The Saint Paul globe., 1898-05-08

pact which showed that they were
secret members Of the Katipunan.
Less than year ago the insurgent
forces in LuZon were said to number
forty thousand, about five thousand of
whom were armed with Mauser rifles,
the others bearing bowie-knives, spears
and formidable bamboo lances They
have few cannon, mostly cast from
church bells, and a mitrailleuse or two
fashioned from cast-iron water pipes.
Last october they were in undiSputed
possession of Cavite, San Mateo, linus
and Novalete, four miles from Cavite.
Bodies of insurgents were encamped
within three hours march of Manila,
which they might have captured at
sudden dash.
Mr.. Foreman, who Travelled through
the islands, looking at the case from
the standpoint of an Englishman con-
cerned for the safety of the British
millions invested in Manila and in the
sugar plantations of the island of Me-
| gros, hopes the insurrection will be
suppressed, but he cannot help remark
ing that the theocracy which, after
three centuries of European domina-
| tion, still rules the island group, has
i proved a failure.
Yet these islands, like Cuba would
be a veritable paradise if order could
be maintained. John Barrett, who was
| United States minister to Siam, wrote
of them last year: 1.-The prodigality Of
he travels. In the forests he sees
ebony, logwood, ironwood, sapan-wood
1 and cedar; between the forests and the
! gardens the fruit trees, orange, mango,
| tanlarind, guaya and cocoanut; in the
I cultivated area, sugar-cane, tobacco,
/ rice, hemp, coffee bananas, vanilla,
cassia, ginger, pepper, indigo, cocoa,
| n if1Q 9Joy1lc &c oonf
erals include gold, copper, iron, coal,
| quicksilver and saltpetre. From the
| sea, mother Of pearl, coral, tortoise shell
and amber are derived. The animal
kingdom keeps pace with the vegetable
and the mineral To say nothing of the
! water buffalo, the most useful beast
in the tropics, goats, sheep, swine and
tough little ponies, the jungle swarms
with such a variety of fauna that the
naturalist finds here para disc. Snakes
| and lizards, spiders and ants, tarantu-
las and crocodiles abound. Strange to
relate, there are few beasts of prey
worthy of note. The flora of the coun-
try is as rich as the fauna. The physi-
cal conformation of Luzon is condu-
Give of extensive cultivation and large
| population. The high mountain range
in the interior gradually lowers to the
sea, making beautiful valleys, rolling
hills, upland and lowland, forest and
| field, drained with numerous rivers
and dotted here and there with lakes
| The coast line Is irregular, and bays
| and bayous extend far inland"
Mani1n,s Trade Resources.
It is the boast Of Manila that it's for
| eign trade now amounts to $35, 900, 900
year, and comprises an export of
over $4,000, 900 Of hemp, $6,000,000 Of SUI
| - DIT @l~I,
volume of foreign exports seems slim
! for such q region, inhabited by 100000
people. Under more enlightened gov
ernment the commercial movement
would be very much larger. Like Cuba
and British India, the colony is cher
| ished by the mother country because
it furnishes a nursery in which men
of good family in Spain and young
men with influential connections can
/ grow rich in a short period Of time.
Until lately, when the expense Of put
ting down rebellions involved drain
on the Spanish treasury, the Philip
| pines We're 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 $S,000,000 a year.
Dana c. Worcester states that both
by the officials. In soule cases the poll
tax amounts to $25 a year, and women
| have to pay it as well as men. The
| Chinese pay a special tax. There are
taxes on stores and shops. on weights
| and measures, or house property, taV-
| erns 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 a horse, or of pressing
| oil out of his cocoanute. For the col
| lection of these taxes Spanish ingenu-
4 ity has revived the plan which was in
use in France before the fermiers gen.
| erauX came into vogue. For each town
| or district a tax collector is appointed
| by the governor of the province. lie
is called a gobernadorcillo, and he is
responsible for the estimated 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 num-
! Der of deputy collectors known as cabe-
zas, each of whom collects the taxes
| OF from forty to sixty taxpayers, and is
| personally responsible for the amount
| expected 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 Indebtedness, the de-
| lipuuent debtors are imprisoned or de-
ported At Siquidor Mr.. Worcester saw
| melancholy procession of forty-four
men who had lost houses cattle and
| lands, and who still owed sums rang
ing from 50 to $40; they were being sent
| prisoners to Bohol, and their families
were left to shift for themselves.
Taxes With Nothing in Return.
The natives get little or nothing in
return for this frightful burden of tax
ation The courts of justice are a
farce; the judge makes no secret of his
| venality. In a few towns there are a
| few schools In the villages and in
| the country there are none. There are
no roads which are passable except at
| the dry season, and then only by buffa-
| 10 Sheds In the rainy season inter-
course ceases There are no bridges.