Ponola [sic] weekly register. (Ponola [sic], Miss.) 1843-1843, 1843-05-27
commentaries
Delta Miss, April 18th 1843.

tract from letter of Isaac N. Brown,
Master in the United States Navy, and
now attached to the East India Squad
ron
If you think it will be interesting TO
the numerous readers Of your excellent
Register, you are at liberty to publish
the same, the letter is dated, DC.
US. CORVETTE, BosToN MANILA BAY,l
April 93rd 1884
Dear Sir:-This is a strange world
we live in. A few days ago was a.
mong the rat eating, dog devouring Chi
nese, and now am among the mo ST
devout catholics ia the Universe.
Before coming here | had very little
idea of the. importance in religious
point Of view Of the Philippine islands.
But the fact is, sc, if the Catholic con-
struction Of the scriptures be true, this
small quarter Of the China seas will be,
now is, and for long time has been bet
ter represented in the land of the bless
ed, than all the other parts of the cas-
tern world taken together. This view,
however bright it may be for the Phil
ippines is gloomy enough for the other
400 millions. The spaniards have COM
pleteIy effected the conversion as well
as the conquest Of these people. Luzon,
the principal island of the groupe called
"Philippine," contains about 3 millions
of inhabitants, who are divided into sep
arate governments, and who, tho ruled
with rod of Iron, are probably not
halfso much oppressed as the natives
Of Hindoostan under the sway Of Pro-
testant England.
Manila itself is very fine city, con-
tanning about 100000 Inhabitants
The old town very much resembles
Havana in its buildings, streets &C., but
the inhabitants are very differe at, there
being very few really white people in
Manila. The military establishment
Of the Spaniards here is on large
scale, there being 5000 troops in Manil-
la alone. These are almost entirely
natives, whom the Spaniard uses (as
the English do the Indians in Hindoos-
tan) to perpetuate their own slavery
The natives are, you know, of the Malay
variety of the human race, and they ap-
pear to me superior to any other Malays
that have seen both in intelligence and
| physical conformation. The women
are decidedly dwarfish, W hen compared
with the women Of our own country,
though their features are generally very
pleasing. The men would look rather
diminutive were it not for the exceeding
correctness of their proportions. The
colour Of the whole population, Malay
raee,) is copper; the women very bright,
The men from more exposure TO the sun,
rather dark. cannot. define exactly
what is meant by copper colored, have
seen the North American savage, the
dark Hindoo, the brown Arab, and the
mixed blood of New Orleans. These
are all called copper colored, yet no two
OF them are alike, and no one Of them
like the color Of Malay, which is in
short, like nothing else tina. ever saw,
but Malay.
There is not a 1.-THE Of commerce
here that one would expect, the princi-
pal part Of what is, is in the hands oil
the Yankees, of the eight merchantmen
now ia the harbor, four are American
The city is situated on a very fine riy.
er in which there is at this time a con
siderable number Of smaller craft, from
which | infer there is some coastino
trade with Windora, Mindinao and the
other Islands composing the cluster
called Philippine. Luconia one of them
is without doubt one ofthe finest Islands
in the whole East. Yet, it does NOT WELD
one half, perhaps not one fourth the
revenue it would do thunder the English.
And yetthe happiness ofthe peasantrv is