectively. The seedlings are planted out in January, and
the greater part of the crop comes forward in May and June. The soil
of the greater part of the Bisayas is favourable to the growth of
tobacco. The island of Negros formerly produced about 8,000 quintals,
of very good quality, which the Iloilo traders, through their agents,
were in the habit of purchasing from the independent tribes inhabiting
the interior; but the measures taken by the present governor to bring
the latter into subjection having resulted last year in the slaughter
of several hundreds and the dispersion of the rest, supplies from this
source are at present stopped. Cebú produces about 15,000 quintals,
of rather inferior quality. At Leyte, particularly in the district of
Moasin, tobacco of very excellent quality and colour is grown, but it
does not pay to produce in large quantity for export to Manila, and
is consequently used almost exclusively in the Bisayas, where it is
much appreciated. Samar also grows tobacco for local consumption. The
manufacture of cigars is allowed throughout the Bisayas, but not for
sale at Manila or elsewhere.
For the present the export of tobacco from Panay and the other islands
possesses little direct interest for British or foreign merchants,
the transactions with government, as at present conducted, not being
of a satisfactory nature. It is, however, almost superfluous to say,
that if the existing government monopoly of tobacco were abolished
(substituted by a system of farming out lands, a direct territorial tax
on the quantity under cultivation, or a duty on exports), and both the
free manufacture for, and direct shipment to, a foreign market allowed,
the export from Panay would immediately become of great importance
to the foreign trade. The soil of a very great portion of the island
being well adapted for the cultivation of the plant, the export, under
the stimulus of much higher prices and the consequent employment of
more and better-directed capital, would be capable of great expansion,
particularly if, as would in all probability be the case, the culture
were undertaken by Europeans, and the present system of small patches
cultivated by natives gave place to estates on a large scale, as in
Cuba. The benefits which would accrue to the native population by
the opening up of larger sources of industry need not be pointed out.
The subject of the suppression of the existing monopoly is a most
important one for the Philippines; and it is to be hoped that the
government at Madrid, encouraged by the beneficial results of the
abrogation, in 1819, of the monopoly in Cuba, will at no distant date
resolve to overcome the difficulties which at present surround the
question, particularly as its solution becomes yearly more urgent,
and more called for on the part of both Europeans and natives.
Sugar, as an article of export, may be said to be as yet comparatively
in the germ. By an abstract taken from notes of province cargoes given
daily by the Boletin Oficial of Manila, it is seen that nearly 12,000
peculs went forward last year from this province to Manila, of which
it may be estimated that about 3,000 were brought over from the Isla
de Negros, and sent on to the capital as Iloilo sugar. So great has
been the stimulus given by the high prices for this article which
have lately ruled, that the quantity exported from Iloilo alone will
not fall short of 20,000, or say, with contributions from Negros,
about 25,000 peculs, or nearly 1,600 tons; and, were the present
rapid extension of planting to continue in the same ratio for three
years, the amount exportable would in that time, as there is no want
of available land, reach about 80,000 peculs, or 5,000 tons, subject
to further augmentation from other sources, should foreign vessels
commence loading at this port. [35] At the island of Negros, from
whence the voyage occupies from six to ten hours, the soil of which
is eminently fertile, and which possesses immense tracts particularly
adapted for the growth of sugar, a similar extension of culture is in
progress, in spite of the great drawback of the comparative sparseness
of its population, which alone prevents it from yielding sugar and hemp
in larger proportion than any other province in the Philippines. At
present Negros produces about 14,000 peculs, or nearly 900 tons,
of sugar, of which more than two-thirds go to Manila direct, and
the remainder by way of Iloilo. There is a further available source
from whence sugar (in the event of foreign vessels loading at Iloilo)
would be derivable at the contiguous island of Cebú, which produces
upwards of 90,000 peculs, or 5,695 tons, for the Manila market,
and is within easy distance of two to three days' sail from Iloilo.
The effective nature of the stimulus given by the present prices will
be comprehended when it is considered that the value of Iloilo sugar,
which in previous years up to 1855 had generally ranged from 2 to 2·10
dollars per pecul in the Manila market, is now 5·68 3/4 dollars per
pecul at Manila, against 3·2 to 3·3 dollars, with 25 per cent. for
prem. on silver, or equal to 4·06 dollars to 4·21 1/2 dollars here,
and as long as the rate obtainable at Manila does not recede below
3 dollars per pecul of 140 lbs., the extension of planting will be
continued. Of late years, owing to the disproportionally low prices
paid at Manila, sugar planting had in many districts been abandoned as
unremunerative, but during the past and present year it has rapidly
increased, particularly since the introduction of a more economical
kind of furnace, in which the refuse cane is used to some extent in
place of the large amount of wood formerly consumed.
The very defective nature of the process employed by the native
and mestizo planters does not allow of the production in Iloilo of
a superior class of sugar, and all that leaves for Manila may be
described as "ordinary unclayed;" but the grain is usually very good,
and on undergoing the ulterior processes in England and Australia, it
yields a fine strong sugar, and has been much approved of for boiling
purposes at the Glasgow refineries. Were a better system of crushing
and boiling introduced here, sugar of an excellent quality would
be produced, and it is greatly to be desired that a few Europeans
with sufficient capital and experience would form estates in this
neighbourhood. At present there is not a single iron-mill in the
island. The unclayed sugars of the Philippines in ordinary times,
even under the present defective and consequently expensive mode
of production are held to be the cheapest in the world. The only
Europeans now engaged in the cultivation of sugar in this quarter
are a French planter, at Negros, who produces an excellent sugar
(which always commands upwards of 1 dollar a pecul more than ordinary
Iloilo), and a planter of the same nation, in this province, who has
lately commenced on a limited scale.
Taking the prices quoted above as a basis (4·21 1/2 dollars here
against 5·68 3/4 dollars at Manila), the difference in favour of
this, the place of production, is now 1·47 1/4 dollar per pecul;
but supposing the additional 47 1/4 cents to be given here by the
foreign exporter in order to secure such share of the crop as would be
required to load a direct vessel, there would still remain an important
saving of 1 dollar per pecul, or say 17 1/2 per cent. less than the
prime cost at Manila. The freight to Manila at present charged by
the coasting vessels is 50 cents per pecul. The bulk of the sugar
crop is delivered from February to March.
Sapan-wood is exported in considerable quantity from the province of
Iloilo. It is chiefly produced in the vicinity of the southern coasting
towns, Guimbal, Miagao, and San Joaquin (the farthest within twenty
miles of Iloilo), from whence the greater part is brought round by
sea to Iloilo for exportation to Manila, and the rest shipped direct
from Guimbal. Last year, as reported in the imperfect notes of the
Boletin Oficial, 32,723 peculs, or 2,045 tons, were shipped to Manila,
and 789 peculs from Antique.
The high prices lately obtained at Manila have led to the formation
of new plantations, which will still further increase the exportable
amount. A large quantity is sent on yearly to Singapore and Amoy,
and forms the bulk of the cargoes of such vessels as load at Manila
for the former port.
The quality of the Iloilo sapan-wood would be much better were the
natives to abstain from the practice of cutting down a large portion
before the trees are sufficiently grown. When allowed to obtain its
proper development, it is said to be quite equal or superior to that
of Misamis or Bolinao, at present the best qualities brought to the
Manila market. As both sellers and brokers endeavour to deliver the
wood as soon as possible after it is cut, the loss in weight on
the voyage to Manila is said to be sometimes as much as 12 to 14
per cent. The present price of sapan-wood delivered at Iloilo is,
with the addition of 25 per cent. for cost of silver, 1·08 dollar
per pecul against the Manila rate of 1·75 to 1·875 dollar, leaving a
considerable margin in favour of vessels loading here for a foreign
market. The freight to Manila is 31·25 cents per pecul.
Hemp (so called, though in reality the product of a variety of the
plantain) produced in Iloilo is chiefly of a long, white fibre,
equal to what is known in the London market as "Lupiz," used in the
manufacture of the native fabrics, and at present little attention is
paid to it as an article of export. But though Iloilo produces little
or no surplus hemp, the small coasting craft annually bring here some
350 tons from the neighbouring islands and provinces of Leyte, Samar,
Negros, Camarines, and Albay, received at those places in exchange
for the paddy and native goods of this province.
Both Leyte and Samar now produce large quantities of excellent
hemp for the Manila market, particularly the former island; and the
voyage hither throughout the greater part of the year is so short
(at present vessels take five to six days in going and two to return)
that were the native traders to find a ready market at Iloilo, at
prices relatively equivalent to those of Manila, it is more than
probable that a considerable additional quantity would be directed
to Iloilo instead of to the capital.
At the island of Negros the production is increasing very rapidly,
a large quantity having been planted during the past year, several
pueblos and districts possessing tracts of upwards of 100,000 and
200,000 plants, which will come into use during the next two years,
and as the plant is remarkable for its great propagative power,
the obtainable quantity should increase in duplicative ratio every
year. The export of hemp from the Isla de Negros amounts at present
to 13,000 to 14,000 peculs, or about 850 tons, per annum, chiefly
from the port of Dumaguele, on the eastern side of the island.
When it is recollected that in 1831 the whole export of hemp from
the Philippines did not amount to more than 346 tons, and that in
1837 it had already reached 3,585 tons, and that during 1856 no
less than 22,000 tons left Manila for the United States and Europe,
some idea may be formed of the future of this valuable article at the
fertile island of Negros, even with the drawback already alluded to
of a scanty population.
I am the more inclined to dwell on the facts regarding Negros, as
from its close proximity it may almost be considered, in the event
of direct exports from Iloilo, as an integral part of the island of
Panay. The amount of hemp shipped from Capiz last year was 6,458
peculs, or 400 tons, chiefly, however, of an inferior description
made from the fibres of the pácul, a wild variety of the plantain. As
this inferior hemp, however, commands a remunerative price, I believe
the plant producing the genuine article is now being more generally
cultivated at Capiz. The rate for hemp here may be quoted at 5·375
dollars, or, with 25 per cent. for cost of silver, 6·715 dollars per
pecul, against the Manila rate of 7·75 to 8 dollars. Freight to Manila,
50 cents per pecul.
Rice in the husk, or Paddy, is an important item in the agriculture
of Panay, though at present of little actual interest in relation to
the foreign trade. The yearly production of the province of Iloilo,
though nothing definite is ascertained regarding it, may be supposed
to be 850,000 cavans, of which probably 40,000 are exported to the
neighbouring islands and Manila. Capiz may produce about 900,000
cavans, and export about 100,000 in the same way. Antique also
contributes a considerable quantity for the consumption of the island,
and exports upwards of 15,000 cavans. These amounts, however, must be
looked upon as guesses at the actual quantities consumed and shipped.
The paddy exported is chiefly conveyed in small schooners (pancos
and barotos) to the neighbouring islands of Leyte and Samar, and
also to Camarines and Albay, in exchange for hemp and cocoa-nut oil
(the latter obtained at Leyte), which are either brought to Iloilo for
sale or taken on to Manila. When prices at Manila leave a sufficient
margin (which they generally do throughout the year), some amount of
paddy goes in that direction, forming a portion of the cargo of the
vessels leaving for the capital.
The paddy shipped from Iloilo is chiefly drawn from the vast plains
of Dumangas, Zarraga, Pototan, Santa Barbara and Barotac-viejo. Were a
large portion of land brought under cultivation, the increased surplus
of this grain would be available for an export to China, in which
foreign vessels might be employed, as they frequently are at Sual,
in Pangasinan; and it may not unreasonably be surmised that, in the
course of time, ships frequenting the port of Iloilo, and proceeding
to China, will naturally take part of their cargoes in rice, and thus
give a further impetus to its cultivation. At present, owing to the
late scarcity of rice in Camarines and Leyte, the price of paddy at
Iloilo has risen to 10 rials per province cavan, which is equal to
one and a half of the measure (cavan del rey) used at Manila. The
other articles shipped from Panay likely to be of importance to the
direct export trade are:--
Hides--Buffalo and cow, of which the last year's exports to Manila
were 128 tons from Iloilo, 60 tons from Capiz, and 24 tons from
Antique. Prices here (very high at present) may be quoted at 5 dollars
to 8 dollars for buffalo, and 10 dollars to 14 dollars for cow hides,
per pecul.
Horns--A limited quantity from the three provinces. Price, from 2
dollars to 3 dollars per pecul.
Cowries--430 cavans were shipped last year from Capiz, 42 from Antique,
33 from Iloilo. This article, formerly worth at Manila 2·50 dollars
to 3 dollars per cavan, has lately risen to 15 dollars.
Gum Mastick--2,359 peculs, or 147 tons, were sent last year from
Capiz to Manila, where its value is usually from 1·50 dollar to 3
dollars per pecul.
Mother-of-Pearl Shell--A small quantity is obtainable at this port,
and at Capiz, chiefly brought from Sooloo, viâ Zamboanga, and from
the adjacent islands of the Silanga. Quotation here usually about 18
dollars to 22 dollars per pecul.
Rattans or Canes--Used in packing produce at Manila; 401,000 went
forward from Capiz in 1856, 104,000 from Iloilo, and 97,000 from
Antique.
Mat Bags--Made from the leaf of the sago palm, used also for packing;
155,850 were shipped to Manila, from Capiz, in 1856.
Beeswax--A few peculs are annually shipped from the three provinces
to Manila.
Gutta-Percha--Some quantity of this valuable substance has been sent
from hence to Manila, but, either owing to adulteration, or ignorance
of the proper mode of preparation, it has not obtained an encouraging
price. The tree yielding it, called by the Bisayans nato, abounds
in this province, and in Guimarás, and if it prove to be the real
Isonandra gutta of the Straits and Borneo, should hereafter become
of considerable importance. The monopoly of shipment from Manila,
granted to Señor Elio, has an injurious effect on the production of
this article.
Timber--for building, and woods, of various descriptions, for
furniture, abound in Panay, and the islands of the Silanga and
Guimarás are peculiarly rich in valuable trees. From thence are
obtained the supplies for Iloilo and the neighbouring towns, and
for the construction of vessels, occasionally built at Guimarás,
where one of 350 tons is now (1857) on the stocks; but as yet little
impression has been made on the immense quantity to be obtained.
Of other articles, which are either not adapted for European
markets, or as yet produced in insignificant quantities, I will
merely enumerate--cocoa, of excellent quality; arrowroot; vegetable
pitch, of which a considerable quantity is sent to Manila; wheat,
which grows freely in the elevated districts of the island, and of
which 1,125 bags were sent from Iloilo and Antique in 1856; maize,
beche-de-mer, dried vegetables (beans, &c., a large amount), sago,
cotton, tortoise-shell, deer-skins, ginger and gold-dust.
Gums, dyes and drugs, of various descriptions, abound in Panay,
and a scientific examination of the many products of this nature,
of which little or no use is made, is a great desideratum. It should
be borne in mind that most of the minor articles above-mentioned
are also produced by the neighbouring islands, and may be therefore
obtainable in increased quantities, should the anticipation of Iloilo
becoming in a great measure the emporium of the trade of the Bisayas
be realized in future.
Of the mineral wealth of the island little or nothing definite
is known. Gold is found in the bed of a river near Abacá, in this
province, and near Dumárao, in Capiz. Iron and quicksilver are said
to have been discovered, the former at various places in the island;
and coal is reported to exist in Antique; but these are points which
have hitherto received little attention. In a journey to the interior,
made with the governor of Iloilo, through the Silanga, along the
whole north-eastern portion of the province, and as for as the Capiz
boundary, near Dumárao, Mr. Loney was shown several specimens of ore,
apparently containing a large percentage of iron. With reference
to this expedition, Mr. Loney adds from personal experience, his
testimony in confirmation of the accounts of the fertility of the
island, and the prosperous commercial future which seems to await
it. The roads in general are tolerably good until the setting in of the
heavy rains from August to October; but there is at present in many
cases a want of efficient bridges, which impedes the free transit of
produce towards the coast. The island does not afford a superficies
large enough for the formation of any considerable streams, and the
principal and only important river in this province, the Jalaur,
which meets the sea near Dumángas, and by which a large quantity
of paddy is conveyed to the coast, and forwarded to Iloilo, is only
capable in the dry season of bearing craft of very small burden.
The system of purchases of produce at Iloilo is, as usual in nearly all
the provinces, to employ brokers, or personeros, who buy the produce
from the native and mestizo growers and dealers at the different
pueblos in the interior and along the coast, and receive a commission
of five per cent. on the amount delivered. It is generally necessary
to make advances through these brokers against the incoming crop, in
order to secure any quantity, and such payments in advance are always
attended with a certain amount of risk. The price of the article to
be received is commonly fixed at the time of paying over the advance,
and for any overplus of produce received from the grower the current
rate at the time of delivery is generally accepted. In the event of
a permanent direct trade being established, it is likely that the
practice will in time become more assimilated to that which obtains
at Manila, i. e., shippers may be able to purchase or contract on
the spot from mestizo, Chinese or Spanish holders of produce, either
directly or at the expense of a trifling brokerage.
Nearly all payments being made to the natives in silver--as they will
seldom agree to receive gold--it is necessary to place funds here in
the former coin.
Besides the natural products above mentioned, Panay produces a
large quantity of manufactured goods, both for export and home
consumption. Of these the greater and more valuable portions,
included under the native term sinamay, are made of the delicate
fibres of the leaf of the pine-apple (piña), either pure or mixed
with silk imported from China, and a proportion of the finer sorts
of British manufactured cotton thread. The process of separating the
piña fibres and sorting them in hanks previous to manufacture, and
the manufacture itself, requiring a great deal of time and care, the
pure piña textures are proportionally dear. Some of the finest sorts
are of exquisitely delicate texture. Those mixed with silk, though
not so durable, are cheaper, and have of late years been gradually
superseding the pure piña fabrics, although these latter are still
much worn by the more wealthy natives and mestizos. To such an extent,
indeed, is silk from China now imported into this province, that,
according to the statement of the principal Chinese trader in this
article at Manila, fully 400,000 dollars worth is annually sent to
Iloilo from the capital. Latterly the price of silk has risen from
40 to 45 dollars per chinanta of ten catties to 80 and 90 dollars,
or say from 450 to 900 dollars per pecul.
The greater part of the piña and mixed piña, silk and cotton fabrics
is used for shirts for the men, and short jackets or shirts for the
women. The price varies considerably, according to the fineness or
coarseness of the texture, and the greater or less amount of mixture,
some pieces for the men's shirts costing as much as 7 dollars (the
value of which, elaborately embroidered at Manila, is sometimes
enhanced to 50 or 100 dollars), and the inferior sorts 50 cents
to 2 dollars per piece of 4 1/2 varas. The figured work of these
fabrics is generally of European cotton sewing thread or coloured
German and British yarn, and the stripes of thread, yarn or coloured
and white silk. Textures of a cheaper character are also extensively
made of hemp and other fibres, costing two to four rials each. There
is also an extensive manufacture of coloured silk and cotton goods
for "sarongs" (similar to those, principally of Bugis manufacture,
used throughout the Malayan Archipelago), cambayas, and silk and
cotton kerchiefs for the head. The better class of silk fabrics are
excellent both for solidity of texture and finish. Those of cotton
are principally made of German and British dyed twist, and of native
yarn manufactured from cotton grown in several districts in this
province, and also imported from Luzon. The finer sorts are well
and closely woven, and the ordinary kinds of a cheap description
adapted for more common use. Trouserings, of cotton and mixed silk
and cotton, are manufactured to some extent, but the Manchester and
Glasgow printed drills and plain grandrills are fast displacing them
as articles of general consumption. Among the other manufactures may
be enumerated table-cloths, napkins, towels, coverlets, cotton rugs,
&c. Of embroidery work, which enters so largely into the industry of
the provinces of Bulacan and Manila, there is little done in Iloilo,
with the exception of the working of sprigs of flowers on the lace
and network mantillas, which are much used by the female population
in attendance at church.
In addition to the goods above mentioned, a considerable amount of
coarse fabrics is made of the leaf of the sago palm, of hemp, and of
other fibres. These are known in the Manila market as Saguran, Guináras
and Medrinaque, and are shipped to the United States and Spain, and
in lesser quantity to England. Saguran and guináras are largely used
at the government factories in packing the leaf tobacco forwarded
to Spain. Price, from 25 to 37 1/2 dollars per pecul of 7 1/2 to 8
varas. Medrinaque has for some years past been exported in increasing
quantity to the United States and Europe, where it is chiefly used
for stiffening dresses, linings, &c. This article is principally made
at Samar, Leyte and Cebú, from whence, in case of direct export, it
will be obtainable for shipment. Present prices in the Manila market
for Cebú 20 dollars, Samar 18 dollars, per fifty pieces.
Considering that the Philippines are essentially an agricultural rather
than a manufacturing region, the textile productions of Iloilo may
be said to have reached a remarkable degree of development. Nothing
strikes the attention at the weekly fairs held at the different
towns more than the abundance of native goods offered for sale; and
the number of looms at work in most of the towns and villages also
affords matter for surprise. Almost every family possesses one of
these primitive-looking machines, with a single apparatus formed of
pieces of bamboo, and, in the majority of the houses of the mestizos
and the well-to-do Indians, from six to a dozen looms are kept at
work. The total number in this province has been computed at 60,000;
and though these figures may rather over-represent the actual quantity,
they cannot be much beyond it. All the weaving is done by women,
whose wages usually amount to from 1 to 1·50 dollar per month. In
general--a practice unfortunately too prevalent among the natives in
every branch of labour--these wages are received for many months in
advance, and the operatives frequently spend years (become, in fact,
virtually slaves for a long period) before paying off an originally
trifling debt. There are other workwomen employed at intervals to
"set up" the pattern in the loom, who are able to earn from 1 to 1·50
dollar per day in this manner. It should be added that Capiz and
Antique also produce, in a lesser degree than Iloilo, a proportion
of manufactured goods.
Notwithstanding the increasing introduction of European piece goods
into Panay, it is gratifying to observe that the quantity of mixed
piña stuffs exported rather augments than otherwise with the gradual
addition to the general population and the increased means derived
by it from the rapidly progressive development of the resources of
the islands. Judging from the values of the quantities taken on in
almost every vessel leaving for the port of Manila, the annual export
in that direction would not seem to be at all over-estimated if put
down at 400,000 dollars. The goods represented by this amount are not,
it should be remarked, used in the city and province of Manila alone,
but enter also into the consumption of Pampanga, La Laguna, Camarines
and other provinces of Luzon. In addition to the export of piña to
the capital, about 30,000 dollars worth of cotton and silk sarongs
and handkerchiefs are sent yearly to Camarines. Some quantity is also
exported to Leyte and Samar, but anything like an approximate value of
the goods so shipped cannot be given. In fact the subject of statistics
here has received so little attention, either from the authorities or
from the local traders themselves, that on terminating his notice of
the principal articles exported from Panay, Mr. Loney regrets to find
himself unable to supply a reliable account of their united value. The
Estadistica de Filipinas, issued in 1855, and compiled at Manila by
the Comision Central, nominated for that purpose, gives, from data
probably obtained from the very imperfect custom-house entries, the
following as the value of the imports into Manila from Panay in 1854:--
Dollars. Dollars.
Iloilo--
Iloilo 264,416
Guimbal 39,850
------ 304,266
Capiz--
Capiz 181,681
Calwo 114,124
Jbajay 7,095
Batan 15,147
------ 318,047
Antique--
Antique 18,866
San José 2,925
Cagayancillo 3,061
Culasi 1,199
------ 26,051
-------
648,364
But the most cursory examination of what must be the probable value
of the more important articles exported, even adopting the probably
understated quantities given in the preceding remarks, leads to the
conclusion that the export to Manila from the province of Iloilo
alone must equal or exceed the amount given by the Estadistica as
the total sum for the provinces.
Presuming the quantities and values to be as undernoted, there will
result of
Dollars.
Piña, silk, hempen and other manufactures 400,000
Tobacco, 30,000 quintals, average 3 1/2 dolls. 105,000
Paddy, 30,000 cavans, ,, 1 ,, 30,000
Sugar, 20,000 peculs, ,, 3 ,, 60,000
Sapanwood, 33,000 ,, ,, 1 ,, 33,000
Hemp, 5,000 ,, ,, 5 1/2 ,, 27,500
Hides, 2,050 ,, total value 19,800
All other articles roughly valued at 45,000
-------
720,300
To which sum if the exports to other islands and provinces be added,
it may be fairly inferred that the total value of exports from Iloilo
cannot fall short of 800,000 dollars; an amount which does not seem at
all out of proportion to the number of its inhabitants. These figures,
if Capiz be put down at 700,000 dollars, and the Antique exports be
taken at 70,000 dollars, will give to the yearly exports from Panay
an aggregate value of upwards of 1,500,000 dollars.
But even the imperfect data of the Estadistica would afford some
indication of the rapid rate of increase in the exports from the
three provinces. For example--
Dollars.
1852--value of products from Iloilo, Capiz, and Antique 271,335
1853 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 302,605
1864 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 648,369
Or an augmentation in 1854 of considerably more than double the amount
given in 1852. While on this subject, it may be added that the local
custom-house has unfortunately registered no complete details of the
exports for 1856, though it has commenced doing so for 1857. These
details are, however, relatively of much less importance than those
of direct foreign shipments, which will demand future attention.
Mr. Loney thus adverts to the present state of the Iloilo import
trade:--
"Although perhaps the greater part of the clothing for the population
of Panay is furnished by the native looms, still a large amount of
European goods is annually imported from Manila. I estimate that on the
average (as far as can be judged where anything like positive data are
totally wanting) about 30,000 dollars to 40,000 dollars per month are
now brought in goods to the port of Iloilo by the mestizo and Chinese
traders, and subsequently disposed of at the larger markets of Jaro,
Molo, Oton, Mandurriao, &c., from whence a certain portion finds its
way into the interior. This branch of the trade is as yet principally
conducted by the mestizo dealers of Molo and Jaro, who, on completing
their purchases of native-made goods for the Manila market, embark with
them (in numbers of from six to ten, fifteen, and sometimes twenty)
in the coasting vessels leaving for the capital. The returns for
these speculations they generally bring back in foreign (principally
British) manufactures, purchased at cheap rates from the large Chinese
shopkeepers at Manila. The sale of these goods by retail here is
still conducted in the rather primitive way of conveying them from
place to place on certain fixed days. In this way goods that appear
to-day at the weekly fair or market of Jaro, are subsequently offered
for sale at Molo, Mandurriao, Oton, or Arévalo. They are carried to
and from the different pueblos in cumbrous, solid-wheeled vehicles,
drawn by buffaloes and oxen, a mode of conveyance which, during
the wet season, is attended with a good deal of delay and risk. The
Chinese dealers at Molo, and a few small traders at Iloilo, have,
however, commenced opening permanent shops, and it is probable that
the number of these will gradually increase throughout the province,
though, as the fairs are also the central point of attraction for all
the products within a certain radius of each pueblo, and thus bring
together a large concourse of people, the weekly transfer of piece
and other goods from one place to another must still continue to a
great extent. There are about thirty Chinese permanently established
at Molo (mostly connected with others at Manila, either as partners or
agents), and two or three at Jaro. A certain number are also employed
in voyaging to and from Manila with goods, after realizing which here
they return for a fresh parcel, either taking the returns in money
or produce. One of the Chinese traders at Molo, who is well supplied
from the capital, sells goods to the amount of some 30,000 dollars
or 40,000 dollars a-year. Owing, however, to too much competition
among themselves and the other traders, I do not, judging from the
prices at which they usually sell, think that their profits are in
general at all large. The fact that the mestizo dealers look for
their principal profit to the piña goods which they take to Manila,
and are comparatively less solicitous to obtain an advance on their
return goods, has also a tendency to keep prices low, as compared
with Manila rates.
"As is the case in most of the provinces where the Chinese have
penetrated, there exists a more or less subdued feeling of hostility
towards them on the part of the natives, and a tendency, both among the
mestizos and Spanish, to regard them as interlopers. But though the
government at Manila has been repeatedly urged to withdraw them from
the provinces, and confine their trading operations to Manila alone, it
does not seem inclined to adopt a measure which would prove injurious
to the general trade of the colony. It is true that if a portion of the
Chinese were induced to become agriculturists (for which purpose alone
they were originally admitted to the provinces), great benefit would
accrue in the shape of an increased outturn of produce; but as yet
their numbers in the interior are too few to enable them to cultivate
the ground on a large scale, and in small isolated bodies they would
not have sufficient security from the ill-will of the natives.
"The principal articles of foreign manufacture imported into this
province are--handkerchiefs (printed) of bright attractive colours,
wove and printed trouserings, ginghams, fancy cambayas, plain
grandrills, white shirtings, gray shirtings and gray longcloths,
gray twills (29 inches, both American and English), bleached twills,
lawns, white jaco-nets, striped muslins, cotton sewing thread,
cotton sarongs, cotton twist, or yarn, and woollens (not in much
demand). There is also sale for hardware, glassware and earthenware,
and for other minor articles.
"Import duties are leviable at Iloilo on a valuation either by tariff,
or according to the market rate at time of entry. They are the same
as those charged at Manila, viz.:--
By foreign By Spanish
ships. ships.
On most descriptions of 14 per cent. 7 per cent.
foreign goods
With the following exceptions:--
Cambayas, ginghams, handkerchiefs,
&c., entirely of black, purple, and
blue, with or without white grounds 25 per cent. 15 per cent.
Yarn of same colour 50 per cent. 40 per cent.
Ditto, red, yellow,
rose and green free free
Machinery, gold and silver,
plants and seeds free free
Made-up clothing, boots, &c. 50 per cent. 40 per cent.
Bottled ale or porter 25 per cent. 20 per cent.
Wine, liquors and vinegar 50 per cent. 40 per cent.
Spirits 60 per cent. 30 per cent.
"Tropical productions, similar to those of the Philippines, are not
admitted to consumption, nor fire-arms, without a special licence.
"All goods may be bonded on payment of 1 per cent.
"Export duties on produce of every description to foreign ports are,
3 per cent. by foreign, and 1 1/2 per cent. by Spanish ships, with
the following exceptions:--Hemp, 2 per cent. by foreign, and 1 1/2
per cent. by Spanish ships; tortoise-shell, mother-o'-pearl shell,
1 per cent. by foreign, and 1 per cent. by Spanish ships; rice,
4 1/2 per cent. by foreign, and 1 1/2 per cent. by Spanish ships.
"No duties are charged on goods arriving or departing coastwise by
coasting vessels.
"Port dues.--No special charges are yet fixed for vessels arriving
at Iloilo, but they may be stated as about equivalent to those levied
at Manila, viz.:--On foreign vessels arriving and leaving in ballast,
18 3/4 c. per ton; with cargo inwards or outwards, 34 3/4 c. per ton;
with cargo both inward and outward, 37 1/2 c. per ton.
"Wages are moderate at Iloilo:--Labourers, 12 1/2 c. to 18 3/4 c. per
day; carpenters, 18 3/4 c. to 25 c. per day; caulkers, 25 c. per day.
"Fresh provisions are obtainable at cheap rates.
"The weights and measures in use for produce are--the quintal, of 4
arrobas, or 100 lbs. Spanish, equal to 101 3/4 lbs. English; pecul
of 100 catties, or 140 lbs. English. The cavan of rice (cavan de
provincia) is equal to one and a half of the Manila cavan, or cavan
del rey; it weighs about 190 lbs. English, and measures 8,997 cubic
inches. The pesada, by which sapan-wood is sold, weighs 13 arrobas
13 lbs., or nearly 2 1/2 peculs.
"The currency is nominally the same as in Manila, but silver dollars
have to be paid for nearly all purchases, gold being of difficult
circulation.
"From the preceding outline of the trade of this port, you will gather
that at present, with an annual export of about 1,600 tons of sugar,
upwards of 2,000 tons of sapan-wood, and 350 to 400 tons of hemp,
it is (considering the quantity which the foreign shippers would be
able to secure) capable of furnishing cargoes for two foreign vessels
of moderate tonnage; and next year, as regards sugar, which will form
the bulk of the cargoes of foreign vessels loading here, the supply
will probably be doubled. The more important question, however, as
regards the foreign trade of Iloilo, is not as to the actual quantity
of produce (still so very limited) which this island may furnish,
but whether the concentration of produce from the neighbouring islands
and provinces will in reality be brought about.
"A review of the facts regarding the southern Philippines would seem to
lead to a conclusion in the affirmative. With Leyte and Samar giving
a combined annual export of 4,000 tons of hemp, Cebú upwards of 5,000
tons of sugar, Negros a (rapidly expanding) product of about 900 tons
of sugar and 800 tons of hemp, and without taking into account the
possible supply of hemp which may be drawn from South Camerines and
from Albay (which produce by far the largest part of the existing
export of hemp from the Philippines, and are, during the north-east
monsoon, within a shorter distance of Iloilo than Manila), it seems
in no way hazardous to assume that, on relatively equal prices
being obtainable here, Iloilo will attract in the course of time a
gradually augmenting proportion of the products which now go on to
Manila. It may be further conjectured that Misamis (which yields a
considerable quantity of remarkably good hemp), Caraga, and the other
provinces of Mindanao, may also in time contribute their share to the
products obtainable at a port which their traders must pass on their
way to Manila, though the full development of the intercourse of the
neighbouring islands with Iloilo will greatly depend on the amount of
European imports with which this latter port should gradually be able
to supply its new customers. The opinion of the natives themselves,
though not to be taken as a guide, may still serve in some measure
as an index of what may be looked for. In talking on the subject to
the owners of the small craft whose cargoes of hemp have been brought
to Iloilo, they have frequently said, 'If foreign vessels come here
and give higher prices, much more hemp from Leyte and Camarines will
come to Iloilo.'
"Cebú producing rice and manufactures for its own consumption, there
is at present little communication between it and Iloilo; but it is
encouraging to learn that one of the partners of the most enterprising
Spanish firm at this place intends proceeding both to Cebú and Leyte,
to establish, if practicable, a commercial connection, with the
ulterior view of getting both sugar and hemp sent to this quarter.
"It is also a favourable symptom that the trade of the contiguous
islands is more and more attracting the attention of some of the
foreign firms in Manila. The American houses (generally the first in
enterprises of this kind) have already, through Spanish intermedia,
established agencies at Negros, Leyte and Cebú, for the purchase of
hemp and sugar, and it is stated from Manila, on apparently good
authority, that one of them has lately advanced a sum of 170,000
dollars for this purpose, the distribution of which should have a
stimulating effect on production, and thus give a collateral aid to
the future exports from Iloilo.
"Considering the great advantages which would accrue from the
establishment of lines of small merchant steamers between the islands,
the fact that the government have lately given orders to commence
working the extensive coal districts existing at Cebú is not without
importance. The subject of steam communication for the archipelago
is attracting attention at Manila, and it is not improbable that in
a few years the islands will be connected in this way in a manner
which will greatly tend to their advantage.
"It should have been previously mentioned that the voyage from Iloilo
to Manila during the north-easterly monsoon (from November to March)
usually occupies the better class of square-rigged vessels in the trade
from ten to fifteen days, and from four to six days on the return
voyage. Owing to the protection afforded by the group of islands
forming the Silanga, and by other harbours on the route, vessels do
not (as is usually the case between the ports on the northern part of
the more exposed coast of Luzon and the capital) lay up during the
stormy months from September to November; and communication, though
less frequent during these months, is seldom altogether suspended
for any length of time with Manila. On the average, a vessel leaves
for the capital every eight to twelve days."
I add a few further extracts from a report on the trade of 1858,
with which Mr. Loney has favoured me, and which strongly exhibits
the growing importance of Iloilo.
"The import trade, in direct connection with British and foreign
houses, has increased during the past year to a degree which could not
have been anticipated. Formerly it did not exceed 7,000 dollars in
amount; but now, during a period of two years, it has reached fully
140,000 dollars, and is likely to increase much more in future as
the capabilities of the market for taking off an important quantity
of manufactures become more fully known.
"Owing to the existence of a stock of foreign articles at Iloilo,
obtainable by the native dealers as a general rule (and as a
consequence of the more direct manner in which they reach their hands)
at cheaper prices than from the Chinese shops at Manila, many of the
native, and even some of the Chinese traders, find the advantage of
making their purchases on the spot instead of in Manila, and some of
the former have ceased altogether to undergo the expense and loss of
time they formerly incurred in proceeding to Manila to lay in their
stocks, while others make voyages to the capital less frequently
than before, and send on their piña goods under the care of friends
or agents; consequently, the trade is beginning to be conducted in a
less primitive manner than in previous years, when each small trader
brought on his goods himself, purchased at high rates from the Manila
shopkeepers. Dealers from Antique, from the island of Negros and
from Leyte now also find at Iloilo a stock of goods sufficient to
supply their wants. Another beneficial effect is, that those who buy
wholesale at Iloilo are enabled to dispose of their goods to the small
dealers, or to their agents, who distribute them over the interior,
at lower prices than formerly. Goods are thus saleable, owing to this
greater cheapness, at places in the interior of the island, where
they were formerly rarely bought, and the natural consequence is,
a considerable increase of consumption. The concurrent testimony of
all the older residents in the province is, that during the last few
years a very marked change has taken place in the dress and general
exterior appearance of the inhabitants of the larger pueblos, owing
in great measure to the comparative facility with which they obtain
articles which were formerly either not imported, or the price of which
placed them beyond their reach. In the interior of the houses the same
change is also observable in the furniture and other arrangements,
and the evident wish to add ornamental to the more necessary articles
of household uses; and those who are aware how desirable it is, from
the peculiarly apathetic nature of the natives, to create in them an
ambition for bettering the condition of themselves and their families,
or emulating that of others, by placing within their reach the more
attractive and useful articles of European production, will at once
recognize in these facts the beneficial tendency of increased and
cheaper imports.
"With regard to duties derivable from imports, we must consider the
more or less remote probability of direct imports from Europe or China
to Iloilo. It needs very little acquaintance with the gradual and
hesitative processes of trade to be aware of the slowness with which
they adapt themselves to new channels of communication. Especially
is this the case in reference to these southern islands, from the
previous commercial seclusion in which they had been kept--a seclusion
so great that it may be safely asserted that the island of Panay, with
its 750,000 inhabitants, is scarcely known, by name even, in any of the
commercial marts of Europe, America, or even of Asia. Consequently, it
affords no ground for surprise that no direct transactions in imports
have taken place. It must be recollected that the years 1857-58 have
been eminently unfavourable for new commercial enterprises of any
kind, owing to the depressed state of trade in all the markets of
the world. This state of depression, though still felt, is, however,
drawing to a close, and the Iloilo market, among others, will doubtless
attract the attention of European manufacturers and capitalists,
though some time must necessarily elapse before a sufficient number
of shippers can be found to send consignments of such a varied nature
and assortment as would be required to make up a cargo to suit the
wants of Panay and the neighbouring islands. Already consignments
have arrived by way of Manila, which were made up specially for the
Iloilo market; and this circumstance, and the fact that the Manchester
manufacturers are beginning to take an interest in the Iloilo demand,
fully warrant the belief that before long consignments from Europe,
by the way of Manila, will take place on an important scale, and pave
the way to direct shipments to Iloilo. Though it is almost useless to
prognosticate in cases of this kind, where so many circumstances may
occur to retard or accelerate the development of a new market, still
I have no hesitation in affirming it to be much more than probable,
that in the course of two years from this time Spanish vessels will
arrive from Liverpool direct, or touching and discharging part of
their cargoes at Manila, more particularly as by that time direct
exports will have taken place, and the sugar crop be raised to a
point which will render it easy for the vessels arriving with piece
goods to obtain return cargoes of sugar, sapan-wood and hides, all of
which products, it is unnecessary to say, can be obtained at Iloilo
much more cheaply than in Manila.
"It is also probable that direct imports from China will take place
sooner than from Europe. The employment of raw Shanghai silk is much
greater at Iloilo than in any of the other Philippine provinces,
and the consumption amounts to fully 30 peculs per month, worth,
on an average, 600 dollars, silver, per pecul, or say 18,000 dollars
per month.
"The export trade from Iloilo direct to foreign markets is, in fact,
evidently the primary event on which the commercial fate, so to speak,
of the Bisaya Islands depends. The chief obstacle, in addition to
those mentioned above, which has retarded its commencement has been
the extreme smallness of the yield of sugar. In 1855-56, the Iloilo
crop, including some quantity received from the island of Negros,
scarcely reached 12,000 peculs, and, instead of increasing, it
had been declining in consequence of the discouraging effect of the
miserable price of 1·875 to 2 dollars per pecul of 140 lbs.; all that
could be obtained for it after incurring the expense of sending it to
Manila. In 1856-57, under the stimulus of higher prices, the yield
amounted to 35,000 to 37,000 peculs. In 1857-58, these high prices
had a still more stimulating effect on the planting of cane, and
it was calculated that the crop would yield at least 50,000 peculs;
but an excess of rainy weather reduced the actual outturn to about
30,000. The present crop, however, of 1858-59 has escaped the danger
of rain, and it is computed that it will yield about 80,000 peculs
from January to July next. Some estimates place it as high as 100,000
peculs, but in this I think there must be exaggeration.
"The yield of sugar at Iloilo (leaving out of the question the crop
of Isla de Negros, which is now computed to produce 30,000 peculs,
and that of Antique, 20,000, both available for the Iloilo market)
having fortunately reached the above amount, direct sugar exports
have now become possible, and preparations are made for shipments to
Australia direct, during the first months of the ensuing year.
"'To reach the consuming markets by the most direct line, to avoid
transshipments and save double freights are objects, commercially, of
the highest importance.' [36] And there is an aspect of the matter
which renders it still more necessary, as regards the Philippine
trade, that these objects should be kept in view. Australia is now,
after Great Britain, the most important market for the Philippine
sugars, and particularly for the reclayed Bisayan sugars of Iloilo
and Cebú, which are there used for refining purposes, and it will most
undoubtedly be before long the largest consumer of the sugar of these
islands. In 1857 the exports of Iloilo and Cebú sugar from Manila to
Australia were 18,178 and 51,519 peculs respectively, while to all
the other markets, including Great Britain, they were only 11,519
and 41,699 peculs; and the same year the total export of all kinds
of sugar to Australia was even more than to Great Britain, being
17,847 tons, or 285,552 peculs, to the former, against 16,675 tons,
or 266,800 peculs, to the latter market. In the present year (1858),
the total export from Manila to Australia, owing to a deficiency in
the Pampanga crop, and the discouragement caused to the Australian
importers by the high prices of 1857, have only reached 9,038 tons,
or 145,028 peculs.
"In the meantime Mauritius, Java and Bengal all supply large
and increasing quantities of sugar to Australia, and Mauritius in
particular, possessing the great advantages of greater proximity (as to
time) and of machinery and other appliances far superior to those in
use in the Philippines, furnishes the Australian market with a large
quantity of crystallized and yellow sugars, which are much sought for
in Sydney and Melbourne, where the steady increase of population and
general wealth augment the demand for high-classed sugars. In 1857 the
Australian colonies took 24,000 tons, or 384,000 peculs, of sugar from
Mauritius; and the latest accounts anticipate that the shipments this
year to the same quarter will be 30,000 tons, or 480,000 peculs. To
quote the words of the Port Louis Commercial Gazette of August 10th,
1858:--'There is no doubt that the present crop will reach the figures
of 240,000,000 lbs., say 120,000 tons' (nearly 2,000,000 peculs);
'but as the Australian colonies took 24,000 of the last crop, we must
expect they will take at least 30,000 of this, our crystallized and
yellow sugars gaining in estimation there.' The same journal, of the
27th of October, adds, 'This facility of realizing produce at fair
prices has given animation to business and has improved the prospects
of the colony. There are now 150 vessels in our harbour, loading and
discharging for and from different parts of the world. Our marine
establishments are busily engaged in repairing vessels of different
nations that have been happy to seek refuge here; our vast quays are
too small for our commerce; the capacious new stores lately erected,
and which embellish our port, are filled with goods and produce; 25,000
immigrants have been added to our population this year, whilst only
6,500 have left. Our public revenue has largely increased--companies
are prosperous--cultivation has been extended, sugar machinery and
works improved and increased, and private buildings throughout the
principal part of the town enlarged and improved in appearance.'
"Fortunately for the Philippines, with respect to their
better-appointed rivals--Mauritius, Java and Bengal--the low-graded
unclayed sugars of Iloilo, Capiz and Antique, Isla de Negros and Cebú,
are, in ordinary times, cheaper than those of either of the latter
colonies, and consequently more adapted for refining purposes; but
nothing can place in a stronger light than the above facts regarding
the export from Mauritius the very great importance of keeping the
way open for exporting the unclayed Philippine sugars to Australia
at the cheapest possible cost to the importers.
"The much greater extent and more than equal fertility of the
Philippines, as compared with Mauritius, must, in the end, if no
artificial obstacles are again imposed on the production of the
former, lead to the development of larger sugar crops than those of
the latter colony.
"The results of the opening of the ports of Soerabaya, Samarang,
Cheribon, and others in the island of Java are encouraging
circumstances, as showing, among other similar examples, of what
importance Iloilo, as the central port of the Bisayan Islands, may
become. Soerabaya and Samarang (and especially the former), which enjoy
a favourable proximity to the chief points of production, now export
an immense quantity of produce, and orders for the direct shipment
to Europe of rice, sugar, coffee, tobacco and other Javan products
are transmitted by electric telegraph by the Batavian houses to their
agents at these ports over a distance exceeding 350 miles. I cannot
at present do more than briefly allude to the approaching commencement
of an export of timber and furniture woods from Iloilo and Antique to
China. The Spanish ship Santa Justa loaded a large cargo of wood this
year for Hong Kong, which has lately been sold at 63 1/2 cents per
foot. Since then, in anticipation of the demand for the rebuilding of
Canton, the price has risen in Hong Kong, and arrangements are being
made for the charter of a large vessel, either Spanish or foreign,
to convey other cargoes to China; and there is every prospect of
there being, before long, an active traffic in this article, which,
as before noticed, is of excellent quality, abundant, cheap, and easily
accessible near Iloilo, and at the adjoining province of Antique.
"It is recommended that vessels making the voyage to Iloilo from
Australia, or any place to the south of the Philippines, should,
during the S.W. monsoon, enter the archipelago between the islands of
Basilan and Zamboanga, and, on passing Point Batalampon, keep well
up to Point Gorda, and make the Murcielagos Island, so as to avoid
being driven to the westward by the strong currents setting from off
the Mindanao coast during both monsoons.
"Pending the N.E. monsoon, the best course is to make a détour
to the east of the Philippines, and enter the archipelago by the
Straits of San Bernardino. The straits should be entered by Samar
and Masbate. Vessels bound from Manila or northern ports may proceed
through the Mindoro passage, but they should consult Don Claudio
Montero's charts. After passing Tablas and Romblon (an excellent
harbour there), make for the Silanga Islands, a good mark for which
is the high conical island called Sugar Loaf (Pan de Azucar). During
the N.E. monsoon vessels should keep between the islands of Jintotolo
and the larger Zapato (Shoe Island), but during the S.W. pass between
Oliuaya and the smaller Zapato. The best channel is between Sicogon
and Calaguan, but the outer and broader passage between the groups
of islands and that of Negros is preferable for large ships. There is
safe anchorage through the inner route. At Bacuan and Apiton supplies
are to be found.
"The tide through the Silanga Islands and Seven Sins flows at the
rate of three to four miles an hour--from the Seven Sins to Iloilo
often at six to seven miles an hour."
Commercial prosperity is so intimately connected with general
improvement and the increase of human happiness, that one cannot but
look with interest upon the results of any legislation which removes
the trammels from trade and gives encouragement to industry, and the
island of Panay may be considered a promising field for the future. The
latest accounts report that the planting of cane has been extended very
rapidly in this province, owing to the continuance of high prices for
sugar, and also to the fact of the direct export trade to Australia
having commenced. Planters now see that the arrival of foreign vessels
will lead to a permanent demand for their sugars at prices which will
pay them better than those formerly obtainable for the Manila market,
from whence, before the opening of the port of Iloilo to foreign trade,
all the sugar of this and the neighbouring provinces had to be shipped
at a great additional expense in heavy coasting freight, landing
and reshipping charges, sea risk, commission, brokerage, &c., all of
which are now avoided by direct shipment at the place of production.
"The stimulus given to planting has resulted this year in an increase
in the yield to 60,000 peculs (3,750 tons), and, judging from the
amount of cane planted for next season's crop, it is fully anticipated
that in 1860 about 140,000 peculs (7,500 tons) will be produced,
without counting on the quantity yielded by the neighbouring provinces
of Antique (30,000 peculs) and the island of Negros (35,000 to 40,000
peculs), from both of which places sugar is brought and exported.
"The difference in the cost of sugar at Iloilo and at Manila is at
present 2l. 16s. 5d. per ton, free on board; as will be seen from
the following:--
At Manila, 23rd April, 1859. Dollars.
1 ton = 16 peculs, at 3·87 1/2 dollars 62·00
Export duty, at 3 per cent. 1·86
Receiving, rebagging and shipping, 27 cents
per pecul 4·32
---- 6·18
-----
68·18
Commission (if in Funds), 2 1/2 per cent. 1·70
-----
Cost free on board at Manila 69·88
Cost free on board at Iloilo 55·71
-----
Difference 14·17
At Iloilo, 2nd May, 1859.
1 ton = 16 peculs, at 2·75 dollars 44·00
Export duty, 3 per cent. 1·32
Receiving, bagging and shipping, 20 cents per
pecul (no boat hire is incurred at Iloilo) 3·20
---- 4·52
-----
48·52
Commission, 2 1/2 per cent. 1·21
-----
49·73
12 per cent., cost of silver 5·98
-----
Cost at Iloilo, free on board 55·71
Difference, 14·17 dolls., equal at exchange 4s. d. to £3 1 5
Less for additional freight payable per ton, in engaging a
vessel at Manila to load at Iloilo, say 0 5 0
-------
Costs per ton, less at Iloilo £2 16 5
"The island of Panay, of which Iloilo is the chief port, is divided
into the three provinces of Iloilo, Capiz, and Antique, which contain
respectively 527,970, 143,713, and 77,639 inhabitants, or a total of
749,322, according to the official returns of 1858.
"British Vice-Consulate for Panay,
"Iloilo, 2nd May, 1859. "N. Loney."
Notwithstanding the favourable prospects for commerce at Iloilo,
little or nothing has been done for the improvement of the port or for
facilitating the extension of its trade. There is no buoy, no light,
no indication of dangerous places, though the Oton shoal is extending
itself, and it is of the greatest importance that the safe channel
should be pointed out to navigators. The latest Admiralty instructions
(1859) are as follow:--
"Port Iloilo, situated on the southern shore of Panay Island,
though well protected and naturally good, is not without certain
inconveniences, capable, however, of being easily obviated; provided
with a good chart, and if approaching from the northward with a pilot,
large vessels may enter with safety.
"The depth of water on the bar at the entrance to the creek or river
Iloilo is about five fathoms at low water, but at a short distance
within it decreases to fifteen feet, and then deepens again. The rise
of tide being six feet, a vessel drawing sixteen to eighteen feet can
easily enter or leave; and when, as is proposed, a dredging-machine is
employed to clear away the mud which has been allowed to accumulate at
the shallower parts near the entrance, vessels of almost any burden
will be able to complete their cargoes inside. A Spanish ship of 700
tons, in 1857, loaded part of a cargo of tobacco inside the creek,
and finished the lading outside.
"The banks of the creek being of soft mud, there is little or no risk
to be apprehended from grounding. Proceeding about a mile and a half up
the creek, which varies in breadth from one-half to three-quarters of
a mile, the coasting craft bring up at the jetties of their respective
owners, and have the great advantage of discharging and loading at the
stores without employing boats. Beyond this point the creek reaches as
far as Molo, to which place coasting vessels formerly could proceed by
passing through a drawbridge. This got out of repair, and the present
bridge affording no means of passage, they remain at Iloilo, where
the Molo traders have had to transfer their storehouses. The works
of a new moveable bridge, to allow vessels to pass, have, however,
already been commenced.
"The island of Guimaras forms, in front of Iloilo, a sheltered passage,
running nearly north and south, of a breadth varying from two miles and
a half to six miles, with deep water and good anchorage. The southern
entrance to this passage is much narrowed by the Oton Bank, which
extends a considerable distance from the Panay shore, and contracts
for about a mile the available channel at this port to the breadth
of about two miles. This shoal is fast becoming an island. There is,
however, no obstacle to large vessels during the north-west monsoon
(especially as the channel is to be buoyed), the passage being quite
clear, and in the north-east monsoon they can work or drop through
with the tide, keeping well over towards Guimaras (the coast of which
is clear, with deep waters quite close in), anchoring, if necessary,
on the edge of the shoal, which affords good holding-ground and may
be safely approached. The whole of this part of the coast is, in fact,
safe anchorage during the north-east monsoon.
"If blowing hard in the southern channel to Iloilo, a vessel may
proceed to the port of Bulnagar, or Santa Ana, on the south-west
side of Guimaras, which is of easy access, and capable of admitting
vessels of the largest tonnage, and it affords good shelter under
almost any circumstances.
"The approach from the northward to the northern entrance to
Iloilo is generally made by the coasting craft through the small,
richly wooded islands Gigantes, Sicogon, Pan de Azucar, Apiton,
&c., called collectively the Silanga, which lie off the north-east
coast of Panay, and afford an admirable refuge for a considerable
distance to the vessels engaged in the trade with Manila and the
southernmost Bisangas. Though, however, there is excellent anchorage
among these islands, particularly at Pan de Azucar and Tagal, it
would be most prudent for large ships, in cases where there is no
practical acquaintance with the set of the tides, currents, &c., to
take the outside channel between the Silanga and the island of Negros.
"After passing the Calabazos rocks and Papitas shoal, and sighting the
block-house of Banate" (erected, like many others along the Philippine
coasts, for defence against the pirates of the Sulu Sea), "the course
is due south, until sighting a group of seven remarkable rocks,
called the Seven Sins, which lie between the north end of Guimaras
and the Panay shore; a direct course for them should then be made,
taking care to keep the lead going to avoid the Iguana Bank. Vessels
of proper draught may enter the creek, or, if too large, should bring
up on the east side of the fort, where they are protected from the
wind and strength of the tide.
"A lighthouse, for exhibiting a fixed light, is to be erected on the
Seven Sins, and another on Dumangas Point. Buoys are also to be laid
down along the channel near the Iguana and Oton shoals." [37]
The latest report on the navigation of the port of Iloilo is given
in the note below. [38]
Iloilo has great facilities for the introduction of wharves, piers and
landing-places, but none have been constructed. The entrance to the
river, and, indeed, the whole of its course, might be easily dredged,
hut little or nothing is done for the removal of the accumulating mud.
CHAPTER XXVI.
SUAL.
The province of Pangasinan consists principally of an extensive plain,
or, rather, of a very gradual descent from the mountains where the
Igorrote Indians dwell, and extending to those of Zambales. The roads
are generally good and have trees planted by their sides, and the
lands are rich and fruitful. Many rivers descend from the hills and
are used for the conveyance of timber, rattans, and other forest
productions. The Igorrotes collect gold in the mountain streams,
especially in the neighbourhood of Asingan. Large herds of wild
buffaloes, oxen, deer and pigs, are found on the hills, but little
attended to by the natives. The fertility of the lands will give
a crop of sugar and of rice in the same year. The coast and lakes
abound with fish, of which, as of salt, cocoa-nut oil and sugar,
there is a considerable exportation. Hides are tanned for the
Manila market. Ship-building is an important branch of industry,
especially on the Agno River. Multitudes of the women are employed
in making straw hats, cigar-cases and other articles, of the fibres
of various vegetables, some of great fineness and selling for high
prices--a cigar-case is sometimes valued at an ounce of gold. Mats,
plain and ornamented, are also manufactured for use and for sale. It
is said that the Indian, with no other instrument than his knife
for all his domestic needs, and his plough for his field labours,
supplies himself with every object of desire. Women are proud of having
woven and embroidered the garments worn by their husbands and their
children, and they present a gay appearance on days of festivity. In
the year 1755 there was a serious insurrection against Spanish rule,
and again in the year 1762, when the English took Manila; but both were
subdued, though the population was diminished to the extent of 20,000
by these outbreaks. Two distinct idioms are spoken in the province,
the aboriginal Pangasinan people being distinct from the races which
penetrated from Ilocos. The Dominican friars exercise the principal
ecclesiastical authority in the province.
On our leaving Iloilo, after three days' steaming, and sighting Nasog
and the Isla Verde, which had been recommended to us as a preferable
course to that of the outer passage by which we had come down, we
returned to Manila again to enjoy the hospitalities of the palace
of the Governor and the attentions of my friend Colonel Trasierra,
in whose hands I had been so kindly placed. We arrived on the Dia de
los Reyes (day of the kings), one of formal reception at court. In the
evening we took a long ride into the country as far as the province
of Bulacan, which is divided from that of Tondo by a handsome
stone bridge over a branch of the Pampanga River. The question of
going by land to Lingayen, which can in favourable circumstances
be accomplished in a day, the distance being thirty leagues, was
discussed, but the state of the roads not being satisfactory, and the
delay consequently uncertain, I determined again to take ship, and on
the second day of our voyage we anchored at Sual. The captain of the
port came out to pilot us into the harbour, in the middle of which is
a dangerous rock not laid down in many of the charts. The narrowness
of the passage requires much precaution, but once anchored, it is a
very safe and well-sheltered, though small harbour. The appearance
of Sual disappointed us; a few scattered dwellings, the church and
the custom-house, did not look very promising. On landing, however,
the musicians of the pueblo came to escort us with their band, and we
learnt that all the authorities were at Lingayen, a few miles off;
but a courier was immediately despatched to announce our arrival,
and, as a specimen of the language, I give a copy of the receipt he
brought back to show that his mission had been properly fulfilled:--
"Recibido del Conductor de S. Idro (San Isidro) alioncio (á las
once?) Castilio so sagay agangan cá Sogenti amar som pal ed Señor Aldi
(Alcalde) maìor sin mabidia pasodo à lacho (à las ocho) ed Labi Martes
ed pitcha 11 de Eniro de 1859.
"Juan Gabril."
Meaning, that having started at eight o'clock from San Isidro, the
despatch was delivered at eleven o'clock to the alcalde.
Carriages having been provided for our conveyance to the seat of
government (Lingayen), we started at early day for the convent at
San Isidro, which is on the left bank of the Agno, a fine river,
affording great facilities for navigation, and presenting charming
points of scenery on its banks, with the beauties of which we amused
ourselves until preparations for a procession were seen, and the sound
of music was heard from the opposite shore; upon which we embarked,
and found our Indian escorts, with comfortable carriages and sprightly
horses, and their accustomed display, waiting to receive us, the
roads and houses adorned as usual, and everything bearing marks of
gaiety and good-will. Tropical fruit-trees are seen all along the
line of the road, through which the Indian cabanas prettily peep;
the women and children in their gay dress giving a picturesque and
varied character to the scene. The windows and platforms before the
houses were crowded with spectators, who seemed greatly delighted
as from time to time we recognized their courtesies or admired some
flag more demonstrative or more decorated than the rest. We entered
one or two of the ship-building yards, and our naval officials
expressed their satisfaction with the state of naval architecture
among the natives. One vessel on the stocks was of 350 tons. An
Indian ship-builder, who was introduced to us as being remarkable
for mechanical genius, came from some distance to ask permission from
Captain Vansittart to visit the Magicienne, and to instruct himself in
matters connected with the application of steam-engines to navigation,
and to discover any other improvements of which he expected a British
ship of war to bear about the evidence. The leave, which was very
humbly asked, was very courteously given; on obtaining which the Indian
was trotted off in his carriage without losing a moment. The abundance,
adjacency, excellence and cheapness of the materials on the banks of
the Agno give it great advantages for the construction of vessels,
but the bar is a great obstacle against their getting to sea.
We were met on the road by the alcalde mayor, and I entered his
carriage. The superior Spanish officials carry a cane with a gold head
and a silk tassel as a mark of their authority; and we galloped away to
Lingayen, the cabazera of the province. It has a population of 23,000
souls. The roads were good, except in one part where the Agno had
made itself a new channel, and there the horses had some difficulty in
dragging the carriage through the sand. We came upon the coast, and the
waves were dashing with foaming impetuosity, as if tempest-vexed, upon
the shore; but joining again the principal causeway, we pursued our
journey without interruption. We had been accompanied by the excellent
Vice-Consul Don José de Bosch and Friar Gabriel, who was everywhere
our guardian and guide. The vice-consul was thoroughly cognizant of all
commercial matters, and furnished me with the information I sought. The
friar was delighted to pour out his stores of local knowledge, and
they were great, while the alcalde, Señor Combas, was in all things
kind, considerate and communicative. In fact, it was impossible not
to feel at home when everybody was contributing to amuse, interest
and instruct. We visited several of the pueblos in the neighbourhood,
and at Calasiao, which has 18,000 inhabitants, the gobernadorcillo
brought us specimens of the manufactures of the place, and pressed a
fine straw hat on my acceptance, while the good Friar Gabriel insisted
on every one of our party carrying away a cigar-case. What we had
seen elsewhere was repeated in the pueblos through which we passed,
in each of which the friars and the principalia were on the qui vive,
not only for our comfort and accommodation, but to do us all honour. We
returned to Lingayen at sunset, and the good father summoned us to
dine with him the following day, on which occasion he said he would
do his best to show us what his convent could produce. And certainly
nothing was wanting. The tables were crowded with numerous guests,
and covered with abundant supplies of substantial and decorative
dishes. I imagine the father must have drawn on all the resources of
the community, for the meats and drinks, the plate and the porcelain,
decanters and glasses, and all the paraphernalia of a handsome public
dinner, were there, and there was no small amount of fun and jollity,
the padre taking the lead.
Father Gabriel boasted of the immense capabilities of the
river Agno. It flows through a large portion of the province
of Pangasinan, and was navigable for a great distance in its
wanderings. He sketched its course upon paper, and pointed out
the many pueblos which it visited. The misfortune was, it had a
terrible bar, and could not be navigated from or into the sea. The
river is certainly one of considerable depth, and of great beauty,
having its source in the Cordillera of Caraballes in the province of
Abra, amidst wild mountains, and receiving, in its flowing course,
many confluent streams. Between San Isidro and Lingayen there was
much ship-building on its banks, and a busy Indian population. On
the shores were fine forest trees ready for the hand of the woodman,
materials for cordage, bamboos and canes, which are brought down by
the wild tribes of Igorrotes. It is said that much gold is found
in the sand and mud of the river. Many attempts have been made by
the Spaniards, and especially by the friars, to conquer, civilize
and christianize the wild tenants of the rough and craggy regions,
but with little success. Their numbers are increased by criminals
escaping from justice, and who seek and find refuge in the least
accessible parts of Luzon.
Father Gabriel, who has greatly interested himself in developing the
commercial resources of Sual, which he called his "port," expressed
a confident expectation that the establishment of foreign trade and
the visits of shipping for cargoes, would induce the natives to bring
down their produce and open the way to the influences of improvement.
We found it necessary to prepare for our departure, but our good
friends had determined, as we had come by land, we should return by
water, and an aquatic procession, with flags and music, was put in
motion. The sky lowered, the rain fell in tropical torrents, and
the musicians and other actors and spectators dispersed; nothing
discouraged, however, after a delay of two hours, sunshine brought
them out again. The boats were put in requisition, the bands of music
reassembled, and we embarked on the river Agno. All went on pleasantly
and perfectly for an hour, when a drenching storm compelled me to
leave the open barge in which I was, and to seek the shelter of one of
the covered boats. Many of our companions were as thoroughly wetted
as if they had been dragged through the water, and we reached San
Isidro as if escaped from wreck. There we sought dry garments, and the
friars' wardrobes were largely drawn on for our comforts. Grotesque,
indeed, were the figures and drapery of many, and a humorous sketcher
might have made excellent capital out of the laughing groups. Some
got carriages, some horses, and some disappointment, to help us to
Sual, where a handsome dinner was provided at the custom-house by the
vice-consul. The harbour-master broke out into poetry in honour of the
British flag, and gloria and Victoria rhymed in to the delectation of
the guests, and to the echoes of the walls. Our captain was inspired,
and harangued our hospitable hosts in answer to the warm brindis of
the company. The Indians had been studying our national song, and
for the first time the noble air of "God save the Queen" was heard in
the pueblo of Sual. It was late when we got on board the Magicienne,
but before our departure on the following day, the authorities,
the vice-consul and the friar, with many attendants, were on board
to give us a despedida as kind as our welcome had been cordial. They
brought various presents as souvenirs, and a lilliputian midshipman,
who had excited the interest and admiration of the visitors, was
specially summoned that he might receive a cigar-case from the hands
of Padre Gabriel. As soon as they left, our anchor was raised and we
steamed away from Pangasinan and the Philippines. It would be strange,
indeed, if we took not with us a grateful memory of what we had seen.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY SMITH, ELDER, AND CO.,
LITTLE GREEN ARBOUR COURT, OLD BAILEY, E.C.
NOTES
[1] A recent History of the Conquest of the Islands, and of the
Spanish rule, is given by Buzeta, vol. i., pp. 57-98.
[2] I visited some Cochin Chinese prisoners in the fortification. They
had been taken at Turon, and one of them was a mandarin, who had
exercised some authority there,--said to have been the commandant
of the place. They wrote the Chinese characters, but were unable to
understand the spoken language.
[3] Among my early literary efforts was an essay by which the strange
story was utterly disproved of the destruction of the MSS. which had
served Cardinal Ximenes in preparing his Polyglot Bible.
[4] One woman, six children.
[5] All children.
[6] The account given by Spanish writers of the taking of Manila
by the British forces, and here translated from Buzeta's narrative,
seems given with as much fairness as could be expected.
"In 1762, the city of Manila had reached to wonderful prosperity. Its
commercial relations extended to the Moluccas, Borneo, many parts
of India, Malacca, Siam, Cochin China, China, Japan--in a word, to
all places between the Isthmus of Suez and Behring's Straits. But at
the end of this year a disaster visited the city which prostrated it
for many years after. The English, then at war with Spain, presented
themselves with considerable forces. The most illustrious Archbishop
Don Manuel Royo, then temporarily in charge of the government,
had received no notice of any declaration of war, and had made no
preparations for defence. The enemy's fleet was the bearer of the
news. The garrison was composed of the regiment del rey, which ought
to have numbered 2,000 men, but was reduced to 500, by detachments,
desertion and disease. There were only 80 artillerymen, all Indians,
who knew little about the management of guns. In this state of matters,
the English fleet suddenly appeared on the 22nd September, 1762. It
consisted of thirteen ships, with 6,830 excellent troops. In total
ignorance of public affairs, the fleet was supposed to be one of
Chinese sampans. Some defensive measures were adopted, and an officer
was sent to inquire of the commander of the fleet what was his nation,
and what the object of his unannounced visit. The messenger returned
the following day, accompanied by two English officers, who stated that
the conquest of the islands was the purpose of the expedition. They
were answered that the islands would defend themselves. On the night
of the 23rd/24th, the enemy effected their disembarkation at the
redoubt of St. Anthony Abbot. An attempt was made to dislodge them;
it failed. They were fired upon in the morning of the 24th, but with
little effect, so well were they entrenched and protected by various
buildings. In order to arrest their proceedings, it was determined
to make a vigorous sally, whose arrangement was left to M. Fallu,
a French officer in the service of Spain; but this valiant soldier
soon found that the foreign troops were too numerous to be dealt with
by his forces. He fought during the night, and did not return to the
citadel till 9 A.M. of the following day. There was a suspension of
hostilities, and the invaders sent a flag of truce to the city. The
bombardment continued on the 25th, and our grape-shot did much damage
to the enemy. On the 28th, in the morning, the English general asked
for the head of an officer who, having been the bearer of a flag
of truce two days before, had been decapitated by the Indians. He
demanded also the delivery of the persons who had committed the crime,
and, if refused, threatened horrible reprisals. The requirement was
complied with; and the Archbishop, who was exercising the functions
of government, and directing the defence of the city, showed himself
on horseback to the camp of the enemy, but without result. On the
29th, the English squadron received a reinforcement of three ships,
which bore 350 Frenchmen from Pondicherry, who sought an opportunity
to turn upon the English, and nominated two of their confidants to
arrange their desertion and the accomplishment of their purpose; but
the two confederates were supposed by the Indians to be Englishmen,
and, instead of being welcomed, were slain. The English, being informed
of what had taken place, secured themselves against further treachery
on the part of the French. On the 3rd of October, a large force of
Pampangan Indians having arrived, a sally was resolved upon: it was
very bloody, but of no benefit for the defence. The following day the
besiegers made a breach in the Fundicion bulwarks. A council of war was
held, and the military decided that a capitulation was imperative:
the citizens were for continuing the defence. Unfortunately the
Archbishop was carried away from this opinion, which led to so many
disasters for Manila. On the 4th, there was a general conviction that
this city would soon be compelled to surrender; and the title of the
Lieutenant to the Government having been conferred on the judge (oidor)
Simon de Anda y Salazar, in order that he might transfer the seat
of Spanish authority to some other part of the island, and provide
for its defence, he left the same evening at 10 P.M., in a launch
with a few rowers, a Tagál servant, 500 dollars in silver, and forty
sheets of official stamped paper. These were his resources against an
enemy having sixteen vessels in the bay, and who were on the point of
entering the city. Thus without an army or a fleet, a man of more than
threescore years reached Bulacan, determined on pertinacious opposition
to those conquerors who were about to enter the capital. They did
enter on the following day, leaving their entrenchments and advancing
in three columns to the breach, which was scarcely practicable. Forty
Frenchmen of Pondicherry led and found no resistance. The fortress was
compelled to surrender. The city was sacked for forty hours, neither
the churches nor the palace of the Archbishop or Governor finding any
mercy. The loss of the Spaniards during the siege was three officers,
two sergeants, fifty troops of the line, and thirty civilians of the
militia, without reckoning the wounded; the Indians had 300 killed
and 400 wounded. The besiegers lost about 1,000 men, of whom 16 were
officers. The fleet fired upon the city more than 5,000 bombs, and
more than 20,000 balls. It might have been hoped that a sack of forty
hours and the capitulation of the garrison would have satisfied the
enemy; it was not so, for during the sackage the English commander
informed the Archbishop that all the inhabitants would be massacred
if two millions of dollars were not immediately paid in coin, and
two millions more in drafts on the Spanish treasury. To this it was
necessary to accede, and the charitable funds and the silver ornaments
of the churches were devoted to the payment.
While the events of Manila had this tragic termination, Anda collected
in Bulacan the Alcalde, the ecclesiastics, and other Spaniards,
showed them his authority, which was recognised with enthusiasm. On
the evening of the same day news of the fall of Manila was received,
and Anda published a proclamation declaring himself Governor and
Captain-General of the Philippine Islands, and chose for the seat
of his government Bacalor in Pampanga. He thus for fifteen months
carried on the war, notwithstanding the insurrections fomented by
the English, especially among the Chinese, and notwithstanding the
general disorganization of the provinces. In fact, he almost kept
the English blockaded in Manila, from whose walls they scarcely dared
to venture. In Malenta, a property of the Augustin friars, a French
sergeant, named Bretagne, who deserted from the English, and induced
some thirty of his countrymen to follow his example, was made captain,
and directed operations against the invaders, to whom he appears to
have given much trouble by intercepting provisions, and attacking
stragglers from the city. The English offered 5,000 dollars for the
delivery of Anda alive into their hands. But on the 3rd July, 1763, a
British frigate arrived announcing an armistice between the belligerent
powers, and directing the cessation of hostilities. In March, 1764,
news arrived of the treaty of peace; the English evacuated Manila,
and Spanish authority was re-established. The mischief done by the
English was repaired by Governor Basco."
[7] MS. of the Siege of Manila, by Fr. Juan de Santa Maria.
[8] Diccionario geográfico, estadístico, histórico de las Islas
Filipinas. 2 vols. Madrid, 1850.
[9] There is an English translation--"Twenty Years in the
Philippines." Vizetelly. 1853.
[10] I learn from the Captain-General that Messrs. de la Gironière
and Montblanc are now charged with "a scientific mission to the
Philippines," under the auspices of the French government.
[11] I find in Mr. Dixon's book on Domestic Poultry the merits of this
discovery in the science of incubation attributed to an ancient couple,
whose goose having been killed while "sitting," the old man transferred
the "cooling" eggs to their common bed, and he and the old lady taking
their turns, safely brought the goslings into being. I ought to mention
that confirmatory proofs of M. de la Gironière's narrative are added
from Mr. H. Lindsay; but Mr. Lindsay guards himself against endorsing
the "strange stories" with which M. de la Gironière's book abounds.
[12] The Chinese seem everywhere to preserve the same
characteristics. The British Consul-General of Borneo writes to
me:--"Chinese settlers cannot flourish under Malay rule. We have a
few hundreds, but the country would absorb hundreds of thousands. In
the interior I found among the aborigines a lively remembrance of
the former Chinese pepper-growers; they have been all destroyed
or driven away by civil dissensions. There remain a few of their
descendants, who speak the language of their fathers, but they are
not distinguishable from the natives. A Chinese merchant was speaking
disparagingly of one of the chiefs, who turned round, and, much to
the astonishment of the Chinaman, accosted him in very tolerable
Fokien. The little pepper-growing that remains is partly conducted
by the mixed races. The produce is slightly increasing, and a few
Chinese with native wives are beginning to try it again."
[13] Both gael and sapaha are terms probably introduced by traders with
China. Tael and sapeque are the names given by Europeans to the liang
and tsien of the Chinese, the silver ounce and its thousandth part.
[14] There may be some interest in the following details, as a
specimen; but it is by no means one of the most distinguished.
Programme of the Procession of the Holy Interment, proceeding from
the Church of San Domingo, and returning thither through the principal
streets of Manila:--
Civil guards on horseback.
Files of bearers of wax lights along the line of procession.
Military, under their several heads and colours.
Carabineers of the Hacienda, bearing lights, 8.
Company of Engineers, ditto, 8.
Carabineers of Public Safety, ditto, 8.
Cavalry (Lancers), ditto, 32.
Infantry (Borbon), ditto, 32.
Ditto (Princesa), ditto, 32.
Ditto (Infante), ditto, 32.
Ditto (Fernando VII.), ditto, 32.
Artillery Brigade, No. 1, ditto, 32.
Ditto, No. 2, ditto, 32.
Infantry (Rey), ditto, 32.
Peasants bearing lights.
Officers of the army and marine and public functionaries.
Collegiates of St. John of Lateran.
Secular clergy.
Brotherhood of St. Domingo.
Two files of sisterhood (Beatas).
The centre of the procession to consist of
Band of music of Infantry (Rey).
Standard.
Ten representations of the Passion, carried by the clergy at
appropriate distances.
Six collegiates of St. John of Lateran with cirios (large wax
lights).
Image of St. John the Evangelist.
Eleven representations of the Passion, carried by the clergy.
Six collegiates of St. John with cirios.
Image of St. Mary of Magdalene.
Band of music of Infantry (Ferdinand VII.).
Ten representations of the Passion, as before.
Musical choir chanting the Miserere.
Eight collegiates of St. Thomas with cirios.
Car conveying The Lord.
By the side of the car, eight Halberdiers, with funeral halberds.
Music of Infantry (No. 7).
Pall (palio) carried by collegiates of St. John of Lateran.
Brotherhood of the interment, in semicircle.
Six collegiates of St. John of Lateran with cirios.
Image of Santa Maria Salomé.
Six collegiates of St. Thomas with cirios.
Image of Santa Maria Jacoba.
Choir of music, singing Stabat Mater.
Six collegiates of St. Thomas in file with cirios.
Image of our Lady de los Dolores.
Pall carried by six collegiates of St. Thomas.
Preste (celebrator of high mass) in his black cope, with two
sacristans at the right and the left.
H. E. the Governor-General, at his left the Lieutenant-Governor,
at his right the Prior of St. Domingo, President of the
Brotherhood of the Holy Interment.
Preceding these are all the supreme authorities of the islands in
full dress, followed by the military and naval officers of high rank.
Brigade of European Artillery, with officers.
Drums (muffled) playing funeral march.
Bands of music (as at funerals).
European brigade, with muskets reversed.
Escort of Captain-General on horseback.
Note--That in this religious procession perfect equality is to be
preserved.
[15] Personal pronouns are aco, I; anim, we. The Tagál has no
possessive pronouns; but employs instead the genitive of the personal.
[16] Um, to be; ungma, thou art.
[17] Ca, or ycao, personal pronoun, thou, always follows the verb;
mo is the genitive.
[18] Samba, adore; sambahin, the future tense.
[19] Arao, sun, or day.
[20] Tolot, to allow to escape.
[21] Dayat, praise; the future passive is conveyed by ipapag.
[22] From anchi, adverb, here.
[23] From hadi, king.
[24] From uara, forgiveness.
[25] From auai, to quarrel.
[26] Mr. John Crawfurds's Dissertation in his Malayan Grammar.
[27] Barco ninguno, casa la que vivas, tierras las que veas.
[28] I am, however, informed by a friend of one of the gentlemen
referred to by De Mas, that he disclaims having authorized the
statement given under his name.
[29] There are many names for the public executioner, denoting the
places in which he exercises his profession, and the instruments he
employs for inflicting the punishment of death.
[30] Articulo sobre las Rentas de Filipinas y los medios de
aumentarlas, por D. Sinibaldo de Mas (afterwards Minister
Plenipotentiary of Spain in China). Madrid, 1853.
[31] M. Marcaida considers the best historical and descriptive
authorities to be the Fathers Blanco, Santa Maria, Zuñiga, Concepcion,
and Buzeta. He speaks highly of Don Sinibaldo de Mas' Apuntes, of
which I have largely availed myself.
[32] Buzeta may be consulted, especially under the head "Caraga,"
on which he has a long article.
[33] Archbishop Hilarion says:--"There are multitudes of pueblos,
such as Argao, Dalaguete, Boljoon in Zebu, and many in the province
of Iloilo, where it would be difficult to find either a boy or girl
unable to read or write, which is more than can be said for many of
the cities of the Peninsula."--(Answer to Manila Deputation.)
[34] Among the arts by which pernicious legislation is defeated, a
curious example is presented in the Philippine Islands. White cotton
twist being prohibited in the interest of certain home producers,
it is found to be more economical to import yellow and green twist,
which is allowed to enter, and it is afterwards converted to white
by extracting the colour, which is easily accomplished by steeping
the thread in a strong infusion of lime.
[35] In 1859 it is likely to amount to from 3,000 to 3,500 tons.
[36] Quoted from Sir J. Bowring's letter to N. Loney of Aug. 3, 1858.
[37] The track of the Spanish discovery ships Atrevida and Descubierta
passes over it. See Admiralty chart of St. Bernardino Strait and
parts adjacent, No. 2,577; scale, degree = 6 inches.
[38] Vessels bound to Iloilo by the southern passage, if in the
N.E. monsoon, should, when to the northward of Point Guinad, beat up
along the coast of Guimaras. In April, 1859, in the barque Camilla,
from Manila to Iloilo, I had soundings much farther to the S.W. than
are laid down on the Spanish charts. With Point Guinad bearing south,
and Point Balingasag bearing east, I had from seven to nine fathoms
water, with soft ground. Stood to the N.W., had regular soundings
seven fathoms.
When five or six miles off shore, had four fathoms, tacked inshore,
and brought up for the night, Point Cabalig bearing N.E. two miles,
eight fathoms water; good holding-ground, soundings deepening to
twenty fathoms when one mile off shore.
Point Cabalig and Point Bondulan, when bearing N.E., form two very
prominent headlands, which are not shown on the Spanish charts I
had. With common precaution there is no danger whatever in approaching
the port of Iloilo by keeping the coast of Guimaras close inboard from
Point Cabalig until nearly abreast the fort, which will clear the
Oton Bank. Even should a vessel ground, she will receive no damage,
and can be easily got off, as the bottom is quite soft. When the fort
bears S.W. by W. one mile, the channel to Iloilo is then open, and
with a flood-tide keep the N.E. point close on board. When past it,
keep more over to the other shore, where there are from three and a
half to three fathoms water close to the shore, and two fathoms at low
water. The port of Iloilo is a perfect dock formed by nature. Vessels
lay alongside the wharf, where there are two and a half fathoms at high
water, and two fathoms at low water, and every facility for discharging
and loading. I discharged 200 tons of ballast and took in 300 tons of
sugar within nine days. Labour and fresh provisions are very moderate.
Iloilo, 4th May, 1859. (Signed) J. H. Pritchard.
Barque Camilla.
End of Project Gutenberg's A Visit to the Philippine Islands, by John Bowring
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