X. Mahometans and Southern Tribes…

X. Mahometans and Southern Tribes

Simultaneously with the Spanish conquest of the Philippines, two Borneo chiefs, who were brothers, quarrelled about their respective possessions, and one of them had to flee. His partisans joined him, and they emigrated to the Island of Basilan, [56] situated to the south of Zamboanga (Mindanao Is.). The Moros, as they are called in the Islands, are therefore supposed to be descended from the Mahometan Dyaks of Borneo. They were a valiant, warlike, piratical people, who admired bravery in others--had a deep-rooted contempt for poltroons, and lavished no mercy on the weak.

In the suite of this emigrant chief, called Paguian Tindig, catoe his cousin Adasaolan, who was so captivated by the fertility of Basilan Island that he wished to remain there; so Tindig left him in possession and withdrew to Sulu Island, where he easily reduced the natives to vassalage, for they had never yet had to encounter so powerful a foe. So famous did Paguian Tindig become that, for generations afterwards, the Sultans of Sulu were proud of their descent from such a celebrated hero. After the Spaniards had pacified the great Butuan chief on the north coast of Mindanao, Tindig consented to acknowledge the suzerainty of their king, in exchange for undisturbed possession of the realm which he had just founded.

Adasaolan espoused the Princess Paguian Goan, daughter of Dimasangcay, King of Mindanao, by his wife Imbog, a Sulu woman, and with this relationship he embraced the Mahometan faith. His ambition increased as good fortune came to him, and, stimulated by the promised support of his father-in-law, he invaded Sulu, attacked his cousin Tindig, and attempted to murder him in order to annex his kingdom. A short but fierce contest ensued. Tindig's fortified dwelling was besieged in vain. The posts which supported the upper storey were greased with oil, and an entrance could not be effected. Wearied of his failures, Adasaolan retired from the enterprise, and Tindig, in turn, declared war on the Basilan king after he had been to Manila to solicit assistance from his Spanish suzerain's representative, who sent two armed boats to support him.

When Tindig, on his return from Manila, arrived within sight of Sulu, his anxious subjects rallied round him, and prepared for battle. The two armed boats furnished by the Spaniards were on the way, but, as yet, too far off to render help, so Adasaolan immediately fell upon Tindig's party and completely routed them. Tindig himself died bravely, fighting to the last moment, and the Spaniards, having no one to fight for when they arrived, returned to Manila with their armed boats.

Adasaolan, however, did not annex the territory of his defeated cousin. Rajah Bongso succeeded Tindig in the Government of Sulu, and when old age enfeebled him, he was wont to show with pride the scars inflicted on him during the war of independence.

Adasaolan then made alliances with Mindanao and Borneo people, and introduced the Mahometan religion into Sulu. Since then, Sulu (called "Jolo," by the Spaniards) has become the Mecca of the Southern Archipelago. [57]

The earliest records relating to Mindanao Island, since the Spanish annexation of the Philippines, show that about the year 1594 a rich Portuguese cavalier of noble birth, named Estevan Rodriguez, who had acquired a large fortune in the Philippines, and who had a wealthy brother in Mexico, proposed to the Governor Perez Dasmarinas the conquest of this island. For this purpose he offered his person and all his means, but having long waited in vain to obtain the royal sanction to his project, he prepared to leave for Mexico, disgusted and disappointed. He was on the point of starting for New Spain; he had his ship laden and his family on board, when the royal confirmation arrived with the new Governor, Dr. Antonio Morga (1595-96). Therefore he changed his plans, but despatched the laden ship to Mexico with the cargo, intending to employ the profits of the venture in the prosecution of his Mindanao enterprise. With the title of General, he and his family, together with three chaplain priests, started in another vessel for the south. They put in at Otong (Panay Is.) on the way, and left there in April, 1596. Having reached the great Mindanao River (Rio Grande), the ship went up it as far as Buhayen, in the territory of the chief Silongan. A party under Juan de la Jara, the Maestre de Campo, was sent ashore to reconnoitre the environs. Their delay in returning caused alarm, so the General buckled on his shield, and, with sword in hand, disembarked, accompanied by a Cebuano servant and two Spaniards, carrying lances. On the way they met a native, who raised his campilan to deal a blow, which the General received on his shield, and cut down the foe to the waist. Then they encountered another, who clove the General's head almost in two, causing his death in six hours. The Cebuano at once ran the native through with a lance. This brave was discovered to be the youngest brother of the chief Silongan, who had sworn to Mahomet to sacrifice his life to take that of the Castilian invader.

The General's corpse was sent to Manila for interment. The expedition led by the Maestre de Campo fared badly, one of the party being killed, another seriously wounded, and the rest fleeing on board. The next day it was decided to construct trenches at the mouth of the river, where the camp was established. The command was taken by the Maestre de Campo, whose chief exploit seems to have been that he made love to the deceased General's widow and proposed marriage to her, which she indignantly rejected. Nothing was gained by the expedition, and after the last priest died, the project was abandoned and the vessel returned to Cebu.

In 1638 another expedition against the Moros was headed by the Gov.-General Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, who made the first landing of troops in Sulu Island on April 17 of that year. He also established some military posts on the coast of Mindanao Island, one of which was Sampanilla (now called Malabang) on the Illana Bay shore. Four years afterwards it was abandoned until 1891, when General Weyler went there and had a fort built, which still exists.

It would appear that all over these Islands the strong preyed on the weak, and the boldest warrior or oppressor assumed the title of Sultan, Datto, etc., over all the territory he could dominate, making the dignity hereditary. So far as can be ascertained, one of the oldest titles was that of Prince of Sibuguey, whose territory was situated on the bay of that name which washes the N.E. coast of Zamboanga Province. The title fell into disuse, and the grandson of the last prince, the present Manguiguin, or Sultan of Mindanao, resides at Dinas. The sultanate dates from the year 1640, but, in reality, there never was a sultan with effective jurisdiction over the whole island, as the title would seem to imply. The Sultan's heir is styled the Rajahmudah.

The alliances effected between the Sulu and Mindanao potentates gave a great stimulus to piracy, which hitherto had been confined to the waters in the locality of those islands. It now spread over the whole of the Philippine Archipelago, and was prosecuted with great vigour by regular organized fleets, carrying weapons almost equal to those of the Spaniards. In meddling with the Mahometan territories the Spaniards may be said to have unconsciously lighted on a hornets' nest. Their eagerness for conquest stirred up the implacable hatred of the Mahometan for the Christian, and they unwittingly brought woe upon their own heads for many generations. Indeed, if half the consequences could have been foreseen, they surely never would have attempted to gain what, up to their last day, they failed to secure, namely, the complete conquest of Mindanao and the Sulu Sultanate.

For over two and a half centuries Mahometan war-junks ravaged every coast of the Colony. Not a single peopled island was spared. Thousands of the inhabitants were murdered, whilst others were carried into slavery for years. Villages were sacked; the churches were looted; local trade was intercepted; the natives subject to Spain were driven into the highlands, and many even dared not risk their lives and goods near the coasts. The utmost desolation and havoc were perpetrated, and militated vastly against the welfare and development of the Colony. For four years the Government had to remit the payment of tribute in Negros Island, and the others lying between it and Luzon, on account of the abject poverty of the natives, due to these raids. From the time the Spaniards first interfered with the Mahometans there was continual warfare. Expeditions against the pirates were constantly being fitted out by each succeeding Governor. Piracy was indeed an incessant scourge and plague on the Colony, and it cost the Spaniards rivers of blood and millions of dollars only to keep it in check.

In the last century the Mahometans appeared even in the Bay of Manila. I was acquainted with several persons who had been in Mahometan captivity. There were then hundreds who still remembered, with anguish, the insecurity to which their lives and properties were exposed. The Spaniards were quite unable to cope with such a prodigious calamity. The coast villagers built forts for their own defence, and many an old stone watch-tower is still to be seen on the islands south of Luzon. On several occasions the Christian natives were urged, by the inducement of spoil, to equip corsairs, with which to retaliate on the indomitable marauders. The Sulu people made captive the Christian natives and Spaniards alike, whilst a Spanish priest was a choice prize. And whilst Spaniards in Philippine waters were straining every nerve to extirpate slavery, their countrymen were diligently pursuing a profitable trade in it between the West Coast of Africa and Cuba!

One must admit that, indirectly, the Mahometan attacks had the good political effect of forcing hundreds of Christians up from the coast to people and cultivate the interior of these Islands.

Due to the enterprise of a few Spanish and foreign merchants, steamers at length began to navigate the waters of the Archipelago, provided with arms for defence, and piracy by Mahometans beyond their own locality was doomed. In the time of Gov.-General Norzagaray (1857-60), 18 steam gunboats were ordered out, and arrived in 1860, putting a close for ever to this epoch of misery, bloodshed, and material loss. The end of piracy brought repose to the Colony, and in no small degree facilitated its social advancement.

During the protracted struggle with the Mahometans, Zamboanga (Mindanao Is.) was fortified, and became the headquarters of the Spaniards in the south. After Cavite it was the chief naval station, and a penitentiary was also established there. [58] Its maintenance was a great burden to the Treasury--its existence a great eyesore to the enemy, whose hostility was much inflamed thereby. About the year 1635 its abandonment was proposed by the military party, who described it as only a sepulchre for Spaniards. The Jesuits, however, urged its continuance, as it suited their interests to have material support close at hand, and their influence prevailed in Manila bureaucratic centres.

In 1738 the fixed annual expenses of Zamboanga fort and equipment were 17,500 pesos, and the incidental disbursements were estimated at 7,500 pesos. These sums did not include the cost of scores of armed fleets which, at enormous expense, were sent out against the Mahometans to little purpose. Each new (Zamboanga) Governor of a martial spirit, and desiring to do something to establish or confirm his fame for prowess, seemed to regard it as a kind of duty to premise the quelling of imaginary troubles in Sulu and Mindanao. Some, with less patriotism than selfishness, found a ready excuse for filling their own pockets by the proceeds of warfare, in making feigned efforts to rescue captives. It may be observed, in extenuation, that, in those days, the Spaniards believed from their birth that none but a Christian had rights, whilst some were deluded by a conscientious impression that they were executing a high mission; myth as it was, it at least served to give them courage in their perilous undertakings. Peace was made and broken over and over again. Spanish forts were at times established in Sulu, and afterwards demolished. Every decade brought new devices to control the desperate foe. Several Governors-General headed the troops in person against the Mahometans with temporary success, but without any lasting effect, and almost every new Governor made a solemn treaty with one powerful chief or another, which was respected only as long as it suited both parties. This continued campaign, the details of which are too prolix for insertion here, may be qualified as a religious war, for Roman Catholic priests took an active part in the operations with the same ardent passion as the Mahometans themselves. Among these tonsured warriors who acquired great fame out of their profession may be mentioned Father Ducos, the son of a Colonel, Jose Villanueva, and Pedro de San Agustin, the last being known, with dread, by the Mahometans in the beginning of the 17th century under the title of the Captain-priest. One of the most renowned kings in Mindanao was Cachil Corralat, an astute, far-seeing chieftain, who ably defended the independence of his territory, and kept the Spaniards at bay during the whole of his manhood.

An interesting event in the Spanish-Sulu history is the visit of the Sultan Mahamad Alimudin to the Gov.-General in 1750, and his subsequent vicissitudes of fortune. The first royal despatch addressed by the King of Spain to the Sultan of Sulu was dated in Buen Retiro, July 12, 1744, and everything, for the time being, seemed to augur a period of peace. In 1749, however, the Sultan was violently deposed by an ambitious brother, Prince Bantilan, and the Sultan forthwith went to Manila to seek the aid of his suzerain's delegate, the Gov.-General of the Philippines, who chanced to be the Bishop of Nueva Segovia. In Manila the Priest-Governor cajoled his guest with presents, and accompanied him on horseback and on foot, with the design of persuading him to renounce his religion in favour of Christianity. The Sultan finally yielded, and avowed his intention to receive baptism. Among the friars an animated discussion ensued as to the propriety of this act, special opposition being raised by the Jesuits; but in the end the Sultan, with a number of his suite, outwardly embraced the Christian faith. The Sultan at his baptism received the name of Ferdinand I. of Sulu; at the same time he was invested with the insignia and grade of a Spanish Lieut.-General. Great ceremonies and magnificent feasts followed this unprecedented incident. He was visited and congratulated by all the elite of the capital. By proclamation, the festivities included four days' illumination, three days' procession of the giants, [59] three days of bull-fighting, four nights of fireworks, and three nights of comedy, to terminate with High Mass, a Te Deum, and special sermon for the occasion.

In the meantime, the Sultan had requested the Governor to have the Crown Prince, Princesses, and retainers escorted to Manila to learn Spanish manners and customs, and on their arrival the Sultan and his male and female suite numbered 60 persons. The Bishop-Governor defrayed the cost of their maintenance out of his private purse until after the baptism, and thenceforth the Government supported them in Manila for two years. At length it was resolved, according to appearances, to restore the Sultan Ferdinand I. to his throne. With that idea, he and his retinue quitted Manila in the Spanish frigate San Fernando, which was convoyed by another frigate and a galley, until the San Fernando fell in with bad weather off Mindoro Island, and had to make the Port of Calapan. Thence he proceeded to Yloilo, where he changed vessel and set sail for Zamboanga, but contrary winds carried him to Dapitan (N.W. coast of Mindanao Is.), where he landed and put off again in a small Visayan craft for Zamboanga, arriving there on July 12, 1751. Thirteen days afterwards the San Fernando, which had been repaired, reached Zamboanga also.

Before Ferdinand I. left Manila he had (at the instance of the Spanish Gov.-General, Jose de Obando, 1750-54) addressed a letter to Sultan Muhamad Amirubdin, of Mindanao. The original was written by Ferdinand I. in Arabic; a version in Spanish was dictated by him, and both were signed by him. These documents reached the Governor of Zamboanga by the San Fernando, but he had the original in Arabic retranslated, and found that it did not at all agree with the Sultan's Spanish rendering. The translation of the Arabic runs thus:--

"I shall be glad to know that the Sultan Muhamad Amirubdin and all his chiefs, male and female, are well. I do not write a lengthy letter, as I intended, because I simply wish to give you to understand, in case the Sultan or his chiefs and others should feel aggrieved at my writing this letter in this manner, that I do so under pressure, being under foreign dominion, and I am compelled to obey whatever they tell me to do, and I have to say what they tell me to say. Thus the Governor has ordered me to write to you in our style and language; therefore, do not understand that I am writing you on my own behalf, but because I am ordered to do so, and I have nothing more to add. Written in the year 1164 on the ninth day of the Rabilajer Moon, Ferdinand I., King of Sulu, who seals with his own seal."

This letter was pronounced treasonable. Impressed with, or feigning, this idea, the Spaniards saw real or imaginary indications of a design on the part of the Sultan to throw off the foreign yoke at the first opportunity. All his acts were thus interpreted, although no positive proof was manifest, and the Governor communicated his suspicions to Manila. There is no explanation why the Spaniards detained the Sultan at Zamboanga, unless with the intention of trumping up accusations against him. The Sultan arrived there on July 12, and nothing was known of the discrepancy between the letters until after July 25. To suppose that the Sultan could ever return to reign peacefully as a Christian over Mahometan subjects was utterly absurd to any rational mind.

On August 3 the Sultan, his sons, vassals, and chiefs were all cast into prison, without opposition, and a letter was despatched, dated August 6, 1751, to the Governor in Manila, stating the cause. The Sultan was the first individual arrested, and he made no difficulty about going to the fort. Even the Prince Asin, the Sultan's brother, who had voluntarily come from Sulu in apparent good faith with friendly overtures to the Spaniards, was included among the prisoners. The reason assigned was, that he had failed to surrender christian captives as provided.

The prisoners, besides the Sultan, were the following, viz.:--

Four sons of the Sultan. Prince Asin (brother). Prince Mustafa (son-in-law). Princess Panguian Banquiling (sister). Four Princesses (daughters). Datto Yamudin (a noble). 160 ordinary male and female retainers. Five brothers-in-law. One Mahometan Cherif. Seven Mahometan priests. Concubines with 32 female servants.

The political or other crime (if any) attributed to these last is not stated, nor why they were imprisoned. The few weapons brought, according to custom, by the followers of the Sultan who had come from Sulu to receive their liege-lord and escort him back to his country, were also seized.

A decree of Gov.-General Jose de Obando set forth the following accusations against the prisoners, viz.:--

(1) That Prince Asin had not surrendered captives. (2) That whilst the Sultan was in Manila, new captives were made by the party who expelled him from the throne. (3) That the number of arms brought to Zamboanga by Sulu chiefs was excessive. (4) That the letter to Sultan Muhamad Amirubdin insinuated help wanted against the Spaniards. (5) That several Mahometan, but no christian books were found in the Sultan's baggage. (6) That during the journey to Zamboanga he had refused to pray in christian form. (7) That he had only attended Mass twice. (8) That he had celebrated Mahometan rites, sacrificing a goat; and had given evidence in a hundred ways of being a Mahometan. (9) That his conversation generally denoted a want of attachment to the Spaniards, and a contempt for their treatment of him in Manila, [60] and, (10) that he still cohabited with his concubines, contrary to christian usage.

The greatest stress was laid on the recovery of the captive Christians, and the Gov.-General admitted that although the mission of the fleet was to restore the Sultan to the throne (which, by the way, does not appear to have been attempted), the principal object was the rescue of christian slaves. He therefore proposed that the liberty of the imprisoned nobles and chiefs should be bartered at the rate of 500 christian slaves for each one of the chiefs and nobles, and the balance of the captives for Prince Asin and the clergy. One may surmise, from this condition, that the number of Christians in captivity was very considerable.

A subsequent decree, dated in Manila December 21, 1751, ordered the extermination of the Mahometans with fire and sword; the fitting out of Visayan corsairs, with authority to extinguish the foe, burn all that was combustible, destroy the crops, desolate their cultivated land, make captives, and recover christian slaves. One-fifth of the spoil (the Real quinto) was to belong to the King, and the natives were to be exempt from the payment of tribute whilst so engaged.

Before giving effect to such a terrible, but impracticable resolution, it was thought expedient to publish a pamphlet styled a "Historical Manifest," in which the Gov.-General professed to justify his acts for public satisfaction. However, public opinion in Manila was averse to the intended warfare, so to make it more popular, the Governor abolished the payment of one-fifth of the booty to the King. An appeal was made to the citizens of Manila for arms and provisions to carry on the campaign; they therefore lent or gave the following, viz.:--Twenty-six guns, 13 bayonets, 3 sporting guns, 15 carbines, 5 blunderbusses, 7 braces of pistols, 23 swords, 15 lances, 900 cannon balls, and 150 pesos from Spaniards, and a few lances and 188 pesos from natives.

Meanwhile, Prince Asin died of grief at his position.

Under the leadership of the Maestre de Campo of Zamboanga, hostilities commenced. With several ships he proceeded to Sulu, carrying a large armament and 1,900 men. When the squadron anchored off Sulu, a white and a red flag were hoisted from the principal fort, for the Spaniards to elect either peace or war. Several Sulus approached the fleet with white flags, to inquire for the Sultan. Evasive answers were given, followed by a sudden cannonade.

No good resulted to the Spaniards from the attack, for the Sulus defended themselves admirably. Tawi Tawi Island was next assaulted. A captain landed there with troops, but their retreat was cut off and they were all slain. The Commander of the expedition was so discouraged that he returned to Zamboanga and resigned. Pedro Gastambide then took command, but after having attacked Basilan Island fruitlessly, he retired to Zamboanga. The whole campaign was an entire fiasco. It was a great mistake to have declared a war of extermination without having the means to carry it out. The result was that the irate Sulus organized a guerilla warfare, by sea and by land, against all Christians, to which the Spaniards but feebly responded. The "tables were turned." In fact, they were in great straits, and, wearied at the little success of their arms, endless councils and discussions were held in the capital.

Meanwhile, almost every coast of the Archipelago was energetically ravaged. Hitherto the Spaniards had only had the Sulus to contend with, but the licence given by the Gov.-General to reprisal excited the cupidity of unscrupulous officials, and, without apparent right or reason, the Maestre de Campo of Zamboanga caused a Chinese junk from Amoy, carrying goods to a friendly Sultan of Mindanao, to be seized. After tedious delay, vexation, and privation, the master and his crew were released and a part of the cargo restored, but the Maestre de Campo insisted upon retaining what he chose for his own use. This treachery to an amicable chief exasperated and undeceived the Mindanao Sultan to such a degree that he forthwith took his revenge by co-operating with the Sulus in making war on the Spaniards. Fresh fleets of armed canoes replenished the Sulu armadillas, ravaged the coasts, hunted down the Spanish priests, and made captives.

On the north coast of Mindanao several battles took place. There is a legend that over 600 Mahometans advanced to the village of Lubungan, but were repulsed by the villagers, who declared their patron, Saint James, appeared on horseback to help them. Fray Roque de Santa Monica was chased from place to place, hiding in caves and rocks. Being again met by four Mahometans, he threatened them with a blunderbuss, and was left unmolested. Eventually he was found by friendly natives, and taken by them to a wood, where he lived on roots. Thence he journeyed to Linao, became raving mad, and was sent to Manila, where he died quite frantic, in the convent of his Order.

The Sultan and his fellow-prisoners had been conveyed to Manila and lodged in the Fortress of Santiago. In 1753 he petitioned the Gov.-General to allow his daughter, the Princess Faatima, and two slaves to go to Sulu about his private affairs. A permit was granted on condition of her returning, or, in exchange for her liberty and that of her two slaves, to remit 50 captives, and, failing to do either, the Sultan and his suite were to be deprived of their dignities and treated as common slaves, to work in the galleys, and to be undistinguished among the ordinary prisoners. On these conditions, the Princess left, and forwarded 50 slaves, and one more--a Spaniard, Jose de Montesinos--as a present.

The Princess Faatima, nevertheless, did return to Manila, bringing with her an Ambassador from Prince Bantilan, her uncle and Governor of Sulu, who, in the meantime, had assumed the title of Sultan Mahamad Miududin. The Ambassador was Prince Mahamad Ismael Datto Marayalayla. After an audience with the Governor, he went to the fort to consult with the captive Sultan, and they proposed a treaty with the Governor, of which the chief terms were as follows, viz.:--

An offensive and defensive alliance.

All captives within the Sultanate of Sulu to be surrendered within one year.

All articles looted from the churches to be restored within one year.

On the fulfilment of these conditions, the Sultan and his people were to be set at liberty.

The treaty was dated in Manila March 3, 1754. The terms were quite impossible of accomplishment, for the Sultan, being still in prison, had no power to enforce commands on his subjects.

The war was continued at great sacrifice to the State and with little benefit to the Spaniards, whilst their operations were greatly retarded by discord between the officials of the expedition, the authorities on shore, and the priests. At the same time, dilatory proceedings were being taken against the Maestre de Campo of Zamboanga, who was charged with having appropriated to himself others' share of the war booty. Siargao Island (off the N.E. point of Mindanao Is.) had been completely overrun by the Mahometans; the villages and cultivated land were laid waste, and the Spanish priest was killed.

When the Governor Pedro de Arandia arrived in 1754, the Sultan took advantage of the occasion to put his case before him. He had, indeed, experienced some of the strangest mutations of fortune, and Arandia had compassion on him. By Arandia's persuasion, the Archbishop visited and spiritually examined him, and then the Sultan confessed and took the Communion. In the College of Santa Potenciana there was a Mahometan woman who had been a concubine of the Sultan, but who now professed Christianity, and had taken the name of Rita Calderon. The Sultan's wife having died, he asked for this ex-concubine in marriage, and the favour was conceded to him. The nuptials were celebrated in the Governor's Palace on April 27, 1755, and the espoused couple returned to their prison with an allowance of 50 pesos per month for their maintenance.

In 1755 all the Sultan's relations and suite who had been incarcerated in Manila, except his son Ismael and a few chiefs, were sent back to Sulu. The Sultan and his chiefs were then allowed to live freely within the city of Manila, after having sworn before the Governor, on bended knees, to pay homage to him, and to remain peaceful during the King's pleasure. Indeed, Governor Arandia was so favourably disposed towards the Sultan Mahamad Alimudin (Ferdinand I.) that personally he was willing to restore him to his throne, but his wish only brought him in collision with the clergy, and he desisted.

The British, after the military occupation of Manila in 1763, took up the cause of the Sultan, and reinstated him in Sulu. Then he avenged himself on the Spaniards by fomenting incursions against them in Mindanao, which the Gov.-General, Jose Raon, was unable to oppose for want of resources. The Mahometans, however, soon proved their untrustworthiness to friend and foe alike. Their friendship lasted on the one side so long as danger could thereby be averted from the other, and a certain Datto Teng-teng attacked the British garrison one night at Balambangan and slaughtered all but six of the troops (vide pp. 92, 98).

In 1836 the sovereignty of the Sultan was distinctly recognized in a treaty made between him and Spain, whereby the Sultan had the right to collect dues on Spanish craft entering Jolo, whilst Sulu vessels paid dues to the Spaniards in their ports as foreign vessels.

In 1844 Gov.-General Narciso Claveria led an expedition against the Moros and had a desperate, but victorious, struggle with them at the fort of Balanguigui (an islet 14 miles due east of Sulu Is.), for which he was rewarded with the title of Conde de Manila.

The town of Sulu (Jolo) was formerly the residence of the Sultan's Court. This Sovereign had arrogantly refused to check the piratical cruisings made by his people against Spanish subjects in the locality and about the Islands of Calamianes; therefore, on February 11, 1851, General Antonio de Urbiztondo, Marquis de la Solana (an ex-Carlist chief), who had been appointed Gov.-General of the Philippines in the previous year, undertook to redress his nation's grievances by force. The Spanish flag was hoisted in several places. Sulu town, which was shelled by the gunboats, was captured and held by the invaders, and the Sultan Muhamed Pulalon fled to Maybun on the south coast, to which place the Court was permanently removed. At the close of this expedition another treaty was signed (1851), which provided for the annual payment of P1,500 to the Sultan and P600 each to three dattos, on condition that they would suppress piracy and promote mutual trade. Still the Mahometans paid the Spaniards an occasional visit and massacred the garrison, which was as often replaced by fresh levies.

In 1876 the incursions of the Mahometans and the temerity of the chiefs had again attained such proportions that European dominion over the Sulu Sultanate and Mindanao, even in the nominal form in which it existed, was sorely menaced. Consequent on this, an expedition, headed by Vice-Admiral Malcampo, arrived in the waters of the Sultanate, carrying troops, with the design of enforcing submission. The chief of the land forces appears to have had no topographical plan formed. The expedition turned out to be one of discovery. The troops were marched into the interior, without their officers knowing where they were going, and they even had to depend on Sulu guides. Naturally, they were often deceived, and led to precisely where the Mahometans were awaiting them in ambush, the result being that great havoc was made in the advance column by frequent surprises. Now and again would appear a few juramentados, or sworn Mahometans, who sought their way to Allah by the sacrifice of their own blood, but causing considerable destruction to the invading party. With a kris at the waist, a javelin in one hand, and a shield supported by the other, they would advance before the enemy, dart forward and backwards, make zigzag movements, and then, with a war-whoop, rush in three or four at a time upon a body of Christians twenty times their number, giving no quarter, expecting none--to die, or to conquer! The expedition was not a failure, but it gained little. The Spanish flag was hoisted in several places, including Sulu (Jolo), where it remained from February 29, 1876, until the Spanish evacuation of the Islands in 1898.

The Mahometans (called by the Spaniards Moros) now extend over nine-tenths of Mindanao Island, and the whole of the Sultanate of Sulu, which comprises Sulu Island (34 miles long from E. to W., and 12 miles in the broadest part from N. to S.) and about 140 others, 80 to 90 of which are uninhabited.

The native population of the Sulu Sultanate alone would be about 100,000, including free people, slaves, and some 20,000 men-at-arms under orders of the Dattos. [61] The domains of His Highness reach westward as far as Borneo, where, up to 25 years ago, the Sultanate of Brunei [62] was actually tributary (and now nominally so) to that of Sulu. The Sultan of Sulu is also feudal lord of two vassal Sultanates in Mindanao Island. There is, moreover, a half-caste branch of these people in the southern half of Palauan Island (Paragua) of a very subdued and peaceful nature, compared with the Sulu, nominally under the Sulu Sultan's rule.

In Mindanao Island only a small coast district here and there was really under Spanish empire, although Spain (by virtue of an old treaty, which never was respected to the letter) claimed suzerainty over all the territory subject to the Sultan of Sulu. After the Sulu war of 1876 the Sultan admitted the claim more formally, and on March 11, 1877, a protocol was signed by England and Germany recognizing Spain's rights to the Tawi Tawi group and the chain of islands stretching from Sulu to Borneo. At the same time it was understood that Spain would give visible proof of annexation by establishing military posts, or occupying these islands in some way, but nothing was done until 1880, when Spain was stirred into action by a report that the Germans projected a settlement there. A convict corps at once took possession, military posts were established, and in 1882 the 6th Regiment of regular troops was quartered in the group at Bongao and Siassi.

Meanwhile, in 1880, a foreign colonizing company was formed in the Sultanate of Brunei, under the title of "British North Borneo Co." (Royal Charter of November 7, 1881). The company recognized the suzerain rights of the Sultan of Sulu, and agreed to pay to him an annual sum as feudal lord. Spain protested that the territory was hers, but could show nothing to confirm the possession. There was no flag, or a detachment of troops, or anything whatsoever to indicate that the coast was under European protection or dominion. Notes were exchanged between the Cabinets of Madrid and London, and Spain relinquished for ever her claim to the Borneo fief of Brunei.

The experience of the unfortunate Sultan Alimudin (Ferdinand I.) taught the Sulu people such a sad lesson that subsequent sultans have not cared to risk their persons in the hands of the Spaniards. There was, moreover, a Nationalist Party which repudiated dependence on Spain, and hoped to be able eventually to drive out the Spaniards. Therefore, in 1885, when the heir to the throne, Mohammad Jamalul Kiram (who was then about 15 years old) was cited to Manila to receive his investiture at the hands of the Gov.-General, he refused to comply, and the Government at once offered the Sultanate to his uncle, Datto Harun Narrasid, who accepted it, and presented himself to the Gov.-General in the capital.

The ceremony of investiture took place in the Government House at Malacanan near Manila on September 24, 1886, when Datto Harun took the oath of allegiance to the King of Spain as his sovereign lord, and received from the Gov.-General, Emilio Terrero, the title of His Excellency Paduca Majasari Maulana Amiril Mauminin Sultan Muhamad Harun Narrasid, with the rank of a Spanish lieut.-general. The Gov.-General was attended by his Secretary, the Official Interpreter, and several high officers. In the suite of the Sultan-elect were his Secretary, Tuan Hadji Omar, a priest, Pandita Tuan Sik Mustafa, and several dattos. For the occasion, the Sultan-elect was dressed in European costume, and wore a Turkish fez with a heavy tassel of black silk. His Secretary and Chaplain appeared in long black tunics, white trousers, light shoes, and turbans. Two of the remainder of his suite adopted the European fashion, but the others wore rich typical Moorish vestments.

The Sultan returned to his country, and in the course of three months the Nationalist Party chiefs openly took up arms against the King of Spain's nominee, the movement spreading to the adjacent islands of Siassi and Bongao, which form part of the Sultanate. [63]

The Mahometans on the Great Mindanao River, from Cottabato [64] upwards, openly defied Spanish authority; and in the spring of 1886 the Government were under the necessity of organizing an expedition against them. The Spaniards had ordered that native craft should carry the Spanish flag, otherwise they would be treated as pirates or rebels. In March, 1887, the cacique of the Simonor ranche (Bongao Is.), named Pandan, refused any longer to hoist the christian ensign, and he was pursued and taken prisoner. He was conveyed on the gunboat Panay to Sulu, and on being asked by the Governor why he had ceased to use the Spanish flag, he haughtily replied that "he would only answer such a question to the Captain-General," and refused to give any further explanation. Within a month after his arrest the garrison of Sulu (Jolo) was strengthened by 377 men, in expectation of an immediate general rising, which indeed took place. The Spanish forces were led by Majors Mattos and Villa Abrille, under the command of Brig.-General Serina. They were stoutly opposed by a cruel and despotic chief, named Utto, who advanced at the head of his subjects and slaves. With the co-operation of the gunboats up the river, the Mahometans were repulsed with great loss.

Scores of expeditions had been led against the Mindanao natives, and their temporary submission had usually been obtained by the Spaniards--on whose retirement, however, the natives always reverted to their old customs, and took their revenge on the settlers. Moreover, the petty jealousies existing between the highest officers in the south rendered every peaceful effort fruitless.

Datto Utto having defiantly proclaimed that no Spaniard should ever enter his territory, an armed expedition was fitted out; and from the example of his predecessor in 1881 (vide p. 124) the Gov.-General, Emilio Terrero, perchance foresaw in a little war the vision of titles and more material reward, besides counterbalancing his increasing unpopularity in Manila, due to the influence of my late friend, the Government Secretary Felipe Canga-Argueelles. Following in the wake of those who had successfully checked the Mahometans in the previous spring, he took the chief command in person in the beginning of January, 1887, to force a recantation of Datto Utto's utterances.

The petty Sultans of Bacat, Buhayen and Kudarangan in vain united their fortunes with those of Utto. The stockades of cocoanut trunks, palma-bravas (q.v.) and earth (cottas) were easily destroyed by the Spanish artillery, and their defenders fled under a desultory fire. There were very few casualties on either side. Some of the Christian native infantry soldiers suffered from the bamboo spikes (Spanish, puas) set in the ground around the stockades, but the enemy had not had time to cover with brushwood the pits dug for the attacking party to fall into. In about two months the operations ended by the submission of some chiefs of minor importance and influence; and after spending so much powder and shot and Christian blood, the General had not even the satisfaction of seeing either the man he was fighting against or his enemy's ally, the Sultan of Kudarangan. This latter sent a priest, Pandita Kalibaudang, and Datto Andig to sue for peace and cajole the General with the fairest promises. Afterwards the son and heir of this chief, Rajahmudah Tambilanang, presented himself, and he and his suite of 30 followers were conducted to the camp in the steam launch Carriedo. Utto, whose residence had been demolished, had not deigned to submit in person, but sent, as emissaries, Dattos Sirungang, Buat and Dalandung, who excused only the absence of Utto's prime minister. Capitulations of peace were handed to Utto's subordinates, who were told to bring them back signed without delay, for despatches from the Home Government, received four or five weeks previously, were urging the General to conclude this affair as speedily as possible. They were returned signed by Utto--or by somebody else--and the same signature and another, supposed to be that of his wife, the Ranee Pudtli (a woman of great sway amongst her people) were also attached to a letter, offering complete submission.

The Spaniards destroyed a large quantity of rice-paddy, and stipulated for the subsequent payment of a war indemnity in the form of cannons (lantacas), buffaloes, and horses.

The General gave the emissaries some trifling presents, and they went their way and he his,--to Manila, which he entered in state on March 21, with flags flying, music playing, and the streets decorated with bunting of the national colours, to give welcome to the conqueror of the Mahometan chief--whom he had never seen--the bearer of peace capitulations signed--by whom? As usual, a Te Deum was celebrated in the Cathedral for the victories gained over the infidels; the officers and troops who had returned were invited by the Municipality to a theatrical performance, and the Gov.-General held a reception in the Palace of Malacanan. Some of the troops were left in Mindanao, it having been resolved to establish armed outposts still farther up the river for the better protection of the port and settlement of Cottabato.

Whilst the Gov.-General headed this military parade in the Cottabato district, the ill-feeling of the Sulu natives towards the Spaniards was gradually maturing. An impending struggle was evident, and Colonel Juan Arolas, the Governor of Sulu, concentrated his forces in expectation. The Sulus, always armed, prepared for events in their cottas; Arolas demanded their surrender, which was refused, and they were attacked. Two cottas, well defended, were ultimately taken, not without serious loss to the Spaniards. In the report of the slain a captain was mentioned. Arolas then twice asked for authority to attack the Mahometans at Maybun, and was each time refused. At length, acting on his own responsibility, on April 15, 1887, he ordered a gunboat to steam round to Maybun and open fire at daybreak on the Sultan's capital, which was in possession of the party opposed to the Spanish nominee (Harun Narrasid). At 11 o'clock the same night he started across country with his troops towards Maybun, and the next morning, whilst the enemy was engaged with the gunboat, he led the attack on the land side. The Mahometans, quite surprised, fought like lions, but were completely routed, and the seat of the Sultanate was razed to the ground. It was the most crushing defeat ever inflicted on the Sulu Nationalist Party. The news reached Manila on April 29, and great praise was justly accorded to Colonel Arolas, whose energetic operations contrasted so favourably with the Cottabato expedition. All manner of festivities in his honour were projected in Manila, but Arolas elected to continue the work of subduing the Moro country. Notwithstanding his well-known republican tendencies, on September 20, 1887, the Queen-Regent cabled through her Ministry her acknowledgment of Colonel Arolas' valuable services, and the pleasure it gave her to reward him with a Brig.-General's commission. [65]

In 1895 an expedition against the Mahometans was organized under the supreme command of Gov.-General Ramon Blanco. It was known as the Marahui (or Marauit) Campaign. The tribes around Lake Lanao (ancient name Malanao) and the Marahui district had, for some time past, made serious raids on the Spanish settlement at Yligan, which is connected with Lake Lanao by a river navigable only by canoes. Indeed, the lives and property of Christians in all the territory adjoining Yligan were in great jeopardy, and the Spanish authorities were set at defiance. It was therefore resolved, for the first time, to attack the tribes and destroy their cottas around the lake for the permanent tranquillity of Yligan. The Spanish and native troops alike suffered great hardships and privations. Steam launches in sections (constructed in Hong-Kong), small guns, and war material were carried up from Yligan to the lake by natives over very rugged ground. On the lake shore the launches were fitted up and operated on the lake, to the immense surprise of the tribes. From the land side their cottas were attacked and destroyed, under the command of my old friend Brig.-General Gonzalez Parrado. The operations, which lasted about three months, were a complete success, and General Gonzalez Parrado was rewarded with promotion to General of Division. Lake Lanao, with the surrounding district and the route down to Yligan, was in possession of the Spaniards, and in order to retain that possession without the expense of maintaining a large military establishment, it was determined to people the conquered territory with Christian families from Luzon and the other islands situated north of Mindanao. It was the attempt to carry out this colonizing scheme which gave significance to the Marahui Expedition and contributed to that movement which, in 1896, led to the downfall of Spanish rule in the Archipelago.

The last Spanish punitive expedition against the Mindanao Mahometans was sent in February, 1898, under the command of General Buille. The operations lasted only a few days. The enemy was driven into the interior with great loss, and one chief was slain. The small gunboats built in Hong-Kong for the Marahui Campaign--the General Blanco, Corcuera, and Lanao--again did good service.

There are three branches or tribes of the Malanao Moros around the Lake Lanao:

(1) Bayabos, at the north of the Lake, their centre being Marahui.

(2) Onayans, at the south of the Lake, their centre being Bayan.

(3) Macui tribe includes the remaining Lake Lanao people, except a few independent ranches to the east of the Macui, belonging to the Bayabos. The Macui claim to be the most ancient, although no tribe can trace descent farther back than the 13th century. Intermarriage has destroyed traces, but there are over a hundred sultans who claim to be of royal blood.

The other principal Mindanao tribes are as follows, viz.:--Aetas, in the regions near Mount Apo (vide p. 121).

Bagobos, on the foothills of Mount Apo. A peaceful people, disposed to work, and reputed to be human sacrificers.

Manobos, in the valley of the Agusan River. There are also some on the Gulf of Davao and in the Cottabato district.

Samales inhabit the small islands in the Gulf of Davao, but there is quite a large colony of them at Magay, a suburb of Zamboanga, (from the neighbouring islets) under Rajahmudah Datto Mandi.

Subuanos occupy the peninsula of the Zamboanga Province. They are docile and lazy, and much prone to stealing. They are far less courageous than the Samales, by whom they are overawed. Some physiognomists consider them to be of the same caste as the Manobos, the Guimbanos of Sulu, and the Samecas of Basilan.

Tagubans live on the north shore of the Gulf of Davao.

Tirurayas inhabit the mountains to the west of the Rio Grande.

There is a large number of smaller tribes.

A few years ago we were all alarmed on Corpus Christi Day, during the solemn procession of that feast in Cottabato, by the sudden attack of a few Mahometans on the crowd of Christians assembled. Of course the former were overwhelmed and killed, as they quite expected to be. They were of that class known as juramentados, or sworn Mahometans, who believe that if they make a solemn vow, in a form binding on their consciences, to die taking the blood of a Christian, their souls will immediately migrate to the happy hunting-ground, where they will ever live in bliss, in the presence of the Great Prophet. This is the most dangerous sect of Mahometans, for no exhibition of force can suffice to stay their ravages, and they can only be treated like mad dogs, or like a Malay who has run amok.

The face of a Mindanao south coast Moro is generally pleasant, but a smile spoils his appearance; the parting lips disclose a filthy aperture with dyed teeth in a mahogany coloured foam of masticated betel-nut. Holes as large as sixpences are in the ears of the women, who, when they have no ear-rings, wear a piece of reed with a vermilion tip. The dress is artistically fantastic, with the sarong and the jabul and no trousers visible. Apparently the large majority (perhaps 70 per cent.) of the Parang-Parang Moros have a loathsome skin disease. Those who live on shore crop their hair, but the swamp, river, and sea people who live afloat let it grow long.

The Sulu Islanders, male and female, dress with far greater taste and ascetic originality than the christian natives. The women are fond of gay colours, the predominant ones being scarlet and green. Their nether bifurcated garment is very baggy, the bodice is extremely tight, and, with equally close-fitting sleeves, exhibits every contour of the bust and arms. They use also a strip of stuff sewn together at the ends called the jabul, which serves to protect the head from the sun-rays. The end of the jabul would reach nearly down to the feet, but is usually held retrousse under the arm. They have a passion for jewellery, and wear many finger-rings of metal and sometimes of sea-shells, whilst their ear-rings are gaudy and of large dimensions. The hair is gracefully tied in a coil on the top of the head, and their features are at least as attractive as those of the generality of Philippine christian women.

The men wear breeches of bright colours, as tight as gymnasts' pantaloons, with a large number of buttons up the sides; a kind of waistcoat buttoning up to the throat; a jacket reaching to the hips, with close sleeves, and a turban. A chief's dress has many adornments of trinkets, and is quite elegant, a necessary part of his outfit being the barong (sword), which apparently he carries constantly.

They are robust, of medium height, often of superb physical development; of a dusky bronze colour, piercing eyes, low forehead, lank hair, which is dressed as a chignon and hangs down the back of the neck. The body is agile, the whole movement is rapid, and they have a wonderful power of holding the breath under water. They are of quick perception, audacious, haughty, resolute, zealous about their genealogies; extremely sober, ready to promise everything and do nothing, vindictive and highly suspicious of a stranger's intentions. Their bearing towards the Christian, whom they call the infidel, is full of contempt. They know no gratitude, and they would not cringe to the greatest Christian potentate. They are very long-suffering in adversity, hesitating in attack, and the bravest of the brave in defence. They disdain work as degrading and only a fit occupation for slaves, whilst warfare is, to their minds, an honourable calling. Every male over 16 years of age has to carry at least one fighting-weapon at all times, and consider himself enrolled in military service.

They have a certain knowledge of the Arts. They manufacture on the anvil very fine kris daggers, knives, lance-heads, etc. Many of their fighting-weapons are inlaid with silver and set in polished hardwood or ivory handles artistically carved.

In warfare they carry shields, and their usual arms on land are the campilan, a kind of short two-handed sword, wide at the tip and narrowing down to the hilt, the barong for close combat, the straight kris for thrusting and cutting, and the waved, serpent-like kris for thrusting only. They are dexterous in the use of arms, and can most skilfully decapitate a foe at a single stroke. At sea they use a sort of assegai, called bagsacay or simbilin, about half an inch in diameter, with a sharp point. Some can throw as many as four at a time, and make them spread in the flight; they use these for boarding vessels. They make many of their own domestic utensils of metal, also coats of mail of metal wire and buffalo horn, which resist hand-weapons, but not bullets. The wire probably comes from Singapore.

The local trade is chiefly in pearls, mother-of-pearl, shells, shark fins, etc. [66] The Sultan, in Spanish times, had a sovereign right to all pearls found which exceeded a certain size fixed by Sulu law--hence it was very difficult to secure an extraordinary specimen. The Mahometans trade at great distances in their small craft, called vintas, for they are wonderfully expert navigators. Their largest vessels do not exceed seven tons, and they go as far as Borneo, and even down to Singapore on rare occasions.

I found that almost any coinage was useful for purchasing in the market-places. I need hardly add that the Chinese small traders have found their way to these regions; and it would be an unfavourable sign if a Chinaman were not to be seen there, for where the frugal Celestial cannot earn a living one may well assume there is little prosperity. Small Chinese coins (known as cash in the China Treaty Ports) are current money there, and I think, the most convenient of all copper coins, for, having a hole in the centre, they can be strung together. Chinese began to trade with this island in 1751.

The root of the Sulu language is Sanscrit, mixed with Arabic. Each Friday is dedicated to public worship, and the faithful are called to the temple by the beating of a box or hollow piece of wood. All recite the Iman with a plaintive voice in honour of the Great Prophet; a slight gesticulation is then made whilst the Pandita reads a passage from the Mustah. I observed that no young women put in an appearance at the temple on the occasion of my visit.

At the beginning of each year there is a very solemn ceremonial, and, in the event of the birth or death of a child, or the safe return from some expedition, it is repeated. It is a sort of Te Deum in conformity with Mahometan rites. During a number of days in a certain month of the year they abstain from eating, drinking, and pleasure of all kinds, and suffer many forms of voluntary penance. Strangers are never allowed, I was told, inside the Mosque of the Sultan. The higher clergy are represented by the hereditary Cherif, who has temporal power also. The title of Pandita simply means priest, and is the common word used in Mindanao as well as in Palauan Island. He seems to be almost the chief in his district--not in a warlike sense, like the Datto; but his word has great influence. He performs all the functions of a priest, receives the vow of the juramentados, and expounds the mysteries and the glories of that better world whither they will go without delay if they die taking the blood of a Christian.

In theory, the Moros accept the Koran and the teachings of Mahomet: in practice, they omit the virtues of their religious system and follow those precepts which can be construed into favouring vice; hence they interpret guidance of the people by oppression, polygamy by licentiousness, and maintenance of the faith by bloodshed. Relays of Arabs come, from time to time, under the guise of Koran expounders, to feed on the people and whet their animosity towards the Christian.

The Panditas are doctors also. If a Datto dies, they intone a dolorous chant; the family bursts into lamentations, which are finally drowned in the din of the clashing of cymbals and beating of gongs, whilst sometimes a gun is fired. In rush the neighbours, and join in the shouting, until all settle down quietly to a feast. The body is then sprinkled with salt and camphor and dressed in white, with the kris attached to the waist. There is little ceremony about placing the body in the coffin and burying it. The mortuary is marked by a wooden tablet--sometimes by a stone, on which is an inscription in Arabic. A slip of board, or bamboo, is placed around the spot, and a piece of wood, carved like the bows of a canoe, is stuck in the earth; in front of this is placed a cocoanut shell full of water.

The old native town, or cotta of Sulu (Jolo) was a collection of bamboo houses built upon piles extending a few hundred yards into the sea. This was all demolished by the Spaniards when they permanently occupied the place in 1876, excepting the Military Hospital, which was re-constructed of light materials, native fashion. The sea-beach was cleared, and the native village put back inland.

The site is an extremely pretty little bay on the north of the island, formed by the points Dangapic and Candea, and exactly in front, about four or five miles off, there are several low-lying islets, well wooded, with a hill abruptly jutting out here and there, the whole forming a picturesque miniature archipelago.

Looking from the sea, in the centre stands the modern Spanish town of Sulu (Jolo), built on the shore, rising about a couple of yards above sea-level, around which there is a short stone and brick sea-wall, with several bends pleasantly relieving the monotony of a straight line.

Forming a background to the European town, there are three thickly wooded hillocks almost identical in appearance, and at each extremity of the picture, lying farther back inland, there is a hill sloping down gradually towards the coast. The slope on the eastern extremity has been cleared of undergrowth to the extent of about 50 acres, giving it the appearance of a vast lawn. At the eastern and western extremities are the native suburbs, with huts of light material built a few yards into the sea. On the east side there is a big Moro bungalow, erected on small tree-trunks, quite a hundred yards from the beach seawards. To the west, one sees a long shanty-built structure running out to sea like a jetty; it is the shore market. The panorama could not be more charming and curious. Still farther west, towering above every other, stands the Bad Tumantangas peak (Mount of Tears), the last point discernible by the westward-journeying Joloano, who is said to sigh with patriotic anguish at its loss to view, with all the feeling of a Moorish Boabdil bidding adieu to his beloved Granada.

The town is uniformly planned, with well-drained streets, running parallel, crossed at rectangles by lovely avenues of shading trees. Here and there are squares, pretty gardens, and a clean and orderly market-place. There is a simple edifice for a church, splendid barracks equal to those in Manila when these were built, many houses of brick and stone, others of wood, and all roofed with corrugated iron.

The neighbourhood is well provided with water from natural streams. The town is supplied with drinking-water conducted in pipes, laid for the purpose from a spring about a mile and a quarter distant, whilst other piping carries water to the end of the pier for the requirements of shipping. This improvement, the present salubrity of the town (once a fever focus), and its latest Spanish embellishments, are mainly due to the intelligent activity of its late Governors, Colonel (now General) Gonzalez Parrado, and the late General Juan Arolas.

The town is encircled on the land side by a brick loop-holed wall. The outside (Spanish) defences consisted of two forts, viz:--The "Princesa de Asturias" and "Torre de la Reina" and within the town those of the "Puerta Blockaus", "Puerta Espana" and the redoubt "Alfonso XII."--this last had a Nordenfeldt gun.

The Spanish Government of Sulu was entirely under martial law, and the Europeans (mostly military men) were constantly on the alert for the ever-recurring attacks of the natives.

The general aspect of Sulu (Jolo) is cheerful and attractive. The day scene, enlivened by the Moro, passing to and fro with his lithe gait, in gay attire, with the barong in a huge sash, and every white man, soldier or civilian, carrying arms in self-defence, may well inflame the imaginative and romantic mind. One can hardly believe one is still in the Philippines. At night, the shaded avenues, bordered by stately trees, illuminated by a hundred lamps, present a beautiful, picturesque scene which carries the memory far, far away from the surrounding savage races. Yet all may change in a trice. There is a hue and cry; a Moro has run amok--his glistening weapon within a foot of his escaping victim; the Christian native hiding away in fear, and the European off in pursuit of the common foe; there is a tramping of feet, a cracking of firearms; the Moro is biting the dust, and the memory is brought abruptly back from imagination's flights to full realization of one's Mahometan entourage.

By a decree dated September 24, 1877, all the natives, and other races or nationalities settled there, were exempted from all kinds of contributions or taxes for 10 years. In 1887 the term was extended for another 10 years; hence, no imposts being levied, all the Spaniards had to do was to maintain their prestige with peace.

In his relations with the Spaniards, the Sultan held the title of Excellency, and he, as well as several chiefs, received annual pensions from the Government at the following rates:--

Pesos. Sultan of Sulu 2,400 Sultan of Mindanao 1,000 Datto Beraduren, heir to the Sulu Sultanate 700 Paduca Datto Alimudin, of Sulu 600 Datto Amiral, of Mindanao 800 Other minor pensions 600 ===== P6,100

and an allowance of 2 pesos for each captive rescued, and 3 pesos for each pirate caught, whether in Sulu or Mindanao waters.

The Sultan is the Majasari (the stainless, the spotless)--the Pontiff-king--the chief of the State and the Church; but it is said that he acknowledges the Sultan of Turkey as the Padishah. He is the irresponsible lord and master of all life and property among his subjects, although in his decrees he is advised by a Council of Elders.

Nevertheless, in spite of his absolute authority, he does not seem to have perfect control over the acts of his nobles or chiefs, who are a privileged class, and are constantly waging some petty war among themselves, or organizing a marauding expedition along the coast. The Sultan is compelled, to a certain extent, to tolerate their excesses, as his own dignity, or at least his own tranquillity, is in a great measure dependent on their common goodwill towards him. The chiefs collect tribute in the name of the Sultan, but they probably furnish their own wants first and pay differences into the Royal Treasury, seeing that it all comes from their own feudal dependents.

The Sultan claims to be the nominal owner of all the product of Sulu waters. In the valuable Pearl Fisheries he claims to have a prior right to all pearls above a certain value, although the finder is entitled to a relative bounty from the Sultan. "Ambal," a product found floating on the waters and much esteemed by the Chinese as medicine, is subject to royal dues. The great pearl-fishing centre is Siassi Island (in the Tapul group), lying about 20 miles south of Sulu Island.

The Sultanate is hereditary under the Salic Law. The Sultan is supported by three ministers, one of whom acts as Regent in his absence (for he might choose to go to Singapore, or have to go to Mecca, if he had not previously done so); the other is Minister of War, and the third is Minister of Justice and Master of the Ceremonies.

Slavery exists in a most ample sense. There are slaves by birth and others by conquest, such as prisoners of war, insolvent debtors, and those seized by piratical expeditions to other islands. A creole friend of mine was one of these last. He had commenced clearing an estate for cane-growing on the Negros coast, when he was seized and carried off to Sulu Island. In a few years he was ransomed and returned to Negros, where be formed one of the finest sugar haciendas and factories in the Colony.

In 1884 a Mahometan was found on a desolate isle lying off the Antique coast (Panay Is.), and of course had no document of identity, so he was arrested and confined in the jail of San Jose de Buenavista. From prison he was eventually taken to the residence of the Spanish Governor, Don Manuel Castellon, a very humane gentleman and a personal friend of mine. In Don Manuel's study there was a collection of native arms which took the stranger's fancy; one morning he seized a kris and lance, and, bounding into the breakfast-room, capered about, gesticulated, and brandished the lance in the air, much to the amusement of the Governor and his guests. But in an instant the fellow (hitherto a mystery, but undoubtedly a juramentado) hurled the lance with great force towards the Public Prosecutor, and the missile, after severing his watch-chain, lodged in the side of the table. The Governor and the Public Prosecutor at once closed with the would-be assassin, whilst the Governor's wife, with great presence of mind, thrust a table-knife into the culprit's body between the shoulder-blade and the collar-bone. The man fell, and, when all supposed he was dead, he suddenly jumped up. No one had thought of taking the kris out of his grasp, and he rushed around the apartment and severely cut two of the servants, but was ultimately despatched by the bayonets of the guards who arrived on hearing the scuffle. The Governor showed me his wounds, which were slight, but his life was saved by the valour of his wife--Dona Justa.

It has often been remarked by old residents, that if free licence were granted to the domesticated natives, their barbarous instincts would recur to them in all vigour. Here was an instance. The body of the Moro was carried off by an excited populace, who tied a rope to it, beat it, and dragged it through the town to a few miles up the coast, where it was thrown on the sea-shore. The priests did not interfere; like the Egyptian mummies cast on the Stygian shores, the culprit was unworthy of sepulture--besides, who would pay the fees?

During my first visit to Sulu in 1881, I was dining with the Governor, when the conversation ran on the details of an expedition about to be sent to Maybun, to carry despatches received from the Gov.-General for the Sultan, anent the Protectorate. The Governor seemed rather surprised when I expressed my wish to join the party, for the journey is not unattended with risk to one's life. [I may here mention that only a few days before I arrived, a young officer was sent on some mission a short distance outside the town of Jolo, accompanied by a patrol of two guards. He was met by armed Mahometans, and sent back with one of his hands cut off. I remember, also, the news reaching us that several military officers were sitting outside a cafe in Jolo Town, when a number of juramentados came behind them and cut their throats.] However, the Governor did not oppose my wish--on the contrary, he jocosely replied that he could not extend my passport so far, because the Sulus would not respect it, yet the more Europeans the better.

Officials usually went by sea to Maybun, and a gunboat was now and again sent round the coast with messages to the Sultan, but there was no Government vessel in Jolo at this time.

Our party, all told, including the native attendants, numbered about 30 Christians, and we started early in the morning on horseback. I carried my usual weapon--a revolver--hoping there would be no need to use it on the journey. And so it resulted; we arrived, without being molested in any way, in about three hours, across a beautiful country.

We passed two low ranges of hills, which appeared to run from S.W. to N.E., and several small streams, whilst here and there was a ranche of the Sultan's subjects. Each ranche was formed of a group of 10 to 20 huts, controlled by the cacique. Agriculture seemed to be pursued in a very pristine fashion, but, doubtless owing to the exuberant fertility of the soil, we saw some very nice crops of Rice, Indian Corn, Sugar Cane, and Indigo and Coffee plantations on a small scale. In the forest which we traversed there were some of the largest bamboos I have ever seen, and fine building timber, such as Teak, Narra, Molave, Mangachapuy, and Camagon (vide Woods). I was assured that Cedars also flourished on the island. We saw a great number of monkeys, wild pigeons, cranes, and parrots, whilst deer, buffaloes, and wild goats are said to abound in these parts.

On our arrival at Maybun, we went first to the bungalow of a Chinaman--the Sultan's brother-in-law--where we refreshed ourselves with our own provisions, and learnt the gossip of the place. On inquiry, we were told that the Sultan was sleeping, so we waited at the Chinaman's. I understood this man was a trader, but there were no visible signs of his doing any business. Most of our party slept the siesta, and at about four o'clock we called at the Palace. It was a very large building, well constructed, and appeared to be built almost entirely of materials of the country. A deal of bamboo and wood were used in it, and even the roof was made of split bamboo, although I am told that this was replaced by sheet-iron when the young Sultan came to the throne. The vestibule was very spacious, and all around was pleasantly decorated with lovely shrubs and plants peculiar to most mid-tropical regions. The entrance to the Palace was always open, but well guarded, and we were received by three Dattos, who saluted us in a formal way, and, without waiting to ask us any question, invited us, with a wave of the hand, to follow them into the throne-room. [67] The Sultan was seated on our entering, but when the bearer of the despatches approached with the official interpreter by his side, and we following, he rose in his place to greet us.

His Highness was dressed in very tight silk trousers, fastened partly up the sides with showy chased gold or gilt buttons, a short Eton-cut olive-green jacket with an infinity of buttons, white socks, ornamented slippers, a red sash around his waist, a kind of turban, and a kris at his side. His general appearance was that of a Spanish bull-fighter with an Oriental finish off. We all bowed low, and the Sultan, surrounded by his Sultanas, put his hands to his temples, and, on lowering them, he bowed at the same time. We remained standing whilst some papers were handed to him. He looked at them--a few words were said in Spanish, to the effect that the bearer saluted His Highness in the name of the Governor of Sulu. The Sultan passed the documents to the official interpreter, who read or explained them in the Sulu language; then a brief conversation ensued, through the interpreter, and the business was really over. After a short pause, the Sultan motioned to us to be seated on floor-cushions, and we complied. The cushions, covered with rich silk, were very comfortable. Servants, in fantastic costumes, were constantly in attendance, serving betel-nut to those who cared to chew it.

One Sultana was fairly pretty, or had been so, but the others were heavy, languid, and lazy in their movements; and their teeth, dyed black, did not embellish their personal appearance. The Sultan made various inquiries, and passed many compliments on us, the Governor, Gov.-General, etc., which were conveyed to us through the interpreter. Meanwhile, the Sultanas chatted among themselves, and were apparently as much interested in looking at us as we were in their style, features, and attire. They all wore light-coloured "dual garments" of great width, and tight bodices. Their coiffure was carefully finished, but a part of the forehead was hidden by an ungraceful fringe of hair.

We had so little in common to converse on, and that little had to be said through the interpreter, that we were rather glad when we were asked to take refreshments. It at least served to relieve the awkward feeling of glancing at each other in silence. Chocolate and ornamental sweetmeats were brought to us, all very unpalatable. When we were about to take our departure, the Sultan invited us to remain all night in the Palace. The leader of our party caused to be explained to him that we were thankful for his gracious offer, but that, being so numerous, we feared to disturb His Highness by intruding so far on his hospitality. Still the Sultan politely insisted, and whilst the interpretation was being transmitted I found an opportunity to acquaint our chief of my burning curiosity to stay at the Palace. In any case, we were a large number to go anywhere, so our leader, in reply to the Sultan, said that he and four Europeans of his suite would take advantage of His Highness's kindness.

We withdrew from the Sultan's presence, and some of us Europeans walked through the town accompanied by functionaries of the royal household and the interpreter. There was nothing striking in the place; it was like most others. There were some good bungalows of bamboo and thatching. I noticed that men, women, and children were smoking tobacco or chewing, and had no visible occupation. Many of the smaller dwellings were built on piles out to the sea. We saw a number of divers preparing to go off to get pearls, mother-of-pearl, etc. They are very expert in this occupation, and dive as deep as 100 feet. Prior to the plunge they go through a grotesque performance of waving their arms in the air and twisting their bodies, in order--as they say--to frighten away the sharks; then with a whoop they leap over the edge of the prahu, and continue to throw their arms and legs about for the purpose mentioned. They often dive for the shark and rip it up with a kris.

Five of us retired to the Palace that night, and were at once conducted to our rooms. There was no door to my room; it was, strictly speaking, an alcove. During the night, at intervals of about every hour, as it seemed to me, a Palace servant or guard came to inquire how the Senor was sleeping, and if I were comfortable. "Duerme el Senor?" ("Does the gentleman sleep?") was apparently the limit of his knowledge of Spanish. I did not clearly understand more than the fact that the man was a nuisance, and I regretted there was no door with which to shut him out. The next morning we paid our respects to His Highness, who furnished us with an escort--more as a compliment than a necessity--and we reached Jolo Town again, after a very enjoyable ride through a superb country.

The Sultan's subjects are spread so far from the centre of government--Maybun--that in some places their allegiance is but nominal. Many of them residing near the Spanish settlements are quick at learning Castilian sufficiently well to be understood, but the Spaniards tried in vain to subject them to a European order of things.

About 20 miles up the coast, going north from Zamboanga, the Jesuits sent a missionary in 1885 to convert the Subuanos. He endeavoured to persuade the people to form a village. They cleared a way through the forest from the beach, and at the end of this opening, about three-quarters of a mile long, I found a church half built of wood, bamboo, and palm-leaves. I had ridden to the place on horseback along the beach, and my food and baggage followed in a canoe. The opening was so roughly cleared that I thought it better to dismount when I got half way. As the church was only in course of construction, and not consecrated, I took up my quarters there. I was followed by a Subuano, who was curious to know the object of my visit. I told him I wished to see the headman, so this personage arrived with one of his wives and a young girl. They sat on the floor with me, and as the cacique could make himself understood in Spanish, we chatted about the affairs of the town in posse. The visiting priest had gone to the useless trouble of baptizing a few of these people. They appeared to be as much Christian as I was Mahometan. The cacique had more than one wife--the word of the Pandita of the settlement was the local law, and the Pandita himself of course had his seraglio. I got the first man, who had followed me, to direct me to the Pandita's house. My guide was gaily attired in bright red tight acrobat breeches, with buttons up the side, and a jacket like a waistcoat, with sleeves so close-fitting that I suppose he seldom took the trouble to undress himself. I left the cacique, promising to visit his bungalow that day, and then my guide led me through winding paths, in a wood, to the hut of the Pandita. On the way I met a man of the tribe carrying spring-water in a bamboo, which he tilted to give me a drink. To my inquiries if he were a Christian, and if he knew the Castilian Pandita (Spanish priest), he replied in the affirmative; continuing the interrogation, I asked him how many gods there were, and when he answered "four," I closed my investigation of his Christianity. My guide was too cunning to take me by the direct path to the Pandita's bungalow. He led me into a half-cleared plot of land facing it, whence the inmates could see us for at least ten minutes making our approach. When we arrived, and after scrambling up the staircase, which was simply a notched trunk of a tree about nine inches diameter, I discovered that the Pandita, forewarned, had fled to the mountain close by, leaving his wives to entertain the visitor. I found them all lounging and chewing betel-nut, and when I squatted on the floor amongst them they became remarkably chatty. Then I went to the cacique's bungalow. In the rear of this dwelling there was a small forge, and the most effective bellows of primitive make which I have ever seen in any country. It was a double-action apparatus, made entirely of bamboo, except the pistons, which were of feathers. These pistons, working up and down alternately by a bamboo rod in each hand, sustained perfectly a constant draught of air. One man was squatting on a bamboo bench the height of the bellows' rods, whilst the smith crouched on the ground to forge his kris on the anvil.

The headman's bungalow was built the same as the others, but with greater care. It was rather high up, and had the usual notched log-of-wood staircase, which is perhaps easy to ascend with naked feet. The cacique and one of his wives were seated on mats on the floor. After mutual salutations the wife threw me three cushions, on which I reclined--doing the dolce far niente whilst we talked about the affairs of the settlement. The conversation was growing rather wearisome anent the Spanish priest having ordered huts to be built without giving materials, about the scarcity of palm-leaves in the neighbourhood, and so forth, so I bade them farewell and went on to another hut. Here the inmates were numerous--four women, three or four men, and two rather pretty male children, with their heads shaven so as to leave only a tuft of hair towards the forehead about the size of a crown piece. To entertain me, six copper tom-toms were brought out, and placed in a row on pillows, whilst another large one, for the bass accompaniment, was suspended from a wooden frame. A man beat the bass with a stick, whilst the women took it in turns to kneel on the floor, with a stick in each hand, to play a tune on the series of six. A few words were passed between the three men, when suddenly one of them arose and performed a war-dance, quaintly twisting his arms and legs in attitudes of advance, recoil, and exultation. The dance finished, I mounted my horse and left the settlement in embryo, called by the missionaries Reus, which is the name of a town in Catalonia.

The climate of Mindanao and Sulu Islands is healthy and delightful. The heat of Zamboanga is moderated by daily breezes, and in Sulu, in the month of June, it is not oppressive. A year's temperature readings on the Illana Bay coast (Mindanao Is.) are as follows, viz.:--

Average of Inside the House, Outside in the Shade, Fahrenheit. Fahrenheit.

6 a.m. Noon. 6 p.m. 6 a.m. Noon. 6 p.m. Jan.-March 73 deg. 84 deg. 83 deg. 72 deg. 84 deg. 80 deg. April-June 74 1/2 deg. 83 deg. 78 1/2 deg. 74 1/2 deg. 92 1/2 deg. 78 deg. July-Sept. 74 deg. 84 deg. 80 deg. 72 1/2 deg. 88 deg. 79 deg. Oct.-Dec. 73 deg. 85 deg. 80 deg. 73 deg. 83 deg. 78 deg.

The Island of Palauan (Paragua) was anciently a dependency of the Sultanate of Brunei (Borneo), hence the dominion over this island of the Sultan of Sulu as suzerain lord of Brunei. At the beginning of the 18th century Spaniards had already settled in the north of it. It had a very sparse population, and a movement was set on foot to subjugate the natives. In order to protect the Spanish settlers from Mahometan attacks a fort was established at Labo. However, the supplies were not kept up, and many of the garrison died of misery, hunger, and nakedness, until 1720, when it was abandoned.

Some years afterwards the island was gratuitously ceded to the Spaniards by the Sultan of Sulu, at their request. Captain Antonio Fabeau was sent there with troops to take formal possession, being awarded the handsome salary of P50 per month for this service. On the arrival of the ships, an officer was sent ashore; the people fled inland, and the formalities of annexation were proceeded with unwitnessed. The only signs of possession left there were the corpses of the troops and sailors who died from eating rotten food, or were murdered by Mahometans who attacked the expedition. Subsequently a fortress was established at Taytay, where a number of priests and laymen in a few years succeeded in forming a small colony, which at length shared the fate of Labo. The only Spanish settlement in the island at the date of the evacuation was the colony of Puerta Princesa, on the east coast. [68]

Before starting on my peregrination in Palauan Island, I sought in vain for information respecting the habits and nature of the Tagbanuas, a half-caste Malay-Aeta tribe, disseminated over a little more than the southern half of the island. [69] It was only on my arrival at Puerta Princesa that I was able to procure a vague insight into the peculiarities of the people whom I intended to visit. The Governor, Don Felipe Canga-Argueelles, was highly pleased to find a traveller who could sympathize with his efforts, and help to make known, if only to the rest of the Archipelago, this island almost unexplored in the interior. He constantly wrote articles to one of the leading journals of Manila, under the title of "Echoes from Paragua" (Palauan), partly with the view of attracting the attention of the Government to the requirements of the Colony, but also to stimulate a spirit of enterprise in favour of this island, rich in hardwoods, etc.

Puerta Princesa is a good harbour, situated on a gulf. The soil was levelled, trees were planted, and a slip for repairing vessels was constructed. There was a fixed white light visible eleven miles off. It was a naval station for two gunboats, the Commander of the station being ex-officio Governor of the Colony. It was also a Penal Settlement for convicts, and those suspected by the civil or religious authorities. To give employment to the convicts and suspects, a model sugar-estate was established by the Government. The locality supplied nearly all the raw material for working and preserving the establishment, such as lime, stone, bricks, timber, sand, firewood, straw for bags, rattans, etc.

The aspect of the town is agreeable, and the environs are pretty, but there is a great drawback in the want of drinking-water, which, in the dry season, has to be procured from a great distance.

The Governor showed me great attention, and personally took command of a gunboat, which conducted me to the mouth of the Iguajit River. This is the great river of the district, and is navigable for about three miles. I put off in a boat manned by marines, and was rowed about two miles up, as far as the mission station. The missionary received me well, and I stayed there that night, with five men, whom I had engaged to carry my luggage, for we had a journey before us of some days on foot to the opposite coast.

My luggage, besides the ordinary travelling requisites and provisions, included about 90 yards of printed stuffs of bright colours, six dozen common handkerchiefs, and some 12 pounds' weight of beads on strings, with a few odds and ends of trinkets; whilst my native bearers were provided with rice, dried fish, betel-nut, tobacco, etc., for a week or more. We set out on foot the next day, and in three days and a half we reached the western shore.

The greatest height above the sea-level on our route was about 900 metres, according to my aneroid reading, and the maximum heat at mid-day in the shade (month of January) was 82 deg. Fahr. The nights were cold, comparatively speaking, and at midnight the thermometer once descended to 59 deg. Fahr.

The natives proved to be a very pacific people. We found some engaged in collecting gum from the trees in the forest, and others cutting and making up bundles of rattans. They took these products down to the Iguajit River mission station, where Chinese traders bartered for them stuffs and other commodities. The value of coin was not altogether unknown in the mission village, although the difference in value between copper and silver coinage was not understood. In the interior they lived in great misery, their cabins being wretched hovels. They planted their rice without ploughing at all, and all their agricultural implements were made of wood or bamboo.

The native dress is made of the bark of trees, smashed with stones, to extract the ligneous parts. In the cool weather they make tunics of bark, and the women wear drawers of the same material. They adorn their waists with sea-shell and cocoanut shell ornaments, whilst the fibre of the palm serves for a waistband. The women pierce very large holes in their ears, in which they place shells, wood, etc. They never bathe intentionally. Their arms are bows and arrows, and darts blown through a kind of pea-shooter made of a reed resembling bojo (q.v). They are a very dirty people, and they eat their fish or flesh raw.

I had no difficulty whatever in procuring guides from one group of huts to the next on payment in goods, and my instructions were always to lead me towards the coast, the nearest point of which I knew was due west or a few points to the north.

We passed through a most fertile country the whole way. There were no rivers of any importance, but we were well supplied with drinking-water from the numerous springs and rivulets. The forests are very rich in good timber, chiefly Ipil (Eperma decandria), a very useful hardwood (vide Woods). I estimated that many of these trees, if felled, would have given clean logs of 70 to 80 feet long. I presume the felling of timber was not attempted by these natives on account of the difficulties, or rather, total want of transport means. From a plateau, within half a day's journey of the opposite coast, the scenery was remarkably beautiful, with the sea to the west and an interminable grandeur of forest to the east. There were a few fishermen on the west coast, but further than that, there was not a sign of anything beyond the gifts of Nature. About half a mile from the coast, on the fringe of the forest, there was a group of native huts, two of which were vacated for our accommodation in exchange for goods.

With an abundance of fish, we were able to economize our provisions. One of my men fell ill with fever, so that we had to wait two days on the west coast, whilst I dosed him with Eno's fruit salt and quinine. In the meantime, I studied the habits of these people. Among the many things which astonished them was the use of matches, whilst our cooking highly amused them. Such a thing as a horse I suppose had never been seen here, although I would gladly have bought or hired one, for I was very weary of our delay. We all went on the march again, on foot nearly all the way, by the same passes to the Iguajit River, where we found a canoe, which carried us back to Puerta Princesa.

The island produces many marketable articles, such as beeswax, edible bird's nests, fine shells, dried shell-fish, a few pearls, bush-rope or palasan (q.v.) of enormous length, wild nutmegs, ebony, logwood, etc., which the Chinese obtain in barter for knives and other small manufactures.

The first survey of the Palauan Island coast is said to have been made by the British. A British map of Puerta Princesa, with a few miles of adjoining coast, was shown to me in the Government House of this place. It appears that the west coast is not navigable for ships within at least two miles of the shore, although there are a few channels leading to creeks. Vessels coming from the west usually pass through the Straits of Balabac, between the island of that name and the islets off the Borneo Island coast.

In the Island of Balabac there was absolutely nothing remarkable to be seen, unless it were a little animal about the size of a big cat, but in shape a perfect model of a doe. [70] I took one to Manila, but it died the day we arrived. No part of the island (which is very mountainous and fertile) appeared to be cultivated, and even the officials at the station had to obtain supplies from Manila, whilst cattle were brought from the Island of Cuyo, one of the Calamianes group.

In the latter years, the Home Government made efforts to colonize Palauan Island by offering certain advantages to emigrants. By Royal Order, dated February 25, 1885, the Islands of Palauan and Mindanao were to be occupied in an effectual manner, and outposts established, wherever necessary, to guarantee the secure possession of these islands. The points mentioned for such occupation in Palauan Island were Tagbusao and Malihut on the east coast, and Colasian and Malanut on the west coast. It also confirmed the Royal Decree of July 30, 1860, granting to all families emigrating to these newly established military posts, and all peaceful tribes of the Islands who might choose to settle there, exemption from the payment of tribute for six years. The families would be furnished with a free passage to these places, and each group would be supplied with seed and implements.

A subsequent Royal Order, dated January 19, 1886, was issued, to the effect:--That the Provincial Governors of the Provinces of North and South Ilocos were to stimulate voluntary emigration of the natives to Palauan Island, to the extent of 25 families from each of the two provinces per annum. That any payments due by them to the Public Treasury were to be condoned. That such families and any persons of good character who might establish themselves in Palauan should be exempt from the payment of taxes for ten years, and receive free passage there for themselves and their cattle, and three hectares of land gratis, to be under cultivation within a stated period. That two chupas of rice (vide Rice measure) and ten cents of a peso should be given to each adult, and one chupa of rice to each minor each day during the first six months from the date of their embarking. That the Governor of Palauan should be instructed respecting the highways to be constructed, and the convenience of opening free ports in that island. That the land and sea forces should be increased; and of the latter, a third-rate man-o'-war should be stationed on the west coast. That convicts should continue to be sent to Palauan, and the Governor should be authorized to employ all those of bad conduct in public works. That schools of primary instruction should be established in the island wherever such might be considered convenient, etc., etc. [71]

The Spaniards (in 1898) left nearly half the Philippine Archipelago to be conquered, but only its Mahometan inhabitants ever persistently took the aggressive against them in regular continuous warfare. The attempts of the Jesuit missionaries to convert them to Christianity were entirely futile, for the Panditas and the Romish priests were equally tenacious of their respective religious beliefs. The last treaty made between Spain and Sulu especially stipulated that the Mahometans should not be persecuted for their religion.

To overturn a dynasty, to suppress an organized system of feudal laws, and to eradicate an ancient belief, the principles of which had firmly established themselves among the populace in the course of centuries, was a harder task than that of bringing under the Spanish yoke detached groups of Malay immigrants. The pliant, credulous nature of the Luzon settlers--the fact that they professed no deeply-rooted religion, and--although advanced from the migratory to the settled condition--were mere nominal lieges of their puppet kinglings, were facilities for the achievement of conquest. True it is that the dynasties of the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru yielded to Spanish valour, but there was the incentive of untold wealth; here, only of military glory, and the former outweighed the latter.

If the Spaniards failed to subjugate the Mahometans, or to incorporate their territory in the general administrative system of the Colony, after three centuries of intermittent endeavour, it is difficult to conceive that the Philippine Republic (had it subsisted) would have been more successful. It would have been useless to have resolved to leave the Moros to themselves, practically ignoring their existence. Any Philippine Government must needs hold them in check for the public weal, for the fact is patent that the Moro hates the native Christian not one iota less than he does the white man.

XI. Domesticated Natives--Origin--Character

The generally-accepted theory regarding the origin of the composite race which may be termed "domesticated natives," is, that their ancestors migrated to these Islands from Malesia, or the Malay Peninsula. But so many learned dissertations have emanated from distinguished men, propounding conflicting opinions on the descent of the Malays themselves, that we are still left on the field of conjecture.

There is good reason to surmise that, at some remote period, these Islands and the Islands of Formosa and Borneo were united, and possibly also they conjointly formed a part of the Asiatic mainland. Many of the islets are mere coral reefs, and some of the larger islands are so distinctly of coral formation that, regarded together with the numerous volcanic evidences, one is induced to believe that the Philippine Archipelago is the result of a stupendous upheaval by volcanic action. [72] At least it seems apparent that no autochthonous population existed on these lands in their island form. The first settlers were probably the Aetas, called also Negritos and Balugas, who may have drifted northwards from New Guinea and have been carried by the strong currents through the San Bernadino Straits and round Punta Santiago until they reached the still waters in the neighbourhood of Corregidor Island, whilst others were carried westwards to the tranquil Sulu Sea, and travelling thence northwards would have settled on the Island of Negros. It is a fact that for over a century after the Spanish conquest, Negros Island had no other inhabitants but these mountaineers and escaped criminals from other islands.

The sturdy races inhabiting the Central Luzon highlands, decidedly superior in physique and mental capacity to the Aetas, may be of Japanese origin, for shortly after the conquest by Legaspi a Spanish galley cruising off the north coast of Luzon fell in with Japanese, who probably penetrated to the interior of that island up the Rio Grande de Cagayan. Tradition tells us how the Japanese used to sail down the east coast of Luzon as far as the neighbourhood of Lamon Bay, where they landed and, descending the little rivers which flowed into the Lake of Bay, settled in that region which was called by the first Spanish conquerors Pagsanjan Province, and which included the Laguna Province of to-day, with a portion of the modern Tayabas Province.

Either the Japanese extended their sphere from the Lake of Bay shore, or, as some assert (probably erroneously), shipwrecked Japanese went up the Pansipit River to the Bombon Lake: the fact remains that Taal, with the Bombon Lake shore, was a Japanese settlement, and even up to now the Taalenos have characteristics differing from those of the pure Malay immigrant descendants. The Philippine patriot, Dr. Jose Rizal, was a good Japanese-Malay type.

The Tagalogs, who occupy a small portion of Luzon Island, chiefly the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan, are believed to be the cross-breed descendants of these Japanese immigrants. At the period of the Spanish conquest the Tao ilog, that is to say, "the man who came by the river," afterwards corrupted into the more euphonious name of Tagalog, occupied only the lands from the south shore of Laguna de Bay southwards. Some traded with the Malay settlers at Maynila (as the city on the Pasig River was then called) and, little by little, radicated themselves in the Manila suburbs of Quiapo, Sampaloc, and Santa Cruz. [73]

From the West, long before the Spanish conquest, there was a great influx of Malays, who settled on the shores and the lowlands and drove the first settlers (Aetas) to the mountains. Central Luzon and the Lake environs being already occupied, they spread all over the vacant lands and adjacent islands south of Luzon. These expeditions from Malesia were probably accompanied by Mahometan propagandists, who had imparted to the Malays some notions, more or less crude, of their religion and culture, for at the time of Legaspi's arrival in Manila we find he had to deal with two chiefs, or petty kings, both assuming the Indian title of Rajah, whilst one of them had the Mahometan Arabic name of Soliman. Hitherto the Tao ilog, or Tagalog, had not descended the Pasig River so far as Manila, and the religious rites of the Tondo-Manila people must have appeared to Legaspi similar to the Mahometan rites, [74] for in several of his despatches to his royal master he speaks of these people as Moros. All the dialects spoken by the Filipinos of Malay and Japanese descent have their root in the pure Malay language. After the expulsion of all the adult male Japanese Lake settlers in the 17th century, it is feasible to suppose that the language of the males who took their place in the Lake district and intermarried there, should prevail over the idiom of the primitive settlers, and possibly this amalgamation of speech accounts for the difference between the Tagalog dialect and others of these islands peopled by Malays.

The Malay immigration must have taken place several generations prior to the coming of the Spaniards, for at that period the lowland occupants were already divided into peoples speaking different dialects and distinguishing themselves by groups whose names seem to be associated with the districts they inhabited, such as Pampanga, Iloco, and Cagayan; these denominations are probably derived from some natural condition, such as Pampang, meaning a river embankment, Ilog, a river, Cauayan, a bamboo, etc.

In a separate chapter (x.) the reputed origin of the Mahometans of the southern islands is alluded to. They are also believed to be immigrants from the West, and at the time of the conquest recent traditions which came to the knowledge of the Spaniards, and were recorded by them, prove that commercial relations existed between Borneo and Manila. There is a tradition [75] also of an attempted conquest of Luzon by a Borneo chief named Lacasama, about 250 years before the Spanish advent; but apparently the expedition came to grief near Luzon, off an island supposed by some to be Masbate.

The descendants of the Japanese and Malay immigrants were the people whom the Spanish invaders had to subdue to gain a footing. To the present day they, and the correlative Chinese and Spanish half-castes, are the only races, among the several in these Islands, subjected, in fact, to civilized methods. The expression "Filipino" neither denotes any autochthonous race, nor any nationality, but simply one born in those islands named the Philippines: it is, therefore, open to argument whether the child of a Filipino, born in a foreign country, could be correctly called a Filipino.

The christianized Filipinos, enjoying to-day the benefits of European training, are inclined to repudiate, as compatriots, the descendants of the non-christian tribes, although their concurrent existence, since the time of their immigrant forefathers, makes them all equally Filipinos. Hence many of them who were sent to the St. Louis Exhibition in 1904 were indignant because the United States Government had chosen to exhibit some types of uncivilized natives, representing about one-twelfth of the Philippine population. Without these exhibits, and on seeing only the educated Filipinos who formed the Philippine Commission, the American people at home might well have asked--Is not American civilization a superfluity in those islands?

The inhabitants of these Islands were by no means savages, entirely unreclaimed from barbarism before the Spanish advent in the 16th century. They had a culture of their own, towards which the Malay settlers themselves appear to have contributed very little. In the nascent pre-Spanish civilization, Japanese immigrants were almost the only agriculturists, mine-workers, manufacturers, gold-seekers, goldsmiths, and masters of the industrial arts in general. Pagsanjan (Laguna) was their great industrial centre. Malolos (Bulacan) was also an important Japanese trading base. Whilst working the mines of Ilocos their exemplary industry must undoubtedly have influenced the character of the Ilocanos. Away down in the Bicol country of Camarines, the Japanese pushed their trade, and from their great settlement in Taal their traffic must have extended over the whole province, first called by the Spaniards Taal y Balayan, but since named Batangas. From the Japanese, the Malays learnt the manufacture of arms, and the Igorrotes the art of metal-working. Along the coasts of the large inhabited islands the Chinese travelled as traders or middlemen, at great personal risk of attack by individual robbers, bartering the goods of manufacturers for native produce, which chiefly consisted of sinamay cloth, shark-fin, balate (trepang), edible birds'-nests, gold in grain, and siguey-shells, for which there was a demand in Siam for use as money. Every north-east monsoon brought down the junks to barter leisurely until the south-west monsoon should waft them back, and neither Chinese nor Japanese made the least attempt, nor apparently had the least desire, to govern the Islands or to overrule the natives. Without coercion, the Malay settlers would appear to have unconsciously submitted to the influence of the superior talent or astuteness of the sedulous races with whom they became merged and whose customs they adopted, proof of which can be traced to the present day. [76] Presumably the busy, industrious immigrants had neither time nor inclination for sanguinary conflicts, for those recorded appear to be confined to the raids of the migratory mountaineers and an occasional attack by some ambitious Borneo buccaneer. The reader who would wish to verify these facts is recommended to make a comparative study of native character in Vigan, Malolos, Taal, and Pagsanjan.

In treating of the domesticated natives' character, I wish it to be understood that my observations apply solely to the large majority of the six or seven millions of them who inhabit these Islands.

In the capital and the ports open to foreign trade, where cosmopolitan vices and virtues obtain, and in large towns, where there is a constant number of domiciled Europeans and Americans, the native has become a modified being. It is not in such places that a just estimate of character can be arrived at, even during many years' sojourn. The native must be studied by often-repeated casual residence in localities where his, or her, domestication is only "by law established," imposing little restraint upon natural inclinations, and where exotic notions have gained no influence.

Several writers have essayed to depict the Philippine native character, but with only partial success. Dealing with such an enigma, the most eminent physiognomists would surely differ in their speculations regarding the Philippine native of the present day. That Catonian figure, with placid countenance and solemn gravity of feature, would readily deceive any one as to the true mental organism within. The late parish priest of Alaminos (Batangas)--a Franciscan friar, who spent half his life in the Colony--left a brief manuscript essay on the native character. I have read it. In his opinion, the native is an incomprehensible phenomenon, the mainspring of whose line of thought and the guiding motive of whose actions have never yet been, and perhaps never will be, discovered.

The reasoning of a native and a European differs so largely that the mental impulse of the two races is ever clashing. Sometimes a native will serve a master satisfactorily for years, and then suddenly abscond, or commit some such hideous crime as conniving with a brigand band to murder the family and pillage the house.

When the hitherto faithful servant is remonstrated with for having committed a crime, he not unfrequently accounts for the fact by saying, "Senor, my head was hot." When caught in the act on his first start on highway robbery or murder, his invariable excuse is that he is not a scoundrel himself, but that he was "invited" by a relation or compadre to join the company.

He is fond of gambling, profligate, lavish in his promises, but lache in the extreme as to their fulfilment. He will never come frankly and openly forward to make a clean breast of a fault committed, or even a pardonable accident, but will hide it, until it is found out. In common with many other non-European races, an act of generosity or a voluntary concession of justice is regarded as a sign of weakness. Hence it is that the experienced European is often compelled to be more harsh than his real nature dictates.

If one pays a native 20 cents for a service performed, and that be exactly the customary remuneration, he will say nothing, but if a feeling of compassion impels one to pay 30 cents, the recipient will loudly protest that he ought to be paid more. [77] In Luzon the native is able to say "Thank you" (salamat-po) in his mother-tongue, but in Panay and Negros there is no way of expressing thanks in native dialect to a donor (the nearest approach to it is Dios macbayat); and although this may, at first sight, appear to be an insignificant fact, I think, nevertheless, a great deal may be deduced from it, for the deficiency of the word in the Visaya vernacular denotes a deficiency of the idea which that word should express.

If the native be in want of a trivial thing, which by plain asking he could readily obtain, he will come with a long tale, often begin by telling a lie, and whilst he invariably scratches his head, he will beat about the bush until he comes to the point, with a supplicating tone and a saintly countenance hiding a mass of falsity. But if he has nothing to gain for himself, his reticence is astonishingly inconvenient, for he may let one's horse die and tell one afterwards it was for want of rice-paddy, or, just at the very moment one wants to use something, he will tell one "Uala-po"--there is not any.

I have known natives whose mothers, according to their statement, have died several times, and each time they have tried to beg the loan of the burial expenses. The mother of my first servant died twice, according to his account.

Even the best class of natives do not appreciate, or feel grateful for, or even seem to understand a spontaneous gift. Apparently, they only comprehend the favour when one yields to their asking. The lowest classes never give to each other, unsolicited, a cent's worth, outside the customary reciprocal feast-offerings. If a European makes voluntary gratuities to the natives, he is considered a fool--they entertain a contempt for him, which develops into intolerable impertinence. If the native comes to borrow, lend him a little less than he asks for, after a verbose preamble; if one at once lent, or gave, the full value requested, he would continue to invent a host of pressing necessities, until one's patience was exhausted. He seldom restores the loan of anything voluntarily. On being remonstrated with for his remissness, after the date of repayment or return of the article has expired, he will coolly reply, "You did not ask me for it." An amusing case of native reasoning came within my experience just recently. I lent some articles to an educated Filipino, who had frequently been my guest, and, at the end of three months, I requested their return. Instead of thanking me for their use, he wrote a letter expressing his indignation at my reminder, saying that I "ought to know they were in very good hands!" A native considers it no degradation to borrow money: it gives him no recurrent feeling of humiliation or distress of mind. Thus, he will often give a costly feast to impress his neighbours with his wealth and maintain his local prestige, whilst on all sides he has debts innumerable. At most, with his looseness of morality, he regards debt as an inconvenience, not as a calamity.

Before entering another (middle- or lower-class) native's house, he is very complimentary, and sometimes three minutes' polite excusatory dialogue is exchanged between the visitor and the native visited before the former passes the threshold. When the same class of native enters a European's house, he generally satisfies his curiosity by looking all around, and often pokes his head into a private room, asking permission to enter afterwards.

The lower-class native never comes at first call; among themselves it is usual to call five or six times, raising the voice each time. If a native is told to tell another to come, he seldom goes to him to deliver the message, but calls him from a distance. When a native steals (and I must say they are fairly honest), he steals only what he wants. One of the rudest acts, according to their social code, is to step over a person asleep on the floor. Sleeping is, with them, a very solemn matter; they are very averse to waking any one, the idea being, that during sleep the soul is absent from the body, and that if slumber be suddenly arrested the soul might not have time to return. When a person, knowing the habits of the native, calls upon him and is told "He is asleep," he does not inquire further--the rest is understood: that he may have to wait an indefinite time until the sleeper wakes up--so he may as well depart. To urge a servant to rouse one, one has to give him very imperative orders to that effect: then he stands by one's side and calls "Senor, senor!" repeatedly, and each time louder, until one is half awake; then he returns to the low note, and gradually raises his voice again until one is quite conscious.

In Spanish times, wherever I went in the whole Archipelago--near the capital, or 500 miles from it--I found mothers teaching their offspring to regard the European as a demoniacal being, an evil spirit, or, at least, as an enemy to be feared! If a child cried, it was hushed by the exclamation, "Castila!" (European). If a white man approached a poor hut or a fine native residence, the cry of caution, the watchword for defence was always heard--"Castila!"--and the children hastened their retreat from the dreaded object. But this is now a thing of the past since the native crossed swords with the "Castila" (q.v.) and the American on the battle-field, and, rightly or wrongly, thoroughly believes himself to be a match for either in equal numbers.

The Filipino, like most Orientals, is a good imitator, but having no initiative genius, he is not efficient in anything. He will copy a model any number of times, but one cannot get him to make two copies so much alike that the one is undistinguishable from the other. Yet he has no attachment for any occupation in particular. To-day he will be at the plough; to-morrow a coachman, a collector of accounts, a valet, a sailor, and so on; or he will suddenly renounce social trammels in pursuit of lawless vagabondage. I once travelled with a Colonel Marques, acting-Governor of Cebu, whose valet was an ex-law student. Still, many are willing to learn, and really become very expert artisans, especially machinists.

The native is indolent in the extreme, and never tires of sitting still, gazing at nothing in particular. He will do no regular work without an advance; his word cannot be depended upon; he is fertile in exculpatory devices; he is momentarily obedient, but is averse to subjection. He feigns friendship, but has no loyalty; he is calm and silent, but can keep no secret; he is daring on the spur of the moment, but fails in resolution if he reflects. He is wantonly unfeeling towards animals; cruel to a fallen foe; tyrannical over his own people when in power; rarely tempers his animosities with compassion or pity, but is devotedly fond of his children. He is shifty, erratic, void of chivalrous feeling; and if familiarity be permitted with the common-class native, he is liable to presume upon it. The Tagalog is docile and pliant, but keenly resents an injustice.

Native superstition and facile credulity are easily imposed upon. A report emitted in jest, or in earnest, travels with alarming rapidity, and the consequences have not unfrequently been serious. The native rarely sees a joke, and still more rarely makes one. He never reveals anger, but he will, with the most profound calmness, avenge himself, awaiting patiently the opportunity to use his bowie-knife with effect. Mutilation of a vanquished enemy is common among these Islanders. If a native recognizes a fault by his own conscience, he will receive a flogging without resentment or complaint; if he is not so convinced of the misdeed, he will await his chance to give vent to his rancour.

He has a profound respect only for the elders of his household, and the lash justly administered. He rarely refers to past generations in his lineage, and the lowest class do not know their own ages. The Filipino, of any class, has no memory for dates. In 1904 not one in a hundred remembered the month and year in which General Aguinaldo surrendered. During the Independence war, an esteemed friend of mine, a Philippine priest, died, presumably of old age. I went to his town to inquire all about it from his son, but neither the son nor another near relation could recollect, after two days' reflection, even the year the old man passed away. Another friend of mine had his brains blown out during the Revolution. His brother was anxious to relate the tragedy to me and how he had lost 20,000 pesos in consequence, but he could not tell me in which month it happened. Families are very united, and claims for help and protection are admitted however distant the relationship may be. Sometimes the connection of a "hanger-on" with his host's family will be so remote and doubtful, that he can only be recognized as "un poco pariente nada mas" (a sort of kinsman). But the house is open to all.

The native is a good father and a good husband, unreasonably jealous of his wife, careless of the honour of his daughter, and will take no heed of the indiscretions of his spouse committed before marriage. Cases have been known of natives having fled from their burning huts, taking care to save their fighting-cocks, but leaving their wives and children to look after themselves.

If a question be suddenly put to a native, he apparently loses his presence of mind, and gives the reply most convenient to save himself from trouble, punishment, or reproach. It is a matter of perfect indifference to him whether the reply be true or not. Then, as the investigation proceeds, he will amend one statement after another, until, finally, he has practically admitted his first explanation to be quite false. One who knows the native character, so far as its mysteries are penetrable, would never attempt to get at the truth of a question by a direct inquiry--he would "beat about the bush," and extract the truth bit by bit. Nor do the natives, rich or poor, of any class in life, and with very few exceptions in the whole population, appear to regard lying as a sin, but rather as a legitimate, though cunning, convenience, which should be resorted to whenever it will serve a purpose. It is my frank opinion that they do not, in their consciences, hold lying to be a fault in any degree. If the liar be discovered and faced, he rarely appears disconcerted--his countenance rather denotes surprise at the discovery, or disappointment at his being foiled in the object for which he lied. As this is one of the most remarkable characteristics of the Filipino of both sexes in all spheres of life, I have repeatedly discussed it with the priests, several of whom have assured me that the habit prevails even in the confessional. [78] In the administration of justice this circumstance is inconvenient, because a witness is always procurable for a few pesos. In a law-case, in which one or both parties belong to the lowest class, it is sometimes difficult to say whether the false or the true witnesses are in majority.

Men and women alike find exaggerated enjoyment in litigation, which many keep up for years. Among themselves they are tyrannical. They have no real sentiment, nor do they practise virtue for virtue's sake, and, apart from their hospitality, in which they (especially the Tagalogs) far excel the European, all their actions appear to be only guided by fear, or interest, or both.

The domesticated Tagalogs of Luzon have made greater progress in civilization and good manners than the Visayos of Panay and Negros. The Tagalog differs vastly from his southern brother in his true nature, which is more pliant, whilst he is by instinct cheerfully and disinterestedly hospitable. Invariably a European wayfarer in a Tagalog village is invited by one or another of the principal residents to lodge at his house as a free guest, for to offer payment would give offence. A present of some European article might be made, but it is not at all looked for. The Tagalog host lends his guest horses or vehicles to go about the neighbourhood, takes him round to the houses of his friends, accompanies him to any feast which may be celebrated at the time of his visit, and lends him his sporting-gun, if he has one. The whole time he treats him with the deference due to the superiority which he recognizes. He is remarkably inquisitive, and will ask all sorts of questions about one's private affairs, but that is of no consequence--he is not intrusive, and if he be invited to return the visit in the capital, or wherever one may reside, he accepts the invitation reluctantly, but seldom pays the visit. Speaking of the Tagalog as a host, pure and simple, he is generally the most genial man one could hope to meet.

The Negros and Panay Visayo's cold hospitality is much tempered with the prospect of personal gain--quite a contrast to the Tagalog. On the first visit he might admit the white traveller into his house out of mere curiosity to know all about him--whence he comes--why he travels--how much he possesses--and where he is going. The basis of his estimation of a visitor is his worldly means; or, if the visitor be engaged in trade, his power to facilitate his host's schemes would bring him a certain measure of civility and complaisance. He is fond of, and seeks the patronage of Europeans of position. In manners, the Negros and Panay Visayo is uncouth and brusque, and more conceited, arrogant, self-reliant, ostentatious, and unpolished than his northern neighbour. If remonstrated with for any fault, he is quite disposed to assume a tone of impertinent retort or sullen defiance. The Cebuano is more congenial and hospitable.

The women, too, are less affable in Panay and Negros, and evince an almost incredible avarice. They are excessively fond of ornament, and at feasts they appear adorned with an amount of gaudy French jewellery which, compared with their means, cost them a lot of money to purchase from the swarm of Jew pedlars who, before the Revolution of 1896, periodically invaded the villages.

If a European calls on a well-to-do Negros or Panay Visayo, the women of the family saunter off in one direction or another, to hide themselves in other rooms, unless the visitor be well known to the family. If met by chance, perhaps they will return a salutation, perhaps not. They seldom indulge in a smile before a stranger; have no conversation; no tuition beyond music and the lives of the Saints, and altogether impress the traveller with their insipidity of character, which chimes badly with their manifest air of disdain.

The women of Luzon (and in a slightly less degree the Cebuanas) are more frank, better educated, and decidedly more courteous and sociable. Their manners are comparatively lively, void of arrogance, cheerful, and buoyant in tone. However, all over the Islands the women are more parsimonious than the men; but, as a rule, they are more clever and discerning than the other sex, over whom they exercise great influence. Many of them are very dexterous business women and have made the fortunes of their families. A notable example of this was the late Dona Cornelia Laochanco, of Manila, with whom I was personally acquainted, and who, by her own talent in trading transactions, accumulated considerable wealth. Dona Cornelia (who died in 1899) was the foundress of the system of blending sugar to sample for export, known in Manila as the farderia. In her establishment at San Miguel she had a little tower erected, whence a watchman kept his eye on the weather. When threatening clouds appeared a bell was tolled and the mats were instantly picked up and carried off by her Chinese coolie staff, which she managed with great skill, due, perhaps, to the fact that her three husbands were Chinese.

The Philippine woman makes an excellent general servant in native families; in the same capacity, in European service, she is, as a rule, almost useless, but she is a good nursemaid.

The Filipino has many excellent qualities which go far to make amends for his shortcomings. He is patient and forbearing in the extreme, remarkably sober, plodding, anxious only about providing for his immediate wants, and seldom feels "the canker of ambitious thoughts." In his person and his dwelling he may serve as a pattern of cleanliness to all other races in the tropical East. He has little thought beyond the morrow, and therefore never racks his brains about events of the far future in the political world, the world to come, or any other sphere. He indifferently leaves everything to happen as it may, with surprising resignation. The native, in general, will go without food for many hours at a time without grumbling; and fish, rice, betel-nut, and tobacco are his chief wants. Inebriety is almost unknown, although strong drink (nipa wine) is plentiful.

In common with other races whose lives are almost exclusively passed amid the ever-varying wonders of land and sea, Filipinos rarely express any spontaneous admiration for the beauties of Nature, and seem little sensible to any aspect thereof not directly associated with the human interest of their calling. Few Asiatics, indeed, go into raptures over lovely scenery as Europeans do, nor does "the gorgeous glamour of the Orient" which we speak of so ecstatically strike them as such.

When a European is travelling, he never needs to trouble about where or when his servant gets his food or where he sleeps--he looks after that. When a native travels, he drops in amongst any group of his fellow-countrymen whom he finds having their meal on the roadside, and wherever he happens to be at nightfall, there he lies down to sleep. He is never long in a great dilemma. If his hut is about to fall, he makes it fast with bamboo and rattan-cane. If a vehicle breaks down, a harness snaps, or his canoe leaks or upsets, he always has his remedy at hand. He stoically bears misfortune of all kinds with the greatest indifference, and without the least apparent emotion. Under the eye of his master he is the most tractable of all beings. He never (like the Chinese) insists upon doing things his own way, but tries to do just as he is told, whether it be right or wrong. A native enters one's service as a coachman, but if he be told to paddle a boat, cook a meal, fix a lock, or do any other kind of labour possible to him, he is quite agreeable. He knows the duties of no occupation with efficiency, and he is perfectly willing to be a "jack-of-all-trades." Another good feature is that he rarely, if ever, repudiates a debt, although he may never pay it. So long as he gets his food and fair treatment, and his stipulated wages in advance, he is content to act as a general-utility man; lodging he will find for himself. If not pressed too hard, he will follow his superior like a faithful dog. If treated with kindness, according to European notions, he is lost. The native never looks ahead; if left to himself, he will do all sorts of imprudent things, from sheer want of reflection on the consequences, when, as he puts it, "his head is hot" from excitement due to any cause.

On March 15, 1886, I was coming round the coast of Zambales in a small steamer, in which I was the only saloon passenger. The captain, whom I had known for years, found that one of the cabin servants had been systematically pilfering for some time past. He ordered the steward to cane him, and then told him to go to the upper deck and remain there. He at once walked up the ladder and threw himself into the sea; but the vessel stopped, a boat was lowered, and he was soon picked up. Had he been allowed to reach the shore, he would have become what is known as a remontado and perhaps eventually a brigand, for such is the beginning of many of them.

The thorough-bred native has no idea of organization on a large scale, hence a successful revolution is not possible if confined to his own class unaided by others, such as Creoles and foreigners. He is brave, and fears no consequences when with or against his equals, or if led by his superiors; but a conviction of superiority--moral or physical--in the adversary depresses him. An excess of audacity calms and overawes him rather than irritates him.

His admiration for bravery and perilous boldness is only equalled by his contempt for cowardice and puerility, and this is really the secret of the native's disdain for the Chinese race. Under good European officers he makes an excellent soldier, and would follow a brave leader to death; however, if the leader fell, he would at once become demoralized. There is nothing he delights in more than pillage, destruction, and bloodshed, and when once he becomes master of the situation in an affray, there is no limit to his greed and savage cruelty.

Yet, detesting order of any kind, military discipline is repugnant to him, and, as in other countries where conscription is the law, all kinds of tricks are resorted to to avoid it. On looking over the deeds of an estate which I had purchased, I saw that two brothers, each named Catalino Raymundo, were the owners at one time of a portion of the land. I thought there must have been some mistake, but, on close inquiry, I found that they were so named to dodge the Spanish recruiting officers, who would not readily suppose there were two Catalino Raymundos born of the same parents. As one Catalino Raymundo had served in the army and the other was dead, no further secret was made in the matter, and I was assured that this practice was common among the poorest natives.

In November, 1887, a deserter from the new recruits was pursued to Langca, a ward of Meycauayan, Bulacan Province, where nearly all the inhabitants rose up in his defence, the result being that the Lieutenant of Cuadrilleros was killed and two of his men were wounded. When the Civil Guard appeared on the spot, the whole ward was abandoned.

According to the Spanish army regulations, a soldier cannot be on sentinel duty for more than two hours at a time under any circumstances. Cases have been known of a native sentinel having been left at his post for a little over that regulation time, and to have become phrenetic, under the impression that the two hours had long since expired, and that he had been forgotten. In one case the man had to be disarmed by force, but in another instance the sentinel simply refused to give up his rifle and bayonet, and defied all who approached him. Finally, an officer went with the colours of the regiment in hand to exhort him to surrender his arms, adding that justice would attend his complaint. The sentinel, however, threatened to kill any one who should draw near, and the officer had no other recourse open to him but to order a European soldier to climb up behind the sentry-box and blow out the insubordinate native's brains.

In the seventies, a contingent of Philippine troops was sent to assist the French in Tonquin, where they rendered very valuable service. Indeed, some officers are of opinion that they did more to quell the Tuh Duc rising than the French troops themselves. When in the fray, they throw off their boots, and, barefooted, they rarely falter. Even over mud and swamp, a native is almost as sure-footed as a goat on the brink of a quarry. I have frequently been carried for miles in a hammock by four natives and relays, through morassy districts too dangerous to travel on horseback. They are great adepts at climbing wherever it is possible for a human being to scale a height; like monkeys, they hold as much with their feet as with their hands; they ride any horse barebacked without fear; they are utterly careless about jumping into the sea among the sharks, which sometimes they will intentionally attack with knives, and I never knew a native who could not swim. There are natives who dare dive for the caiman and rip it up. If they meet with an accident, they bear it with supreme resignation, simply exclaiming "desgracia pa"--it was a misfortune.

I can record with pleasure my happy recollection of many a light-hearted, genial, and patient native who accompanied me on my journeys in these Islands. Comparatively very few thorough-bred natives travel beyond their own islands, although there is a constant flow of half-castes to and from the adjacent colonies, Europe, etc.

The native is very slowly tempted to abandon the habits and traditional customs of his forefathers, and his ambitionless felicity may be envied by any true philosopher.

No one who has lived in the Colony for years could sketch the real moral portrait of such a remarkable combination of virtues and vices. The domesticated native's character is a succession of surprises. The experience of each year modifies one's conclusions, and the most exact definition of such an inscrutable being is, after all, hypothetical. However, to a certain degree, the characteristic indolence of these Islanders is less dependent on themselves than on natural law, for the physical conditions surrounding them undoubtedly tend to arrest their vigour of motion, energy of life, and intellectual power.

The organic elements of the European differ widely from those of the Philippine native, and each, for his own durability, requires his own special environment. The half-breed partakes of both organisms, but has the natural environment of the one. Sometimes artificial means--the mode of life into which he is forced by his European parent--will counteract in a measure natural law, but, left to himself, the tendency will ever be towards an assimilation to the native. Original national characteristics disappear in an exotic climate, and, in the course of time, conform to the new laws of nature to which they are exposed.

It is an ascertained fact that the increase of energy introduced into the Philippine native by blood mixture from Europe lasts only to the second generation, whilst the effect remains for several generations when there is a similarity of natural surroundings in the two races crossed. Moreover, the peculiar physique of a Chinese or Japanese progenitor is preserved in succeeding generations, long after the Spanish descendant has merged into the conditions of his environment.

The Spanish Government strove in vain against natural law to counteract physical conditions by favouring mixed marriages, [79] but Nature overcomes man's law, and climatic influence forces its conditions on the half-breed. Indeed, were it not for new supplies of extraneous blood infusion, European characteristics would, in time, become indiscernible among the masses. Even on Europeans themselves, in defiance of their own volition, the new physical conditions and the influence of climate on their mental and physical organisms are perceptible after two or three decades of years' residence in the mid-tropics.

All the natives of the domesticated type have distinct Malay, or Malay-Japanese, or Mongol features--prominent cheek-bones, large and lively eyes, and flat noses with dilated nostrils. They are, on the average, of rather low stature, very rarely bearded, and of a copper colour more or less dark. Most of the women have no distinct line of hair on the forehead. Some there are with a frontal hairy down extending to within an inch of the eyes, possibly a reversion to a progenitor (the Macacus radiata) in whom the forehead had not become quite naked, leaving the limit between the scalp and the forehead undefined. The hair of both males and females stands out from the skin like bristles, and is very coarse. The coarseness of the female's hair is, however, more than compensated by its luxuriance; for, provided she be in a normal state of health, up to the prime of life the hair commonly reaches down to the waist, and occasionally to the ankles. The women are naturally proud of this mark of beauty, which they preserved by frequent washings with gogo (q.v.) and the use of cocoanut oil (q.v.). Hare-lip is common. Children, from their birth, have a spot at the base of the vertebrae, thereby supporting the theory of Professor Huxley's Anthropidae sub-order--or man (vide Professor Huxley's "An Introduction to the Classification of Animals," p. 99. Published 1869).

Marriages between natives are usually arranged by the parents of the respective families. The nubile age of females is from about 11 years. The parents of the young man visit those of the maiden, to approach the subject delicately in an oratorical style of allegory. The response is in like manner shrouded with mystery, and the veil is only thrown off the negotiations when it becomes evident that both parties agree. Among the poorer classes, if the young man has no goods to offer, it is frequently stipulated that he shall serve on probation for an indefinite period in the house of his future bride,--as Jacob served Laban to make Rachel his wife,--and not a few drudge for years with this hope before them.

Sometimes, in order to secure service gratis, the elders of the young woman will suddenly dismiss the young man after a prolonged expectation, and take another Catipad. as he is called, on the same terms. The old colonial legislation--"Leyes de Indias"--in vain prohibited this barbarous ancient custom, and there was a modern Spanish law (of which few availed themselves) which permitted the intended bride to be "deposited" away from parental custody, whilst the parents were called upon to show cause why the union should not take place. However, it often happens that when Cupid has already shot his arrow into the virginal breast, and the betrothed foresee a determined opposition to their mutual hopes, they anticipate the privileges of matrimony, and compel the bride's parents to countenance their legitimate aspirations to save the honour of the family. Honi soit qui mal y pense--they simply force the hand of a dictatorial mother-in-law. The women are notably mercenary, and if, on the part of the girl and her people, there be a hitch, it is generally on the question of dollars when both parties are native. Of course, if the suitor be European, no such question is raised--the ambition of the family and the vanity of the girl being both satisfied by the alliance itself.

When the proposed espousals are accepted, the donations propter nuptias are paid by the father of the bridegroom to defray the wedding expenses, and often a dowry settlement, called in Tagalog dialect "bigaycaya" is made in favour of the bride. Very rarely the bride's property is settled on the husband. I never heard of such a case. The Spanish laws relating to married persons' property were quaint. If the husband were poor and the wife well-off, so they might remain, notwithstanding the marriage. He, as a rule, became a simple administrator of her possessions, and, if honest, often depended on her liberality to supply his own necessities. If he became bankrupt in a business in which he employed also her capital or possessions, she ranked as a creditor of the second class under the "Commercial Code." If she died, the poor husband, under no circumstances, by legal right (unless under a deed signed before a notary) derived any benefit from the fact of his having espoused a rich wife: her property passed to their legitimate issue, or--in default thereof--to her nearest blood relation. The children might be rich, and, but for their generosity, their father might be destitute, whilst the law compelled him to render a strict account to them of the administration of their property during their minority. This fact has given rise to many lawsuits.

A married woman often signs her maiden name, sometimes adding "de ----" (her husband's surname). If she survives him, she again takes up her nomen ante nuptias amongst her old circle of friends, and only adds "widow of ----" to show who she is to the public (if she be in trade), or to those who have only known her as a married woman. The offspring use both the parental surnames, the mother's coming after the father's; hence it is the more prominent. Frequently, in Spanish documents requiring the mention of a person's name in full, the mother's maiden surname is revived.

Thus marriage, as I understand the spirit of the Spanish law, seems to be a simple contract to legitimize and license procreation.

Up to the year 1844, only a minority of the christian natives had distinctive family names. They were, before that date, known by certain harsh ejaculations, and classification of families was uncared for among the majority of the population. Therefore, in that year, a list of Spanish surnames was sent to each parish priest, and every native family had to adopt a separate appellation, which has ever since been perpetuated. Hence one meets natives bearing illustrious names such as Juan Salcedo, Juan de Austria, Rianzares, Ramon de Cabrera, Pio Nono Lopez, and a great many Legaspis.

When a wedding among natives was determined upon, the betrothed went to the priest--not necessarily together--kissed his hand, and informed him of their intention. There was a tariff of marriage fees, but the priest usually set this aside, and fixed his charges according to the resources of the parties. This abuse of power could hardly be resisted, as the natives have a radicate aversion to being married elsewhere than in the village of the bride. The priest, too (not the bride), usually had the privilege of "naming the day." The fees demanded were sometimes enormous, the common result being that many couples merely cohabited under mutual vows because they could not pay the wedding expenses.

The banns were verbally published after the benediction following the conclusion of the Mass. In the evening, prior to the marriage, it was compulsory on the couple to confess and obtain absolution from the priest. The nuptials almost invariably took place after the first Mass, between five and six in the morning, and those couples who were spiritually prepared first presented themselves for Communion. Then an acolyte placed over the shoulders of the bridal pair a thick mantle or pall. The priest recited a short formula of about five minutes' duration, put his interrogations, received the muttered responses, and all was over. To the espoused, as they left the church, was tendered a bowl of coin; the bridegroom passed a handful of the contents to the bride, who accepted it and returned it to the bowl. This act was symbolical of his giving to her his worldly goods. Then they left the church with their friends, preserving that solemn, stoical countenance common to all Malay natives. There was no visible sign of emotion as they all walked off, with the most matter-of-fact indifference, to the paternal abode. This was the custom under the Spaniards, and it still largely obtains; the Revolution decreed civil marriage, which the Americans have declared lawful, but not compulsory.

After the marriage ceremony the feast called the Catapusan [80] begins. To this the vicar and headmen of the villages, the immediate friends and relatives of the allied families, and any Europeans who may happen to be resident or sojourning, are invited. The table is spread, a la Russe, with all the good things procurable served at the same time--sweetmeats predominating. Imported beer, Dutch gin, chocolate, etc., are also in abundance. After the early repast, both men and women are constantly being offered betel-nut to masticate, and cigars or cigarettes, according to choice.

Meanwhile, the company is entertained by native dancers. Two at a time--a young man and woman--stand vis-a-vis and alternately sing a love ditty, the burthen of the theme usually opening by the regret of the young man that his amorous overtures have been disregarded. Explanations follow, in the poetic dialogue, as the parties dance around each other, keeping a slow step to the plaintive strains of music. This is called the Balitao. It is most popular in Visayas.

Another dance is performed by a young woman only. If well executed it is extremely graceful. The girl begins singing a few words in an ordinary tone, when her voice gradually drops to the diminuendo, whilst her slow gesticulations and the declining vigour of the music together express her forlornness. Then a ray of joy seems momentarily to lighten her mental anguish; the spirited crescendo notes gently return; the tone of the melody swells; her measured step and action energetically quicken--until she lapses again into resigned sorrow, and so on alternately. Coy in repulse, and languid in surrender, the danseuse in the end forsakes her sentiment of melancholy for elated passion.

The native dances are numerous. Another of the most typical, is that of a girl writhing and dancing a pas seul with a glass of water on her head. This is known as the Comitan.

When Europeans are present, the bride usually retires into the kitchen or a back room, and only puts in an appearance after repeated requests. The conversation rarely turns upon the event of the meeting; there is not the slightest outward manifestation of affection between the newly-united couple, who, during the feast, are only seen together by mere accident. If there are European guests, the repast is served three times--firstly for the Europeans and headmen, secondly for the males of less social dignity, and lastly for the women. Neither at the table nor in the reception-room do the men and women mingle, except for perhaps the first quarter of an hour after the arrival, or whilst dancing continues.

About an hour after the mid-day meal, those who are not lodging at the house return to their respective residences to sleep the siesta. On an occasion like this--at a Catapusan given for any reason--native outsiders, from anywhere, always invade the kitchen in a mob, lounge around doorways, fill up corners, and drop in for the feast uninvited, and it is usual to be liberally complaisant to all comers.

As a rule, the married couple live with the parents of one or the other, at least until the family inconveniently increases. In old age, the elder members of the families come under the protection of the younger ones quite as a matter of course. In any case, a newly-married pair seldom reside alone. Relations from all parts flock in. Cousins, uncles and aunts, of more or less distant grade, hang on to the recently-established household, if it be not extremely poor. Even when a European marries a native woman, she is certain to introduce some vagabond relation--a drone to hive with the bees--a condition quite inevitable, unless the husband be a man of specially determined character.

Death at childbirth is very common, and it is said that 25 per cent. of the new-born children die within a month.

Among the lowest classes, whilst a woman is lying-in, the husband closes all the windows to prevent the evil spirit (asuan) entering; sometimes he will wave about a stick or bowie-knife at the door, or on top of the roof, for the same purpose. Even among the most enlightened, at the present day, the custom of shutting the windows is inherited from their superstitious forefathers, probably in ignorance of the origin of this usage.

In Spanish times it was considered rather an honour than otherwise to have children by a priest, and little secret was made of it.

In October, 1888, I was in a village near Manila, at the bedside of a sick friend, when the curate entered. He excused himself for not having called earlier, by explaining that "Turing" had sent him a message informing him that as the vicar (a native) had gone to Manila, he might take charge of the church and parish. "Is 'Turing' an assistant curate?" I inquired. My friend and the pastor were so convulsed with laughter at the idea, that it was quite five minutes before they could explain that the intimation respecting the parochial business emanated from the absent vicar's bonne amie.

Consanguine marriages are very common, and perhaps this accounts for the low intellect and mental debility perceptible in many families.

Poor parents offer their girls to Europeans for a loan of money, and they are admitted under the pseudonym of sempstress or housekeeper. Natives among themselves do not kiss--they smell each other, or rather, they place the nose and lip on the cheek and draw a long breath.

Marriages between Spaniards and pure native women, although less frequent than formerly, still take place. Since 1899 many Americans, too, have taken pure native wives. It is difficult to apprehend an alliance so incongruous, there being no affinity of ideas, the only condition in common being, that they are both human beings professing Christianity. The husband is either drawn towards the level of the native by this heterogeneous relationship, or, in despair of remedying the error of a passing passion, he practically ignores his wife in his own social connections. Each forms then a distinct circle of friends of his, or her, own selection, whilst the woman is but slightly raised above her own class by the white man's influence and contact. There are some exceptions, but I have most frequently observed in the houses of Europeans married to native women in the provinces, that the wives make the kitchen their chief abode, and are only seen by the visitor when some domestic duty requires them to move about the house. Familiarity breeds contempt, and these mesalliances diminish the dignity of the superior race by reducing the birth-origin of both parents to a common level in their children.

The Spanish half-breeds and Creoles constitute a very influential body. A great number of them are established in trade in Manila and the provinces. Due to their European descent, more or less distant, they are of quicker perception, greater tact, and gifted with wider intellectual faculties than the pure Oriental class. Also, the Chinese half-breeds,--a caste of Chinese fathers and Philippine mothers,--who form about one-sixth of the Manila population, are shrewder than the natives of pure extraction, their striking characteristic being distrust and suspicion of another's intentions. It is a curious fact that the Chinese half-caste speaks with as much contempt of the Chinaman as the thorough-bred Filipino does, and would fain hide his paternal descent. There are numbers of Spanish half-breeds fairly well educated, and just a few of them very talented. Many of them have succeeded in making pretty considerable fortunes in their negotiations, as middlemen, between the provincial natives and the European commercial houses. Their true social position is often an equivocal one, and the complex question has constantly to be confronted whether to regard a Spanish demi-sang from a native or European standpoint. Among themselves they are continually struggling to attain the respect and consideration accorded to the superior class, whilst their connexions and purely native relations link them to the other side. In this perplexing mental condition, we find them on the one hand striving in vain to disown their affinity to the inferior races, and on the other hand, jealous of their true-born European acquaintances. A morosity of disposition is the natural outcome. Their character generally is evasive and vacillating. They are captious, fond of litigation, and constantly seeking subterfuges. They appear always dissatisfied with their lot in life, and inclined to foster grievances against whoever may be in office over them. Pretentious in the extreme, they are fond of pomp and paltry show, and it is difficult to trace any popular movement, for good or for evil, without discovering a half-breed initiator, or leader, of one caste or another. They are locally denominated Mestizos.

The Jesuit Father, Pedro Murillo Velarde, at p. 272 of his work on this Colony, expressed his opinion of the political-economical result of mixed marriages to the following effect:--"Now," he says, "we have a querulous, discontented population of half-castes, who, sooner or later, will bring about a distracted state of society, and occupy the whole force of the Government to stamp out the discord." How far the prophecy was fulfilled will be seen in another chapter.

Being naturally prone to superstitious beliefs, the Islanders accepted, without doubting, all the fantastic tales which the early missionaries taught them. Miraculous crosses healed the sick, cured the plague, and scared away the locusts. Images, such as the Holy Child of Bangi, relieved them of all worldly sufferings. To this day they revere many of these objects, which are still preserved.

The most ancient miraculous image in these Islands appears to be the Santo Nino de Cebu--the Holy Child of Cebu. It is recorded that on July 28, 1565, an image of the Child Jesus was found on Cebu Island shore by a Basque soldier named Juan de Camus. It was venerated and kept by the Austin friars. Irreverent persons have alleged it was a pagan idol. Against this, it may be argued that the heathen Cebuanos were not known to have been idolaters. In 1627 a fire occurred in Cebu city, when the Churches of Saint Nicholas and of the Holy Child were burnt down. The image was saved, and temporarily placed in charge of the Recoleto friars. A fire also took place on the site of the first cross erected on the island by Father Martin de Rada, the day Legaspi landed, and it is said that this cross, although made of bamboo, was not consumed. There now stands an Oratory, wherein on special occasions is exposed the original cross. Close by is the modern Church of the Holy Child.

In June, 1887, the Prior of the convent conducted me to the strong-room where the wonderful image is kept. The Saint is of wood, about fifteen inches high, and laden with silver trinkets, which have been presented on different occasions. When exposed to public view, it has the honours of field-marshal accorded to it. It is a mystic deity with ebon features--so different from the lovely Child presented to us on canvas by the great masters! During the feast held in its honour (January 20), pilgrims from the remotest districts of the island and from across the seas come to purify their souls at the shrine of "The Holy Child." In the same room was a beautiful image of the Madonna, besides two large tin boxes containing sundry arms, legs, and heads of Saints, with their robes in readiness for adjustment on procession days. The patron of Cebu City is Saint Vidal.

The legend of the celestial protector of Manila is not less interesting. It is related that in Dilao (now called Paco), near Manila, a wooden image of Saint Francis de Assisi, which was in the house of a native named Alonso Cuyapit, was seen to weep so copiously that many cloths were moistened by its tears. The image, with its hands outspread during three hours, invoked God's blessing on Manila. And then, on closing its hands, it grasped a cross and skull. Vows were made to the Saint, who was declared protector of the capital, and the same image is now to be seen in the Franciscan Church, under the appellation of San Francisco de las lagrimas--"Saint Francis of Tears."

Up to the seventies of last century, a disgusting spectacle used to be annually witnessed at the Church of San Miguel (Manila) on December 8; it was a realistic representation of the Immaculate Conception!

"Our Lady of Cagsaysay," near Taal (Batangas), has been revered for many years both by Europeans and natives. So enthusiastic was the belief in the miraculous power of this image, that the galleons, when passing the Batangas coast on their way to and from Mexico, were accustomed to fire a salute from their guns (vide pp. 18, 19). This image was picked up by a native in his fishing-net, and he placed it in a cave, where it was discovered by other natives, who imagined they saw many extraordinary lights around it. According to the local legend, they heard sweet sonorous music proceeding from the same spot, and the image came forward and spoke to a native woman, who had brought her companions to adore the Saint.

The history of the many shrines all over the Colony would well fill a volume; however, by far the most popular one is that of the Virgin of Antipolo--Nuestra Senora de Buen Viaje y de la Paz, "Our Lady of Good Voyage and Peace."

This image is said to have wrought many miracles. It was first brought from Acapulco (Mexico) in 1626 in the State galleon, by Juan Nino de Tabora, who was appointed Gov.-General of these Islands (1626-32) by King Philip IV. The Saint, it is alleged, had encountered numberless reverses between that time and the year 1672, since which date it has been safely lodged in the Parish Church of Antipolo--a village in the old Military District of Morong (Rizal Province)--in the custody of the Austin friars. In the month of May, thousands of people repair to this shrine; indeed, this village of 3,800 inhabitants (diminished to 2,800 in 1903) chiefly depends upon the pilgrims for its existence, for the land within the jurisdiction of Antipolo is all mountainous and very limited in extent. The priests also do a very good trade in prints of Saints, rosaries, etc., for the sale of which, in Spanish times, they used to open a shop during the feast inside and just in front of the convent entrance. The total amount of money spent in the village by visitors during the pilgrimage has been roughly computed to be P30,000. They come from all parts of the Islands.

The legends of the Saint are best described in a pamphlet published in Manila, [81] from which I take the following information.

The writer says that the people of Acapulco (Mexico) were loth to part with their Holy Image, but the saintly Virgin herself, desirous of succouring the inhabitants of the Spanish Indies, smoothed all difficulties. During her first voyage, in the month of March, 1626, a tempest arose, which was calmed by the Virgin, and all arrived safely in the galleon at the shores of Manila. She was then carried in procession to the Cathedral, whilst the church bells tolled and the artillery thundered forth salutes of welcome. A solemn Mass was celebrated, which all the religious communities, civil authorities, and a multitude of people attended.

Six years afterwards the Gov.-General Juan Nino de Tabora died. By his will he intrusted the Virgin to the care of the Jesuits, whilst a church was being built under the direction of Father Juan Salazar for her special reception. During the erection of this church, the Virgin often descended from the altar and exhibited herself amongst the flowery branches of a tree, called by the natives Antipolo (Artocarpus incisa). The tree itself was thenceforth regarded as a precious relic by the natives, who, leaf by leaf and branch by branch, were gradually carrying it off. Then Father Salazar decreed that the tree-trunk should serve for a pedestal to the Divine Miraculous Image--hence the title "Virgin of Antipolo."

In 1639 the Chinese rebelled against the Spanish authority (vide p. 115). In their furious march through the ruins and the blood of their victims, and amidst the wailing of the crowd, they attacked the Sanctuary wherein reposed the Virgin. Seizing the Holy Image, they cast it into the flames, and when all around was reduced to ashes, there stood the Virgin of Antipolo, resplendent, with her hair, her lace, her ribbons and adornments intact, and her beautiful body of brass without wound or blemish! Passionate at seeing frustrated their designs to destroy the deified protectress of the Christians, a wanton infidel stabbed her in the face, and all the resources of art have ever failed to heal the lasting wound. Again the Virgin was enveloped in flames, which hid the appalling sight of her burning entrails. Now the Spanish troops arrived, and fell upon the heretical marauders with great slaughter; then, glancing with trembling anxiety upon the scene of the outrage, behold! with glad astonishment they descried the Holy Image upon a smouldering pile of ashes--unhurt! With renewed enthusiasm, the Spanish warriors bore away the Virgin on their shoulders in triumph, and Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, the Gov.-General at the time, had her conveyed to Cavite to be the patroness of the faithful upon the high seas.

A galleon arrived at Cavite, and being unable to go into port, the commander anchored off at a distance. Then the new Gov.-General, Diego Fajardo (1644-53), sent the Virgin on board, and, by her help, a passage was found for the vessel to enter.

Later on, twelve Dutch warships appeared off Mariveles, the northwestern extremity of Manila Bay. They had come to attack Cavite, and in their hour of danger the Spaniards appealed to the Virgin, who gave them a complete victory over the Dutchmen, causing them to flee, with their commander mortally wounded. During the affray, the Virgin had been taken away for safety on board the San Diego, commanded by Cepeda. In 1650 this vessel returned, and the pious prelate, Jose Millan Poblete, [82] thought he perceived clear indications of an eager desire on the part of the Virgin to retire to her Sanctuary. The people, too, clamoured for the Saint, attributing the many calamities with which they were afflicted at that period to her absence from their shores. Assailed by enemies, frequently threatened by the Dutch, lamenting the loss of several galleons, and distressed by a serious earthquake, their only hope reposed in the beneficent aid of the Virgin of Antipolo.

But the galleon San Francisco Xavier feared to make the journey to Mexico without the saintly support, and for the sixth time the Virgin crossed the Pacific Ocean. In Acapulco the galleon lay at anchor until March, 1653, when the newly-appointed Gov.-General, Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, Archbishop Miguel Poblete, Father Rodrigo Cardenas, Bishop-elect of Cagayan, and many other passengers embarked and set sail for Manila. Their sufferings during the voyage were horrible. Almost overcome by a violent storm, the ship became unmanageable. Rain poured in torrents, whilst her decks were washed by the surging waves, and all was on the point of utter destruction. In this plight the Virgin was exhorted, and not in vain, for at her command the sea lessened its fury, the wind calmed, black threatening clouds dispersed, all the terrors of the voyage ceased, and under a beautiful blue sky a fair wind wafted the galleon safely to the port of Cavite.

These circumstances gained for the Saint the title of "Virgin of Good Voyage and Peace"; and the sailors,--who gratefully acknowledged that their lives were saved by her sublime intercession,--followed by the ecclesiastical dignitaries and military chiefs, carried the image to her retreat in Antipolo (September 8, 1653), where it was intended she should permanently remain. However, deprived of the succour of the Saint, misfortunes again overtook the galleons. Three of them were lost, and the writer of the brochure to which I refer supposes (Chap. iv.) that perchance the sea, suffering from the number of furrows cut by the keels of the ships, had determined to take a fierce revenge by swallowing them up!

Once more, therefore, the Virgin condescended to accompany a galleon to Mexico, bringing her back safely to Philippine shores in 1672.

This was the Virgin's last sea voyage. Again, and for ever, she was conveyed by the joyous multitude to her resting-place in Antipolo Church, and on her journey thither, there was not a flower, adds the chronicler, which did not greet her by opening a bud--not a mountain pigeon which remained in silence, whilst the breezes and the rivulets poured forth their silent murmurings of ecstasy. Saintly guardian of the soul, dispersing mundane evils!--no colours, the chronicler tells us, can paint the animation of the faithful; no discourse can describe the consolation of the pilgrims in their adoration at the Shrine of the Holy Virgin of Antipolo.

Yet the village of Antipolo and its neighbourhood was, in Spanish times, the centre of brigandage, the resort of murderous highwaymen, the focus of crime. What a strange contrast to the sublime virtues of the immortal divinity enclosed within its Sanctuary!

On November 26, 1904, this miraculous Image was temporarily removed from Antipolo to Manila for the celebration of the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Carried by willing hands to the place of embarkation, it made the voyage to the capital, down the Pasig River, in a gorgeously decorated barge, towed by a steam launch, escorted by hundreds of floating craft and over 20,000 natives, marching along the river banks in respectful accompaniment. The next day a procession of about 35,000 persons followed the Virgin to the Cathedral of Manila, where she was enshrined, awaiting the great event of December 8. Subsequently she was restored to her shrine at Antipolo.

The most lucrative undertaking in the Colony is that of a shrine. It yields all gain, without possible loss. Among the most popular of these "Miraculous Saint Shows" was that of Gusi, belonging to the late parish priest of Ilug, in Negros Island. At Gusi, half an hour's walk from the Father's parish church, was enthroned San Joaquin, who, for a small consideration, consoled the faithful or relieved them of iheir sufferings. His spouse, Santa Ana, having taken up her residence in the town of Molo (Yloilo Province), was said to have been visited by San Joaquin once a year. He was absent on the journey at least a fortnight, but the waters in the neighbourhood of the Shrine being sanctified the clientele was not dispersed. Some sceptics have dared to doubt whether San Joaquin really paid this visit to his saintly wife, and alleged that his absence was feigned, firstly to make his presence longed for, and secondly to remove the cobwebs from his hallowed brow, and give him a wash and brush up for the year. The Shrine paid well for years--every devotee leaving his mite. At the time of my pilgrimage there, the holy Father's son was the petty-governor of the same town of Ilug.

Shrine-owners are apparently no friends of free trade. In 1888 there was a great commotion amongst them when it was discovered that a would-be competitor and a gownsman had conspired, in Pampanga Province, to establish a Miraculous Saint, by concealing an image in a field in order that it should "make itself manifest to the faithful," and thenceforth become a source of income.

It is notorious that in a church near Manila, a few years ago, an image was made to move the parts of its body as the reverend preacher exhorted it in the course of his sermon. When he appealed to the Saint, it wagged its head or extended its arms, whilst the female audience wept and wailed. Such a scandalous disturbance did it provoke that the exhibition was even too monstrous for the clergy themselves, and the Archbishop prohibited it. But religion has many wealth-producing branches. In January, 1889, a friend of mine showed me an account rendered by the Superior of the Jesuits' School for the education of his sons, each of whom was charged with one peso as a gratuity to the Pope, to induce him to canonize a deceased member of their Order. I have been most positively assured by friends, whose good faith I ought not to doubt, that San Pascual Bailon really has, on many occasions, had compassion on barren women (their friends) and given them offspring. Jose Rizal, in his "Noli me tangere" hints that the real Pascual was a friar.

Trading upon the credulity of devout enthusiasts by fetishism and shrine quackery is not altogether confined to the ecclesiastics. A Spanish layman in Yloilo, some few years ago, when he was an official of the prison, known as the "Cotta," conceived the idea of declaring that the Blessed Virgin and Child Jesus had appeared in the prison well, where they took a bath and disappeared. When, at length, the belief became popular, hundreds of natives went there to get water from the well, and the official imposed a tax on the pilgrims, whereby he became possessed of a modest fortune, and owned two of the best houses in the Square of Yloilo.

The Feast of Tigbauang (near Yloilo), which takes place in January, is also much frequented on account of the miracles performed by the patron Saint of the town. The faith in the power of this minor divinity to dispel bodily suffering is so deeply rooted that members of the most enlightened families of Yloilo and the neighbouring towns go to Tigbauang simply to attend High Mass, and return at once. I have seen steamers entering Yloilo from this feast so crowded with passengers that there was only standing room for them.

An opprobrious form of religious imposture--perhaps the most contemptible--which frequently offended the public eye, before the American advent, was the practice of prowling about with doll-saints in the streets and public highways. A vagrant, too lazy to earn an honest subsistence, procured a licence from the monks to hawk about a wooden box containing a doll or print covered by a pane of glass. This he offered to hold before the nose of any ignorant passer-by who was willing to pay for the boon of kissing the glass!

During Holy Week, a few years ago, the captain of the Civil Guard in Tayabas Province went to the town of Atimonan, and saw natives in the streets almost in a state of nudity doing penance "for the wounds of Our Lord." They were actually beating themselves with flails, some of which were made of iron chain, and others of rope with thongs of rattan-cane. Having confiscated the flails--one of which he gave to me--he effectually assisted the fanatics in their penitent castigation. Alas! to what excesses will faith, unrestrained by reason, bring one!

The result of tuition in mystic influences is sometimes manifested in the appearance of native Santones--indolent scamps who roam about in remote villages, feigning the possession of supernatural gifts, the faculty of saving souls, and the healing art, with the object of living at the expense of the ignorant. I never happened to meet more than one of these creatures--an escaped convict named Apolonio, a native of Cabuyao (Laguna), who, assuming the character of a prophet and worker of miracles, had fled to the neighbourhood of San Pablo village. I have often heard of them in other places, notably in Capis Province, where the Santones were vigorously pursued by the Civil Guard, and as recently as May, 1904, a notorious humbug of this class, styling himself Pope Isio, alias Nazarenong Gala, was arrested in West Negros and punished under American authority.

The Spanish clergy were justifiably zealous in guarding the Filipinos from a knowledge of other doctrines which would only lead them to immeasurable bewilderment. Hence all the civilized natives were Roman Catholics exclusively. The strict obedience to one system of Christianity, even in its grossly perverted form, had the effect desired by the State, of bringing about social unity to an advanced degree. Yet, so far as I have observed, the native seems to understand extremely little of the "inward and spiritual grace" of religion. He is so material and realistic, so devoid of all conception of things abstract, that his ideas rarely, if ever, soar beyond the contemplation of the "outward and visible signs" of christian belief. The symbols of faith and the observance of religious rites are to him religion itself. He also confounds morality with religion. Natives go to church because it is the custom. Often if a native cannot put on a clean shirt, he abstains from going to Mass. The petty-governor of a town was compelled to go to High Mass accompanied by his "ministry." In some towns the Barangay Chiefs were fined or beaten if they were absent from church on Sundays and certain Feast Days. [83]

As to the women, little or no pressure was necessary to oblige them to attend Mass; many of them pass half their existence between private devotion and the confessional.

The parish priest of Lipa (Batangas) related to a friend of mine that having on one occasion distributed all his stock of pictures of the Saints to those who had come to see him on parochial business, he had to content the last suppliant with an empty raisin-box, without noticing that on the lid there was a coloured print of Garibaldi. Later on Garibaldi's portrait was seen in a hut in one of the suburbs with candles around it, being adored as a Saint.

A curious case of native religious philosophy was reported in a Manila newspaper. [84] A milkman, accused by one of his customers of having adulterated the milk, of course denied it at first, and then, yielding to more potent argument than words, he confessed that he had diluted the milk with holy water from the church fonts, for at the same time that he committed the sin he was penitent.

Undoubtedly Roman Catholicism appears to be the form of Christianity most successful in proselytizing uncivilized races, which are impressed more through their eyes than their understanding. If the grandeur of the ritual, the magnificence of the processions, the lustre of the church vessels and the images themselves have never been understood by the masses in the strictly symbolic sense in which they appeal to us, at least they have had their influence in drawing millions to civilization and to a unique uniformity of precept, the practice of which it is beyond all human power to control.

For Music the native has an inherent passion. Musicians are to be found in every village, and even among the very poorest classes. Before the Revolution there was scarcely a parish, however remote, without its orchestra, and this natural taste was laudably encouraged by the priests. Some of these bands acquired great local fame, and were sought for wherever there was a feast miles away. The players seemed to enjoy it as much as the listeners, and they would keep at it for hours at a time, as long as their bodily strength lasted. Girls from six years of age learn to play the harp almost by instinct, and college girls quickly learn the piano. There are no native composers--they are but imitators. There is an absence of sentimental feeling in the execution of set music (which is all foreign), and this is the only drawback to their becoming fine instrumentalists. For the same reason, classical music is very little in vogue among the Philippine people, who prefer dance pieces and ballad accompaniments. In fact, a native musical performance is so void of soul and true conception of harmony that at a feast it is not an uncommon thing to hear three bands playing close to each other at the same time; and the mob assembled seem to enjoy the confusion of the melody! There are no Philippine vocalists worth hearing.

Travelling through the Laguna Province in 1882 I was impressed by the ingenuity of the natives in their imitation of European musical instruments. Just an hour before I had emerged from a dense forest, abundantly adorned with exquisite foliage, and where majestic trees, flourishing in gorgeous profusion, afforded a gratifying shelter from the scorching sun. Not a sound was heard but the gentle ripple of a limpid stream, breaking over the boulders on its course towards the ravine below. But it was hardly the moment to ponder on the poetic scene, for fatigue and hunger had almost overcome sentimentality, and I got as quickly as I could to the first resting-place. This I found to be a native cane-grower's plantation bungalow, where quite a number of persons was assembled, the occasion of the meeting being the baptism and benediction of the sugar-cane mill. Before I was near enough, however, to be seen by the party--for it was nearly sunset--I heard the sound of distant music floating through the air. Such a strange occurrence excited my curiosity immensely, and I determined to find out what it all meant. I soon discovered that it was a bamboo band returning from the feast of the "baptism of the mill." Each instrument was made of bamboo on a semi-European model, and the players were merely farm-labourers.

Philippine musicians have won fame outside their own country. Some years ago there was a band of them in Shanghai and another in Cochin China on contract. It was reported, too, that the band of the Constabulary sent to the St. Louis Exhibition in 1904 was the delight of the people in Honolulu, where they touched en route.

Slavery was prohibited by law as far back as the reign of Philip II.; [85] it nevertheless still exists in an occult form among the natives. Rarely, if ever, do its victims appeal to the law for redress, firstly, because of their ignorance, and secondly, because the untutored class have an innate horror of resisting anciently-established custom, and it would never occur to them to do so. Moreover, in the time of the Spaniards, the numberless procuradores and pica-pleitos--touting solicitors had no interest in taking up cases so profitless to themselves. Under the pretext of guaranteeing a loan, parents readily sell their children (male or female) into bondage. The child is handed over to work until the loan is repaid; but as the day of restitution of the advance never arrives, neither does the liberty of the youthful victim. Among themselves it was a law, and is still a practised custom, for the debts of the parents to pass on to the children, and, as I have said before, debts are never repudiated by them. Slavery, in an overt form, now only exists among some wild tribes and the Moros.

Education was almost exclusively under the control of the friars. Up to the year 1844 anything beyond religious tuition was reserved for the Spanish youth, the half-castes, and the children of those in office. Among the many reforms introduced in the time of Gov.-General Narciso Claveria (1844-49), that of extending Education to the provincial parishes was a failure. In the middle of the reign of Isabella II. (about 1850) it was the exclusive privilege of the classes mentioned and the native petty aristocracy, locally designated the gente ilustrada and the pudientes (Intellectuals and people of means and influence). Education, thus limited, divided the people into two separate castes, as distinct as the ancient Roman citizen and the plebeian. Residing chiefly in the ports open to foreign trade, the Intellectuals acquired wealth, possessed rich estates and fine houses artistically adorned. Blessed with all the comforts which money could procure and the refinement resulting from education, they freely associated and intermarried with the Spaniards, whose easy grace and dignified manners they gradually acquired and retain, to a great extent, to the present day. The other caste--the Illiterates--were dependents of the Intellectuals. Without mental training, with few wants, and little expenses, they were as contented, in their sphere, as the upper class were in theirs. Like their masters, they had their hopes, but they never knew what misery was, as one understands it in Europe, and in this felicitous, ambitionless condition, they never urgently demanded education, even for their children. The movement came from higher quarters, and during the O'Donnell ministry a Royal Decree was sent from Madrid establishing schools throughout the provinces.

On the banks of the Pasig River there was a training college for schoolmasters, who were drafted off to the villages with a miserable stipend, to teach the juvenile rustics. But the governmental system of centralization fell somewhat hard on the village teacher. For instance, I knew one who received a monthly salary of 16 pesos, and every month he had to spend two of them to travel to Manila and back to receive the money--an outlay equal to 12 1/2 per cent. of his total income. For such a wretched pittance great things were not to be expected of the teacher, even though he had had a free hand in his work. Other circumstances of greater weight contributed to keep the standard of education among the common townfolk very low; in some places to abolish it totally. The parish priests were ex-officio Inspectors of Schools for primary instruction, wherein it was their duty to see that the Spanish language was taught. The old "Laws of the Indies" provided that christian doctrine should be taught to the heathen native in Spanish. [86] Several decrees confirming that law were issued from time to time, but their fulfilment did not seem to suit the policy of the friars. On June 30, 1887, the Gov.-General published another decree with the same object, and sent a communication to the Archbishop to remind him of this obligation of his subordinates, and the urgency of its strict observance. But it had no effect whatever, and the poor-class villagers were only taught to gabble off the christian doctrine by rote, for it suited the friar to stimulate that peculiar mental condition in which belief precedes understanding. The school-teacher, being subordinate to the inspector, had no voice in the matter, and was compelled to follow the views of the priest. Few Spaniards took the trouble to learn native dialects (of which there are about 30), and only a small percentage of the natives can speak intelligible Spanish. There is no literature in dialect; the few odd compositions in Tagalog still extant are wanting in the first principles of literary style. There were many villages with untrained teachers who could not speak Spanish; there were other villages with no schools at all, hence no preparation whatever for municipal life.

If the friars had agreed to the instruction of the townfolk through the medium of Spanish, as a means to the attainment of higher culture, one could well have understood their reluctance to teach it to the rural labourers, because it is obvious to any one who knows the character of this class that the knowledge of a foreign language would unfit them for agricultural labour and the lower occupations, and produce a new social problem. Even this class, however, might have been mentally improved by elementary books translated into dialect. But, unfortunately, the friars were altogether opposed to the education of the masses, whether through dialect or Spanish, in order to hold them in ignorant subjection to their own will, and the result was that the majority grew up as untutored as when they were born.

Home discipline and training of manners were ignored, even in well-to-do families. Children were left without control, and by excessive indulgence allowed to do just as they pleased; hence they became ill-behaved and boorish.

Planters of means, and others who could afford it, sent their sons and daughters to private schools, or to the colleges under the direction of the priests in Manila, Jaro (Yloilo Province), or Cebu. A few--very few--sent their sons to study in Europe, or in Hong-Kong.

According to the Budget of 1888 the State contributed to the expense of Education, in that year, as follows, viz.:--

P. cts. Schools and Colleges for high-class education in Manila, including Navigation, Drawing, Painting, Book-keeping, Languages, History, Arts and Trades, Natural History Museum and Library and general instruction. 86,450 00 School of Agriculture (including 10 schools and model farms in 10 Provinces) 113,686 64 General Expenses of Public Instruction, including National Schools in the Provinces 38,513 70 ========== P238,650 34

The teaching offered to students in Manila was very advanced, as will be seen from the following Syllabus of Education in the Municipal Athenaeum of the Jesuits:--

Agriculture. Geometry. Philosophy. Algebra. Greek. Physics and Chemistry. Arithmetic. History. Rhetoric and Poetry. Commerce. Latin. Spanish Classics. Geography. Mechanics. Spanish Composition. English. Natural History. Topography. French. Painting. Trigonometry.

In the highest Girls' School--the Santa Isabel College--the following was the curriculum, viz.:--

Arithmetic. Geology. Philippine History. Drawing. Geometry. Physics. Dress-cutting. History of Spain. Reading. French. Music. Sacred History. Geography. Needlework. Spanish Grammar.

There were also (for girls) the Colleges of Santa Catalina, Santa Rosa, La Concordia, the Municipal School, etc. A few were sent to the Italian Convent in Hong-Kong.

A college known as Saint Thomas' was founded in Manila by Fray Miguel de Benavides, third Archbishop of Manila, between the years 1603 and 1610. He contributed to it his library and P 1,000, to which was added a donation by the Bishop of Nueva Segovia of P 3,000 and his library. In 1620 it already had professors and masters under Government auspices. It received three Papal Briefs for 10 years each, permitting students to graduate in Philosophy and Theology. It was then raised to the status of a University in the time of Philip IV. by Papal Bull of November 20, 1645. The first rector of Saint Thomas' University was Fray Martin Real de la Cruz. In the meantime, the Jesuits' University had been established. Until 1645 it was the only place of learning superior to primary education, and conferred degrees. The Saint Thomas' University (under the direction of Dominican friars) now disputed the Jesuits' privilege to confer degrees, claiming for themselves exclusive right by Papal Bull. A lawsuit followed, and the Supreme Court of Manila decided in favour of Saint Thomas'. The Jesuits appealed to the King against this decision. The Supreme Council of the Indies was consulted, and revoked the decision of the Manila Supreme Court, so that the two Universities continued to give degrees until the Jesuits were expelled from the Colony in 1768. From 1785 Saint Thomas' University was styled the "Royal University," and was declared to rank equally with the Peninsular Universities.

There were also the Dominican College of San Juan de Letran, founded in the middle of the 17th century, the Jesuit Normal School, the Convent of Mercy for Orphan Students, and the College of Saint Joseph. This last was founded in 1601, under the direction of the Jesuits. King Philip V. gave it the title of "Royal College," and allowed an escutcheon to be erected over the entrance. The same king endowed three professorial chairs with P 10,000 each. Latterly it was governed by the Rector of the University, whilst the administration was confided to a licentiate in pharmacy.

At the time of the Spanish evacuation, therefore, the only university in the City of Manila was that of Saint Thomas, which was empowered to issue diplomas of licentiate in law, theology, medicine, and pharmacy to all successful candidates, and to confer degrees of LL.D. The public investiture was presided over by the Rector of the University, a Dominican friar; and the speeches preceding and following the ceremony, which was semi-religious, were made in the Spanish language.

In connection with this institution there was the modern Saint Thomas' College for preparing students for the University.

The Nautical School naturally stood outside the sphere of ecclesiastical control. Established in 1839 in Calle Cabildo (walled city), its purpose was to instruct youths in the science of navigation and prepare them for the merchant service within the waters of the Archipelago and the adjacent seas. During the earthquake of 1863 the school building was destroyed. It was then re-established in Calle San Juan de Letran, subsequently located in Calle del Palacio, and was finally (in 1898) removed from the walled city to the business quarter of Binondo. Special attention was given to the teaching of mathematics, and considerable sums of money were allocated, from time to time, for the equipment of this technical centre of learning.

One of the most interesting and amusing types of the native was the average college student from the provinces. After a course of two, three, up to eight years, he learnt to imitate European dress and ape Western manners; to fantastically dress his hair; to wear patent-leather shoes, jewellery, and a latest-fashioned felt hat adjusted carefully towards one side of his head. He went to the theatre, drove a "tilbury," and attended native reunions, to deploy his abilities before the beau sexe of his class. During his residence in the capital, he was supposed to learn, amongst other subjects, Latin, Divinity, Philosophy, and sometimes Theology, preparatory, in many cases, to succeeding his father in a sugar-cane and rice plantation. The average student had barely an outline idea of either physical or political geography, whilst his notions of Spanish or universal history were very chaotic. I really think the Manila newspapers--poor as they were--contributed very largely to the education of the people in this Colony.

Still, there are cases of an ardent genius shining as an exception to his race. Amongst the few, there were two brothers named Luna--the one was a notably skilful performer on the guitar and violin, who, however, died at an early age. The other, Juan Luna, developed a natural ability for painting. A work of his own conception--the "Spoliarium," executed by him in Rome in 1884--gained the second prize at the Madrid Academy Exhibition of Oil Paintings. The Municipality of Barcelona purchased this chef d'oeuvre for the City Hall. Other famous productions of his are "The Battle of Lepanto," "The Death of Cleopatra," and "The Blood Compact" (q.v). This last masterpiece was acquired by the Municipality of Manila for the City Hall, but was removed when the Tagalog Rebellion broke out, for reasons which will be understood after reading Chapter xxii. This artist, the son of poor parents, was a second mate on board a sailing ship, when his gifts were recognized, and means were furnished him with which to study in Rome. His talent was quite exceptional, for these Islanders are not an artistic people. Having little admiration for the picturesque and the beautiful in Nature, they cannot depict them: in this respect they form a decided contrast to the Japanese. Paete (La Laguna) is the only place I know of in the provinces where there are sculptors by profession. The Manila Academy was open to all comers of all nationalities, and, as an ex-student under its Professors Don Lorenzo Rocha and Don Agustin Saez, I can attest to their enthusiasm for the progress of their pupils.

In the General Post and Telegraph Office in Manila I was shown an excellent specimen of wood-carving--a bust portrait of Mr. Morse (the celebrated inventor of the Morse system of telegraphy)--the work of a native sculptor. Another promising native, Vicente Francisco, exhibited some good sculpture work in the Philippine Exhibition, held in Madrid in 1887: the jury recommended him for a State pension, to study in Madrid and Rome. The beautiful design of the present insular coinage (Philippine peso) is the work of a Filipino. The biography of the patriot martyr Dr. Jose Rizal (q.v.), the most brilliant of all Filipinos, is related in another chapter.

The native of cultivated intellect, on returning from Europe, found a very limited circle of friends of his own new training. If he returned a lawyer or a doctor, he was one too many, for the capital swarmed with them; if he had learnt a trade, his knowledge was useless outside Manila, and in his native village his technical acquirements were generally profitless. Usually the native's sojourn in Europe made him too self-opinionated to become a useful member of society. It remains to be seen how American training will affect them.

The (American) Insular Government has taken up the matter of Philippine education very earnestly, and at considerable outlay: the subject is referred to in Chapter xxx.

The intellectual and spiritual life, as we have it in Europe, does not exist in the Philippines. If ever a Filipino studied any subject, purely for the love of study, without the hope of material or social advantage being derived therefrom, he would be a rara avis.

The Disease most prevalent among the Filipinos is fever--especially in the spring: and although, in general, they may be considered a robust, enduring race, they are less capable than the European of withstanding acute disease. I should say that quite 50 per cent. of the native population are affected by cutaneous disease, said to be caused by eating fish daily, and especially shell-fish. It is locally known as Sarnas: natives say that monkey flesh cures it.

In 1882 Cholera morbus in epidemic form ravaged the native population, carrying off thousands of victims, the exact number of which has never been published. The preventive recommended by the priests on this occasion, viz., prayer to Saint Roque, proved quite ineffectual to stay the plague. A better remedy, found in the country, is an infusion of Niota tetrapetala (Tagalog, Manungal). From time to time this disease reappears. The returns given in the Official Gazette of March 2, 1904, Vol. II., No. 9, show the average monthly mortality due to Cholera, in the 20-1/3 months between March 20, 1902, and December 1, 1903, to be 5,360. Annually, many natives suffer from what is called Colerin--a mild form of Cholera, but not epidemic. In the spring, deaths always occur from acute indigestion, due to eating too plentifully of new rice. Many who have recovered from Cholera become victims to a disease known as Beri-Beri, said to be caused by the rice and fish diet. The first symptom of Wet Beri-Beri is a swelling of the legs, like dropsy; that of Dry Beri-Beri is a wasting away of the limbs. Smallpox makes great ravages, and Measles is a common complaint. Lung and Bronchial affections are very rare. The most fearful disease in the Colony is Leprosy. [87] To my knowledge it is prevalent in the Province of Bulacan (Luzon Is.), and in the islands of Cebu and Negros. There is an asylum for lepers near Manila and at Mabolo, just outside the City of Cebu (vide Lepers), but no practical measures were ever adopted by the Spaniards to eradicate this disease. The Spanish authorities were always too indifferent about the propagation of leprosy to establish a home on one island for all male lepers and another home, on another island, for female lepers--the only effectual way to extirpate this awful malady. In Baliuag (Bulacan), leper families, personally known to me, were allowed to mix with the general public. In Cebu and Negros Islands they were permitted to roam about on the highroads and beg.

The Insular Government has taken up the question of the Lepers, and in 1904 a tract of land was purchased in the Island of Culion (Calamianes group) to provide for their hygienic isolation. According to the Official Gazette of March 2, 1904, Vol. II., No. 9, the total number of lepers, of whom the Insular Government had obtained cognizance, up to December 31, 1903, was 3,343. Besides these there would naturally be an unknown number who had escaped recognition.

There is apparently little Insanity in the Islands. From the Report of the Commissioner of Public Health for February, 1904, it would appear that there were only about 1,415 insane persons in a population of over seven-and-a-half millions.

Since the American advent (1898) the Death-rate is believed to have notably decreased. The Report of the Commissioner of Public Health for 1904 states the death-rate per thousand in Manila to have been as follows, viz.:--Natives 53.72; Europeans other than Spaniards 16.11; Spaniards 15.42; and Americans 9.34. The Commissioner remarks that "over 50 per cent. of the children born in the city of Manila never live to see the first anniversary of their birthday." The Board of Health is very active in the sanitation of Manila. Inspectors make frequent domiciliary visits. The extermination of rats in the month of December, 1903, amounted to 24,638. House-refuse bins are put into the streets at night, and an inspector goes round with a lamp about midnight to examine them. Dead animals, market-rubbish, house-refuse, rotten hemp, sweepings, etc., are all cremated at Palomar, Santa Cruz, and Paco, and in July, 1904, this enterprising department started the extermination of mosquitoes! In the suburbs of Manila there are now twelve cemeteries and one crematorium.

XII. The Religious Orders

History attests that at least during the first two centuries of Spanish rule, the subjugation of the natives and their acquiescence in the new order of things were obtained more by the subtle influence of the missionaries than by the sword. As the soldiers of Castile carried war into the interior and forced its inhabitants to recognize their King, so the friars were drafted off from the mother country to mitigate the memory of bloodshed and to mould Spain's new subjects to social equanimity. In many cases, in fact, the whole task of gaining their submission to the Spanish Crown and obedience to the dictates of Western civilization was confided solely to the pacific medium of persuasion. The difficult mission of holding in check the natural passions and instincts of a race which knew no law but individual will, was left to the successors of Urdaneta. Indeed, it was but the general policy of Philip II. to aggrandize his vast realm under the pretence of rescuing benighted souls. The efficacy of conversion was never doubted for a moment, however suddenly it might come to pass, and the Spanish cavalier conscientiously felt that he had a high mission to fulfil under the Banner of the Cross. In every natural event which coincided with their interests, in the prosecution of their mission, the wary priests descried a providential miracle.

In their opinion the non-Catholic had no rights in this world--no prospect of gaining the next. If the Pope claimed the whole world (such as was known of it) to be in his gift--how much more so heathen lands! The obligation to convert was imposed by the Pope, and was an inseparable condition of the conceded right of conquest. It was therefore constantly paramount in the conqueror's mind. [88] The Pope could depose and give away the realm of any sovereign prince "si vel paulum deflexerit." The Monarch held his sceptre under the sordid condition of vassalage; hence Philip II., for the security of his Crown, could not have disobeyed the will of the Pontiff, whatever his personal inclinations might have been regarding the spread of Christianity. [89] If he desired it, he served his ends with advantage to himself--if he were indifferent to it, he secured by its prosecution a formidable ally in Rome. America had already drained the Peninsula of her able-bodied men to such an extent that a military occupation of these Islands would have overtaxed the resources of the mother country. The co-operation of the friars was, therefore, an almost indispensable expedient in the early days, and their power in secular concerns was recognized to the last by the Spanish-Philippine authorities, who continued to solicit the aid of the parish priests in order to secure obedience to decrees affecting their parishioners.

Up to the Rebellion of 1896 the placid word of the ecclesiastic, the superstitious veneration which he inspired in the ignorant native, had a greater law-binding effect than the commands of the civil functionary. The gownsman used those weapons appropriate to his office which best touched the sensibilities and won the adhesion of a rude audience. The priest appealed to the soul, to the unknown, to the awful and the mysterious. Go where he would, the convert's imagination was so pervaded with the mystic tuition that he came to regard his tutor as a being above common humanity. The feeling of dread reverence which he instilled into the hearts of the most callous secured to him even immunity from the violence of brigands, who carefully avoided the man of God. In the State official the native saw nothing but a man who strove to bend the will of the conquered race to suit his own. A Royal Decree or the sound of the cornet would not have been half so effective as the elevation of the Holy Cross before the fanatical majority, who became an easy prey to fantastic promises of eternal bliss, or the threats of everlasting perdition. Nor is this assertion by any means chimerical, for it has been proved on several occasions, notably in the raising of troops to attempt the expulsion of the British in 1763, and in the campaign against the Sultan of Sulu in 1876. But through the Cavite Conspiracy of 1872 (vide p. 106) the friars undoubtedly hastened their own downfall. Many natives, driven to emigrate, cherished a bitter hatred in exile, whilst others were emerging yearly by hundreds from their mental obscurity. Already the intellectual struggle for freedom from mystic enthralment had commenced without injury to faith in things really divine.

Each decade brought some reform in the relations between the parish priest and the people. Link by link the chain of priestcraft encompassing the development of the Colony was yielding to natural causes. The most enlightened natives were beginning to understand that their spiritual wants were not the only care of the friars, and that the aim of the Religious Orders was to monopolize all within their reach, and to subordinate to their common will all beyond their mystic circle. The Romish Church owes its power to the uniformity of precept and practice of the vast majority of its members, and it is precisely because this was the reverse in political Spain--where statesmen are divided into a dozen or more groups with distinct policies--that the Church was practically unassailable. In the same way, all the members of a Religious Order are so closely united that a quarrel with one of them brings the enmity and opposition of his whole community. The Progressists, therefore, who combated ecclesiastical preponderance in the Philippines, demanded the retirement of the friars to conventual reclusion or missions, and the appointment of clerigos, or secular clergymen to the vicarages and curacies. By such a change they hoped to remedy the abuses of collective power, for a misunderstanding with a secular vicar would only have provoked a single-handed encounter.

That a priest should have been practically a Government agent in his locality would not have been contested in the abstract, had he not, as a consequence, assumed the powers of the old Roman Censors, who exercised the most dreaded function of the Regium Morum. Spanish opinion, however, was very much divided as to the political safety of strictly confining the friars to their religious duties. It was doubted by some whether any State authority could ever gain the confidence or repress the inherent inclinations of the native like the friar, who led by superstitious teaching, and held the conscience by an invisible cord through the abstract medium of the confessional. Others opined that a change in the then existing system of semi-sacerdotal Government was desirable, if only to give scope to the budding intelligence of the minority, which could not be suppressed.

Emerging from the lowest ranks of society, with no training whatever but that of the seminary, it was natural to suppose that these Spanish priests would have been more capable than ambitious political men of the world of blending their ideas with those of the native, and of forming closer associations with a rural population engaged in agricultural pursuits familiar to themselves in their own youth. Before the abolition of monasteries in Spain the priests were allowed to return there after 10 years residence in the Colony; since then they have usually entered upon their new lives for the remainder of their days, so that they naturally strove to make the best of their social surroundings.

The Civil servant, as a rule, could feel no personal interest in his temporary native neighbours, his hopes being centred only in rising in the Civil Service there or elsewhere--Cuba or Porto Rico, or where the ministerial wheel of fortune placed him.

The younger priests--narrow-minded and biased--those who had just entered into provincial curacies--were frequently the greater bigots. Enthusiastic in their calling, they pursued with ardour their mission of proselytism without experience of the world. They entered the Islands with the zeal of youth, bringing with them the impression imparted to them in Spain, that they were sent to make a moral conquest of savages. In the course of years, after repeated rebuffs, and the obligation to participate in the affairs of everyday life in all its details, their rigidity of principle relaxed, and they became more tolerant towards those with whom they necessarily came in contact. They were usually taken from the peasantry and families of lowly station. As a rule they had little or no secular education, and, regarding them apart from their religious training, they might be considered a very ignorant class. Amongst them the Franciscan friars appeared to be the least--and the Austins the most--polished of all.

The Spanish parish priest was consulted by the native in all matters; he was, by force of circumstances, often compelled to become an architect,--to build the church in his adopted village--an engineer, to make or mend roads, and more frequently a doctor. His word was paramount in his parish, and in his residence he dispensed with that stern severity of conventual discipline to which he had been accustomed in the Peninsula. Hence it was really here that his mental capacity was developed, his manners improved, and that the raw sacerdotal peasant was converted into the man of thought, study, and talent--occasionally into a gentleman. In his own vicinity, when isolated from European residents, he was practically the representative of the Government and of the white race as well as of social order. His theological knowledge was brought to bear upon the most mundane subjects. His thoughts necessarily expanded as the exclusiveness of his religious vocation yielded to the realization of a social position and political importance of which he had never entertained an idea in his native country.

So large was the party opposed to the continuance of priestly influence in the Colony that a six-months' resident would not fail to hear of the many misdeeds with which the friars in general were reproached. It would be contrary to fact to pretend that the bulk of them supported their teaching by personal example. I was acquainted with a great number of the friars, and their offspring too, in spite of their vow of chastity; whilst many lived in comparative luxury, notwithstanding their vow of poverty.

There was the late parish priest of Malolos, whose son, my friend, was a prominent lawyer. Father S----, of Bugason, had a whole family living in his parish. An Archbishop who held the See in my time had a daughter frequently seen on the Paseo de Santa Lucia; and in July, 1904, two of his daughters lived in Calle Quiotan, Santa Cruz, Manila, and two others, by a different mother, in the town of O----. The late parish priest of Lipa, Father B----, whom I knew, had a son whom I saw in 1893. The late incumbent of Santa Cruz, Father M---- L----, induced his spiritual flock to petition against his being made prior of his Order in Manila so that he should not have to leave his women. The late parish priest (friar) of Baliuag (Bulacan) had three daughters and two sons. I was intimately acquainted with the latter; one was a doctor of medicine and the other a planter, and they bore the surname of Gonzalez. At Cadiz Nuevo (Negros Is.) I once danced with the daughter of a friar (parish priest of a neighbouring village), whilst he took another girl as his partner. I was closely acquainted, and resided more than once, with a very mixed-up family in the south of Negros Island. My host was the son of a secular clergyman, his wife and sister-in-law were the daughters of a friar, this sister-in-law was the mistress of a friar, my host had a son who was married to another friar's daughter, and a daughter who was the wife of a foreigner. In short, bastards of the friars are to be found everywhere in the Islands. Regarding this merely as the natural outcome of the celibate rule, I do not criticize it, but simply wish to show that the pretended sanctity of the regular clergy in the Philippines was an absurdity, and that the monks were in no degree less frail than mankind in common.

The mysterious deaths of General Solano (August 1860) and of Zamora, the Bishop-elect of Cebu (1873), occurred so opportunely for Philippine monastic ambition that little doubt existed in the public mind as to who were the real criminals. When I first arrived in Manila, a quarter of a century ago, a fearful crime was still being commented on. Father Piernavieja, formerly parish priest of San Miguel de Mayumo, had recently committed a second murder. His first victim was a native youth, his second a native woman enceinte. The public voice could not be raised very loudly then against the priests, but the scandal was so great that the criminal friar was sent to another province--Cavite--where he still celebrated the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist. Nearly two decades afterwards--in January 1897--this rascal met with a terrible death at the hands of the rebels. He was in captivity, and having been appointed "Bishop" in a rebel diocese, to save his life he accepted the mock dignity; but, unfortunately for himself, he betrayed the confidence of his captors, and collected information concerning their movements, plans, and strongholds for remittance to his Order. In expiation of his treason he was bound to a post under the tropical sun and left there to die. See how the public in Spain are gulled! In a Malaga newspaper this individual was referred to as a "venerable figure, worthy of being placed high up on an altar, before which all Spaniards should prostrate themselves and adore him. As a religieux he was a most worthy minister of the Lord; as a patriot he was a hero."

Within my recollection, too, a friar absconded from a Luzon Island parish with a large sum of parochial funds, and was never heard of again. The late parish priests of Mandaloyan and Iba did the same.

I well remember another interesting character of the monastic Orders. He had been parish priest in a Zambales province town, but intrigues with a soi-disant cousine brought him under ecclesiastical arrest at the convent of his Order in Manila. Thence he escaped, and came over to Hong-Kong, where I made his acquaintance in 1890. He told me he had started life in an honest way as a shoemaker's boy, but was taken away from his trade to be placed in the seminary. His mind seemed to be a blank on any branch of study beyond shoemaking and Church ritual. He pretended that he had come over to Hong-Kong to seek work, but in reality he was awaiting his cousine, whom he rejoined on the way to Europe, where, I heard, he became a garcon de cafe in France.

In 1893 there was another great public scandal, when the friars were openly accused of having printed the seditious proclamations whose authorship they attributed to the natives. The plan of the friars was to start the idea of an intended revolt, in order that they might be the first in the field to quell it, and thus be able to again proclaim to the Home Government the absolute necessity of their continuance in the Islands for the security of Spanish sovereignty. But the plot was discovered; the actual printer, a friar, mysteriously disappeared, and the courageous Gov.-General Despujols, Conde de Caspe, was, through monastic influence, recalled. He was very popular, and the public manifestation of regret at his departure from the Islands was practically a protest against the Religious Orders.

In June, 1888, some cases of personal effects belonging to a friar were consigned to the care of an intimate friend of mine, whose guest I was at the time. They had become soaked with sea-water before he received them, and a neighbouring priest requested him to open the packages and do what he could to save the contents. I assisted my friend in this task, and amongst the friar's personal effects we were surprised to find, intermixed with prayer-books, scapularies, missals, prints of saints, etc., about a dozen most disgustingly obscene double-picture slides for a stereoscope. What an entertainment for a guide in morals! This same friar had held a vicarage before in another province, but having become an habitual drunkard, he was removed to Manila, and there appointed a confessor. From Manila he had just been again sent to take charge of the cure of souls.

I knew a money-grabbing parish priest--a friar--who publicly announced raffles from the pulpit of the church from which he preached morality and devotion. On one occasion a 200-peso watch was put up for P500--at another time he raffled dresses for the women. Under the pretext of being a pious institution, he established a society of women, called the Association of St. Joseph (Confradia de San Jose), upon whom he imposed the very secular duties of domestic service in the convent and raffle-ticket hawking. He had the audacity to dictate to a friend of mine--a planter--the value of the gifts he was to make to him, and when the planter was at length wearied of his importunities, he conspired with a Spaniard to deprive my friend of his estate, alleging that he was not the real owner. Failing in this, he stirred up the petty-governor and headmen against him. The petty-governor was urged to litigation, and when he received an unfavourable sentence, the priest, enraged at the abortive result of his malicious intrigues, actually left his vicarage to accompany his litigious protege to the chief judge of the province in quest of a reversion of the sentence.

A priest of evil propensities brought only misery to his parish and aroused a feeling of odium against the Spanish friars in general. As incumbents they held the native in contempt. He who should be the parishioner was treated despotically as the subject whose life, liberty, property, and civil rights were in his sacerdotal lord's power. And that power was not unfrequently exercised, for if a native refused to yield to his demands, or did not contribute with sufficient liberality to a religious feast, or failed to come to Mass, or protected the virtue of his daughter, or neglected the genuflexion and kissing of hands, or was out of the priest's party in the municipal affairs of the parish, or in any other trivial way became a persona non grata at the "convent," he and his family would become the pastor's sheep marked for sacrifice. As Government agent it was within his arbitrary power to attach his signature to or withhold it from any municipal document. From time to time he could give full vent to his animosity by secretly denouncing to the civil authorities as "inconvenient in the town" all those whom he wished to get rid of. He had simply to send an official advice to the Governor of the province, who forwarded it to the Gov.-General, stating that he had reason to believe that the persons mentioned in the margin were disloyal, immoral, or whatever it might be, and recommend their removal from the neighbourhood. A native so named suddenly found at his door a patrol of the Civil Guard, who escorted him, with his elbows tied together, from prison to prison, up to the capital town and thence to Manila. Finally, without trial or sentence, he was banished to some distant island of the Archipelago. He might one day return to find his family ruined, or he might as often spend his last days in misery alone. Sometimes a native who had privately heard of his "denunciation" became a remontado, that is to say he fled to the mountains to lead a bandits life where the evils of a debased civilization could not reach him. Banishment in these circumstances was not a mere transportation to another place, but was attended with all the horrors of a cruel captivity, of which I have been an eye-witness. From the foregoing it may be readily understood how the conduct of the regular clergy was the primary cause of the Rebellion of 1896; it was not the monks' immorality which disturbed the mind of the native, but their Caesarism which raised his ire. The ground of discord was always infinitely more material than sentimental. Among the friars, however, there were many exceptional men of charming manners and eminent virtue. If little was done to coerce the bulk of the friars to live up to the standard of these exceptions, it was said to be because the general interests of Mother Church were opposed to investigation and admonition, for fear of the consequent scandal destructive of her prestige.

The Hierarchy of the Philippines consists of one Archbishop in Manila, and four Suffragan Bishoprics, respectively of Nueva Segovia, Cebu, Jaro, and Nueva Caceres. [90] The provincials, the vicars-general, and other officers of the Religious Orders were elected by the Chapters and held office for four years. The first Bishop of Manila took possession in 1581, and the first Archbishop in 1598.

The Jesuits came to these Islands in 1581, and were expelled therefrom in 1770 by virtue of an Apostolic Brief [91] of Pope Clement XIV., but were permitted to return in 1859, on the understanding that they would confine their labours to scholastic education and the establishment of missions amongst uncivilized tribes. Consequently, in Manila they refounded their school--the Municipal Athenaeum--a mission house, and a Meteorological Observatory, whilst in many parts of Mindanao Island they have established missions, with the vain hope of converting Mahometans to Christianity. [92] The Jesuits, compared with the members of the other Orders, are very superior men, and their fraternity includes a few, and almost the only, learned ecclesiastics who came to the Colony. Since their return to the Islands (1859) in the midst of the strife with the Religious Orders, the people recognized the Jesuits as disinterested benefactors of the country.

Several Chinese have been admitted to holy orders, two of them having become Austin Friars. [93] The first native friars date their admission from the year 1700, since when there have been sixteen of the Order of St. Augustine. Subsequently they were excluded from the confraternities, and only admitted to holy orders as vicars, curates to assist parish vicars, chaplains, and in other minor offices. Up to the year 1872 native priests were appointed to benefices, but in consequence of their alleged implication in the Cavite Conspiracy of that year, their church livings, as they became vacant, were given to Spanish friars, whose headquarters were established in Manila.

The Austin Friars were the religious pioneers in these Islands; they came to Cebu in 1565 and to Manila in 1571; then followed the Franciscans in 1577; the Dominicans in 1587, a member of this Order having been ordained first Bishop of Manila, where he arrived in 1581. The Recoletos (unshod Augustinians), a branch of the Saint Augustine Order, came to the Islands in 1606; the Capuchins--the lowest type of European monk in the Far East, came to Manila in 1886, and were sent to the Caroline Islands (vide p. 45). The Paulists, of the Order of Saint Vincent de Paul, were employed in scholastic work in Nueva Caceres, Jaro, and Cebu, the same as the Jesuits were in Manila. The Benedictines came to the Islands in 1895. Only the members of the first four Orders above named were parish priests, and each (except the Franciscans) possessed agricultural land; hence the animosity of the natives was directed against these four confraternities only, and not against the others, who neither monopolized incumbencies, nor held rural property, but were simply teachers, or missionaries, whose worldly interests in no way clashed with those of the people. Therefore, whenever there was a popular outcry against "the friars," it was understood to refer solely to the Austins, the Franciscans, the Dominicans and the Recoletos. [94] There was no Spanish secular clergy in the Islands, except three or four military chaplains.

The Church was financially supported by the State to the extent of about three-quarters of a million pesos per annum.

The following are some of the most interesting items taken from "The Budget for 1888," viz.:--

Sanctorum or Church tax of 18 3/4 cents (i.e., 1 1/2 reales) on each Cedula personal, say on 2,760,613 Cedulas in 1888, less 4 per cent, cost of collection P496,910.00

The friars appointed to incumbencies received in former times tithes from the Spaniards, and a Church tax from the natives computed by the amount of tribute paid. Tithe payment (diezmos prediales) by the Spaniards became almost obsolete, and the Sanctorum tax on Cedulas was paid to the Church through the Treasury (vide p. 55).

There were priests in missions and newly-formed parishes where the domiciled inhabitants were so few that the Sanctorum tax on the aggregate of the Cedulas was insufficient for their support. These missionaries were allowed salaries, and parish priests were permitted to appropriate from their revenues, as annual stipend, amounts ranging from 500 to 800 pesos, as a rule, with a few exceptions (such as Binondo parish and others), rated at 1,200 pesos, whilst one, at least (the parish priest, or missionary of Vergara, Davao Province), received 2,200 pesos a year. In practice, however, a great many parish priests spent far more than their allotted stipends.

A project was under consideration to value the incumbencies, and classify them, like the Courts of Justice (vide p. 234), with the view of apportioning to each a fixed income payable by the Treasury in lieu of accounting to the Church for the exact amount of the Sanctorum.

By decree of Gov.-General Terrero, dated November 23,1885, the State furnished free labour (by natives who did not pay poll-tax) for Church architectural works, provided it was made clear that the cost of such labour could not be covered by the surplus funds of the Sanctorum. The chief items of Church expenditure were as follows, viz.:--

State outlay for Church. P. cts.

Archbishop's salary 12,000 00 Other salaries (Cathedral) 40,300 00 Other expenses (Cathedral) 3,000 00 Four Bishops, each with a salary of P6,000 24,000 00 Court of Arches (amount contributed by the State [95]) 5,000 00 Chaplain of Los Banos 120 00 Sulu Mission 1,000 00 Mission House in Manila for Capuchin friars 1,700 00 12 Capuchins (State paid) for the Caroline and Pelew Islands--6 at P300 and 6 at P500 each per annum 4,800 00 Transport of Missionaries estimated at about, per annum 10,000 00 The anticipated total State outlay for the support of the Church, Missions, Monasteries, Convents, etc., including the above and all other items for the financial year of 1888 was P724,634 50

Moreover, the religious Corporations possessed large private revenues. The Dominicans' investments in Hong-Kong, derived from capitalized income, are still considerable. The Austin, Recoleto, and Dominican friars held very valuable real estate in the provinces, which was rented to the native agriculturists on conditions which the tenants considered onerous. The native planters were discontented with the treatment they received from these landowners, and their numerous complaints formed part of the general outcry against the regular clergy. The bailiffs of these corporation lands were unordained brothers of the Order. They resided in the Estate Houses, and by courtesy were styled "fathers" by the natives. They were under certain religious vows, but not being entitled to say Mass, they were termed "legos," or ignorant men, by their own Order.

The clergy also derived a very large portion of their incomes from commissions on the sale of cedulas, sales of Papal Bulls, masses, pictures, books, chaplets and indulgences, marriage, burial and baptismal fees, benedictions, donations touted for after the crops were raised, legacies to be paid for in masses, remains of wax candles left in the church by the faithful, fees for getting souls out of purgatory, alms, etc. The surplus revenues over and above parochial requirements were supposed to augment the common Church funds in Manila. The Corporations were consequently immensely wealthy, and their power and influence were in consonance with that wealth.

Each Order had its procurator in Madrid, who took up the cudgels in defence of his Corporation's interest in the Philippines whenever this was menaced. On the other hand, the Church, as a body politic, dispensed no charity, but received all. It was always begging; always above civil laws and taxes; claimed immunity, proclaimed poverty, and inculcated in others charity to itself.

Most of the parish priests--Spanish or native--were very hospitable to travellers, and treated them with great kindness. Amongst them there were some few misanthropes and churlish characters who did not care to be troubled by anything outside the region of their vocation, but on the whole I found them remarkably complaisant.

In Spain there were training colleges of the three Communities, in Valladolid, Ocana, and Monte Agudo respectively, for young novices intended to be sent to the Philippines, the last Spanish Colony where friars held vicarages.

The ecclesiastical archives of the Philippines abound with proofs of the bitter and tenacious strife sustained, not only between the civil and Church authorities, but even amongst the religious communities themselves. Each Order was so intensely jealous of the others, that one is almost led to ponder whether the final goal of all could have been identical. All voluntarily faced death with the same incentive, whilst amicable fellowship in this world seemed an impossibility. The first Bishop (vide p. 56) struggled in vain to create a religious monopoly in the Philippines for the exclusive benefit of the Augustine Order. It has been shown how ardent was the hatred which the Jesuits and the other Religious Orders mutually entertained for each other. Each sacred fraternity laboured incessantly to gain the ascendancy in the conquered territories, and their Divine calling served for nothing in palliating the acrimony of their reciprocal accusations and recriminations, which often involved the civil power.

For want of space I can only refer to a few of these disputes.

The Austin friars attributed to the Jesuits the troubles with the Mahometans of Mindanao and Sulu, and, in their turn, the Jesuits protested against what they conceived to be the bad policy of the Government, adopted under the influence of the other Orders in Manila. So distinct were their interests that the Augustine chroniclers refer to the other Orders as different religions.

In 1778 the Province of Pangasinan was spiritually administered by the Dominicans, whilst that of Zambales was allotted to the Recoletos. The Dominicans, therefore, proposed to the Recoletos to cede Zambales to them, because it was repugnant to have to pass through Recoleto territory going from Manila to their own province! The Recoletos were offered Mindoro Island in exchange, which they refused, until the Archbishop compelled them to yield. Disturbances then arose in Zambales, the responsibility of which was thrown on the Dominicans by their rival Order, and the Recoletos finally succeeded in regaining their old province by intrigue.

During the Governorship of Martin de Urena, Count de Lizarraga (1709-15), the Aragonese and Castilian priests quarrelled about the ecclesiastical preferments.

At the beginning of the 18th century the Bishop-elect of Cebu, Fray Pedro Saez de la Vega Lanzaverde, refused to take possession because the nomination was in partibus. He objected also that the Bishopric was merely one in perspective and not yet a reality. The See remained vacant whilst the contumacious priest lived in Mexico. Fray Sebastian de Jorronda was subsequently appointed to administer the Bishopric, but also refused, until he was coerced into submission by the Supreme Court (1718).

In 1767 the Austin friars refused to admit the episcopal visits, and exhibited such a spirit of independence that Pope Benedict XIV. was constrained to issue a Bull to exhort them to obey, admonishing them for their insubordination.

The friars of late years were subject to a visiting priest--the Provincial--in all matters de vita et moribus, to the Bishop of the diocese in all affairs of spiritual dispensation, and to the Gov.-General as vice-royal patron in all that concerned the relations of the Church to the Civil Government. [96]

An observant traveller, unacquainted with the historical antecedents of the friars in the Philippines, could not fail to be impressed by the estrangement of religious men, whose sacred mission, if genuine, ought to have formed an inseverable bond of alliance and goodfellowship.