The sun., 1901-05-26
II

What were the causes = TaRal revolt
against Spanish rule? The question will
be found answered at length in tho sixth
chapter Of Mr. Sawyer's book he testihes
that from that 1871 10 1892 while he was In
the country almost perfect order reigncl.
The fighting in Mindlnan and Jolo went on
ns matter Of course. like the AChcen war
In Sumatra, and ancNpediti tiOn was sent against
the lgOrrotes But civilized districts OF Luzon
and the NiSayan islands were orderly and
tranquil Crime was infrequent, in those
fourteen years scarcely half a dozen exccu-
tions took place There was less risk
of burglary in Manila than there Is in a Lon
don suburb From the viewpoint Of order
Manila compared favoraby with Hong Kong
and still moro fayorahly with Singapore,
whore the Chinese secret societies have sue
ccs-fully dencd the law
IuJulv, 1851, In pursuance Of a plan 10 assm-
Hate the islands of Spain, the Spanish penal
code was put in force in the Philippines by
peremptDrv order from the Government at
Madrid and much against the opinion Of eX-
perienccd officials In December Of tho
same year the spanish civil code was pro-
mulgated In Mr. Sawver's judgment these
reforms however well intended failed 10 pro-
duco any beneficial effect on the natives.
Combined with the great increase in taxa
ton. which simultaneously occurred they
intensified the discomfort that had been
always smoulderlng, more especially In the
hearts Of tho native priests The grievances
OF the FilipnoS against tho religious orders,
and more particularly against the Recoets
who, for handing over their benefces in
Mndanao to the Jcsuts had been recon-
penscd at tho expense Of the secular clergy,
were the causcs Of tho bitter hatred Of the
Spanish frarS.
on March l. 1853. some natives and mes
ti2os. or half-brceds cmboldened by the
fact that an anti-clcrical Don jose Centcno.
mining engineer, was acting civil Cover
nor of Manila, walked In procession 10 his
Official residence and presented a petition
addressed to the Governor General demand
ing the immediate expulsion of the
friars of the religious orders uhat is 10 say.
the Augustinian~. the DOminiCauS and the
RecOllots. who possessed landed estateSl
and of the Archbishop. whom they declared
unworthy to occupy the primacy Of the ISL
and. To this petition there were $40 sigma
lures but. when the siEnatoricS were sum
moued and examined, most Of them declared
they did not know what they had signed,
and denied that they wished the frars to be
expelled The result of this appeal Of the
natives was that the principal persons who
took part In 1t wcrn banished or sent 70 at
undesirable spots within the archipelago.
Mr. sawyer. while acknowledging tho civil
Ting work performed by the frinrs IN earlier
times, considers II not too much 10 say that
the possession of estates has been fatal "a
the Augus'niau. Dominican and Rccollet
orders The friars ~ those orders profess
to have been always good and indulgent
landlords but the fact remains that all their
estates are in Tagll territory, that only the
Tngal~ revoltod in lsaG-07. and that the re-
volt was directed against the orders because
Of their alleged tyranny and cNtortions, and
because they wcrc landlords and rackrent"r'.
These estates have been bone OF conten-
ton for centuries. and were principal cause
Of tho last Tagal nsurrection against Spain.
Yet the Peace Commission at Paris appears 10
have given the three orders n new title TO
their disputed possessions. by guaranteeing
to the Church the enjoyment of its property,
which. II the Spaniards had continued TO
rule the Islands, must ultimately have been
taken from II in the natural course Of events,
ns has happened In every other Catholic
country MIR sawyer has no doubt that
the paciAcation Of tho Philippines was greatly
retarded by this clause Of the treaty con-
cludrd between the United states and Spain.
In his opinion, the clause must have been ac-
cepted by the American commissioners m
der mi.apprchcnsion Of its Import and
from imperfect Information IA TO the siina-
tion in the archipelago. The matter, how
ever. can still hc arranged, though II may re-
Quire a considerable sum ot money