Cuar. XVIII.] SAIL FOR MANILA. 333 
as nothing could be done in the south, | determined 
to go over to the Philippine Islands for a few weeks, 
and accordingly sailed for Manila in the beginning 
of January, 1845. 
The voyage from Hong-kong to Manila at this 
season is generally made in six or eight days, as the 
monsoon is fair. I need not give any description 
of the town, which is well known as being the chief 
Spanish settlement it the Philippines. The in- 
habitants are principally Spaniards, Indians, Chi- 
nese, and there are a few English mercantile es- 
tablishments. The chief productions and exports 
are sugar, coffee, rice, cheroots, and indigo. The 
beautiful cloth generally known by the name of 
Pinia, which is made from the fibre of the pine-ap- 
ple plant, is manufactured and embroidered by the 
natives and is sold in the shops. A kind of hemp, 
the produce of a species of Musa, is also made into 
ropes and cables ; it is highly prized and in much de- 
mand amongst the shipping in the East. The cigar 
manufactory, a government monopoly, is one of the 
largest establishments in the town; almost the 
whole of the labour in it is performed by women and 
girls. When I landed, it happened to be the hour 
when the work people were coming out of the factory 
and the streets were crowded with females. As I 
was not aware of the circumstance, I began to think 
that the women must form the chief part of the 
population. 
As I had no object in remaining in the town, I ap- 
plied to the authorities for a passport to enable me 
