The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-07-13

,..,-a e.ss.r -. D.. -,a.,7t firan- sheet of
water hasnr sbau- 100 miles ia cir
conference. having q length Of not FAR
from 81 miles and breadth OF -. and
.- .yaff protected excepting from the
southwest gales which sometimes
sweep uB the 1aE with enormous v.o-
.euca and destructive force. AT such
times tua shipping III the 1ar10T seeks
refuge behind tla headlaud of Cavi-e
During sueh storm 10 1880. tla sea
overwhelmed a good portion Of the
r.tr OF Manila. destroying about $4,000
houses ana drowning aEer -5H per
sons Another such storm iu 1890
overwhelmed and ruined the sea-waI
protecting the inner har1or. The city
is huUr upon both sides of The river
Pasig. which connects the bay with an
extensive fresh water lagoon in the
rear The water of the river is deep.
affordiua harb0r room for considerable
-hfpDfug For q short time in 1862
The city was held by The English who
demanded a ransom OF $4,000 0U0 but
rha. withdrew iu 1864 For many
years the islands We're used by the
Spanish as a point whence plrarical
descent might be made uuOn the neigh
barring E,ugffsh and Dutch colonies
d. may bs. said that the Spanish occu-
.arton during IFS fofr centuries of
r,,ssa--fon has baeu only martial and
f.l.frfta 1ranz-. ror.+fons M the i'm
-arior have never been occupied nor
have the savage tribes been subiugat-
af ANA +ba story of cnaniSh 0ccupa-
rfou b. one of cruelty ayarfce and
l....t..,s+.. -i,,,fl,,. in much tn inc
--o.r. of Rravfro rbe Wesf indies.
-o.,-T r,a,.fca and o+ba,. nIacas of
r,Ffrf,,rf,,oe ~, If tho -Danfsb control
,,,t.-ht 5,.. ..o,,,7,7.fsad I'm very few
,-o7,ds and rbav would he relentless
e,,,ari.fer, a,tGrtion cruelty nissan
n.abansfon
Tho fo,r, of tbe Snanish Govern
mont NAV he called military presided
over Inv governor or captain general.
who controls a number of provinces
into which the country is divided. The
DubIic officers are SDaniardS and non
residents Their chief object is to
extort revenue. To accomplish this
the most ingenious and oppressive
measures are adopted. consisting of
taxation. including poll taxes of more
than SO a head, license fees. imposts,
and other devices which are applied
and levied with relentless disregard
OF every interest except that OF the
taxing officers. \ failure to pay taxes
generally resulted in conhscatlon. IN
addition to taxes when are required
to be paid in money, the "corVee' mas
also been applied TO all natives, requlI-
ing forty days OF forced TABOR III each
year Frequently a so-caIied income TAX
was assessed. oIIehInles upon persons
who had no income whatsoever "HIIe
wealthy SpanlafdS ana some VINO are
able TO make II worth the WhIe Oh Ihe
tax officers escape altogether.
Probably no one knew better IMAM
the Government IN Spain thaI large
proportion OF the income OF the couh-
Try was Sloien oy 9paIi9i QlilCet -
nom wa M nus. 49, -
the spanish haIloh'
The effect of such government and
Of such financial system mas OF
course prevented the development or
the countrys resources. with us
teeming population, tertlle SOIL ana Ma
tural resources, the philippines m!ghI
easily raise all the sugar required
by the world. 1t could increase lts
production OF tobacco many huhdred-
fold, and they already export annudI-
~ 150,00O,000 cigars. Its resources IN
fibres, india rubber, various medicinal
roots and herbs, dye woods, spices,
and other tropical productions are not
only hardly known but are probably
ineXhaustibe. The islands are also
noted for the variety and fine quality
of their fruits, among which are the
orange, mango, mangOsteen, pine
apple. guava, bananas and lines. From
the Manila banana comes the so-called
Manila hemp, which is the most VdIu
able rope making material in use, ana
in spite of the utter imbecility and
repressive tendency of the Spanish
system. or lack of system, nearly forty
thousand tons of the value Of $780,,
600 was exported last year.
SITUATED b,t . short distance north
Of he eonator tbe climate of the
pbiIinninas i warm. but the country
i not regarded as unhealthy. From
November until February the climate
of Manila is endurable. The nights
o,o fraomantIv oujte cool. although
- -. -, - 80. --o15o,,, if ava1, ia lis