Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-05-26

number of deputy collectors. known as
cabezas. each of whom collects the taxes
Of from forty to sixty taxpayers. ana
IS personally responsible for the amount
exnected from each. II they fail to pay
I'D he distrains their property and seiis
II. If the proceeds of the sale ran TO
cover the indebtedness the delinquent
debtors are imprisoned. / once saw
dozen ragged, Woodworking men on the
island of Samos that had lost their houses
cattle, lands, and who still owed sums
ranging from s. TO $40. They were being
sent prisoners to the jail-yard at Punta
Chavallas, while their families were lett
to shift for themselves.
"a large book might be written about
the popular revolts that have sprung up
in the Philippines because of these ty-
rannous expressions. In 1876 the natives
lost 5000 of their best men in rebellion
against Spain. In 1882 they lost several
thousand more men, and 600 of their lead
ers were beheaded and shot TO death In
souads at the garrisons at Cavite as
warning TO other sympathizing repSls'
The present rebellion broke out last June,
and was quelled for time by Spanish
troops. Last January 100 rebels were
shot in the suburbs Of Ma Mia. Suddenly
the rebellion broke out again. and now
IL seems to be the most general revolt
vet known in the islands. The intent OF
I this last rebellion seems 10 be to rid the
Philippines of the Spanish by any means
whether by dynamite. poison. or assassi-
nation. The natives hoped for year or
two that Japan would assume control Of
the islands, and that the hard, cruel
hand of Spain would be removed. When
| they found that their hopes were ground
| less they rose in armed rebellion. Gene
raj Schlatter, who was sent TO the
| Philippines by the German Government
| last August to look into affairs there, re-
| ported that the japanese are leading the
! revolt. There are 1000 Spanish regulars
( on guard in the islands. The insurgents
| last fall numbered about 1900, OF whom
5000 were armed with good guns. The
insurgents have a few good cannon cast
from melted church-bells, and bits OF
metal that they gathered here and there.
Manila, like Habana, has naturally been
in controf- of the Spanish troops, and the
insurgents have been carrying on a war
fare forty and sixty miles from Manila.
similar to that Of the Cubans about Ha-
bapa.
'In the summer of 1896 the order of the
Katipunan was secretly formed among
the Malays and Chinese. The purpose
was to remove by blood the bondage by
| Spain The members of the order were
| sworn by a cash across the left upper
| arm. With the blood which issued from
the wound the initiate crossed himself
and daubed his mouth and solemnly
swore that he would spill the blood of al
| least one Spaniard every six months. The
Spanish got hold of the plot. BY trial:
that lasted an hour of two in some case:
and 80 or 40 minutes each in most cases
| 400 of the persons suspected as being II
the plot were convicted and shot to death
In the month Of November, 1896. there
were 500 executions on the outskirts o.
Manila. In one day some rs men were
stood up before a wall and shot.
1.-The earthquakes in the Philippines
especially on Luzon and Negroes islands
deserve a special story by themselves
The whole group of islands is of volcanic
origin. There Is seventy volcanoes II
constant eruption on the islands. Sew
eral Of them are the most violent In th'
world, and are always being studied b!
scientists from Europe and America. Thu
The famous volcano Niagara is within
sight OF Manila. An earthquake occur
| on an average of once every ten days
I have known small quakes to come a
the rate of dozen a day for week at ;
time About a dozen times year Their
are shocks so severe that people will rul
| about in fright and damage will be don
TO the buildings. The big bridge over tn
| Passig river at Manila has been s.
swerved by earthquakes twice in my resi-
dence in the city that 1t has been made un
safe for travel. In 1854 an earthquake near
~ ruined the great stone cathedral In Ma
: Mia, RACED many buildings TO the ground
rocked hundreds more. and 1000 peopl
on LuZon Island were killed by fallin
al nd N
earthquake occurred on Negroes Island
1t has never been known how man
people were killed then. but the numbe
Is estimated at 1000. Almost every struc
7 ture on the island was shaken down, an
I great gaps, yards wide and miles Ions
were cracked across the island. Tn
> quake opened seams in the earth from tn
3 seacoast and made passages from the In
) terror lakes to the ocean. / suppose
I such a quake should occur in New for
city there wouldn't be one building LEI
! on all Manhattan Island.
7 ''The people at Manila have the fcndnes
5 of Spanish countries for exciting sport
E The old theatre, which seats about l,5
4 people, is nearly always filled. IL pay
t the Spanish Government a revenue
about 5000 a year. Sometimes an opei
a or theatrical company will come thel
4 from Paris or Madrid and play SIEVE
I nights in the week for months at tim
( Operas with lot Of buffoonery and
Z lot of desperate villains are immense
s popular in Manila, and dramas In whiC
t their is a vein of immortality Will dra
. for weeks. While the play proceed
d boys go about the theatre vending ciga
and sweetmeats. Often cloud of toba
5. co smoke obscures the stage at the clio
II of an evening. When the play please
% a whole scene will be repeated on
l. attended an opening night OF new Spa
a ish drama, and the audience cheered
Or Justify that the whole first scene was
DR. peated twice before the second came Q
q | There are some marvellous incongruitl
In in the drama there, but the audience c
DR. tiers so enthusiastically into the plot IN
TX there is no chance for such trifiing cri
Or cism. saw a play last year In Will
a. a Roman soldier shot the villain 10 dea
s. in a room where there were curtains a
Id ! glass window panes.
MI Gambling Is universal In the Phil
m pines I don't know any one, except {
a half-civiiized men on the little islands