Of the numerous groupes of islands which constitute the maritime
division of Asia, the Phillippines, in situation, riches, fertility,
and salubrity, are equal or superior to any. Nature has here revelled
in all that poets or painters have thought or dreamt of unbounded
luxuriance of Asiatic scenery. The lofty chains of mountains--the rich
and extensive slopes which form their bases--the ever-varying change
of forest and savannah--of rivers and lakes--the yet blazing volcanoes
in the midst of forests, coeval perhaps with their first eruption--all
stamp her work with the mighty emblems of her creative and destroying
powers. Java alone can compete with them in fertility; but in riches,
extent, situation, and political importance, it is far inferior.
Their position, whether in a political or commercial point of view,
is strikingly advantageous. With India and the Malay Archipelago on
the west and south, the islands of the fertile Pacific and the rising
empires of the new world on the east, the vast market of China at
their doors, their insular position and numerous rivers affording
a facility of communication and defence to every part of them, an
active and industrious population, climates of almost all varieties,
a soil so fertile in vegetable and mineral productions as almost to
exceed credibility; the Phillippine Islands alone, in the hands of
an industrious and commercial nation, and with a free and enlightened
government, would have become a mighty empire:--they are--a waste!
This archipelago presents, in common with all the islands which form
the southern and eastern barrier of Asia, those striking features
which mark a recent or an approaching convulsion of nature: they are
separated by narrow, but deep, and frequently unfathomable channels;
their steep and often tremendous capes and headlands, though clothed
with verdure to the very brink, appear to rise almost perpendicularly
from the ocean; they have but few reefs or shoals, and those of
small extent; and in the interior of the islands, numerous volcanoes,
in activity or very recently so, boiling springs and mineral waters
of all descriptions, minerals of all kinds on the very surface of
the earth, and frequent shocks of earthquakes, all point to this
conclusion, and offer a rich and unexplored field to the geologist
[35] and mineralogist, as do their plants and animals to the botanist
and zoologist; [36] the few attempts that have hitherto been made to
examine them, having from various causes failed, or only extended to
a short distance round the capital. [37]
The climate of these islands is remarkably temperate and
salubrious. The thermometer in Manila is sometimes as low as 70°,
and rarely exceeds 90° in the house during the N. E. monsoon. In
the interior it is sometimes as low as 68° in the mornings, which
are remarkably cool, so much so as to require at time$ woolen
clothing. None of the mountains are within the limits of perpetual
congelation; but I think some cannot be far from it, as I have seen
something much resembling snow on the Pico de Mindoro, and there may
be higher ones in the interior of Magindanao. [38]
Both natives and Spaniards live to a tolerable age, in spite of
the indolent habits of the latter, and the debauches of both. The
Spaniards are most commonly carried off by chronic dysentery, which is
called by them "la enfermedád del pays" (the illness of the country):
from its very frequent occurrence, at least 7 out of 10 of those who
exceed the age of 40, fall victims to this disorder. [39] Acute liver
complaints are very rare, as is also the chronic affection of that
organ, unless as connected with the preceding disorder.
Fevers are not common amongst Europeans, in Manila. Amongst the
natives, the intermittent is of common occurrence, particularly
after the rains (in September and October), and in woody or
marshy situations. [40] This appears to be owing as much to the
thinness and want of clothing, together with their habits of bathing
indiscriminately at all hours, as to miasmata; and, as their fevers
are generally neglected, they often superinduce other and more fatal
disorders, as obstructions, &c. Tetanos in cases of wounds is of
common occurrence, and generally fatal.
Their population, by a census taken in 1817-18, amounted to 2,236,000
souls, and is increasing rapidly. In one province, that of Pampanga,
from 1817 to 1818, there was an increase of 6,737 souls, the whole
population being in 1817, 22,500; but I suspect some inaccuracy
in this. The total increase from 1797 to 1817, 25 [sic] years, is
by this statement 835,500, or 3,360 per annum! In this census are
included only those subject to Spanish laws. About three quarters
of a million more may be added for the various independent tribes,
[41] which may be said to possess the whole of the interior of the
islands, on some of which, as the large one of Mindanao (called by
the natives Magindanao) there are only a few contemptible [Spanish]
posts, the interior and a great part of the coast being still subject
to the Malay sultans, originally of Arab race.
The population of the Marianas and Calamianes Islands, with that of
Palawan, which are all included in "The Kingdom of the Phillippines,"
are comprised in this number, but the whole of these does not exceed
19,000.
Of this number about 600 only are European Spaniards, with some few
foreigners: the remainder are divided into various classes, of which
the principal are, 1st, The Negroes, or aborigines; 2d, the Malays
(or Indians, as they are called by the Spaniards); and the Mestizos
and Creoles, who are about as 1 to 5 of the Indian population.
The Negroes [i.e., Negritos] [42] are in all probability the original
inhabitants of these islands, as they appear at some remote epoch
to have been of almost all the eastern archipelago. The tide of
Malay emigration, from whatever cause and part it proceeded, has on
some islands entirely destroyed them. Others, as New Guinea, it has
not yet reached, a circumstance which seems to point to the west as
the original cradle of the Malay race. In the Phillippines, it has
driven them from the coast to the mountains, which by augmenting the
difficulty of procuring subsistence, may have much diminished their
numbers. Still, however, they form a distinct, and perhaps a more
numerous class of men than is generally suspected. They have in the
present day undisturbed possession of nearly 2/3ds of the island of
Luzon, and of others a still larger proportion.
These people are small in stature, some of them almost dwarfish,
woolly-headed, and thick-lipped, like the negroes of Africa, to
whom indeed they bear a striking resemblance, though the different
tribes vary much in their stature and general appearance. They subsist
entirely on the chase, or on fruits, herbs, roots, or fish when they
can approach the coast. They are nearly, and often quite naked, and
live in huts formed of the boughs of trees, grass &c., or in the trees
themselves, when on an excursion or migration. Their mode of life is
wandering and unsettled, seldom remaining long enough in one place
to form a village. They sometimes sow a little maize or rice, and
wait its ripening, but not longer. These are the habits of the tribes
which border on the Spanish settlements. Farther within the mountains
they are more settled, and even form villages of considerable size, in
the deep vallies by which the chains of mountains are intersected. The
entrances to these they fortify with plantations of the thorny bamboo,
pickets of the same, set strongly in the earth and sharpened by fire,
ditches and pit-falls; in short all the means of defence in their
power are employed to render these places inaccessible. Here they
cultivate corn, rice, and tobacco; the last they sell to Indians,
who smuggle it into the towns. This being a contraband article, as
it is monopolized by government, the defences are used against the
Spanish revenue officers and troops, who on this account never fail
to destroy their establishments when they can do so, though many are
impregnable to any force they can bring against them, from the nature
of the passes, and from the activity of the negroes, who use their
bows with wonderful expertness. There are indeed instances of their
repulsing bodies of one or two hundred native troops, but affairs of
this magnitude are very rare.
To this predatory kind of warfare, as well as to the defective
qualities, and often very reprehensible conduct of the missionaries,
generally Indian priests (Clerigos), are perhaps to be in some
measure attributed their unsettled habits. Those nearest the Spanish
settlements carry on a little commerce, receiving wrought iron,
cloth, and tobacco, but oftener dollars, in exchange for gold-dust,
&c., or for wax, honey, and other products of their mountains. The
circumstance of their receiving dollars, which they rarely use in
their purchases, is a curious one; but it is a fact, and very large
quantities of money are supposed to be thus buried; from what motive,
except a superstitious one, cannot be imagined. [43]
Of their manners or customs little or nothing is known. Like all
savage nations, they are abundantly tinctured with superstitions,
fickle, and hasty. One of their customs best known is, that upon the
death of a chief, they plant themselves in ambush on some frequented
track, and with their arrows assassinate the first unfortunate
traveller who passes, and not unfrequently two or three; the bodies
are carried off as sacrifices to the manes of the deceased. [44] The
communications between the Spanish settlements are often interrupted
by this circumstance, as no Indian will venture out when the negroes
are known to be "de luto" (in mourning): they are also said to have a
"throwing of spears," similar to those of New Holland, at the death
of any eminent person. In fact, upon this, as upon all other points
unconnected with masses and sermons, there exists a degree of ignorance
which is almost incredible. The early missionaries, in their rage for
nominal conversion, appear to have neglected entirely the history or
origin of their neophytes; and, as in America, where the monuments of
ages were crumbled to the dust to plant the cross, all that related
to the history of their converts was considered as unprofitable,
if not as impious, the devil [45] being compendiously supposed to
preside over their political as well as religious institutions in
all cases. In this belief, and in its consequent effects, the modern
missionaries, who are mostly Indian priests, are worthy successors
of their Spanish predecessors.
The government have many missions established for the purpose of
converting them, but with little success. Like most savages, their
mode of life has to them charms superior to civilization, or rather to
Christianity (for here the terms are not synonimous); and they rarely
remain, should they even consent to be baptized, but on the first
caprice, or exaction of tribute, which immediately takes place, and
sometimes even precedes this ceremony, return again to their mountains.
Exposed to all inclemencies of the weather, and with an unwholesome
and precarious diet, they perhaps rarely attain more than forty
years of age. Their numbers are supposed rather to diminish than
increase; and in a few years this race of men, with their language,
will probably be extinct. It is indeed a curious subject of enquiry,
whether the language of those of the eastern islands has any, and
what resemblance to those of Africa, or the southern parts of New
Holland and Van Dieman's Land? [46]
They are not represented as very mischievous; but if strangers
venture too far into their woods, they consider it an aggression,
and repel it accordingly with their arrows. Those who frequent the
Spanish settlements are rather of a mild character; and there are
instances of Spanish vessels being wrecked on the coast, whose people,
particularly the Europeans, have been treated by them in the kindest
manner, and carefully conducted to the nearest settlement.
The character of the different tribes appears, however, to vary in
this particular: some are described as treacherous and cruel, and
those which inhabit the north western coasts of the Bay of Manila are
accused of having frequently attacked the boats of ships, when these
were not sufficiently guarded in their intercourse with them. The
natives of the town in the Bay of Mariveles, at the entrance of that
of Manila, assured the writer of these pages, that it would be madness
to attempt accompanying them into the woods, even in disguise; and
in this they persisted, though money was offered them to allow him
to proceed with them.
The Indians are the descendants of the various Malay tribes which
appear to have emigrated to this country at different times, and
from different parts of Borneo and Celebes. Their languages, though
all derived from one stock (the Malay), has a number of dialects
differing very materially; so much so, that those from different
provinces frequently do not understand each other.
They differ too in their character, and slightly in their manners
and customs. The most numerous class of them are the Bisayas, [47]
(a Spanish name, from their anciently painting their bodies, and using
defensive armour). These inhabit the largest part of the southern
islands. Luzon contains several tribes, of which the most remarkable
are the Ylocos, Cagayanes, Zambales, Pangasinanes, Pampangos, and
Tagalos. These still retain their national distinctions and characters
to such a degree, that they often occasion quarrels amongst each
other. Of their general character as a nation we are now to speak.
The Indian of the Phillippine Islands has been strangely
misrepresented. He is not the being that oppression, bigotry,
and indolence, have for 300 years endeavoured to make him, or he
is so only when he has no other resource. Necessity, and the force
of example have made those of Manila, what the whole are generally
characterized as--traitors, idlers, and thieves.
How, under such a system as will be afterwards described, should
they be otherwise? Say rather, that all considered, it is surprising
to find them what they are; for they are in general (I speak of the
Indian of the provinces), mild, industrious, as far as they dare to
be so, hospitable, kind, and ingenuous. The Pampango is brave, [48]
faithful, and active; the fidelity of the Cagayan is proverbial; the
Yloco and the Pangasinanon are most industrious; the Bisayan is brave
and enterprising almost to fool-hardiness:--they are all a spirited, a
proudly-spirited race of men; and such materials, in other hands, would
form the foundation of all that is great and excellent in human nature.
But for 300 years they have been ground to the earth with
oppression. They have been crushed by tyranny; their spirit has
been tortured by abuse and contempt, and brutalized by ignorance;
in a word, there is no injustice that has not been inflicted on them,
short of depriving them of their liberty; and in a work published at
Madrid in 1819 (Estado de las Yslas Filipinas, par [sic; for por] Don
Tomas Comyn), whose author was a factor of the Phillippine company, a
whole chapter (the 4th) is devoted to the mild and humane project "of
establishing Spanish agriculturists throughout the islands," who are,
"to require a certain number of Indians from the governors of towns
and provinces, who are to be driven to the plantations, where they
are to be obliged to work a certain time, the price of their labour
being fixed, and then to be relieved by a fresh drove!" [49]
Such a system, incredible as it may appear, has been proposed to a
Spanish cortes; and still more wonderful, plans like these excited
no reprobation in Manila. Such were Spanish ideas of governing
Indians! Justice would almost tempt us to wish that this scheme had
been carried into execution, and that the Indian had risen and dashed
his chains on the heads of the authors of such an infernal project. And
yet the Indian is marked out as little better than a brute; so many
of them are, but to the system of government, and not to the Indian,
is the fault to be ascribed.
It is not here meant to accuse the Spanish laws; many of them are
excellent, and would appear to have been dictated by the very spirit
of philanthropy. But these are rarely enforced, or if they are,
delay vitiates their effect. That this colony, the most favoured
perhaps under heaven by nature, should have remained till the present
day almost a forest, is a circumstance which has generally excited
surprise in those who are acquainted with it, and has as generally
been accounted for by attributing it to the laziness of the Spaniards
and Indians. This is but a superficial view of the subject; one of
those general remarks which being relatively a little flattering to
ourselves, pass current as facts, and then "we wonder how any one can
doubt of what is so generally received."--The cause lies deeper, man is
not naturally indolent. When he has supplied his necessities, he seeks
for superfluities--if he can enjoy them in security and peace;--if
not--if the iron gripe of despotism (no matter in what shape, or
through what form it is felt), is ready to snatch his earnings from
him, without affording him any equivalent--then indeed he becomes
indolent, that is, he merely provides for the wants of to-day. This
apathy is perpetuated through numerous generations till it becomes
national habit, and then we falsely call it nature. It cannot be
too often repeated, that from the poles to the equator, man is the
creature of his civil institutions, and is active in proportion to
the freedom he enjoys. Who that has perused the History of Java by
Sir S. Raffles, [50] and seen the effects of government planned by
the talents of Minto in the spirit of the British constitution in
that country, will now accuse the Javanese of unwillingness to work,
if the fruits of his labour are secured to him? And yet we remember
when a Javanese was another name for every thing that is detestable. It
is ever thus--we blame the race, because that flatters our pride--we
should first look to their institutions. I return to the Phillippines.
The cause, then, of their little progress is "because there is no
security for property;" or in other words, the smallness of the
salaries of the officers of justice, as well as of other members
of government, and the profligacy inseparable from all despotic
governments, have laid the inhabitants under that curse of all
societies, venal courts of justice. Does an unfortunate Indian scrape
together a few dollars to buy a buffalo, in which consists their
whole riches? Woe to him if it is known; and if his house is in a
lonely situation--he is infallibly robbed. Does he complain, and is
the robber caught? In three months he is let loose again (perhaps
with some trifling punishment), to take vengeance on his accuser,
and renew his depredations.
Hundreds of Indian families are yearly ruined in this manner. Deprived
of their cattle, on which they depend for subsistence, they grow
desperate and careless of future exertion, which can but lead to the
same results, and thus either drag on a miserable existence from day
to day, or join with the robbers [51] to pursue the same mode of life,
and to exonerate themselves from paying tributes and taxes, in return
for which no protection is granted. In many provinces this has been
carried to such an extent, that whole districts are rendered impassable
by the robbers, [52] who even lay villages under contribution!
This is the state of the inland towns. On the coasts, and while a
flotilla of gun-boats is maintained at an expense of upwards of half
a million of dollars annually, there is no part safe from the attacks
of the Malay pirates from Borneo, Sooloo, and Mindanao. These make
regular cruises to procure slaves, and have even not unfrequently
carried them off, not only from the bay of Manila, [53] but even from
within gun-shot of its ramparts! The very soldiers and sailors sent
for their protection plunder them. An Indian in whose neighbourhood
troops are posted, or who sees the gun-boats approaching, can no
longer consider his property safe; and in the very vicinity of Manila,
soldiers ramble about with their loaded muskets, and pilfer all they
lay hands upon at midday! [54]
Does the Indian, in spite of all this, escape, and by patient industry
make a little way in the world? he is vexed with offices; he is chosen
Alguazil, Lieutenant, and Captain of his town; to these offices no
pay is attached, they always occasion expenses and create him enemies;
he is pinched or cheated by the Mestizos, a forestalling, avaricious,
and tyrannical race. Does he suffer in silence? it is a signal for
new oppressions: does he complain? a law suit. The Mestizos are all
connected, they are rich, and the Indian is poor.
The imperfect mode of trial, both in civil and criminal cases (by
written declarations and the decisions of judges alone), lays them open
to a thousand frauds; for if the magistrate be supposed incorruptible,
his notaries or writers (escribanos and escribientes) are not so;
and from their knavery, declarations are often falsified, or one paper
is exchanged for another whilst in the act of or before signing them.
To such a degree does this exist, that few Indians, even of those
who can read Spanish tolerably, will sign a declaration made before a
magistrate without threats, or without having some one on whom they
can depend, to assure them they may safely do so. Nor is this to be
wondered at, when it is known that declarations on which the life
or fortune of an individual may depend are left, often for days,
in the power of writers or notaries, any of whom may be bought for
a doubloon; and some of them are even the menial servants of the
magistrate! This applies to Luzon. In the other islands, this miserable
system is yet worse: they have seldom but one communication a year
with the capital, to which all causes of any magnitude are sent for
decision or confirmation; and, as the papers are often (purposely)
drawn up with some informality, the cause, after suffering all the
first ordeal of chicane and knavery, experiences a year's delay
before it is even allowed a chance of being exposed to that which
awaits it at Manila. Or should the cause be at length carried to the
Audiencia, or Supreme Court, and there, as is sometimes the case, be
judged impartially, the delay of the decision renders it useless--the
sentence is evaded--or treated with contempt! This may appear almost
incredible, but known to any person who has resided in Manila.
While the civil power is thus shamefully corrupt or negligent of
its duties, the church has not forgotten that she too has claims
on the Indian. She has marked out, exclusive of Sundays, above 40
days in the year on which no labour can be performed throughout the
islands. Exclusive of these are the numerous local feasts in honor
of the patron saints of towns and churches. [55] The influence of
these extends often through a groupe of many islands, always to many
leagues round their different sanctuaries; and often lasting three
or four days, sometimes a week, according to his or her reputation
for sanctity; so that including Sundays, the average cannot be less
than 110 or 120 days lost to the community in a year. This alone is
a heavy tax on the agricultural classes, by whom it is most severely
felt; but its consequences are more so, from the habits of idleness
and dissipation which it engenders and perpetuates. These feasts
are invariably, after the procession is over, scenes of gambling,
drinking, and debauchery of every description.
"And mony jobs that day begun,
Will end in houghmagandie." [56]
Thus they unsettle and disturb the course of their labours by calling
off their attention from their domestic cares; and by continually
offering occasions of dissipation destroy what little spirit of economy
or foresight may exist amongst so rude and ignorant a people. Nor is
this all; they are subject to numerous other vexations and impositions
under the title of church-services; such are, in some towns, five or
six men attendant daily in rotation to bring the sick to the church
to confess, or to carry the "Padre" with the host to their houses,
and many others; all of which, though in themselves trifles, are more
harassing, from their unsettling tendency, than pecuniary imposts. An
encouragement to celibacy and its consequent evils is also to be found
in the (to them) heavy expenses attendant on all the domestic offices
of religion, as matrimony, baptism, &c., as well as in the increase
of the poll-tax on married persons, for the whole of which the husband
is responsible. The ecclesiastical expenses of a marriage between the
poorer classes are about five dollars: the others, as christenings,
buryings, &c., in proportion. These appear trifles; but if to these
are added the confessions, bulas, [i.e., of the Crusade] and other
exactions, it will be seen that these constitute no trifling part of
the oppressive and ill managed system which has so much contributed
to debase their real character.
I say nothing here of the natural effect of the Roman Catholic
religion on an ignorant people, who imagine, that verbal confession
and pecuniary atonements (rarely to the injured person) are a salvo
for crimes of all magnitudes: that such is the case, is notorious to
every one who has visited Catholic countries.
Let us for a moment retrace this picture. To whom after this is it
attributable that the Indian is often a vicious and degraded being,
particularly in the neighborhood of Manila?
If he sees all around him thieving and enjoying their plunder
with impunity, what wonder is it that he should thieve also? If
his tribunals of all descriptions afford him no redress,
or place that redress beyond his reach, what resource has he
but private revenge? [57] If he cannot enjoy the fruits of
his labour in peace, why should he work? If he is ignorant,
why has he not been instructed? There exist scarcely any
schools to teach him his duties: the few that do exist teach him
Latin! prayers! theology! jurisprudence! and some little reading and
writing; [58] but he is only taught to read the lives of the saints,
and the legends of the church, whose gloomy, fanatical doctrines and
sanguinary histories have not a little contributed to make him at
times revengeful and intolerant. Does he prevaricate and flatter? It
is because he dare not speak the truth, and because a long system of
oppression has broken his spirit.
Does he endeavour to advance himself a few steps in civilization? his
attempts are treated with ridicule and contempt; [59] hence he
becomes apathetic, careless of advancement, and often insensible to
reproach. The best epithets he hears from Spaniards (often as ignorant
as himself) are "Indio!" The God of nature made him so. "Bruto!" He
has been and is brutalized by his masters. "Barbaro!" He is often
so by force, example, or even by precept. "Ignorante!" He has no
means of learning; the will is not wanting. In a word, the spirit
of the followers of Cortes and Pizarro, appears to have left its
last vestiges here, and perhaps the Indian has been saved from its
persecutions only by the weakness of the Spaniard.
Such are some of the causes which have marked the character of
the Indian, which is not naturally bad, with some of its prominent
blemishes. I am far from holding up the Indian of the Phillippines as
a faultless being; he is not so; the Indian of Manila [60] has all the
vices attributed to him; but I assert, that the Phillippine islander
owes the greater part of his vices to example, to oppression, and above
all to misgovernment; and that his character has traits, which under
a different system, would have produced a widely different result.
To sum up his character:--He is brave, tolerably faithful, extremely
sensible to kind treatment, and feelingly alive to injustice or
contempt; proud of ancestry, which some of them carry to a remote
epoch; fond of dress and show, hunting, riding, and other field
exercises; but prone to gambling and dissipation. He is active,
industrious, and remarkably ingenious. He possesses an acute ear,
and a good taste for music and painting, but little inclination for
abstruse studies. He has from nature excellent talents, but these
are useless for want of instruction. The little he has received, has
rendered him fanatical in religious opinions; and long contempt and
hopeless misery has mingled with his character a degree of apathy,
which nothing but an entire change of system and long perseverance
will efface from it. [61]
The Mestizos are the next class of men who inhabit these islands: under
this name are not only included the descendants of Spaniards by Indian
women and their progeny, but also those of the Chinese, who are in
general whiter than either parent, and carefully distinguish themselves
from the Indians. The Mestizos are, as the name denotes, a mixed class,
and, with the creoles of the country, like those of all colonies,
when uncorrected by an European education, inherit the vices of both
progenitors, with but few of the virtues of either. Their character has
but few marked traits; the principal ones are their vanity, industry,
and trading ingenuity: as to the rest, money is their god; to obtain
it they take all shapes, promise and betray, submit to everything,
trample and are trampled on; all is alike to them, if they get money;
and this, when obtained, they dissipate in lawsuits, firing cannon,
fireworks, illuminations, processions on feast days and rejoicings, in
gifts to the churches, or in gambling. This anomaly of actions is the
business of their lives. Too proud to consider themselves as Indians,
and not sufficiently pure in blood to be acknowledged as Spaniards,
they affect the manners of the last, with the dress of the first,
and despising, are despised by both. [62] They however, cautiously
mark on all occasions the lines which separate them from the Indians,
and have their own processions, ceremonies, inferior officers of
justice, &c., &c. The Indian repays them with a keen contempt, not
unmixed with hatred. And these feuds, while they contribute to the
safety of a government too imbecile and corrupt to unite the good
wishes of all classes, have not unfrequently given rise to affrays
which have polluted even the churches and their altars with blood.
Such are the three great classes of men which may be considered
as natives of the Phillippine Islands. The Creole [63] Spaniards,
or those whose blood is but little mingled with the Indian ancestry,
pass as Spaniards. Many of them are respectable merchants and men of
large property; while others, from causes which will be seen hereafter,
are sunk in all the vices of the Indian and Mestizo.
The government of the Phillippine Islands is composed of a governor,
who has the title of Captain General, with very extensive powers;
a Teniente Rey, or Lieutenant Governor; the Audiencia or Supreme
Court, who are also the Council. This tribunal is composed of three
judges, the chief of whom has the title of Regent, and two Fiscals or
Attorney Generals, the one on the part of the king, the other on that
of the natives, and this last has the specious title of "Defensor
de los Indios." The financial affairs are under the direction of
an Intendant, who may be called a financial governor. He has the
entire control and administration of all matters relative to the
revenue, the civil and military auditors and accountants being under
him. Commercial affairs are decided by the Consulado, or chamber of
commerce, composed of all the principal, and, in Manila, some of the
inferior merchants. From this is an appeal to a tribunal "de Alzada"
[i.e., of appeal] composed of one judge and two merchants, and from
this to the Audiencia, without whose approbation no sentence is valid.
The civic administration is confided to the Ayuntamiento (Courts of
Aldermen or Municipality). This body, composed of the two Alcaldes,
twelve Regidors (or Aldermen) and a Syndic, enjoy very extensive
privileges, approaching those of Houses of Assembly; their powers,
however, appear more confined to remonstrances and protests,
representations against what they conceive arbitrary or erroneous
in government, or recommendations of measures suggested either
by themselves or others. They have, in general, well answered the
object of their institution as a barrier against the encroachments
of government, and as a permanent body for reference in cases where
local knowledge was necessary, which last deficiency they well supply.
The civil power and police are lodged in the hands of a Corregidor and
two Alcaldes: the decision of these is final in cases of civil suits,
where the value in question is small, 100 dollars being about the
maximum. [64] Their criminal jurisdiction extends only to slight fines
and corporal punishments, and imprisonment preparatory to trial. The
police is confided to the care of the Corregidor, who has more
extensive powers, and also the inspection and control of the prisons.
To him are also subject the Indian Captains and Officers of towns, who
are annually elected by the natives. These settle small differences,
answer for disturbances in their villages, execute police orders,
impose small contributions of money or labour for local objects, such
as repairs of roads, &c. &c. They also have the power of inflicting
slight punishments on the refractory. To them is also confided the
collection of the capitation or poll-tax, which is done by dividing the
population of the town or village into tens, each of which has a Cabeça
(or head), who is exempt from tribute himself, but answerable for the
amount of the ten under him. This tax is then paid to the Alcalde or
Corregidor, and from him to the treasury. The Mestizos and Chinese
have also their captains and heads, who are equally answerable for
the poll-tax.
The different districts and islands, which are called provinces,
and are 29 in number, are governed by Alcaldes. The more troublesome
ones, or those requiring a military form of government, by military
officers, who are also Corregidors. Samboangan on the south west
coast of Mindanao, and the Marianas, have governors named from Manila,
and these are continued from three to five years in office.
These Alcaldeships are a fertile source of abuses and oppression: their
pay is mean to the last degree, not exceeding 350 dollars per annum,
and a trifling per centage on the poll-tax. They are in general held
by Spaniards of the lower classes, who finding no possible resource
in Manila, solicit an Alcadeship. This is easily obtained, on giving
the securities required by government for admission to these offices,
which consist in two sureties [65] to an amount proportionable to
the value of the taxes of the province, which all pass through the
Alcalde's hands.
Of the nature and amount of these abuses an idea will be better
formed from the following abridged quotations, which are translated
from the work of Comyn before quoted (p. 16). [66]
"It is indeed common enough to see the barber or lacquey of a governor,
or a common sailor, transformed at once into the Alcalde in chief of
a populous province, without any other guide or council than his own
boisterous passions.
"Without examining the inconvenience which may arise from their
ignorance, it is yet more lamentable to observe the consequences
of their rapacious avarice, which government tacitly allows them to
indulge, under the specious title of permissions to trade (indultos).
----"and these are such that it may be asserted, that the evil which
the Indian feels most severely is derived from the very source which
was originally intended for his assistance and protection, that is,
from the Alcaldes of the provinces, who, generally speaking, are the
determined enemies and the real oppressors of their industry.
"It is a well known fact, that far from promoting the felicity of the
provinces to which he is appointed, the Alcalde is exclusively occupied
with advancing his private fortune, without being very scrupulous
as to the means he employs to do so: hardly is he in office than he
declares himself the principal consumer, buyer, and exporter of every
production of the province. In all his enterprises he requires the
forced assistance of his subjects, and if he condescends to pay them,
it is at least only at the price paid for the royal works. These
miserable beings carry their produce and manufactures to him, who
directly or indirectly has fixed an arbitrary price for them. To offer
that price is to prohibit any other from being offered--to insinuate is
to command--the Indian dares not hesitate--he must please the Alcalde,
or submit to his persecution: and thus, free from all rivalry in his
trade, being the only Spaniard in the province, the Alcalde gives
the law without fear or even risk, that a denunciation of his tyranny
should reach the seat of government.
"To enable us to form a more correct idea of these iniquitous
proceedings, let us lift a little of the veil with which they are
covered, and examine a little their method of collecting the 'tributo'
(poll-tax).
"The government, desirous of conciliating the interests of the natives
with that of the revenue, has in many instances commuted the payment
of the poll-tax into a contribution in produce or manufactures:
a year of scarcity arrives, and this contribution, being then of
much higher value than the amount of the tax, and consequently the
payment in produce a loss, and even occasioning a serious want in
their families, they implore the Alcalde to make a representation
to government that they may be allowed to pay the tribute for that
year in money. This is exactly one of those opportunities, when,
founding his profits on the misery of his people, the Alcalde can in
the most unjust manner abuse the power confided to him. He pays no
attention to their representations. He is the zealous collector of
the royal revenues;--he issues proclamations and edicts, and these are
followed by his armed satellites, who seize on the harvests, exacting
inexorably the tribute, until nothing more is to be obtained. Having
thus made himself master of the miserable subsistence of his subjects,
he changes his tone on a sudden--he is the humble suppliant to
government in behalf of the unfortunate Indians, whose wants he
describes in the most pathetic terms, urging the impossibility of
their paying the tribute in produce--no difficulty is experienced in
procuring permission for it to be paid in money--to save appearance,
a small portion of it is collected in cash, and the whole amount paid
by him into the treasury, while he resells at an enormous profit,
the whole of the produce (generally rice) which has been before
collected!" Comyn, p. 134 to 138.
This extract, though long, is introduced as an evidence from a Spaniard
(not of the lower order, or a disappointed adventurer, but a man of
high respectability), of the shameless abuses which are daily practiced
in this unfortunate country, and of which the Indian is invariably
the victim: and it is far from being an overcharged one. Hundreds
of other instances might be cited, [67] but this one will perhaps
suffice to exonerate the writer of these remarks from suspicion of
exaggeration, in pointing out some of the most prominent of them.
While treating of the government of the Phillippines, we must not
forget the ministers of their religion, and the share which they have
in preserving these islands as dominions to the crown of Spain. This
influence dates from the earliest epoch of their discovery. The
followers of Cortes and Pizarro, with their successors, were employed
in enriching themselves in the new world; and the spirit of conquest
and discovery having found wherewith to satiate the brutal avarice by
which it was directed, abandoned these islands to the pious efforts of
the missionaries by whom, rather than by force of arms, they were in a
great measure subdued; and even in the present day, they still preserve
so great an influence, that the Phillippines may be almost said to
exist under a theocracy approaching to that of the Jesuits in Paraguay.
The ecclesiastical administration is composed of an Archbishop
(of Manila), who has three suffragans, Ylocos, Camarines, and Zebu;
the first two on Luzon, the last on the island of the same name. The
revenue of the Archbishop is 4000, and that of the bishops 3000 dollars
annually. The regular Spanish clergy of all orders are about 250,
the major part of which are distributed in various convents in the
different islands, though their principal seats are in that of Luzon;
and many of them, from age or infirmity, are confined to their convents
in Manila.
The degree of respect in which "the Padre" is held by the Indian,
is truly astonishing. It approaches to adoration, and must be
seen to be credited. In the most distant provinces, with no other
safeguard than the respect with which he has inspired the Indians,
he exercises the most unlimited authority, and administers the whole
of the civil and ecclesiastical government, not only of a parish,
but often of a whole province. His word is law--his advice is taken
on all subjects. No order from the Alcalde, or even the government
[68] is executed without his counsel and approbation, rendered too
in many cases the more indispensable from his being the only person
who understands Spanish in the village. [69] To their high honour
be it spoken, the conduct of these reverend fathers in general fully
justifies and entitles them to this confidence. The "Padre" is the only
bar to the oppressions of the Alcalde: he protects, advises, comforts,
remonstrates, and pleads for his flock; and not unfrequently has he
been seen, though bending beneath the weight of years and infirmity,
to leave his province, and undertake a long and often perilous voyage
to Manila, to stand forward as the advocate of his Indians; and these
gratefully repay this kind regard for their happiness by every means
in their power.
Their hospitality is equally praiseworthy. The stranger who is
travelling through the country, no matter what be his nation or his
religion, [70] finds at every town the gates of the convent open to
him, and nothing is spared that can contribute to his comfort and
entertainment. They too are the architects and mechanists: many of
them are the physicians and schoolmasters of the country, and the
little that has been done towards the amelioration of the condition
of the Indian, has generally been done by the Spanish clergy.
It is painful, however, to remark, that much that might have been
done, has been left undone. The exclusive spirit of the Roman church,
which confines its knowledge to its priests, is but too visible
even here: they appear to be more anxious to make Christians, than
citizens, and by neglecting this last part of their duty, have but
very indifferently fulfilled the first,--the too common error of
proselytists of all denominations, which has probably its source in
that vanity of human nature, which is as insatiable beneath the cowl
as under any garb it has yet assumed.
Some of them too have furnished a striking but melancholy proof of
the eloquent moral,
"It is not good for man to be alone."
Let us draw a veil over these infirmities. He who has lived amidst
the busy hum of crowds, amidst the wild whirl of human passions and
interests, can have but little conception of the state of that mind,
which perhaps feeling alive to the blessings of social intercourse,
is cut off for years from civilized men; and thus buried mentally,
is constrained to seek all its resources within itself. [71] That
heart is one of powerful fibre which does not sometimes show itself
to be human....
There are instances indeed of some of them forgetting in a great
measure their language! and of others who have become almost idiots
while yet in the vigour of life! [72]
The next and lowest order of ecclesiastics are the Indian clergy
(clerigos); they are in number from 800 to 1000, and though from the
want of Spaniards, the administration of many large districts and
towns is confided to them, they are as a body far from being worthy
of such an important charge. The majority of them are ignorant to the
last degree, proud, debauched, and indolent: in a word, they unite
the vices of the priesthood to those of the Indian, and form a class
of men who may almost be said to be distinguished by their vices only.
This arises from various causes, of which the principal appears to be
that of their being entirely excluded from the higher ecclesiastical
situations. This alone, by depriving them of the most powerful stimulus
to correct conduct, together with the very confined education they
receive, and the impassable line drawn between them and the Spanish
clergy, whom they are never allowed to approach, and who treat them
with much contempt, are sufficient to account, in a great measure,
for their apparent demerit. The fact, however, is such, whatever be
its cause; and seldom a week passes, or at most a month, but some of
them are brought before the ecclesiastical tribunals, under accusations
but little creditable to their cloth.
Their ordinary resort at Manila is the cockpit or the gaming table,
where they shew an avidity and keenness which are disgraceful and
shameless to the last degree. Yet to the guidance of beings like
these is the unfortunate Indian in a great measure abandoned, even
in his last moments: for from the very great proportion of these
to the Spanish priests, and from the recluse lives of the latter,
nearly nine-tenths of all the clerical duties are performed by the
Indian clerigos, such as I have described them. The few who do form an
exception, are men whose conduct is highly creditable to themselves,
and more striking from its unfrequent occurrence.
A keen and deadly jealousy subsists between these and the Spanish
ecclesiastics, or rather a hatred on the one side, and a contempt on
the other. The Indian clergy accuse these last of a neglect of their
ecclesiastical duties, of vast accumulations of property in lands,
&c., which, say they, "belong to us the Indians." The Spaniards in
return treat them with silent contempt, continuing to enjoy the best
benefices, and living at their ease in the convents. From what has been
said, it will be easily seen, "that much may be said on both sides;"
but these recriminations have the bad effect of debasing both parties
in the eyes of the natives, and are the germs of a discord which
may one day involve these countries in all the horrors of religious
dissentions. [73]
Such are the civil and ecclesiastical government of the
Phillippines. We turn now to the Revenue and Expenditure, Military
establishments, &c.
Until very lately these rich islands have been a constant burden to
the crown of Spain, money having been annually sent from Mexico to
supply their expenses. The establishment of the monopoly of tobacco has
principally contributed to supply this deficiency. It was established
by an active and intelligent governor (Vasco) about 1745 [sc., 1785]
and still continues to be the principal revenue of the country;
and large sums have been from time to time sent home to Spain,
as a balance against those received from Mexico. The sales of this
article amount more or less to a million of dollars per annum. The
extensive establishment which is kept up to prevent smuggling, and the
expenses of purchase and manufacture, reduce its net produce to 500,000
dollars per annum. The plant is cultivated in the districts of Gapan
in Pampanga, in a part of the province of Cagayan, and in the island
Marinduque to the south of Luzon. It is delivered in by the cultivators
at fixed prices, and sent to Manila, where it is manufactured in a
large range of buildings dedicated to that purpose, and retailed to the
public at about 18 to 19 1/2 dollars per arroba of 25 lbs. (Spanish),
the prices varying a little according to the harvests.
The administration, inspection, and manufacture of this article,
employ several thousand persons of both sexes (the manufacturing
process being almost wholly carried on by women). This is not only
the most productive, but the best conducted branch of the revenue;
while it is at the same time the least vexatious in its operations,
though not exempt from those objections which are common to all
government monopolies.
Another of these monopolies is that of Coco wine, as it is called
(vino de Coco y nipa). This is a weak spirit produced from the juice
of the Toddy tree (Borassus gomutus), [74] and from the nipa (Cocos
nypa): of this, large quantities are used by the natives. The expense
of collection is about 80,000 dollars, the net revenue to government
varying from 2 to 300,000.
The poll-tax (tributo) is the other great branch of the revenue;
the manner of collecting it is described in p. 29. Its amount to
each individual is, with some exceptions and variations in different
provinces, 14 rials, or 1 3/4 dollars for every married Indian, from
the age of 24 to 60. The Mestizos pay 24 rials or 3 dollars, and the
Chinese 6 dollars each: this last branch is generally farmed. The
amount of Indian and Mestizo tribute may be stated in round numbers at
800,000 dollars: the expense of collecting it diminishes it to about
640,000. The exemptions from it are disbanded soldiers, who pay less
than others, men above 60 years of age, and the cultivators of tobacco,
or makers of wine for the royal monopolies.
The collection of this tax is always attended with much trouble, and
it is detested by the Indians to the last degree. The exaction of it
from the newly converted tribes, [75] and the extensive frauds which,
as already detailed, are practised by means of it, render it the most
oppressive of all impositions. The natives consider it (perhaps with
some justice), as giving money to no purpose; and infallibly evade
it by every means in their power.
The customs produce from 1 to 300,000 dollars per annum. The remaining
part of the revenue is derived from various minor sources: such are
the cockpits, which are farmed, and produce a net revenue of 25 to
40,000 dollars;--the Chinese poll-tax, 30,000 dollars;--"Bulas,"
[76] (the sale of which is farmed, and produces from 10 to 12,000
dollars);--cards, powder (a monopoly), stamps, and other articles of
minor importance; amongst which was formerly the monopoly of betel nut,
which is now abolished.
The expenses of administration are as follows. The civil and
ecclesiastical officers of government, 250,000 dollars. The military,
including all classes, about 600,000; and the marine, about 550,000.
The excess of revenue over the expenditure is stated by Comyn to have
been in 1809 about 450,000 dollars, but in this is included 250,000
received from Mexico.
In 1817, by an account published by order of the Ayuntamiento of
Manila, the amount of the revenue was--