THE ECONOMIC CONDITION OF THE PHILIPPINES 51 



]imits imposed, transactions were much impeded. It is only 

 in recent years that matters have improved, rendering a fair and 

 easy banking business possible. Up to 1860 and still later bank- 

 ing transactions were therefore done almost wholly through two 

 large American houses. Today we find branches of the Char- 

 tered Bank of India, Australia and China and of the Hongkong 

 & Shanghai Banking Corporation doing the principal business. 



The consulado, established in 1772 and removed on January 

 1, 1834, and the Junta de Comercio, founded on January 1, 

 1835, have done practically nothing at all for trade and ship- 

 ping. The export and import trade, as already remarked, lies 

 almost exclusively in the hands of foreigners, principally English, 

 Germans, and Swiss. The retail and intermediate trade is done 

 by the Chinese. The Spanish, in addition to the Compania 

 General de Tabacos de Filipinas, which, however, pays but a 

 small dividend, and some inland traders, own a number of pro- 

 vision stores and of millinery shops for town costumes. 



How greatly the trade done by foreigners surpasses that of the 

 Spanish is seen from the accompanying tables, giving the external 

 shipping trade and tolls. Since 1896 there has been no American 

 house in Manila. 



The traffic between Manila and the provinces is carried on 

 mostly by means of 35 steamers and a large number of smaller 

 sailing vessels. The sole railway runs from Manila to Dagupan, 

 the port of Pangasinan, a rice-growing province on the west 

 coast of Luzon, on the Gulf of Lingayen. The only large line 

 of ships touching at Manila is the Compania Transatlantica, 

 from Barcelona to Manila, which, however, also has Liverpool 

 as a shipping port, as the steamers would otherwise scarcely be 

 able always to secure a full cargo. The chief profits of the line 

 are no doubt earned from the enormous transport to and fro of 

 officials and soldiers ; in nearly every ship all berths are occu- 

 pied. There is a brisk trade done with Hongkong through four 

 or five steamers under the British flag, for the largest part of the 

 goods goes via Hongkong, being transshipped. A steamer runs 

 to Singapore, meeting the French mail steamer, by which the 

 principal European postal traffic is carried on. 



Despite the fact that the foreign flag was everywhere at a 

 disadvantage and the Spanish, on the contrary, privileged, the 

 former has always been the one really dominating. Though 

 formerly foreign vessels were obliged to run in in ballast, they 

 nevertheless took outward freight. The privilege allowed to the 



