The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-09-25
GOV. TAFT'S SPEECH
AT RECEPTION UPON HIS RETURN
TO PHILIPPINES.
DUTY REDUCTION ASSURED.
AND ONLY A MATTER OF SHORT
TIME.


it to Rome in the Effort to Arrive
at Some Solution of the Vexed
Question of the Friars and Their
Lands-NegOtiatiOns Between Gov
ernment and Vatican Upon Many
of the Issues Have Hardly Yet Be-
gun, Though the Sale of the Lands
Has Been Approved.
Washington, Sept. 24-The Bureau of
lnsular Affairs to-day furnished to the
| press copies of the speech made by
Gov. Taft on the occasion of the recep-
ton rendered him when he arrived in
the Philippine Islands. In the course of
the speech, Gov. Taft said:
You can be very sure that it will
only be a matter of year or two be-
fore the American duty on Philippine
products will be reduced to so small
figure as to make it practically free
| trade. Delays in congressional action
on the tariff and postponement of the
time for a popular assembly Re only
| the outgrowth of a conservatism due
to a doubt on the part of many as to
real conditions in the islands, a doubt,
L may say, which nothing will so
| quickly dispel as quiet prosecution of
agriculture and other pursuits and au
avoiding of useless political agitation
for the next year.
THE many questions requiring set
tlement between the Philippine govern
ment and the church led the President
and Secretary of War to direct me to
visit Rome for a conference with the
Pope, to see if a basis of settlement
might not be reached. After an audi
ence with the Pope, the instructions
were referred to a committee of cardi-
mails, and an answer was given me
agreeing generally with all the pur-
poses stated in the instructions, which
included, among other things, the pur-
chase of the friars lands by the gov
eminent.
Proposed at Contract.
This answer proposed that further
negotiations be had between an apos-
tolic delegate and myself in Manila.
With the hope of having less to do
so in Manila, and by authority of the
Secretary, l replied by suggesting to
the Pope the form of a contract to
be signed in Rome, submitting the
questions at issue to a tribunal of ar
| bitration to consist of two members
| appointed by the Pope, two by this
government and the fifth to be APP
pointed by the Viceroy of India.
1.-The questions were First, the
price to be paid for the friars' lands;
second, the price to be paid for the
occupation of parish churches and con-
vents by American troops, and, third,
the disposition of educational and char
liable trusts, including in the San Jose
college case. The contract included
a covenant that the members of the
four great religious orders, who were
all Spaniards, should leave the islands
in two years after the first payment
was made for the lands, and that only
secular priests or non-Spanish men,
bers of the regular clergy should act
as parish priests.
1.-The Vatican agreed to sign such a
contract excepting the last covenant,
which he declined to sign; first, be-
cause it related to the administration
of religious matters not the proper sub
iect of a commercial contract; second,
because by signing such a covenant it
would give just offense to Spain, whose
these friars were, and as such were
entitled to remain in the islands under
the treaty of Paris, and because the
Vatican did not wish to give counte-
nance to what were regarded as the
exaggerated charges against them.
10 heOrSan1ze Church.
Instead of this, however, the Pope
said, through Cardinal Rampolla, that
he intended to reorganize the church
in the islands, to recall the friars now
in the islands from political intermed-
ding to the Institutes of their order,
to provide ecclesiastical education to
natives, so that the priesthood uIti-
mately should be entirely native, and
now to introduce priests of other ma
tionality than Spanish, chiefly from the
United States, into the islands. He
said that the money for the lands
would go to the church for the benefit
of the church in the Philippines, and
not to the orders, and he finally re-
iterated what had been said earlier in
the correspondence, that no priest
would be sent to any parish in the ISL
ands whom a majority of the Catho-
lies of the parish did not wish to re-
ceiVe.
I'm view of the unwillingness of the
Vatican to enter into a contract for
the definite removal of the Spanish
friars, the Secretary of War was I'M
willing to enter into a contract obli-
eating the Philippine government and
American government to pay such in
definite sums without further investi-
cation and preferred to recur to the
original method of negotiation pro-
posed by the Vatican through an apos-
tolic delegate who is to visit the ISL
ands with authority to sell the lands,
to settle the rentals due and to agree
upon the question of charitable and
educational trusts. The basis was
agreed to, and negotiations are to be
continued here after all the data nee
essary have been submitted by the
representatives OF the church TO the
government.
1T will thus be seen that the nego-
tiations upon many of the issues are
only begun, though the sale of the
lands has been approved, and that
upon the question Of the return Of the
friars to the parishes. the matter IL
completely in the hands Of the people
Of each parish for "A settlement by n
quiet peaceable and lawful expression
Of their desire 10 receive or not TO
receive any priest"