Evening star., 1902-01-27
PHILIPPINE CRIMES.
Records of Courts-Martiai Received at
the War Department..

the War Department..
The Philippine mail just received at the
War Department brings the records of a
number of courts martial. In which natives
were tried on various charges by American
military commissions.
"A native named Cabantag, having fallen
into difficulties with Juan Velaseo, presi-
dente of Nagcarlang, Laguna province,
over a gambling debt, lay in hiding and in
wait for the passing of a church procession
in which Velasco was to march. At the
proper moment he shot yelasco, the latter
dying in short time. General Chaffee ap-
proved the sentence Of death imposed. =
Ruperto Incion, armed with a club, in
company with his two brothers, armed with
knives, repaired to the house of their
brother-in-law, native named Games, In
the Barrio of Daiig, ,Batangas, and became
involved in dispute over money due their
brother-in-law from themselves Incion
struck his brother-in-law on the head with
a club. and his two brothers Joined in the
through the breast, and the other. cutting
him on the wrist. Games died the next
day. A military commission sentenced In
cion to twenty years imprisonment at hard
labor, and this was approved by the re-
viewing authority.
An interesting case was that of Gabino
de la Cruz, a native who was recently
brought to trial for a crime alleged to have
Il
cations alleged that Cruz boloed an un-
known American soldier to death while the
latter was asleep in the streets of Bocaue
Bulacan, and in a helpless condition of in
toxication. Gen. Chaffee criticised the -flnd-
ing of the military commission which tried
this native because they found him guilty
of all the allegations of the specifications
without exception, whereas no evidence
was submitted to show that the soldier was
killed with bolo or was asleep and drunk
and no one appeared to have seen the blow
struck. However, Gen. Chaffee, in his re-
View, said that a strong chain of eircuua-
Stantial evidence connected Cruz with the
crime He was the first man seen with the
dead body; he called others to assist him
to remove it and to oblfterate the traces of
blood where it had lain, and he was also
the last man in the native canoe In which
the body of the American was placed, ami
he Journeyed alone at night down river
toward the open sea with the corpse. ~
military commission sentenced the native
to be hung, but Gen. Chaffee stated that in
view of the fact that the crime was COM
mitted a long time ago, when the hostile
feeitng occaSioned by active warfare was
very great. and the people of the island
mad practically no knowledge of the laws
OF war, he would commute the sentence to
thirty years Imprisonment at hard labor
Augustin Aguflar, leader in the famous
oath-bound organization of Sandatahans,
repaired to the house of native. accused
him OF being a spy, and '.out of mere wan
ton exercise of assumed authority" beat
him over the head with a club and subse-
quentty killed him by cutting his throat
with a saber. On the witness stand the ac-
cnsed stated that the death of his victim
was desired by the community because the
murdered man had "a bad sickness" He
was sentenced to be hung. but Gen Chat
fee commuted this to Imprisonment. at
hard labor for life
Five natives were tried on a charge of
murder. They were members of a band of
outlaws who, to crafty feeling of i'll will,
seized. bound. and carried away to an iso-
lated spot, a native named Daos, and shot
him to death. Returning to their victims
mouse, they seized his wife and shortly put
her to death also. One of the natives were
acquitted, three were sentenced to be hung,
one was already serving a sentence Of
twenty years Imprisonment for another
crime, In view of which the sentence
against him was renlitted. and, the remain
ing one of the six had died last August.