Spanish-Philippine Finances
The secession of Mexico from the Spanish Crown in the second decade
of last century brought with it a complete revolution in Philippine
affairs. Direct trade with Europe through one channel or another had
necessarily to be permitted. The "Situado," or subsidy (_vide_ p. 244),
received from Mexico became a thing of the past, and necessity urged
the home authorities to relax, to a certain extent, the old restraint
on the development of Philippine resources.
In 1839 the first Philippine Budget was presented in the Spanish
Cortes, but so little interest did the affairs of the Colony excite
that it provoked no discussion. After the amendment of only one
item the Budget was adopted in silence. It was not the practice
in the earliest years to publish the full Philippine Budget in the
Islands, although allusion was necessarily made to items of it in the
_Gaceta de Manila_. However, it could be seen without difficulty in
Madrid. Considering that the Filipinos had no political rights, except
for the very brief period alluded to in Chapter xxii. (_vide Cortes de
Cadiz_), it is evident that popular discussion of public finance would
have been undesirable, because it could have led to no practical issue.
There is apparently no record of the Philippine Islands having been at
any time in a flourishing financial condition. With few exceptions,
in latter years the collected revenue of the Colony was usually much
less than the estimated yield of taxes. The Budget for 1888 is here
given in detail as an example.
PHILIPPINE BUDGETS
Financial Estimated Income Difference.
Year. Income. Realized.
P P P
1884-85 11,298,508.98 9,893,745.87 1,404,763.11
1885-86 11,528,178.00 9,688,029.70 1,840,148.30
1886-87 11,554,379.00 9,324,974.08 2,229,404.92
1894-95 13,280,139.40 13,579,900.00 299,760.60
1896-97 17,086,423.00 17,474,000.00 387,577.00
ANTICIPATED REVENUE, YEAR 1888
P cts.
Direct Taxes 5,206,836 93
Customs Dues 2,023,400 00
Government Monopolies (stamps, cock-fighting,
opium, gambling, etc.) 1,181,239 00
Lotteries and Raffles 513,200 00
Sale of State property 153,571 00
War and Marine Department (sale of useless
articles. Gain on repairs to private ships in
the Government Arsenal) 15,150 00
Sundries 744,500 00
9,837,896 93
Anticipated Expenditure, year 1888 9,825,633 29
Anticipated Surplus P 12,263 64
The actual deficit in the last previous Budget for which there was
no provision was estimated at P1,376,179.56, against which the above
balance would be placed. There were some remarkable inconsistencies
in the 1888 Budget. The Inspection of Woods and Forests was an
institution under a Chief Inspector with a salary of P6,500,
assisted by a technical staff of 64 persons and 52 non-technical
subordinates. The total cost for the year was estimated at P165,960,
against which the expected income derived from duties on felled
timber was P80,000; hence a loss of P85,960 was duly anticipated to
satisfy office-seekers. Those who wished to cut timber were subjected
to very complicated and vexatious regulations. The tariff of duties
and mode of calculating it were capriciously modified from time to
time on no commercial basis whatever. Merchants who had contracted to
supply timber at so much per foot for delivery within a fixed period
were never sure of their profits; for the dues might, meanwhile,
be raised without any consideration for trading interests. The most
urgent material want of the Colony was easy means of communication
with the interior of the Islands. Yet, whilst this was so sadly
neglected, the Budget provided the sum of P113,686.64 for a School of
Agriculture in Manila and 10 model farms and Schools of Cultivation
in the provinces. It was not the want of farming knowledge, but the
scarcity of capital and the scandalous neglect of public highways
and bridges for transport of produce which retarded agriculture. The
113,000 pesos, if disbursed on roads, bridges, town halls, and
landing-jetties, would have benefited the Colony; as it was, this
sum went to furnish salaries to needy Spaniards.
The following are some of the most interesting items of the Budget:
CURIOUS ITEMS OF REVENUE
P cts.
2,760,613 Identification Documents (_Cedulas personales_),
costing 4 per cent, to collect--gross value
4,401,629 25
Tax on the above, based on the estimated local consumption
of Tobacco
222,500 00
Chinese Capitation Tax
236,250 00
Tax on the above for the estimated local consumption of Tobacco
11,250 00
Recognition of vassalage collected from the unsubdued
mountain tribes
12,000 00
Industrial and Trading Licences (costing 1/2 per cent, to
collect), gross value
1,350,000 00
Yield of the Opium Contract (farmed out)
483,400 00
Yield of the Cock-fighting Contract (farmed out)
149,039 00
Lotteries and Raffles, nett profit say
501,862 00
State Lands worked by miners
100 00
Sale of State Lands
50,000 00
Mint--Profits on the manipulation of the bullion, less expenses
of the Mint (P 46,150), nett
330,350 00
Stamps and Stamped Paper
548,400 00
Convict labour hired out
50,000 00
CURIOUS ITEMS OF EXPENDITURE
P cts.
34 per cent, of the maintenance of Fernando Po (by Decree of
August 5, 1884)
68,618 18
Share of the pension paid to the heir of Christopher Columbus,
the Duke de Veragua (P 23,400 a year)
3,000 00
Share of the pension paid to Ferdinand Columbus, Marquis
de Barboles
1,000 00
The Marquis de Bedmar is the heir of the assayer and caster
in the Mint of Potosi (Peru). The concern was taken over by
the Spanish Government, in return for an annual perpetual
pension, of which this Colony contributed the sum of
1,500 00
The Consular and Diplomatic Services, Philippine Share
66,000 00
Postal and Telegraph Services (staff of 550 persons)
406,547 17
The Submarine Cable Co. Subsidy (Bolinao to Hong-Kong)
48,000 00
Charitable Institutions partly supported by Government,
including the "Lepers' Hospital" P500
26,887 50
THE ARMY AND ARMED LAND FORCES
Rank and File and Non-commissioned Officers as follows:--
Infantry, Artillery, Engineer, and Carabineer Corps 9,470
Cavalry Corps 407
Disciplinary Corps (Convicts) 630
Disciplinary Corps (Non-commissioned Officers) 92
Three Civil Guard Corps (Provincial Constabulary) 3,342
Veteran Civil Guard Corps (Manila Military Police) 400
Total number of men 14,341
ARMY OFFICERS IN THE PHILIPPINES.
Year 1888.
How Employed. Lieutenant-Generals.
| Brigadier-Generals.
| | Colonels.
| | | Lieutenant-Colonels.
| | | | Majors.
| | | | | Captains.
| | | | | | Lieutenants.
| | | | | | | Sub-Lieutenants.
| | | | | | | | Totals.
| | | | | | | | |
Governor-General, with local
rank of Captain-General 1 1
Employed in Government
Administration, Political
Military Provincial
Governments, Staff Officers
and Officers at the Orders
of the Governor-General 1 7 7 14 39 37 23 12 140
With command or attached to
Army Corps and Disciplinary
Corps 5 11 14 88 136 127 381
Civil Guard 3 3 9 33 54 54 156
Veteran Civil Guard 1 6 6 13
Invalid Corps 1 1
Military Academy 1 1 2 4
Prisons and Penitentiaries 1 1 4 3 9
Commissariat Department 1 1 1 14 18 35
Judicial Audit Department 1 1 2 2 6
In expectation of service 1 3 6 12 12 12 46
In excess of Active Service
requirements 3 1 7 9 20
Total of Officers 2 9 19 36 73 191 262 220 812
The Archbishop, as Vicar-General of the Armed Forces, ranked in
precedence as a Field-Marshal. (In the Spanish Army a Field-Marshal
ranks between a Brig.-General and Lieut.-General.)
OFFICERS' PAY PER ANNUM
Rank. Ordinary Pay.
| When Commanding a Corps. _Extra_.
| | When in Civil Guard.
| | | When in Veteran
| | | Civil Guard.
| | | |
P P P P
Captain-General
was paid as
Governor-General
of the Colony 40,000 [108]
Lieutenant-General
(local rank), Sub-
Inspector of
Army Corps 12,000
Brigadier-General 4,500 800
Colonel 3,450 600 4,200
Lieutenant-Colonel 2,700 400 3,288
Major 2,400 2,520 2,880
Captain 1,500 1,584
Lieutenant 1,125 1,242 1,485
Sub-Lieutenant 975 1,068 1,275
After 6 years' and up to 9 years' service, an officer could claim
a free passage back to the Peninsula for himself and, if married,
his family.
After 9 years' service, his retirement from the Colony for three years
was compulsory. If he nevertheless wished to remain in the Colony,
he must quit military service. If he left before completing six
years' service, he would have to pay his own passage unless he went
"on commission" or with sick-leave allowance.
Estimated Annual Disbursements for--
P cts
The Civil Guard (Constabulary), composed of Three
Corps = 3,342 Men and 156 Officers 638,896 77
The Veteran Civil Guard (Manila Police) One Corps =
400 Men and 13 Officers 73,246 88
----------
The Disciplinary Corps, Maintenance of 630 Convicts
and Material 56,230 63
(For the Disciplinary Convict Corps) 92 Non-commissioned
Officers and 23 Officers 47,909 51
==========
P 104,140 14
Army Estimates
P cts
Estimate according to the Budget for 1888 _Plus_
the following sums charged on other estimates,
viz.:-- 3,016,185 91
Disciplinary Corps, maintenance of 630 Convicts
and material 56,230 63
The Civil Guard 638,896 77
The Veteran Civil Guard 73,246 88
Pensions 117,200 00
Transport and maintenance of Recruits from Provinces 6,000 00
Expeditions to be made against the Moros--Religious
ceremonies to celebrate Victories gained over
them--Maintenance of War Prisoners, etc. 11,000 00
============
Total cost of Army and Armed Land Forces P 3,918,760 19
Before the walls were built around Manila, about the year 1590,
each soldier and officer lived where he pleased, and, when required,
the troops were assembled by the bugle call.
At the close of the 16th century barracks were constructed, but up
to the middle of last century the native troops were so badly and
irregularly paid that they went from house to house begging alms of
the citizens (_vide_ p. 53, King Philip II.'s Decree).
In the 17th century troops died of sheer want in the Fort of Yligan
(Mindanao Is.), and when this was represented to the Gov.-General
he generously ordered that the Spanish soldiers were in future to be
paid P2 per month and native soldiers P1 per month to hold the fort,
at the risk of their lives, against attack from the Mahometans.
In the forts of Labo and Taytay (Palauan Is.) the soldiers' pay was
only nominal, rations were often short, and their lives altogether
most wretched. Sometimes they were totally overlooked by the military
chiefs, and they had to seek subsistence as best they could when
provisions were not sent from the capital (_vide_p. 157).
Mexican soldiers arrived in nearly every ship, but there were no
barracks for them, no regular mode of living, no regulations for
their board and lodging, etc.; hence many had to subsist by serving
natives and half-breeds, much to the discredit of the mother country,
and consequent loss of prestige. Each time a new expedition was
organized a fresh recruiting had to be made at great cost and with
great delay. There was practically no regular army except those
necessarily compelled to mount guard, etc., in the city. Even the
officers received no regular pay until 1754, and there was some excuse
for stealing when they had a chance, and for the total absence of
enthusiasm in the Service. When troops were urgently called for, the
Gov.-General had to bargain with the officers to fill the minor posts
by promises of rewards, whilst the high commands were eagerly sought
for, not for the pay or the glory, but for the plunder in perspective.
In 1739 the Armoury in Manila contained only 25 Arquebuses of
native make, 120 Biscayan muskets, 40 Flint guns, 70 Hatchets, and
40 Cutlasses.
The first regular military organization in these Islands was in the
time of Governor Pedro Manuel de Arandia (1754), when one regiment
was formed of five companies of native soldiers, together with four
companies of troops which arrived with the Governor from Mexico. This
corps, afterwards known as the "King's Regiment" [109] (_Regimiento
del Rey_) was divided into two battalions, increased to 10 companies
each as the troops returned from the provinces.
The 20 companies were each composed as follows:--
1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 1 sub-lieutenant, 4 sergeants, 2 drummers,
6 first corporals, 6 seconds corporals, and 88 rank and file.
The Gov.-General's Body Guard of Halberdiers was reformed, and
thenceforth consisted of 18 men, under a captain and a corporal.
The Monthly Pay under these reforms was as follows:--
Staff Officers. Regimental Officers Governor-General's
P. and Staff P. c. Body Guard P.
Chief of the Staff 40 Captain 25 00 Captain 35
Adjutant-Major. 25 Lieutenant. 18 00 Corporal 10
Adjutant. 18 Sub-Lieutenant. 14 00 Guards 5
Captain 12 Sergeant 4 00
Drummer 3 00
First Corporal 3 25
Second Corporal 3 00
Rank and File 2 62 1/2
From October 1, 1754, the troops were quartered in barracks,
Commissariat Officers were appointed, and every man and every officer
was regularly paid fortnightly. The soldiers were not used to this
discipline, and desertion was frequent. They much preferred the old
style of roaming about to beg or steal and live where they chose
until they were called out to service, and very vigorous measures
had to be adopted to compel them to comply with the new regulations.
In May, 1755, four artillery brigades were formed, the commanding
officer of each receiving P30 per month pay.
In 1757 there were 16 fortified provincial outposts, at a total
estimated cost of P37,638 per annum (including Zamboanga, the chief
centre of operations against the Mahometans, which alone cost P18,831
in 1757), besides the armed forces and Camp of Manila, Fort Santiago,
and Cavite Arsenal and Fort, which together cost a further sum of
P157,934 for maintenance in that year.
SPANISH VESSELS IN PHILIPPINE WATERS
Year 1898
Name. Class. Tons. H.P.
Reina Cristina Cruiser 3,500 3,950
Castilla Cruiser 3,260 4,400
Don Anto. de Ulloa Cruiser 1,200 1,523
Don Juan de Austria Cruiser 1,130 1,600
Isla de Cuba Cruiser 1,048 2,200
Isla de Luzon Cruiser 1,048 2,200
Velasco Gunboat 1,152 1,500
Elcano Gunboat 560 600
General Lezo Gunboat 520 600
Argos Gunboat 508 600
Marques del Duero Gunboat 500 550
Manila Transport 1,900 750
General Alava Transport 1,200 1,000
Cebu Transport 532 600
Callao Gunboat, and 4 others very small,
besides 3 armed steam launches built
in Hong-Kong, viz.:--_Lanao, Corcuera_,
and _General Blanco_.
NAVAL DIVISIONS
Station. Commander's Pay.
P
South Division 5,760
Palauan (Pta. Princesa) 4,560
Isabel de Basilan 3,360
Balabac Island 3,360
Corregidor Island 3,360
West Caroline Islands 3,360
East Caroline Islands 4,560
HARBOUR-MASTERS
Station. Pay. Station. Pay.
P P
Manila 3,200 Pangasinan 1,500
Yloilo 3,200 Ilocos Norte y Sur. 1,500
Cebu 1,500 Cagayan 1,500
Capis 1,500 Ladrone Islands 1,500
Zamboanga 1,500 Laguimanoc (Civilian) 144
The Chief of the Philippine Naval Forces was a Rear-Admiral receiving
P16,392 per annum.
There were two Brigades of Marine Infantry, composed of 376 men with
18 officers.
_Cavite Arsenal_
The chief Naval Station was at Cavite, six miles from Manila. The
forces at this station were 90 Marines as Guards, and 244 Marines as
reserves. One hundred convicts were employed for Arsenal labour.
The Officer in command of the Cavite Arsenal and Naval Station took
rank after the Rear-Admiral, and received a salary of P8,496 per annum.
The Navy Estimates (Budget for 1888) amounted to P2,573,776.27.
_Spanish Judicial Statistics_
_Civil and Criminal Law Courts_
The Civil and Criminal Law Courts were as follows, viz.:--
2 Supreme Courts in Manila and Cebu, quite independent of each other.
4 First-Class Courts of Justice in Manila (called "de termino.")
8 First-Class Courts of Justice in the Provinces (called "de termino_.")
10 Second-Class Courts of Justice in the Provinces (called "de ascenso.")
19 Third-Class Courts of Justice in the Provinces (called "de entrada.")
7 Provincial Governments with judicial powers.
_Judges' Salaries_
President of the Supreme Court of Manila P7,000
President of the Supreme Court of Cebu 6,000
Judge of each of the 12 First-Class Courts 4,000
Judge of each of the 10 Second-Class Courts 3,000
Judge of each of the 19 Third-Class Courts 2,000
_Law Courts Estimate for_ 1888
P cts.
Supreme Court of Manila 90,382 00
Supreme Court of Cebu 49,828 00
All the minor Courts and allowances to Provincial
Governors with judicial powers 192,656 00
------- --
Estimated total cost for the year P332,866 00
_Penitentiaries and Convict Settlements_
Manila (Bilibid Jail) containing on an average 900 Native Convicts
And in 1888 there were also 3 Spanish Convicts
Cavite Jail contained in 1888 51 Native Convicts
Zamboanga Jail contained in 1888 98 Native Convicts
Agricultural Colony of San Ramon (Zamboanga),
worked by convict labour, contained in 1888 164 Native Convicts
Ladrone Island Penal Settlement contained in 1888 101 Native Convicts
Ladrone Island Penal Settlement contained in 1888 3 Spanish Convicts
In the Army and Navy Services 730 Native Convicts
-----
2,045 Convicts
Total estimated disbursements for Penitentiaries
and Convict maintenance in the Settlements for the year P82,672.71
_Brigandage_ first came into prominence in Governor Arandia's time
(1754-59), and he used the means of "setting a thief to catch a
thief," which answered well for a short time, until the crime became
more and more habitual as provincial property increased in value
and capital was accumulated there. In 1888 the Budget provided an
allowance of 2,000 pesos for rewards for the capture or slaughter of
these ruffians. Up to the end of Spanish rule, brigandage, pillage,
and murder were treated with such leniency by the judges that there
was little hope for the extinction of such crimes. When a band of
thieves and assassins attacked a village or a residence, murdered its
inhabitants, and carried off booty, the Civil Guard at once scoured the
country, and often the malefactors were arrested. The Civil Guard was
an excellent institution, and performed its duty admirably well; but
as soon as the villains were handed over to the legal functionaries,
society lost hope. Instead of the convicted criminals being garrotted
according to law, as the public had a right to demand, they were
"protected"; some were let loose on the world again, whilst others
were sent to prison and allowed to escape, or they were transported to
a penal settlement to work without fetters, where they were just as
comfortable as if they were working for a private employer. I record
these facts from personal knowledge, for my wanderings in the Islands
brought me into contact with all sorts and conditions of men. I have
been personally acquainted with many brigands, and I gave regular
employment to an ex-bandit for years.
The Philippine brigand--known in the northern islands as _Tulisan_
and in the southern islands as _Pulajan_--is not merely an outlaw,
such as may yet be found in Southern and Eastern Europe; his infamous
work of freebooting is never done to his satisfaction without the
complement of bloodshed, even though his victim yield to him all
without demur. Booty or no booty, blood must flow, if he be the
ordinary _Tulisan_ of the type known to the Tagalogs as _dugong-aso_
(blood of a dog). as distinguished from the milder _Tulisan pulpul_
(literally, the blunt brigand), who robs, uses no unnecessary violence,
but runs away if he can, and only fights when he must.
At Christmas, 1884, I went to Laguimanoc in the Province of Tayabas
to spend a few days with an English friend of mine. [110] On the way
there, at Sariaya, I stayed at the house of the Captain of the Civil
Guard, when a message came to say that an attack had been made the
night before on my friend's house, his manager, a Swede, having been
killed, and many others in the village wounded. The Captain showed me
the despatch, and invited me to join him as a volunteer to hunt down
the murderers. I agreed, and within half an hour we were mounted and
on their track all through that dark night, whilst the rain poured in
torrents. Four native soldiers were following us on foot. We jumped
over ditches, through rice-paddy fields and cocoanut plantations,
and then forded a river, on the opposite bank of which was the
next guards' post in charge of a lieutenant, who joined us with
eight foot-soldiers. That same night we together captured five of
the wretches, who had just beached a canoe containing part of their
spoils. The prisoners were bound elbows together at their backs and
sent forward under escort. We rode on all night until five o'clock
the next morning, arriving at the convent of Pagbilao just as Father
Jesus was going down to say Mass. I had almost lost my voice through
being ten hours in the rain; but the priest was very attentive to us,
and we went on in a prahu to the village where the crime had been
committed. In another prahu the prisoners were sent in charge of
the soldiers. In the meantime, the Chief Judge and the Government
Doctor of the province had gone on before us. On the way we met a
canoe going to Pagbilao, carrying the corpse of the murdered Swede
for burial. When we arrived at Laguimanoc, we found one native dead
and many natives and Chinese badly wounded.
My friend's house had the front door smashed in--an iron strong-box
had been forced, and a few hundred pesos, with some rare coins, were
stolen. The furniture in the dining-room was wantonly hacked about
with bowie-knives, only to satisfy a savage love for mischief. His
bedroom had been entered, and there the brigands began to make
their harvest; the bundles of wearing-apparel, jewellery, and
other valuables were already tied up, when lo! the Virgin herself
appeared, casting a penetrating glance of disapproval upon the wicked
revelry! Forsaking their plunder, the brigands fled in terror from the
saintly apparition. And when my friend re-entered his home and crossed
the bloodstained floor of the dining-room to go to his bedroom, the
cardboard Virgin, with a trade advertisement on the back, was still
peeping round the door-jamb to which she was nailed, with the words
"Please to shut the door" printed on her spotless bust.
The next day the Captain remained in the village whilst I went on
with the Lieutenant and a few guards in a prahu down the coast,
where we made further captures, and returned in three days. During
our journey in the prahu the wind was so strong that we resolved to
beach our craft on the seashore instead of attempting to get over
the shoal of the San Juan River. We ran her ashore under full sail,
and just at that moment a native rushed towards us with an iron
bar in his hand. In the evening gloom he must have mistaken us for
a party of weather-beaten native or Chinese traders whose skulls
he might smash in at a stroke and rifle their baggage. He halted,
however, perfectly amazed when two guards with their bayonets fixed
jumped forward in front of him. Then we got out, took him prisoner,
and the next day he was let off with a souvenir of the lash, as
there was nothing to prove that he was a brigand by profession. The
second leader of the brigand gang was shot through the lungs a week
afterwards, by the guards who were on his track, as he was jumping
from the window-opening of a hut, and there he died.
The Captain of the Civil Guard received an anonymous letter stating
where the brigand chief was hiding. This fact came to the knowledge of
the native _cuadrillero_ officer who had hitherto supplied his friend,
the brigand, with rice daily, so he hastened on before the Captain
could arrive, and imposed silence for ever on the fugitive bandit by
stabbing him in the back. Thus the _cuadrillero_ avoided the disclosure
of unpleasant facts which would have implicated himself. The prisoners
were conducted to the provincial jail, and three years afterwards,
when I made inquiries about them, I learnt that two of them had died
of their wounds, whilst not a single one had been sentenced.
The most ignorant classes believe that certain persons are possessed
of a mystic power called _anting-anting_, which preserves them from
all harm, and that the body of a man so affected is even refractory
to bullet or steel. Brigands are often captured wearing medallions of
the Virgin Mary or the Saints as a device of the _anting-anting_. In
Maragondon (Cavite), the son of a friend of mine was enabled to go
into any remote place with impunity, because he was reputed to be
possessed of this charm. Some highwaymen, too, have a curious notion
that they can escape punishment for a crime committed in Easter Week,
because the thief on the cross was pardoned his sins.
In 1885 I purchased a small estate, where there was some good wild-boar
hunting and snipe-shooting, and I had occasion to see the man who
was tenant previous to my purchase, in Manila Jail. He was accused
of having been concerned in an attack upon the town of Mariquina,
and was incarcerated for eighteen months without being definitely
convicted or acquitted. Three months after his release from prison
he was appointed petty-governor of his own town, much to the disgust
of the people, who in vain petitioned against it in writing.
I visited the Penal Settlement, known as the Agricultural Colony of
San Ramon, situated about fifteen miles north of Zamboanga, where I
remained twelve days. The director of the settlement was D. Felipe
Dujiols, an army captain who had defended Onate (in Guipuzcoa, Spain),
during the Carlist war; so, as we were each able to relate our personal
experiences of that stirring period, we speedily became friends. As
his guest, I was able to acquire more ample information about the
system of convict treatment. With the 25 convicts just arrived,
there were in all 150 natives of the most desperate class--assassins,
thieves, conspirators, etc., working on this penal settlement. They
were well fed, fairly well lodged, and worked with almost the same
freedom as independent labourers. Within a few yards of the director's
bungalow were the barracks, for the accommodation of a detachment
of 40 soldiers--under the command of a lieutenant--who patrolled the
settlement during the day and mounted guard at night. During my stay
one prisoner was chained and flogged, but that was for a serious
crime committed the day before. The severest hardship which these
convicts had to endure under the rule of my generous host, D. Felipe,
was the obligation to work as honest men in other countries would be
willing to do. In this same penal settlement, some years ago, a party
of convicts attacked and killed three of the European overseers,
and then escaped to the Island of Basilan, which lies to the south
of Zamboanga. The leader of these criminals was a native named Pedro
Cuevas, whose career is referred to at length in Chap. xxix.
Within half a day's journey from Manila there are several well-known
marauders' haunts, such as San Mateo, Imus, Silan, Indan, the mouths
of the Hagonoy River (Pampanga), etc. In 1881 I was the only European
amongst 20 to 25 passengers in a canoe going to Balanga on the west
shore of Manila Bay, when about midday a canoe, painted black and
without the usual outriggers, bore down upon us, and suddenly two
gun-shots were fired, whilst we were called upon to surrender. The
pirates numbered eight; they had their faces bedaubed white and their
canoe ballasted with stones. There was great commotion in our craft;
the men shouted and the women fell into a heap over me, reciting
Ave Marias, and calling upon all the Saints to succour them. Just
as I extricated myself and looked out from under the palm-leaf
awning, the pirates flung a stone which severely cut our pilot's
face. They came very close, flourishing their knives, but our crew
managed to keep them from boarding us by pushing off their canoe
with the paddles. When the enemy came within range of my revolver,
one of their party, who was standing up brandishing a bowie-knife,
suddenly collapsed into a heap. This seemed to discourage the rest,
who gave up the pursuit, and we went on to Balanga.
The most famous _Tulisan_ within living memory was a Chinese half-caste
named Juan Fernandez, commonly known as _Tancad_ ("tall," in Tagalog)
because of his extraordinary stature. His sphere of operations was
around Bulacan, Tarlac, Morong, and Nueva Ecija. He took part in
21 crimes which could have been proved against him, and doubtless
many more. A man of wonderful perception and great bravery, he was
only 35 years old when he was captured in Bulacan Province by the
Spanish Captain Villa Abrille. Brought before a court-martial on the
specific charge of being the chief actor in a wholesale slaughter at
Tayud, which caused a great sensation at the time, he and ten of his
companions were executed on August 28, 1877, to the immense relief of
the people, to whom the very name of _Tancad_ gave a thrill of horror.
No one experienced in the Colony ever thought of privately prosecuting
a captured brigand, for a criminal or civil lawsuit in the Philippines
was one of the worst calamities that could befall a man. Between
notaries, procurators, barristers, and the sluggish process of the
courts, a litigant was fleeced of his money, often worried into a
bad state of health, and kept in horrible suspense for years. It was
as hard to get the judgement executed as it was to win the case. Even
when the question at issue was supposed to be settled, a defect in the
sentence could always be concocted to re-open the whole affair. If the
case had been tried and judgement given under the Civil Code, a way
was often found to convert it into a criminal case; and when apparently
settled under the Criminal Code, a flaw could be discovered under the
_Laws of the Indies_, or the _Siete Partidas_, or the _Roman Law_,
or the _Novisima Recopilacion_, or the _Antiguos fueros_, Decrees,
Royal Orders, _Ordenanzas de buen Gobierno_, and so forth, by which
the case could be re-opened. It was the same in the 16th century
(_vide_ p. 56).
I knew a planter in Negros Island who was charged with homicide. The
judge of his province acquitted him, but fearing that he might
again be arrested on the same charge, he came up to Manila with me
to procure a ratification of the sentence in the Supreme Court. The
legal expenses were so enormous that he was compelled to fully mortgage
his plantation. Weeks passed, and having spent all his money without
getting justice, I lent his notary L40 to assist in bringing the case
to an end. The planter returned to Negros apparently satisfied that he
would be troubled no further, but later on, the newly-appointed judge
in that Island, whilst prospecting for fees by turning up old cases,
unfortunately came across this one, and my planter acquaintance was
sentenced to eight years' imprisonment, although the family lawyer,
proceeding on the same shifty lines, still hoped to find defects in
the sentence in order to reverse it in favour of his client.
Availing one's self of the dilatoriness of the Spanish law, it was
possible for a man to occupy a house, pay no rent, and refuse to quit
on legal grounds during a couple of years or more. A person who had
not a cent to lose could persecute another of means by a trumped-up
accusation until he was ruined, by an "_informacion de pobreza_"--a
declaration of poverty--which enabled the persecutor to keep the
case going as long as he chose without needing money for fees. [111]
A case of this kind was often started at the instigation of a native
lawyer. When it had gone on for a certain time, the prosecutor's
adviser would propose an "extra-judicial arrangement," to extort
costs from the wearied and browbeaten defendant.
About the year 1886 there was a _cause celebre_, the parties being
the firm of Jurado & Co. _versus_ the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation. The Bank had agreed to make advances on goods to be
imported by the firm in exchange for the firm's acceptances. The
agreement was subject to six months' notice from the Bank. In
due course the Bank had reason to doubt the genuineness of certain
documents. Mr. Jurado was imprisoned, but shortly released on bail. He
was dismissed from his official post of second chief of Telegraphs,
worth P4,000 a year. Goods, as they arrived for his firm, were
stored pending litigation, and deteriorated to only a fraction of
their original value. His firm was forced by these circumstances into
liquidation, and Mr. Jurado sued the Bank for damages. The case was
open for several years, during which time the Bank coffers were once
sealed by judicial warrant, a sum of cash was actually transported from
the Bank premises, and the manager was nominally arrested, but really
a prisoner on parole in his house. Several sentences of the Court were
given in favour of each party. Years after this they were all quashed
on appeal to Madrid. Mr. Jurado went to Spain to fight his case,
and in 1891 I accidentally met him and his brother (a lawyer) in the
street in Madrid. The brother told me the claim against the Bank then
amounted to P935,000, and judgement for that sum would be given within
a fortnight. Still, years after that, when I was again in Manila, the
case was yet pending, and another onslaught was made on the Bank. The
Court called on the manager to deliver up the funds of the Bank, and
on his refusal to do so a mechanic was sent there to open the safes,
but he laboured in vain for a week. Then a syndicate of Philippine
capitalists was formed to fleece the Bank, one of its most energetic
members being a native private banker in Manila. Whilst the case was
in its first stages I happened to be discussing it at a shop in the
_Escolta_ when one of the partners, a Spaniard, asked me if I would
like to see with my own eyes the contending lawyers putting their
heads together over the matter. "If so," said he, "you have only to
go through my shop and up the winding back staircase, from the landing
of which you can see them any day you like at one o'clock." I accepted
his invitation, and there, indeed, were the rival advocates laughing,
gesticulating, and presumably cogitating how they could plunder the
litigant who had most money to spend. At one stage of the proceedings
the Bank specially retained a Spanish lawyer of great local repute,
who went to Madrid to push the case. Later on Mr. Francis, Q.C.,
was sent over to Manila from Hong-Kong to advise the Bank. The Prime
Minister was appealed to and the good offices of our Ambassador in
Madrid were solicited. For a long time the Bank was placed in a most
awkward legal dilemma. The other side contended that the Bank could
not be heard, or appear for itself or by proxy, on the ground that
under its own charter it had no right to be established in Manila;
that, in view of the terms of that charter, it had never been legally
registered as a Bank in Manila, and that it had no legal existence
in the Philippines. This was merely a technical quibble. Several
times when the case was supposed to be finally settled, it was again
re-opened. Happily it may now be regarded as closed for ever.
A great many well-to-do natives have a mania for seeing their sons
launched into the "learned professions"; hence there was a mob of
native doctors who made a scanty living, and a swarm of half-lawyers,
popularly called "abogadillos," who were a pest to the Colony. Up
to the beginning of the 18th century the offices of solicitors and
notaries were filled from Mexico, where the licences to practise
in Manila were publicly sold. After that period the colleges and
the university issued licences to natives, thus creating a class of
native pettifogging advocates who stirred up strife to make cases,
for this purpose availing themselves of the intricacies of the law.
The Spanish-Philippine _Criminal Law Procedure_ was briefly as
follows:--(1) The Judge of Instruction took the _sumaria_, i.e.,
the inquiry into whether a crime had been committed, and, if so,
who was the presumptive culprit. It was his duty to find the facts
and sift the case. In a light case he could order the immediate
arrest of the presumptive delinquent; in a grave case he would
remit it. (2) In the Court of First Instance the verbal evidence was
heard and sifted, the _fiscal_, or prosecuting attorney, expressing
his opinion to the judge. The judge would then qualify the crime,
and decide who was the presumptive culprit. Then the defence began,
and when this was exhausted the judge would give his opinion. This
court could not acquit or condemn the accused. The opinion on the
_sumaria_ was merely advisory, and not a sentence. This inquiry was
called the "vista"; it was not in reality a trial, as the defendant
was not allowed to cross-examine; but, on the other hand, in theory,
he was not called upon to prove his innocence before two courts, but
before the sentencing court (_Audiencia_) only. The case would then
be remitted with the _sumaria_, and the opinion of the Court of First
Instance, to the _Audiencia_, or Supreme Court, for review of errors
of law, but not of facts which remained. The _Audiencia_ did not call
for testimony, but, if new facts were produced, it would remit back
the _sumaria_ to the lower court, with the new written testimony
added to the _autos_ (documents in the case). These new witnesses
were never confronted with the accused, and might never be seen by
him, and were not cross-examined. If no new facts were elicited,
the record of the lower court would be accepted by the _Audiencia_,
errors of law being the only point at issue, and this court might
at once pass sentence. In practice the _Audiencia_ usually treated
the finding of the lower court as sentence (not merely opinion),
and confirmed it, if no new testimony were produced and there were no
errors of law. But, although the opinion of the lower court might be
practically an acquittal, the _Audiencia_ might find errors of law,
thus placing the accused twice in jeopardy. If the case were remitted
back, in view of new testimony, it finally returned to the _Audiencia_
for decision, nine judges being required to give their opinion in a
grave case, so that if the Court of First Instance and five judges
of the _Audiencia_ found the accused guilty, there was a majority
against him. The sentencing court was always the _Audiencia_. If
the sentence were against the accused, a final appeal could be made,
by "writ of error," to the Supreme Court of Spain, whose decision,
however, rested not on facts, but on errors of law.
The (American) Insular Government tacitly admitted that the Spanish
written law was excellent, notwithstanding its fulfilment being
dilatory. The Spanish Penal Code has been adopted in its general
application, but a new code, based on it, was in course of compilation
in 1904. The application of the Spanish Code occasionally evolves
some curious issues, showing its variance with fundamental American
law. For instance, in September, 1905, a native adulteress having
been found by her husband _in flagrante delicto_, he stabbed her
to death. The Spanish law sustains the husband's right to slay his
faithless consort and her paramour, in such circumstances (_vide_
p. 80), but provides that the lawful slayer shall be banished
from the country. The principle of this law is based on Roman law,
human instinctive reasoning, and the spirit of the law among the
Latin nations of Europe. American law assumes this natural act of
the husband to be a crime, but whilst admitting the validity of the
Spanish Code in these Islands, the American bench was puzzled to
decide what punishment could be inflicted if the arraigned husband
committed contempt of court by thereafter returning to his native land.