MANUFACTURES.
The art of weaving, or that of crossing threads so as to produce
a wearable tissue, is one of the evidences of a transition from
savage towards civilized life. In cold countries the painting the
body, or covering it with furs and skins, or bark of trees, is the
resource of a wild people; but the necessity for dress of any sort
is so little felt in tropical regions that the missionaries claim the
credit of introducing the loom, and of instructing the natives in all
the matters most conducive to their comforts. For their houses they
taught them to make lime and brick and tiles--staircases, windows and
chimneys--and better to protect themselves against rain and storms;
chairs, tables and domestic utensils followed; carriages for conveyance
of commodities; but, above all, the friars boast of the application,
and devotion, and success of the Indians in decorating the Christian
churches, building and ornamenting altars, sculpturing virgins and
saints, and generally contributing to the splendours of ecclesiastical
ceremonials.
The science of ship-building made great advances. To the canoes
(barotos is the Indian name) scooped out of a single trunk, and used
only for river navigation, succeeded well-built vessels of several
hundred tons, by which a commerce along the coast and among the
islands was established. At first the planks were the whole length of
the vessel, but European improvements have gradually been adopted,
and the ships now built in the Philippines are not distinguishable
from those of the mother country. We found many on the stocks on the
banks of the river Agno, and the Indian constructors were desirous of
looking into all the details of H. M.'s ship Magicienne, in which the
captain and officers most courteously aided them, in order to avail
themselves of any improvements which our vessel exhibited. The cost
of construction was reported to be about 15l. sterling per ton. The
Bella Bascongada, a vessel of 760 tons, built in Pangasinan, cost
54,000 dollars, or about 11,000l. sterling.
Little has been done for the introduction of improved machinery for
the manufacture of tissues, which are made of silk, cotton, abacá,
and, above all, the exquisitely fine fabrics produced from the fibre
of the pine-apple leaf, called piñas. These are worked on the simplest
looms, made of bamboos, and of a thread so fine that it is necessary
to protect it, by the use of a fine gauze, from even the agitation of
the wind. The Bisayan provinces, and especially the neighbourhood of
Iloilo, are most distinguished for the manufacture of this beautiful
tissue, which is sent to the capital for embroidery, and prices which
seem fabulous are paid for the more elaborate specimens--one or two
ounces of gold being frequently given for a small handkerchief. In
Zebu handsome cotton rugs are made, and in Panay a variety of stuffs
of sundry materials.
The Indians have the art of softening and manufacturing horn. In
metals they make chains of silver and gold of great fineness, for
which formerly there was a great demand in Mexico, but I believe
European jewellery has supplanted the Indian craftsman.
Mats are a remarkable production of the islands. Many of them are
very beautiful, of various colours, and are ornamented with gold and
silver patterns. As mattresses are never used for beds, everybody
sleeps on a mat, which in some cases, but not generally, is provided
with a sheet and a long soft pillow, which is placed between the legs
and deemed a needful appliance for comfortable repose.
Fibre-wrought hats and cigar-cases of various colours, the white,
however, being the most costly and beautiful, compete with similar
productions of the natives of Panama.
The tools and instruments employed by the Indians in manufacture are
all of the simplest and rudest character.
The alcoholic beverage called vino de nipa is largely produced in the
Philippines. It was made a monopoly as early as 1712 in the provinces
near the capital, and then produced 10,000 dollars of annual revenue;
the farm was abolished in 1780, and in 1814 the collection was
transferred to the general administration. The juice is obtained by
cutting a hole in a pulpy part of the palm, introducing a bamboo cane,
and binding the tree over the receiving vessel. The sale of the nipa
wine is a monopoly in the hands of the Government. The monopoly is much
and reasonably complained of by the Indians. Excise duties leading to
domiciliary visits, and interfering with the daily concerns of life,
have been always and in all countries deemed one of the most vexatious
and disagreeable forms of taxation. Man, whatever be his colour, is
everywhere man, and everywhere exhibits, though in different forms,
the same general dislikes and sympathies. The heavy hand of extortion
and oppression does not crush the Filipinos, but a redistribution of
the forms of taxation would be beneficial to the fiscal interest and
satisfactory to the people.