The Philippine Islands As They Are.
Area and Population—Climate—Mineral Wealth—Agriculture—Commerceand Transportation—Revenue and Expenses—Spanish Troops—SpanishNavy—Spanish Civil Administration—Insurgent Troops—Insurgent CivilAdministration—United States Troops—United States Navy—UnitedStates Civil Administration—The Future of the Islands.
General Frank V. Greene made an exhaustive study of all reports of an official character regarding the area, population, climate, resources, commerce, revenue and expenses of the Philippines Islands, and prepared a memorandum for the general information that is the most thorough and complete ever made, and is the latest and highest authority on all the subjects to which it relates, and they include the solid information the business men of the United States want respecting our Asiatic associations. The memorandum is herewith submitted in substance, and all the particulars of public concern.
Area and Population.
These islands, including the Ladrones, Carolinas and Palaos, which are all under the Government of Manila, are variously estimated at from 1,200 to 1,300 in number. The greater portion of these are small and of no more value than the islands off the coast of Alaska. The important islands are less than a dozen in number, and 90 per cent. of the Christian population live on Luzon and the five principal islands of the Visayas group.
The total population is somewhere between 7,000,000 and 9,000,000. This includes the wild tribes of the mountains of Luzon and of the islands in the extreme south. The last census taken by the Spanish Government was on December 31, 1887, and this stated the Christian population to be 6,000,000 (in round numbers). This is distributed as follows:
PerArea. Population. Sq. Mile.Luzon 44,400 3,426,000 79Panay 4,700 735,000 155Cebu 2,400 504,000 210Leyte 3,300 279,000 71Bohol 1.300 245,000 188Negros 3,300 242,000 73====== ========= ===59,800 5,422,000 91
The density of population in these six islands is nearly 50 per cent. greater than in Illinois and Indiana (census of 1890), greater than in Spain, about one-half as great as in France, and one-third as great as in Japan and China, the exact figures being as follows:
Area. Population. Per Sq. Mile.Illinois 56,000 3,826,351 68Indiana 35,910 2,192,494 61——— ————- —-91,910 6,018,755 64
Spain 197,670 17,565,632 88France 204,092 38,517,975 189Japan 147,655 42,270,620 286China 1,312,328 383,253,029 292
The next most important islands, in the order of population, are:
Area. Population. Per Sq. Mile.Mindanao 34,000 209,000 6Samar 4,800 186,000 38Mindoro 4,000 67,000 17Nomblon 600 35,000 58Masbate 1,400 21,000 15——— ———- —44,800 518,000 11
Various smaller islands, including the Carolinas, Ladrones and Palaos, carry the total area and Christian population to—
140,000 6,000,000 43
This is considerably greater than the density of population in the States east of the Rocky Mountains. Owing to the existence of mountain ranges in all the islands, and lack of communication in the interior, only a small part of the surface is inhabited. In many provinces the density of population exceeds 200 per square mile, or greater than that of any of the United States, except Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The total area of the Philippines is about the same as that of Japan, but its civilized population is only one-seventh.
In addition to the Christian population, it is estimated (in theOfficial Guide) that the islands contain the following:
Chinese (principally in Manila) 75,000Moors or Mohametans in Paragon and Jok 100,000Moors or Mohametans in Mindanao and Basilan 209,000Heathen in the Philippines 830,000Heathen in the Carolinas and Palaos 50,000————-1,264,000
The Official Guide gives a list of more than thirty different races, each speaking a different dialect; but five-sixths of the Christian population are either Tagalos or Visayas. All the races are of the Malay type. Around Manila there has been some mixture of Chinese and Spanish blood with that of the natives, resulting in the Mestizos or Half-breeds, but the number of these is not very great.
As seen in the provinces of Cavite and Manila, the natives (Tagalos) are of small stature, averaging probably 5 feet 4 inches in height, and 120 pounds in weight for the men, and 5 feet in height, and 100 pounds in weight for the women. Their skin is coppery brown, somewhat darker than that of the mulatto. They seem to be industrious and hard-working, although less so than the Chinese. By the Spaniards they are considered indolent, crafty, untruthful, cowardly and cruel, but the hatred between the Spaniards and the native races is so intense and bitter that the Spanish opinion of the natives is of little or no value. To us they seem industrious and docile, but there are occasional evidences of deceit and untruthfulness in their dealings with us. The bulk of the population is engaged in agriculture, and there were hardly any evidences of manufactures, arts or mining. The greater number seemed to be able to read and write, but I have been unable to obtain any exact figures on this subject. They are all devout Roman Catholics, although they hate the monastic orders.
In Manila (and doubtless also in Cebu and Iloilo) are many thousands of educated natives, who are merchants, lawyers, doctors and priests. They are well informed and have accumulated property. They have not traveled much, but there is said to be quite a numerous colony of rich Filipinos in Madrid, as well as in Paris and London. The bibliography of the Philippines is said to number 4,500 volumes, the greater part of which have been written by Spanish priests and missionaries. The number of books on the subject in the English language is probably less than a dozen.
Climate.
The climate is one of the best known in the tropics. The islands extend from 5 to 21 deg. north latitude, and Manila is in 14d. 35m. The thermometer during July and August rarely went below 79 or above 85. The extreme ranges in a year are said to be 61 and 97, and the annual mean, 81. There are three well-marked seasons, temperate and dry from November to February, hot and dry from March to May, and temperate and wet from June to October. The rainy season reaches its maximum in July and August, when the rains are constant and very heavy. The total rainfall has been as high as 114 inches in one year.
Yellow fever appears to be unknown. The diseases most fatal among the natives are cholera and smallpox, both of which are brought from China. Low malarial fever is brought on by sleeping on the ground or being chilled by remaining, without exercise, in wet clothes; and diarrhea is produced by drinking bad water or eating excessive quantities of fruit. Almost all of these diseases are preventable by proper precautions, even by troops in campaign. The sickness in our troops was very small, much less than in the cold fogs at camp in San Francisco.
Mineral Wealth.
Very little is known concerning the mineral wealth of the islands. It is stated that there are deposits of coal, petroleum, iron, lead, sulphur, copper and gold in the various islands, but little or nothing has been done to develop them. A few concessions have been granted for working mines, but the output is not large. The gold is reported on Luzon, coal and petroleum on Cebu and Iloilo, and sulphur on Leyte. The imports of coal in 1894 (the latest year for which the statistics have been printed) were 91,511 tons, and it came principally from Australia and Japan. In the same year the imports of iron of all kinds were 9,632 tons.
If the Cebu coal proves to be good quality there is a large market for it in competition with the coal from Japan and Australia.
Agriculture.
Although agriculture is the chief occupation of the Philippines, yet only one-ninth of the surface is under cultivation. The soil is very fertile, and even after deducting the mountainous areas, it is probable that the area of cultivation can be very largely extended, and that the islands can support a population equal to that of Japan (42,000,000).
The chief products are rice, corn, hemp, sugar, tobacco, cocoanuts and cacao. Coffee and cotton were formerly produced in large quantities—the former for export and the latter for home consumption; but the coffee plant has been almost exterminated by insects, and the home made cotton clothes have been driven out by the competition of those imported from England. The rice and corn are principally produced in Luzon and Mindoro, and are consumed in the islands; the rice crop is about 765,000 tons; it is insufficient for the demand and 45,000 tons of rice were imported in 1894, the greater portion from Saigon, and the rest from Hongkong and Singapore; also 8,669 tons (say 60,000 barrels) of flour, of which more than two-thirds came from China and less than one-third from the United States.
The cacao is raised in the southern islands, the best quality of it in Mindanao. The production amounts to only 150 tons, and it is all made into chocolate and consumed in the islands.
The sugar cane is raised in the Visayas. The crop yielded, in 1894, about 235,000 tons of raw sugar, of which one-tenth was consumed in the islands and the balance, or 210,000 tons, valued at $11,000,000, was exported, the greater part to China, Great Britain and Australia.
The hemp is produced in southern Luzon, Mindoro, the Visayas and Mindanao. It is nearly all exported in bales. In the year 1894 the amount was 96,000 tons, valued at $12,000,000.
Tobacco is raised in all the islands, but the best quality and the greatest amount in Luzon. A large amount is consumed in the islands, smoking being universal among the women as well as the men, but the best quality is exported. The amount, in 1894, was 7,000 tons of leaf tobacco, valued at $1,400,000, and 1,400 tons of manufactured tobacco, valued at $1,750,000. Spain takes 30 per cent, and Egypt 10 per cent of the leaf tobacco. Of the manufactured tobacco, 70 per cent, goes to China and Singapore, 10 per cent. to England, and 5 per cent. to Spain.
Cocoanuts are grown in southern Luzon and are used in various ways. The products are largely used in the islands, but the exports, in 1894, were valued at $2,400,000.
Cattle, goats and sheep have been introduced from Spain, but they are not numerous. Domestic pigs and chickens are seen around every hut in the farming districts.
The principal beast of burden is the carabac or water buffalo, which is used for ploughing rice fields, as well as drawing heavy loads on sledges or on carts.
Large horses are almost unknown, but there are great numbers of native ponies, from nine to twelve hands high, but possessing strength and endurance far beyond their size.
Commerce and Transportation.
The internal commerce between Manila and the different islands is quite large, but I was unable to find any official records giving exact figures concerning it. It is carried on almost entirely by water, in steamers of 500 to 1,000 tons. There are regular mail steamers, once in two weeks, on four routes, viz.; Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao; also a steamer every two months to the Carolines and Ladrones, and daily steamers on Manila Bay. These lines are all subsidized. To facilitate this navigation extensive harbor works have been in progress at Manila for several years, and a plan for lighting the coasts has been made, calling for forty-three principal lights, of which seventeen have already been constructed in the most substantial manner, besides sixteen lights of secondary importance.
There is only one line of railway, built by English capital, running from Manila north to Dagupan, a distance of about 120 miles. The roads in the immediate vicinity of Manila are macadamized and in fairly good order; elsewhere they are narrow paths of soft, black soil, which becomes almost impassable in the rainy season. Transportation is then effected by sledges, drawn through the mud by carabacs. There are telegraph lines connecting most of the provinces of Luzon with Manila, and cables to the Visayas and southern islands, and thence to Borneo and Singapore, as well as a direct cable from Manila to Hongkong. The land telegraph lines are owned by the Government, and the cables all belong to an English company, which receives a large subsidy. In Manila there is a narrow gauge street railway, operated by horse-power, about eleven miles in total length; also a telephone system, and electric lights.
Communications with Europe are maintained by the Spanish Trans-Atlantic Company (subsidized), which sends a steamer every four weeks from Manila and Barcelona, making the trip in about twenty-seven days. The same company also sends an intermediate steamer from Manila to Singapore, meeting the French Messagoric each way. There is also a non-subsidized line running from Manila to Hongkong every two weeks, and connecting there with the English, French and German mails for Europe, and with the Pacific mail and Canadian Pacific steamers for Japan and America.
There has been no considerable development of manufacturing industries in the Philippines. The only factories are those connected with the preparation of rice, tobacco and sugar. Of the manufactures and arts, in which Japan so excels, there is no evidence.
The foreign commerce amounted, in 1894, to $28,558,552 in imports, and $33,149,984 in exports, 80 per cent, of which goes through Manila. About 60 per cent. of the trade is carried in British vessels, 20 per cent. in Spanish and 10 per cent. in German.
The value of the commerce with other countries in 1894 was as follows:
In Millions of Dollars (Silver).
Imports. Exports.Spain 10.5 2.9Great Britain 7.1 8.7China 4.6 6.8Germany 1.9 —-Saigon .9 —-United States .7 7.4France .7 1.2Singapore .4 1.7Japan .2 1.2Australia .1 2.6Other Countries 1.5 .6—— ——25.6 33.1
It is interesting to note that next to Great Britain we are the largest customers of the Philippines, and that they export to us nearly three times as much as to Spain. On the other hand Spain sells to the Philippines fifteen times as much as we do.
The articles of import and their value in 1894 were as follows:
In Millions of Dollars (Silver).
Spain. Great China. Germany. United Other Total.Britain. States. CountriesCotton Goods 3.9 4.O .4 .3 — .7 9.3Cotton Yarns 1.2 .9 .2 .1 — .1 2.5Wines 1.8 — — — — .1 1.9Russia.Mineral Oils — — .2 — .4 .8 1.4Iron .2 .7 — .2 — .1 1.2Rice — — 1.0 — — .1 1.1Flour — — .7 — .2 — .9Sweet Meats .5 — — — — .3 .8Paper .4 — — .1 — .2 .7Linen Goods .1 .1 .1 — — .3 .6Hats .1 — — .3 — .2 .6Other Articles 2.3 1.4 2.O .9 .1 .9 7.6— — — — — — —10.5 7.1 4.6 1.9 .7 3.8 28.6
The articles of export and their value in 1894 were as follows:
In Millions of Dollars (Silver).
Spain Great China United Austra- Other TotalBritain States lia CountriesHemp — 5.3 .9 6.6 .6 1.1 [2] 14.5Sugar .4 2.7 4.O .7 1.9 1.3 [3] 11.OMan'f. Tobacco .2 .1 .7 .. .1 .7 [4] 1.3Leaf Tobacco 1.1 .. .. .. .. .3 1.4Coffee .3 .. .1 .. .. .. .4Cocoanuts .. .6 .1 .. .. .. .7Other Articles .9 .. 1.O .1 .. 1.3 3.3— — — — — — —2.9 8.7 6.8 7.4 2.6 4.7 33.16
With these islands in our possession and the construction of railroads in the interior of Luzon, it is probable that an enormous extension could be given to this commerce, nearly all of which would come to the United States. Manila cigars of the best quality are unknown in America. They are but little inferior to the best of Cuba, and cost only one-third as much. The coffee industry can be revived and the sugar industry extended, mainly for consumption in the far East. The mineral resources can be explored with American energy, and there is every reason to believe that when this is done the deposits of coal, iron, gold and lead will be found very valuable. On the other hand, we ought to be able to secure the greater part of the trade which now goes to Spain in textile fabrics, and a considerable portion of that with England in the same goods and in iron.
Revenue and Expenses.
The budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1897, was as follows:
Income.
1st. Direct Taxes $8,496,170 2nd. Indirect Taxes (Customs) 6,200,550 3rd. Proceeds of Monopolies 1,222,000 4th. Lottery 1,000,000 5th. Income of Government Property 257,000 6th. Sundry Receipts 298,300 —————- Total $17,474,020
Expenses.
1st. General Expenses, Pensions and Interest $1,506,686 2nd. Diplomatic and Consular Service 74,000 3rd. Clergy and Courts 1,876,740 4th. War Department 6,035,316 5th. Treasury Department 1,392,414 6th. Navy Department 3,562,716 7th. Civil Administration 2,195,378 8th. Education 614,395 —————- Total $17,258,145
The Direct Taxes were as follows:
1st. Real Estate, 5 per cent, on income $ 140,2802nd. Industry and Commerce 1,400,7003rd. Cedalas (Poll Tax) 5,600,0004th. Chinese Poll Tax 510,1905th. Tribute from Sultan of Jolo 20,0006th. Railroads, 10 per cent. ofPassenger Receipts 32,0007th. Income Tax, 10 per cent. on PublicSalaries 730,0008th. Sundry Taxes 63,000—————Total $8,496,170
Indirect Taxes were as follows:
1st. Imports $3,600,0002nd. Exports 1,292,5503rd. Loading Tax 410,0004th. Unloading Tax 570,0005th. Fines and Penalties 27,0006th. Special Tax on Liquors, Beer,Vegetables, Flour, Salt and MineralOils 301,000—————Total $6,200,550
Monopolies:
1st. Opium Contract $ 576,0002nd. Stamped Paper and Stamps 646,000—————Total $1,222,000
Lottery:
1st. Sale of Tickets, Less Cost of Prizes $ 964,0002nd. Unclaimed Prizes 30,0003rd. Sundry Receipts 6,000—————Total $1,000,000
Income of Government Property:
1st. Forestry Privileges $170,0002nd. Sale and Rent of Public Land andBuildings 85,0003rd. Mineral Privileges 2,000————Total $257,000
Sundry Receipts:
1st. Mint (Seignorage) $200,0002nd. Sundries 98,300————Total $298,300
The largest source of income is the Cedala or Poll Tax. Every man and woman above 18 years of age, residing in the Philippines, whether Spanish subject or foreigner, is required to have in his or her possession a paper stating name, age, and occupation, and other facts of personal identity. Failure to produce and exhibit this when called upon renders anyone liable to arrest and imprisonment. This paper is obtained from the internal revenue office annually, on payment of a certain sum, varying, according to the occupation and income of the person from $0.75 to $20.00, and averaging about $3.00 for each adult. An extra sum of 2 per cent. is paid for expense of collection. The tax is collected at the Tribunal in each pueble, and 20 per cent. is retained for expenses of local administration, and 80 per cent. paid to the General Treasury. This tax falls heavily on the poor and lightly on the rich. The tax on industry and commerce is similarly graded according to the volume of business transacted by each merchant or merchantile corporation. The tax on real estate is absurdly low and levied only on municipal property and on the rent, not the value.
The tax on imports is specific and not ad valorum; it amounts to about 13 per cent. of estimated values. The free list is very small, nearly everything of commercial value which is imported being subject to duty. The revenue from imports has increased from $566,143 in 1865, to $3,695,446 in 1894. It was about the same in 1897. On the other hand the export tax, which was nothing in 1892, the loading tax, which was nothing in 1893, and the unloading tax, which was nothing in 1894, have all been increased in the last few years in order to meet the expenses of suppressing the insurrection. These three items yielded nearly $2,700,000 in 1897.
The monopoly of importing and selling opium is sold, by auction, to the highest bidder for a term of three years. The present contract runs until 1899, and yields $48,000 per month.
Every legal document must be drawn up on paper containing a revenue stamp, engraved and printed in Spain, and every note, check, draft, bill of exchange, receipt or similar document must bear a revenue stamp in order to be valid. These stamps and stamped paper yielded a revenue of $646,000 in 1897.
The lottery is conducted by the Government—the monthly drawings taking place in the Treasury (Hacienda) Department. The sale of tickets yielded $1,000,000 over and above prizes in 1897.
In a report to General Merritt, on August 29th, I recommended that the opium contract be cancelled and the lottery abandoned during our occupation of Manila; and as the poll tax and the tax on industry and commerce had been paid for the most part in the early part of the year, our chief sources of revenue were from the custom house, the sale of stamps and stamped paper, and the sale of such licenses as the law allowed (amusements, liquor saloons, etc.), for the benefit of the city of Manila as distinguished from the general revenue. I estimated the total at about $500,000 per month.
The expenses of administering the military government of occupation (apart from the expenses of the army) will consist of the current expenses of the office at the Provost Marshal General's office and its various bureaus—at the custom house, internal revenue office, and other offices—and the salaries of interpreters and minor employes who are anxious to resume work as soon as they dare do so. An estimate of these expenses was being prepared at the time I left, but was not completed. It can hardly exceed $200,000 per month and may be much less. This should leave $300,000 (silver) excess of income per month, to go towards the military expenses of occupation.
As soon as it is decided that we are to retain the islands it will be necessary to make a careful study of the sources of revenue and items of expenses for all the islands, with a view to thoroughly understanding the subject, before introducing the extensive changes which will be necessary.
Currency.
The standard of value has always, until within a few years, been the Mexican milled dollar. The Spanish dollar contains a little less silver and, in order to introduce it and profit by the coinage, the Spaniards prohibited the importation of Mexican dollars a few years since. Large numbers of Mexican dollars remained in that country, however, and others were smuggled in. The two dollars circulate at equal value.
All valuations of goods and labor are based on the silver dollar, and a change to the gold standard would result in great financial distress and many failures among the banks and mercantile houses in Manila. Their argument is that while an American ten-dollar gold piece will bring twenty-one silver dollars at any bank or house having foreign connections, yet it will not buy any more labor or any more hemp and sugar from the original producer than ten silver dollars. The products of the country are almost entirely agricultural, and the agricultural class, whether it sells its labor or its products, would refuse to accept any less than the accustomed wages or prices, on account of being paid in the more valuable coin. The result of the change would be that the merchant or employe would have to pay double for what he buys, and would receive no increase for what he sells. While trade would eventually adjust itself to the change, yet many merchants would be ruined in the process and would drag some banks down with them.
The Mexican dollar is the standard also in Hongkong and China, and the whole trade of the Far East has, for generations, been conducted on a silver basis. Japan has, within the last year, broken away from this and established the gold standard, but in doing so the relative value of silver and gold was fixed at 32 1/2 to 1, or about the market rate.
Public Debt.
I was unable to obtain any precise information in regard to the colonial debt. The last book on statistics of imports and exports was for the fiscal year 1894, and the last printed budget was for 1896-7, which was approved by the Queen Regent in August, 1896. Subsequent to this date, according to the statements made to me by foreign bankers, the Cortes authorized two colonial loans of $14,000,000 (silver) each, known as Series A and Series B. The proceeds were to be used in suppressing the insurrection. Both were to be secured by a first lien on the receipts of the Manila custom house.
Series A is said to have been sold in Spain and the proceeds to have been paid into the Colonial Office; but no part of them has ever reached the Philippines. Possibly a portion of it was used in sending out the 25,000 troops which came from Spain to the Philippines in the autumn of 1896.
Series B was offered for sale in Manila, but was not taken. An effort was then made to obtain subscribers in the Provinces, but with little or no success. The Government then notified the depositors in the Public Savings Bank (a branch of the Treasury Department similar to the postal savings bureaus in other countries) that their deposits would no longer be redeemed in cash, but only in Series B bonds. Some depositors were frightened and took bonds, others declined to do so. Then came the blockade of Manila and all business was practically suspended.
No printed report has been made concerning the debt, and I was unable to obtain any satisfactory statement of the matter from the treasury officials.
The exact in regard to the Series A bonds can be learned in Madrid; but it will be difficult to learn how many of Series B were issued and what consideration was received for them.
As already stated, both series of bonds rest for security on the receipts of the Manila custom house.
Spanish Troops.
The Spanish prisoners of war number about 13,000, including about 400 officers. The infantry arms are about 32,000, the greater part Mauser model 1895, caliber 28, and the others Remingtons, model 1889, caliber 43. The ammunition is about 22,000,000 rounds. The field artillery consists of about twelve breech-loading steel guns, caliber 3 5-10 inches, and ten breech-loading mountain guns, caliber 3 2-10 inches. There are six horses (ponies) for each gun, but the harness is in bad order. Ammunition, about sixty rounds per gun, with possibly more in the arsenals. There are about 500 cavalry ponies, larger than the average of native horses, with saddles and equipments complete. There is also a battalion of engineers. The fortifications of the walled city are a fine sample of the Vauban type, on which military engineers expended so much ingenuity 150 years ago, and of which Spain possessed so many in her Flemish dominions. The first walls of Manila were built about 1590, but the present fortifications date from a short time after the capture and occupation of the place by the English, in 1762-64. They consist of bastions and curtains, deep, wet ditch, covered way, lunettes, demilunes, hornworks, and all the scientific accessories of that day. They are in a good state of preservation, and mount several hundred bronze guns, but they are chiefly of interest to the antiquarian. On the glacis facing the bay, and also on the open space just south of the walls, are mounted 9-inch breech loaders, four in all, made at Hoatoria, Spain, in 1884. They are well mounted, between high traverses, in which are bomb-proof magazines. These guns are practically uninjured, and Admiral Dewey has the breech blocks. While not as powerful as the guns of the present day of the same caliber, they are capable of effective service. Their location, however, is very faulty, as they are on the shore of the bay, with all the churches, public buildings and most valuable property immediately behind them. On the day after the naval battle Admiral Dewey sent word to the Governor-General that if these guns fired a shot at any of his vessels he would immediately reply with his whole squadron. Owing to their location, this meant a bombardment of the city. This threat was effective; these guns were never afterward fired, not even during the attack of August 13th, and in return the navy did not fire on them, but directed all their shells at the forts and trenches occupied by the troops outside of the suburbs of the city.
Within the walled city are the cathedral and numerous churches, convents and monasteries, the public offices, civil and military, military workshops and arsenals, barracks for artillery, cavalry and engineers, storehouses and a few dwellings and shops.
The infantry barracks are outside of the walls, four in number; viz.: Neysing, Fortin, Calzada and Fruita. They are modern and well constructed, and will accommodate about 4,000 men. They are now occupied by the United States troops. Under the terms of the armistice the arms laid down by the Spanish troops on August 14th are to be returned to them whenever they evacuate the city, or the American army evacuates it. All other public property, including horses, artillery, public funds, munitions, etc., is surrendered to the United States unconditionally.
The question of sending back the troops to Spain is left absolutely to the decision of the authorities in Washington. They are all within the walled city, but as the public buildings are insufficient to accommodate them, they are quartered in the churches and convents. These buildings are not adapted for this purpose; they have no sinks, lavatories, kitchens or sleeping apartments, and there is great danger of an epidemic of sickness if the troops are not soon removed.
Pending their removal they are being fed with rations furnished by the United States Commissary Department, and the officers receive from the United States sufficient money for their support.
Spanish Navy.
At the outbreak of the war the naval force in the Philippines consisted of
10 Cruisers.19 Gunboats.4 Armed Launches.3 Transports.1 Survey Boat.37
Of these Admiral Dewey destroyed, on May 1st, ten cruisers and one transport, and he has since captured two gunboats. The Spaniards have sunk one transport and two or three gunboats in the Pasig River. There remain thirteen or fourteen gunboats, which are scattered among the islands. They are of iron, from 140 to 200 tons each, are armed with one breech-loading rifle, caliber 3 6-10 inches, and two to four machine guns, each caliber 44-100 to 1 inch. One of the captured boats, the Callao, under command of Lieutenant Tappan, United States Navy, and a crew of eighteen men, rendered very efficient service in the attack of August 13th. These boats would all be useful in the naval police of the islands. They will, however, probably be scuttled by the Spaniards before the islands are surrendered.
The Navy Yard at Cavite has barracks for about 1,500 men (now occupied by United States troops) and has shops and ways for light work and vessels of less than 1,000 tons. Many of the gunboats above mentioned were built there. The shallow depth of water in Canacoa or Cavite Bay would prevent the enlargement of this naval station to accommodate large vessels, and the plan of the Spaniards was to create a large naval station in Subig Bay, on which considerable money has already been spent.
Spanish Civil Administration.
The Government of the Philippine Islands, including the Ladrones, Carolinas and Palaos, is vested in the Governor-General, who, in the language of the Spanish Official Guide, or Blue Book, "is the sole and legitimate representative in these islands of the supreme power of the Government of the King of Spain, and, as such, is the supreme head of all branches of the public service, and has authority to inspect and supervise the same, not excepting the courts of justice." The office is held by a Lieutenant-General in the Spanish army, and he is also Vice Royal Patron of the Indies, exercising in these islands the ecclesiastical functions conferred on the King of Spain by various Bulls of the Popes of Rome, Captain-General-in-Chief of the Army of the Philippines, Inspector-General of all branches of the service, Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces, and President of all corporations and societies which partake of an official character.
What corresponds to his Cabinet, or Ministry, consists of
(a) The Archbishop of Manila and four Bishops, who administer ecclesiastical affairs in the five dioceses into which the islands are divided for this purpose; the appointment of parish priests and curates, however, is vested in the Governor-General. The various religious orders which exercise so large an influence in the politics and business of the islands, viz.: Augustinians, Dominicans, Recollects. Franciscans, Capuchins, Benedictines and Jesuits, are all under the management of the Bishops, subject to the supervision of the Pope, and the prerogatives of the King as Royal Patron, which prerogatives are exercised by the Governor-General as Viceroy.
(b) The High Court of Justice in Manila, which is the Court of Appeals in civil and governmental cases for all the islands. There are two principal criminal courts in Cebu and Vigan (northern Luzon) and appeal in criminal cases lies to these courts or to the High Court of Manila. In every Province there is a court of primary jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases.
(c) The General, second in command, who is a General of Division in the Spanish army. He is the sub-inspector of all branches of the military service, is Military Governor of the Province and city of Manila and commands all the troops stationed therein, and in the absence or sickness of the Captain General he commands all the military forces in the islands.
(d) The General Commandant of Dock Yards and Squadron. This post is filled by a Vice Admiral in the Spanish navy, and he commands the naval forces, ships and establishments in the islands.
(e) The Minister of Finance, or Intendente General de Hacienda, who is charged with the collection of customs and internal taxes, the expenditures of public money, and the audit and control of public accounts.
(f) The Minister of the Interior, or Director General of Civil Administration, who is charged with all public business relating to public instruction, charities, health, public works, forests, mines, agriculture, industry and commerce, posts and telegraphs and meteorology.
For the purpose of local administration the islands are divided intoProvinces and Districts, classified as follows:
19 Civil Governments. 24 Political-Military Governments. 23 Political-Military Commands. 15 Military Commands.
The most important of the Provinces are Manila, with a population of 400,238 (of which 10 per cent. are Chinese), and Cebu, with 501,076; and the least important districts are Balabas and Corregidor, with 420 and 320 respectively.
The governor or commandant has supreme control within his province or district of every branch of the public service, including the Courts of Justice, and each reports to the Governor General. The Guardia Civil or Gendarmerie, is subject only to his orders, and for arrests and imprisonment for political offenses, he is responsible, not to the law, but to the Governor General and the King.
The Civil Governments are governed by Civil Governors, of the rank in the Spanish Civil Service of Chiefs of Administration of the second class. The Political Military Governments and Commands are in charges of military and naval officers of various grades, according to their size and importance; ranging from General of Division at Mindanao, Brigadier-Generals at Cebu and Iloilo, Captain in the navy at Paragua, down to Lieutenant at Balabas and Corregidor.
The Civil or Military Governor is assisted by a secretary, a judge, an administrator of finances, a postmaster and a captain of police.
The affairs of cities are managed by a council (Ayuntamiento) consisting of a president, a recorder (Sindico), one or more mayors (Alcaldo), six to ten aldermen (Regidores) and a secretary.
Outside of the cities each province or district is divided into a number of villages or parishes (Pueblos); the total number of these is 1,055; in each there is a parish priest, a municipal captain, a justice of the peace, a school master and school mistress. The number of cities is very small, and the social life of the community depends almost wholly on the form of government of the Pueblos, or villages. In 1893 this was reorganized with the alleged intention of giving local self-government. The scheme is complicated and curious and only an outline of it can be given here. It is contained in full in the Royal Decree of May 19, 1893, a long document, supplemented by still longer regulations for carrying the same into effect.
In brief every Pueblo in which there are paid more than 1,000 Cedulas (poll tax) shall have a municipal tribunal consisting of five members, by whom its local affairs and funds shall be managed. The members are a
Municipal Captain.Senior Lieutenant.Lieutenant of Police.Lieutenant of Agriculture.Lieutenant of Cattle.
And the Village Priest is required to attend all the important meetings.
The Captain holds office for four years, and is eligible for indefinite re-election; the Lieutenants hold office for four years also, one-half of them going out of office every two years, and they are ineligible for re-election until two years after the expiration of their term. Both Captains and Lieutenants are elected, on a day designated by the Governor, and in presence of the village priest, and out going Captain, by the Principalia, or body of principal men of the village. The village is subdivided into Barangayes, or group of about 100 families each, and for each Barangay there is a Chief or Headman (Cabeza), who is appointed by the Governor, on the recommendation of the Municipal Tribunal. The Principalia is made up of
Former Municipal Captains.Former Municipal Lieutenants.Former Gobernadorcilles.Chiefs of Barangayes.All inhabitants paying more than $50 annually in taxes.
The Principalia choose the 12 electors as follows:
6 from the Chiefs of Barangayes. 3 from Former Municipal Captains. 3 from the largest taxpayers.
The electors hold office for six years, and one-third go out of office every two years.
The municipal Captain must be a resident of the village, more than 25 years of age, read and speak Spanish and be a Chief of Barangay. While the Municipal Tribunal nominally controls the local affairs, yet the Captain has the right to suspend all its acts which he considers against the public welfare, and report the matter to the Provincial Governor, who has power to rescind them; the Captain appoints all village employes, and removes them at will; he can also fine and punish them for petty offenses; he issues orders to the police and collects the taxes. He holds a commission as Delegate or Representative of the Governor General, and, in fact, he exercises within his little bailiwick the same supreme power that the governor exercises in the province, and the Governor General in the whole Archipelago.
In each province there is a Junta or Council, whose membership consists of
The Administrator of Finance.Two Vicars.The Public Physician.
The latter Four Members must be residents of the Capital of the Province, and they are elected by the Municipal Captains, from a list of names submitted to them by the Junta with the approval of the Governor.
The functions of this Junta or Council are solely those of inspection and advice. It watches over affairs of the Municipal Tribunals, and reports to the Governor its advice and recommendations concerning them. The Municipal Captain is obliged to deposit the taxes in the Provincial Treasury, the keys of which are held by three members of the Council; he draws out the money in accordance with the municipal budget, and his accounts must be approved by his lieutenants, countersigned by the village priest, passed upon by the Provincial Council, and finally approved by the Governor.
The Governor has power to suspend the Municipal Captain or any of his colleagues for a period of three months, and the Governor General can remove one or all of them from office at will; and "in extraordinary cases or for reasons of public tranquility, the Governor shall have power to decree, without any legal process, the abolition of the Municipal Tribunals." (Article 45.)
In December, 1896, General Polavieja issued a decree, suspending the elections which were to take place that month for one-third of the municipal electors, and directed the Governors of Provinces to send in names of persons suitable for appointment, together with the recommendations of the village priest in each case.
An examination of this unique scheme of village government shows that one-half of the electors are to be chosen from persons holding a subordinate office and appointed by the Governor; that the village priest must be present at all elections and important meetings; that the Captain has all the responsibility, and he must also be of the class holding a subordinate office by appointment of the governor; that the acts of Municipal Tribunal can be suspended by the Captain and rescinded by the Governor; and, finally, if the Municipal Tribunal is offensive to the Governor General he can either remove its members and appoint others in their place or can abolish it altogether.
Such is the Spanish idea of self-government; the Minister of the Colonies, in submitting the decree to the Queen Regent, expatiated on its merits in giving the natives such full control of their local affairs, and expressed the confident belief that it would prove "most beneficent to these people whom Providence has confided to the generous sovereignty of the Spanish monarchs."
This scheme of government by Municipal Tribunals was highly approved by the natives, except that feature of it which placed so much power in the hands of the Governor and Governor General. This, however, was the essence of the matter, from the Spanish standpoint, and these portions of the Decree were the ones most fully carried out. The natives complained, on the one hand, of the delay in putting the Decree into operation, and on the other hand that so much of it as was established was practically nullified by the action of the Governors. Seeing that the Tribunals had really no power, the members soon turned their sessions (which the Decree required to be secret) into political meetings in favor of the insurrection. So the whole project is thus far a failure: and the local administration is in considerable disorder, apart from that caused by the insurgents. In point of fact self-government and representation are unknown in these islands. The Archbishop and the four Bishops are appointed by the Pope; the Governor General, military and naval officers and all officials with a salary exceeding about $2.000 (silver) are appointed by the King or the Minister of the Colonies. Yet all the expenses are paid from the Philippine Treasury; the salaries of all officials, military, naval, civil and ecclesiastical, the expenses and pensions of the army, navy and church, the cost of the diplomatic and consular service in Japan, China and Singapore, even a portion of the expenses of the Colonial office, Madrid, and of pensions paid to the descendants of Columbus—all come out of the taxes raised in the islands. The natives have no place in the government, except clerks in the public offices at Manila and the petty positions in the villages and the Ayentamientos of cities, where their powers and responsibilities, as we have seen, are at all times limited and subject to revocation whenever disapproved by the Governor.
Though the population of the islands is 40 per cent. of that of Spain, they have no representation in the Cortes.
There is a widespread report, almost universally believed by native Filipinos and by foreign merchants, and even acknowledged by many Spaniards, that pecuniary dishonesty and corruption exist throughout the whole body of Spanish office-holders, from the highest to the lowest. Forced contributions are said to be levied on the salaries of minor officials; the Regimental Paymasters and Commissaries are said to have sold part of the regimental stores for their own profit, the Collector of Customs and the Minister of Finance to have imposed or remitted fines at the Custom House and Internal Revenue Office, according to payment or non-payment of presents by merchants, the judges and court officials to have "borrowed" from attorneys large sums which are never paid, and even the Governor General is reported to have organized a regular system of smuggling in Mexican dollars, the importation of which was prohibited by law, on a fixed scale of payment to himself. The current report is that Weyler carried away over $1,000,000 as his savings during the three years from 1888 to 1891 that he held the office of Governor General, on a salary of $40,000 a year. Of the proof of these reports I have naturally no personal knowledge, but they are matters of common talk and belief, and they have been stated to me by responsible persons, who have long resided in the islands.
As above stated, the Governor General is supreme head of every branch of the public service, not excepting the Courts of Justice. How this power was exercised is shown in the hundreds of executions for alleged political offenses, which took place during the years 1895, 1896 and 1897, by the thousands deported to Mindanao and Fernando Po, and by the number of political prisoners in jail at the time of our entry into Manila. On the first examination which General McArthur, as Military Governor, made of the jail, about August 22nd, he released over 60 prisoners confined for alleged political offenses. One of them was a woman who had been imprisoned for eleven years, by order of the Governor General, but without any charges ever having been presented against her; another was a woman who had been in jail for three years on a vague charge, never formulated, of having carried a basket of cartridges to an insurgent.
The day of reckoning for three centuries of this sort of government came when Admiral Dewey destroyed the Spanish squadron on May 1st, 1898. An insurrection had been in progress from August, 1896, to December, 1897. Unable to suppress it the Government had made a written treaty with the insurgent leaders, paying them a large sum of money and promising to introduce various reforms on condition that they would leave the country. Hardly had the Spanish officials recovered from this when the appalling disaster of the destruction of their fleet occurred under their very eyes.
Then followed in rapid succession the naval blockade, the arrival of the insurgent leaders from Hongkong, the raising of the insurgent army, which blockaded Manila on the land side, and finally, the American troops. At the end of 104 days after the destruction of the Spanish fleet, the city surrendered to a combined land and naval attack of the American forces. On the day after the capitulation, the American Commander in Chief issued his proclamation establishing a military government, appointed a Military Governor, a Minister of Finance, a Collector of Customs, Collector of Internal Revenue, Postmaster and Judge of the Provost Court; took possession of all public funds (about $900,000), and all public offices, and as rapidly as possible put this government in operation.
The machinery of the Spanish Government was thoroughly disorganized when we entered Manila. The Courts of Justice, except the inferior criminal courts, had not been in session since early in May; the officials had been cut off from communication with the other islands and with Spain for over three months; there had been no customs to collect, and, owing to the entire suspension of business, but little internal revenue; a forced loan of $2,000,000 for military purpose had been extracted from the Spanish-Philippine Bank, and yet the troops were several months in arrears of pay; all government offices outside the walled city had been moved to temporary quarters within the walls and their records had been lost or thrown into confusion; the officials seeing the inevitable end in sight, were intent only on planning for their return to Spain.
This disorganization was completed when the American Military officers took charge of the Government, and every Spanish official, without exception, refused absolutely to continue in service. They were immediately dismissed and dispersed.
The situation thus created is without precedent in American history. When Scott captured the City of Mexico it was acknowledged on both sides that his occupation was only to be temporary, and there were no insurgents to deal with. When the Americans entered California they found only a scanty population, who were soon outnumbered by the American immigrants. But in the Philippine Islands there is a population of more than 7,000,000, governed by an alien race, whose representatives present in the Islands, including military and naval forces, clergy and civil employes do not exceed 30,000 in number. Against this Government an insurrection is in progress, which claims to have been successful in provinces containing a population of about 2,000,000. The city and province of Manila, with a population of 400,000 more, have been captured and occupied by a foreign army, but whether its occupation is to be temporary or permanent has not yet been decided.
Finally, the Government officials of all classes refuse to perform their functions; the desire of most of them is to escape to Spain. It was stipulated in the capitulation that they should have the right to do so at their own expense, and numbers of them, as well as friars, have already taken their departure. The Spanish officials have intense fear of the Insurgents; and the latter hate them, as well as the friars, with a virulence that can hardly be described. They have fought them with success, and almost without interruption for two years, and they will continue to fight them with increased vigor and still greated prospects of success, if any attempt is made to restore the Spanish Government. In its present disorganized condition the Spanish Government could not successfully cope with them; on the other hand, it would not surrender to them. The result, therefore, of an attempted restoration of Spanish power in any of the islands would simply be civil war and anarchy, leading inevitably and speedily to intervention by foreign nations whose subjects have property in the islands which they would not allow to be destroyed.
Insurgent Troops.
It is very difficult to give figures for the exact numbers of insurgent troops. In his message to foreign governments of August 6th, asking for recognition of belligerency and independence, Aguinaldo claims to have a force of 30,000 men, organized into a regular army. This included the force in the provinces of Luzon outside of Manila. What was in evidence around Manila varied from 10,000 to 15,000. They were composed of young men and boys, some as young as fifteen years of age, recruited in the rural districts, having no property and nothing to lose in a civil war. They have received no pay and, although Aguinaldo speaks in his proclamation of his intention and ability to maintain order wherever his forces penetrate, yet the feeling is practically universal among the rank and file that they are to be compensated for their time and services and hardships by looting Manila.
Their equipment consists of a gun, bayonet and cartridge box; their uniform of a straw hat, gingham shirt and trousers and bare feet; their transportation of a few ponies and carts, impressed for a day or week at a time; for quarters they have taken the public building in each village or pueblo, locally known as the Tribunal, and the churches and convents; from these details are sent out to man the trenches. Their food while on duty consists of rice and banana leaves, cooked at the quarters and sent out to the trenches. After a few days or a week of active service they return to their homes to feed up or work on their farms, their places being taken by others to whom they turn over their guns and cartridges. Their arms have been obtained from various sources, from purchases in Hongkong, from the supply which Admiral Dewey found in the arsenal at Cavite, from capture made from the Spaniards. They are partly Mausers and partly Remingtons. Their ammunition was obtained in the same way. They have used it freely and the supply is now rather short. To replenish it they have established a cartridge factory at the village of Imus, about ten miles south of Cavite, where they have 400 people engaged in re-loading cartridges with powder and lead found at Cavite, or purchased abroad. They have no artillery, except a few antique Columbiads obtained from Cavite, and no cavalry. Their method of warfare is to dig a trench in front of the Spanish position, cover it with mats as a protection against the sun and rain, and during the night put their guns on top of the trench above their heads and fire in the general direction of the enemy. When their ammunition is exhausted they go off in a body to get a fresh supply in baskets and then return to the trenches.
The men are of small stature, from 5 feet to 5 feet 6 inches in height, and weigh from 110 to 130 pounds. Compared with them our men from Colorado and California seemed like a race of giants. One afternoon just after we entered Manila a battalion of the insurgents fired upon the outposts of the Colorado regiment, mistaking them, as they claimed, for Spaniards. The outpost retreated to their support, and the Filipinos followed; they easily fell into an ambush and the support, numbering about fifty men, surrounded the 250 Filipinos, wrenched the guns out of their hands and marched them off as unarmed prisoners—all in the space of a few minutes. Such a force can hardly be called an army, and yet the service which it has rendered should not be underestimated. Between 2,000 and 3,000 Spanish native troops surrendered to it during the months of June and July. It constantly annoyed and harrassed the Spaniards in the trenches, keeping them up at night and wearing them out with fatigue; and it invested Manila early in July so completely that all supplies were cut off and the inhabitants as well as the Spanish troops were forced to live on horse and buffalo meat, and the Chinese population on cats and dogs. It captured the water works of Manila and cut off the water supply, and, if it had been in the dry season, would have inflicted great suffering on the inhabitants for lack of water. These results, it is true, were obtained against a dispirited army, containing a considerable number of native troops of doubtful loyalty. Yet, from August, 1896, to April, 1897, they fought 25,000 of the best regular troops sent out from Spain, inflicting on them a loss of over 150 officers and 2,500 men, killed and wounded, and they suffered still greater losses themselves. Nevertheless, from daily contact with them for six weeks, I am very confident that no such results could have been obtained against an American army, which would have driven them back to the hills and reduced them to a petty guerilla warfare. If they attack the American army this will certainly be the result, and, while these guerilla bands might give some trouble so long as their ammunition lasted, yet, with our navy guarding the coasts and our army pursuing them on land, it would not be long before they were reduced to subjection.
Insurgent Civil Administration.
In August, 1896, and insurrection broke out in Cavite, under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, and soon spread to other provinces on both sides of Manila. It continued with varying successes on both sides, and the trial and execution of numerous insurgents, until December, 1897, when the Governor-General, Primo de Rivera, entered into written agreement with Aguinaldo, the substance of the document, which is in possession of Senor Felipe Agoncillo, who accompanies me to Washington, being attached hereto and marked "A." In brief, it required that Aguinaldo and the other insurgent leaders should leave the country, the Government agreeing to pay them $800,000 in silver, and promising to introduce numerous reforms, including representation in the Spanish Cortes, freedom of the press, amnesty for all insurgents, and the expulsion of secularization of the monastic orders. Aguinaldo and his associates went to Hongkong and Singapore. A portion of the money, $400,000, was deposited in banks at Hongkong, and a lawsuit soon arose between Aguinaldo and one of his subordinate chiefs, named Artacho, which is interesting on account of the very honorable position taken by Aguinaldo. Artacho sued for a division of the money among the insurgents, according to rank. Aguinaldo claimed that the money was a trust fund and was to remain on deposit until it was seen whether the Spaniards would carry out their promised reforms, and if they failed to do so it was to be used to defray the expenses of a new insurrection. The suit was settled out of court by paying Artacho $5,000.
No steps have been taken to introduce the reforms, more than 2,000 insurgents who had been deported to Fernando Po and other places are still in confinement, and Aguinaldo is now using the money to carry on the operations of the present insurrection.
On the 24th day of April Aguinaldo met the United States Consul and others at Singapore and offered to begin a new insurrection in conjunction with the operations of the United States navy at Manila. This was telegraphed to Admiral Dewey and, by his consent, or, at his request, Aguinaldo left Singapore for Hongkong on April 26th, and, when the McCullough went to Hongkong early in May to carry the news of Admiral Dewey's victory, it took Aguinaldo and seventeen other revolutionary chiefs on board and brought them to Manila Bay. They soon after landed at Cavite, and the Admiral allowed them to take such guns, ammunition and stores as he did not require for himself. With these and some other arms which he had brought from Hongkong Aguinaldo armed his followers, who rapidly assembled at Cavite and, in a few weeks, he began moving against the Spaniards. Part of them surrendered, giving him more arms, and the others retreated to Manila.
Soon afterwards two ships, which were the private property of Senor Agoncillo and other insurgent sympathizers, were converted into cruisers and sent with insurgent troops to Subig Bay and other places, to capture provinces outside of Manila. They were very successful, the native militia in Spanish service capitulating with their arms in nearly every case without serious resistance. On the 18th of June Aguinaldo issued a proclamation from Cavite establishing a Dictatorial Government, with himself as Dictator. In each village or pueblo a Chief (Jefe) was to be elected, and in each ward a Nendrum (Cabeza); also in each pueblo three delegates, one of Police, one of Justice, and one of Taxes. These were to constitute the Junta, or Assembly, and after consulting the Junta the Chiefs of pueblos were to elect a Chief of Province and three Counsellors, one of Police, one of Justice, and one of Taxes. They were also to elect one or more Representatives from each Province to form the Bevolutionary Congress. This was followed on June 20th by a decree giving more detailed instructions in regard to the elections. On June 23d another decree followed, changing the title of the Government from Dictatorial to Revolutionary, and of the chief officer from Dictator to President; announcing a Cabinet with a Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marine and Commerce, another of War and Public Works, another of Police and Internal Order, Justice, Instruction and Hygiene, and another of Taxes, Agriculture and Manufactures; the powers of the President and Congress were defined, and a code of military justice was formulated. On the same date a manifesto was issued to the world explaining the reasons and purposes of the Revolution. On June 27th another decree was issued containing instructions in regard to elections. On August 6th an address was issued to Foreign Governments, stating that the Revolutionary Government was in operation and control in fifteen Provinces, and that in response to the petition of the duly elected Chiefs of these Provinces an appeal is made for recognition of belligerency and independence. Translations of these various documents are all apended, marked "B," "C," "D," "E," "F," "G" and "H."
The scheme of Government is set forth in the decree of June 23d, marked "D." An examination of this document shows that it provides a Dictatorship of the familiar South American type. All power is centered in the President, and he is not responsible to any one for his acts. He is declared to be "the personification of the Philippine public, and in this view cannot be held responsible while he holds office. His term will last until the Revolution triumphs." He appoints not only the heads of the departments, but all their subordinates, and without reference to Congress. This body is composed of a single Chamber of Representatives from each Province. The election is to be conducted by an agent of the President, and the qualifications of electors are "those inhabitants most distinguished for high character, social position and honorable conduct."
If any Province is still under Spanish rule its Representative is to be appointed by the President. Congress is to deliberate on "all grave and transcendental questions, whose decision admits of delay and adjournment, but the President may decide questions of urgent character, giving the reasons for his decision in a message to Congress." The acts of Congress are not binding until approved by the President, and he has power of absolute veto.
Congress was to hold its first session at Saloles about September 28th.
While this scheme of Government is a pure despotism, yet it claims to be only temporary, and intended to "prepare the country so that a true Republic may be established." It also provides a rude form of governmental machinery for managing the affairs of the Provinces. To what extent it has actually gone into operation it is difficult to say. Aguinaldo claims, in his address of August 6th, that it is in force in fifteen Provinces, whose aggregate population is about 2,000,000. They include the island of Mindoro and about half of Luzon. None of those (except Cavite) have yet been visited by Americans, and all communication with them by the Spanish Government at Manila has been cut off since May 1st.
In the province of Cavite and that portion of the Province of Manila outside of the city and of its suburbs, which was occupied by the insurgent troops as well as those of the United States, their military forces, military headquarters, etc., were very much in evidence, occupying the principal houses and churches in every village and hamlet, but there were no signs of Civil Government or administration. It was reported, however, that Aguinaldo's agents were levying taxes or forced contributions not only in the outside villages, but (after we entered Manila) by means of secret agents, in the market places of the city itself. At Aguinaldo's headquarters, in Bacoor, there were signs of activity and business, and it was reported that his Cabinet officers were in constant session there.
Aguinaldo never himself failed to claim all the prerogatives due to his alleged position as the de facto ruler of the country. The only general officer who saw him or had any direct communication with him was General Anderson. He did much to thwart this officer in organizing a native wagon train and otherwise providing for his troops, and he went so far, in a letter of July 23d (copy herewith marked "J"), as to warn General Anderson not to land American troops on Philippine soil without his consent—a notice which, it is hardly necessary to say, was ignored. The day before the attack on Manila he sent staff officers to the same General, asking for our plans of attack, so that their troops could enter Manila with us. The same request had previously been made to me by one of his Brigade Commanders, to which I replied that I was not authorized to give the information desired.