THE ECONOMIC CONDITION OF THE PHILIPPINES 57 



The tobacco monopoly, with all its heartless severity and im- 

 posts, was introduced in 1781, under the governor Don Jose 

 Vasco y Vargas, the government, by no means for the first time? 

 finding itself in a critical financial condition. The population 

 guessed at what was coming and opposed the new measure, 

 which was only carried out by force of arms. The law prescribed 

 that eveiy native might plant tobacco, but might only sell it to 

 the government. In the tobacco districts every native had to 

 grow a certain number of plants and devote all his attention to 

 them. The collecting of caterpillars was done by women and 

 children, just as it is today. 



This might have been well enough had the people been able 

 to enjoy the fruits of their labor; but the worst has still to be 

 said. The tobacco was sorted, " aforado " as it is technically 

 called, and that unfit for use burned, so as to prevent fraud. 

 The principal matter in sorting was the length. 



IS inches and over was primera (first) class. 



18-14 inches was secunda (second) class. 



14-10 inches was tercera (third) class. 



10-7 inches was quarta (fourth) class. 



Smaller but good leaves were sometimes classed as 5 and 6. 

 For valuing the tobacco the officials used a scale, according to 

 which the planter received some 20 to 30 per cent of the real 

 value. But he was not paid in cash. He received a certificate, 

 a kind of treasury bond. Had the people had security for the 

 payment of these bonds at an early date the latter would soon, 

 no doubt, have come into currency as paper money. But, far 

 from this being so, no one would have them, knowing that five 

 or six years might pass before they were redeemed. The tobacco 

 pin nters lived under more miserable conditions than the worst- 

 kept slaves, and were glad if some noble philanthropist would 

 give them half the value of their certificates, for who could say 

 whether the purchaser was not risking his 50 per cent. Fre- 

 quently the bonds were practically given away. In the cigar 

 manufactories in Manila 30,000 workpeople were employed, and 

 were always paid in cash; so that their lot was more enviable 

 than that of the planters. That under this system, in spite of 

 the enormous army of officials, a profit of four or five million 

 dollars was annually yielded can be easily understood. 



The savior of the unfortunate tobacco planter was one of those 

 Spaniards in whom there was still the blood of the hidalgo, the 

 Lntendant-general Don Jose Jimeno Agius. In his report in 



