I believe that all that I have observed is enough and more than enough to show that the actual system of administration suffers from capital defects, and to assert that, in my opinion, the organization of a government is peremptory, which besides being a check on despotism and a barrier to ambition, by means of correction and reform through itself, contains the elements of unity, concord, prudence, rectitude, power, and duration. Here follows for what it may be worth, a plan circumscribed on fundamental bases.31[Mas’s plan provides for a regency or commission of three persons, one of whom shall be the president and exercise the powers of the governor-general. A fourth member is to be elected as a substitute in case of death or illness, who, until called upon to fill any vacancy, shall travel through the provinces and study the conditions of the country. All matters of importance, especially money matters must be decided at a meeting of the regency, and appear by an act signed by all three. The president shall communicate and sign all orders, and all official communications must be sent to him. The two secretaries, political and military, shall receive orders only from the president, and shall attend the meetings of the regency without vote. The president alone shall decide questions of detail and procedure and execution, in accordance with the regulations, always expressingwhether any measure has been voted on or not. The secretary shall send concise daily reports of all communications signed during the day by the president, noting after each one whether it was with or without the vote of the regency. Thus the other two regents having it in their power to call for the rough draft of any measure, can easily tell whether the president has overstepped his executory powers and encroached on the powers of the entire regency. This provision will obviate any such tendency on the president’s part, and will remove the jealousy of his two associates. The plan further provides for a commander-in-chief of all the army; a commander of the navy; a superintendent of the treasury; a court of justice; and a Council of State, to be composed of the officials above mentioned, together with the chiefs of artillery and fortification, the contador-mayor of accounts, the contadors of the army and treasury, the archbishop of Manila, and the provincials of the religious orders. The Council which has no power to assemble of its own accord, shall be assembled to consult on serious matters by the regency. At the death of the president, the senior regent shall assume his office, the substitute shall take a regular seat in the regency, and the Council shall appoint a new substitute to act provisionally until the court make a regular appointment, which shall never be the provisional appointment of the Council. The deliberations of the Council shall be secret and the regents shall only state the matters for discussion and then retire. The Council may be assembled at the request of the regents acting either singly or in accord. In impeachments of the president, if the impeachment is sustained, the senior regent shall takehis place; if it is not sustained, the Council shall retire, but may be assembled any number of times for the same matter. There is a clause against lobbying in the Council to influence the votes of the members. In case of two summons at the same time, the Council shall obey the one emanating from the president or senior regent first.]The members of the regency shall be jurisconsults, owners of estates, or military men, and the regularly-appointed president shall always be a grandee of España. It is highly important that, at that distance, the first chief impose some personal respect, and that even his very lineage make him appear superior to all the others.[The dissension manifest in Basco’s term as governor was due to his low rank, as he was only a captain of fragata when he went to the islands as governor, a fact that gave rise to envy. He was an excellent governor, but the ministry that supported him did not know the sentiments that move the human heart. Governor Lardizabal also was of lower rank than some who served in subordinate positions in the islands. It would be better to appoint a grandee to the post of governor; for, having his estates in Spain, he would be more loyal. A grandee also could better support the prestige of the government than a poor soldier or man of no rank, as he would be more accustomed to the duties of that life. A soldier generally desires to make money, and will neglect his real duties. As a rule there are no battles to be fought, while there are many duties of an administrational and industrial character. The governor must have tact with the natives, and look carefully after foreign, commercial, and industrial relations, and theprogress of the islands. It would be highly advisable to choose such a man when General Alcala is relieved.][For the government of the provinces, advocates shall be appointed from Spain, and they shall remain no longer than twenty years in the islands. There shall be three classes of provincial governments with distinct salaries. In addition to the requisite number of provincial governors there shall be six or eight substitutes in case of vacancies. These shall receive a salary of fifty pesos per month, so long as they are not called upon to fill a vacancy, and shall meanwhile do the bidding of the regency. A vacancy in the governments of the first class shall be filled by the regency from the governors of the second and third classes; and one in the third class from the substitutes. Governors may be transferred at will by the regency, and the relative importance of the various provinces may also vary.]The provincial governors shall be as now political chiefs, judges of first instance, subdelegates of the treasury for the receiving of the direct incomes, managers of the mails, and war captains. This centralization has many advantages, a very chief one being the economic. The inconveniences which follow from it, will disappear when there is one supreme authority in the islands.The limits of the provincial courts shall be enlarged to include both civil and criminal cases. This will increase the power of the subordinate authorities, and decrease the troubles of the Audiencia. The party [in the suit] shall always have the recourse of appeal.The superior court of justice shall be composedof three persons, one of whom shall be the president. It shall try criminal, civil, and contentious matters as well as trade questions by appeal. Appeal may be had from its sentences to the regency, which shall appoint three advocates to judge the case. These latter shall become joint judges, and together with the three judges shall form the court of appeal. This court shall be presided over by one of the regents or by the substitute with a vote, the jurisconsult member being rightly preferred for this if there is one in the regency.[The fees of the court of appeal shall be larger than those of the Audiencia; and if the decision of the latter is found correct the penalty shall be increased; the death sentence, however, being abolished. A vacancy in the court of justice shall be filled provisionally by the regency, and regular appointment shall be made from Madrid, which must be otherwise than the provisional one made by the regency, unless such appointment be made before the action of the regents is known in Spain. This will tend to make the judiciary independent of the government.][In regard to the treasury employes a plan similar to that of the provincial governors shall be adopted. The custom of sending employes for any of the treasury posts from Madrid, many of whom are ignorant even of bookkeeping, means death to the hopes of those already in the islands, and breeds discontent.][This plan does not involve any extra expense. The president shall have a yearly salary of 12,000 pesos, in addition to the palace of Manila and the house atMalacañang; the two regents shall each receive 6,000 pesos and 1,000 pesos extra for a house;and the substitute 4,000 pesos—a total of 30,000 pesos.32Posts of rank in Manila have lately been increased, and now there are a lieutenant-general, a mariscal de campo, six brigadier-generals, and many colonels and commandants; and yet men of lower rank than all these have been appointed governor of the islands. There is no need of so many military titles. A brigadier-general, with 6,000 pesos’ pay acts as second commandant of the navy, which consists of but a few gunboats; and a sub-inspector of engineers has just arrived who has only two officers under him. Colonels can serve in place of brigadiers, and since they receive 2,000 pesos less, this will be a saving of at least 10,000 pesos. This added to the 7,000 pesos that can be saved from the affairs of justice being managed by three persons, who have no administrational duties, the 13,000 pesos saved from the present salary of the captain-general, and the 1,000 pesos given as a gratification to the commandant of the marine corps, will mean a total saving of 31,000 pesos.][Mas also proposes the establishment at Madrid of a ministry of the colonies,33through whom all thecommunications of the regency shall pass. It should have departments of government, war, navy, revenues, and justice. It can easily turn over to other ministries what primarily concerns them, and work in harmony with them. For instance it would not elect bishops, but would determine their number and salary.]Thus far I have given minute details on the three principles which, in my opinion, I said it was necessary to adopt as basic policies in order to conserve the Filipinas: namely, to avoid the increase of the white population; make of the colored population, a docile and well-inclined mass; and reform the present administration. I have still to add that I conceive it to be of the foremost interest to always have in that treasury a sufficient store of spare funds to at least cover the expenses of one year. [It will be impossible to realize loans in case of either internal or external war. The treasury has been continually exhausted for years, and has drawn on the obras pías. Notes have been drawn on the Manila treasury forover three million pesos, on which interest is being paid, and there is no hope of paying the principal.] Such a method of doing things, is, in my opinion, a political imprudence twice over—in the first place because the islands are left exposed to reverses from a faction or from a foreign enemy; in the second, because it causes certain murmurs among their inhabitants, and a discontent difficult to conceive of here, and which may precipitate their ruin.After having discussed the means of conserving the colony, supposing that this is always the intention of the government, let us consider the other extreme, taken in review, namely, to resolve to emancipate it and prepare it for giving it liberty.In order to attain this end, it becomes natural, as is necessary, to adopt a system diametrically opposed to the first. The chief object must be that it does not cause the shedding of blood, that the relations of friendship and of trade with España are not interrupted, that the European Spaniards living there do not lose their chattels or landed property, and, especially, that our race there, the Filipino-Spaniards, preserve their estates and their rights of naturalization, and free from the unfortunate fate that threatens them, and which is even inevitably expected for them, if the colony separates by force and at this moment. It is needful to encourage public instruction in all ways possible, permit newspapers subject to a liberal censure, to establish in Manila a college of medicine, surgery, and pharmacy: in order to break down the barriers that divide the races, and amalgamate them all into one. For that purpose, the Spaniards of the country, the Chinese mestizos, andthe Filipinos shall be admitted with perfect equality as cadets of the military corps; the personal-service tax shall be abolished, or an equal and general tax shall be imposed, to which all the Spaniards shall be subject. This last plan appears to me more advisable, as the poll-tax is already established, and it is not opportune to make a trial of new taxes when it is a question of allowing the country to be governed by itself. Since the annual tribute is unequal, the average shall be taken and shall be fixed, consequently, at fifteen or sixteen reals per whole tribute, or perhaps one peso fuerte annually from each adult tributary person. This regulation will produce an increase in the revenue of 200,000 or 300,000 pesos fuertes, and this sum shall be set aside to give the impulse for the amalgamation of the races, favoring crossed marriages by means of dowries granted to the single women in the following manner. To a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Filipino shall be given 100 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 100 pesos; to a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Spaniard, 1,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 2,000 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Spaniard, 2,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Filipino chief, 3,000 or 4,000 pesos. Some mestizo and Filipino alcaldes-mayor of the provinces shall be appointed. It shall be ordered that when a Filipino chief goes to the house of a Spaniard, he shall seat himself as the latter’s equal. In a word, by these and other means, the idea that they and the Castilians are two kinds of distinct races shall be erased from the minds of the natives, and the families shall become related by marriage in such manner thatwhen free of the Castilian dominion should any exalted Filipinos try to expel or enslave our race, they would find it so interlaced with their own that their plan would be practically impossible.After some years, when this population was sufficiently trimmed off, an assembly of deputies shall be formed from the people, in order that they may hold sessions in Manila for two or three months every year. In those sessions they shall discuss public affairs, especially those treating of taxes and budgets. Then after some time of such political education, our government may be withdrawn without fear, fixing before doing that the kind of government that is to be established—probably some constitutional form analogous to those of Europe, with a royal prince at its head chosen from among our infantes.My task is concluded. Which of the two plans, above analyzed, it is the most just or advisable to follow, does not concern me to recommend, much less propose.I will add, however, a page to express my opinion as an individual of the Spanish nation. If I had to choose I would vote for the last. I cannot see what benefits we have had from the colonies: depopulation, decadence in the arts, and the public debt, which come in great measure from them. The interest of a state consists, as I see it, in having a dense and well-educated population, and I do not speak only of literary or political education, but of that general education, which makes each one perfect in his trade, I mean in that education which constitutes a cabinet-maker, a weaver, a blacksmith, the best cabinet-maker, weaver, or blacksmith possible. The greateror less number of machines is, in our century, an almost sure thermometer by which to gage the power of empires.A colony cannot be useful except with the end of filling one of the following three objects: to make of it a tributary country, for the increase of the income of the mother-country (as Holland effects by means of a compulsory and exclusive system); to erect it into a second country, and a place of immigration of the surplus population (such as are especially Australia, Van Diemen’s land and New Zealand); finally to procure in it, a place wherein to expend the products of the national manufactures (as is the principal aim of the modern colonial establishments). For the first, we have already seen that the Filipinas are a poor resource, and will be for a long time; and I shall not wonder that before losing them, they will cost us, on the contrary, some millions. As for the second, they are not necessary, for we have no surplus population to unload. And for the third they are useless, for we ourselves have no manufactures to export. Barcelona, which has the most factories in the Peninsula, does not have the least direct communication with the islands. All that is taken there from Cadiz consists of a little paper, oil, and liquors. If it were not for the tobacco and the passengers who go and come, one or two vessels annually would be enough to take care of all the mercantile speculations between both countries. [Separation will not deprive Spain of a future rich market in the Philippines, as the case of the American colonies and England shows. Even if Spain should have a surplus population within a century, the Philippines will also have no lack of inhabitants, and it will benecessary for the Spaniards to emigrate to the Marianas. Mas is not concerned by the argument that separation would mean the loss of the Christian religion in the islands. To the argument that the islands might fall into the hands of the British, French, Dutch, or Chinese, he asks why Spain should become a knight errant for all unprotected peoples. Spaniards in the islands can always return to Spain. People assert that since Spain has spent over 300,000,000 pesos on the islands, it is but proper that that country be reimbursed; but although it has also spent much on the holy land, it never expects any return therefor. Let the Filipinos pay heavier taxes under their own government; why is that any concern? Even if ninety per cent of the population should desire to remain under Spain’s domination, that is no sign that there may not be a better condition.] In conclusion, if we are conserving the islands for love of the islanders, we are losing our time, and merit, for gratitude is sometimes met with in persons, but never can it be hoped for from peoples; and indeed through our love, why do we fall into an anomaly, such as combining our claim for liberty for ourselves, and our wish at the same time to impose our law on remote peoples? Why do we deny to others the benefit which we desire for our fatherland? By these principles of universal morality and justice, and because I am persuaded that in the midst of the political circumstances in which España is at present, the condition of that colony will be neglected; that none of the measures which I propose for its conservation (this is my conviction) will be adopted; and that it will emancipate itself violently with the loss of considerable property and many lives ofEuropean Spaniards and Filipinos: I think that it would be infinitely more easy, more useful, and more glorious for us to acquire the glory of the work by being the first to show generosity. Hence, the foreign authors who have unjustly printed so many calumnies against our colonial governments, authors belonging to nations who never satisfy their hunger for colonies, would have to say at least this once: “The Spaniards crossing new and remote seas, extended the domain of geography by discovering the Filipinas Islands. They found anarchy and despotism there, and established order and justice. They encountered slavery and destroyed it, and imposed political equality. They ruled their inhabitants with laws, and just laws. They christianized them, civilized them, defended them from the Chinese, from Moro pirates, and from European aggressors; they spent much gold on them, and then gave them liberty.”34
I believe that all that I have observed is enough and more than enough to show that the actual system of administration suffers from capital defects, and to assert that, in my opinion, the organization of a government is peremptory, which besides being a check on despotism and a barrier to ambition, by means of correction and reform through itself, contains the elements of unity, concord, prudence, rectitude, power, and duration. Here follows for what it may be worth, a plan circumscribed on fundamental bases.31[Mas’s plan provides for a regency or commission of three persons, one of whom shall be the president and exercise the powers of the governor-general. A fourth member is to be elected as a substitute in case of death or illness, who, until called upon to fill any vacancy, shall travel through the provinces and study the conditions of the country. All matters of importance, especially money matters must be decided at a meeting of the regency, and appear by an act signed by all three. The president shall communicate and sign all orders, and all official communications must be sent to him. The two secretaries, political and military, shall receive orders only from the president, and shall attend the meetings of the regency without vote. The president alone shall decide questions of detail and procedure and execution, in accordance with the regulations, always expressingwhether any measure has been voted on or not. The secretary shall send concise daily reports of all communications signed during the day by the president, noting after each one whether it was with or without the vote of the regency. Thus the other two regents having it in their power to call for the rough draft of any measure, can easily tell whether the president has overstepped his executory powers and encroached on the powers of the entire regency. This provision will obviate any such tendency on the president’s part, and will remove the jealousy of his two associates. The plan further provides for a commander-in-chief of all the army; a commander of the navy; a superintendent of the treasury; a court of justice; and a Council of State, to be composed of the officials above mentioned, together with the chiefs of artillery and fortification, the contador-mayor of accounts, the contadors of the army and treasury, the archbishop of Manila, and the provincials of the religious orders. The Council which has no power to assemble of its own accord, shall be assembled to consult on serious matters by the regency. At the death of the president, the senior regent shall assume his office, the substitute shall take a regular seat in the regency, and the Council shall appoint a new substitute to act provisionally until the court make a regular appointment, which shall never be the provisional appointment of the Council. The deliberations of the Council shall be secret and the regents shall only state the matters for discussion and then retire. The Council may be assembled at the request of the regents acting either singly or in accord. In impeachments of the president, if the impeachment is sustained, the senior regent shall takehis place; if it is not sustained, the Council shall retire, but may be assembled any number of times for the same matter. There is a clause against lobbying in the Council to influence the votes of the members. In case of two summons at the same time, the Council shall obey the one emanating from the president or senior regent first.]The members of the regency shall be jurisconsults, owners of estates, or military men, and the regularly-appointed president shall always be a grandee of España. It is highly important that, at that distance, the first chief impose some personal respect, and that even his very lineage make him appear superior to all the others.[The dissension manifest in Basco’s term as governor was due to his low rank, as he was only a captain of fragata when he went to the islands as governor, a fact that gave rise to envy. He was an excellent governor, but the ministry that supported him did not know the sentiments that move the human heart. Governor Lardizabal also was of lower rank than some who served in subordinate positions in the islands. It would be better to appoint a grandee to the post of governor; for, having his estates in Spain, he would be more loyal. A grandee also could better support the prestige of the government than a poor soldier or man of no rank, as he would be more accustomed to the duties of that life. A soldier generally desires to make money, and will neglect his real duties. As a rule there are no battles to be fought, while there are many duties of an administrational and industrial character. The governor must have tact with the natives, and look carefully after foreign, commercial, and industrial relations, and theprogress of the islands. It would be highly advisable to choose such a man when General Alcala is relieved.][For the government of the provinces, advocates shall be appointed from Spain, and they shall remain no longer than twenty years in the islands. There shall be three classes of provincial governments with distinct salaries. In addition to the requisite number of provincial governors there shall be six or eight substitutes in case of vacancies. These shall receive a salary of fifty pesos per month, so long as they are not called upon to fill a vacancy, and shall meanwhile do the bidding of the regency. A vacancy in the governments of the first class shall be filled by the regency from the governors of the second and third classes; and one in the third class from the substitutes. Governors may be transferred at will by the regency, and the relative importance of the various provinces may also vary.]The provincial governors shall be as now political chiefs, judges of first instance, subdelegates of the treasury for the receiving of the direct incomes, managers of the mails, and war captains. This centralization has many advantages, a very chief one being the economic. The inconveniences which follow from it, will disappear when there is one supreme authority in the islands.The limits of the provincial courts shall be enlarged to include both civil and criminal cases. This will increase the power of the subordinate authorities, and decrease the troubles of the Audiencia. The party [in the suit] shall always have the recourse of appeal.The superior court of justice shall be composedof three persons, one of whom shall be the president. It shall try criminal, civil, and contentious matters as well as trade questions by appeal. Appeal may be had from its sentences to the regency, which shall appoint three advocates to judge the case. These latter shall become joint judges, and together with the three judges shall form the court of appeal. This court shall be presided over by one of the regents or by the substitute with a vote, the jurisconsult member being rightly preferred for this if there is one in the regency.[The fees of the court of appeal shall be larger than those of the Audiencia; and if the decision of the latter is found correct the penalty shall be increased; the death sentence, however, being abolished. A vacancy in the court of justice shall be filled provisionally by the regency, and regular appointment shall be made from Madrid, which must be otherwise than the provisional one made by the regency, unless such appointment be made before the action of the regents is known in Spain. This will tend to make the judiciary independent of the government.][In regard to the treasury employes a plan similar to that of the provincial governors shall be adopted. The custom of sending employes for any of the treasury posts from Madrid, many of whom are ignorant even of bookkeeping, means death to the hopes of those already in the islands, and breeds discontent.][This plan does not involve any extra expense. The president shall have a yearly salary of 12,000 pesos, in addition to the palace of Manila and the house atMalacañang; the two regents shall each receive 6,000 pesos and 1,000 pesos extra for a house;and the substitute 4,000 pesos—a total of 30,000 pesos.32Posts of rank in Manila have lately been increased, and now there are a lieutenant-general, a mariscal de campo, six brigadier-generals, and many colonels and commandants; and yet men of lower rank than all these have been appointed governor of the islands. There is no need of so many military titles. A brigadier-general, with 6,000 pesos’ pay acts as second commandant of the navy, which consists of but a few gunboats; and a sub-inspector of engineers has just arrived who has only two officers under him. Colonels can serve in place of brigadiers, and since they receive 2,000 pesos less, this will be a saving of at least 10,000 pesos. This added to the 7,000 pesos that can be saved from the affairs of justice being managed by three persons, who have no administrational duties, the 13,000 pesos saved from the present salary of the captain-general, and the 1,000 pesos given as a gratification to the commandant of the marine corps, will mean a total saving of 31,000 pesos.][Mas also proposes the establishment at Madrid of a ministry of the colonies,33through whom all thecommunications of the regency shall pass. It should have departments of government, war, navy, revenues, and justice. It can easily turn over to other ministries what primarily concerns them, and work in harmony with them. For instance it would not elect bishops, but would determine their number and salary.]Thus far I have given minute details on the three principles which, in my opinion, I said it was necessary to adopt as basic policies in order to conserve the Filipinas: namely, to avoid the increase of the white population; make of the colored population, a docile and well-inclined mass; and reform the present administration. I have still to add that I conceive it to be of the foremost interest to always have in that treasury a sufficient store of spare funds to at least cover the expenses of one year. [It will be impossible to realize loans in case of either internal or external war. The treasury has been continually exhausted for years, and has drawn on the obras pías. Notes have been drawn on the Manila treasury forover three million pesos, on which interest is being paid, and there is no hope of paying the principal.] Such a method of doing things, is, in my opinion, a political imprudence twice over—in the first place because the islands are left exposed to reverses from a faction or from a foreign enemy; in the second, because it causes certain murmurs among their inhabitants, and a discontent difficult to conceive of here, and which may precipitate their ruin.After having discussed the means of conserving the colony, supposing that this is always the intention of the government, let us consider the other extreme, taken in review, namely, to resolve to emancipate it and prepare it for giving it liberty.In order to attain this end, it becomes natural, as is necessary, to adopt a system diametrically opposed to the first. The chief object must be that it does not cause the shedding of blood, that the relations of friendship and of trade with España are not interrupted, that the European Spaniards living there do not lose their chattels or landed property, and, especially, that our race there, the Filipino-Spaniards, preserve their estates and their rights of naturalization, and free from the unfortunate fate that threatens them, and which is even inevitably expected for them, if the colony separates by force and at this moment. It is needful to encourage public instruction in all ways possible, permit newspapers subject to a liberal censure, to establish in Manila a college of medicine, surgery, and pharmacy: in order to break down the barriers that divide the races, and amalgamate them all into one. For that purpose, the Spaniards of the country, the Chinese mestizos, andthe Filipinos shall be admitted with perfect equality as cadets of the military corps; the personal-service tax shall be abolished, or an equal and general tax shall be imposed, to which all the Spaniards shall be subject. This last plan appears to me more advisable, as the poll-tax is already established, and it is not opportune to make a trial of new taxes when it is a question of allowing the country to be governed by itself. Since the annual tribute is unequal, the average shall be taken and shall be fixed, consequently, at fifteen or sixteen reals per whole tribute, or perhaps one peso fuerte annually from each adult tributary person. This regulation will produce an increase in the revenue of 200,000 or 300,000 pesos fuertes, and this sum shall be set aside to give the impulse for the amalgamation of the races, favoring crossed marriages by means of dowries granted to the single women in the following manner. To a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Filipino shall be given 100 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 100 pesos; to a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Spaniard, 1,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 2,000 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Spaniard, 2,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Filipino chief, 3,000 or 4,000 pesos. Some mestizo and Filipino alcaldes-mayor of the provinces shall be appointed. It shall be ordered that when a Filipino chief goes to the house of a Spaniard, he shall seat himself as the latter’s equal. In a word, by these and other means, the idea that they and the Castilians are two kinds of distinct races shall be erased from the minds of the natives, and the families shall become related by marriage in such manner thatwhen free of the Castilian dominion should any exalted Filipinos try to expel or enslave our race, they would find it so interlaced with their own that their plan would be practically impossible.After some years, when this population was sufficiently trimmed off, an assembly of deputies shall be formed from the people, in order that they may hold sessions in Manila for two or three months every year. In those sessions they shall discuss public affairs, especially those treating of taxes and budgets. Then after some time of such political education, our government may be withdrawn without fear, fixing before doing that the kind of government that is to be established—probably some constitutional form analogous to those of Europe, with a royal prince at its head chosen from among our infantes.My task is concluded. Which of the two plans, above analyzed, it is the most just or advisable to follow, does not concern me to recommend, much less propose.I will add, however, a page to express my opinion as an individual of the Spanish nation. If I had to choose I would vote for the last. I cannot see what benefits we have had from the colonies: depopulation, decadence in the arts, and the public debt, which come in great measure from them. The interest of a state consists, as I see it, in having a dense and well-educated population, and I do not speak only of literary or political education, but of that general education, which makes each one perfect in his trade, I mean in that education which constitutes a cabinet-maker, a weaver, a blacksmith, the best cabinet-maker, weaver, or blacksmith possible. The greateror less number of machines is, in our century, an almost sure thermometer by which to gage the power of empires.A colony cannot be useful except with the end of filling one of the following three objects: to make of it a tributary country, for the increase of the income of the mother-country (as Holland effects by means of a compulsory and exclusive system); to erect it into a second country, and a place of immigration of the surplus population (such as are especially Australia, Van Diemen’s land and New Zealand); finally to procure in it, a place wherein to expend the products of the national manufactures (as is the principal aim of the modern colonial establishments). For the first, we have already seen that the Filipinas are a poor resource, and will be for a long time; and I shall not wonder that before losing them, they will cost us, on the contrary, some millions. As for the second, they are not necessary, for we have no surplus population to unload. And for the third they are useless, for we ourselves have no manufactures to export. Barcelona, which has the most factories in the Peninsula, does not have the least direct communication with the islands. All that is taken there from Cadiz consists of a little paper, oil, and liquors. If it were not for the tobacco and the passengers who go and come, one or two vessels annually would be enough to take care of all the mercantile speculations between both countries. [Separation will not deprive Spain of a future rich market in the Philippines, as the case of the American colonies and England shows. Even if Spain should have a surplus population within a century, the Philippines will also have no lack of inhabitants, and it will benecessary for the Spaniards to emigrate to the Marianas. Mas is not concerned by the argument that separation would mean the loss of the Christian religion in the islands. To the argument that the islands might fall into the hands of the British, French, Dutch, or Chinese, he asks why Spain should become a knight errant for all unprotected peoples. Spaniards in the islands can always return to Spain. People assert that since Spain has spent over 300,000,000 pesos on the islands, it is but proper that that country be reimbursed; but although it has also spent much on the holy land, it never expects any return therefor. Let the Filipinos pay heavier taxes under their own government; why is that any concern? Even if ninety per cent of the population should desire to remain under Spain’s domination, that is no sign that there may not be a better condition.] In conclusion, if we are conserving the islands for love of the islanders, we are losing our time, and merit, for gratitude is sometimes met with in persons, but never can it be hoped for from peoples; and indeed through our love, why do we fall into an anomaly, such as combining our claim for liberty for ourselves, and our wish at the same time to impose our law on remote peoples? Why do we deny to others the benefit which we desire for our fatherland? By these principles of universal morality and justice, and because I am persuaded that in the midst of the political circumstances in which España is at present, the condition of that colony will be neglected; that none of the measures which I propose for its conservation (this is my conviction) will be adopted; and that it will emancipate itself violently with the loss of considerable property and many lives ofEuropean Spaniards and Filipinos: I think that it would be infinitely more easy, more useful, and more glorious for us to acquire the glory of the work by being the first to show generosity. Hence, the foreign authors who have unjustly printed so many calumnies against our colonial governments, authors belonging to nations who never satisfy their hunger for colonies, would have to say at least this once: “The Spaniards crossing new and remote seas, extended the domain of geography by discovering the Filipinas Islands. They found anarchy and despotism there, and established order and justice. They encountered slavery and destroyed it, and imposed political equality. They ruled their inhabitants with laws, and just laws. They christianized them, civilized them, defended them from the Chinese, from Moro pirates, and from European aggressors; they spent much gold on them, and then gave them liberty.”34
I believe that all that I have observed is enough and more than enough to show that the actual system of administration suffers from capital defects, and to assert that, in my opinion, the organization of a government is peremptory, which besides being a check on despotism and a barrier to ambition, by means of correction and reform through itself, contains the elements of unity, concord, prudence, rectitude, power, and duration. Here follows for what it may be worth, a plan circumscribed on fundamental bases.31[Mas’s plan provides for a regency or commission of three persons, one of whom shall be the president and exercise the powers of the governor-general. A fourth member is to be elected as a substitute in case of death or illness, who, until called upon to fill any vacancy, shall travel through the provinces and study the conditions of the country. All matters of importance, especially money matters must be decided at a meeting of the regency, and appear by an act signed by all three. The president shall communicate and sign all orders, and all official communications must be sent to him. The two secretaries, political and military, shall receive orders only from the president, and shall attend the meetings of the regency without vote. The president alone shall decide questions of detail and procedure and execution, in accordance with the regulations, always expressingwhether any measure has been voted on or not. The secretary shall send concise daily reports of all communications signed during the day by the president, noting after each one whether it was with or without the vote of the regency. Thus the other two regents having it in their power to call for the rough draft of any measure, can easily tell whether the president has overstepped his executory powers and encroached on the powers of the entire regency. This provision will obviate any such tendency on the president’s part, and will remove the jealousy of his two associates. The plan further provides for a commander-in-chief of all the army; a commander of the navy; a superintendent of the treasury; a court of justice; and a Council of State, to be composed of the officials above mentioned, together with the chiefs of artillery and fortification, the contador-mayor of accounts, the contadors of the army and treasury, the archbishop of Manila, and the provincials of the religious orders. The Council which has no power to assemble of its own accord, shall be assembled to consult on serious matters by the regency. At the death of the president, the senior regent shall assume his office, the substitute shall take a regular seat in the regency, and the Council shall appoint a new substitute to act provisionally until the court make a regular appointment, which shall never be the provisional appointment of the Council. The deliberations of the Council shall be secret and the regents shall only state the matters for discussion and then retire. The Council may be assembled at the request of the regents acting either singly or in accord. In impeachments of the president, if the impeachment is sustained, the senior regent shall takehis place; if it is not sustained, the Council shall retire, but may be assembled any number of times for the same matter. There is a clause against lobbying in the Council to influence the votes of the members. In case of two summons at the same time, the Council shall obey the one emanating from the president or senior regent first.]The members of the regency shall be jurisconsults, owners of estates, or military men, and the regularly-appointed president shall always be a grandee of España. It is highly important that, at that distance, the first chief impose some personal respect, and that even his very lineage make him appear superior to all the others.[The dissension manifest in Basco’s term as governor was due to his low rank, as he was only a captain of fragata when he went to the islands as governor, a fact that gave rise to envy. He was an excellent governor, but the ministry that supported him did not know the sentiments that move the human heart. Governor Lardizabal also was of lower rank than some who served in subordinate positions in the islands. It would be better to appoint a grandee to the post of governor; for, having his estates in Spain, he would be more loyal. A grandee also could better support the prestige of the government than a poor soldier or man of no rank, as he would be more accustomed to the duties of that life. A soldier generally desires to make money, and will neglect his real duties. As a rule there are no battles to be fought, while there are many duties of an administrational and industrial character. The governor must have tact with the natives, and look carefully after foreign, commercial, and industrial relations, and theprogress of the islands. It would be highly advisable to choose such a man when General Alcala is relieved.][For the government of the provinces, advocates shall be appointed from Spain, and they shall remain no longer than twenty years in the islands. There shall be three classes of provincial governments with distinct salaries. In addition to the requisite number of provincial governors there shall be six or eight substitutes in case of vacancies. These shall receive a salary of fifty pesos per month, so long as they are not called upon to fill a vacancy, and shall meanwhile do the bidding of the regency. A vacancy in the governments of the first class shall be filled by the regency from the governors of the second and third classes; and one in the third class from the substitutes. Governors may be transferred at will by the regency, and the relative importance of the various provinces may also vary.]The provincial governors shall be as now political chiefs, judges of first instance, subdelegates of the treasury for the receiving of the direct incomes, managers of the mails, and war captains. This centralization has many advantages, a very chief one being the economic. The inconveniences which follow from it, will disappear when there is one supreme authority in the islands.The limits of the provincial courts shall be enlarged to include both civil and criminal cases. This will increase the power of the subordinate authorities, and decrease the troubles of the Audiencia. The party [in the suit] shall always have the recourse of appeal.The superior court of justice shall be composedof three persons, one of whom shall be the president. It shall try criminal, civil, and contentious matters as well as trade questions by appeal. Appeal may be had from its sentences to the regency, which shall appoint three advocates to judge the case. These latter shall become joint judges, and together with the three judges shall form the court of appeal. This court shall be presided over by one of the regents or by the substitute with a vote, the jurisconsult member being rightly preferred for this if there is one in the regency.[The fees of the court of appeal shall be larger than those of the Audiencia; and if the decision of the latter is found correct the penalty shall be increased; the death sentence, however, being abolished. A vacancy in the court of justice shall be filled provisionally by the regency, and regular appointment shall be made from Madrid, which must be otherwise than the provisional one made by the regency, unless such appointment be made before the action of the regents is known in Spain. This will tend to make the judiciary independent of the government.][In regard to the treasury employes a plan similar to that of the provincial governors shall be adopted. The custom of sending employes for any of the treasury posts from Madrid, many of whom are ignorant even of bookkeeping, means death to the hopes of those already in the islands, and breeds discontent.][This plan does not involve any extra expense. The president shall have a yearly salary of 12,000 pesos, in addition to the palace of Manila and the house atMalacañang; the two regents shall each receive 6,000 pesos and 1,000 pesos extra for a house;and the substitute 4,000 pesos—a total of 30,000 pesos.32Posts of rank in Manila have lately been increased, and now there are a lieutenant-general, a mariscal de campo, six brigadier-generals, and many colonels and commandants; and yet men of lower rank than all these have been appointed governor of the islands. There is no need of so many military titles. A brigadier-general, with 6,000 pesos’ pay acts as second commandant of the navy, which consists of but a few gunboats; and a sub-inspector of engineers has just arrived who has only two officers under him. Colonels can serve in place of brigadiers, and since they receive 2,000 pesos less, this will be a saving of at least 10,000 pesos. This added to the 7,000 pesos that can be saved from the affairs of justice being managed by three persons, who have no administrational duties, the 13,000 pesos saved from the present salary of the captain-general, and the 1,000 pesos given as a gratification to the commandant of the marine corps, will mean a total saving of 31,000 pesos.][Mas also proposes the establishment at Madrid of a ministry of the colonies,33through whom all thecommunications of the regency shall pass. It should have departments of government, war, navy, revenues, and justice. It can easily turn over to other ministries what primarily concerns them, and work in harmony with them. For instance it would not elect bishops, but would determine their number and salary.]Thus far I have given minute details on the three principles which, in my opinion, I said it was necessary to adopt as basic policies in order to conserve the Filipinas: namely, to avoid the increase of the white population; make of the colored population, a docile and well-inclined mass; and reform the present administration. I have still to add that I conceive it to be of the foremost interest to always have in that treasury a sufficient store of spare funds to at least cover the expenses of one year. [It will be impossible to realize loans in case of either internal or external war. The treasury has been continually exhausted for years, and has drawn on the obras pías. Notes have been drawn on the Manila treasury forover three million pesos, on which interest is being paid, and there is no hope of paying the principal.] Such a method of doing things, is, in my opinion, a political imprudence twice over—in the first place because the islands are left exposed to reverses from a faction or from a foreign enemy; in the second, because it causes certain murmurs among their inhabitants, and a discontent difficult to conceive of here, and which may precipitate their ruin.After having discussed the means of conserving the colony, supposing that this is always the intention of the government, let us consider the other extreme, taken in review, namely, to resolve to emancipate it and prepare it for giving it liberty.In order to attain this end, it becomes natural, as is necessary, to adopt a system diametrically opposed to the first. The chief object must be that it does not cause the shedding of blood, that the relations of friendship and of trade with España are not interrupted, that the European Spaniards living there do not lose their chattels or landed property, and, especially, that our race there, the Filipino-Spaniards, preserve their estates and their rights of naturalization, and free from the unfortunate fate that threatens them, and which is even inevitably expected for them, if the colony separates by force and at this moment. It is needful to encourage public instruction in all ways possible, permit newspapers subject to a liberal censure, to establish in Manila a college of medicine, surgery, and pharmacy: in order to break down the barriers that divide the races, and amalgamate them all into one. For that purpose, the Spaniards of the country, the Chinese mestizos, andthe Filipinos shall be admitted with perfect equality as cadets of the military corps; the personal-service tax shall be abolished, or an equal and general tax shall be imposed, to which all the Spaniards shall be subject. This last plan appears to me more advisable, as the poll-tax is already established, and it is not opportune to make a trial of new taxes when it is a question of allowing the country to be governed by itself. Since the annual tribute is unequal, the average shall be taken and shall be fixed, consequently, at fifteen or sixteen reals per whole tribute, or perhaps one peso fuerte annually from each adult tributary person. This regulation will produce an increase in the revenue of 200,000 or 300,000 pesos fuertes, and this sum shall be set aside to give the impulse for the amalgamation of the races, favoring crossed marriages by means of dowries granted to the single women in the following manner. To a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Filipino shall be given 100 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 100 pesos; to a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Spaniard, 1,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 2,000 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Spaniard, 2,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Filipino chief, 3,000 or 4,000 pesos. Some mestizo and Filipino alcaldes-mayor of the provinces shall be appointed. It shall be ordered that when a Filipino chief goes to the house of a Spaniard, he shall seat himself as the latter’s equal. In a word, by these and other means, the idea that they and the Castilians are two kinds of distinct races shall be erased from the minds of the natives, and the families shall become related by marriage in such manner thatwhen free of the Castilian dominion should any exalted Filipinos try to expel or enslave our race, they would find it so interlaced with their own that their plan would be practically impossible.After some years, when this population was sufficiently trimmed off, an assembly of deputies shall be formed from the people, in order that they may hold sessions in Manila for two or three months every year. In those sessions they shall discuss public affairs, especially those treating of taxes and budgets. Then after some time of such political education, our government may be withdrawn without fear, fixing before doing that the kind of government that is to be established—probably some constitutional form analogous to those of Europe, with a royal prince at its head chosen from among our infantes.My task is concluded. Which of the two plans, above analyzed, it is the most just or advisable to follow, does not concern me to recommend, much less propose.I will add, however, a page to express my opinion as an individual of the Spanish nation. If I had to choose I would vote for the last. I cannot see what benefits we have had from the colonies: depopulation, decadence in the arts, and the public debt, which come in great measure from them. The interest of a state consists, as I see it, in having a dense and well-educated population, and I do not speak only of literary or political education, but of that general education, which makes each one perfect in his trade, I mean in that education which constitutes a cabinet-maker, a weaver, a blacksmith, the best cabinet-maker, weaver, or blacksmith possible. The greateror less number of machines is, in our century, an almost sure thermometer by which to gage the power of empires.A colony cannot be useful except with the end of filling one of the following three objects: to make of it a tributary country, for the increase of the income of the mother-country (as Holland effects by means of a compulsory and exclusive system); to erect it into a second country, and a place of immigration of the surplus population (such as are especially Australia, Van Diemen’s land and New Zealand); finally to procure in it, a place wherein to expend the products of the national manufactures (as is the principal aim of the modern colonial establishments). For the first, we have already seen that the Filipinas are a poor resource, and will be for a long time; and I shall not wonder that before losing them, they will cost us, on the contrary, some millions. As for the second, they are not necessary, for we have no surplus population to unload. And for the third they are useless, for we ourselves have no manufactures to export. Barcelona, which has the most factories in the Peninsula, does not have the least direct communication with the islands. All that is taken there from Cadiz consists of a little paper, oil, and liquors. If it were not for the tobacco and the passengers who go and come, one or two vessels annually would be enough to take care of all the mercantile speculations between both countries. [Separation will not deprive Spain of a future rich market in the Philippines, as the case of the American colonies and England shows. Even if Spain should have a surplus population within a century, the Philippines will also have no lack of inhabitants, and it will benecessary for the Spaniards to emigrate to the Marianas. Mas is not concerned by the argument that separation would mean the loss of the Christian religion in the islands. To the argument that the islands might fall into the hands of the British, French, Dutch, or Chinese, he asks why Spain should become a knight errant for all unprotected peoples. Spaniards in the islands can always return to Spain. People assert that since Spain has spent over 300,000,000 pesos on the islands, it is but proper that that country be reimbursed; but although it has also spent much on the holy land, it never expects any return therefor. Let the Filipinos pay heavier taxes under their own government; why is that any concern? Even if ninety per cent of the population should desire to remain under Spain’s domination, that is no sign that there may not be a better condition.] In conclusion, if we are conserving the islands for love of the islanders, we are losing our time, and merit, for gratitude is sometimes met with in persons, but never can it be hoped for from peoples; and indeed through our love, why do we fall into an anomaly, such as combining our claim for liberty for ourselves, and our wish at the same time to impose our law on remote peoples? Why do we deny to others the benefit which we desire for our fatherland? By these principles of universal morality and justice, and because I am persuaded that in the midst of the political circumstances in which España is at present, the condition of that colony will be neglected; that none of the measures which I propose for its conservation (this is my conviction) will be adopted; and that it will emancipate itself violently with the loss of considerable property and many lives ofEuropean Spaniards and Filipinos: I think that it would be infinitely more easy, more useful, and more glorious for us to acquire the glory of the work by being the first to show generosity. Hence, the foreign authors who have unjustly printed so many calumnies against our colonial governments, authors belonging to nations who never satisfy their hunger for colonies, would have to say at least this once: “The Spaniards crossing new and remote seas, extended the domain of geography by discovering the Filipinas Islands. They found anarchy and despotism there, and established order and justice. They encountered slavery and destroyed it, and imposed political equality. They ruled their inhabitants with laws, and just laws. They christianized them, civilized them, defended them from the Chinese, from Moro pirates, and from European aggressors; they spent much gold on them, and then gave them liberty.”34
I believe that all that I have observed is enough and more than enough to show that the actual system of administration suffers from capital defects, and to assert that, in my opinion, the organization of a government is peremptory, which besides being a check on despotism and a barrier to ambition, by means of correction and reform through itself, contains the elements of unity, concord, prudence, rectitude, power, and duration. Here follows for what it may be worth, a plan circumscribed on fundamental bases.31[Mas’s plan provides for a regency or commission of three persons, one of whom shall be the president and exercise the powers of the governor-general. A fourth member is to be elected as a substitute in case of death or illness, who, until called upon to fill any vacancy, shall travel through the provinces and study the conditions of the country. All matters of importance, especially money matters must be decided at a meeting of the regency, and appear by an act signed by all three. The president shall communicate and sign all orders, and all official communications must be sent to him. The two secretaries, political and military, shall receive orders only from the president, and shall attend the meetings of the regency without vote. The president alone shall decide questions of detail and procedure and execution, in accordance with the regulations, always expressingwhether any measure has been voted on or not. The secretary shall send concise daily reports of all communications signed during the day by the president, noting after each one whether it was with or without the vote of the regency. Thus the other two regents having it in their power to call for the rough draft of any measure, can easily tell whether the president has overstepped his executory powers and encroached on the powers of the entire regency. This provision will obviate any such tendency on the president’s part, and will remove the jealousy of his two associates. The plan further provides for a commander-in-chief of all the army; a commander of the navy; a superintendent of the treasury; a court of justice; and a Council of State, to be composed of the officials above mentioned, together with the chiefs of artillery and fortification, the contador-mayor of accounts, the contadors of the army and treasury, the archbishop of Manila, and the provincials of the religious orders. The Council which has no power to assemble of its own accord, shall be assembled to consult on serious matters by the regency. At the death of the president, the senior regent shall assume his office, the substitute shall take a regular seat in the regency, and the Council shall appoint a new substitute to act provisionally until the court make a regular appointment, which shall never be the provisional appointment of the Council. The deliberations of the Council shall be secret and the regents shall only state the matters for discussion and then retire. The Council may be assembled at the request of the regents acting either singly or in accord. In impeachments of the president, if the impeachment is sustained, the senior regent shall takehis place; if it is not sustained, the Council shall retire, but may be assembled any number of times for the same matter. There is a clause against lobbying in the Council to influence the votes of the members. In case of two summons at the same time, the Council shall obey the one emanating from the president or senior regent first.]The members of the regency shall be jurisconsults, owners of estates, or military men, and the regularly-appointed president shall always be a grandee of España. It is highly important that, at that distance, the first chief impose some personal respect, and that even his very lineage make him appear superior to all the others.[The dissension manifest in Basco’s term as governor was due to his low rank, as he was only a captain of fragata when he went to the islands as governor, a fact that gave rise to envy. He was an excellent governor, but the ministry that supported him did not know the sentiments that move the human heart. Governor Lardizabal also was of lower rank than some who served in subordinate positions in the islands. It would be better to appoint a grandee to the post of governor; for, having his estates in Spain, he would be more loyal. A grandee also could better support the prestige of the government than a poor soldier or man of no rank, as he would be more accustomed to the duties of that life. A soldier generally desires to make money, and will neglect his real duties. As a rule there are no battles to be fought, while there are many duties of an administrational and industrial character. The governor must have tact with the natives, and look carefully after foreign, commercial, and industrial relations, and theprogress of the islands. It would be highly advisable to choose such a man when General Alcala is relieved.][For the government of the provinces, advocates shall be appointed from Spain, and they shall remain no longer than twenty years in the islands. There shall be three classes of provincial governments with distinct salaries. In addition to the requisite number of provincial governors there shall be six or eight substitutes in case of vacancies. These shall receive a salary of fifty pesos per month, so long as they are not called upon to fill a vacancy, and shall meanwhile do the bidding of the regency. A vacancy in the governments of the first class shall be filled by the regency from the governors of the second and third classes; and one in the third class from the substitutes. Governors may be transferred at will by the regency, and the relative importance of the various provinces may also vary.]The provincial governors shall be as now political chiefs, judges of first instance, subdelegates of the treasury for the receiving of the direct incomes, managers of the mails, and war captains. This centralization has many advantages, a very chief one being the economic. The inconveniences which follow from it, will disappear when there is one supreme authority in the islands.The limits of the provincial courts shall be enlarged to include both civil and criminal cases. This will increase the power of the subordinate authorities, and decrease the troubles of the Audiencia. The party [in the suit] shall always have the recourse of appeal.The superior court of justice shall be composedof three persons, one of whom shall be the president. It shall try criminal, civil, and contentious matters as well as trade questions by appeal. Appeal may be had from its sentences to the regency, which shall appoint three advocates to judge the case. These latter shall become joint judges, and together with the three judges shall form the court of appeal. This court shall be presided over by one of the regents or by the substitute with a vote, the jurisconsult member being rightly preferred for this if there is one in the regency.[The fees of the court of appeal shall be larger than those of the Audiencia; and if the decision of the latter is found correct the penalty shall be increased; the death sentence, however, being abolished. A vacancy in the court of justice shall be filled provisionally by the regency, and regular appointment shall be made from Madrid, which must be otherwise than the provisional one made by the regency, unless such appointment be made before the action of the regents is known in Spain. This will tend to make the judiciary independent of the government.][In regard to the treasury employes a plan similar to that of the provincial governors shall be adopted. The custom of sending employes for any of the treasury posts from Madrid, many of whom are ignorant even of bookkeeping, means death to the hopes of those already in the islands, and breeds discontent.][This plan does not involve any extra expense. The president shall have a yearly salary of 12,000 pesos, in addition to the palace of Manila and the house atMalacañang; the two regents shall each receive 6,000 pesos and 1,000 pesos extra for a house;and the substitute 4,000 pesos—a total of 30,000 pesos.32Posts of rank in Manila have lately been increased, and now there are a lieutenant-general, a mariscal de campo, six brigadier-generals, and many colonels and commandants; and yet men of lower rank than all these have been appointed governor of the islands. There is no need of so many military titles. A brigadier-general, with 6,000 pesos’ pay acts as second commandant of the navy, which consists of but a few gunboats; and a sub-inspector of engineers has just arrived who has only two officers under him. Colonels can serve in place of brigadiers, and since they receive 2,000 pesos less, this will be a saving of at least 10,000 pesos. This added to the 7,000 pesos that can be saved from the affairs of justice being managed by three persons, who have no administrational duties, the 13,000 pesos saved from the present salary of the captain-general, and the 1,000 pesos given as a gratification to the commandant of the marine corps, will mean a total saving of 31,000 pesos.][Mas also proposes the establishment at Madrid of a ministry of the colonies,33through whom all thecommunications of the regency shall pass. It should have departments of government, war, navy, revenues, and justice. It can easily turn over to other ministries what primarily concerns them, and work in harmony with them. For instance it would not elect bishops, but would determine their number and salary.]Thus far I have given minute details on the three principles which, in my opinion, I said it was necessary to adopt as basic policies in order to conserve the Filipinas: namely, to avoid the increase of the white population; make of the colored population, a docile and well-inclined mass; and reform the present administration. I have still to add that I conceive it to be of the foremost interest to always have in that treasury a sufficient store of spare funds to at least cover the expenses of one year. [It will be impossible to realize loans in case of either internal or external war. The treasury has been continually exhausted for years, and has drawn on the obras pías. Notes have been drawn on the Manila treasury forover three million pesos, on which interest is being paid, and there is no hope of paying the principal.] Such a method of doing things, is, in my opinion, a political imprudence twice over—in the first place because the islands are left exposed to reverses from a faction or from a foreign enemy; in the second, because it causes certain murmurs among their inhabitants, and a discontent difficult to conceive of here, and which may precipitate their ruin.After having discussed the means of conserving the colony, supposing that this is always the intention of the government, let us consider the other extreme, taken in review, namely, to resolve to emancipate it and prepare it for giving it liberty.In order to attain this end, it becomes natural, as is necessary, to adopt a system diametrically opposed to the first. The chief object must be that it does not cause the shedding of blood, that the relations of friendship and of trade with España are not interrupted, that the European Spaniards living there do not lose their chattels or landed property, and, especially, that our race there, the Filipino-Spaniards, preserve their estates and their rights of naturalization, and free from the unfortunate fate that threatens them, and which is even inevitably expected for them, if the colony separates by force and at this moment. It is needful to encourage public instruction in all ways possible, permit newspapers subject to a liberal censure, to establish in Manila a college of medicine, surgery, and pharmacy: in order to break down the barriers that divide the races, and amalgamate them all into one. For that purpose, the Spaniards of the country, the Chinese mestizos, andthe Filipinos shall be admitted with perfect equality as cadets of the military corps; the personal-service tax shall be abolished, or an equal and general tax shall be imposed, to which all the Spaniards shall be subject. This last plan appears to me more advisable, as the poll-tax is already established, and it is not opportune to make a trial of new taxes when it is a question of allowing the country to be governed by itself. Since the annual tribute is unequal, the average shall be taken and shall be fixed, consequently, at fifteen or sixteen reals per whole tribute, or perhaps one peso fuerte annually from each adult tributary person. This regulation will produce an increase in the revenue of 200,000 or 300,000 pesos fuertes, and this sum shall be set aside to give the impulse for the amalgamation of the races, favoring crossed marriages by means of dowries granted to the single women in the following manner. To a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Filipino shall be given 100 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 100 pesos; to a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Spaniard, 1,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 2,000 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Spaniard, 2,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Filipino chief, 3,000 or 4,000 pesos. Some mestizo and Filipino alcaldes-mayor of the provinces shall be appointed. It shall be ordered that when a Filipino chief goes to the house of a Spaniard, he shall seat himself as the latter’s equal. In a word, by these and other means, the idea that they and the Castilians are two kinds of distinct races shall be erased from the minds of the natives, and the families shall become related by marriage in such manner thatwhen free of the Castilian dominion should any exalted Filipinos try to expel or enslave our race, they would find it so interlaced with their own that their plan would be practically impossible.After some years, when this population was sufficiently trimmed off, an assembly of deputies shall be formed from the people, in order that they may hold sessions in Manila for two or three months every year. In those sessions they shall discuss public affairs, especially those treating of taxes and budgets. Then after some time of such political education, our government may be withdrawn without fear, fixing before doing that the kind of government that is to be established—probably some constitutional form analogous to those of Europe, with a royal prince at its head chosen from among our infantes.My task is concluded. Which of the two plans, above analyzed, it is the most just or advisable to follow, does not concern me to recommend, much less propose.I will add, however, a page to express my opinion as an individual of the Spanish nation. If I had to choose I would vote for the last. I cannot see what benefits we have had from the colonies: depopulation, decadence in the arts, and the public debt, which come in great measure from them. The interest of a state consists, as I see it, in having a dense and well-educated population, and I do not speak only of literary or political education, but of that general education, which makes each one perfect in his trade, I mean in that education which constitutes a cabinet-maker, a weaver, a blacksmith, the best cabinet-maker, weaver, or blacksmith possible. The greateror less number of machines is, in our century, an almost sure thermometer by which to gage the power of empires.A colony cannot be useful except with the end of filling one of the following three objects: to make of it a tributary country, for the increase of the income of the mother-country (as Holland effects by means of a compulsory and exclusive system); to erect it into a second country, and a place of immigration of the surplus population (such as are especially Australia, Van Diemen’s land and New Zealand); finally to procure in it, a place wherein to expend the products of the national manufactures (as is the principal aim of the modern colonial establishments). For the first, we have already seen that the Filipinas are a poor resource, and will be for a long time; and I shall not wonder that before losing them, they will cost us, on the contrary, some millions. As for the second, they are not necessary, for we have no surplus population to unload. And for the third they are useless, for we ourselves have no manufactures to export. Barcelona, which has the most factories in the Peninsula, does not have the least direct communication with the islands. All that is taken there from Cadiz consists of a little paper, oil, and liquors. If it were not for the tobacco and the passengers who go and come, one or two vessels annually would be enough to take care of all the mercantile speculations between both countries. [Separation will not deprive Spain of a future rich market in the Philippines, as the case of the American colonies and England shows. Even if Spain should have a surplus population within a century, the Philippines will also have no lack of inhabitants, and it will benecessary for the Spaniards to emigrate to the Marianas. Mas is not concerned by the argument that separation would mean the loss of the Christian religion in the islands. To the argument that the islands might fall into the hands of the British, French, Dutch, or Chinese, he asks why Spain should become a knight errant for all unprotected peoples. Spaniards in the islands can always return to Spain. People assert that since Spain has spent over 300,000,000 pesos on the islands, it is but proper that that country be reimbursed; but although it has also spent much on the holy land, it never expects any return therefor. Let the Filipinos pay heavier taxes under their own government; why is that any concern? Even if ninety per cent of the population should desire to remain under Spain’s domination, that is no sign that there may not be a better condition.] In conclusion, if we are conserving the islands for love of the islanders, we are losing our time, and merit, for gratitude is sometimes met with in persons, but never can it be hoped for from peoples; and indeed through our love, why do we fall into an anomaly, such as combining our claim for liberty for ourselves, and our wish at the same time to impose our law on remote peoples? Why do we deny to others the benefit which we desire for our fatherland? By these principles of universal morality and justice, and because I am persuaded that in the midst of the political circumstances in which España is at present, the condition of that colony will be neglected; that none of the measures which I propose for its conservation (this is my conviction) will be adopted; and that it will emancipate itself violently with the loss of considerable property and many lives ofEuropean Spaniards and Filipinos: I think that it would be infinitely more easy, more useful, and more glorious for us to acquire the glory of the work by being the first to show generosity. Hence, the foreign authors who have unjustly printed so many calumnies against our colonial governments, authors belonging to nations who never satisfy their hunger for colonies, would have to say at least this once: “The Spaniards crossing new and remote seas, extended the domain of geography by discovering the Filipinas Islands. They found anarchy and despotism there, and established order and justice. They encountered slavery and destroyed it, and imposed political equality. They ruled their inhabitants with laws, and just laws. They christianized them, civilized them, defended them from the Chinese, from Moro pirates, and from European aggressors; they spent much gold on them, and then gave them liberty.”34
I believe that all that I have observed is enough and more than enough to show that the actual system of administration suffers from capital defects, and to assert that, in my opinion, the organization of a government is peremptory, which besides being a check on despotism and a barrier to ambition, by means of correction and reform through itself, contains the elements of unity, concord, prudence, rectitude, power, and duration. Here follows for what it may be worth, a plan circumscribed on fundamental bases.31
[Mas’s plan provides for a regency or commission of three persons, one of whom shall be the president and exercise the powers of the governor-general. A fourth member is to be elected as a substitute in case of death or illness, who, until called upon to fill any vacancy, shall travel through the provinces and study the conditions of the country. All matters of importance, especially money matters must be decided at a meeting of the regency, and appear by an act signed by all three. The president shall communicate and sign all orders, and all official communications must be sent to him. The two secretaries, political and military, shall receive orders only from the president, and shall attend the meetings of the regency without vote. The president alone shall decide questions of detail and procedure and execution, in accordance with the regulations, always expressingwhether any measure has been voted on or not. The secretary shall send concise daily reports of all communications signed during the day by the president, noting after each one whether it was with or without the vote of the regency. Thus the other two regents having it in their power to call for the rough draft of any measure, can easily tell whether the president has overstepped his executory powers and encroached on the powers of the entire regency. This provision will obviate any such tendency on the president’s part, and will remove the jealousy of his two associates. The plan further provides for a commander-in-chief of all the army; a commander of the navy; a superintendent of the treasury; a court of justice; and a Council of State, to be composed of the officials above mentioned, together with the chiefs of artillery and fortification, the contador-mayor of accounts, the contadors of the army and treasury, the archbishop of Manila, and the provincials of the religious orders. The Council which has no power to assemble of its own accord, shall be assembled to consult on serious matters by the regency. At the death of the president, the senior regent shall assume his office, the substitute shall take a regular seat in the regency, and the Council shall appoint a new substitute to act provisionally until the court make a regular appointment, which shall never be the provisional appointment of the Council. The deliberations of the Council shall be secret and the regents shall only state the matters for discussion and then retire. The Council may be assembled at the request of the regents acting either singly or in accord. In impeachments of the president, if the impeachment is sustained, the senior regent shall takehis place; if it is not sustained, the Council shall retire, but may be assembled any number of times for the same matter. There is a clause against lobbying in the Council to influence the votes of the members. In case of two summons at the same time, the Council shall obey the one emanating from the president or senior regent first.]
The members of the regency shall be jurisconsults, owners of estates, or military men, and the regularly-appointed president shall always be a grandee of España. It is highly important that, at that distance, the first chief impose some personal respect, and that even his very lineage make him appear superior to all the others.
[The dissension manifest in Basco’s term as governor was due to his low rank, as he was only a captain of fragata when he went to the islands as governor, a fact that gave rise to envy. He was an excellent governor, but the ministry that supported him did not know the sentiments that move the human heart. Governor Lardizabal also was of lower rank than some who served in subordinate positions in the islands. It would be better to appoint a grandee to the post of governor; for, having his estates in Spain, he would be more loyal. A grandee also could better support the prestige of the government than a poor soldier or man of no rank, as he would be more accustomed to the duties of that life. A soldier generally desires to make money, and will neglect his real duties. As a rule there are no battles to be fought, while there are many duties of an administrational and industrial character. The governor must have tact with the natives, and look carefully after foreign, commercial, and industrial relations, and theprogress of the islands. It would be highly advisable to choose such a man when General Alcala is relieved.]
[For the government of the provinces, advocates shall be appointed from Spain, and they shall remain no longer than twenty years in the islands. There shall be three classes of provincial governments with distinct salaries. In addition to the requisite number of provincial governors there shall be six or eight substitutes in case of vacancies. These shall receive a salary of fifty pesos per month, so long as they are not called upon to fill a vacancy, and shall meanwhile do the bidding of the regency. A vacancy in the governments of the first class shall be filled by the regency from the governors of the second and third classes; and one in the third class from the substitutes. Governors may be transferred at will by the regency, and the relative importance of the various provinces may also vary.]
The provincial governors shall be as now political chiefs, judges of first instance, subdelegates of the treasury for the receiving of the direct incomes, managers of the mails, and war captains. This centralization has many advantages, a very chief one being the economic. The inconveniences which follow from it, will disappear when there is one supreme authority in the islands.
The limits of the provincial courts shall be enlarged to include both civil and criminal cases. This will increase the power of the subordinate authorities, and decrease the troubles of the Audiencia. The party [in the suit] shall always have the recourse of appeal.
The superior court of justice shall be composedof three persons, one of whom shall be the president. It shall try criminal, civil, and contentious matters as well as trade questions by appeal. Appeal may be had from its sentences to the regency, which shall appoint three advocates to judge the case. These latter shall become joint judges, and together with the three judges shall form the court of appeal. This court shall be presided over by one of the regents or by the substitute with a vote, the jurisconsult member being rightly preferred for this if there is one in the regency.
[The fees of the court of appeal shall be larger than those of the Audiencia; and if the decision of the latter is found correct the penalty shall be increased; the death sentence, however, being abolished. A vacancy in the court of justice shall be filled provisionally by the regency, and regular appointment shall be made from Madrid, which must be otherwise than the provisional one made by the regency, unless such appointment be made before the action of the regents is known in Spain. This will tend to make the judiciary independent of the government.]
[In regard to the treasury employes a plan similar to that of the provincial governors shall be adopted. The custom of sending employes for any of the treasury posts from Madrid, many of whom are ignorant even of bookkeeping, means death to the hopes of those already in the islands, and breeds discontent.]
[This plan does not involve any extra expense. The president shall have a yearly salary of 12,000 pesos, in addition to the palace of Manila and the house atMalacañang; the two regents shall each receive 6,000 pesos and 1,000 pesos extra for a house;and the substitute 4,000 pesos—a total of 30,000 pesos.32Posts of rank in Manila have lately been increased, and now there are a lieutenant-general, a mariscal de campo, six brigadier-generals, and many colonels and commandants; and yet men of lower rank than all these have been appointed governor of the islands. There is no need of so many military titles. A brigadier-general, with 6,000 pesos’ pay acts as second commandant of the navy, which consists of but a few gunboats; and a sub-inspector of engineers has just arrived who has only two officers under him. Colonels can serve in place of brigadiers, and since they receive 2,000 pesos less, this will be a saving of at least 10,000 pesos. This added to the 7,000 pesos that can be saved from the affairs of justice being managed by three persons, who have no administrational duties, the 13,000 pesos saved from the present salary of the captain-general, and the 1,000 pesos given as a gratification to the commandant of the marine corps, will mean a total saving of 31,000 pesos.]
[Mas also proposes the establishment at Madrid of a ministry of the colonies,33through whom all thecommunications of the regency shall pass. It should have departments of government, war, navy, revenues, and justice. It can easily turn over to other ministries what primarily concerns them, and work in harmony with them. For instance it would not elect bishops, but would determine their number and salary.]
Thus far I have given minute details on the three principles which, in my opinion, I said it was necessary to adopt as basic policies in order to conserve the Filipinas: namely, to avoid the increase of the white population; make of the colored population, a docile and well-inclined mass; and reform the present administration. I have still to add that I conceive it to be of the foremost interest to always have in that treasury a sufficient store of spare funds to at least cover the expenses of one year. [It will be impossible to realize loans in case of either internal or external war. The treasury has been continually exhausted for years, and has drawn on the obras pías. Notes have been drawn on the Manila treasury forover three million pesos, on which interest is being paid, and there is no hope of paying the principal.] Such a method of doing things, is, in my opinion, a political imprudence twice over—in the first place because the islands are left exposed to reverses from a faction or from a foreign enemy; in the second, because it causes certain murmurs among their inhabitants, and a discontent difficult to conceive of here, and which may precipitate their ruin.
After having discussed the means of conserving the colony, supposing that this is always the intention of the government, let us consider the other extreme, taken in review, namely, to resolve to emancipate it and prepare it for giving it liberty.
In order to attain this end, it becomes natural, as is necessary, to adopt a system diametrically opposed to the first. The chief object must be that it does not cause the shedding of blood, that the relations of friendship and of trade with España are not interrupted, that the European Spaniards living there do not lose their chattels or landed property, and, especially, that our race there, the Filipino-Spaniards, preserve their estates and their rights of naturalization, and free from the unfortunate fate that threatens them, and which is even inevitably expected for them, if the colony separates by force and at this moment. It is needful to encourage public instruction in all ways possible, permit newspapers subject to a liberal censure, to establish in Manila a college of medicine, surgery, and pharmacy: in order to break down the barriers that divide the races, and amalgamate them all into one. For that purpose, the Spaniards of the country, the Chinese mestizos, andthe Filipinos shall be admitted with perfect equality as cadets of the military corps; the personal-service tax shall be abolished, or an equal and general tax shall be imposed, to which all the Spaniards shall be subject. This last plan appears to me more advisable, as the poll-tax is already established, and it is not opportune to make a trial of new taxes when it is a question of allowing the country to be governed by itself. Since the annual tribute is unequal, the average shall be taken and shall be fixed, consequently, at fifteen or sixteen reals per whole tribute, or perhaps one peso fuerte annually from each adult tributary person. This regulation will produce an increase in the revenue of 200,000 or 300,000 pesos fuertes, and this sum shall be set aside to give the impulse for the amalgamation of the races, favoring crossed marriages by means of dowries granted to the single women in the following manner. To a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Filipino shall be given 100 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 100 pesos; to a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Spaniard, 1,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 2,000 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Spaniard, 2,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Filipino chief, 3,000 or 4,000 pesos. Some mestizo and Filipino alcaldes-mayor of the provinces shall be appointed. It shall be ordered that when a Filipino chief goes to the house of a Spaniard, he shall seat himself as the latter’s equal. In a word, by these and other means, the idea that they and the Castilians are two kinds of distinct races shall be erased from the minds of the natives, and the families shall become related by marriage in such manner thatwhen free of the Castilian dominion should any exalted Filipinos try to expel or enslave our race, they would find it so interlaced with their own that their plan would be practically impossible.
After some years, when this population was sufficiently trimmed off, an assembly of deputies shall be formed from the people, in order that they may hold sessions in Manila for two or three months every year. In those sessions they shall discuss public affairs, especially those treating of taxes and budgets. Then after some time of such political education, our government may be withdrawn without fear, fixing before doing that the kind of government that is to be established—probably some constitutional form analogous to those of Europe, with a royal prince at its head chosen from among our infantes.
My task is concluded. Which of the two plans, above analyzed, it is the most just or advisable to follow, does not concern me to recommend, much less propose.
I will add, however, a page to express my opinion as an individual of the Spanish nation. If I had to choose I would vote for the last. I cannot see what benefits we have had from the colonies: depopulation, decadence in the arts, and the public debt, which come in great measure from them. The interest of a state consists, as I see it, in having a dense and well-educated population, and I do not speak only of literary or political education, but of that general education, which makes each one perfect in his trade, I mean in that education which constitutes a cabinet-maker, a weaver, a blacksmith, the best cabinet-maker, weaver, or blacksmith possible. The greateror less number of machines is, in our century, an almost sure thermometer by which to gage the power of empires.
A colony cannot be useful except with the end of filling one of the following three objects: to make of it a tributary country, for the increase of the income of the mother-country (as Holland effects by means of a compulsory and exclusive system); to erect it into a second country, and a place of immigration of the surplus population (such as are especially Australia, Van Diemen’s land and New Zealand); finally to procure in it, a place wherein to expend the products of the national manufactures (as is the principal aim of the modern colonial establishments). For the first, we have already seen that the Filipinas are a poor resource, and will be for a long time; and I shall not wonder that before losing them, they will cost us, on the contrary, some millions. As for the second, they are not necessary, for we have no surplus population to unload. And for the third they are useless, for we ourselves have no manufactures to export. Barcelona, which has the most factories in the Peninsula, does not have the least direct communication with the islands. All that is taken there from Cadiz consists of a little paper, oil, and liquors. If it were not for the tobacco and the passengers who go and come, one or two vessels annually would be enough to take care of all the mercantile speculations between both countries. [Separation will not deprive Spain of a future rich market in the Philippines, as the case of the American colonies and England shows. Even if Spain should have a surplus population within a century, the Philippines will also have no lack of inhabitants, and it will benecessary for the Spaniards to emigrate to the Marianas. Mas is not concerned by the argument that separation would mean the loss of the Christian religion in the islands. To the argument that the islands might fall into the hands of the British, French, Dutch, or Chinese, he asks why Spain should become a knight errant for all unprotected peoples. Spaniards in the islands can always return to Spain. People assert that since Spain has spent over 300,000,000 pesos on the islands, it is but proper that that country be reimbursed; but although it has also spent much on the holy land, it never expects any return therefor. Let the Filipinos pay heavier taxes under their own government; why is that any concern? Even if ninety per cent of the population should desire to remain under Spain’s domination, that is no sign that there may not be a better condition.] In conclusion, if we are conserving the islands for love of the islanders, we are losing our time, and merit, for gratitude is sometimes met with in persons, but never can it be hoped for from peoples; and indeed through our love, why do we fall into an anomaly, such as combining our claim for liberty for ourselves, and our wish at the same time to impose our law on remote peoples? Why do we deny to others the benefit which we desire for our fatherland? By these principles of universal morality and justice, and because I am persuaded that in the midst of the political circumstances in which España is at present, the condition of that colony will be neglected; that none of the measures which I propose for its conservation (this is my conviction) will be adopted; and that it will emancipate itself violently with the loss of considerable property and many lives ofEuropean Spaniards and Filipinos: I think that it would be infinitely more easy, more useful, and more glorious for us to acquire the glory of the work by being the first to show generosity. Hence, the foreign authors who have unjustly printed so many calumnies against our colonial governments, authors belonging to nations who never satisfy their hunger for colonies, would have to say at least this once: “The Spaniards crossing new and remote seas, extended the domain of geography by discovering the Filipinas Islands. They found anarchy and despotism there, and established order and justice. They encountered slavery and destroyed it, and imposed political equality. They ruled their inhabitants with laws, and just laws. They christianized them, civilized them, defended them from the Chinese, from Moro pirates, and from European aggressors; they spent much gold on them, and then gave them liberty.”34