Evening star., 1902-02-19
MANILA HAPPENINGS
TOPICS AND EVENTS IN THE
PHILIPPINE METROPOLIS.
Refund Of Duties on Goods Shipped
From the Archipelago to the
United States.

Late Philippine newspapers represent that
the merchants OF Manila are intent upon
the progress and result Of the suit which
has been brought by the firm OF Warner,
Barnes q Co., Ltd, against Collector Bid
Wen OF the port Of New York, for the re-
covery OF the money which was paid as
duty on the import alton Of cargo of sugar
taken from the Philippines. The fourteen
diamond rings" case, while 1t decided that
the tarln law applied to goods entering the
United States from the Philippines during
the period of American occupation, still
le1t unsettled the corollary, that the duty
paid on such goods must be refunded. The
Supreme Court in the Pipke case ruled that
the imposition Of the duty had been illegal,
which decided that the rings must be re-
turned; but the question Of a refund of duty
did not enter specifically, although 1t is in
ferred that the return of the rings was
practically equivalent to refund Of duty.
In the Porte Rican cases. which correspond
to that Of Warner, Barnes 6. Co., Ltd, the
refund was made
The Manila Times Of December % says:
II Is possible. however, that some tech
nlcal nav may be found by the court In the
protest filed by the appellants. such as will
lnvalidate their claim. It Is a well-known
TACT that large number Of the protests
Wnicn nave been filed by the merchants OF
A'AoiiAi1 WilA the local COlleCtOT OI CUSTOMS
are worthless, owing simply to the faulty
iegal ,phraStng and construction Of their
protests Nevertheless. 1t Is little likely
tnat sucn mistakes have been made on the
OF such protests is an everyday occurrence,
and where such complications as arise from
the peculiar status Of the Philippines do
not obtain"
Peace in Bataan.
The province Of Bataan Is pacified. The
American publishes the following interview
with returned traveller:
"Bataan Is the most peaceful province In
the archipelago. There isn't soldier In
the province. and the constabulary Is only
eighty-five strong, yet there is no trouble
and the constabulary have little to do.
ORION, where stayed last night, Is a town
or 900 Inhabitants, yet Senor Sevilla. the
Justice OF the peace at Orion, assured me
that he had but one civil and one criminal
case in his court in the last three months.
This is next door to the millennium. When
the soldiers were taken out OF the province
and the people saw their own neighbors
being enlisted in the constabulary they
felt that this body was for their protection,
not their injury. Accordingly, when man
discovered that crime had been commit
ted ne would hasten to notify the constabu-
larry, thus making things easy for that
BODY. Every man constitutes himself
committee for the public safety
Lottery Business.
Efforts are making to suppress the trade
in lottery tickets. On January Braulia
Carbalia was caught in the act Of selling
lottery tickets by two native detectives,
who have been specially detailed to run
down the lottery sharps of the city. She
made an ingenious but not plausible de-
fense and was given 500 fine with three
months In Bilibid. She refused to divulge
the Identity of the principals in the busi-
fh0nRh known
in the Filipino world. The detectives be-
lieve that Braulia works for the notorious
Nlnay Supot, which means money bags"
and is applied to the old woman who Is
at the head of the worst lottery in Ma
nila The nickname was given her be-
cause of her luck in gambling. Ninay
SCpot has a history. She is the mother
in law Of a widely known Filipino politi-
clan, who was member of the Aguinaldo
cabinet, who came In early and f1oated to
the top Of the wave Of popularity by COM
Ing out strongly for peace and recogni-
tion of American sovereignty, coupled with
appeals to his brethren in arms to follow
his example.
Lawton's Last Fight
Inspector General Breckenridge on Fri
day. January 8, visited the scene Of Gen
eral Lawtons last fight. General Breck-
inridge and General Lawton were from
their earliest acquaintance great friends.
and the inspector general desired to visit
the spot where his comrade fell. before re-
turning to the states. The inspector gen.
eral was accompanied by Captain Charles
r. Rowland, aid-de-camp to Major Cen
eral Wheaton, and an escort of twelve
mounted men of Troop L, 5th United States
Cavalry, from San Felipe Neri. under COM
mand Of Lieutenant Foley Of the 9th Cav
airy commanding the troop at that sta
ton. General Lawton's last fight took
place on the banks of the Mariquina river
opposite San Mateo. while leading his forces
against a well-fortified position on the
morning of December 10. 1899
Flavored Stamps.
Manila pharmacist has hit upon the
idea Of favoring the gum side Of postage
stamps, the better to serve the taste Of
customers. The stamp customer Is looked
upon as a nuisance until the rival drug
store becomes substation of the post
office Then the druggist begins to realize
that the person who buys a stamp may
want piece of soap or a toothbrush Or a
a bottle of something on which there Is
q druggists modest profit. The druggist
in question keeps the stamps in compart-
ments which have been favored in various
Ways and when q customer asks for q
stamp he inquiries. What flavor will you
| have; lemon. vanilla. wintergreen or pep
permint?' The customer usually looks
mystiied, but soon discovers that the
stamps are really favored, and the drug
gist thinks he has hit upon way to re-
tain his stamp business
Poisoned Spears.
It has been reported in Manila that the
insurgents in Batangas have resorted to
an additional barbarous practice-if an ad-
ditional one could be added to the list al
ready employed by them-of poisoning
weapons in order to cause certain death in
case of a wound. Word was received from
Lipa on January that Corporal Shelly with
three men, all Company III, 21st Infantry,
arrived at that place from Taison on the
evening of January 2. They reported that
about 10 o'clock that morning Private
wounded through the thigh by a spear
shot from trap and died about fifteen
minutes after from poisoning.
A Military Prison.
The proposed project Of establishing