Commanding the entrance to Manila Bay there is the Island of

Corregidor, situated 27 miles south-west of the city, towards which

the traveller glances in vain, expecting to descry something of a

modern fortress, bristling with artillery of the latest type which,

if there, might hold the only channels leading to the capital against

a hostile fleet. The anchorage for steamers is still half a mile to a

mile and a half away from the Pasig River, but the new artificial port,

commenced by the Spaniards, is being actively brought to completion

by the Americans, so that the day may come when the ocean traveller

will be able to walk from the steamer down a gangway to a quay and

land on the south, or Walled City, side of the capital.

In the city and beautiful suburbs of Manila many changes and some

improvements have been effected since 1898. After cleansing the

city to a certain extent, embellishment was commenced, and lastly,

works of general public utility were undertaken. Public spaces were

laid out as lawns with walks around them; the old botanical-gardens

enclosure was removed and the site converted into a delightful

promenade; the Luneta Esplanade,--the joy of the Manila elite who

seek the sea-breezes on foot or driving--was reformed, the field of

Bagumbayan, which recalls so many sad historical reminiscences since

1872, was drained; breaches were made in the city walls to facilitate

the entry of American vehicles; new thoroughfares were opened; an iron

bridge, commenced by the Spaniards, was completed; a new Town Hall, a

splendidly-equipped Government Laboratory, a Government Civil Hospital,

and a Government Printing Office were built; an immense ice-factory

was erected on the south side of the river to meet the American

demand for that luxury [232]; also a large refrigerated-meat store,

chiefly for army supply, was constructed, meat, poultry, vegetables,

and other foodstuffs having to be imported on account of the dearth

of beef and tilth cattle due to rinderpest. Fresh meat for private

consumption (i.e., exclusive of army and navy) is imported into

Manila to the value of about $700,000 gold per annum. Reforms of more

urgent public necessity were then introduced. Existing market-places

were improved, new ones were opened in Tondo and the Walled City;

an excellent slaughter-house was established; the Bridge of Spain

was widened; a splendidly-equipped fire-engine and brigade service,

with 150 fire-alarm boxes about the city and suburbs, was organized

and is doing admirable work; roads in the distant suburbs were put in

good condition, and the reform which all Manila was looking forward

to, namely, the repair of the roads and pavements in the _Escolta_,

the _Rosario_, and other principal thoroughfares in the heart of the

business quarter of Binondo, was postponed for six years. Up to the

middle of 1904 they were in a deplorable condition. The sensation,

whilst in a gig, of rattling over the uneven stone blocks was as if

the whole vehicle might at any moment be shattered into a hundred

fragments. The improvement has come at last, and these streets are

now almost of a billiard-table smoothness. The General Post Office

has been removed from the congested thoroughfare of the _Escolta_

to a more commodious site. Electric tramcars, in supersession of

horse-traction, run through the city and suburbs since April 10,

1905. Electric lighting, initiated in Spanish times, is now in

general use, and electric fans--a poor substitute for the punkah--work

horizontally from the ceilings of many shops, offices, hotels, and

private houses. In the residential environs of the city many acres

of ground have been covered with new houses; the once respectable

quarter of Sampaloc [233] has lost its good name since it became

the favourite haunt of Asiatic and white prostitutes who were not

tolerated in Spanish times. On the other hand, the suburbs of Ermita

and Malate, which are practically a continuation of Manila along

the seashore from the Luneta Esplanade, are becoming more and more

the fashionable residential centre. About Sampaloc there is a little

colony of Japanese shopkeepers, and another group of Japanese fishermen

inhabits Tondo. The Japanese have their Consulate in Manila since the

American advent, their suburban Buddhist temple was inaugurated in

San Roque on April 22, 1905, and in the same year there was a small

Japanese banking-house in the suburb of Santa Cruz.

The Bilibid Jail has been reformed almost beyond recognition

as the old Spanish prison. A great wall runs through the centre,

dividing the long-term from the short-term prisoners. In the centre

is the sentry-box, and from this and all along the top of the wall

every movement of the prisoners can be watched by the soldier on

guard. Nevertheless, a batch of convicts occasionally breaks jail,

and those who are not shot down escape. Gangs of them are drafted

off for road-making in the provinces, where, on rare occasions,

a few have been able to escape and rejoin the brigands. In March,

1905, a squad of 42 convicts working in Albay Province made a dash

for freedom, and 40 of them got away.

With the liberty accorded them under the new dominion the Filipinos

have their freemason lodges and numerous _casinos_. [234] There are

American clubs for all classes of society--the "Army and Navy," the

"University," the "United States," a dozen other smaller social

meeting-houses, and societies with quaint denominations such as

"Knights of Pythias," "Haymakers," "Red Cloud Tribe," "Knights of

the Golden Eagle," etc. Other nationalities have their clubs too; the

_Cercle Francais_ is now located in _Calle Alcala_; the English Club,

which was formerly at Nagtajan on the river-bank, has been removed

to Ermita on the seashore, and under the new _regime_ the Chinese

have their club-house, opened in 1904, in _Calle Dasmarinas_, where

a reception was given to the Gov.-General and the elite of Manila

society. The entertainment was very sumptuous, the chief attractions

being the fantastic decorations, the gorgeous "joss house" to a dead

hero, and the chapel in honour of the Virgin del Pilar.

Several new theatres have been opened, the leading one being the

_National_, now called the "Grand Opera House"; comedy is played at

the _Paz_; the _Zorrilla_ (of former times) is fairly well-built,

but its acoustic properties are extremely defective, and the other

playhouses are, more properly speaking, large booths, such as the

_Libertad_, the _Taft_, the _Variedades_, and the _Rizal_. In the

last two very amusing Tagalog plays are performed in dialect. There

is one large music-hall, and a number of cinematograph shows combined

with variety entertainments.

There are numerous second- and third-rate hotels in the city and

suburbs. The old "Fonda Lala," which existed for many years in the

_Plaza del Conde_, Binondo, as the leading hotel in Spanish days,

is now converted into a large bazaar, called the "Siglo XX.," and

its successor, the "Hotel de Oriente," was purchased by the Insular

Government for use as public offices. The old days of comfortable

hackney-carriages in hundreds about the Manila streets, at 50 cents

Mex. an hour, are gone for ever. One may now search hours for one,

and, if found, have to pay four or five times the old tariff. Besides

the fact that everything costs more, the scarcity is due to _Surra_

(_vide_ p. 336), which has enormously reduced the pony stock. There

are occasionally sales of American horses, and it is now one of the

novelties to see them driven in carriages, and American ladies riding

straddle-legged on tall hacks. In Spanish days no European gentleman

or lady could be seen in a _carromata_ [235] (gig) about Manila; now

this vehicle is in general use for both sexes of all classes. Bicycles

were known in the Islands ten years ago, but soon fell into disuse

on account of the bad roads; however, this means of locomotion is

fast reviving.

The Press is represented by a large number of American, Spanish and

dialect newspapers. These last were not permitted in Spanish times.

Innumerable laundries, barbers' shops, Indian and Japanese bazaars,

shoe-black stalls, tailors' shops, book-shops, restaurants, small

hotels, sweetmeat stalls, newspaper kiosks, American drinking-bars,

etc., have much altered the appearance of the city. The Filipino,

who formerly drank nothing but water, now quaffs his iced keg-beer

or cocktail with great gusto, but civilization has not yet made him a

drunkard. American drinking-shops, or "saloons," as they call them, are

all over the place, except in certain streets in Binondo, where they

have been prohibited, as a public nuisance, since April 1, 1901. It

was ascertained at the time of the American occupation that there were

2,206 native shops in Manila where drinks were sold, yet no native

was ever seen drunk. This number was compulsorily reduced to 400 for

a native population of about 190,000, whilst the number of "saloons"

on February 1, 1900, was 224 for about 5,000 Americans (exclusive of

soldiers, who presumably would not be about the drinking-bars whilst

the war was on). But "saloon" licences are a large source of revenue

to the municipality, the cost being from $1,200 gold downwards per

annum. A "saloon," however, cannot now be established in defiance

of the general wishes of the neighbours. There is a law (similar

in spirit to the proposed Option Law in England) compelling the

intending "saloon" keeper to advertise in several papers for several

days his intention to open such a place, so that the public may have

an opportunity of opposing that intention if they desire to do so.

The American advent has abolished the peaceful solitude of the

Walled City where, in Spanish days, dwelt the friar in secluded

sanctity--where dignitaries and officials were separated by a river

from the bubbling world of money-makers. An avalanche of drinking-bars,

toilet-saloons, restaurants, livery stables, and other catering

concerns has invaded the ancient abodes of men who made Philippine

history. The very names of the city streets remind one of so many

episodes in the Islands' progress towards civilization that to-day

one is led to pause in pensive silence before the escutcheon above the

door of what was once a noble residence, to read below a wall-placard,

"Horses and buggies for hire. The best turn-out in the city. Telephone

No. ----." This levelling spirit is gradually converting the historic

Walled City into a busy retail trading-centre. For a long time the

question of demolishing the city walls has been debated. Surely those

who advocate the destruction of this fine historical monument cannot

be of that class of Americans whose delight is to travel thousands

of miles, at great expense, only to glance at antiquities not more

interesting, in the possession of others, and who would fain transport

Shakespeare's house bodily to American soil. The moat surrounding the

Walled City is already being filled up, but posterity will be grateful

for the preservation of those ancient bulwarks--landmarks of a decadent

but once glorious civilization. Most of the Spanish feast-days have

been abolished, including the St. Andrew's day (_vide_ Li-ma-hong,

p. 50), and the following have been officially substituted, viz.:--

New Year's Day January 1

Washington's birthday February 22

Holy Thursday -- --

Good Friday -- --

Decoration Day May 31

Independence Day July 4

Occupation Day August 13

Thanksgiving Day November 24

Christmas Day December 25

Rizal Day December 30

Manila was formerly the capital of the province of that name, as

well as the Philippine metropolis. Since the American occupation the

city and suburbs form a kind of federal zone; what was once Manila

Province is now known as Rizal Province, and with it is incorporated

that territory formerly designated Morong District, the capital town

of this newly-created province being Pasig.

The Municipal Board of Manila is composed of five persons, namely

a Philippine mayor and one Philippine and three American members,

who are practically all nominees of the Insular Government. The

emolument of the mayor and of each member is $4,500. The Board,

assisted by a staff of 20 persons, native and American, has the

control of the ten following departments, viz.:--Police, Fire, Law,

Police Courts, Justice of the Peace Courts, Public Works, Assessments

and Collections, Deeds Register, City Schools, and Sheriff's Office

connected with the government of the federal zone of Manila.

Manila is the seat of the Insular Government, which comprises (1) the

Philippine Commission (Legislative), composed of eight members, of whom

five (including the president) are Americans and three are Filipinos;

(2) the Civil Commission (Executive), the president of which holds the

dual office of President of the Philippine Commission and Gov.-General,

whilst the four secretaries of Interior, Finance and Justice, Public

Instruction, and Commerce and Police are those same Americans who

hold office as members of the Philippine Commission. The Philippine

Commission is empowered to pass statutes, subject to ratification

by Congress, the enacting clause being, _By authority of the United

States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission_. The Insular

Government communicates with the Washington Government through the

Department of the Secretary of State for War.

Up to the end of 1904 the chief authority in these Islands was styled

the "Civil Governor." Thenceforth, by special Act of Congress, the

title was changed to that of "Governor-General."

The Emoluments of the Members of the Insular Government, the Chiefs of

Departments, and the principal officers are as follows, viz. [236]:--

$ gold

President of the Philippine and Civil Commissions 20,000

Four American Members of the Philippine Commission,

_ex-officio_ Members of the Civil Commission each 15,500

Three Philippine Members of the Philippine Commission each 5,000

_Departments_

Architecture Bureau Chief 4,000

Archives, Patents, Copyright and

Trade Marks Chief 3,000

Agriculture Bureau Chief 4,000

Audit Office Auditor 7,000

Bilibid Prison Warden 3,000

[237] Civil Service Board Chief Examiner 4,000

Court of First Instance, Manila each Judge 5,500

Court of First Instance, provincial Judge $4,500 to 5,000

Court of Land Registration Judge 5,000

Court of Customs Appeal Judge 4,500

Civil Hospital Chief Physician 3,000

Civil Sanatorium (Benguet) Chief Physician 2,400

Constabulary Executive Officer 5,500

Coast Guard and Transport Office Chief (Navy pay) --

Cold Storage and Ice-Plant Superintendent 3,600

Customs and Immigration Collector of Customs 7,000

Engineering Department Consulting Engineer 5,000

Ethnological Survey Chief 3,500

Education Department Gen. Superintendent 6,000

Forestry Bureau Chief 3,000

Laboratories (Gov.) Superintendent 6,000

Manila Port Works Chief (Army pay) --

Mining Bureau Chief 3,000

Non-Christian Tribes Bureau -- --

_Official Gazette, The_ Editor 1,800

Purchasing Agent -- 4,500

Public Lands Office Chief 3,200

Public Health Commissioner 3,500

Public Printing Office Public Printer 4,000

Post Office Director 6,000

Public Lands Chief 3,200

Supreme Court Chief Justice [238] 7,500

Supreme Court each associate Judge 7,000

Treasury Office Treasurer 7,000

Weather Bureau Director 2,500

The total cost of the Civil Service for the year 1903 amounted to

8,014,098.77 pesos (_vide_ "Official Gazette," Vol. II., No. 8,

dated February 4, 1904), equal to $4,007,049.38 gold.

At the time of the American occupation (1898) the Government was

necessarily military, the first governor being Maj.-General Elwell

S. Otis up to May 5, 1900, when he returned to America and was

immediately succeeded by Maj.-General Arthur McArthur. On January 20,

1899, during General Otis's governorship, a Commission of Inquest

was appointed under the presidency of Dr. Jacob Gould Schurman

known as the Schurman Commission, which arrived in Manila on May 2

to investigate the state of affairs in the Islands. The Commission

was instructed to "endeavour, without interference with the military

authorities of the United States now in control in the Philippines,

to ascertain what amelioration in the condition of the inhabitants

and what improvements in public order may be practicable." The other

members of the Commission were Rear-Admiral George Dewey, Charles

Denby, Maj.-General Elwell S. Otis, and Dean C. Worcester. Admiral

Dewey, however, was soon relieved of his obligation to remain on

the Commission, and sailed from Manila on May 19 on the _Olympia_

for New York, _via_ Europe. The commissioners' inquiries into

everything concerning the Islands, during their few months' sojourn,

are embodied in a published report, dated December 20, 1900. [239]

The War of Independence was being waged during the whole time, and

military government, with full administrative powers, continued,

as heretofore, until September 1, 1900. In the meantime the

Washington Government resolved that military rule in the Islands

should be superseded by civil government. The pacified provinces,

and those in conditions considered fit for civil administration,

were to be so established, and pending the conclusion of the war and

the subsidence of brigandage, the remainder of the Archipelago was

to be administered as military districts. With this end in view,

on March 16, 1900, Judge William H. Taft [240] was commissioned

to the Islands and sailed from San Francisco (Cal.) with his four

colleagues, on April 15, for Manila, where he arrived on June 3. In

the three months' interval, pending the assumption of legislative

power, the Taft Commission was solely occupied in investigating

conditions. To each commissioner certain subjects were assigned; for

example, Mr. Taft took up the Civil Service, Public Lands, and the

Friar questions. Each commissioner held a kind of Court of Inquiry,

before which voluntary evidence was taken. This testimony, later on,

appeared in print, and its perusal shows how difficult indeed it must

have been for the Commission to have distinguished the true from

the false, the valuable from the trivial. It was the beginning of

the end of military rule in the Islands. "The days of the Empire,"

as the military still designate that period, were numbered, and yet

not without regret by several native communities, as evidenced by the

fact that they sent petitions to the authorities in Manila against

the change to civil government. Many law-abiding natives explained to

me that the feature in military rule which particularly pleased them

was its prompt action--such a contrast to the only civil government

of which they had had any experience. About two years later, in 1903,

Lieut.-Gen. Miles, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army, made a tour in

the Islands and drew up a report on the conduct of military operations,

charging military officers with the grossest cruelty to the natives. A

Senate Commission of Inquest was appointed, but it was quite impossible

to prove anything conclusively on unimpeachable evidence; the general

retired from his command without the blessing of his comrades, and

the matter was abated.

The Philippine Commission commenced its functions as the legislative

body, with limitary executive powers in addition, on September 1,

1900, the military governor continuing as the Chief Executive until

July 4, 1901. Up to that date the civil executive authority in the

organized provinces was vested in the military governor. From that

date Maj.-General Adna R. Chaffee relieved Maj.-General McArthur in the

sole capacity of commander-in-chief of the military division, the full

executive civil power having been transferred to the Civil Commission,

and thenceforth the Insular Government became constituted as it is at

present. Governor Taft pursued his investigations until February, 1901,

when he started on a provincial tour, heard opinions, and tendered

the hand of peace. Municipalities united at certain centres to meet

him; the rich vied with each other to regale him royally; the crowd

flocked in from all parts to greet him; the women smiled in their

gala dresses; the men were obsequiousness itself; delicate viands

were placed before him, and, like every other intelligent traveller

in these Islands, he was charmed by that distinguishing trait of the

Luzon Islanders--that hospitality which has no parity elsewhere,

and for which words cannot be found adequately to describe it to

the reader. As Governor Taft himself said truly, "When a Filipino

who has a house says it is yours, he turns out his family and puts

you in." [241] Governor Taft's reception was only that which had

been accorded to many a personage before his day, travelling in a

style befitting his rank. He returned to Manila, captivated by the

fascinating side of Philippine character: the reverse side he could

never know by personal experience, and the natives secured in him a

champion of their cause--"Philippines for the Filipinos." The main

object of his official progress was to collect information for new

legislation anent the municipalities. Civil government was rapidly

established in all the provinces which were peaceful and otherwise

suitable for it. The War of Independence was drawing to a close

(April, 1902), and meanwhile Governor Taft made tours to Negros,

Cebu, and other islands to explain and inaugurate the new _regime_

based on President McKinley's Instructions to the Taft Commission,

dated April 7, 1900. Governor Taft's administration was signalized

by his complacency towards the natives, his frequent utterances

favourable to their aspirations, and his discouragement of those

Americans who sought to make quick fortunes and be gone. But there

were other Americans than these, and his favourite theme, "Philippines

for the Filipinos," aroused unconcealed dissatisfaction among the

many immigrants, especially the ex-volunteers, who not unnaturally

considered they had won a right to exploit, within reasonable bounds,

the "new possession" gained by conquest. Adverse critics contended that

he unduly protected the Filipino to the prejudice of the white man's

interest. Frank and unfettered encouragement of American enterprise

would surely have helped the professed policy of the State, which

was to lead the Filipinos to habits of industry; and how could this

have been more easily accomplished than by individual example? On

the other hand, the Filipinos, in conformity, regarded him as their

patron: many were unconsciously drawn to submission by the suavity

of his rule, whilst his courtesy towards the vanquished served as

the keynote to his countrymen to moderate their antipathy for the

native and remove the social barriers to a better understanding. And,

in effect, his example did serve to promote a _rapprochement_ between

the conquerors and the conquered.

Appointed to the Secretaryship of War, ex-Governor Taft left the

Philippines in January, 1904, to take up his new office, and was

succeeded in the presidency of the Philippine and Civil Commissions

by Mr. Luke E. Wright. [242] On his way back to the United States

ex-Governor Taft was entertained by the Emperor of Japan, and on his

arrival in his native city of Cincinnati (Ohio) he made a remarkable

speech on the subject of the Philippines, the published reports of

which contain the following significant passage:--"The Filipinos

elected the provincial governor and we appointed the treasurer. We

went there to teach the Filipinos honesty, and we appointed American

treasurers on the theory that the Americans could not steal. Never,

never have I suffered the humiliation that came to me when seventeen

of our disbursing officers, treasurers, were found defaulters! They

are now in Bilibid prison serving out their twenty-five years."

Since then the Manila Press has recorded many cases of breach of

public trust by those who were sent to teach the Islanders how to

rule themselves (_vide_ p. 493). The financial loss arising from

malfeasance on the part of any civil servant is made good to the

Treasury by a Guarantee Society, which gives a bond in each case,

whilst it takes years to recover the consequent loss of prestige

to the State. The obvious remedy for this state of things would

be the establishment in America of a Colonial Civil Service into

which only youths would be admitted for training in the several

departments. Progressive emolument, with the prospect of a long,

permanent career and a pension at the end of it would be inducements

to efficiency and moral stability.

The Philippine Civil Service is open to all United States citizens

and Filipinos between the ages of 18 and 40 years in accordance with

Philippine Commission Act No. 5, known as the "Civil Service Act,"

passed September 19, 1900. The service is divided into "classified"

and "unclassified." The former division is strictly subject to the

provisions of the above Act; the latter indicates the positions which

may be filled by appointment without subjection to the provisions of

the said Act. The Act declares its purpose to be "the establishment

and maintenance of an efficient and honest civil service in the

Philippine Islands." American soldiers who have less than six months

to serve can apply for permission to be examined for the civil

service. The Act does not include examination for civil positions

in the Military Division of the Islands, but the Civil Service Board

is empowered to hold such examinations to fill vacancies as they may

occur in the nine military departments which employ civilians. General

examinations, some in English only, others in Spanish only, or both,

are held every Monday, and special examinations which include those

for scientific, professional, and technical positions are taken on

specified dates. The commencing salaries of the positions offered range

from $1,200 downwards. Medical attendance is furnished gratis, and

the minimum working time is six and a half hours per day, except from

April 1 until June 15--the hottest weather--when the minimum working

day is five hours. American women are employed in the Post Office.

The Civil Commission is located in the Walled City in the building

which was formerly the Town Hall, a new Town Hall having been built

outside the walls. Occasionally, when public interest is much aroused

on the subject of a proposed measure, the Commission announces

that a public conference will be held for the expression of opinion

thereon. A few persons state their views before the Commissioners,

who rebut them _seance tenante_, and the measure, as proposed,

usually becomes law, unless outside agitation and popular clamour

induce the Commissioners to modify it. At times the proceedings have

been enlivened by sparkling humour. A worthy and patriotic Filipino

once gravely prefaced his speech thus:--"I rise to speak, inspired

by Divine Right"--but he had to wait until the roars of laughter

had subsided. When the "Sedition Act" was being discussed, a less

worthy auditor declared assassination of the Chief of a State to be

merely a political offence. He expected to go to prison and pose as

a martyr-patriot, but the Commission very rightly damped his ambition

by declaring him to be a fool irresponsible for his acts.

Philippine Commission Acts are passed with great rapidity, amended

and re-amended, sometimes several times, to the bewilderment of the

public. Out of 862 Acts passed up to the end of 1903, 686 of them

were amended (some five times) and on 782 no public discussion was

allowed. The "Internal Revenue Law of 1904" had not been in force nine

months when it was amended (March, 1905) by another law. By Philippine

Commission Acts Nos. 127 and 128 the limits of the Surigao and Misamis

provinces were defined and afterwards upset by Act No. 787. The policy

of the Americans anent the Philippines was continually shifting during

the first five years of their occupation, and only since ex-Governor

Taft became Secretary of War does it seem to have assumed a somewhat

more stable character.

The Archipelago is divided into 41 provinces (exclusive of the Moro

Province, _vide_ p. 577), all under civil rule, in accordance with

Congress Act of July 1, 1902, and War Office Order of July 4, 1902,

whereby the remainder of military government ceased. In June, 1904,

nearly all the above 41 provinces had native governors with salaries

ranging from $3,000 gold downwards. In most of these provinces the

native governor and two American officials of about equal rank, such as

the Treasurer and the Supervisor, form a Provincial Council, but the

member who disagrees with the vote of the other two can appeal to the

Gov.-General. After the War of Independence several insurgent chiefs

were appointed to provincial governments; for instance, Cailles in La

Laguna, Trias in Cavite, Climaco in Cebu, etc. For obvious reasons the

system is advantageous. Juan Cailles, Governor of La Laguna, is the

son of a Frenchman who married a native in one of the French colonies

and then settled in these Islands. For some time Juan Cailles was

registered at the French Consulate as a French citizen. As commander of

the insurgents of La Laguna and Tayabas during the War of Independence,

he maintained strict discipline in his troops, and energetically drew

the line between legitimate warfare and common freebooting.

The provincial governor may be either elected or appointed by the

Civil Commission. If he be a Filipino, he is usually elected by vote

of the vice-presidents (ex-mayors) and municipal councillors of the

province. The mayor of a municipality is styled "Presidente." Every

male over twenty-three years of age who pays taxes amounting to 30

pesos, or who possesses 500 pesos' value of goods is eligible for

election by vote of the townspeople. He holds office for two years,

but can be re-elected for a consecutive term. The municipalities are

of four classes according to their importance, the mayor's salary

being as follows, viz.: First class, 1,200 pesos; second class, 1,000

pesos; third class, 800 pesos; and fourth class, 600 pesos. Provincial

justices of the peace are paid by litigants' fees only. For municipal

improvements, or other urgent necessity, the Insular Government,

from time to time, grants loans to municipalities, repayable with

interest. In some cases two or more towns have been wisely merged

into one municipality: for instance, Cauit, Salinas, and Novaleta

(Cavite) go together; Baliuag, Bustos, and San Rafael (Bulacan) form

one; Barasoain and Malolos (Bulacan) are united; as are also Taal

and Lemery (Batangas). By Philippine Commission Act No. 719 the 51

municipalities of Yloilo Province were reduced to 17.

Malolos is the new capital of Bulacan Province, and the two former

provinces of Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur are now one, under the

name of Ambos Camarines. In the dependent wards of towns (_barrios_)

the municipal police are practically the only official representatives;

the post of lieutenant (_teniente de barrio_) is gratis and onerous,

and few care to take it.

The _Guardia Civil_ or Rural Guard of Spanish times has been

superseded by the _Philippine Constabulary_ under the supreme and

independent command of a cavalry captain (U.S.A.) holding local rank

of Brig.-General. In the private opinion of many regular army officers,

this force ought to be under the control of the Division Commander. The

officers are American, European, and Philippine. The privates are

Filipinos, and the whole force is about 7,000 strong. The function

of this body is to maintain order in rural districts. For some time

there were cases of batches of the rank-and-file passing over to the

brigands whom they were sent to disperse or capture. However, this

disturbing element has been gradually eliminated, and the Philippine

Constabulary has since performed very useful service. Nevertheless,

many educated natives desire its improvement or suppression, on

account of the alleged abuse of functions to the prejudice of peaceful

inhabitants (_vide_ p. 550).

Co-operating with municipal police and the Philippine Constabulary

there is an organized Secret Police Service. It is a heterogeneous

band of many nationalities, including Asiatics, which, as an

_executive_ force to investigate crimes known to have been committed,

renders good service; as an _initiative_ force, with power, with or

without authority, to molest peaceful citizens in quest of imaginary

misdemeanours, in order to justify the necessity of its employment,

it is an unwelcome institution to all, especially the lower-middle

and common classes, amongst whom it can operate with greater impunity.

Not unfrequently when a European nation acquires a new tropical

possession, the imaginative mind discovers therein unbounded wealth

which the eye cannot see, hidden stores of gold procurable only by

manual labour, and fortune-making possibilities awaiting whosoever

has the courage to reveal them. The propagation of these fallacious

notions always allures to the new territory a crowd of ne'er-do-wells,

amongst the _bona fide_ workers, who ultimately become loafers preying

upon the generosity of the toilers. This class was not wanting in

the Philippines; some had followed the army; others who had finished

their term of voluntary military service elected to remain in the

visionary El Dorado. Some surreptitiously opened drinking-shanties;

others exploited feminine frailty or eked out an existence by

beggarly imposition, and it was stated by a provincial governor that,

to his knowledge, at one time, there were 80 of this class in his

province. [243] The number of undesirables was so great that it became

necessary for the Insular Government to pass a Vagrant Act, under

which the loafer could be arrested and disposed of. The Act declares

vagrancy to be a misdemeanour, and provides penalties therefor; but

it has always been interpreted in a generous spirit of pity for the

delinquent, to whom the option of a free passage home or imprisonment

was given, generally resulting in his quitting the Islands. This

measure, which brought honour to its devisers and relief to society,

was, in a few instances, abused by those who feigned to be vagrants

in order to secure the passage home, but these were judiciously dealt

with by a regulation imposing upon them a short period of previous

training in stone-breaking to fit them for active life in the homeland.

The following General Order was issued by the Division Commander in

January, 1905, viz.:--

It is reported by the Civil Governor that in several places in

Luzon there have gathered numbers of dishonourably discharged men

from the army who are a hindrance to progress and good order. The

Division Commander desires that in future no dishonourably

discharged soldiers be allowed to remain in the Islands, where

their presence is very undesirable. It is therefore directed that,

in acting on cases where the sentence is dishonourable discharge

without confinement, the dishonourable discharge be made to take

effect after arrival in San Francisco, where the men so discharged

should be sent by first transport.

The Philippine Archipelago is a military division under the supreme

command of a Maj.-General. The commanders, since the taking of Manila

(1898), have been successively Maj.-Generals Merritt, Otis, McArthur,

Chaffee, Davis, Wade, Corbin, and Wood.

The Division is administratively subdivided into three departments,

namely Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the two former being commanded

by Brig.-Generals and the last by a Maj.-General.

The _Department of Luzon_, headquarters at Manila, includes the

following principal islands, viz. Luzon, Catanduanes, Romblon,

Masbate, Marinduque, Mindoro, Sibuyan, Polillo, Ticao, Tablas, Lucbang,

and Burias.

The _Department of Visayas_, headquarters at Yloilo, embraces the

islands of Cebu, Negros, Panay, Leyte, Samar, and Bojol.

The _Department of Mindanao_, headquarters at Zamboanga, includes

all the remaining islands of the Philippine Archipelago.

STATEMENT OF ARMY STRENGTH IN THE PHILIPPINES ON JUNE 30, 1904 [244]

Present Absent Present and Absent

Officers. Troops. Officers. Troops. Officers. Troops.

General Officers 5 0 0 0 5 0

Gen. Staff Officers 45 0 4 0 49 0

Non-Com Officers at

posts 0 109 0 0 0 109

Medical Department 93 919 10 0 103 919

[245]Contract Surgeons 63 0 22 0 85 0

[245]Contract Dental

Surgeons 17 0 0 0 17 0

Engineers 25 395 1 7 26 402

Signal Corps 7 353 2 1 9 354

Ordnance Corps 2 49 0 2 2 51

Officers temporarily

in the Division 33 0 0 0 33 0

Total Cavalry 172 2,903 27 32 199 2,935

Total Artillery 9 293 3 0 12 293

Total Infantry 356 7,020 78 70 434 7,090

Total American Forces 827 12,041 147 112 974 12,153

Philippine Scouts 77 4,565 23 413 100 4,978

Total Strength 904 16,606 170 525 1,074 17,131

Besides the American troops, there is a voluntary enlistment

of Filipinos, forming the Philippine Scout Corps, a body of rural

police supplementary to the constabulary, commanded by a major and 100

American first and second lieutenants. Until recently the troops were

stationed over the Islands in 98 camps and garrison towns, as follows,

viz.:--In the Department of Luzon 76, Visayas 8, and Mindanao 14;

but this number is now considered unnecessarily large and is being

reduced to effect economy.

The Army, Navy, and Philippine Scouts expenses are entirely defrayed

by the United States Treasury. A military prison is established in

the little Island of Malahi, in the Laguna de Bay, whence the escape

of a prisoner is signalled by three shots from a cannon, and whoever

captures him receives a $30-reward. As the original notice to this

effect required the recovery of the prisoner "alive or dead," two armed

natives went in pursuit of an American soldier. To be quite sure of

their prey they adopted the safe course of killing him first. Such an

unexpected interpretation of the notice as the grim spectacle of an

American's head was naturally repugnant to the authorities, and the

"alive or dead" condition was thenceforth expunged.

CHAPTER XXIX

The Land of the Moros

"Allah Akbar!"

The Military Department of Mindanao comprises the large island of

that name and the adjacent insular territories inhabited chiefly by

Mahometans, called by the Christians _Moros_ (_vide_ p. 129, et seq.).

The natural features of these southern islands are, in general,

similar to those of the other large islands of the Archipelago,

but being peopled by races (exclusive of the settlers) of different

habits, customs, religions, and languages, some aggressively savage

and warlike, others more or less tractable, but all semi-civilized,

the social aspect is so distinct from that of the islands inhabited

by the Christian Filipinos as almost to appear like another quarter

of the tropical globe.

Early in the year 1899 General John C. Bates was appointed to the

command of the Mahometan islands. In Mindanao Island there was no

supreme chieftain with whom to treat for the gradual introduction

of civilization and American methods, the whole territory being

parcelled out and ruled by petty Sultans, _Dattos_ or chiefs,

in separate independence. In the Lake Lanao district, for instance,

there is at least one _Datto_ for every 50 men. The only individual who

had any pretence to general control of the Mahometan population was

Hadji [246] Mohammad Jamalul Kiram, the Sultan of Sulu [247] (_vide_

p. 141). Therefore, in August, 1899, General Bates and this petty

prince made an agreement which was ratified by Congress on February

1 following, on the recommendation of the Schurman Commission (_vide_

p. 562), and thenceforth came into force. The principal conditions of

this convention were: (1) The Sultan's dignity and certain monopoly

rights were recognized under American suzerainty. (2) An annual pension

of 3,000 pesos was secured to him, and annual salaries ranging from

180 to 900 pesos were to be paid to eight of his _Dattos_ and one

priest. (3) A Moro accused of crime was to be tried by a Moro judge,

the maximum penalty for murder being fixed at 105 pesos (equal to

about ten guineas), which was a fair price in this region, from the

Moro point of view, for life here is held very cheap. (4) Absconding

Americans or Sulus were to be mutually surrendered. (5) The Americans

were (_a_) to protect the Sultan against encroachments by foreigners

or European nations; (_b_) not to take arms against the Sulus without

consulting the Sultan; (_c_) not to transfer their dominion over Jolo

to others except in agreement with the Sultan; (_d_) to be at liberty

to occupy any place in the Sultan's domains without trespassing on

lands about the royal residence, except as a military necessity of

war with a foreign Power; (_e_) not to interfere with the Mahometan

religion, or its rites, or its customs; (_f_) not to travel about

Sulu Island without the permission of the Sultan, who would provide an

escort. (6) The American flag was to be used on land and at sea. (7)

The Sulus were to be free to carry their native arms. (8) The Sultan

was at liberty to collect tribute everywhere in his domains, and to

have the right of direct intercourse with the American Gov.-General.

In consideration of the above, the Sultan undertook to maintain order

between his _Dattos_, to repress internecine warfare, and gradually

to abolish slavery throughout his jurisdiction.

Apparently the Sultan entered into the agreement much in the spirit

of Mr. Micawber, who signed the I.O.U.'s and thanked God his

debts were paid. The ruler of Sulu was not over-willing and far

less able to give effect to its conditions, his power being more

nominal than real in his own possessions, and in Mindanao almost

_nil_. Nevertheless, it was a politic measure on the Americans'

part, because its non-fulfilment opened the way for the adoption,

with every appearance of justification, of more direct and coercive

intervention in the affairs of this region. General Bates was

succeeded by other generals in the command of this district, without

any very visible progress towards definite pacification and subjection

to civilization. The military posts on the coasts, evacuated by the

Spaniards, were occupied by American troops and new ones were created,

but every attempt to establish law and order beyond their limits, on

the white man's system, was wasted effort. When the Spanish-American

War broke out, the Spanish military authorities were on the point

of maturing a plan for the final conquest of Mindanao. Due to the

persistent activity of my old friend General Gonzalez Parrado, they

had already achieved much in the Lake Lanao district, through the

Marahui campaign. On the evacuation of the Spaniards the unrestrained

petty chiefs were like lions released from captivity. Blood-shed,

oppression, extortion, and all the instinctive habits of the shrewd

savage were again rife. A preconcerted plan of campaign brings little

definite result; it never culminates in the attainment of any final

issue, for, on the native side, there is neither union of tribes nor

any combined organized attempt at even guerilla warfare, hence the

destruction of a _cotta_ or the decimation of a clan has no immediate

and lasting moral effect on the neighbouring warlike tribe. Life is

cheap among them; a Moro thinks no more about lopping off another's

head than he does about pulling a cocoanut from the palm-tree. The

chief abhors the white man because he interferes with the chief's

living by the labour of his tribe, and the tribesman himself is

too ignorant even to contemplate emancipation. Subservience to the

bidding of the wily _Datto_, poverty, squalidity, and tribal warfare

for bravado or interest seem as natural to the Moro as the sight of

the rising sun. Hence, when the Americans resolved to change all this

and marched into the tribal territories for the purpose, the war-gongs

rallied the fighting-men to resist the dreaded foe, unconscious of

his mission of liberty under the star-spangled banner. The sorrows

or the joys of one tribe are no concern of the other; thus there was

seldom, if ever, any large combination of forces, and the Americans

might be fighting hard in the Taraca country, or around the Lanao

Lake, whilst the neighbouring clan silently and doggedly awaited its

turn for hostilities. The signal for the fray would be the defiant

reply of a chief to the Americans' message demanding submission, or a

voluntary throwing down of the gauntlet to the invader, for the Moro

is valiant, and knows no cringing cowardice before the enemy. Troops

would be despatched to the _cotta_, or fortress, of the recalcitrant

ruler, whence the _lantaca_ cannon would come into action, whilst the

surging mob of warriors would open fire in squads, or rush forward

in a body, _barong_ or kris in hand, only to be mown down, or put to

flight and the _cotta_ razed to the ground. A detailed account of the

military operations in these islands would be but a tedious recital of

continuous struggles with the irresistible white man. In Mindanao, the

Malanao tribes, occupying the northern regions around the Lake Lanao

districts, seem to have offered the most tenacious resistance. On

April 5, 1902, a fierce encounter with the Bacolod tribes ended

with their fort being destroyed, 120 Moros killed, and 11 Americans

wounded. In the following month the bloody battle of Bayan brought

such disastrous results to the natives that they willingly accepted

peace for the time being. In the Taraca River engagement, 10 _cottas_

were destroyed, 250 Moros were killed, 52 were taken prisoners, and

the booty amounted to 36 cannon and 60 rifles. The Moros possessed a

large number of Remington rifles, looted from the Spaniards, on whom

they had often made surprise raids. The Bacolod and the Taraca tribes,

although frequently defeated, gave much trouble long after the other

districts had been forced into submission.

One of the most exciting expeditions was that of Lieutenant Forsyth,

who went out reconnoitring with 15 men, marching from Parang-Parang

Camp northwards. Moros came to meet him on the way to warn him not to

advance, but Forsyth bravely pushed on until his party, surrounded

by hundreds of hostile natives, was almost all destroyed. Forsyth

and his fellow-survivors fled into an unknown region, where they

lost themselves, and all would have perished had they not been

befriended by a _Datto_ who enabled them to get back. Then Colonel

(now Brig.-General) F. D. Baldwin set out from Malabang Camp in

May, attacked and captured the _cottas_ of the Datto of Binadayan

and the Sultan of Bayan on Lake Lanao, and gained a signal victory

over them with a loss of seven killed and 44 wounded. Lieutenant

Forsyth's horses and rifles were recovered, and the Moros suffered

so severely in this engagement that it was hardly thought they would

rise again. In consequence of this humiliation of the great Sultan

of Bayan, many minor Lake _Dattos_ voluntarily cultivated friendly

relations with the Americans. Even among the recalcitrant chiefs there

was a lull in their previous activity until they suddenly swept down

on the American troops twelve times in succession, killing four and

wounding 12 of them. The whole Lanao Lake district was in a ferment

when, on September 28, 1902, Captain John J. Pershing was detached

from Baldwin's force to lead another expedition against them "composed

of a battalion of the 7th Infantry, a troop of the 15th Cavalry, and

two platoons of the 25th Field Artillery." [248] Pershing inflicted

such a crushing defeat on the Macui Moros, destroying many of their

strongholds, one Sultan and a large number of his warriors, that he

was hailed with delight as the pacifier of Mindanao. The expedition

returned with a total loss of only two Americans wounded, and after

Pershing's heroic exploit, not only was it in the mouth of every one,

"there is peace in Mindanao," but in the Report of the Secretary of

War for 1902, p. 19, there is a paragraph beginning thus:--"_Now that

the insurrection has been disposed of_ we shall be able to turn our

attention, not merely to the slave trade, but to the already existing

slavery among the Moros." But peace was by no means assured, and

again Captain J. J. Pershing distinguished himself as the successful

leader of an expedition in the Marahui district. Starting from Camp

Vicars [249] on April 5, 1903, with 150 men, Maxim guns, mortars, and

artillery, his instructions were to "explore" the north and west coast

of Lake Lanao, but to overcome any opposition offered. It was quite

expected that his progress would be challenged, hence the warlike

preparations. Arrived at Sugud, the Moros kept up a constant fire

from the hills on the American front. On the high ridge running down

to the lake the Bacolod fort was clearly seen flying the battle flags

of defiance. On the battlements there was a yelling crowd of Moros

beating their gongs, rushing to and fro, flourishing their weapons,

and firing their _lantaca_ cannon towards the Americans; but the

range was too great to have any effect. The artillery was brought into

action, forcing many of the Moros to try their fortunes in the open;

but again and again they were repulsed, and by nightfall the Bacolod

ridge was occupied by the troops. The next morning the mortars were

brought into play, and shells were dropped into the fort during all

that day and night. On the third day Captain Pershing decided to storm

the fort; bridges were constructed across the ravines, Maxim guns

poured shot through the loopholes, and finally an assault party of

10 men rushed across the bridge and climbed the parapet, where they

were met by the Moros, with whom they had a desperate hand-to-hand

fight. It was a fine display of American pluck. The attacking party

was quickly supported by more troops, who either killed or captured

the defenders. Finally all the combustible portion of the fort was

burnt to the ground, 12 cannon were captured, and about 60 Moros

were slain. The demolition of Bacolod fort was a great surprise to

the Moros, who had considered it impregnable, whilst the defeat of

the savage Sultan (the _Panandungan_) destroyed for ever his former

unlimited prestige among the tribe. The force was then divided, and

before the troops reached camp again there were several smaller fights,

including the bombardment of Calahui _cotta_. The distance traversed by

this expedition was about 80 miles, the American losses being one man

killed and two officers and 14 men wounded. For this signal victory the

War Department cabled its thanks to Captain J. J. Pershing on May 11.

As to the management of the Moros, Captain J. J. Pershing expresses

the following just opinion, viz.:--"As far as is consistent with

advancement, a government by a Sultan, or a _Datto_, as the case may

be, should be disturbed as little as possible; that is, the people

should be managed through the _Dattos_ themselves," etc. [250]

The last general in command of the District of Mindanao, prior to the

present constitution of the Moro Province, was Brig.-General Samuel

Sumner, who, just before his departure therefrom, wrote as follows,

viz.:--"Murder and robbery will take place as long as we are in the

country, at least for years to come. The Moro is a savage, and has no

idea of law and order _as we understand it_. _Anarchy_ practically

prevails throughout the region. To take power and control away from

the Sultans and _Dattos_ until we can inaugurate and put in force a

better government would add to the confusion already existing." [251]

The instructions of the President of the United States to the

Philippine Commission, dated April 7, 1900, direct as follows,

viz.:--"In dealing with the uncivilized tribes of the Islands the

Commission shall adopt the same course followed by Congress in

permitting the tribes of our North American Indians to maintain

their tribal organizations and government, and under which many of

those tribes are now living in peace and contentment, surrounded by

a civilization to which they are unable or unwilling to conform."

From the American point of view, but not from the Moro way of looking

at things, an apparent state of anarchy prevailed everywhere; but the

Sultans and the _Dattos_ took very good care not to tolerate what,

in Europe, one would term anarchy, tending to subvert the local

rule. There is no written code of Moro justice. If a Moro stole a

buffalo from another, and the case were brought before the judge,

this functionary and the local chief would, by custom, expect to make

some profit for themselves out of the dispute. The thief would have

to pay a fine to the headman or go into slavery, but having no money

he would have to steal it to purchase his freedom. The buffalo being

the object of dispute would be confiscated, and to be even with the

defendant for the loss of the buffalo, the plantiff would lop off

the defendant's head if he were a man of means and could afford to

pay 105 pesos fine for his revenge.

The real difficulty was, and still is, that there is no Sultan,

or _Datto_, of very extended authority to lay hold of and subdue,

and whose defeat or surrender would entail the submission of a whole

district or tribe. The work of subjection has to be performed piecemeal

among the hundreds of _Dattos_, each of whom, by established custom,

can only act for himself and his own retainers, for every _Datto_ would

resent, at the risk of his life, any dictation from another. All this

is extremely irritating to the white commander, who would prefer to

bring matters to a definite crisis by one or more decisive contests,

impossible of realization, however, in Mindanao or Sulu Islands.

Such was the condition of affairs in the southern extremity of

the Archipelago when it was decided to appoint a Maj.-General to

command it and create a semi-independent government for its local

administration. Maj.-General Leonard Wood [252] was happily chosen for

this arduous and delicate task, and on July 25, 1903, he took up his

appointment, holding it for about two years, when he was transferred

to Manila to command the Division in succession to Maj.-General Henry

C. Corbin.

This region, now called the _Moro Province_, was established under

Philippine Commission Act No. 787 of June 1, 1903 (which came into

effect on July 15 following), and includes all Mindanao [253] except

the larger portion of Misamis Province and all Surigao Province

(N. and E.), which are under civil government, [254] the Jolo (Sulu)

Archipelago, the Tawi Tawi group, and all the islands south of Lat. 8 deg.

N., excepting therefrom Palauan (Paragua) and Balabac Islands and

the islands immediately adjacent thereto, but including the Island

of Cagayan de Jolo. The seat of government is at Zamboanga, the

headquarters of the military district, whose commander (Maj.-General

Wood) acted in the dual capacity (but not _ex-officio_) of military

commander and President of the Legislative Council of the Moro

Province, which was organized September 2, 1903, and is composed as

follows, viz.:--

Legislative Council Emolument

President, the Provincial Governor $6,000 gold (if he be

a civilian). [255]

Provincial Secretary Not exceeding

Provincial Treasurer $4,000 gold

Provincial Attorney

Provincial Superintendent of Schools

Provincial Engineer

The Council has power to enact laws "by authority of and subject to

annulment or amendment by the Philippine Commission," and four members

of the six constitute a quorum for legislative action. The Provincial

Governor is responsible, and must report from time to time to the

Gov.-General of the Philippines. The province is sub-divided into

five governmental districts, and one sub-district under governors

and lieut.-governor respectively. [256]

Districts Emolument of Governor

Zamboanga (including Basilan Is.)

Jolo (sulu) (including Tawi Tawi group)

Lanao (including Yligan and Lake Lanao) Not exceeding $3,500

Cottabato (including Polloc) gold if he be a civilian.

Davao (including Catil)

Dapitan (a sub-district of Zamboanga) Not exceeding $2,000

gold, if he be a civilian.

Each district is controlled by a District Council composed of the

governor, the secretary, and the treasurer. At present all the district

governors are army officers.

Section 15 of the above Act No. 787 provides that governors and

secretaries of districts must learn and pass an examination in the

dialects of their localities within 18 months after taking office,

or be subject to dismissal.

Under Philippine Commission Act No. 82, entitled "The Municipal Code,"

amended in its application to the Moro Province by the Legislative

Council of the Moro Province Act No. 35, of January 27, 1904, the

Moro districts and sub-districts are furthermore sub-divided in the

following manner, viz.:--

_Municipalities_ are established in the district or sub-district

capital towns, and wherever there is a population sufficiently large

and enlightened to be entitled to municipal rights. [257] A president

(mayor), vice-president, or councillor must be between twenty-six

and sixty-five years of age, and must intelligently speak, read, and

write Spanish, English, or the principal local dialect. Ecclesiastics,

soldiers in active service, and persons receiving emolument from

public funds are debarred from these offices. Every municipal officer

must give a bond with two or more sureties equal to at least half

of the amount of annual funds which will probably pass through his

hands. The maximum salary of a president (mayor) is P1,200, and that

of municipal secretary P600. Certain other officers are also paid,

but the vice-presidency and councillorships are honorary posts. A

person elected to office by the people is not permitted to decline it,

except for certain reasons defined in the code, subject to a maximum

penalty of six months' imprisonment. The mayor's symbol of office is

a cane with a silver knob, plated ferrule, and black cord and tassels.

Natives whose habits and social condition will not yet permit their

inclusion in a municipality are segregated into _Tribal Wards_ [258]

(Legislative Council Act No. 39, of February 19, 1904). The headman

is generally the chief recognized by his race or people as such,

and is immediately responsible to the district governor by whom

he is appointed. His annual salary ranges from P240 to P1,800, and

his badge of office is a baldric of red leather with a metal disc,

bearing an impression of the Moro Province seal. He and his advisory

council perform the usual municipal functions on a minor scale, and

are permitted to "conform to the local customs of the inhabitants,

unless such customs are contrary to law or repugnant to the usages

or moral sense of civilized peoples."

A Tribal Ward is furthermore divided into _Tribal Ward Districts_. The

district headman is the deputy of the tribal ward headman to whom he

is immediately responsible. His annual salary ranges from P96 to P600,

and his badge of office is a baldric of yellow canvas with a metal

disc as mentioned above. The tribal ward headman's district deputies

together constitute the police force of the whole ward. Tribal ward

headmen and their district deputies are not required to give bond. At

any time, on certain conditions, a member of a tribal ward can apply

for full citizenship in a municipality. In short, the governmental

system adopted is intended to raise the native progressively from

savagery to municipal life.

The sources of _Revenue_ are briefly as follows, viz:--

_Provincial._--Property tax (7/8 per cent. of assessed value),

industrial, cedula (poll tax of 1 peso for each male over 18 years),

stamps, court fees, fines, sales of supplies to municipalities,

and forestry collection.

_Municipal._--Ownership and transfer of cattle, rents and profits,

licences, fines and carts.

_Customs Revenues_ in the five ports of entry, viz.:--Jolo, Zamboanga,

Cottabato, Siassi, and Bongao.

The Summary of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904, stands thus:--

Revenue

Provincial Taxes and Forestry payments P114,713.66

Customs Revenue 222,664.39

----------

P337,378.05

Expenditure

Provincial P174,361.70

Appropriated for Public Works 26,181.76

Customs Expenses 53,170.62

Balance available 83,663.97

----------

P337,378.05

The maintenance of the Constabulary Force, Post Office Department,

and Courts of First Instance in this Province is an Insular Government

charge.

The revenue collected within the province (including the customs

receipts) is spent therein. No remittance of funds is made to the

Insular Treasury, but provincial accounts are subject to Insular

Government audit, and have to be rendered to Manila.

The troops assigned to this command are as follows, viz. [259]:--

Armed Forces in the Moro Province. Present and Absent.

Officers. Troops.

Regular troops [260] 236 3,766

Contract and Dental Surgeons and attached Staff 25 --

Total American forces 261 3,766

Native troops 11 543

Total Strength, Military District 272 4,309

Philippine Constabulary (Moro and Christian mixed)

under Civil Government orders 22 530

--- -----

294 4,839

On General Wood's recommendation, the Bates Agreement (_vide_

p. 571) was rescinded on the ground that it was an obstacle to

good government. In truth, the Sultan of Sulu was probably quite

as unable as he was unwilling to carry out its provisions. However,

under Philippine Commission Act No. 1259 (amended by Act No. 1320 of

April 12, 1905), certain small annual money allowances are made to

the present Sultan of Sulu and his principal advisers.

In Mindanao, trouble again arose on the east shore of Lake Lanao,

and an expedition was organized to march against the Taracas, who

were, however, only temporarily subdued. Defiant messages were sent

by the _Dattos_, and General Wood decided to conduct operations in

person. According to private information given to me by officers

in Mindanao some months after the battle, immense slaughter was

inflicted on this tribe, whose _cottas_ were annihilated, and they were

utterly crushed for the time being. About the beginning of 1904 the

depredations of the Moros in the upper valley of the Cottabato River

were revolting beyond all toleration. Cottabato town was pillaged under

the leadership of Datto Ali and of his brother, Datto Djimbangan. In

March an expedition invested the Serenaya territory in the Cottabato

district and operated from the 4th to the 14th of that month without

any American casualties. Datto Ali's fort at Kudarangan was taken and

destroyed. [261] This formidable stronghold is described by General

Wood thus:--"It was larger than twenty of the largest _cottas_ of the

Lake region or Sulu, and would have easily held a garrison of four or

five thousand men. It was well located, well built, well armed, and

amply supplied with ammunition. There were embrasures for 120 pieces

of artillery. Eighty-five pieces were captured, among them many large

cannon of from 3 inches to 5 1/2 inches calibre. The other pieces in

the work, small _lantacas_, were carried off or thrown into the river"

(_vide_ First Annual Report of the Moro Province).

Datto Ali thenceforth became a fugitive with some 60 armed followers

and about a hundred others whom he pressed into his service as

carriers. After the battle, Datto Djimbangan, Ali's brother, was

taken unawares at his ranche by a detachment of American troops. He

was conducted as a prisoner to Cottabato, and in February, 1905, he

was transferred to the Zamboanga jail to await his trial for sedition

and rebellion. Again the Taracas ventured on a series of attacks on

the American military posts in the locality. A body of troops was

despatched there in March, and after ten days' operations this tribe

was routed and dispersed, the American casualties being two men killed,

one drowned, 10 wounded, and one officer slightly wounded. On May

8 a party of 39 men and two officers, reconnoitring about Simbalan,

up the Cottabato Valley, was attacked, 13 men being killed, two taken

prisoners, six wounded, and the two officers killed. It would appear

that the guides were conducting the party safely, when a lieutenant

insisted on taking another route and landed his troops in a plateau

covered with _cogon_ (pampas-grass) about eight feet high. On emerging

from this they all got into a stream, where the Moros suddenly fell

upon them. The punitive Simpetan Expedition immediately set out for

that district and successfully operated from the 13th to the 28th

of May without any American casualties. Datto Ali, who was again

on the warpath, is the son-in-law of old Datto Piang, the terror

of the neighbourhood in his younger days and also just after the

evacuation by the Spaniards. Ali declared that he would not yield to

the Americans one iota of his independence, or liberate his slaves, and

swore vengeance on all who went in his pursuit. Being the hereditary

_Datto_, the inhabitants of the valley generally sympathized with him,

at least passively. In the latter half of 1904, constant endeavour

was made to effect the capture of this chieftain, whilst old Datto

Piang, the son of a Chinaman with a keen eye to business, supplied

the Americans with baggage-carriers at a peso a day per man for the

troops sent to hunt down his refractory son-in-law. Active operations

were sustained against him, and from the military posts of Malabang

(formerly a Moro slave-market) and Parang-Parang on the Illana Bay

coast there were continually small punitive parties scouring the

district here and there. At the former camp I was the guest of the

genial Colonel Philip Reade, in command of the 23rd Infantry, when

Lieutenant C. R. Lewis was brought in wounded from a Cottabato River

sortie. Colonel Reade, whose regiment had had about the roughest

work of any in the Island, had certainly inspired his men with the

never-know-when-you-are-beaten spirit, for the report of a reverse

set them all longing to be the chosen ones for the next party. But

up to July, 1905, Datto Ali had been able to elude capture, although

General Wood personally conducted operations against him a year before,

establishing his headquarters at Cabacsalan, near the Lake Ligusan.

The most ferocious and arrogant Mindanao tribes occupy regions within

easy access of the coast. Perhaps their character is due to their

having led more adventurous lives by land and sea for generations,

plundering the tribes of the interior and making slave raids in

their _vintas_ on the northern islands and christian native coast

settlements. In the centre of the Island and around the mountainous

region of the Apo the tribes are more peaceful and submissive, without

desire or means for warfare. Many of the Bagobo tribe (which I have

twice visited), in the neighbourhood of Davao, have come down to

settle in villages under American protection, paying only an occasional

visit to their tribal territory to make a human sacrifice.

In Basilan Island, a dependency of Zamboanga, about 13 miles distant,

Datto Pedro Cuevas accepted the new situation, and under his influence

peace was assured among the large Moro population of that island. The

history of this man's career bristles with stirring episodes. Born in

1845, of Tagalog parentage, he started life as a Cavite highwayman,

but was captured and deported to the agricultural colony of San

Ramon, near Zamboanga, where he, with other convicts, attacked and

killed three of the European overseers, and Cuevas escaped to Basilan

Island. After innumerable difficulties, involving the conquest of a

score of villages, he gained the control of a large number of Yacan

Moros and became a sort of chief. Some years afterwards the Moros

organized an attack on the Christians at Zamboanga and Isabela de

Basilan, and Cuevas offered to save the Spaniards on condition of

receiving a full pardon. Two Spaniards were accordingly sent as

hostages to Cuevas' camp, and after Isabela was freed of the enemy

he came to see the Spanish governor. There were several Spaniards

present at the interview, and it is related that one of them let

slip a phrase implying doubt as to Cuevas' worthiness for pardon,

whereupon the undaunted chief remarked, "Sir, I thought I had won my

liberty, seeing that, but for me, you would not be alive to accord

it." Thenceforth he was always a reliable ally of the Spaniards against

Moro incursions. In 1882 Cuevas was opposed by an arrogant Sulu chief,

Datto Calun, who challenged him to single combat, and Cuevas having

slain his adversary, the tribe of the vanquished warrior, admiring

the conqueror's valour, proclaimed him their _Datto_, which title was

acknowledged by Datto Aliudi, the claimant to the Sulu Sultanate. On

July 6, 1904, his graceful daughter Urang was married, with Mahometan

rites, to a twenty-one-year-old Spanish half-caste, Ramon Laracoechea,

who was introduced to me by his father, a very pleasant Vizcayan,

resident in the Island since 1876. Educated in Manila, the son speaks

English, Spanish, Yacano and Joloano. The festivities lasted for

several days, some Americans being among the invited guests. Shortly

after this event the _Datto_, at the age of fifty-nine years, ended

his adventurous career in this world, regretted by all. In expectation

of the demise of Datto Cuevas, which was anticipated months before,

there were three aspirants to the coming vacant dattoship in the

persons of the son-in-law, Ramon, Cuevas' nephew, and an American of

humble origin and scant education who had married a Zamboanguena woman.

In Sulu Island social conditions were most deplorable. Under the Bates

Agreement the Moros became turbulent, and even attempted to take Jolo

town by assault. In August, 1903, General Wood went there, and the

_Dattos_ having been invited to meet him, quite a crowd of them came,

accompanied by about 600 fighting-men in a splendid fleet of armed

_vintas_ (war-canoes). Precautions had to be taken against possible

treachery, and a company of troops was brought into the town in

readiness for any event. The object of the meeting was to discuss the

respective limits of the _Dattos'_ spheres, but owing to the haughty,

insolent tone of the chiefs, nothing definite was arrived at. When

they were invited to state their claims, they arrogantly replied,

"We have no information to give. You say you are going to define

our limits--well, what have you to tell us? We come to listen, not

to talk." Some chiefs, however, feigned to offer their submission,

and all was apparently quiet for a time.

Major Hugh L. Scott (14th Cavalry) was then appointed (in September) to

the government of that district. The Sultan being too weak to control

his subordinates, many of them rallied their men and independently

defied all interference with their old mode of living and rule. The

Sultan, not unnaturally, was averse to ceding his sovereign rights to

any one, and he and his _Dattos_ obstructed, as far as they could, the

Americans' endeavours to better the conditions of the people. Every

few days a _juramentado_ (_vide_ pp. 146, 150) would enter the town

and attack a white man with his _barong_ in broad daylight. There

was nothing furtive in his movements, no hiding under cover to take

his victim unawares, but a straight, bold frontal attack. _Barong_

in hand, a Moro once chased a soldier though the street, upstairs into

a billiard-room, and down the other steps, where he was shot dead by

a sentinel. At another time a _juramentado_ obtained access into the

town by crawling through a drain-pipe, and chased two soldiers until

he was killed. Many Americans were wounded in the streets of Jolo,

but the aggressors were always pursued to death. Petty hostilities,

attacks and counter-attacks, the sallies of punitive parties to avenge

some violence committed, and the necessity for every individual in

the town, civil or military, being armed and always alert, made life

there one of continual excitement and emotion.

In November, 1903, the attitude of the _Dattos_ became very

menacing. Datto Andong actually cut a trench just outside the walled

town of Jolo as a base of operations against the Americans. It was

evident that an important rising of chiefs was contemplated. Major

Scott having called upon the biggest chief, Panglima [262] Hassan,

to present himself and account for the murder of an American survey

party, he came with a large force, estimated at about 4,000, well

armed, as far as the town walls. He said he wanted to enter the

town with a suite of only 700 armed men, including his subordinate

_Dattos_. Finally Major Scott agreed to his entry with 70 warriors,

but still the position was threatening with Hassan's army in the

vicinity. During the interview Panglima Hassan appeared quite friendly;

indeed, whilst he and the major were riding together, the chief,

perceiving that his host was unarmed, gallantly remarked, "As you are

without arms I will relinquish mine also," and at once took off his

_barong_ and handed it to his attendant. In the meantime Major Scott

had sent a request to General Wood for more troops, but the general,

who had only just finished his Taraca operations, replied that he

would come to Jolo himself. Almost simultaneously with his arrival in

Zamboanga the general had the satisfaction to receive a message from

the Taraca _Datto_ offering his submission, and asking to be judged

according to the Koran. On General Wood's arrival with troops in Jolo

a demand was made on Panglima Hassan to surrender. After protracted

negotiations and many insolent messages from Hassan, the general

led his troops down to Lake Seite, where an engagement took place,

leaving 60 dead Moros on the field. Panglima Hassan, pursued from

place to place, lost many warriors at every halt, the total being

estimated at 400 to 500. _Cottas_ were razed to the ground, and the

notorious Panglima Hassan himself was captured on November 14, with a

loss, so far, of one soldier killed and five wounded on the American

side. Panglima Hassan was being escorted into Jolo town by Major

Scott and other officers when suddenly the chief, pointing towards

a native-built house, begged the major to save his family. Moved by

compassion and influenced by Hassan's previous friendly attitude, the

major generously consented, and as they all approached the entrance,

in an instant out rushed the "family"--a mob of armed Moros, who

attacked the officers whilst the Panglima made his escape. Poor Major

Scott was so badly cut about on his hands that he had to go into

hospital for four months, and I noticed that he had had one left-hand

finger and two right-hand half-fingers amputated. Unable to handle

any kind of weapon, in March, 1904, he led his troops against the

cunning _Datto_, who sent out a large body of fighting-men to meet

him. After several attacks were repelled, Panglima Hassan took to

flight, his followers all the time decreasing in numbers until, with

only 80 men, the chief sought refuge in his _cotta_ at Pang-Pang,

the strongest fortress in the Island. Breaches were made in it, and

Hassan fled for his life on a swift pony, with only two retainers,

to the crater of an extinct volcano, which was quickly surrounded

by the Americans. Each time a head appeared above the crater edge a

volley was fired, but the wounded chief still bravely held out and

hit some soldiers before he died, riddled by bullets, on March 4.

Again, in May, 1905, Datto Pala, of Sulu Island, with a large

following, threatened Jolo town, and General Wood personally led

the expedition against this chief. Eight miles from Maybun the Moros

had dug pits and placed wires to impede the Americans' advance, but,

notwithstanding these obstacles, the enemy was vigorously attacked

and surrounded near the Maybun Lake, three miles from the town. After

several days' desperate fighting the _cotta_ of Lumbo was captured,

and the _Datto_ and his men were vanquished, the losses being about

seven Americans killed, about 20 wounded, and over 250 Moros killed.

In June, 1904, Datto Ambutong had a dispute with another about the

possession of some property, and on Major Scott being appealed to

in the matter, he ordered Ambutong to appear before him in Jolo

for a _bichara_ (judicial inquiry). The _Datto_, in a sulky mood,

at first refused to come, but on further pressure he changed his

mind. Early in the morning of the appointed day a friendly chief,

Datto Timbang, came into town with four retainers, all armed, to

see the Governor. Major Scott, whose guest I was, kindly invited me

to the interview, during which it transpired that Datto Timbang had

heard Ambutong declare he would come to the _bichara_, but he would

not leave it without taking heads. Datto Timbang added that he too

desired to attend the _bichara_ with his bodyguard, resolved to slay

Ambutong if he observed any threatening move on his part. The major

made no objection, and at the appointed hour four of us--my gallant

host, Major Barbour, Captain Charles and myself--went to the _bichara_

at the Governor's office in town. The Governor (i.e., the major) sat

at his desk, and we other three took seats just behind him. Before

us were the Datto Ambutong, his opponent in the question at issue,

and, a yard off him, the friendly Datto Timbang and his followers,

each with his hand on his _barong_, ready to cut down Ambutong at a

stroke if need be. Whilst the case was being heard, Hadji Butu, the

Sultan's Prime Minister, and Sultan Tattarassa, of Paragua Island,

the latter afflicted with _locomotor ataxy_, came in, saluted us all,

and took seats. The business ended, Datto Ambutong rose from his

stool, gave his hand to the major, and then walked to the back of

him to salute us. I thought I should like to handle the beautiful

_barong_ which was to have served him in taking heads. The _Datto_

complaisantly allowed me to draw it from the sheath and pass it round

to my friends. Sharp as a razor, it was the finest weapon of the class

I had ever touched. The handle was of carved ivory and Camagon wood

(_vide_ p. 314), the whole instrument being valued at quite $100. Datto

Timbang was watching, and the occasion was not a propitious one for

taking christian blood.

The following translation of a letter which Major Hugh L. Scott

courteously gave me will serve to illustrate how lightly human life

is appreciated by the Moro.

This letter from your son, His Highness Datto Mohammed Dahiatul

Kalbi, to my father, the Governor of Sulu, Major Scott, and to

my younger brother, Sali.

I want to inform you that at 7 o'clock in the morning of Saturday,

we had a fight with Tallu. I have taken his head, but if you

will allow it, I will bury it, if my father will let me do that,

because he is an Islam and I would commit an offence. It scared

my wife very much when she looked at the head in my house. Those

that are dead were Sadalani, Namla, Muhamad, and Salui. Beyond

that I have not investigated.

With greetings to my father and to my younger brother, I beg you,

my younger brother, to let me bury the head, if my father does not

feel bad about it. If our father should not believe that the head

is there, come to our house and see yourself, so to be sure. I

would not soil the faith my father has in me. To close I herewith

send the kris of Orang Kaya Tallu. The end of the pen. Sunday,

February 23, 1904.

Whilst I was in Zamboanga in June, 1904, Datto Pedro Cuevas, of

Basilan Island, sent a message over to say that there would be no

more trouble with certain pirates who had been caught, as he had cut

off their heads.

It would fill a volume to recount the legends of the sharks near

Cagayan de Jolo which wreck ships; the Moro who heard the voice of

Allah rising from a floating cocoanut to urge him to denounce the

Sultan's evil ways; the new prophet who could point at any object

and make it disappear, and a hundred other superstitious extravagances.

Jolo (_vide_ p. 149), one of the prettiest places on earth, has

been improved since the American occupation. Apart from the many

new buildings erected for military convenience, there is now a fine

jetty with a tramway, a landing-stage for small vessels, a boys'

and a girls' school, some new residences, etc. The municipality

is under the presidency of a military officer, and the clean,

orderly aspect of the town is evidence of Anglo-Saxon energy in

its administration. In 1904 there was only one drinking-saloon,

kept by a Bohemian-born American, who paid $6,000 a year for his

monopoly licence. Much to the disgust of the military, a society of

well-intentioned temperance ladies in America procured the prohibition

of alcohol-selling in military canteens and Post Exchanges. The

eastern extremity of Jolo is appropriated for military purposes,

and on the rising ground is situated the stabling for the cavalry

horses. There is a large military hospital, well appointed, and a

club-house for whites, overlooking the picturesque harbour. Outside

the town walls towards the west the dwellings of natives, chiefly from

other islands in their origin, extend about a mile as far as Tulay,

where the Sultan has a residence. On the way one passes through the

little square, in the centre of which stands a monument erected to

commemorate the landing here of Gov.-General Corcuera, April 17,

1638. During my last visit to Jolo I called upon His Highness the

Sultan at Tulay, accompanied by the civil interpreter, Mr. J. Schueck,

whose late father I had known many years before. [263] Tulay signifies

_bridge_ in Tagalog, and probably this place derives its name from the

bridge spanning the rivulet, which forms a natural division between

this village and the Jolo ex-mural western suburb. Just across the

bridge, in most unattractive surroundings, stands a roofed rough pile

of wooden planks--the residence of the Sultan. At a few paces to

the left of it one sees another gloomy structure, smaller and more

cheerless than the royal abode--it is the domicile of Hadji Butu,

the Sultan's Prime Minister.

Passing through the ground-floor, which serves as a vestibule and

storehouse for nondescript rubbish, I was met by several armed Moros

who conducted me up a dark staircase, the lid of which, at the top,

was raised to admit me to the royal presence. His Highness, the

Majasari Hadji Mohammad Jamalul Kiram, reclining on a cane-bottomed

sofa, graciously smiled, and extending his hand towards me, motioned

to me to take the chair in front of him, whilst Mr. Schueck sat on

the sofa beside the Sultan. His Highness is about thirty-six years

of age, short, thick set, wearing a slight moustache and his hair

cropped very close. With a cotton _sarong_ around his loins, the

nakedness of his body down to the waist was only covered by _jabul_

(_vide_ p. 146) thrown loosely over him. Having explained that I

was desirous of paying my respects to the son of the great Sultan

whose hospitality I had enjoyed years ago at Maybun, I was offered

a cigar and the conversation commenced. Just at that moment came

the Prime Minister, who spoke a little English, and at the back of

me, facing the Sultan, stood his trusted warriors in semi-circle,

attired in fantastic garments and armed to the teeth. From time to

time a dependent would come, bend the knee on the royal footstool and

present the _buyo_ box, or a message, or whatever His Highness called

for. The footstool attracted my curiosity, and my eye was fixed on

it for a while until I could decipher the lettering, which was upside

down. At last I made it out--"Van Houten's Cocoa." The audience-chamber

needs no minute description; it can be all summed up in bare boards,

boxes, bundles, weapons, dirt, a dilapidated writing-desk, a couple

of old chairs, and the Sultan's sofa-seat. Of course the Sultan

had a grievance. The Americans, he said, had appropriated his

pearl-fisheries, his tribute-money, and other sources of valuable

income; they were diverting the taxes payable to him into their own

coffers, with detriment to his estate and his dignity as a ruler. [264]

The questions in dispute and his position generally were, he added,

to be discussed between him and the Insular Government in Manila in the

following month. Naturally, the study of the man and his surroundings

interested me far more than conversation on a subject which was not

my business. Speaking with warmth, at every gesture the _jabul_ would

slide down to his waist, exposing his bare breast, so that perhaps

I saw more of the _Majasari_ than is the privilege of most European

visitors. On leave-taking His Highness graciously presented me with

a handsome Moro dress-sword and a betel-cutter set in a solid silver

handle, and, in return, I sent him my portrait from Manila.

Exactly a month after my visit, the Sultan, accompanied by Major

Scott, the Governor and Commander of Jolo, came and made a short stay

in Manila, where he was conducted around town and to the presence of

the authorities. Many valuable presents were officially made to him,

together with P5,000 pocket-money to console him for the postponement

_sine die_ of the "settlement" question. Driving round in wagonettes,

his retinue saw the sights of the capital and made their purchases,

but the Sultan himself was strictly guarded from pressmen and others

who might give local publicity to his claims.

America's policy with regard to the Sultan of Sulu and all other

Sultans and _Dattos_, as expounded to me by the best American

authorities, is as clear as crystal. They wish all these petty

potentates were elsewhere; but as that cannot be, they must be shorn

of all power, princely dignity being out of harmony with American

institutions. Nevertheless, they can call themselves what they like

among their own people, provided that in their relations with the

Government of the Islands they are to be simple citizens with dominion

over their own personal property, but not over that of others. There

is to be no sovereign power, great or small, other than American,

and tribal wards are to supersede dattoships. The _Dattos_ are more

numerous than Continental barons, and of varying grades, from the

Panglima Hassan type, possessor of fortresses, commander of 5,000

men, down to the titular lord of four score acres who lounges in the

village, in filthy raiment, closely followed by two juveniles, the

one carrying his bright metal _buyo_ box, in case he needs a quid,

and the other the bearer of the _barong_, lest he must assert his

dignity by force. America has decreed that from these and all their

compeers the Philippines are to be preserved.

In November, 1903, the District Governor of Zamboanga summoned

the Manguiguin, or Sultan of Mindanao (_vide_ p. 131), and all the

_Dattos_ in his district to attend a durbar. The aged Sultan very

reluctantly responded to the call, and, accompanied by his Prime

Minister, Datto Ducalat, and a large retinue, the royal party came

in about 250 armed _vintas_. When they were within a few miles

of the port they sent a message to ask if they would be allowed to

salute with their _lantacas_, and the reply being in the affirmative,

they entered the harbour with great _eclat_, amidst the booming of a

hundred cannon. Interpreters put off to meet them and escorted them

to the landing-stage, where the District Governor waited to receive

them. The Sultan wore a gorgeous turban, a royal _sarong_ worked

in thread of gold, and shoes with similar adornments. On landing,

the old prince, trembling from top to toe, with despairing glance

clutched the arm of the Governor for protection. Never before had

he seen the great city of Zamboanga; he was overcome and terrified

by its comparative grandeur, and possibly by the imposing figure of

the six-foot Governor himself. The police had to be called out to

restrain the mobs who watched his arrival. On the other hand, as the

Sultans, the _Dattos_ and their suites together numbered about 600,

and from other places by land about 400 more had come, all armed,

many of the townspeople, with traditional dread, shut themselves

up in their houses, believing that such a vast assemblage of Moros

might, at any moment, commence a general massacre. It is well known

that the question of public security did engage the attention of the

American authorities, for the gathering was indeed a formidable one,

and at the moment General Wood was in Sulu Island, leading his troops

against Panglima Hassan. All the available forces were therefore

held in readiness to meet any emergency. With faltering footsteps and

shaking like an aspen leaf, the Manguiguin, followed by his _Dattos_,

approached the double lines of soldiers with fixed bayonets stationed

on the quay. There was a pause; the Sultan, who in his youthful days

had known no fear, now realized the folly of walking into the jaws

of death. But the Governor assured him, through the interpreters,

that he was doing him the greatest honour that could be rendered to

any prince or to the great president of the greatest republic. Only

half convinced and full of suspicion, the Sultan walked on in a daze,

as though he were going to his last doom. Having emerged safely from

this peril, the great durbar was held, and lasted some hours. This was

followed by a reception at the Army and Navy Club, where a throne was

erected under a canopy for the Sultan, with seats of honour around

it for the chief _Dattos_. The reception over, the royal party was

conducted to where waggons and teams awaited them to take them to a

suburb at the foothills of the great sierra. The Governor purposely

had the biggest American horses and the largest vehicles brought

out to make an impression. The Sultan point blank refused to enter

the waggon. He had run the gauntlet through rows of pointed steel,

and now new horrors awaited him. Perfectly bewildered at the sight

of such enormous animals, he turned piteously to his Prime Minister

and invited him to lead the way. "I will follow your Highness," the

minister discreetly replied, but the muscular Governor, Captain John

P. Finley, ended the palaver by gently lifting the Sultan into the

vehicle, whilst he himself immediately entered it, and the timorous

Prime Minister and suite summoned up courage to follow. During the

drive the Governor gave the word to the teamsters to detach the

forecarriages on reaching the foothills and let the teams go. To

the great amazement of the Moro chiefs, the waggons suddenly became

stationary, whilst the released horses galloped on ahead! The Sultan

and his suite glanced at each other speechless with fright. Surely

now their last day had come! So this was the trick treacherously

prepared for them to segregate them from their fighting-men! But

the teams were caught again, and the waggons brought them safely

back to the sight of the port and the _vintas_. Allah had turned the

hearts of the great white men and rescued his chosen people in the

hour of imminent danger. The durbar was continued day by day until

every point had been discussed. Meanwhile the Sultan and suite daily

returned to their _vintas_ afloat to eat, drink, and sleep, whilst

in the town of Zamboanga the christian natives quaked, and crowds

of Moros perambulated the streets in rich and picturesque costumes,

varying in design according to the usage of their tribes. Before the

departure of the royal visitor the troops were formed up, military

evolutions were performed with clockwork precision, and volley after

volley was fired in the air. The Sultan declared he could never receive

the Governor with such splendour, but he wanted him to promise to

return his visit. It was not politic, however, to agree to do so. And

the Sultan and his people left, passing once more through lines of

troops with bayonets fixed, this time with a firmer step than when

they landed, thanking the Great Prophet for their happy deliverance

from what had appeared to them a dreamland of dreadful novelty.

The Manguiguin of Mindanao was indeed "a man of sorrows and acquainted

with grief," for in the days of his decrepitude he was jilted by the

widow of Utto (_vide_ p. 143), the once celebrated Cottabato _Datto_,

the idol of the Christian-haters.

Education is one of the chief concerns of the Moro Province

Government. The efforts of the _School Department_, up to June 30,

1904, will be understood from the following official statistics,

viz. [265]:--

Teachers employed--15 Americans, 50 Christian Filipinos, and nine

Mahometan Filipinos.

41 Schools were established.

2,114 Children were on the school rolls.

1,342 Christian children attended on average.

240 Moro children attended on average.

P46,898.17 were expended in the School Department, of which P28,355.09

were disbursed in Zamboanga District.

Besides the public schools, the Jesuits are permitted to continue

their excellent work of civilization and education in their own

schools wherever they have a mission established.

According to Moro custom the fruit of a man's labour belongs to

the _Datto_ who gives the man a subsistence. The Americans are

teaching the man that the fruit of his labour is his own, and, for

that purpose, market-places are established at many centres on the

coast with the hope of inculcating free-labour notions, so that the

seller can get cash for his goods and keep it. I visited three of

these markets on the south coast of Mindanao, and also the one in

course of construction at Zamboanga (ward of Magay), where Governor

John P. Finley was putting his heart and soul into his scheme for

creating an important Moro Exchange. By Legislative Council Act

No. 55, the sum of P1,850 was appropriated for its construction,

and the Governor had succeeded in persuading the Moros themselves

to contribute P1,300 towards its completion. The Moros are urged to

come in their produce-laden _vintas_ and occupy the stalls erected

for them in the large commodious market-shed, which has accommodation

for carts and cattle if need be. Boats of less than 15 tons gross are

free of tax, licence, or documents (Phil. Com. Act No. 1354, of June

15, 1905). Whenever any trouble arises up the coast the Governor's

official _vinta_ is despatched, manned by Moros, under the command

of the Governor's messenger, Hadji Nuno, a parvenu _Datto_ whose name

reveals his Spanish origin.

Everything within the powers of the Legislative Council of the

Moro Province seems to have been done to introduce law, order, and

administrative uniformity, constrain violence, propagate knowledge

and set the inhabitants on the path of morality and prosperity. The

result of a century's labour, at the present rate of development,

might, however, be achieved in a decade if the Insular Government had

authority from Washington to relax the rigidity of the "Philippines for

the Filipinos" doctrine in the special case of the Moro Province. It

is true the Moros are as much Filipinos as the rest of the Philippine

inhabitants, but it will be generations before they can know how to

enjoy their birthright without the example of energetic white men who

are, naturally, unwilling to come and philanthropically devote their

lives to "pulling the chestnuts out of the fire" for the Moro. They

want to reap some material advantage for themselves. Gen. Leonard Wood,

in his First Annual Report of the Moro Province, remarks:--"What is

needed to develop this portion of the world is a suitable class of

settlers, bringing with them knowledge of modern agricultural methods,

enterprise and some capital.... If he (the Moro) could see the results

... it is believed that his ambition would be stimulated and that his

development would be comparatively rapid. In short, a scattering of

good agriculturists throughout the province would be of inestimable

value to the people. At the present time such a class of settlers

is _not_ coming, and it is not believed they will come until much

more liberal inducements are offered them, especially in the way of

obtaining land by settlement. Our standing among the people of these

Islands has been much injured by the presence of a large and tough

class of so-called Americans whose energies have been principally

extended in the construction, maintenance and patronage of rum shops,

which outnumber other American business establishments."

The American who would go to Mindanao to settle on 40 acres of land

could not be of the class desired. [266] A maximum of 1,000 acres to

an individual settler and 10,000 acres to a company of not less than

five persons, would produce a rapid and beneficial development of

Mindanao and push on its civilization by giant strides. There would

be little fear of the natives' rights being unduly encroached upon by

whites if, in addition to the Homestead Law conditions, the period

of application for land were limited to two or three years from the

promulgation of the law, with solid guarantees to prevent a flood of

bogus applications from land-grabbers. The Treasurer, in his First

Annual Report of the Moro Province, says:--"It is not reasonable to

expect, under present conditions, any systematic effort on their

(the Moros') part to cultivate the soil, as they know, as well as

the powers that be, that they have no assurance that the land they

will improve to-day will be theirs to-morrow. They have title to not

one foot of land, and no guarantee from the Government that present

improvements will be theirs when they are finally settled by the

former. A liberal _land law_ will also bring an influx of settlers

and capital.... It will not only make this province the richest part

of the Philippine Islands and the State the beneficiary, but it will

remove the necessity for the soldier in the field. No other legislation

is going to improve financial conditions here to any extent. There is

no doubt the Government land unsettled and untouched in this province

amounts to 90 per cent. of all the tillable land, and equals in area

and excels in richness that of all the tillable land of Luzon."

The District of Davao is far more developed agriculturally than the

other four. Planters whom I know personally are opening up land and

producing large quantities of hemp, giving employment to Bagobos

and others, but without any certainty about the possession of the

land. Inexhaustible forests of fine timber remain undisturbed,

and are left to decay in the ordinary course of nature, whilst

shiploads of Oregon pine arrive for public works. My attendance at

the public conferences on the timber-felling question, before the

Philippine Commission in Manila, did not help me to appreciate the

policy underlying the Insular Government's apparent reluctance to

stimulate the development of the timber industry; indeed, it is not

easy to follow the working of the "Philippines for the Filipinos"

policy in several details.

In 1904 General Wood recommended to the Philippine Commission the

incorporation of the present provinces of Misamis and Surigao in

the Moro Province, seeing that the people of those provinces and

the Moro Province belong to the same races and have identical

interests. As it is, the hill tribes of Misamis find themselves

between two jurisdictions, and have to pass nearly a hundred miles

through the Moro Province to reach the sea coast--an anomaly which

will no doubt be rectified by including the whole Island of Mindanao

in the Moro Province.

The American Government's abstinence from proselytism in dealing

with the Moros is more likely to succeed than Spain's well-meant

"policy of attraction" adopted in the last years of her rule, for

whatever progress this system made was counterbalanced by the futile

endeavour to induce the Mahometans to change their religion. Under

the wise administration set in progress by General Leonard Wood there

is a hopeful future for Moroland.

CHAPTER XXX

The Spanish Friars, After 1898

The Aglipayan Schism. Education. Politics. Population.

With the American dominion came free cult. No public money is

disbursed for the support of any religious creed. No restraint is

placed upon the practice of any religion exercised with due regard

to morality. Proselytism in public schools is declared illegal. [267]

The prolonged discussion of the friars' position and claims encouraged

them to hope that out of the labyrinthine negotiations might emerge

their restoration to the Philippine parishes. For a while, therefore,

hundreds of them remained in Manila, others anxiously watched the

course of events from their refuges in the neighbouring British and

Portuguese colonies, and the unpopular Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda

only formally resigned the archbishopric of Manila years after he

had left it. Having prudently retired from the Colony during the

Rebellion, he returned to it on the American occupation, and resumed

his archiepiscopal functions until the end of 1899. Preliminary

negotiations in Church matters were facilitated by the fact of the

Military Governor of the Islands at the time being a Roman Catholic,

an American army chaplain acting as chief intermediary between the lay

and ecclesiastical authorities. The common people were quite unable, at

the outset, to comprehend that under American law a friar could be in

their midst without a shred of civil power or jurisdiction. There were

Filipinos of all classes, some in sympathy with the American cause,

who were as loud in their denunciation of the proposed return of the

friars as the most intransigent insurgents. They thought of them most

in their lay capacity of _de facto_ Government agents all over the

Islands. It cannot be said that the parish priests originally sought

to discharge civil functions; they did so, at first, only by order

of their superiors, who were the _de facto_ rulers in the capital,

and afterwards by direct initiative of the lay authorities, because

the Spanish Government was too poor to employ civil officials. What

their functions were is explained in Chapter xii. The complaints of the

people against the friars constituted the leading theme of Dr. Rizal's

writings, notably his "Noli me tangere," and the expulsion of the four

obnoxious Religious Orders is claimed to have been one of the most

important reforms verbally promised in connexion with the alleged

Treaty of Biac-na-bato. The allegation of the prelates and other

members of the regular clergy who gave evidence before the American

Civil Commission in 1900, to the effect that the _Katipunan Society_

members invaded the parishes only to murder the friars and rob the

churches, should be weighed against the fact that two hundred thousand

Filipinos were ready to leave glowing life for grim death to rid

the country of monastic rule. The townspeople, apparently apathetic,

were afraid to express their opinion of the friars until they were

backed up by the physical force of the _Katipunan_ legions. It was

the conflict of material interests and the friars' censorship which

created the breach between the vicar and the people. The immorality

of the friars was not general and by no means the chief ground,

if any, for hostility against them; the frailties of the few simply

weakened the prestige of all and broke the pedestal of their moral

superiority. My own investigations convinced me that the friars'

incontinence was generally regarded with indifference by the people;

concubinage being so common among the Filipinos themselves it did

not shock them in the pastor's case. Moreover, women were proud of

the paternity of their children begotten in their relationship to

the friars.

When, on the American occupation, the friar question could be freely

discussed, hot disputes at once ensued between the friar party and

the Philippine clergy, supported by the people. In the meantime, an

Apostolic Delegate, Monsignor P. L. Chapelle, [268] was appointed by

the Pope, in agreement with the American Government, to endeavour to

adjust the friar problem. The details to be considered were manifold,

but the questions which most interested the public were the return

of the friars to the parishes and the settlement of their property

claims. Monsignor Chapelle so vigorously espoused the cause of the

friars that he appeared to be more their advocate than an independent

judge in the controversy. Many friars, anxious to quit the Islands,

were dissuaded from doing so by this prelate. [269] He arrived in

Manila on January 2, 1900, and, without having made any personal

investigations in the provinces, by the 16th of April he deemed

himself competent to declare that "the accusations adduced against

them (the Religious Orders) are the merest pretexts of shrewd and

anti-American Filipino politicians." [270] As a matter of fact,

nothing anti-American, or American, had any connexion with the

subject. The struggle to expel the friars from these Islands was

initiated years before the Americans contemplated intervention in

Philippine affairs. Open rebellion was started against the friars

twenty months before the Battle of Cavite. Nozaleda and Chapelle

wished to appoint friars to the provincial benefices, whilst protests

against this proposal were coming from nearly every Christian quarter

of the Colony. The Filipinos desired to have the whole administration

of the Church in their own hands and, if possible, to see every

friar leave the Archipelago. The representative Philippine clergy

were Dr. Mariano Sevilla, Father Rojas, Father Changco, and Father

Singson. The great champions of the national cause were the first two,

who stoutly opposed Nozaleda's schemes. Fierce discussions arose

between the parties; Father Sevilla and party defied Nozaleda to

make the appointments he desired, and then sent a cablegram to the

Pope to the following effect:--"Archbishop and Apostolic Delegate

want to appoint friars to the Philippine benefices. The Philippine

people strongly oppose. Schism imminent." Father Sevilla could

not be wheedled into agreeing to Nozaleda's and Chapelle's plans,

so he was sent to prison for two months in the _Calle de Anda_,

Manila, and deportation to the Island of Guam was menacingly hinted

at. When the reply came from Rome, disapproving of the action of the

two prelates, Father Sevilla was released from prison. Nevertheless,

Nozaleda's wrath was unappeased. He then proposed that the benefices

should be shared between Filipinos and friars, whilst Father Sevilla

insisted on the absolute deposition of the friars. At this time there

were 472 members of the four confraternities in the Islands, mostly

in Manila. [271] At a meeting of the Philippine clergy the expulsion

of the friars was proposed and supported by a majority; but Father

Sevilla vetoed the resolution, and his ruling was obeyed. Moreover,

he agreed that the friars should hold some benefices in and near Manila

and the ecclesiastical-educational employments in the colleges. "We,"

said Father Sevilla, "are for the Church; let them continue their work

of education; it is not our function." Nozaleda then made advances

towards Father Sevilla, and endeavoured to cajole him by the offer of

an appointment, which he repeatedly refused. Rome, for the time being,

had overruled the question of the benefices contrary to Nozaleda's

wish. For the moment there was nothing further for the Philippine

clergy to defend, but in their general interests Father Sevilla,

their spokesman, elected to remain in an independent position until

after the retirement of Monsignor Chapelle, when Father Sevilla became

parish priest of Hagonoy (Bulacan).

The outcome of the controversy respecting the benefices was that the

friars could be sent to those parishes where the people were willing to

receive them, without danger of giving rise to public disorder. This

was in accordance with President McKinley's Instructions to the Taft

Commission dated April 7, 1900, [272] which says: "No form of religion

and no minister of religion shall be forced upon any community or

upon any citizen of the Islands."

Archbishop Nozaleda left for Spain, but did not relinquish his

archbishopric until June, 1903. [273] In his absence his office was

administered by Father Martin Garcia Alcocer, the Spanish bishop

of Cebu, whilst the bishopric of Cebu was left in charge of a

popular Chinese half-caste secular priest, Father Singson, [274] who

subsequently became vicar of Cebu on the appointment of an American

prelate, Father Hendrichs, to the bishopric.

In the matter of the _Friars' lands_, it was apparently impossible

to arrive at any settlement with the friars themselves. The purchase

of their estates was recommended by the Insular Government, and the

Congress at Washington favourably entertained that proposal. In many

places the tenants refused to pay rent to the friars, who then put

forward the extraordinary suggestion that the Government should send

an armed force to coerce the tenants. The Government at once refused

to do this, pointing out that the ordinary courts were open to them

the same as to all citizens. Truly the friars found themselves in a

dilemma. By the rules of their Order they could not sue in a court of

law; but under the Spanish Government, which was always subservient

to their will, they had been able to obtain redress by force. Under

the American Government these immunities and privileges ceased.

In 1902 the Civil Governor of the Philippines, Mr. W. H. Taft, visited

the United States, and on May 9 in that year he was commissioned

by his Government to visit Rome on his way back to the Islands in

order to negotiate the question of the friars' lands with the Holy

See. The instructions issued to him by the Secretary of War contain

the following paragraphs, namely [275]:--

One of the controlling principles of our Government is the complete

separation of Church and State, with the entire freedom of each

from any control or interference by the other. This principle is

imperative wherever American jurisdiction extends, and no modification

or shading thereof can be a subject of discussion. . . . By reason of

the separation, the Religious Orders can no longer perform, in behalf

of the State, the duties in relation to public instruction and public

charities formerly resting upon them. . . . They find themselves the

object of such hostility on the part of their tenantry against them

as landlords, and on the part of the people of the parishes against

them as representatives of the former Government, that they are no

longer capable of serving any useful purpose for the Church. No rents

can be collected from the populous communities occupying their lands,

unless it be by the intervention of the civil government with armed

force. Speaking generally, for several years past the friars, formerly

installed over the parishes, have been unable to remain at their posts,

and are collected in Manila with the vain hope of returning. They

will not be voluntarily accepted again by the people, and cannot be

restored to their positions except by forcible intervention on the

part of the civil government, which the principles of our Government

forbid....It is for the interest of the Church, as well as for the

State, that the landed proprietorship of the Religious Orders in the

Philippine Islands should cease, and that if the Church wishes...to

continue its ministration among the people of the Islands...it should

seek other agents therefor. It is the wish of our Government, in

case Congress shall grant authority, that the titles of the Religious

Orders to the large tracts of agricultural lands which they now hold

shall be extinguished, but that full and fair compensation shall be

made therefor. It is not, however, deemed to be for the interests

of the people of the Philippine Islands that...a fund should thereby

be created to be used for the attempted restoration of the friars to

the parishes from which they are now separated, with the consequent

disturbance of law and order. Your errand will not be, in any sense

or degree, diplomatic in its nature; but will be purely a business

matter of negotiation by you, as Governor of the Philippines, for the

purchase of property from the owners thereof, and the settlement of

land titles."

Governor Taft arrived in Rome in June, 1902, in the pontificate

of His Holiness Leo XIII., whose Secretary of State was Cardinal

M. Rampolla. In Governor Taft's address to His Holiness, the following

interesting passage occurs: "On behalf of the Philippine Government, it

is proposed to buy the lands of the Religious Orders with the hope that

the funds thus furnished may lead to their withdrawal from the Islands,

and, if necessary, a substitution therefor, as parish priests, of

other priests whose presence would not be dangerous to public order."

In the document dated June 22, in reply to Governor Taft's address

to His Holiness, Cardinal Rampolla says: "As to the Spanish religious

in particular belonging to the Orders mentioned in the instructions,

not even they should be denied to return to those parishes where the

people are disposed to receive them without disturbance of public

order . . . The Holy See will not neglect to promote, at the same

time, the better ecclesiastical education and training of the native

clergy, in order to put them in the way, according to their fitness,

of _taking gradually_ the place of the Religious Orders in the

discharge of the pastoral functions. The Holy See likewise recognizes

that in order to reconcile more fully the feelings of the Filipinos

to the religious possessing landed estates, _the sale of the same is

conducive thereto_. The Holy See declares it is disposed to furnish the

new Apostolic Delegate, who is to be sent to the Philippine Islands,

with necessary and opportune instructions in order to treat amicably

this affair in understanding with the American Government and the

parties interested."

In the same document the Holy See asked for indemnity for "the acts of

vandalism perpetrated by the insurgents in the destruction of churches

and the appropriation of sacred vestments," and also for the damage

caused by the occupation by the American Government of "episcopal

palaces, seminaries, convents, rectories, and other buildings intended

for worship." The Holy See further claimed "the right and the liberty

of administering the pious trusts of ecclesiastical origin, or of

Catholic foundation, which do not owe their existence to the civil

power exclusively"; also "suitable provisions for religious teaching

in the public schools, especially the primary."

Governor Taft, in his reply to the Holy See, dated July 3, expressed

regret at the suggested appointment of a new Apostolic Delegate,

and sought to bring the Holy See to a definite contract. For the

settlement of the friars' land question he proposed "a tribunal

of arbitration to be composed of five members--two to be appointed

by His Holiness, two to be appointed by the Philippine Government,

and one, the fifth, to be selected by an indifferent person, like

the Governor-General of India"; the expenses to be defrayed wholly

by the Philippine Government, and the tribunal to meet in the City

of Manila not later than January 1, 1903. He further proposed that

the lands should be valued in Mexican dollars, and be paid for in

three cash instalments of three, six, and nine months after the

report of the award and the delivery of the deeds. Furthermore, that

"the payments ought to be made to the person designated by the Holy

See to receive the same," on the condition that "no money shall be

paid for the lands to be purchased until proper conveyances for the

land shall have been made to the Philippine Government." Another

condition was "that all the members of the four Religious Orders

of Dominicans, Agustinians, Recoletos, and Franciscans now in the

Islands shall withdraw therefrom after two years from the date of

the first payment. An exception is made in favour of any member of

those Orders who has been able to avoid hostility of the people and

to carry on his duties as parish priest, in his parish outside Manila,

from August, 1898, to date of this agreement," because "it is certain

that such a priest is popular with the people." Governor Taft adds:

"Nothing will calm the fears of the people.... except the definite

knowledge ... that the Spanish friars of the four Orders are to leave

the Islands at a definite time, and are not to return to the parishes."

Cardinal Rampolla replied on July 9 to Governor Taft's communication

of July 3, which covered his proposed contract and enclosed a counter

project of convention, explaining as follows:--"The Holy See cannot

accept the proposition of the Philippine Government to recall from the

Archipelago in a fixed time all the religious of Spanish nationality

... and to prevent their return in the future. In effect, such a

measure ... would be contrary to the positive rights guaranteed by

the Treaty of Paris, and would put, consequently, the Holy See in

conflict with Spain ... Such a measure would be, in the eyes of the

Filipinos and of the entire Catholic world, the explicit confirmation

of all the accusations brought against the said religious by their

enemies, accusations of which ... the evident exaggeration cannot

be disputed. If the American Government, respecting, as it does,

individual rights, does not dare to interdict the Philippine soil

to the Spanish religious ... how could the Pope do it? The Holy See,

in accord with the diocesan authorities, will not permit the return

of the Spanish religious ... in the parishes where their presence

would provoke troubles."

The Holy See's counter-proposal was cabled to the Secretary of War,

who, in his reply dated July 14, which was tantamount to a rejection of

it, remarked: "The lay Catholic population and the parish priests of

native and non-Spanish blood are practically a unit in desiring both

to expel the friars and to confiscate their lands ... This proposed

confiscation, without compensation for the Church lands, was one of the

fundamental policies of the Insurgent Government under Aguinaldo." As

an alternative, the Secretary of War accepted the proposal of the Holy

See to send a new Apostolic Delegate, with necessary instructions to

negotiate the affair amicably. Therefore, in transmitting this reply

to Cardinal Rampolla on July 15, Gov. Taft closed the negotiations

by stating: "I have the honour to request ... that the negotiations

concerning the various subjects touched upon in the proposals and

counter-proposals be continued in Manila between the Apostolic Delegate

and myself, on the broad lines indicated in this correspondence.... I

much regret that we cannot now reach a more precise agreement...."

The receipt of this last communication was courteously acknowledged

by Cardinal M. Rampolla on July 18, 1902, and Gov. Taft then continued

his journey to the Philippines. [276]

Monsignor Chapelle's mission had entirely failed to achieve its

purpose, and he retired from the Islands on the appointment of the

new Apostolic Delegate, Monsignor Giovanni Battista Guidi. Bora

on April 27, 1852, this prelate was a man of great culture and a

distinguished linguist, who had travelled considerably. From Rome he

proceeded to Washington, and, with the United States _exequatur_,

he entered Manila on November 18, 1902, and died there on June 26,

1904. During his mission the conditions of the friars' land settlement

were embodied in a contract dated December 28, 1903, whereby the

United States undertook to pay, within six months from date, the sum

of $7,227,000 gold in exchange for the title-deeds and conveyances of

all the rural lands belonging to the three corporations possessing

such--namely, the Dominicans, Agustinians, and Recoletos. [277]

To cover this purchase, bonds were issued in America for $7,000,000

bearing 4 per cent, interest per annum; but, as the bonds obtained

a premium on the money market, the total amount realized on the

issue was $7,530,370. It remained, therefore, with the corporations

themselves to deliver the title-deeds, but on personal inquiry of

the Gov.-General in the month of July following I learnt that up to

that date they had only partially fulfilled this condition. This,

however, concerns them more than it does the American Government,

which is ready to pay for value received. The approximate extent of

the friars' lands is as follows [278]:--

Province. Acres.

Cavite. 121,747 Some held for centuries. None

less than one generation.

La Laguna 62,172

Rizal 50,145

Bulacan 39,441

Rizal (Morong) 4,940

Bataan 1,000

Cebu 16,413

Cagayan 49,400 Gov't. grant to Austin friars,

Sept. 25, 1880.

Mindoro 58,455 Gov't. grant to Recoleto friars

in 1894.

-------

Total 403,713

The purchase negotiations became all the more complicated because,

from 1893 onwards, the Religious Orders had sold some of their lands

to speculators who undertook to form companies to work them; however,

the friars were the largest stockholders in these concerns.

As the lands become State property they will be offered to the tenants

at the time being at cost price, payable in long terms with moderate

interest. The annual compounded sum will be only a trifle more than

the rent hitherto paid. [279]

As Governor Taft stated before the United States Senate, it would be

impolitic to allow the tenants to possess the lands without payment,

because such a plan would be promotive of socialistic ideas. The

friars' land referred to does not include their urban property in and

around Manila, which, with the buildings thereon, they are allowed

to retain for the maintenance of those members of their Orders who

still hope to remain in the Islands. In July, 1904, there were about

350 friars in the Islands, including the Recoletos in Cavite and the

few who were amicably received by the people in provincial parishes,

exclusively in their sacerdotal capacity. At this period, at least,

the Filipinos were not unanimous in rejecting friars as parish

priests. Bishop Hendrichs, of Cebu, told me that he had received a

deputation of natives from Bojol Island, begging him to appoint friars

to their parishes. In May, 1903, the _Centro Catolico_, a body of lay

Filipinos, well enough educated to understand the new position of the

clergy, addressed a memorial to the Papal delegate, Monsignor Guidi,

expressing their earnest desire for the retention of the friars. In

the localities where their presence is desired their influence over

the people is great. Their return to such parishes is well worth

considering. Their ability to restrain the natives extravagances is

superior to that of any lay authority, and it is obvious that, under

the new conditions of government, they could never again produce a

conflict like that of the past.

The administrator of the archbishopric of Manila, Father Martin Garcia

Alcocer, retired to Spain (October 25, 1903) on the appointment of

the present American Archbishop, Monsignor Jeremiah J. Harty, who

arrived in the capital in January, 1904. He is a man of pleasing

countenance, commanding presence, and an impressive orator. Since

1898 churches and chapels of many denominations and creeds have been

opened in the Islands. Natives join them from various motives, for it

would be venturesome to assert that they are all moved by religious

conviction. In Zamboanga I had the pleasure of meeting an enthusiastic

propagandist, who assured me with pride that he had drawn quite a

number of christian natives from their old belief. His sincerity of

purpose enlisted my admiration, but his explanation of the advantages

accruing to his neophytes was too recondite for my understanding.

The limpid purity of purpose in the lofty ideal of uplifting all

humanity, so characteristic of the Roman Catholic Church in Europe,

was unfortunately obscured in the latter days of Spanish dominion in

these Islands by the multifarious devices to convert the Church into a

money-making channel. If the true religious spirit ever pervaded the

provincial Filipino's mind, it was quickly impaired in his struggle

to resist the pastor's greed, unless he yielded to it and developed

into a fanatic or a monomaniac. [280]

Astute Filipinos, of quicker discernment than their fellows, did not

fail to perceive the material advantages to be reaped from a religious

system, quite apart from the religion itself, in the power of union

and its pecuniary potentiality. As a result thereof there came into

existence, at the close of Spanish rule, the _Philippine Independent

Church_, more popularly known as the _Aglipayan Church_. Some eight or

nine years before the Philippine Rebellion a young Filipino went to

Spain, where he imbibed the socialistic, almost anarchical, views of

such political extremists as Lerroux and Blasco-Ybanez. By nature of

a revolutionary spirit, the doctrines of these politicians fascinated

him so far as to convert him into an intransigent opponent of Spanish

rule in his native country. In 1891 he went to London, where the

circumstance of the visit of the two priests alluded to at p. 383

was related to him. He saw in their suggestion a powerful factor for

undermining the supremacy of the friars. The young Filipino pondered

seriously over it, and when the events of 1898 created the opportunity,

he returned to the Islands impressed with the belief that independence

could only be gained by union, and that a pseudo-religious organization

was a good medium for that union.

The antecedents and the subsequent career of the initiator of the

Philippine Independent Church would not lead one to suppose that there

was more religion in him than there was in the scheme itself. The

principle involved was purely that of independence; the incidence of

its development being in this case pseudo-religious, with the view

of substituting the Filipino for the alien in his possession of sway

over the Filipinos' minds, for a purpose. The initiator of the scheme,

not being himself a gownsman, was naturally constrained to delegate

its execution to a priest, whilst he organized another union, under

a different title, which finally brought incarceration to himself

and disaster to his successor.

Gregorio Aglipay, the head of the Philippine Independent, or Aglipayan,

Church, was born at Batac, in the province of Ilocos Norte, on May

7, 1860, of poor parents, who owned a patch of tobacco land on which

young Gregorio worked. Together with his father, he was led to prison

at the age of sixteen for not having planted the obligatory minimum

of 4,000 plants (_vide_ p. 294). On his release he left field-work

and went to Manila, where he took his first lessons at the house

of a Philippine lawyer, Julian Carpio. Two years afterwards, whilst

working in a menial capacity, he attended the school of San Juan de

Letran. Through a poor relation he was recommended to the notice of

the Dominican friars, under whose patronage he entered Saint Thomas's

University, where he graduated in philosophy and arts. Then he returned

to his province, entered the seminary, and became a sub-deacon of the

diocese of Nueva Segovia. In 1889 he was ordained a priest in Manila,

Canon Sanchez Luna being his sponsor, and he said his first mass in the

church of Santa Cruz. Although the friars had frequently admonished

him for his liberal tendencies, he was appointed coadjutor curate

of several provincial parishes, and was acting in that capacity at

Victoria (Tarlac) when the rebellion of 1896 broke out. About that

time he received a warning from a native priest in another parish

that the Spaniards would certainly arrest him on suspicion of being

in sympathy with the rebels. In fear of his life he escaped to Manila,

where he found a staunch friend in Canon Sanchez Luna, who allowed him

to stay at his house on the pretext of illness. Canon Luna, who was a

Spaniard, obtained from Gov.-General Blanco papers in favour of Aglipay

to ensure his safety back to Victoria. Aglipay then left the capital,

making use of the safe-conduct pass to go straight to the rebel camp,

where, with the title of chaplain to General Tinio's forces, he was

present at several engagements and enjoyed the friendship of General

Emilio Aguinaldo. The Malolos Government appointed him Vicar-General,

and after the War of Independence broke out he assumed command of

a large body of insurgents in the mountain region of his native

province. In 1899 he proclaimed himself chief of the Philippine

Independent Church, whereupon the Archbishop publicly excommunicated

him. Later on he voluntarily presented himself to the military

authorities, and obtained pardon under the amnesty proclamation.

Dr. Mariano Sevilla and several other most enlightened Philippine

priests were in friendly relation with Aglipay for some time, but

eventually various circumstances contributed to alienate them from

his cause. In his overtures towards those whose co-operation he sought

there was a notable want of frankness and a disposition to treat them

with that diplomatic reserve compatible only with negotiations between

two adverse parties. His association with the lay initiator of the

scheme, unrevealed at the outset, incidentally came to their knowledge

with surprise and disapproval. Judging, too, from the well-known

tenets of the initiator's associates, there was a suspicion lest the

proposed Philippine Independent Church were really only a detail in

a more comprehensive plan involving absolute separation from foreign

control in any shape. Again, he hesitated openly to declare his views

with respect to the relations with Rome. Conscience here seemed

to play a lesser part than expediency. The millions in the world

who conscientiously disclaim the supremacy of the Pope, at least

openly avow it. In the present case the question of submission to,

or rebellion against, the Apostolic successor was quite subordinate

to the material success of the plans for independence. It is difficult

to see in all this the evidence of religious conviction.