The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-12-04

s1nform to their customs, their habits and even theic prejudiees to the fulles
 extent consistent with the accomplish
 ment of the indispensable requisites O
 just and effective government.
 At the same time the Commission
 should bear in mind, and the people o.
 the islands should be made plainly to un
 derstand, that there are certain grea
 principles Of government which have
 been made the basis of our governments
 system which we deem essential to the rule of law and the maintenance of indi
 vidual freedom, and of which they have unfortunately, been denied the experience
 possessed by us; that there are also cer
 ain practical rules of government whicl
 ye have found to be essential to the
 preservation of these great principles o1
 liberty and law, and that these prin
 iples and these rules of government | must be established and maintained ir heir islands for the sake of their lib- | erty and happiness, however much they | may conflict with the customs or laws of procedure with which they are familiar. | Tt is evident that the most enlight- ened thought of the Philippine Islands l fully appreciates the importance of these principles and rules, and they will inevi- l tably within q short time command uni versal assent Upon every division and | branch of the government of the Philip | pines, therefore, must be imposed these l nviolable rules:
 That no person shall be deprived of | life, liberty, or property without due proc
 ess of law; that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation; that in all criminal prose- cutions the accused shall enjoy the right
 to speedy and public trial, to be inform ed of the nature and cause of the ac- cusation, to be confronted with the wit nesses against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of coun-
 sel for his defense; that excessive bail
 shall not be required, nor excessive fines
 imposed, nor cruel and unusual punish-
 ment inflicted; that no person shall be
 put twice in jeopardy for the same of
 fense, or be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself; that the right to be secure against unreason-
 able searches and seizures shall not be
 violated that neither slavery nor invol- untary servitude shall exist except as punishment for crime; that no bill of at
 tainder or ex-post-facto law shall be
 passed; that no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the rights of the people to peaceably assemble and petition the Gov ernment for redress of grievances; that no law shall be made respecting an es tablishment of religion, or prohibiting the 4l +J,ok |In f,,on exercise and enjoyment of religious pro fession and worship without discrimina ton or preference shall forever be al lowed.
 "It will be the duty of the Commission to make a thorough investigation into the titles to the large tracts of land held or claimed by individuals or by religious orders; into the justice of the claims and complaints made against such landhold CTS by the people of the island or any part of the people, and to seek by wise and peaceable measures just settlement of the controversies and redress of wrongs which have caused strife and bloodshed in the past. In the perform ance of this duty the Commission is en joined to see that no injustice is done; to have regard for substantial rights and equity, disregarding teehnicalities so fai as substantial right permits, and to ob- serve the following rules:
 '',rhat the provision of the Treaty of Paris pledging the United States to the protection of all rights of property in the ] islands, and as we'll the principle of oul l own Government which prohibits the talk ing of private property without due | process of law, shall not be violated; that | the welfare of the people of the islands which should be paramount considera ton, shall be attained consistently with this rule of property right; that if it be- comes necessary for the public interest of the people of the islands to dispose of claims to property which the Commis- sion finds to be not lawfully acquired and held disposition shall be made thereof by due legal procedure, in which there shall be full opportunity for fair and impartial hearing and judgment; that if the same public interests require the ex. of property rights lawfully acquired and held due compensation shall De made out of the public treasury there for; that no form of religion and no min ster of religion shall be forced upon my community or upon any citizen of he islands; that upon the other hand, 10 minister of religion shall be interfered with or molested in following his call ng, and that the separation between 'tate and church shall be real, entire, md absolute.
 Ut will be the duty of the Commission o promote and extend, and, as they find occasion, to improve, the system of edu- ,ation already inaugurated by the mili- ary authorities. In doing this they hould regard as of first importance the of a system of primary educa- ion which shall be free to all, and which hall tend to fit the people for the duties f citizenship and for the ordinary avo- ations of civilized community. This should be given in the first instance in every part of the islands in he language of the people. In view of :, he great number of languages spoken " the different tribes, it is especially important to the prosperity of the is- ands that common medium of commu- :, ication may be established, and it is bviously desirable that this medium ,, hould be the English language. Espe , , ial attention should be at once given to ffording full opportunity to all the peo- le of the islands to acquire the use of Z he English language. :. It may be well that the main changes ' which should be made in the system of .