Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1898-05-02
THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
SPANS Splendid Colony In the
East Indies.
THE FOREIGN TRADE is LARGE.

Area of the Islands 4. About 10000
square Miles Estimated Populasfon
About $500. 900 - Total Volume of Ex-
ports and Imports Is About os5. OOO. 900
Annually Whole of Spanish Authority
In the East Indies Center. ut Manila
Spain has reason to fear that the loss
of Cuba will be but one of the disasters
to befall il in the present war with the
United States II is recognized in all
quarters that the queen regent would
have been willing to let the Cuban in
surrectionists have their island without
further protest had IL not been for the
fact that giving up probably would have
melted an Instruction at home, result
ing in the loss of the crown TO her son
before he should have chance TO wear
it. Ii Is quite as reasonable a PROBABLE
ity that the Philippine islands, that
splendid colony of Spain in the East In
dies, would have been lost TO Spanish
control at the same time, and that the
island of Puerto Rico, the last remnant
of Spain's great colonial possessions in
the western hemisphere after Cuba is
gone, would have gained freedom too.
Now, having spurned the only course
in Cuban affairs the United States
would permit, with American warships
in Cuban waters and other American
warships at Manila, Spain bids fair to
lose the Philippines quite as surely as
if it had taken the other horn of the di-
lemma.
Information concerning the Philip
ISL Is - IL FIJI
are far out of the lines of tourist travel,
and few voyagers around the world
reach them. Enough is known to prove
that the colony is of great value to
Spain and that its history has been a
succession of revolts against Spanish
rule and Spanish cruelty.
Manila. the capital city of the colony
and of Luzon, the largest island, lies
62S miles, or 60 hours easy steaming,
southeast of Hongkong and twice that
distance northeast of Singapore. The
population of the city is about $50, 900.
of whom only 10. 000-including troops,
government officials and clergy-are
Europeans, and not more than 500 are
English speaking people. A few Ameri
can houses have branches in Manila; so
that there is an American population of
perhaps 100. The city faces fine bay,
into which flows the river Passig.
Most of the Europeans live in Binondo,
a beautiful suburb on higher ground,
across the river. There are many native
dialects, but the social, official and bust
ness idiom is Spanish. The army of
Spanish civil, religious, military and
naval officials is leech on the people
in the same fashion as in Cuba. All the
places of profit are monopolized by
them, appointments to choice offices in
the Philippines being given to those
whom it is desired to reward for service
to the government in Spain. 1t is quite
well understood that such an appointee
is expected to gain fortune as rapidly
as he can, by any method possible, so
that he may give way for some one else
to be brought over from Spain for a
similar reward. The policy is the same
as the colonial policy of Spain in Cuba
has been and the same results have fol
lowed
Manila has cable connection with the
rest of the world and regular lines of
passenger steamers. The European col
ony has it's daily papers, which are,
however, under strict censorship. re-
ligious and military. aud keeps mp with
the news and the fashions OF the day.
Until the instruction of the last two
years the army, except two Spanish
brigades of artillery and a corps of en-
gineers, was composed of natives and
consisted of seven regiments of infantry
and one of cavalry. There was also
body of Spanish militia in Manila, a
volunteer corps similar to that of Ha-
vana, which could be called out by the
captain general in the event of need.
When the latest instruction began,
Spain shipped to its faroff colony all
the men who could be spared from serv-
ice in Cuba, and after few months of
fighting it was announced that the re-
bellion was crushed. As matter of
fact, however, Spain has control of but
comparatively small part OF the is
lands, and the natives elsewhere are as
free from obligation to pay Spanish tax
es as they were before the discovery.
Spain has Manila and the other ports
and the plantations near the cities. The
rest of the country cannot be subdued
by any force that Spain can bring to
bear, unless the leaders of the insurrec-
ton choose to lay down their arms.
The Philippine islands were discover
ed in 1921 by Magellan. the circumnav-
igator, and were conquered by Spain
and made a colony in the reign of Phil
ip II, for whom they were named. half
century later. Spanish sway never
has extended over more than half of the
/, 400 islands of the archipelago, the
others remaining under their native
wild tribes and Mohammedan rulers.
The conjectural area is about 100, 600
square miles and the estimated .popula-
ton about $500. 600 hnut half this