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

when i1 of les s.,4atife l4us-4o IS 10 pe
 transferred from the Military Governor
 of the islands to this Commission to be
 thereafter exercised by them in the place
 and stead of the Military Governor, un-
 der such rules and regulations as you
 shall prescribe, until the establishment of
 the civil central government for the is-
 lands contemplated in the last foregoing paragraph, or until Congress shall other
 wise provide. Exercise of this legislative
 authority will include the making Gf
 rules and orders, having the effect of law, for the raising of revenue by taxes, GUS
 toms duties, and imposts the appropria-
 ton and expenditure of public funds of
 the islands, the establishment of an edu-
 cational system throughout the islands; the establishment of a system to secure
 an efficient civil service; the organization and establishment of courts; the organiza- tion and establishment of municipal and
 departmental governments, and all other
 matters of q civil nature for which the
 military governor is now competent to ! provide by rules or orders of legislative | character.
 ''lhe Commission will also have power during the same period to appoint to of-
 flee such officers under the judicial, edu-
 catonal, and civil-service systems and in
 the municipal and departmental govern
 ments as shall be provided for, Until
 the complete transfer of control the Mill { tary Governor will remain the chief ex-
 ecutive head of the government of the
 islands, and will exercise the executive
 authority now possessed by him and not
 herein expressly assigned to the Commis l cpp ci1bi to thu p1IIa md orders enacted by the Commission in the
 exercise of the legislative powers con
 ferred upon them. In the meantime the
 municipal and departmental governments will continue to report to the Military Governor and be subject to his admins trative supervision and control, under
 your direction but that supervision and control will be confined within the nar- rowest limits consistent with the require ment that the powers of government in the municipalities and departments shall be honestly and effectively exercised and that law and order and individual free dom shall be maintained
 All legislative rules and orders, estab- lishments of government, and appoint ments to office by the Commission will take effect immediately, or at such times as they shall designate, subject tc your approval and action upon the coming in of the Commissions reports, which are to
 be made from time to time as their action is taken. Wherever civil governments are constituted under the direction of the Commission such military posts, garri- | sons, and forces will be continued for the suppression of instruction and brigand- age and the maintenance of law and or der as the Military Commander shall deem requisite, and the military forces shall be at all times subject, under his orders, to the call of the civil authorities for the maintenance of law and order and the enforcement of their authority.
 "In the establishment of municipal governments the Commission will take as the basis of their work the govern ments established by the Military Gov. ernor under his order of August s, 1899, and under the report of the board con stituted by the Military Governor by his order of January 20 1900, to formulate and report q plan of municipal govern ment, of which His Honor Cayetano Arellano, President of the Audiencia, was chairman, and they will give to the conclusions of that board the weight and consideration which the high character and distinguished abilities of it's members justify.
 "In the constitution of departmental or provincial governments they will give especial attention to the existing govern ment of the island of Negros, constituted with the approval of the people of that island, under the order of the Military Governor of July %, 1899, and after veri flying, so far as may be practicable, the reports of the successful working of that government they will he guided by the experience thus acquired so far as it may be applicable to the condition existing in other portions of the Philippines. They will avail themselves, to the fullest de- gree practicable, of the conclusions reach ed by the previous Commission to the { Philippines.
 In the distribution of powers among { the governments organized by the Com mission, the presumption is always to be in favor of the smaller subdivision, so that all the powers which can properly { be exercised hy the municipal govern { ment shall be vested in that government, l and all the powers of more general ' character which can be exercised by the i departmental government shall be vested E in that government, and so that in the { governmental system, which is the result of the process, the central government of t the islands, following the example of the c distribution of the powers between the C States and the National Government of t the United States, shall have no direct $ except of matters of pure e ly general concern, and shall have only f such supervision and control over local s governments as may be necessary to se' o cure and enforce faithful and efficient ad- c by local officers ii
 "1'he many different degrees of civili- ii cation and varieties of custom and ca t 1acity among the people of the different f stands preclude very definite instruc, b ion as to the part which the people shall i, ,ake in the selection of their own off. l, .ers; but these general rules are to be oh n served: That in all cases the municipal Q officers, who administer the local affairs & If the people, are to be selected by the q people, and that wherever officers of more n extended Jurisdiction are to be selected n Il any way, natives of the islands are to fl ,e preferred, and if they can be found and willing to perform the ', Iuties, they are to receive the offices in f, preference to any others. d 'It will be necessary to fill some offices o or the present with Americans which n fter a time may well be filled by natives h
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