The Philippine Islands

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

Embracing the Whole Period of Spanish Rule

With an Account of the Succeeding American Insular Government



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



Third Edition, Revised and Enlarged with Maps and Illustrations

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



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



Preface to the First Edition

It would be surprising if the concerns of an interesting Colony like the Philippine Islands had not commanded the attention of literary genius.

I do not pretend, therefore, to improve upon the able productions of such eminent writers as Juan de le Concepcion, Martinez Zuniga, Tomas de Comyn and others, nor do I aspire, through this brief composition, to detract from the merit of Jagor's work, which, in its day, commended itself as a valuable book of reference. But since then, and within the last twenty years, this Colony has made great strides on the path of social and material progress; its political and commercial importance is rapidly increasing, and many who know the Philippines have persuaded me to believe that my notes would be an appreciated addition to what was published years ago on this subject.

The critical opinions herein expressed are based upon personal observations made during the several years I have travelled in and about all the principal islands of the Archipelago, and are upheld by reference to the most reliable historical records.

An author should be benevolent in his judgement of men and manners and guarded against mistaking isolated cases for rules. In matters of history he should neither hide the truth nor twist it to support a private view, remembering how easy it is to criticize an act when its sequel is developed: such will be my aim in the fullest measure consistent.

By certain classes I may be thought to have taken a hypercritical view of things; I may even offend their susceptibilities—if I adulated them I should fail to chronicle the truth, and my work would be a deliberate imposture.

I would desire it to be understood, with regard to the classes and races in their collectedness, that my remarks apply only to the large majority; exceptions undoubtedly there are—these form the small minority. Moreover, I need hardly point out that the native population of the capital of the Philippines by no means represents the true native character, to comprehend which, so far as its complicacy can be fathomed, one must penetrate into and reside for years in the interior of the Colony, as I have done, in places where extraneous influences have, as yet, produced no effect.

There may appear to be some incongruity in the plan of a work which combines objects so dissimilar as those enumerated in the Contents pages, but this is not exclusively a History, or a Geography, or an Account of Travels—it is a concise review of all that may interest the reader who seeks for a general idea of the condition of affairs in this Colony in the past and in the present.

J. F.



Preface to the Third Edition

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

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

My criticism of the regular clergy applies only to the four religious confraternities in their lay capacity of government agents in these Islands and not to the Jesuit or the Paul fathers, who have justly gained the respect of both Europeans and natives: neither is it intended, in any degree, as a reflection on the sacred institution of the Church.

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

This book is not written to promote the interests of any person or party, and so far as is consistent with guiding the reader to a fair appreciation of the facts recorded, controversial comment has been avoided, for to pronounce a just dictum on the multifarious questions involved would demand a catholicity of judgement never concentrated in the brain of a single human being.

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

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

J. F. September, 1905.



Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter I

General Description of the Archipelago

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



Chapter II

Discovery of the Archipelago

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



Chapter III

Philippine Dependencies, Up To 1898

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



Chapter IV

Attempted Conquest by Chinese

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



Chapter V

Early Relations with Japan

The Catholic Missions

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



Chapter VI

Conflicts with the Dutch

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



Chapter VII

British Occupation of Manila

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



Chapter VIII

The Chinese

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



Chapter IX

Wild Tribes and Pagans

The Aetas or Negritos or Balugas. 120 The Gaddanes. The Itavis. The Igorrotes. The Ibanacs. 122 Attempt to subdue the Igorrotes. Its failure. 124 The Calingas. The Igorrote-Chinese. The Tinguianes. 125 The Basanes. The Manguianes. The Hindoos. Albinos. 128



Chapter X

Mahometans and Southern Tribes

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



Chapter XI

Domesticated Natives—Origin—Character

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



Chapter XII

The Religious Orders

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



Chapter XIII

Spanish Insular Government

The Encomiendas. The Trading-Governors. 211 The Judge-Governors (Alcalde Mayor). The Reforms of 1886. 213 Cost of Spanish Insular Government. The Provincial Civil Governor's duties. 214 The position of Provincial Civil Governor. Local Funds. Provincial poverty. 216 Highways and Public Works. Cause of national decay. 218 Fortunes made easily. Peculations. Town Local Government. 220 The Gobernadorcillo (petty-governor). The Cabeza de Barangay (Tax-collector). 222 The Cuadrillero (guard). The Fallas (tax). The Cedula personal. 224 The Tribunal (town hall). Reforms affecting travellers. 225



Chapter XIV

Spanish-Philippine Finances

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



Chapter XV

Trade of the Islands from Early Times

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



Chapter XVI

Agriculture

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



Chapter XVII

Manila Hemp—Coffee—Tobacco

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



Chapter XVIII

Sundry Forest and Farm Produce

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



Chapter XIX

Mineral Products

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



Chapter XX

Domestic Live-stock—Ponies, Buffaloes, Etc.

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



Chapter XXI

Manila Under Spanish Rule

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



Chapter XXII

The Tagalog Rebellion of 1896-98

First Period

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



Chapter XXIII

The Tagalog Rebellion of 1896-98

Second Period

American Intervention

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



Chapter XXIV

An Outline of the War of Independence Period, 1899-1901

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



Chapter XXV

The Philippine Republic in the Central and Southern Islands

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



Chapter XXVI

The Spanish Prisoners

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



Chapter XXVII

End of the War of Independence and After

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



Chapter XXVIII

Modern Manila

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



Chapter XXIX

The Land of the Moros

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



Chapter XXX

The Spanish Friars, After 1898

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



Chapter XXXI

Trade and Agriculture Since the American Advent

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



Chronological Table of Leading Events. 651

Index. 655



List of Illustrations



The Author Frontispiece Taal Volcano Facing 16 Mavon Volcano 16 Effect of the Hurricane of September 26, 1905 23 A Negrito Family 120 An Igorrote Type (Luzon) 128 A Pagan Type (Mindanao) 128 A Tagalog Girl 128 Moro Weapons 132 A Scene in the Moro Country 148 Zamboanga Fortress ("Fuerza del Pilar") 148 A Visayan Girl 164 A Tagalog Girl 164 A Visayan Planter 172 A Chinese Half-caste 172 A Tagalog Milkwoman 182 A Tagalog Townsman 182 Middle-class Tagalog Natives 196 A Spanish-Mexican Galleon 244 A Canoe 244 A Casco (Sailing-barge) 244 A Prahu (Sailing-canoe) 244 A Sugar-estate House, Southern Philippines 275 Shipping Hemp in the Provinces 288 Botanical Specimen 321 Botanical Specimen 322 Botanical Specimen Facing 323 Botanical Specimen 324 The Old Walls of Manila City 344 La Escolta in the Business Quarter of Manila 347 A Riverside Washing-scene 359 Dr. Jose Rizal 381 Don Felipe Agoncillo 381 General Emilio Aguinaldo 396 Don Pedro a Paterno 396 Admiral Patricio Montojo 430 Admiral George Dewey 430 General Basilio Augusti 430 Maj.-General Wesley Merritt 430 Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda 430 Tagalog Bowie-knives and Weapons 485 A Pandita (Mahometan Priest) 534 Rajahmudah Datto Mandi and Wife 534 Santa Cruz Church (Manila Suburb) 559 Panglima Hassan (of Sulu) 584 A Mindanao Datto and Suite 584 The Rt. Rev. Bishop Gregorio Aglipay 604 A Roadside Scene in Bulacan Province 627

Maps

The Province of Cavite 371 Map of the Archipelago at the end



Introduction

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



During the three centuries and a quarter of more or less effective Spanish dominion, this Archipelago never ranked above the most primitive of colonial possessions.

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

Extension of dominion seized them like a mania. Had they followed up their discoveries by progressive social enlightenment, by encouragement to commerce, by the concentration of their efforts in the development of the territory and the new resources already under their sway, half the money and energy squandered on fruitless and inglorious expeditions would have sufficed to make high roads crossing and recrossing the Islands; tenfold wealth would have accrued; civilization would have followed as a natural consequence; and they would, perhaps even to this day, have preserved the loyalty of those who struggled for and obtained freer institutions. But they had elected to follow the principles of that religious age, and all we can credit them with is the conversion of millions to Christianity and the consequent civility at the expense of cherished liberty, for ever on the track of that fearless band of warriors followed the monk, ready to pass the breach opened for him by the sword, to conclude the conquest by the persuasive influence of the Holy Cross.

The civilization of the world is but the outcome of wars, and probably as long as the world lasts the ultimate appeal in all questions will be made to force, notwithstanding Peace Conferences. The hope of ever extinguishing warfare is as meagre as the advantage such a state of things would be. The idea of totally suppressing martial instinct in the whole civilized community is as hopeless as the effort to convert all the human race to one religious system. Moreover, the common good derived from war generally exceeds the losses it inflicts on individuals; nor is war an isolated instance of the few suffering for the good of the many. "Salus populi suprema lex." "Nearly every step in the world's progress has been reached by warfare. In modern times the peace of Europe is only maintained by the equality of power to coerce by force. Liberty in England, gained first by an exhibition of force, would have been lost but for bloodshed. The great American Republic owes its existence and the preservation of its unity to this inevitable means, and neither arbitration, moral persuasion, nor sentimental argument would ever have exchanged Philippine monastic oppression for freedom of thought and liberal institutions.

The right of conquest is admissible when it is exercised for the advancement of civilization, and the conqueror not only takes upon himself, but carries out, the moral obligation to improve the condition of the subjected peoples and render them happier. How far the Spaniards of each generation fulfilled that obligation may be judged from these pages, the works of Mr. W. H. Prescott, the writings of Padre de las Casas, and other chroniclers of Spanish colonial achievements. The happiest colony is that which yearns for nothing at the hands of the mother country; the most durable bonds are those engendered by gratitude and contentment. Such bonds can never be created by religious teaching alone, unaccompanied by the twofold inseparable conditions of moral and material improvement. There are colonies wherein equal justice, moral example, and constant care for the welfare of the people have riveted European dominion without the dispensable adjunct of an enforced State religion. The reader will judge the merits of that civilization which the Spaniards engrafted on the races they subdued; for as mankind has no philosophical criterion of truth, it is a matter of opinion where the unpolluted fountain of the truest modern civilization is to be found. It is claimed by China and by Europe, and the whole universe is schismatic on the subject. When Japan was only known to the world as a nation of artists, Europe called her barbarous; when she had killed fifty thousand Russians in Manchuria, she was proclaimed to be highly civilized. There are even some who regard the adoption of European dress and the utterance of a few phrases in a foreign tongue as signs of civilization. And there is a Continental nation, proud of its culture, whose sense of military honour, dignity, and discipline involves inhuman brutality of the lowest degree.

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

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

The government of the Archipelago alone was no mean task.

A group of islands inhabited by several heathen races—surrounded by a sea exposed to typhoons, pirates, and Christian-hating Mussulmans—had to be ruled by a handful of Europeans with inadequate funds, bad ships, and scant war material. For nearly two centuries the financial administration was a chaos, and military organization hardly existed. Local enterprise was disregarded and discouraged so long as abundance of silver dollars came from across the Pacific. Such a short-sighted, unstable dependence left the Colony resourceless when bold foreign traders stamped out monopoly and brought commerce to its natural level by competition. In the meantime the astute ecclesiastics quietly took possession of rich arable lands in many places, the most valuable being within easy reach of the Capital and the Arsenal of Cavite. Landed property was undefined. It all nominally belonged to the State, which, however, granted no titles; "squatters" took up land where they chose without determined limits, and the embroilment continues, in a measure, to the present day.

About the year 1885 the question was brought forward of granting Government titles to all who could establish claims to land. Indeed, for about a year, there was a certain enthusiasm displayed both by the applicants and the officials in the matter of "Titulos Reales." But the large majority of landholders—among whom the monastic element conspicuously figured—could only show their title by actual possession. [3] It might have been sufficient, but the fact is that the clergy favoured neither the granting of "Titulos Reales" nor the establishment of the projected Real Estate Registration Offices.

Agrarian disputes had been the cause of so many armed risings against themselves in particular, during the nineteenth century, that they opposed an investigation of the land question, which would only have revived old animosities, without giving satisfaction to either native or friar, seeing that both parties were intransigent. [4]

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

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

Everywhere the white race urged activity like one who sits behind a horse and goads it with the whip. But good advice without example was lost to an ignorant class more apt to learn through the eye than through the ear. The rougher class of colonist either forgot, or did not know, that, to civilize a people, every act one performs, or intelligible word one utters, carries an influence which pervades and gives a colour to the future life and thoughts of the native, and makes it felt upon the whole frame of the society in embryo. On the other hand, the value of prestige was perfectly well understood by the higher officials, and the rigid maintenance of their dignity, both in private life and in their public offices, played an important part in the moral conquest of the Filipinos. Equality of races was never dreamed of, either by the conquerors or the conquered; and the latter, up to the last days of Spanish rule, truly believed in the superiority of the white man. This belief was a moral force which considerably aided the Spaniards in their task of civilization, and has left its impression on the character of polite Philippine society to this day.

Christianity was not only the basis of education, but the symbol of civilization; and that the Government should have left education to the care of the missionaries during the proselytizing period was undoubtedly the most natural course to take. It was desirable that conversion from paganism should precede any kind of secular tuition. But the friars, to the last, held tenaciously to their old monopoly; hence the University, the High Schools, and the Colleges (except the Jesuit Schools) were in their hands, and they remained as stumbling-blocks in the intellectual advancement of the Colony. Instead of the State holding the fountains of knowledge within its direct control, it yielded them to the exclusive manipulation of those who eked out the measure as it suited their own interests.

Successful government by that sublime ethical essence called "moral philosophy" has fallen away before a more practical regime. Liberty to think, to speak, to write, to trade, to travel, was only partially and reluctantly yielded under extraneous pressure. The venality of the conqueror's administration, the judicial complicacy, want of public works, weak imperial government, and arrogant local rule tended to dismember the once powerful Spanish Empire. The same causes have produced the same effects in all Spain's distant colonies, and to-day the mother country is almost childless. Criticism, physical discovery of the age, and contact with foreigners shook the ancient belief in the fabulous and the supernatural; the rising generation began to inquire about more certain scientific theses. The immutability of Theology is inharmonious to Science—the School of Progress; and long before they had finished their course in these Islands the friars quaked at the possible consequences. The dogmatical affirmation "qui non credit anathema sit," so indiscriminately used, had lost its power. Public opinion protested against an order of things which checked the social and material onward movement of the Colony. And, strange as it may seem, Spain was absolutely impotent, even though it cost her the whole territory (as indeed happened) to remedy the evil. In these Islands what was known to the world as the Government of Spain was virtually the Executive of the Religious Corporations, who constituted the real Government, the members of which never understood patriotism as men of the world understand it. Every interest was made subservient to the welfare of the Orders. If, one day, the Colony must be lost to them, it was a matter of perfect indifference into whose hands it passed. It was their happy hunting-ground and last refuge. But the real Government could not exist without its Executive; and when that Executive was attacked and expelled by America, the real Government fell as a consequence. If the Executive had been strong enough to emancipate itself from the dominion of the friars only two decades ago, the Philippines might have remained a Spanish colony to-day. But the wealth in hard cash and the moral religious influence of the Monastic Orders were factors too powerful for any number of executive ministers, who would have fallen like ninepins if they had attempted to extricate themselves from the thraldom of sacerdotalism. Outside political circles there was, and still is in Spain, a class who shrink from the abandonment of ideas of centuries' duration. Whatever the fallacy may be, not a few are beguiled into thinking that its antiquity should command respect.

The conquest of this Colony was decidedly far more a religious achievement than a military one, and to the friars of old their nation's gratitude is fairly due for having contributed to her glory, but that gratitude is not an inheritance.

Prosperity began to dawn upon the Philippines when restrictions on trade were gradually relaxed since the second decade of last century. As each year came round reforms were introduced, but so clumsily that no distinction was made between those who were educationally or intellectually prepared to receive them and those who were not; hence the small minority of natives, who had acquired the habits and necessities of their conquerors, sought to acquire for all an equal status, for which the masses were unprepared. The abolition of tribute in 1884 obliterated caste distinction; the university graduate and the herder were on a legal equality if they each carried a cedula personal, whilst certain Spanish legislators exercised a rare effort to persuade themselves and their partisans that the Colony was ripe for the impossible combination of liberal administration and monastic rule.

It will be shown in these pages that the government of these Islands was practically as theocratic as it was civil. Upon the principle of religious pre-eminence all its statutes were founded, and the reader will now understand whence the innumerable Church and State contentions originated. Historical facts lead one to inquire: How far was Spain ever a moral potential factor in the world's progress? Spanish colonization seems to have been only a colonizing mission preparatory to the attainment, by her colonists, of more congenial conditions under other regimes; for the repeated struggles for liberty, generation after generation, in all her colonies, tend to show that Spain's sovereignty was maintained through the inspiration of fear rather than love and sympathy, and that she entirely failed to render her colonial subjects happier than they were before.

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

Happiness is merely comparative: with a lovely climate—a continual summer—and all the absolute requirements of life at hand, there is not one-tenth of the misery in the Philippines that there is in Europe, and none of that forlorn wretchedness facing the public gaze. Beggary—that constant attribute of the highest civilization—hardly exists, and suicide is extremely rare. There are no ferocious animals, insects, or reptiles that one cannot reasonably guard against; it is essentially one of those countries where "man's greatest enemy is man." There is ample room for double the population, and yet a million acres of virgin soil only awaiting the co-operation of husbandman and capitalist to turn it to lucrative account. A humdrum life is incompatible here with the constant emotion kept up by typhoons, shipwrecks, earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, brigands, epidemics, devastating fires, etc.

It is a beautiful country, copiously endowed by Nature, where the effulgent morning sun contributes to a happy frame of mind—where the colonist's rural life passes pleasantly enough to soothe the longing for "home, sweet home."

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

Such is America's new possession, wherein she has assumed the moral responsibility of establishing a form of government on principles quite opposite to those of the defunct Spanish regime: whether it will be for better or for worse cannot be determined at this tentative stage. Without venturing on the prophetic, one may not only draw conclusions from accomplished facts, but also reasonably assume, in the light of past events, what might have happened under other circumstances. There is scarcely a Power which has not, in the zenith of its prosperity, consciously or unconsciously felt the "divine right" impulse, and claimed that Providence has singled it out to engraft upon an unwilling people its particular conception of human progress. The venture assumes, in time, the more dignified name of "mission"; and when the consequent torrents of blood recede from memory with the ebbing tide of forgetfulness, the conqueror soothes his conscience with a profession of "moral duty," which the conquered seldom appreciate in the first generation. No unforeseen circumstances whatever caused the United States to drift unwillingly into Philippine affairs. The war in Cuba had not the remotest connexion with these Islands. The adversary's army and navy were too busy with the task of quelling the Tagalog rebellion for any one to imagine they could be sent to the Atlantic. It was hardly possible to believe that the defective Spanish-Philippine squadron could have accomplished the voyage to the Antilles, in time of war, with every neutral port en route closed against it. In any case, so far as the ostensible motive of the Spanish-American War was concerned, American operations in the Philippines might have ended with the Battle of Cavite. The Tagalog rebels were neither seeking nor desiring a change of masters, but the state of war with Spain afforded America the opportunity, internationally recognized as legitimate, to seize any of the enemy's possessions; hence the acquisition of the Philippines by conquest. Up to this point there is nothing to criticize, in face of the universal tacit recognition, from time immemorial, of the right of might.

American dominion has never been welcomed by the Filipinos. All the principal Christianized islands, practically representing the whole Archipelago, except Moroland, resisted it by force of arms, until, after two years of warfare, they were so far vanquished that those still remaining in the field, claiming to be warriors, were, judged by their exploits, undistinguishable from the brigand gangs which have infested the Islands for a century and a half. The general desire was, and is, for sovereign independence; and although a pro-American party now exists, it is only in the hope of gaining peacefully that which they despaired of securing by armed resistance to superior force. The question as to how much nearer they are to the goal of their ambition belongs to the future; but there is nothing to show, by a review of accomplished facts, that, without foreign intervention, the Filipinos would have prospered in their rebellion against Spain. Even if they had expelled the Spaniards their independence would have been of short duration, for they would have lost it again in the struggle with some colony-grabbing nation. A united Archipelago under the Malolos Government would have been simply untenable; for, apart from the possible secessions of one or more islands, like Negros, for instance, no Christian Philippine Government could ever have conquered Mindanao and the Sulu Sultanate; indeed, the attempt might have brought about their own ruin, by exhaustion of funds, want of unity in the hopeless contest with the Moro, and foreign intervention to terminate the internecine war. Seeing that Emilio Aguinaldo had to suppress two rivals, even in the midst of the bloody struggle when union was most essential for the attainment of a common end, how many more would have risen up against him in the period of peaceful victory? The expulsion of the friars and the confiscation of their lands would have surprised no one cognizant of Philippine history. But what would have become of religion? Would the predominant religion in the Philippines, fifty years hence, have been Christian? Recent events lead one to conjecture that liberty of cult, under native rule, would have been a misnomer, and Roman Catholicism a persecuted cause, with the civilizing labours of generations ceasing to bear fruit.

No generous, high-minded man, enjoying the glorious privilege of liberty, would withhold from his fellow-men the fullest measure of independence which they were capable of maintaining. If America's intentions be as the world understands them, she is endeavouring to break down the obstacles which the Filipinos, desiring a lasting independence, would have found insuperable. America claims (as other colonizing nations have done) to have a "mission" to perform, which, in the present case, includes teaching the Filipinos the art of self-government. Did one not reflect that America, from her birth as an independent state, has never pretended to follow on the beaten tracts of the Old World, her brand-new method of colonization would surprise her older contemporaries in a similar task. She has been the first to teach Asiatics the doctrine of equality of races—a theory which the proletariat has interpreted by a self-assertion hitherto unknown, and a gradual relinquishment of that courteous deference towards the white man formerly observable by every European. This democratic doctrine, suddenly launched upon the masses, is changing their character. The polite and submissive native of yore is developing into an ill-bred, up-to-date, wrangling politician. Hence rule by coercion, instead of sentiment, is forced upon America, for up to the present she has made no progress in winning the hearts of the people. Outside the high-salaried circle of Filipinos one never hears a spontaneous utterance of gratitude for the boon of individual liberty or for the suppression of monastic tyranny. The Filipinos craving for immediate independence, regard the United States only in the light of a useful medium for its attainment, and there are indications that their future attachment to their stepmother country will be limited to an unsentimental acceptance of her protection as a material necessity.

Measures of practical utility and of immediate need have been set aside for the pursuit of costly fantastic ideals, which excite more the wonder than the enthusiasm of the people, who see left in abeyance the reforms they most desire. The system of civilizing the natives on a curriculum of higher mathematics, literature, and history, without concurrent material improvement to an equal extent, is like feeding the mind at the expense of the body. No harbour improvements have been made, except at Manila; no canals have been cut; few new provincial roads have been constructed, except for military purposes; no rivers are deepened for navigation, and not a mile of railway opened. The enormous sums of money expended on such unnecessary works as the Benguet road and the creation of multifarious bureaux, with a superfluity of public servants, might have been better employed in the development of agriculture and cognate wealth-producing public works. The excessive salaries paid to high officials seem to be out of all proportion to those of the subordinate assistants. Extravagance in public expenditure necessarily brings increasing taxation to meet it; the luxuries introduced for the sake of American trade are gradually, and unfortunately, becoming necessities, whereas it would be more considerate to reduce them if it were possible. It is no blessing to create a desire in the common people for that which they can very well dispense with and feel just as happy without the knowledge of. The deliberate forcing up of the cost of living has converted a cheap country into an expensive one, and an income which was once a modest competence is now a miserable pittance. The infinite vexatious regulations and complicated restrictions affecting trade and traffic are irritating to every class of business men, whilst the Colony's indebtedness is increasing, the budget shows a deficit, and agriculture—the only local source of wealth—is languishing.

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

Democratic principles have been too suddenly sprung upon the masses. The autonomy granted to the provinces needs more control than the civil government originally intended, and ends in an appeal on almost every conceivable question being made to one man—the Gov.-General: this excessive concentration makes efficient administration too dependent on the abilities of one person. There are many who still think, and not without reason, that ten years of military rule would have been better for the people themselves. Even now military government might be advantageously re-established in Samar Island, where the common people are not anxious for the franchise, or care much about political rights. A reasonable amount of personal freedom, with justice, would suffice for them; whilst the trading class would welcome any effective and continuous protection, rather than have to shift for themselves with the risk of being persecuted for having given succour to the pulajanes to save their own lives and property.

Civil government, prematurely inaugurated, without sufficient preparation, has had a disastrous effect, and the present state of many provinces is that of a wilderness overrun by brigand bands too strong for the civil authority to deal with. But one cannot fail to recognize and appreciate the humane motives which urged the premature establishment of civil administration. Scores of nobodies before the rebellion became somebodies during the four or five years of social turmoil. Some of them influenced the final issue, others were mere show-figures, really not more important than the beau sabreur in comic opera. Yet one and all claimed compensation for laying aside their weapons, and in changing the play from anarchy to civil life these actors had to be included in the new cast to keep them from further mischief.

The moral conquest of the Philippines has hardly commenced. The benevolent intentions of the Washington Government, and the irreproachable character and purpose of its eminent members who wield the destiny of these islanders, are unknown to the untutored masses, who judge their new masters by the individuals with whom they come into close contact. The hearts of the people cannot be won without moral prestige, which is blighted by the presence of that undesirable class of immigrants to whom Maj.-General Leonard Wood refers so forcibly in his "First Report of the Moro Province." In this particular region, which is ruled semi-independently of the Philippine Commission, the peculiar conditions require a special legislation. But, apart from this, the common policy of its enlightened Gov.-General would serve as a pattern of what it might be, with advantage, throughout the Archipelago.

So much United States money and energy have been already expended in these Islands, and so far-reaching are the pledges made to their inhabitants, that American and Philippine interests are indissolubly associated for many a generation to come. It does not necessarily follow that the fullest measure of national liberty will create real personal liberty. Such an idea does not at all appeal to Asiatics, according to whose instinct every man dominates over, or is dominated by, another. If America should succeed in establishing a permanently peaceful independent Asiatic government on democratic principles, it will be one of the unparalleled achievements of the age.



CHAPTER I

General Description of the Archipelago

The Philippine Islands, with the Sulu Protectorate, extend a little over 16 degrees of latitude—from 4 deg. 45' to 21 deg. N., and longitude from 116 deg. 40' to 126 deg. 30' E.—and number some 600 islands, many of which are mere islets, besides several hundreds of rocks jutting out of the sea. The 11 islands of primary geographical importance are Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Panay, Negros, Palauan (Paragua), Mindoro, Leyte, Cebu, Masbate, and Bojol. Ancient maps show the islands and provinces under a different nomenclature. For example: (old names in parentheses) Albay (Ibalon); Batangas (Comintan); Basilan (Taguima); Bulacan (Meycauayan); Capis (Panay); Cavite (Cauit); Cebu (Sogbu); Leyte (Baybay); Mindoro (Mait); Negros (Buglas); Rizal (Tondo; later on Manila); Surigao (Caraga); Samar (Ibabao); Tayabas (Calilayan).

Luzon and Mindanao united would be larger in area than all the rest of the islands put together. Luzon is said to have over 40,000 square miles of land area. The northern half of Luzon is a mountainous region formed by ramifications of the great cordilleras, which run N. to S. All the islands are mountainous in the interior, the principal peaks being the following, viz.:—

Feet above sea level

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

Most of these mountains and subordinate ranges are thickly covered with forest and light undergrowth, whilst the stately trees are gaily festooned with clustering creepers and flowering parasites of the most brilliant hues. The Mayon, which is an active volcano, is comparatively bare, whilst also the Apo, although no longer in eruption, exhibits abundant traces of volcanic action in acres of lava and blackened scoriae. Between the numberless forest-clad ranges are luxuriant plains glowing in all the splendour of tropical vegetation. The valleys, generally of rich fertility, are about one-third under cultivation.

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

The principal Rivers are:—In Luzon Island the Rio Grande de Cagayan, which rises in the South Caraballo Mountain in the centre of the island, and runs in a tortuous stream to the northern coast. It has two chief affluents, the Rio Chico de Cagayan and the Rio Magat, besides a number of streams which find their way to its main course. Steamers of 11-feet draught have entered the Rio Grande, but the sand shoals at the mouth are very shifty, and frequently the entrance is closed to navigation. The river, which yearly overflows its banks, bathes the great Cagayan Valley,—the richest tobacco-growing district in the Colony. Immense trunks of trees are carried down in the torrent with great rapidity, rendering it impossible for even small craft—the barangayanes—to make their way up or down the river at that period.

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

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

The Rio Agno rises in a mountainous range towards the west coast about 50 miles N.N.W. of the South Caraballo—runs southwards as far as lat. 16 deg., where it takes a S.W. direction down to lat. 15 deg. 48'—thence a N.W. course up to lat. 16 deg., whence it empties itself by two mouths into the Gulf of Lingayen. At the highest tides there is a maximum depth of 11 feet of water on the sand bank at the E. mouth, on which is situated the port of Dagupan.

The Bicol River, which flows from the Bato Lake to the Bay of San Miguel, has sufficient depth of water to admit vessels of small draught a few miles up from its mouth.

In Mindanao Island the Butuan River or Rio Agusan rises at a distance of about 25 miles from the southern coast and empties itself on the northern coast, so that it nearly divides the island, and is navigable for a few miles from the mouth.

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

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

The most important Lakes are:—In Luzon Island the Bay Lake or Laguna de Bay, supplied by numberless small streams coming from the mountainous district around it. Its greatest length from E. to W. is 25 miles, and its greatest breadth N. to S. 21 miles. In it there is a mountainous island—Talim,—of no agricultural importance, and several islets. Its overflow forms the Pasig River, which empties itself into the Manila Bay. Each wet season—in the middle of the year—the shores of this lake are flooded. These floods recede as the dry season approaches, but only partially so from the south coast, which is gradually being incorporated into the lake bed.

Bombon Lake, in the centre of which is a volcano in constant activity, has a width E. to W. of 11 miles, and its length from N. to S. is 14 miles. The origin of this lake is apparently volcanic. According to tradition it was formed by the terrific upheaval of a mountain 7,000 or 8,000 feet high, in the year 1700. It is not supplied by any streams emptying themselves into it (further than two insignificant rivulets), and it is connected with the sea by the Pansipit River, which flows into the Gulf of Balayan at lat. 13 deg. 52' N.

Cagayan Lake, in the extreme N.E. of the island, is about 7 miles long by 5 miles broad.

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

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

In Mindoro Island there is one lake called Naujan, 2 1/2 miles from the N.E. coast. Its greatest width is 3 miles, with 4 miles in length.

In Mindanao Island there are the Lakes Maguindanao or Boayan, in the centre of the island (20 miles E. to W. by 12 N. to S.); Lanao, 18 miles distant from the north coast; Liguasan and Buluan towards the south, connected with the Rio Grande de Mindanao, and a group of four small lakes on the Agusuan River.

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

In some of the straits dividing the islands there are strong currents, rendering navigation of sailing vessels very difficult, notably in the San Bernadino Straits separating the Islands of Luzon and Samar, the roadstead of Yloilo between Panay and Guimarras Islands, and the passage between the south points of Cebu and Negros Islands.

Most of the islets, if not indeed the whole Archipelago, are of volcanic origin. There are many volcanoes, two of them in frequent intermittent activity, viz. the Mayon, in the extreme east of Luzon Island, and the Taal Volcano, in the centre of Bombon Lake, 34 miles due south of Manila. Also in Negros Island the Canlauan Volcano—N. lat. 10 deg. 24'—is occasionally in visible eruption. In 1886 a portion of its crater subsided, accompanied by a tremendous noise and a slight ejection of lava. In the picturesque Island of Camiguin a volcano mountain suddenly arose from the plain in 1872.

The Mayon Volcano is in the north of the Province of Albay; hence it is popularly known as the Albay Volcano. Around its base there are several towns and villages, the chief being Albay, the capital of the province; Cagsaua (called Daraga) and Camaling on the one side, and Malinao, Tobaco, etc., on the side facing the east coast. The earliest eruption recorded is that of 1616, mentioned by Spilbergen. In 1769 there was a serious eruption, which destroyed the towns of Cagsaua and Malinao, besides several villages, and devastated property within a radius of 20 miles. Lava and ashes were thrown out incessantly during two months, and cataracts of water were formed. In 1811 loud subterranean noises were heard proceeding from the volcano, which caused the inhabitants around to fear an early renewal of its activity, but their misfortune was postponed. On February 1, 1814, [6] it burst with terrible violence. Cagsaua, Badiao, and three other towns were totally demolished. Stones and ashes were ejected in all directions. The inhabitants fled to caves to shelter themselves. So sudden was the occurrence, that many natives were overtaken by the volcanic projectiles and a few by lava streams. In Cagsaua nearly all property was lost. Father Aragoneses estimates that 2,200 persons were killed, besides many being wounded.

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

The eruption of July 9, 1888, severely damaged the towns of Libog and Legaspi; plantations were destroyed in the villages of Bigaa and Bonco; several houses were fired, others had the roofs crushed in; a great many domestic animals were killed; fifteen natives lost their lives, and the loss of live-stock (buffaloes and oxen) was estimated at 500. The ejection of lava and ashes and stones from the crater continued for one night, which was illuminated by a column of fire.

The last great eruption occurred in May, 1897. Showers of red-hot lava fell like rain in a radius of 20 miles from the crater. In the immediate environs about 400 persons were killed. In the village of Bacacay houses were entirely buried beneath the lava, ashes, and sand. The road to the port of Legaspi was covered out of sight. In the important town of Tobaco there was total darkness and the earth opened. Hemp plantations and a large number of cattle were destroyed. In Libog over 100 inhabitants perished in the ruins. The hamlets of San Roque, Misericordia, and Santo Nino, with over 150 inhabitants, were completely covered with burning debris. At night-time the sight of the fire column, heaving up thousands of tons of stones, accompanied by noises like the booming of cannon afar off, was indescribably grand, but it was the greatest public calamity which had befallen the province for some years past.

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

Taal Volcano is in the island of the Bombon Lake referred to above. The journey by the ordinary route from the capital would be about 60 miles. This volcano has been in an active state from time immemorial, and many eruptions have taken place with more or less effect. The first one of historical importance appears to have occurred in 1641; again in 1709 the crater vomited fire with a deafening noise; on September 21, 1716, it threw out burning stones and lava over the whole island from which it rises, but so far no harm had befallen the villagers in its vicinity. In 1731 from the waters of the lake three tall columns of earth and sand arose in a few days, eventually subsiding into the form of an island about a mile in circumference. In 1749 there was a famous outburst which dilacerated the coniform peak of the volcano, leaving the crater disclosed as it now is. Being only 850 feet high, it is remarkable as one of the lowest volcanoes in the world.

The last and most desolating of all the eruptions of importance occurred in the year 1754, when the stones, lava, ashes, and waves of the lake, caused by volcanic action, contributed to the utter destruction of the towns of Taal, Tanauan, Sala, and Lipa, and seriously damaged property in Balayan, 15 miles away, whilst cinders are said to have reached Manila, 34 miles distant in a straight line. One writer says in his MS., [7] compiled 36 years after the occurrence, that people in Manila dined with lighted candles at midday, and walked about the streets confounded and thunderstruck, clamouring for confession during the eight days that the calamity was visible. The author adds that the smell of the sulphur and fire lasted six months after the event, and was followed by malignant fever, to which half the inhabitants of the province fell victims. Moreover, adds the writer, the lake waters threw up dead alligators and fish, including sharks.

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

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

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