"Rizal, magnanimously pardoned by His Excellency the Captain General
of the Archipelago, D. Eulogio Despujol (42), after the making of a
thousand and one lying protests of repentance, reached this capital in
May 1892, being received by his countrymen with extraordinary proofs
of enthusiasm and rejoicing; and converting himself into an apostle
of filibusterism, commenced a campaign of scandalous propaganda.
"Three days after his arrival he convoked a large reunion (43) in
the house of the Chinese half-caste Ongjungco in Tondo, and under his
presidentship there gathered Franco, property owner; Flores, Lieutenant
of Infantry; Rianzares, lawyer; Zulueta, government employee; Adriano,
notary; Reyes, tailor; Paez, business agent; Francisco, industrial;
Serrano, school-teacher; A. Salvador, contractor; Salazar, industrial;
Mariano, property owner; Legaspi, industrial; Jose, property owner;
Bonifacio, warehouse porter; Plata, curial; Villareal, tailor; Rosa,
book-keeper; Arellano, military employee; M. Salvador, industrial;
Arevalo, dentist; Rosario, merchant; Santillan, industrial; Ramos,
industrial; Joven, property owner; Villaruel, merchant; Mabini,
lawyer; Nacpil, silversmith; and many other Filipinos well known by
their ideas. To this assembly Rizal made known the motive which had
inspired him to call it together, which was no other than the creation
of a secret society to be known as the "Liga Filipina", founded for
the purpose of fomenting the advancement and culture of the country and
the attaining, later on, of emancipation from Spain (44). He read out a
list of provisional regulations drawn up by himself; these regulations
were unanimously approved; a commission formed of Ambrosio Salvador
and Deodato Arellano as president and secretary respectively, was at
once nominated for the studying and development of Rizal's project,
and the reunion was dissolved till it should be again convoked.
"The opportune deportation of Rizal (45), Cortes and Salvador,
upset the plans of the "oath bound" conspirators and the panic thus
brought about dispersed them for the moment. In the beginning of the
year 1893 they re-assumed the work (46), sometimes in the house of
Domingo Franco, and at others in that of Deodato Arellano; and after
it had been agreed that they should be ruled by the regulations of
Rizal, and votes having been cast, the Supreme Council of the "Liga"
was constituted in the following form:
President Franco.
Secretary & Treasurer Arellano.
Fiscal Francisco.
/ Zulueta.
| Legaspi.
| Paez.
| Bonifacio.
Councillors + Nacpil.
| Adriano.
| Mabini.
| Rianzares.
\ Flores.
"Before continuing, and in order that the facts which follow
may be better understood, I will give some idea of the "Liga"
according to the mentioned regulations. Its determined ends (47),
were the independence of the islands; its means, the propaganda of
advanced political ideas (48), availing themselves of conferences,
books, pamphlets and the paper "La Solidaridad" which was declared
the official organ of the association; the culture of the country
by means of study, and its material advancement by stimulating the
creation of large enterprises and industries; and, as a final means,
armed rebellion (49). The catechised or initiated submitted themselves
to a solemn oath before a human skull, which they afterwards kissed,
signing with their own blood (50) a compromising document, after
making the corresponding incision in one of their arms.
"All those initiated incurred the duty of making propaganda (51) by all
means in their power, and of increasing the number of the associates,
of preserving under severest penalties, the most impenetrable silence
on all matters relating to the "Liga" and blind obedience to their
superiors. The association was governed by a Supreme Council with
residence in Manila, and composed of a President, a Treasurer, a
Fiscal, a Secretary and twelve Councillors; for the Peninsular and
Hong-Kong, the delegations composed of Marcelo del Pilar and Ildefonso
Laurel [6].
"In each province was formed a provincial council with the same
organizations as the Supreme Council, but with only six councillors,
who, in their turn, had under their orders as many popular councils as
there should be pueblos in the province in which the council should
be constituted. The popular councils with analogous organization to
the provincial councils, had jurisdiction within the demarcation of a
pueblo; they depended directly upon the respective provincial council
and the provincial upon the Supreme.
"All the members of the Supreme Council were to constitute in the
capital of Manila a popular council formed of their converts within
the zone of their residences; and all the members had to recruit among
the natives of some culture, till the society should be thoroughly
developed.
"Each treasurer collected a peso as entrance fee from the initiated and
a medio (half) peso, as a monthly subscription for each member. With
the said funds there was created a central deposit in the treasury
of the Supreme Council, for the covering of the expenses of the
delegations, and the sustainment of the Solidaridad; and it was agreed
that once there should be sufficient capital, great enterprises,
of a nature undetermined, should be undertaken.
"The eternal question of money in this class of organizations
(52) gave rise to a serious falling out between Rizal and the Liga
(53), on which account their official relations were severed. The
subscriptions were badly collected, and those encharged with the
custody and turning in of what few funds did exist misapplied them
(54); this was what brought about the decadence of the league and
the cause of its falling into discredit and disrepute and for its
not prospering, in spite of the fact that among those who aided
it with their moral and metalic aid, but without formal or written
compromise (55), were a number of shameless filibusters, so much the
more repugnant as the brilliant social position they held under the
protection of Spain was elevated. Among many others may be cited the
wealthy proprietors Pedro and Francisco Roxas (56), Mariano Linjap,
Telesforo Chuidian, Luis R. Yangco, Antonio and Juan Luna, Felipe
Zamora, Eduardo Litonjua, Marcelino de los Santos, Maximo Paterno
(57) and Nazario Constantino (58).
"Of the members of the Supreme Council, only the following succeeded
in forming popular councils: Estanislao Legaspi who organized one
in Tondo, known as Talang Bakero; Andres Bonifacio, one in Trozo,
known as Mayon; and Francisco Nacpil, one in Santa Cruz, known as
Mactan (59). The rest of the members of the Supreme Council only
succeeded in forming the following fruitless sections: Flores, one
in Ermita and Malate; Zulueta in Binondo; Rianzares in San Nicolas;
Francisco in Quiapo; Adriano and Mabini in Sampaloc and Nagtajan,
and Salvador in Pandacan.
"In the provinces also the Liga enjoyed such slow progress, that it was
not possible to organize to popular councils, but sections only, and
these were organized in the Laguna, by Vicente Reyes; in Batangas by
Felipe Agoncillo (60); in Nueva Ecija, Bentus and Natividad; in Tarlac
the notary del Rosario, and in Bulacan, Pampanga and other provinces
wealthy persons of the same. In time, there was not a Filipino of
wealth or career or of medium social position, who did not pertain to,
or aid and abet the Liga, apart from a few most honorable exceptions
(61) which it pleases me to recognize.
"At the commencement of the year 1894 and when the league had reached
the age of one year, the members agreed to the dissolution of the
society, both on account of the discords which continually sprung up in
its bosom, and for the fear of discovery by the authorities which had
already perceived something of the goings on (62). A grand assembly
of the leaders was called together and it was determined to gather
in as many documents as had been drawn up or circulated, and make a
bonfire of them, so that all compromising indications should be made
to disappear. The society became dissolved but it took a form more
hypocritical. The popular councils re-entered the masonic lodges, and
these took up the work of the Liga, a thing very easy to accomplish,
when we remember that there was not a single member of the society
who was not a freemason.
"There remained however, as a living remembrance of the Liga, a
committee formed of the lawyer Numeriano Adriano and Deodato Arellano
(a brother-in-law of Pilar) president and secretary, who had at their
orders some 20 or 30 members from among the most important of the
defunct Liga and who were known under the name of the compromisarios
(63). These enjoyed no special organization and worked with almost
entire independence. Their mission was the propagation of the La
Solidaridad and the gathering of funds for the sustainment of the
paper, and of the delegations in the Peninsula and elsewhere, with
which they sustained active political correspondence. The work was
continued with greater cunning by the lodges and by the compromisarios;
and they succeeded in keeping alive the spirit of protest in a good
part (the most influential) of the native element till the end of
the year 1895.
"About this time the populous empire of China was defeated by the
Japanese, and the Japanese Empire, having won the laurels of victory so
easily, began to consider the weaving of a net of preponderance in the
Occident. The Filipinos who followed with interest and satisfaction
our contrarieties in Cuba, considered the occasion propitious for
the Empire of the Rising Sun to copy in these islands the conduct
of the Americans in the Antilles. Japan became the fashion in the
Archipelago and its inhabitants were chosen as models of culture (64),
wealth, of liberty and strength. They sighed for their protection and
assistance, and to the attaining of it they uselessly directed their
efforts. Doroteo Cortes emigrated to Yokohama (65), and with him Ramos,
Baza, Espanol and others, where they established a separatist committee
in correspondence with that of Manila. Marcelo del Pilar prepared to
leave Madrid to join them, but died suddenly in Barcelona and finally
the foolish political schemers dreamed of the liberation of Rizal
(66) who had been deported to Dapitan, in order that he also should
follow Cortes and the others. From Manila there departed frequently
parties of wealthy Filipinos who went to Japan under the pretext of
making recreative, instructive or artistic voyages, but in reality
to conspire, and it is assured that they were listened to by some of
the official element of that nation (67). The Japanese corvette Kongo
(68) arrived in Manila in the month of May and no one could explain
its sudden appearance in the bay; but on the other hand the officers
were mysteriously banqueted by a commission of Filipinos in the Bazar
Japones (69) where they lodged. Causalities perhaps, but....