The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-04


most of them bore on their arms or legs
scars of the blood compact" which show
ed that they were secret members Of the
Katipunan.
Less than year ago the insurgent
forces in Luzon were said to number 49,
coo, about 5000 of whom were armed with
Mauser rifles, the others bearing bowie
knives, spears and formidable bamboo
lances. They have a few cannon, mostly
cast from church bells, and a mitrailleuse
or two, fashioned from cast-iron water
pipes. Last October they We're in unds-
puted possession of Cavite San Mateo,
linus and Novalete, four miles from Ca
Vite. Bodies of insurgents were encamD-
ed within three hours march of Manila,
which they might have captured by a
sudden dash.
Mr.. Foreman, who Travelled through the
islands, looking at the case from the
standpoint of an Englisman concerned for
the safety of the British millions invest
ed in Manila and in the sugar plantations
of the island of. Negros hopes the insur-
rection will be suppressed, but he cannot
help remarking that the theocracy which,
after three centuries of European domi-
nation, still rules the island group, mas
proved a failure.
Yet these islands, like Cuba, would be
vertable paradise if order could be main
tanned. John Barrett, who was United
States minister to Siam, wrote of them
last year: The prodigality of nature i'm
presses the traveller wherever he travels
In the forests he sees ebony, logwood, iron
wood, sapan-wood and cedar; between the
forests and the gardens the fruit trees, Or
anges, mango, tamarind, guava and CO.
ooanut; in the cultivated area, sugar cane
tobacco, rice. hemp, coffee, cotton, ba-
nanas, vanilla, cassia, ginger, pepper, in
digo, cocoa, pineapples, wheat and corn.
The minerals include gold, copper, iron,
coal, quicksilver and saltpetre. From the
sea, mother-of-pearl, coral, tortoise shen
and amber are derived. The animal king
dom keeps pace with the vegetable and
the mineral. To say nothing of the water
buffalo, the most useful beast in the trop-
les, goats, sheep. swine and tough little
ponies, the jungle swarms with such
variety Of fauna that the naturalist finds
here paradise. Snakes and lizards, spid-
ers and ants tarantulas and crocodiies
abound. Strange to relate, there are few
beasts of prey worthy of note. The fora
of the country is as rich as the fauna.
The physical conformation of Luzon is
conducive to extensive cultivation and
large population. The high mountain range
in the interior gradually lowers to the sea,
making beautiful valleys, rolling hills, up
land and lowland, forest and field, drained
with numerous rivers, and dotted here and
there with lakes. The coast line is irregu-
lar, and bays and bayous extend far in
land"
1t is the boast of Manila that its foreign
trades now amounts to $35, 900 900 a year.
and comprises an export of over $SO00,0OO
of hemp, 100000 of sugar and $2000,OG0
of tobacco But this volume of foreign ex-
ports seems slim for such a region, inhab-
tied by 100000 people. Under a more en-
lightened government the commercial
movement would be very much larger
Like Cuba and British India, the colony
is cherished by the mother country be-
cause it furnishes nursery in which men
Of good family in Spain and young men
with influential connections can grow rich
in short time. Until lately, when the
expense of putting down rebellions involv-
ed a drain on the Spanish treasury, the
Philippines were also valued because of the
coin they supplied Everything in sight is
taxed, including the natives themselves,
and thus the islands are made to yield an
annual revenue of some $1,000, 600 a year.
Dana c. Worcester states that both the
poll tax and taille are .exacted by the off,
Gals. In some cases the poll tax amounts
to $25 year, and women have to pay 1t
as well as men. The Chinese pay a special
tax. There are taxes on stores and shops
on weights and measures, on house prop
erty, taverns and the smallest factories
A man must pay a tax for the privilege
OF killing his own buffalo or pig for meat
or OF owning horse, or of pressing oil
out of his cocoanuts. For the collection
of these taxes Spanish ingenuity has re-
vived the plan which was in use in France
before the fermiers generaux came into
vogue. For each town or district a tax
collector is appointed by the governor of
9 il
clio, and he is responsible for the esti-
mated amount which his district should
pay in taxes, so that if collections should
fall short he must make them good out of
his own pocket. He has under him n
number Of deputy collectors known as ca
bezas, each of whom collects the taxes OF
from forty to sixty taxpayers and is per-
sonally responsible for the amount expect
ed from each. If they fail to pay up he
distrains their property and sells it; if the
proceeds Of the sale fail to cover the in
debtedness, the delinquent debtors are i'm
prlsoned or deported. At. Siqudor Mr..
worcester saw melancholy procession
of forty-four men who had lost houses
cattle and lands, and who still owed sums
ranging from 50 to $40; they were being
sent prisoners to Bohol, and their families
were left to shift for themselves.
The natives get little or nothing in return
taxation.
courts of justice are a farce; the Judge
makes no secret of his venality In a few
towns there are few schools. In the viii
lagos and in the country there are none.
There are no roads which are passable
except at the dry season, and then only
by buffalo sheds. In the rainy season in
fercourse ceases. There are no bridges.
Now and then military bridge is built
by an enterprising general No attempt is
made to repair il, and it soon falls into
decay. Thus whenever it is possible peo-
pie travel and send their produce to mar
ket by boat. Lois of brjgands have been
shot or hanged, but brigandage still flour
ishes at the Laguna de Bay, close to Ma
Mia, and the island of Mindoro, at the
mouth of Manila Bay, is a safe refuge for
pirates and cut-throais. Natives who
travel cannot protect themselves, for no
one can have a weapon in his possession
without procuring a license, and that is
expensive.
The weight of taxation is aggravated by
the rapacity of the governor. When Gen
Weyler was governor general he received
a salary Of $4,000 a year, but 1t was said
that the calls upon his purse for entertain
ments and charities left him no savings at