The times., 1898-09-26
INCAPACITY OF sPANIARDS.
A Retired French Naval Oficer's
Views on Manila.

views on Manila.
lie Courier des Etats-Unis is publishing
series of letters from Manila, one of
which gives an account of the battle of
Cavite by a retired French naval officer
who lived for long time in the Philip
pine Islands, and whose country house
was situated between Cavite and Manila.
The views of the Frenchman are inter
esting, especially because they seem ut
terly devoid of all prejudice:
Now, monsieur" asked the corre-
spondent, "since your house was so near
the scene of the battle, be good enough to
tell US what the affair looked like
Wen, I will tell you the thing simply
and just as 1t occurred. At 5 o'clock
that morning 1 was in bed I heard a
a signal announcing the arrival of
French or an English vessel. My wife
awcke and asked, What is that? 1t is
simply signal said I. Two minutes af-
terward there was another cannon shot
Hello! What's this?' said /. is it some
thing serious? That certainly can't be a
signal l jumped up and looked out of
the window. l could see nothing but a
little curtain OF fog and a little smoke
Then, TO frighten my wife with what
believed was a little practical joke, l
shouted, The American fieetr l looked
out again. The fog was gone, and, sure
enough, / counted seven American ships
in line. They were advancing very slowly.
| came back to my wife and said: Well,
now, let me tell you that what / said to
you a moment ago by way of joke is
really a fact Here the Americans arep
She almost lost her head with fear. None
of that said I. Cover your head in the
bedclothes and put cotton in your ears
if you want to- but keep quiet
81 watched the fleet. 1t was advancing
upon Cavite, where all the Spanish boats
were heaped together like mice in trap.
The Americans were soon upon them
and opened a terrible fire. They maneu-
Vered for while and finally placed them
selves two by two, the two largest in the
rear and the others in front, two at the
right, two at the left, all facing the Span
iards. AT half-past Z there was not a
single Spanish vessel afloat: all were
either sunk or burned. The fire of the
Americans was excellent, indeed wonder
full Each shot hit the mark / could
see the smoke and the cloud of dust
when a projectile fell on shore. 1t was a
magnificent piece of firing practice"
But didn't the batteries fire?"
"Oh, yes the battery at Cavite fired a
few shots, but 1t was quickly demolished
by the shells of the Americans. 1t was
absolutely reduced TO cinders. l admired
greatly the accuracy of the American
to hit the mark
Now, tell us about the protestations
that were made by the consular corps.
and especially by the German consul, in
regard to some broken promises?''
There were no protestations. The
Spaniards came to the French consul and
protested to him on the day of the battle
/ was there at the time. They were eX-
cited and shouted out: 'Senor Consult
Senor Consult They fired at US with shells
that burstr 1t was / who replied to
them: An, shells that burst,' 1 exclaimed
Did you Spaniards protest in 1870 when
Strasburg Belfort and Paris were bonn
barded with shells that burst? And even
two months ago, when you massacred
lot of insurgents, it was also with shells
that burstr But that is the way always
with these Spaniards. They are proud,
valiant and stubborn, but they live in
1850 or say 1910. They have not changed
one bit since then Charles V, Cortez and
Legazpi are the only heroes they speak
Of They do not seem TO know that
great many new things have been intro
duced since that time, among others
shells, new powders, machines, electricity,
etc.
Now, monsieur do you believe that
with the wise administration of far
seeing and cultivated nation the Philip
pines would be valuable colony?"
Marvellous, perfectly marvellous In the
Philippines there are untold riches and
their situation is perfectly unique. Among
other things, there are sugar, hemp, rice,
and an incalculable quantity of precious
woods. And TO all these must be added
coffee, tobacco, and the mines. In fact,
the subsoil is worth gold, but ii has never
been exploited
Have the natives really suffered much
from the Spaniards?''
''Oh, yes, very much; that is incontesta-
bic. The Spaniards never did anything
for them. Just fancy that at Mariveles,
at the entrance to the bay, there are still
cannibals. Yes, sir, cannibals, Just think
of that! They are very gentle and they
do not cause much trouble, I will admit
but they have a taste for human flesh
all the same, and that propensity has
never been checked by the Spaniards
They go to church once in awhile, and
that is all that is demanded of them"
How comes It that the Spaniards did
nothing? Why did not the governor risk
a coup de main to recapture Cavite and
the arsenal?"