ZAMBOANGA.
We steamed away from Manila on the 20th December. It was our first
purpose to visit Labuan, which had become of some interest to me as
Governor of Hong Kong, having been made of late the penal settlement
for a certain number of Chinese convicts. Two groups of sixty each
had been sent thither, and the Governor was desirous their number
should be increased. I do not see how the settlement can be made a
prosperous or productive one. The coals which it furnishes are not
liked by our engineers, and seldom employed if English or Welsh coals
can be obtained. A considerable quantity was reported to me as raised
and lying on the shore without demand, but I found no willingness,
either on the part of the naval authorities or of the merchants, to
purchase it. I expect both China and Japan will be in a condition to
provide this very important article on cheaper terms and of better
quality than that of Labuan, or any part of Borneo. I should have
been glad to have had an opportunity of forming an opinion, grounded
on my own observations, as to the prospects of Sarawak. I am disposed
to believe the Government has acted judiciously in refusing to buy
the colony, and to encumber the treasury with the charges which its
establishments would inevitably entail. The arguments which I have
seen put forward in its favour by the advocates of the purchase,
have certainly little weight. To represent the locality as of any
importance as a place of call between Europe and China, is to display
extraordinary geographical and commercial ignorance: it is hundreds
of miles out of the regular course, and has in itself no attraction to
induce any vessel to waste the time which must be expended in visiting
it. It has a fertile soil, which may be said of the whole circumjacent
region--of almost every island in the tropical archipelagos; but it
must depend principally on imported labour, costly and capricious in
its supply, and which must be directed by European machinery, still
more costly and uncertain, for the climate is, and will long continue,
unfriendly to the health of European settlers. The native population
is too barbarous to labour; with few wants, they have few motives
to exertion. I have had the advantage of much conversation with the
Catholic Vicar Apostolic of Borneo, whose knowledge of the natives
is probably greater than that of any other European, as he has lived
so much among them in the discharge of the duties of his mission. He
represents the different tribes as engaged in perpetual wars with one
another, each taking any opportunity of pillaging or doing mischief to
its neighbours; and our involving ourselves in the native quarrels,
by ill-judged partisanship, must lead, he thinks, to much cruelty
and injustice. He gave me many particulars of the savage practices
of which he had been an eye-witness, particularly in the displays
and processions of human heads as trophies of victory. Although
I had not an opportunity of visiting Borneo and of witnessing
there the progress that has been made under European influences,
I have had so many means of studying the character of the native
and unsubdued races in the territories of Spain and the Netherlands,
that I feel quite justified in the conclusion, that little is to be
expected from their co-operation, either as producers of tropical,
or consumers of European, articles. The great element which is
now revolutionizing these regions, is the introduction of Chinese
labour, which has received a check not easily to be surmounted in
the unfortunate outbreak at Sarawak, after the events in Canton;
but the introduction of the Chinese must be spontaneous, and not
forced. The Chinese field-labourer works unwillingly for a master
who is to receive the profits of his labour; but far different are
his feelings, his activity and perseverance, when the profits are
all to be his own. Then, indeed, he becomes a valuable settler,
from whom much is to be expected. Our new treaties--the presence
of British shipping in so many ports of China--the supersession of
the heavy junks by the square-rigged vessels of the West, which the
habit of insuring that the Chinese are now adopting cannot fail to
promote--will all assist in the transfer of the surplus population of
China to regions where their industry will find a wider scope and a
more profitable field. The adventurous spirit in China is becoming
more and more active. The tens of thousands who have emigrated to
California and Australia, and the thousands who have returned with
savings which they have deemed a sufficiency, have given an impulse to
the emigrating passion, which will act strongly and beneficially in all
countries towards which it may be directed. In process of time, and
with the co-operation of the mandarins, who are really interested in
the removal of a wretched, sometimes starving and always discontented,
social element, the difficulties attaching to the removal of females
may in time be surmounted, and the Chinese may perpetuate, what they
have never yet done, a Chinese community in the lands where they
settle. No doubt the mestizo mixture of races--the descendants of
Chinese fathers and Indian mothers--is now extensively spread, and
is a great improvement upon the pure Malay or Indian breed. The type
of the father is more strongly preserved than that of the mother;
its greater vigour has given it predominance. The Chinese mestizo
is physically a being superior to the Indian--handsomer in person,
stronger in limb, more active in intellect, more persevering in labour,
more economical in habits. The marvellous exodus of Chinese from their
country is one of the most remarkable ethnological circumstances of
modern history, and is producing and will produce extraordinary and
lasting results. I do not believe any of the other Oriental races
able to withstand the secret and widely spreading influences of
Chinese competition and superiority. Dealt with justly and fairly,
the Chinese are the most manageable of men, but they will be dangerous
where despotism drives them to despair.
On the sixth day of our voyage we arrived at Zamboanga. Indian
houses were visible through the plantain trees, and amidst the
woodlands of the coast, and a large fortification, with the yellow
and scarlet Spanish flag, advised us of our adjacency to the seat of
government. We sent on shore, and found the guns and the garrison
were not in a condition to return our salute, but we received an
early and cordial communication from the governor, Colonel Navarro,
inviting us to take up our abode at his residence, and we landed
at a convenient wooden pier, which is carried out for some distance
into the harbour. There was a small body of soldiers to meet us on
landing. In walking about we found one street wholly occupied by
Chinese shopkeepers, well supplied with European and Chinese wares;
they generally appeared contented and prosperous, and will certainly
find the means of supplying whatever the population may demand; they
will leave nothing undone which is likely to extend their trade or
augment their profits. There are about three hundred Chinese settled
in Zamboanga, mostly men of Fokien. We walked to the fortification,
and on our way met several of the Mahomedan women who had been captured
in a late fray with natives; their breasts were uncovered, and they
wore not the veils which almost invariably hide the faces of the
daughters of Islam. We learnt that these females were of the labouring
and inferior classes; but in the fortification we saw the wives and
children of the chiefs, who had been captured, and they presented the
most marvellous contrasts, between the extreme ugliness of the aged
and the real beauty of some of the young. One mother especially, who
had a child on her haunches, appeared to me singularly graceful and
pleasing. Most of the captured chiefs had been sent to Manila; but
in another part of the fortress there were some scores of prisoners,
among whom, one seemed to exercise ascendency over the rest, and
he repeated some of the formula of the Koran in Arabic words. The
Spaniards represented them as a fierce, faithless and cruel race, but
they have constantly opposed successful resistance to their invaders.
Next to Luzon, Mindanao is the largest of the Philippines. Though its
surface is 3,200 square leagues in extent, the Spaniards do not occupy
one-tenth of the whole. The number of Mahomedans (Moros) is great
in the interior, and they are the subjects of an independent Sultan,
whose capital is Selangan, and who keeps up amicable relations with the
Spanish authorities. To judge by some of their native manufactures
which I saw at Zamboanga, they are by no means to be considered
as barbarians. The inland country is mountainous, but has some
fine lakes and rivers little visited by strangers. There are many
spacious bays. Storms and earthquakes are frequent visitants. The
forests are said to be extensive, and filled with gigantic trees,
but travellers report the jungle to be impenetrable. Mines of gold,
quicksilver and sulphur are said to abound. Besides Zamboanga, the
Spaniards have settlements in Misamis, Caraga and New Guipuzcoa,
but they are reported to be unhealthy from the immense putrefaction
of decaying vegetables produced by a most feracious soil, under the
influence of a tropical sun. Beyond the Moros, and in the wildest
parts of the mountains, are coloured races in a low state of savage
existence. Mindanao was one of the earliest conquests of Magallanes
(1521). The Augustine friars were the first missionaries, and they
still retain almost a monopoly of religious instruction, but their
success among the Mahomedans has been small. Many attempts have been
made by the Spaniards to subdue the interior, but, however great
their temporary success, they have never been able long to maintain
themselves against the fanaticism of the Moros, the dangers and
difficulties of the country and the climate, while supported only by
inadequate military means. Misamis is used as a penal settlement. The
Spaniards have not penetrated far into the interior of this part of the
island, which is peopled by a race of Indians said not to be hostile,
but, being frequently at war with the more formidable Mahomedans,
they are considered by the Spaniards as affording them some protection,
their locality dividing the European settlements from the territory of
the Moors. But there is little development of agriculture or industry,
and not one inhabitant in ten of the province pays tribute. The Jesuits
had formerly much success in these regions; on their expulsion the
Recolets (barefooted Augustines) occupied their places, but it would
seem with less acceptance. The settlers and the Indians recognizing
the Spanish authority have been so frequently molested by the Moors
that their numbers are far less than they were formerly, and it is
believed the revenues are quite inadequate to pay the expenses of
the establishments; but it is said some progress is being made, and
if all impediments to commercial intercourse were removed, a great
amelioration in the condition and prospects of the natives would
result. Caraga, from which New Guipuzcoa has been lately detached,
has Surigao for its capital, and is on the north-east corner of the
island. The dominions of the Sultan of Mindanao mark the limits of the
province. A race of Indians remarkable for the whiteness of their skin,
and supposed to be of Japanese descent, called Tago-balvoys, live on
the borders of a creek in the neighbourhood of a town bearing the name
of Bisig, a station of the Recolets. Some of this race pay tribute,
and live in a state of constant hostility with the Moros. They are
advanced in civilization beyond the neighbouring tribes. Butuan, in
this province, was the last landing place of Magallanes; he planted
a cross there, and the Indians took part in the ceremonials, and
profess Christianity to the present hour. The Moros have destroyed
some of the earlier establishments of the Spaniards. There are immense
tracts of uncultivated and fertile lands. Teak is reported to abound
in the forests, which are close to the habitations of the settlers. The
orang-utan is common, and there are many varieties of apes and monkeys,
wild beasts, particularly buffaloes and deer, and several undescribed
species of quadrupeds. The Spaniards say that the province of Caraga
is the richest of the Philippines; it is certainly one of the least
explored. A Frenchman has been engaged in working the gold mines;
I know not with what success. A favourite food of the natives is
the wild honey, which is collected in considerable quantities,
and eaten with fruits and roots. The Butuan River is navigable
for boats. There are very many separate races of natives, among
whom the Mandayos are said to be handsome, and to bear marks of
European physiognomy. Some of the tribes are quite black, fierce and
ungovernable. Cinnamon and pepper are believed to be indigenous. Wax,
musk and tortoise-shell are procurable, but as the Spanish settlements
are not much beyond the coast little is done for the encouragement
of the productive powers of the interior. Gold, however, no doubt
from the facility of its transport, is not an unimportant article
of export, and the Spaniards complain that the natives attend to
nothing else, so that there is often much suffering from dearth,
and the insalubrity of the climate deters strangers from locating
themselves. This is little to be wondered at, as the attacks of pirates
are frequent and the powers of government weak. Along the coasts are
towers provided with arms and ammunition for their defence; but the
pirates frequently interrupt the communications by sea, on which the
inhabitants almost wholly depend, there being no passable roads. On
the approach of the piratical boats the natives generally abandon
their own and flee to the mountains. There are many Mahomedan tribes
who take no part in these outrages, such as the Bagobos, Cuamanes
and others. Even the mails are interrupted by the pirates, and often
delayed for days in localities where they seek shelter. All these
drawbacks notwithstanding, the number of tributaries is said to have
greatly increased, and the influence of the friars to have extended
itself. I have compared various statistical returns, and find many
contradictions and inconsistencies. [32] Some evidence that little
progress has been made is seen in the fact that in the province of
Surigao, where the census gives 18,848 Indians, there are only 148
mestizos; in that of Misamis, only 266 mestizos to 46,517 Indians; in
Zamboanga, to 10,191 Indians, 16 mestizos; Basilan, 447 Indians and 4
mestizos; Bislig, 12,718 Indians and 21 mestizos; Davao, 800 Indians,
no mestizo. This state of things assuredly proves that the island of
Mindanao, whatever be its fertility, has few attractions for strangers,
otherwise the proportion of the mixed races to the population would
be very different from what it appears to be. Father Zuñiga, who,
in 1799, published an account of the visit of General Alava, gives
many particulars of the then state of the island, and suggests many
plans for extending Spanish influence.
Zamboanga is not likely to become a port of much importance unless
it is wholly emancipated from fiscal restrictions. The introduction
of the custom-house has driven away the whalers that formerly visited
the harbours; there is little capital, and the trading establishments
are on a very small scale. The roads in the immediate neighbourhood
are in very tolerable order; the villages have the general character
of Indian pueblos; the country is rich in all the varieties of
tropical vegetation; but the interior, even close to the cabaceras,
is imperfectly known. Its produce is small in reference to the obvious
fertility of the soil. Some companies of troops arrived during our
stay at Zamboanga, and it is probable an effort is to be made to
strengthen and widen the authority of the Spanish government.
Of the arms used by the Moros the governor had a large collection,
consisting of long spears, swords of various forms, handsomely
adorned kreeses, daggers and knives displaying no small amount of
manufacturing art.
Confined as the Spaniards are to a narrow strip of land along the
coast, it may be supposed there are few conveniences for locomotion,
nevertheless a carriage was found, and a pair of horses, and harness
such as it was, and an Indian driver, and thus we managed to obtain
a very pleasant evening ride into the country, and had an opportunity
of seeing its great fertility and its varied productions, leading to
natural feelings of regret that so many of the boons of Providence
should remain unenjoyed and unimproved, accompanied with the hope that
better days may dawn. But the world is full of undeveloped treasures,
and its "Yarrows unvisited" promise a bright futurity.
There would seem to have been some increase in the population of
Zamboanga. In 1779 Zuñiga reports it to be 5,612 souls, "including
Indians, Spaniards, soldiers and convicts;" in 1818 the number
is stated to have been 8,640; in 1847, 7,190. The Guia of 1850
gives 8,618; that of 1858, 10,191, of whom 16 were mestizos, and
tribute-payers 3,871; but I do not think much reliance can be placed
on the statistical returns. The last states that the marriages were
55, the births 429, the deaths 956, which represents a fearful
mortality. In the province of Misamis for the same period the
proportion of births to deaths was 2,155 to 845.
A great value is attached to some of the canes which are found on
the island of Palawan, or Paragua, especially where they are of
variegated colours, or pure white, and without the interruption of
a knot, so as to serve for walking-sticks. I was informed that two
hundred dollars had been given for a fine specimen.
A gold-headed sticky with a silk cord and tassels, is the emblem of
authority in the Philippines.