I could not procure a sight of the standard. A mean measurement
of several new Gantas and Cabans (for they are all clumsily made,
though sold at a government office) gave as follows:
The Caban, 4633 cubic inches English.
The Ganta, 186,878 ditto.
The mean of these two (for the first would give 185.72 to the Ganta)
is thus about 186 cub. inches to a Ganta, and 4650 to the Caban,
or 2 bushels and 1-6th Winchester measure. [86-A]
[86-A] Since January 1, 1862, the caban of Manila (established
January 1, 1860) is regarded as the standard measure for all the
provinces. It measures exactly 75 liters, or, in cubical form,
422 mm., inside measure, or 5,990.96 Spanish cubic inches. (The
caban of 1859 contained 80.00919 liters.) A caban of rice weighs
128 to 137 Spanish pounds = 59 to 63 kilograms." (Jagor's
Reisen, p. xv.)--Eds.
[87] The table here referred to is as follows:
"Estimate of the cost and annual product of one cabalita of land
planted with sugar-cane in the province of Pampanga; to wit:
p. r. gr.
For plowing the said land 6 times 1 4
For breaking the clumps with the balsa 3 times 6
For the surrounding fence and rattan 3 p. 5 r., and
three days' work 3 r. 9 gr. 4 9
For 4,000 cane-shoots for planting, 1 p.; tracing the
lines and making the holes, 5 r.; two days' work at
planting, 2 r. 6 gr. 1 7 6
For fencing twice more, and cutting out the grass 6
For 14 moulds, at 1 1/2 r. 2 5
For 1 1/2 tareas [= amount of mill's capacity at one
time], each of 14 loaves [pilones] of sugar, the amount
usually obtained, at 8 p. a tarea 12
---------
Total cost 23 5 3
Selling price of a loaf of sugar, averaging those of 2 6 6
the three grades
Deduct cost of each loaf, at the rate of 1 6 1
=========
Net product, equivalent to 90 per cent profit 1 3 2"
Comyn gives similar tables for the production of indigo and
rice, estimating the net profit thereon at 57 and 60 per cent
respectively. He adds, on the margin of the sheet: "In favorable years
the profit of the grower is wont to increase in an extraordinary
manner. The 4,000 shoots of sugar-cane, for instance, yield him 3
tareas, or 28 loaves of sugar, in place of the 14 loaves which were
figured in the comparative estimate preceding; the cavan of seed
yields 80 and even 100 cavans of rice in the hull, in place of the
35 computed; and he obtains a quintal of indigo from 15, or even
from 10, balsadas, instead of 25 being necessary for furnishing
the said product. And if the grower is fairly well-to-do, so that
he can send his produce to the general market, and sell it to the
foreign merchants or ship-captains who come for these products, he
can obtain incomparably more for them than by delivering them upon
the ground to the middlemen. At Manila I have seen indigo from La
Laguna sold at the rate of 130 pesos a quintal for extra fine grade,
and at 100 pesos for the usual quality; sugar, at 4p. 5r. a loaf;
and palay (or rice in the hull) at 3 pesos; but I have preferred to
limit myself to a low rate in the selling price which I have assigned
to the aforesaid products in the preceding estimates, in order to
demonstrate more thoroughly the advantages which agriculture offers
in Filipinas, and at the same time to conform to practical experience
in the formation of estimates of this sort." Cf. similar estimates
by Mallat (Philippines, ii, pp. 256-281.--Eds.
[88] Pilones are large bell-shaped moulds, from 2 to 2 1/2 feet high,
and 1 1/2 broad.
[89] Some of their voyages are most curious. One or more of the
principal men in a village, sometimes 15 or 20 of them, join to build
a small "parao." On this they embark with their harvest in sugar,
cacao, wax, &c., sell it at Manila, and return to their village;
there the accounts are settled, and the return cargo distributed;
after which a feast is held, and the Santo duly thanked for the good
markets of this year, and asked for better next. All parties then
visit the vessel, which they pull to pieces! every man carrying a
piece home with him--to take care of till next season, when they are
all sewed together for another trip.
[90] At the present time there are six varieties of sugar-cane in
Filipinas; of these, the purple is considered the best, and is more
generally cultivated in the Visayas; the white and the green are
almost exclusively restricted to some provinces of Luzon and the
rural districts near Manila; the other kinds are cultivated sparingly
and in few places. The sugar manufactured in the islands is "made in
pilones (which includes nearly all from Luzon), and the granulated,
which is the kind that has been adopted in the Visayan islands and in
some Luzon plantations." The pilon weighs a quintal; the granulated
is put up in sacks (known as bayones, containing two and a half
arrobas of sugar. (José R. de Luzuriaga, in Census of Philippines,
iv, pp. 26, 27).--Eds.
[91] These last, by a royal Cedula (ordonnance), are only admitted
into the island as cultivators. This, like almost every ordonnance
of His Catholic Majesty, relative to this country, is disregarded;
and the Chinese are almost all shopkeepers, or petty merchants. Were
an impartial account of the administration of these islands to be
presented to the king of Spain, it might begin thus: "Sire,--Not
one of your Majesty's orders are executed in your kingdom of the
Philippines." [91-A]
[91-A] Cf. similar statements by Viana (letter to Carlos III)
and Anda (Memorial), in VOL. L.--Eds.
[92] This case actually occurred to one of the most respectable
military officers in the Spanish service, now a captain in the Queen's
Regiment, whose name is Don M---- de O----. This gentleman, a man
of high spirit, and one of the few Spaniards in Manila who are an
ornament to their profession, bearing the king's commission, and in
pursuit of the robbers, suddenly fell in with a noted chief of them,
when accompanied only by a piquet of infantry. The robber knew him,
and with a gallantry worthy of a better cause, defied him to single
combat! With true chivalric spirit, the challenge was instantly
accepted; and orders given to the piquet not to interfere on pain
of their lives. A desperate conflict ensued, in which the gallant
Spaniard was at length victorious, and the robber's head was sent
through the country in triumph. Shall the sequel be told? When he
returned to Manila, with the blessing of every honest native for
having cleared that part of the country of robbers, a subject of
prosecution was found in this service by those numerous enemies which
every honest man has in a country like this, and on some frivolous
pretext of having (unavoidably) fired into a cottage, and killed or
wounded some innocent persons. He could not stoop to flatter or bribe;
and it was with the utmost difficulty, and rather by the exertions
of his friends than by his own, that after suffering a long series
of vexations, he was saved from ruin!
[93] Manufactured, I think, from the Urtica nevea of Linn. [93-A]
[93-A] See our VOL. XXII, p. 279. In regard to cultivation and
preparation of abacá, see Jagor's Reisen, pp. 245-256; Mallat,
Philippines, pp. 279, 280; Census of Phil., iv, pp. 14-24.--Eds.
[94] Mimosa saponaria? [94-A]
[94-A] This plant (variously known to the natives as gogong, gogo,
bayogo, and balogo) is a leguminous climbing plant, Entada scandens
(Official Handbook of Philippines, pp. 367, 384). Blanco (Flora,
pp. 247, 248) praises its detergent qualities, especially for bathing
purposes, as even superior to the soap of Europe; and says that it is
also used medicinally for asthma, and as a purgative, and that the
Indians place dry pieces of its wood in their jars of cacao-beans to
keep away worms. He states that it is also named Mimosa scandens by
some writers.--Eds.
[95] Tíndalo is the native name of the Afzelia (or Eperua)
rhomboidea, a leguminous tree highly valued for its durable and
beautiful timber. Mangachapuy, Vatica (or Dipterocarpus) mangachapoi,
furnishes a timber especially used for shipbuilding and other work
which must resist sun and rain. (Official Handbook, pp. 352, 357;
Blanco, Flora, pp. 260, 261, 281, 313.)--Eds.
[96] It is said by the Indians.
[97] Perhaps Boa hortulana? [97-A]
[97-A] See our VOL. XII, p. 259; and XXIX, p. 301. Dahon-palay is
Dryimus nasutus (Montero y Vidal, Archipiélago filipino, pp. 103,
104). See also Official Handbook, p. 149; and Worcester's Philippine
Islands, p. 514.--Eds.
[98] Many years ago, a complete set of forging machinery was sent out
on speculation; it was sold as old iron, for no one of course would
speculate in mines, when they could with so much more ease obtain
100 per cent. for their capital in the trade to Acapulco.
[99] That is, "to reduce them to a desert, in order to assure her
empire over them."--Eds.
[100] "By a royal decree of February 2, 1800, the residence of
foreigners in Filipinas was forbidden. This mandate was renewed by
royal decrees of September 3, 1807, and July 31, 1816." (Montero y
Vidal, Hist. de Filipinas, ii, p. 360.)--Eds.
[101] Perhaps much of this may be traced to the avaricious spirit of
the early adventurers, and to the cruelties of the Buccaneers; and
thus what might have been only a local, became from habit a national
principle; though "soy Cristiano viejo" [i.e., "I am an old-time
Christian"], was always the surest passport amongst an intolerant
people, with whom "filosofo" is yet an epithet of reproach.
[102] Something of this is more or less visible in the colonial policy
of almost all countries; but that those have been the most flourishing
who have acted on the broad and liberal principle of "Ubi dives, ibi
patria" [i.e., "where wealth is, there is my country"] (a humiliating
but correct estimate, not only of the bulk of colonial adventurers,
but of mankind in general), will scarcely be questioned. The Havannah
is a splendid example. In 1780, strangers were rigorously prohibited,
or at least loaded with restrictions; an enormous smuggling trade
was carried on, and the island did not pay its own expenses. In
1820, when the prohibitory system had been long annihilated, and
strangers allowed free intercourse and establishment, its trade had
increased a hundred-fold; and not only did it suffice for its own,
much more expensive establishments; but, both directly and indirectly,
contributed large sums to the mother country, though at the first
epoch, the profits on colonial capital were at least 30 per cent. more
than at the last.
[103] "We have been told, that we must not sit under the shade of
our own vines and olives! that we must not pluck the fruits from the
trees which our fathers have planted!--and why--lest the merchants
of Cadiz should be deprived of their profits in supplying us with
wine and oil."--From a Chilian manifesto, published soon after the
declaration of independence.
[104] A valuable study of "The Spanish colonial system" is furnished
by the chapter under that heading in Wilhelm Roscher's Kolonien,
Kolonial-politik und Auswanderung (Leipzig, 1885), an English
translation of which is published by Prof. E. G. Bourne (New York,
1904), with some additional annotations. See also "The colonial kingdom
of Spain," in Helmolt's History of the World (New York, 1902), which
is praised by Bourne as an excellent and scholarly study by Konrad
Häbler; but unfortunately the American edition of that work does not
name the author of the above section. Bourne also treats this subject
in a chapter of his Spain in America (New York, 1904), pp. 220-242,
and at pp. 355, 356, gives a helpful list of authorities thereon.--Eds.
[105] "Ecclesiastical foundations and obras pías were, it may be
said, innumerable. From the richest city to the smallest village,
from one extreme of the Peninsula to the other, and even to the
farthest boundaries which the monarchy reached in the period of its
greatest grandeur, the acts of Christian piety are seen in various
foundations. These include not only hermitages, confraternities,
memorials, charitable foundations, and chaplaincies,--which by
themselves alone made a total of enormous wealth--but more pretentious
establishments, as convents, cathedrals, parish churches, and colleges;
and any person will be surprised at those which were supported by some
towns which in their present condition are reduced in population and
poor. Larruga in his memoirs states that Toledo had 25 parish churches
and its cathedral, 39 convents, 14 hospitals, and four colleges,
in all, 83 foundations. Salamanca had more; Cuenca had 31, Avila 31,
Almagro 17, and so with the other cities of Castilla." Among these
pious gifts were "the exchanges of Barcelona, Sevilla, and Valencia,
the colleges of Salamanca, that of Santa Cruz of Valladolid," and many
cathedrals and convents. (Arias y Miranda, Examen crítico-histórico,
p. 139.)--Eds.
[106] At one of them (I believe that of Santa Clara), the sculls of the
seven founders are placed on the table at which the trustees meet!--but
this, it is said, does not exempt the funds from being misapplied.
[107] It was not uncommon for a person worth ten thousand dollars
to borrow 40 more from the public funds. Of these about 25 or 30,000
were shipped, and the remainder kept at home. If the ship was lost,
the accounts were settled; and if she came back, the interest was
always repaid,--which of course entitled them to borrow again, till a
fortunate loss made them independent. And where every body did this,
no one thought it incorrect.
[108] It is not here meant to controvert the principle of this kind of
commerce being at times the most lucrative that can be carried on; but
to remark, that had it not been for the strange system of trading just
described, the restrictive system, and the monopoly of the Phillippine
Company, the activity and ingenuity of private traders would have
discovered other branches of commerce, and with them, that their
own produce might suffice to pay for the piece goods of Bengal. As
an instance, the English and every other nation of Europe have for
a century carried betel-nut to China, but from the Phillippines not
a nut was exported--it was a royal monopoly! and the merchants and
growers were thus deprived of about half a million of dollars annually,
that the king might pocket 30,000. Many other instances might be cited.
[109] The boletas "long did duty as paper money, passing from hand
to hand." (Lala, Philippine Islands, p. 177.)--Eds.
[110] "Aunque a Mexico llevan diablos cornudos siempre ganan dinero"
(Though they should carry horned devils to Mexico, they would make
money by them), was the gruff observation of an old soldier to the
writer. The trade could not have been better characterized; for the
very topmen and cabin servants crammed their departments full of goods
of all kinds; and it was a very common thing to heave to, to clear
the decks in the Bay of Manila. The "Timoneles" (quarter-masters)
had always servants!
[111] The revolt of Mexico from Spain began in 1810, but independence
was not accomplished until 1821. The first constitution of the republic
of Mexico was proclaimed on October 4, 1824.--Eds.
[112] A ship was dispatched from Manila in 1821, and another freighted:
this last as an English ship; both were on account of the Company.
[113] The first constitution of Spain was promulgated on March 19,
1812, during the Napoleonic invasion of that country. Fernando VII
had been displaced on the throne by Joseph Bonaparte for a time, but
the latter fled from Madrid, at Wellington's approach with an English
army, and Fernando (who had been imprisoned in France since 1808)
was restored to Spain as its king, returning in March, 1814. After
long-continued struggles with the Liberal party, Fernando restored
absolutism in that country in 1823, with the aid of a French army;
and the Constitution was overthrown until after Fernando's death
in 1833.--Eds.
[114] To account for the enormous difference, it will be sufficient
to observe, that the Acapulco ships alone smuggle from 1-4th to 1-3d
of their cargo (treasure) on shore--that opium which is prohibited,
is smuggled to a considerable amount, as is also treasure, particularly
gold, to avoid paying the import duties. With respect to the exports,
the Chinese alone smuggle nearly a million annually, and no notice
is taken in the account of treasure exported to Bengal in bars.
[115] Comyn briefly sketches this domestic commerce (pp. 43-45),
but in vague and indefinite terms, save for the following paragraph:
"Besides the traffic founded on the ordinary consumption, and the
necessity of being furnished with goods both domestic and foreign in
order to supply the fairs known by the name of tianguis, which are
held weekly in almost all the villages, there is also a species of
traffic peculiar to the rich Indians and Sangley mestizos (who are an
industrious class, and own the greater part of the ready money). This
consists in buying up beforehand the harvests of indigo, sugar, rice,
etc., with the aim of afterward dictating the prices when they resell
those products to him who buys at second hand."--Eds.
[116] Large, heavy swords, which some of them wield with great
dexterity.
[117] They have some few brigs and schooners, but the number of these
is not much more than 20.
[118] "The Hong merchants (Chinese) were twelve in number, licensed by
government as intermediate agents in trade, between foreign merchants
and the Chinese people, becoming responsible for the good conduct
of the former, and, at the same time, securing to the Emperor the
payment of all maritime duties." (Allen, Opium Trade, p. 45.)--Eds.
[119] Dr. Nathan Allen, in a pamphlet entitled The Opium Trade (Lowell,
Mass., 1853), presents a history of this traffic, describes its results
in both China and India, and protests against its continuance. He
states that opium, originally a native of Persia, spread thence into
Turkey and India, being cultivated more extensively in the latter
country than anywhere else in the world. In 1767 the British East India
Company formed the plan of sending opium from Bengal to China, where
but little of this drug had previously been sold; but they had little
success in this until 1794, when they began a traffic which lasted
some twenty-five years at the ports of Whampoa and Macao. In 1821,
the opium merchants abandoned these places, on account of difficulties
encountered in their trade, and centered it at Lintin Island, in the
bay at the entrance to Canton River, where it rapidly increased. "Here
might be seen large armed vessels reposing, throughout the year, at
anchor, constituting a floating depot of storehouses, for receiving
the opium in large quantities from the ships bringing it from India,
and dealing it out in chests and cases to the Chinese junks, to be
retailed at various points on shore. The Merope, Capt. Parkyns, in
1821, was the first ship that commenced the system of delivering opium
at different cities along the coast of China, and from that time,
the trade increased with wonderful rapidity. Eligible places also
on the east and north-east coast of China were selected to station
receiving vessels, to which the Chinese might easily have access, and
become participators in the trade." Allen cites many contemporary and
high authorities. Among these, James Holman says, in 1830 (Travels in
China, p. 162), that the opium boats "are but seldom interfered with,
nor are they likely to be, so long as the Free Traders can afford to
pay the mandarins so much better for not fighting, than the government
will for doing their duty. The use of opium has become so universal
among the people of China, that the laws which render it penal, and
the proclamations which send forth their daily fulminations against
its continuance, have not the slightest effect in checking the
prevalence of so general a habit. Smoking houses abound in Canton;
and the inhabitants of every class who can furnish themselves with
the means to obtain the pipe, are seldom without this article of
general luxury. It is a propensity that has seized upon all ranks and
classes, and is generally on the increase." From the year 1800, the
Chinese government tried to stop this traffic, strictly prohibiting
the importation of opium; but foreign merchants paid no attention to
this, and forced the trade on the Chinese people. In 1839, a Chinese
official destroyed, by command of the emperor, over 20,000 chests
(worth $12,000,000) of the drug at Canton; this led to a war with
England, commonly known as "the Opium War." The resulting treaty
of peace compelled the Chinese to open five ports to British trade
and residence, to cede the island of Hong-kong to Great Britain--at
which place the opium trade then centered; and in 1845 the British
authorities licensed twenty shops to sell opium at retail--and to pay
heavy indemnities not only to the English government and the merchants,
but for the opium destroyed, which had been legally confiscated by
the emperor as contraband goods. The Chinese commissioners objected,
but were threatened with renewed hostilities if they persisted,
and they had to yield. During the past year negotiations looking
to a cessation of the opium traffic have been carried on between
Great Britain and China. The following also shows the recent growth
of the drug in China. "As for the gums from the Indias, the Chinese
physicians and surgeons make hardly any use of them. I do not think
that in an entire year there is used in Pekin a half-livre of opium
(which they call Yapien); its place is supplied by using the white
poppy." (Father Parennin, in a letter dated September 20, 1740;
Lettres édifiantes, ed. 1811, t. xxii, p. 274.)--Eds.
[120] One of the great drawbacks on the profits of the voyages from
Europe since 1814 has been, that no light goods of value were to
be obtained. An American, in 1816, remained 16 months to obtain two
crops of indigo, and bought all to be got in the market. She made an
excellent voyage, even with this heavy expense.
[121] At this point in the book (namely, facing p. 82) is a plan
of Manila entitled "Plano de la ciudad de Manila, capital de las
Yslas Filipinas," which shows the city and its suburbs; and a
second illustration showing, first, "View of Manila from the plain
of Bagumbayan," and second, "View of Manila from the sea." The plan
of Manila is from a Spanish source.--Eds.
[122] Generally, but incorrectly written, "Manilla."
[123] Under this title is included not only the Phillippines from the
Bashees and Babuyanes to Mindanao, but also from Palawan on the west
to the Carolinas on the east.
[124] It has no ditch on this side.
[125] A covert from an enemy's fire, but not intended for defense
with guns; composed of gabions or bags filled with earth, or of earth
heaped up.--Eds.
[126] Le Gentil states (Voyage, ii, pp. 103, 104) that Arandía was
hated by the friars because he desired to demolish two churches outside
the walls of Manila; these were so solid, and equipped with towers,
and so near the walls, that they were a source of great danger to
the city if they should fall into an enemy's hands. "I have been
assured that the friars raised the cry of heresy against M. Arandía,
and that they talked of nothing less than excommunicating him; but his
death stopped all that. This zealous governor actually died in 1760,
before he had effected his project; but his death was not regarded as
natural." When the English appeared before Manila, Arandía's loss was
regretted, when it was too late. The English demolished the aforesaid
churches and their towers, for their own safety.--Eds.
[127] That is, elevated so as to fire over the top of a parapet.--Eds.
[128] This place was afterward occupied (1824?) by "a statue of Carlos
IV, in bronze, a true work of art, cast in Manila. It was erected in
recognition of his having ordered the conveyance [to the islands]
of vaccine virus, transmitted from arm to arm, for which purpose
exclusively he arranged for the departure of a ship from Méjico, which
reached Manila on April 15, 1805." (Montero y Vidal, Archipiélago
filipino, p. 301.) The same writer says (Hist. de Filipinas, ii,
p. 388): "The benefits produced by vaccination among the natives,
always so harassed by that pest [of smallpox], were evident," and
Folgueras made strenuous efforts to secure its propagation throughout
the country. He also gave orders that the dead should not be interred
within the churches, a measure which drew upon him hostilities and
annoyances from the religious." The Plaza Mayor, where the above
statue stands, is now called Plaza McKinley.--Eds.
[129] And yet the ignorant natives ascribed the pest of cholera,
which caused such ravages in Manila in 1820, to the poisoning of their
wells by foreigners. A French physician, Dr. Charles L. Benoit, who
arrived at Manila at that time, and spent four years there, states,
in his Observacións sobre el cólera morbo espasmodico (Madrid, 1832)
that in this belief the Indians, usually so humble and religious,
then committed innumerable crimes. See account of their massacre of
foreigners, pp. 39-45, ante.--Eds.
[130] The brethren devote themselves to the care of the sick, and
perform their duties most honourably and zealously; so much so, that
the refectory is often supplied with little but rice for their own
dinners. The other orders are richly endowed, and fare sumptuously--but
they are more a-la-mode.
[131] These plates are obtained from the shell of the Placuna placenta,
a mollusk; they are generally used in place of window-glass, and by
their partial opacity modify the effects of the sun's heat.--Eds.
[132] This would appear a vulgar interpretation of a popular custom;
but from this charge the writer will be exonerated, when it is known,
that should a person yawn, he devoutly makes the sign of the cross
before his mouth, while it continues open, to--keep the devil from
him! Ex pede elephantem [i.e., "By the foot-print, one recognizes
the elephant"].
[133] "When the terrible epidemic which Manila had suffered came to an
end, the municipal council caused a fine cemetery to be constructed in
the village of San Fernando de Dilao, commonly called Paco." (Montero
y Vidal, Historia de Filipinas, ii, p. 457.)--Eds.
[134] La Peyrouse, when speaking of the public flagellants in the
Passion week, did not, I believe, do so; but though superstitious
enough, this practice is no longer continued in the present day.
[135] "Thank God! I am of a noble family!"--And if they are told,
"Well, but if you have nothing to eat?" "Me hago frayle," "Well,
I can be a friar," is the answer.
[136] Le Gentil says (Voyage, ii, pp. 116, 117) that the Jesuits
decided that the use of chocolate was admissible on fast days,
consequently these were no mortification to most of the people.--Eds.
[137] "This is no country for an honest man"--a remark quoted, too,
I think, by Le Gentil.
[138] Cervantes, whose keen but justly merited satire on many of the
failings of his countrymen, is only equalled by his beautiful eulogies
on many of their excellencies, has aptly described the composition
of their colonies in his day.
"To the Indies--the refuge and resource of despairing Spaniards--asylum
of rebels--protector of homicides--receptacle of gamblers (called by
some knowing ones)--common decoy for women of loose characters--the
deceiver of many, and remedy of few."--Novela del Zeloso Estnemeno
[i.e., "The jealous Estremaduran"].
[139] Andaluces: natives of Andalusia province. Montañeses:
appellation of the dwellers in the hill-country of Santander province,
Spain. Serviles (literally "those who are servile or fawning"): a
political epithet applied to the Monarchists or Absolutists. Liberales:
the Liberals in politics, much as that term is used at the present
time. Le Gentil describes (Voyage, ii, p. 109) the clannishness and
provincialism of the Spaniards in Manila.--Eds.
[140] This is not an isolated opinion; and in corroboration, it will
be sufficient to mention, that upwards of 3/4ths of all the disposable
Spanish property in the country has been sent out of it. This fact is
a volume in itself. Since this was written, two serious commotions
have taken place, in the latter of which the conspirators obtained
possession of the city, which was regained by storming. [140-A]
[140-A] Reference is here made to the rebellion incited by Novales in
1823; see account of it on pp. 47-48, ante.--Eds.
[141] The great length of this document obliges us to summarize
passages of lesser importance; but as much of the author's exact
language has been retained as possible.
[142] Bernaldez refers to the massacre of foreigners in 1820, and
the mutiny under Novales in 1823, both of which are related in the
first document of this volume.
[143] In the Archivo general de Indias at Sevilla is a MS. map, drawn
(June 20, 1773) by the government engineer at Manila, Miguel A. Gomez,
showing "portion of the site on the river of Tanay, indicating the plan
of the iron-works for casting anchors and artillery, and the shop for
casting the small iron articles which are called in the Philippine
archipelago cauas--which are equivalent to kettles, boilers, and
frying-pans, and which the Chinese or Sangleys manufacture with so
great skill and dexterity." Gomez estimated that this establishment
would cost "at least 175,000 pesos, without reckoning the cost of
the dwelling-houses" for officials, artisans, and laborers.
[144] The native name for the annotto (Bixa orellana), the seeds of
which produce a yellow substance used for coloring cheese, butter, etc.
[145] Polizon: "a person who embarks by stealth and without a passport,
in the ships which sail to America." (Dominguez.)
[146] "The association of the Audiencia with the governor began
in 1527, with Cortes, as the court recognized the impossibility
of controlling so great a hero by means of a single, and perhaps
insignificant, man. (Roscher, Spanish Colonial system, Bourne's ed.,
p. 24, note 5.)
[147] The writer here adds: "This exportation is of very little
importance in the markets of Asia, where the more usual and cheaper
beverage for the people is Rak [English, "arrack"], or wine made
from rice."
[148] In 1853 a pamphlet was published at Madrid, written by Sinibaldo
de Mas, entitled, Articulo sobre las rentas de Filipinas y los medios
de aumentarlas," written for the Boletin Oficial of the Treasury
Department." (Vindel, Catálogo biblioteca filipina, no. 1558.)
[149] "Only since 1843 have the Chinese shops been opened on the same
terms as those of other foreigners. But there is no doubt that the
Chinese have been a great boon to the colony. They have had, in the
main, a civilizing influence on the natives, and have taught them
many important things: as the working of iron and the manufacture
of sugar from the juice of the sugar-cane. They have also ever been
the leaders in commerce and the chief middlemen of the colony; and
for this reason mainly they have been deemed an unwelcome necessity,
for, without them, trade would almost be brought to a standstill, and,
in consequence, labor would suffer and living be rendered dearer to
every class. By their superior shrewdness and unscrupulous cunning
they have, on the other hand, excited the hatred of the natives,
who despise them for their cowardice. Thus, from time to time,
the feeling against them is very bitter. Another objection against
the Celestial is that he underbids all competitors, working for
what others refuse. Furthermore, he spends little, and all that
he saves he carries to his own country. Their expulsion, however,
would be as unwise as it is impracticable, and the only remedy that
meets the case is a proper State-control. The employment of coolie
labor, notwithstanding, is at present impossible, on account of the
hatred that the lower-class natives feel toward them. In Manila there
are at present no less than 40,000 Chinese, while the whole colony
contains about 100,000. They have their own courts, their guilds,
and secret societies, which are necessary for their self-protection;
and they choose representative deputations to represent them in the
Government." (Lala, Philippine Islands, pp. 104-106.)
Le Gentil says (Voyage, ii, p. 101) of the banishment of the Chinese
from Manila in 1767 (at which time he was residing there): "I did not
know any Spaniard in Manila who did not sincerely regret the departure
of the Chinese, and who did not frankly admit that the Philippines
would suffer for it, because the Indians are not capable of replacing
the Chinese.... The Parian was a sort of market, where could be found
provision of everything necessary for living; and it is not without
reason that the Spaniards regretted the loss of this laborious people."
[150] "This spirit of greed compelled the Chinese to abandon in
their internal commerce the gold and silver coins which were in
general use. The number of those who made counterfeit money, which
was continually increasing, permitted no other line of conduct;
and money was no longer coined save in copper. This metal, however,
having become scarce, in consequence of events which history does not
record, the shells so well known under the name of 'cauris' [English,
'cowries'] were mingled with the copper coins; but the government,
having observed that the people were dissatisfied with so frail
an article, ordered that the copper utensils throughout the entire
empire should be given up to the mints. As this ill-judged expedient
did not furnish resources adequate to the public needs, the government
caused about four hundred temples of Foé to be demolished, the idols
in which were melted down. Finally the court paid the magistrates
and the army partly in copper and partly in paper; but the people
rebelled against so dangerous innovation, and it became necessary
to give it up. Since that time, which was three centuries ago, the
coinage of copper is the only legal one." (Raynal, Établissemens et
commerce des Européens, i, pp. 641, 642).
[151] Spanish, temporalidades: referring to the bureau in charge of
the property formerly belonging to the Jesuits.
[152] Thus in text, but evidently a clerical error by Bernaldez's
amanuensis. A similar discrepancy is seen in the estimate of the
trader's profits, below.
[153] The Cortes, as first known by the Spaniards, contained three
divisions, the three estates; the ones called in the three periods
above-mentioned had but one chamber; the present Cortes contains
two houses, the senate and the congress or house of deputies or
representatives. The senate consists of three divisions: senators in
their own right (the heir presumptive, the grandees, archbishops, etc.;
life senators appointed by the crown; and those elected by the people,
half of whom are removable every five years. Members to the lower
house are elected for five years by electors chosen by the people. No
Cortes was held from 1713-1789, and from the latter year until 1810.
[154] For a good account of this period in Spain, which was one of
great confusion, see E. W. Latimer's Spain in the nineteenth century
(Chicago, 1898, 3d ed.) The machinations of Napoleon and the other
events leading up to the establishment of the Cortes of 1810-1813
are well and concisely narrated. See also Hume, Modern Spain (New
York, 1900).
[155] The latter, indeed, was granted permission (January 4, 1811)
to go to Veracruz for his health; and on July 22, 1811, permission
was given to the former to go to the Philippines on private business,
although he was later forbidden to leave until the return of his
colleague, as his absence before that time would leave the Philippines
without representation. The request was renewed on the arrival of
Reyes (December 6, 1811), and on the latter's assumption of his seat
(December 9), Perez de Tagle was allowed to leave. On September
19, 1813, a discourse was pronounced at Manila by José de Vergara,
"deputy-elect for the province of Manila to the general Cortes,"
and published in that year at Sampaloc. The election of deputies in
that year was regulated by a junta composed of Governor Gardoqui,
Archbishop Juan de Zúñiga, Manuel Díaz Condé, and three others;
one of their decisions exempted the very poor in the community from
contributing to the fund raised for paying the traveling and other
expenses of the deputies to the Cortes. (Vindel, Catálogo biblioteca
filipina, nos. 1874, 1875.)
[156] Such were the decree of October 5, 1810, confirming the essential
unity and equality of all parts of the Spanish domain; the abolition of
the quicksilver monopoly, January 26, 1811; the provisional creation of
a Consejo de Estado to consist of twenty members (six from Ultramar),
on January 21, 1812, although the constitution (adopted March 18, 1812)
called for one with forty members (twelve from Ultramar): the creation
of the Secretaría del Despacho de la Gobernación de Ultramar (April
2, 1812), and the establishment of the Tribunal Supremo de Justicia,
and the suppression of the Consejos de Castilla, Indias, and Hacienda
(all of them provided for in the constitution); and the suppression
of the Inquisition (February 22, 1813). The law of November 9, 1813,
abolishing personal services for Indians and regulating public works,
seems to have been intended only for America.
[157] February 20, 1812, was the last meeting on the island of León,
the Cortes assembling on the twenty-fourth at the church of San Felipe
Neri, at Cádiz.
[158] The method of election for the Cortes of 1813 (decree of May
23, 1812) provided for a preliminary election board for each colonial
province consisting of the provincial head, the archbishop, bishop,
or acting archbishop, the intendant (if there were one), the senior
alcalde, the senior regidor, the syndic procurator-general, and two
commoners (these last to be chosen by the others). One representative
was to be chosen for each 60,000 people. (See the essential clauses of
this decree in Montero y Vidal, Historia general, ii, pp. 406, 407.) On
the same day was also decreed the creation of provincial deputations,
of which one was specified for Manila. In this session of Cortes also,
the reorganization of the audiencias was decreed, but the Philippine
representative seems to have taken no part in the debate.
[159] Trouble had arisen over the administration by the board of the
obras pias which it was usual to loan out to those interested in the
galleon trade.
[160] These ordinances were unconstitutional because control of the
hospice was vested in a board headed by the captain-general, while
by the constitution such organizations were now to be controlled by
the ayuntamientos and provincial deputations. The despatch regarding
this matter was sent to the Cortes by the secretary of Ultramar,
November 27, 1812.
[161] On July 7, 1810, the governor of the Philippines proposed
the suppression of the galleon, and requested permission for the
inhabitants of the Philippines to ship goods in Spanish bottoms not
in excess of 1,000,000 pesos. The suppression was resolved upon by
the Cortes by article 3 of the decree of October 8, 1811, regarding
commerce.
[162] This decree (which is given by Montero y Vidal, Historia general,
li, pp. 412, 413) states that the inhabitants of the Philippines may
trade in Chinese and other Asiatic goods in private Spanish bottoms
with the ports of Acapulco and San Blas in Nueva España, under the
old terms of 500,000 pesos for the outgoing, and 1,000,000 pesos
for the return voyage. If the port of Acapulco be closed, they may
trade at Sonsonate. For four years the lower rates of duties granted
by Cárlos IV by decree of October, 1806, are continued. Boletas,
or tickets granting lading space, are to be furnished no longer.
[163] In accordance with a royal order of June 17, commanding the
representatives of the colonies to report the petitions pending, or
which had not been moved, that had for their object the welfare of the
colonies, Reyes petitioned the suppression of the Acapulco galleon;
permission of 1,000,000 pesos for the outgoing, and 2,000,000 pesos for
the return voyage; unlimited extension of the lower duties conceded
October 4, 1806; one or two Peruvian ports open to the commerce of
the islands; that natives of the islands be allowed to export goods in
Spanish bottoms to any point of the Spanish monarchy free of export and
import duties; trade on the northwest coast of America with Spaniards;
and that the permission be conceded to bring back all unsold goods
(in addition to the amount of imports allowed), on payment to the
treasury of a 6 per cent duty. The answers to these requests were
as follows: the Acapulco ship was suppressed by order of April 23,
1815; permission of export to the value of 750,000 pesos; the ports of
Callao and Guayaquil thrown open to Philippine trade; traffic with the
Spaniards on the northwest coast of America; permission to bring back
unsold goods to the extent of one-third the amount of imports allowed,
paying ten per cent duty for such excess; and free trade for Philippine
products at any port of the monarchy in Spanish bottoms for ten years.
[164] On the seventh he took the oath to observe the Constitution
of 1812; and on the tenth, by a decree ordered the reëstablishment
of the Secretaría del Despachó de la Gobernación[, the first acts
of which were the promulgation of the Constitution of 1812, and
the reëstablishment of all the organisms created by the Cortes of
1810-1813.
[165] Apparently appointed by the Secretary of Ultramar. Their
credentials were approved at the third preliminary meeting of July
5 or 6.
[166] A general decree of October 5, 1820, ordered a uniform and
general schedule of duties for the Peninsula and Ultramar; but this
law was modified by another law of December 20, 1821, recognizing the
impracticability of uniformity of duties for Spain and the colonies,
and providing that the schedule be uniform except for the differences
rendered necessary in the provinces of Ultramar.
[167] The secretary of Hacienda considered the privileges of the
company for the importation of cotton goods as unconstitutional and
contrary to the prosperity of national manufactures. At the meeting
of August 18, it developed that the company had transferred its
monopoly to a foreign merchant of Cádiz. The company was allowed to
present its argument, but the report of the committees on Commerce
and Hacienda was adopted. Later the company presented a petition
requesting the liquidation of the government's indebtedness to it,
the privilege of selling its stock of cotton goods, and various other
concessions incident to the closing up of its affairs. This petition,
sent to the Cortes by the secretary of Hacienda, was referred to the
committee on Commerce on November 2. On the fifth, a petition was
presented by the Philippine representatives and Gregorio Gonzales
Azaolo, of Sevilla, asking that the prohibition of the importation
of cotton goods should not affect the Philippines until the industry
was developed or established in those islands. This petition having
been referred to the committees on Commerce and Hacienda, their
report on November 8 recommended the opening of the Oriental trade
to all Spaniards trading in Spanish bottoms. This recommendation was
embodied in article 3 of the decree of November 9, specifying the
kinds of goods which Spanish ships trading by the Cape of Good Hope
could introduce into Spain or Spanish America.
[168] The decrees of the Diarios de las Cortes show no decree of this
date confirming a previous decree of March 7, 1820, granting exemption
of duties for ten years on natural and industrial products of the
Philippines, when imported in Spanish bottoms into the Peninsula,
as declared by Montero y Vidal. The decree of December 21, 1820,
providing for the abolition of the monopoly on tobacco and salt
after March 1, 1821, and providing customs and consumption duties,
seems not to have affected the Philippines.
[169] In October, 1820, the preliminary board for the election
of representatives was organized in Manila, but inasmuch as the
elections were not held until after the Constitution had been
sworn to in Manila in May, 1821 (and later in the provinces), no
regularly-elected representatives were present at the second session.
[170] Wrongly called a decree by Montero y Vidal. This order was
addressed to the Secretary of War in answer to a question raised by
the Council of War.
[171] The special discussion arose over the item of 50,000 reals for
missions and a note in the report reflecting on the native clergy in
the Philippines. Some of the Americans, who were quite fully imbued
with the free thought of the French philosophical school, declared
for the suppression of the missionaries (meaning friars), inasmuch as
they were useless and even harmful. The committee answered this by
asserting that the missionaries in the Philippines were used by the
government as civil and political agents, and that they did do much
good work in their own legitimate line. The passage concerning the
incapacity of the native clergy was meant to apply to the Philippines
alone, but if desired it could be removed as it was not essential to
the report. An American representative moved that the 50,000 reals
be used in the establishment of normal schools in Ultramar. The
Philippine representatives seem to have taken no part in the debate
except that Camus y Herrera moved that the obnoxious clause concerning
the Filipino clergy be stricken out. The report was accepted as read.
[172] Each university was to have a public library, a drawing school,
a chemical laboratory, cabinets of physics, natural history, and
industrial products, another of models of machines, a botanical garden,
and an experiment farm. The university to be established in Manila was
to have theological and law courses for the doctorate. Manila was also
to have a medical school, a school for veterinary medicine, a school
of fine arts, and commercial and nautical schools. Professorships were
to be filled by competition, and those for the Philippines were to
be examined by persons designated by the Subdirection of Studies in
Mexico. Girls were to be taught to read, write, and cipher; while the
older female students were to be taught the work suitable to their
sex. This matter of education for girls was left to the provincial
deputations.
[173] On the twenty-third there was a discussion as to the legality
of the substitutes for the representatives of Ultramar being allowed
to hold over; and it was finally declared that only those for the
Philippines and Peru could sit during this session.
[174] This exclusion was in accordance with a decision of the committee
on Credentials handed in February 11, 1822, to the effect that
government employes did not cease, to be such until their resignations
were accepted by the government. Posada did not present his credentials
at the meeting of February 15, declaring that they had been robbed
with his baggage en route from Cádiz to Madrid. He did present them,
however, at the next meeting of February 20. At the third and fourth
preliminary meetings (February 22 and 24) the matter was debated,
and he was excluded on the grounds of being still a government employe.
[175] Foreman states wrongly (p. 362, ed. of 1906) that seventeen
deputies were elected and sat during the Cortes of 1820-23, and he
names eight of them. He may have confused the names of electors with
those of representatives. The four elected (of whom only three are
known) were perhaps elected for the districts of the archiepiscopal
see and the three suffragan sees of the Philippines; although Montero
y Vidal says that both Sáenz de Vizmanos and Posada were elected from
Nueva Cáceres.
[176] Although a provincial deputation had been organized in Manila
in 1822, almost its only act was to petition (April 12, 1823) for
more missionaries.
[177] Fernando's infant daughter, Isabel II, ascended the throne
under the regency of her mother María Cristina. Through the efforts
of the liberals, six important decrees were passed March 24, 1834:
suppression of the Consejo de Estado, during the minority of the queen;
suppression of the Consejos de Castilla and de Indias, in whose place
was established a Tribunal Superior de España é Indias; suppression of
the Consejo Supremo de Guerra, and in its place the establishment of
the Tribunal Supremo de Guerra y Marina y de Extranjería; suppression
of the Consejo Supremo de Hacienda, replacing it by a Tribunal Supremo
de Hacienda; an order to the Secretary of the Despacho de Gracia y
Justicia to propose the new organization of the Consejo Real de las
Ordenes; and the institution of a Consejo Real de España é Indias to
have general supervision of American and Philippine matters.
[178] The first news of reform and the fact that the new Cortes were
to be summoned was received unofficially at Manila by a United States
ship sailing from Cádiz in June, 1834, and reaching Manila toward
the end of the same year.
[179] No provision was made in the third Cortes for substitute
representation for Ultramar (except in the decree of August 21, 1836,
calling a Cortes for October 24 under the rules of the Constitution of
1812), which is in point with the ignorance manifested throughout this
period by the officials at Madrid with regard to the Philippines. This
accounts for the islands having no representation for some of the
sessions of the Cortes.
[180] Andrés García Camba resided in Manila during 1825-35, and became
so popular that he was elected a deputy to the Spanish Cortes; he was
afterward (August, 1837-December, 1838) governor of the Philippines,
and wrote a book (published at Cádiz, 1839) regarding his experiences
while holding that office. Himself liberally inclined, he was
constantly opposed by reactionary influences. Although his name does
not appear in the pamphlet Filipinas y su representación en Cortes,
he is generally considered as its author; and he alludes to it in the
memoir above mentioned. (Vindel, Cat. bib. filip., nos. 1881, 1886.)
[181] Foreman says that Lecaros was a mestizo; and Montero y Vidal
that he was a Filipino lawyer. The board of electors was mainly
composed of peninsulars.
[182] Camba proposed (Filipinas y su representación en Cortes,
1836) a special mode of election to Cortes for the Philippines,
which was to be by the Manila Ayuntamiento, as that was the only
political organization in the islands worth mentioning, and was in
direct contact with affairs. The law to be adopted for Ultramar,
Camba argued, must take into account the condition of the country and
the inhabitants. During this session, the Philippine representatives
presented two petitions to the Secretario, del Despacho de Hacienda,
asking in one for a moderation of the excessive duties on the
introduction of Spanish brandy into the Philippines, and in the other
the sending of few pensioners and subaltern employes to the islands,
as this was a prejudice to the native Philippine Spaniards. Lecaros
presented a plan to Mendizábal, the provisional president of the
Consejo de Ministros, for the suppression of the monopoly on tobacco
in the Philippines, but Mendizábal took measures to make the monopoly
more remunerative to the state. See Montero y Vidal, Historia general,
ii. pp. 554, 555, note.
[183] He wrote Memoria sobre las Islas Filipinas (Valencia, 1842).
[184] July 31, 1837, the new commercial treaty made September 22,
1836, between the governor of the Philippines and the sultan of Joló
was referred to the committees on State and Commerce, was reported on
favorably on October 4, and was accordingly approved on the twelfth
of October. This treaty stipulated that every three-masted schooner
porting at Joló with Chinese passengers from Manila was to pay 2,000
pesos fuertes, and lesser boats in proportion to their size. As the
most important cargo ever sent to Joló from Manila never exceeded
2,500 pesos in value, it is hard to see the value of this treaty so
greatly lauded in Madrid. No Joloan vessels went to Manila. In this
matter the officials showed a woful ignorance of the Philippines,
the minister of the navy stating that all vessels stopped at Joló on
their way to the Philippines. This treaty, as well as the one made
by the governor of Zamboanga with the chief of Maluso near Basilan,
only made the Moros bolder in their piracy. See Montero y Vidal,
Historia general, ii, pp. 557-560.
[185] On May 25, 1869, an amendment was presented by Julián Pellón
y Rodriguez in the Spanish Cortes demanding that parliamentary
representation be granted to Filipinas. Among the signers to this
amendment were Victor Balaguer and Francisco Javier Moya. (Vindel,
Cat. bib. filip., no. 1883.)
[186] The host was stolen at least three other times in the history
of the Philippines: once in Camarines; once in Malate; and in 1730
from the Franciscan convent and church at Maycavayan. See San Antonio,
Chronicas, i, p. 181.
[187] In 1808, the Manila diocese comprehended the provinces
and districts of Manila, Bulacan, Batangas, Cavite, La Infanta,
Laguna, Mindoro, Morong, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Principe, Tarlac and
Zambales. It had 219 parishes, 24 parish missions, 16 active missions,
259 parish priests, or missionaries, and 198 native secular priests
who acted as assistants to the parish priests (who were mainly
regulars). See the Rept. of the Phil. Com., for 1900, i, p. 132,
and iv, p. 107.
[188] Foreman, Philippine Islands (N. Y., 1906 ed.), p. 597, note 2.