The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1898-05-10
SCENE OF THE FIRST BATTLE
n STRANGE SOUTHERN CITY.
Facts About the History and Com
mcrcc OF Maniia-Both Oriental and
Spanish i'm Character.

the Island OF LulOn, on which Manila
the capital of jhe Philippine Islands, il
situated. Cavite is in the Bay O
Manila, and about ten miles south
west of the city of Manila. The towr
OF Cavite has population of over tv,
thousand and the population OF the
port is less than six hundred souls
There is an arsenal at Cavite, which /!
the capital of the province OF the
same name. The residence OF the
! governor is situated there, and the
place is the chief naval depot of the
Spanish possessions in that part Of the
world.
Manila, the capital city of the ISLAND
OF Luzon and Of all the Philippine Is
lands, Is also situated on Manila Bay
at The mouth Of the river 'asg. The
city forms the seq mcnt of Il circle be-
| tween the river and the sea, and its su.
burbs extend over numerous islets
formed by the river and its branches
The river Pasig is prolonged into the
bay by two piers. At the end of on
of them is d small fort, and a light.
house Is situated at the end Of the other
| pier. Vessels OF small tonnage can &C
lp as far as the bridge which crosses
| jhc river.
The town stands on the south side.
IL
be strongly fortified. On the north side
is the Binondo suburb, which is the
| residenc- OF the foreign merchants and
the great centre Of trade. 1t is more
| populous than the city itself.
Manila has both u Spanish and an
Oriental appearance. There are long
lines Of heavily mounted batteries.
dark-looking c. urches, strange looking
| towers and massive houses Of solid
masonry. These mingle with light
little houses, cottages, in groves OF
tropical trees, raised from the gro nd
by posts, in order To permit the free
passage OF the waters in the rainy sea.
son. Inc streets are straight, mostly
unpaved, aad almost impossible during
the rainy season.
high, and each has its central court
yard. There reside the heads of the
| state, the church and the army, ana
| all those who claim to belong to tho
aristOcracy.
The bridge across the river leads
from the city proper into the Binond0
suburb, where a street called the Es.
| calta, runs to the right and to the left.
lL Is lined with innumerable shops,
stores and stalls, and is usually crowded
| with people OF various races.
Beyond the E9calta is colony Of
| Chinese, Indians and half castles, who
| 10 business as gOldSniths and jewelers.,
painters and enamellers, OIL and soap
merchants, confectioncrs and Keepers
Of gambling houses and cook shops.
The other suburbs have each special
character. For instance, San Fernando
is the scat Of the great cigar manufac
| tories, and Santo Mesa is the centre of
the coraage manu!actory. At the Al
calcerfa suburb the Chinese sampans
discharge their cargocs: the fishermen
and weavcrs iuhabit the suburb Of
Iondo, and its markets supply the mar
kcts with fruit for its embroiderers.
Pasco is where the artisans and art sts
live, and health-seekcrs lock to Santa
Ana and San Pedro Macati
The principal buildings in Manila
are the Cathedral, the palace Of the
governor, the palace of the archbishop,
| the town ball, Il beautiful building ::
ten churches, belonging to the differ
ent religious orders :sevCral monastcr
les, number of converts, the arsenal,
three colleges Tor young men, two
colleges Tor young women, the supreme
court building, the prison, the civil
| hospital, the university, the marine
school, the commercial school, the
theatre, large building the custom
house and the barracks.
| There are several large squares in
Manila, the largest OF which is the
l'rado, in which is situated the bronze
statue Of Charles w.
Manila's municipality dates from the
year l5Tl, when the city was founded
by Lcgpaspi. 1t is II splendid natural
tradc centre, and ranks with Calcutta
and Batavaia. Being the chief port
in the Philippine Islands, all their pro-
ductions How there and it's harbor is
visited by very great number OF yes
Sel3 OF all sorts and sizes. is exports
consist Of sugar, tobacco, indigo, Manila
hemp and cOrdage, gold dust, birds
nests, coilec. sapanwood, mats, hats,
hides, trepang, tortoise shell, cigars,
| cotton, rice, etc.
It's manufactures are chiefly cigars
and chcroots, "a government monopoly !;
cordage from the tilaments OF the aba
| ca beautiful fabrics, known as pinas,
woven from the tibres OF the pineapple
leaf, and aftcrward eXquisitely en-
brOidcrcd various other cloths made
OF the abaca fiiament, pure and mixed
cotton fabrics, mats and cigar cases.
In lG45 Manila was nearly destroyed
by arthQuakes, which have since fre.
quently and severely visited the place.
a British fl tct captured Manila in 1862,
and held IL for fifteen months, "hep IT
was by treaty restored to Spain. The
population Of Manila, with its suburbs,
is about 100 600.
The Pni ppne islands belong to the
Malay Archipelago. Next to Cuba
they are the most valuable colonial
Lcsscssion OF Spain. In all there are
about 200 islands in the Philippine
group, the principal of which are
Luzon, Mindanao and Palawan, with
Mindoro, Panay, Negroes, Z ,bu, Bohol,
Leyuc, Samar, and Masbate and many
other smaller islands. Their total
area is estimated at about ll5 52S
square miles, and the total population
Is estimated to be about s, ZOO QUO per-
sons.
The islands are OF volcanic forma.
ton, and are traversed by chain OF
mountains from north to south, rising
In some OF them to 5000 feet. The
coasts OF most of the islands are deep.
ly indented by the sea, and the larger
islands are well watered by large
streams, with estuaries which form
excellent harbors.
The Philippine group is within the
range OF the mOnsOOns, and violent
hurricanes and earthquakes are OF fre-
Iquent occurrence.
From May to September the west
coasts Of the Philippine islands, are
deluged with rain while the October
monsoon brinps rain tn tho east coasts