320 



Ravages of locusts. Population of 

 the Philippines. 



MANILLA. 



Capabilities for commerce. 

 Military strength. 



in some of the most important ai'ticles of com- 

 merce; by which it will be seen that the Philippine 

 Islands are one of the most favoured parts of the 

 globe. 



The crops frequently suffer from the ravages of 

 the locusts, which sweep all before them. Fortu- 

 nately for the poorer classes, their attacks take 

 place after the rice has been harvested; but the 

 cane is sometimes entirely cut off. The authorities 

 of Manilla, in the vain hope of stopping their devas- 

 tations, employ persons to gather them and throw 

 them into the sea. I understood on one occasion 

 they had spent eighty thousand dollars in this way, 

 but all to little purpose. It is said that the crops 

 rarely suffer from droughts, but on the contrary 

 the rains are thought to fall too often, and to flood 

 the rice fields; these, however, yield a novel crop, 

 and are very advantageous to the poor, viz. : a great 

 quantity of fish, which are called dalag, and are a 

 species of blunnius; they are so plentiful, that they 

 are caught with baskets: these fish weigh from a 

 half to two pounds, and some are said to be eighteen 

 inches long: but this is not all ; they are said, after 

 a deep inundation, to be found even in the vaults 

 of churches. 



The Philippines are divided into thirty-one pro- 

 vinces, sixteen of which are on the island of Luzon, 

 and the remainder comprise the other islands of 

 the group and the Ladrones. 



The population of the whole group is above three 

 millions, including all tribes of natives, mestizoes, 

 and whites. The latter- named class are but few in 

 number, not exceeding three thousand. The mesti- 

 zoes were supposed to be about fifteen or twenty 

 thousand; they are distinguished as Spanish and 

 Indian mestizoes. The Chinese have of late years 

 increased to a large number, and it is said that 

 there are forty thousand of them in and around 

 Manilla alone. One-half of the whole population 

 belongs to Luzon. The island next to it in the 

 number of inhabitants is Panay, which contains 

 about three hundred and thirty thousand. Then 

 come Zebu, Mindanoa, Leyte, Samar, and Negros, 

 varying from the above numbers down to fifty 

 thousand. The population is increasing, and it is 

 thought that it doubles itself in seventy years. This 

 rate of increase appears probable, from a compari- 

 son of the present population with the estimate made 

 at the beginning of the present century, which shows 

 a growth in the forty years of about one million 

 four hundred thousand. 



The native population is composed of a number 

 of distinct tribes, the principal of which in Luzon 

 are Pangarihan, Ylocos, Cagayan, Tagala, and 

 .Pampangan. 



The Irogotes, who dwell in the mountains, are 

 the only natives who have not been subjected by 

 the Spaniards. The other tribes have become 

 identified with their rulers in religion, and it is 

 thought that by this circumstance alone has Spain 

 been able to maintain the ascendancy with so small 

 a number, over such a numerous, intelligent, and 

 energetic race as they are represented to be. This 

 is, however, more easily accounted for, from the 

 Spaniards fostering and keeping alive the jealousy 

 and hatred that existed at the time of the discovery 

 between the different tribes. 



It seems almost incredible that Spain should have 

 so long persisted in the policy of allowing no more 

 than one galleon to pass annually between her colo- 



nies, and equally so that the nations of Europe 

 should have been so long deceived in regard to the 

 riches and wealth that Spain was monopolizing in 

 the Philippines. The capture of Manilla, in 1762, 

 by the English, first gave a clear idea of the value 

 of this remote and little-known appendage of the 

 empire. 



The Philippines, considered in their capacity for 

 commerce, are certainly among the most favoured 

 portions of the globe, and there is but one circum- 

 stance that tends in the least degree to lessen their 

 apparent advantage ; this is the prevalence of 

 typhoons in the China seas, which are occasionally 

 felt with force to the north of latitude 10 N. South 

 of that parallel, they have never been known to 

 prevail, and seldom so far; but from their unfailing 

 occurrence yearly in some part of the China seas, 

 they are looked for with more or less dread, and 

 cause each season a temporary interruption in all 

 the trade that passes along the coast of these 

 islands. 



The army is now composed entirely of native 

 troops, who number about six thousand men, and 

 the regiments are never suffered to serve in the 

 provinces in which they are recruited, but those 

 from the north are sent to the south, and vice versa. 

 There they are employed to keep up a continual 

 watch on each other ; and, speaking different 

 dialects, they never become identified. 



They are, indeed, never allowed to remain long 

 enough in one region, to imbibe any feelings in 

 unison with those of its inhabitants. The hostility 

 is so great among the regiments, that mutinies have 

 occurred, and contests arisen which have produced 

 even bloodshed, which it was entirely out of the 

 power of the officers to prevent. In cases of this 

 kind, summary punishment is resorted to. 



Although the Spaniards, as far as is known 

 abroad, live in peace and quiet, this is far from 

 being the case; for rebellion and revolts among the 

 troops and tribes are not unfrequent in the pro- 

 vinces. During the time of our visit one of these 

 took place, but it was impossible to learn any thing 

 concerning it that could be relied upon, for all 

 conversation respecting such occurrences is inter- 

 dicted by the government. The difficulty to which 

 I refer was said to have originated from the 

 preaching of a fanatic priest, who inflamed them 

 to such a degree that they overthrew the troops 

 and became temporarily masters of the country. 

 Prompt measures were immediately taken, and 

 orders issued to give the rebels no quarter ; the 

 regiments most hostile to those engaged in the 

 revolt were ordered to the spot ; they spared no 

 one ; the priest and his companions were taken, put 

 to death, and according to report, in a manner so 

 cruel as to be a disgrace to the records of the 

 nineteenth century. Although I should hope the 

 accounts I heard of these transactions were incor- 

 rect, yet the detestation these acts were held in, 

 would give some colour to the statements. 



The few gazettes that are published at Manilla 

 are entirely under the control of the government ; 

 and a resident of that city must make up his mind 

 to remain in ignorance of the things that are pass- 

 ing around him, or believe just what the authorities 

 will allow to be told, whether truth or falsehood. 

 The government of the Philippines is emphatically 

 an iron rule: how long it can continue so, is doubt- 

 ful. 



