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30 chapters
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
The Philippine Islands are but imperfectly known. Though my visit was a short one, I enjoyed many advantages, from immediate and constant intercourse with the various authorities and the most friendly reception by the natives of every class. The information I sought was invariably communicated with courtesy and readiness; and by this publication something will, I hope, be contributed to the store of useful knowledge. The mighty “tide of tendency” is giving more and more importance to the Orienta
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A VISIT TO THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. CHAPTER I. MANILA AND NEIGHBOURHOOD.
A VISIT TO THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. CHAPTER I. MANILA AND NEIGHBOURHOOD.
Sir Michael Seymour placed her Majesty’s ship Magicienne at my disposal. The selection was in all respects admirable. Nothing that foresight could suggest or care provide was wanting to my comfort, and I owe a great deal to Captain Vansittart, whose urbanities and attentions were followed up by all his officers and men. We left Hong Kong on the 29th of November, 1858. The China seas are, perhaps, the most tempestuous in the world, and the voyage to Manila is frequently a very disagreeable one. S
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CHAPTER II. VISIT TO LA LAGUNA AND TAYABAS.
CHAPTER II. VISIT TO LA LAGUNA AND TAYABAS.
Santa Cruz has a population of about 10,000 souls. Many of its inhabitants are said to be opulent. The church is handsome; the roads in the neighbourhood broad and in good repair. There is much game in the adjacent forests, but there is not much devotion to the chase. Almost every variety of tropical produce grows in the vicinity. Wild honey is collected by the natives of the interior, and stuffs of cotton and abacá are woven for domestic use. The house to which we were invited was well furnishe
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CHAPTER III. HISTORY.
CHAPTER III. HISTORY.
A strange event took place in 1630. The holy sacrament had been stolen in a glass vase, from the cathedral. A general supplication ( rogativa ) was ordered; the archbishop issued from his palace barefooted, his head covered with ashes, and a rope round his neck, wandering about to discover where the vase was concealed. All attempts having failed, so heavy were the penitences, and so intolerable the grief of the holy man, that he sank under the calamity, and a fierce contest between the ecclesias
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CHAPTER IV. GEOGRAPHY—CLIMATE, ETC.
CHAPTER IV. GEOGRAPHY—CLIMATE, ETC.
The climate of the Philippines is little distinguished from that which characterizes many other tropical regions of the East . It is described in a Spanish proverb as— Seis meses de polvo, Seis meses de lodo, Seis meses de todo. “Six months of dust, six months of mud, six months of everything;”—though it may generally be stated that the rainy season lasts one half, and the dry season the other half of the year. There are, however, as the distich says, many months of uncertainty, in which humidit
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CHAPTER V. GOVERNMENT—ADMINISTRATION, ETC.
CHAPTER V. GOVERNMENT—ADMINISTRATION, ETC.
In ancient times there is little doubt that the office was hereditary; and there are yet localities where the hereditary right is maintained; but it is generally elective: and when a vacancy occurs, the gobernadorcillo in council, with the other cabezas, presents a name for the approval of the superior authority, and the same steps are taken when the increase of population requires a new cabeza to be nominated. The cabezas, their wives and first-born, who are required to assist in the collection
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CHAPTER VI. POPULATION.
CHAPTER VI. POPULATION.
From seeming evil still educing good , And BETTER thence again, and BETTER still, In infinite progression;— that the human family, taken as a whole, is constantly improving;—that every generation is wiser and better than that which preceded it;—that the savage and least improvable races will continue to be supplanted or absorbed by those of a higher intelligence;—that the semi-civilized will only be perpetuated by contact with a greater civilization, which will raise them in the scale of humanit
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CHAPTER VII. MANNERS AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE PEOPLE.
CHAPTER VII. MANNERS AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE PEOPLE.
The beds of the Indians are merely mats on which the whole family repose indiscriminately. Here they smoke their cigars, chew their betel, and fall asleep. The domestic utensils are “a mortar for grinding rice, bamboos for all purposes, cup and spoons of the cocoa-nut shell, pots and kettles, a knife called a goloc , a bench against the wall, a stool which serves for a table, a Chinese basin for oil, a clay lamp, some cotton wicks, torches of the resin-cane, an image of the Virgin, a crucifix, m
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CHAPTER VIII. POPULATION—RACES.
CHAPTER VIII. POPULATION—RACES.
There are many speculations as to the origin of the darker, or black races, who now occupy the northern and central mountainous and little visited regions, and from whom one of the islands, Negros , takes its name. They principally dwell in the wilder part of the provinces of Ilocos South, Pangasinan, Cagayan, and Nueva Ecija. They are of small stature, have somewhat flattened noses, curled hair, are agile, have no other dress than a covering of bark over their genitals, are dexterous hunters, h
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CHAPTER IX. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.
CHAPTER IX. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.
Games of chance ( juegos de azar ) are strictly prohibited in the Philippines, but the prohibition is utterly inefficient; and, as I have mentioned before, the Manila papers are crowded with lists of persons fined or imprisoned for violation of the law; sometimes forty or fifty are cited in a single newspaper. More than one captain-general has informed me that the severity of the penalty has not checked the universality of the offence, connived at and participated in by both ecclesiastics and ci
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CHAPTER X. ARMY AND NAVY.
CHAPTER X. ARMY AND NAVY.
Public instruction is in an unsatisfactory state in the Philippines—the provisions are little changed from those of the monkish ages. In the University of St. Thomas there are about a thousand students. The professorships are of theology, the canon and civil law, metaphysics and grammar; but no attention is given to the natural sciences, to the modern languages, nor have any of the educational reforms which have penetrated most of the colleges of Europe and America found their way to the Philipp
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CHAPTER XI. PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
CHAPTER XI. PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
The beaterio of Pasig is solely devoted to the reception of Indian orphans, and its founder required that they should be taught “Christian doctrine, sewing, reading, writing, embroidery, and other instruction becoming the sex.” There are many charitable institutions in Manila. The Jesuits, afterwards expelled from the Philippines by Carlos II., founded several of the most important. The Hospital of San Juan de Dios has 112 beds; that of San José de Cavite 250, of which 104 are for soldiers, and
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CHAPTER XII. ECCLESIASTICAL AUTHORITY.
CHAPTER XII. ECCLESIASTICAL AUTHORITY.
These religious ceremonials, so dear to, and so characteristic of, the Filipinos, are called Pentacasi . Everybody seems to take a part, whether within or without doors. All invite or are invited, and busy hands are engaged in making sweetmeats, preparing meats, or adorning apartments (with furniture borrowed from all sides, a favour to be reciprocated in turn), musicians are collected, strangers are sought for, and universal bustle pervades the locality. “On the eve preceding the festival,” say
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CHAPTER XIII. LANGUAGES.
CHAPTER XIII. LANGUAGES.
Bisayan. The following table of numerals (extracted from De Mas) will show the affinities between several of the idioms of the Philippines with one another, and with the Malay language:— A vocabulary of the Tagal was printed in 1613 by Padre San Buenaventura; and a folio Vocabulario by Fr. Domingo de los Santos, in Sampaloc (Manila), 1794. This vocabulary consists of nearly 11,000 terms, the same word conveying so many meanings that the actual number of Tagal words can scarcely exceed 3,500. The
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CHAPTER XIV. NATIVE PRODUCE.
CHAPTER XIV. NATIVE PRODUCE.
Indigo will render, according to De Mas, 100 per cent. Coffee, on the same authority, will double its capital in four years. Cocoa returns 90 per cent. Attempts to introduce mulberry cultivation for silk have had little success, though the specimens sent to Europe have obtained prizes for their excellent quality. The worms require a more continuous attention than the Indians are willing to give, and the same may be said of those spices, nutmegs, cinnamon, and any produce which demands unremittin
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CHAPTER XV. VEGETABLES.
CHAPTER XV. VEGETABLES.
Cheroots (cigars) are manufactured in two forms,—that of the Havana, the smaller end being twisted to a point,—or cut at both ends, the usual Manila form. They are of sundry qualities, as follows:—Largest size, 125 to a box—1st Regalias, 1st Caballeros and Londres; second size, 250 to a box—2nd Regalias and 1st Cortados, 2nd Caballeros, 1st Havanas (ordinary size, and such as are more commonly used, Nos. 2 and 3 being those in most demand); 500 to a box—Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5 Havanas, 2 and 3 Corta
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CHAPTER XVI. ANIMALS.
CHAPTER XVI. ANIMALS.
Snakes, lizards and other reptiles abound; spiders of enormous size, tarantulas, &c. The guiko is very disturbing, from its noise. I was struck with the tenacity with which this creature held, even in the agonies of death, to a piece of timber on which it was placed; the soles of its feet seemed to have all the power of the sucker with which boys amuse themselves, and the animal was detached with great difficulty. The fire-flies illuminate the forests at night. There are some trees to wh
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CHAPTER XVII. MINERALS.
CHAPTER XVII. MINERALS.
The Indians in Ilocos and Pangasinan manufacture their own domestic utensils from the copper extracted by themselves. Finely variegated marbles exist in the province of Bataan, and some have been used for ornamenting the churches; but their existence has excited little attention, and no sale was found for some large blocks quarried by a patriotic adventurer. I have before mentioned that there are many mineral waters in the island—sulphurous and ferruginous—at Antipolo. In the Laguna there is a v
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CHAPTER XVIII. MANUFACTURES.
CHAPTER XVIII. MANUFACTURES.
The following collection of proverbs will be found curious and characteristic. They will serve to throw light upon the genius of the people, and are appropriate specimens of the Tagal idiom:— Ang mañga casalanan ang nacasisira sa calolova. —Sins are the diseases of the soul. Valan di dungmating na dalita t’ saguit cay Job ay dili y saman nagogolorhianan ang coniyang loob. —Job had many troubles, but they did not affect the inner man. Catotohin mo ang catatoro co. —Make thyself a friend of my fri
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CHAPTER XIX. POPULAR PROVERBS.
CHAPTER XIX. POPULAR PROVERBS.
At cun ano caya ang pinagpipilitanan. —They dispute about what their dispute shall be (are determined to quarrel). Masamang cahuy ang dinamomoñga. —Bad tree produces no fruit. Maminsanminsan ay susulat ca at maminsanminsa y babata ca nang sulat. —Write now and then, read now and then. Nang anoman at maca tomama sa olo ninyo. —Don’t fling up a stone, it may fall on your own head. Paombaychan ca at napapagal ca. —Sing a lullaby at your wedding. Houag mo acong pangalatacan at dili aco hayop. —Don’t
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EXPORTS FROM MANILA FOR 1858. (Continued.)
EXPORTS FROM MANILA FOR 1858. (Continued.)
In the year 1855, Don Sinibaldo de Mas, having been charged with an official mission of inquiry into the state of these islands, published an article on the revenues of the Philippines, addressed to the finance minister of Spain. 1 He begins his report by contrasting the population and commerce of Cuba with that of the Philippines; stating that Cuba, with less than a million of inhabitants, has a trade of 27,500,000 dollars, while the Philippines, which he says contained, in 1850, 4,000,000 of p
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CHAPTER XXI. FINANCE, TAXATION, ETC.
CHAPTER XXI. FINANCE, TAXATION, ETC.
I have also come to the conclusion that the monopolies, which give a gross revenue to the treasury of more than 7,000,000 dollars, are, independently of their vicious and retardatory action upon the public weal, far less productive than taxation upon the same articles might be made by their emancipation from the bonds of monopoly. I leave here out of sight the enormous amount of fraud and crime, and the pernicious effects upon the public morals of a universal toleration of smuggling, as well as
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CHAPTER XXII. TAXES.
CHAPTER XXII. TAXES.
The Chinese have been particularly selected to be the victims of the tax-gatherer, and, considering the general lightness of taxation, and that the Chinese had been invited to the Philippines with every assurance of protection, and as a most important element for the development of the resources of the country, the decree of 1828 will appear tolerably exacting. It divides Chinese settlers into three classes:— Not consenting to this, and if unmarried, they might quit the country in six months, or
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CHAPTER XXIII. OPENING THE NEW PORTS OF ILOILO, SUAL AND ZAMBOANGA.
CHAPTER XXIII. OPENING THE NEW PORTS OF ILOILO, SUAL AND ZAMBOANGA.
The statistics of the island of Panay for 1857 give to the province of Iloilo 527,970; to that of Capiz, 143,713; and to that of Antique, 77,639; making in all 749,322, or nearly three-quarters of a million of inhabitants. The low lands of Capiz are subject to frequent inundations. It has a fine river, whose navigation is interfered with by a sandbank at its mouth. The province is productive, and gives two crops of rice in the year. The harbours of Batan and of Capiz (the cabacera) are safe for
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CHAPTER XXIV. ZAMBOANGA.
CHAPTER XXIV. ZAMBOANGA.
Zamboanga is not likely to become a port of much importance unless it is wholly emancipated from fiscal restrictions. The introduction of the custom-house has driven away the whalers that formerly visited the harbours; there is little capital, and the trading establishments are on a very small scale. The roads in the immediate neighbourhood are in very tolerable order; the villages have the general character of Indian pueblos; the country is rich in all the varieties of tropical vegetation; but
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Comparative Cost.
Comparative Cost.
“The island of Panay, of which Iloilo is the chief port, is divided into the three provinces of Iloilo, Capiz, and Antique, which contain respectively 527,970, 143,713, and 77,639 inhabitants, or a total of 749,322, according to the official returns of 1858. “British Vice-Consulate for Panay, “ Iloilo, 2nd May, 1859. “ N. Loney. ” Notwithstanding the favourable prospects for commerce at Iloilo, little or nothing has been done for the improvement of the port or for facilitating the extension of i
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CHAPTER XXVI. SUAL.
CHAPTER XXVI. SUAL.
Meaning, that having started at eight o’clock from San Isidro, the despatch was delivered at eleven o’clock to the alcalde. Carriages having been provided for our conveyance to the seat of government (Lingayen), we started at early day for the convent at San Isidro, which is on the left bank of the Agno, a fine river, affording great facilities for navigation, and presenting charming points of scenery on its banks, with the beauties of which we amused ourselves until preparations for a processio
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III.
III.
To know is to remember thee; And yet in grief I rove, Because thou wilt not fathom me, Nor feel how much I love. All traitors are the stars on high— For broken hopes I grieve: I cannot live—I fain would die; ’Tis misery to live. Sweet bird! yet flutter o’er my way, And chant thy victim’s doom; Be thine, be thine the funeral lay That consecrates my tomb....
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III.
III.
Sweet bird! yet flutter o’er my way, And chant thy victim’s doom; Be thine, be thine the funeral lay That consecrates my tomb. Preparing for Publication , In Two Volumes, 8vo, A WORK ON CHINA, BY SIR JOHN BOWRING, LL.D., F.R.S., Late Governor of Hong Kong, H.B.M.’s Plenipotentiary in China, etc. etc. ————————— LONDON: SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL. LONDON: PRINTED BY SMITH, ELDER, AND CO., LITTLE GREEN ARBOUR COURT, OLD BAILEY, E.C....
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Corrections
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